IA - Gorgons of Rathma

[Bloodspeaker]

Main Image - Patriarch Knartheron - The most decorated Patriarch the Gorgons have ever had, Knartheron's left pauldron is almost totally obscured with Honor Seals. The blacken left pauldron is used to denote senior status and is worn by all the Gorgons officers. Hanging from the Patriarchs belt is a Black Pennant, an honor used only by the Gorgons. On it is the name of every marine to serve with distinction that has worn that armor. It is a great honor to have you name entered on a Black Pennant.

Top Right - Gorgons Tactical Marine - The yellow tactical marking indicates the 2nd company and the right knee pad marks this marine as being from the 6th tactical squad

Bottom Right - Gorgons Terminator - All Gorgons terminators are part of the 1st company, so no company marking is necessary. The right knee pad would indicate squad number and, if he was a sergeant, the right pauldron would be blackened.

 

 

Warcry - Chanting in a language known only to the chapter. 

Founding - 4th (late M.32)

Primarch - Ferrus Manus

Sucessor of - Unknown (Iron Hand lineage)

Homeworld - Rathma Pyris

Chapter Master - Patriarch Knartheron

Allegiance - Imperium of Mankind

Heraldry - Dark Purple(Primary) Green and Black(secondary)

 

History

 

"Cast mercy from your hearts, brothers! We are not made to be merciful! We are MONSTERS made flesh! Made to bare the Emperors terrible judgment unto those who would defy His rule! Come, my brothers. Let us rain judgment on this world!"

+++ Knartheron, Patriarch of the Gorgons before the Fall of Ceceris III +++

 

     Created late in the 32nd millennium, the Gorgons of Rathma are feared across the Imperium. Where the Gorgons tread terror and death follow. Some kind of tragedy early in the 34th millennium has caused much of the information concerning their founding and early history to be lost. This loss of information is believed to have occurred during the Age of Apostasy and may even have been deliberate. 

 

     It is known when they were founded, but not who their parent chapter was. It was discovered early in M.36 that their gene-seed was drawn from a chapter of Iron Hands lineage. Up until that discovery however the Gorgons where assumed to have been created from the space marines genetic baseline, the Ultramarines. This gulf of time allowed the Gorgons to develop their own traditions and beliefs. They remain estranged from the primogenitors to this day, preferring to stand alone. Most notably for a Iron Hands successor chapter the Gorgons do not revile flesh and only accept augmetics if they are necessary.

 

     It is also known that during the both the Nova Terra Interregnum and the Age of Apostasy the Gorgons were a fleet-based chapter. They were present during several major battles during both periods of these dark chapters of Imperial history. Despite suffering heavy losses towards the end of the Nova Terra Interregnum the chapter appears to have been returned to full strength again by the beginning of the Age of Apostasy

 

Recent History

 

     Recently the Gorgons have been put on high alert, as there are signs that there might be a Necron Tomb World in the process of waking up near their homeworld. Several times in recent years Imperial ships have been attacked by small groups of Necron raiders within striking distance of Rathma, the homeworld of the Gorgons chapter. This has made Patriarch Knartheron understandably reluctant to deploy to many of his forces to distant theaters of war. Three companies of Gorgons are currently stationed on Rathma at all times and a further two are involved in scouring nearby systems, trying to find the source of the Necron threat. So far there have been no more than skirmishes between the Necrons and the Gorgons and the forces of the ancient, robotic have been easily defeated each time. Knartheron has sworn that he will not let their homeworld be taken by the Necrons and has ordered that the planet should be destroyed, rather than fall into enemy hands.

 

     Currently the chapters 4th, 8th and 9th companies are engaged on the Ymir Offensive, in conjunction with brothers from several over chapters in driving the forces of the Waaaargh! Dedstompa out of a region of space known as the Ymir's Hand. This is a strategically important region of Imperial space, since it contains multiple shipyards and forge worlds. The only reason the Orks have managed to gain a foothold in the region at all is because the Space Hulk, formerly the Krishna Vaatu, crash landed on the major political hub for the Ymir's Hand region. So far the Orks have proven tenacious foes and the Imperial forces are having a great deal of trouble removing them from the worlds they have taken. Bad Moon Warboss Dedstompa has proven to be unexpectedly cunning and intelligent for an ork and has frequently shown a tendency to retreat to a more heavily fortified position, rather than fight a loosing battle.

 

     Recently the Gorgons have received requests for aid from the Imperial forces fighting in the Jericho Reach. Patriarch Knartheron has stated that he will only send aid after the Necron threat to his chapters homeworld is crushed. Since it is not currently known if the threat is an actual Necron tomb world waking up or simply a Necron Lord with a piratical bent, this decision has caused some bad blood between the Gorgons and the forces at Jericho Reach. The Captain of the Gorgons 3rd company ordered immediate deployment to Jericho for his company, despite the Patriarchs wishes. It is not known what consequences he will face upon returning to Rathma Pyris, but so far the Gorgons terror tactics and mastery of ambush and guerrilla fighting have proven highly effective against the T'au forces trying to gain a foothold in the area. 

 

Homeworld

 

     Once a part of a coalition of worlds that resisted Imperial rule, when the hive world of Rathma did eventually succumb the forces of the Emperor of Mankind were not merciful. This left the inhabitants of Rathma fearful of the Emperor and his angels, the space marines. For decades afterwards the citizens of Rathma resisted, doing everything they could to undermine the Imperiums power in their own and nearby star systems. When rebellion broke out on neighboring worlds it could almost always be traced back to Rathma. Finally the Inquisition uncovered enough proof to get forces mobilized in the region. Before Imperial Sanction could be rendered however the entire region erupted into open rebellion, citing their harsh treatment at the hands of the Imperium as the reason. The Gorgons were one of the chapters called into help quell the rebellion. After months of hard fighting the region was declared pacified. The Gorgons claimed Rathma as their homeworld to remind them of their loyalties. 

