Confessors rewrite new sections added 3/1/14

[The_Chaplain]

I had edited the first post of my last thread thinking that I might be able to gain some c&c regarding the new fluff- but I quickly realized that it was essentially trying to revitalize a dead corpse; with the old post information still being there, old ideas, etc.  So, I'm going to let the old thread fade into obscurity; and post all the new backstory my friend and I have been coming up with in this one instead; and essentially start fresh.

 

 

+++Founding: M34+++

+++Gene-Seed: Rogal Dorn+++

+++Primogenitor: Imperial Fists+++

+++Homeworld: Corovodja (Destroyed - M36)+++

 

Our faith burns brighter than the pyres of a thousand worlds!

-Revered Chaplain Evagrius.

 

Origins of the Confessors

          The origins of the Confessors Chapter lie in the troubled days of the thirty fifth millennium. Civil strife and religious conflicts raged for the next two thousand years culminating in the Age of Apostasy when Goge Vandire plunged the Imperium into all out civil war. Founded from the Imperial Fists gene-seed the Confessors Chapter quickly earned a reputation for furious assaults, zealous faith in the Emperor and an unflinching dedication to duty. The more dour and patient temperaments of the training officer cadre dispatched from the Imperial Fists could do little to curb the fervor with which the newly created chapter prosecuted their wars against the Emperor's foes but did instil many of the rites, traditions and doctrines of the Imperial Fists in the young battle-brothers of the chapter, traditions and battle-doctrines that have been maintained for nearly six thousand years.

 

       In 643.M36, some fifty years after the chapter was first founded the Confessors were granted sovereignty of the planet Corovodja in the Oskana's Reach system. Moderately populated the world of Corovodja possessed a harsh enough climate and plentiful predators to make the native inhabitants hardy enough to serve as a viable pool of recruits for the Chapter. The handful of cities dotted across the mostly barren surface were temple fortresses devoted to the worship of the God Emperor and the centers of power for the planet's feudal nobility. The cities served as centers of worship for the people of the scattered indentured serf villages and farms. Each year the serfs would make a pilgrimage to their regional fortress city to trade with each other and make offerings to the Emperor. The Confessors quickly adapted the local pilgrimages to serve their own needs, drawing the strongest and healthiest of the young boys from the tribes each year as initiates to the chapter while significantly expanding the scale and productivity of the shrine cities. In addition to serving as places of worship and the centers of the planetary government the soaring castles and cathedra of Corovodja turned their efforts to producing arms, armor and a variety of other supplies for the chapter.

 

          The early centuries of the Confessors service was marred by the dissolution of the chapter Librarius. For three centuries the Confessors Librarians served the chapter with honor and distinction but during the campaign to cleanse Corovodja brother Epistolary Eckhart, active Chief Librarian and member of the training cadre seconded from the Imperial Fists, was killed. His most senior subordinate, brother Codicier Kirill attempted to take up the mantle of Chief Librarian but struggled to recruit able psykers from amongst the populace of Corovodja who were ever few in number. The end of the Librarius came just two centuries later during the Battle of the Blood Spire. Deployed in chapter strength the Confessors fought to close the warp portal atop the Blood Spire that had been summoned to the surface of the Hive World of Tryon's Hope. During the battle the daemonic legions of Khorne singled out the Librarians of the Confessors and cut them down despite the valor and skill of the young psykers and the sacrifice of their battle-brothers. All twelve of the Chapter's Librarians perished in the battle, though the portal was closed and the daemons driven from the world the chapter had lost an invaluable weapon. Nevertheless the Confessors remained resolute in their determination to prosecute the enemies of the Emperor whether the chapter contained psychic brethren or not. In time the chapter Reclusium expanded to fill the support roles left vacant by the empty Librarius and became the keepers of chapter lore and experts in probing initiates for psychic purity and mental fortitude.

 

         The training cadre of officers and specialists seconded from the Imperial Fists was successful in mentoring the first generation of the Confessors however the unexpected death of Epistolary Eckhart three centuries after the chapter founding left the Confessors without an experienced Librarian to instruct their still fledgeling Librarius. The training cadre departed to return Eckhart's body and request a replacement however the instability of the thirty fifth millennium had the Imperial Fists stretched thinly as it was and not only was a replacement not assigned but the training cadre was officially disbanded and returned to service in their home chapter. The current Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists deemed the Confessors suitably prepared by three centuries of instruction. The Confessors Librarius could recieve additional mentors when time and chapter deployments allowed, though by the time a replacement was available the Confessors Librarius had already been dissolved.

 

       Over time the Confessors adapted their organization and combat doctrine to better serve their beliefs and temperament, diverging from the tenets laid out in the Codex Astartes and adopting many of the organizational structures and combat doctrines of the Black Templars, a fellow chapter of Rogal Dorn's heritage. Participating in the Centennial Feast of Blades held by the Imperial Fists and open to participation by any of the Sons of Dorn the Confessors met and fought against and beside champions of the Black Templars and came to deeply respect their brother chapter for their zeal in combat, unswerving dedication to expanding the Imperium's borders. Though some traditionalists in the chapter resisted changes in doctrine and organization the proposed divergent doctrines had the backing of the increasingly prominent chapter Reclusium and the backing of the chapter's masters of faith silenced most, if not all, dissent. By the close of the thirty fifth millennium the chapter had adopted the organization and combat doctrines still recognizably in use towards the end of the forty first millennium.

 

         Over the next thousand years the Confessors chapter fought countless wars all across the Segmentum Obscurus and beyond, earning a reputation as fearless and savage warriors willing to fight on against impossible odds long after more sensible chapters would have withdrawn. This intractability led the chapter to use a large number of bionic augmentations to replace damaged organs and limbs and quickly returned battle-brothers to the field even after having suffered grievous injuries. Many of the Confessors bear horrific scaring and it is not uncommon to see veteran brothers with as much as thirty percent or more of their body replaced by bionics. Though the religious fervor of the Confessors would logically make them ready allies to the Adepta Sororitas or the Ordo Hereticus the inflexibility of these orders has generally led the chapter to maintain amicable but distant relationships with the Witch Hunters of the Inquisition and the Ecclesiarchy's battle-sisters. To other branches of the Imperium's military and bureaucracy the Confessors have always been equally distant but polite, willing to work together to defeat the enemies of the Emperor but never exactly friendly or approachable. In battle the Confessors became visions of righteous fury, in the war room they became more akin to statues depicting heroes of legend, heavily ornamented armor fully encasing grim and battle-hardened warriors.

 

