IA: Angels Penumbral - Dec. 27th update; see 1st post

[Conn Eremon]

Okay, this Chapter just got itself a bit of a face-lift. I was pretty satisfied with it, but I always kind of felt it was never complete. Original first post, including the previous article, are contained as a spoiler at the bottom of this post. As always, C&C is requested.

 

 

 

They shall be pure of heart and strong of body, untainted by doubt and unsullied by self-aggrandizement. They will be bright stars on the firmament of battle, Angels of Death whose shining wings bring swift annihilation to the enemies of Man. So it shall be for a thousand times for a thousand years, unto the very end of eternity and the extinction of mortal flesh.

-- Codex Astartes

 

Origins

“The grey army is at our gates, to drag us down into the dust where they crawl. Their poison seeps through. But we stand and we cry, we are with God! And with God, we will die!” – The Savior King speaks, 999.M41

 

Captain Galgalliel of the Archangels, the First Company of the Blood Angels Chapter, had a long, illustrious career, including nearly four centuries as Captain of the Chapter’s most elite forces, before given one of the greatest honors known to the Astartes. In the 35^th millennium, the 11^th Founding was declared, and the Archangel Galgalliel selected to command a newborn Chapter formed from the blood of Sanguinius. In honor of the revered dead, the Chapter was given the name the Angels Penumbral, marking them the first of that name for nearly two millennia. The Archangel quickly forged the Chapter into the very personification of wrath, striking down the heresies of the weak and the impurities of the alien.

 

To them went the consecrated world of Aggelos, deep within the Principalities, an isolated collection of nearly two hundred systems. The Principalities were under near total domination by Ecclesiarchal authorities. However, in spite of the often poor relations between the Adeptus Astartes and the Ecclesiarchy, the Angels Penumbral readily adapted and conformed, in no small part due to the stubborn faiths of their granted home world. Their relationship grew, so that the two would often work in concert and to each other’s benefit. The ministry would send word to the Angels of heretics to be eradicated and cults to be exterminated. The most significant example was the Purging of the Conclave in M39. Local Inquisitors had acquired evidence that a Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, the Conclave, had become thoroughly corrupted by the influences of Chaos. With the secretive Dark Angels spearheading the assault, the Religio Dominus, the hereditary ruler and spiritual leader of the Principalities, asked of the more forthcoming Angels Penumbral to participate in the hunt. The taskforce struggled for three years against the Conclave, until finally the corrupted Chapter was shattered, with few of the treacherous renegades escaping. Word had it that the renegades split into small, fractured Conclaves that scattered to the winds, but it was decreed that the threat to the Imperium no longer required the Angels’ presence. Since then, the Angels Penumbral have harbored a distrust of their cousins, those sons of the Lion.

Recently, with the Tyranids invading the Imperium en masse, the Principalities have become under assault by a splinterfleet, officially labeled the Gorinech Tendril. The Angels Penumbral, to their great shame, took the threat too lightly at first. Dozens of the Principalities’ worlds along the trailing edge fell almost overnight. The Angels Penumbral have since declared all-out war and the entire Chapter has mobilized in attempts to stem the all-devouring tide. The Angels, in coordination with the coalition of local military, are holding out for an organized Crusade to push the xenos out of the Sector. However, these efforts have been hampered by subterfuge from unknown quarters, and the alien hordes have managed to continue slowly their inexorable push forward to the Imperial core, against all resistance and the fury of angels.

Home World

“When the brown rock turn black at the sight of blood, and the fallen sun hovers overhead, do not sheathe your blade or cease in the bloodletting. Nothing angers an angel more than passivity.” – Proverb by the Holy Scrivener Seshayyim

 

Aggelos is a large rocky world deep within the Principalities. Classified as a delta-class Death World, Aggelos suffers from unstable tectonic activity, making earthquakes and volcanic eruptions commonplace. It has a verdant belt of vegetation that girdles the planet, but largely Aggelos is a dry world of hot sands and rocky formations. The Angels Penumbral have, in surveying their world, located multiple points of relative stability across the planet. Here, they have planted immense, circular towers, filled to bursting with technologies that allow them to observe and record the Aggelians. The Aggelians themselves are a fractured, feudal people, often at war with themselves over meager resources in the never-ending struggle for survival. As all of the mortal populations within the Principalities are, the Aggelians are zealous followers of the Imperial Creed. War has become indelibly inscribed in their religious faiths. They believe that all conflict is to the betterment of the human species. Each variation of faith on Aggelos, and there are many, believe fully and truly that only they are in the right, and must wage war against all those in the wrong, by extension everyone else. It is done in the name of the God-Emperor, and anything less would be an affront to His Divinity.

 

To the people of Aggelos, the Angelspires, as they know them, are revered places of worship. The world’s greatest city-states have formed at their base, upon the skeletal remains of other great civilizations, which had eventually lost the fight for a space next to divinity. Such cities are sprawling masses of low buildings, for it is sacrilege to create anything of unnecessary height, for to do so is to defy the works of the angels. In the shifting oceans of sand, the nomadic tribes thrive, who survive by trading between cities or raiding them, and who covet and fight to the death over every found oasis. Though there exists on Aggelos a temperate zone, teeming with plant and wild life, no Aggelian would dare risk venture within its shadowed depths. The angels have decreed the gardens of Aggelos off-limits to mortal kind, and to defy them is to welcome certain death.

 

The Angels keep close watch over Aggelos, especially during times of great conflict. Many battles have been ended abruptly as the Angels fall from their fortress-monastery on pillars of flame, smiting the unworthy as they extricate those promising few. The fortress-monastery, styled Sol Invictus, is a large orbital plate, not unlike those see on Terra. The plate hovers over Aggelos, high among the clouds. It is a marvel of design and architecture, its outer faces composed of shifting white marble and reflective glass. Even in the darkness of Aggelos’ moonless night, the home of angels shines with blinding light.

 

As much as the Angels have become incorporated into the belief systems of the Aggelians, so have the Aggelian faiths been incorporated into the Chapter Cult. The Aggelian mortals see the Angels much as the Angels see themselves, as the vengeance and wrath of the Divine Emperor made of His Own Flesh descended upon the galaxy. However, there are those that see them as dark figures, terrible demons that fall upon their most promising young warriors as a means to cull them and keep them weak. It is no secret within the Chapter what is done with such mortal cults. Though many fear that some long forgotten incident of their own flaws is what instigated such beliefs. No recruits are taken from such faiths, and whispers on desert wind will rouse the faith’s rivals against them.

