the Angels of Malediction aka the Light Bearers

[Hrvat]

THE LIGHT BEARERS

The Angels of Malediction

Space Marine Chapter
by Marko Lukic

Since the founding of their Chapter millennia ago, the Space Marines of the Angels of Malediction have been feared by their foes and praised by those they defend. Tenacious and unforgiving in battle, the Angels of Malediction are among mankind’s most zealous protectors. Yet it is more than simple duty that drives them to war and rumours persist that they are on a quest of some sort that may yet prove to be their undoing.

Origins

Angels of Malediction Initiate

The Angels of Malediction are the inheritors of the traditions of the Dark Angels through their founders. Many thousands of years ago a group of knights answered the call of the Emperor to set aside their duties and take the mantle of creating a new Chapter of Space Marines. The crumbling data discs within the chapter’s Libraruim name this event as the Third Founding. Though as with so much of the most ancient history of the Imperium the truth of these times has been lost to legend. What is known with some certainty is that the Chapter performed admirably in its nascent years keeping true to the legacy of their lost Primogenitor, Lion El’Johnson.

Though praised for their single-minded determination once set upon a course of action it would not be that which would make their name. The Angels of Malediction were soon seen escorting numerous rogue traders in their voyages into the unknown bringing the light of the Emperor to the lost strands of humanity. Such behaviour quickly broke the Chapter into dozens of smaller formations rarely reaching half-a-company strength. Being sworn to the wellbeing of all mankind soon brought the Space Marines into conflict with various rogue traders whose intentions weren’t always of lawful nature.

This culminated in the wars of the Trans Septani coalition when a number of traders and merchant families allied with pirates and supported by mercenaries tried to prevent the Angels of Malediction in interfering in their business. The Marines struck without mercy crushing one member of the coalition after another but before long the conflict widened. Seeing the Marine’s attacks as an affront to their ‘liberties’ rogue traders from across the Imperium started to join the fight bringing in various organisations with them. As the Chapter found itself outnumbered and outgunned, with their own home world threatened with invasion, the Grand Master swallowed his pride and sent forth a rally call to all nearby brethren to stand with them against this filth of humanity.

A dozen chapters answered the call, more than eager to stamp out these honourless excuses for the servants of the Emperor out of existence. When it seemed that more than fifty sectors would be sundered by war as planetary governors took sides the Inquisition stepped it. The leaders of the coalition were executed, some not without resistance and the coalition was disbanded. The Angels of Malediction were found without guilt but were strongly advised not to provide assistance to rogue traders unless petitioned. The Chapter took the advice but to this day rogue trader ships are want to go missing whenever the Angels of Malediction are close.

From hence forth the Chapter conducted their crusades into the void either alone or alongside other Chapters. Their willingness to continue what started during the Great Crusade brought them much renown across the Imperium and before long when others spoke of them they referred to the Angels of Malediction as light bearers. Where ever they may go they bring the light of the Emperor; to the lost the enlightment of knowledge and to the enemies the all consuming brightness of the fires of retribution.

Homeworld

"A Knight is sworn to valour,

His heart knows only virtue,
His mind speaks only truth,
His bolter defends the helpless,
His might upholds the weak."
- oath taken by Neophytes when promoted to Initiates

Within the Segmentum Solar above the galactic plane lies the world of Tritus. Situated only five hundred and fifty light years from Terra it was among the earliest worlds colonised by man. Its surface went from one of an agricultural paradise to a polluted nightmare and finally to a savage world of windswept mountains and deep forests that was claimed by the Angels of Malediction.

Tritus is a cold world for it lies at the very edge of the green belt. Most of its surface is covered in dark coniferous forests that give way to tundra around the poles and steppes near the equator. Like sleeping giants mountains rise above the trees and the land is crisscrossed with streams and rivers that flow from their flanks into the planets many swaps, lakes and seas. With most of the water frozen on the poles or among the glaciers scattered around the world there is no one encompassing ocean but a number of seas that fill the crevices of the world.

The people of Tritus are diverse and divided locked in a continual struggle with the elements, the beasts that inhabit their world and each other. Prior to the coming of the Chapter they have just made the change from hunter-gatherers to farmers and early feudal hierarchy was being implemented by the strong. This would remain unchanged with the only difference that the Marines would take the positions at the top of the hierarchy.

Unlike most other Chapters the Angels of Malediction do not have a single fortress-monastery, but a number of Chapter keeps dispersed around the world. Each of these keeps can hold to as many as four hundred battle brothers and provide them with all of their needs. Each also has a separate foundry, Librarium and Apothecarion ensuring that one is enough to recreate the Chapter should others fall. Around these keeps settlements have grown creating a network for gathering resources need by the Marines. Along with the keeps there are other edifices belonging to the Chapter scattered across Tritus. Lesser fortifications, known as knightly manors, in the centres of towns inhabited by veteran Angels and their retinues. It is there where the inhabitants bring their children to be tested if they are worthy of becoming a Space Marine.

