Amidst the Sons of Tyr

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

(What follows is intended to be the foundation for an eventual full-length Index Astartes: Sons of Tyr. I wanted to post this to a) garner some feedback and test out a different narrative voice (and lay some background for the Chapter's involvement with the Adeptus Mechanicus enclave of the Avarenes. Any feedback welcome and appreciated.)

The Sons of Tyr

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ixc1xIxRABU/SavwZiu6YDI/AAAAAAAAB6U/iF6_ND-Paqc/s400/CrestAnishinaabePeople.jpg

As transcribed via astropath from the words of
Ambassador-Adept Matrokos, Understudy to the Guildmaster of the Tech-Guild of
Avarene, Enclave of the Adeptus Mechanicus

My Lords,

I enclose here the sum total of the knowledge I have acquired in the mission entrusted to me by Techpriest Synek of the Grand Council. During my service on the battle-barge Wrath of Tyr I have been able to document the organisation, tactical and strategic doctrine and cultural idiosyncracies of the Sons of Tyr Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. The terms of the Avarene Pact, under which my service alongside the Chapter's techmarines is permitted, proved invaluable in granting me access to the Chapter's repositories of knowledge. I do not pretend that all which is presented here is information which was granted freely; I do not even pretend that it is information that has been extracted with our quarries' knowledge. I mention this, of course, not out of self-admonishment (for our methods are sacrosanct and above the judgment of all save the blessed Omnissiah himself) but out of a desire to ensure the information I present here is kept in strictest confidence by the Council to avoid embarrassment.

I trust the information imparted henceforth is utile and complementary to the Council's
greater purpose.

I.Homeworld

For as long as I can determine, the Sons of Tyr have occupied the red mountain world of Madrigal in Gonen Sector, Segmentum Ultima. Although it is officially classed by the Administratum as a feral world, in practical terms Madrigal is not so much an undeveloped, feral planet but a natural fortress. The planet's northern hemisphere is dominated by astoundingly vast mountain ranges, interspersed with the few settlements of the Madrigalan population, whilst its southern hemisphere features deserts and wastelands inhospitable to human life and habitation. There is a suggestion in the earliest of the Chapter records I have found that the Sons were originally based on another world in Segmentum Obscurus; if this is true, it is a strange development indeed for a Chapter to relocate its entire body across such a vast distance, and I do not know (if indeed it is true) the Chapter's reasons for doing so. The mention of '...the forsaken homeworld' is made in one of the Chapter's oldest texts, the Song of Rabican, in which the Chapter's titular hero recounts the last stand of a squad of Space Marines against xenotic invaders on an unnamed world close to '...the Eye in the Void', which I believe to be a reference to none other than the accursed Occularis Terribus itself.

The geography of Madrigal suggests that at some point during the planet's history it was subject to severe and prolonged orbital bombardment intended to render it entirely uninhabitable. The southern hemisphere's state is exemplary of this, and indeed much of the northern mountain ranges do not support life. Nevertheless the atmosphere on Madrigal permits human habitation, and a small portion of the northern regions are home to a number of species of creature unique to Madrigal. The Madrigalan auroch is the prime beast of burden and food source to the human population; other species which I have not observed first-hand, but heard tell of through mundane discourse, include cavern wolves, stone bears and the great predator of the skies, the thunder eagle itself, whose stylised image forms the basis for the Chapter's heraldry. Chapter songs and legends recounted at feast times aboard the Wrath include stories of the wendigo and unctehila, nightmarish monsters walking in the guise of mortal men and devouring entire tribal villages, who inhabited the land in eons past; there is no reason to believe such creatures inhabit Madrigal today, but the Chapter has not permitted me to set foot upon Madrigal itself and I am unable to give further information upon the nonhuman denizens of the red world.

The human population of Madrigal is entirely tribal. There are nine tribes in total, each bearing a name representative of the totemic animal at the heart of that tribe's individual beliefs and customs; however, all the tribes hold true to a wider primitive religion focussed around the worship of the thunder eagle, who is in turn held to be the herald and messenger of the Emperor of the Sky, a reference to the God-Emperor of the Imperium.

