The rise of Marshall Beringar and the Helm Crusade

[Redfinger]

So here is the "fluff" base for my Tmeplar crusade. I am really new to 40k and have never read any of the 40k books, although I would like to, anyone have any suggestions? Anyway I tried to keep location refrences a little vauge and keep the story in line with what I think I templar should be. I know that alot of it is upto me so to speak, but I would really like this story to have a 40k feel to it. My friend does book binding and I was thinking of having him put this story into a leather bound book that could be antuiqed and then having that being presented with my display board at local tournements...just for fun really. Anyway, let me know what you think!

 

 

 

 

 

The rise of Marshal Beringar the Protected, and the founding of the Helm Crusade.

Among the chapters of the Space Marines stands one that has not followed that which has been established, for centuries the Black Templar’s have waged war in a manner that seems befitting those whom serve the Emperor is the most loyal manner. Countless heroes have risen and fallen in sacrifice to their leader letting the roar of their bolters and the screams of their enemies be prayers of thanksgiving for a life of service and the chance to be counted among the few. The story of my Lord is perhaps no different from those who have already trodden the path he now walks.

Not much is known of the origins of my Lord. Perhaps he knows the planet he comes from, but he has never spoken of it. It can be assumed that my Lord’s introduction in to this brotherhood commenced as it does for so many others. He was one chosen from many and began as all have begun, in servitude to those who have had their worthiness proved in battle. No doubt those days were hard and dark for my Lord, as he learned what it meant and tasted, as small as it may have been what it was like to be a Templar. Eventually my Master was taught and trained in the way of the bolter and chainsword, and was allowed to wear the armor and call himself a neophyte.

Of his experiences as an initiate in training he has spoken little, perhaps his words best describe it…

 

“It was a most glorious experience to be given my armor, sword and bolter, these were my tokens, things that I had earned, no longer would I have to hold within myself the zeal that I had so strongly desired to express…unfortunately this joy would not last long, my first instructor Brother Zhang, would drill me daily constantly, until every joint in my body would not move and every muscle in my body was strained beyond use and yet he would demand me to stand and continue on, hard were those days.”

“It was a few years after joining the ranks of the neophytes before I saw battle, Brother Zhang, I and others of our crusade had been ordered to some pathetic excuse of a planet to quell an uprising of heretics. Zhang had felt that this would be a good first experience for me. By the time we had arrived in high orbit local ground forces had been overrun. The plan was simple we were to be loaded into a crusader and dropped on the planet surface as part of a tactic known as the” Emperor’s Shield”, basically our squad was to be a shield unit to our Sword Brethren who would be striking at the heart of the heretic opposition, we were to prevent any counter charge from the flank.

I don’t recall much of our descent to the surface, I remember being calm, and playing out in my head the numerous times that Zhang and I had drilled this strategy, I also remember what it was like as the crusader lumbered across the field, I could hear bolter fire falling on the outer hull like rain, occasionally the crusader would come to a halt and terrific roar of righteous gunfire would be heard, and felt as the entire crusader would shake as the bolters and assault cannons unleashed their prayers…I remember looking around at my fellow brethren, there was only one other neophyte, the rest were initiates, all of them locked in quite meditation unaffected by tumultuous motion of the crusader rocking back and forth, it was almost as if the belly of this beast had become hallowed ground, a sacred place of preparation and expectancy. The silence among us was broken when over the intercom the phrase we had been waiting for was spoken ’30 seconds to departure’. Quickly, yet effectively we all positioned ourselves, I remember Zhang turning to me and giving me last instructions…something about deploying to the right…but his words were lost as the crusader came to a sudden stop, there was the deafening sound of the assault grenades detonating, and the piercing light, like the sun breaking the horizon at day break as the assault ramp lowered. With a great surge of emotion I rushed forward into the enemy. We had somewhat caught them by surprise it seemed as we were attacking their flank. I remember the fight being intense, I remember the rush of adrenalin, and the power I felt and the glory being obtained as I thrusted with my sword and aimed with my bolter smiting those who would denounce the Emperor, one enemy would drop being replaced by two. Thrust and shoot, spin and thrust, the moves came to me naturally, I didn’t not think I only reacted and as soon as it had started, it was over, we met our Sword Brethren in the middle of the battle field, all around us laid the dead or dying…Of the fifteen men that emerged with me, only eight stood, the other neophyte never made it out of the crusader, 4 marines lay on the ground sprinkled along the path we had cut, it appeared that 3 would fight again, but Zhang was not to be seen. As much as I hated my Brother for his hardness I still worried for his welfare, I found him, or at least what was left of him, he had engaged in combat with a heretic armed with a powerfist, although he had slain his foe, it appeared his foe had in turn slain him.

