Index Traitoris: Apostles Martial

[Wade Garrett]

Warband Name: Apostles Martial

 

Successors Of: Black Templars

 

Primarch: Rogal Dorn

 

Allegiance: Chaos Undivided

 

Homeworld: Fides Quod Causa (Space Hulk)

 

Here my crusade begins.

I am a servant of the Hidden God.

He is the guardian of the souls of mankind.

I am the lash that scourges those who deny Him.

He is my joy.

I am the web that ensnares those who deride Him.

He is my wisedom.

I am the plague that devours those who defy Him.

He is my strength.

I am the axe that butchers those who despise Him.

He is my fury.

 

Apostles Martial Pre Battle Oath

 

Origins:

The story of the Apostles Martial begins on the agri world of Apaosa, located in Segmentum Solar. Apaosa was unique among the many breadbasket worlds of the Segmentum because it contained not only astronger than average presence of the Schola Progenium on it's southern continent, but also a Chapter Keep of the mighty Black Templars Space Marines in the frozen northern wastes.

 

Both institutions trawled the children shuttled in by the Ministorum for promising candidates, until the day the Ork Rok "Bigga Stik" tore it's way out of the Warp overhead. As the greenskins descended, the Templars sent a small force of Iniates and Neophytes south to aid in evacuating the schola students from the incoming horde.

 

Upon arrival the entire force of Iniates, along with the schola staff, were cut down by Dark Eldar raiders, who sought to use the Ork onslaught as a distraction to facilitate their own slaving raid. Why they targeted only the experienced Templars is unknown..did they believe the Neophytes would be easily taken alive with their mentors slain? Or was it yet another example of the damnable foresight wielded by both the piratical renegades and their craftworld kin?

 

At any rate, from the ranks of the Neopbytes emerged a youth named Mihal Delaurent. He claimed to have experienced a vision of a mighty golden warrior, no doubt an avatar of the Emperor himself, who swore to grant the beleagured Neophytes and terrified children the power to reach the safety of the Templar Chapter Keep, if they had the faith and resolve to wield it.

 

So began the long trek across a blasted warzone, harried by greenskin and eldar renegade alike. But the golden lord was with Mihal, who performed many miracles, smiting the xenos and strengthening his allies with divine light, eventually leading them to the Keep safely.

 

But the Sword Brother commanding the Keep's defense saw things differently. He named Mihal heretic, witchbreed, and vowed to wash the Neophyte's corruption away with his own blood. He struck the self proclaimed prophet down with his Power Fist, but before he could deliver a killing blow the other Neophytes and the refugee children, now a ragged mob armed with weapons looted from a dozen battles threw themselves into the fray to protect their savior.

 

Whereupon the Iniates and Chapter Serfs began to kill them. Mihal screamed a cry for aid...and it was answered. Angelic servants of the Golden Lord appeared from nowhere and fell upon the Keep's defenders. Records salvaged by the Templar relief force that eventually made it's way to the planet suggest that with the aid of their new allies, the traitorous Neophytes and the young refugees managed to fight their way to the Keep's airstrip, seize an orbital lander, and vanish in the mayhem of the ongoing void battle.

 

This was not the last the Imperium would see of them...

 

(More tomorrow)

[Wade Garrett]

History of the Apostles Martial: (continued)

 

When the renegades re-appear in Imperial records, it is as full fledged raiders leading a host of daemons and cultists in an assault on the Shrine World of Mortagor. Bizarrely, they seem completely uninterested in desecrating the places of worship or Imperial monuments, instead directing their assaults on the institutions where the next generation of priests and Sororitas are educated, with a goal towards capturing the children alive. Reports suggest they were assisted in this assault by elements of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion, specifically the host of the Dark Apostle known only as "The Farmer" for his commitment to raising up new cults and champions of the Dark Gods. Since then they have continued to raid outposts in Segmentum Solar, with a particular focus on seizing children, whether from the Underhive or institutions of the Schola Progenum.

 

Beliefs of the Apostles Martial:

 

As far as can be ascertained, the Apostles profess a strange blend of the beliefs of the Black Templar chapter cult and a veneration of the Chaos Gods. They consider the four Ruinous Powers to be manifestations of a single transcendent being, their so-called "Hidden God", whom they revere in his roles of Warlord, Reaper, Magus, and Reveler. They also believe that the Emperor sought to usurp this being's role as the true Master of Mankind through the institutions of the Ecclesiarchy and the Ministorum, and it is their duty to reveal this truth to mankind.

 

"You say that in the face of the billions enslaved to the Throne of Lies, the few we rescue and enlighten make no difference whatsoever. I invite you to walk through the heart of this fortress, to see the faces of the children as they are taught the True Way in the Seminarium, and tell me it dosn't make a difference to them."

Mihal Delaurent, Castellan-Commander of the Apostles Martial

 

A central concept in the Apostle's beliefs is that the culture of the Imperium must be stamped out. To that end, they raid to capture young children, and haul them back to the great cathedral at the heart of Fides Quod Causa. It is as much a home and school as it is a training ground for cult warriors and future Astartes, with both Marines and long time disciples of the Apostle cult turning these young minds to the worship of the Hidden God and the service of Chaos.

