Angels Refulgent

[mondrian]

Gday all

 

working on an IA for a BA successor, The Angels Refulgent - also considering calling them the Angels Effulgent ...

 

anyways, I apologise in advance for the length. C&C welcome, of course.

 

 

Splendour of Angels

Index Astartes:The Angels Refulgent

 

Like their forefathers, the Angels Encarmine and thence the Blood Angels, the Angels Refulgent embody the duality of the Space Marines - appreciating the beauty in both art and warfare to levels beyond human experience.

 

Each of their weapons is wielded as precisely as a painter's brushes and with no less passion. Their fortress-monastery is a kilometre-tall spire, resplendent with tapestry flags, ornate frescos and intricately carved marble.

 

An army of Angels Refulgent is an awe- and terror-inspiring sight, with pristine armour reflecting each burst of bolter-fire while their Death Company bear down in their righteous fury.

 

 

Home World

 

The Angels Refulgent hail from the metropolitan world, Admah, the capitol world of a system of mineral-rich planets.

The locals of Admah enjoy the benefits of a technologically advanced lifestyle, well-protected by an excellently equipped Imperial Guard regiment. The system has enjoyed peace which has lasted for millennia, and with the establishment of a chapter of Adeptus Astartes in the system - it does not appear to be interrupted in the near future.

 

With such supplies of minerals, the entire planet is well-equipped with every luxury possible in the Imperium, with multiple servitors and slaves for every citizen, giving them all their time to while away in study, pursuit of art and sporting endeavours. It is easy for such comfortable lives to lead to the dark whisperings of Chaos - particularly the Dark Prince Slaanesh. Even now, the desolate ruins of the city Zeboim persist as a dark reminder of the swift vengeance visited by the Inquisition upon those who give in entirely to the temptations of the flesh.

 

Each year, youths who have come-of-age gather in the capital, Salamaneo, to compete for the honour of being taken to the fortress-monastery to be inducted into the ranks of the Angels Refulgent. The Trials of Ascedency are a 3-day long ordeal, where survivors compete against each other in tasks of strength, endurance, intellect and agility. Many youths die or are badly injured in the trials - they are deemed unworthy and left in shallow graves around the Proving Grounds. Those who survive are given full citizenship, with the most extraordinary being taken as Aspirants by the chapter's Master of Recruits. To be so elevated, even above a race of such ability is seen as the greatest honour to be bestowed upon an individual.

 

Full citizenship ensures the right to vote and to own possessions. Slaves may gain the title of freeman after 25 years' service, allowing them to become land-owners but not granting a vote. Titles are hereditary, so slaves' children will in turn be slaves and freemen's children will be freemen. However, a citizen's children will only be granted a vote after passing the Trials, but will retain the rank citizen regardless. These distinctions are seen as guaranteeing that only the best specimens are entrusted with rank and influence on the planet.

 

Full citizenship guarantees the right to vote for - or be eligible to be elected to - the planetary senate, 10 individuals who govern the planet in its affairs. The Arch-Angel, the head of the Angels Refulgent is the theoretical head of this body, but has only been needed to cast a vote a handful of times in the last millennium. The Astartes believe that maintaining relations with the citizens is below them, a waste of time for beings such as them.

 

Origins

 

Records regarding the chapter's formation are scarce, presumably lost during Vandire's Apostasy. The chapter themselves keep many of their records securely locked within the inner confines of their librarium, never allowing their illuminated manuscripts to be seen by anyone outside the chapter. This has earnt them some censure from the Inquisition at times, although each time a mutually satisfactory conclusion is eventually reached between the Inquisitor and Librarian-General. Piecing together of available Imperial records with the more accessible information from the chapter's librarians allows the origins of the Angels Refulgent to be established with minimal conjecture.

 

Chapter librarians will gladly accede that the chapter was created around the time of the 3rd or 4th founding from Angels Encarmine geneseed. The initial Angels Refulgent were tall and handsome - the very image of their lord, Sanguinius. They displayed the same purity and nobility that was the hallmark of their lineage and showed none of the flaws which had begun plaguing their gene-brothers.

The following details had to be pieced together from hear-say and conjecture - the chapter themselves are reticent to discuss anything beyond their founding. Their trial campaigns were flawless, suppressing a growing Chaos cult in the Theolant system. Upon their ascension to a full chapter, their first assignment was a full-chapter (at that time, of 400 battle-brothers) deployment to stem the tide of an Eldar fleet attacking the Mechanicus forge-system De'Vuah. On the eve of the encounter, several battle-brothers seemed to fall into acute delirium and developed a strength borne of a righteous rage. The apothecaria were inundated with sufferers, and with battle looming, the chapter's strength had been decimated. The proud leaders of the fledgling chapter were torn between facing destruction and admitting their inherent weakness by deploying afflicted marines.

Pride in perfection eventually won out and the few hundred remaining marines took the field, standing dourly with duty.

