Homebrew chapter help

[Eternal_Havoc]

Hey all, looking for a bit of help with my homebrew chapter.

 

What I’ve got:

 

Home planet:

So far from it star that its surface is a frozen wasteland. Beneath the surface is an extensive cave network that riddles its crust. Warmed by the planets core and lava flows, the local population make there home here, building cities in the largest caverns. They extend the cave network chasing the minerals of this resource rich planet.

 

Chapter:

Gene-seed has developed a flaw, the occulobe has become overactive. The cause is unknown, the effect is obvious, causing the eye to become almost entirely white. It’s increase potency gives perfect night vision, but dramatically increases sensitivity to normal light levels.

 

Given the environment of their home planet the chapter has a preference for short range combat, excelling in cramped battlefields such a urban fights and ship boarding actions, making heavy use of flame and melta weaponry.

 

History:

I had an idea of having a lord of contagion as a nemesis of the chapter as I got the dark imperium box set so his force could be my next project. Over there history they’ve had numerous encounters with him and his warband. I was thinking he is hunting for an object on the home planet or just trying to bring nurgle hugs to its population in his quest to raise to daemon hood.

With the arrival of the great rift, he almost succeeds, chapter only saved due to timely arrival of indomitus crusade.

 

So got some general “superficial” stuff, but really struggling with the chapters “character”/theme. Any help would be much appreciated, the rest is open for debate too.

 

Thanks in advance.

[N1SB]

Great ideas, Brother, and welcome to Bolter & Chainsword.

 

Really love what you already have.  I'm just going to brainstorm briefly here.

 

 

+++ Ideal Raw Material for Astartes +++

 

 

The harsh life on this world of fire and ice forged great warriors.

 

The local population lived (and died) by mining those precious minerals.  The environment outside the underground cities could shift quickly from hot to cold, due to the ever shifting tectonic plates and lava flow, combined with the volcanic gases, meant that only the hardiest of humans could survive working under those conditions.

 

It was ironic, therefore, that the dangerous work of mining could only be performed by the people, as mechanical labour Servitors tended to malfunction under those conditions.  The constant expansion and contraction of their metal limbs from temperature changes, the fumes emanating from the tunnels, stressed their systems beyond their breaking point, causing constant breakdowns.

 

Further still, children made ideal workers on this harsh world.  Because they were smaller, they were more able to fit through the narrowest tunnels where the richest seams of those valuable elements the planet was known for.  By the time they were of age to be recruited as Neophytes, they've already experienced a lifetime's worth of hardship, making them excellent raw materials to be shaped into Space Marines.

 

It is, therefore, not surprising that a Chapter bred from such hardy stock in the dark heart of this world excelled at tunnel fighting and boarding actions.  What offworlders may not realise, however, is that before being inducted into the ranks of the Space Marines...none of these prospective Astartes had ever even seen the stars.

 

 

+++ "Seam Speak", the Secret Code of the Chapter +++

 

 

One of the most enigmatic elements of the Chapter is its secret language.  So mysterious is it that many fail to recognise it as such.

 

The harsh, smoky environment in the tunnels meant that workers had to wear respirators as soon as they leave the relative safety of their cities.  At the same time, constant communication was crucial to cooperate under the dangerous and shifting conditions, and long-range transmission signals were highly unreliable in the thick, rocky caverns of the planet.  Thus, over the centuries, a new form of speech was invented.

 

Some of the populace called it "Seam Speak", if they ever mentioned it at all, as it was so natural to the denizens of the planet they all took it for granted.  It was a code of rhythmic patterns that could be tapped out by mining tools, whose sounds would echo up and down the tunnels, communicating information all along.

 

When such a message was tapped out into the stone of the caverns, whoever heard it would pass it on.  Even those, say, mining at a mineral seam with his tools would swing his pneumatic pick axe to match the rhythm, efficiently "speaking" while he was working.  He may add other "notes" in the "song" to convey extra information.

 

The greatest complexity of this language wasn't its sheer number of coded "words"; it's said there are over 100 rhythms to signify "fire".  That, of course, is ridiculous.  There weren't 100 ways to say the same word.  Instead, the people there saw hundreds of types of fires, dangerous fires, useful fires, fires that illuminate, fires that blind...concepts anyone who didn't grow up in the world of fire and ice couldn't grasp.