When they reach the age of seven able bodied boys are brought before the local knightly manor, there they must spend a day and night completely naked enduring hunger, fatigue and biting cold. Those that pass the test will become Supplicants and begin their training. In the first year they will not study the arts of death but will accompany the resident Smith in his choirs, learning the history of their order and familiarizing with the equipment they will one day use. Along with their training they perform household choirs within the manor supervised by Serfs. These are men that have failed their test to become Neophytes and serve as natural connections between the Marines and the planets population. They are allowed to marry and have children of their own, and it is often their offspring that are among the most determined Supplicants wishing to succeed where their fathers have failed.

When judged ready Supplicants will be allowed to enter the combat yard where their real training will begin, transforming boys into men. For years they will sweat and toil until they reach the age of fourteen. Then their tutors will come and cast them out of the manor, as naked as they were when they entered. Supplicants are given a season to forge their gear and track down one of the deadly and elusive Tritunian Cudbears, that often terrorize outlying hamlets. Using all the knowledge they have accumulated aspirants construct crude versions of power armour, bolt pistol and chainsword. It is also customary for a Supplicant to do all sorts of work in and around settlements to earn sufficient wealth to buy one of the fabled Destriers before setting on his quest. The hunt for the Cudbear is a difficult task for the forests are infested with flocks of Ptera-Squirrels, ravenous Grox and packs of migratory Crotalids. Many are those that die or return to the manors without their prize, but there is no shame in failure for it takes wisdom for a man to know his limits. Those that complete the quest are hailed as heroes by the populace. A feast will be held and the aspirant will usually be swamped with girls vying for his attention. That night for the first and the last time he will experience what it is to be a man.

On the next morning the Supplicant is gifted a proper chainsword by his former mentor and rides off to the nearest keep to continue his transformation into one of the Emperors Angels of Death. Within the keep his flesh and his mind will be scanned for any taints. Those that pass will ascend to the rank of Neophyte and continue their training; those that fail will become Seneschals, performing day to day chores within the keeps and assisting Smiths, Librarians and Chaplains in their tasks, some will leave the planet and follow their superiors into stars. Neophytes will undergo transformative surgery receiving new organs that will allow them to become fully fledged Space Marines, or Initates as they are known among the Angels of Malediction.

Apart from Tritus the Chapter recruits from several more worlds scattered across the galaxy and maintains three more Chapter keeps. These mainly serve for rest and resupply as well as linchpins in Imperial defence networks of their sectors. Though their warriors hail from different worlds there are no divisions among the Angels of Malediction because when they join the Chapter their past matters no longer, all their previous affiliations erased and their name exchanged for the one bestowed upon them by their new brethren.

Organisation

The Angels of Malediction follow the Codex Astartes in spirit if not in letter. Officially they are divided into ten companies of one hundred battle brothers and have a dedicated veteran, battle, reserve and scout companies. Yet in practice the situation is slightly different. When the Chapter is not at war it is divided into retinues, informal groups of marines led by veteran members. They range in size from a single squad to almost the size of a company. It is these groups that patrol the Imperium lending hand to other Imperial forces and plunging into the void in search of undiscovered human worlds.

Upon performing a particularly valorous deed or reaching a century of service an Initiate is promoted to a veteran known as a Knight, from hence forth he is allowed to set upon his individual quests and maintain his own retinue, usually the older the Knight the greater the retinue. Periodically they will return to Tritus and be assigned to one of the manors, traditionally to the one where they have begun their journey. Even among these heroic individuals two groups stand apart; the Cavaliers and the Cataphracts. The Cavaliers are the elite strike force of the Chapter excelling in the use of bikes and land speeders matching in purpose the Ravenwing Company of the Dark Angels. On the other hand the Cataphracts are slowest yet the hardest hitting of Chapter’s formations. Gifted with suits of tactical dreadnought armour they are employed in the direst of situations. Oddly Cavaliers and Cataphracts never maintain retinues of their own and only undertake quests in the company of their peers or are part of retinues of the highest ranking officers within the Chapter.

Honouring their Dark Angel legacy the senior members of the Chapter are known as the Masters with the Grand Master performing the role of the Chapter Master. The rank of the Master is further divided into three sub-ranks. The Castellan, whose duty is to maintain and protect one of the Chapter keeps as well as oversee the inflow of fresh recruits. The Sheriff, whose duty is to patrol and protect the domains of the Chapter and surrounding worlds, often the Castellan of one of the three outlying keeps will also hold the rank of a Sheriff. And the Marshal, whose duty is to command a company of his brethren when the Chapter is roused for war.

