The Red Devils have arrived

[Brother Rathul]

Pictures coming in a moment

Red Devils chapter symbol

Motto-Ducimus ex coelis, we lead from the clouds...

Battle cry-"Ex caeli!" "From the skies!

Red Devils background

The Red Devils are a loyalist chapter located in Segmentum Obscurus on their home world of Coelum. The Red Devils are a chapter specializing in surprise attacks, infiltration techniques, and orbital assault. Gaining a reputation for being sly, cunning, and bold on the battlefield has catapulted the chapter into much renown with older chapters; such as the Raven Guard and Ultramarines. But, some chapters, like the Hawk Lords, hold a rivalry between the two. Unlike other chapters the Red Devils all have jum packs to help them better traverse the battle field.

Origin

Red Devils are a successor chapter to the Raven Guard, made towards the end of the twenty second founding. During 762.M35, a small detachment of two ten man assault squads by the Raven Guard 5th company was assigned to fight with the Tallarn Desert Raiders on the world of Holon Prime against Eldar forces. Functioning as a supporting force, the Raven Guard fought with a tenacity and courage the Tallarn Desert Raiders really admired. Teaching the Tallarn Desert Raiders their skills, the Raven Guard taskforce and the Tallarn Desert Raiders were successful in defeating the Eldar though speed and flexibility. During one of the engagements, the Raven Guard’s lone thunderhawk was damaged and forced to land behind enemy lines, harassing the Eldar’s rearguard and supply lines with brutal efficiency. The Eldar forces on Holon Prime began to take heavy losses, eventually calling the taskforce “the red devils”, since their armor was coated with the Eldar blood. After the battle, the Raven Guard taskforce was reassigned but still took their nickname “The Red Devils” as a source of pride wherever they went. When it came time for the twenty first founding, the Raven Guard assigned the taskforce to become a successor’s chapter command structure. The taskforce commander then bestowed upon the name of his new chapter, The “Red Devils”.

Homeworld

The Red Devils are located on the civilized world of Coelum in Segmentum Obscurus very close to the eye of terror, ever standing ready to fight the forces of chaos. Coelum was one of the many worlds liberated by the Raven Guard during the Great Crusade.

Once known for its outstanding means of transportation and infrastructure, Coelum has turned into a world plagued by constant siege. Always attacked by chaos space marines, daemons, and Dark Eldar, the citizens of Coelum are known for their outstanding means of fortification and their reluctance to retreat from any battlefield situation. It is not uncommon for a soldier of Coelum to be of twelve years age when he is drawn into the service. As a matter of fact, all citizens of Coelum are drafted into the Coelum military for a one year period where after, they may do what they wish. Though they are known to be crack shots, the citizen’s of Coelum are very much known for their medical skills. Medics in the Coelum military are held in high regard due to their efficient skills and often times bravery in the face of enemy bolter fire just to save one man from death. Many times has a man’s life been saved to a courageous Coelum army medic performing medical treatment in the heat of battle. It is form this base that the Red Devils recruit their initiates to become Space Marines. Often thrust into hopeless engagements, this proves to be an ideal recruiting ground for the Red Devils and they accept no other. Though many Space Marine chapters view their homeworld citizens with disdain and inferiority, the Red Devils hold the populace of Coelum in high regard due to the constant fighting that taints Coelum.

Combat Doctrine

The Red Devils above all else prefer aerial assault tactics, extensive use of drop pod assaults, and low/high altitude insertion capabilities from thunderhawk gunships. The Red Devils eschew traditional land slogging and tanks using instead, jump pack equipped tactical squads. It is not uncommon for the Red Devils to dot the sky at the start of battle right over the unsuspecting defenders. These troops are highly mobile and have many times turned the tide of battle into the Red Devils favor. The Red devils are comprised of eight companies due to the Siege of Cisterna where the Red Devils lost 697 brothers in a surprise attack by elements of the Night Lords and Iron Warriors during the opening stages of Abaddon’s thirteenth Black Crusade. After the battle, a decision was made by chapter master Ranan Fanis of the Red Devils to drop the codex astartes and instead go with 5 battle companies of eighty three battle brethren each. The codex was seen as irrelevant due to the heavy losses the Red Devils had.

