Sons of Heracles fluff......

[zxyogi]

Hello, for quite a while now I have had this fluff floating around my head but never got round to putting it down on paper. At the mo it's in need of dire sorting out!! Can you fluff heads help out? As said it needs sorting......!!

Here we go........

Isstvan V......drop site massacre...altho the traitor legions were purged of Loyalist, when it came to Isstvan V some of the legion companies couldnt stand the cowardly ambush and decided they wanted no further part in the rebellion. They fled into the warp, totally stunned by what they had seen and witnessed.

Therre was civil war on the battle barges and troop carriers that fled, not all agreed on leaving the battlefield. Many died!

The Chapters that fled included [mainly] Iron Warriors, Word Bearers and a small contingent of Sons of Horus, escaped into the warp....not together....but all spat out into a relatively unkown, unchartered system.....there was a stand off.

Warning shots were fired.

Then silence.

The Battle Barge Iron Furnace was the first to communicate with the others, all agreed to send down a command squad to the nearest planet.

basically the individual companies that deserted Isstvan met on a planet occupied by humans that were pretty well ancient in tech....bronze/iron age.

The Marines spoke...argued and discussed the betrayal. All agreed they wanted no part in it anymore. They were now Renegade Renegades.

2785 marines in total with 3 IGuard battalions.

They agreed to strike back at the true renegades but knew they could never truly face their loyal Brothers again.

Firstly they removed all evidence of their original Chapters, stripped their armour to bare ceramite and painted on both pauldrons the Emperors double headed eagle, there were no other markings other than rank.

All the while the Renegades were being watched by a single man....[ this bit im unsure of ] bigger than any of the marines. A warrior of this planet he called Athos.

The land the renegades chose to land on was volcanic, in the middle a massive extinct volcanoe, this they declared would be the basis of their new Chapter home. The ex Iron warrior companies set about building the base. The rest started to explore the surrounding land. Here they met the Warrior King called Heracles and his army of Sportans.

They clashed.

The Astrates used fire power but the Sportans only had swords spear and shields....so the Astrates fought them honourably with close combat weapons.....

The warrior King Heracles killed many of the Astrates untill he was overpowered and captured.

His army was defeated but they were strong for mere men but did not run, they stopped fighting once their King Heracles had fallen.

Heracles has the anatomy of a super marine a Primarch, this the Apothecarys found out examining him. He arrived on the planet hundreds of years ago as a boy, the native preachers [the Oracle] predicted his arrival.

Over time Heracles becomes the first Chapter master.....and the un named Chapter of mixed Brothers call themselves Sons of Heracles. They paint their armour Purple the same as Heracles cloak and loin cloth.

They adapt their helms to replicate the local Sportan armies and use that as the Chapter symbol and copy the spears and sheilds.

They take to space and attack supply lnes and planets under control of the traitors. Raiding for weapons, armour and anything of use.

Along the way they pick up lost loyal legions stragglers that escaped from Isstvan, that eventually become loyal to Heracles as they all see him as a Primarch [ can he be?....] and he has promised to rip the heart out of the traitor legions.This they do striking hard and ruthlesly. Spreading the word that the Sons of Heracles will bring an end to Horus and his betrayal.

For 300 years they are a thorn in the side of the traitor legions....untill Chaos decides they have had enough and send the chaos hordes to Athos to destroy the Sons of Heracles.

The Sons of Heracles had not had any contact from the Imperium or come across any loyal Legions in decades. If they did they hid/ran...dissapeared into the warp,

The Sportans had an old enemy on Athos, the Pershuns. They were jealous that the Astrates only took recruits from the well trained Sportans. And took to praying to their dark gods for retribution,,,,,,and retribution they got for now the dark gods had vessels to transport daemons to and start the killing before the traitor legions arrived.

Heracles was back on Athos with his personal company [read 1st company, 1000 marines] all of the Guard Regiments that now included the Sportan army equipped with modern guard weaponry [70k guards].

The rest of the Sons were out fighting/raiding the traitors, now numbering a further 2000 Marines, divided amongst the battle fleet they had.

The Pershuns were consumed by Chaos. Heracles and his men fought bravely.....forcing back the tide of chaos daemons, Heracles men were taking heavy losses, the Guard especially.

Then out of the warp came the Traitor Legions that decended down on Heracles and his men and cut them down.

Eventually killing all the guard and the Marines taking Heracles battered mutilated body with them...he was alive when they took him.....just.

