The Labyrinth

[GooseDaMoose]

Plus the Sons were the Sons of Malice before they found Malice a.k.a. Malal

 

Aha. Interesting; were they? :lol: I like to think that the Sons of Malice was founded by a Space Marine who had already seen the true path, but waited for the right moment to reveal themselves to the Imperium. But their whole history is a mystery so who knows. Although there is the story of the first Chapter Master of the Sons of Malice from Malal-lives, which is mostly fan-made, but I like it:

 

The disappearance of Chapter Master Ba’kel Draak

Ba’kel Draak was the mighty and bloodthirsty Chapter Master of the Sons of Malice at the time the Chapter turned from the Emperor’s light. He has however been absent from all known actions of the renegade chapter since long before then.

 

Many believe he was slain by the ambitious Kathal who now leads the Sons of Malice but a stranger tale persists, whispered by the tribesmen of Scelus.

 

The Saga of the Doomed One as it is known tells of Ba’kel being tasked by his patron to search out a daemon named Sigru’p’law who dwelt with in the Eye of Terror. Upon his crusade Ba’kel single-handedly slew a great warband of the World Eaters legion led by the Infamous ‘Foulheart’, and is recounted to have battled with the greatest champions of each of the dark powers.

 

Having located the daemon Ba’kel was further tasked with locating a number of crystals that when combined would awaken an unnamed entity from its ‘crystal prison’.

 

Beyond this point variations on the Saga of the Doomed One occur, but none have any coherent story that is worth repeating.

 

Anyways Mr. Malevolent, cool ideas and stuff, I see the Sons of Malice warbands/companies as pretty much working independently of each other (that's pretty much straight-up stated in The Labyrinth) only to come together every now and then, so the differences in practices and opinions about Malal and company practices totally works. So, although I don't necessarily agree with everything you guys might think, it still works fluff-wise, as long as none of us make any huge chapter-wide decisions regarding the Sons.

[subtlebrush]

Sounds awesome brother. Unfortunately I have run out of time today to upload my Sons (damn work) I have off tomorrow so I should be able to get my W.I.P. up and running by then.

 

@Goose: Oh yeah. I wouldnt want to impart any "rules" upon the Sons, I just figured I would drain my brain of all the fluff I had :lol:

[hushrong]

Plus the Sons were the Sons of Malice before they found Malice a.k.a. Malal

 

Aha. Interesting; were they? :P I like to think that the Sons of Malice was founded by a Space Marine who had already seen the true path, but waited for the right moment to reveal themselves to the Imperium. But their whole history is a mystery so who knows. Although there is the story of the first Chapter Master of the Sons of Malice from Malal-lives, which is mostly fan-made, but I like it:

 

I remember Mabrothrax stating something similar to this. Basically, who do you think they sacrificed that inquisitor to? I would think that they went over completely after the Betrayal but with that one question...it makes me agree that they many, if not all, were already Malal followers.

 

I see the Sons of Malice warbands/companies as pretty much working independently of each other (that's pretty much straight-up stated in The Labyrinth) only to come together every now and then, so the differences in practices and opinions about Malal and company practices totally works. So, although I don't necessarily agree with everything you guys might think, it still works fluff-wise, as long as none of us make any huge chapter-wide decisions regarding the Sons.

 

What we have going works well, it doesn't go against anything within the bits of fluff, and it is ludicrous.

 

One thing I have been wondering, is the possibility for Malal Daemons/empowered followers. From what I have seen on Malal-lives is that he doesn't have any but instead it seems daemons of other gods are enslaved. Which is why i threw juggernauts with black and white colors into my force. They are captured and bound to the service of Malal and his Sons. Besides that, I had been wanting to add a female to my force and was thinking that she is blessed by him or something of a mortal disciple. Besides just including a female presence(that GW minis had lacked), she would also serve as "the voice" of the silent warriors for my fluff. she would have no place in the army when on the table but would make for a nice mascot.

 

She brought her hand to her mouth. Covering her lips with the gloved tips of her finger.

It was rude and unladylike to laugh so loud. It was highly inappropriate.

Despite the dissonance about her, she would maintain her elegance. She did not want to interrupt the thrill of battle.

The veteran of the Purge of Midas Bella was her favorite. She would struggle to contain her excitement when he took to the field.

