Vash113 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 So if you didn't know the Librarium has been shut down for a while, which means no updates to existing articles, including my Comprehensive History series. I have been keeping thorough notes from new publications but have not actually updated the articles themselves. I've finally gotten off my backside however and decided to start updating the articles and the first up was the Raven Guard. I've expanded the article greatly with information from Unkindness of Ravens, Helion Rain, Labyrinth of Sorrows, Deliverance Lost, Age of Darkness and more, check it out and let me know what you think! Raven Guard: A Comprehensive History "From the darkness we strike: fast and lethal, and by the time our foes can react... darkness there and nothing more." -Raven Guard saying. The Origins of the Raven Guard Author Vash113 is a Codicier here on the B&C and has submitted a number of large articles, including more of his trademark Comprehensive Histories. This is the shortest of the Histories so far. The early history of the 19th Legion, particularly where the Primarch Corvus Corax is concerned, is shrouded in a great deal of mystery. It may well be that time and war have simply destroyed or lost much of the documentation of the time period, however whatever the reason the accounts on the early life of Corax and the early history of his exploits and those of the Raven Guard are few and far between. To begin with the pale skinned infant Primarch Corax landed on Lycaeus, the mineral rich satellite of the planet Kiavahr. Kiavahr is a technologically advanced world, covered in factories and machine shops of all shapes and sizes, and the mineral rich moon provides the planet with the raw materials, as well as a handy place to dump exiles and criminals. The moon was a massive penal facility, where the criminals of Kiavahr, or really anyone who displeased the decadent rulers of the planet, were sent to work the mineral mines of the moon. The conditions were terrible and the oppression of the workers was immense. The overseers of Lycaeus were heavily armed and cruel, watching over the slaves from a massive fortress spire. The prisoner slaves could do little about their fate; that is until Corax came to the rescue, to deliver the downtrodden to their salvation. The tales about the discovery of Corax are many, what the truth is will probably never be known, some tales tell of a fiery comet, others of a dying warrior giant delivering a babe, yet another talks of a massive cave-in revealing the child, whatever really happened, the result was that the slaves hid the black haired, pale skinned child from their overseers. They named the child Corax, which translates roughly to ?the Deliverer? and if names are prophetic, that one certainly is. For Corax absorbed anything and everything the exiles could teach him, their varied backgrounds granting the young Primarch knowledge on many aspects of leadership and war, including urban combat, demolitions and much more. Within a few years Corax had matured into a strong and keenly intelligent man and the exiles rejoiced seeing the Primarch as an omen of good fortune, perhaps heralding their freedom. As the years wore on Corax began to put plans into motion, stockpiles of weapons were placed at key strategic points, squads of trained slaves were organized, resources were prepared and Corax began a campaign of attacks and riots that sapped the moral and resources of the guards. Corax was aided by an innate ability to go undetected even when in plain sight, one of his unique skills as a Primarch, allowing him to ambush and slaughter guards and perform reconnaissance impossible for the mortal slaves of Lycaeus to manage. Finally when the situation on Lycaeus had built to the brink of explosion Corax struck. Mining machines and equipment were turned on the jailors, power lines were cut, habitation domes were vented into space, and an elite team of killers lead by Corax himself infiltrated the spire and in a single night of fighting captured it. After centuries of oppression not a single jailor was spared and every last prisoner was executed. Kiavahr was of course shocked at the fall of Lycaeus and immediately dispatched troops to quell the uprising. However with the advantage of being in the gravity well of the planet, Corax and his warriors launched five of the 1320 atomic mining charges stocked on Lycaeus at the industrial centers of Kiavahr, obliterating the cities of Nairhub, Toldrian Magnus and Chaes. In short order the Tech-Guilds, starved of raw materials and with their infrastructure falling apart, began to fight amongst themselves for the few remaining resources. Even when troops from Kiavahr landed on Lycaeus they were out fought at every turn. Within a short period of time the economy and infrastructure of Kiavahr was in utter ruin and the short but brutal war came to an abrupt end as the Tech-Guilds of Kiavahr became simply incapable of continuing the fight, too busy combating each other for the limited resources remaining on the planet. The slaves renamed the moon Deliverance, in honor of Corax and all that he had done for them and the celebrations lasted many days. It was during these celebrations that the Emperor arrived to be reunited with his lost son. While the details of this momentous event go largely unrecorded, what the Librarians of the Raven Guard record is that when the Emperor descended to the surface of Deliverance he was met by the waiting Corax. For a day and a night the Emperor and Corax spoke though none know of what, the following day Corax took command of the 19th Legion of the Adeptus Astartes, on the condition that the Emperor help him bring peace to the planet of Kiavahr. Through force of arms the remaining Tech-Guilds were destroyed utterly and the Adeptus Ministorum took their place. In time Kiavahr was rebuilt with the guidance of the Imperium and mineral production resumed on Deliverance under a much improved and just regime. The Raven Guard took the massive spire citadel as their home, renaming it the Ravenspire. The Great Crusade During the Great Crusade the Raven Guard made a legendary reputation. Corax?s ability to examine the structure of a planet, and then apply military pressure precisely where required to topple the leadership or cripple the military. The hard bitten guerrilla leader stood tall in matte black power armor of the most masterful artifice, a jump pack of mechanical, black feathered wings and lightning claws with razor sharp silver talons. The Legion became peerless in infiltration, sabotage and covert operations. So legendary became the skills of the Raven Guard that Horus himself called upon their aid many a time. However the records of the Raven Guard are surprisingly few on these events. Historians theorize that the taciturn Corax was not at all pleased by the boastful and manipulative politics of Horus. One account however asserts that the two Primarchs and their Legions almost came to outright bloodshed, and would have had Corax not departed with his Legion. The next time The Raven Guard and the Luna Wolves would meet would be on the blood soaked plains of Istvaan V. The Horus Heresy The assault on Istvaan V is as legendary as it is terrible. For the event is known as the ?Drop Site Massacre? with good reason. The Raven Guard, Salamanders and the Veterans of the Iron Hands deployed in force to destroy Horus and his rebellion, with four Legions close behind them to support the effort the loyalists believed Horus would be crushed outright. While Corax and Vulkan counseled caution, arguing that they should wait for the second wave of loyalists to arrive before commencing the attack, Ferrus Mannus of the Iron Hands would not be contained. Ferrus demanded the first wave deploy immediately and bring the traitors to battle with all due haste. Corax and Vulkan relented, initiating a massive assault with all their available might. The loyalists deployed rapidly, with the Iron Hands surging to spearhead the attack while the Salamanders and Raven Guard formed the flanks. The assault was costly, grueling and brutal with casualties mounting rapidly on both sides but it appeared to be succeeding, with the traitors steadily withdrawing in the face of the loyalists assault, when the reserve Legions arrived. The second wave of the loyalist forces comprising the Night Lords, Iron Warriors, Alpha Legion and Word Bearers Legions arrived while the first wave was still heavily embattled and set up a fortified camp at the drop site of the first wave forces. Landing amongst the Thunderhawks and Stormbirds of the first wave Legions the second wave forces set up batteries of artillery and prefabricated fortifications under the pretext of consolidating the breach-head. The Salamanders and Raven Guard began to fall back to recover and regroup, their numbers depleted and their ammunition nearly spent, but the Iron Hands would not fall back for Ferrus Manus was driven on by his inconsolable fury. As Captain Torisian and his warriors of the Raven Guard 29th Company reached the Word Bearers positions they were cut down by merciless volleys of weapons fire from the second wave legions. The slaughter was horrendous, unprepared for the treachery of those they thought to be brothers in arms the first ranks of Raven Guard and Salamanders to reach the Drop Site were cut to shreds. The rest of the first wave forces reeled as the full horror of the second wave's betrayal sunk in and Horus' forces suddenly ceased their retreat and launched a brutal counter-attack. The Raven Guard and Salamanders reacted with the cool precision and discipline of hardened veterans but under attack from two directions by overwhelming numbers they were being slaughtered. Thrown into a horrifying rage by his brother's treachery Corax launched himself into the Word Bearers ranks, cutting down traitor Legionaries with every slash of his claws and sweep of his mechanical wings. Determined to save his newly revealed possessed elite from Corax's wrath Lorgar, Primarch of the Word Bearers, confronted his former brother despite knowing his martial prowess was nowhere near a match for the Raven Guard Primarch. The duel that ensued was furious but inevitable, despite unleashing his psychic potential and receiving the gifts of chaos Lorgar could not stand up to the combat prowess of Corax who carved into the traitor Primarch with his razor claws, inflicting horrible wounds upon the Word Bearers Primarch. Lorgar would have died on Corax's claws had not Conrad Kurze, Primarch of the Night Lords, intervened. With his duel broken Corax chose to withdraw, ordering his Legion to break out of the combat and retreat to the mountains beyond the battlefield. Precious few Raven Guard and Salamanders escaped the killing fields. The Iron Hands contingent was killed to a man, Ferrus Mannus himself was beheaded by the traitor Primarch Fulgrim. Retreat from Istvaan was not immediate however, for the loyalist fleet had been destroyed in a devastatingly bloody but brief space battle, leaving the surviving Salamanders and Raven Guard stranded on the surface of Istvaan V with traitor forces hunting them. For weeks the Raven Guard ambushed the traitors before withdrawing into the mists and mountains, the last remnants of the Legion having regrouped around Corax and the surviving senior Commanders, Alany of the Falcon Assault Companies and Agapito of the Talon Tactical Companies. Eventually the Imperial Army Praefectus Marcus Valerius and Commander Branne led an expedition to investigate the events of Istvaan and staged a lightning recovery mission to extract the hounded survivors of the Raven Guard. Corax and the few survivors of Istvaan V voyaged to Terra to seek the Emperor's aid in rebuilding the Legion. Though he was unable to meet with the Emperor in person Corax was sent a vision leading him to the vault housing the Emperor's research data and genetic samples from the defunct Primarch Project. Though a force of Raven Guard and Custodes fought and bled to unlock the Emperor's Labyrinth guarding the data vault the reward was scientific research that could rebuild the Raven Guard quickly enough to join the fight against the traitors. Though Corax was warned that delving into the research data was opening dangerous doors the Legion was out of options and desperate to rebuild his forces Corax gave the order to Chief Apothecary Vincente Sixx to begin working on a way to convert the Primarch Project data into a new strain of accelerated gene-seed. Rather than keep the project data in the Ravenspire Corax ordered Apothecary Sixx to set up his laboratory in the Apothecarion facilities of Ravendelve, an outpost of the Legion in the radwastes of Kiavahr. The records of the first creations of the Apothecaries are sealed with oaths and sigils of immense power and none will speak of them, not the Raven Guard, nor any of their successors. The later creations are shrouded in mystery as well. The Raven Guard became very taciturn and isolationist during that period, fighting