IA: The Mourners 2.0

[Ulfir]

There we go, after a long hiatus I've updated and added to my Blood Angels successor chapter, The Mourners. Still a little bit more to add here and there but mostly complete.

 

Liber, have at it!

 

THE MOURNERS

CHAPTER NAME: .............. THE MOURNERS

FOUNDING: ..................9_TH [M35]

CHAPTER WORLD: .............LORIEN SECUNDUS

FORTRESS MONASTERY: ........THE BLOODSPIRE

GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ...BLOOD ANGELS

KNOWN DESCENDANTS: .........NONE

 

 

"Remember the dead and honour their sacrifice" – High Chaplain Selaphiel [272.M36]

 

 

B

orn from Blood Angels gene stock, The Mourners belong to the 9th founding of Adeptus Astartes and were tasked with retaking lost Imperial planets currently under the yoke of xenos oppression in the north-eastern region of Segmentum Ultima and safeguarding local Imperial systems against the xenos threat. As part of the crusading force, The Mourners brought a vast swathe of worlds back under Imperial rule, recruiting and resupplying from the worlds they helped conquer; however, after losing nearly a full half of their fighting forces freeing the worlds of the Lorien system from xenos rule, the upper echelons of the chapter agreed a change had to be made. They couldn’t rebuild and fight at the same time, crusading with so few Astartes would be nothing more than a slow death for the chapter. Under the bright sky of Lorien Secundus, Chapter Master Bethor decreed that, for The Mourners, the crusade was ended and the world underfoot, where they lost so many of their brothers, would be the chapter’s new home. To mark the importance of this day and in remembrance to their honoured dead a great funeral pyre was constructed, the chapter master vowing it would continue to burn as long as the chapter remained.

 

 

HOMEWORLD

 

The Lost Lights

The land surrounding the great funeral pyre is known amongst the chapter as 'The Lost Lights'. Outside the great domed structure, surrounded by a void shield to protect them, are thousands of candles; each one representing a lost battle brother. The candles are tended to by chapter serfs in service to the reclusiam, each one burning for twice the length of time served by the battle brother it represents.

 

Lorien Secundus is a world of natural beauty marred by many centuries of war and oppression; it is a small planet by Imperial standards and is orbited by three moons. From orbit one can see snow-capped mountain ranges, vast lakes and rolling grasslands, occassionally giving over to ruined cities and radioactive wastelands. Before The Mourners freed this world the local populace suffered heavily at the hands of xenos invaders; their cities destroyed with atomic weaponry, the resulting fallout poisoning the water and killing or mutating wildlife in the surrounding areas. The people were enslaved by their xenos conquerors and forced to toil in labour camps or fight in the arena pits. Since being liberated they have been welcomed back into the Imperial fold and have begun to re-settle their home world, small townships and villages working the fertile lands still remaining. All traces of the xenos taint have been scoured from the planet by the chapter.

 

The Bloodspire, fortress monastery of The Mourners, stands proud in the largest of the planet’s radioactive wastelands; the crimson tower jutting forth like a spear through the back of a diseased beast. At the base of the tower, void shielded and enclosed in a great dome of stained glass, lies the great funeral pyre; it is seen by the chapter as one of their greatest treasures, it's multi-hued luminance is still clearly visible from low orbit. The tower itself is surrounded by concentric walls of immense thickness and reaches almost half as far underground as it does above ground. Orbital defence platforms surround the planet, locked in geostationary orbit above key points; the largest of these is locked above The Bloodspire itself and is often used as a resupply station for the chapter fleet.

 

 

GENESEED

The Insanguination Ritual

Being a Blood Angel successor, aspirants of The Mourners partake in the insanguination ritual as part of their journey to becoming full fledged battle brothers; this ritual differs slightly from other chapters. The Mourners sanguinary priests add ash from the great pyre to the blood of Sanguinius, so that the chapters honoured dead may infuse the newly born Astartes with their essence and protection.

 

The Mourners' geneseed has suffered further degradation when compared to other sons of Sanguinius. Mutations have affected blood flow and pigmentation in the eye and skin, causing the chapter to have constant bloodshot sclera, blood red irises, and an ashen complexion. These changes usually start maniftesting whilst the aspirant is undergoing their scout training, though some have been known to emerge from their sarcophagi already changed. Because of this, the Marines only remove their helms exclusively in the presence of their own battle-brothers or other sons of the angel, knowing their strange features are likely to be met with suspicion and distrust by the wider Imperium. The Mourners bear the curses that most other sons of Sanguinius suffer: the Black Rage and the Red Thirst. The Black Rage manifests as free-flowing tears of blood alongside the common berserker madness recorded by other chapters. In contrast, the effects of the Red Thirst are far reduced amongst the chapter; many only feeling its pull in the heat of bloody battle.

 

 

 

The Mourners chapter colours

 

ORGANISATION

 

 

The Mourners are sons of Sanguinius, as such their company colours and squad markings closely follow that of their parent chapter, the Blood Angels. Red for tactical, blue for devastator, yellow for assault, and gold for veteran. The only difference of note being that The Mourners only have the squad sergeant use the company colour on his helm.

 

The Mourners paint their armour a dark claret, black pauldrons are trimmed with gold. Other embellishments are also often trimmed with gold, notably the Aquila often embossed on their armour. They have been known to wear loincloths, tabards, and, though rarely, robes of black cloth over their armour. The chapter symbol is a single blood drop on a field of black; this symbol is replicated with rubies and garnets on the left pauldron of every suit of armour in the chapter’s possession.