He was death itself. Leaping from prey to prey, lashing out wildly with his claws. The way he moved was unnatural in his bulky armor.

For every life he took, she could barely contain the laughter. The sheer joy of it all was overpowering.

She concentrated on him. The nameless warrior whose only indulgence was battle.

A smile formed on the porcelain features of her face when another soul was stripped of its life.

It was the smile of arrogance.

Then the Veteran of Midas Bella slowed in his bloodshed. His share of the battle had dwindled. Others would want their portions.

"Only another one" she said as the warrior eyed his final victim. The cowering form of a mortal man tried to run but he did not get far.

His sprint was fast but the Veteran's claws were faster as it cut away the mans leg.

The mortals screaming and pleading was exhilarating. She could not contain it no more.

Her laughter filled the night sky as the warrior reveled silently in his final kill.

[Hyaenidae]

Ahhh, finally done. Here's the breaking of brotherhood between the Marines Malevolent and Sons of Malice fluff Goose and I have been working on, specifically our personal companies, the IV Crusade and 7th Companies. Enjoy the show, Sons of Malice, enjoy...

 

---GIANT WALL OF TEXT WARNING-----

 

Of all the glorious victories and terrible losses of the Marines Malevolent, only one battle has been spoken not with the clarity of pure, consuming hatred, but instead tinted with remorse and sorrow. 'The Poisoning', as it is known to the Marines Malevolent, was the breaking of the unity of purpose and eternal brotherhood between the Sons Of Malice and the Marines Malevolent. After the events of the Cilix 225 campaign, and the excommunication of the Sons of Malice, messages were sent from Terra to all loyalist chapters concerning the Sons, and the breaking of their vows to the Golden Throne. The Marines Malevolent greeted this news with outrage and disbelief, as the Sons were the closest of brothers to the Malevolents. The Sons and the Malevolents had shared many battlefields in the past, and due to their compatible beliefs of hatred before all, were the only Chapter the other would turn to if assistance was needed. Refusing to believe the assumed lies of the weak mortals that ruled in the Emperor's stead, and using ancient lines of contact shared between the two Chapters, Lord Commander Vincen of the Marines Malevolent spoke to his counterpart, Arch Anarch Kathal of the Sons of Malice. Both agreed to meet in the Deiwraegis Gap, an area of dead space both Chapter's had used in the past for various reasons, and far away from any prying eyes. The fleets met after weeks of warp travel, and Lord Vincen greeted Anarch Kathal and his personal guard aboard his flagship as a brother would. They retired to the Hall of Glory, Vincen's throne room, to discuss recent events. What was said, and why the two Honour-Brothers suddenly opened fire on each other, is mostly open to speculation and legend, as neither warlord will speak of it, but one thing is known: Their brotherhood was forever split, just as their loyalty to whom they offered their hatred. One used hate to honour the Emperor's vengeance, the other used hate to honour Malal. This would end in death.

 

As the talks aboard the Sons of Malice flagship between the respective leaders broke down into brutal hand to hand fighting, ships on each side began sweeping forward to annihilate each other. The Malevolent IV Crusade Strike Cruiser "Tartaros" was swiftly crippled as it was broadsided by no less than 3 Cruisers of the Sons. As it's engines flickered out and it's shields collapsed, The Sons VII Company, under Anarch-Captain Chomskij, demanded the honour of boarding the Malevolent ship and slaughtering and devouring the Astartes on board for their crime of ignorance and broken brotherhood. Cestus Assault Rams and boarding pod tore into the 'Tartaros' as the other two Sons cruisers split off to target other foes, and nearly the entirety of the Sons VII Company began the hard drive towards the ships bridge. Hero-Captain Ananke, captain of the IV Crusade, quickly mobilized the Crusade to repel boarders, but found that his men were swiftly being overtaken and outnumbered. The IV had recently prosecuted a war against rebel holdings in the Sibiays Cluster, and had suffered losses, leaving the IV at barely above 70 Marines. Knowing that his Crusades' thread was soon to be cut, Ananke vowed to end Chomskij at any cost. Gathering his most brutal warriors to his side, Ananke rushed down into his ship's hold, and straight into the teeth of Chomskij's personal Terminator Elite, the Orius (named after the gigantic half-bear, half-man cannibals of Greek myth). As Ananke's men died screaming around him, he came face to face with his honour-brother, Chomskij.