II. Origins

The geneseed banks on Mars tell us that the Sons of Tyr are of the lineage of the nineteenth Primarch, Corvus Corax, Lord of the Raven Guard. I have had little opportunity to confirm this with an independent sample; I have no true reason to disbelieve that the gene-stocks on Mars are not representative of the Sons' true heritage, but I note that the marked rate of genetic aberrance endemic in the Raven Guard lineage seems not to be present amongst the Sons of Tyr. There is, however, a significantly slow rate of initiation amongst the Sons, so it may well be the case that genetic abnormality is indeed present in the Chapter's recruitment drives, but that an efficient set of protocols ensures abberant initiates do not reach active service. This is further supported by a significant number of Chapter serfs maintained in service, far in excess of the number usually kept by other Chapters (at least, insofar as my limited experience allows me to judge).

The Sons of Tyr take their name from a Captain of the Raven Guard who is not well documented in Imperial records: Alaric Tyr. The Chapter's own histories on Alaric Tyr yield little information, and I confess that the Chapter's preference for oral tradition over written tradition has confounded my efforts here. Few individual Astartes were willing to yield more than a few words on the matter when I pressed them for information. All I can determine is that Alaric Tyr was the first Chapter Master of the Sons of Tyr, and is at the
very centre of the Chapter's cult, almost idolised as a paragon for Marines of the Chapter to strive towards in their conduct. However, what I have managed to surmise elsewhere indicates that Alaric Tyr oversaw the Chapter during what seems to have been a crisis of almost insurmountable magnitude which occurred very early in the Chapter's history. The Song of Rabican, the only oral history of the Chapter transcribed into written form, yields this snippet of information which I have translated into Gothic:

'...so said Rabican Vanatyr, strongest of warriors,

shield-brother of the First Father; that the Chapter should remember

its most loyal servant, he who led the Chapter's warriors from iniquity, untouched by

the errors of pride and vanity; he who let honour and duty be his guide

above all, such that he thought it better his gauntlet be stained red by the
sin of kinslaying than his soul sullied
by the sin of disloyalty and treachery.'

The allusion to a civil war within the Chapter is worthy of note. There is no other mention of this that I have been able to find, although the Chapter Keep on Madrigal must store records detailing the Chapter's history in greater detail, and were I able to gain access I would be able to present a more complete picture.

III. Organisation

Structurally, from what I have observed, there is little to separate the Sons from other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, save for their
smaller size. The Muster Hall aboard the Wrath of Tyr bears seven great stone shields above the oaken tables where the battle-brothers take nourishment, each representing the seven companies of the Chapter, termed Brotherhoods in the Chapter's own terminology, with the names of each Captain engraved onto his Brotherhood's shield. I have noticed that the seven shields are intermingled with three obsidian plaques, where perhaps more shields were once hung; were they still there, they would represent the First,
Eighth and Tenth Brotherhoods. The battle-brothers of the Chapter will say nothing of these plaques or their significance. The only officer to whom I was able to address any queries was Brother-Captain Dastan of the Fifth Brotherhood, who served as commanding officer of the Wrath of Tyr whilst I was in its service. My questions were met with curt answers of minimal detail; I have surmised from my
conversations with the Captain that the Wrath of Tyr is the Chapter's flagship, and indeed its only capital vessel; the Chapter's fleet is made up largely of strike cruisers, destroyers and frigates, with other named vessels I observed during the Wrath of Tyr's operations in the Varrus sub-sector including the Skyshaker and the Deathwalker.

Recruitment operations appear to be handled individually by the Brotherhoods; there is no Scout Company (at least as far as I have observed) with fresh initiates joining the Brotherhoods immediately. Indeed, the Brotherhoods seem to be mostly independent bodies in their own right, with each Brotherhood maintaining its own command staff and corps of veterans.

I was able to observe two combat deployments during my service: first was the Wrath of Tyr's interdiction of the renegade vessel Feral Hound in the Jolnix sub-sector. The Wrath was positioned at the sub-sector jump point to intercept the Feral Hound when it exited the Warp, and was able to cripple the Hound (a much larger Murder class vessel) with a devastating lance and nova cannon barrage before it was able to bring its guns to bear. Whilst the Hound leaked atmosphere, the Sons initiated a boarding action via assault ram and boarding
torpedo, and from what I was able to observe sabotaged the ship's Warp drive core, evacuating the ship before it tore itself apart.