 

Unusual Practices of the Apostles Martial:

 

The Brides of Strife

 

"Do not speak to me of the limitations of the body. You HAVE a body, but you ARE a soul...and it is strength of the soul we are concerned with."

Mihal DeLaurent

 

"The female of the species is always deadlier than the male."

Ulrich Forsyth, Spiritforger of the Apostles Martial

 

While only the boy children aboard Fides may expect to one day be inducted into the ranks of the Apostles themselves, this does not mean that the girls captured in their raids are cast aside as useless. Instead, the Apostles have discovered a way to supplement their ranks with use of ritual magicks that bind powerful spirits to strong willed candidates among the female iniates. The bound spirit supplies the deficiencies of gene seed and a Black Carapace, enabling these young girls to use Astartes battle armor as well as their male counterparts...with the mild side effects that most of them degenerate into night mindless bloodlust, as likely to unleash carnage on their allies as their enemies. (Crunch note: Sisters of Battle models with red spikey bits, Counts as Berzerkers)

 

"Do not despise the small things. Even the most powerful machine will fail if the smallest parts are worn down and nonfunctional. Unless you bind a spirit into the machine and feed it on blood and souls...but that's extending the metaphor a bit too far."

Ulrich Forsyth

 

Besides that, the Apostles differ from many Chaos warbands which use their mortal followers to absorb the bullets and blades of their enemies, then follow up with the Traitor Marines. They prefer to use the Marines (or Brides of Strife) as the armored spearhead of an assault, breaking enemy formations and fortifications in ways that will be exploited by the large number of human fighters who follow in their train. While this does represent a novel attitude towards the proper use of mortals among those sworn to Chaos, the fact remains that the Apostles are still daemon worshipping heretics, and the many daemon engines among their ranks are fed by the souls of their followers, either those who failed in the rigorous tests of spirit and body aboard their space hulk or fanatical volunteers who seek a closer communion with the Hidden God via "joining" with the spirits within their wargear.

 

Battle Cry of the Apostles Martial:

(Call and Response)

"I am the axe!"

"He is my fury!"

"I am the lash!"

He is my joy!"

etc.

[Wade Garrett]

Questions, comments, criticisms...all are welcome.

 

I recognize that I've got some pretty out there ideas, namely Traitor Templars and the whole idea of the Brides of Strife (although that's fluffy, see Storm of Iron by Graham McNeil). The idea behind the Apostles is what I liked about the Heresy era Word Bearers...the focus on faith, on bringing the truth to mankind. Sadly, as of the Dark Disciple series, most of those ideals have been tossed out the airlock for the typical COBRA/Decepticon mwah ha ha twirlin' mah mustache EEE-vil! So, I improvise.

 

The idea of the Evil Chaos Space Hulk being a children's home is sort of inspired by how the Catholic missions worked, taking in children and raising them in your own culture (This comparison not intended to offend Catholic posters.)

[Firepower]

The thing that strikes me is the nature of this warband as an Astartes warband.  If the origins lie in a group of Neophytes revolting in a Fortress Monastery, there's a limited supply of gene-seed to work with.  All things considered, there aren't likely to be that many Neophytes on the planet, partly because there are only going to be so many aspirants (especially on an agri-world) and because as Neophytes they are to be shipped to the front lines ASAP for their training.

 

So there really doesn't sound like there would be much to work with to begin with, and not much in the way of resources to expand their ranks after the initial rebellion.  At best you'd be talking about less than a Company's worth of Marines leading hordes of mortals.  It's not that they wouldn't have plenty of candidates, it's just that gene-seed takes a very long, long time to muster up in any significant numbers.  

 

The idea of a horde of Templar aspirants and Neophytes turning so easily to begin with is very unlikely, but not impossible.  

[Wade Garrett]

Thanks for the critique!

 

To be honest, I was picturing these guys as a slightly less powered armored force, heavy on the Cultists, Daemon Engines, Mutants, etc.

 

If I added something about them seeking to ambush loyalist Astartes to loot their gene seed, something like the Astral Claws Corpsetaker from the Badab War fluff, would that address how these guys can remain an Astartes force?

 

As for the easy turning, they'd had the upper ranks offed by the Dark Eldar, then a latent psyker..er, specially blessed by the Emperor pull miracles out of the air guy rose out of the ranks, and pretty much singlehandedly led them through a war zone, then then the other Templars decided to murder the blessed one, really all it takes is them being more loyal to the one that led them through blood and fire than the distant higher ranks, basically a microism of the Traitor Primarchs and their Legions in the Horus Heresy.

[Firepower]

That raises the question as to how good the Templars (known witch-o-phobes) are at screening their applicants and Neophytes for psychic potential. It's seeming like you would be better off picking another origin Chapter, potentially one of your own making.  Needing a faith-driven origin Chapter doesn't mean you should go rushing towards the Templars, especially considering their idiosyncrasies.

