The Crimson Blades

[MarcB]

 

Hi guys, so I have finally decided on making my own chapter and create a history for them. This is a work in progress and the plan is to add to this following games making note of any deaths or heroics to add the history of the Chapter. Any thoughts, feedback and questions are welcome. I hope you enjoy.

 

The Crimson Blades

 

Summary:

The Blades or Corax were created during the Ultima Founding in the wake of the events of Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade and the fall of Cadia in 999.M41. Many of the Chapters created in the Ultima Founding were assigned homeworlds on the edge of the Great Rift, the Imperium's new frontline in the war against Chaos, though some have inherited the empty fortress-monasteries of Chapters that had been lost to the attrition of constant war.

 

Many of these worlds face a continuous battle against the daemons of the Warp, as well as an unpredictable mix of xenos raiders, pirates and invaders. The planet assigned to be the Blades of Corax’s new homeworld was a small industrial moon called Agathea, which orbited the dead world Triox. Based in the Laanth system in the Segmentus Pacificus, The Blades of Corax were ideally placed to deal with any threats emanating from the Great Rift.

 

However, tragedy befell the Chapter on arrival to their new homeworld! Unbeknown to the Imperium, the majority of the citizens and guard of Agathea had secretly be turned by the agents of Chaos, but as of yet had not made themselves known. As the fleet approached and made final preparations to send the Chapter down to Agathea, the moon’s orbital defences opened fire!

 

Deploying the full might of the Chapter and sending the remaining fleet out of orbit and out of harms way, The Blades of Corax laid siege to their own homeworld. Once the fighting had finished barely 100 marines had survived and with no chance of resupply, the final assault from the forces of Chaos had meant battle was done at close quarters by chainsword and combat blade. The surviving Astartes blades and gauntlets were so covered with the blood of the enemy, that they renamed themselves the Crimson blades from that day forth.  

 

In the aftermath of the final Chaos assault, just over 100 marines and 3 regiments of the planetary guard were left standing. Most of the Chapters command structure and support structure had perished along with the 90% of the civilian population of Agathea. Many thousands of the enemy had fled into the ruins of the once proud cities, and would need exterminating, but it was a victory, a costly one, but a victory all the same.

 

Newly promoted Chapter Master Aegeus set about rebuilding the Chapter. He recalled the remains of the fleet back to Agathea, recruited the youngest warriors from the guard as Aspirants and rearranged the remaining Astartes into 3 companies. It would be many years before the Crimson Blades would be ready for any serious campaign action, but they vowed they would make the enemy pay for their near destruction. 

 

 

Designation: 
The Crimson Blades, after being renamed from their original designation, The Blades of Corax.

Chapter Colours and Heraldry: 
Dark grey armour, with both gauntlets coloured crimson. The knee on the left leg is coloured according to the Company they belong. The lower part of the helmet is crimson with the upper part coloured according to rank. The left pauldron displays the chapters Insignia which is an inverted red blade on a grey background, whilst the right pauldron displays the battlefield designation and squad number.

 

On the left knee where the company marking is found, the campaign badge that the marine to part in to become a full battle brother of the Crimson Blades is displayed, the majority of the chapter have the campaign badge referring to the reclamation of Agathea displayed.  

Helmet colours:
Crimson/Grey - Battle Brother
Crimson - Sergeant
Crimson/White - Veteran
Crimson/White with red stripe - Veteran Sergeant
Crimson/Grey with red stripe - Lieutenant
Crimson/Grey with gold skull - Captain

Battle Cry: 
Animos et Fidei (Courage and Faith), shortened from Virtus mea defensione! Fidei autem robore mea! (Courage is my defence! Faith is my strength!)
Progenitor: 
Corvus Corax - The Raven Guard (XIX Legion)
Founding: 
Year 999.M41, part of the "Ultima Founding"
Codex Adherence: 
Codex-compliant, with minor organizational deviations
Main Sector: 
Segmentus Pacificus
Main System:
Laanth System
Home-World: 
Agathea, moon orbiting uninhabitable planet Triox
Stronghold: 
Fortress Monastery Haemon
Chapter Master: 
Chapter Master Telios Aegeus
Current Status: 
Under Quarter-Strength (Nominal),
Circa 150 Active Battle Brothers (4 Demi-Companies plus Aspirants/Neophytes)
Combat Doctrine/Strategic Focus: 
Inheritors of the Primarch, Infantry Formations, Combat Squad Deployment, Plasma Weaponry, Urban and Enclosed Quarters Combat, Stealth and Tactical assaults.

