IA ++ Cremators

[Consul of Scorpions]

T

he Cremators are known for one thing and one thing only, burning whole worlds. They are the terror of Imperial Commanders, Recidivist Governors, and Xenos Raiders alike, for the Cremators burn everything to the ground in order to stamp out the blemish of impurity. The Chapter answers only when called for and act on Imperial soil only by the orders of higher authorities within the Imperium. It is a rare general or governor that is happy to see the black and orange heraldry of the Cremators gracing the system under his martial command.

Origins

The space marine chapter known as the Cremators was born in fire, death, betrayal, and guilt with the burning of their homeworld, its name expunged, and the decimation of their leadership and numbers. Stout of heart and with an iron will descended from their Imperial Fist lineage, the Cremators have been borne from the ashes and descend on embattled worlds with only one objective on their minds; “Burn the Skies! Shake the Earth! Break the World!” For their penitence demands nothing less than devoted annihilation and nothing more than grim fervor.

Early History

“Only in death and fire can sin be forgiven”

Most of the Cremators’ history is expunged, leaving only a fractured account. The Chapter was once typical in its nature and called the Solar Castellans, ruling over an expansive hive world named Ardenica near the core of the Ultima Segmentum. Chaos-worshipping cults that had been thought eradicated from the dust of the world sprang up from the labyrinthine warrens beneath the Ardenican hives. The varied texts speak of many accounts of blood-sacrifice, rioting, and corruption among, even the Chapter’s leadership. The ensuing bloodbath ended in the fires of Exterminatus, the fortress hives of Ardenica running like wax beneath the infernal vortices of mass-detonated melta warheads. Only a small fraction of loyalist marines escaped the destruction of both their infighting and the Inquisitorial Sanction to be put on trial. Somehow, the Castellans were given clemency and allowed to rebuild their shattered reputation from the gene-stocks that managed to survive Ardenica's razing along with the remainder of unpurged tithes from vaults on Mars, taking up the mantle of the Cremators and completely reforming the Chapter and its operational strategies. Following the Faustos Incident, the Cremators have isolated their activities to xenos-held worlds along the Eastern Fringe, particularly those considered irrevocably infested by Orks. They have also been spotted waging their craft on Exodite worlds and Tau colony outposts over the decades.

Homeworld

“Sic transit gloria mundi”

The Cremators’ homeworld is a nameless, smoldering rock, blackened by Inquisitorial Exterminatus, and will remain unviable as any sort of habitat for several millennia. The Chapter shuns all attachment to a homeworld now, seeing it as corrupt and impure to anchor their duties to one location. They travel throughout the galactic disk, whether in response to an Imperial distress watermarked with the datacrypt of an Inquisitor or unbidden upon an alien world, displaying their contempt towards the shackles of the earth with their own ritual version of the firestorm enacted upon their long-dead birthplace.

The Faustos Incident

The most well-remembered campaign undertaken by the Cremators Chapter, and its first use of the World Breaker Devices, unfurled upon the surface of Faustos, a fairly typical industrial world that had been almost overrun by Warlord Grakt'ooth's WAAAGH! The call for aid was finally answered by the Cremators and the 23rd Gettrian Armored Cavalry regiment, raised from Gett, a planet the Faustians had taken primary action in reclaiming many centuries ago, began to push back hard against the Ork onslaught as news of the Cremator's arrival trickled down the chain of command.
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Taken by surprise, the defence forces of Faustos had time for little more than to seal its citizens inside emergency bunker complexes. The arrival of the Gettrian regiment provided hope for rescue, but the mobile squadrons of Guardsmen found themselves ground to pieces alongside the PDF against Grakt'ooth's own heavily mechanised and ramshackle horde of boyz. With the Cremators throwing their weight into the fray, Grakt'ooth's WAAAGH! focused a great deal of its orkpower against the Chapter's landing zones, much to the confusion of Guard and Naval strategists who nevertheless capitalized on the openings granted to their forces.
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As the campaign wound to its now-foreseeable close, anomalous tremors in the Faustian crust built to an apocalyptic cresendo as a portion of the planet's north western continent partially collapsed under a volcanic super-eruption, destroying three of the largest Faustian industrial hives and a large portion of the Ork WAAAGH! that had engaged a mechanised company of Gettrians on the ash plains there. Only as more landmasses fell into the oceans and pools of erupting magma was the complicity of the Cremators in this natural disaster revealed; their work done, the Chapter left the system as Faustos' destabilization continued, swallowing up anything foolish enough to remain, including several billion human lives that the Third Fomalhaut Battlegroup failed to evacuate from Faustos' burning surface in time.