I was also present at the Wrath's involvement in the closure of the Ghoren campaign (cf. Scouring of Ghoren), in which the Fifth Brotherhood made an assault upon the primary hive of Ghoren Ultimus to relieve its beleaguered defenders from the Ork assault on its walls. I noted that the Chapter has a keen preference for aerial assault where possible; drop pods were used to make the initial landing on Ghoren, whilst Thunderhawk and Storm Eagle gunships were deployed to relocate squads at short notice. An excellent command system within the Chapter is apparent, with cooperation and tactical cohesion at squad and company level of exceptional efficiency, although I note that the Chapter lacks the manpower to prosecute large-scale warfare independent of Guard or Naval support (a flaw inherent in the makeup of the Adeptus Astartes, but very pronounced here). The casualty rate on Ghoren was significant, and the Fifth Brotherhood has returned to Madrigal to bolster its ranks with fresh initiates. I have noted that the Ghoren drop was symbolic of a bloody-minded attitude that seems to be endemic in the Chapter; honour is valued highly, and the prospect of allowing Ghoren's salvation to be enacted by the Imperial relief fleet only days away does not seem to have been a prospect in the minds of Chapter command. I have heard snatches of information during my service suggesting that the Chapter has suffered notable casualties in its recent campaigns across the
Segmentum; certainly the Apothecarion aboard the Wrath of Tyr is never empty, and during my last days aboard the Wrath, I heard tell that contact has been lost entirely with the Seventh Brotherhood in the Gilgamesh sector under Brother-Captain Arkhan. Yet still the wheels of war turn, and the Wrath is due to set out once more, with its ranks bolstered by fresh recruits who have not yet earned their power armour. As long as the bloody-minded attitude continues to be embedded in Chapter doctrine and mindset, the Sons of Tyr will pay a blood price for their recklessness measurable in the burial caskets of their fallen warriors.

IV. Beliefs

I can say little of the Chapter's internal cult. For the most part my duties alongside Techmarine Valtyr kept me occupied in the battle barge's armoury. However, on two occasions I was able to observe events which gave me some insight into the Chapter's culture. On the first occasion, I was present when a fresh complement of recruits were brought on board the Wrath of Tyr and initiated into the Fifth Brotherhood as Scouts. The initiation was headed by the Chapter's Librarians, or rather Shamans, as they are called; as far as I can tell the Shamans are accorded especial honours amongst the Sons of Tyr, drawing straight from the tribal roots of Madrigal for their titles and customs. Of the three Shamans I observed aboard the Wrath, all were venerated by the battle-brothers of the rank and file and acted in advisory roles to the Brotherhood Captain. The initiates swore their oaths of loyalty in the Muster Hall before the Captain and his Shamans, pledging undying allegiance to the Emperor and the Warfather, the latter who I believe to be the Chapter Master of the Sons of Tyr himself, of whose location I am unaware.

I observed only one Chaplain during my time aboard the vessel and was stricken by his appearance. Whereas in many Chapters, the role of the Chaplain is to perpetuate the Chapter's own beliefs and maintain ties with the Imperial Cult, the role of the Warden - as he is termed - within the Sons of Tyr is somewhat different. He is followed by a bodyguard of Astartes bearing tribal scars quite unlike any borne by the rest of the Brotherhood, silent at all times; they are strange, feared individuals, who stain their armour black with ashes and are unlike their brothers in all regards. The Myrmidons - as I heard these warriors named by one of the battle-brothers - seem almost to be feared by their own brothers, with whom there is little camaraderie or observable interaction. I only observed the Warden and his Myrmidon bodyguard once, on the day of the Feast of Inception, the remembrance of the Chapter's founding. In other Chapters an occasion for celebration, it is a ceremony marked here in total silence, with even the Brotherhood Captain kneeling alongside the rest of the Brotherhood before the Warden and his Myrmidons. Then, and it seems only then, do the Myrmidons speak, chanting in ancient Madrigalan a verse which is repeated by the assembled Brotherhood. I am struck by the appearance of the Myrmidons and wonder what their greater role within the Chapter is, for their arms and armour are the greatest of any of the Marines I have seen here. I suspect that their origins, and their role, are linked intimately to the early legends of the Chapter and to that of Alaric
Tyr. I cannot guess at their purpose, but none will speak of them to me, and my one attempt at inquiry was met with such hostility that I declined to seek further clarification.

