Firebirds Space Marines

[Lord Levarius]

FIREBIRDS

http://i1352.photobucket.com/albums/q655/Naryeima/Firebirds%20Space%20Marines/FirebirdsTacticalSchemeBold_zps612c6675.jpg

 

"Bring Fire to the Night"

 

Through Fire We Honour the Fallen

- 1st Chief Librarian Levarius Amrial Vesperus

 

 

WHO ARE THE FIREBIRDS?

The Firebirds are a Codex Astartes Space Marine Chapter of the 23rd Founding and come from the volcanic world of Vernadus in the Helsa Sector. Formed when a previous crusading Space Marine chapter, The Lightning Hawks, were all but destroyed battling the forces of chaos in a warp storm threatening the Helsa Sector. Having spent several decades in recovery and bonding with the native people, the Firebirds rose up from the ashes of the destroyed chapter with a new image, name, ideals and beliefs. Ever since, they have been on a bitter quest for revenge against the Night Lords for the destruction and deaths of their lost battle brothers.

 

 

IDEOLOGY:

The Firebirds have a strong background based upon the stories of ancient Terran bird mythology coupled together with the ideas of fire and flames.

The symbol of the chapter is the Great Phoenix and can be seen throughout the chapter’s heraldry and picts. The Phoenix, the very first bird of fire, is the most illustrious of the lost mythological birds of Terra and serves as the symbol and drive of the chapter against the dark of the night.

The Firebirds do still, however, retain some of the chivalrous demeanor of their previous crusading identity and call references to Knights and Paladins as well as their bird and fire terminology.

 

 

GENE-SEED:

The Firebird's gene-seed is that of the Primarch Corvus Corax, meaning the chapter is one of the few Raven Guard Successor Chapters. Official Imperial Records do not contain the specific details about the lineage of the gene-seed beyond the Lightning Hawks, but the evidence of Corax's genealogy is wide spread amongst the chapter’s style including the high use of jump pack infantry and the use of the beloved Lightning Claw.

 

It is known that the Gene-Seed of Corax is flawed. The Firebirds brothers suffer from the same paleness of the skin and darkening of the hair as their legion forefathers. It is thought that this helps the Firebirds feel related to their Primarch and to never forget his fight for the Imperium. As the Lightning Hawks were a crusading chapter, they had a large surplus of supplies stored on their battle barges. This means that the Firebirds have a large stock of gene-seed still available from on board the Thunderstorm since the warp storm.

This supply, along with having less directly functional battle companies, means they don't need as frequent assistance from Terra in maintaining gene supply.

 

COMBAT DOCTRINE:

Due to the harsh landscape of Vernadus, travelling about on foot or by land based vehicles is somewhat treacherous and is in some cases impossible. Often the only way to reach some the higher plateaus and cut off peaks is to use a jump pack or have a lift from an aircraft. This has meant the Firebirds have developed a high dependence on jump infantry and supporting aircraft in the way they operate. It is often observed that, rather than have vast numbers of ground based vehicles such as predators and Whirlwinds, the Firebirds are supported by Thunderhawk, Stormraven & Stormtalon aircraft along with Land Speeder skimmers. As well as giving them the ability to navigate their homeworld, it has given them greater flexibility and speed to react to enemy movements than most other Space Marine Chapters. In accordance with the speed of the assault arms, the tactical squads of the chapter are deployed most frequently by Drop-Pod. This enables them to keep pace and give immediate fire support to the initial attacks. If they are needed to redeploy elsewhere, reserve Thunderhawks & Stormravens stand ready to swiftly pick them up and carry them to where they are needed.

 

In keeping with their Raven Guard forefathers, the Firebirds will look to heavily recon the enemy positions and potential battlefields before engaging into a warzone. This is usually done by scout brothers of the 8th ‘Owl’ company, however the task can often fall to the newest full battle brothers of company. This gives the brothers a chance to earn respect from the rest of the company by providing critical details and to further their teachings of Corax. The recon task will often be extensive as the commanders of the Firebirds wish to know every possible detail before committing their men in full fiery force.