Organization

T

he Cremators Chapter is organized into twelve ‘Breaker Centuries’ superficially similar to standard Codex organizational doctrine, but only composed of up to eighty battle brothers sans support, command, and neophyte elements, which are attached in an ad hoc manner during the planning stages of each campaign. The primary goal of each Breaker Century is the proper deployment of a World Breaker Device, as it takes all twelve of the temperamental and arcane devices in order to carry out the Chapter’s signature form of Exterminatus. The complete and utter annihilation of a planet's crust. Each device sets up a sequence of harmonic vibrations within a planet’s crust, but is relatively harmless alone or uncoordinated. A handful of the machines acting against a local area can cause massive earthquakes along most fault lines. But only with all twelve World Breakers in place and properly tuned can continents be sunk and seas of magma brought rushing to the surface as the planet’s interior destabilizes in a cataclysmic firestorm that can last for months before homeostasis reasserts itself and the process of tectonic formation can begin anew.

Each Breaker Century is an amalgam of typical Codex troop formations, but they are individually expected to provide for themselves a supply of equipment and recruits and to remain liquid and effective in the Chapter’s campaigns. The inability of a Centurion (equiv. Captain rank) to keep his troops and ships in a state of readiness and repair will see them absorbed into the other Breaker Centuries and a replacement formed out of newly initiated neophytes and a promising Veteran, given only a single Strike Cruiser with which to prove themselves. As it is both necessary and encouraged for each Captain to procure supplies for his Century, the Chapter tends to become a well-known and oft-seen presence in whatever sector they most recently campaigned within; much to the horror (and eventual disappointment) of many citizens whom expect such visits to be accompanied by a front-row seat to the next Apocalypse.

Combat Doctrine

"With each century in arms, we fall to the earth and shake the bones of the world to its fiery core; with each step we take, another foe is felled, their body lies broken and shattered; with each star we part from, another world shall be left pure and golden; we do this in remembrance of our sin and in earnest, each step is one towards repentance" - Edicts of the Conclave of Ashes

Solar Castellans Colors

The doctrine of ‘world-breaking’ was born out of fury and betrayal when the Chapter’s homeworld was destroyed by an Inquisitorial Sanction, their Chapter Master and the entire First Company having been found under the influence of pagan tribes aligned in worship under the Ruinous Powers. The surviving nine Companies had fought to a man against their elder brethren, some battling rebellions within their own ranks, with only a fraction managing to survive both the civil war and Exterminatus. The rebirth and continued service of the Chapter, their previous titles and associations buried forever under the mandate of the same rosette that burned their home to ashes, was earned in countless trials and service, purging any of their traitorous brethren that managed to survive the Exterminatus as they had. However, black rumors still circulate that a few escaped the fires of both purges.

Only two Captains, twelve battle brothers, and barely half of the Chapter's initiated neophytes, endured the arduous shame of betrayal and castigation, many others taking their lives in atonement for their grievous failures. Over twenty percent of the Castellans' remaining neophytes were relegated to serf status pending irrecoverable delays in their implantation schedules. Both of the Captains were charged with rebuilding their Chapter and their honor with the admonition that if such corruption ever touched the Cremators again, the consequences would be far worse than those suffered by the original traitors. The process of rebuilding the newly christened Cremators Chapter was a long one, its current form not being realized until late in the thirty-ninth millennium when the twelve Centuries rallied after several decades of recruiting and minor actions across the Ultima Segmentum. In what is written among the histories of the Chapter’s Librarium as the “Conclave of Ashes”, the Cremators’ leadership conceived of their infamous doctrine of total annihilation regardless of the cost; it was then that the World Breakers were truly born.