alone and invisibly, and few accounts from those times exist. One such tale is recorded by the Rune Priests of the Space Wolves. Unable to breach the walls of an Iron Warriors fortification after many attempts a force of monsters herded into battle by the black armored warriors of the Raven Guard smashed through the enemy, shattering the defenses in one charge and slaughtering all inside. At the battle?s conclusion the monsters and their tenders disappeared. Barely one in a hundred of the Apothecaries creations was stable enough to become a Space Marine, the rest were twisted almost beyond recognition, drooling, insane monstrosities. No real proof of this remains however, and the Space Wolves are not about to report their cousin's use of forbidden technologies either, perhaps because of the Space Wolves experiences with the Curse of the Wulfen makes them more sympathetic to the Raven Guard's plight. Corax and the Legion's secrecy did not serve sufficient to protect the project from the machinations of the Alpha Legion. Imposters planted within the ranks of the Dropsite Massacre survivors and infiltrators under the command of Omegon struck the outpost and stole the data for themselves. Even worse the Alpha Legionaries secreted within the Raven Guard's own ranks tainted the project's gene-seed supply, turning the relatively stabilized accelerated gene-seed into a twisted, highly mutating parody of itself and undermining the Raven Guard's attempts to rebuild. After the Alpha Legion attack on Ravendelve Corax abandoned the accelerated recruitment project and returned to a slower, more reliable transformation process but the infiltrators damage and battlefield losses had already taken their toll on the Legion's gene-stocks. As the years passed and the fires of war continued to burn across the galaxy, the Raven Guard slowly rebuilt, their skills in covert warfare and black ops allowing them to offset their lack of resources. Yet it was almost a century before the Raven Guard could deploy in any significant numbers. Nevertheless the cost was shockingly high, the Ravenspire was filled with the cries of the Apothecaries abominations that filled the dungeons of the Fortress Monastery. Corax decreed that the knowledge of what the Raven Guard had paid to survive should never be known, and he personally delivered the Emperor?s Peace to every last one of the abominations. Post-Heresy Following the Horus Heresy Corax accepted without complaint the edicts of the Codex Astartes, and the Raven Guard was split into three additional chapters, the Revilers, the Black Guard, and the Raptors. However the fate of Corax is much more uncertain. Following the split of the legion he locked himself in the highest room of the Ravenspire for a year to the day, praying for forgiveness from the Emperor for his actions. When he finally emerged he was wild eyed and he departed on a course for the Eye of Terror that very night. The only word he gave as explanation was ?Nevermore?? and nothing more. The tragic Primarch has never been seen or heard from again. Homeworld The official Fortress Monastery of the Raven Guard is the Ravenspire on Deliverance. However together the moon Deliverance and the planet Kiavahr produce almost enough munitions and machines to equal the production capacity of a Forge World, and in addition the quality of the weapons and war machines produced by the forges of Kiavahr are of the highest craftsmanship. However due to centuries of pollution the atmosphere of the planet is extremely polluted and cases of mutation are significantly higher than normal. While this stretches the tolerance of Imperial authorities the quantity and quality of the arms and munitions produced by the planet buys more leeway than would normally be the case, and being the homeworld of the Raven Guard doesn?t hurt either. The Raven Guard themselves are slightly unusual in that they mingle with the population of Deliverance and Kiavahr and are close to the people that serve them. The Chapter draws many recruits from the billions of inhabitants and are held in the highest regard by them. The Ravenspire -The former central keep of the Kiavahrian slaver guards, the Ravenspire became home to the 19th Legion after the Liberation War and the Emperor's discovery of his lost son. Renamed the Ravenspire, this mighty and imposing keep has served the Legion, and later the Chapter well for thousands of years. The tallest reaches of the Ravenspire feature a series of landing pads and docking platforms known as the High Dock, while the interior of the Ravenspire features the Carnivalis, the massive assembly room where the Raven Guard gather for feasts, celebrations and ceremonies and display their various banners and trophies taken from the field of battle. Ravendelve -An outpost of the Raven Guard on Kiavahr, Ravendelve is located in the radwasted ruins of the city of Nairhub, one of the five targets destroyed by Corax's improvised nuclear bombs in the closing days of the Liberation War. Afterwards Ravendelve was built as an outpost for the training of recruits and hostile environment exercises. After the Dropsite Massacre Ravendelve became home to the Primarch Project data and the Legion's efforts to rebuild, ending in the Alpha Legion assault on the outpost and the abandonment of the project. Combat Doctrine "Knowing where to land your blow, so that it achieves the greatest damage with the minimum force, is the key to victory in war." Instructor Sergeant Alenpo, 4th Company -Index Astartes: Raven Guard The above quote represents the combat doctrine of the Raven Guard perfectly. Covert warfare and guerrilla tactics are well known to the Raven Guard. The very skills that made them legendary during the Great Crusade, and allowed them to survive the fires of the Horus Heresy now make up the greater part of the chapter?s combat doctrine. While the Raven Guard are fully capable of deploying in force when necessary, recruitment is still slow and dangerous and as such the chapter still relies on sabotage and stealth to a large extent. Captain Kayvaan Shrike is the pure embodiment of these tactics and his campaign against the Orks of Targus VIII has become legendary. The Raven Guard are also famed for their ease of deployment, the Chapter's forces are often highly mobile or will deploy in Drop Pods. This allows the fighting forces of the Raven Guard to quickly assess and adapt to a rapidly changing battlefield. Furthermore the Raven Guard are exemplars of squad level tactics and rapid deployment and these aspects of the Chapter are closely studied and have even been incorporated into the doctrines of other Chapters. Sharing experience and knowledge is not necessarily uncommon, but the extent to which the Raven Guard?s skill in these areas is acknowledged is impressive. The Chapter's combat doctrine has led the Raven Guard into contention with fellow Astartes from time to time, most notably the White Scars. The dour warriors from Chogoris and the Sons of Corax have had a troubled history of botched operations and nearly coming to blows in numerous warzones and battlefields across the galaxy. Among these incidents are The Fall of Kordon, The Battle for the Ring of Night, the Assault on Hive Lin-Mei and the Last March on the Saphire Worlds. One of the most egregious conflicts arose during the disastrous Operation Chronos, where the two Chapters were deployed to face an incursion by the Enslavers, during the fighting a celebrated Raven Guard Chaplain was overcome and enslaved by the vile xenos while a nearby band of White Scars failed to intervene. Fortunately the Hunt for Voldorious has helped bring the two ancient Chapters closer and go some way towards healing old disagreements. The Raven Guard adhere closely to the dictates of the Codex Astartes, however they rely heavily on Assault Squads and independently operating Scout Squads and the Chapter's Dreadnaughts commonly deploy via Drop Pod. The Origins of the Mk. V Heresy Armor -Following the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre the survivors of the Raven Guard were in a sorry state indeed. Precious few of the Legion's vehicles remained and virtually every single survivor of the massacre bore massively damaged armor in need of extensive repair. With replacement armor parts in short supply but vehicle components plentiful the Legion's Techmarines set about jury-rigging replacements, patching together crude repairs and doing their best to return the Legion to some semblance of battle-readiness. The results of the Techmarines ingenuity were disseminated to the other loyalist Legions following Corax's visit to Terra and led to the Mechanicus designating any non-standard or jury-rigged armor mark as Mk. V Heresy pattern armor. As such the Raven Guard were the first Legion to officially use Mk. V armor. The Raven Guard and Mk. VI Corvus Armor -During the Great Crusade the Raven Guard tested the prototype Mk. VI armor for two years during the Scalland Sector Campaign. During the course of the campaign the Raven Guard made many suggestions to the Mechanicus that were implemented in the final design. Following the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre the Imperial Fists shipped 2,000 suits of artificed Mk. VI pre-production models to the Raven Guard to support the Legion's rebuilding efforts. The nearly finished models featured enhanced auto-senses including more sensitive olfactory and auditory pickups, backup power cables inside the chest plate and up-armored joints, making the Mk. VI the most stealth compatible mark of armor to date. In honor of the Raven Guard's contributions to the design the armor mark was named after the Legion's Primarch and dubbed Corvus armor. Organization While the Raven Guard are organized along the guidelines of the Codex Astartes, their application is subtly different. Following the Istvaan V Massacre the Legion just did not have the resources to re-equip properly and had to make do with older arms and armor. Because of this even in modern times the Raven Guard include a significantly higher number of ancient suits than most chapters and the individuals that are lucky enough to be gifted with these suits view themselves as blessed by the Primarch. The officers of the Raven Guard are known as Shadow Captains and the Chapter Master is called the Master of Shadows. Corax is reputed to have ordered the use of these titles before he disappeared and the Chapter has made use of them ever since. Perhaps of greatest note is that the Captains of the Raven Guard operate autonomously when in the field, a trait that is highly uncommon within the Adeptus Astartes. Normally Companies and task forces are deployed at the will of the Chapter Master, however once a Company has departed Deliverance the Captain has nearly free reign in choosing where and how the Company will fight. Some critics claim this is a sign of ill-discipline within the Chapter, however it could also be said that the autonomy of the Raven Guard's Captains is a sign of the discipline and trust within the command structure of the Chapter. During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy the Raven Guard were organized into specialized Companies such as the Falcon Assault and Talon Tactical Companies, organized much like the Reserve Companies of Codex Chapters. Horus Heresy Organization Following the losses the Legion suffered in the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre the Legion underwent significant organizational changes. Corax disbanded his personal honor guard and re-absorbed them into the rest of the Legion which was formed into three different commands, each under one of the Legion's remaining senior commanders. The Tactical Squads of the Legion were formed into the Talons while the Assault Squads and Dreadnoughts were formed into the Falcons. The Bikes, Land Speeders and Pilots were formed into the Hawks. All remaining Scouts were either granted their black-carapace and added to the ranks of the Talons or folded into the Hawks. The fourth new detachment was composed of the recruits created from the new accelerated gene-seed developed from the recovered Primarch Project data and were dubbed the Raptors. Stronger and faster than normal marines the Raptors saw great success in their early deployments but sabotage from Alpha Legion infiltrators led to many of the Raptors devolving into horrible, twisted and mutated forms. Corax would not abandon these unfortunate warriors of the Legion, even after the abandonment of the accelerated recruitment project. The Raptors continued to see service with the Legion until the end of the Horus Heresy when presumably those unfortunate Raptors physically mutated by their tainted gene-seed were put down by Corax prior to his disappearance. Chapter Fleet Like all Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes the Raven Guard maintain a substantial fleet of specialized vessels to ferry the Chapter's warriors to battlefields across the galaxy. Given the autonomous nature of the Chapter's Captains the vessels of the