       The fledgeling chapter came to the brink of destruction during the thirty seventh millennium when the Imperium became embroiled in chaos and civil strife in a period that would come to be known as the Age of Apostasy. Even as Goge Vandire rose to power on Terra and took on the dual roles of Ecclesiarch and High Lord of the Administratum. This unprecedented concentration of power in one individual led to the Reign of Blood where Vandire, who had clearly gone insane, ordered the execution of countless horrific acts of destruction and bloodshed, often in the name of the Emperor and equally as often for no discernible reason what so ever. As Ecclesiarch and High Lord the authority of Vandire was beyond question, and yet his undoubted madness led many to resist his authority and rebel, including the now legendary Sebastian Thor. At the time the Confessors were stretched thin, deployed all across the Segmentum Obscurus and the chapter suddenly found their forces trapped in islands of sanity amidst a sea of chaos. Wherever the Confessors battle-brothers were they rigidly and mercilessly enforced order, putting down dissent and ensuring the stability of the region around them, even as neighboring systems fell to anarchy as various factions vied for power or became embroiled in wars of faith. Initially furious that the authority of the God Emperor's chosen Ecclesiarch was being questioned the Confessors fought to restore the authority of Terra wherever they could but as the years wore on and countless tales of madness and slaughter reached them the chapter became paralyzed, unsure of their course of action for the first time in two thousand years. For a time the Confessors remained resolute, sure the accusations against Vandire were heresy, but even the staunchest supporters of the Ecclesiarch within the chapter faltered when news of the destruction of the Imperial Fists Fortress Monastery on Terra reached them. For six thousand years the fortress monastery of the first Sons of Dorn had stood inviolate until the madness and treachery of Goge Vandire saw the mighty bastion torn asunder. Furious many Confessors clamored to join the Black Templars and Imperial Fists in besieging Terra and deposing Vandire but the current Chapter Master, Khariton, refused such requests and ordered the scattered forces of the chapter to hold their positions. It would take months, if not years of travel and hard fighting for the far flung fleets of the chapter to converge and redeploy. Even with the defenders of the Sol system divided in their loyalties a piecemeal attack on Terra would achieve little but the destruction of the Chapter. Instead Khariton ordered his forces to forge out around their positions in ever expanding rings and fight to stabilize as large an area as they could. If they could not oppose the mad high lord directly, they could at least try to hold as much of the strife ridden Imperium together as they could.

 

     Unknown to Khariton news of the attack on Terra and the madness of Vandire had reached Corovodja. Just as zealous in their worship of the Emperor and the Imperial Creed but far less disciplined the people of Corovodja quickly devolved into massed bloodshed and civil war. Dozens of factions arose amongst the populace, some supporting Vandire, others Sebastian Thor, yet others decried the heresy of the Confessors and the Sons of Dorn while others fought to defend the honor of the Angels of Death. Whether chaos cults had fostered the dissension or participated in the fighting is unknown. Some claim infiltrators must have acted to destabilize the chapter homeworld but no proof has ever been uncovered and most of the chapter Chaplains contend that the chaos that swept the chapter homeworld was not a product of enemy intervention but the result of their own negligence and a hard lesson to the chapter to always remain eternally diligent against all enemies, without or within. In a matter of weeks more than half of Corovodja's population had been slaughtered, streets ran red with rivers of blood, corpses were piled dozens deep in places and cathedrals burned. Desperate cries for aid were launched into the warp and the void, crying out for the Angels of Death for salvation. Shocked that such strife could have taken hold on the chapter homeworld Chapter Master Khariton immediately led his honor guard and much of the first company to Corovodja and ordered as much of the chapter as was able to make for the homeworld with all possible speed. The chapter flagship, the Battle-Barge Lantern of Terra, surged through the warp faster than it had ever gone before, smashing through tumultuous warp currents heedless of the danger. Gellar field generators burned out by the dozens, plunging entire decks into chaos while the primary Navigator of the vessel practically smashed his body to pieces in an uncontrollable siezure of stunning violence. Six days after departing, a tenth of the time it would normally have taken, the flagship tore a whole in reality and surged from the warp dangerously close to the chapter homeworld, the ship bleeding trails of warp plasma, atmosphere, gas and corpses from massive claw marks rent in the hull while fires gutted multiple decks. No sooner had the Lantern of Terra achieved orbit and prepared to launch gunships and drop pods than sensors lit up with alarms and the bridge was plunged into red emergency lighting as the blast shutters slammed down and the primary sensor vanes burned out. When the time the Techmarines shut down the alarms and opened the cause for the alarms was made blatantly, horrifyingly clear. The surface of Corovodja was dotted with scores of mushroom clouds from atomic detonations. The most powerful and devastating of the munitions manufactured and stored for the chapter fleet had been unleashed on the planet itself by the warring factions. Who fired first and why was never discovered and ultimately, mattered little, the homeworld of the Confessors chapter was a broken wasteland, it's people dead and the Fortress Monastery of the chapter, it's laboratories, armories, chapels and hangars all gone, destroyed in nuclear fire.

 

        In the months that followed the forces of the Chapter returned to the homeworld in ragged groups, all of them bearing the scars of hundreds of battles fought against all manner of foes. Most prevalently the chapter fleets had been forced to fight their way through blockade after blockade as varying factions of the Ecclesiarchy and the Imperial military attempted to coerce the astartes to their side, refuse them entry or purge them in the name of one potentate or another. More troubling but hardly surprising were many battles against heretics, pirates, and xenos forces all quick to take advantage of the reeling Imperium to make attacks of opportunity against weak or isolated systems. Some systems the chapter fleets had traveled through were devoid of life, destroyed by warbands of Chaos Space Marines, Ork raiders, Dark Eldar pirates or civil war. By the time the entire chapter was gathered fully a third of the Confessors fleet had been lost and nearly half of chapter had fallen in battle. Even worse was the loss of the gene-stores, relics and war material stored on the homeworld.

 

        For weeks the Confessors worked to take in the magnitude of the disaster and measure what was lost, what remained and what required repair. Most of the fleet would require serious refit before returning to full combat readiness and the chapter was now perilously short on fuel and munitions though stocks of basic weaponry, vehicles and power armor were all in good supply. Most of the chapter's suits of Terminator armor and Dreadnoughts had been lost with the fortress monastery along with a number of ancient Predators, Vindicators and Land Raiders. So dire was the chapter's situation that some called for a penitent crusade that would only end with the death of every last battle-brother while others called for attacks of vengeance against any target conceivably involved in the disaster. Debates became arguments, which became duels and threatened to spill into open conflict amongst some of the battle-brothers. Before discord could grip the chapter as it had done to the homeworld Lord Khariton called his brothers to what would come to be known as the Council of Corovodja. The chapter Techmarines erected a shielded council hall on the site where the chapter's Fortress Monastery had once stood. Crackling energy shields kept out the worst of the dust and radiation while meltaguns carved a flat, rounded platform a kilometer wide amongst the jagged ruins. On the site of the former Chapel of the Emperor Ascendant every living battle-brother of the Chapter, six hundred and thirty four in all, including all officers, pilots, drivers, gunners and specialists, gathered beneath the storm wracked clouds of radiation blanketing the now lifeless chapter homeworld. For days the battle-brothers recounted the trials of the last few years, the chaos that had gripped the Imperium and the trials they had faced trying to restore order and return to the Oskana's Reach system. These tales served to remind every battle-brother of their shared sacrifices and the many enemies besetting the Imperium even as they argued amongst themselves. When the last battle-brother finished his account Chapter Master Khariton stood before his battle-brothers and spoke to them of the past, and the future, of sacrifice, and of duty. As he spoke the expressions of shock, loss and fatalism that had gripped the battle-brothers for months transformed into masks of anger and determination. Khariton called on his brothers to recall the lessons of the Iron Cage, of the Siege of Terra and the death of Rogal Dorn, that death in the Emperor's service was the most glorious end they could desire but victory sometimes demanded more, it demanded life. They would not serve the Emperor by going out in a blaze of final glory, but by rebuilding, rearming and doing their duty as they were charged two thousand years ago at the chapter founding.

 

      When the chapter gunships lifted off from the surface and the energy shields protecting the cleared platform were deactivated and removed the chapter left behind a great aquila shaped arch set with a gilded gate bearing motifs of death etched into meter thick adamantium. Upon the gates were words in high gothic that read denique in porta, the Final Gate, a symbolic representation of the last glorious battle of the chapter. To have determined to crusade until death claimed them would have been to accept the inevitability of that last battle, to have crossed the threshold of the final gate. When the Council of Corovodja was concluded the gate remained closed and barred, the chapter would not cross the threshold and march to their death, they would endure, they would rebuild, they would not only survive, but thrive and woebetide anyone foolish enough to stand against them.