Each battle company has eleven squads, (give or take) of seven marines each. The squads are divided up into one devastator squad, two assault squads, and eight tactical squads. All scouts are put alongside their tactical counter parts much like the Black Templars. It is thought that this will improve the scout’s tutelage by fighting alongside established astartes and improve their skills as a warrior. The smaller companies are believed to make a Band of Brothers within the chapter. This makes the Red Devils extremely angry if one comrade falls and he will stop at nothing to retrieve him. The Red Devils maintain a veteran company called, the Rakkasans wing, which guerilla tactics, airborne insertion and are exceptional in urban warfare as well as fear tactics. Thought irrational by other chapters, the first company are all trained apothecaries, excelling just like their home world counterparts at medical care not boasted by many other chapters. This allows the first company piece of mind for their extensive use of fear tactics might lead them down the road to damnation and treachery.

The Siege of Cisterna

Before Abaddon’s thirteenth Black Crusade, Abaddons entrusted elements of the Night Lords and Iron Warriors to raid the Red Devils homeworld of Coelum in a surprise attack to establish a forward operating base for Abaddon’s forces as well as capturing the gene-seed located on the planet. Once Abaddon begun the crusade, the chaos warband attacked. Catching the defenders of Coelum off guard, they quickly established a landing base for their forces on the spaceport of Cisterna. The Red Devils were currently deployed in masse to Armageddon and in Ultima Segmentum to assist in fighting ork and tyrannid forces. The Red Devils on Coelum were only neophytes, wounded battle brothers, and some of the chapter command. The Red Devils Master of Sanctity, Garren Aximis lead the desperate defense and managed to stymie the invasion and send for help.

Earlier in the year, A Novamarine named Jargon Evel was exiled from his chapter due to a break with the codex astartes. Jargon was given the mission to reclaim fallen gene-seed from heretic forces in the Eye of Terror. On his way, Jargon petitioned the Red Devils to help him regain his honor by providing transportation into the Eye of Terror, the Red Devils being a strict codex driven chapter turned down his request and ignored Jargon. As Jargon kept getting his requests turned down, he fell to despair. Jargon started to hate the astartes of the Red Devils chapter and eventually, grew to compassion. Jargon was plotting his revenge on the Red Devils when the Imperial Guard ship he was staying at was attacked and captured by the traitor force Abaddon sent to claim the Red Devil’s gene-seed. Instantly seeing a way to revenge, Jargon joined the force. As the Heretic force arrived at Coelum, Jargon was able to label the entire planetary defense’s weaknesses as well as the fortress monastery’s. The traitors literally knew ever fault the planet’s defenses had and the attack could not be stopped.

When the Red Devils got the news of the attack, they immediately headed back to Coelum and decided to rendezvous at Terra to coordinate a massive counterattack. When the Red Devils set out, they were immediately besieged by orks near Armageddon and delayed for at least a year. When they finally reached Coelum, it was a shadow of its former self. Its skies were blackened, its seas dry, its once green nature now gone. It looked as though the planet had been mutilated by years of toxicity and pollution when in fact; this was only caused in a couple of weeks. The Red Devils immediately engaged the heretic’s fleet and committed to boarding actions with its first, second, third and fourth companies while two grand companies of the fifth and sixth companies where combined with the seventh, eight, and ninth reserve companies. The two grand companies would then make planet fall via drop pod assault and thunderhawks. The first to land on Coelum was the Red Devils fifth grand company. Dispatched to fight the heretic’s main force and re-capture the Cisterna spaceport. The Red Devils grand sixth company was dispatched to fight the heretic’s rearguard forces harassing the populace of Coelum.