 

The initial seconds of the battle passed ominously, as the marines found themselves outflanked by the fast and flexible Eldar formation. The Astartes held, but their flanks were weakening. At this point the Chapter Master, Endarel, made a drastic gambit - to unleash the afflicted, hoping their fervent insanity would allow them the ability to turn the tide. They were clad in recently-received suits of power armour which were only partially adorned in chapter heraldry, hoping to disavow his chapter of their flawed state-of-mind. The landing was like a meteor-strike. They attacked with fury unquenchable and the Eldar lines folded before their onslaught.

 

The surviving afflicted were teleported aboard the Strike Cruiser Angel's Flight and put into immediate statis, to be saved for the next conflict. Since then, they have remained the trump card in the Angel's strike force, but have continued to be shrouded in different heraldry so as to allow the chapter to disavow knowledge of them and thus of their own frailty.

 

The efforts made to hide this flaw have resulted in the chapter avoiding fighting alongside other Imperial formations and Astartes Chapters, and lead to them becoming even more aloof, hiding behind their apparent superiority.

 

Beliefs

 

The Angels Refulgent are seen as aloof and arrogant by those few who have had contact with them.

 

In some respects, this arrogance could be justified. They see Sanguinius as the noblest of primarchs - beloved by the Emperor, brave enough to face Horus, thus allowing the Emperor to stand against the favoured of Chaos. He was tall of stature, pure of heart, keen of mind and swift and unyielding in retribution - the absolute embodiment of a warrior-prince.

 

Upon their foundation, the riches and privilege of their homeworld ensured their fortress-monastery was grand, even by comparison to those of the first founding chapters. Following the beliefs of their homeworld, they think themselves entitled to large numbers of slaves and servitors - freeing their time for artistic endeavours and training. While routine maintenance is carried out by serfs, the marines still administer machine blessings and rites of armament upon their equipment before battle - not entrusting their lives to lesser beings.

 

The marines spend countless hours cleaning and perfecting their power armour, subtly adjusting the organisation of their equipment and the settings of their sensor arrays. Angels Refulgent strive to keep their appearance as pure as possible - reflecting their inner purity, free of the taint of everyday interaction. For those who go to such lengths to appear as examplars, they rarely interact with lesser members of the Imperium - even shunning other Astartes legions if circumstances allow. Appearing outwardly as arrogance, it is in fact an effort at concealing their failings.

 

For all their striving for perfection, they suffer from a debilitating flaw. The blessing of Sanguinius' gene-seed marks the Angels Refulgent as it does all the Blood Angels' descendants.

 

Constantly gnawing at the back of their minds is the Red Thirst - the craving for blood. Fortunately, with a constant pool of Aspirants who perish during the gene-shaping process, the Sanguinary Priests have access to blood of individuals with characteristics marking them as worthy to sustain the chapter.

On deployment however, forces do not have ready access to such relief, and so the blood must be taken from elsewhere. Those few who have taken to the field of battle by the Angels Refulgent have at times seen the Astartes taking corpses of enemy leaders for trophies or taking prisoners of war back to their fleet. Even fewer have noticed that the chapter never display trophies upon their forces - the true fate of the enemy forces can only be guessed at.

 

Those brothers who fall to the Black Rage are embraced within the chapter as having received the gift of their Primarch - experiencing his final moments and exacting Imperial justice upon heretics. However, the accompanying insanity leads to the chapter attempting to distance themselves from those afflicted by the Angel's Wrath - leaving them devoid of chapter-specific heraldry and with their power armour adorned in different colours. Hiding this secret is one of the chapter's greatest struggles. On several occasions an increased rate of affliction has lead to pious Arch-Angels taking the chapter on century-long Crusades to strengthen the Angels Refulgent's standing within the ranks of the Astartes and to utilise the Angel's Wrath to its fullest.

 

Organisation

 

Nominally, the Angels Refulgent are organised exactly as proscribed by the Codex Astartes. In the execution however, the chapter's organisation is far different.

 

The Angels Refulgent's pursuit of artistic perfection, combined with their large numbers of maintenance servitors has lead to the production of many suits of artificer armour and well-maintained jump packs. Thus, the Angels Refulgent have independently established a Sanguinian Guard and their associated relics. The most gifted of veterans are gifted these suits in the image of their Primarch.

 

The constant influx of new afflicted has forced the establishment of a separate formation, attaching the afflicted to the chapter's veterans - renaming the 1st company as the Sanguine Company. This formation is so named as it is comprised of the Sanguinian Guard and those suffering from what is compassionately known as Angel's Wrath by the Chaplains and Apothecaries. The Sanguine Guard are believed to be the closest to the chapter's Primarch in spirit and appearance - being selected from the most gifted veterans, who have displayed their proficiency in all fields of war and artistic endeavour. Each Sanguine Guard carves his own death-mask upon induction into their ranks as the final endeavour towards taking the Primarch's appearance. The sufferers of Angel's Wrath are likewise inducted into the Sanguine Company as being closest to the Primarch in his fury - unquenchable and righteous.

