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Long long ago in the way far away I created the Knights of Lydda Chapter. After taking a hiatus from the forum I havefound that nothing remains of my beloved chapter except a picture in one thread. Well, since I am rebuilding my forces, I think it only right to amend the writing from the past to reflect the newer rules and game play. The Knights are a Black Templar off shoot that willplay with their Chapter Tactics. All charactes are created specifically for the chapter without recycling any from the BT list. I am currently rewriting the fluff to the army, here is what I have: Origins The Knights of Lydda were first created during the 20th Founding with Imperial Fist geneseed to deal with the xenos threats which spanned through out the Imperium of Man. Many of the initial training missions were fought against different xenos races. These missions helped to instill the chapter with a fierce hatred for the entirety of all xenos races. To them having a xenos race on Imperial soil is just as bad as having a heretic on Holy Ground. The Knights of Lydda were assigned a permanent post in the Eastern Fringe as it seemed that this was the doorway through which much of the threat to the Imperium was using. The Knights of Lydda were to eradicate any sign of alien contamination they found. Lydda, a world from the Nemarkus System near the center of the Eastern Galactic Fringe, was given to the Chapter as a recruiting ground as many of its initial marines were drawn from this medieval world. The beliefs of the Chapter are like those of the knights that populate its lands. They quite simply translate as protect the weak and destroy all that oppose the righteous rule of the Emperor. The Knights of Lydda live and die by this simple creed. There is no parlay with these warriors, you are on the Emperor's side or you are a traitor. The Knights of Lydda have fought bravely in many engagements against various opponents. Though trained to fight primarily alien cultures, they have had a decent amount of battle experience with the forces of Chaos as well. The illustrious battles fought by this noble Chapter span many volumes in the Chapter's Librarium and shrines to victory and fallen warriors are scattered across many of planets of this sector. The Gresnik War The Gresnik War began as a small operation that quickly spiralled out of control. Imperial Guard regiments were sent to Opathia Prime to quell an Ork rebellion. It seems that the Guard was ill informed of their true enemy. Though green of skin and immensely muscular, Gresnik was not an Ork as the Guardsmen were led to believe, but rather a Chaos Champion. After losing four major cities and the lower continent, the Guard called for help. They still had not seen Gresnik, only his minions who resembled orks. The Knights of Lydda answered the call immediately. After a small warp jump the initial battle was fought in the city Heratomolie. The densely built city hindered the Knights' regular combat doctrines and Gresnik's forces balked them at every turn. Until this point in their illustrious history they had been able to dictate terms to their enemies, now the advantage belonged to the enemy. For months wave after wave of attacks by the Knights were put down. In a brash decision Chapter Master Gregory Harriston declared the entire Chapter, from the most grizzled veteran marine to the newest scout was to fight in this particular theater of war. Two forces were assembled to take part in a decisive strike to lure out the elusive Gresnik. The first was a mobile strike unit of Cheveliers supported by Seige Master stationed at key points through out the battle zone. The second was an entire Order constisting of Assault Marines who would wait to harass and destroy the enemy forces brought into light. After months of recon, firefights, and repositioning of forces the Knights had lost many Battle Brothers. On the three hundred and twenty second day of fighting a ray of hope shone on the Knights of Lydda. The scout recon groups spotted Gresnik himself. Gresnik was a being of pure muscle, tainted green with the rot of Nurgle. A massive power claw formed his right hand while a huge three bladed bionic formed the left. It was easy for any marine there to understand why they were under the assumption they were initially fighting orks. Gresnik made way for the approaching Chapter forces killing two squads of scouts in his attack. As he stood over Chavelier Sergeant Charles Pollinius about to strike the killing blow with the power clawed right hand, the power sword of Gregory himself stopped it. The two were locked in combat while the rest of the Knights of Lydda regrouped and took their fight to the remaining forces of Gresnik's army. Gresnik was finally laid low when Gregory decapitated his mutated head from his body. All of the fallen Brothers had been taken to the apothecaries of the fleet ships for removal of their geneseed. It was here that Gregory the Pious learned of the exact number of the fallen, a full three quarters of his men had died on this world. Gregory consulted the only member of Imperial Law in the field, Inquisitor Marcus Grimm of the Ordo Xenos. The decision was the planet of Opathia Prime would be declared Exterminatus. The Imperial forces bombarded the planet with virus bombs and left it to die. The Knights left for Lydda to re-forge their