What the Red Devils fifth company found was astonishing, the civilians of Coelum took back the Cisterna spaceport and held the traitors off, but that victory would be short lived, because what ensued next was total chaos. As the Red Devil’s fifth grand company landed, their coordinates where corrupted by the Dark Powers and landed separate from one another; some even separated by miles. Worse still was the fact that they were put right on top of the traitor’s main force. When the drop pods landed, they where brutally overrun by the chaos forces. Often times, the Red Devils would be outnumbered 10:1 in close combat that followed. Many heroes of the Red Devils fell at the Cisterna spaceport including Captain Amal Danfis who slew 17 Khorne berserkers before falling to a beserker’s chainaxe as well as Chapter Master Rudolf Hufh who destroyed a heretic land raider before falling to a mountain of chaos raptors. Inevitably, the spaceport was going to fall.

Meanwhile, tidings of the sixth grand company’s advance were going pretty harsh as well. When the traitor’s forces made landfall, they disgorged some of their demons to run wildly in the cities. The Red Devil’s sixth grand company went into the city to combat this threat only to meet harsh opposition, only advancing across streets in a day’s time. On the seventh day of battle, the outcome was looking bleak for the Red Devils.

The fifth grand company was all but slaughtered and the sixth grand company halted to a standstill in the cities. The space battle wasn’t going to well either with a small Black Legion fleet reinforcing the traitor’s space fleet. It wasn’t until a small force of the Grey Knights arrived that the Red Devils started to make headway. Supported by a sizeable Iron Skulls fleet, the Red Devils were able to make a counter attack alongside their newly found reinforcements and vanquish the traitor fleet back to the Eye of Terror. Insisting the Red Devils in space not make landfall due to their losses, the Grey Knights and Iron Skulls landed at Cisterna space port.

Red Devil Tactical Marine

Heavily besieged, the remaining 13 Red Devils looked as if a tide of despair had washed over them. For months the Red Devils held their ground, paying the price of their lives to protect every inch of the spaceport. Many of their brethren had been slain and defaced form traitor forces, mounted on the front of rhinos or thrown back to the defenders decapitated with arcane symbols tattooed on their foreheads. Mounting a furious counterattack, the Grey Knights alongside the Iron Skulls dispatched the traitor’s main force with some difficulty but as the almighty Space Marine battle barges fired barrages at the enemy line, the counter attack would not be swayed. As the counter-attack slowly made its progress, reinforcements in the form of the Elysian Drop Troops to landed to support a pincer effort with what was left of the sixth grand company. The two counterattacks started to push the traitor forces towards each other until they where finally destroyed at the siege lines of the Red Devil’s fortress-monastery. Anxious to see what happened to the rest of their battle brother’s, the Red Devils regrouped together alongside the Grey Knights and entered the bleak and broken fortress monastery. The dark, corrupted corridors of the fortress monastery where already apparent as the Grey Knights and Red Devils advanced. Unimaginable horrors awaited the liberators as they entered. Rust and decay filled the hallways and corridors while blood and defaced creatures of what used to be men were ingrained in the walls. As the Astartes advanced, mutant creatures lunged at them from shadows in the walls, demons whispered into the astartes ears, any astartes with the hint of chaos was slew by a Grey Knight immediately.

When the astartes entered the chapel of their fortress monastery, they found eight neophytes crucified and mutilated alongside a vandalized statue of the emperor. Many Red Devils fell in those corridors to the dark powers joining their other fallen brethren who fought here at the start of the invasion. As the Grey Knights and Red Devils entered farther in the fortress, chaos’s taint had become less and less apparent. When the force finally reached the gene seed vault, they found what happened to the rest of their battle brethren. Swamped in a mass of heretic bodies, the Red Devils that first fought the traitor invasion fought to the last, but the vault was not opened. As the Astartes looked for survivors, a Red Devil found their beloved Master of Sanctity, Garren Aximis still alive clutching his broken Crozius Arcanum in one hand, and a broken piece of ceramite armor shaped into a knife in the other hand. Hundreds of daemons and heretic filth littered the chamber as well as Jargon Evel’s corpse impaled by Garren’s combat blade. Slowly, the astartes led the chaplain outside of the fortress to be airlifted to the apothecarium aboard the Grey Knights battle barge. When Garren finally exited the fortress, he saw the full extent of the damage the heretic force had done; rows upon rows of the Red Devils dead where lined up in front of the fortress to be eventually buried in the catacombs of the fortress monastery, mortally wounded astartes being comforted by brethren lined the dead as the few apothecaries made their rounds to extract their gene seed and give them the Emperor’s peace. Garren started to weep. Hundreds of his brethren were slaughtered by the traitorous war band, his home world was utterly ruined, and He had fought through centuries of warfare but never something like this. It was then, the demon that was manifesting in his soul ever since the siege of the monastery started to taint. It was during his moment of weakness, Garren was vulnerable and the very thing Garren preached against pounced on his soul. The Grey Knights suddenly aware of his chaotic taint, ran towards him but were too late.