Chapter History:
The Crimson Blades history starts 112 years after the birth of the great rift and after the conclusion of the Indomitus Crusade, when they were still known as the Blades of Corax. After serving with distinction in the Indomitus Crusade they were assigned a small industrial moon called Agathea, which would serve as their home world and base of operations to deal with any threats emanating from the Great Rift.

 

The victories and honours the Crimson Blades would win for the Emperor would however not come to fruition for years to come! On arrival to their new homeworld, unbeknown to the Astartes, the forces of Chaos had taken root and spread their foul corruption throughout much of the populace. This was only realised when the Orbital defences powered up and open fired on the Battle Barge “Dauntless”, the flagship of the fleet. Caught completely off guard, the ship was critically hit, and internal explosions stated going off through out the ship. With the Battle Barge disabled and breaking up, the orbital defences turned their attention to the smaller Strike Cruisers and Frigates.

 

Chapter Master Phalex, whilst still on board the “Dauntless”, gave the order to deploy what remained of the chapter to retake Agathea and for the remaining fleet to withdraw once the Astartes had been deployed.

 

Retaking the main fortress, where the orbital defences were controlled, was deemed the priority as it would allow the fleet back into to orbit to resupply the Astartes planet side whilst also serving as a base of operations. With this in mind, Phalex led what remained the 1^st, 5^th and 6^th Companies to retake the fortress, whilst ordering the remaining companies who had made it to the surface, to make to main forces to retake Agathea Primus and Secondus, the 2 cities on the small moon. 3^rd and 8^th Companies assaulted Agathea Primus whilst 4^th and 10^th Companies attacked Secondus.

 

The assault at Fortress Haemon was brutal but swift. The fortress was well defended with gun emplacements and thousands of what was once the planetary militia, but strafing runs from the thunder hawks which had brought the blades planet side, opened up a hole in the defences of the fortress which allowed the blades to breach. It was in this assault that Chapter Master Phalex fell whilst fighting a daemon prince. Phalex had managed to mortally wound the daemon prince however and 1^st Company Captain Aegeus sent it back to the warp with a killing blow. With the daemon prince banished back to the warp the remaining defender capitulated and the surviving blades forces slaughtered the Chaos Guard.

 

The Assault on Agathea Secondus was also successful, here the forces of Chaos, including cultists and daemons were caught in a pincer. It seems the spread of corruption had started in Agathea Primus and the 1^st target was the fortress Monastery, Haemon. Once both of these had been successfully claimed, only then did the forces of chaos turn their attention to Secondus. The Secondus Planetary Guard had put up a fierce defence of their city and the assaulting chaos army was caught by surprise by the 4^th and 10^th companies and were utterly destroyed between the 2 forces.      

 

Unfortunately, the combined forces of the 3^rd and 8^th companies did not fare as well as their brothers. The whole of the population of Primus had taken up arms against the invading Astartes. This coupled with the fact that the Chaos Warlord responsible for the turn of Agathea, had made Primus his base, meant the Astartes of the 3^rd and 8^th Companies were completely overwhelmed. Barley a handful of Astartes made it out of Primus and brought word to 1^st Captain Aegeus, apprising him of the situation.

 

With the Fortress Monastery and therefore the orbital defences back in Imperium hands, 1^st Captain Aegeus, decided to consolidate his forces in to one larger force, rather than spreading his forces thin. He called back the remains of the 4^th and 10^th Companies, now under command of Captain Xerxes, and the remaining loyalist planetary guard, along with recalling the Chapter fleet, to resupply the ground forces. With all his forces inside Haemon, Aegeus was able to see the true cost of the war. Only 3 Captains and barely 300 battle brothers remained of what was once a proud, full chapter. Of the Planetary Guard approximately 11,000 remained.

