Angels of Caliban

[Brother-Sergeant Bohemond]

So, with the new Legions size and the new fluff out there that suggests larger second founding, I have decided to take the plunge and create a new chapter. Without any further ado, I present the Angels of Caliban, Second Founding Chapter of the line of el'Jonson.

 

Reminder: a work in progress, please be as critical as you want

 

 

Angels of Caliban

 

Origins

 

The Angels of Caliban can trace their origins to the earliest days of the Imperium. The 18th Order of the legio I was formed on the hallowed soil of Terra itself. One of the original Chapters of the Legio, the Astartes of the 18th Order distinguished themselves on countless battlefields and conquered hundreds of worlds in the name of the Emperor. It was on the blood soaked fields of Callix V that the Order would suffer their highest number of casualties yet. Over 3000 Astartes perished against the Techno Empire of Callix, yet they refused to be denied and finally destroyed the Empire, assimilating what was left into the Imperium. Shattered and badly mauled, it was on the Emperor orders that the Order was to distribute the majority of their Marines to other Chapters, and they were to proceed to Caliban with a training cadre to take in and train the first of the new Astartes, the sons of Caliban itself.

 

Caliban, the new home world of the I Legion, now named The Dark Angels by their Primarch Lion el’Jonson. Chapter-Master Elisha and his cadre arrived at Caliban to be greeted by their Primarch himself. Jonson renamed the Chapter the 18th Order and new recruits were sent to Elisha to be trained. Over the remainder of the crusade the Order continued to fight hard against the foes of man. It was during this time that two Marines would rise to prominence. One was a true son of Caliban, Malachi who had served in The Order while the other, Raul, had fought as a Knight of Lupus before joining the Order. As the Order finished campaigning in the Revdor system, Raul was ordered back to Caliban to take command of the 42nd Chapter as Grandmaster. This moment marked the last time the two friends would see each other, though, for after the campaign, news of the Horus Heresy swept through the Legion and the galaxy. It was during the Heresy that Elish fell, badly wounded, whilst the Legion campaigned against the Night Lords personally led by the Lion. Elisha was then interred in a dreadnought and his place as GrandMaster was taken by Malachi. For the rest of the Heresy they fought with distinction and courage, but,ultimately, it ended with Horus striking down the Emperor. With heavy hearts the Legion returned to Caliban, and with it went Malachi and the remnants of the 18th Order.

 

It was in orbit around Caliban that the Order faced their biggest threat yet, treachery from their own. The battle ended with the Lion missing and their home destroyed. Luther, considered the arch-traitor, was found in the wreckage of the Fortress-Monastry. But Luther was not the man Malachi sought to find. He sought Raul and vowed that, one day, he would bring him down for his crimes against the Legion.

 

During the Second Founding, Malachi created the Angels of Caliban from the shattered remnants of his Order. Included amongst the number of Astartes that he took with him was his mentor, Elisha. Malachi established the Imperial Battleship Glory of Caliban as the Chapters Fortress-Monastry, henceforth would the Chapter ply the stars seeking out the Emperor’s foes.

 

Appearance

 

The Angels have a halved Green and Black scheme for their armour. The Green is that which represents Caliban and their heritage and serves as a reminder for what they consider to be their true home and their duty to the Lion. The Black represents the Legion and the Emperor, an ever constant reminder of their duty to the Imperium. Worn on the Right Pauldron, the Chapter symbol is a White Circle that represents The Order and Caliban, while the left Pauldron bears the personal heraldry of each Astartes that is presented when formally inducted into the Brotherhood. Each heraldry contains some element of their mentor’s heraldry, in this way the traditions and respect for the senior brothers continues throughout the new recruits.

 

Organisation

 

The Chapter, like most Dark Angel successors, fields the Second Company mounted entirely on bikes and speeders and the First Company are made up of Veterans. Organisationally, however, the remaining Eight Companies operate as individual Battle Companies of around a hundred Marines in each. Initiates are assigned to a Company where they will serve for the majority of their lives, unless transferred into the First Company.

 

A Company can number well of a Hundred Astartes depending on the numbers of current recruits and the number of battlefield casualties. The Ninth Company currently stands at One Hundred and Seventeen combat ready Astartes plus Company Command as well as Twenty-Five Initiates. This is due to high recruitment rates in recent years and the Ninth’s low combat losses.

 

The Second Company recruits the best and most skilled riders from the ranks of the initiates and then continues their training to make them some of the best riders in the Imperium. There is also no set limit for the Second Company. They number anywhere from around One Hundred to One Hundred and Thirty Marines plus Initiates at any given time dependent on combat losses

 

Unlike other Companies the First Company never numbers more than One Hundred Angels, the reason for this has never been made clear, though, due to the numbers of highly skilled Angels who have not been raised to the First due to ‘lack of available space’ some rumours hint that it is a way to control further knowledge. Unlike their Founding Chapter the First Company does not usually deploy entirely in Terminator Armour, though they have access to it. There are twenty squads in the first company and each has its own Frigate complete with armouries and Drop Pods as well as a Thunder Hawk. This flexibility sees the Veterans of the Angels of Caliban striking all over the Imperium, even at seemingly innocent locations. The First Company also has access to the Battle-Barge Lion’s Pride where the Company-Master of the First and his Command Squad are based along with the First’s support staff.