 

During the Siege of Vaalm Hive, Ananke, Chomskij, and Chomskij's Lieutenant, Batko, had stood shoulder to shoulder with their personal squads in a breach in the Southern Walls, holding back the Claws of Lorek and hordes of their mortal warrior-slaves for a day and a night, finally sending the foe to flight as the three cut down the Pirate Lord Jaace at the top of the ramparts. The two Chapters named the three men 'the knights of Cerberus' for guarding the gates of Hell, which humored them greatly. Each man carved one of three hound-heads into each others shoulder pads, as a mark of brotherhood and the strength of a united hatred. Now, the hounds had turned to devour one of it's own.

 

Ananke fought with distilled loathing as a leader of Marines Malevolent should, and struck with hatred fueling his blows against his two foes, but was outnumbered and outfought by a pair of warriors who knew intimately how he fought, and who were now gifted with the daemonic strength of Malal. Brother-Sergeant Valus Constantine rushed to his Captain's defense, holding off Batko with vicious swings of his chainsword, but Ananke had already been badly wounded by Batko's axe. Chomskij capitalized on this, taking Ananke's power mace on the shoulder as he swept in with both his lightning claws blazing. Lifting Ananke's impaled body above his head, Chomskij twisted and tore his Honour-Brother apart, raising his head high, mouth open, to catch the spraying blood and shredded meat in his mouth as a mark of honour to his former comrade, as his Terminator plate turned crimson. Ananke's body spent, Chomskij slammed his eviscerated brother into the deck, and turned to finish off the rest of the Malevolent IV Crusade. Brother-Sergeant Valus Constantine did not understand the honour that Chomskij had done his Captain, and only saw a corrupt man who drenched himself in the death of a friend, a terrible injustice indeed. Tapping into the depths of his hatred, Valus dived for his Captain's mace, jumped to his feet with mace in one hand and chainsword in the other, and swore over his Captain's body to bring his murderer to justice. This was to be denied to him, as Batko rushed forward to finish what he started, and Valus was cut off from Chomskij. Valus was outclassed against Batko, suddenly finding himself simply trying to stay alive. Nonetheless, it seemed that fate had a far different plan for the Anarch-Captain...

 

As the Marines Malevolents were being butchered one at a time by the Sons of Malice, and the deck ran red with brotherly gore, every Marine was suddenly halted in their insane hand to hand combat by a sound that split the air with such violence, every Astartes who was unhelmed suddenly found their eardrums burst with the violence of it. A massive claw, wreathed in barely controlled lightning, ripped back the bay door from the outside, then suddenly threw the door like a discus into the Sons' lines. Warriors of black and red fell screaming as the door sliced through them. Finally stepping his massive bulk into the bay, Arch-Bibliosoph Aiakos entered the fray, awoken from his slumber by the violence being done to the ship, and the death scream of his Captain. The Ancient Venerable Dreadnought wasted no time, hitting the Sons like a wrecking ball, sending bodies flying as he charged single-mindedly towards Anarch-Captain Chomskij, his engine block turning cherry red from the stain his charge was putting on his reactor. Chomskij, his engineered body still reeling as it healed from his duel with Ananke, was unprepared for the wall of hundreds of high-explosive rounds that poured from the Dreadnought's assault cannon. As the bullets cracked his chestplate and ricocheted from his body, he was left unbalanced and hopelessly disoriented. Aiakos seized Chomskij's arm, and swung his with all the power his servo's could manage, squeezing his claw at the apex of the swing. Five clawed fingers sliced through Chomskij's arm, and his body slammed into the deck wall hard, shattering his fused ribcage, breaking his skull, and sending broken armour driving into his organs. Aiakos capitalized on his insane charge and the mortal wounding of Chomskij, turned to the surviving Orius, and proceeded to pour fire into the broken Captain's Honour Guard.