On rare occasions (it has only happened four times in the past millennium) when the Grand Master of the Angels of Malediction declares war upon a chosen foe brothers will gather at a chosen location and reform to match a more Codex compliant Chapter. When observed during times of war one would have to look very closely to find any divergences from Codex Astartes. Only twice in their history have the Angels of Malediction formed a full Codex Chapter size formation, usually only 3 to 4 battle companies are formed to deal with such a particular foe.

Combat Doctrine

Do not shy from a hopeless fight, for endeavour is its own reward.

- extract from the Cathehism of duty

As it is with their primogenitors, the Dark Angels, the Angels of Malediction fight according to doctrines laid out in the Codex Astartes. Often heavily outnumbered and operating far from supply lines the Chapter relays heavily on it scouts to provide accurate reconnaissance and preliminary hit and run attacks. The Angels show remarkable patience in dismantling enemy forces sometimes applying as many as twenty lesser assaults, rather than few powerful ones to ensure victory. Therefore they boast one of the lowest casualty rates among the marine brotherhood meaning they are never far from full strength. When the time comes or the need dictates the Angels of Malediction do not shy away from direct frontal assaults.

Though not viewed fondly by many other Space Marines Chapters, the Angels sometimes use stim-packs, more commonly known as combat drugs, to boost their abilities. It is a dangerous practice developed during the dark days of the Age of Apostasy when the Chapter was reduced to barely two hundred brothers following a disastrous war against Craftworld Kibelin.

Beliefs

There is no right or wrong in our work. The present changes the past. Only pray that the future vindicates our actions.

- Marshal Mordekai at the culling of hive Utandri

To the Angels of Malediction, the Emperor and the Lion are distant figures, mythological forefathers of their order. Both are revered as the greatest men of their age but to the chagrin of the Ecclesiarchy the Emperor is not venerated as a god. They themselves maintain they are His custodians, sworn to protect mankind until his return and the renewal of the Great Crusade. Until that time comes it is their duty to endure and prepare the grounds for the re-launching of the conquest of the galaxy in humanities name.

The xenophobic tendencies of the Dark Angels have been amplified in the Angels of Malediction. Not only that they refuse to fight alongside non-humans they even prosecute ab-humans when opportunity arises and the number of xenocidal quests launched over their long history is beyond count. Who knows how many alien species have been exterminated for the security of mankind’s future? On several occasions Inquisition investigated the Chapter after culling Imperial populations under the pretext of some genetic mutation and to this day the Angels actions have been declared justified.

Gene-seed

Belonging to the illustrious bloodline of Lion El’Johnson the Angels of Malediction can call upon one of the finest pedigrees in the Imperium. For thousands of years their geneseed was pure and untarnished matching that of their primogenitors but a tragedy put an end to that. An apocalyptic war fought with the Eldar almost undid the Chapter. Methods of recruitment usually unadvised were employed to maintain battle capabilities and marines were administered stim-packs to enhance their abilities to cover the lack of numbers.

The result of that was degradation of the Melanochoromic Organ, making it hypersensitive, resulting in the darkening of the marine’s skin almost as soon as the organ is implanted. This is as far as anyone outside the Chapter is aware but there is a darker secret hidden from the wider Imperium. The stim-packs used had an effect on the Omophagea causing marines to develop an addiction that got carried over the zygotes to new members of the Chapter. Curiously the only antidote is derived from the Eldar brain cells. The antidote is not the final solution and after taking a shot it will start to wear off within a decade forcing the Angels to go hunt some Eldar, which they do with frightening satisfaction and is a source of great enmity among the Eldar and the Chapter.

Battle Cry

“Strength and Duty!”

**********snip**********

My original musings

The other day I was browsing the 1000 chapter list and stumbled on an old chapter of mine, the Light Bearers, in their god awfull bright green garb and without an IA link though it did exist. Unsatisfied with the IA I decided to reimagine the chapter and link it to another work I started almost a year ago(http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.php?showtopic=184182&hl=Hrvat).


This IA project really got me thinking what kind of a chapter I would like to create and how best to depict what I will chose. After considering my option I settled on a Knightly theme with a crusading sub theme but different from the current official knightly chapters such as Dark Angles (Knightly Monks) and Black Templars (Crusaders). I have decided to explore another venue of knightlyness(is that even a word?) that I think hasn't been widely used in the DIY community. I will try and base these "Knights" much closer to their feudal incarantion of land lords and protectors rather than just virtuous heroes. One could almost depict what I am thinking about as mix between ourworld Normans and WHFB Bretonnians in space.

