Index Astartes: Ebon Vanguard

[Ogachi]

THE EBON VANGUARD

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CHAPTER NAME: .............. THE EBON VANGUARD FOUNDING: ..................24th[M.38] CHAPTER WORLD: .............CANDRIA FORTRESS MONASTERY: ........SERAPH'S HALL GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ...RAVEN GUARD KNOWN DESCENDANTS: .........NONE "With Fire and Sword!"

 

 

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HISTORY

W

ith the growing threat of the heretic incursions within Sub-sector Carolinge, the Astra Militarum was faced with a losing war. It was decided that a new Chapter should be formed from the newly rediscovered Candria System. The noblest knights, the strongest warriors, and the fiercest tribals were taken from their homes to be bred into something more. Under the chivalrous leadership of the first Chapter Master, Lorasio Kane, the Ebon Vanguard carved a brutal swathe through the Sub-sector Carolinge in their first campaign. Men were formed into brothers and brothers into heroes, their stories being woven into the tapestry of the Ebon Vanguard's legend as they tore the corruption from the very soil upon which they trod. Marines and Companies alike began to earn their titles and the Crusade was won.

 

Triumph and tragedy marked the three thousand years of history that the Vanguard chiseled into the galaxy. Great heroes arose, such as the second Master of Sanctity, Darius Vangel, who lead the severely outnumbered Fourth Company to victory after the death of their Captain, despite the numbers of the renegade marines that bore down upon them. Great heroes fell just as well, such as the tragic death of Lorasio Kane at the hands of the Lord of Ravagers warband, Galvin Fel, the traitor driving his blade through the noble Master's Cataphractii armor. Worlds rose and fell under the furious, watchful eyes of the Ebon Vanguard, their jump packs arcing through the night sky, the symbol of coming death for those ahead and salvation for those behind.

 

In 760.M40, a terrible, raging warp storm broke upon the peaceful, feudal planet of Candria, the home of the Ebon Vanguard. Fog descended across the land and shrouded the terrors that inhabited it, tearing into reality through the weak boundary. Millions died in a matter of days, the poor citizens of the Imperium ill-equipped with naught but their pikes and swords to raise against the daemonic threat. The garrison of the Ebon Vanguard braved the fog and descended upon pillars of flame, their chainswords roaring a grevious hymn as they fought back. The common folk and nobles alike stood alongside the giants that they believed to be the Emperor's angels, braving the impossible odds. With most of the Chapter deployed and months out by Warp and the closest being over a week away, the small garrison dwindled further and further by the day.

 

The skies grew darker and the fog thicker, crackling with red lightning as the very air seemed to churn. Blood rained from the sky as a terrible roar shook the very soil. A Daemon Prince strode across the battlefield, none other than Galvin Fel himself, slaying all in his path. All seemed lost as the remaining brothers were pushed to their mountain home, constantly under siege as the land around them grew more twisted. Then, from the sky descending on pinions of steel, thunderhawks broke through the clouds as the catalyst for a rain of drop pods. The Second Company fell upon the planet, Chapter Master Corvin Torvas and Master of Sanctity Dorvian Bolvar leading the counter attack.

 

Days of fighting pushed the incursion into the desert, the battered Second Company and the remnants of the garrison locked in a final battle against the Daemon Prince and his forces. Corvin Toras locked in combat with Galvin Fel, the very armor that protected his forefathers now protecting him as he stood toe to toe with the nefarious horror. Blades clashed as the man steeled his mind against the onslaught, outmatched by the sheer power granted to the foe. With a swipe, the Chapter Master was disarmed and now at the mercy of Galvin Fel. With one final effort, Dorvian Bolvar leapt upon the ancestral foe of the Ebon Vanguard, driving the pointed pommel of his Rosarius into the beast's flesh. Renewed and reformed, the two battled the Prince back until it attempted to retreat, the fabric of reality tearing open to accomodate its withdraw. Not to allow the mortal enemy of their Chapter to escape, Corvin Toras and Dorvian Bolvar rushed into the rift, giving a cry of, "With Fire and Sword!"