 

No, the most difficult aspect of Seam Speak was that the same "word" meant different things in different contexts.  The same sequence of taps that meant "danger" in one situation would instead be translated as "opportunity" in another.  The practice made sense in shifting conditions of this land of fire and ice, but to an outsider, this secret language was utterly indecipherable.

 

By the time a child came of age on this world, he was fluent in all the dialects of this code; if he wasn't, he wouldn't have survived that long.  Those initiated into the Space Marines would still remember this, as it was as natural to them as talking.  They would often resort to Seam Speak, for example, if they suspected their vox messages were being intercepted, tapping messages on the side of their helmets.

 

The closest Seam Speak came to being discovered was when the Chapter came under a surprise inspection by an Inquisitor during the arrival of the Great Rift, who insisted that his presence remained unannounced as to observe the Space Marines naturally to judge their purity...an alarming request during those tense times.  The commanding officer, wishing to inform his Company, starting playing with the safety mechanism on his bolt pistol sidearm, tapping out the Seam Speak code for "observer".  A passing Marine on sentry duty noticed, and as he continued his patrol, he would tap out the same message on his bolter, to warn his Brothers of the inspection.  Receiving word, the other Marines prepared their best faces for presentation while passing on the warning to others.

 

In his records, the Inquisitor would state that the Chapter was judged to be pure beyond reproach, that he had yet to see another group of Space Marines perform their functions so well without knowing they were being observed.  As a footnote, he only mentioned that the commanding officer at the time seemed a little nervous upon their meeting, that his hand on his bolt pistol seemed a bit "fidgety".

 

 

+++++

 

 

Just spit balling.  This Seam Speak idea was me just imagining the sounds of the mining turning into some sort of secret song.  I was remembering how there was a Sisters of Silence story in the new Crusade collection of shorts where, despite their name, they just wouldn't shut up, as they just spoke in sign language.  To contrast, I see Seam Speak as basically one- or few-word statements.  Much more dramatic when that word is something like, "Run."

[Bjorn Firewalker]

"Seam Speak" is a great idea, N1SB. Here's mine, in answer to inevitable comparisons between this Chapter and the Night Lords.

 

The [insert Chapter name] have a bitter hatred of the Night Lords, ever since the traitor war band "Adamantium Talons" attacked their home world in [insert date], seeking to claim the planet's mineral resources in the Chaos Gods' name. The invasion began with infiltrators who attempted to found Chaos cults- an attempt that failed, as unlike Nostromo, [insert planet]'s inhabitants were law-abiding, for the world itself ensured any who violated its rules would not survive its harsh environment. Konrad Curze's degenerate sons were forced to intervene directly, drawing the planet's defenders away by attacking its orbital manufactory, before laying siege to the [insert Chapter name]'s fortress-monastery. During the siege, the Adamantium Talons' leader made the outrageous claim the [insert Chapter name] were his brothers, fellow sons of the Night Haunter, who should join him in treason. The fortress-monastery's defenders answered this insult to their honor by firing a tracking bolt into the traitor's eye, and then having a barrage of guided Earthshaker shells home in on the tracking bolt.

 

The Adamantium Talons avenged their leader by torturing their prisoners to death before the [insert Chapter name] fortress-monastery. Rather than be disheartened or driven to a blind fury that the traitors could exploit, the defenders maintained the cold logic and iron discipline they were instilled with since they were babes just learning to walk- qualities necessary to survive on their home world's environment, more brutal than the traitors could imagine- allowing them to hold out until the [insert Chapter name] fleet returned to act as the hammer to their anvil, and crush the Adamantium Talons between them.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Suggested name: "Anguis Immortals" or "Titanophisaurs", after giant legless lizards native to their home planet.

[Eternal_Havoc]

Great ideas! I’ve come to the right place it seems.

 

N1SB thanks for the welcome! Great brainstorm, that’s where I’m lacking, being able to take an idea and flesh it out into an interesting piece of fluff. If you’ll allow me I think I’ll copy and paste that across as is. Love the image you built of the home world, cities built in rare stable areas, miners venturing out into the unstable areas chasing the mineral deposits that might have moved since you were mining them yesterday.

 

The “seam speak” is awesome too, makes me think of the marines using it setting up an ambush, their target a group of renegade guardsmen or some such. As they move through the darkened streets they are highly strung, having heard taps and clinks but seen nothing, the first sign of the marines, a wall of flame from the gloom.