 

     Rather that worshiping with Emperor with devotion and love, the citizens of Rathma offer up their most fervent prayers out of fear. They entreat the Emperor that He never again turn His gaze on them or send His terrible angels, the space marines, to punish them.  Before the it became an Imperial world Rathma was a verdant world, covered in jungles and forests outside it's hives.  Only the Northern Islands, now forbidden to all but the Gorgons, were any different. These islands were like huge black rocks that had been hurled into the sea by an angry god. Fitting then, that they should become home to space marines...the living vengeance of another angry god.When the Gorgons took the world they burned the forests and jungles before ordering the grounds outside the hives to be salted and, finally blasted smooth with plasma bombs. Now the lands outside the hives are nothing more than huge sheets of glass.

 

 

Recruitment

 

"Until this day you have feared the Emperors vengeance. Fear it no more. Now you have become that vengeance. It is your sworn duty to make the enemies of mankind fear you. You will teach them to curse that they were not born a human."

+++ Ishtan, Master of the 3rd company to his new recruits +++

 

     Unlike most space marine chapters those recruited into the Gorgons of Rathma are almost never willing. Children grow up in the hives of Rathma being frightened with tales of the terrible angels that dwell on the northern islands. The Gorgons do not only take recruits from their homeworld. They have been known to choose suitable individuals from any nearby world, though they seem to prefer recruits from hive worlds. It is unclear how the Gorgons choose those they recruit. Those they choose are dragged, often screaming and terrified, from their beds in the night and taken back to the chapter fortress, known as the Burning Rock.

 

     From then on they will begin the process of becoming a space marine. The Gorgons gene-seed is known to have an unusually high mortality rate among those implanted. Fully 85% of those recruited die from gene-seed complications. of those that do survive two out of every three will then die from the unbelievable brutal training they are put through. Those who survive however will be space marines, dedicated to making the Emperors enemies tremble before His might.

 

Gene-seed

 

     While is is unclear from which chapter the Gorgons where created, it has become know that their parent chapter was of Iron Hands lineage. Their gene-seed is stable and not prone to mutation. While the Gorgons are known to hate weakness, they do not seem to share the Iron Hands disdain for flesh.

 

     The gene-seed specific to the Gorgons chapter is known to have a much higher mortality rate than that of most space marine chapters. Within the chapter this is seen as a positive. It is believed that only the strongest candidates survive to become marines, weeding out weakness right from the beginning.

 

Organisation

 

     The Gorgons chapter of space marines do not adhere to the organisational doctrines laid out in the codex astartes and are considered to be a codex-deviant chapter. While they do have 10 companies of 100 marines as most codex compliant chapters do and use many of the same markings laid out in the codex astartes, these companies are laid out in a significantly different manner. Each company has it's own detachment of scouts and is responsible for their training except the 1st company. The scouts attached to the 1st company are all fully trained marines who have shown a particular aptitude for ambushes. These marines make it their business to be where the enemy commander does not want them to be and will spend time before a battle sabotaging supply lines and doing everything they can to destroy the moral of any enemy forces. Only the scouts attached to the 1st company are counted as full space marines, so the actual fighting strength of the Gorgons chapter could be considerably more than the 1000 marine limit on a space marine chapter.

 

     Additionally the librarians drawn from the world of Rathma Pyris seem to have a particular gift for manipulation biological matter, known as Fleshcrafting. This has led to them assuming the dual roles of librarian and apothecary since they are more familiar with space marine biology than any non-psyker could be. Many other chapters frown on the use of these 'Fleshcrafters', viewing it as dangerous to allow such practices to exist at all. 

 

 

[Bloodspeaker]

Noteworthy Gorgons and Events

 

444.M41 - Nightmare Siege - The 4th company of the Gorgons chapter was sent to aid in the First War for Armaggedon, having recently finished a mission in the area. They never arrived. Their strike cruiser, Terrible Judgment, was found limping towards the nearest Imperial star system from an unspecified point in space. The ships Geller Shield, the energy bubble protecting it during Warp transit, was destroyed. This left the Terrible Judgment open to the raw insanity of the Warp itself. The human crew were all immediately driven mad or  possessed. The Gorgons of the 4th company fought bravely, trying to get to the engines and cripple them. This would cause the strike cruiser to drop back into reality. Unfortunately the creatures of the Immaterium seemed to be aware of this plan and the space marines were forced to fight their way through the crazed and possessed remnants of the crew. To make matters worse the ships hull was torn open in places, allowing the denizens of the Warp themselves to enter and turning the Terrible Judgment into a labyrinth of broken corridors. The marines were forced to fight for almost a month before they were able to finally break through and breach the engine core.

 

     Of the whole company only Captain Tiberon and 6 other marines were still alive when the Terrible Judgment was found. Four of the survivors were euthanised by their brother marines. The two are rumored have begun spouting heresy and run off into the Eye of Terror. The Gorgons strenuously deny these rumours. Captain Tiberon has remained locked in his chamber, where he does nothing but gibber in the dark. Whenever someone brings a light near him he flies into a rage, screaming that something is coming and that it will eat the light. Currently belief within the chapter is that he is fighting some kind of demonic entity. The Gorgons have not killed Captain Tiberon as they are not sure if that would unleash the demon or destroy it. If it something that could almost destroy a strike cruiser they dare not act until they are certain.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good job, thus far.