 

Only one apocryphal faith has resisted the usual attempts at extermination, led by a messianic figure known simply as the savior king. Founded 973.M41, the savior king refuses to acknowledge the divine heritage of the angels, and sees their father and his brothers as hyper-inflated stories of mortal men. The God-Emperor is a spiritual entity, the truest essence of Godhood, not a physical Man who was God. Worship of those who claimed to be His sons is tantamount to idolatry and deemed heretical. Many among the Angels Penumbral have decried the cult; that they must take an active hand in eradicating it, which has grown in strength of late. Many within the Chapter fear that to allow this cult to live comes with the risk of letting in one indoctrinated to its twisted faith. By the end of the 41^st millennium, the Chapter Master has finally given in to the demands of the concerned. It may be too late.

Combat Doctrine

“And war came to the heaven, as the angels fought the dragon, and the dragon feasted upon the angels.”  -- Retribution 21:7; apocryphal

The Angels Penumbral are a wave of fury, preferring to meet enemies head-on where they can make their physical strengths count the most. With the high preference for jump packs and aerial assaults typical of the sons of Sanguinius, the Angels plummet from the heavens, slamming into and crushing their foes from above. Battle-brothers of the Adeptus Astartes are the avenging Angels of Death and the Angels Penumbral lay claim to that title like no other. They roar into battle with the screaming of jetfire accentuating the fervently yelling Marines as the Chaplains lead them through the catechisms. The blasphemy of the daemon, impurity of the xenos and heresy of the traitor are zealously intoned as the Angels cut them down with sword and roaring bolter. The Angels Penumbral fear the day their curse becomes commonly known, for with such a realization they may be deemed irretrievably damned. As such, the Angels Penumbral are infamous for being the lone survivors in many a conflict, where only the Angels are aware of the truth of the battle.

Organisation

“And the Son of Man came into His glory, and with Him upon His last days were His Angels, then did He sit upon the Throne of His glory.” – attrib. Adina, the First Apostle

 

The Chapter adheres closely to the Codex Astartes in organization, more so than other sacred sons of the Angel Sanguinius do. Even the Blood Angels, the foremost inheritors of Sanguinius, deviate in order to compensate for the shared curse of the Sanguinian bloodline. The Angels Penumbral do not share in this deviation, though adherence to the Codex is not the reason underlying this fact. The Angels Penumbral do not field a Death Company. Those who suffer from the curse, on or off the battlefield, are restrained and imprisoned within the Sarcophagaem. This dark and brooding ship ferries the damned to their place of execution. So on guard are they that there have been times the ship has been entered only to find sane Marines who have overcome momentary lapses of judgment and merely lost control over their anger, however this is never enough to stay the execution. Though those who suffer the Black Rage are treated with attempts at dignity and mercy, for their anger is honest if not righteous, those who suffer the Red Thirst are not treated with such. Not unlike the Commissars of the mortal Imperial Guard, the Angels will kill their brother, immediately and without hesitation.

The Chapter reveres their first Archangel and his primary advisor, Reclusiarch Zephirem, and the Chapter has retained this pairing as a traditional element of their command structure. Though Zephirem was part of the Chapter’s Reclusiam, these advisors can and do come from any of the auxiliary organizations, though dominantly from the Reclusiam.

 

Beliefs

“For we wrestle not against the flesh and blood of the Principalities, nor against its powers, but against the hidden rulers of the darkness within this world, against the spiritual wickedness in low places.” – Archangel Yehosho’a of the Corporeals, 991.M41

 

The Angels Penumbral believe in a truth that few other Chapters have the courage to accept. They believe fully in the divinity of the God-Emperor. Due to their own genetic links to the God-Emperor, this religious belief extends to themselves. The Emperor is God, His sons are born of His Flesh and His Soul, and the Astartes are His Angels. Within Sol Invictus, the pious Marines show reverence to their dead within their extensive crypts, the Sheofon. The Sheofon consist of rows upon rows of interred remains, majestic statues depicting the fallen in their primacy overlooking those who pay sacred homage. Nearly all of the Angels who have fallen over the millennia have their remains within Sheofon. Even those with no remains to be found, or who have been executed in the throes of Black Rage, still have a place. Only to those who succumb to the Red Thirst are denied place. Though all know the overwhelming temptation to give into their curse, those who do have forsaken the brilliant divinity within and damn themselves. Their mortal body remains blasphemously alive, but the true Angel died as he succumbed. Those who have given in to the Black Rage are remembered for who they once were. Those who indulge in the infernal hunger of the Red Thirst are stricken from all records, regardless of whatever prestige they had in life.

 

Gene-Seed

“These words spake Sanguinius, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thy Throne.” – Ged’on Eli of Khasawet

The Angels Penumbral are made in the God-Emperor's image, granted a fraction of His Divinity with which they may be the instruments of His Wrath. The blood of the Angel, holiest of the Nine Divines and from which the Chapter is named, flows through their veins, granting them his strength and nobility, but also his flaws. Though closest in perfection than any other of that esteemed pantheon and fashioned most in the God-Emperor's own image, Sanguinius suffered most of all the myriad flaws of man, from which he had been forged. The terrible thirst and anger that haunted this distant and holy son of the God-Emperor haunts still his children, and few more so than the Angels Penumbral. None within the Chapter knows why, though they have sought and craved to Him on Earth for a release from its constant presence for ages to no avail. The best that they can do is to excise those who exhibit the curses as quickly as possible, lest its corruptive nature spread further.

 

Battle Cry

 

"Unto the Godless, death!”

 

 

 

Here are a couple new images. I'm rather fond of the bronzed helm to go along with the pauldrons, but I included one without so I can get some input.

http://i.imgur.com/VmOQnLz.jpg http://i.imgur.com/h0SIufa.jpg

 

Technically the Emerald Tigers was my first article to come to B&C for some C&C, and the first of my Twenty Article Project, but this is the first article in which I'm actually calling it a Project, and letting people know how much more of me they'll have to suffer through. 18 others, to be exact. To all those who begin to hate me over this, sorry!

So may I present the Angels Penumbral. This is a Chapter that views itself as the highest of beings brought to the very edge of darkness. Sanguinius' curse forces this Chapter to doubt its own divinity, which its strictest teachings demands that they be. It is this hatred of their own flaws that makes them so unforgiving of the flaws in others, violently enforcing a standard of purity and faith they secretly wonder if they themselves are an example of.