I recall being saddened as we returned back to the main crusade, but in retrospect I think my remorse was not for my Brother being slain, rather for the chance that I may not be allowed back into combat again without a trainer, needless to say it was a long journey home.”

 

It was several more years and several more Initiate brethren who would train my Lord before he would join the ranks of the initiates himself. It was uncanny that one Neophyte should have so many trainers; some considered my Lord cursed or that to train him was bad luck, others felt that a warrior exposed to so many instructors would become himself, a great warrior, and yet there were those few that called him, “Purpura tutis”(the Emperors protected) but none of this matters now, as my Lord has risen above them all. In time he did become an Initiate, and did even participate in the great battle of Armageddon, being a member of that crusade and fighting for the High Marshall Helbrecth.

It is after this great battle that the founding of our crusade occurred.

My lord recalls that it was about 5 years after Armageddon that he was called again to the Emperors service. After searching through ancient tomes our Chroniclers had uncovered some information. On the forgotten planet Helm, near the outermost reaches of space there was once a Black Templar Citadel where some of the Chapter’s finest warriors were trained. Among the tomes researched it was determined that the possibility of ancient relics being contained in the forgotten citadel was high. For 2000 years the fortress at Helm, along with the planet itself had been forgotten. If the records are to be believed Helm was invaded by the Tyrnids, and though the Black Templar brethren fought valiantly, they were overrun. By the time the Ultramarines had arrived, they determined the planet to be lost and virus bombed it from orbit destroying all life on the planet surface.

 

High Marshall Helbrecth ordered 200 Templar’s to Helm to ascertain three things;

That the planet itself did exist

The citadel was still there

And to recover anything that may be left, that would add to the rich tradition the Templar’s hold

 

For this particular quest my Lord was chosen as the Emperor’s Champion, in his role he would lead his brethren in sacred prayer before battle, and to assist the appointed Marshall, Marshall Culvyn. The small force set forth, armed and ready for battle, Brother Lorne, who was eternally entombed in the might of a dreadnought joined them, along w/ several sword brethren bearing the scared terminator armor.

It took some time from them to find Helm, but find it they did, and to their shock they found the planet inhabited by humans, orks and something else…Several small scout parties were sent down over the course of a few days, and it was determined that a few of the original inhabitants of Helm had survived the virus bombing 2000 years ago, and of those who had survived some were affected by the virus in such a way that it changed them form human to a wretched mutated form that prayed on this who were unaffected. In time orks discovered Helm and enslaved the humans, using them as labor to mine precious resources from the planet to further the ork machine….perhaps most disturbing for the Templar’s was that the sacred fortress that they now sought was the sanctuary for the ork horde.

After quiet mediation Marshall Culvyn decided prompt action was the best and ordered the aerial bombardment of the surface followed by precision strike from his marines. For 3 days the cannons on the battle barge sung their songs of fury. There was no pity or remorse for those humans on the planet surface, they were heretics, they had surrender their world to the ork scum, they deserved to be punished, and to those who might survive the onslaught, well they were the strong, and my prove use to the Emperor in time. The degenerate mutants would die in the fires of purity as well; the whole planet was to be cleansed, given a rebirth, by fire….