 

The rift sealed behind them and the fog lifted from the land. The survivors, battered but never broken, were honored as heroes among the Chapter and archangels among the populace. Five decades passed before the Inquisition declared the world and Chapter free of heresy. The Chapter Master and Master of Sanctity have never been seen again and are honored beside the very greatest heroes of the Chapter, representing the ultimate ideals of what it means to be a brother of the Chapter. Leonardo Corrigan stepped in to fill the void left by Corvin Toras, colossal shoes to fill, and now leads the Ebon Vanguard as Chapter Master.

 

 

 

COMBAT DOCTRINE

The Ebon Vanguard is a heavily assault-based Chapter that specializes in hit-and-run tactics and close-quarters combat. With a dedication to the practical application of chainswords and jump packs, the brothers of the Chapter can often be found in the most brutal parts of the fray. Their Chapter organization differs from the Codex to mirror this, the Fourth and Fifth Companies fielding six assault squads instead of the suggested two, replacing tactical squads in their use. The title of Shadow Captain is used as an honorary title, a continued tradition from their Father-Chapter, though the name is little more than just that.

"Why were we formed? The Adeptus Mechanicus turned out an excess of Chainswords, that's why."
-Chief Librarian Percival Falkan

 

 

 

HOLDINGS

The Chapter's home world of Candria is a peaceful, feudal world. Lost until M38, the founders saw fit to leave the world in its unadvanced state and refraining from interfering in the politics of the four major kingdoms. The planet is temperate, not unlike the cradle of humanity, yet swathed by deserts near the equator. The Ebon Vanguard recruits from the young of the knightly orders and the fiercest of the desert tribes. Due to their uninvolved presence on the planet, save when recruits are taken, the populace believes that the Astartes are quite literally angels, holy giants that take the Emperor's Chosen to join their ranks. The brothers of the Chapter are instilled with values of chivalry, but often only show it to high born humans in the Imperium, not showing regard for the common man.

 

The Fortress Monastery of Seraph's Hall stands upon the tallest mountain of the planet, commonly referred to as the Mount of Olives. The structure is built in the same style of the medieval castles below, though the walls are reinforced with ceramite and a roof covers the courtyards to protect from aerial assault. The Monastery digs into the mountain, chambers and passages creating a labyrinth within with enough room to fit the entire Chapter and more. The entire complex is littered with effigies of heroes long past, their names and glories well recorded and venerated.

 

The fleet, helmed by Captain Baralos Lorin of the Fourth Company, is comprised of eight Strike Crusiers and two Battle Barges, the Ardent Shield and Twilight Sabre, as well as several smaller ships.

 

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

The Ebon Vanguard holds an abnormally high number of older marks of power armor and an assortment of relics. Very few are recorded to have been gifted by other Chapters or granted by the Adeptus Mechanicus, so it is unknown how they were acquired.

 

Captains are elected by council of the Chapter's Masters, the process able to take some years.

 

Each company has its own heraldry, matching those of the original Captains. The First and Tenth Companies do not have specific heraldry, the First wearing exclusively the Chapter Badge and the Tenth not having earned it until accepted as a full brother. Within the Second to Ninth Companies, the emblems of the Chapter and the Company are equally worn.

 

 

 

ARMOR PATTERN

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Second Company Standard Bearer. Honor awarded for beating several

Khorne Bersekers to death with his helmet during the battle against the

Night Terrors warband on Jovan VI.

Brother Rydell Maren:

Ebon Vanguard 2nd Company

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First Company Terminator. Notable victories include his participation

in the clearing of the Space Hulk Argo of Tyranid infestation along

with the other Terminators of the First Company.

