Do Space Wolves Recruit from the Kaerls?

[-Volsung-]

I'm currently reading Battle of the Fang. A decent read, and of particular interest is the description of the Fang.

 

It enlightened me that the halls of the Fang are actually bustling with activity, being that while it is supposed to house the entire chapter (which is probably no more than 2000 marines) and usually has only one company or two stationed home at a time.

 

However, the fang is home to millions of thralls and serfs, who I imagine to live in these halls the way fantasy Dwarves live in theirs mines and mountain citadels. Thus, from what I imagine, the Fang is actually a city where entire generations of Fenrisian Karls are born, raised, and die maintaining the fortress-monastery. 

 

So my question is, do you think Space Wolves recruit from Kaerl stock, being that they are Fenrisian as well? 

[Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer]

I'd guess not. When they recruit from their planet's tribes, they recruit the best of the best warriors, who could survive the brutal conditions. Kaerls aren't at war, don't have to live outside and aren't constantly attacked by giant wolves/krakens/etc.

[Grey Mage]

Well if we listen to the Ragnar series, they do actually live outside and have to deal without alot of dangerous animals... but the rarely are mortally wounded in battle with other tribes Id think.

 

Still, its not beyond the realm of possibility, but I wouldnt think it common.

[Schertenleib]

I would agree with Grey Mage. If a Kaerl were to prove himself surely he would be taken for the Chapter. I would say that the odds are less in the Kaerl's favor for winning that notice.

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

frankly, I doubt they would.

 

the prime ages to recruit a young Fenrisian into the beginning of the marine creation process is (probably) the same time the Kaerls are trained in their duties in the Aett.

 

that said, there is nothing in print either way.

 

WLK

[Vash113]

Well there are some relatively minor indications in the Ragnar series and some of the other Space Wolf material that the Space Wolves do occasionally recruit from their serfs and kaerls, after all they are raised from berth to serve the chapter there's nothing to suggest they aren't as highly trained or hardened as the tribal Fenresians and they'd have much more familiarity with technology and the chapter than the average tribesman. I'd say just out of basic proximity and the hardiness shared by all Fenresians that they would be a prime recruiting source, perhaps not as favored as the tribes or recruited in batches but there would always be plenty of young kaerls around to test for suitability.

[Valerian]

Unless there's something in a BL novel, the Studio material certainly doesn't directly address the issue of recruiting from the bondsmen, only the well-known process of the Choosers of the Valiant (Wolf Priests) who observe the young Fenrisian tribal warriors in battle (known as Wolfbrother packs), to determine which among them show enough promise to be selected.  Of the bondsmen, only this is provided:
 

The Space Wolves do not dwell alone in the mighty fortress of the Fang.  Like all Space Marine Chapters they are too few in number to maintain such a massive organization.  There are numerous tasks that must be done just to maintain the Fang: continual updating of its fabric and weaponry, and the monitoring of its power grid and the thermal wells that draw from beneath the surface of Fenris.  Like other Space Marine Chapters the Space Wolves keep a large fleet ready for war, and the Fang includes huge dockyards and all of the facilities needed to equip and control the fleets.  There are countless other things which must be done just to preserve the Chapter in its continual state of readiness.  It is hardly surprising that the Fang is home to a large population of the Chapter's bondsmen.
 
The Chapter's bondsmen are loyal members of the Chapter, although they are not Space Wolves.  The ancestors  of these warrior-retainers came to the Fang many thousands of years ago.  Some are descended from Fenrisian warriors who may have been selected as potential Space Wolves, but who were judged unfit to endure the final testing.  Such individuals are brought to the Fang to serve their masters in more humble, but equally vital capacity.
 
Every Great Company has its own retainers, and the Great Wolf himself has the largest number.  Most of the spacecraft crews, drivers, and the warriors who man Fenris's defenses are bondsmen of this kind.  When the Chapter goes to war it is these retainers who keep the Fang running and defend the planet against attack.

 

---2e codex

Valerian

[Max_Dammit]

You could count Arjac as not being in the wild, he was on the isles besides ironpriests if i read the story correct, when he was chosen had knowledge of technology and was in sorts a serf.

[Valerian]

You could count Arjac as not being in the wild, he was on the isles besides ironpriests if i read the story correct, when he was chosen had knowledge of technology and was in sorts a serf.

 

Although the fluff passage on Arjac isn't completely clear, I think we had come to consensus that he was already an Iron Priest, and was elevated directly to Wolf Guard/Great Wolf's Champion following the attack on the Iron Isles.  I'll see if I can find the old thread where we had that discussion and link it in here.

 

Here is the relevant bit:

 

 

 

Using the codex, and nothing else, it seems to me that the intention was that Arjac was an Iron Priest.