Raven Guard may be called upon to operate for greatly extended lengths of time deep behind enemy lines, returning to Deliverance only rarely. Reflex Shields -A technology developed by Kiavahr the Reflex Shields are what give the Raven Guard fleet its stealth capabilities. Reflex shields are an adaptation of void shield technology that use the same emitters to direct the shield inwards and absorb a ship's own light and energy emissions rather than absorbing incoming enemy fire. This allows a ship to become virtually invisible to both physical and technological detection but leave the ship vulnerable should it be detected and come under fire. Since reflex shields use the same emitters that protect the ship in combat it takes several painstaking minutes to switch the emitters from one mode of operation to another. Until the emitters can be switched back to standard operation a Raven Guard vessel is devoid of shielding and extremely vulnerable to incoming fire. Blacklight Protocols -Standard operating procedure within the Raven Guard fleet by which a ship activates its reflex shields and shuts down all unnecessary systems, including life support to most of the vessel, to enable a ship to run as stealthily as possible. Stormtalon Gunships -In most Chapters the agile and heavily armed Stormtalon Gunships are used as escort craft to protect and reinforce other elements of a Chapter's forces. The Raven Guard and White Scars are both notable for using the Stormtalon as rapid assault vehicles deployed at the vanguard of an assault with the rest of the Chapter's forces following behind. This strategy is well suited to the rapid assault and hit-and-run tactics favored by both Chapters. Known Vessels Shadow of the Emperor -The flagship of the Raven Guard, the Shadow of the Emperor was destroyed by the Terminus Est during the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre. An act of betrayal the Raven Guard have long sought to avenge. Battle-Barge Avenger -Flagship of Commander Branne during the outset of the Horus Heresy. The Avenger was one of a handful of ships remaining to the Legion after the devastating losses at the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre. Part of the rescue fleet the Avenger carried Corax to Terra to meet with the Emperor. Strike Cruiser Triumph -One of the ships under the command of Commander Branne during the outset of the Horus Heresy. The Triumph participated in the rescue mission to the Istvaan system. Strike Cruiser Raven's Valour -One of the ships under the command of Commander Branne during the outset of the Horus Heresy. The Raven's Valour participated in the rescue mission to the Istvaan system. Strike Cruiser Second Shadow -Named after the former flagship of the Raven Guard Legion the vessel served the 5th Company during the 13th Black Crusade. The Second Shadow was destroyed by the Terminus Est above the Shrine World of Kathur. Strike Cruiser Aeruginosus -Vessel in service to Captain Korvydae during the Raid on Kastorel-Novem. Gladius Escort Oenanthe Primus -Escort vessel for the Strike Cruiser Aeruginosus during the Raid on Kastorel-Novem. Gladius Escort Oenanthe Secundus -Escort vessel for the Strike Cruiser Aeruginosus during the Raid on Kastorel-Novem. Drop-Pod Assault Group Eitath -Drop Pod Assault Force deployed to the surface of Kastorel-Novem. None were recovered from the surface after the failure of the raid, a self destruct signal was transmitted by the Strike Cruiser Aeruginosus prior to the Raven Guard departure from the system. Drop-Pod Assault Group Strike Eagle -A Drop Pod Assault Force deployed to the surface of Kastorel-Novem. Color Scheme The Raven Guard are a Codex Chapter and as such can make use of any of the Codex marking schemes, and the Codex suggests a Chapter regularly change their markings to confound the enemy. However one of the oldest and perhaps most individual marking schemes of the Chapter is displayed below, dating back to the foundation of the Chapter in the tumultuous years following the Horus Heresy. In this scheme the right shoulder pad trim is painted a color based on the unit's squad type, with Assault painted red, Tactical painted green, Devastator Yellow and Veteran remains black. Captains and other senior officers and Veterans can paint various segments of their armor white, usually the helmet, shoulder pads and arms. Company designation may be displayed on the left knee-pad. Assault Marine- 2nd Company http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m307/Vash113/BC%20Painter%20Images/1RGAssault.jpg Tactical Marine- 2nd Company http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m307/Vash113/BC%20Painter%20Images/1RGTactical.jpg Devastator Marine- 2nd Company http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m307/Vash113/BC%20Painter%20Images/1RGDevastator.jpg Veteran- 1st Company http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m307/Vash113/BC%20Painter%20Images/1RGVet.jpg Captain- 2nd Company http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m307/Vash113/BC%20Painter%20Images/1RGCaptain.jpg Beliefs The Raven Guard do not venerate the Emperor with the fervor or zeal of many other Astartes Chapters, viewing him as a distant figure, the master of the galaxy and the founder of the Imperium but little more. Corax is viewed as a mighty leader capable of making tough decisions when the need was great. The Raven Guard still follow the path that Corax set for them, reviewing the data collected from each battle to learn it?s lessons and a great deal of the tactical doctrines of the Raven Guard were learned and laid out from such examinations. As for the leaders of the Raven Guard, they emphasis initiative and tactical skill as much or more so than personal martial prowess. The Raven Guard are much more likely to use a swift surgical strike, than to engage in long protracted battles. However this tendency causes some tension with other Astartes Chapters who the Raven Guard consider blunt and clumsy, such as the Blood Angels. Corvia -All Raven Guard during their initiation hunt the tiny ravens native to the forests of Kiavahr. It takes months of training and practice for recruits to sneak up on the small and alert birds, grab them in their bare hands and snap their necks. The skulls of these birds are worn by all members of the Chapter as small totems hanging from a marine's belt on small chains. These totems are known as corvia and represent a warrior's honor. If a battle-brother falls, one of his surviving comrades will recover his corvia and carry it, and thus the fallen warrior's honor, into battle until he can return to Kiavahr and bury the small skulls in the soil of the Chapter's homeworld. Gene-Seed The genetic material of the Raven Guard was greatly damaged by the accelerated processes utilized following the Istvaan V Massacre. Much of the gene-stocks of the Raven Guard were lost or irreparably damaged and as such a significant portion of the Chapter?s genetic material comes from Terra. Additionally the process of transformation into a marine is notably higher in the Raven Guard and many casualties early in training only add to the slow and limited recruitment process of the Chapter. Even further degeneration in the gene-seed has caused several of the implants to fail, the Betcher?s Gland and Mucranoid no longer exist within the gene-seed of the Raven Guard, and other defects cause recruits to over time have their skin become paler until it is as white as their Primarch?s, and the eyes and hair of the Astartes will eventually become a deep black. Successor Chapters Following the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre the Raven Guard Legion was sorely depleted, even by the implementation of the Codex Astartes the Raven Guard could barely boast a few thousand warriors and only three successor Chapters were formed in the 2nd Founding. The instability of Corax's gene-seed has meant that few additional successors have been founded in the ten millenia since the Horus Heresy. It isn't even entirely clear which Chapters actually are successors of the Raven Guard but the following is a rough list. Known Successors -Black Guard -Revilers -Raptors Suspected Successors -The Fire Eagles -Death Eagles -Knights of the Raven -Imperial Talons -Storm Wings -Storm Hawks -Hawk Lords -Dark Eagles Battle-cry The Raven Guard do not make use of a battle-cry, perhaps because of their emphasis on covert warfare. Instead the chapter makes use of the motto ?Victorus aut Mortis? which translates simply to ?Victory or Death.? Famous Engagements The Liberation War -Though technically fought before Corax took command of the 19th Legion a number of young men who fought to free the moon of Lycaeus were recruited into the Legion, including Commanders Agapito and Branne. Commander Branne in particular bore a set of rusty keys he took from the first Kiavahrian guard he slew during the Liberation War, a trophy of his first battlefield kill. Massacre at Gate Forty-Two -The Battle for Gate 42 was an infamous slaughter for the Raven Guard during the Great Crusade and the cause for Corax's aversion to the word "hope." Afterwards Gate 42 became a term for disaster for the veterans of the Raven Guard Legion. "Hope is a weakness. It is the first step on the road to disappointment." -Attributed to Corax after the Massacre at Gate Forty-Two. The Scalland Sector Campaign -During Scalland Campaign the Raven Guard tested the prototype Mk. VI armor design for two years, providing feedback for improvements and alterations to the design based on their combat experience. Because of the lives the Raven Guard lost testing the armor, the design was named in honor of the Legion's Primarch Corvus Corax and became known as Corvus Pattern armor. The Istvaan V Massacre -Noted as one of the most devastating defeats in the history of the Adeptus Astartes, and certainly in the history of the Raven Guard, the battle nearly saw the Salamanders and the Raven Guard utterly annihilated and only the quick thinking and initiative of the Raven Guard allowed a bare few to escape that dreadful day. The flagship of the Raven Guard the Shadow of the Emperor, was destroyed by the flagship of First Captain Typhon of the Death Guard the Terminus Est. Unlocking the Emperor's Labyrinth -After the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre the Battle-Barge Avenger and the 1714 survivors on board journeyed to distant Terra so Corax could seek an audience with the Emperor and request help rebuilding the Legion. Though Corax was not able to meet with the Emperor in person he was directed to a hidden vault in the mountains beyond the Emperor's Palace where a secret vault was hidden. This vault, known as the Emperor's Labyrinth, was home to the abandoned data from the Emperor's Primarch Project. A small force of Raven Guard and Custodes fought their way through the Labyrinth, battling all manner of defenses and traps to retrieve the data hidden at the Labyrinth's heart. Though the mission was costly they were successful and the Avenger left Terra with data and genetic samples vital to the rebuilding of the Legion. The Raid on Cruciax -To field test the new Raptors following the recovery of the Primarch Project data Corax ordered Commander Branne to lead the Raptors in a raid on a Word Bearers listening outpost in the nearby Cruciax system. Small and isolated the outpost served as the perfect opportunity for the Raptors to gain combat experience against the forces of the traitor Legions. The Battle-Barge Avenger transported the strike force to the outpost situated on the largest moon of the system's gas giant. The battle was short and brutal, the Raptors destroyed the outpost and killed the fifty or so Word Bearers garrisoning it while suffering only fourteen fatalities. The success of the Raid on the Cruciax listening post convinced Corax of the viability of the Raptors and paved the way for the assault on Narsis. The Battle for Ravendelve -Having covertly infiltrated the ranks of the Raven Guard the Alpha Legion sought to capture the Primarch Project data retrieved by Corax from Terra. Fifty Alpha Legionaries landed on Kiavahr disguised as Raven Guard and joined up with infiltrators already inside the Legion's ranks to stage an assault on the outpost of Ravendelve and the data contained there. The Raptors and a force of Imperial Fists responded quickly to contain the threat and retake the outpost, seeking out and slaying all of the traitors and infiltrators but not before the Primarch Omegon was able to extract the data and genetic material of the Primarch Project. The Fall of the Perfect Fortress -Initially Corax planned to assault the Emperor's Children fortress on Narsis with thousands of new Raptors at his command, the Battle for Ravendelve and the abandonment of the rapid rebuilding project put an end to that plan. However Corax would not sit idly by and determined to capture the fortress with the Legion's current strength. The attack was spearheaded by Imperial Army units from the Therion Cohorts who battered themselves bloody