After the 3 days of bombardment Marshall Culvyn and the rest of the marine force, included my Lord, descended upon the planet and raised hell before the gates of the ancient Templar fortress. For 2 days the Templar’s waged bloody war with the ork and mutant scum. The bodies of the orks piled about the walls of the citadel, creating paths for my brethren to penetrate the fortress walls. Victory seemed within the reach of Marshall Culvyn, until his doom came upon him, at the gates of the ancient fortress, at the end of the second day. It was there that he stood toe to toe with an ork war boss, the clashes of their blade upon one another armor rolled like a great thunder until finally all was silent and Culvyn laid dead at the feet of the mighty ork, but his death was not in vain, for he had mortally wounded the ork champion and it was his comrades that carried him quickly off of the field of battle and into the depths of the fortress, thus eliminating one of the most dangerous threats that the orks had. The fall of Culvyn also spurred the Templar’s into a mighty rage and blood lust, seeing their beloved commander fall only fed there righteous zeal and pulled them deeper into the mob of the enemy. Upon my master seeing this great push from his fellow brethren he rallied them around him and with a great slaughter, and the song of bolter fire accompanied by the screams of pain, the marines pushed forward driving the ork horde back, back into the depths of the fortress.

Now within the walls of the ancient citadel stood a certain grand doorway, this doorway led to a large vestibule that led downward into the belly of the earth. It was into this doorway that the orks retreated and it is outside this doorway that marines waited.

For the rest of the dark night the screams and cries of the ork wounded could be heard echoing from the depths of the darkness. Being the highest ranking commander left my Lord Beringar surveyed what was left of his force. Of the 200 brothers who had landed on Helm some 35 now remained with him, this included 5 of his fellow sword brethren who were equipped for assault. My Lord knew the seriousness of the situation, he knew that taking his fellow brethren with him into the labyrinth that lie beneath would be certain suicide, for it could be around any corner, and in any entry way that a terrible fate could be awaiting. He also understood his duty, and believed himself to be true to the cause for which he fought; his courage outweighed his fear…So with a great cry he gathered his men round him;

“My brothers!!” he cried

“Hard have we fought now for almost 3 days, and many of our brethren now lie in death and glory having given all for the Emperor. Now we gather here at this place where our doom may be decided, for surely in the depths of this hall shall we find our doom! But that is not all!! For here we will also find our glory!! It is not our way to retreat brethren, and it is here and now that our fates are forged, it is by the sword and bolter that our glory is sealed. Let us pray now, let us offer our sacred chants that will lead us to our fate, let us remember who we are and draw strength not from what lay before us, but what lay behind us and what we have achieved!!”

For the remainder of the night my Lord chanted with his brethren, sang and prayed, renewing their spirits and preparing them for what lies ahead. At dawn my Lord, the champion of the Emperor, selected 9 of his remaining brethren, then turned to his fellow sword brethren and bid them to follow him. Finally he turned to those who remained;

“Brethren, we were sent here to recover that which is sacred to us, in these depths lie the hope we are to receive, the fifteen of us will descend into the black, to root every enemy out of his hiding place and recover that which is rightfully ours. It is my final order for those who remain on the surface to place krak charges about the entrance of this tomb. If the orks that remain defeat us and push past us, seal these doors, and let it be remembered who is buried within these walls.”

 

With that my Lord turned and proceeded into the depths of darkness with the 9 brethren he selected. Into the dark the fifteen of them walked, and those who stayed behind watched vigilantly until the deep shadows swallowed the last glimmer of armor noticed from the early morning sun.

For the entire day my Lords brethren watched and waited in silence, occasionally they were stirred by the sounds of death echoing from the deep, or at times they would cheer as they heard the faint chant of those determined to accept any challenge no matter the odds, rumbling forth from the darkness. Into the night the sounds continued, sometimes long stretches of silence would be broken only by a shrill scream, or the roar of bolters. At other times the sound would build until it felt as if it might erupt through the very doorway the led below. The night was indeed long for those who faithfully watched and waited.

