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Greetings Liber. I'm back once again, like another round of the dreaded pox. In any case I've just decided to write out my notes for my latest work on the Blazing Sons. It's nothing decidedly new or ground breaking but it's yet another start, hopefully this time with a proper finish. Let's see what you lot think. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Blazing Sons. Basic Core Traits:- Cultural Influences:- Home-world. The Blazing Sons call the world of Jardenfel, home. A cold, world on the Eastern Fringe. Jardenfel is a relatively sparse, rocky world. Jagged hills and sheer cliffs dominate the landscape while small cities dot the landscape of the largest continent. The world was originally colonized during Humanity's golden age, chosen for it's location away from the galactic trade routes and a lack of extensive natural resources made it a prime location for a set of gene-labs not unlike the Emperors own facilities on Terra. Extreme experimentation on local and imported fauna was undertaken for reasons now lost to time. When Humanity's fall came, Jardenfel's labs were overrun and it's experiments escaped into the wild, adding to the chaos. Only desperate holding actions by the worlds last defenders prevented total genocide. With the Fall came silence. Cut off from the rest of humanity the world gradually contracted, both culturally and technologically. Farming land and herding grounds became war-worthy among the scattered bands of survivors. Only the few standing cities could build or produce anything of note. So power consolidated with the ruling clans of the cities and few independents who produced food in return for basics such as woven fabrics and stone bricks. Technology has not disappeared completely on Jardenfel, but has been severely stunted as the millennia passed. Electricity mostly gave way to torches and wood-fires. Conduits and panels were covered with stone brick and timber as their uses faded. As it stands, while the world holds a feudal level culture and general technology level, some more modern pieces are not unknown. Household artisans can still make what would be common items in the wider Imperium, yet are considered almost priceless and heirloom items. The ancient experiments also flourished and quickly came into conflict with the survivors. As time passed, the new predatory wildlife quickly threatened all they came into conflict with. Eventually it became tradition for once every decade for a great hunt to be undertaken to cull the worst of the beasts. The tribes and clans would lay down their arms against each other and pursue the beasts that threaten their homes, while the youths of the world are expected to defend their homes while the warriors are gone. Jardenfel is a world caught paralyzed between three eras. The Golden Age and it's Fall, the evidence of which still towering and crumbling across the world's landscape, indelibly marked in the culture of the survivors of that apocalypse. The millennia that passed as the world teetered on a knife edge for human survival and the loss of knowledge or drycræft, as it's now referred to in the histories. Finally, the coming of the Blazing Sons that has shaped the world and their understanding of the galaxy around them, with the Cecatrix Maledictum now staining their once cold, clear skies. Home-world Traits:- Recruitment. New initiates for the Chapter are inducted annually from their home-world during what is now known as the Wild Hunt. Previously known as the Cull, the worlds beasts and brigands are hunted down by the world's warriors. Now it is a time when the Blazing Sons themselves cross the sky in search of noble souls to join them. The settlements are vulnerable and the youth are left to fend off the myriad terrors. As the first snows of the season fall, the beasts retreat to their lairs and the warriors embark upon their journey. The youth tend the guard posts and contend with roaming beast pariahs and bandits looking to capitalize on the warriors absence. Children of Jardenfel are taught to fight as soon as they can walk, survival being bought through strength of arms above all else on the cold world. The Chapters Reclusiam monitors these times closely, their passing often being remarked upon by the people as Wuotanes Her, or Wilde Jagd, Odin's Army or Wild Hunt respectively. 