Excerpts from the records of Inquisitor Thane M. Sablehurst (Ordo Xenos) during his exploration & evaluation of the Clausa Expanse against impending Tau incursion...

 

To: Inquisitor Sablehurst

 

From: Interrogator Abella Ione

 

Date: 022.M41 (Approximate)

 

Subject: Initial Findings Concerning the 'Red Knives' Astartes Chapter

 

Thought for the Day: "Blessed is the mind too small for doubt"

 

Message Body:

 

Honored Lord,

 

May this missive find you in excellent health elsewhere in the Expanse.  After some initial difficulties (outlined elsewhere) in making contact with literally any member of the Chapter over the vox, Brother Durro¹ was able to make immediate contact without difficulty.  Even Ordo clearance codes are ignored by this especially reclusive Chapter, it seems. Outlined below are my initial findings.  Other missives may follow, as I uncover new information.  I apologize for the lack of imagery, as I have limited means to embed them in these tight-beam messages.  

 

As always, I remain your loyal & humble servant.  

 

- Interrogator Ione

 

GENERAL OVERVIEW

 

Operating along the galactic western edge of the Clausa Expanse, the Red Knives are a reclusive Astartes Chapter with many unusual & disturbing customs.  While they are a respected member of the Hexadic Conclave² , their habits & nature appear to keep their brother Astartes at arm's length.  Their practice of only speaking to brother Astartes also severely limits rapport building opportunities, and can complicate working alongside mortal forces.  

 

ORIGINS

 

Founded in 991.M35 as part of the 21st 'Cursed' Founding, the Red Knives are derived from the gene seed of the IXth Legion & the Primarch Sanguinus.  While their parent Chapter is unknown, it is widely speculated that they were initially derived from some of the more stoic veterans of the 'Flesh Tearers' Chapter.  Initial observations support this hypothesis.  Based on their unique quirks, one might infer VIIIth Legion genetic origins, but this cannot be the case.  A 'Torchbearer' fleet has apparently made contact with the Chapter at some point in recent history, as I have observed a number of 'Primaris' brethren in their ranks, and the neophyte assigned to me as a liaison appears to be of this newer breed of Astartes.   

 

HERALDRY

 

The Red Knives have been observed in slate-gray battleplate, with the arms/pauldrons & face plates of their helms painted a shocking flat white.  Pauldrons are edged in red trim, the same color as the two large skinning knives that the Chapter has taken as their symbol.  Officers, Sergeants, and Veterans are permitted personal heraldry, but otherwise do not overtly display rank.  The few Battle-Brothers I have been able to observe display trophies & equipment made from flayed human skin.    

 

I asked my liaison, Neophyte Thamev, about this disturbing custom.  He explained that for a brother of the Red Knives to claim the skin of a foe is a high honor, and that valued Chapter serfs are also turned into leather goods after their demise.  He provided an example of his own mentor within the Chapter, who recently lost a beloved arming serf to advanced age.  It seems his former master honored his many years of service by converting his epidermis into a holster for his bolt pistol.

 

HOMEWORLD

 

The Red Knives maintain the planet Cutis as their homeworld, although they do not maintain a permanent presence on its surface.  The fourth planet from its system's star, the planet consists mostly of arboreal forests with unforgiving tundra towards the poles.  Cutis rotates slowly on its axis, leading to prolonged periods of darkness than the galactic standard.  

 

The people of Cutis display an astonishingly low number of mutations (sanctioned or otherwise), but this is based off of data provided solely by the Red Knives themselves.  No Imperial auditor has been able to set foot on the surface of the world since the founding of the Chapter itself, a fact that I found somewhat curious.  Records list Cutis as pre-Feudal in technology level, barely above what we'd consider a 'Neolithic' grasp of technology.  Most populations are nomadic in nature, and center around hunter-gatherer tribes formed from extended familial groups.  Inter-tribal warfare is common, and I have found some mention of ritual cannibalism from the scattered scouting reports Neophyte Thamev has been able to provide. 

 

Again, this seems deliberate on the part of the Red Knives Chapter.  They appear to treat the planet as a 'game preserve' of sorts, protecting it fiercely from outside influence of any sort.  Every local solar cycle (roughly one Terran year), the Red Knives descend on the planet in a ritual they refer to as 'The Culling', which is apparently both when they recruit new aspirants, as well as when they purge the planet's population of any sort of mutation they deem excessive.  This seems prudent due to the relative proximity of the Cicatrix Malidictum & the complications that brings.  I will report more on 'The Culling' if I am permitted to observe.  

 

COMBAT DOCTRINE

The Red Knives are prodigious melee combatants by nature, owing to their feral origins.  What little I have observed of their activity on the battlefield has demonstrated a preference for sudden, shockingly violent predatory ambushes, wherein they silently rip their victims limb from limb.  While they field larger formations of Assault Marines than most Chapters, the Red Knives seem to prefer their namesake over chain-blades, where possible.  Aside from these sudden ambushes, the Chapter has displayed a preference for mechanized shock assaults & drop-pod insertions in order to close with their foes more quickly.   As previously mentioned, the brethren of the Red Knives Chapter do not speak to baseline humans (whom they refer to simply as 'The Flesh') for any reason.  This peculiar practice extends on the battlefields as well.  A Company-sized assault proceeded in utter silence, only the screams of the unfortunate baseline human foes broke the eerie calm. 