 

Remember, part of the reason seduction of the Traitor Legions worked was because they didn't know of or understand Chaos.  Templars, on the other hand, are a force born out of spite and hatred for that very rebellion and the Warp forces that inspired it.  The point is, of anyone, the Templars are in the top ranks of 'on-the-look-out-for-corruption' Chapters.  It's not to say they can't ever fall to Chaos, but this approach requires leniency and laxity that you are very unlikely to find in the Templars.

 

Though personally, which means of course that this is just me, I don't care for recycling plots.  I would put reincarnation of the original heresy into a microcosm of a single Chapter into that category.  That doesn't mean it can't be done, and that it can't be made into something interesting, but I never find it to be a very good pursuit.

[Wade Garrett]

But...but..but...

Black Templars are great!

Chaos is great!

How can mixing them togather NOT result in double the greatness?

 

Hmmm...on the other hand, the Red Hunters also have faith, they have even closer ties to the Ecclesiarchy than the Boys in Black, and they'd probably be more likely to take recruits from...maybe it should be a Shrine World, not an agri world? Red Hunters are fleet based, I think.

[Firepower]

But...but..but...

Black Templars are great!

Chaos is great!

How can mixing them togather NOT result in double the greatness?

Ice cream is great. A nice dark beer is great. Corn bread is great. I wouldn't throw them all in one big bowl and chow down though.

Hmmm...on the other hand, the Red Hunters also have faith, they have even closer ties to the Ecclesiarchy than the Boys in Black, and they'd probably be more likely to take recruits from...maybe it should be a Shrine World, not an agri world? Red Hunters are fleet based, I think.

Can't say I know anything about them really, other than their cameo in Emperor's Gift by A D-B. The ties between the Templars and the Ecclisiarchy are mostly speculative from what I've seen though. SoB, Inquisition, and Templars are all fanatics, but their faiths aren't exactly in sync.

[Wade Garrett]

Thought:

 

How do the Black Templars weed out psykers, anyway? As I understand it, in most Chapters the Librarians test new recruits for psyker potential, but the BT lack that institution, so it seems there's a non zero chance that Brother Booting Teuton may suddenly start blowing things up with his mind. One wonders what the protocol is for that...

 

Tell him not to do it again? Drop him off at the nearest Dorn successor with a note that says "The witch is your problem now."? Bolt round to the back of the head, dig out progenoids, hope for better luck next time?

[Firepower]

Summary execution is a safe bet, but they would be unlikely to harvest the tainted progenoids.

[Octavulg]

I'm pro screwing over the Black Templars, but concur that the heresy-in-microcosm angle seems kinda bleh.

Also, a bunch of Neophytes would seem ill-equipped to make it in the 40K universe, and ill-equipped to maintain their numbers, to boot.

[Firepower]

I'm pro screwing over the Black Templars

I never knew you worked for GW Octy

[Octavulg]

Really?

In 3e, you got a good codex and a bunch of new background and shiny stuff. You were a new army where none had existed before.

In 4e, you get a shiny codex all to yourself with more shiny stuff.

You are routinely mentioned in the background doing awesome things, and the stupid aspects of Black Templar background NEVER have any of the obvious consequences they should.

Oh yeah. You're suffering.

Christ, this is almost worse than BA players complaining about the WD Codex.

[Wade Garrett]

Ummm...which renegade/traitor chapters aren't the Heresy in microism?

 

The Astral Claws fall began when they felt the High Lords of Terra weren't giving them the trust and resources to properly conduct their Crusade (Horus and the Emperor) the Steel Cobras and the Sons of Malice got jumped on because their rites and practices were declared heretical by the Imperium (Lorgar and the Lectio Divinitas), the Cursed Foundings were easily corrupted because of messing around with gene seed (Fabius Bile and the Emperor's Children), and all those Chapters that went Crusading into the Eye, got a Chaos God's attention, and came out mutated and evil are riffs on the fall of the Death Guard.

[Octavulg]

That's a debatable view on why Horus fell. The bit where Chaos priests got to spend a couple of days working on him probably played more of a role.

 

The Word Bearers got told to reform, then chose to fall. Big difference from the SoM and SC.

 

The Cursed Founding isn't necessarily more easily corrupted.

 

The Death Guard turned before they were Nurgly. The various Abyssal Crusade chapters were loyal until they were Chaosy.

 

Also, I think Firepower was referring more to the "loyal forces vs. traitor forces" angle. Which you can do uniquely, of course, but right now it's kind of just there.

[Firepower]

I agree with Oct on most of that.  Horus was already perturbed and emotionally unstable from teh burden of leadership and the trouble in coping with a peacetime empire, but it was the intervention by previously unknown Chaos Gods that really corrupted him once and for all.

 

The Word Bearers jumped to Chaos Gods because their perceived God told them to bugger off.  Your current premise sounds more like those Blood Angels novels.  I never read them personally, but most critiques pointed to the almost childish gullibility of the Angels in that book- 'He has wings and says he's Sanguinius reborn!  That settles it then!'

 

In truth there are indeed a very limited number of ways in which Chapters ultimately turn to Chaos, but the path to that final decision- whether it's a deliberate decision or not-  is what really sells a Chapter and lays out its unique character.