against the Emperor's Children's defenses. Unable to break through the Therion's retreated to the outer limits of the fortress city, drawing the Emperor's Children into a counter-attack. Abandoning their defenses in a show of towering overconfidence the Emperor's Children drove into the Therions, believing the battle virtually over. Suddenly the Raven Guard rained down on the Emperor's Children from above, ambushing and slaughtering them even as they sought to massacre the Imperial Army troopers. With the traitor marine garrison annihilated the Raven Guard swiftly captured the Perfect Fortress. The Hunt for Voldorius -Honoured Kyublai, the Great Khan of the White Scars announced during the feast celebrating his ascension that he intended to bring justice to one of the Chapter's greatest foes, the foul Daemon Prince Kernax Voldorius, a war leader of the renegade Alpha Legion. To accomplish this, the 51st Master of the Hunt, Kor'sarro Khan and his 3rd Brotherhood was despatched to bring back the head of the foul daemon, or not at all. For more than a decade Kor'sarro and his warriors tracked Voldorius, as the warriors of the White Scars fought their way across Zoran, Kavell and Modanna chance always allowed Voldorius to escape. Finally Kor'sarro and his company found themselves on Quintus, a desolate rock to the galactic south of Chogoris. Before the coming of Voldorius, Quintus had been a bulwark against the Orks of the Jagal Stars. The daemon prince's warriors had infiltrated the military of Quintus and when the White Scars arrived they found not just the warband of the Alpha Legion, but a whole planet of soldiers ready to face them. Kor'sarro would not be deterred however and leaving his Strike Cruiser in the outer system, the Master of the Hunt and his warriors approached the planet stealthily via Thunderhawks and made their way through the planetary defense grid and landed in the blasted canyons to the south-west of the capitol. Despite their stealthy approach there are others more adept at such things than the White Scars and upon their arrival they were met by none other than Captain Kayvaan Shrike and the Raven Guard 3rd Company. For millenia the relationship between the White Scars and the Raven Guard had been strained. But the forces arrayed against them were too much for either force to deal with single handedly. Their hands forced by the situation the two Captains and their commands worked together. The following morning Shrike and his company led a dawn strike against an orbital defense battery to the west of Mankarra. Even before the complex was fully taken the Raven Guard were preparing to defend it as fully half of the Alpha Legion warband and much of Mankarra's garrison roared towards them as reinforcements. Outnumbered badly and stretched thin the Raven Guard held their ground with stoic determination, forced ever so slowly to give ground. Despite a counter-attack by Shadow Captain Shrike the traitors continued to force the Raven Guard back. But this was all according to plan, for the White Scars had secreted themselves in caves to the south and the moment the traitors were over-committed the White Scars pounced. Roaring down on their foes on their space marine bikes the White Scars smashed aside all resistance. Within moments the traitor Baneblade the Ironsoul was crippled, its sponsons destroyed and crew slaughtered. With the loss of their largest war machine the backbone of the traitors broke and they were slaughtered piecemeal by the Raven Guard and White Scars. Despite the formidable defenses of Mankarra, Voldorius had not bothered to spend much time on repair or maintenance. The Raven Guard Thunderhawks and the White Scars Vindicator the Thunderheart were able to blast a sizable hole in the curtain wall with little trouble and before the defenders could react the White Scars were loose in the city streets. Staying mobile the White Scars roared along roads and alleys, striking wherever they were least expected and slaughtering every traitor without mercy. Meanwhile the Raven Guard deployed from their Thunderhawks on the rooftops and beset their foes from above. Caught from multiple angles the defenders were butchered. Finally only Voldorius and his bodyguard remained, trapped and outnumbered in the shadow of the Cathedral of the Emperor's Wisdom. Though many fell to the foul daemon prince the outcome was never in doubt. At last Voldorius was broken and pinned to the fallen statue of the Emperor by Shrike's Talons. With one sweep Kor'sarro cut the head from Voldorius shoulders and the battle was over. A month later with the planet in the hands of Imperial Guard from Tallarn the Space Marines departed. Shrike returned to the Targus battle zone and Kor'sarro returned to Chogoris with Voldorius' head. Each Captain took with him a new found respect for the other and the relationship between the estranged brother Chapters took its first step towards healing. The Zypher Campaign -In 914.M40 Ork Warlord Arbuttz the Incredible launched a massive Ork Waaagh that swept through dozens uninhabited systems on the far south western rim of the galaxy before eventually slaughtering their way through several Eldar Exodite colonies and smashing into an area of Imperial frontier space known as the Zypher sub-sector. A dozen Imperial worlds fell to the Ork Waaagh before it ran out of steam on the Imperial Deathworld of Gorang and petered out. As the Waaagh came to an end the Orks had conquered the entire Zypher sub-sector, which they subsequently inhabited and transformed into a new Ork Empire. For nearly three hundred years the Ork empire went uncontested until in 204.M41 the Imperium finally responded. A Crusade spearheaded by forces from the Marauders, Eagle Warriors, Revilers and Raven Guard Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes with more than two dozen Regiments of the Imperial Guard in support swept into the Zypher sub-sector and initiated a long and grueling war against the Ork inhabitants. The campaign took twenty years to complete but by 224.M41 the Zypher sub-sector was declared free of xenos taint. The Imperial Crusade was not content with merely retaking lost ground however, choosing instead to continue on into unexplored regions of space. The Imperial war machine tore across the systems conquered by Waaagh Arbuttz three centuries prior, laying claim to worlds where no man had ever set foot before, assigning each world the Crusade forces encountered a Regiment of Imperial Guard to cleanse and then settle. The 127th Death Korps of Krieg under the command of General Himmel von Paulus were assigned to cleanse the backwater world of Baran. The world was a savage place of wild forests, broad open steppe plains and craggy mountain chains overrun with tribes of now feral Orks. Driving the Orks from the open steppes proved easy for the Death Korps and the Raven Guard forces assisting them but it was nearly impossible to completely eradicate the greenskins in the depths of Baran's dense forests. Without the manpower to cleanse the forests of the feral greenskin tribes infesting them General Paulus decided to contain them instead, building a network of interconnected fortresses to bottle the Orks into their wilderness hideouts. Over time these fortresses grew into Baran's first cities, with urban sprawls built up within layers of ever expanding fortifications under constant assault from roving bands of Orks. In generations the colonies grew and prospered, though Baran's cities were never populous by Imperial standards they thrived, giving rise in time to new Imperial Guard Regiments to replace the long deceased Death Korps founders. These new Imperial Guard Regiments were dubbed the Baran Siegemasters, for the inhabitants of Baran were intimately familiar with siegecraft from their ever constant battles to hold off Feral Ork warbands. The Raven Guard chose to remain, building a Fortress Monastery on one of Baran's orbiting moons, a black rock named Coron. From their keep a little over a hundred battle-brothers of the Raven Guard kept watch over Baran and those nearby worlds of value, realizing that the harsh conditions of Baran might one day breed potential aspirants to the Chapter. For decades the Raven Guard made little contact with the Baran Siegemasters, contenting themselves with hunting down and slaying any Ork Leaders who they believed may have stolen Imperial technology during the initial Waaagh three centuries previously. With the consolidation of Baran and the other frontier worlds the Zypher Campaign came to a close. The Baran Campaign -Decades after the colonization of Baran the Eldar of Biel-Tan arrived to find the Exodite colony wiped out by Orks and their world infested with greenskins and humans. Filled with a burning need for vengeance the Fire Dragon Exarch Mauryon led a campaign against the Feral Orks of Baran, driving them from ancient Eldar sites in the deep forests. Unable to face the Eldar in battle the Orks began a mass exodus from the forests that brought them into furious conflict with the Baran Siegemasters and their Fortress Cities. As the colony cities came under ever more intense assault the defenders realized their position was ultimately hopeless if they did not receive support, Governor Asaberra dispatched what reserves he had from the Capitol of Enderra to the most isolated colonies but realized it was a delaying measure at best, and so he called upon the Raven Guard on their moon of Coron for aid. Shadow Captain Moradius chose not to deploy to the embattled Fortress Cities however as his forces were too few to effectively aid in the defense of so many isolated sieges. Captain Moradius was more concerned with what was driving the Orks from the forests than he was of the Orks themselves, for in war it is the unknown that proves most dangerous. Determined to discover the cause for the Ork attacks the Raven Guard returned to Baran, making only brief contact with Governor Asaberra before they struck out for the deepest, wildest sections of Baran's forests. As they searched the forests for signs of the Orks the Raven Guard discovered every settlement had been destroyed, every lair rooted out and barely an Ork to be found. Something had destroyed the Ork's camps and driven them from the forest, while some would have suggested the ever present Orkish infighting, Captain Moradius knew that such spontaneous and orchestrated activity across the entire planet was not likely to have been the result of the Orks own actions. With little else to discover in the forests Moradius recalled his scouting teams and took his warriors into the Voltus Plains, a barren region of steppe-plains where even the Orks did not establish settlements, choosing instead to roam the plains riding giant boars, Squiggoths and other fungus grown creatures as warring nomadic tribes. After a week of hard marching across the plains the Raven Guard at last encountered Orks, for the nomadic tribes had proved far more elusive to whatever force was driving the Orks from the forests, but Captain Moradius was not seeking to drive yet more Orks towards the Fortress Cities and so broke off contact after a brief skirmish. After withdrawing from combat with the nomadic greenskins Captain Moradius ordered his scouts to shadow the Orks and watch for signs of the force that had driven the Orks from the forests. Days later the Scouts reported back that the greenskins were under attack. Without delay the Raven Guard rushed to the Ork tribe's location aboard six Thunderhawk Gunships. Despite their haste the Orks were wiped out by the time they arrived, the Raven Guard instead emerging from their gunships to come face to face with the Eldar of Biel-Tan. Well knowing the slippery nature of the Eldar Captain Moradius ordered an immediate assault, striking the Eldar forces rapidly and reaping a heavy toll in xenos lives. The Eldar had apparently not planned on engaging the local Imperial forces so soon and certainly had not counted on the presence of the Raven Guard. For hours the Space Marines and Eldar fought a running battle as the Marines slowly began to outnumber the xenos forces, striking at them from all sides until the xenos at last fell back to a circle of standing stones, ancient monuments from the days of the Eldar Empire. Resolving to crush the Eldar army decisively the Raven Guard committed to the attack, but it was merely what the Eldar had wanted. As the Astartes closed in on the remaining Eldar forces wraithgates opened all around the ring of standing stones. The Raven Guard force found itself encircled by the entire Eldar Swordwind that had been rampaging all across the surface of Baran, though they fought bravely the Space Marines held out for a mere few hours before they were wiped out utterly. The Eldar managed to open an ancient Webway gate on Baran's plains from which the xenos Titans could emerge to join the battle. The defenders of Baran are likely doomed though the Imperium will undoubtedly return. The Battle for Targus VIII -Captain Shrike and an elite team of infiltrators