Teeth in the Darkness; Index Astartes: Devourers

[The Acid Dog]

Index Astartes

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p764/Bobcat_Bill/15722122-120b-42f6-9a6e-e04370e3ad96_zps8d4f7f60.jpg

Chapter Symbol of the Devourers

The Devourers Space Marines Chapter

http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p764/Bobcat_Bill/ReveredLordAvrenSarn_zps4a32d9c7.jpg

Revered Lord Avren Sarn of the Company of the Daemon's Head

"I don't know who they were, sir, we never saw them. I thought I saw a glint, and red eyes watching from the shadows, but when I looked again there was nothing. We heard them, though, whoever they were. We heard what they did - the screaming on the last night. When we entered the city the next morning... By the Emperor, the bodies..."

Guardsman Graius after the Purging of Ysenni, executed for heresy

T

he origin of the Devourers is a matter of no small debate among Imperial historians. Countless records that may have revealed some truth about them have been lost or destroyed, and those that remain offer no greater clarity.

The Administratum, in a typical, futile effort to maintain complete records, has formed multiple theories regarding the chapter, based on observation and interpretation of remaining historical data. Perhaps the most popular theory names them descendents of the Blood Angels, citing the famed Scroll of Hartha (named for the man who recovered it: Explorator Magos Dace Hartha). Some of the scroll's legible phrases, written in a debased form of Imperial Gothic, include references to "sons of the blood" founded in the 36th Millennium, a "Red/Crimson Angel" (the precise translation is unclear), and so on. Another theory claims they are sons of Corax, pointing to their methods and a supposedly shared gene-mutation that leaves them all pale skinned. Even a theory naming them a successor of the Ultramarine line, once thought lost, has its supporters. A few whisper of darker origins: gene-splicing and use of forbidden technologies and stock. These thoughts are either kept private or dismissed as the ravings of madmen.

For their part, the Devourers (on the rare occasions they can be approached for conversation) answer no questions regarding their lineage or their founding. Whether this is due to incomplete records in their own Librarius, some secret they wish to keep hidden, or their own fiercely independent attitude remains unclear. Many challenges to their authenticity have been met with reference to their millennia-long service record and the numerous worlds they have liberated or defended, but just as many challenges have ended with outbreaks of fearsome violence and mysterious deaths. During the Kallian Crusade, a captain of the Red Scorpions was nearly killed by the Devourers' Chapter Master when he accused them of heresy and genetic deviancy, and the Red Scorpions refused outright to fight alongside the Devourers thereafter. In spite of that, the Devourers continued to deploy in the bloodiest war zones of the crusade, regardless of the fact that the Red Scorpions had been given first right to them. As the patience of the Scorpions chafed, the Devourers were asked by Lord Commander Kallia herself to leave. The Chapter Master responded only that "We hunt where we will, mortal. Only the Emperor could refuse us," and heeded no further communications. A rush of politicking and negotiation, expertly (some might say impossibly) handled by the Lord Commander, saw the Red Scorpions deploying elsewhere in the crusade - a slight they have never forgotten or forgiven.

The chapter has become better known since they first appeared, but their reputation is anything but favorable. Some among the Inquisition and Adeptus Astartes, the Red Scorpions included, would see them excommunicated and hunted down for the crimes they have been accused of, if they could find proof. But none who have gone to investigate the chapter have returned with anything damning, if they return at all. The Adeptus Mechanicus is the only organization to maintain a continuous relationship with the Devourers, but even they remain only for the bribes of technology, arcane data, and salvage the chapter offers.

http://images.dakkadakka.com/gallery/2009/1/12/15610-Artwork,%2520Chaos,%2520Copyright%2520Games%2520Workshop,%2520Slaves%2520To%2520Darkness.JPG

T

he Devourers claim the feudal world of Geta in the Segmentum Tempestus as their home. Its skies darkened by clouds, and its surface covered in impassable mountains, black seas, fens haunted by man-eating creatures, and moors swept by razor winds, Geta would be classified as a death world if not for the natives' uncanny ability to survive and spread to all its corners. The planet's people, the Getae, huddle together in towns and small cities in the shadows of the vast, labyrinthine castles of the planet's rulers, and they are at constant war with each other for resources, slaves, and treasure.