 

When the use of aircraft or orbital insertion is not viable, the Firebirds take to the battlefield in an armoured spearhead. With a large contingent of Land Raiders in the chapter’s armoury, the Firebirds like to hit the enemy hard and fast even if their preferred method of assault isn’t available. The Land Raiders drive will be supported by Whirlwinds, one of the few lighter armoured land vehicles that the Firebirds maintain in large numbers. This still enables the Firebirds to effectively rain fire down upon the enemy even when they can’t physically launch from the sky directly.

 

Although they bare the seed of Corax, early relationships with the Salamanders & the terrain on Vernadus has lead the Firebirds to strongly develop the use of flamer & melta weaponry. The rich fuel supplies available to them on their homeworld, means that the Firebirds can field high numbers of these types of weapons; so much so that these are the standard choice of specialist weaponry amongst nearly all of the marines. This has lead to a large decline in the use of longer ranged firepower, such as lascannons and missile launchers, and it's rare to find more than two or three of these in use across an entire company. The combination of these two distinct styles is what gives the Firebirds their distinct fighting style.

 

HOMEWORLD: VERNADUS

At the centre of the Helsa Sector deep within the Segmentum Tempestus lies the volcanic world of Vernadus. Meaning ‘Hellfire’ in local tongue, the landscape of the planet is covered in wide lava rivers that flow between vast mountains. Plateaus can be found up high amongst the faces the mountain ranges and offer the only form of sanctuary from the relentless lava, however many of these isolated spots are inaccessible from the surface or lie complete cut off.

Vernadus is high in the natural resources required for fuel and weapon ammunition and so was colonised by the Imperium during the Great Crusade. First brought under Imperial rule by the Night Lords, the volcanic world and surrounding Helsa sector, was considered strategically important for maintaining martial supplies in the Emperor’s grand campaign. Small localised mining platforms were constructed to extract the rich resources whilst what little land was available was slowly built upon. Any structures on the surface have to be constantly shielded by equipment similar to those of the Void shield generators of Adeptus Mechanicus Titans to protect them from showers of molten rock and the inevitable high energy storms in the lower atmosphere.

 

Vernadus is scarce in the way of populace, but the few scattered soles that can be found are undoubtedly extremely tough and live their lives in constant risk. Living on a volcanic planet also means their lives are a constantly adapting as they follow the ever changing patterns of the lava flows. Only the most steadfast and determined soles would ever set foot on such a planet and this makes them prime recruitment for the Adeptus Astartes.

Little in the way of wildlife lives upon the surface of Vernadus as the the volcanic flows and thick smokey atmosphere makes breathing rather testing. One creature that does thrive though is the Ractrin. These black coloured beasts have an almost waxy like outer skin that protects their bodies from the toxins in the air and enables them to hide amongst the charred surface rocks. Armed with deadly long claws on the end of incredibly long forelegs, the Ractirn are able to tear easily through flesh and armour alike. They have been likened by some to genestealers due to they way attack, but it is observed that the ractirn tend to hunt solitary rather than in groups. This does not mean however, that they are not just as deadly to anyone on the surface.

 

 

BATTLE CRY:

'Bring Fire to the Night and Ride on the Wings of Flame' - Reference to the quest for revenge against the Night Lords and the high use of Aircraft and Jump Packs in the chapter.

Often shorted to simply 'Bring Fire to the Night' in most references, with the full phrase only used on the eve of battle.