The Chapter keep was destroyed from orbit.

Chaos departed.....leaving behind one of the marines pinned to a Chaos symbol alive with a message for the remaining Sons when they returned.

The avenging traitor legion was mainly Iron Warriors that harvested the gene seed...declaring it rightfully theirs

The surviving mebers of the Chapter return to Athos.

Find the mutilated marine...who relays the message left by Chaos.

The surviving marine [ Nicanor ] is placed in a Contemptor Dreadnought.

The old Chapter home is searched and various Dreadnoughts are found deep in the vaults along with LR and other vehicles.

The Chapter home is declared a monument and small strongholds are set up around the perimeter to protect it from scavengers.

The Sons of Heracles now become Fleet based with large strongholds dotted around the local system.

They are now nearly 3000 strong.

They hunt Chaos...but Chaos is also hunting them.

They still avoid the Imperium due to their background, this is something they need to overcome.

By this time the Loyalist Legions have been split into Chapters and the Codex written.

Some time in the future they come across a battle field littered with dead Imperial Fists....they take the gene seed and harvest it. They use it to disguise who they are.....were.

The IF gene seed is planted into new recruits. These recruits do not know the true history of the Chapter.

The old gene seed they recover from their fallen is stored deep in the vaults of their strongest Stronghold on a small planet they called Sikinos.

After a period of time a large contingent of the chapter now bare IF gene seed [ but not the Veterans or Captains ] and this part of the Chapter venture into Loyalist controlled zones.....to be accepted by the Imperium.

Every 300 years Athos is attacked by Chaos....there is something there they want [ cant think of what, you? ].

Sons of Heracles are accepted as part of the 10th founding [ unconfirmed ].

Inquistion are suspicious.....many Sons are asked to join the Death Watch [ only the new founding of the Chapter are sent ].

Athos is also under suspicion due to regular attacks by Chaos.

The Grey Knights build a small stronghold on Athos housing 20 GK.

The Sons of Heracles are being observed.

The Sons of Heracles have to disperse the Chapter to nearby systems to look like a Codex sized Chapter.

The Sons of Heracles become a tool for the Inquistion.

This is a very uneasy alliance.

A small contingent of Exorcists are also placed on Athos by the Inquisition in a stronghold built for them by the Sons of Heracles.

The Sons of Heracles assist the Marines Malevolent purging a nearby system of Orks.

They become....close....allies.

Sons of Heracles have good access to weapons and vehicles via forge worlds they defend and the Inquisition. They help supply the MM but have to be careful as the MM are looked down upon by the Inquistion.

Which brings us to now....the Armies I am building represent a Chaos attack on Athos. The SOH, MM, GK and Exorcists are fighting to defend Athos.

See what I mean....I know it'll be pulled to bits but give it a go....please!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

You have good imagination, but these ideas need polishing to avoid cliches that would have your Chapter branded one of "Mary Sues," and yourself the "Second Coming of Matt Ward" on 4chan.

 

Isstvan V......drop site massacre...altho the traitor legions were purged of Loyalist, when it came to Isstvan V some of the legion companies couldnt stand the cowardly ambush and decided they wanted no further part in the rebellion. They fled into the warp, totally stunned by what they had seen and witnessed.

 

Seems reasonable.

 

Here they met the Warrior King called Heracles and his army of Sportans.

 

Why not use the term "Laconists"? I personally find Games Workshop's intentional misspelling of words (i.e., spelling Shakespeare as "Shakespire") to be annoying.

 

The Astrates used fire power but the Sportans only had swords spear and shields....so the Astrates fought them honourably with close combat weapons.....

The warrior King Heracles killed many of the Astrates untill he was overpowered and captured.

His army was defeated but they were strong for mere men but did not run, they stopped fighting once their King Heracles had fallen.

Heracles has the anatomy of a super marine a Primarch, this the Apothecarys found out examining him. He arrived on the planet hundreds of years ago as a boy, the native preachers [the Oracle] predicted his arrival.

 

I think the idea of Heracles being a lost Primarch is too cliche.

 

A better story would be he had a son who shared his name, and who was seized when the Iron Warriors visited the planet before the Heresy, and transformed into a Space Marine. The Elder Heracles bore a grudge against the Imperium ever since, and attacked the renegade Iron Warriors (those who opposed their heretical brethren) when they returned. The Younger Heracles, recognizing his birth father leading the attacking "Sportans," challenged the latter to single combat, the condition being the loser's warriors must pledge allegiance to the winner. After the Younger Heracles wins, the Elder (recognizing the Space Marine leader as his son) abdicates in favor of the former; the "Sportans," acknowledging the Younger Heracles has the "right of blood," pledge allegiance to their new king.