The planet's ruling class are known as the Unseen Kings, who do not leave their mountain keeps and are never seen by the general population. Tales of them tell of dark, immortal creatures who creep from their castles to steal away newborn babes and slaughter whole families on the infamous Red Nights. While these tales closely reflect actual events, it is not the Unseen Kings that cause them. Instead, the truth of the Kings is rooted in the Getae beliefs regarding the Emperor. Worshiping Him as a wrathful god who fell upon the world long ago to chastise it for displeasing him, the Getae offer up sacrifice in the hope that he will keep his gaze outward, and never again turn it upon them. The event that sparked this belief is remembered more specifically by the ruling class, who recount that the Emperor's angels descended from the skies, butchering the kings for daring to place themselves above Him. Only those who remained silent, hid in their keeps, and later did as the angels commanded survived, and to this day the Unseen Kings make decrees through intermediaries and cower in the lowest chambers of their castles on Geta's cold nights, hoping and praying that the Emperor never again finds them worthy of his anger. The Devourers see little reason to interfere in the planet's government, as its population is largely self policing. Wherever one secessionist or heretic might speak aloud, ten demagogues will rise, fearful zealotry in their eyes, to denounce him and see him torn apart and burned by a mob of superstitious peasants. During the chapter's rule, only a few heretics have lasted long enough to attract their gaze. Whole cities, innocent but for a handful, have suffered their terrible vengeance, with only grisly warnings carved into the bodies of the victims to hint at what happened.

Upon discovering Geta, the chapter's unknown founder noted that the planet was possessed of "remarkable and, until now, tragically untapped genetic potential."The world's population produces an unusually high number of viable recruits, and the Chapter Apothecarion's records of Getae gene-data stretch further back than the Librarius's Scrolls of Deeds. As a result, the chapter recruits from all areas of the planet and from all classes of people, depending only on where the calculations of the Apothecaries indicate the largest number of viable recruits might be.

The Red Nights

The Unseen Kings

"On the nights when the moons burn red and the stars gaze down in anger, they come. They take the little babes away, and hide them in their castles to make new monsters to haunt the forests. Some families they slaughter for displeasing them, making sport. Just you mind your work, pay your dues when the taxman comes, and pray you stay beneath their notice." - Getae Elder

Recruitment is performed by an Apothecary and the chapter's servants, the servi familiar. Moving into cities and towns after nightfall, they enter the homes of the city's inhabitants, subjecting any infant children to rudimentary genetic testing for abnormalities, mutations, and desirable traits. Those with a favorable chance of successful implantation are stolen away, while those families who bear children with an unacceptable level of deviancy or mutation are slaughtered without hesitation. Such visits are referred to by the Getae as the Red Nights, and are followed by a great deal of wailing and bloody sacrifice to appease the Unseen King they believe has performed the night's deeds. Their belief that the Unseen Kings are responsible is only reinforced when an emissary of the court arrives to reward the families whose children were taken, assuring them with gifts of food and treasure that the loss of their child is a sign of favor. The kings, in truth, seek out those who lose their children according to ancient belief that, by honoring those they know were taken by the Emperor's angels, they might stave off their feared return for another day.

The infants the chapter takes are submitted to further testing at the chapter's fortress-monastery of the Silent Spire, hidden within the forbidden peaks of the northern continent's central mountain range. The servi familiar see that the children are fed a careful diet of prepared nutrient formula, to ensure their health and growth, and begin a basic regimen of hypno-indoctrination. Once they can walk, those that are found wanting will join the ranks of the servi familiar, serving their masters until their deaths, while the viable few must still survive years of lethal training within the lesser chambers of the Silent Spire and the deadly environs of the mountain peaks before they are considered suitable for implantation.

F

or unknown reasons, the geneseed of the Devourers seems to have suffered severe degradation and mutation. Thanks to the careful efforts of the Apothecarion in millennia past, however, the chapter's geneseed has stabilized, and to such an extent that the flaws within it have become a part of the chapter's culture. Indeed, many battle brothers no longer see the mutations as a problem. If the wider Imperium should discover the extent of their degradation, however, or any one of the crimes the Apothecarion committed to stop it, the chapter would be swiftly excommunicated and targeted for destruction. The Devourers, all too aware of how lesser men might deign to judge them, are careful never to reveal their secrets, and they police those who have access to them.