 

 

CHAPTER MOTTO:

per incendia nos veneratio cado, Through Fire We Honour the Fallen

 

 

SUMMARY NOTES:

Founding: 23rd

Homeworld: Vernadus

Gene-Seed: Corvus Corax- Raven Guard

Ideology: Great Phoenix of Terra

Style of War: Flamer & Melta Weapons - Aircraft Support - Drop Pod & Jump Pack

 

 

CHAPTER ORGANISATION

 

 

RECRUITMENT

New recruits are brought in from the Helsa Sector, now known as the Realm of Fire, and are brought to the Fortress upon Vernadus. Here they undertake a series of brutal fitness and ability tests known as the Trials of Fire in order to filter out the strongest and most intellectual brothers. These trials test a recruit’s physical capabilities with battlefield exercises and test his mindset with a series of challenges and puzzles. The Firebirds value intelligence and open mindedness very highly. A battle brother will be called upon to make tough decisions and evaluations during his service and it is of the upmost importance that he may have a receptive and stable mindset for this.

Throughout the trials, the recruits are fed teachings of the Great Phoenix from pages within the Chapter Librarias. This allows the Firebirds to observe spirt of the recruits and analyse the most effective methods of teaching. During this phase, some recruits may be singled out and recommended as initiates to one of the chapter’s specialist divisions, this enables them receive alternative training more suited to these divisions rather than generic battle brothers.

 

Having passed the Trials of Fire, the new recruits are inducted into the 8th ‘Owl’ Scout Company. Upon recognition of battle-readiness, a brother will then be promoted into one of the 6 functional battle companies or specialist divisions. This process usually involves the new marine choosing which company to join and serve. If only one company remains understrength at the time, the marine is assigned straight to that company, as space permits no personal decision. At the time of induction, each brother will also choose one of the 8 sacred brotherhoods to also join. These are religious groups in which each brother is bonded together to form a tight knit community. The brotherhoods do not effect the functions of the battle companies and it is known for each company to have members of several if not all eight brotherhoods.

 

 

BATTLE COMPANIES

The Firebirds are divided into 8 great battle companies, each of 100 battle brothers. Each company is named after an ancient bird of Terra and is responsible for it’s own organisation and training.

 

Each squad within a battle company is led by a more experience brother, known as the Ember. He is usually a veteran of many campaigns as has been assigned to training his brothers to bring fiery death upon the enemies of Mankind. The responsibly of the squad is ultimately down to the Ember. He will fight his hardest to defend and maintain the honour of his squad mates but he is the one who receives the backlash for any squad shortcomings. Every squad member answers directly to the Ember and will follow his orders without question for the Ember is far more experienced in the ways of the fire and air.

 

 

1ST COMPANY - PHOENIX WARRIORS

First formed from the survivors of the Warp storm, the Veteran 1st Company of the Firebirds is awed by the rest of the chapter. As the most esteemed and experienced of all the chapter’s warriors, they take the Great Phoenix of Terra as there company symbol and are the only brothers to adorn the double gold plated shoulders of the Firebirds’ true heraldry. Their stories and legends are told to all who join the ranks of chapter and it becomes the aspiration of every brother to be inducted into such a group of legends. It is a great honour to take to the battlefield alongside the Phoenix warriors and just their presence alone can spur on the rest of the chapter to complete immense feats. However, it is only when the need is great so the 1st company take to battle, and only when the entire chapter is threatened do they take the battlefield together as a whole company. The Phoenix warriors are more often seen in small groups providing assistance to the chapter’s other company’s and lending their tactical wisdom and martial prowess to where it is needed the most.

 

THE BROTHERHOODS

At the core of the chapter’s organisation are the eight sacred brotherhoods. Each battle brother belongs to one of the these brotherhoods that form the religious zeal of the chapter. They take no role in the martial aspects of the chapter’s missions and battles and are entirely separate identities from the main battle companies. At the time of induction, when a new brother chooses his battle company, he must also choose a brotherhood to join. There is no formal process to this choice and it is based entirely on what he feels in his heart and spirit. The brotherhoods have varying agendas and put emphasis on different parts of a warriors spirit or behaviour. Each brotherhood takes an aspect of the Great Phoenix as its prime focus and when they all unite on the battlefield, the spirit of the ancient bird becomes whole and guides the Firebirds armies to victory. While his battle company will guide him in military prowess, it is a brother’s chosen brotherhood that will guide and nurture his spirt throughout his service.