• He was a blacksmith of the Bear Claw tribe.
• Blacksmiths can travel to the Isles of Iron and partake the Test of the Iron.
• If they fail the test, they become thrall-servitors.
• Arjac isn't a thrall-servitor, so if he took the test he passed.
• The Iron Priests are described as his Brethren, strongly implying he was one of them.
• There's no suggestion that anyone other than Iron Priests were there. The passage states "...trapping hundreds of good men outside..." but then expands "...the last dozen Iron Priests turned and stood with Rockfist..." indicating that the preceding figures had also been Iron Priests.
• Arjac was then inducted into the wolf guard and made Champion. When mortal men perform great feats of prowess, they become Space Wolves. When Space Wolves perform astonishing deeds, they become Wolf Guard.
• Even if we accept that a mortal man could break the doors and wield a thunder Hammer, he survives when a dozen Iron Priests fell.

And what's the argument against? That it doesn't come out and say "Arjac was an Iron Priest?"

 

Tsuro

 

Unfortunately, the story on Arjak is a little fuzzy; I think Phil had already had a pint or two from Bugman's when he wrote it. I agree with Tsuro, however; taking all available evidence, it seems to me that Arjak was elevated to Wolf Guard from the ranks of the Iron Priests (a noteworthy, yet feasible in the storyline event). I find it far too extreme, and not in keeping with other elements of the universe-story, for him to go straight from Fenrisian human (possibly even a youth) to Wolf Guard ++.

 

I'd love to see Arjak conversions that actually incorporate more Iron Priest elements.

 

Regards,

 

Valerian

 

 

V

[d@n]

The serfs are the aspirants that for what ever reason couldn't become space wolves, they are not genetically comparable or failed some sort of trial or the wolf priest didn't think they were upto it ect

[Cate]

When reading Battle of the Fang I got the feeling that many of the civilians living inside the Fang are families who have been there since when Bjorn walked the halls like an ordinary man. Most serfs who do menial tasks inside the fang are probably from those families, some are failed aspirants, but  I have a feeling that the "failed" ones are more often killed during training or lost to the wulfen and therefore there would be to few failed aspirants serfs to run the day to day organisation inside the fang.

 

There has most likely been Kaerls who have been transformed to Marines, but during the 10k years since the heresy they are probably easily counted on one hand. Even that they are children of Fenris, they are living in a more secure situation than the ordinary people on Fenris, the ones who survive in the wild are harder and tougher after the natural selection has taken care of the weak ones. 

 

Logically the Fenrisans inside the fang are not really people from a death world as everyone else on Fenris is, 10k years is a long time for natural selection to weed out soft and weak genes, but never say never that a Kaerl could become a Marine.  

 

 

/C

[Valerian]

The serfs are the aspirants that for what ever reason couldn't become space wolves, they are not genetically comparable or failed some sort of trial or the wolf priest didn't think they were upto it ect

 

Only some of them are, d@n, not all; see post #7, above.

 

V

[Bulweih]

Hyá Brothers,

I agree with brother Grey Mage, our honored Loremaster and others, that recruiting from the bondsmen is not adressed in the works of the studio, yet not generally out of the question for singular beings.

The only inkling of the possibility I had was when reading "Blood of Asaheim", ....

 

+minor spoiler ahead+

 

 

..therein the oldest pack-member is named "Jorundur Kaerlborn" , for me at least hinting the possibility that his parents were in fact of the kaerls.

 

As a BL novel with a sequel in the pipe, this could be expended upon, we'll see.

[-Volsung-]

Hello brothers!

 

Thanks for all of the responses. It is indeed very informational and has shed quite some light on the subject for me. 

 

Upon consideration, I'm leaning on the "uncommon but not impossible" theory.

 

I have not yet read Blood of Asaheim or the Horus Heresy books, but from what I've read, I considered three conjectures:

 

1- Canis Wolfborn is likely a "kaerlborn." A child wandering in the snows of Asaheim and raised among Fenrisian wolves. Where could this child have come from? No Fenrisian (at least, not in the literature) have climbed the cliffs of Asaheim. Thus it is likely that Canis was the son of a Kaerl (either a Kaerl couple, or a Kaerl and a Space Wolf if that is possible/allowed), who was somehow lost in the wilds outside of the Fang and presumed dead. 

 

2- Failed aspirants who are still living might likely be of very strong warrior genes, and if they are to remain in the Fang as a kaerl, their children would likely carry such genes and thus might stand out from your standard Kaerl youth. I would imagine that a failed aspirant who hasn't perished might be those seriously injured in training but survived. For example, a concussion to the head that left him brain-damaged, paralyzed from the waist down, or maybe with a severed limb. (This brings up an interesting question: Would bionic augmentations and rejuvenat done before implantion of the geneseed affect the process of turning a human into a marine?) Nevertheless, these failed aspirants becomes Kaerls, and might have children who are warrior-born, like superstar youth athletes, or a 5 year old who is 4 ft. tall with slabs of muscle. 

 

3- Is it possible that the original folks living in Asaheim were the ones who were first recruited into the Wolves (and the first to become the kaerls)? Technically, wouldn't the original Space Wolves that Russ frist recruited from Fenris (not the Terran ones) have descended from these immediate clans located near the Fang (with the weaker folks being allowed shelter within the fang under condition that they become serfs)?

 

Discuss! 

[MaveriK]

I don't see why not! but at the end of the day our Wolf Priest makes that call... only those whom are worthy to become warriors of the Fang.