 

ORGANIZATION

 

From what little I have been able to observe thus far, the Red Knives seems to be vaguely compliant with the Codex Astartes in most respects.  The one notable deviation I have observed is more in line with a tradition prevalent with the Black Templars Chapter, in that a senior battle brother will directly mentor a newly-inducted Neophyte in lieu of assignment to the 10th Company.  Below, I've broken down what I understand about their Chapter's various Companies, although this is far from definitive:

 

The 'Skinwalkers' (1st Company)

- Formation of the Chapter's veterans & high command assets

- Seem to derive their name from the many trophy skins these veteran Astartes festoon themselves with

- Librarius assets

- Reclusium 

 

The 'Ever-Sharp' (2nd Company)

- Dedicated rapid-response company fielding combined-arms assets

- Fields proven Battle-Brothers from the lower Companies

- Proving ground for future Chapter leaders & those marked for advancement

- Independent, decentralized command structure allows for maximum tactical flexibility

 

The 'Iron-Hides' (3rd Company)

- Formation of the Chapter's armor assets, heavy infantry & Dreadnaught-bounded Ancients

- Tech Marines are trained here

- Assets may be allocated elsewhere, as needed

 

The 'Skin-Clad' (4th - 8th Companies)

- Battle Line companies formed of infantry formations with limited mechanized support

- Neophytes serve under mentor Battle-Brothers until their parent squad determines they are ready, or losses hasten their advancement

 

The 'Unfleshed' (9th Company)

- Vanguard formation used for forward observation, pathfinding, and terror troop applications

- Frequently broken up into 'hunting parties' or smaller kill-teams to support 4th - 8th Companies 

 

The 'New Flesh' (10th Company)

- Dedicated to the protection & management of the homeworld, Cutis

- Apothecarion monitors human populations for signs of mutation, selects aspirants from those compatible

- Organizes & conducts 'The Culling'

- Handles training/selection of aspirants until they attain 'Neophyte' status & are assigned a mentor in a line company

 

CHAPTER BELIEFS & CULTURE

 

Their chilling rituals & demeaner aside, the Red Knives are clearly still loyal to the Imperium of Man.  While I have been kept at arms length myself, Brother Durro has had a great deal more success in building rapport with his genetic brethren & has been kind enough to share his findings. 

 

The Red Knives are not a pious Chapter in the conventional sense, in that they do not revere the God-Emperor as a deity or tout the Codex Astartes as holy scripture.  Their Chaplains extoll the virtues of struggle and pain, with many brothers participating in ritual combat on a daily basis.  Brother Durro reports that these duels are almost never the result of slighted honor or other common causes but rather to establish a pecking order of sorts in terms of martial prowess.  True to their arrogant nature, the Red Knives believe that the only opponent truly worthy of their attentions is another Space Marine, and regard the human & Tau they are regularly called on to destroy as nearly beneath their notice.  

 

Conversations with Neophyte Thamev have been the most enlightening.  Still awaiting his final implantation surgeries, he is considered 'between worlds' by his masters, permitting him to speak to an unenhanced human like myself.  He explains that this is a common tasking for Astartes at this point in the ascension process, and to be selected for such a role did him a great honor.   He would not reveal much about the trials aspirants face as they strive for Neophyte status, but he was forthcoming about the tasks he'd been given more recently.  Directed to fashion his first set of skinning knives, so that he may take his first skin (and thus 'redden his knife'), he proudly described the process of shaping & honing the metal.  The knives themselves were impressive for a first attempt, and I asked him not to describe the finer points of 'liberating' the skin from his first victim.  

 

I will state that the artistic soul of their genetic forebear bleeds through in their macabre hobbies.  Neophyte Thamev was permitted to guide me on a tour to view some of the Chapter's relics, most of which included some sort of finely-tooled leather accessory crafted from human hide.  Setting aside the macabre medium of which these masterpieces were made, they are masterful in execution and quality.  The care used in tanning the hide speaks of a respect & devotion paid to their craft (and those who wore that skin in life), so much so that I can almost understand the honor they believe such treatment confers on the original owner.  

 

GENE SEED & KNOWN MUTATIONS

 

While many of the sons of the great Primarch Sanguinus are prone to suffer from a hallucination known as the 'Black Rage', the Red Knives appear to be unaffected by this affliction.  They remain stoic, even by Space Marine standards, speaking in an almost deadpan monotone devoid of emotion or inflection.  The only possible mutation I observed during my conversations with Neophyte Thamev was an over-active 'Larraman Organ', resulting in heavily-pronounced scar tissue formation, more so than is considered normal.  Neophyte Thamev confirmed this, saying that while the organ is not any more efficient, it does produce darker scar tissue.  

 

While Neophyte Thamev is the only bare-headed Red Knives member I have seen, he assures me that every Battle-Brother is as pale as he is.  I am not sure if this is due to the famously delicate complexion of his gene-father, the relative lack of light on his homeworld, or even an under-active 'Melanochrome Gland'.

 

-END MISSIVE-

 

 

¹ Battle-Brother Angelico Durro, 'Knights of the Chalice' Chapter, seconded to Watch Fortress Vigilant.  Assigned to Deathwatch Killteam Pastros & assigned lifeward to Interrogator Abella Ione.

 

²  'Hexadic Conclave' refers to an alliance of six Adeptus Astartes Chapters in the beleaguered Clausa Expanse.