A brotherhood is lead by its Paladin. He is the figurehead of the brotherhood and designs it’s teachings. The Paladin will conduct ceremonies to the members of his brotherhood wherever he is present. As he cannot be with every Firebirds force, he is assisted by the Fire Guardians. Adorning black armour, the Fire Guardians pass on the Brotherhood’s and Paladin’s teachings to their fellow members in his absence. The separate identities of the brotherhoods means that Firebirds battle company squads do not hold prayer together like most other chapters. Each brother separates from his squad mates and attends the services specific to his own brotherhood and none other. This allows squads to have multiple differing view points and allows them consider situations more thoroughly in the heat of battle.

 

The brotherhood with which a battle brother belongs to is denoted by the colour of his left gauntlet in a similar way to the company markings on his shoulder.

 

The Brotherhoods are known as:

 

The All Seeing Eye

The Spirit of Fire

The Heart of Truth

The Wings of the Lost Angel

The Mind of Patience

The Voice of Reason

The Knights of the White Claw

The Bones of the Righteous



 

CHAPTER LIBRARIAS - ‘THE WING & FLAME’

Every battle brother of the Firebirds has their own personal copy of the Chapter’s Librarias. The book details the chapter ideals and beliefs upon which is is founded. It also outlines the expectancies of every brother and how he should go about his service to the Firebirds. Most brothers keep their’s bound in leather skin to keep it pure as to let the book decay is a failing of the brother’s spirit. A book belonging to brother that is lost in battle is not wasted as it is passed on to a new recruit so that he may carry on the previous brother’s foundings. Hidden away in the Vaults of the Fortress on Vernadus lies the very first Chapter Librarius. Protected by the Librarians, everything from the chapter’s first founding after the warp storm to it’s current martial state is inscribed within and the book is updated with every action of the chapter.

 

AIR & FLEET COMMAND

Unlike most other chapters, the Firebirds have only eight functional battle companies rather than ten, preferring to utilise the remaining brothers into other divisions of the chapter. These divisions, often larger than the functional battle companies, include the Librarium, Reclausium and Apothercarion but the ones unique to the Firebirds are the Air and & Fleet Command Divisions. These divisions are the arms of the chapter that are responsible for all the aircraft and space going cruisers and battle barges in the chapters possession.

The pilots of the Firebirds are unusual in that they are full battle brothers and not employed chapter serfs. These brothers are not assigned a battle company but instead are members of one of the two commands. Most are picked out during the recruitment process or scout training for a knack for air skill but some are moved into the command having displayed supreme skill whilst piloting small craft in battle. These brothers are then responsible for flying all of the chapters craft. This gives the Firebirds aircraft and fleet vessels distinct advantages as human serfs can often lack the endurance and ability required for the most daring operations conducted by the chapter. Known for their supreme skill, the pilots have earned recognition from many institutions within the Imperium and the very best have often served a time with the Eagle Wing of the Hawk Lords Space Marine Chapter.

 



CHAPTER FORMATION

 