 

Some time in the future they come across a battle field littered with dead Imperial Fists....they take the gene seed and harvest it. They use it to disguise who they are.....were.

 

It's never a good idea for a Space Marine Chapter to use chimeric gene-seed, and harvesting another Legion's gene-seed is something only the Chaos Space Marines do. As the Silver Skulls are hinted to be Iron Warriors loyalists, better to have the Sons of Heracles find genetic similarities between them and the Silver Skulls- they should return the harvested gene-seed to the Silver Skulls, as the Sons of Heracles have NO NEED to use that of another Chapter- and simply claim they are descendants of the Silver Skulls (by extension, the Ultramarines) via an unknown founding.

 

That should give them an "in" with the Loyalists.

 

The Sportans had an old enemy on Athos, the Pershuns. They were jealous that the Astrates only took recruits from the well trained Sportans. And took to praying to their dark gods for retribution,,,,,,and retribution they got for now the dark gods had vessels to transport daemons to and start the killing before the traitor legions arrived.

 

<snip>

 

Every 300 years Athos is attacked by Chaos....there is something there they want [ cant think of what, you? ].

 

I think the term Achaemen is better- the First Persian Empire (that of Xerxes the Great, of '300' fame) is known to archaeologists as the "Achaemenid Empire," after all.

 

As for what Chaos wants from Athos, logically, it would be a catalyst the "Pershuns" used in the ritual, which allowed them to summon Daemons to the planet.

[zxyogi]

Bjorn......Brother....would you like to rewrite my fluff?....I love what you have come up with. Thanks!

[zxyogi]

Also not saying its a lost Primarch....just errr similarities. A chaos trick?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Bjorn......Brother....would you like to rewrite my fluff?....I love what you have come up with. Thanks!

I'll do what I can to help, but you may not appreciate it- few writers appreciate other people making changes to their work (including myself)- and Writer's Block will limit what I can do. The Iron-hearted Angels are still waiting for conclusion to their hunt for Chaos renegades, eight months after I began the thread.

[zxyogi]

Lol. Thanks Bjorn. Will take your ideas and run with them. Will have a go at rewriting the fluff.

;-)

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Here goes...

Isstvan V... the Drop Site Massacre... Although the Traitor Legions thought they purged the Loyalists among their ranks, when the Legion Companies came to Isstvan V, some of the Legionnaires felt the cowardly ambush was too great an insult to their martial honor, and decided they wanted no further part in Horus' rebellion. These Legionnaires- from the Iron Warriors, Word Bearers, and a small contingent of the Sons of Horus- retreated into the warp, totally disgusted by what they witnessed.

 

A miniature civil war occurred on the battle barges and troop carriers that left; not all agreed on leaving the battlefield and abandoning their brothers in their parent Legions. Many died.

 

The Warp currents carried them to a system unknown to all but the Iron Warriors, and only as a "primitive world" with Iron Age technology, where Perturabo's Sons enslaved some of the natives inhabitants to replenish losses from a siege laid 20 years ago. When the Legion ships reentered the material realm, their was a standoff between the different Legions' ships, with the Sons of Horus firing warning shots at the Word Bearers. Further tragedy was averted when the Iron Warriors battle barge Iron Furnace hailed the others, her Captain convincing his peers to each send down a command squad to the nearest planet, Athos.

 

The Marines discussed the rebellion and the motivations behind its leaders. All agreed they no longer wanted a part in it. They were now "twice-renegades"- once to their grandfather the Emperor, and once to their fathers the Traitor Primarchs. They agreed to strike back at their Traitor kin, but knew they could never face their former brothers-in-arms in the loyalist Legions again.

 

At this point, their numbers included 2785 marines and three Imperial Army battalions (approximately 2000 human soldiers). The war band held no name other than the "twice-renegades," and was ruled by a committee of their most senior officers, as no individual had the charisma to lead them all.

 

First, the "twice-renegades" removed all evidence of their original Chapters, stripped their armour to bare ceramite, and painted on both pauldrons with the Aquila, the two-headed eagle that was the Emperor's personal symbol; the only other markings were rank insignia. During this, a single man watched them with hatred in his heart.

