Where do your Knights hail from?
The Loyalist Knight World of Ryuusei in the Segmentum Solar, a planet covered mostly in dense forests and oceans teeming with colossal creatures known to the inhabitants as Ayakashi. House Yato has constructed fortress-cities across the landmasses, linked with titanic transitways and dotted with agriplexes and massive manufactorums that produce Knight suits, ancient weaponry dating to the Dark Age of Technology, and armored vehicles for House Yato's Household Militia. Each fortress-city has its own spaceport, mass conveyors landing from orbit or launching into the heavens to ferry Knights, their Noble pilots, and regiments of Household Militia to ongoing crusades, or to ship immense quantities of war materiel, which includes both weapons and armored vehicles.
Their alliance with the neighboring Forge World of Draconis IV allows House Yato to be constantly equipped, supplied, repaired and maintained, and consequently, they are one of the largest Knight Houses in the Imperium, having fought during the Horus Heresy as entire Knight formations sizeable enough to threaten even Titan Legions. This also grants them access to rare Knight chassis such as the Cerastus class, and even the rare Cerastus Knight Atrapos. Only the Acastus Knights Porphyrion are tightly locked within the vaults of their fortress-cities, deemed to precious to lose to the Archenemy. And quite frankly, the Dominus Knights Castellan do their job better anyway. Formerly known as Koya, Shogun Yato Yoshinobu had given the world to the Mechanicum as part of a shrewd deal to gain their support and services, and this bond has remained intact even through the dark days of the Horus Heresy and persist 10,000 years latter, having mutually benefited both parties.
The Nobles of House Yato are known as Bushi, the equivalent of Scions of other Knight Houses. The land continents of Ryuusei are split into feudal domains known as provinces, each ruled over by a Daimyo - the equivalent of Barons - who guard their territories zealously. War would often break out if a Daimyo were to trespass into a rival's province. Despite each Daimyo being the lord of their own fiefdoms, they all answer to a single Shogun - House Yato's equivalent of High King. The Shogun derives his authority from the God-Emperor of Mankind, who the residents of Ryuusei worship as the son of the Sun-Goddess ever since their world was folded into the Imperium during the Great Crusade.
The people of Ryuusei entrust their safety to the Bushi, who protect them from the Ayakashi that infested their world. From the titanic serpentine Orochi and their kings, the Yamata no Orochi, to the leviathan Bake-Kujira that dwelled beneath the ocean depths to the gargantuan, amphibious Ryuu, these fearsome Ayakashi are hunted by the valorous Bushi and their indomitable Knight suits.
Apart from Ryuusei, House Yato reigns over its own stellar realm in the Draconis Sector. Spanning several systems, their stellar territory includes the famous "bread basket trio," the three agri-worlds known for their bountiful macro agri-complexes - Inari, Beisei and Nouzen. Within the Draconis system, the mountain world of Yamahodo has been transformed into a staging facility for void vessel assets, including an academy for training naval officers, which provides House Yato its own personal fleet to transport them across the galaxy, enabling them to reach farflung warzones and aid the Imperium in its battles if necessary, or expand its frontiers. The ocean world of Namikai is famed for its seafood, and also vast promethium reserves in its seabed. The jungle world of Aomori several systems away is also a protectorate of House Yato, who sometimes uses its verdant forests as training grounds for both Knight aspirants and Household Militia.
How do they fight?
Given the history where House Yato emerged supreme over rival Houses such as House Takeda, House Uesugi and House Kiyomori, subsuming them to become the preeminent Great House in Ryuusei, the Bushi of House Yato are pragmatic and strategic. House Yato was known for striking in the dead of night, the black of their Knight suits allowing them to blend into the darkness almost unseen. This is what leads to them being known as the Night Blades. They have used that cunning to their advantage, attaining many victories through camouflage and attacking at the most unexpected timing.
Due to their version of Code Chivalric, which they call Bushido, they favor close-ranged blade and polearm weapons - such as the reaper chainsword or the Tempest Warblade, and the Cerastus shock lance or thundershock spear. However, they will not eschew ranged weapons because they also value the strategic advantage of annihilating a foe from a distance. House Yato nobles will primarily choose energy weapons over those requiring solid munitions for logistical reasons. Often, when on a hunt for Ayakashi in the dense forests, it is difficult for them to rearm and resupply, and as such, energy weapons that draw power from the Knight suits' plasma reactor instead of requiring rearmament of solid ammunition prove to be more practical and better suited to their fighting style.
A lance primarily consists of Questoris Knights Errant, whose close-ranged thermal cannons complement their brutal melee weapons, and their vassal Armigers Warglaive and Armigers Moirax equipped with exotic armaments, along with rapid-moving Bellatus Knights Destrier, supported by the ranged firepower of domineering Dominus Knights Castellan and Questoris Knights Defender. Due to their preference for close combat, House Yato prizes Cerastus chassis and is among the few Knight Houses to consistently field Cerastus Knights Lancer and Cerastus Knights Castigator. As mentioned above, the Knights Errant and Armigers Warglaive would normally be equipped with meltaguns rather than heavy stubbers, as these derive power from the suits' plasma reactor rather than requiring solid ammunition. That is also why they favor Armigers Moirax over Armigers Helverin, for lightning locks and volkite veuglaires draw power from plasma reactors instead of requiring solid shot ammunition. However, in cases such as the Knight Castigator or the Questoris Knights Crusader being fielded, they will not hesitate to use the advantage derived from possessing many manufactorums throughout Ryuusei to resupply.