THE WARP STORM

Unknown officially of its origins, though it is rumoured that the Daemon Prince Kreig Acerbus of the Night Lords was the source in his quest to search for the missing Shadeblight Cruiser. It is thought that sightings of the infamous vessel were reported on the eastern board of the sector. As the chaos fleet entered the system, rumoured to be led by the vessel Serpent of the Black Sea, a colossal warp storm spread out from their transition point in deep space till it held three of the fourteen planets in the Helsa Sector. The Storm spread unabated for four years as Imperial defence fleets couldn’t be mustered and withdrawn from other conflicts against Ork Waaagh’s. Thousands of Cultists rose up from within the local populace as the storm moved in and the sector found itself starting to be cut off. Warp travel was becoming increasingly difficult in the area due to the storm’s size and eventually the threat was deemed to be of a high enough level for Space Marines to be called in. A great war broke out as the Imperium tried it all it could to destroy the chaos hordes which to included renegade chapters of Space Marines. Multiple Night Lords warbands were recorded leading the enemy fight. Several Loyalist chapters were called in, including the Lightning Hawks and the Knights of Ormoron to aid their weight to the Imperium’s might. However the storm had been left too long and had grown in power beyond the estimates of the astropaths. Little is known of the events that conspired deep within on the planets themselves as all contact was lost with the Astronomican for lengthy periods of time, but the storm eventually collapsed events culiminating with the sacrifice of the Chapter Master of the Lightning Hawks to slay the Faithless Warband leader Kheildra. The cost was however, horrific, with not one but two Astartes Chapters almost completely destroyed and several others severely depleted.

 

THE AFTERMATH

The warp storm had brought devastation to the Lightning Hawks, only few handfuls of marines had survived the Night Lords onslaught and the death of their commanders had left them disorganised. They managed to find a small space going shuttle that was still roughly flyable and made their way slowly back into orbit to rendezvous with the Battle Barge Thunderstorm. The flight back to orbit was precarious as the small craft had to avoid the stockpiles of the debris now floating above the surface of Typhon Primaris, the 2nd largest planet in the Helsa Sector and now ruined, with warship after warship now in pieces. Luckily for the marines the Thunderstorm, although severely crippled was the chapter’s main Crusade Cruiser and had plenty of resources still on board. Once back on board, Chief Librarian Levarius Vesperus, who was now the highest ranking brother alive, assumed command and organised the crew to get the Thunderstorm away from Typhon to safety in the Sector. On what little power she had, the Thunderstorm managed to limp away in deeper space and out of the way of the debris.

Having drifted for several months on almost no power, the crew managed to guide cruiser into orbit above a volcanic world by the name of Vernadus and successfully made refuge in an abandoned orbital mining station. With the state of the Thunderstorm Chief Librarian Levarius knew there was no way of sustaining her bulk for long and decided on the course of action to have Thunderstorm grounded. After securing the platform from immediate attack, he ordered a scouting party down on one of the last Thunderhawks to the surface of Vernadus. The marines that were sent were given the task of reconnaissance on a large plateau high up in the northern mountains that had been selected from orbit to find a safe area for the Thunderstorm to make landfall. Her scanners weren’t strong enough in their weakened state to be able to pick up enough detail to fully determine the surface’s suitability.

A total of fifteen marines were sent down and it took a full Terran Week to accurately cover the whole area of target. And so, with authorisation from Levarius, the Thunderstorm slowly detached from the station and began her very slow descent from orbit. The landing wasn’t elegant but was completed with the greatest care, with no docking port the Thunderstorm had to simply set down onto the ground and naturally her extreme weight did cause rupturing in some of the lower decks. Luckily coupled with piloting skills, the majority of the Thunderstorm survived the contact and so could provide a temporary land base for the marines.

 

Being a fully equipped crusading chapter the Lightning Hawks had all of their technical support systems as well as front line armour onboard their vessels. This meant that the survivors still had access to the chapter’s full Tech and the systems on board were quickly utilised in making a ground structure capable of maintaining upto a company of battle brothers. The Thunderstorm’s systems were slowly restructured, reorganised and sometimes relocated in the process of building of the base. The new structure was partly built from scratch and partly built into the hull of the Thunderstorm itself. The Thunderstorm’s spirit was reblessed and guided to complete the transition from space cruiser to ground fortress.

 

In charge of the tech transition was Techmarine Promarias, such was his huge task he simply could not tend to his brother’s individual needs as well as restructuring the Thunderstorm. Due to this, he quickly skilled the surviving marines in the art of armour care and construction so that they may build and tend to their own weapons and armour suits rather than rely on his skill to make full suit rebuilds.