Though their mutations are numerous, the most notable occur in four specific ways:

The Hunger: The omophagea of the Devourers has become hyper-stimulated and its effects have extended to their sense of smell. As a result, they easily memorize the scent of any enemy whose blood they have tasted before, and they suffer a constant and sometimes overwhelming hunger for the flesh and blood of their foes.

Shun the Light: The Devourers' occulobe functions exceptionally well in darkness, and they can see unaided in conditions where even other Astartes might struggle. Unfortunately, it is now incredibly painful for the Devourers to see in daylight or brighter conditions, and they must wear a helmet to avoid difficulty.

The Torpor: The Catalapsean Node, designed to allow the Astartes to fight for extended periods without the need for sleep, has instead rendered the Devourers unable to sleep normally. Battle brothers of the chapter have been known to remain awake for months without any loss in combat effectiveness, though waking-periods of such length have still had a measurable effect on their psyche. This is offset by their inevitable fall into a near-comatose state that can last for days and in some cases weeks, depending on how long the battle brother was awake. The chapter has learned to recognize the symptoms leading up to this state, and cycles wearying battle brothers out of combat, sealing them within the amniotic chambers of the nearest Apothecarion until they are ready to awaken once more.

Horrifying Visage: A mutation traced at least partially to the Oolitic Kidney has affected the flesh and blood of the Devourers. As a result, and strangely dependent on how hungry he is, a battle brother will seem gaunt and his flesh will pale to the point of semi-transparency, where one can then see his more darkly hued blood as it traces its way through the larger blood vessels of his body. Many of those who have witnessed a Devourer cast off his helmet while in the throes of the Hunger have cried out in terror at the beast feasting and seemingly drawing strength from the blood of his foes. Those unlucky few rarely live to speak of it, for they are often the next course of the meal.

Servants of the Blood

The Devourers' Apothecarion is much larger than that of most chapters, due to the necessity of monitoring the chapter's geneseed and caring for battle brothers suffering from their mutations. Their libraries of genetic knowledge are rivaled by only a few chapters throughout the Imperium, and some suspect that they could, if they wished, do much more to repair the Devourers' damaged genetic stock. If they can, they refrain for unknown reasons.

T

he Devourers are extremely flexible in their organization, and have been known to deploy forces to embattled worlds and war zones numbering anywhere from several hundred battle brothers to a mere handful. The Devourers are nominally formed into companies, each under the control of a Revered Lord, who himself pays fealty to the Chapter Master: The Dreaded King. In reality, forces are often drawn from multiple companies, with overall command going to the most senior Astartes officer present. On the battlefield, Devourers squads have a great deal of autonomy in choosing how they complete their assigned objectives, and they are given the freedom to pursue new ones if they believe them necessary or useful. Neophytes are kept out of open battle. Instead, they are further instructed in the arts of stealth and terror behind enemy lines, where they learn to master their appetites before they are permitted to wear full battle-plate.

The Keepers

The Devourers' Librarius and Chaplaincy have merged into the office of the Keepers of Bones. The large number of telepaths among them possess great skill in counsel and guidance, able to read and subtly shift the thoughts and desires of their battle brothers toward the murderous virtues extolled by the chapter. They walk a fine line, and must ensure that they do not overstep their bounds, or the retribution of the chamber's masters will be swift. The Keepers also boast a large number of Biomancers, and those psykers embrace their preferred discipline, using it to craft a more daemonic visage of bony ridges, crests, tearing claws, and vicious fangs upon themselves to better inspire terror in their hated prey. They apply its more painful uses to captured enemies, cruelly torturing them for information, confession, or simply sport.