Origins
The Angels Penumbral were part of the 11th Founding, in M35, utilizing Blood Angels genestock. Following their forging under the Archangel Yehosho'a, former 1st Captain of the Blood Angels, granted the honor of commanding the newborn Chapter, the Chapter became the terrible avatar of wrath, striking down the heresies of the weak and the impurities of the alien. With the immense influence the Ecclesiarchy had in the isolated collection of nearly two hundred systems called the Principalities, they and the Angels have become inextricably linked. Often they work in concert, the ministry sending word to the Angels of targets in need of eradication. The most significant example was the Purging of the Conclave in M39. Local Inquisitors had acquired evidence that an Adeptus Astartes Chapter, the Conclave of Shadows, had become thoroughly corrupted by the influences of Chaos. The Angels Penumbral, hearing tale of this blasphemy from the Religio Dominus, the hereditary ruler and spiritual leader of the Principalities, immediately dedicated a significant battleforce to this effort. Returning to the Chapter three years later, the battleforce briefed their battle-brothers on a harrowing conflict that saw many Angels fall to the treacheries of the corrupted but in which the shattered remains of the renegades narrowly escaped. Word had it that the renegades split into multiple smaller, fractured Conclaves that scattered to the winds and their threat to the Imperium no longer required the Angels' presence.

Recently, with the Tyranids invading the Imperium en masse, the Principalities have become under assault by a splinter fleet, officially labelled the Shagohad Tendril. The Angels Penumbral, to their great shame, took the threat too lightly at first. Dozens of Principalities along the edge fell almost over night. The Angels Penumbral have since declared all-out war and the entire Chapter has mobilized in attempts to stem the all-devouring tide. The Angels, in coordination with the coalition of local military, are holding out for an organized Crusade to push the xenos out of the Sector. These efforts are being hampered by subterfuge as evidence of the Conclaves of Shadows returning to the area arises, each working separately and seemingly at odds.

Homeworld
The oversized world of rock and sand that the Angels Penumbral have taken for their own and consecrated is called Aggelos. The mortal populations, some of the most heavily religious followers of the Imperial Creed in the Principalities, are stuck forever in a warring tribal state, as they fight over the world's precious few resources in a never-ending struggle. War has become indelibly inscribed in their religious faiths. They believe that all conflict is to the betterment of the human species. Each variation of faith on Aggelos, and there are many, believes fully and truly that they, and only they, are in the right and that they must wage war to eradicate those in the wrong, by extension everyone else. It is done in the name of the God-Emperor and anything less would be an affront to His Divinity.

The Angels keep close watch on these conflicts for prospective recruits, descending on pillars of fire and smiting all around them as they extricate the worthiest few. As such, the Angels have incorporated themselves into the belief systems of the Aggelosians. Most see them as the Angels see themselves, the vengeance and wrath of the Divine Emperor made of His Own Flesh descended upon the galaxy. Others can not help but see them as dark figures, terrible demons who fall upon their most promising young warriors and take them to whichever lair they call home. It is no secret within the Chapter what is done with such cults, though many fear that it was some long-forgotten incident of their own flaws that instigated such beliefs. No recruits are ever taken from those whose beliefs stray too far from the Angels' own. Often these cults will be over-run by their rivals in short order, though their beliefs aren't always truly killed along with their former believers. Such is the case with the Sol True Cult, founded 973.M41, who may see the Angels as superlative warriors deserving of adulation but refuse to accept the legacy of Sanguinius, or any other Primarch, as anything but the hyper-inflated stories of mortal commanders. They see the Emperor as a spiritual entity, the truest essence of Godhood, not as a Man who is a God. Worship of these people is tantamount to idolatry and deemed heretical. Though the Angels have sought to eradicate this unwelcome, young cult by maneuvering a powerful rival into killing its charismatic founder, it has served only to exacerbate the problem as the prophet was made a martyr. His followers slipped away and have been spreading his teachings far and wide. The Angels have aided the mortal denizens in uprooting these cults, however the stain continues to spread. Many of the older Angels, more set in their ways and conservative, feel that this stain is the beginning of the end of Aggelos' usefulness to the Chapter. They whisper into the Lord of Hosts' ear that the Angels depart for the heavens in search of new recruitment stock, lest corruption find its way in among the Chapter.

The Fortress-Monastery of the Angels Penumbral is an immense orbital platform, repurposed and fortified to be nigh impenetrable, that they call Sheofon. It can be seen from Aggelos like a shining kingdom in the distant heavens, small but distinct. Though Terra and the Golden Throne are far away, the people of Aggelos look up at this golden edifice high in the skies and know in their hearts that this is where their God resides. They are not wrong, for within resides those who effect His purpose and His will.

Combat Doctrine
The Angels Penumbral are a wave of fury, preferring to meet enemies head-on where they can make their physical strengths count the most. With the high preference for jump packs and aerial assaults typical of the sons of Sanguinius, the Angels plummet from the heavens, slamming into and crushing their foes from above. Battle-brothers of the Adeptus Astartes are the avenging Angels of Death and the Angels Penumbral lay claim to that title like no other. They roar into battle with the screaming of jetfire accentuating the fervently yelling Marines as the Chaplains lead them through the catechisms. The blasphemy of the daemon, impurity of the xenos and heresy of the traitor are zealously intoned as the Angels cut them down with roaring sword and bolter. The Angels Penumbral fear the day their curse becomes commonly known, for with such a realization they may be deemed irretrievably damned. As such, the Angels Penumbral are infamous for being the lone survivors in many a conflict, where only the Angels are aware of the truth of the battle.

Organisation
The Chapter adheres closely to the Codex Astartes in organisation, more so than other sacred sons of the Angel. Even the Blood Angels, the foremost inheritors of Sanguinius, deviates in order to compensate for their shared curse. The Angels Penumbral do not share in this deviation, though adherence to the Codex is not the reason underlying this fact. The Angels Penumbral do not field a Death Company. Any who suffer the Black Rage, on or off the battlefield, are restrained and imprisoned within the Sarcophagaem, a dark and brooding ship that ferries the damned to their place of execution. So on guard are they that many times the ship has been entered only to find sane Marines who have overcome momentary lapses of judgement and merely lost control over their anger, however this is never enough to stay the execution. Though those who suffer the Black Rage are treated with attempts at dignity and mercy, for their anger is honest if not righteous, those who suffer the Red Thirst are not treated with such. Not unlike the Commissars of the mortal Imperial Guard, the Angels will immediately and without hesitation kill their brother.

The Angels do contain an anomoly within their command structure. As the Archangel Yehosho'a founded the Angels and led them on their first steps along the righteous path, so was it that Sephirah, head of the newborn Chapter's Reclusiam, guided the Archangel along his own path. The ever-growing chain of Captains and Chapter Masters of the Angels have followed in their footsteps. The heads of the many and varied auxiliary organs of the Chapter, dominantly the Reclusiam, Librarius and Forge, act as the personal advisors and seconds-in-command of the Companies of the Angels Penumbral. Though the Codex dictates a norm of ten companies, far more than the number of such organizations, the presence of the flaws and the Angels' response to them rarely allows them to reach full-strength anyways. Often the roles of the Companies and their commanding Captain are synonymous with that of their advisor.