While many question the Cremators’ acquisition of the World Breaker Devices, the answer would be quite easily obtained if one took notice of the Explorator fleet headed by Calliope Alamos, an Arch Magos Geologis and rumored radical. Those who have noticed this disturbing trend call into question the possibility that Arch Magos Alamos might manipulate the headstrong Cremators into committing their single-minded campaigns on the wrong world. Indeed, words spread of a growing plot against the Techpriestess and the Cremators at large by elements in both the Inquisition and the Priesthood of Mars. However, with the threat of dissolution and excommunication already hanging over their heads, it seems like the Masters of the Cremators Chapter have been entrusted with their own fate, and most likely the fate of Magos Calliope, whether for providence or perdition.

Perhaps more curious is the intent behind this particular method of planetary annihilation. Where other Chapters might use conventional stellar ordinance to deliver an Exterminatus payload, the Cremators seem determined to enact this highly specific method reliant upon temperamental and extremely arcane technology. Intermittent psychic evaluations of Cremator command staff performed by the Chapter's own Chaplains and Apothecaries as well as overbearing members of the Inquisition suggest that the Dornian penchant for self-induced torment runs deep enough to affect higher-order decisions at the strategic and tactical level. Remaining until the last moment of their Exterminatus, surviving Cremator forces are given visual assurance of their personal and collective efforts towards absolution. The conclusion that such a drastic action is required to promote spiritual health has caused many a conflict between the Cremators and numerous factions within the Imperium, including several of their brother Chapters.

[clearfloat][/clearfloat]

Beliefs

"This is not revenge, remember that, for many brothers that have come before you have taken it upon themselves to seek it and each has fallen unto the gaze of corruption; what we do is repent for our sins and the the sins of those before us, never forget the folly that set us upon this path" - Chaplain Raginmund

R

eligious views within the Cremators are obsessed with purification through pain, an aspect of Dorn's geneseed pushed to extremes by the Chapter's personal history, and even the slightest error can send a brother-marine into a state of guilt-fueled distress until the proper amount of self-inflicted punishment has been endured. The role of Cremator Chaplains, being selected (oddly enough) from the most stoic and compassionate initiates, is to monitor the rites their brothers undertake and the origin of guilt that sends them into such frenzies. The Reclusiam’s duty is to prevent cases of destructive or aberrant self-torment and keep the Chapter as a whole mentally and emotionally stable (if not exactly healthy or sane). The role of Chaplain is great enough that the ranking office in the Reclusiam is equal if not superior in rank to the Chapter Master himself; the Apothecary is also heavily involved in ensuring the Chapter's continued mental health. The chapter’s persecution of enemy leaders is quite distant and informal compared to the typical responses common of the Imperial Authorities; those who instigated any recidivist action in which the Cremators respond to will usually find themselves blown away by a volley of artillery strikes or the sudden eruption of the planet’s interior beneath their feet. The number of times the Chapter has been required to personally hunt down a specific individual can easily be counted on one's own hands with room to spare.

Geneseed

The Cremators hail from the legacy of Rogal Dorn and, as such, lack the Betcher’s gland and Sus-an membrane. Additionally, several other zygotes have deteriorated in quality to non-functional levels and much speculation abounds as to what this type of decay implies with the loss of the Cremators’ Neuroglottis, Preomnor, and Omophagea. The propensity for self-inflicted punishment is also enhanced beyond what is expected of Dorn's legacy, hinting at further deterioration. Because of their lack of digestive support, marines of the Cremators Chapter carry an alchemical jelly devised by the Apothecarion that is ingested with meals of questionable safety, the jelly performs the detoxification and predigestion functions lost by the Premnor, any meals that remain unsafe become unpalatable to the marines’ stomachs and are regurgitated quickly thanks to the jelly’s effects.

Battlecry

“Burn the Skies! Shake the Earth! Break the World!” quickly followed by

“To ashes! To ashes!” the first part is exclaimed by leaders as a rallying cry, often before an engagement though just as easily during battle as a quick celebration or to initiate a verbal headcount; the second part is the response by all direct subordinates or shouted as a quick whoop.