strength and their numbers pledging that an onslaught like this would never be allowed to happen to the Chapter again. Reconstruction Following the Gresnik War, the Knights of Lydda were all but driven into obscurity. The reconstruction of the chapter was of supreme importance and could not be ignored. Putting themselves into seclusion on the surface of Lydda the chapter drove forward searching for worthy aspirants to fill the void left by the fallen brothers of the chapter. In mid-M.38, during this time of seclusion a vision of prosperity came upon them. This miracle of the Emperor came to them in the form of Jerrulis Resinger, a young masonry serf who had a particular skill with the blade. During the two hundred and fifty year reconstruction of the Chapter, Jerrulius advanced in rank. Once, as the Chavelier Captain of the Lion Order, Jerrulius led his Order into one of the Chapter's most famous battles, facing and defeating many times their number of Eldar. The result impressed Chapter Master Gregory Harriston so much that he took the Captain under his wing to become his successor. After Gregory's fall on Damascus XIV, Jerrulius assumed the mantle of Chapter Master. During this time he was to complete the reconstruction efforts of the chapter and drew up many tenants on how to maintain a fighting force, including the policy of establishing keeps upon uncontested Imperial worlds, expanding the number of potential candidates to recruit from. It is due to these practices laid out in the Bellicus Doctrina, written by Jerrulius himself in his forty ninth year as Chapter Master, that the Knights of Lydda have not faced such a dire need for recruits again. Lydda Lydda, the fourth planet of the Nemarkus System lies in the Daedelus Subsector of the Eastern Fringe. It is a medieval world under the Light of the Imperium for many millennia. The planet orbits the yellow sun of Nemarkus and this star blankets the lands of Lydda with light and warmth while the three planets closer to Nemarkus are too hot for habitation. Only two major continents are found on Lydda, the largest of which is Braxus. Across the blue seas lies the subcontinent of Jacea. The oceans of Lydda contain nineteen island chains, but few of these are actually inhabited. Native animals of this world include the Great Raven ( a bird of titanic size), horses, and the Lava Snake (a large reptile which usually resides in the steam vents of volcanic sites). These creatures are an everyday sight and with species such as the horse, breeding farms have been implemented in many areas of the world. The people of Lydda are organized into a feudal structure. Each kingdom supplies and maintains specific services and militia, levying troops and tithes from the populace to arm these forces. In return the rulers of each land proffer titles of nobility and grants of land. Serf labor makes up a large portion of the inhabitants of each Kingdom. It is this structure that makes Lydda such a fertile recruiting ground. Any boy can leave his position, even as a serf, to join the ruler's army and test himself during the Tournament of Pages. During the Tournament martial testing takes place across the lands and applicants from the age of eight to thirteen subject themselves to various trials, including a trial by arms in which only the victor walks away. Senior Chapter serfs attend each Tournament and choose the most suitable recruits for the Knights, those who survive but who are not chosen to join the Chapter are left to serve out their lives in the service of the lord holding the trials. The planetary population is aware of the presence of the Chapter and its serfs are regarded as a caste of their own among the inhabitants. Though no communication is existant outside the tournament, these individuals are seen as the Emperor's emissaries who stand but a rung below the legendary Knights themselves. If a Chapter serf makes a request for the Chapter from a ruling lord it is immediately fulfilled. No ruler wishes to risk the wrath of the 'Knights from the Emperor's Stars' being visited upon them. Local legends refer to the 'Knights of the Emperor's Stars' as the Emperor's chosen army. They revere these tales and when a Knights of Lydda ship is spotted overhead all that see it immediately inform their lord so that offerings may be made to satisfy the needs of these men who serve the Emperor's glory. It is a common fantasy of many of the planet’s youth to be taken to the stars with the Chapter and live their lives in service. It is a dream only few ever get to realize. Beliefs The Knights of Lydda are a zealous chapter in the tenants of its belief system. Their only mission in life is to destroy the forces which threaten the security of the Imperium of Man. Each marine holds dear the teachings and veneration of the Emperor and is a member of the Imperial Cult. On their homeworlds they were all raised with the knowledge of the God Emperor. They have retained these teachings upon their acceptance into the Chapter and worship the Emperor in much the same manner as the many other inhabitants of the Imperium. No challenge has been made to their belief of the Emperor as a God as it has been cited by the Inquisition on many occasions that to do this would most likely start a rift between the Chapter and the Imperium. No one wants the crusading chapter to ask what else they may have been lied to about if the Emperor