found themselves cut off behind the lines of the Ork?s when their pickup Thunderhawk was shot down. For more than two years Shrike and his marines fought a guerrilla war deep in Ork held territory, stealing supplies and munitions, sabotaging Ork installations, ambushing and slaughtering the greenskins whenever they could, as well as relaying vital intelligence to the Imperium?s forces fighting in the campaign. Shrike?s actions brought the campaign to a successful conclusion decades earlier than predicted and earning the legendary captain the Laurel Imperialis. The Battle for Nimbosa -The planet of Nimbosa is a hotly contested world on the Eastern Fringe, where the Tau Empire and the Imperium have clashed on numerous occasions. Chapters such as the Imperial Fists, Black Templars and Ultramarines are all reputed to have fought the Tau on the planet at one time or another and the world has changed hands many times. The Raven Guard 3rd Company under the command of Shrike assaulted the Tau positions on the planet and forced the xenos to retreat sometime during the Campaign, though the current status of the planet is unknown, it is believed to still be contested. The Reclamation of Kathur -When the Imperial Shrine World of Kathur fell to the plague of unbelief during the 13th Black Crusade, a force of Raven Guard from the 5th Company under Captain Corvane Valar and Codicier Zauren Kale. The Strike Cruiser the Second Shadow swiftly brought the Marines to link up with the vanguard elements of the reclamation force in time for the assault on the Capitol of Solthane. The Raven Guard had origionally brought Kathur to compliance during the Great Crusade, despite the hard fighting all around the Cadian system such a direct insult to the Chapter demanded a response. Ultimately all fifty members of the 5th Company involved in the fighting, as well as Captain Corvane and Codicier Zauren were presumed lost, fallen in battle delaying the approach of Typhus the Herald of Nurgle and his forces, and the Second Shadow was destroyed in orbit as well. However the mission was a success in a manner of speaking, a Daemon Prince of Nurgle formerly known as Sergeant Arlus was denied to the forces of the arch-enemy, the Terminus Est was severely damaged, well over a hundred Death Guard Plague Marines were killed by the combined efforts of the Cadian 88th and the Raven Guard, as well as a Death Guard Dreadnaught. Whether this costly defiance made any difference in the outcome of the 13th Black Crusade is not certain, but to deny the Arch-Enemy is it's own reward. The Downfall of the Megarchy -In 748.M41 the Hive World of Thruskus denounced the Imperial Creed. The stirring oratories of the local ruling council of elders known as the Megarchy whose charismatic and persuasive oratory held the hives of Thruskus in their thrall. However their rule was short lived. The Raven Guard strike like lightning, defeating the Megarchs and hanging them from their own hive spires. Within a day of the Megarch's death the world of Thruskus is brought back to compliance. The Battle for Ultramar -While the Ultramarines were obviously at the forefront of the battle to save Ultramar when the empire came under assault by a massive invasion force of the arch-enemy, they were not alone. Captain Aethon Shaan and a full squad of the Chapter's finest warriors were dispatched to recover the renegade Captain Ardaric Vaanes. Fighting alongside the Ultramarines 4th Company, the warriors of Captain Shaan proved to be an invaluable asset, turning the tide of battle multiple times when it swung against the forces of the Ultramarines and their allies. Most impressive was the destruction of the terrible Black Basilica, a massive mobile fortress of the arch-enemy with enough firepower to tear the heart out of the Imperial defenders. Captain Shaan and his warriors infiltrated deep behind the lines, stalking past the siege fortifications of the chaos forces and scaling the sides of the horrific mobile weapon and shrine to the dark gods. Shaan led his warriors deep within the Basilica and planted demolition charges within the mobile fortress' primary munitions magazine before working their way back out of the terrible war machine. Unable to get back to the Imperial lines without discovery the Raven Guard detonated the demolition charges, destroying the Basilica, breaking the back of the invaders and providing the Sons of Corax a large enough distraction to make their way back to the Ultramarines and their compatriots. Shortly after the destruction of the Basilica the Raven Guard joined Captain Ventris and a small strike force as they journeyed deep within the core of Calth. In a lost and ancient shrine the Ultramarines and Raven Guard faced the Blade Dancers of Xiomogra and the Iron Warriors of the Warsmith Honsou, who had engineered the invasion of Ultramar. Though all ten of Shaan's Raven Guard fell in the furious fighting for the shrine, they succeeded in foiling the Chaos plot, and the renegade Ardaric Vaanes at last redeemed himself in combat against the traitors. Shaan accompanied The Ultramarines as the 2nd and 4th Companies made a jump-pack assisted drop onto the contested world of Talassar to aid Chapter Master Marneus Calgar and was witness to the final defeat of the Daemon Lord M'kar the Thrice Born. Captain Shaan attended the honorary funeral of the Ultramarines who fell during the Battle for Ultramar, along with a black flag for every one of the Raven Guard who fell in the protection of Ultramar. The gene-seed of the fallen, including Vaanes, was recovered to be returned to the Chapter with Captain Shaan. The Raid on Kastorel-Novem -The Orks of Waaagh Garaghak invaded the Kastorel-Novem sector in 952.M41, swiftly taking over the area and transforming Kastorel-Novem into a manufacturing center for all manner of Ork war-machines. In 988.M41 Waaagh Garaghak strikes at the sector Capitol of Forsarr and in 992.M41 the Raven Guard arrive to assist the Imperial defenders and launch a raid on the center of the Ork productions on Kastorel-Novem. The Raven Guard task force is commanded by the renowned Shadow Captain Korvydae, who commands elements from the 1st, 5th, 8th and 10th Companies. The 10th Company alone provides seven full scout squads, a significant portion of the Chapters recruits. The raid on Kastorel-Novem had two primary objectives; the elimination of Big Mek Buzzgob, the Waaagh's chief Mekboy, and the destruction of the Ork fuel depot and refinery complex which would cripple the Ork Waaagh and swing the war in favor of the Imperium. Chaplain Eitath commanded a deep strike assault against the fuel depot and refinery. Chaplain Eitath's forces encountered only light resistance and were able to plant their melta charges and destroy the refinery in short order. With their task complete Chaplain Eitath and his command extracted via Thunderhawk. Shadow Captain Korvydae and the rest of the task force were waiting for confirmation of Buzzgob's location from the Chapter's Scouts when word was received of a massive Ork force moving in on the hard pressed Elysian positions. The 181st Elysian Drop Troops had been deployed to Kastorel-Novem to destroy a partially constructed Gargant and kill as many Orks as possible but would not be able to resist long under such a great assault. Korvydae was unwilling to stand by while the Elysians were slaughtered and immediately led his forces in an assault on the Ork column, which consisted of Orks from Garaghak's Goff clan. The Raven Guard assault proved devastating and stalled the Ork advance long enough to allow the Elysians to fall back to another defensive position and request evacuation. However the respite was only temporary, for the Orks merely paused to consolidate and bring up Stompas before striking at the Elysians again in force. Korvydae once again threw the Raven Guard against the Orks to give the Elysians more time, but hordes of Deffdreads, Killa Kans and formidable Megadreads retaliated and cost the Raven Guard many lives. A the height of the battle Korvydae's Land Raider Prometheus was destroyed by a Megadread, yet Korvydae proved it would take more than that to kill him and dragged himself from the wreckage. With the battle turned so heavily against them Shadow Captain Korvydae issued the order to withdraw. Braving heavy ground fire the Chapter's Thunderhawks extracted the embattled Raven Guard. The surviving Elysians withdrew in their remaining Valkyries to isolated airbases and evacuated the planet. In the end over seventy Battle Brothers of the Raven Guard lost their lives and of the 2,400 Elysians of the 181st that deployed to Kastorel-Novem, less than 400 survived. To make matters even worse the Elysians were able to recover none of their more than 130 aircraft from the planet, abandoning all of them to the Orks. Determined to resist the Orks of Waaagh Garaghak the Raven Guard deployed to the sector Capitol of Forsarr, but in 996.M41 the planet was lost to the Ork invaders. The fall of the Kastorel-Novem sector left Deliverance in the warpath of the Ork Waaagh, facing the threat of full-scale invasion the Master of Shadows recalled the entire Chapter to the Ravenspire. For his failure Shadow Captain Korvydae is now serving two years in the Death Watch as penance. Caught in the Crossfire -When a raging conflict between the Orks of Octavius and the Eldar wild rider hosts of Saim-Hann spread to catch multiple Imperial Worlds in the crossfire of their battles the Imperium was quick to respond. Elements from the White Scars, Raven Guard and Salamanders Chapters joined forces to defend the threatened Imperial worlds from the vile xenos warring across them. The Battle for Althion IV -The Raven Guard 4th Company deployed to Althion IV in response to a Tyranid infestation. Squads sent to investigate the hive were ambushed by Genestealers and suffered heavy casualties to the vicious claws of the xenos infiltrators. Determining the Hive to be too far gone the Raven Guard destroyed it utterly, cleansing the xenos infestation. The Battle for Exyrian -On the planet of Haldor the Raven Guard 4th Company defended the city of Exyrian from a beseiging force of Iron Warriors. The siege lasted for many long days until it was ultimately broken by a campaign of surgical strikes led by Shadow Captain Koryn. Though the Iron Warriors forces were ultimately routed, by the time the siege was lifted the city was destroyed and its population had been wiped out by a combination of enemy fire, disease and starvation. The Battle for Idos -Idos was a remote and unremarkable world deep out on the fringe of the Imperium when it was invaded by a Tyranid Hive Fleet. Knowing their doom was upon them and desperate to destroy the Hive Ship controlling the invasion the defenders fired an archaic weapon of immense power. Their marksmanship was not equal to the task however and rather than obliterating the Hive Ship they shattered the moon Helion. If the Tyranids had not doomed the planet the devastating meteor showers and gravitational instability would have. When the Raven Guard 4th Company arrived the planet was already lost but the Raven Guard were loath to give the Tyranids the wealth of biomass the planet represented. Shadow Captain Koryn lured the Tyranids into open battle on the plains outside the ruins of Proxima City and encircled them with two separate forces. Once the enemy were pinned in place a Scout Squad led by Veteran Sergeant Grayvus overloaded Proxima City's power generarium located right ontop of an unstable fault line. The explosion opened a massive fissure that swallowed up the Tyranid ground forces and throwing the survivors into complete disarray. The 4th Company were all too happy to mop up the remaining Tyranid forces and deny the Hive Fleet valuable biomass. The Mission to Kasharat -During the war for the Sargassion Reach the Brazen Minotaurs Chief Librarian Theseon was captured by the forces of the Empyrion's Blight warband and brought to the corrupted Mortuary World of Kasharat to be broken. A small team of Brazen Minotaurs mounted a rescue mission but would likely have failed without the intervention and assistance of a squad of Raven Guard led by Shadow Captain Koryn who deployed to the surface of the Mortuary World in advance of the Brazen Minotaurs rescue mission and cleared the way for them. Though both Chapters suffered casualties the mission was ultimately successful and a debt between them was repaid. The Battle for Empalion II -When the Raven Guard laid siege to an Iron Warriors fortress on the world of Empalion II the task seemed hopeless, until a force of Brazen Minotaurs arrived to assist their cousins in their hour of need. The Brazen Minotaurs sacrificed an entire company to distract the Iron Warriors and allow the Raven Guard 4th Company to infiltrate the Iron Warriors fortress and destroy it from within. The Battle for Fortane's World -The Sargassion Reach was on the brink of destruction at the hands of the foul warband known as Empyrion's Blight when the fortress world of Fortane's World fell to the