 

        Though determined to rebuild their strength the actual completion of that task would take far longer than choosing to undertake it. For years the chapter bartered service in battle for repair, refit and resupply from Adeptus Mechanicus and Imperial Navy outposts. Though ships were repaired replacing those that had been lost proved more difficult, the Plague of Unbelief that swept the Imperium shortly after the mad High Lord Vandire had been deposed did not help stabilize the already conflict torn Imperium and subsequently any new ships being constructed were already slated as reinforcements to the overstretched battlefleets of the Imperial Navy and any vessels being constructed by astartes chapters were rarely, if ever, gifted to another chapter. A solution came from an unlikely source, the Khaldun Rogue Trader Dynasty. A wealthy and ancient family of explorers and merchants the Khaldun Rogue Trader Dynasty had both profited from the recent chaos and suffered significant losses especially in terms of ships and reliable trade routes. Looking to expand into unknown regions the Khaldun Dynasty made the Confessors an appealing offer, spearhead the family's fleets into the uncharted border regions of the Imperium in exchange for valuable resupply contracts including potentially new vessels should these exploratory expeditions prove profitable enough. The Khaldun Rogue Trader Dynasty had the connections and wealth to commission small fleets of vessels from the shipyards of Kar Duniash, Saturn, Calth or a number of other prominent construction yards scattered across the Imperium. For the first time since the chapter was founded the Confessors had the potential to rapidly and significantly expand the chapter fleet and now that the chapter had no homeworld the strength of the chapter fleet was of greater importance than ever. Despite doubts as to the faith and loyalty of the Rogue Traders the chapter agreed to the deal and within the year three exploration fleets led by strike foces of the Confessors crossed the borders of the Imperium into uncharted space.

 

           The first fleet to return limped back into the Imperium in defeat some two years after departing. The exploration fleet had stumbled upon a previously unknown ork empire and though a number of valuable archaeotech artifacts had been recovered from ancient ruins of lost human civilizations the expedition was nevertheless a failure, more had been lost than gained and it looked like this uneasy partnership would be over almost before it began. That was until the second expedition fleet returned the next year. Seven systems that had been a part of the Imperium some six hundred years before were rediscovered. Somehow the systems had fallen through the cracks of the Imperium's megalithic beaurocracy and become isolated, out of contact and forced to fend for themselves. Xenos pirates, chaos raiders and various other threats had assailed them and though each inhabited world had bled and a number lost the majority still held out and after the sudden and dramatic arrival of the adeptus astartes were quick to accept the authority of the Emperor once more and readily agreed to exclusive supply and trade contracts with the Khaldun Rogue Trader Dynasty. Thousands of goods from grox meet and hides to tanks, lasguns and rare minerals flowed into the holds of the Khaldun Dynasty's vessels for shipping to prominent trade worlds in the Segmentum Obscurus and beyond. Some of the goods were even bound for the Throneworld itself. The third fleet would not return for a further fifteen years but when it did the results were even greater than anyone had expected, the Khaldun Dynasty's vessels were filled to bursting with recovered materials, archaeotech artifacts, salvage from ship graveyards, battlefields and ancient ruins as well as trade goods bartered from beyond the edges of the Imperium. Though the trade goods had mostly come from non-human sources the Confessors participating in the expedition had largely looked the other way though they had protested at some of the more egregious transgressions. Mostly the Confessors had cleansed ancient ruins and recovered battlefield salvage while the Rogue Traders were off making deals with individuals unknown. Despite some of the more uneasy moments and conflicts of interest that had arisen during the expedition the haul of goods was incredibly valuable and crowned by the discovery of not one but three largely intact STC schematics discovered from the ruins of a long lost outpost of the Mechanicum.

 

      These first expeditions had helped solidify the alliance between the Confessors and the Khaldun Rogue Trader Dynasty and in the centuries that followed dozens more expeditions would spread the Emperor's light farther into the unknown and strengthen the chapter in the process. The Khaldun Dynasty were true to their word and more, every decade or two the chapter recieves a new vessel courtesy of the Rogue Traders and the chapter's stocks of weapons, munitions and armored vehicles grew to exceed anything the chapter had possessed before the loss of the homeworld. Certain artifacts like Terminator Armor and Dreadnoughts could not be so easily replaced but the chapter adapted and grew to make increasing use of armored assaults spearheaded by mighty Land Raiders, Predators and Vindicators and supported by wings of bikers and mechanized infantry squads. The chapter has adapted to being fleet based and has become adept at launching boarding assaults and fighting in the void with nothing but the magnetic clamps of a warrior's boots to keep him from floating off into space. The use of boarding shields, lascutters and graviton guns, weaponry rarely seen in some chapters, has become standing operational doctrine for the Confessors. To this day expedition fleets of the Khaldun Rogue Trader Dynasty can still be seen spearheaded by vessels of the Confessors Chapter.

 

Over time the chapter fleet has grown to far exceed the fleets of most chapters. Two Battle-Barges and seven Strike Cruisers form the backbone of the chapter fleet, a roughly standard number of capitol ships, however the Confessors possess more than fifty rapid-strike vessels, roughly twenty more than most chapters can field. These fleet assets allow the Confessors to deploy strike forces numbering as few as little as a squad, or nearly the entire strength of the company almost anywhere in the Segmentum at a moments notice. Rarely is the chapter caught without enough ships to deploy it's battle-brothers where they need to go, no matter what the force disposition or how many individual forces the chapter is broken down into. In 876.M39 during the Icellus Crisis the chapter deployed more than thirty individual strike forces, most numbering ten battle-brothers or less across much of the north-eastern quadrant of the Segmentum Obscurus.

 

       Following the Age of Apostasy the Confessors have become a much more aggressive chapter deploying strike forces much further afield than before though a garrison of the Oskana's Reach system remains in place and incursion on the ancestral homeworld of the chapter is violently opposed. Where before the Confessors had been politely distant from their allies and the mortals they protected the chapter emerged from the loss of Corovodja with a renewed zeal. Having witnessed the weakness of faith in the Imperial Creed amongst the unenhanced people of the Imperium the chapter has become more wary of relying on allies and quick to reinforce the faith of those around them with extravagent displays of the chapter's own faith in the Emperor. At the conclusion of every campaign a vehicle train sometimes stretching for miles comprised of the chapter's warmachines parades through the planetary capitol, if one exists and is intact enough for such a display, proudly bearing shrines, holy icons and devotional scripture decorating the hulls of every vehicle. As the mighty war tanks of the Adeptus Astartes roll through the streets Imperial citizens throw themselves to the ground in awe or are struck dumb at the sight of such ancient and powerful machines driving past. Majesty and zeal practically bleed from the hulls of the Confessors tanks and few are the Imeperial soldiers or civilians who can stand in the presence of these mobile shrines without feeling the power of the Emperor flow through them.