 

The "twice-renegades" chose to land in the middle of a massive, extinct volcano, in which they would build a new fortress-monastery. The former Iron Warriors set about building a base-of-operations, while the rest began exploring the surrounding land. Here they met the watcher- a local "warrior-king" named Heracles, who summoned an army of Laconists- also known as "Spartans," after their capital city of Sparta.

 

Heracles had a son who bore his name; a son the Iron Warriors seized during their last visit; a son the warrior-king swore to avenge. He sent an envoy to the approaching Astartes, announcing his intentions. Although the "twice-renegades" could use their firepower to annihilate the Laconists- who only had iron spears and swords, and wooden shields- Heracles' courage and honor impressed them, and they chose to return the honor shown them, by fighting with close combat weapons. To the Astartes' surprise, the Laconists held their own, with King Heracles killing many of the Astrates in single combat.

 

At the construction site, the Iron Warriors were confused to hear "Heracles" was fighting and killing the "twice-renegades"- for wasn't Heracles among them, helping to dig the fortress-monastery's foundations? Even as a 12-year-old child, King Heracles' son was notable for his strength; the Iron Warriors Apothecaries chose to implant him with gene-seed and transform him into one of their own. On hearing his father led attacking forces, the Younger Heracles moved to intervene.

 

The Elder Heracles, though surprised to see his son among the "enslavers," refused to retreat; the Laconists' honor demanded that fighting end only with their deaths. The Younger Heracles then challenged his father to single combat, the condition being the loser's warriors must join the winner's army- not as slaves, but as brothers-in-arms. Returning the honor shown him, King Heracles agreed.

 

The fight lasted an hour, so fiercely did the two fight, neither side holding back on account of their blood relations. When the Elder Heracles fell, he acknowledged his son as his heir, and died smiling; his warriors immediately knelt and pledged allegiance to their new warrior-king. The watching "twice-renegades" hailed the Younger Heracles as their leader, despite his youth, for the honor he demonstrated; they felt confident Heracles would not send them to their deaths for his own glory, as their Primarchs did. The Astartes were renamed the "Sons of Heracles," and painted their armor the purple of the Elder Heracles' cloak.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The new King Heracles ordered his men to attack traitor-held planets and supply convoys, both to punish those who followed Horus into Heresy, and to seize war materiel for the use of the Sons of Heracles. Along the way, they rescued stragglers from loyalist Legions escaping from the Isstvan system; many of these stragglers, finding no purpose in their lives after losing or losing contact with their Primarchs, swore loyalty to the charismatic Heracles. The Sons of Heracles pleged to strike hard and ruthlessly, to tear out the Traitor Legions' heart, to bring an end to Horus and his betrayal. They remained a thorn in the Traitor Legions' sides for 300 years, until their home world was devastated. Chaos did not do this via a Chaos Space Marine starfleet, but via men from Athos, who the Laconists ignored, so confident their brothers in the Sons of Heracles could overcome any threat.

 

The Achaemen- also known as "Perxians," after their capital city of Perxia- were an old enemy of the Laconists. Seeing the latter as uncivilized "beastmen," they regularly raided Sparta, and enslaved their captives- one reason the Elder Heracles hated the Iron Warriors so much, for the similarities in their behavior. The Laconists- given Imperial Army weapons, and the training to effectively use these weapons- ended these raids by besieging to Perxia and forcing the Achaemen king to submit. Humiliated, the Achaemen knelt before the "Black Obelisk" they erected to honor their gods, and prayed for retribution- retribution the Chaos Gods granted, their Daemons using the submitting Achaemen as vessels.

 

At the time, Heracles and his personal Chapter- a mere 1000 Marines- were on Athos, along with 70,000 human warriors of the Royal Laconist Army. The other Astartes- 2000 Marines divided among multiple starfleets- were out fighting the Traitors and raiding their supply lines. When Chaos consumed Perxia, Heracles and his men fought bravely, forcing back the Chaos Daemons' tide at great loss, especially among the Royal Laconist Army's ranks. Then an Iron Warriors starfleet- the Black Obelisk drawing them to Athos, before Heracles destroyed the Chaos monument- descended upon the planet, and destroyed the fortress-monastery from orbit. Heracles and his men were cut down; the gene-seed vault's contents were declared the Iron Warriors' rightful property, and seized; Nicanor, a loyalist in the ranks of the Sons of Heracles, was crucified to a defaced Aquila.