Sixth company 1

Suddenly, Garren’s jet black armor started to bulge, it snapped and cracked as the demon manifested. Sprouting horns from his rosaries, and his iconic helmet becoming flesh upon the previous chaplain’s face, the demon let out a below and instantly tore up the neighboring Red Devils. The Grey Knights stood up to the challenge and fought the demon of what once used to be one of the most Emperor’s devoted warriors, now a warp spawn abomination. The remaining Red Devils took up arms and fought the chaplain. The demon couldn’t stop the tide of forces and eventually succumbed to the astartes forces. Before the demon fell, it slew two of the five Grey Knights and thirteen Red Devils. It was said the Red Devils that day had cries that reached into the stars. Too many of their battle brothers had been slain, too many had been destroyed by the arcane powers, too many Red Devils, have had there blood spilt over the period of the siege. First company captain Feebes Caior came before the Red Devils and issued a statement the Red Devils would adhere to for as long as they lived. Feebes said “Red Devils, we have been sorely beaten, but we shall not be stayed, we shall prevail, we shall have revenge for our fallen, we shall have vengeance.”

Recruitment

Although the Red Devils have been battered by the Siege of Cisterna, they have not been broken, although since the drop of the codex astartes, recruitment has dropped some. This is in part, due to the theory that the smaller companies make for a stronger brotherhood for the astartes of the Red Devils. All neophytes are drawn from the military of Coelum. This is usually from a young man’s insane bravery during an action fighting alongside the Red Devils. A sergeant would notice and take him into the chapter and taught how to be a space marine.

The neophyte is stooped in all regular lore of becoming a space marine but, also learns how to jump with grav-chutes out of thunderhawk. This prepares the neophytes for their tactical squad jump packs and how to do high altitude insertions via thunderhawks. After the neophyte completes his training, he is assigned to a tactical squad and pared with an older battle brother. As the scout progress, he is given a small part of astartes battle gear, depending on what the older battle brother thinks is most useful for the scout; (usually a helmet, gauntlets, shoulderpad, etc.) form a deceased battle brother and adds it his battle gear. This teaches the Scout the chapter’s legacy and shows his attachment to the fallen brothers of the chapter.

As the scout’s training draws to a close, he is sent back to Coelum to finish one last test. The scout is sent only in holy robes and his faith to the ashen, desert waste of the Dessert of Inducement for fifty days and fifty nights were the scout prays and reflects upon his faith. As the scout fasts and lives in the desert for the fifty days and nights, the same demon that devoured Garren Aximis tries to taint the scout. The scout shall be tempted with riches and glory, power and love by the demon. The recruit shall be also be shown visions of the worst treachery including the Siege of Cisterna through Garrren’s eyes and even way back to the Horus Heresy. If the scout passes the test without being tempted, he shall be shown the way back to the Fortress Monasterry. If the scout fails, no one knows, some say he is executed, others say the scout is consumed by the demon and his soul is given to the dark gods. But, once the scout has passed the test he is ready to become an astartes, he is given all of the fallen battle brother’s armor and his name is inscribed upon it. Once the scout has become an astartes, he is instated into an assault squad. The Red Devils believe that if you are to master mobility first, you must master the art of close combat first. (Continued in beliefs)