 

As the dawn of the fourth morning broke, silence was all that could be heard from the doorway, it was almost as if the silence was seeping forth from the black, reaching out to grab those who were watching struggling to bring them into the chaos that had been born beneath…but this fear was broken as the shadows were pulled back and one emerged from the darkness, it was Brother Alios, the first of the nine that my Lord had chosen. His armor glistened from the gore of his enemies, he was missing his helmet and his armor was damaged in such a way as to be the cause of why his helmet was missing. Next Brother Lorng came, being supported by Brothers Amand and Borius. Lorng was missing his right arm at the shoulder, and the abdomen of his armor appeared to be shredded underneath the now crimson cloak he had once worn, although he emerged from the depths living, he would never again fight among the Templar’s as a mortal, and instead his glory would be realized entombed in the strength of a dreadnought! Brother Amand was one of the Sword Brethren, his left gauntlet was beyond repair, and his cloak that was once white now glistened with black blood. Brother Borius was also adorned in Terminator armor, his shield was laid haphazardly upon his back, cracked and twisted, but his hammer still hummed with ancient energy, ready to strike. Next to appear was Brother Claus, his appearance not much different than those who had already emerged, however, instead of his weapon Claus carried a large tome, which bore many scripts and emblems identifying it as belonging to the Black Templar’s. Finally to emerge was Beringar, he carried in his left hand the shattered remains of the Black Sword he had wielded, in his right hand a double bladed axe bearing the Templar insignia and coated in the blood of his enemies. His armor was greatly damaged it had many bolter holes and countless dents and gouges from the enemies blades. Blood seeped from under his armor, mixing with those of his slain foes. He emerged still a champion, and just as others had called him “protected” as a neophyte, his men now chanted to him;

 

“Principatus virum ostendit, Purpura tutis proeliator” (Leadership proves the man, for he is the Emperors protected)

 

Word was sent to Helbrecth of the need of help in finishing to secure Helm. Within days that help arrived, the remnants of the orks spread across the planet were destroyed, the mutants were purged and those humans that did remain were put into the service o f the Emperor.

After a few weeks the main fleet arrived at Helm, a grand ceremony honoring Helbrecth’s arrival was commenced, and it was at this ceremony that Beringar would present High Marshall Helbrecth’s with the tokens of war that were found. The Templar’s who has come to the aid of my Lords brethren stood in perfect attention aligned by rows before the High Marshall. In a solemn procession the remains of the 174 brethren who feel in the taking of Helm were brought forth and laid before the High Marshall. Then the 20 survivors of the assault on the fortress came assembled as a honor guard to the 6 who had emerged from the dark depths. It was my Lord who presented to the High Marshall the great tome that had been discovered as well as the mighty double bladed axe that my Lord used when is black sword was shattered. As these gifts were presented to Helbrecth my Lord only had these simple words to say; “We honor you with our lives and these gifts we give for the glory of the Emperor and the strength of his soldiers.”

With welcome arms Helbrecth invited my Lord to sit and talk. A few paces off from where the processions was happening a table and chairs had been organized. Already sitting there were other high ranking Marshall’s hero’s by their actions, and respected warriors among the Templar’s. My Lord joined them, and for the space of many hours they talked. As the meeting came to an end High Marshall Helbrecth and my Lord returned to the gathered devoted, it was Helbrecth who spoke first.

 

“My fellow brothers, we have all gathered here today to honor and remember the reasons for which we fight. For your services to the Emperor and your faith in his name great shall be your reward. Much has been heard and seen in the great events that have transpired here in theses past weeks, it is events such as these that refine us purify us as the Emperor’s chosen. It has been determined by our council here this day that the deeds that have transpired here are worthy of recognition. The events of Helm will be remembered by all by the founding of the Helm Crusade! And as its Marshall will be Marshall Beringar. And in honor of this great calling I gift to thee now, this weapon that you found in the depths below. As this weapon came to you in your time of need may you now come to the Emperor in his time of need.”

 

With Helbrecth’s declaration the on looking marines again exclaimed;

 

““Principatus virum ostendit, Purpura tutis proeliator”

 

Of all the Templar’s present that day, many wished to show honor to my Lord and his brethren and joined the Helm Crusade. As the Marshall and under Helbrecth’s direction, Beringar ordered the decimation of what was left of the population of Helm. 1 out of every 10 people was killed for their heresy. Of that remaining population 1 out of every 10 was taken into servitude to the Emperor, with the rest being allowed to live their lives under the watch of those of the Helm Crusade. Helbrecth also gave further orders to Beringar. Realizing the great absence of the presence of the Emperor’s will in this part of the universe Helbrecth ordered Beringar to continue to explore these unknown regions, finding the heretics and reestablishing the correct order of things.