 

And I can see the Inquistor coming to investigate following the planets liberation by the indomitus crusade from the lord of contagion’s invasion.

 

I think you’ve captured the demeanour of the chapter Bjorn, cold logic and iron will would definitely be required traits for surviving their home world. Making the hard calls not to make fruitless rescue attempts when the conditions shift horribly in the caves. Reliance on one another too, being constantly in contact with one another, keeping each other appraised of the changing conditions in the mines via seam speak.

 

Thanks for the input, feel free to post any other ideas, it’s a big help!

[Eternal_Havoc]

Here is an idea dump, fair warning, no polishing.

 

Nemesis histoy idea:

Created in the 23rd founding, the chapter was charged with reinforcing (name) sector. Gifted the planet Taenarius as their home world, the chapter would spend nearly the next three centuries crusading across the sector.

 

I was thinking during this initial crusade is when the chapter first encounters the lord of contagion and his warband, coming upon them while they are invading a planet. The Master of Sanctity, chapter master and retinue encounter the LoC and a great unclean one in a tomb on the surface. They manage to kill the daemon, but most of the marines are killed and the MoS is mortally wounded, he becomes the chapter’s first dreadnought. The LoC retreats and escapes with the remains of his warband. After the battle they find what the LoC had been after, an artefact which they take to their fortress monestary. The LoC needs it as a part of his rise to daemonhood so over the following Millenia he has lead his warband to their home planet in hopes of retrieving it.

 

The first time this happened the chapter was caught completely off guard, and the chaos forces made it quite far into the planets cave network, able to capture one of the few cities with surface access as a landing zone. Amongst the few chapter forces remaining on the planet was a squad of 1st company terminators who teleported into the city, fought to the city’s power generator and set charges. They sacrificed themselves, blowing up the city, a large chunk of the traitors and also cut off the rest of the warbands access to the cave network. The remaining marines co-operate with the planets PDF to destroy the remaining chaos presence in the caves. The chapter fleet returns in time to drive of the rest of the warband. Discovering this is the same warband the chapter creates a “home guard” company with one squad from each company, rotated every few years.

 

With the arrival of the great rift the LoC makes his latest attempt on the planet and is has a lot of success as his warband is bolstered by daemonic forces thanks to the great rift. He pushes the “home guard” right back to their fortress monastery capturing the nearest cavern city as a staging ground. As the Chaos forces close in, the marines, not wanting the LoC getting his hand on the artefact, send the “home guard” scout squad with it into the caves to take it as deep into the cave network as they can. As the scouts travel through the caves the traitors finally break their way into the fortress. Unbeknownst to them all elements of the indomitus crusade have made their timely arrival in system, driving off the chaos fleet and liberating the planet. The scouts are called back once the planet is secure via seam speak.

 

Pretty rough, but hopefully coherent at least. With the artefact, would a chapter be likely to keep it or would they be expected to turn it over to the inquisition? And if you have any ideas as to the nature of it please share, I have no idea what to make it.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

For your "home guard" to work, it's best if your Chapter is organized like the Space Wolves, with each Company independently recruiting men to transform into Marines; a Codex Chapter's Companies transfer Marines from Tenth to Ninth to Eighth, and so on, with each successive Company giving the Marine more training, so their "home guard" could simply consist of the Tenth Company (minus Scouts that completed training, and detached to other Companies so they can gain combat experience).

 

A loyalist Marine should either instantly destroy any Chaos artifact they find, or turn it over to the Inquisition- see Black Dawn. Details are needed to explain why your Chapter chose to guard it instead of destroying it, especially considering no loyalist will ever tolerate anything Chaos-tainted on their home world. Did an Inquisitor aid them in defeating the Lord of Contagion and, afterwards, order the Chapter to guard the Chaos artifact until he could send a team of specialists to retrieve the artifact for study? Was it an untainted object the Lord of Contagion must corrupt as part of the ritual to ascend as a Daemon Prince, i.e., it wasn't a Chaos artifact in the first place? Or did one of your Chapter's officers hide the fact the artifact was Chaos-tainted, because he secretly harbored ambitions to become a Daemon Prince himself?