Beliefs

The Red Devils have one belief that stands out from many chapters, never leave a man behind. Not one Red Devil battle brother has not been recovered by the Red devils in their entire history of the chapter and continues to this day. On one occasion, a chaos demon horde killed a squad of Red Devils and took with them the gene seed to give to the dark gods. Enraged, the Red Devils mustered the whole chapter and reclaimed the gene seed. It was said their fury was like no other, a blazing anger with which a million foes would be trampled asunder. The Red Devils, though in competition with many other chapters for honour, never hold themselves higher than any chapter; often, the Red Devils are known to be very joyous when other chapters fight alongside them, hosting festivities that rival that of any Space Wolves tavern. The Red Devils have no chaplains because of the Siege of Cisterna; instead, all the chapter’s apothecaries are also trained as chaplains to a small degree. The Red Devils believe that the chaplain’s role could be further expanded by his role as an apothecary and teach him more of the Emperor’s enlightenment.

The sixth company

The secret sixth company was made to harbor those who have been left behind. After the Siege of Cisterna, chapter master Ranun Fanis sanctified a company dedicated to inducting members of different chapters who have been exiled. This was for the fallen Novamarine, Jargon Evel to prevent what happened to him to not happen to anyone else. The company’s goal is only to go where a member of the company can complete his penance and return to his chapter. If the marine has been exiled with no way of coming back to the chapter, he is reviewed by a cabal within the company to see if he may join. The company always fights as a whole and has never been separated to support the Red Devil’s other companies. Always hunted by the Inquisition, the sixth company is hidden in secret, only coming to the aid of fellow brothers in the direst of need. A member of the sixth company is given a lottery to see who will get the next penance and be able to complete it alongside his battle brothers. Eventually, the marine will get picked since the company’s number has been very stagnant. The sixth company has to keep moving so the Inquisition doesn’t find them and is always on the move. Some even say that the Red Devils stole a Black Ship from the Inquisition to transport the company.

Gene-Seed

The gene-seed of the Red Devils is quite remarkable. It doesn’t have the mutations of its father chapter but has started to gain a new mutation. The Red Devils seem as more of their battle brothers’ fall, they get more feral and rage filled. There have been instances where during battle, a Red Devil would leap over massive battle tanks and rip his way inside. On one occasion, tactical squad sergeant Hule Thraw leaped on top of a baneblade with his flamer and ion moments, the tanks was torn to shreds, claw marks riddled the hull and the men inside where just pieces of tattered meat. This mutation, although rare in the chapter, has started to become more evident since the Siege of Cisterna. The Inquisition has become ever more watchful of the Red Devils because of its many secrets the chapter hides.

Organization

The Red Devils have 5 companies of eighty battle brethren each. The Devastators squads are the highest elevation before first company status and the lowest are the assault squads. Each company has a captain followed by his sergeants and then the marines. Each squad’s sergeant is an apothecary from the first company and if the first company is called to action, the squad’s next in command takes charge. All companies are denoted by card symbols except the first company (2nd-spade, 3rd-heart, 4th-diamond, 5th-club)

Ranking from lowest to highest-

Assault squad

Bike/landspeeder squad

Tactical squad

Devastator squad

Chapter symbol is denoted on kneepad or left shoulder pauldron

Red Devil marine 3rd company

Red Devil 1st company 1

Red Devil Tactical Sergeant

Sixth company 2

NOTE-the last two pictures are just examples

[Ferrata]

Just to point out that you ain't going to get many responses until you alter your article - at the moment it is a pure wall of text. I've got a pretty large screen, yet I have a complete wall of text with no paragraphs in it. This means no-one is going to read it. Sorry, but you need paragraphs ;)

[Brother Rathul]

You just want me to indent the paragraphs?

[Ferrata]

This is how it looks on my screen:

I'm not sure if you've added paragraphs, but if you have, make sure there is a spaced line between them

like that, so it makes it easier to read.

[Jarl Bloodwolf]

As above paragraphs are appreciated. One thing I saw and I dont know if its just your wording but in one of your first paragraphs you state that you chapter is beyond peer. If you ment there beyond peer in those skills cuz right now it sounds like ur saying no one is as good as your marines

[Brother Rathul]

Ok, fixed the paragraphs.

