Index Astartes: The Guards of Rhomaion

[Lord Insanity]

A Guard of Rhomaion

T

he Guards of Rhomaion were created in the 14th Founding as a Chapter to be pure in body and spirit, completely unlike the disastrous mutants wrought in the 13th Founding, the horrors of which remained strong in the minds of Terra's lords. The tiny original core of 50 Marines was attached to the Ultramarines, for who could provide a better example than the noble sons of Roboute Guilliman? Indeed, the Guards' Gene-seed came from Guilliman's line. By the time the Chapter that was to become known as the Guards of Rhomaion reached 175 men, they were given a Strike-Cruiser and set off into the void, led by Chapter Master Marius Vendix, former Captain of the Ultramarines Third Company.

They arrived at the Feudal World of Rhomaion, a verdant jewel of many climes in the darkness of space. It was divided into many squabbling kingdoms (or Basileia in the local dialect), with rivalries between them that stopped just short of open warfare. But Rhomaion was about to face a threat unlike any other it had encountered in its history. The abominable Greenskins descended from the skies scant days before the Chapter arrived, not a full-scale Waaagh! but just as dangerous. The Basileia, with their limited supply of Imperial technology, prayed for the Emperor's angels to save them.


And they did. The Marines of the Chapter fell from the sky in their drop-pods just before the gates of Ioannopolis, the capital of the planet built upon the mountainous continent of Thrakia. Thousands of foul Orks stretched before them, as the planetary militia and noble guard prepared to sell their lives dearly. The butcher's bill that day was great for the planetary defence forces (excluding the Marines), but the majority of the horde was exterminated by the righteous might of the Emperor's Angels of Death. The Ork spaceship was obliterated in orbit, its fragments burning up in the atmosphere to punctuate the transference of power from the Planetary Governor to the Marines, the Governor handing over power to the Marines to reciprocate his unexpected salvation. Consulting the Emperor's Tarot, Marius named the Chapter 'The Guards of Rhomaion' in honour of their great victory.

The Chapter built its fortress-monastery in the very highest mountains of Thrakia, overlooking the briny foam of Rhomaion's ocean and the city of Ioannopolis by 13 miles, in environments that no mortal man could survive in. But the Emperor's Angels are not as mortal as mere humans, and it was built by their serfs in only a hundred years.

Marius fell in battle one-hundred-and-fifty years after the salvation of Rhomaion, and was replaced with a native of Rhomaion, who had taken the name Ioannes as a Space Marine. Thus began the long and glorious history of the Guards of Rhomaion.

T

he planet Rhomaion has many climes, from verdant grasslands to desolate wastes and deserts, but above all, it is mountainous and hilly. Even on the flattest plains or on the most clouded of days, the mountains of Rhomaion can always be seen on the horizon. The ground is hilly when it is not mountainous, and occasionally great crags jut out of the ground, stabbing into the sky. Nowhere is this better exemplified than on the continent of Thrakia, which is almost surrounded by cliffs and covered in mountains and valleys.

The primary dialect of Rhomaion is a version of High Gothic, although it is greatly distorted and not immediately recognisable as such by speakers of the Imperial standard version. The Marines themselves partly use the language of the planet itself ('Patriarch' for Chaplain, 'Strategos' for Captain, etc.), but remain using standard High Gothic in devotional services and sermons.

Politically, the planet is divided into Basileia (kingdoms) which war with each other occasionally over minor issues of pride and honour, using child-warriors among other troops, and fight in more serious wars against the feral remnant of the Greenskin horde which devastated Rhomaion millennia prior. The Marines themselves remain aloof, only reacting when one kingdom (or Basileion in the tongue of Rhomaion) threatens to become a hegemon, but usually they do this through assassination and subterfuge, not willing to devastate entire cities because of one man (for one thing, it tends to reduce their recruiting pool).

The Basileia and their noble houses are perfectly willing to do whatever the Marines ask of them, because it means death not to acquiesce.

The Fortress-Monastery of the Chapter is called the Fortress of Sanctity, and is built on Thrakia's highest mountain, 13 miles above the ground. Its guns and missiles make air-assaults and orbital bombardments futile over half the continent, forcing attackers to march a thousand miles to even begin an assault. Past that, they must deal with innumerable shield-generators, guns and missiles, some of which can go into high orbit - including the mighty defence-laser known as the Sword of Rhomaion, powerful enough to devastate a Reaver Titan or vaporise a mountain.

T

he Guards of Rhomaion use the gene-seed of Roboute Guilliman, and guard their genetic purity vigilantly, and as a result relatively few errors have come in. Even so, they are absolutely unnoticeable, but even these tiny mistakes fill the Guards with the greatest shame, for they feel that they must guard the future of their Chapter even greater than other Chapters do.

The Guards recruit from the Archontoupoulai, the sons of the warrior-nobility that are taught to fight from the age of five, and usually fight their first real battle at the age of nine. Ten thousand of such children at the age of twelve are taken to the cold Thrakian Channel once a decade, which they must swim alone. This test weeds out about half of the recruits. From there, they must climb the cliffs of Thrakia's shore, and walk to a great meteorite crater turned into an arena, where they duel with one another for the right and honour to join the Chapter. When a thousand are left the fight ends. Perhaps one in ten will survive the implantation process.

This is seen as acceptable by the Chapter.

T

he Chapter believes that the Emperor was once merely mortal, but became a god after he was placed upon the Golden Throne of Terra. They see Guilliman (especially) and the other loyalist Primarchs as paths to understanding the ineffable power and wisdom of the Emperor. They also believe that their former Chapter Masters, or Megalon Strategikon as the Chapter names them in the tongue of Rhomaion (given the honorific 'Hagios' - meaning holy in the language of Rhomaion - preceding their names), act as bringers of fortune and victory on the field of battle long after their deaths, and place their icons on holy standards, every Marine being required to learn their names and some of their deeds. The Patriarchs encourage this, for it greatly improves morale to think that the Chapter Masters watch over the Marines from the Emperor's side.

The Bolter and armour are also seen as more than weapons and defence - they are seen as extensions of his soul. Thus, each new Marine carves his name upon his suit of Power Armour and his primary weapon, resulting in old suits being seen as venerable, and their loss an insult to the Chapter's spiritual heart. The Guards also guard their genetic purity zealously, for their geneseed represents more than their past and future - it is a sacred link through Roboute Guilliman to the God-Emperor himself.

The Guards of Rhomaion stay true to the Codex Astartes.

"We are Guards of Rhomaion. While we stand, we are triumphant" - chant uttered before battle.

[Phlegon]

Correct me if I'm wrong (which is a real possibility here) but aren't the serfs of a chapter human themselves? If thats the case, I question how they could have built the Chapters Fortress Monastary where humans cannot survive.

[Lord Insanity]

Correct me if I'm wrong (which is a real possibility here) but aren't the serfs of a chapter human themselves? If thats the case, I question how they could have built the Chapters Fortress Monastary where humans cannot survive.

 

Hmm...perhaps the Serfs had protective suits or something as they laboured. That would make sense.

[Lord Insanity]

Any comments, problems, nitpicks or anything? After all, this thread does seem awfully quiet.