With that solved the first thing that had to be sorted was their bloodline and I chose that they should be descendants of the Lion providing me with a solid base to expand the knightly theme without having to provide to many reasons why would a chapter look as it looks and why does it act as it does. Next on the to do list was deciding weather they will be a fleet or homeworld based chapter. Thinking on how medieval realms functiond I came to the conclusion that the chapter would be both. They would have several worlds that would function as their homeworlds/glorified recruiting worlds but around which chapter's domains would be lynchpined. Yet the true power would lie with the Fleet due to the fact the flagship would be a poor mans replacement for a chapter monastery and where the most senior officers and most revered relics would be. So he who is in power (chapter master) controls the army (chapter fleet) but his power is dependant on the support of his vassals (homeworld commanders) that provide him with men and materials. This way I will be giving my marines a bit more human face. Even though they are dedicated to crushing the enemies of mankind where ever they may hide they will not be above politicking and power games to atain a more favourable position within the organisation that is the chapter.


Next thing that occupied my thoughts was their name. Light Bearers and Angels of Malediction reflect what these warriors are. To their enemies they are Angels of Malediction (named after the feast that DA have), the Emperors curse to their existance, while they see themselves as Light Bearers for they bring illumination to the dark places of the galaxy and with thier deeds keep the darkness of the void from devouring humanity. In other words their official name as written in the records of Mars, Terra and the Rock would be Angels of Malediction and they would use it in the important of ceremonies while in every day communication they would be known among themselves and the people they deal with as Light Bearers.


The founding I have chosen to develop my chapter from will be second as it will be easier for me to explain the perculiarities and differences from the Codex Astartes than having them created from a chapter that was moulded by the codex in its creation. With that being said the Light Bearers will not follow the organisation pattern of the Unforgiven but will hunt the Fallen in their own way. The chapter will not have the equivalents of Deathwing and Ravenwing but there will be formations of similar purpose.

One of the chapters defining aspects will be their feud with Imperial Organisations they see harmful to humanity such as Adeptus Mechanicus and Adeptus Ministorum (especially Sister of Battle as Knights see war as an action that women should have no buissnes with). The fact they still exist in spite these "opponents" is no testimony to their power or great influence but the simple fact they operate at the very edges of the Imperium protecting those that have been forgoten by almost all, and only rarely venture towards the core of the Imperium at the times of greatest peril. Chapter also lacks many pieces of equipment taken as granted in most other chapters and has managed to wove their beliefs and doctrines to compensate. In order to maintain their more sophisticated equipment they are forced to seek assistance of their Unforgiven brethren.

Before I complete this first instalment I present you with the Hierarchy of the chapter;

Supplicant - young boys age 7-12 that are taken to chapter keeps and knightly manors as aspirants
Serf - Supplicants that fail their tests. These men serve in knightly manors and keeps and are allowed to marry
Neophytes - Supplicants that pass the tests and start their trasformation to a Space Marine
Seneschals - Neophytes that for whatever reason fail in their transformation. They are senior servants in manors and keeps and many are taken to serve within the fleet as well as personal huskcarls of those that complete the trasformation
Initiate - your average Space Marine
Cavalier - Initiates that master the use of bike and mechanical destrier so they can fight mounted like warriors of old
Knight - your average Space Marine Veteran
Cataphract - Terminator Veterans
Master - The rank of master among normal brethren (not members of Librarium, Reclusiam etc.) is divided into three further ranks. Sheriff; master in charge of a portion of chapter's domain, Castellan: master in charge of a chapter keep (he supervises recruitment), Marshal: master that leads one of the chapter's crusades (equivalent of a codex battle company)
Grand Master - your average Chapter Master

[Pulse]

Check here matey Tutorial

[Hrvat]

First post edited.

 

Thanks Pulse

 

 

Hrvat

[Hrvat]

The first most has been extensivly edited.

 

Cheers

 

Hrvat

[Ace Debonair]

Lion El'Johnson. Melanochrome has mutated and makes them darkskined.

Nice. Most people go with DA to have unblemished geneseed, so it's nice to see a bit of mutation thrown in there.

 

So what do you think about the basic ideas? If you have any suggestions please be free to state them.

Your idea seems pretty solid.

Mixing Knightly honour with political intrigues sounds like fun. :tu:

[Hrvat]

As I writing the Origins I played with the SM painter but am failing to get what I want. The armour is being painted Tin Bitz so that it looks like a kind of dark copper/bronze while the robes are Scorched Brown. So this is just a temporary picture to give people a broad idea while I get to what I want. It would be great if the painter could make metalic colours look metalic.

[Hrvat]

I have added caption, intro, origins and colour scheme.

 

 

Cheers

 

Hrvat

[Hrvat]

It took some time to put this all to paper and there are some sections like the Beliefs and Combat Doctrine that I think need further additions. This is the first draf to be reviewed and commented on. When these basics are delt with I will start adding sidebars.

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Hrvat