To help meet this goal my lord organized his Crusade into 6 separate marches. The first march would be those whom he selected. The other 5 marches were to be Castellened by those whom emerged with him that bright morning, with the exception of Brother Lorng, who was unable to lead due to his entombment in a dreadnought. Additionally, to establish and honor tradition each Emperors Champion of each march would select 9 other initiates to fight with him in battle. This is to honor and preserve the memory of how the Helm Crusade became to be. This organization, having 6 separate marches, allows my Lords crusade to be flexible and responsive, each march almost functions as a independent crusade, taking orders from Marshall Beringar, as he takes them from High Marshall Helbrecth.

There are many tales that are yet to be told of my Lord and the things that he has accomplished through his faith in the Emperor and by the power of his own hand. As his chronicler at has been my honor to share with you these tales, so that all my remember the glory to be found in the service of the Emperor!!

[Acebaur]

Not too bad, you need to proof read it though as you have quite a few grammatical and spelling errors. One which jumps out the most is the High Marshal, It's Helbrecht, not Helbrecth.

 

Also there are some things that I would change that don't jive well with Templars and 40K in general

 

I like the begining about how when Beringar was a neophyte and such, though 5 years is a long time not to see any action at all.

 

The virus bombing. In one of the Horus Heresy books they virus bomb a planet and describe it in detail. (They are awesome books by the way and give good background on the 40K universe) You don't aren't "affected" by a virus bomb, you are either safe in a 100% sealed bunker or you are dead. Not even Space Marine power armor can protect you from it. It kills you by rapidly decomposing your body, and in the process releasing large amounts of methane. The planet likely would have also suffered a massive firestorm from all the methane in the atmosphere.

 

The Orks. Orks don't enslave humans, they kill and eat them. They have grots and gretchin to do their labor, and to a degree ork boyz who are bullied around by the bigger orks. Also orks don't mine material to refine into something. Usually they just steal whatever scaps of metal and material they can find and cobble it together. Precious metals have no value to orks as their currency is teeth.

 

The battle. You said Beringar was "chosen" to be the Emperor's champ. This is ok, but I think you need to elaborate because according to the codex(one of our only sources of cannon fluff) the knight who is to become the EC has a vision of the Emperor and then the chaplains verify that he is the one and anoint him EC. I might just add a blurb or two with something along those lines. The battle only lasted 3 days and 174 marines were killed? To me that number is way to high. The seige of Helsreach lasted two months and there were only 100 Templars there. Granted they were defending a city but still 200 marines would last a lot longer than 3 days, especially after they bombarded the planet and then set up an invasion. (Helsreach by the way is another great book to read). Also it would take a lot longer than 3 days to purge a planet. Significantly reduce those casulties or greatly increase the amount of time they were there. Also a crusade that size would likely include at least two Chaplains, both of whom(IMO) would outrank the EC for command of the crusade(not to mention a couple of castellans, but we Templars here are the B&C are a little more unclear as to who would be next in line between a castellan and the EC)

So at the end he only has 35 marines left to take the lower levels, why did he only take 14 others? Why not take the rest of them? The ones left at the surface would find no honor in burying their brothers along with the orks. They would rather all die then sit their and wait for some orks to come out of the hole. If you only want have that number to give some tradition to the crusade that's fine, but don't just have the other 20(or higher if you decide to reduce the body count) sitting around waiting.

 

The Helm Crusade. What is the purpose of the crusade? It sounds like it is to protect this planet. That's not what Templars do. To me the Helm Crusade was to purge the planet Helm. Templars don't sit around and protect a planet, they ply the stars and actively seek out the enemies of the Emperor. Templars build chapter keeps for mainly two reasons. 1. The planet is an important strategic target or a staging ground for troops and supplies and/or 2. To recruit new warriors to become neophytes.