The Knights of House Yato rarely fight alone, usually supported by armored cohorts of their Household Militia, known as the Ryuusei Katanas. So effective are the Ryuusei Katanas that they often go on to serve as Astra Militarum regiments in their own right, foraying into the stars to defend embattled worlds of the Imperium, or participating in crusades such as the Indomitus Crusade. Though technically not obligated to offer a Tithe, the Ryuusei Katanas are authorized by the Shogun or - if he is absent due to long distance and beyond astropathic range - the highest-ranked Daimyo present to deploy to new warzones or answer the call for reinforcements. An example is when several Ryuusei Katana regiments decide to answer House Hawkshroud's call for assistance against an Ork Waaagh!, and due to Imperium Nihilus being cut off from Segmentum Solar (and Imperium Sanctus as a whole), the Daimyo - Lord Uesugi - permits them to head to Krastellan while his lance continues to hunt Tyranid Bio-Titans across the Red Scar. Another is when a dozen Ryuusei Katana regiments divert toward Armageddon to answer the legendary Commissar Yarrick's call to head off Wazdakka Gutsmek's incoming SpeedWaaagh! while their Knightly masters remain embroiled in the Pariah Nexus.
As a consequence of their technologically advanced manufactorums, the elite of the Ryuusei Katanas - known as Ryuusei Grenadiers - are equipped with volkite weaponry from their vaunted Armory of Old Night. They field Solar Auxilia-grade Leman Russ tanks - including Leman Russ Incinerator variants, which are thought to be lost to the modern Imperium - and Valdor tank destroyers, and even super-heavy tanks such as Stormblades and Shadowswords, a tradition that continues from as far back as the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. Entire regiments of Ryuusei Katanas, primarily composed of armored squadrons and mechanized Grenadiers, mobilize alongside the Nobles of House Yato when called to war. Their volkite weaponry will provide tremendous advantage as they employ them against the marauding Orks who are poised to invade both Armageddon and Krastellan.
Do they have any notable characters?
The protagonist I center on is Sir Tanaka, who first began his career as a Bondsman, piloting an Armiger Warglaive, before he rises through the ranks and is rewarded with a Dominus Knight Castellan, Kazan. His buddy is Suzuki, who pilots the Armiger Warglaive, Hebi. They serve under the Daimyo, Lord Takeda, who pilots the Cerastus Knight Lancer, Naginata.
Other comrades who Tanaka has fought alongside include:
Sato - the pilot of the Armiger Warglaive, Kaen
Watanabe - the pilot of the Armiger Warglaive, Tsurugi
Iwatani - the pilot of the Armiger Warglaive, Kame
Chiba - the pilot of an Armiger Moirax
Sendo - the pilot of an Armiger Moirax
Sir Amano - the pilot of the Cerastus Knight Castigator, Ama no Habakiri
Sir Kanda - the pilot of the Questoris Knight Errant, Engetsu
Sir Minamoto - the pilot of the Questoris Knight Preceptor, Yoichi (Sir Oogami was killed in action, and Ookami was salvaged and refitted, and the name was changed to Yoichi)
Sir Kaji - the pilot of the Cerastus Knight Atrapos, Yami
Sir Hayashi - the pilot of the Bellatus Knight Destrier, Kaminari
Sir Mamoru - the pilot of the Questoris Knight Defender (coming soon, I haven't gotten the parts to assemble the plasma executor and conversion beam obliterator yet)
Whoa, I actually have a lot of Knights. That's 14 characters in my collection, all with their own names. I can't believe it. And I haven't even counted my Mechanicus Knights from House Kanda yet. Though that can count as House Taranis...eventually. That's enough to make a small Household in itself.
Create their livery.
Night black armor panels framed with gold. Yato means Night Blades, and that's their cognomen, something they have retained since the Horus Heresy.
Create their heraldry.
A single yellow moon. The heraldry of moon suits a Knight House who's known as the Night Blades perfectly. The origins of the simple heraldry stem from House Yato and its subsumed Houses having endured the horrors of Old Night and emerged triumphant. When Yato Yasutaka, the first Shogun, united all of the warring Knight Houses under a single banner, he imposed his House's heraldry upon the whole of Ryuusei. As a result of their pragmatism, and often because House Yato prefers to camouflage themselves in darkness, striking at the most unexpected moments, they keep their heraldry simple and unostentatious. It was too troublesome for the artisans to keep redrawing and repainting the heraldry after every battle, and the pragmatic Shogun wanted them to focus on repairs, not decoration. So he dictated that the heraldry be a simple full moon against the endless black of a night sky.
Yato Yasutaka is also known as the Great Moon, and those of his lineage who succeed him inherit the title of Shogun. When Yato Yoshinobu, the Shogun during the Great Crusade, complied with Imperial authority, the Great Moon was said to be a reflection of the God-Emperor, who descended from the Sun Goddess, a shadow of the Emperor's divinity. And thus, those of his bloodline continue to be revered so.
Honestly, it started as a joke, but I'm keeping the smiley face. You're not supposed to take Warhammer 40,000 seriously, and in the grim darkness of the far future, you need a sense of humor. I'm amazed it evolved from a smiling face into a full moon. I wouldn't be surprised if that's how most of Warhammer 40,000 lore began - first, as a joke, then evolved into something that makes perfect sense (at least in the context). Also, it was also somewhat inspired by the Japanese flag, which has a single round red sun against a white background. Also, the Great Moon is a reference to Raising Villains the Right Way, also known as I became the patron of villains. It's a manhwa series I recommend!
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