 

The Mourners possess fewer than 30 suits of tactical dreadnought armour, the chapter eschewing the extra protection offered by the bulky suits in favour of the increased mobility granted by standard power armour. The chapter is known for having artfully modified suits of armour; with personal items and battle trophies often adorning the armour and weaponry of each Astartes. The Mourners artificers believe this adornment pleases the armour’s machine spirit and assists it in protecting the suits bearer. Red tears are painted on the helms of those belonging to the death company as a further sign that they are in the grips of the rage, the black paint used to colour the armour containing ash from the pyre so that past fallen brothers may protect those in the clutch of the Black Rage.

 

 

 

 

 

SELECTED BATTLE HONOURS

 

 

The Sundering of Akafur [973.M37]

The planet of Akafur rebels against Imperial rule and an Imperial Guard force is sent to assist in pacifying the rebellion. When the Imperial Guard commander sends an frantic request for additional support, a company of The Mourners chapter is sent to assist with the pacification. Upon arriving, the chapter discovers the true extent of problems. Most of the Imperial guard forces sent to pacify the planet have been destroyed, with the survivors having fallen either to madness or the worship of the Chaos. Despite killing the heretical leadership and ending the Chaos insurrection, the Inquisition later declares exterminatus and the planet is destroyed.

 

The Ariom Campaign [509.M39]

The Ariom Sector has been isolated from the Imperium by fierce warp storms for over 300 years. When the storms finally seem to abate, two companies of The Mourners and one company of The Storm Hunters, alongside a large number of Imperial Guard and Ecclesiarch forces, are sent to reclaim the lost worlds. They soon discover that the previously devout worlds are now under the rule of Chaos warbands and brigands. The joint force is eventually able to wrest control of the sector from the forces of Chaos, completely wiping out the Baleful Screams warband in the process.

 

The Nightfall Shadow [656.M41]

The space hulk known as The Nightfall Shadow emerges from the warp on the edge of the Vatera system and Orks begin to spill forth from the wreck, falling on the lightly defended agri-worlds of the system with great savagery. A full battle company of The Mourners is dispatched to drive back the Ork invaders and destroy the hulking menace.

Edited March 7, 2021 by Ulfir

[Bjorn Firewalker]

You're off to a good start. I commend the no-nonsense narration, with minimal Matt Ward-y "My Chapter is the bestest!!!" self-indulgence that ruins more IAs than I can count.

They have been known to wear loincloths, tabards, and, though rarely, robes of black cloth over their armour.

Does this mean you'll modify Dark Angels models for your army?

The joint force is eventually able to wrest control of the sector from the forces of Chaos, completely wiping out the Baleful Screams warband in the process.

More details will be appreciated. Are the Baleful Screams warband one of Word Bearers, as suggested by the line "They soon discover that the previously devout worlds are now under the rule of Chaos warbands and brigands"?

 

Nitpick:

"Chaos" should always be capitalized when referring to the Ruinous Powers.

More nitpicking, with my emphases:

Because of this, the Marines only remove their helms exclusively in the presence of their own battle-brothers or other sons of the Angel,

Replaced "Chapter" with "Marines"; added a dash between "battle" and "brothers", as seen in codices and Black Library novels; and capitalized "Angel", as appropriate when using the term to refer to Sanguinius.

The Mourners bear the curses that most other sons of Sanguinius suffer: the Black Rage and the Red Thirst.

Replaced "over" with "other", the semicolon with a colon.

Edited March 5, 2021 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Gamiel]

Nice.

 

Could see them paint or tattoo symbolic tears on their faces. Also, based on the the Lost Lights do candles feel fitting as decorations on their armour.

 

I have some mourners themed concepts if you are interested.

[Ulfir]

Thank you Bjorn, I've updated the original post with the changes you've recommended.

 

You're off to a good start. I commend the no-nonsense narration, with minimal Matt Ward-y "My Chapter is the bestest!!!" self-indulgence that ruins more IAs than I can count.

They have been known to wear loincloths, tabards, and, though rarely, robes of black cloth over their armour.

Does this mean you'll modify Dark Angels models for your army?

Yes though they will be small in number and scattered amongst the ranks, I have a few Dark Angels and Templars bits leftover from a past project that I can use. Was also thinking about modifying the Justicar model and using him as a stand in for Mephiston when I start adding some primaris models.

 

 

The joint force is eventually able to wrest control of the sector from the forces of Chaos, completely wiping out the Baleful Screams warband in the process.

More details will be appreciated. Are the Baleful Screams warband one of Word Bearers, as suggested by the line "They soon discover that the previously devout worlds are now under the rule of Chaos warbands and brigands"?

The Baleful Screams warband were actually followers of Slaanesh, a mix of noise marines and LatD guardsmen. The overall idea for this was a Sabbat Worlds style campaign containing a bunch of different Chaos and renegade factions vs the attacking Imperial ones but could never get it past the planning stage. As the Baleful Screams were another of my homebrews, that is still sitting on sprue in my seemingly endless to do pile, I decided they could take the loss and be added as some flavour text to my main chapter.
 

Nice.

 

Could see them paint or tattoo symbolic tears on their faces. Also, based on the the Lost Lights do candles feel fitting as decorations on their armour.

 

I have some mourners themed concepts if you are interested.

I was originally going to do something like this as I loved the scene from Horus Rising where they were going to paint tears on Sanguinius, but thought I'd leave it to just tears painted on the helmets for the death company. Mostly because a tear facial tattoo has certain real world connotations. Funny you should mention the candles, I have plans to make a primaris chaplain using the flaming brazier that comes with the Salamanders kit or something similar.