 

        Despite these changes the legacy of loss and disaster still hangs over the Confessors. Many who have fought alongside the chapter believe the battle-brothers of the Confessors fight as though they are striving to reclaim lost honor or redeem some past shame. Though the loss of the chapter homeworld is now four thousand years in the past the Confessors still feel the bitter tang of defeat and dishonor. A battle lost before it was even begun, an injury from which they have still not fully recovered no matter how many victories they win or enemies they vanquish. Though the loss of the chapter homeworld was a bitter blow that saw the chapter reduced to roughly half strength the Confessors have come close to destruction on several occasions since then. The Delta Axion Betrayal in 232.M38 saw the Confessors deploy seven companies alongside the entire strength of the Obsidian Blades Chapter against the renegade hordes of the Crimson Cardinal and a warband of Word Bearers traitor legionaries. Several months into the campaign the seemingly independant minded and uncooperative Obsidian Blades revealed their true colors and turned their weapons on their allies. Suddenly the Confessors found themselves badly outnumbered and outgunned. Refusing to confede defeat so easily the current Chapter Master, Lord Nikon, ordered the Confessors to launch rapid mechanized raids against the enemy, disabling their transports and slowing the enemy down as the traitors fought to protect one flank only to lose a fuel depot on the other flank. The Confessors fought many bloody battles to oppose the traitors and though they achieved a two to one kill ratio against the foe the weight of numbers was against them and before long the Confessors found their forces significantly reduced. Despite his own burning desire to punish the traitors Reclusiarch Evagrius counseled retreat and reinforcement in the face of a superior force but once committed Chapter Master Nikon would not yield. Losses continued to mount until a fateful raid met with ambush and Lord Nikon fell in battle to the former Chapter Master of the Obsidian Blades, Hexos the Slaughtermaster. A furious counter-attack led by Reclusiarch Evagrius managed to recover Lord Nikon's body but Hexos escaped vengeance. Now the most senior surviving officer, Reclusiarch Evagrius determined that if the Confessors could not achieve victory, they could at least deny victory to their enemy. The Confessors fought a furious withdrawal, retreating from the planet before launching a payload of cyclonic torpedoes to cleanse the world in fire. Regretably many traitor marines managed to escape the firestorm and flee into the warp but the world was denied to the forces of chaos, a phyrric victory, but still a victory.

 

     In 913.M39 the Gideonsworld Massacre saw three companies of Confessors fighting to cleanse a prominent manufactoria world from an invading Ork Waaagh. At the height of the fighting a hidden fleet of Tau vessels blasted their way into low orbit and commenced a systematic bombardment of the surface before launching drop ships. At the same time dozens of infiltration cells took up arms and attacked their own comrades, throwing off the yoke of Imperial rule for the promises of the insidious Tau. All but twenty seven of the battle-brothers of the Gideonsworld strike force were slain, a bitter blow to the chapter, particularly as very few of the fallen brother's gene-seed was successfully harvested. One of the worst fates that can befall a space marine and a chapter is the loss of the sacred gene-seed. Twelve years later the Confessors returned with five companies at the head of an Imperial battlegroup, after four months of bitter fighting the Tau were driven from the world and the traitorous people of Gideonsworld punished for their lack of loyalty and faith. The hatred the Confessors held for the cowardly Tau xenos only increased when elements of the chapter strike force discovered a museum commemorating the xenos capture of Gideonsworld, inside were dozens of suits of Confessors warplate and sacred weapons defiled by xenos hands. The wargear was recovered but the insult would be long in avenging.

        The most recent blow to the chapter came during the Gothic War, otherwise known as the 12^th Black Crusade. From 143 to 151.M41 the Black Legion raided the Gothic Sector which found itself cut off from the rest of the Imperium by violent warp storms. Though the forces of the Imperium fought valiantly the forces of Abaddon the Despoiler captured and moved a number of mysterious Blackstone Fortresses and deployed Abaddon's new weapon, the Planetkiller, a massive chaos warship with enough firepower to blast a planet into dust in a single devastating volley. During the Gothic War the Confessors 8^th Company and most of the 10^th found themselves separated from the rest of the chapter while conducting a recruitment mission through a string of systems towards the western edge of the Gothic Sector. Though the Confessors attempted to defend their recruiting worlds the legions of chaos were too numerous. The entirety of the Confessors forces in the Gothic Sector were lost and all eight recruitment worlds in the Alaric's Rest, Priam's Crown and Teliss systems were bombarded from orbit and transformed into molten wastelands. Fortunately the Strike Cruiser Righteous Lance was salvaged and returned to service a few decades later but the gene-seed, arms and armor of the fallen battle-brothers was all lost and the chapter has fostered a particularly deep hatred for the lackeys of the Despoiler ever since.

 

Organization

           The Confessors Chapter maintains a largely codex adherent organization, maintaining ten companies of a hundred battle-brothers each and a total chapter size of a thousand. The first company is the Veteran Company containing the most experienced warriors of the chapter. Unlike many chapters the Confessors rarely field Terminator Squads, with only nineteen suits of Tactical Dreadnought Armor remaining the chapter is very protective of these sacred relics and deploys them only in the direst of need. The second, third, fourth and fifth companies of the chapter are Battle Companies, composed of six Tactical, two Assault and two Devastator Squads. The sixth and seventh companies are Tactical Reserve Companies composed of ten Tactical Squads each. The eighth company is the Assault Reserve Company composed of ten Assault Squads and the ninth company is the Devastator Reserve Company composed of ten Devastator Companies. The tenth company is the Scout Company containing all the chapter neophytes who have not yet earned their black carapace and joined the ranks of one of the chapter's Devastator squads. Rather than representing company designation as differently colored shoulder pad trim the Confessors designate company with heraldric devices painted on the left knee of each battle-brother.

 

         The divergences from the Codex come in the manner the chapter's squads are organized and deployed. Similar to the Black Templars the Confessors do not form separate Scout Squads, instead the chapter assigns each Neophyte to a more experienced Initiate who will serve as tutor, mentor and instructor to the neophyte and will ultimately decide if and when the young scout is ready to join the ranks of the chapter's full battle-brothers. Also much like the Black Templars the Confessors do not display squad symbols on the power armor of each battle-brother, instead battle-brothers are free to customize their own personal heraldry, devotional markings and crusade badges as they wish. The Confessors are also equally loose with squad equipment and frequently deploy Tactical Squads armed with bolt pistols and chainswords or equipped with void-hardened power armor and boarding shields. Most chapters rarely utilize boarding shields and then usually only during boarding actions, however the Confessors have come to appreciate the effectiveness of the boarding shields and heavy cutting weaponry as siege equipment, allowing formations of Initiates to march into a storm of fire and carve their way through the thickest of bastions to get at the enemy within. Unusually the Confessors assault reserve company often deploys without jump packs, relying on Rhino armored personnel carriers for mobility. This predilection has come from the impracticality of using Jump Packs in the tight confines of boarding actions, trenches or when storming breaches in fortifications. The advantages of soaring through the sky, even when the option is available, are reduced by the increased ease of shooting such airborne warriors from the sky.

 

       An unexpected advantage of the Confessors alliance with the Khaldun Rogue Trader Dynasty has been the recovery and acquisition of a variety of armored warmachines and ancient relics, significantly expanding the chapter armory and motor pool. The Confessors can now field a surprising twenty one Land Raiders of various types, thirty four Predators, seventeen Vindicators, fourteen Whirlwinds, seven Hunters and twelve Stalker tanks. Despite the significant increase of warmachines in the chapter armory the Confessors possess not a single Centurion warsuit and have not been able to replace the Terminator armor and Dreadnoughts lost with the destruction of the chapter's homeworld, today the Confessors possess a mere nineteen suits of Tactical Dreadnought Armor and eleven Dreadnoughts.

 

           A mere five centuries after the chapter founding the Confessors fledgeling Librarius was wiped out in the Battle of the Blood Spire. Since then the Confessors have not fielded a single Librarian and whatever latent talents the chapter's battle-brothers may possess have gone unharnessed. As a result the Chaplains have taken on the role of recording the chapter's history and scouring the minds of young neophytes for psychic purity and mental fortitude through a variety of techniques. As a result the Reclusium of the Confessors is considerably larger than the spiritual branches of other chapters. More than forty Chaplains are currently active within the chapter Reclusium. Far from unusual the Reclusium of the Confessors has risen above fifty in number on several occasions, fully five times the number fielded by the Ultramarines in the current era. The increased size of the Confessors motor pool has also led to an increase in the number of battle-brothers seconded to the chapter armory and the number of initiates sent to Mars for induction into the Cult Mechanicus. As such the Confessors armory often exceeds a hundred battle-brothers in service as drivers, gunners and tank commanders as well as thirty eight Techmarines and between a hundred and fifty and two hundred Servitors. Between them the chapter Armory and Reclusium number almost two hundred battle-brothers at any given time. Though this could potentially lead the chapter to possess far more than the thousand battle-brothers stipulated by the Codex Astartes that limit pertains to the companies, not specialists. Even so the manpower diverted to the Armory and Reclusium often means the chapter's battle and reserve companies stand at under full strength. Currently fifteen Apothecaries are in active service within the ranks of the Confessors, a solid number but not significantly larger than the Apothecarium detachments of an average chapter.