 

When the Sons of Heracles returned to Athos, they found Nicanor grievously mutilated, but alive; he told them what occurred. They excavated the fortress-monastery's ruins, finding Dreadnoughts, Land Raiders, and other vehicles the Iron Warriors failed to destroy, so hastily the traitors fled the justice of the Sons of Heracles. Entombing the still loyal Nicanor in a Contemptor Dreadnought, the Sons of Heracles declared the fortress-monastery a monument; although they built strongholds around Sparta's ruins to protect the site from scavengers, the Sons of Heracles became fleet-based, with star forts dotting their star system.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

By M34, the Sons of Heracles numbered 3000 Marines. While trailing an Iron Warriors starfleet to exact revenge, they intercepted a distress signal from an Astartes Chapter known as the "Silver Skulls," who were besieged on the planet Sikinos. Deciding to intervene, the Sons of Heracles bombarded the Iron Warriors positions from orbit, allowing the Silver Skulls to break out.

 

After the lifting the siege, the Sons of Heracles learned what befell the Imperium during the intervening millennia; how the Primarch Guilliman penned the Codex Astartes and separated the loyalist Legions into Chapters, so no individual would wield the power the Warmaster Horus used to tear apart the Emperor's realm. Surprised to find genetic similarities in the Silver Skulls' gene-seed, the Sons of Heracles claimed they were an Ultramarines successor Chapter, descended via the Silver Skulls in an unknown Founding, the exact records lost during the Howling of M34. The Sons of Heracles faced the Inquisition's scrutiny, willingly endured the many tests of loyalty, before they were welcomed back into the Imperium.

 

The Inquisition remains suspicious of the Sons of Heracles, for Chaos starfleets attack the Chapter planet of Athos every 300 years, for reasons not even the Sons of Heracles know. Deep within Perxia's ruins, the Black Obelisk's fragments continue calling to the Chaos Gods' worshipers, despite the damage King Heracles inflicted upon the monument. Deciding to keep a close watch on the Chapter, the Inquisition stationed a contingent of Exorcists in one of the strongholds of the Sons of Heracles, and built an Inquisitorial stronghold on Athos, where 20 Grey Knights are stationed. The Sons of Heracles had to disperse to nearby systems, to hide the fact their numbers were above Codex-allowed limits; despite the inconvenience, the Chapter welcomes the opportunities this grants them. By swearing to defend forge worlds, the Sons of Heracles are given materiel these worlds produce; in addition, many Tech-Priests will offer great rewards for an opportunity to study the vehicles, arms and armor of the Sons of Heracles, for many are rare and ancient, their patterns not seen since the Horus Heresy.

 

The Sons of Heracles also seizes opportunities to form alliances with other loyalist Chapters. For example, they aided the Marines Malevolent in purging the Attica System of Orks. The next time Chaos attacked Athos, the traitors found Silver Skulls, Marines Malevolent, Grey Knights, and Exorcists defending the planet, in addition to the Sons of Heracles.

[zxyogi]

Well Brother.....that was quick!!

Thank you very much, I Like that very much.

Thanks for taking the time to do this, I am honoured!!!

[zxyogi]

Sons of Heracles.

Isstvan V... the Drop Site Massacre... Although the Traitor Legions thought they purged the Loyalists among their ranks, when the Legion Companies came to Isstvan V, some of the Legionnaires felt the cowardly ambush was too great an insult to their martial honor, and decided they wanted no further part in Horus' rebellion. These Legionnaires- from the Iron Warriors, Word Bearers, and a small contingent of the Sons of Horus- retreated into the warp, totally disgusted by what they witnessed.

 

A miniature civil war occurred on the battle barges and troop carriers that left; not all agreed on leaving the battlefield and abandoning their brothers in their parent Legions. Many died.

 

The Warp currents carried them to a system unknown to all but the Iron Warriors, and only as a "primitive world" with Iron Age technology, where Perturabo's Sons enslaved some of the natives inhabitants to replenish losses from a siege laid 20 years ago. When the Legion ships reentered the material realm, their was a standoff between the different Legions' ships, with the Sons of Horus firing warning shots at the Word Bearers. Further tragedy was averted when the Iron Warriors battle barge Iron Furnace hailed the others, her Captain convincing his peers to each send down a command squad to the nearest planet, Athos.

The Marines discussed the rebellion and the motivations behind its leaders. All agreed they no longer wanted a part in it. They were now "twice-renegades"- once to their grandfather the Emperor, and once to their fathers the Traitor Primarchs. They agreed to strike back at their Traitor kin, but knew they could never face their former brothers-in-arms in the loyalist Legions again.