 

So I hope this helps, I'm sorry if I sounded harsh or whatnot, but I'm just trying to give some constructive criticism. I do like the story, save for the bits I mentioned. Overall it has a good feel and you write pretty well. I think if you change some of the stuff to make it fall more in line with the 40K universe it will be a great piece. Let me know if you have any questions about what I've said. Welcome to the fold Brother!

Explain what a march is, I have no idea. Also there is usually only 1 EC for a crusade.

[Redfinger]

Acebaur thanks for your honest feedback, my lack of 40k knowledge really shows. I am going to have to redo some of the specific points of the story to get it to fit better. I will most definetly take into consideration your suggestions.

 

To answer a few of your questions, lets start with the purpose of the Helm Crusade. I reread what I had written and I see where you questions may have stemmed from. This of course will be in the re-write, but for now let me explain. Helm is located in a very remote part of the universe. Initally it was hard to find because that area had not been explored in quite some time, about 2000 years. When Helbrecht organized the crusade on Helm, he gave them to charge to explore thses regions of space, not just the planet, restablishing the influene of the Emperor, removing the presence of any non-human being, and rooting out the heretic. So the crusade keeps a base of operations on Helm, but uses that as a jumping off point to explore that remote part of the universe. Marshall Beringar organized his crusade into "marches" a march is basically a mini-crusade, or chapters so to speak. I know this breaks a little from the norm, but it seems that is what Templar's do best :) By being organized this way the Helm crusade is able to better respond to threats, since the crusade is already organized into seperate detachments.

 

As far as the battle and Templar casutalies go, that just stems from my lack of knowledge in Space Marine tactics. Additionally in regards to some being left to watch, and some going in...Well I am assuming that Beringar assumed that the underground passageways would be tight corridors, blind corners and close combat fighting. That smaller the force you could take, the better chances you had of defeating the enemy, I didnt clarify it well, but those left behind were to prevent the orks escaping or turning back around on those inside. I thought it was more dramtic this way as well....I will give it some thought though on how to change it.

 

Again thanks for your feed back....look for v2.0 soon!

 

Ashton

[Brother Richard]

A very nice start.. a lot of detail and thought has been put into this.. what if the 'holy tome' that Beringar recovered is simply the starting point for the Helm Crusade..ie Helbrecht reveiled that a part of the book was missing and charged the Helm crusade with finding the rest (whether it be a set of square and compass, or a special book marker with an embeded code, or a special 'helmet' that was rumored to accompany original keeper of the tome. Just a few thoughts.. this could really get deep.

 

Human slaves..Ace is right that most orks just eat/kill hummies..but it is not unheard of that a mad dok has kept a few for fun (Armagedon Series). Comics have also shown even grots to get weak and worthless humans to do their dirty work (which has to put you pretty far down on the food chain to work for a grot). What about a more recent battle book Rynn's World. The orks rounded up and kept humans in pens, as food.. but they did keep them. Mining minerals..maybe not unless the world was a manufactorium converting minerals to raw metals..orks would definately keep that running as long as the duct tape and rivits held. They would likely have grots and squigs to 'guard' the labor camps.

 

As for the troops left on the surface of the labrinth, I could understand leaving any neos and maybe one initiate to babysit. But with auspex, and the physical and technological enhancements available to the standard marine..the tight confines and corners just wouldn't be much of a hinderance to a marine who can 'just about' see through walls, smell or hear enemies from a distance, and loves hand to hand combat.

 

Towards the bottom.. I would leave out the decimation of the population.. Templars are dang close to being almost as vicious as the dreaded Word Bearers in purging of heretics..at least the Templars stop killing when the heretics are gone..mostly. Any inhabitants who would have survived the orks and the airstrikes and the war and the purge..well they might just be allowed to work in servitude for what would be left of their miserable lives. The chaplain might have found a few children who would be worthy of selection for neo training, but I don't think that they would have taken just a 1 out of 10 for a selection process.

 

Bottom line.. I look forward to seeing where this goes and would like pics/pdf of the completed booklet.. a very cool idea.

[Galadren]

Good start.

 

Though, when I saw the title all I could think of was "You know, Tom Berringer probably would make an awesome space marine."

 

:wacko: