Sword Bearers and the Unforgiven (Updated 1/07/23: Angels Redeemed)

[Spaced Hulk]

Let me tell you of your brothers in the East. The watchers in the outer dark. Bearers of the sword of retribution. Let me tell you of the blades that were broken, of wars both won and lost, of sacrifices made without hesitation. Then you may know something of the meanings of duty and honour.

 

Veteran Sergeant Naaman, addressing Scout Infiltration Team Beta at Koth Ridge, the Piscina IV Campaign, 221997.M41

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by Spaced Hulk

[Onisuzume]

And your point/question/whatever is?

[Spaced Hulk]

Vid Capture: Sword Bearer Veteran Assault Squad. Recorded during the siege of the Phormian Necropolis, Iris Campaign, 723.M41

Edited September 1, 2014 by spacedhulk

[Brother Immolator]

And your point/question/whatever is?

To throw some pics of his new successor chapter / DA company in a stylish style. Relax and enjoy.

 

Shoot away Spaced Hulk :D

Edited March 9, 2013 by Brother Immolator

[Spaced Hulk]

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CHAPTER NAME...................................Sword Bearers

FOUNDING...........................................14^th (Disputed)

CHAPTER WORLD.................................Mire

FORTRESS MONASTERY........................Formerly the mountain fortress Fenspire, now the ruined Battle Barge/Orbital station Forlorn Hope

GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR).................Dark Angels

KNOWN DESCENDANTS........................None

CURRENT OPERATIONAL STATUS..........Unknown

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[facmanpob]

Nice :tu:

[Izzuan]

.....Now THAT is some style!

[march10k]

Well played, brother, well played!

[elphilo]

This is a great introduction! You actually have me wanting more right now :D

[Spaced Hulk]

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ADEPTUS ASTARTES SWORD BEARERS: CHAPTER LIVERY

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/sm/bpe=000000&bpj=000000&bp=000000&bpc=000000&hdt=145213&hdm=145213&hdl=145213&ey=911111&er=145213&pi=000000&nk=ADADAD&ch=ADADAD&eg=000000&sk=000000&abs=ADADAD&bt=ADADAD&cod=ADADAD&ull=ADADAD&lk=ADADAD&lll=ADADAD&lft=ADADAD&url=ADADAD&rk=ADADAD&lrl=ADADAD&rft=ADADAD&slt=145213&sli=145213&srt=145213&sri=145213&ula=145213&lel=145213&lla=145213&lw=145213&lh=145213&ura=145213&rel=145213&rla=145213&rw=145213&rh=145213&bg=FFFFFF&rb=000000&gr=000000&wg=true&loin=362302&mk8=true&tabard=362302&mk6kn=true&krk=000000&spl1=000000&spl2=000000&spr2=000000&/spacemarine.jpg

 

(Notes: Believed accurate up to 932.M41. No Vid/Pic evidence after this date. Current livery and heraldry unknown.)

 

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Edited March 10, 2013 by spacedhulk

[Balthus Dire]

Please continue brother!

[Cod]

That is a bit different, I like it! Nice use of colour to tie in the robe with the armour.

In fact by using the colours you have, is that all 3 'wings' represented?!!

[shortysl]

Brilliant introduction to your Successor Chapter. However, I do feel it necessary to point out that if you should ever forget to type the first 'S' in your chapter name (even by mistake), I shall immediately hunt you down as a heretic and have my Company Chaplain escort you to Cell 42......

 

We are watching you brother.

 

[Spaced Hulk]

Like many of the so called Unforgiven Chapters, the Sword Bearers have a gloom of secrecy and misinformation surrounding them. Even their origins are enigmatic, as although officially listed as part of the 14th Founding of M35, there is substantial evidence that dates their creation as far earlier. Some agents of the Ordo Hereticus even suspect them to be undeclared (and unsanctioned) members of the Second Founding, and therefore part of the original Dark Angels Legion. For this to have been concealed, and official records altered at a later date, suggests conspiracy and corruption at particularly high levels of the Adeptus Terra. However, these allegations have never been proven and following the destruction of the Chapter's fortress monastery in 935.M41 (an event widely rumoured to have been initiated by the Chapter itself), any evidence that may have supported this theory has presumably been lost. What is known for certain is that the Sword Bearers openly acknowledge their lineage to the First Legion, and that they maintain especially close ties to the Dark Angels and all their Successors, despite the vast distances separating them.

Extract taken from 'The Origin of Angels: A treatise on the Adeptus Astartes', written by Inquisitor Christoph Noekel, 738997.M41.

Edited March 13, 2013 by spacedhulk

[Brother Immolator]

Blowing up their own fortress eh? Well that intreaguing!

[Izzuan]

I'm loving this...little bites to take just the very edge off my desire to know more!

[elphilo]

Blowing up their own fortress eh? Well that intreaguing!

Curiouser and curiouser.

[Spaced Hulk]

Amongst the Unforgiven, the Sword Bearers can be considered unique in the location of their deployment. Based in the furthest outskirts of the Eastern Fringe, the Chapter is geographically isolated from both their parent chapter and the Imperium itself. Historians believe that Mire, the Chapter's adopted home world, lies within the region once known as Thramas, an obscure sector with a troubled and violent past. During the dark days of the Horus Heresy, Thramas was the site of a prolonged campaign between the loyalist Dark Angel Legion and the rebellious forces of the Night Lords. Although the First Legion eventually achieved a devastating victory over their former brothers, the duration of the conflict ensured that they were unable to return in time to join the defence of the Imperial Palace.

 

The Mire System is located at the most extreme edge of the galaxy's eastern spiral arm. From this distant position, it is actually quicker to enter the inter-galactic void than it is to return to Holy Terra. The System itself consists of six planets and fourteen moons, orbiting a G type main sequence star. Only three of these worlds are within the habitable envelope, and only the closest of these, Mire, is known to support life. The next nearest inhabited system is approximately two weeks warp travel away, while a journey to the closest Forge world can take up to six months.

Mire itself is a particularly grim and inhospitable world. Although similar in size, density and atmospheric composition to planets such as Chiros and Iax, it's surface is bleak and almost constantly rain sodden. In one standard week, Mire can experience as much rainfall as a productive agri-world will receive in a year. For some reason, Mire's water cycle appears to be in a perpetual state of over drive. Seasonal changes bring little temperature variation and it appears that the climate is somehow locked in this pattern. Magos Explorator investigators have theorised that this highly unusual environment is not a natural phenomenon, and that therefore the planet must have been deliberately engineered to reach this strange equilibrium. However the method (and indeed the rationale) for such a feat is indiscernible, and there are no signs of pre-Imperial civilisation anywhere within the Mire system.

When the rain does sporadically abate, mist and fog spring up almost instantly, covering everything in a shroud of darkness and moisture vapour. The result is a world bathed in water; a world of cold, stormy seas and grey, sunless skies. What land exists is a permanent quagmire of marshes, fens and swamps, while higher ground consists of barren, rocky hills and mist wreathed moorland. However, despite these oppressive conditions, Mire is far from lifeless. Both flora and fauna have evolved to survive in this waterlogged environment, including a number of large, amphibious predators that prowl the wetlands in search of prey.

 

Perhaps incredibly, humanity maintains a foothold on Mire, enduring the relentless rain and depressing lack of sunlight. Two distinct societies have emerged since Mire was first colonised: Marsh-dwellers and Highlanders. The Marsh-folk live exclusively in the planet's wetlands and have retained an impressive level of knowledge and technology. Their ancient settlements are built upon steel-reinforced stilts above the fens and bogs they call home, their communities based upon fishing and cultivating hydroponic crops. Any Marsh-dweller is instantly recognisable by their Second Skin, a moisture repellent body suit worn at all times to protect against constant water exposure. This synthetic, waterproof membrane is vat grown using local materials and forms the basis of their economy. Marsh-folk are aware of the universe beyond their home world, and while they lack space faring craft of any kind, they are regularly visited by ships from neighbouring systems, allowing them to trade for goods and materials that would otherwise be unobtainable. Despite their grasp of technology, life in the wetlands is a constant struggle for survival, a battle not just against the elements but also the vicious predators that lurk unseen within the marshes. The most fearsome of these is perhaps the Mirewyrm, a carnivorous invertebrate that grows to over three metres in length.

 

Highlanders, in contrast, have reverted to a primitive, almost feral state. From their scattered hill forts, the highland tribes eke out a difficult existence in the harsh conditions. Surviving mainly as hunter-gatherers, they roam across the moors as both predators and prey, tracking the small herds of native herbivores while avoiding or fighting off the large carnivores that share their domain. Life in the hills is hard, brutal and frequently very short, with only twenty five per cent of infants surviving to adulthood and very few Highlanders living past their thirtieth year. Disease and deformity are rife amongst the tribes, malnutrition and constant exposure to Mire's climate causing a host of physiological problems and illnesses. Warfare between neighbouring tribes is also common, as each settlement competes for the scant resources available to them. Those Highlanders that do survive are a strong, resilient people, proud of their ability to survive and inherently disdainful of outsiders.

 

Despite the immense cultural differences between the two societies, conflict between them is surprisingly rare. Both Marsh-dwellers and Highlanders are aware of the other's existence, but neither make any attempt to contact the other or intrude upon their territory. For the Marsh-folk, the hills and moorland above are a savage, primeval place, and those that dwell there are equally primitive and barbaric. For the Highlanders, the fens and swamps below are a truly alien environment, a haunted world where death strikes from beneath without warning. With each community singularly adapted to their own needs, communication between them is both unnecessary and unwanted. Indeed there are only two occasions when Marsh-folk and Highlanders come into contact with each other. The first is the arrival of the trading ships, which have to land on the very edge of the marshes and therefore draw curious attention from the tribes above. Such meetings are usually peaceful, as the Highlanders, although primitive, still recognise the opportunity to trade goods and information.