Predators in the Void

The chapter's fleet assets are outfitted for speed and stealth. Smaller ships focus on delivery of Astartes to war zones, and prefer to avoid combat in favor of gathering intelligence on the enemy with extensive scanner networks and auspex arrays. Larger ships often bear overcharged weapons batteries designed to disable any enemy ships caught in ambush. The chapter has been known to comprehensively cripple enemy ships but leave them otherwise unharmed in ship-to-ship engagements, preferring to board them, slaughter their crew, and activate distress signals to act as bait for larger prey.

Death Incarnate

The chapter heraldry is simple, requiring only that the chapter symbol be placed on the left pauldron and the company symbol be placed on the right. All other symbols and icons with which a battle brother of the Devourers might adorn his armor are personal items, and are left up to individual Astartes to craft. Gruesome trophies of severed limbs and heads, charms of carved bone hung from sinew as jewelry, and flayed skins delicately inked with chapter litanies and icons are common sights.

"A dagger in the dark is worth a thousand blades at dawn"

Tactica Imperialis

T

he combat doctrine of the Devourers strays far from the dictates of the Codex Astartes, and relies instead on their own cruel methods of unconventional and asymmetrical warfare. These methods include attacking non-military targets, violent assassination of key enemy personnel and/or their families, raiding essential supply lines, and even false flag operations that have caused enemies to attack targets friendly to them. Better that their enemies suffer the torment and terror that their heresy has bought them, they say, than be granted the mercy of a swift death.

The chapter prefers not to engage in pitched battles, but will not shy from them if they become necessary. Indeed, the level of vicious hunger and bloodthirst the Keepers can instill in their battle brothers has seen them break more than one enemy army in a whirlwind of crashing bolters, gore drenched blades, and gnashing teeth.

Given their more esoteric beliefs and practices, the Devourers rarely fight closely alongside Imperial forces, and when they do they remain helmeted and fully armored.

The following recording was found in the Schola Progenium of Danu Hive by patrolling Guardsmen:

++AUDIO BEGINS++
*choir recording playing*
*rhythmic scratching of sharp object on metal*
Unknown: Such lovely singing... Come closer, my pretty little things. We must not let your voices go to waste!
*children's screams accompanied by unidentified laughter*
++AUDIO ENDS++

M37.254 - The Kallian Crusade: Dreaded King Costach Onesco commits nearly the entire chapter in support of Lord Commander Kallia's Crusade. Though they bring many worlds to their knees by the time the Crusade reaches its conclusion, the crimes they commit and the rumors that are generated from them destroy Kallia's political career, and she dies in disgrace.

M38.647 - A small force of Devourers attack a shield world of the Urgalian xenoforms. Though the Marines are eventually discovered and killed the world's skies rain fire as its sabotaged orbitals crash to its surface, annihilating many essential fortresses and stockpiles. The planet's population suffers a slow death in the resultant nuclear winter.

M38.890 - Eldar Prince Athrien, furious at the Devourers' raids on an Exodite world, attacks the Strike Cruiser Beast of Transya with his entire pirate fleet. The cruiser is quickly crippled, but manages to launch its boarding torpedoes and Thunderhawks filled with screaming, hungry Devourers into Athrien's ships. Only a few battle brothers survive to witness it, but the battle ends when Keeper Odren Karn rips open the Eldar prince and consumes his still-beating heart.

M39.362 - The Danu Massacres: Costin Ungur, Revered Lord of the Company of the Black Hand, descends upon the Hive World of Danu one month after it announces its secession from the Imperium. Transmissions of screams and pleas for mercy threaten to overload the planetary vox-net, breaking communication lines. Planetary leaders and public figures are found murdered, the walls of their homes painted in blood and filth, their remains conjoined with those of their families to craft macabre shrines. The Danu Planetary Defense Forces, built up to defend the planet's bid for independence, shell Graccha Hive to dust after its turrets fire on them, believing it an Imperial stronghold. Within two weeks, the planet has transmitted its surrender, followed shortly thereafter by pleas for forgiveness and salvation. The Imperial Reclamation Fleet declares the world returned to the Imperium just days after its arrival in M39.398. It remains a model of selfless obedience.

"This we offer to you, Emperor.
We bid thee come, and sit with us tonight.
Eat, and drink deep."