Beliefs
The Angels Penumbral believe in a truth that few other Chapters have the courage to accept. They believe fully in the divinity of the God-Emperor. Due to their own genetic links to the Emperor, this religious belief extends to themselves. The Emperor is God, His sons are the epitome of holy, and the Astartes are His Angels. Within their orbital Fortress-Monastery, the pious Marines show reverence to their dead within their extensive crypts, the Burials. Rows upon rows of interred remains, majestic statues depicting the fallen in their primacy overlooking those who pay sacred homage. Nearly all of the Angels who have fallen over the millennia have their remains within Sheofon. Even those with no remains to be found still have a place. Only to those who succumb to the ever-present flaws are denied place. Though all know the overwhelming temptation to give into their curse, those who give in forsake the brilliant divinity within and damn themselves. Their mortal body remains blasphemously alive, but the true Angel died at the moment he succumbed.

Gene-seed
The Angels Penumbral are made in the God-Emperor's image, granted a fraction of His Divinity with which they may be the instruments of His Wrath. The blood of the Angel, holiest of the Nine Divines and from which the Chapter is named, flows through their veins, granting them his strength and nobility, but also his flaws. Though closest in perfection than any of the esteemed pantheon and fashioned most in the God-Emperor's own image, Sanguinius suffered most of all the myriad flaws of man, from which he had been forged. The terrible thirst and anger that haunted their distant and holy father haunts his children, once as one but now in all their varied ways, and none more so than the Angels Penumbral. None within the Chapter know why, though they have sought and craved for a release from its constant presence for ages to no avail. The best that they can do is excise those who exhibit the curses as quickly as possible.

Battle-cry
"Death to the infidels!"

Edited December 28, 2014 by Conn Eremon

[Agitated Owl]

Currently the entire Chapter is mobilized against a Tyranid Hivefleet, the Shagohad Tendril (work in progress name, I want an appropriately Russian sounding Tyranid host, named after some nasty lurking in their fairy tales)

 

Take a look at Koschei the Immortal.  I don't know if that's the flavor your're looking for, but it's Russian, it's mythical, and it's not very nice.

 

 

Unwelcome cult that views the Primarchs as mortal saints and that the Golden Throne is anecdotal, the God-Emperor is an omniscient, omniprescient being, not a man to have walked the stars and sired sons, is gaining strength, possibly already infecting Chapter

 

Fluff-wise, I think this is your biggest red flag becuase it's unique.  It's a neat idea, but the existing chapters all either view the Emperor as a divine warrior or as an exemplary man - none view him in this light.  Could there be an event in the chapter's history or a specific element of Aggelos' native culture that would lead to this cult?

 

 

Perhaps the curse is more prominent in the Angels Penumbral than other Sanguinian successors, not sure if I want to go down that route

 

Why not?  The greater the internal conflict, the farther it can carry the story.  A bunch of puritan Blood Angel successors that are even more susceptible to the Black Rage and other defects strikes me as interesting.

 

*Edited for grammar.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Agitated Owl

[Conn Eremon]

That cult is not going to be the chapter's belief, it's a sign that the world may no longer be suitable as a homeworld.

 

However, the God-Emperor fearing religious chapter is permanently in.

 

I'll give Koschei a look, but I'm looking for something bestial. Supernaturally bestial.

[Demus Ragnok]

Just a knee jerk reaction, but the name challenges my internal cogitator for some reason. Penumbral just sounds "off" when my brain says it. Maybe i need to run a self diagnostic ( sleep)!

[Conn Eremon]

It is an actual word, though I do see where you're coming from.

[Ecritter]

My views on what you have so far, and I must say they are my views and mine alone they do not represent the Liber, the President of United States, my Church or my family.  I like what you have so far, but have a few comments/concerns.

 

********************************************************

 

Angels Penumbral

 

Okay, I had to look it up.  Not a bad name, but if everyone else is like me, and this is my opinion and nothing more, then you may at least consider finding a name that's more recognizable.

 

 

- Tasked by Inquisition to aid in the putting down of a renegade Chapter, of marginal success (in other words, renegade Chapter is still at large, if greatly reduced in capability)

 

Its always been my understanding (yes my understanding), that the Inquisition has little control or sway over SM Chapters ... unless they are acting in a way to call down Inquisitional eyes on them.  At this point, and you may be adding it later, you have nothing to call down the Inquisition over.

 

 

- Currently the entire Chapter is mobilized against a Tyranid Hivefleet, the Shagohad Tendril (work in progress name, I want an appropriately Russian sounding Tyranid host, named after some nasty lurking in their fairy tales)

 

Again, by my understanding, Hive fleets are huge.  No single chapter would be able to do more then die in the face of one.  That being said, I believe that you most likely were planning on putting these guys as only a small part of a much larger force dealing with the Hive fleet.

 

 

- Unwelcome cult that views the Primarchs as mortal saints and that the Golden Throne is anecdotal, the God-Emperor is an omniscient, omniprescient being, not a man to have walked the stars and sired sons, is gaining strength, possibly already infecting Chapter

 

- Chapter is one of the few to view the Emperor as a god, a view formed perhaps from the accumulated influence of their thoroughly religious homeworld.

 

 

From my understanding, most of that falls directly inline with the Imperial Cult which is the Imperium's State Religion as of M41 from what I've read.  At least the part where the Emperor is a god comes into play.

 

My White Hand Chapter actually believes in the god-Emperor as well.  State religion or not, very few would ever question what SMs believe and what they do not.

 

*****************************************

 

Looking forward to reading more, good job (again my opinion and not that of the Liber as a whole or any persons living or dead that I'm aware of, other then myself).

[Malthe]

My oppinions represent those of the President of the United States, Friedrich Nietzsche and the entirety of the Latter Day Saints.

____________________________________________________

 

On a serious note...

 

I like your outline

It's fairly simple and looks consistent.

 

A couple of things spring to mind:

 

I'd shy away from placinf too much importance the auxillery organs of the chapter.

If they suffer a more severe form of the curse than the Blood Angels, they are always at risk of having their officers turing into blood craving lunatics when they need them the most.

Perhaps you could making something out of them never relying on a single person to carry out their plans?

Something with commities or second-in-commands perhaps (Iron Hands-ish)?

 

Also Librarians are overdone here in the Liber. Every one loves them. Maybe focus on the Apothecaries instead? Would make a lot of sense.

 

I'm not sure what you hope to gain from having your chapter break it off with their home world. Could you elaborate on that?

 

Regarding worshipping the Emperor as a god; it's something I've done a number of times. Some more lucky than others

You might have a look at my (very unfinished!) Foe Eaters (BA successors) in my signature. It seems to me that we might share some ideas in that area. My Emperor's Immortals venerate the God-Emperor as well, but their excuse is not really plausible for a lot of chapters. Have a look if you like (and I appologize for the self-referencing).