 

Ursa-Sergeant Koszmar, leader of the Orius, suddenly found his sanity slipping as he saw the splintered remains of his Anarch, to whom he was blood sworn to protect. With bloodshot eyes upon the ancient dreadnought's sarcophagus, he and his brothers charged his Anarch's killer as assault cannon rounds chipped and gouged their armour. Arch-Bibliosoph Aiakos, though, had lived for 5,000 years of constant warfare, and his acquired knowledge and exceptional combat skills were simply too much for the Orius. One by one, the Ursa-Brothers were shattered, until only Koszmar remained, his chainfist screaming vengeance Using his brother's deaths as a distraction, Koszmar was finally able to get close enough to strike, but Aiakos leaned towards the strike, letting the chainfist slam into his more thickly armoured right torso. The roaring blades suddenly ground to a smoking halt as the ancient dreadnought twisted his body, jamming the chain and splintering the teeth. Using the momentum of the twist, Aiakos swiped his claws through Koszmar's waist, splitting him in twain and ripping his jammed arm away from his body. Koszmar, legless and having only one arm, cursed and screamed from the gore soaked ground, refusing to die and vowing a thousand different deaths upon Aiakos's head. Aiakos cared not, and strode forward past him, returning to pushing the Sons of Malice off his ship.

 

Brother-Lieutenant Batko knew that all the Malevolent's had to do now was hold the Sons for long enough for the rage-filled Ancient to slaughter them one at a time, and although it grated against his Astartes-born conditioning, and his need for revenge for the breaking of his Anarch, he knew that if they didn't pull back to their ships now, the Sons VII Company would be a spent force. Breaking Constatine's guard, Batko kicked the Sergeant in the upper chest hard, driving the Malevolent into the

ground with his throat half crushed and his warplate split. Shouting over the din, he rallied his men and pulled back to the Cestus Assault Ram, stopping only to drag his broken Anarch with him, and ordering one of his brothers to recover Ursa-Sergeant Koszmar, who still was screaming curses at his foes. The Dreadnought, the only Malevolent with any remaining ammunition, harassed their withdraw with cannon and bolter fire, but was unable to get any closer to the assault boat, lest he be annihilated by the Cestus's massive melta cannon. Batko stopped on the boarding ramp, turned to his former Brothers, and cursed them in growling rasps. He swore that he would hunt them down, Crusade by Crusade, Legionary by Legionary. He and his brothers would devour their flesh, steal their gene-seed, and use them to create more Sons of Mailce, and ensure that the Marines Malevolent would see the truth and worship the Great Malal, one way or another. Constantine stood in front of his few surviving Brothers, and with his voicebox crushed, simply responded by pointing his dead Captain's treasured Power Mace 'Lupe' at Batko, his knuckles audibly cracking as he gripped the handle hard.

 

With their ships crippled, all the Marines Malevolent could do was watch as their former brothers, now their hate-sworn foes, pulled back and turned towards the Eye of Terror. In the aftermath, Batko was championed as the 7th's new Anarch-Captain, with Malal's blessings. Constantine was promoted to Hero-Captain of the broken and gutted IV Crusade by Lord Commander Vincen for his actions aboard the 'Tartaros', a hollow promotion. To this day, the IV Crusade of the Marines Malevolent have barely raised their numbers to 50 Marines, and Constantine still burns for vengeance against the VII Company of the Sons of Malice, and Anarch-Captain Batko. As for Koszmar...

 

 

You'll just have to wait and see...

[hushrong]

Pretty neat stuff, and I will have to look over it again.

 

one thing that needs change is this:

"Shouting over the din, he rallied his men and pulled back to the Cestus Assault Ram, stopping only to drag his broken Anarch with him, and ordering one of his brothers to recover Ursa-Sergeant Koszmar, who still was screaming curses at his foes. "

 

Sons of Malice fight in complete silence. That is why in my earlier post I tried coming up with a "voice" for mine...otherwise they would seem boring.

 

Looking forward to how this continues with your forces.

[GooseDaMoose]

Yeah I was thinking about that. But I imagine the vow of silence bit was taken after the Fall (and this battle) to prove their dedication to taking down Chaos and the Imperium. Possibly? :D

[hushrong]

Yeah I was thinking about that. But I imagine the vow of silence bit was taken after the Fall (and this battle) to prove their dedication to taking down Chaos and the Imperium. Possibly? :D

 

I kind of wondered it too. but I wonder if the statement about the "fighting in silence was disturbing" was from imperial commanders. *I view this as if, with most of WH40k point of view, it is from the Imperiums perspective. I could be wrong...but I do not think many traitor forces would document this.

 

This fact does make fluff difficult...

