the guardians of valhalla IA

[shan vener]

chapter origins

the Guardians of Valhalla are a third founding created in the year 001M32 from the salamander gene seed. the chapter was created as a thought of just one of the high lords of terra. while the high lord was sleeping he had a vision where the emperor himself came to him and told him that the chapters were losing what made them marines, honor. after he had this vision he knew it could be one of two things, either a message from the emperor himself or the dark gods posing as Him. For more than a year he and his vision were tested by priests, chaplains, even chaplain cassius himself. they all agreed. it had come from the emperor himself. at the next meeting of the high lords he told the other lords of this event. all the other high lords agreed fully and suggested the gene seed of the ultra marines, however in the vision emperor even suggested the gene seed that should be used, the one that he felt had some shred of true honor left. the salamanders.

homeworld

the chapter's fortress monetary is one the planet Valhalla II in Segmentum Obscuris. the planet is described and officially listed as a grave world but is incredibly fertile and rich in natural resources. the world is depicted as lush, green, long rivers, one of which known as the black river runs around the entire planet, and produces incredibly strong willed citizens. the Guardians of Valhalla are very close to there people and will do anything and everything in their power to defend them, even if it means fighting of a huge Tyranid invasion force lead by three swarmlords, all of which were slain by high lord Vilheln. the citizens are even invited to "the great fight".

the great fight

once a decade the chapter holds a contest in the grand arena known as the great fight. in this contest marines of different ranks are pitted against one another. basic marines fight with fists, and the winner gains a power sword and combat shield along with the rights to use them. they also normally gain a promotion to sergeant. sergeants fight with shield and combat knives, the winner normally wins a relic blade occasionally a storm shield depending on his preference along with a promotion to either a terminator or a company champion, depending on which is open. company chapions fight with whatever they have including power weapons and boltguns. the winner of this fights the current chapter champion to take his place as the lord of death. the battle brothers and citizens know full well that marines can and have died in this fight.

the black river

even the mighty space marines are not immortal. when a member of the Guardians of Valhalla dies they are cremated on a pyre and their ashes are dumped into the one river that runs around the entire planet known as the black river. the name comes from the fact that the river was not always black and was once perfectly clear but over time the ashes have turned the river as black as night. the river is also the planets most visually striking feature and can even be seen from space.

combat doctrine

the Guardians of Valhalla's combat doctrine holds honor and experience above kill count and so do those who follow it. the doctrine also hyperbolizes the use of shield and sword which it says are weapons of true honor, and eschews the use of power fists and thunder hammers seeing as it slows you down and anyone can use it along with the fact that there is no real defense against them. many chapters including the salamanders say that eschewing thunder hammers and the like was not that smart an idea. the Guardians of Valhalla however, have more than proved this not to be true seeing as they fought in all 3 wars on Armageddon without sustaining major losses and defended their home world from a rather large Tyranid invasion fleet all 4 of which were lead by Vilheln.

chapter organization

the chapter follows the codex astartes to a degree. the company organization follows the codex, but the command structure consists of 5 chapter masters who serve as advisors to the high lord, currently high lord Vilheln. the chapter, like their parent chapter the salamanders, maintains its own armory/forgery. along with a reclusium, librarium, apothecarion, and logisticum. it also maintains a special force known as the valkyries, whom some say look eerily similar to blood angels sanguinary guard. although this is mainly due to the wings on the back.

belief system

the Guardians of Valhalla have based their beliefs off of the ancient code of chivalry used by the ancient warrior class known as the knights. they also hold the dead in very high regard. they treat honor and respect for the enemy as the heart and soul of all battles. infact the entire chapter belief system is often sumarized in one qoute used to train scouts. "only one thing separates warriors from murderers, honor. marines are warriors."

gene seed

the guardians of valhalla are descendents of vulkan, specifically his sons, the salamanders, and both chapters are very much aware of that fact. their gene seed is the most of the same defects as the salamanders. mainly the skin but the eyes are much more effected. their eyes are such a burning and blazing red that it's rumored that their helmet lenses are in fact perfectly clear.

unique traits

The Guardians of Valhalla are one of the small few chapters that never reveal their face to outsiders, believing that when on a mission a warrior must always be ready for combat and should never shed his armor. They are also great users of unconventional marine warfare. Employing marines that showed extreme prowess as scout snipers to remain doing so as marines. They've even trained some scouts to be saboteurs, waiting behind enemy lines and placing melta bombs on enemy tanks. They have created at least 5 units of marines and/or scouts not depicted in the codex astartes.

battle cry

memento mori (remember the dead)