 

            Unlike some chapters the chain of command of the Confessors remains close to the tenets laid down in the Codex Astartes, though respected, Chaplains and other specialists do not command large strike forces instead of Captains. However the large fleet of rapid-strike vessels at the Confessors command and the chapter's tendency to deploy large numbers of small strike forces it is a common practice for Chaplains, or at times Techmarines, to lead small strike forces rather than squad Sergeants. Since the lost of the chapter homeworld the Chapter Master of the Confessors is known as the Lord of the Final Gate and Captains bear the honorary title of Vigilators, a title representing the chapter officers roles as eternal guardians against corruption and faithlessness.

 

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2833/12459903825_a0630a9a2b_o.gif

The Confessors chapter symbol: the skeletal fist of their primogenitor Rogal Dorn

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/sm.php?b62c=@i2zRC_hzBNe.hYWJq@@@@@@@hZC9t@_@@..@@@@i3JWU@@@@@@.h2L9phYWFdh3jnL@@@@@@@@@@_hlxD8@@@@@@@@@@@@@_iakk7&

A Confessors marine of the 3rd battle company.

Scheme and Chapter Symbol

 

Combat Doctrine

 

     The Confessors maintain the traditional combat specializations of the Sons of Dorn as a matter of course, siegecraft and urban combat strategies are drilled into each and every neophyte from the very first day of their induction. Swordsmanship is also a mandatory course of training for every battle-brother regardless of role, as is tradition amongst the Imperial Fists. In addition to these traditional specializations the Confessors have earned a reputation for peerless mechanized tactics and tank warfare. The battle-brothers of the Confessors have also come to be known for fearlessness and intractability in battle and for the zealous fury of the chapter's Chaplains. Faith and fury, driven home by hundreds of tons of armored warmachines and blazing weaponry, these are the hallmarks of the Confessors.

 

    Since the loss of Corovodja the battle-brothers of the chapter have become adept at conducting rapid boarding assaults. Unlike many chapters who spearhead such assaults with Terminator armored veterans the Confessors possess very few suits of Tactical Dreadnought Armor. Instead the Confessors have come to rely on boarding shields and siege mantlets to provide power armored battle-brothers with the durability needed to survive the deadly close-ranged fighting of boarding actions. The recent development of Centurion Warsuits has provided an alternative to the rare and difficult to produce Terminator armor however the Confessors have yet to adopt Centurions. Though quick to adopt weapons and tactics the Confessors have found the Centurion to be too slow and cumbersome to be effective with the chapter's rapid assault tactics and the armor is difficult to transport on the ground.

 

     The Confessors still maintain a diverse training regime schooling the chapter's battle-brothers in every strategy contained within the Codex Astartes, including every addition made since the great tome was first compiled. The chapter is always adding to their combat repetoir, willing to embrace new strategies to deal with the ever evolving threats faced by the Imperium. The Tau, the Necron, the Tyranid, these threats did not exist ten thousand years ago and require different methods to defeat than the Ork, the Eldar, the cultist and the traitor.

 

    Of all the enemies the Confessors have faced and defeated two hold a place of special hatred within the annals of the chapter, one foe as old as the Imperium itself, the other a threat newly arisen. Few foes can command as much fury or hatred from the battle-brothers of the Confessors than those adeptus astartes who have turned their back on the Imperium and betrayed the Emperor, whether that treachery was ten thousand years ago or ten days, each and every traitor is an object of great loathing for the chapter and the Confessors will go to any length to bring vengeance and death down upon them. The second foe the Confessors hold in utmost contempt is the Tau Empire. The Greater Good of the Tau is an insidious threat the equal of any chaos corruption, turning the hearts and minds of the Emperor's flock from His righteous worship to the cult of a depraved and cowardly xenos race and their lackey subjects. Whenever possible the Confessors will bring death and destruction down upon the xenos, though the distance of the chapter's primary areas of activity means such engagements are only ever fought by the most far-flung of the chapter's task forces that reach into the Ultima Segmentum. On several occasions the Confessors have drawn the ire of allied forces for the sheer level of destruction wrought on a civilian populace who has betrayed the Emperor for the Greater Good of the Tau. On Salhogeist the planetary governor ceded from the Imperium and let the Tau into the realm of the Imperium with open arms. When the Confessors arrived as part of a task group determined to return the world to the Imperium's fold the Chaplains of the chapter declared that the planetary capitol would be destroyed and it's people slain to the last for their willing betrayal. As good as their word the Confessors struck farther than any of their allies could manage and by the time the first Imperial Guard Regiment reached the shattered borders of the city there was nothing left but rubble. Virtually no stone was left standing upon another and not a single soul had escaped the Confessors wrath.

 

Geneseed

       The Confessors hail from the genetic legacy of Rogal Dorn, lord of the Imperial Fists, the VII Legion Astartes. From relatively early in their history the Imperial Fists lost the use of two of the genetic implants that make up the transformation of an ordinary male human youth into the superhuman space marine. The sus-an membrane and betchers gland of the Imperial Fists no longer functions and as a successor chapter of the VII the Confessors likewise lack those two implants. Where other chapters can spit acid and fall into a protective, life sustaining coma, the Imperial Fists and their fellow Sons of Dorn cannot. Like their primogenitors the Confessors do not regret this loss but see it as a strength, they do not rely on tricks to win or survive but use their own strength, cunning and skill instead. Even so the Confessors maintain the purity of their gene-seed with the utmost care and attention, ever vigilant for the slightest abnormality or impurity. This has led to a slightly slower rate of recruitment than normal but it is well worth the price of maintaining the chapter's genetic purity. Also as a safeguard the chapter has maintained a dispersed system of storage for it's stock of gene-seed, vaults deep within the heart of every capitol ship of the chapter contain a portion of the Confessors gene-seed stores. This way no single loss can destroy the chapter and it is this prudence that preserved the chapter through the loss of Corovodja and several disasters in the centuries that followed.

 

Recruitment

     Following the loss of the chapter homeworld Corovodja the Confessors have adapted to a diversified system of recruitment, drawing potential initiates from orphaneriums, schola progeniums and the youngest members of planetary defense forces wherever the chapter fights. Additionally the chapter fleet makes long circuits of a number of feral and feudal worlds from which hardy neophytes can be recruited. This has allowed the chapter to maintain a steady number of neophytes without relying on a single source. Over the centuries the chapter fleet has gone further and further afield to locate potential sources of neophytes, traveling far into the Ultima Segmentum and Segmentum Solar. Relatively few strike forces travel into the Segmentum Tempestus or Pacificus but some initiates have been recruited from those regions over the years. This practice has ensured that the chapter cannot lose it's ability to recruit with the loss of a single world and some of the systems from which the Confessors have recruited have been lost to various enemies over time. Though each loss is a blow it's impact is mitigated by the ever expanding sources from which the chapter recruits. To unify the battle-brothers into a single fighting force the cultural identity of a battle-brother's homeworld is suppressed by psycho-indoctrination and rigid training that emphasizes the brotherhood of the chapter. The battle-brothers of the chapter take a new name upon induction, serving to further unify the chapter's brethren and bury past identities.