machinations of the enemy. Rather than having fallen to strength of arms the bastion fell to corruption from within. Worse the eccentric orbit of Fortane's World would bring it within a matter of days within the outer limits of the densely populated neighboring system of Kandoor. Unwilling to allow the Sickening plague of the traitor legions to infest another system the Brazen Minotaurs 3rd and 5th Companies laid siege to the bastion of Fortane's World, determined to cleanse it of the traitors before they could stage an invasion of the Kandoor system and doom billions to plague and death. With time running out though the siege was going nowhere, the enemy able to swamp the Brazen Minotaurs with endless hordes of corrupted guardsmen, delaying them until the planet's orbit reached its zenith and entered its neighboring system. Determined to aid their fellow Chapter a strike force from the Raven Guard 4th Company led by Shadow Captain Koryn came to the Brazen Minotaurs aid. Three squads made planetfal and though they suffered significant casualties the Raven Guard were ultimately able to infiltrate the bastion and open it for bombardment from orbit, destroying a massive chaos army and protecting the colonists of the Kandoor system. The Battle for Cavonios Prime -The Raven Guard 4th Company battled a force of traitor space marine berserkers, dark mirrors of the noble Imperial Astartes. Famous Characters Primarch Corvus Corax -The Primarch of the Raven Guard was a taciturn and subtle warrior but a warrior nonetheless. During the Battle for Istvaan V Corax assumed a terrible and vengeful aspect, his winged jump pack and razor claws reaping a heavy toll on the ranks of the vile Word Bearers. When Lorgar dared confront his brother Corax nearly killed him, the pitiful and viperous Primarch of the Word Bearers unable to face the killing frenzy of Corax even with his psychic might unleashed by the power of chaos. Corax scarred Lorgar's face during a prolonged weapon lock, the talons of his lightning-claws drawing so close to Lorgar's face that their power fields burned deep gashes in Lorgar's face and though Lorgar struck a single solid blow on Corax and shattered one of the Raven Guard Primarch's powered claws the other bladed gauntlet tore into Lorgar's gut and cut upwards, shredding and burning the traitor Primarch's insides. Lorgar was only saved by the intervention of the Night Lord's Primarch Konrad Kurze. After Istvaan V Corax was desperate to rebuild his Legion, going to great lengths and sacrificing much to do so. The repercussions of those actions came back to haunt him, leading Corax to eventually put down all the twisted spawn of his experiments and vanish into the Eye of Terror. Master of Shadows -The Chapter Masters of the Raven Guard hold the title of the Master of Shadows. The current holder of this title is unknown. Commander Arendi -Commander of Corax's Bodyguard during the Horus Heresy. Captain Arendi was slain during the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre. Following the massacre Corax disbanded his honor guard permanently. Commander Agapito Nev -Commander of the "Talon" Tactical Companies of the Heresy Era Raven Guard. Commander Agapito was one of the first Raven Guard to be recruited from Deliverance and earned his first battle honors fighting in Corax's Liberation War that freed the slaves of Lycaeus from the Tech-Guilds of Kiavahr. Commander Aloni Tev -Commander of the "Falcon" Assault Companies of the Heresy Era Raven Guard. Commander Solero An -Commander of the Raven Guard and survivor of Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre, led Bike squads in ambush against the traitor Legionaries. Solero is the youngest of the Raven Guard commanders, having been just a child when Corax led the slaves of Lycaeus in the Liberation War. Unbeknownst to his comrades Solero was slain during the Dropsite Massacre and was replaced by an Alpha Legion infiltrator who was ultimately found out and slain by Commander Agapito. Commander Branne Nev -Commander of the Raven Guard during the Heresy Era, loser of the draw to remain on Deliverance while the rest of the Legion deployed to Istvaan. After desperate urging from the Theran Cohort commander stationed on Deliverance Branne led an investigation mission to the Istvaan system that resulted in the combat extraction of Corax and the survivors. Branne was one of the first Raven Guard recruited from Deliverance and along with his brother Agapito he fought in the Liberation War that freed the slaves of Lycaeus from the Tech-Guilds of Kiavahr. Commander Nuran Tesk -Commander Tesk was appointed command of the Talons after the death of the infiltrator posing as Commander Solero An was slain in the Battle for Ravendelve. Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike -Captain of the 3rd Company, Shrike is a legendary figure in the Imperium for his many stunning victories throughout his career, emphasizing the very qualities at the core of the Raven Guard?s combat doctrine with honor and prowess. Shrike also wields ?The Raven?s Talons? a pair of Master-Crafted Lightning Claws, said to have been forged by Corax himself following the Istvaan V Massacre, and are reputed to be unbreakable. After his success at Targus VII Shrike went on to assault the Orks in the Donara and Yahkhee systems. By the time he had finished there Shrike had become nothing short of a savior and a legend to the beleaguered and hopeless. Shrike now leads his company across the regions under assault by Waaaagh! Skullkrak. Not to aid the desperate Imperial commanders struggling to contain the Ork threat, but to the worlds abandoned by the overstretched and uncaring Imperial commanders. On those worlds Shrike and his Company are revered as heroes as great as those of old. On every world struggling against the Ork horde, Guardsmen clutch their weapons tighter knowing that Shadow Captain Shrike and the Raven Guard 3rd Company may be on their way and the Orks glance twice at every shadow, wondering if the Space Marines are there, just waiting to strike. During the rise of Waaagh! Garaghak Shrike was given command of the strike force dispatched to the Capitol of Forsarr in exchange for the Elysian 181st Regiment's aid in the Raid on Kastorel-Novem. Wherever you tread, tread lightly. We are closer than you think, and our blades are sharp." -Captain Kayvaan Shrike, Raven Guard 3rd Company. We are coming. Look to the skies for your salvation." -Captain Kayvaan Shrike to Commissar Lent prior to the Blindhope Planetstrike. Shadow Captain Aajz Solari -Captain of the Raven Guard 2nd Company, Solari is famous as a very erratic but mostly successful officer, often going into battle at the head of the Assault Marines. Few Astartes better exemplify the image of the Angels of Death descending on fiery wings of flame to deliver the Emperor?s wrath to the foes of the Imperium. Recently Captain Solari commanded a victorious raid to destroy the Ork Kill Kroozer the Fang of Rukbad. Solari is currently in overall command of the Hive Fleet Leviathan Containment Operation, a massive undertaking with fully two dozen Chapters participating. We go where we wilt. We slay who we wilt. Let the Emperor judge the righteiousness of our deeds." -Sergeant D'Kestrel, Raven Guard 1st Company. Shadow Captain Corvane Valar -Captain of the Raven Guard 5th Company during the 13th Black Crusade. Valar led half his company to the Shrine World of Kathur when it fell to the plagues of the Death Guard. The fifty Raven Guard sacrificed themselves and their Strike Cruiser the Second Shadow to deny the Death Guard their price and accounted for roughly seventy-five Plague Marines in the process. Shadow Captain Ardaric Vaanes -Former Captain of the 4th Company, Ardaric Vaanes was a highly skilled officer within the Chapter and skilled in the most secret combat arts taught at the Ravenspire. He was honored by Captain Shrike when the legendary Captain of the 3rd Company personally tattooed the Chapter heraldry on Ardaric's left shoulder. Disillusioned with the Imperium Ardaric Vaanes turned renegade and was declared Excomunicate Mortis in 934.M41. Fighting the Iron Warriors, along with a band of fellow renegades from various Chapters on the daemon world of Medrengarde within the Eye of Terror, Vaanes encountered the exiled Captain Uriel Ventris of the Ultramarines. But despite an offer of redemption Vaanes allied with the Warsmith Honsou and served as one of his chief Lieutenants till the Iron Warriors led a massive warband to the Realm of Ultramar. Vaanes caught the attention of a daemon of Slaanesh while serving Honsou and the close brush with absolute corruption brought about a change in the former Captain, who aided the Ultramarines in defeating the chaos invasion, personally slaying the possessed Iron Warriors officer known as Grendel and grappling with the Warsmith Honsou himself. His gene-seed was returned to the Chapter by Captain Shaan. Shadow Captain Aethon Shaan -Captain of the 4th Company, Shaan and a squad of Veterans were charged with returning the renegade Ardaric Vaanes to Deliverance to face the judgment of the Master of Shadows, the Chapter Master of the Raven Guard. Shaan was instrumental in the battle against the chaos invasion in which Vaanes was serving, most notably Shaan and his Veterans destroyed a monolithic battle-fortress of the arch-enemy known as the Black Basilica. A towering monstrosity of enormous power, Shaan and his warriors managed to infiltrate the massive mobile fortress and plant explosives in the Basilica's main store of munitions. The destruction of the Basilica was the turning point in the Battle for Calth, its destruction also ending the life of the tainted Dark Mechanicus Adept Cycerin, who had plagued the defenders with scrapcode attacks throughout the invasion. Shaan and his warriors accompanied Captain Ventris into the heart of Calth to track down the renegades, led by Ardaric Vaanes who had allowed himself to be captured in a last bid for redemption. Despite his misgivings Shaan allowed this and fought alongside the Ultramarines and the renegade against the Iron Warriors. All of the Raven Guard but Shaan were killed in the battle with the traitor Astartes and their allies, but their sacrifices were not in vain for the traitors failed in their mission and were purged from Ultramar with bolter and blade. Shaan was given permission to attend the honorary funeral service in memory of the 347 Ultramarines and 10 Raven Guard who died to protect the Imperium. Shaan returned to Deliverance with the gene-seed of the fallen, including Captain Vaanes. During the mission to Ultramar Captain Shaan and his men frequently proved the superiority of the Raven Guard in matters of stealth, managing to remain hidden under the very scrutiny of legendary Scout Sergeant Torias Tellion and the 10th Company Captain Antilochus. Without the skills of the Raven Guard the battle for Calth, and perhaps all of Ultramar may well have been lost. Shadow Captain Korvydae -Captain of the 10th Company and Master of Recruits, Shadow Captain Korvydae is renowned as an efficient raider and saboteur, using Scouts and Assault Marines to launch devastating lightning assaults seemingly from nowhere. Shadow Captain Korvydae led the disastrous Raid on Kastorel-Novem against the Orks of Waaagh Garaghak. Despite Korvydae's skills and heroism the Raven Guard lost over seventy Battle Brothers in the Raid on Kastorel-Novem, for his failure Korvydae is now serving a two year penance with the Death Watch. Shadow Captain Moradius -Captain Moradius commanded the Fortress Monastery on the moon of Coron orbiting the Imperial world of Baran. When the local Feral Ork populace was stirred up by an unknown force Captain Moradius led his men to Baran to investigate, discovering the presence of an Eldar Swordwind from the Craftworld of Biel-Tan. Despite fighting valiantly Captain Moradius and his forces were encircled and greatly outnumbered, eventually dying to the last against the viperous Eldar xenos. Shadow Captain Aremis Koryn -Captain of the Raven Guard 4th Company. Captain Koryn was recruited from the forests of Kiavahr centuries ago and covets what memories of his youth remain after his elevation to a post-human warrior of the Adeptus Astartes. Operating far out on the wild and backwater rim of the Imperium the 4th Company under Captain Koryn have not returned to Deliverance in nearly a century by the Battle for Idos. Unlike some members of the Chapter Captain Koryn actively seeks to improve relations with other Chapters, namely the Brazen Minotaurs whom the Raven Guard have served alongside many times. In particular Captain Koryn harbored a debt of honor to the Brazen Minotaurs after the Battle for Empalion II where an entire company of the bull-headed warriors gave their lives to distract a garrison of Iron Warriors, allowing the Raven Guard to infiltrate their fortress and destroy it from within. Since then Koryn has led his forces in several covert missions to aid the Brazen Minotaurs fighting in the Sargassion