[Eternal_Havoc]

My original thought with the "Home Guard" was basically another company with a similar make up to others excepts it's members are marines seconded from other companies. However with your idea of having a similar company make up to the Space Wolves could make it easier. Each company is an independent entity, they each take turns being the "Home Guard" company that also takes in new recruits during its stint on the home world. The first attack on the home world by the lord of contagion could be the precipitation for the change to the way their companies are organised. 

 

With the artefact I was going with something the Lord of Contagion intended on corrupting as part of his ascension. I'm not well versed enough in the lore to come up with what the artefact could be, maybe something that the chapter has found a use for.

 

Thanks for your input Bjorn!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

My idea: A sword with a wolf's head on its pommel, claimed to be that of Leman Russ, though the Space Wolves didn't recognize it as such. In truth, the Emperor gifted the sword to the Luna Wolves Primarch, i.e., HORUS, though the latter barely touched that weapon, as favored his mace. Touched by the Emperor, it will be extremely difficult to corrupt, but he who does so will demonstrate the potential to usurp Abaddon as Champion of Chaos Ascendant.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Something I wrote for my suggested artifact:

Captain Alexandros raised a hand in salute to greet an honored guest and counterpart from the Space Wolves.

 

"Hail and well met." Wolf Lord Egil Iron Wolf's face and voice expressed no mirth- it was difficult for him to do so, as battle wounds forced the replacement of half his face with metal- the [insert Chapter name] officers took no offense at this.

 

"Greetings..." Alexandros paused to remind himself his Space Wolves counterparts used different titles, "Wolf Lord Iron Wolf." He waved Techmarine Archimedes forward. "We are returning the sword of your Primarch-"

 

"That is not the sword of Russ," the Space Wolf stated. The golden blade resting on red silk, which Techmarine Archimedes held in both hands, was equal in length to a grown man's height; the ivory grip ended with a golden disk as its pommel, a howling wolf's head carved upon it.

 

"The sword of Russ is longer, with a toothed ricasso, to catch an opponent's blade," the Wolf Lord added. "The pommel..." He gasped. "Where did you find it?"

 

"It was enshrined in the Temple of the Emperor's Justice, on the planet Haller," Alexandros answered. "A Death Guard war band attempted to seize it; after we drove off the traitors, the head priest entrusted it to us, for safekeeping." Alexandros left behind his own sword in exchange. "You recognize it?"

 

Iron Wolf nodded. "Our Father did not wield it, but..." He swallowed, expressing uncharacteristic nervousness. "I studied the Space Wolves' history, from the Legion's early days, when Russ fought beside his brothers at the Great Crusade's beginning; I recognize the pommel from a pict recording of the Primarchs celebrating a victory," where the golden disk crowned a sword at the hip of a Primarch who later replaced the weapon with a fearsome lightning claw. "The Emperor Himself touched that blade. You must not let the Great Enemy corrupt it; better to destroy such an artifact than to let a traitor wield it."

 

"If the Emperor Himself wielded this sword, then it shall continue to do his bidding, and shed the blood of all enemies of the Imperium," Alexandros declared. "I will not let this instrument of the Emperor's justice rest long."

 

"Fair enough," Iron Wolf said. "What is the weapon's name?"

 

"The head priest always referred to it as an 'instrument of the Emperor's justice,' though the temple's acolytes nicknamed it the 'golden wolf's fang.'"

 

"The Golden Wolf's Fang." Iron Wolf's flesh-and-blood lips curled upwards- the metal lips remained immobile- together, they formed a cruel smirk. "A good name. May this blade feast upon the traitors' blood and find that to its taste."

[Eternal_Havoc]

Nice Bjorn, great weapon lore! With the current chapter history they’d need a reason to keep it on their home planet so the lord of contagion has a reason to attack. Then the captain of the company acting as the “Home Guard” could carry it during their time as its protector.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Something more I wrote for my suggested artifact:

Sergeant Hesse suppressed the urge to laugh as he watched [insert name]- once named Kronos, the former Death Guard Captain now called himself a "Lord of Contagion," "Champion of Nurgle," "Corrupter of Antigone," and a hundred other pretentious titles- bathe in filth, so the Plague God's "blessings" may heal the grievous wound the [insert Chapter name] Captain inflicted. Fortunately, his helmet hid the amused smirk.