 

Beliefs

    The Confessors stand apart from many chapters of the Adeptus Astartes in that they worship the Emperor as a God, a divine being worthy of the unwavering devotion of his subjects. The chapter worships the Primarchs, especially their gene-father Rogal Dorn, as the Emperor's saints and avenging sons. To the Confessors the people of the Imperium are the Emperor's subjects, each one lost deminishes the Imperium and is a stain on the chapter's honor, each one turned to the worship of chaos an indelible stain on mankind to be purged with bolt and flame. The loss of the chapter Librarius has led to an increase in the number of Chaplains the chapter fields, as many as fifty have been known to be in active service at any given time, fully five times the number fielded by many chapters.

 

    The Confessors also hold a special reverence for swordsmanship, the crafting and use of blades is a sacred pursuit for the chapter's battle-brothers and most internal conflicts are resolved through honor duels fought to the first blood drawn from the face, a tradition passed on from the chapter's primogenitor, the Imperial Fists. As a chapter of the Sons of Dorn the Confessors participate in the centennial Feast of Blades, it is considered a dark omen if the chapter is unable to attend and such a failure has only occured twice in the chapter's history. Despite their best efforts only a handful of Confessors Champions have won the tournament, competition from the Imperial Fists, Black Templars, Crimson Fists and Iron Knights is always fierce though the Confessors champions have always performed admirably and earned great respect for their chapter amongst their fellow Sons of Dorn.

 

   The Sharing of the Blood:

       Captain Ramius, one of the initial training cadre officers seconded from the Imperial Fists, brought with him a small vial of Rogal Dorn's blood as a gift from the Crimson Fists chapter. To commemorate the creation of a new chapter hailing from the gene-legacy of Rogal Dorn the Chaplains of the Crimson Fists, the Sacratium, drew a small portion of Rogal Dorn's blood preserved in an ornate scepter for thousands of years. Once a year, on the anniversary of the Crimson Fists founding, an event known as the Miracle of the Blood occurs. During the ceremonies the dried blood in the scepter transmutes into liquid blood before the astonished onlookers before reverting to solidity once more. In the seconds during which the blood was liquid the Sacratium drew forth a handful of drops from the scepter in a reductor needle and preserved the blood in a stasis vial that was then presented to the newly formed Confessors Chapter.

 

       Rather than preserve the Primarch's blood in a relic that could be lost or destroyed the newly formed Chapter Council of the Confessors chose to resurrect an ancient tradition of the Imperial Fists. During the Great Crusade the lord of the VII Legion and warriors newly risen to the rank of Chapter Master would both cut their palms and then clasp hands, mixing the vitae of both warriors in a sacred bond of blood. The vial containing the liquid blood of Rogal Dorn was emptied onto the slit palm of the Confessors first Chapter Master, Lazar Sevastyan, who went on to clasp bloodied palms with each of the Chapter's ten Captains, who then shared their blood with each of their company Sergeants, who then did likewise with the battle-brothers under their command. This tradition, the Sharing of the Blood, has continued to this day, no matter how diluted it becomes a small portion of the Primarch's own vitae flows within the blood of each and every battle-brother and it is said, at times when the situation is most dire, the strength of the Primarch manifests through the blood of the Chapter's battle-brothers, driving them to accomplish miraculous feats of strength and skill.

 

 

Edited March 2, 2014 by The_Chaplain

[Vash113]

I like the chapter symbol, what program did you use to put it together?

 

Also as for MS Word I actually use a free alternative called Open Office, it's roughly the same in function and layout and you can load and/or save documents in word format or open office format or whatever you want.

[The_Chaplain]

I like the chapter symbol, what program did you use to put it together?

 

Also as for MS Word I actually use a free alternative called Open Office, it's roughly the same in function and layout and you can load and/or save documents in word format or open office format or whatever you want.

. Believe it or not I found the image on google and just had to invert the color in ms paint. Lucked out on that one haha. Open Office? I'll have to look into that ; certainly beats the expensive alternative. Thanks for looking and commenting vash, much appreciated!

[Vash113]

I just realized the perfect theme song for your chapter, MOSCOW!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvS351QKFV4

[The_Chaplain]

@Vash, I don't even know how to respond to that- that video is just way too kooky for me. Haha.

Chapter Fleet[/skullheaderhalf]
The Lantern of Terra
-The larger of the chapter's two Battle-Barges the Lantern of Terra is said to date back to the halcyon days of the Great Crusade. The Lantern of Terra was a gift from the Adeptus Mechanicus to serve as the flagship of the newly founded chapter. Following the loss of Corovodja the Lantern of Terra has become the fortress monastery of the chapter.

The Twilight Lance
-The second of the Confessors mighty Battle-Barges the Twilight Lance is slightly smaller and longer than the Lantern of Terra and possesses less firepower and crew space but compensates with somewhat larger launch bays and more powerful engines. Many planetary assaults and boarding actions are spearheaded by the Twilight Lance, a sleek blade driven into the heart of an enemy fleet before delivering it's deadly payload of genetically enhanced warriors.

The Eternal Vigil
-The oldest of the Strike Cruisers in service to the chapter the hull of the Eternal Vigil was lain down in the shipyards of Saturn in 383.M32. The Eternal Vigil was constructed to serve as part of the fleet gifted to a newly founded chapter but by the time the Confessors were founded in M34 whatever chapter the Eternal Vigil had once served had perished. The vessel was recovered from the edges of Imperial space and returned to service as part of the Confessors initial fleet.

The Ardent Blade
-Built for the founding of the Confessors in M24 the Ardent Blade was crafted partly by the efforts of Imperial Fists Master of the Forge and the technology aboard the ancient vessel Phalanx. The shields and engines of the Ardent Blade are notably more poweful than similar vessels of the age and it's plasma generators are more efficient as well. Whatever technology was used to create such marvels has long been lost to the Imperium and the Ardent Blade now serves as the last of it's kind, a unique warship whose maintanence and repair is conducted with the utmost vigilance by the Confessors Techmarines.

The Void Hunter
-The most recent Capitol Ship to join the Confessors fleet the Void Hunter is a modified Ultima-Class Light Cruiser built in the Calth shipyards. Originally destined for the Ultima Segmentum Battlefleet the Void Hunter was purchased by the Khaldun Rogue Trader Dynasty and modified at the Saphon IV shipyards, a facility partly owned by the Khaldun Dynasty. The Ultima-Class was designed to serve as a rapid response patrol vessel for shipping lanes and features significantly oversized engines compared to similar vessels. At the Saphon IV shipyards the Khaldun family had the ship modified with larger launch bays, reinforced frontal armor plates and a venerable Bombardment Cannon salvaged from a recent exploratory expedition. The vessel was gifted to the Confessors in gratitude for a particularly successful exploratory expedition, the same expedition which recovered the very bombardment cannon fitted to the Void Hunter's ventral hull.

The Pride of Titus
-This Mars-Class vessel is one of two constructed by the Saturn shipyards for the founding of the Confessors and sister vessel of the Valorous Spirit. The two ships lack the enhancements the Imperial Fists worked on the Ardent Blade but are nevertheless venerable warships with long and glorious histories. Though nearly crippled on several occasions the Pride of Titus has endured and returned to service each time, it's hull bearing the scars of countless battles.