 

At this point, their numbers included 2785 marines and three Imperial Army battalions (approximately 2000 human soldiers). The war band held no name other than the "twice-renegades," and was ruled by a committee of their most senior officers, as no individual had the charisma to lead them all.

First, the "twice-renegades" removed all evidence of their original Chapters, stripped their armour to bare ceramite, and painted on both pauldrons with the Aquila, the two-headed eagle that was the Emperor's personal symbol; the only other markings were rank insignia. During this, a single man watched them with hatred in his heart.

The "twice-renegades" chose to land in the middle of a massive, extinct volcano, in which they would build a new fortress-monastery. The former Iron Warriors set about building a base-of-operations, while the rest began exploring the surrounding land. Here they met the watcher- a local "warrior-king" named Heracles, who summoned an army of Laconists- also known as "Spartans," after their capital city of Sparta.

 

Heracles had a son who bore his name; a son the Iron Warriors seized during their last visit; a son the warrior-king swore to avenge. He sent an envoy to the approaching Astartes, announcing his intentions. Although the "twice-renegades" could use their firepower to annihilate the Laconists- who only had iron spears and swords, and wooden shields- Heracles' courage and honor impressed them, and they chose to return the honor shown them, by fighting with close combat weapons. To the Astartes' surprise, the Laconists held their own, with King Heracles killing many of the Astrates in single combat.

 

At the construction site, the Iron Warriors were confused to hear "Heracles" was fighting and killing the "twice-renegades"- for wasn't Heracles among them, helping to dig the fortress-monastery's foundations? Even as a 12-year-old child, King Heracles' son was notable for his strength; the Iron Warriors Apothecaries chose to implant him with gene-seed and transform him into one of their own. On hearing his father led attacking forces, the Younger Heracles moved to intervene.

 

The Elder Heracles, though surprised to see his son among the "enslavers," refused to retreat; the Laconists' honor demanded that fighting end only with their deaths. The Younger Heracles then challenged his father to single combat, the condition being the loser's warriors must join the winner's army- not as slaves, but as brothers-in-arms. Returning the honor shown him, King Heracles agreed.

 

The fight lasted an hour, so fiercely did the two fight, neither side holding back on account of their blood relations. When the Elder Heracles fell, he acknowledged his son as his heir, and died smiling; his warriors immediately knelt and pledged allegiance to their new warrior-king. The watching "twice-renegades" hailed the Younger Heracles as their leader, despite his youth, for the honor he demonstrated; they felt confident Heracles would not send them to their deaths for his own glory, as their Primarchs did. The Astartes were renamed the "Sons of Heracles," and painted their armor the purple of the Elder Heracles' cloak.

The new King Heracles ordered his men to attack traitor-held planets and supply convoys, both to punish those who followed Horus into Heresy, and to seize war materiel for the use of the Sons of Heracles. Along the way, they rescued stragglers from loyalist Legions escaping from the Isstvan system; many of these stragglers, finding no purpose in their lives after losing or losing contact with their Primarchs, swore loyalty to the charismatic Heracles. The Sons of Heracles pleged to strike hard and ruthlessly, to tear out the Traitor Legions' heart, to bring an end to Horus and his betrayal. They remained a thorn in the Traitor Legions' sides for 300 years, until their home world was devastated. Chaos did not do this via a Chaos Space Marine starfleet, but via men from Athos, who the Laconists ignored, so confident their brothers in the Sons of Heracles could overcome any threat.

 

The Achaemen- also known as "Perxians," after their capital city of Perxia- were an old enemy of the Laconists. Seeing the latter as uncivilized "beastmen," they regularly raided Sparta, and enslaved their captives- one reason the Elder Heracles hated the Iron Warriors so much, for the similarities in their behavior. The Laconists- given Imperial Army weapons, and the training to effectively use these weapons- ended these raids by besieging to Perxia and forcing the Achaemen king to submit. Humiliated, the Achaemen knelt before the "Black Obelisk" they erected to honor their gods, and prayed for retribution- retribution the Chaos Gods granted, their Daemons using the submitting Achaemen as vessels.