V. Conclusion

I end my report here. I am aware it is by no means a complete account of the Chapter, but it is sufficient to give some insight into its
operations and its outlook. I have since left the Wrath of Tyr and am en route to the Tech-Guild's enclave in the Mahorroth cluster aboard the Machinist's Idyll. I trust that this report will suffice until I am able to deliver in person the more sensitive information to which
I secured access during my sojourn amidst the Adeptus Astartes.

[Disruptor_fe404]

I love it, it's like the old-school reports on Chapters in some of the older Codices (and these reports are what I associated with Index Astartes at first, so I guess I'm slightly biased)!

 

Being written from the POV of a Mechanicum/Inquisition/Administratum agent also lends that little bit of bias that you can use to colour your Chapter that wouldn't otherwise be available if written from the slightly more clinical Index Astartes style. It also lets you reference other nebulous and undisclosed sources that you'd otherwise feel slightly forced to expand upon in an Index Astartes.

 

On a more negative note... I hate you... because wanted to bring back that form of IA... :P

[Mogsam]

It's very good! It has the basic idea of telling you pretty much nothing but it feels like you know the chapter very well after reading it! Excellent.

[Gripharius]

I enjoyed reading this "IA" and I like the style you have used.  I am considering using the same "report" style for one of my IAs.  I think it is a useful perspective because it does allow you to reveal certain things about the Chapter but not necessarily everything.  I like what Disrupter said about using such a voice for the "little bit of bias that you can use to colour your Chapter" -- I think that's a good way of putting it.

 

But I think Mogsam may have hit on something that you might think about.  I enjoyed it, but ultimately I feel like I'm left with more questions than answers about your Chapter. 

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

I really hope this doesn't come across as smug, but I'm kind of gratified to hear that as it's what I'd intended the end result to be, Gripharius and Mogsam. At some point I would like to write a full-length IA. One of the chief problems I have with the Index Astartes format (and the obstacle keeping me from doing the IA) is the tendency towards full disclosure of EVERYTHING. One of the interesting things about 40k is that it's normally at its strongest as a setting when it's not filling in all the blanks in its narrative; it's a considerably richer and more fascinating setting when much of the exposition is minimalist, allowing for interpretation or extrapolation on the part of the beholder.

 

I'm glad the narrative perspective was well received. I'd like to do another one of these through the eyes of one of the Brotherhood Captains meeting the most ancient of the Chapter's Old Ones, who is still alive somewhere in the depths of the Chapter Keep on Madrigal, the only Marine in living (unliving?) memory to remember fighting alongside Alaric Tyr. I think that'll give me a good opportunity to answer some of the questions I left untended in this story, and to raise some others which I can build from in a later IA article.

 

Disruptor, go for it :) I'm sure you'll do a stellar job. I'd be interested to see some background for your Sentinels.

 

Thanks very much for the feedback guys.

[Mogsam]

I meant that as a compliment anyway! It's always tempting to splurge but yours doesn't.

 

The IA i posted a few days ago has a bit of that issue.

[Octavulg]

Nice. Though since it's already 2500 words, calling it the foundation for an IA is understating things a little.

"Myrmidons" felt jarring to me, for two reasons. First, it's Greek and the rest of this isn't. Second, it always makes me think specifically of Achilles' warriors, which is a bit specific IMO.

Oh, and Madrigalan felt a bit unnatural. Madrigan isn't much better, though, if at all.

It feels a little like you're stealing elements from a bunch of different chapters and mashing them together. I do not mind this, it's just kind of an odd feeling.

Still, twas a good read, and they seem interesting.

[Disruptor_fe404]

Maybe Madrigeese?

 

Okay, no.

 

Madrigali? Madrigosan?

 

EDIT: Madrigar? Madrigoon? Madran?

[Octavulg]

Madriganatious?

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

Nice. Though since it's already 2500 words, calling it the foundation for an IA is understating things a little.

"Myrmidons" felt jarring to me, for two reasons. First, it's Greek and the rest of this isn't. Second, it always makes me think specifically of Achilles' warriors, which is a bit specific IMO.

Oh, and Madrigalan felt a bit unnatural. Madrigan isn't much better, though, if at all.

It feels a little like you're stealing elements from a bunch of different chapters and mashing them together. I do not mind this, it's just kind of an odd feeling.

Still, twas a good read, and they seem interesting.