 

As the base construction process began to move along Chief Librarian Levarius began by ordering the base patrols to stretch their perimeters to encompass as much as ground was possible on foot. Still with limited resources in the aspect of vehicles the patrols were limited to the areas they could expand to. The high plateaus and lava flows meant that either high capacity jump packs or aircraft would be needed for the marines to scout further out onto the planet. This had it’s advantages as well as hinderurounces as it meant that little would threaten the Astartes as they recovered unless it came from orbit.

 

Although they couldn’t cover the entire region of the planet, the patrols did come across small remnant groups of cultists who had risen up from within the mining guilds & mechanicum during the warp storm. The cultists were quickly and efficiently silenced and cleansed from the surface by the marines. Upon receiving this news, Chief Librarian Levarius ordered that parties be sent out by Thunderhawk to find all remaining cults on Vernadus and have them brought to the light of the Emperor. The missions, occurring by-daily took just under a year to root out all the underground survivors and declare Vernadus free from the taint of Chaos.

 

THE REBUILD & NEW FOUNDING

Having eventually formed a substantial enough facility to begin producing weaponry and vehicles and, more importantly, recruiting new warriors from the local system populace, the marines of the Lightning Hawks began travelling out across Vernadus to make fresh contact with the remaining mining guilds.

When out of the base on the surface of Vernadus, the marines kept coming under constant attacks by wild Ractirn creatures. The vicious claws were more than enough to tear through Astartes and it was reported that more than one brother succumbed to the creatures. It was discovered by one scout, who had accidentally fallen into a dust pit before, that by being covered in orange and black the ractirn found it much harder to distinguish the marines from the surroundings. They quickly realised that the high volumes of attacks were due to the bright blue & white armour they were wearing, which was making them easily the most visible living creatures on the planet. Adopting an approach similar to their Primarch Corax, the marines began coating their armour to act more stealthily while out on patrol. As the number of Ractirn attacks dropped, it became common to fully paint the armour in the colours of the volcanic world, and so the transformation into the Firebirds chapter started to take root.

The ‘Firebirds’ as they became known to the local populace came to each settlement flying through the sky on seemingly wings of fire and the armoured giants began recruiting the brightest and strongest people to their cause. As word passed of these bird like flaming warriors, the relationship grew between the marines and the people, and the marines started adopting the beliefs of the populace and, along with Vernadus vast resources, took a liking to items and weaponry that suited the images.



Soon it became apparent that knowledge of these new super warriors has passed across the rest of the Helsa sector. Quick to act on the situation before the surviving chaos followers disappeared, Chief Librarian Levarius ordered the investigation of the rest of the sector and the clearing of any remaining cults. The Astartes were welcomed to each world like heroes as they came and wiped out any remaining dissidence and restored Imperial order to the sector. Having been brought up amongst ruling organisations as a youth, Levarius understood the need to have a stable government and he set-up close links with each world and in turn successfully integrated the Astartes into the organisations. Following an example from the Ultramarines and Ultramar, the Helsa Sector became known as the ‘Realm of Fire’ as the Astartes developed each world to make a united system.

As the numbers of the new recruits began to swell with each settlement visited, the new ideals generated by the recruits started to outnumber those of the older warriors. Beliefs of fire and soaring birds was rife and the original Lightning Hawks found it hard to press the old ways set so deep in them. Having learned early on in their training that change and adaption was a way to survive, the older commanders began slowly altering the teachings to fit with the new spreading beliefs and speed up the training process. They took the greatest story from the settlements which fitted the Lightning Hawks about the Great Phoenix of Terra and each captain took one part of the meaning of the story to teach to the new recruits. It was from here that the founding of the eight brotherhoods took place and the change to identity of the Firebirds truly began.