is not what they have been taught since childhood. Some Inquisitors feel that this ignorance is bliss for the chapter and helps keep them in stride with the goals set for them in the field. The Sons of Lydda believe the Emperor himself chooses each of them and lays forth a mission to be completed. To die in battle is a completion of your task and grants a Knight a place at the Emperor's side in the afterlife. Any Marine who does not die in battle, but rather falls to treachery or subterfuge is prayed for by his brothers and a Chaplain states the case for the fallen marine to take his place at the Emperor's side during the funeral rites in hopes that the Emperor will still see fit to so honor the fallen brother. Honor is taken seriously amongst the Knights and points of honor between Battle Brothers are often settled by ritual combat. Depending on the severity of the grievance between Marines the combat may be settled by first blood, surrender or even, rarely, mortal combat though in the hundreds of years since the Knights of Lydda were formed this only four duels have been fought to the death. Recruitment Recruiting is done from several worlds now, most notably Lydda itself. On each recruiting world a keep is built and run by Chapter serfs. These individuals see to the needs of the Chapter providing required resources and personnel needed by the chapter thorough a series of tolls and levies in return for the Chapter's protection. Every year on Lydda the Tournament of Pages is held at the parade grounds of each of the twenty-three kingdoms. The purpose of the tournament is to provide a recruiting ground for new soldiers to be inducted and trained into soldiers by each feudal kingdom. All thirteen year old males of the realms are required to participate upon penalty of death, though any lad between eight and twelve years may also partake in the Tournament if he wishes. It is during this time that the Heralds of the Knights of Lydda, in the form of high-ranking chapter serfs, come forth to claim some of the youths present for induction into the chapter. The Tournament of Pages is a military affair using blunted weapons and tests of skill such as riding, jousting, and swordsmanship to show potential soldiers to the kings of the realms. These tests, though watched and held in relative safety, have been known their fair share of casualties and even fatalities among the entrants. However it is not solely martial prowess that the Tournament seeks to showcase, nor is solely battle skills that a potential chapter recruit is judged on. Entrants are also tested on military and legal knowledge, courtly manners and a variety of other subjects as well and some esoteric combination of the results of these tests and battlefield performance decides who is and who isn't recruited. Only the Heralds know these criteria, handed out by senior Knights according to the chapter's strengths and weaknesses and they hold their secrets close to their chests. Training The collected aspirants are brought to Nirvana, the chapter's keep. Here they are initially trained in survival techniques and unarmed combat by the serfs who were once themselves aspirants. During this time the surgical procedures for implanting the geneseed and various other organs to turn these young men into Space Marines are begun by the stationed Hospitaller. The Chapter's Hospitallers are aware of the fact that the Betcher's Gland does not work, as is the case with the Imperial Fists from which they are derived and the Chapter fears further degradation. Due to this concern the decision was made to train more recruits in the arts of the Apothecarium. Thus there is always a knowledgeable Brother on hand to monitor the implanted organs and bio-chemistry of each Marine for purity and proper function. Further all units must report every seven Terran years to an infirmary so that more complete check ups can be made. Once a certain maturity level has been established the aspirants are sent out on the Trial of Fire. This trial has the aspirants traveling to the mountains north of the keep with the goal of obtaining the head of an Inferno Drake (a fire breathing wyvern type, dragon class lizard inhabiting the caves near the mountain lakes). When the aspirants return the head is presented to the Hospitaller Sergeants at the Ceremony of Fortitude as proof of their ability to work as a team. After the process of implantation and psycho-indoctrination the aspirant receives a final test, The Journey of Steel. Taken to the most war torn and intense battlefields of the planet, armed with only a sword, shield, comm-link, and flak armor, the aspirants must return to Nirvana within 30 days. Each aspirant is expected to have a trophy from a fallen foe. These trophies are usually in the form of a weapon, most notably a sword. Those who fail a trial or reject the geneseed implantations are inducted as Chapter serfs. These men often serve in a militia company on the field either next to or in lieu of their masters. From this militia the Heralds are chosen to procure the next generation of aspirants for the Chapter. Battle Cry “Whom Shall I Fear?” Battlecry originated on the sulphur plains of Salpahrus IV where the Knights battled against a chaos cult backed by the Alpha Legion which threatened to consume the system itself. The originator of the cry is unknown, yet it persists to this day upon the battlefield.