As above paragraphs are appreciated. One thing I saw and I dont know if its just your wording but in one of your first paragraphs you state that you chapter is beyond peer. If you ment there beyond peer in those skills cuz right now it sounds like ur saying no one is as good as your marines

 

That's not what I ment, That's just to say that they are really good in that paticular field.

[RagingGriffon]

First impression: Seriously? Star Wars over the Imperial Aquilla? Really?

Second Impression: Wall of text

Third Impression: Name dropping of Raven Guard and Ultras. Not needed.

 

I just don't see anything that sets them apart from Raven Guard. They use drop pods and aerial insertion. OK... and?

You start to hint at it when you mention they leave no Marine behind and they will go to great lengths to reclaim the geneseed. OK. Interesting. Why? How did they come up with this belief? You then mention the enjoy working with other Chapters. OK. Cool idea. A lot of Chapters don't. Why do they like to? Although, if there are multiple Chapters meeting up to fight together it is usually something pretty bad and I doubt it is time for a party (and then you name drop the Space Wolves). Last, how did they pick up Black Templar style of doctrine when they are based off of Raven Guard.

 

I never even read "The Siege of Cisterna." It is a huge wall of text. I can already tell it is too long, and it needs to be condensed. That looks like it is half of your Liber right there.

 

I know you are making this a tribute to your grandfather, and I admire that. However, set aside that for a bit. A tribute doesn't have to be exactly like it, but it can be a metaphor.

[Ferrus Manus]

Red Devil marine 3rd company Red Devil 1st company 1

 

Red Devil Tactical Marine Red Devil Tactical Sergeant

 

Sixth company 1 Sixth company 2

Where are the images?

[Brother Rathul]

Sorry, they didn't copy over, editing right now.

[Brother Rathul]

First impression: Seriously? Star Wars over the Imperial Aquilla? Really?

Second Impression: Wall of text

Third Impression: Name dropping of Raven Guard and Ultras. Not needed.

 

I just don't see anything that sets them apart from Raven Guard. They use drop pods and aerial insertion. OK... and?

You start to hint at it when you mention they leave no Marine behind and they will go to great lengths to reclaim the geneseed. OK. Interesting. Why? How did they come up with this belief? You then mention the enjoy working with other Chapters. OK. Cool idea. A lot of Chapters don't. Why do they like to? Although, if there are multiple Chapters meeting up to fight together it is usually something pretty bad and I doubt it is time for a party (and then you name drop the Space Wolves). Last, how did they pick up Black Templar style of doctrine when they are based off of Raven Guard.

 

I never even read "The Siege of Cisterna." It is a huge wall of text. I can already tell it is too long, and it needs to be condensed. That looks like it is half of your Liber right there.

 

I know you are making this a tribute to your grandfather, and I admire that. However, set aside that for a bit. A tribute doesn't have to be exactly like it, but it can be a metaphor.

 

Sorry, I just thought tht looked really cool :D

I don't really know how to condense it, there is just so much to tell. Plus, my microsoft word is kind of dumb so it won't really do much like you guys have seen before. You made a lot of good points. The Black Templars training was adopted by the Red Devils during a crusade towards the Eye of Terror. The Red Devils were looking for ways to teach there recruits and took inpiration from the Black Templars. The thing is, all the Red Devil's tactial marines have jump packs, that means they all literally takes thunder hawks(think D-day now) and jump from the Thunder hawks. kinda like a drop-pod insertion but without drop-pods. Why do they relcim there gene-seed like zealots? Because they are a Band of Brothers. They came up with this belief during the Siege of Cisterna and the creation of the Sixth company(still working on that) They like working with other chapters because they can better further the Emperor's will further and utterlay crush the enemy. Who dosen't like exterminating xeno ;) Anyway, the Space Wolves are there as an example to show how much they party. Though no one can party more than a Space Wolf.

P.S. I was going toi right that all in there, I just wrote it dwon in a notebook and already thought it was in there, sorry about that.