 

"I will tear him limb from limb- no, crush the very bones in his arms and legs, so the bone fragments will tear his flesh from within, forming pockets of blood which I will then fill with Grandfather Nurgle's gifts!" the Lord of Corruption ranted, the Plague God's blessings unable to nullify the pain he suffered when the [insert Chapter name] Captain stabbed him with a blade the False Emperor touched. "His body will rot from within..."

 

Sergeant Hesse knew this was not the first wound Lord [insert name] suffered in his attempt to seize the sword the [insert Chapter name] called the "Golden Wolf's Fang"- nor would it be the last. An obsessive desire to claim the blade consumed the former Death Guard Captain, as it once consumed Captain Reinhard of the World Eaters, Archmagus Thoth of the Thousand Sons, and Captain Leopold of the Emperor's Children- Chaos Champions who refused to kneel before Abaddon the Despoiler, plotting to usurp the Supreme Warmaster of Chaos and win their patron God more influence in the Black Crusades to come.

 

Hesse understood their obsession- he shared it himself, desiring the sword since he saw it in the right hand of Horus Lupercal, his Primarch. A native of Cthonia, he was taken into the Luna Wolves as the Great Crusade dawned. The Golden Wolf's Fang was but one of many weapons the Emperor gifted His favored son as He trained the latter in the arts of war- weapons Horus regifted to those he trusted to govern the worlds the Luna Wolves conquered, like the bolt pistol he personally handed to General Vulscus of the Imperial Army. As the Emperor once touched the blade- He personally handed it to Horus, imbuing it with a father's love for His son- the weapon resisted Chaos' influence, but if one succeeded in corrupting the sword, the Chaos Gods would gift the corrupter with powers to match Horus at the Primarch's height.

 

"What do you think, Hesse?" the Lord of Corruption asked when he was finally done ranting.

 

"I warned you: Captain Arminius' ambitions burned more intensely than a heavy flamer's discharge- it was useful so long as you could direct its path, but it would burn you the moment your grip loosened," the Son of Horus said of a mercenary who wanted the Golden Wolf's Fang for himself, which made him interfere in [insert name]'s duel with the [insert Chapter name] Captain, resulting in Arminius' death and the wounding of the Lord of Contagion.

 

"Yes, you both served under that World Eater- what was his name, Reinhard- before the latter demoted you for 'cowardice.'"

 

"It was Abaddon who demoted me, for refusing his order to forsake our father the First Warmaster," Hesse corrected. "And one should never confuse caution for cowardice- a lesson Captain Reinhard should have learned, had he survived the ambush which claimed his life."

 

[insert name] nodded. "I am surprised you did not promote yourself after you left the Black Legion- you still have the loyalty of every man in your Company."

 

"The timing is not right." Hesse would seek no other title than Supreme Warmaster of Chaos- until the moment he could grant True Death to a False Emperor who never recovered from the wounds Horus inflicted. He would be patient, serving as a mercenary under [insert name] and a hundred other warlords, gathering resources and gaining the strength he needed to punish Abaddon for the disrespect the latter showed their father. 'My time will come. The power will be mine.'

[Eternal_Havoc]

Nice, more great weapon lore Bjorn, going to have to include it in my chapter's. Slowly working on putting together a coherent chapter document, posting a few more ideas I've got for it. The first is altering the chapter a bit to use Bjorns relic weapon idea. Going to lose the 'Home Guard' idea from the chapter, instead having a champion of the chapter who wields the Relic weapon. Every 100 years the majority of the chapter comes together on their home world for a contest to see who will be next to wield the blade, followed by a celebration. Not sure what the contest entails yet, I was thinking something like the Custodes blood games.

 

Also moving the chapter to the frontier of the Imperium, tasked with patrolling their system and crusading beyond the borders of the Imperium. To aid in this crusading nature the chapter has broken from the codex astartes to make each company an independent entity. Companies are structured like a scaled down chapter, having veterans to scouts in each company. Each company has their own Strike Cruiser and are capable of crusading for extended periods, returning to the home world periodically to recruit and restock.

 

I also have the beginnings of an idea for a cultural belief the chapter inherited from the people of the home world. Taking from N1SB's work with the idea of fire and ice being prominent in their mind I was thinking something based on that. Like a yin and yang idea, ice or fire by itself is deadly but a balance is life giving. Hows that makes it mark in their culture I've yet to work out. 

