The Shadow Of Terra

[King Willy]

THE SHADOW OF TERRA

 

Founded in M39, on the eve of the 11th Black Crusade, using stocks of Raven Guard gene seed. Initially formed to fight against the increasing numbers of chaos marines, in particular to alleviate the pressure on the Death World Aladozzra IV in the Segmentum Obscurus. When the Black Crusade burst forth from the Eye Of Terror, an Alpha Legion warband attacked the planet.

Instead of the small but grizzeled Regiment of Guardsmen, the Shadow of Terra struck out from beneath the ash clouds and shattered the warband in a number of fast, running battles among the lava flows and acid wastelands.

Eventually the Shadow of Terras maiden voyage culminated in the battle of Regazra Mount, were the captains of the first, second and tenth company joined with Chapter Master Winton Puzal to slaughter the Alpha Legion Leaders and crush the last of the Alpha Legions soldiers.

 

Since then the Shadows have spent their time hunting the most elusive of targets, figthing chaos all over the imperium, performing raids into the Maelstrom and Eye of Terror and most importantly infiltrating the hidden bases of Chaos and bringing them down from within.

 

 

GENE-SEED

Founded with Raven Guard Gene-seed, the Shadow of Terra has a sordid history with the high lords, suffering as they do with the same flaws that all Raven Guard inherit, though as pragmatist first and formost they ignore the missing organs and perform the duty gifted to them by the Emperor.

 

The Gene-Seed Tithe has been delivered on time, if only due to the age of the chapter, though recently 'new tactical doctrine' is making it harder for them to make the delivery on time. This is the main reason the High lords show such a dislike for the chapter but this is slowly being replaced with the aformentioned tactical doctrine, though for reasons unknown the High Lords have yet to react in the usual manner.

 

HOME BASE

The Death World Aladozzra IV is their home, their bastion and there main recruiting world. The Volcanic worlds unstable crust is almost constantly in flux, lightning arcing down from the sky in massive continental ion storms while Ash falls like black snow to cake the planet, massive quadrapedal reptiles with obsidion for skin and lava for spit, range across the acrid plains of lava crushing everything in there way, followered by herds of bipedal avian xeno-fauna follow in its wake feasting upon the freshly exposed lava flows and drinking straight from the magma vents.

 

The people of Aladozzra live in constant fear of the creatures that somehow survive as easily as cretures on agri-worlds. The Massive Golem Lizards often rip through the small settlements established by the mechanicum, despite this the people rebuild almost monthly, the hardy folk singing as they work alongside the dour adepts. This strange way of life is their way of keping there sanity on the world, folk heroes rise and fall among the people, living on after their death, many young Astartes initiaties adopting these personas after there acceptance into the chapter.

The Guardsmen stock follows much the same personality, singing and celebration are important to the people, especially the Aladozzra Regiments who must constantly move across the planet, defending the civilians from Xeno-fauna, criminals and even the planet itself.

 

These people have influenced the Shadow Of Terra, lending a rougeish joviality to the chapter a powerful contrast with the outward appearance of serious pragmatics. Even the chaplains of the chapter are seen as easy-going by other chapters, though still to the standards of the morbid warrior priests.

 

 

COMBAT DOCTRINE

 

The Chapter follows in the footsteps of the founding chapter, strike hard and kill with one blow being the first lesson taught to the young scouts. They use all manner of short ranged close quarters combat tactics, in particular ambush and infiltration tactics resulting in short ranged firefights. The independent nature of the Raven Guard is echoed in the tactics of the Shadow of Terra with each squads spliting and joining as they hunt the enemy like birds of prey or silent wraiths.

The bolters they use a unique to their chapter they sacrifice much of their rate of fire for a larger more powerful round, the better to kill in one shot, and each brother has learnt to modify their weapons, fitting scopes, reinforced barrels, bullpup style casings even close combat attachments. This form of weapon they call the Aladozzra-Pattern Bolter, a simpler trigger mechanism combined with an ingenuity and practicality makes its wide-spread use among the chapter unsurprising.

In close combat they move away from the Raven Guards famous lightning claws and prefer either long single edged sabres or in the case of the Veteren Brothers powerful Punch daggers that launch out from the armguard. The use of small quick weapons finding a common use in the tight confines they specialize, even their scouts use the sabres to great effect, either flanking the enemy in small squads to strike at command units or fire support.

Devestator squads a rare among the Shadow of Terras companies, instead squads of lighter armed Ranger Marines replace them, using powerful but short ranged melta and plasma weapons to destroy important targets while other squads move in to contest the captured ground.

 

In recent years the Shadow of Terra has sent out fresh orders, straight from the chapter master himself, the companies coming and going almost constantly from Aladozzra, there ships slipping silently into the warp. With these new orders reports from around the Imperium cited the arrival of the mysterious Shadows of Terra marines, especially were the taint of chaos reached past the veil. Only the mysterious Inquisition knows how the chapter can predict the coming of Chaos.

 

RECRUITMENT

 

The Shadow of Terra have a small number of worlds from which they recruit from, the aptly named Aladozzra sub-sector, an area of space with only three Imperium controlled planets each with there own chaplains and way of finding recruits, though all of the chaplains looking for the particularly young males.

 

Aladozzra Chaplains, called Obsidion Shadows by the semi-feral populace, range across the Ash wastes, looking across the horizon for lone pin pricks wandering the lands, he will follow those he finds, observing their actions and how the planet reacts to there presence. If the chaplain deems them worthy he will seem to step from the shadows and approach the young individual, often one of the so called 'Carriers' a group of child couriers and hunters often exiles or simply a child chosen from a village to carry messages and packages to neighbouring villages. Often the young man is intranced by the mythical stories the chaplain will tell of the legion of the heroes that make up it's membership. The chaplain will then decide if the child is worthy, snatching him away in the night, never to be seen again.

 

The Hive World of Ligus Maximus is a dangerous, filled with usual dangers of such a world, the Chaplains of this planet will keep tabs on the ongoing gang wars and people of note. When he finds a potential neophyte he will then move to observe the person or persons in question, often whole gangs of young children will become infamous Raiders drawing the attention of the Chaplain, either way if the Chaplain deems those he follows he will put the call in to a squad of Ranger Marines, the Chaplains guard, who will swoop down from the shadows and snatch up the young men in a whirlwind of violence this being apart of the testing process.

 

The third World is the Forge World Gradel II, those few chosen from this populace a often chosen for there mechanical skill, those who show the potential to climb out of the pits and into the workshops, Mechanicum adepts sending the names and vid-picts of the potential recruit to Chaplains in orbit, they will almost immediatly touch down and snatch the person up and begin to test the young man in private, those who pass a taken to Aladozzra, those who fail a sent back to the adepts to continue their dutys to the Imperium.

The

WIP comments appreciated.

[Codicier Lucion]

It looks interesting so far. I'll leave most of the suggestions for improvement to those better suited to give advice but I would suggest that you detail their recruitment methods. It's a good way to sometimes add character to the chapter.