Reach. Captain Koryn wears an ancient suit of Mk. IV Power Armor inscribed with the names of all of its previous bearers and wields a pair of lightning claws. Captain Torisian -Captain of the 29th Company of the Raven Guard during the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre. Torisian and his men were amongst the first warriors to reach the barricades around the drop-site erected by the second wave and were cut down in the first volley of treacherous gunfire. Epistolary Kyaneus -Librarian attached to Shadow Captain Korvydae's Raid on Kastorel-Novem. Codicier Zauren Kale -Librarian advisor to the 5th Company during the reclamation of Kathur. Zauren's reading of the Imperial Tarot brought the Raven Guard to Kathur in time to shift the momentous events that occured there in the Imperium's favor, unfortunately Kale and all fifty of the battle brothers from the 5th Company involved died in the process. Chaplain Eitath -Chaplain of the 8th Company, Eitath was attached to the forces of Shadow Captain Korvydae during the Raid on Kastorel-Novem and personally led the deep strike assault against the ork fuel depot and refinery complex. Chaplain Cordae -Chaplain assigned to the 4th Company during the command of Shadow Captain Koryn. Chaplain Cordae has embellished his ancient suit of power armor that predates the Horus Heresy with the skeleton of a giant Roc native to the Diagothian mountains of Kiavahr. With the bird's bleached skull and beak covering his faceplate and various bones covering his body from head to foot Cordae's suit of totemic armor gives him a strange and mysterious appearance and Cordae asserts that the spirit of the Roc remains within the bones and serves to aid him in battle. Chief Apothecary Vincente Sixx -Following the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre a mere seven Apothecaries remained in the entire Legion. Though with a mere fifteen years of service to his name Apothecary Vincente Sixx became the Legion's Chief Apothecary and was charged by Corax to rebuild the Legion. Sixx was slain by an imposter posing as Commander Solero. Techmarine Stradon Binalt -A survivor of Istvaan V and member of Corax's Honor Guard. Stradon Binalt and his fellow Techmarines developed many of the jury-rigged parts, alterations and fixes following the Dropsite Massacre that led to the creation of the Mk. V Heresy armor designation for all non-standard armor marks. Techmarine Stradon was also able to unlock the secrets of the traitor's prototype Vengeance bolt rounds and developed a multi-layered ceramite plating to better protect the loyalists from the traitor's deadly ammunition. In the months following the retreat from Istvaan V Stradon worked to rebuild Corax's destroyed Jump Pack and presented the finished device to the Legion's Primarch just before the assault on Narsis. Techmarine Dyloss -Chief Techmarine assigned to Captain Shrike's forces during the Battle for Quintus V. Brother Dyloss was responsible for detecting and successfully decoding the highly encrypted data-streams the White Scars were using to infiltrate the planet. Venerable Dreadnaught Kraai -Oldest Dreadnaught of the Raven Guard and a former Chapter Master, Kraai has served the Chapter for more than 4,000 years. Ancient Brother Kraai participated in the Raid on Kastorel-Novem as part of the Chapter's 1st Company detachment. Dreadnought Skele -One of the Chapter's honored Dreadnoughts, Ancient Brother Skele participated in the Raid on Kastorel-Novem. Deathwatch Brother Apothecary Damias -Apothecary Damias served in Deathwatch Captain Bannon's team during the Tyranid Invasion of Tarsis Ultra. Deathwatch Techmarine Korpheus -Techmarine in service to the Deathwatch during the Herodian IV "Tyranocide" mission and part of Captain Octavius' kill-team. Deathwatch Brother Siefer Zeed aka Ghost -A charismatic and enthusiastic member of Talon Squad of the Deathwatch. Armed unsurprisingly with a pair of lightning claws Zeed adds a mixture of humor and straightforward problem solving to the stoic members of Talon Squad. Veteran Sergeant D'Kestrel -Raven Guard 1st Company. Veteran Sergeant Aibek -Officer of the 4th squad of 8th Company and Veteran of 56 Missions, Brother Aibek wielded his Power Axe and Storm Shield against the Orks on Kastorel-Novem and was wounded in action during that operation. Sergeant Hadraig Dor -A Sergeant of the Talons during the tumultuous events of the Horus Heresy. Sergeant Dor was slain defending Ravendelve by Alpha Legion infiltrators. Sergeant Caban -Sergeant of Squad 7 of the Talons during the Horus Heresy, Caban participated in unlocking the Emperor's Labyrinth on Terra. Sergeant Cannor -A Sergeant of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Sergeant Lancrato Nestil -A Sergeant of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Sergeant Nestil was slain during the Dropsite Massacre and replaced by an Alpha Legion infiltrator. He was eventually slain during the Battle for Ravendelve. Sergeant Corron -A member of the Talons during the Horus Heresy, Sergeant Corron was re-assigned to lead a squad of the new Raptors. Sergeant Nal -A member of the Talons during the Horus Heresy, Sergeant Nal was re-assigned to lead a squad of the new Raptors. Sergeant Cald -A member of the Talons during the Horus Heresy, Sergeant Cald was re-assigned to lead a squad of the new Raptors. Sergeant Alcorax -Assault Sergeant during the Horus Heresy. Sergeant Gallovax -Tactical Sergeant during the Horus Heresy. Sergeant Alenpo -Instructor Sergeant, 4th Company. Sergeant Revys Kyre -Senior Sergeant under the command of Captain Shaan during the mission to Ultramar. Killed in action against the renegade Iron Warriors. Sergeant Kylanek -Assault Squad Sergeant under Shrike's command during the battle for Quintus V. Sergeant Indis -Sergeant under Shrike's command during the Battle for Quintus V. Sergeant Indis commanded Shrike's Tactical and Devastator squads during much of the fighting while Shrike himself led the Chapter's Assault Squads. Sergeant Indis served in the Deathwatch for a decade, the many scars he received during that time testament to the many deadly foes he faced in service with the Ordo Xenos' Kill Teams. Sergeant Morior -Assault Squad Sergeant under Shrike's command during the battle for Quintus V. Sergeant Morior and three of his men were killed by a laser-net trap when attempting to assault a traitor heavy weapons position. Sergeant Enriso -Assault Squad Sergeant under Shrike's command during the Battle for Quintus V. Sergeant Sohen -Assault Squad Sergeant under Shrike's command during the Battle for Quintus V. Sergeant Rhenesi -Sergeant under Shrike's Command during the Battle for Quintus V and fought as part of Sergeant Indis' detachment during the attack and subsequent defense of the South Nine Defense Installation. Sergeant Ayaan -Sergeant under Shrike's Command during the Battle for Quintus V and fought as part of Sergeant Indis' detachment during the attack and subsequent defense of the South Nine Defense Installation. Sergeant Kerrania -Sergeant under Shrike's Command during the Battle for Quintus V and fought as part of Sergeant Indis' detachment during the attack and subsequent defense of the South Nine Defense Installation. Sergeant Pallisan -Sergeant under Shrike's Command during the Battle for Quintus V and fought as part of Sergeant Indis' detachment during the attack and subsequent defense of the South Nine Defense Installation. Sergeant Aysaal[/b[ -Sergeant of a Tactical Squad of the 4th Company during the Battle for Fortane's World, Squad Aysaal's Drop Pod was struck by enemy artillery fire during the insertion and landed far of course. Even so Sergeant Aysaal led his squad towards their objective and eventually managed to regroup with Shadow Captain Koryn's squad and successfully complete their mission. Sergeant Syrion -Sergeant Syrion led one of the three squads of the 4th Company charged with infiltrating the bastion of Fortane's World to assist the Brazen Minotaurs assault. Squad Syrion's Drop Pod was the only one to land on target, giving Sergeant Syrion the opportunity to infiltrate the bastion ahead of the rest of the strike force. Unfortunately his squad was captured and executed, their bodies strung from an ancient statue of an Ultramarines hero in the central square of the bastion. Sergeant Grayvus -Brother Grayvus led a Scout Squad during the Battle for Idos, later he was assigned to Captain Koryn's squad of the 4th Company. A veteran of many campaigns Sergeant Grayvus participated in the infiltration of the mortuary world of Kasharat and the Battle for Fortane's World alongside Shadow Captain Koryn. Brother Grayvus often serves as the squad's auspex operator. Sergeant Fabis -Sergeant of the 4th Company charged with leading the secondary strike team during the Battle for Idos. Scout Sergeant Uirroth -Sergeant of the 2nd Scout Squad of the 10th Company, participated in the Raid on Kastorel-Novem. Brother Doril -A member of Squad Dor of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Brother Ordin -A member of Squad Dor of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Brother Canni -A member of Squad Dor of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Bore a Multi-Melta. Brother Marko Diz -A member of Squad Dor of the Talons during the Horus Heresy and one of the squad's heavy weapons specialists bearing a multi-melta. Brother Marko was injured by a battle-servitor in the Emperor's Labyrinth. Marko was later slain by Alpha Legion infiltrators during the Battle for Ravendelve. Brother Velps -A member of Squad Dor of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Brother Mathan -A member of Squad Cannor of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Brother Mathan was the first casualty of the Emperor's Labyrinth, wounded but unable to carry on his squad was forced to leave him behind for later retrieval. Brother Arhuld Dain -Flamer bearer of Squad 7 of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Brother Dain was slain by an electricity trap in the Emperor's Labyrinth on Terra. Brother Keremi Ort -A member of Squad Dor of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Brother Ort was slain in the Dropsite Massacre and replaced by an Alpha Legion infiltrator. The infiltrator was later slain during the Battle for Ravendelve. Brother Lukar -A member of Squad Dor of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Brother Lukar was slain fighting a battle-servitor in the Emperor's Labyrinth. Brother Balsar Kurthuri -A member of the Talons during the Horus Heresy brother Kurthuri was formerly a Librarian before the Council of Nikaea banned their use. Brother Halvar Diaro -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Diaro was one of the first nine recruits successfully implanted with Apothecary Sixx's new prototype gene-seed based on the Primarch Project data. Brother Kaddian -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Kaddian was one of the first nine recruits implanted with the Legion's new gene-seed. Brother Caol -One of the Raptors implanted at the Ravendelve facility Brother Caol was implanted with the mutated gene-seed. Brother Molo -One of the Raptors implanted at the Ravendelve facility. Brother Nemron -A member of the Talons during the Horus Heresy, Brother Nemron served as an auspex operator garrisoned at the Ravendelve facility. Brother Gallid -A member of the Talons during the Horus Heresy. Brother Kavin -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy and bearer of an Autocannon. Brother Dieta -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Calden -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Navar Hef -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Lastar -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Devor -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Devallia -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Nord -A member of the Talons during the Horus Heresy, brother Nord was sent to reinforce Ravendelve after the Raptors suffered deformations and was killed in the Alpha Legion attack. Brother Falko -A member of the Talons during the Horus Heresy, brother Falko was sent to reinforce Ravendelve after the Raptors suffered deformations and was killed in the Alpha Legion attack. Brother Kharvo -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Kharvo was one of the mutated Raptors who defended Ravendelve from the Alpha Legion infiltrators. Brother Benna -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Benna was one of the mutated Raptors who defended Ravendelve from the Alpha Legion infiltrators. Brother Marls -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Marls was one of the mutated Raptors who defended Ravendelve from the Alpha Legion infiltrators. Brother Tandrad -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Tandrad was one of the mutated Raptors who defended Ravendelve from the Alpha Legion infiltrators. Brother Gharo -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Gharo was one of the mutated Raptors