As the expansion spread across all fourteen worlds in the Helsa system, an imperial trade vessel came into contact with the Firebirds and word soon passed quickly to inquisition and the Lords of Terra. One of the great lords himself came to visit the supposed recovered marines and put them under a series of tests and analysis in order to testify their existence, it is said that he was assisted by several rather high ranking inquisitors. The marines eventually passed the rigorous tests, though not without great admonishment, and thus the Lords of Terra declared a new chapter born in the 27th founding and officially named the Firebirds’ homeworld as Vernadus.

By this point, the existence of the once proud Lightning Hawks Chapter had been lost to tombs of history and the re-birth of the Firebirds had been completed.

It is rumoured that during the testing process a Grand Master of the Grey Knights was called in by the High Lord to also pass judgement on the spirits of the Firebirds. It is thought that he examined the brothers for threats of chaos taint with a number of rigorous mental and physical tests, some of whom were nothing but brutal. After enduring all the Grand Master could challenge them to, he decreed the marines of the Firebirds free from immediate threat and passed their genes as truly loyal. However, he did pass that, as with all other Astartes, they will never be free from the threats of Chaos and so, although never officially recorded, he bestowed the blessing of Titan upon the Firebirds. This is a legend that is held highly amongst the members of the chapter, especially the new brothers, that the chapter has the word of the Grey Knights.

There was however, friction during the testing and it did not all go smoothly. The High Lord was not impressed in that the Firebirds were already recruiting and implanting new battle brothers with gene-seed without the clearance of Terra. Chief Librarian Levarius argued that, although they were now recovering from being almost destroyed and had just simply changed their armour colour, they still had the authorisation of Lightning Hawks Chapter to recruit new brothers. The dispute lasted for the entire process with neither side wishing to back down. Levarius was so steadfast in his views that he almost threatened the sanctioning of the Firebirds and had to be restrained by his fellow brothers. In the end, the High Lord received judgement from others of Terra that, although it was not sanctioned, as long as the Firebirds passed their founding tests it would be overlooked. It was at this point, upon leaving for Vernadus, that the Chief Librarian uttered his vow to avenge the memory of the Lightning Hawks and make account for the legacy of the lost chapter.

 

 

OTHER NOTES:



 

VERNADIAN REGIMENTAL DEFENSE FORCES

 

Like the majority of other worlds under control of the Imperium, the worlds of the Helsa Sector maintain a Planetary Defence Force (PDF) known as the Vernadian Regimental Defence Force (VRD). Named after the capital of the system Vernadus, each one of the worlds contributes men and women into the ranks of a single sector wide regiment. This regiment is responsible for the defence of each of the system’s worlds in conjunction with forces from the Firebirds.

 

Each world is home to a permanent garrison of the VRD who maintain a martial presence to counter any threat from underground resurgent cultist groups to xenos activity. They can also act as part of the law enforcement to maintain discipline and peace alongside their martial duties if ever required.

On top of the permanent garrisons, the VRD also has multiple other divisions that travel with the Firebirds battle companies. These divisions travel alongside the Firebirds fleets during campaigns to support in battlefield operations and provide stability in conquered areas so that the marines of the Firebirds can press on and spearhead further assaults.

 

Recruitment for the VRD is done on an annual basis from the thirteen settled worlds of the Helsa Sector, the fourteenth being Vernadus itself. The annual drive normally happens around the fall time of the particular world after the end of the hot summers. Volunteers are recruited in first and the remaining required numbers are taken from the most promising of a group of scouted men & women.

The recruits are then transported to Vernadus where they undergo a rigorous six month training scheme designed by Captain Scaro of the Firebirds 8th ‘Owl’ Company. Upon completion, the new soldiers are designated to either one of the planetary garrisons or active campaign divisions where they will complete anywhere from a five year to twenty year tour of duty.