[Hyaenidae]

I had the same problem too, but I was guessing this was anything but an average fight; these were honour-brothers tearing each other's throats out at the beginning of the Sons fall, and having such such brotherly loyalty betrayed by their only friends in the Galaxy would snap even the Sons stoic demeanor just this once. I'm sure after this battle, any further fights between the two would have the Sons return to their eerie silence in battle.

 

It was a bit of 'author creativity' on my part, my bad....

[hushrong]

It was a bit of 'author creativity' on my part

 

Its understood. Although a unique trait, it can be a hinderance.n I could think that amidst the battle, although not actively fighting, would be a nice loophole for when a SoM could speak.

[subtlebrush]

Wow heathens that was truly epic. No worries on the "fighting silent" part your fluff is so epicly epic I can't find fault with a little fluff change plus Gooses Company is a bunch of berzerkers anyways, so I can't see them staying quiet :sweat: just kidding. Awesome stuff between your two armies. Expect to see some Marines Malevolent trophies among Aata's devious ranks, even though I know my company wasn't there I can see them seeking out a good fight with Marines Malevolent cruising around looking for Batko and his boys :P

[hushrong]

I enjoy that this adds a lot of background and character to each of your respective, hate-filled forces. The meeting of the two forces makes me think if Fulgrim and Ferrus before the heresy. Since this place after the betrayal I do wonder what happens up to the 13th black crusade.

 

I wish I could have met an awesome SoB player as I think of them as a preferred enemy for my Anarchist's Fists.

[GooseDaMoose]

Yeah, hushrong, Mabrothrax is the creator of Malal-lives I think :P

 

And by the way about Malal-empowered followers/daemons, I had an idea a while ago for count-as Plague Marines. This doesn't work if you don't trust psykers though, Mr. Malevolent ^_^ Anyway, I was thinking like the most powerful enemy Space Marines could be forced to serve Malal against their will (which makes them perfect servants of Malal because they hate themselves and what they're forced to do) by a sort of psychic lobotomy where a psyker binds their souls directly to Malal so they become zombies. Then they're fitted with an extra heavy armour pattern (high toughness) and sent marching forward to kill in the name of Malal. This could actually also work for count-as Thousand Sons since it would make sense for them to be led by a psyker and the Slow and Purposeful would work with their heavy armour.

 

I can't quite put my finger on it but I never liked the idea of enslaving daemons to their cause..

 

I do like your lady being the voice of the company, as long as it doesn't come across as her being the boss with all her mute followers sort of..

[hushrong]

Yep, Mabrothrax is the owner/creator of Malal lives. Sadly he doesn't come around these parts much at all.

 

As for Daemons, I like the idea of using enslaved ones against their former(true) masters. It is like taking someonesnown gun and turning it against them. Plus, for an army, it is a good way to add Daemons to the list. For my "wolves", I like the juggernauts, they're HUGE and beastly but I with they amenout with Dark Eldar chimera (the skinless dog thing in case i mixed up the name). Those look monstrous and are not as expensive.

 

The plague marine count as sounds pretty neat. Going off something from both Mabrothrax and you(Goose), berzerkers are (in my case) former assault marines. However, the desire to shed blood first, mixed with the degenerating effect of flesh consumption has driven them mad and violent. Consuming so much flesh and absorbing so many memories and feelings (somemof which an Astartes cannot comprehend) has altered their mind into a frenzy.

 

As for the lady, I think she will come across as some leader figure to observers, but she will mostly be the Abhorreds voice, as he is an extremist and is always silent. Just when she accompanies the SoM into battle, she can "tune" herself to the others and thus, be their voice. Still need to figure it all out but that's th le general idea.

 

*sorry if grammar or spelling is crap, my phone thinks it's a genius spellchecker.

[Brother Melice]

So, this is where you lowly, blood sucking-cannibalistic renegade traitors lurk, created a nice and cozy coven of Malal????

 

Great to see you guys ganging against us loyalists!!!!!!!!!!

 

any chance you can draw together all your companies into one group shot????

 

 

Cheers Brothers, so lost in ignorance and anger to the holy and responsible truth that is the Imperium.

[subtlebrush]

Wall of Text WARNING!