 

Anyhow, it's really tricky. So far I'd say the best attempts of doing it are those were the chapter in question have somehow been isolated from the generel Imperium at some point. That or finding a clever excuse for implementing the beliefs of the Echlesiarchy.

 

It might be an idea to brainstorm plausible causes and make a list of them for generel use, as it seem to be a question that pops up quite frequently here in the Liber. Most people seem to abandon the idea after failing to craft a plausible reason, which I think might be a good thing in some instances.

 

Have you considered simlpy having them god-fearing and religious without believing the Emperor to be a god? I'd think it could easily be done. Think about how the muslims venerate Muhammad or the buddhists Buddha. My serve as inspiration.

This is after all, the easy way out of your problem

 

Cheers!

 

Edit. - Oops! They link to my Foe Eaters is only half a draft which doesn't include the bits that might be of interest to you. If you'd like I can see about digging something up for you and sending you a pm. Otherwise you might be able to find an earlier draft through the search function.

I'm sure other people have done the 'the-Emperor-as-a-God'-thing, look around for some inspiration!

Edited April 11, 2013 by Malthe

[Conn Eremon]

Gah, post got eaten because I tried quotes with a phone.

 

Anyway, tendril is only a part of a hive, but no, not alone.

 

Inquisition has a lot of power, just not over Chapters like the Space Wolves. None of my DIYs are that powerful. However, tasked did not necessarily mean a demand or order.

 

Auxiliaries are as second in commands as a connection to their founding members, and the increased Librarians has no impact on Chapter or special importance outside of what all auxiliaries get. Just a small fact. And not greatly increased. It's a carry over from a previous rendition of the Chapter.

 

As for the homeworld, the Chapter is religious and religiously intolerant. Though all beliefs on Aggelos are variants of the Imperial Creed, at times cults arise that the Chapter does not approve and they'll instigate genocidal pogroms against that cult until it is gone. This time the cult is resisting all such attempts and is growing more powerful and prevalent. Some of the more conservative members feel this pollutes their recruits and that Aggelos is no longer fit. Leave before the cult infests the Chapter, though again, it might be too late. But this is like the 13th Black Crusade. This is the current day, what the Chapter is experiencing right now.

 

As for why they worship the God-Emperor, well. If their extremely religious homeworld isn't enough (and remember, it is for the Wolves), perhaps isolation (more overdone than extra psykers in a renegade Wolf successor) with a strong, intolerant ecclessiarchal presence. Chapter puts on a face to keep a benevolent, beneficial relationship, that eventually becomes their true face. They made a funny face and now its stuck like that.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Cormac Airt

[Messor]

While I'll certainly want add more when I have a more able medium than my phone, one thing that will help clear up confusion regarding the bugs is to relabel them a splinter fleet. These also tend to have their own names, so it should work with what you want.

[Conn Eremon]

Back on a proper computer!

 

I thought Tendrils were splinter fleets. But maybe that was just the impressions I got whenever they mentioned named Tendrils of differently named Hive Fleets. I'll make it more clear nonetheless. 

 

. . . and apparently you can edit one of your posts in the same page while keeping the new post info down below untouched. Hadn't realized that until I thought I'd made a mistake and would have to retype the above sentence.

 

About the Chapter name, it's already gone through a lot of shifts. Originally it was the Archangels, which became the Angels of Redemption, a Dark Angel successor. After a while, I realized that they were seeming more and more Blood Angel-like and my Blood Angel DIY the Knights Sovereign were seeming more and more Dark Angel-like. So I swapped them, and they became the Knights of Sovereignty and the Angels Redemptive. Then I found out that there was already an Angels of Redemption in canon (I lose track in how many Angels Something or Angels of Something there are out there) and I needed something else. Something at the time reminded me of the term 'penumbral,' which seemed to fit perfectly for what I had envisioned. The Knights of Sovereignty themselves went from Imperial Knights to Knights Imperial to Knights Sovereign to Knights of Sovereignty.

 

Anyway, I still haven't gotten around to fleshing the outline out, so I thought I might submit something else. See, all of my Loyalist Chapter DIYs started off as Chapters rolled from Deathwatch's Rites of Battle. It was a lot of fun using their Chapter Creation Rules, and I liked the structure of randomly rolled info to start the creative juices flowing. What I post next is the basic information used in the Chapter's initial creation. Like I said, I'm using the results as a structure to build the Chapter in. However, I'm not forcing myself to be restricted by it. I'd rather work with it than break it, but the above bit about the name and gene-seed proves I'm willing to bend it. I'll delete all of the unnecessary game mechanics stuff. Consider it insight into the bare bones of the Chapter, the basis from which I am coming from but not necessarily beholden to.

 

 

 

Founding: Founded as a Standing Force from Blood Angel geneseed in the 35th Millennium as a New Generation with a No Mercy, No Respite demeanor.

 

Chapter Hero: A 4th Company Sergeant of the 6th Squad is the most celebrated hero of the Angels Penumbral, leading the remainder of his Company through an Eldar Craftworld

 

Chapter homeworld is a Feral Desert world, which they Rule Distantly

 

Organisation: Chapter shares the Blood Angel divergence from Codex organization.

 

Combat Doctrine: Ranged Combat

 

Codex Divergence (it's because of that Organisation roll): The Angels Penumbral have an inordinate amount of Librarians

 

Trappings: Beastial Companion Unique Wargear

 

Beliefs: Honor the Ancestors Chapter Beliefs

 

Status: Nominal Chapter Status and strength

 

Chapter Relationships: Adeptus Titanicus Chapter Ally

Tyranid and Space Marine Chapter Foe

 

 

Other than that, I have my rambling notes. They're really just me taking the basic creation structure and adding whatever comes to mind. This is the real meat of my ideas for the Chapter. Though I'm still not saying I'm restricted to it, I would still rather work within its framework than without. Some of it might be nonsensical, so if you're confused feel free to ignore it. It's like a stream of conscious that gets randomly updated but improperly edited. I get it, because I'm the one who wrote it, but I might be the only one.

 

 

 

Chapter Organization

 

Companies are called Hosts.

Librarians/Chaplains/Apothecaries/Techmarines are called Sephirah

Chapter Master is called simply the Lord of Hosts

 

The armour of the Angels Penumbral is a brilliant marble white, trimmed in precious stones and metals. The battle-brothers of the Chapter wear silver trim, while their Sergeants wear bronze trim. The Captains cover their white battle-plate with ornate golden patches and trim. The Sephirah of the Chapter bear their trim in the colors of their offices: red for Techmarines, blue for Librarians, and black for Chaplains. The Apothecaries wear white trim, making them nearly indistinguishable from the others but for the narthecium gauntlets and the symbol of their office. The armour of the Lord of Hosts is a work of art wrought in gleaming gold from head to toe. Around the helm are six precious stones and metals depicting the different colors of the Chapter like a diadem resting upon his brow, its centerpiece being a raised golden droplet made by stamping the helm itself.