 

The second occasion only happens once every ten years, in an event known to both Marsh-dweller and Highlander alike as the Calling. This is the only time when the Space Marines of the Sword Bearers walk openly amongst the peoples of their adopted home world. The time when the next generation are selected to join the Emperor's Angels, leaving their homes and families for a new existence, far from the perpetual rain and fog of Mire, in the stars so rarely seen through the clouded sky.

 

 

Extract taken from the Mythos Angelica Mortis, Appendix 3a: 'Homeworlds of the Astartes', M36 (Low Gothic Translation, 864.M40)

 

Edited March 11, 2013 by spacedhulk

[facmanpob]

This is very good stuff, similar enough to established DA fluff to be uncontroversial, but different enough not to be labelled as derivative. Oh, and very well written as well! :)

[Spaced Hulk]

This is very good stuff, similar enough to established DA fluff to be uncontroversial, but different enough not to be labelled as derivative. Oh, and very well written as well!

 

Thank you for the kind words mate. And thanks everyone for your encouragement so far .

 

As I'm sure is obvious, this is the WIP log for my new army, and will include a detailed background, short fiction, conversions and (I promise) painted models. Progress may be haphazard at times, but I'm very much looking at this as a long term project. It's taken me a long time to choose a concept and a colour scheme, but now I have I'm feeling particularly inspired.

 

Thanks again

 

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Edited March 12, 2013 by spacedhulk

[Spaced Hulk]

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Like every Unforgiven Chapter, the Sword Bearers are custodians of many ancient relics and artefacts, from early pattern power armour to texts dating back to the Great Crusade itself. However, perhaps the most important relic in their possession, and reputedly the inspiration for the Chapter's name, is the fabled Sword of Retribution. Or, to use it's original title, the Blade of Corswain.
 

There are many legends associated with this ancient power sword. It is claimed that the first bearer of the blade was the personal Champion of the Lion himself. That alone, he faced the fury of the Night Haunter to defend his fallen Lord. And that, despite all odds, he managed to drive his sword straight through the Traitor Primarch.
 

Regardless of the truth of these tales, the blade is undoubtedly a potent icon for the Sword Bearers. It is entrusted to each Supreme Grand Master of the Chapter, who takes an oath to guard the relic unto death. Perhaps surprisingly, by long standing tradition the blade is never wielded in combat. When the High Lord takes to the field of battle, the sword does accompany him, but it is constantly sheathed and carried by one of the diminutive robed constructs so commonly used by Unforgiven Chapters. Instead, the Grand Master is armed with the other symbol of his office, the ancient Terran long sword known as the Mors Atra, which, also by tradition, can never be returned to it's scabbard while enemies of the Emperor still draw breath. Thus the High Lord of the Sword Bearers is always the keeper of two blades. One drawn and one sheathed. One to wield in constant battle against the foe, and one to guard, to forever protect the Legion's past.

 

Of course, as with all aspects of the Sword Bearers Chapter, the current whereabouts of these relic blades is unknown. Following the disastrous Fatum II campaign of 935.M41, and the subsequent destruction of their fortress monastery, it is highly probable that both swords were destroyed, along with so much of the Chapter's history and strength. However, given the importance the paired blades hold to the Sword Bearers, if any item or relic could have been saved from the inferno of the Fenspire, it would surely have been them. My investigations are continuing.
 

Extract taken from 'The Legacy of the First Legion', written by Inquisitor Christoph Noekel, 759997.M41. (Archivists Addendum: This particular work was unfortunately never completed, due to the authors death in unusual circumstances. See Appendix File 458890 for more information).

 

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Edited March 13, 2013 by spacedhulk

[Octavulg]

The 14th Founding isn't in M36 (the 13th Founding supposedly is, but it makes no sense. And the 21st was dated as being in very late M35 in the recent BRB. It'd be weird if the 13th happened after the 21st).

 

There's supposedly four hundred Second FOunding chapters now (C:GK), so having a few unknown ones also wouldn't be that big a deal any more.

[Brother Immolator]

Ok I liked the designation of 'constructs' for the watchers, stupid inquisitors :D

He was flushed out the battle barges toilets decompression system as well? ;)

 

Nice fluff brother keep it up!

[Spaced Hulk]

The 14th Founding isn't in M36 (the 13th Founding supposedly is, but it makes no sense. And the 21st was dated as being in very late M35 in the recent BRB. It'd be weird if the 13th happened after the 21st).

 

There's supposedly four hundred Second FOunding chapters now (C:GK), so having a few unknown ones also wouldn't be that big a deal any more.

 

The Imperial Archives: A tangled web of inconsistancy, contradiction and mis-information. In such ordered chaos, who can really tell which documents are truly authentic, which have been simply misinterpreted, and which have been.....deliberately altered.   

Edited March 13, 2013 by spacedhulk

[Octavulg]

I'm not saying don't have them be fourteenth founding. I'm just saying - it's not in M36. Not even a little bit. I did a whole big timeline, if you want to look at how they seem to break down. I didn't figure it was likely to be a critical detail.

 

As to the second founding thing...guess I'll have to wait to see more.