Excerpt of the Rite of Hospitality

O

ver the course of the chapter's existence, their beliefs have shifted to reflect their mutations and the madness they inflict. They make no reference to their primarch, if they even know who he is, and focus all of their devotion toward the Emperor. Rather than the greatest individual in history and the savior of mankind, however, the Devourers instead worship the Emperor as the personification of violent death and cruel retribution - a slayer god who will keep mankind on the rightful path by any means necessary. The Devourers are proud to count themselves as his angels, reveling in their immortality and wielding their power to inflict all manner of torture upon their deserving victims.

Flesh and blood are the greatest of offerings, and devotional feasting marks holy days and victory celebrations. The Devourers have even been known to capture enemy leaders and lock them in the dungeons of the Silent Spire to be tortured, force fed, and slowly drained of blood until, on an anniversary of their defeat, they are taken to the Devourers' central Hall of Pain and displayed before those battle brothers who brought them to ruin in years past. A Lord Keeper recounts the victory tallies from the Scrolls of Deeds as the casks of aged blood-wine are opened. The assembled battle brothers drink deep from great skull-chalices, and the enemy warlord's flesh is carved and savored as the sweetest of meats in what is always a long night of feasting.

The Silent Spire's inner chambers, which only the Devourers themselves and their most trusted servi familiar are permitted to enter, are monuments to the horror they have come to embrace. The flayed skins of foes, grown together in sickening patterns by the fleshcraft of the Keepers, line the halls, and tapestries made from the screaming faces of the vanquished serve as the chapter's victory banners. Scrimshawed bone spikes and blades pierce the walls and the floor, and from them trophies of fresh skin and severed heads are hung. Chairs legged with brutish Ork femurs and backed with elegant Eldar vertebrae line the feasting tables of the Hall of Pain, all facing a central statue of the Slayer-Emperor, carefully molded from the remains of the chapter's most respected battle brothers.

The Devourers also mark themselves, mortifying their flesh to reflect their personal image of the Slayer-Emperor. Piercings of bone rings and horns, inscribed with oaths and kill tallies, are common. Battle brothers also carve litanies and catechisms into themselves, rubbing the wounds with salt and bone-ash to force them to scar. Veteran battle brothers are even known to be marked by the Keepers after impressive deeds, their bones and flesh disfigured permanently to mark them as truly favored by the Emperor.

"We are Death!"

Chapter Motto of the Devourers

T

he Devourers have no chapter-wide battle cry, and enter combat with various cries depending on what they believe will have the greatest effect on enemy morale. For instance, during the uprisings of the victory-hordes on Einherja V, cries of "Hell hungers for you!" proved popular, while the Devourers who slaughtered the screaming choir-cults of Damnia fought in complete silence.




----

That's all for now. Comments, critiques, places to expand? I wanted this chapter to ride on the edge: they'd be traitors if not for who they devote their violence to, and they're so crazed that they might as well be renegade. If you think you know how they originated, but you find it offensive to your fluffy-sensitivities, you can go ahead and assume it isn't true. Develop a theory more to your liking if the "obvious" one (whatever that is) doesn't float your boat.

Oh, and if you're thinking I based the nastiness of these guys on the Night Lords... Guess again!

EDIT: Stupid code explosions! Alright. Use Full Editor. Lesson learned.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Excellent work, though I can't help but compare the lore with that of the Flesh Eaters.

[The Acid Dog]

Excellent work, though I can't help but compare the lore with that of the Flesh Eaters.

 

And to think I didn't know anything about those guys other than their name when I wrote this.  Bah!

 

Doing a little research, I can understand drawing a parallel on the cannibalism, but the Flesh Eaters are hardly the only (rumored) cannibals in 40k.  The Sons of Malice, for instance, also find human flesh tasty.  I can't see much beyond that.

[Prefect Apollyon]

Well presented and written, with so many Romanian references giving a Nosferatu theme to it. Lovely.

 

I take it if you are making a force of this Chapter, you'll be using Blood Angels?

[Conviction]

Really enjoyed the Red Night portion of the IA. Loved the ideas behind it. For such a divergent chapter, I liked it quite a bit.

[The Acid Dog]

Well presented and written, with so many Romanian references giving a Nosferatu theme to it. Lovely.