10th company warriors and Húskarl keep their eyes on the worlds young warriors, hovering at the edge of battle and struggle, watching those who struggle and fight the most valiantly against death. Those who choose to fight on, choosing death before dishonour. At the moment of their "first death", these tragic few are taken, in somber procession, to the fortress monastery. In truth, these boys are attended at the moment they lose consciousness, and given enough care to keep them alive, if just barely, to return them to the fortress. The oath of Jardenfel's first Son. Deað he þær byrigde; hwæðere eft Dryhten aras mid his miclan mihte mannum to helpe. He tasted death there [in the grave]; nevertheless, afterwards the Lord arose to help mankind with his great might. From what they believed was their certain death, the recruits awaken to the fortress' great hall. Rolls of honour hung from the walls where the names of the fallen are remembered for all time. Horns, tusks and teeth of the greatest of the worlds beasts are hung from the walls. Where the statues of heroes would stand, the alcoves instead hold the chapter's ancients, those fallen in battle but with the will to carry on, arcane machines wires and cables plugged into their sarcophagi. It is here, in this moment of elation at their life returned, yet grief of their lost family and loved ones that the Chaplains of the company begin their induction, to undertake the oath of the first Blazing Son of Jardenfel. Organisation. While the Blazing Sons are on paper a mostly Codex compliant chapter, with only minor differences in structure, rank and naming convention, the reality is very different. The Blazing Sons are very decentralized in nature, while the company lords are obeyed as one would expect, when bands of warriors are split off from their host, they become wholly independent. As such, while they are under the remit to return to the chapter when they are able, if they choose to undertake a crucial task, they are given the latitude to follow their intuition. In this manner, the specialists of the chapter also operate differently. The Sons preference for small units operating independently means that Chaplains who would usually ply their oratory and spiritual guidance to a company on campaign are more often seen accompanying, if not outright leading groups of questing or 'errant' Blazing Sons. The Librarians of the chapter conversely are rarely seen. Few and far between, they are usually seen accompanying Shield Captains, scrying the skein of the warp for enemy intent and movement. Some may be seen traversing the stars on special tasks known only to themselves and their warriors. The Apothacarian by contrast spreads it's skills far and wide. To earn the right to lead or undertake a quest, the warrior must first be able to return with the geneseed of any brothers who fall on the journey. The survivalists mindset of the chapter and the people of their homeworld has almost every warrior learning what many others deem the realm of the medicae, aid for others as well as self. Just as the Salamanders forge and maintain their equipment, the Blazing Sons all carry and maintain their medical equipment and skills as second nature. The Apothacarian functions more as stores and a rank for master surgeons for serious emergencies, often working together with the brothers of the Forge for cybernetics or incarceration within a Dreadnought. As such, it is not uncommon for a questing group of warriors to mistakenly be assumed to being lead by an apothacary by presence of a Narthecium, when in reality this is simply a practical need. Without these divergent methods of training and equipping their brethren, the chapter would have died out centuries past and the Sons do not apologize for it. Occasionally, a squad will spend years following a particular enemy, or undertaking a great mission, travelling across the Imperium before finally being able to return home. The reasons can range from following a respected Inquisitor, responding to an Arbites call for aid, striking a deal with a Rogue Trader or even a Mechanicus Magos to aid the chapter. At times they will simply complete whatever task they were assigned or undertook and return home, while at others they will be gone for such a period as to be declared lost. While it is usually doesn't adversely affect operations on a macro scale, given the Sons preference for aiding the mortals around them. This has however affected their recruitment practices, and as such, their registered numbers tend to fluctuate wildly, which has brought some adverse attention to the chapter in it's time. Their will to fight wherever and whenever they are able has them in good standing with most in the Imperium's hierarchy for that alone. A number of investigations have been suffered by the Blazing Sons, yet each time the verdict remains the same. Due to the brothers flowing in and out of the chapter, whether through death or being 'lost' on a quest, the results are within acceptable margins. For now. The long departed, returned. (WIP) Twice in the history of the chapter have groups of warriors disappeared for such long stretches as to be genuinely considered MIA. Firstly when Captain Aethelus and his Huscarls pursued an Eldar Corsair Captain into the webway, disappearing for a century, then again when a combat squad who, under the leadership of their huscarl-sargent Halfdan, struck a deal with the Rogue Trader Garadon Velght to explore north of the Ghoul Stars, disppearing for forty years, before reappearing above Jardenfel, Rogue Trader in tow. Captain Aethelus returned to the chapter, delivered by Arbite Strike Cruiser from a far away world. The Xenos' head on his belt and six of the original ten of his retinue left alive, the bodies of the slain being carried by their brothers. The maze of the webway and the