 

The official name of the Chapter is the Angels Penumbral. However, its founding Chapter Master was forwarded from the Blood Angels, and was Captain of their 1st Company, which they call the Archangels. Though he decided to leave the Blood Angels behind and forever remain with the Angels Penumbral, many things about his time with their Primogenitor slipped into the identity of the fledgling Chapter. As such, the name "Archangels" has stuck to the Angels Penumbral indelibly. The rank and file Marines are referred to as Angels, of whichever of the nine Hosts of the Chapter. Like the Veteran Company of the Blood Angels, the 1st Host of the Angels Penumbral are also referred to as the Archangels. However, so are all Captains of the Chapter. Another unusual facet of the Chapter is that all auxiliary roles are called the Sephirah, so named in honor of the Sanguinary Priest forwarded from the Blood Angels upon the creation of the Chapter. Sephirah, for a time, doubled as the new Chapter's Master of the Apothecarion and Reclusiam. Following his heroic fall in the same battle that saw the Chapter lose their first Chapter Master, the Chapter began using his name as the honorary title for all auxiliary roles. Though their titles and ranks are the same, each organization remains separate. Each Company is assigned one high-ranking Sephirah, but from which organization the Sephirah comes from varies. Like the Blood Angels, and as the Codex dictates, each Company has a specific task unique to it. For instance, the 5th Host contains much of the Chapter's armour and its Archangel is called the Master of the Arsenal. The Sephirah assigned to that Host, currently Erastus, is the Master of the Forge. The 6th Host, its Archangel the Master of Rites, is assigned Gemariah, the Master of Sanctity. The Chapter Master of the Angels Penumbral is called the Lord of Hosts, for he is lord commander over all the Chapter's forces. The current Lord of Hosts is Adonijah, one of the most celebrated Chapter Masters in the Chapter's recent history. It is to him who falls the fateful decision to remain with their homeworld or cut their ties with it.

 

The Chapter suffers the same flaws as the Blood Angels, being the inheritors of the blood of Sanguinius. The Red Thirst and Black Rage are ever present in the Angels Penumbral. They do, however, view these traits as far worse flaws than other Chapters, including the Blood Angels. If any Angel is ever shown the initial signs of the Black Rage, they are locked away in the Sarcophagaem. The most ominous ship of their fleet, the Sarcophagaem ships its inhabitants to Baal on a regular basis, where they await execution. So strict and wary the Chapter is of the Black Rage that there have been many, many times where Astorath the Grim, the High Chaplain of the Blood Angels and Executioner of the Lost, will enter the depressing ship to find that not all the Marines locked within suffered the flaw. Abandoned by their Chapter, granted reprieval by their executioner, these Marines will remain with Astorath from that point on. For those who suffer the Red Thirst, however, there is no reprieve. Any who show signs of the Red Thirst are slain on the spot by their battle-brothers. For to live with such hunger is the ultimate sin, the worst fouling stain upon their honor. As such, the Angels Penumbral do not field a Death Company in the same manner as the other successors of the Blood Angels do. If any show signs of the flaws outside of an engagement, they are dealt with accordingly. Only if a Marine falls under the sway of the curses during an engagement are they fielded similarly to other descendents of Sanguinius. During those times, however, the Angels Penumbral order a total lockdown. If an Angel comes under the sway of a curse while battling in a Hive, the entire Hive will be purged and declared irredeemable. If it happens while fighting alongside of an Imperial Guard regiment, Inquisitorial retinue, Sisterhood or other military organization, the Angels Penumbral will announce that they suffered total losses during the conflict. Only against another Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes would the Angels Penumbral withhold such a response, which is why that barring the most dire of circumstances they refuse to fight alongside another Chapter outside of the Blood Angels and their successors.

 

Another aspect of their heritage is the Sanguinor. Its appearance is incredibly rare. In fact, the Chapter was two millennia old before it appeared for the first time. It was in the midst of the 4th Host's campaign against a Craftworld of the Eldar, in which the Sanguinor appeared to save the crippled force from certain destruction. Its Captain had been slain, but a surviving Sergeant rallied the survivors to follow the Sanguinor. It was almost another millennia before it would appear again, though it has appeared four times in as many centuries recently, a fact which has disturbed many lately. The Angels Penumbral view this entity as vindication for their conduct, no matter how they are feared or even at times vilified by would-be allies. Such an obvious representation of Sanguinius and the Emperor's approval, as they see Sanguinor, means that their actions, no matter how others view them, are justified.

 

Aggelos itself is a desolate place. A ball of rock four times bigger than Terra and orbitting slightly closer to the sun, Aggelos never had much in the way of water. What little there can be found is either trapped as moisture in the air or deep, deep underground. The peoples of Aggelos are many and hardy, carving a living out of the unyielding rocks under an unrelenting sun. It is perhaps this hardship they face that makes them such a spiritual people. Wars are not uncommon on the desolate rock plains, as tribes of humanity vie for control over water sources. Aggelos may have little water, but it would be wrong to say it is dry. The earth of Aggelos is soaked in bloodshed. The tribes of humanity are not only divided by their struggles for survival but by spiritual differences as well. It is fair and just to spill the blood of an outsider, for he does not believe as we do and as such is an unbeliever and a sinner. There are no attempts at understanding, only total war. The Angels Penumbral take advantage of this in their search for aspirants to their Chapter. For every major conflict, and there are many, representatives of the Chapter will look over and judge its combatants. If a candidate is considered likely, the Marines will descend on pillars of fire upon the warring hordes and pluck the promising warrior from the masses before ascending once more. This has had a profound effect on the psyche of the people of Aggelos. Seeing their young and brave taken by mighty demi-gods who soar upon wings of fire, the people of Aggelos one and all incorporate the Angels Penumbral into their religious teachings. They are the warriors of the God-Emperor, His sons, His betrayers, the Daemons who refuse to see His Light or His Light made manifest. There are a hundred different variations, ranging from the divine to the infernal. It is perhaps the fact that no matter how great the warrior or promising the candidate, none are taken from those who believe the Angels Penumbral daemonic that exacerbates this belief. Only their enemies, and as such sinners, are taken. Some within the Chapter fear that it was perhaps some ancient incident with the Flaws that first began those beliefs, though whatever the cause it is not very well tolerated. It is not a well-kept secret within the Chapter why those of their homeworld who doubt the honor and integrity of the Angels Penumbral find themselves over-run and obliterated in short order. However, their views are never truly eradicated and are often replaced by views just as insufferable.