 

RELATIONSHIPS

 

RAVEN GUARD

Baring Primarch Corax’s gene-seed, the Firebirds are closely related to the Raven Guard, both by blood and the way they fight. Both preferring to engage in close with the enemy, the chapters are ideally suited to each other with the flame of the FIrebirds complementing the Stealth of the Ravens. The system of the home world of the Raven Guard, Deliverance, is not too far in the Segmentum Tempestus from Vernadus and the Helsa Sector. This enables the Firebirds to maintain a close relationship with the sons of Corax and regularly take to the battlefield alongside them. The most notable of battles being the Conquest of Talarin where company’s from the two chapters fought side by side against the Ork Waaagh! Graztuk and battled hard into the heart of the Fortress of the Warboss.


SALAMANDERS

The Firebirds have a strong union with the Space Marines of the Salamanders chapter. Chief Libratrian Vesperus and Promarias maintained close contact with the sons of Vulkan during the early stages of the chapter rebuild and even visited the world of Nocturne on one occasion. Having such a tight union and having such great resources on Vernadus has inevitably rubbed off on the Firebirds. Similar to the Salamanders, the Firebirds have developed a heavy preference and reliance on flamer and melta weaponry in battle.


 

CRAFTWORLD ASTARAEL

The Firebirds have a strange relationship with the Eldar of craftworld Astareal. Having first crossed paths on the world of Furias fighting the forces of Chaos, the two have fought side by side on occasions and have also faced each other in the battle of Forway Gulf. The ‘enemy of my enemy’ would be one way to describe the relationship but it comes down to something more complicated. The Firebirds 4th company ‘The Falcons’ under the leadership of Captain Saerus have come into contact with the enigmatic Xenos the most and apparently have built an acquaintance with the Farseer Taela’yrin. Although Sareus has fought together with the Farseer and she has only shown signs of friendly intentions, he still maintains a wary eye on her as the Eldar are known for their lies and deceit.

 

NIGHT LORDS

Ever since the the infamous warp storm brought about by the search for the Shadeblight, the Firebirds have had a particular hatred and lust for revenge of the Night Lords Renegade Legion. The sons of Konrad Curze were at the forefront of the majority of battles that saw the deaths of so many Lightning Hawks Marines and it’s a act that hasn’t, and will never be forgotten.

A special decree has been enscribed within the Chapter Librairas’ of the Firebirds denouncing the Night Lords and it calls all brothers to bring war to the renegade legion wherever possible to enact justice. SInce the reformation, the Firebirds have gone to war with the forces of the Night Lords on numerous occasions and each time the battle has been particularly bloody. It has been noted that if the Firebirds pick up on even the slightest of rumours regarding the sitings of any of the blue armoured renegades, they engage into war-zones just to seek out and locate their most hated foes, even at the detrimental cost to the chapter.

[Messor]

Nice job with the icon there! I've seen an army startlingly similar to this one around here somewhere, right down to the Eldar Craftworld relations, both are quite impressive. The librarias is interesting, I feel like most every chapter should hand something like those out to its marines. Nice job. Is this final draft-ish?

[Lord Levarius]

Thanks for your note. Yeah, that may be because this is my second post of this concept, not sure where the first post went though.

This is finalish draft, yet the concept keeps developing as I work on it, however the bases are firmly made now :P

 

I'm working on a full Codex too, but it's taking time. The army list is a cross between Salamander Vanilla marines and Blood Angels.

 

Cheers again for your time reading this

[Lord Levarius]

Have now re-organised the IA so that it outlines the basics first, before delving into the history of the chapter's formation.

 

Also added notes about the gene-seed flaws and other chapter divisions such as Air & Fleet Command.

[War Angel]

I really like the reorganization you've done, it effectively gives me a feel of the army with out being lengthy and boring. That being said I havnt read the lengthier part of you're IA, but you have hooked me and I will read it at a later point when I have more time

[TrashMan]

Another Phoenix-themed chapter. Nice.

 

I like it.

 

Reminds me of my own.

[Lord Levarius]

Right, Now re-worded the 1st sections upto 'Chapter Formation' so it's more readable and makes sense. Also added in extra info in multiple sections....

 

Will work on the last bit soon, it needs it !!!