 

Slowly coming up with ideas, feel free to suggest changes or ideas, need all the help I can get =P.

 

[Doctor Perils]

I really like the concept of your homeworld. I imagine they would have a good specialisation in Zone Mortalis engagements, and so may rely more on small infantry forces then armoured columns. As such, they would be of use for boarding engagements and sieges, being able to attack trenchworks and tunnel under fortifications, perhaps with the help of the new Forge World Termites? This would definitely work alongside the idea of having a Death Guard Vectorum as Nemeses, as they are big into attrition warfare.

 

I really like the idea of Seam Speak and your Home Guard.

I'd recommend sticking to the idea of a special formation with squads from other companies temporarily seconded to it - I think it's more original and would stick to the Codex Astartes better. It would also be better on the Marine's morale.

Or perhaps it is simply the First Company? The Home Guard only takes the very best, but they can still send out combat squads to different companies once in a while.

The Home Guard's champion can still be determined by a ritual contest

 

Do you know what form this Artefact may have? Perhaps the Chapter itself don't know of its existence until very late? Perhaps even then they don't know what it is, and it has already been constructed into the very heart of their fortress monastery (perhaps it is a form of archaeotech which provides them with some form of protection?)

Also, the forces of Chaos often like different kinds of symbolism, so perhaps Taenarius was actually originally bought into compliance by this Lord of Contagion (who was a simple Captain at the time) - he found this artefact, but was unable to truly study it as he was called back by the Primarch for Istvaan III. This would explain how he knows of the Artefact's existence and location as well.

I've carried on reading through the thread after this paragraph - I must admit, I don't really get why this blade would have such significance to either your chapter or their Nemeses. It doesn't really seem like an artefact that would interest nurgle very much imo: it would be of much more interest to the Black Legion, or to Fabius Bile. Also, Warhammer 40k already has enough weapon-shaped artefacts. Since you are looking for a quest's end artefact for a Lord of Contagion, I really think that he would want to corrupt something that symbolises an antithesis to Nurgle. This could be something like a spring or medical facilities that heal people, or conversely it could be something that kills people with absolutely no pain, a sort of mercy-killing option?

 

 

 

If you go with a non-codex adherent chapter, you really need a reason behind that. Some sort of event in the chapter's history seems more plausible to me then simply saying that they never followed the manual that 99% of other chapters follow. If I were you, I'd save myself the hassle, unless you have some very good reasoning behind this altered organisation.

I like the idea of a chapter beliefs system based on duality: this however would pose the question "do your guys see themselves as the side of good in their combat against the forces of evil represented by the Lord of Contagion, or do they see themselves as balanced between the Lord of Contagion and some other force that you could further explore?"

If you go the latter route, perhaps the artefact could be the relics of some Imperial saint that were found to have curative properties (much later than the Chapter's establishment on the planet)? If that were the case, the Ecclesiarchy would never allow your chapter to destroy these reverred relics - these then would take the place of "light" in the duality system, allowing your chapter to form the balance between the Lord of Contagion and a specific Convent of the Ecclesiarchy.

If you absolutely want a weapon, perhaps these relics are encased in a blade which is said to grant a painless death?

 

 

My final question would be if your chapter set to get any Primaris reinforcements, and if so how they react to the newcomers?

[Eternal_Havoc]

With the artefact I was leaning towards it being a weapon because it seemed likely a chapter would keep and use such an item. But with an item of significance that had no military use they would probably hand it over to the Ecclesiarch. I have been considering having it be an item of healing which they kept because the Chapter's gene-seed flaw had grown worse, to the point that they were practically blind. Use of the item returned an aspirant's sight, this would make the item crucial to the Chapter, so they would keep it hidden, not wanting anyone to find out how far the flaw had progressed.

With the duality, I'm not sure yet how it would apply to the marines, only really had the basic idea, been pretty busy irl and I struggle at the best of time developing ideas. Part of my original thought was an internal view, a management of emotions i.e. ice being logic, fire being emotion.

Regarding the arrival of Primaris marines, I was planning to have the chapter well below strength after the Lord of Contagion's attack on their home world, and some of the chapter missing thanks to the great rift. While initially mistrustful, they are in need of reinforcement, so with the Custodes backing the legitimacy of Cawl's work, they accept.

Thanks for the input Lord Thørn.