 

With the fleet inbound and the Fortress monastery reinforced, Aegeus started to put together a plan to retake Agathea Primus. Captains Aegeus, Nestor and Xerxes along with the remaining Chapter Command, collectively called the Conclave, adjourned to form a plan of attack. It was during this meeting that the Alert Sirens sounded. The Forces of Chaos would not wait to be assaulted, they would bring the war to the defenders of the Imperium.

Approximately a million cultists, supported by various daemons assaulted Fortress Haemon. Outnumbered nearly the 100 to 1 the defenders prepared to sell themselves dearly. Hundreds of thousands of cultists fell to the guns of the defenders before ammo supplies ran dry and with no options left the Astartes of The Blades of Corax charged into the enemy with knife and sword.

 

The fighting was largely contained to the main gate and the breached wall, but some elements of the enemy forces had made it inside the fortress and started flank the defenders at the breach. It was while the fighting was at is fiercest that streaks were spotted falling from the sky. The fleet had made it to orbit! With orbital bombardments raining down of the enemy forces a squadron of thunder hawks dropped down with vital supplies of munition for the defenders. With their resupply drop complete, the thunder hawks started strafing runs on the forces of Chaos.

 

Seeing the defender’s forces suddenly resupplied and strengthened, Aegeus took the remaining Veteran squads and boarded a Thunderhawk with 1 thing in mind. Find the Leader of the enemy forces and cut the head off the serpent. The Thunderhawk smashed into the defenders and disgorged its deadly contents, straight into the Chaos command. With the veterans holding off the enemy forces, Aegeus engaged the Chaos Lord leading the forces, a foul Chaos Marine of the Black Legion. Encased in Ancient terminator armour and boosted by the ruinous Gods the Chaos Lord was a match for Aegeus. As the dual raged on the Veterans who had accompanied Aegeus began to fall under the overwhelming numbers of cultist against them, however this attack had distracted the enemy and the Astartes in Fortress Haemon were able to secure the fortress and launch an assault of their own in to the enemy.

 

With battle brothers falling around him, Aegeus launched a flurry of attacks against the Chaos Lord and manged to find an opening in which he sank his power sword. Mortally wounded the Chaos lord fell and Aegeus did not hesitate in finishing the job by beheading him. This was the turning point in the battle, with out their leader to keep them together, the forces of chaos routed and were pursued and ruthlessly cut down but the Astartes. A good few thousand of the enemy managed to escape the wrath of the marines, but these were later hunted down and eradicated but the Crimson Blades.

 

In the aftermath of the final Chaos assault, just over 100 marines and 3 regiments of the planetary guard were left standing. Most of the Chapters command structure and support structure had perished along with the 90% of the civilian population of Agathea. Many hundreds of the enemy had fled into the ruins of the once proud cities, and would need exterminating, but it was a victory, a costly one, but a victory all the same.

 

The Conclave then assembled to vote in the new chapter master and to consolidate what remained of the Chapter and set out the structure. It was in this meeting the Chapter was renamed the Crimson Blades and 1^st Captain Aegeus was voted in as Chapter Master.

 

The Crimson blades have slowly been rebuilding their forces the last 5 years and are now ready to launch campaigns in the name of the emperor and bring glories to their name.

Chapter Timelime:
999.M41 (Imperial Calendar) 
The Blades of Corax are created as part of the "Ultima Founding” using the gene-seed of the Primarch Corvus Corax.

999.M41-111.M42
The Blades of Corax fought fiercely alongside other chapters in the Indomitus Crusade earning a reputation for devastating surgical strikes and were also recognised for their stealth and infiltration skills. At the conclusion of the Indomitus Crusade, the Blades of Corax were designated the industrial moon Agathea in the Segmentus Pacificus as their homeworld and base of operations where they would launch attacks against the forces of Chaos that would threaten the imperium in the sector.

112.262 Post LCM.M41 (Era Indomitus)
87 days after the conclusion of the Indomitus Crusade, The Blades of Corax’s fleet transits out of the warp in the Laanth system and makes its way to the moon of Triox, Agathea.