 

A bit of fluff that Goose started when re ran with an idea I came up with about a certain animal from Scelus. I introduced the Twilight Bear to reason for the inclusion of berzerkers in the SoM, kind of like the Space Wolves initiation into Blood Claws but of course Goose and his awesomeness expanded it beyond what I had started and so I myself figured I would run with it myself since I would try and include some berzerkers in my list a.k.a. Blood Claws (hope hes ok with it)

 

The whisper in the dark, the flaw spoken only in the deepest of shadows; The Bloodlust

 

Even before their untimely fall and excommunication from the Emperor's grace the Sons of Malice hid a dire genetic flaw from prying eyes. Similar in some respects to the growing Red Thirst/Black Rage associated with the sons of Sanguinius otherwise known as the loyalist Blood Angels, the Sons of Malice suffer from a flaw known to only those amongst the Chapters ranks as, The Bloodlust. As Adeptus Astartes, they were pre-disposed to immunity to the worst of effects with which cannibalism would have on a regular human being, as even in some loyalist Chapters, the consumption of ones enemies flesh and or brain can unlock vital information, whether it be battle plans, lay of the land and such it has always been in small increments. However it seems that through an over abundance of consuming the dead flesh, organs and blood of so many varied species, human and xenos, the Sons of Malice have degraded their gene-seed to the extent in which even a small drop of blood, even hundreds of miles away can drive an affected Initiate and more recently the younger Neophyte into a blood crazed state.

 

Although the founding of the "cure" to the affliction can not be traced, the fact remains the Sons did discover a ritual to either remedy the flaw or to dispose of the unhinged Astartes. On their homeworld of Scelus the Sons would take their affected Initiate to a remote area far in the humid south, the dark rain-forests or whenua papatipu, the sacred land, Uriuri. Once there, the Initiate would be stripped of his armour and weapons and left to seek out the elusive alpha predators of the Uriuri known as the Twilight Bears, native to the north in the Pango(black) Kush Mountains. Amongst all the strange native animals of Scelus none are more feared then the Twilight Bears, the most common being the Pango, or Black-Clad bear although there is an even more elusive sub-species known as the Ahau Mairu or the Emperors Giant in the native forest tribes dialect. Their appearance is that of a natural Terran bear, although standing roughly at a meter taller then an Astartes (the Ahau Mairu rumored to reach heights higher then even the enormous Dreadnaught) however amongst its midnight colored fur and thick steel like muscles and wirey sinew, the bears are covered in sharp barbs the length of a mans arm. Naturally the bears are able to extend these barbs in the event of a threat but mostly keep the barbs in their bodies unless provoked. Their massive paws end in viscous claws able to rend a man to bloody shreds with one anger fueled swipe.

 

The affected Initiate will track a suitable Pango-Bear, waiting for the opportune time, the Initiate clad in only a loin cloth (if anything at all) and wielding a flint spear or club will launch his assault on the predator. The resulting struggle will see the Initiate return covered with the most grievous scars as he wrangles with the bear, determined to end its life. Twilight bears in general are a vicious animal, its rage at the intrusion of the Initiate hurtling the startled bear into a raging fury, to the point that the bear will even charge the Initiate off the side of a perilous cliff, following after its prey determined to sink its teeth into warm bloody flesh. Upon finally besting the bear the Initiate will ritually devour its heart, offering praises to Malice in the hope that Malice will cure him of his flaw, thick blood and gore covering the Initiate from head to toe as he roars bloody triumph to his deity. Curiously it seems that this act will apparently "cure" the Initiate of his flaw for the most part, until, he steps foot upon the field of battle once again and breaths deep of the coppery tang of fresh blood. The Bloodlust seems to take hold again upon the Initiate time and time again however, his control and state of mind allowing him to be given orders and to even act them out accordingly, if not with more ease then before . Another curiosity is the attraction of "berzerkers" in keeping and wearing the hides of the Twilight Bears they have successfully hunted, even sometimes inheriting the namesake of "bear" into their name, even painting or tattooing their faces with black pigment to inherit the bears ferocity or perhaps to invoke the ability to control their rage brought upon them in the midst of battle.