 

At the time, Heracles and his personal Chapter- a mere 1000 Marines- were on Athos, along with 70,000 human warriors of the Royal Laconist Army. The other Astartes- 2000 Marines divided among multiple starfleets- were out fighting the Traitors and raiding their supply lines. When Chaos consumed Perxia, Heracles and his men fought bravely, forcing back the Chaos Daemons' tide at great loss, especially among the Royal Laconist Army's ranks. Then an Iron Warriors starfleet- the Black Obelisk drawing them to Athos, before Heracles destroyed the Chaos monument- descended upon the planet, and destroyed the fortress-monastery from orbit. Heracles and his men were cut down, During the Chaos invasion of Athos, King Heracles II was critically injured when he used the Kraken Hammer to shatter the Black Obelisk. The Iron Warriors struck then, capturing the Sons of Heracles Chapter Master before his brothers could evacuate him [ the Traitor Marines spend 300 years using torture, Warpcraft, and profane rituals to desecrate the still-living Heracles' body, transforming it into a Daemonhost ] the gene-seed vault's contents were declared the Iron Warriors' rightful property, and seized; Nicanor, a loyalist in the ranks of the Sons of Heracles, was crucified to a defaced Aquila.

 

When the Sons of Heracles returned to Athos, they found Nicanor grievously mutilated, but alive; he told them what occurred. They excavated the fortress-monastery's ruins, finding Dreadnoughts, Land Raiders, and other vehicles the Iron Warriors failed to destroy, so hastily the traitors fled the justice of the Sons of Heracles. Entombing the still loyal Nicanor in a Contemptor Dreadnought, the Sons of Heracles declared the fortress-monastery a monument; although they built strongholds around Sparta's ruins to protect the site from scavengers, the Sons of Heracles became fleet-based, with star forts dotting their star system.

 

During the second Chaos invasion of Athos, the Daemonhost Heracles led the enemy forces, though the Sons of Heracles loyalists were able to overpower and defeat him; some suspect this was because a fragment of Heracles' mind resisted the Daemon, sabotaging the host (and by extension, the forces this Daemon led) from within.

The Sons of Heracles loyalists then attempt to exorcise the Daemon from the body of King Heracles II, but were initially unsuccessful. In desperation, the Sons of Heracles Chaplains (former Word Bearers) use rituals intended to invoke the "God-Emperor's" powers, though the Chaplains admit they have little faith in these rituals. To everyone's surprise, the God-Emperor manifests before the Daemonhost, says, "I failed my sons- Perturabo, Lorgar, and Horus most of all. I should have prepared them for the trials they faced, and prevented the tragedies that occurred. I will not fail my grandson," touches the Daemon (which is screaming in terror), and purifies the Younger Heracles' body, before fading away.

Seeing the Younger Heracles' body deteriorate before his eyes, Nicanor orders the Sons of Heracles to remove him from the Dreadnought sarcophagus so their former Chapter Master may take his place, despite knowing this would cause Nicanor's true death. The Younger Heracles refuses, and says, "You proved yourself more worthy of this honor; despite every physical, mental, and psychic torture the Traitors and their Daemon masters could inflict upon you, they failed to break your will. Now you must prepare to bear a greater burden: To face the greatest terrors you can imagine, fighting enemies within and without; enduring their attacks and your own doubts. This must be done so humanity may survive, and the Emperor's Great Plan may come to fruition." Then the Younger Heracles' body disintegrated, for no mortal body- not even a Space Marine's- could endure the Emperor's psychic touch.

Their faith renewed, Nicanor and the Sons of Heracles all swear to follow the example of King Heracles II.

 

 

By M34, the Sons of Heracles numbered 3000 Marines. While trailing an Iron Warriors starfleet to exact revenge, they intercepted a distress signal from an Astartes Chapter known as the "Silver Skulls," who were besieged on the planet Sikinos. Deciding to intervene, the Sons of Heracles bombarded the Iron Warriors positions from orbit, allowing the Silver Skulls to break out.

After the lifting the siege, the Sons of Heracles learned what befell the Imperium during the intervening millennia; how the Primarch Guilliman penned the Codex Astartes and separated the loyalist Legions into Chapters, so no individual would wield the power the Warmaster Horus used to tear apart the Emperor's realm; how. Surprised to find genetic similarities in the Silver Skulls' gene-seed, the Sons of Heracles claimed they were an Ultramarines successor Chapter, descended via the Silver Skulls in an unknown Founding, the exact records lost during the Howling of M34. The Sons of Heracles faced the Inquisition's scrutiny, willingly endured the many tests of loyalty, before they were welcomed back into the Imperium.