112.271 Post LCM.M41
The fleet of the Blades of Corax enters orbit over the moon of Agathea and make ready for planet fall. As the first Thunderhawks depart for the surface, the orbital defence arrays activate, opening fire on the unsuspecting fleet. Chapter Master Phalex orders the deployment of the whole Chapter, and the fleet to withdraw to a safe distance.

112.274 Post LCM.M41
The Blades of Corax begin the campaign to reclaim the moon world of Agathea in the Emperor's name.

 

112.1948 Post LCM.M41

Chapter Master Phalex falls at the battle of Agathea Secondus whilst reclaiming the Orbital Defence System. 1^st Company Captain Telios Aegeus assumes command of the Blades of Corax.

 

113.029 Post LCM.M41

The forces of Chaos are routed after the death of their Warlord at the defence of Fortress Haemon. 1^st Captain Aegeus is promoted to Chapter Master and the Blades of Corax assume the name The Crimson Blades.

 

118.569 Post LCM.M41

Chapter Master Aegeus decrees that The Crimson Blades are operationally ready to start campaigning in the name of the Imperium after 5 years of rebuilding the Chapter and repairing Agathea Primus. Chapter Strength: 168 (inc Neophytes).

 

Notable Campaigns:

• 112.274-113.029 Post LCM.M41 – The Cleansing of Agathea.

Chapter Organisation:

 

Headquarters

Chapter Command:

Chapter Master Telios Aegeus

Honour Guard (2) -Alexio & Timaios

1 Impulsor

Chapter Equerries and Servitors

 

Armoury:

Ajax Ciaaphas

Master of the Forge

1 Techmarines

3 Tech Servitors

1 Astraeus

3 Executioners

4 Repulsors

7 Impulsors

 

Apothecarion:

Iason Dorus

Master of the Apothecarion

1 Apothecary

1 Helix Adept

 

Fleet Command:

Therapon Zephyr

First Lord of the Admiralty

2 Strike Cruisers

3 Gladius Frigates

9 Thunderhawks

 

Librarius:

Hestian Charon

Chief Librarian

1 Codiciers

1 Acolytum

 

Chaplaincy:

Leandros Bakchos

Master of Sanctity

1 Chaplain

 

 

Companies of the Crimson Blades

1^st Company Chapter Veterans:

The Blades Edge

 

Captain – Hypatios

Ancient – Kalypso

Redemptor – Cpt Demios

1^st Squad – Intercessors (5)

2^nd Squad – Intercessors (5)

3^rd Squad – Aggressors (5)

4^th Squad – Aggressors (3)

 

5^th Company Battleline:

The Liberators

 

Captain - Nestor

Lieutenants (2) – Panos & Tychon

Ancient – Smeme

Redemptor (2) – Zacharias & Natasa

1^st & 2^nd Squads – Intercessors (10)

3^rd  – 6^th Squads – Intercessors (5)

7^th & 8^th Squads – Inceptors (5)

9^th Squad – Hellblasters (10)

10^th Squad – Hellblasters (5)

 

10^th Company Vanguard:

The Shadow’s Point

 

Captain - Xerxes

Lieutenants (2) – Macedon & Klotho

Warsuits (2)

1^st Squad – Infiltrators (10)

2^nd Squad – Infiltrators (5)

3^rd Squad – Reivers (10)

4^th Squad – Incursors (5)

5^th & 6^th Squads – Suppressors (3)

7^th – 9^th Squads – Eliminators (3)

Neophytes (15)

 

Chapter Recruitment:
 

The Crimson Blades Chapter presently solely recruit from their new home planet Agathea. Due to the near eradication of the local populace, this has led to a dismal amount of volunteers to be tested as Aspirants on a yearly basis.