[Consul of Scorpions]

Almost a year old now, I decided to come out of the lurker's den and touch up an old Index for re-evaluation. It's something to be said of hindsight that the precursors to this article don't look appetizing anymore.

[voi shet magir]

Some of the sentences have too many clauses and are effectively worthless. I don't think there is a correct way to use "whom" in that sentence; I don't think there is an intelligible way to write that sentence at all. You have some Stu Winkle sentences. That's a West Wing reference, never mind it. I have to make some critical posts in threads that need it more than this one. When enthusiasm for words is your worst problem, you do not have any real problems at all.

 

Apart from that, I'm going to include this thread in an exclusive list of my favorite IAs and put it in my signature. I think more posters should imitate you.

[Sigismund Himself]

The character this chapter oozes is amazing :D

 

I'd give them a few more numbers than 12 to come back from when decimated, it seems a little too small.

 

I'd also explain why they use the more complicated method of Exterminatus than nuking from orbit. I got the impression it was due to the stubbornness and wanting to make it hard for themselves as a form of self-punishment, but spelling it out a little more could help.

 

As VSM has pointed out, you could cut back in some places but there's not much more other than refining the writing that needs to make this a great IA.

[Consul of Scorpions]

Aaaah, no, I was hoping to get this in one shot, reediting the post junks my coding; WRY?!

 

Aside from making me go back into coding hell, the glowing reviews make me feel all fuzzy inside for getting it right for once; thanks.

 

I'd give them a few more numbers than 12 to come back from when decimated, it seems a little too small.

There's a... here, lemme just quote it.

Only two Captains, twelve battle brothers, and barely half of the Chapter's initiated neophytes, over twenty percent of which were relegated to serf status pending irrecoverable delays in their implantation schedules... [carried the Chapter's legacy after the Inquisitorial trials]

so maybe 50~200 just-shy-of-being-fully-initiated neophytes. That's somewhere close to enough, right?

 

Explain Exterminatus whys with the hows: yessir! o_O\

 

FINISHED

[Consul of Scorpions]

Thinking about the chapter symbols

http://www.pycomall.com/images/P/flaming_skull.gif

http://www.tattoodonkey.com/pics/s/k/skull-tattoo-on-fire-t-t-tattoodonkey.com.jpg

for the Cremators

http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/t/images/tornesch.jpg

http://www.vanordenfamily.org/vanorden_coat.jpg

and the Solar Castellans

 

edit: Halloween is coming and I noticed that I'd never explained the meaning behind the Cremators' colors, which serve as a clipped summary of the Chapter itself. Hope you enjoy.

 

Black, majority color: grief; with the loss of their homeworld as well as their prestige among their brother chapters as well as the Cremators' particular psychological quirks, grief plays a large part in making the chapter who they are.

 

Brown, greaves: stability, masculinity; part of the surviving heraldry from their days as the Solar Castellans, it is the role of the Chaplains and the Apothecarion to maintain mental and physical equilibrium within their chapter, as such, both branches favor brown over traditional codex colors and every marine paints his greaves and boots brown to remind themselves of their duty to the Imperium and of the need to push through hardships rather than be consumed by them.

 

Orange, pauldron faces and kneepads: strength and endurance/deceit and distrust; emblematic of their Schism, orange holds a double-meaning with the Chapter and adorns the two pieces of armor most often damaged through use or hostile intent. The need for strength of character and wariness of duplicity is paramount.

 

Red, gloves: vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath; as hands are Mankind's primary method of interacting with the world, Cremators adorn their gauntlets with the color red to signify the ideals and emotions that often shape their conduct.

 

Yellow, pauldron trim: happiness, intellect, energy; less a statement of joy than a lingering reminder, like the brown of their greaves, of the Cremators' past. Where the Solar Castellans looked towards rebuilding the Imperium wherever they could from their small corner of the galaxy, the Cremators look to expunging their crimes and those of their deceased brothers.

 

Grey, Solar Castellans pauldron faces: conservatism, traditionalism, intelligence, serious.

 

Green, Solar Castellans eyepieces: sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy; authorial depiction and "postshadowing" of the Chapter's Schism.