 

The Inquisition remains suspicious of the Sons of Heracles, for Chaos starfleets attack the Chapter planet of Athos every 300 years, for reasons not even the Sons of Heracles know. Deep within Perxia's ruins, the Black Obelisk's fragments continue calling to the Chaos Gods' worshipers, despite the damage King Heracles inflicted upon the monument. Deciding to keep a close watch on the Chapter, the Inquisition stationed a contingent of Exorcists in one of the strongholds of the Sons of Heracles, and built an Inquisitorial stronghold on Athos, where 20 Grey Knights are stationed. The Sons of Heracles had to disperse to nearby systems, to hide the fact their numbers were above Codex-allowed limits; despite the inconvenience, the Chapter welcomes the opportunities this grants them. By swearing to defend forge worlds, the Sons of Heracles are given materiel these worlds produce; in addition, many Tech-Priests will offer great rewards for an opportunity to study the vehicles, arms and armor of the Sons of Heracles, for many are rare and ancient, their patterns not seen since the Horus Heresy.

 

The Sons of Heracles also seizes opportunities to form alliances with other loyalist Chapters. For example, they aided the Marines Malevolent in purging the Attica System of Orks. The next time Chaos attacked Athos, the traitors found Silver Skulls, Marines Malevolent, Grey Knights, and Exorcists defending the planet, in addition to the Sons of Heracles.

 

 

A BIG thank you to Bjorn Firewalker for giving the Sons of Heracles life!!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I reconsidered the purpose of these lines from zxyogi:

 

The Pershuns were consumed by Chaos. Heracles and his men fought bravely.....forcing back the tide of chaos daemons, Heracles men were taking heavy losses, the Guard especially.

 

Then out of the warp came the Traitor Legions that decended down on Heracles and his men and cut them down.

 

Eventually killing all the guard and the Marines taking Heracles battered mutilated body with them...he was alive when they took him.....just.

 

I originally thought it was pointless to have the Traitor Legions capture Heracles; then I saw the dramatic opportunity it presents. My current idea:

 

During the first Chaos invasion of Athos, King Heracles II was critically injured when he used [insert weapon of choice, here] to shatter the Black Obelisk. The Iron Warriors struck then, capturing the Sons of Heracles Chapter Master before his brothers could evacuate him; the Traitor Marines spend 300 years using torture, Warpcraft, and profane rituals to desecrate the still-living Heracles' body, transforming it into a Daemonhost. During the second Chaos invasion of Athos, the Daemonhost Heracles led the enemy forces, though the Sons of Heracles loyalists were able to overpower and defeat him; some suspect this was because a fragment of Heracles' mind resisted the Daemon, sabotaging the host (and by extension, the forces this Daemon led) from within.

 

The Sons of Heracles loyalists then attempt to exorcise the Daemon from the body of King Heracles II, but were initially unsuccessful. In desperation, the Sons of Heracles Chaplains (former Word Bearers) use rituals intended to invoke the "God-Emperor's" powers, though the Chaplains admit they have little faith in these rituals. To everyone's surprise, the God-Emperor manifests before the Daemonhost, says, "I failed my sons- Perturabo, Lorgar, and Horus most of all. I should have prepared them for the trials they faced, and prevented the tragedies that occurred. I will not fail my grandson," touches the Daemon (which is screaming in terror), and purifies the Younger Heracles' body, before fading away.

 

Seeing the Younger Heracles' body deteriorate before his eyes, Nicanor orders the Sons of Heracles to remove him from the Dreadnought sarcophagus so their former Chapter Master may take his place, despite knowing this would cause Nicanor's true death. The Younger Heracles refuses, and says, "You proved yourself more worthy of this honor; despite every physical, mental, and psychic torture the Traitors and their Daemon masters could inflict upon you, they failed to break your will. Now you must prepare to bear a greater burden: To face the greatest terrors you can imagine, fighting enemies within and without; enduring their attacks and your own doubts. This must be done so humanity may survive, and the Emperor's Great Plan may come to fruition." Then the Younger Heracles' body disintegrated, for no mortal body- not even a Space Marine's- could endure the Emperor's psychic touch.

 

Their faith renewed, Nicanor and the Sons of Heracles all swear to follow the example of King Heracles II.

[zxyogi]

Brother.....thanks, that is good story telling, you must sit around the fire and tell many tales.

Have now edited and added the fluff.

Once again thanks Brother Bjorn Firewalker.