 

Rites of Selection

After arriving at the Fortress-Monastery of Haemon, the recruits are first briefed by Master of Sanctity, Chaplain Bekchos, before being tested for compatibility to receive the implants and hypno-suggestion to turn them into Marines. If the testing proves successful the recruit becomes an aspirant, whist if they fail, they are given the option to sign up/return to the Planetary Guard or to serve as Chapter Serfs. After selection the organ implantation process begins, and the Aspirants becomes an neophyte. During this process, the Aspirants and Neophytes are placed under command of Captain Xerxes of the 10^th company, who assigns them to training groups and squads. When the final implant is in place and the requisite training and hypnotherapy underway, he becomes a full brother

 

Training and Testing

After their compatibility tests, and initial implantations the Aspirants start continuous training and testing for 2 years. They will initially set out on a patrol outside the Fortress-Monastery where they patrol the ruins of Agathea for any civilian survivors or hunting down any Heretic cells still in operation.

 

Assuming a Neophyte survives the training, they are expected to do 4 tours of service, each lasting 3 months, only returning to Haemon to undergo further surgeries and implantations, before being sent out on their next tour.

 

Ascension to Marinehood

The surviving Neophytes of the 10th Company would then be welcomed back to the Fortress-Monastery to prepare for their final test before being made a full brother of the Crimson Blades. The final test is to operate as a cohesive unit on the field of battle in their very first combat mission against the enemies of Mankind. If they survive this, they are then fully inducted as a battle brother and assigned a place in either the 5^th or 10^th Company. After the final test being completed from the 1^st draft, no trace of chaos could be found on Agathea, meaning future Neophytes would need to complete their training in off world missions.

 

The 1^st Drafting

The 1st drafting of recruits came immediately after the reclamation of the planet, with Chapter Master Aegeus commanding that all soldiers from the Planetary Guard and scratch militia companies, up to the age of 16, were to submit for testing. In the 1^st draft there were approximately 500 recruits of which 370 were deemed compatible and progressed to Aspirants. After the implantation process and the rigorous training and testing, 22 Neophytes survived to make it as full battle brothers.

 

The 2^nd- 5^th Drafting

The following four years after the 1^st draft, the number of volunteers who came to Haemon significantly dropped, whilst the population of the planet recovered. Despite not wanting to become oppressors to the population, Aegeus was forced to invoke compulsory military service for any males once they reached the age of 15 years. As part of this process all 15-year-old boys each year would submit to testing for compatibility prior to being sent to the Agathea Planetary Guard.

 

The following 4 years brought in 412 recruits of which 16 have made it to Neophytes awaiting their final and first great test.

Notable Members – Living:

• Chapter Master Telios Aegeus - 1st and current Chapter Master of The Crimson Blades, promoted from 1st Company Captain after the death of Chapter Master Phalex.

Notable Members – Dreadnoughts:

• Redemptor Demios – Former 3rd Company Captain, was entombed during the Idomitus Crusade and was 1 of 2 Redemptor Dreadnoughts to survive the reclamation of Agathea.
• Redemptor Zacharias – Former 5^th Company Veteran Sergeant who was entombed during the Idomitus Crusade and was 1 of 2 Redemptor Dreadnoughts to survive the reclamation of Agathea.
• Redemptor Natasa – Brother Natasa was gravely injured during the reclamation of Agathea and entombed in Redemptor Sarcophagus so he may continue serving the Crimson Blades.

Notable Members – Deceased:

• Chapter Master Phalex (1^st Chapter Master of the Blades of Corax) - 112.1948 Post LCM.M41 – Fell during the reclamation of Agathea to the forces of Chaos.

Chapter Fleet:

• 2 Strike Cruisers – The Fury & The Vengeance
• 3 Gladius Frigates
• 9 Thunderhawks

Chapter Relics:
 

A lot of the Chapter’s relics were lost during the retaking of Agathea, either lost in the fields of battle or lost with the ships they were carried on from the Chapter’s Fleet. All surviving relics were placed in the Haemon Armoury, to be distributed once the Crimson Blades set forth once again to annihilate the enemies of the Imperium.

 

The remaining relics include:

• The ‘Searing Sword’ – Master Crafted Power sword, carried by the Chapter Champion until his death on Agathea.
• Ravenger – Master Crafter Stalker Bolt-Rifle, carried by the previous 4^th Company Captain until his death on Agathea

Gallery: 

Edited June 19, 2020 by MarcB

[Hrvat]

Hello there.  :)

 

I recently returned to Liber and knowing from experience how demotivating it can be to have a Topic sit for days without replies resolved myself to review such Chapters. 