Veteran Brother Rorick Talcor:

Ebon Vanguard 1st Company

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ORGANIZATION

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SELECTED BATTLE HONORS

 

Carolinge Crusade [892.M38]
Formed for this Crusade, the Ebon Vanguard showed speed, efficiency, and brutality against the heretic forces of Sub-Sector Carolinge. A war that had lasted one hundred years was turned and ended in six with the arrival of the new Chapter. Under the stern, dedicated leadership of Chapter Master Lorasio Kane, the Ebon Vanguard cleared the sector world by world with the help of the Imperial Guard regiments deployed in the system. It was on Carolinge IV-II that the Chapter earned their image, the jump packs of the Fifth Company raining down from the Thunderhawk transports that streaked over the field in the dusk, the flames below being the only light upon their hulls. For their heroism and efficiency, the Ebon Vanguard was awarded a single suit of Cataphractii terminator armor, quickly donned by the Chapter Master to serve as the heraldic armor of those in his position for the next three thousand years.

Clearing of the Space Hulk Argo [241.M39]
The Space Hulk Argo entered realspace just outside of the Crescent System, the strong gravitational pull of Crescent III being enough to drag the object onto a collision course with a mining world. Without the resources to bomb the ship and for the sake of sureness, the Ebon Vanguard deployed eighteen Indomitus Pattern and four Tartaros Pattern terminators into the halls with four losses. All wargear was recovered. As result of the purgation of the Argos, the Chapter was put on good terms with both the Imperial Guard regiments of the sector and the lone Imperial Knight House of the Sector, House de Persailles. The Chapter was awarded two Indomitus Pattern armors.

Calrad War [999.M41]
ONGOING CONFLICT. The Calrad war is a secessionist rebellion in the Calrad Sector. The Calrad Republic now wages a war of independence against the Imperium, their regiments of men backed by a group of five hundred Astartes that refer to themselves as the Errants. The Ebon Vanguard Second Company "Blackhawks" have been deployed beside four other Astartes Chapters, two Knight Houses, a Adepta Sororitas Minor Order, and numerous Astra Militarum and Militarum Tempestus regiments. The fighting is pitched and results are unclear. The Ebon Vanguard holds no doubt that victory is within their grasp.

 

 

COMBAT SQUAD GALAHAD, 4TH BATTLE COMPANY

 

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Leader of Fourth Company, Third Squad "Galahad," Sergeant Galahad

has led his squad on over thirty missions without a single loss.

Sergeant Galahad, 3rd Assault Squad, 4th Battle Company

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Ebon Vanguard Chapter Icon Common Armorial Use

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The newest addition to the squad, Brother Tyran is a fierce fighter who

is always eager to get into the very center of action.

Brother Tyran

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Unfortunately the only member of his squad who prefers a stealthy

approach, Brother Pavel is an adept strategist who knows the tide.

Brother Pavel

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A quiet sort, Brother Noel does not have much to say about his orders

and rather simply follows them with brutal efficiency.

Brother Noel

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The eldest member of the squad, Brother Onstric's wisdom makes him

invaluable, not to mention his skill with a chainsword.

Brother Onstric

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[Hrvat]

I like your guys, they seem very no nonsense type of warriors and this quote is a pure win.

 

 

 

"Why were we formed? The Adeptus Mechanicus turned out an excess of Chainswords, that's why."
-Chief Librarian Percival Falkan

[Ogachi]

 

I like your guys, they seem very no nonsense type of warriors and this quote is a pure win.

 

 

 

"Why were we formed? The Adeptus Mechanicus turned out an excess of Chainswords, that's why."

-Chief Librarian Percival Falkan

 

 

Thank you! They're an old chapter, my first homebrew, and I wanted to revamp them into a more cohesive state now that I've started painting my marines in their livery. I'm glad someone enjoyed the quote!

[Righteousrob]

^{Man you did a lot of sweet work on these guys. Nice job.}

[Sugarlessllama]

Very nice! Keep up the great work! :)

[Ogachi]

^{Man you did a lot of sweet work on these guys. Nice job.}

Very nice! Keep up the great work!

Thank you! I hope to do a few more DIY things when I get time away from painting my army. Hopefully people will like them just as well!