 

Combat Doctrine

 

True to the doctrine of the Lion the Chapter practices a combined arms warfare utilising everything at their disposal to gain victory. Unlike other chapters that have specialised in one or another sort of warfare, the Angels of Caliban seek to master every facet. Grand Master Elisha, and, subsequently, Grand Master Malachi emphasised the importance of understanding ones foes before they could truly destroy them. To this end, the Angels Codex Astartes contains more detail about Xenos races than many others may do.

 

The Second Company of the Angels of Caliban contain some of the greatest Bikers in the Imperium. It is common belief amongst the Chapter that they are second only, if that, to the best of the White Scars and the Dark Angels Ravenwing and some hold that they are greater than them. This may be due, in large part, to the natural life of Prydien, from which nearly the entire Second Company is drawn from.

 

Recruitment

 

The Angels of Caliban recruit from several different worlds as befits their status as a space-bound chapter. Upon each world they maintain a Keep that watches over the world and acts as the central location for new recruits. Maintained by Chapter Serfs and aging Astartes, each Keep is the first testing ground of any potential recruits. Often set in harsh locations: high up in mountain ranges, or in the middle of a desert or some other inhospitable location recruits must make their own way to the Keep. True to the traditions of the order those who make it must spend a full night outside the doors before they are accepted. Those who fail, either die or join the ranks of the chapter serfs.

 

There are three main worlds that the Angels recruit form, however they also maintain Keeps on countless others. The first is the semi-fuedal world of Prydien where mounted warbands wage war against each other. Unlike other worlds, Prydien’s keep is set in one of the nicest locations; this is because it is maintained as the main ground based point for the chapter including genebank stores and older Astartes who can no longer participate in battle. This has led many to consider Prydien the Angels Homeworld. The only hardships recruits have to endure is a night outside the walls, though this test is done in the middle of Prydien’s winter, a time of freezing nights.

 

The second world is the barbarian world of karasnor, semi-primitive tribes wonder the worlds surface which ranges from deserts through lush jungle to high, icy peaks. It is in one of these Mountain ranges that the Angels maintain their mighty Keep and it is considered an honour for a son of the tribe to make it and be chosen to ascend to the ranks of His Angels. They always know who is chosen and who is not, for a messenger of His Angels will inform them, this practice has kept a steady stream of some of the best and bravest youngsters to the Keep and the Chapter. Last, but not least, is the planet of Callix V. Once the scene of a great campaign waged by their predecessors, now a manufactorum world with strong ties to the Mechanicus due to their love for technology, though only a handful of recruits come from Callix nearly all join he armoury, either as drivers of the various tanks or as Techmarines of the Chapter.

 

‘There is nothing but the Chapter’ is an apt summary of the initial training of each Angel. Cultures and traditions are broken down and replaced with the Chapter traditions; faith is replaced with the Chapter Cult. No matter which world one brother comes from, their world view is reshaped to that of the Chapter.

 

Beliefs

 

The Chapter reveres the Emperor as the greatest man who ever lived and their Primarch as the mightiest of all his sons. Their closest relationships lie with other Unforgiven Chapters, most notably with the Dark Angels Chapter; however, they have also forged close bonds with other Chapters and agencies throughout the Imperium.

 

Astartes traitors are hated above and beyond all else, mortals are considered to be fallible and therefore easily led astray and are accordingly not treated with the same hate. It is those Adeptus Astartes that have forsaken their oaths that they hate with a passion and a fervour bordering on the fanatical. It has been noted many times that the Angels of Caliban will refuse to back down in front of Traitor Marines and will fight to the death to prevent the success of any Traitors.

 

The Night Lords Legion is one of those groups of traitors that the Angels of Caliban nurse a particular hatred for. This is a legacy of the Horus Heresy and the Scouring when the Dark Angels fought them time and again before they could reach Terra. During the Scouring the Angels of Caliban were at the forefront of the campaign to eradicate the Night Lords as they fled across the Imperium. The atrocities witnessed by these sons of Jonson fuelled their anger and desire to bring them to justice.

 

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This is just the start, I still need to add more things in.

[Andrew J]

Seems to fit what I have read of the HH so far. Have not delved into the Dark Angels books yet so I am a little lost about this part:

 

It was in orbit around Caliban that the Order faced their biggest threat yet, treachery from their own. The battle ended with the Lion missing and their home destroyed. Luther, considered the arch-traitor, was found in the wreckage of the Fortress-Monastry. But Luther was not the man Malachi sought to find. He sought Raul and vowed that, one day, he would bring him down for his crimes against the Legion.

 

I thought you were talking about the war on terra. Then I had to go back and read it again. I would look again at this part and try to seperate the two parts some more.

 

Other than that I like the mix of BT and DA.

[Brother-Sergeant Bohemond]

Yea, the writing on origins is the shakiest part so far, I still need to work out if I want the Malachi/Raul antagonism (kinda a mini 'Jonson/Luther') or not...