Some times you read a story or in this case a poem and become inspired by it. Today it happened to me with Darkness by Lord Byron (full poem via link)
I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the icy earth
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
- Darkness by Lord Byron
To me this just oozes 40k to me. Maybe some sort of psychic citizen foreseeing an apocalyptic event? Or a Farseer, sees the death of a Maiden World? What if you change parts, can it become fluff for your army or characters?
Above poem altered to fit with my Farseer Hastur.
As I walked through the crystal forests
I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The twin suns was extinguish'd, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space,
Rayless, and pathless, and the lifeless husk
Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air;
- Farseer Hastur sharing his vision of the ruined Craftworld Carcosa, following a possible Imperium invasion.
So here we see Hastur having a premonition of a dead Craftworld Carcosa, following an attack made by the Imperium. But from this quote we can build a story which might shape the characters back story. Did the Craftworld out of fear of destruction, release an Ork Waaagh! on a local sector to redirect an Crusade Fleet? Or maybe they planted a Genestealer/Chaos Cult somewhere. Did the Imperial attack happen so far into the future, that Craftworld Carcosa was able to strike and kill the Great Grandson of the War Marshall who orders the assault? How does it effect the character or even the politics of the sector I'm setting it in?
I'm not sure let, but I can tell you, my mind is racing with ideas. So before I sign off. Do any of you take inspiration from stories/poems and use them to alter your own armies? Let me know below.