aliens attempts to lose his hounds through exodite worlds and warzones wherever he could cost the Astartes in blood, yet they never lost sight of their quarry, his end was assured. Their armour was battered and torn, their weapons spent or lost, yet they prevailed. Huscarl-Sargent Halfdan and his warriors were part of Captain Coenwahl's Fourth Host, who had been detached from his command to secure the nearby spaceport from insurgents. Eventuating in a desperate holding action against a horde of treasonous insurgent soldiers, Halfdan and his warriors, alongside various docked ships loyal naval armsmen managed to turn the tide. One of those who's lives were saved by the Sons was the Rogue Trader. A deal was struck, in return for protection of the Trader in his quest into the Ghoul Stars, he would direct the Sons to an ancient resource cache. They were considered lost for many years, before an unexpected warp translation above Jardenfel brought them home. The Trader's word was good, the cache was delivered and the Sons returned home. The Trader and Coenwahl exchanged oaths of friendship between the fourth host and the Trader. Recent History. The Indomitus Crusade has swept the Imperium, providing respite and stability for a broken empire. When Guillimans envoys reached Jardenfel, the Sons leadership held a day of respite for the people of the world, a rare thing denoting celebration and a day of rest from the constant work for survival. The Sons had heard tale of his return, but to see the Custodes and hear their words as Guillimans, to see and receive the Primaris Marines was quite another. Unlike many other chapters who were in dire straits, the Sons had no wish to deploy untested warriors, no matter how technically brilliant they may appear to be. As such the work of the training cadre had their work cut out for them, as the Terran Primaris given to the Sons had to be tested and trained as the Chapter willed it. However the Sons would not appear ungrateful to a Son of the Emperor so in an unprecedented move, unilaterally assigned five whole battle companies to the Crusade. Any missing warriors who were yet to return home. While the chapter was spread to the four winds, the order was given and the companies gathered at their own pace, joining the crusade fleet when they were able. The Primaris of the Blazing Sons have had to work to prove their worth to the Sons. Thrown into the last stages of the Proving, they are expected to perform as the native initiates do, to be moulded into individual warriors of honour and accountability for all they do, and to treat others as such. The transition has been hard for many, being trained for a duty they were now to be held back from. Some friction was expected and fighting soon became common between the Emperors Astartes and Guillimans Primaris, however it is the way of the Sons to brawl, and as the re-training continued, the friction began to lessen as the warriors began to see eye-to-eye as their problems were settled with their hands. Especially difficult for the Primaris marines was the adaptation to individual pragmatic survival, and an individual warriors honour, rather than their training as a group, as legion. While the Sons can not claim to be the individualistic masters of the Custodes, they believe wholeheartedly in accountability and honour of the warrior who stands as one of many brothers in arms, rather than the group, the squad, company or chapter as the Primaris had been drilled. Their thinking had to be broken down and restructured and as many will attest, old habits, especially those from training, are hard to break. To their credit, the Primaris brethren took to their training and immersed themselves in Jardenfel's people and history, wishing to be the best they could be and earn their right to be a warrior of the Blazing Sons. Once they were shown the way, it was only a matter of time before their nature shone through. As it stands today, the Primaris brethren of the chapter have come a long way, being even more suited to the deployment practices that the Sons choose to undertake due to their enhanced physiology, while the Vanguard forces allow the chapter to give smaller groups a much larger impact on the battlefield. As it stands, the Blazing Sons are very grateful to the Lord Commander of the Imperium. The Primaris have proven themselves and the chapter has pledged itself to the greatest quest in the galaxy. The hard pragmatic edge of the chapter may have even been lifted slightly, though none would admit it beyond their own brothers. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ So that's what I've got so far. It's not much, definitely not. However, it's a (yet another) start. I'd appreciate any feedback and/or suggestions Visually I've found that a couple of images of the old Thunder Warriors help me to see these guys in my minds eye. Obviously without some of the wild, unrestrained brutality. That's not these guys, but the armour and colours are close enough, of which I'll link below. This, specifically. Cheers! .....I don't think I stuffed anything up...... hopefully......