 

 The Chapter attempted to destroy the One True God-Emperor Cult in its infancy by manipulating a powerful rival cult into publicly executing its founder. Unfortunately, this has strengthened the cult in unforeseeable ways, creating a martyr out of the founder's death. This sect upon their homeworld questions the very existence of Sanguinius, or his brother Primarchs. It says that the stories of the Primarchs are merely anecdotal, legends depicting exaggerated facets of the Emperor as if they were separate individuals. They believe that the Sons and the Father are in fact one individual, rendered separate by our own inability to truly understand His divine nature. The Primarchs who betrayed the Imperium are denied to exist at all. Any mention of them is considered the highest heresy to this cult, believing it a sacrilige to say that there might have been aspects of the God-Emperor that were less than pure. Many of its wars, and its rise to greater power, stem from this outlook. A growing belief within the cult questions that the God-Emperor ever truly walked among us, or that his body is interred within a Golden Throne in the distant cradle of Mankind. They believe that the God-Emperor's brilliance that is the Astronomicon is his sum and total. All stories and legends about him walking among us, fighting wars, siring sons, being betrayed, sitting upon the Throne, they are all attempts by humanity to define the undefinable. The God-Emperor is an omniscient, omnipresent entity that can not be conformed or restricted into the idea of a man who is a God. While they have begun to concede that the Primarchs may have indeed existed, they refute that they are the sons of the God-Emperor, for how could such a God sire sons? They believe that, if they existed, they were mortal men who were blessed with communion with Him. Rather than being present at the beginning of time, of the Imperium, they believe that they lived and died at different times throughout history. Those traitor Primarchs are in fact the mortal men blessed with this communion that were too weak of heart and spirit to defend against the influences of Vocivus, the cults' name for the God-Emperor's opposite, for Chaos Undivided as a single, omniscient evil being. These sects are still very small, but gaining momentum, and the older Marines of the Chapter see them as a canker in the spirit of their world. Voices have even begun whispering into the Lord of Hosts' ear that their homeworld is no longer fit for their Chapter, and that they should raise up stakes and leave before this taint infects the very Chapter. But it is perhaps too late for that.

 

 

 

   +-------------------------+

    1st Host: The Corporeal

     Archangel: Yehoshu'a

      Sephirah: Jotham

   +-------------------------+

    2nd Host: The Kingsguard

     Archangel: Benaiah

      Sephirah: Nachum

   +-------------------------+

    3rd Host: The Valiants

     Archangel: Nehemiah

      Sephirah: Uzziel

   +-------------------------+

    4th Host: The Dominions

     Archangel: Hezechiah

      Sephirah: Hirah

   +-------------------------+

    5th Host: The Burning Ones

     Archangel: Penuel

      Sephirah: Erastus

   +-------------------------+

    6th Host: The Messengers

     Archangel: Manasseh

      Sephirah: Gemariah

   +-------------------------+

    7th Host: The Powers

     Archangel: Anaiah

      Sephirah: Abiram

   +-------------------------+

    8th Host: The Sons

     Archangel: Koresh

      Sephirah: Ohad

   +-------------------------+

    9th Host: The Immortals

     Archangel: Methuselah

      Sephirah: Chaleb

   +-------------------------+

    10th Host: The Mortals

     Archangel: Ammiel

      Sephirah: Shem

   +-------------------------+

 

 

Quick note: The Sephirah are out. The idea behind it, that of an increased importance to Company Command of the auxiliaries, is still in. I'm just not going to be calling them Sephirah. The Chapter started out as being cut and paste of the angelic heirarchy, and has since been changed. The very bottom portion is the current names of the Hosts and Archangels.

 

So yeah, take these as you will. These two pieces of text are where I am coming from about the Angels Penumbral, though ultimately I intend to use them as nothing more than resources to build a separate IA. I'm not looking to improve these bits of info, just use them to make something better.

 

I hope this is helpful to anyone out there trying to help me with this, though I'm not sure if it will be.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Cormac Airt

[Roma]

For the tyranids, zmei gorinech is a three headed dragon of Russian stories.

 

Zmei meaning serpent, gorinech being his name. Was slain by a Bogatir, a russian superhuman knight of childhood stories.

 

So...

Russian mythical beast

multi-headed serpent=very tyranid

slain by superhuman knights

[Conn Eremon]

Very nice, thanks Roma. I'll use it somehow. If not the Tyranids, then that three-headed hound of Khorne for the Eyes of Tivan Khornate Warband.

[Messor]

Ah, Rites of Battle is a lot of fun, if not totally accurate.

 

The impression I always had was that tendrils tended to be more general descriptions of the parts of a Hive Fleet invasion, while Splinter Fleet's would represent more independent, and smaller fleets. I've never really had the chance to look at a Tyranid codex though, which I'm sure lays it out more clearly. I didn't find the wiki or Lexicanum particularly helpful either. I suppose the main thing would just be to avoid associating the Tyranid force with a main Hive Fleet by just mentioning them individually by whatever name you choose.

 

Speaking of names, I like Penumbral. I've got enough personal context with the term "umbra" that it gives pretty solid imagery to work with.

 

And again, I want to give you more to work with, but I've got class, so hopefully I'll still remember later.

Edited April 11, 2013 by Messor

[Conn Eremon]

I don't believe in accuracy in 40k. There is GW, BL, WD, FW and FFG. All are equally "canon" in my eyes. Everything is false, everything is true.

 

So they're fighting a Tyranid Splinter Fleet, called the, currently, Shagohad Tendril. I can live with that, it's little more than a re-presentation of the same thing.

 

I think that the term 'penumbral' is going to trip a few peoples' tongues who are unused to that term. It could be seen as an overly esoteric term. For those more used to it, it's a perfect illustration. Or at least, it is to me. Well, if no one can come up with a name that beats it, I'll be keeping the Angels Penumbral. 

 

Hopefully this weekend I'll stop being lazy and write up a more proper article for the Angels. As well as do some things for that other 40k Project I'm in and being lazy over.

[Ecritter]

I look forward to seeing more .. so hurry up :)

[Conn Eremon]

Well, you'll have to wait until Monday for any updates. Outside of this phone, no internet.

 

But it's nice to know people're interested!

[Aegnor]

I like Penumbral. Sounding good so far. I think the objection to overtly religious space marines is overdone anyway. Its their business, and who's going to meddle? The =I=? Most of them share that same faith. Ditto the Ecclesiarchy. Other marine chapters? How often is another chapter going to spend enough time with the Angels Penumbral to gain an understanding of their religious views? Why will they care enough about those views to cause trouble about it, rather than just thinking "that's weird"? Presumably this other chapter has in the past encountered other Imperials who believe in the Emperor's divinity, so it's not going to be an alien idea to them that some Imperials think this way.