who defended Ravendelve from the Alpha Legion infiltrators. Brother Myka -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Myka was one of the mutated Raptors who defended Ravendelve from the Alpha Legion infiltrators. Brother Hal -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy. Brother Hal was one of the mutated Raptors who defended Ravendelve from the Alpha Legion infiltrators. Brother Carval -A member of the Raptors during the Horus Heresy and one of the Battle-Brothers twisted by mutation. Brother Argis -Brother Argis is a veteran of the 4th Company and longtime battle-brother of Shadow Captain Koryn. Brother Argis was one of only two battle-brothers to survive the mission to investigate the xenos infested hive of Althion IV, participated in the infiltration of the mortuary world of Kasharat, the mission to Fortane's World and the Battle for Idos. Often Brother Argis is charged with recovering the gene-seed of fallen brothers in the absence of an Apothecary. Brother Erynis -A squad brother to Grayvus during the Battle for Althion IV. Erynis was mortally wounded by the talons of a Genestealer when his squad was ambushed but clung to life long enough to gun down the last of the xenos and save the life of Brother Grayvus. Brother Gesar -Member of a Raven Guard Task Force dispatched to the world of Coruna to prevent its occupation by the Tau xenos. Brother Gesar was cut off from his brothers and felled in a treacherous ambush, his blessed remains debased and devoured by the vile Kroot xenos. Brother Korsae -A member of Captain Koryn's Squad during the Battle for Fortane's World. Brother Korsae was slain by a plague warped Techmarine guarding the bastion's command center. Brother Avias -A member of Captain Koryn's Squad during the Battle for Fortane's World. Brother Avias fell to a swarm of plague infested rat creatures while infiltrating the bastion's command center. Brother Siryan -A member of Captain Koryn's Squad during the Battle for Fortane's World. Slain by a Sickening tainted giant bird native to the planet. Chaplain Cordae recovered his gene-seed and corvia personally and his remains were burned by Brother Kayae to prevent his corpse being tainted by the enemy. Brother Kayaan -A member of Captain Koryn's Squad during the Battle for Fortane's World. Brother Kayaan fell during the fight with the tainted Techmarine guarding the bastion's command center. Brother Kayae -A member of Captain Koryn's Squad during the Battle for Fortane's World and bore the squad's flamer. Brother Kayae was slain by tainted rat creatures while infiltrating the bastion's command center. Brother Corvaan -A member of Captain Koryn's Squad during the Battle for Fortane's World and a veteran of the mission to the mortuary world of Kasharat. Brother Corvaan fell destroying the tainted Techmarine guarding the bastion's command center. Brother Cyrus -A member of Captain Koryn's strike force during the mission to the mortuary world of Kasharat. Brother Cyrus was killed fighting Plague Marines of the Empyrion's Blight warband during the mission. Brother Borias -A member of Captain Koryn's Squad during the Battle for Fortane's World. Brother Borias was slain when the squad's Drop Pod was hit by enemy fire during insertion. His gene-seed and corvia were recovered by Brother Argis and his remains destroyed along with the wrecked drop pod by a demolition charge to prevent capture by the enemy. Brother Meleriex -Member of Shrike's Command Squad and the Shadow Captain's second in command. Brother Dhantin -Member of Shrike's Command Squad, killed in action during the assault on Defense Installation South Nine. Brother Dhantin was killed when a lucky heavy stubber round struck the weaker armor between his gorget and helmet. Despite the prodigious healing capabilities and endurance of an Astartes the wound was too severe and Brother Dhantin was dead within moments. Captain Shrike and the other members of his Command Squad avenged the fall of their brother swiftly and mercilessly. Brother Keed -Member of Shrike's Command Squad, Brother Keed attempted to go to Brother Dhantin's aid when he was brought low by traitor heavy weapons fire during the assault on Defense Installation South Nine. Captain Shrike ordered him back into cover however having seen the fatal nature of Brother Dhantin's wound however the Captain allowed Brother Keed an opportunity for vengeance by leading the assault on the heavy weapon position responsible for slaying Brother Dhantin. Brother Rydulon -One of the two warriors Captain Shrike dispatched to infiltrate the prison cells adjascent to the Cathedral of the Emperor's Wisdom and search for the Prisoner during the assault on Mankarra. Brother Rydulon was equipped with a flamer and nearly depleted the weapon destroying the greater mass of the Blood Tide nanytes. Brother Sallas -The second warrior to accompany Brother Meleriex. Brother Fereld Laotz -Member of Squad Kyre during the mission to Ultramar. Killed in action against the renegade Iron Warriors. Brother Melierax -Member of the 3rd Company who fought alongside the White Scars in the Hunt for Voldorius and taught the White Scars some of the Raven Guard's knowledge of stealth. Brother Anuri -Veteran of 48 Missions and second in command to Veteran Sergeant Aibek. Brother Anuri led the second Combat Squad of the 8th Company's 4th Squad during the Raid on Kastorel-Novem. Brother Jadyr -A member of the 4th Squad of the 8th Company, veteran of 21 Missions and wounded in action on Kastorel-Novem. Brother Kalyk -A member of the 4th Squad of the 8th Company and veteran of 23 Missions. Brother Nironen -A member of the 4th Squad of the 8th Company and veteran of 16 Missions. Brother Deyth -A member of the 4th Squad of the 8th Company and veteran of 9 Missions. Brother Yiraka -A member of the 4th Squad of the 8th Company, veteran of 19 Missions Brother Yiraka was killed in action on Kastorel-Novem. Brother Artaibo -A member of the 4th Squad of the 8th Company, veteran of 18 Missions Brother Artaibo was wounded in action on Kastorel-Novem. List of References Index Astartes: Raven GuardCodex: Space Marines 4th Edition & 5th Edition Codex: Planetstrike How to Paint Space Marines Space Marines Collectors Guide Apocalypse Supplement Rulebook Cadian Blood Fulgrim The First Heretic Heroes of the Space Marines Legends of the Space Marines Fear the Alien Dead Sky, Black Sun Warriors of Ultramar The Chapter's Due Warrior Brood The Hunt for Voldorius Unkindness of Ravens Deliverance Lost Age of Darkness: The Face of Treachery Raven's Flight Audiobook Helion Rain Audiobook Labyrinth of Sorrows Audiobook Imperial Armor 8: Raid on Kastorel-Novem Horus Heresy Collected Visions Swordwind Part IV: The Baran War White Dwarf 389 Brother Naasori -A member of the 4th Squad of the 8th Company, veteran of 31 Missions Brother Naasori was killed in action on Kastorel-Novem. Brother Kobaeh -A member of the 4th Squad of the 8th Company and veteran of 22 Missions. Scout Corbis -Member of Scout Squad Grayvus during the Battle for Idos, the sole survivor of the Squad's Scouts. Scout Tyrus -Member of Scout Squad Grayvus during the Battle for Idos. Brother Tyrus was impetuous and detonated a Tyranid spore mine, seriously wounding himself in the spray of acid during the infiltration of Proxima City's power station. When the squad finally blasted their way into the main generatorium chamber Brother Tyrus sacrificed himself to distract the Mawlock guarding the room. Scout Shyal -Member of Scout Squad Grayvus during the Battle for Idos. Brother Shyal was slain by a Tyranid Lictor. Scout Avyn -Member of Scout Squad Grayvus during the Battle for Idos. Brother Avyn was felled by fleshborer fire. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254358-raven-guard-a-comprehensive-history/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekim_Trub Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Brilliant. Great to see all this information gathered in one place. Thank you Brother. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254358-raven-guard-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-3089494 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bannus Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) Very comprehensive, Vash - I can see a lot of work in there. I noticed a small hickup in the BBcodes under the characters (where the bold brackets got out of sync - understandable considering how many times the bold is being used). Other than that, it looks real good. I would like to see the markings cover other sources as well to be more inclusive - including the all B&W scheme from Insignium Astartes and the more recent semi-Codex marking system. This way, new players will not be confused by the differences between newer and older sources as well being given options for 'authentic' markings as well. Edited June 19, 2012 by bannus Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254358-raven-guard-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-3089631 Share on other sites More sharing options...
arizonajirt Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 outstanding. thanks for posting this. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254358-raven-guard-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-3099689 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plague Angel Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 I'm going to be playing a Raven Guard Assault Marine in Deathwatch starting in two weeks, so I'm glad to see this! Thank you much. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254358-raven-guard-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-3099709 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talthus Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 I seem to remember a quote from Shadow Captain Aajz Solari somewhere. I don't remember where, but I'm pretty sure it was in a Codex. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254358-raven-guard-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-3101103 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vash113 Posted September 7, 2012 Author Share Posted September 7, 2012 @Talthus, arizonajirt and trub: I am pleased you guys find the article useful. :( I noticed a small hickup in the BBcodes under the characters (where the bold brackets got out of sync - understandable considering how many times the bold is being used). Other than that, it looks real good. Thanks for pointing that out, unfortunately given the sync of the posts I cannot edit the posts to fix it and that will have to wait for another update to get rectified. I would like to see the markings cover other sources as well to be more inclusive - including the all B&W scheme from Insignium Astartes and the more recent semi-Codex marking system. This way, new players will not be confused by the differences between newer and older sources as well being given options for 'authentic' markings as well. As with all of the content in the Comp. History articles the information is a fusion of various sources brought together as best as possible into a relatively seamless narrative. Part of the act of composing the articles is editorial decisions on what material to grant preference over other sources and that is entirely a personal decision others might disagree with. Most of the time the most recent source is given preference over older material but occasionally when older material is more complete or from a more reliable source it is given preference instead. The case of markings for the RG falls into the latter category though I did make sure to include this: The Raven Guard are a Codex Chapter and as such can make use of any of the Codex marking schemes, and the Codex suggests a Chapter regularly change their markings to confound the enemy.. Ultimately I made the decision that to list all of the various marking schemes of the RG that have appeared equally would simply take up too much space and be too confusing, instead granting preference to the Index Astartes material over the other, generally more fragmentary sources of variant schemes. In any case that is the logic behind it, as more material is published I may eventually expand the section to include a variety of different schemes as more material on the Chapter is published or I may change my mind in future, we shall see. I seem to remember a quote from Shadow Captain Aajz Solari somewhere. I don't remember where, but I'm pretty sure it was in a Codex. I think I know the quote to which you refer, perhaps in the next update I will include it somewhere. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254358-raven-guard-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-3169155 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Race Bannon Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 RG Fluff Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254358-raven-guard-a-comprehensive-history/#findComment-5078528 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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