I'd be very interested to hear which elements feel stolen, as that's about as far as can be from my intentions when writing this. I've spent so long mulling the next iteration (i.e. the IA) over in my head that it's almost impossible for me to tell which ideas might feel cribbed as I feel like I've come up with them off my own bat. It's irritating to come up with your own material and be met with suggestions that it's been cribbed from elsewhere, so if you could give some specifics, that would be great

I take your point about the culture clash on board. I did originally intend for the Chapter's history pre-Madrigal to come from quite a different culture (as the allusion to a previous homeworld suggests) but that hasn't shown through much as it would require a lot of background writing which wouldn't really add that much to the depiction of the Chapter as it is today. The Myrmidons are intended to be the sole cultural remnant of the Chapter's old self before it came to Madrigal, so a clash of sorts was intended, but I'll consider changing it as it may be too jarring. I was worried that Alaric Tyr was too much of a linguistic clash, being proto-Germanic/Norse in a Chapter that's now mostly Native American in theme, but as he's a figure of the Chapter's past from a previous world and wholly different period in the Chapter's history it seems to fit with the concept I had in my head that the Chapter is carving out a new history and (literally) a new name for itself on Madrigal.

'Madrigar' isn't bad - I actually don't mind Madrigalan but will mull it over in my head. :-) Cheers for the comments.

edit: Madrigeese are going in the full IA though. The feared native predators of Madrigal renowned for their weakness to bread crumbs and barking dogs, can be represented on the table as Thundergoose Riders upgraded with Mark of the Gosling...

[recon0321]

I think your chapter is very original and has a great scheme

[Octavulg]

I'd be very interested to hear which elements feel stolen, as that's about as far as can be from my intentions when writing this. I've spent so long mulling the next iteration (i.e. the IA) over in my head that it's almost impossible for me to tell which ideas might feel cribbed as I feel like I've come up with them off my own bat. It's irritating to come up with your own material and be met with suggestions that it's been cribbed from elsewhere, so if you could give some specifics, that would be great

It's nothing huge. The tribes are reminiscent of those in Deathwing (which is likely just the same sources), secret civil wars that no one talks about are rather Dark Angelsy, Brotherhoods are the White Scars...

It's nothing huge, and it's not like the DA and White Scars can't take a little cribbing in any case. It just felt kind of reminiscent of those two when I read it. The name's rather Norse, too, but since it's about the only thing that is you don't end up feeling Space Wolfy.

A lot of it's similar sources more than anything else, I suspect.

I take your point about the culture clash on board. I did originally intend for the Chapter's history pre-Madrigal to come from quite a different culture (as the allusion to a previous homeworld suggests) but that hasn't shown through much as it would require a lot of background writing which wouldn't really add that much to the depiction of the Chapter as it is today. The Myrmidons are intended to be the sole cultural remnant of the Chapter's old self before it came to Madrigal, so a clash of sorts was intended, but I'll consider changing it as it may be too jarring. I was worried that Alaric Tyr was too much of a linguistic clash, being proto-Germanic/Norse in a Chapter that's now mostly Native American in theme, but as he's a figure of the Chapter's past from a previous world and wholly different period in the Chapter's history it seems to fit with the concept I had in my head that the Chapter is carving out a new history and (literally) a new name for itself on Madrigal.

You could likely do fairly well by having all the titles be one (non-standard) thing and having all the names be local. Problem is that this sort of thing happens all the time with Space Marines, and with 40K in general, so the fact that your cultural clash would actually be meaningful might not be immediately apparent when so many others are just there for the amusement value.

You could also have a lot of the chapter rituals be done in a language other than the that of Madrigal - the chapter may not even understand it any more themselves.

Best thing to do with the Wardens might be to emphasize their distinction from the rest of the chapter. Their armor decoration might be different in cultural style?

[BrotherCaptainArkhan]

I'd be very interested to hear which elements feel stolen, as that's about as far as can be from my intentions when writing this. I've spent so long mulling the next iteration (i.e. the IA) over in my head that it's almost impossible for me to tell which ideas might feel cribbed as I feel like I've come up with them off my own bat. It's irritating to come up with your own material and be met with suggestions that it's been cribbed from elsewhere, so if you could give some specifics, that would be great

It's nothing huge. The tribes are reminiscent of those in Deathwing (which is likely just the same sources), secret civil wars that no one talks about are rather Dark Angelsy, Brotherhoods are the White Scars...