 

I take it if you are making a force of this Chapter, you'll be using Blood Angels?

 

I was hoping someone would notice those.

 

At some point I'd like to develop some homemade rules for them, but they will indeed use Blood Angels rules until then.

[Prefect Apollyon]

The way the current Codex's are going, when GW re-do Blood Angels there may be a supplement for Flesh Tearers. That'd be ideal.

 

Back to fluff, couldn't fail to notice "Getae." Just been through Eastern Europe.

 

EDIT: And ah :cuss, code-splurge when editing. I feel your pain.

[LongGone]

Woooooo!!! I like this! This can't be just a first draft, how long did it take you to get to this point?

 

I'm digging the format you used, it's pleasing to the eye. 

[The Acid Dog]

Woooooo!!! I like this! This can't be just a first draft, how long did it take you to get to this point?

 

I'm digging the format you used, it's pleasing to the eye. 

 

I'm glad you like it! The basic ideas were bouncing around and stewing in my head for the past couple weeks, but I finally wrote pretty much all I had and a lot more in a red-eyed stream of consciousness last night, spell-checked it, and went to post it up. Or was that the night before?  Time has blurred.  I tend to revise as I go along, so things come out pretty good the first time.  The format... Well, that took me a lot longer to figure out!  I had to dig through the DIY template thread, find the codes that worked, and figure out how to use them through some trial and error.  I'm pleased with how it came out.

 

Anything you'd like to see expanded on, or things you were wondering about?

[LongGone]

I would flip the placement of the organization and combat doctrine. The main reason is you reference the Keepers in the combat section, but don't explain what/who they are until organization. I also think it would flow better into the battle honors section. 

 

Content-wise, I can't really think of anything to change. It seems like you got this thing pretty locked on right from the beginning. Its honestly kinda awesome. I'm only in the middle of my first IA though, so I'm not the most experienced when it comes to fluff creation. Give it a day or so and the more august brethren of the Liber will hopefully give you their two cents. 

 

LG

[The Nephilim]

This. Was. Awesome.

 

I don't feel the need to comment very much in the Liber, I troll through occasionally, but this... This is grimdark. This is very reminiscent to the old fluff that got me into the hobby in the first place. Yeah, they're "good guys" but be careful... They might eat you.

 

Love it.

 

Critiquewise, I got nothing. This was very well written and thought out. What I can say is I can't wait to see models for these guys.

[The Acid Dog]

I would flip the placement of the organization and combat doctrine. The main reason is you reference the Keepers in the combat section, but don't explain what/who they are until organization. I also think it would flow better into the battle honors section.

Content-wise, I can't really think of anything to change. It seems like you got this thing pretty locked on right from the beginning. Its honestly kinda awesome. I'm only in the middle of my first IA though, so I'm not the most experienced when it comes to fluff creation. Give it a day or so and the more august brethren of the Liber will hopefully give you their two cents.

LG

I knew I'd miss something! It didn't say Keepers originally. I came up with them as I was writing the next section, and it seems I changed the word without changing the order. Thanks for the spot!

This. Was. Awesome.

I don't feel the need to comment very much in the Liber, I troll through occasionally, but this... This is grimdark. This is very reminiscent to the old fluff that got me into the hobby in the first place. Yeah, they're "good guys" but be careful... They might eat you.

Love it.

Critiquewise, I got nothing. This was very well written and thought out. What I can say is I can't wait to see models for these guys.

D'aww jeez ... I was going for grimdark and something reminiscent of older fluff, and you saying that just makes me feel all gushy. In a ravening-cannibal kind of way.

I'll be including one in my current Deathwatch project, and I'll be expanding into an army of them afterward.

[Grimm Blade]

Great stuff! Very well thought out and presented.

[deathspectersgt7]

Read this yesterday well thought out and written,Want to see some painted up.WELL DONE!!!.

[BlueBelly1863]

Just stumbled across this! I love this backstory/concept. Did you ever get some models painted up? 

 

Would be cool to write about some instances where your marines used their cannibalism to their advantage in battle, because there's that added organ that allows marines to gain the knowledge of the organisms they eat...