 

The most famous amongst the Sons to undergo the trial and survive, are Aata "the white daemon", Captain of the "Charnel Reapers" 5th Company and more famouslyIllich "the bear" Brother-Assault Sergeant of Batko "the Black's" 7th Company. Aata being the only Initiate having found and slain a rare albino Ahau Mairu. Illich respectively being one of the first Initiates to hunt the elusive Ahau Mairu. Each mighty warrior now carries upon their person, nailed and preserved lovingly by slave artificers, the very skin of the Ahau Mairu they fought so dearly to sacrifice to Malice, blessings upon their honorable names. More recently it has been noted that not only the elder Initiates are succumbing to The Bloodlust but the newly inducted Neophytes are becoming frothing madmen at early stages, perhaps due to the already unstable gene-stock or the stock from which the individual Companies recruit from. Under the command of Captain Aaata of 5th Company, Neophytes are now given, usually stolen from Adeptus Mechanicus Forge shipping frigates or even from other older Legion war-bands dispersed amongst the immaterium, full Astartes Power Armour and are herded into "Blood" squads, often used for spear heading intense assaults, where their reckless abandon can be focused upon the enemy, until the next time the Companies gather at the Labyrinth. Captain Aaata, amongst the duties required of him and his Company to Brother-Anarch Kathal and their deity Malice, reserves an enormous section of the hulk in which warp beast similar to the Twilight Bears of Scelus are hunted as the days of old, each victor offering praise to Malice and earning his advancement to full Initiate. From there each newly formed Initiate being assigned to either "Hunter": Tactical, "Obliterator": Devastator (not to be confused with the the daemon-machine cult mercenaries), and or "Cell Operative": Veteran Scout. Whether these actions are, or whether these same actions take place in other Companies is hear say. Although it is not hard to imagine Aata's Company actively recruiting more so then most as the "Charnel Reavers" are seen to be intentionally throwing themselves into the most intense engagements such as boarding actions and drop-pod assaults, some seeing it as a way of Aata himself proving his worth as being the youngest Captain in the Chapter.

 

Phew.... ENJOY :D

[chaplain belisarius]

interesting stuff! so they are basically cannibals-do they eat their dead?

[subtlebrush]

Well, it all depends on Companies really. In the official GW fluff they are stated as eating the dead of their enemies in an orgy like ceremony after the conclusion of a well fought campaign. My Company under the command of Aata the white daemon, the "Charnel Reavers" 5th Company eat both the dead enemy and the dead brothers of the Company in an attempt to spread the wealth of battle knowledge and such amongst those who succeed the deceased. Of course, my Company will only eat their dead if they are truly beyond help, such as not being able to be inserted into a Dreadnaught; I used to have the Company be more like crazed ghouls but I made a fluff decision to make mine more orderly and write a story about a conflict with another Company who actually are crazed ghouls with the help of GooseDaMoose's 5th Company on my side ;)

[chaplain belisarius]

ok...so im guessing they feast upon particularly powerful enemies (and allies!) in order to gain their power? how does this work with dreadnoughts?

[subtlebrush]

That is a really good question! I don't think dreads would share in the ceremony really, unless a tech-marine fed him intravenously with a blended piece of meat or brain (not trying to be funny although the image I just conjured in my mind is hilarious). I'm actually writing that down in my fluff brainstorm notebook to be slaved over soon. Or do you mean what if they slay dreads? Because at that point the dying enemy dread is like a HUGE refrigerator to them ;)

 

As far as my own Comapny, the Initiates would of course know better then to eat some lowly guardsmen and go for the Colonel or Vet Sergeants (who actually know something worthwhile) but I think my Neophytes would just indulge themselves like only 9 ft. tall genetically enhanced super children can... ALOT! :D

[chaplain belisarius]

was thinking more along the lines of how do sons of malice get interred in a dreadnought? (maybe they are not important enough to get eaten?!)

 

:)

[subtlebrush]

OH! Well I think if their technically not dead, just dying, a Brother Marine will just be hooked into a dread. More so like a really heroic Captain (like the ex-Captain of 5th more on that when I finish my fluff), as far as the grunts of the force, I just see the Chaplain just giving him the point blank kiss of death and beginning the process of passing the important organs like brains and such. Dont want to get too graphic haha

[chaplain belisarius]

thought so...only the truly mighty get eaten! :)

[subtlebrush]

Yeah its derived from cannibalistic practices, like I believe the Aztecs would eat the heart of the enemy to gain courage or such, I believe some would even eat their eyes to see what they've seen etc.

[chaplain belisarius]

but its to gain power so a weak or unworthy enemy wouldnt be eaten?

[subtlebrush]

I would think so, something like a guardsmen would be a waste, their usually very ignorant, under educated and never know anything worth while like battle plans, bunker locations, etc.