 

My style of review and assistance is mostly asking questions so the author can better explore and express their ideas. Please do not feel intimidated by the volume of questions.

 

 

Overall Impression 

I am getting a vibe Crimson Blades are very "normal" or "vanilla" Chapter which is rather refreshing to see in Liber (or at least in the Liber I remember). Though I guess that can evolve as you play more games.

 

 

1st Question - Why did the chapter drop the name of their Primarch from their name and does that in any way reflect on their beliefs?

 

2nd Question - How come Agathea wasn't vetted before being assigned to the Blades of Corax? Homeworld selection is rather elaborate process conducted either prior to the chapter's creation or by the Chapter itself before declaring a world "theirs".

 

3rd Question - If the corruption was as widespread as you describe it how come the world was not subjected to an Exterminatus?

 

4th Question - Does the chapter possess some kind of different transformation method (like Blood Angles) compared to other Codex chapters? I am asking because 5 years is not enough to produce a single generation of new marines.

 

5th Question - How come the chapter recruits only from volunteers and is that an important part of their beliefs?

 

6th Question - How come Agathea has such a high percentage of compatibility among the recruits? 

 

7th Question - Why does the chapter intentionally reduce its chances to transform recruits into marines by starting the process at a later than recomended age?

 

 

 

That is it for now :)

 

 

As a general advice when writing fiction unless a number is really important to the story it is preferable to use descriptive numbers or descriptive terms instead of exact numbers; e.g. "Hundreds of thousands of cultists fell to the guns of the defenders before ammo supplies ran dry and..." could be written as "Wave upon wave of cultists fell to the guns of the defenders before ammo supplies ran dry and...". This alternate wording still invokes images of multitudes while reducing the risk of breaking the suspension of disbelief in the reader. 

 

 

I will be looking forward to your elaborations.

 

 

Cheers,

Hrvat

 

 

 

 

p.s. I dig the colour scheme

 

[MarcB]

Hi Hrvat, and thanks for the response. Yes I thought I woukdnt get a response so it had been a while since I last checked.

 

I really appreciate you taking the time to read the article.

 

Please find responses below.

 

Overall Impression

 

1st Question - Why did the chapter drop the name of their Primarch from their name and does that in any way reflect on their beliefs?

 

It was very much "we need a fresh start" and "we are something new now" which prompted the change. I was meant to say that it was the PDF which dubbed them the Crimson Blades and it's the name that stuck.

 

 

2nd Question - How come Agathea wasn't vetted before being assigned to the Blades of Corax? Homeworld selection is rather elaborate process conducted either prior to the chapter's creation or by the Chapter itself before declaring a world "theirs".

 

It was vetted however due to the proximity and the time it took from it being assigned to them and them arriving chaos had arrived and corrupted large swathes of the moon.

 

3rd Question - If the corruption was as widespread as you describe it how come the world was not subjected to an Exterminatus?

 

Fleet was so badly damaged from initial salvo it had to retreat from orbit or face further losses.

 

Plus when there arrived the PDF were still fighting and so rather then wipe the loyal troops out.

 

Finally, vengence is best served via a chainsword.

 

4th Question - Does the chapter possess some kind of different transformation method (like Blood Angles) compared to other Codex chapters? I am asking because 5 years is not enough to produce a single generation of new marines.

 

Ok, so from my research it was, that's why I chose 5 years, I believe I got the info from the 40k wikipedia. It wasnt a number made up, bit if this is wrong I'm happy to change it accordingly.

 

 

 

5th Question - How come the chapter recruits only from volunteers and is that an important part of their beliefs?

 

The Chapter was busy rebuilding and consolidating what they had, future recruits will be drafted from worlds liberated is the plan.

 

6th Question - How come Agathea has such a high percentage of compatibility among the recruits?

 

I took this information from a Blood Angels Novel I read which detailed the success rate.

 

Again if this is wrong I will change.

 

7th Question - Why does the chapter intentionally reduce its chances to transform recruits into marines by starting the process at a later than recomended age?

 

The 1st drafting was at a older age based on who survived but future drafting go back to the norm.

 

I look forward to your comments and recommendations.