 

The rest of the Chapter's strength is organised into the standard companies, 1st to 10th. However, the Angels Refulgent never fight as companies with loaning of Scouts and Veterans - company assignment is nominal only. While the Scouts of the chapter will be 10th company, this merely reflects their lowly status compared to their brother-marines. Long service and feats of great merit will result in promotion to a new company - but squad assignment remains the same. Company assignment is thus closer to a mark of rank within a rank. A marine is granted the right to a special or heavy weapon upon reaching the 4th company, and the rank of sergeant is awarded at 2nd company. Within squads, company assignment is essentially ignored, and each squad is part of one of 8 Strike Forces, with each Force having assigned Librarians, Sanguinary Priests and armour. The Chapter Master is the head of the Sanguinary Company and will deploy his forces where they are deemed necessary. In general, each Strike Force will take approximately one tenth of the Sanguinary company (some 5 Sanguinary Guard, as well as whatever afflicted the Strike Force may generate), with the remaining 10 Sanguinary Guard and the remnants of The Angel's Wrath are assigned as the Chapter Master's cohort.

 

Each Strike Force will comprise some 100-120 Astartes - an assembly of Scouts, Tactical, Devastator, Assault and Veteran - as well as support troops and vehicles. Like the other Sons of Sanguinius, the Angels Refulgent have a predominance of assault troops and fast vehicles.

 

Combat Doctrine

 

In fashion akin to their gene-brothers, the Angels Refulgent have a tendency to prefer bloody hand-to-hand fighting. They believe that true martial prowess requires one to stand toe-to-toe with one's enemies and see the light extinguised from their eyes.

 

This is not to say that they eschew armour and heavy weapons - some of the greatest challenges an Astartes can face are only apparent when attempting great feats of precision using such hefty and unwieldy Mechanicus equipment. As the Mechanicus share not the Angel's affinity for perfection of form and function, the Scions of Mars produce equipment which is somewhat orthogonal to the purposes of the chapter.

 

The Angels Refulgent will take any opportunity to display their superiority and their Primarch's martial legacy. This may take the form of a crushing armoured strike, a precision air-drop or a wave of implacable infantry. Whatever the method, it is clear that the Angels Refulgent will attack with unbridled fury, tempered only by their desire to remain as the purest and most outstanding of the Emperor's Angels of Death.

 

Battle-Cry

 

Marching into battle - the marines will chant the Catechism of Sanguinius in perfect unison, their cadence unbalanced only by those suffering the Black Rage.

 

As they strike -

Spirit of The Angel, Pride of The Angel, Fury of the Angel!

 

 

 

EDIT - a few small corrections

[Whit]

I like the idea you have for your chapter, perfectionists attempting to hide the imperfections they have by nature. I have one major complaint, or rather several that stem from basically the same thing: Your chapter sounds like it is about to fall to Slaanesh at any given moment. I mean, maybe it's just me, but all this talk of 'perection' and 'artistic puruits' reminds me a great deal of the Emperor's Children before the fall. The whole 'proud and naturally superior' really feeds into this. On the same note, their home-planet sounds like a place that doesn't fit in the Grimdark setting we all know and love. It sounds like Sparta, except that when they're adults they act like Athenians. I mean, I suppose it's possible for their to be a happy planet in the Imperium, but why is it so happy. I mean yes, you have your slaves and your tough rite of passage, but at the end of the day this just doesn't seem like a place that Inquisitors, and Imperial officials in general, wouldn't let survive. In fact, on a less serious note, I half expected the Iron Hands to roll in and slap a big 'Excuse me but :lol: are you doing?' on it. ;)

 

Also, speaking of the Inquisition, you mentioned that your chapter regularly has discrepencies with the Inquisition over who gets to check out books from the local librarium. What I want to know is, if this issue has come up more then once, what exactly does 'mutually satisfactory' mean? Also, I like your idea with The Black Rage, but the other Blood Angel successors have to deal with the same problem, and you don't see them having to go through all the trouble of falsifying their markings and colorings. Although I like the idea personally, it seems just a tiny bit over the top.

 

Other then that, I really think you have a solid, original idea here. Build on it a little more, and you've got yourself a winner.

 

Also on another note, how early in advance did they know they were fighting the Eldar. It doesn't seem like Eldar are the kind of foes that you can just put on the To-do list and assign to specific chapters. Maybe your chapter just happened to be the closest ones at the time? I don't know, but I would think about that one a bit.

[mondrian]

Cheers

 

I know what you mean re: the Slaanesh thing. I tried to explain that a tad, and I did want the chapter to feel like it's on the brink of succumbing - in the same way the Emp's Children did. Makes the chapter seem less like poster boys.

Also - I'll try to make the homeworld a bit less idyllic, but I'm not sure how to increase the 40k-grimdark while maintaining the veneer of perfection which makes the homeworld so arrogant...

 

I'll put my thinking-helm on.

Thanks!