The Valorous Spirit
-This Mars-Class vessel is one of two constructed by the Saturn shipyards for the founding of the Confessors and sister vessel of the Pride of Titus. The Valorous Spirit was the first vessel to return to Oskana's Reach after the chapter homeworld of Corovodja was lost. When the chapter first allied with the Khaldun Rogue Trader Dynasty the Valorous Spirit was the first of the chapter vessels to journey beyond the borders of the Imperium and similarly the first to return. Despite the failure of that first expedition the Valorous Spirit succeeded in leading the fleet back to safety and many times since the vessel has spearheaded exploratory fleets and always returned.

The Shield of Bakka
-This vessel formerly served the Obsidian Blades chapter. Constructed in M35 the Shield of Bakka is an old ship that has seen service with at least three chapters. Where the Obsidian Blades acquired the vessel, or who they took it from, is unknown. The betrayal of the Obsidian Blades at Delta Axion led to the chapter being declared Excommunicate Traitoris. Though most of the traitor chapter's fleet escaped Delta Axion the Confessors did not let them go easy and chased the enemy fleet relentlessly. Several ships were destroyed by the vengeful Confessors before the survivors fled into the Eye of Terror and the Shield of Bakka was crippled and boarded. After the vessel was refit and repaired the Confessors took the vessel as their own.

The Hammer of Retribution
-The most heavily armed of the chapter's Strike Cruisers the Hammer of Retribution lives up to it's name, putting out enough firepower to match vessels of much greater size. This power comes from numerous retrofits the Hammer of Retribution has gone through over the centuries, many thanks to the influence of the Khaldun Rogue Traders. In large fleet actions the Hammer of Retribution essentially serves as long-range artillery, lobbing customized bombardment cannon shells with cyclonic implosion warheads capable of tearing vast holes in even the largest of warships and collapsing the most powerful void shields in seconds. Many planetary assaults begin with orbital bombardments from the precision weapons of the Hammer of Retribution.

The Scion of Daedalus
-The largest support ship in the chapter fleet the Scion of Daedalus is an ancient Fabricator-class Forge Ship recovered by the Confessors as a derelict deep beyond the borders of Imperial space. Much of the Confessors arms and armor come from the forges of the Scion and it's manufactora are also able to produce respectable quantities of Rhino chasis tanks and transports. Without the Scion the Confessors would have a much more difficult time maintaining their extensive motor pool.

The Triumph of Juno
-One of two Adept-class Forge Ships serving the Confessors fleet the Triumph of Juno was acquired by the chapter early in it's history though the details have long since faded into obscurity. When the Confessors took Corovodja as their home the Triumph of Juno took up geostationary orbit and once there did not leave for two thousand years. When the homeworld was lost in nuclear fire the Triumph became more necessary than ever to maintain the chapter equipment and became a regular sight alongside large fleet deployments. Now the Triumph of Juno and her sister vessel, the Silver Anvil, journey through the Segmentum Obscurus on great circuits, gathering resources, trading for supplies and producing the many weapons, suits of armor, war machines and munitions required to keep the chapter forces supplied.

The Silver Anvil
-The second of the two Adept-class Forge Ships serving as part of the Confessors chapter fleet. The Silver Anvil specializes in producing and maintaining the gunships of the chapter, it is also rumoured, though never confirmed by the Confessors themselves, that the ship is capable of producing small numbers of Land Raiders. If true this could explain the moderately larger number of Land Raiders the Confessors are able to field.

31 Frigates
24 Destroyers
19 Thunderhawk Gunships
7 Thunderhawk Transporters

Relics of the Chapter

=][= In Development =][=

Heroes of the Chapter

Chapter Master Lazar Sevastyan
-The first Chapter Master of the Confessors.

Chapter Master Khariton, "the Unbroken"
-One of the most revolutionary thinkers to lead the Confessors brother Khariton was greatly respected for his wisdom and far thinking strategy, it was said that even before the first shot was fired Lord Khariton had planned an entire campaign down to the last detail. Never were forces under Khariton's command lacking in support or supplies. This meticulous approach to warfare bore a striking resemblance to the tactics of the Imperial Fists, the primogenitors of the Confessors, but his cautious and methodical approach to strategy displeased some of the more zealous members of the chapter. Ultimately Khariton's patience and long-term vision saved the Confessors from destruction when Corovodja was lost. Lord Khariton's lessons of patience and endurance remain mandatory instruction for neophytes to this day and his example has guided the chapter back from the brink of annihilation on multiple occasions since his death.

Chapter Master Nikon, "the Fearless"
-Renowned as a fearless and exceptional warrior Chapter Master Nikon was an unflinching and intractable warrior for whom the concept of defeat was anathema to his very existence. This unwavering resolve earned Nikon the loyalty and admiration of his battle-brothers but often led to unusually high rates of attrition amongst the strike forces he led. Far from criticizing his methods most members of the chapter viewed such losses as a worthy sacrifice for victory though some warned Nikon's inflexibility could lead to disaster. Even after his death in one of the worst disasters the chapter has suffered in it's long centuries of service Chapter Master Nikon is still a figure of great reverence within the chapter, an icon of the reckless zeal so characteristic of many of the chapter's greatest warriors.

Chapter Master Ulrich, "the Penitent"
-The current Lord of the Final Gate and Chapter Master of the Confessors.

Chaplain Evagrius, "the Revered", Leader of the Synod, Keeper of the Faith
-One of the most accomplished and renowned warriors of the Confessors to ever take the Chaplains black. Formerly a Reclusiarch under the command of Lord Nikon brother Evagrius suffered mortal injuries during the withdrawal from Delta Axion. Unwilling to let such a hero of the chapter rest just yet brother Evagrius was interred within one of the chapter's remaining Dreadnoughts. Now Revered Chaplain Evagrius strides across the battlefield armored in dense plates of adamantium armor skulpted in great wings over his frontal chasis, skulls adorn his armored carapace and on his back rests a massive loud-hailer of custom design capable of roaring out litanies of battle at ear shattering volume. His right weapon mount features an ancient and devastating Plasma Cannon while his left weapon arm features a pneumatic ram mounted Crozius Arcanum fashioned to brother Evagrius' own specifications. The counterweight of his crozius and the vents on the back of his chassis spew forth insence designed to instil zealous fervor in those who breath it.

Mikhail, "the Unyielding", "the Vehement"
=][= In Development =][=

[skullheaderhalf=000000]Notable Battles

The Battle of the Bone Spire - ~500.M34
-Deployed in chapter strength the Confessors fought to close the warp portal atop the Blood Spire that had been summoned to the surface of the Hive World of Tryon's Hope. Though ultimately successful the Confessors twelve remaining Librarians were slain in the fighting, effectively eliminating the chapter Librarius. The death of Epistolary Eckhart similarly served as the catalyst for the departure of the training cadre seconded from the Imperial Fists, marking the chapter's first steps as a completely independent chapter.

The Delta Axion Betrayal - 232.M38
-The heretical upgrising of the Crimson Cardinal on Delta Axion infuriated the Ecclesiarchy and led to the deployment of two chapters, the Confessors and the Obsidian Blades, to bring the heretics to heel. The Confessors dispatched seven full companies plus support while the Obsidian Blades deployed in chapter strength, ten companies and the entirety of the chapter fleet and support elements. All told nearly two thousand Adeptus Astartes smashed their way into orbit and deployed in overwhelming force. Nothing could stand before the Angels of Death and victory on Delta Axion seemed assured, until the Word Bearers revealed their presence, suddenly the Confessors found themselves fighting not the zealous but weak hordes of teh Crimson Cardinal but the ruthless skill and discipline of chaos space marines who had fought in the Siege of Terra. Calls for aid to the Obsidian Blades received no answer and forces fighting closest to their ally chapter suddenly went inexplicably silent. Forced to fall back for the first time in the campaign the Confessors suddenly understood their lack of support when the ranks of the Obsidian Blades marched in from the flanks and opened fire on their allies. Confessors fell by the dozens and it might have been the end for the force had not Chapter Master Nikon the Fearless led his honor guard and veterans in a series of brutal counter-attacks, buying the chapter time to make a tactical withdrawal and regroup. In the weeks that followed the Confessors refused to submit to defeat, though outnumbered two to one the chapter managed to slay two traitors for every battle-brother lost, evening the balance of numbers but still not enough to win. Columns of Confessors armor struck seemingly at will, bleeding the enemy for every meter of ground lost, yet it was not enough. Reclusiarch Evagrius counseled Lord Nikon to retreat and call for aid but the Chapter Master refused, determined to destroy the enemy or die trying.