It's nothing huge, and it's not like the DA and White Scars can't take a little cribbing in any case. It just felt kind of reminiscent of those two when I read it. The name's rather Norse, too, but since it's about the only thing that is you don't end up feeling Space Wolfy.

A lot of it's similar sources more than anything else, I suspect.

That's more helpful, thanks. I should say from the outset that I've never been a fan of the idea that a Chapter has to have one single cultural influence, which probably contributes to the 'cribbed' effect, so I'll be sure to watch out for that. Insofar as the Native American theme goes, ever since finding NA ancestors in my own family about a decade ago I've been keen to learn more about NA (specifically Cree/Anishinaabe) culture, and making a Chapter based on Cree and Anishinaabe mythology is a fun little extension of that. Deathwing's use of NA culture was fairly unimaginative, so if it comes over as if I'm drawing parallels with that depiction I'll have to reexamine what I'm doing.

Take your point entirely regarding the Scars and Tyr, but I'm not sure the usage of a single term will provide cause for confusion. I suspect if I manage to enhance the NA theme, the usage of 'Brotherhood' will be less jarring. As mentioned I intend for the Norse culture of Alaric Tyr's era to present a cultural clash (one that potentially still has ramifications within the Chapter). As you say it's irritating that this might go unnoticed in the cultural melting pot that is 40k, but I'll have another shot at making it stand out.

You could likely do fairly well by having all the titles be one (non-standard) thing and having all the names be local. Problem is that this sort of thing happens all the time with Space Marines, and with 40K in general, so the fact that your cultural clash would actually be meaningful might not be immediately apparent when so many others are just there for the amusement value.

You could also have a lot of the chapter rituals be done in a language other than the that of Madrigal - the chapter may not even understand it any more themselves.

Best thing to do with the Wardens might be to emphasize their distinction from the rest of the chapter. Their armor decoration might be different in cultural style?

I like very much the idea of having a dead language within the Chapter. That would tie in well with the Germanic/Norse theme of the old homeworld, and representing the Wardens and their bodyguards as the last vestiges of that culture would also work.

As a side note, I was considering renaming the Myrmidons to the Wendigo, but the Wendigo legend would suit a Chaos army far better with its connotations of depravity/scavenging - I'll have a play around with the terminology and see what works.

Cheers all,

Arkhan

[Octavulg]

Quote

That's more helpful, thanks. I should say from the outset that I've never been a fan of the idea that a Chapter has to have one single cultural influence, which probably contributes to the 'cribbed' effect, so I'll be sure to watch out for that. Insofar as the Native American theme goes, ever since finding NA ancestors in my own family about a decade ago I've been keen to learn more about NA (specifically Cree/Anishinaabe) culture, and making a Chapter based on Cree and Anishinaabe mythology is a fun little extension of that. Deathwing's use of NA culture was fairly unimaginative, so if it comes over as if I'm drawing parallels with that depiction I'll have to reexamine what I'm doing.

The thunder eagle was the most obvious parallel. I mean, the title of the story was the Plains World term for the thunder eagle.

 

Which groups of Cree and Anishinabe?

Quote

Take your point entirely regarding the Scars and Tyr, but I'm not sure the usage of a single term will provide cause for confusion. I suspect if I manage to enhance the NA theme, the usage of 'Brotherhood' will be less jarring. As mentioned I intend for the Norse culture of Alaric Tyr's era to present a cultural clash (one that potentially still has ramifications within the Chapter). As you say it's irritating that this might go unnoticed in the cultural melting pot that is 40k, but I'll have another shot at making it stand out.

I'd actually steer away from Brotherhood if you want to keep the whole cultural clash angle, and use something more Norse sounding instead. Oath-Company, maybe? Sketching out the Norse Chapter briefly then figuring out what would change would be another option.

[Disruptor_fe404]

Having Norse name for the Companies (and keeping it) would reflect their roots in Norse culture as a relic of a bygone era.

 

Perhaps you could take it a step further and have the older, Norse elements be more... violent... in nature, when compared to the more 'modern' (for them) NA cultural touchstones.

 

Not that a NA-influenced Chapter's beliefs would be any gentler, just that the terms they use would be different.

[Gripharius]

 

Madrigeese are going in the full IA though. The feared native predators of Madrigal renowned for their weakness to bread crumbs and barking dogs, can be represented on the table as Thundergoose Riders upgraded with Mark of the Gosling

I'm totally writing the Space Geese IA now.