[Conn Eremon]

Personally, every time I hear it in the fluff that the Chapters don't worship Him On Earth as a god, it sounds like they're talking about the majority, not the total. A single percent of God worshipers would still give you ten Chapters, and I'm sure it's a LOT higher than that. Though less than a hundred, I bet.

[Conn Eremon]

I've updated the first post with some fleshed out areas. The Origins and Homeworld areas have been written and the outline portions of the other areas have been touched up here and there.

[Conn Eremon]

Okay, full draft of the Angels Penumbral IA has been added into the first post.

 

Undue praise or harsh criticism hopefully forthcoming.

[Conn Eremon]

Okay, unless people have more to say, I'm going to consider the Angels Penumbral done for now. Until I hit another period of expansion on it.

In order to finalize it for inclusion to the Tabula Astartes, here is a picture of an Angel Penumbral.
 

http://i.imgur.com/NzaxgAQ.jpg?1

[Octavulg]

Quote

Origins

We know nothing about the chapter yet, so most of this is stuff the reader does not yet care about.

 

Introduce your characters, then tell us what they've been doing with their time.

Quote

Homeworld

This may be an artifact of having read a crapload of IAs today, but this feels wordy. The bit where the middle paragraph is so massive is suggesting to me that it's not just fatigue making me think that, though.

 

* * *

 

DOn't dislike them. Don't much like them. Then again, I rarely like BA successors, and I don't generally like sanctimonious religious zealots. It seems well executed (if wordy), but they're not particularly likable. Which is probably kind of the point.

 

Anything in particular you're trying to achieve?

[Conn Eremon]

Origins is lacking. I know this. But I'm kind of at a loss on it . . .

 

I'll edit that homeworld paragraph down soon.

 

The Angels Penumbral aren't meant to be likeable. But not hateable either.

 

Lets see if I can sum them up nicely, what my core idea for them is. Their arrogance, pride and religious views force them to set themselves upon a pedestal, set for themselves the highest of standards. They must be, absolutely must be the purest of the pure, holy and bright. But their heritage, their curse, their mistakes, they all combine to make them doubt themselves, their place in the galaxy. They are divine, but they fear how close they are to darkness. That is the kernel of inspiration from which I want to build off of.

[Conn Eremon]

I came across this song by Sol Invictus called Angel's Fall. It's hard to actually hear the vocals, but listening to the song made me think of my Angels Penumbral, which I have for some time been hoping for some inspiration with which I can reforge them into something that wasn't a poorer shade of canon Angels Resplendent/Penitent. Neither of which were names I had known of when creating the Angels Penumbral, and both of which have far better names that I seriously wish I had come up with. Seriously, discovering the Angels Resplendent turned Penitent made me hate name of the Angels Penumbral.

 

But anywho, the song made me think of them, so I started doing my typical research route for nonsensical things (others might refer to it as "clicking random links in Wikipedia articles") and a new image for this DIY successor of the Blood Angels began to form. I'm not too certain on some of the things, so I thought I might post my thoughts and see if I could get some help.

 

First of all, the Chapter's name. While I have always preferred the Angels "Something" name over the Angels of "Something," for the sake of symmetry I would prefer it to be the latter. With the return of my, as yet unposted, Dark Angels Successor's name from the Knights of Sovereignty to their original Knights Sovereign, I kind of want my Blood Angels to have the Angels of BLANK name. And now, I'm kind of enthralled with the word "Invictus" and its translation "Unconquered." The actual band's name, Sol Invictus, is going to be the name of the floating Fortress-Monastery (like one of the floating cities in Terra's skies). Though I came into the name because of the band, the actual inspiration is a Roman sun god cult of the same name. Reading that article made me think of a white marble and mirrored glass construct reflecting enough light as to appear like a second sun in the daylight. The true sun can be eclipsed, but the second sun stands forever unconquered.

 

But I'm still not sure what to name the Chapter. The Angels Invictus has its charm, and now that the Golden Guardians have become the Guardians of Midas, maybe I don't need that Angels of Whatever style of name. But, if I do, something along the lines of the Angels of Conquest could work. I don't actually like that name, but maybe somebody can come up with a better name.

 

The world of Aggelos is going to change a bit, too. Still mostly rocky and sandy, and clearly inspired by the ancient Middle East and Northern Africa. But I'm going to distance myself from the idea that they are permanently tribal in nature. There will be civilizations and cities, both thriving and in ruins. The demonym of "Aggelosians" is going to be changed to the more accurate "Aggelians." Continuing along the idea of the Roman Sol Invictus brought me to Genius Loci. That made me think of ancient structures the Chapter places across the globe that are there for the purpose of unmanned surveillance of the Aggelian peeps. These constructs are viewed reverently by the deeply religious peoples, who view the denizens of the second sun as literal angels. Divinity given mortal flesh and granted leave to meddle in the affairs of Man. The greatest of Aggelian cities have these structures as their focal center, and most have some form of community surrounding them. The rocks and sands where they are embedded have soaked up more blood than any other land on Aggelos, for they are often the site, and goal, of incessant religious wars. I am still keeping the idea of the Angels dropping down in gouts of flame, uncaring of the destruction and death that their arrival brings, to snatch those they deem worthy for implantation and indoctrination. The Sole True Cult is now the Sol Veritas cult.

 

Like I said, the lyrics of the song Angel's Fall is what got me thinking of this Chapter again. After listening over and over the first couple lines to try and figure out what was being said, "There's a grey army at the door/They drag us down, the rulers of us all/their poison seems to seep through the walls/through their dustbin worlds they crawl," it started to make me visualize a new look for the Marines. A grey army, poisoned by their own hate, the rulers of a dustbin world. I haven't begun playing around with B&C's or DoW's army painters yet, but I'm imagining their current colors inverted and dulled down, to more of a grey and bronze rather than their current gold and silver. It's an idea, and until I actually see it in front of me I am not sure if I'll keep it.

 

Might seem weird to get inspiration from a random song of some band of middling talent, but meh. Inspiration can strike from the strangest of places. Not to mention that the whole "We're with God they cried/And with their God they died" just sounds deliciously grimdark and fitting for 40k.

 

Plus, the song title 'Lex Talionis,' the "law of retaliation," gave me a wicked name for my Night Lord warband's Strike Cruiser.

 

 

Anyway, I am open to ideas. Keep Angels Penumbral? Go with something else, preferably evoking something akin to conquest? Angels Blank or Angels of Blank? Anything I haven't mentioned as having changed is the same.

[Conn Eremon]

Updated the Chapter, see first post.