He got his wish soon after when the Word Bearers set a trap, luring the Confessors to attack a seemingly unsupported element of the Obsidian Blades the traitor legionaries ambushed the Confessors armor and isolated Chapter Master Nikon and his command squad. Chapter Master Hexos the Slaughtermaster, lord of the Obsidian Blades, faced the honorable Nikon in close combat, blade crossing blade even as loyalist and traitor fought and died around them. Though Nikon delivered several heavy blows, cutting through Hexos armor and cutting him deep the massive traitor took every injury and kept coming. At last Hexos speared Nikon through the gut with his power lance and then ripped him in half. Hexos knelt and cut Nikon's head from his shoulders and raised it up in triumph. Before Hexos had finished soaking up the roars of adulation from his blood frenzied warriors his left arm, the one holding Nikon's head aloft, was cleaved from his body just above his elbow. The second blow from Reclusiarch Evagrius' Crozius Arcanum crushed the left side of Hexos face and threw him to the ground. Before Evagrius could finish off the downed Chapter Master his chosen elite closed in and dragged his wounded body away. Bloodied and outnumbered the Confessors retrieved their lord's body and withdrew, leaving behind nearly half a company of dead and many pieces of armor too damaged to retrieve. Before the traitors could follow up their victory the Confessors evacuated the planet, though the enemy attacked with mindless fury, determined to keep the Confessors grounded the gunships made it through the curtains of anti-aircraft fire and escaped into orbit with the handful of survivors. Before withdrawing from orbit the chapter fleet bombarded the surface of Delta Axion with every weapon at their disposal. Cyclonic warheads, bombardment cannons, plasma torpedoes and a host of other weapons. Within minutes Delta Axion was blasted into a cratered wasteland. Regreatably most of the traitor astartes escaped, however Delta Axion was denied to the forces of chaos, the Crimson Cardinal and his cultists slain and their corrupting influence on the sector ended, though at the cost of more than half of the chapter.

The Capture of the Shield of Bakka - 233.M38
-Just months after the betrayal at Delta Axion the Confessors fleet caught up with the fleeing vessels of the Obsidian Blades near the borders of the Eye of Terror. The traitors had believed the Confessors broken at Delta Axion but the loyalists were not about to let their betrayers escape so easily, bloodied but unbowed the vessels of the Confessors hounded the traitor fleets across dozens of systems. At last one of the traitor Strike Cruisers, the Shield of Bakka, was forced to drop out of warp in deep space, far from any planetary system. Desperate to escape the traitors had burned their vessel's engines past their breaking point and nearly caused a catastrophic overload that would have destroyed the ship. Ultimately dropping from the warp only delayed their deaths, the Confessors fleet closed on the stranded ship like a host of raptors circling their prey, disgorging dozens of boarding torpedoes and gunships. Though the traitors fought to the last they were hunted down and slain, each and every one. When the ship was cleansed the Confessors towed the vessel back to a repair station and refit it to serve their own fleet, now the Shield of Bakka bears the skeletal fist of the Confessors and dutifully serves the chapter fleet.

The Icellus Crisis 876.M39
-A series of conflicts spanning the Segmentum Obscurus in 876.M39 demanded the chapter's attention in far too many places to respond to effectively. Nevertheless the Confessors were determined to render aid where necessary and so the chapter deployed more than thirty individual strike forces, most numbering ten battle-brothers or less across much of the north-eastern quadrant of the Segmentum Obscurus. Without such a large chapter fleet such scattered deployments would have been virtually impossible, as it was cassualties were heavy but the Confessors upheld their oaths.

The Gideonsworld Massacre - 913.M39
-Three companies of Confessors deployed to Gideonsworld to aid the defenders against an Ork invasion. Little did the Confessors know that many of the world's people had already been influenced by the propoganda of the Tau Empire and were prepared to turn on their neighbors and defenders with the blades of treachery. At the height of the fighting the insurgents cells revealed themselves, even as the Confessors had driven the orks into rout and were about to cleanse them from the world the insurgents attacked, slaughtering those loyal to the Emperor and cutting down the planetary defense forces from behind. Shocked the Confessors turned to engage this new threat but were taken aback for a second time when a Tau invasion fleet entered orbit and opened fire. Soldier and civilian alike were blasted into atoms by the devastating plasma bombardments of the Tau fleet before drop ships filled the sky and disgorged tens of thousands of Tau warriors. The Confessors proved far more difficult to destroy than the Tau expected however, breaking up into scattered bands of warriors often numbering no more than two or three the space marines no longer presented a concentrated target for bombardment, forcing the Tau to hunt them down through urban ruins, broken farmland and dense forests. For every group of Confessors the Tau tracked down and killed they lost a score of warriors to raids, ambushes and assassinations. For weeks the Tau were bloodied but for every xenos warrior or insurgent slain, more arrived to reinforce the invasion. As more and more Confessors fell it became obvious even a scattered resistance could not last forever. Rather than be destroyed the Confessors regrouped and launched a lightning assault on the primary spaceport. Though dozens more battle-brothers fell in the attack the chapter fleet was able to move in and extract the survivors before the Tau could respond in force. Of the more than three hundred Confessors who made planetfall on Gideonsworld a mere twenty seven survived extraction and worse, most of the gene-seed, arms and armor of the fallen went unrecovered.

The Purge of Gideonsworld 925.M39
-Twelve years after the Gideonsworld Massacre five companies of Confessors returned at the head of an Imperial battlegroup. The Tau fought fiercely but ultimately in vain, four months after the attack began the Tau were driven from the world, their allies slain, buildings torn down and heretical xenotech burned. Though the Confessors had taken revenge for their lost battle-brothers the discovery of a museum built by the Tau to celebrate their conquest revealed a grave insult to the chapter. The Tau and displayed the arms and armor of the Confessors dead as trophies, the dried blood of the dead still evident on the damaged plates of armor. The bones of the dead and organs preserved in vials had been made into scientific displays illustrating the anatomy of the space marines. In their fury the Confessors obliterated the museum from orbit after recovering the wargear of the fallen. All evidence of the Tau was thoroughly burned from the surface and any xenos who had failed to escape with their fleet were hunted down and butchered though even this was sparse recompense for such a slight against the chapter. To this day the Confessors despise the Tau with a hatred reserved for few others.

The Reconquest of Salhogeist 948.M39
-When the decadent and self absorbed governor of Salhogeist ceded his world from the Imperium and pledged his world to the Tau Empire the Imperium responded with overwhelming force. The Confessors arrived as part of the Imperial Task group. While the Imperial Guard set about a systematic reconquest the Confessors struck right for the planetary capitol. The chapter Chaplains declared that the planetary capitol would be destroyed and it's people slain to the last for their willing betrayal. As good as their word the Confessors launched a lightning assault, tearing through the formidable defenses of the capitol, by the time the first Imperial Guard Regiment reached the shattered borders of the city there was nothing left but rubble. Virtually no stone was left standing upon another and not a single soul had escaped the Confessors wrath.

 

 

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Edited March 2, 2014 by The_Chaplain