IA : Mercurial Lords

[Dark Apostle Thirst]

Index Astartes : Mercurial Lords

Origins

 

In the dark days of the 10th Founding were the Mercurial Lords conceived from abundant Ultramarine genestock. The Imperium was shaken by the Ur-Council declaring itself a separate state, and the Mechanicus was preparing itself to burn in the light of the Moirae schism. With the biggest threats to the Imperium seeming to come from merely within, the young Lords (or simply Sons of Ultramar, as they had been tentatively named) looked to Macragge for inspiration. There was an empire within the Imperium, yes, but fully unlike these rebels in its steadfastness to the Golden Throne and humanity. Indeed, the success of the Five Hundred worlds helped then, as it does today, to stabilize the wider regions around it with consistent access to military and material support in times of crisis. It was a simple conclusion for the early Lords that the most good they could do as a chapter for the Imperium was to find a stable, but perhaps inefficient sector, step in to govern it, and then spread that stability to the regions around it, and from those regions to those that followed.

It is this mission, this impetus, that led to a brief century of crusading as the Lords searched for their domain amongst the benighted and besieged worlds of the Imperium. As civil war raged, the chapter steadfastly committed themselves to the Xenos and Chaos threats that arose, eager to exploit the gaps in defenses the civil war left behind. A trail was blazed across the galaxy as the Lords support countless PDF forces and guard regiments too small to be caught up in the wider conflict, but too small to properly defend themselves against whatever foreign threat arose to take their world from the Emperor's light.

 

It was on this quest that the Lords found a bountiful system, Vacilius Greater. The chapter had initially stopped in the system to refuel and restock, but found it ideal for their purposes upon closer inspection. Not listed in the system's records as inhabited was a small world close to the system's star, tidally locked so that one side always faced the blistering heat of day, while the other was shrouded in protective night. In the cold side of this planet, officially dubbed 'M-5X22RC7', was a small mining colony supplying the manufacturing world further from the star. The colonists had dubbed the world 'Little Mercury' out of affection for their strange home. The chapter quickly became enamored by this reference to one of Holy Terra's sister planets, and settled their fortress-monastery on this auspicious symbol. Their home and purpose finally clarified with reality, the chapter quickly rebranded themselves the Mercurial Lords, and set about preparing to march. Now the chapter's true mission could begin.

 

History

Young and invigorated by a new sense of identity, the Mercurial Lords sprang into action. A handful of suitable veterans were given instructions to organize Vacilius Greater as a proud seat of the new empire - taking command of the worlds to govern them, establishing an efficient and prosperous chain of resources as a future supply line, and beginning the next generation of Chapter recruits. The rest of the chapter surged into the surrounding star systems, wiping out pirate and xenos infestations, and bringing to heel any rebellious worlds that had grown too bold in the wake of the Ur-Council's defiance. In ten years every system that had a warp-lane that touched Vacilius Greater had been cleansed of any threat to the Lord's new home. Three colonies had become two dozen, and the first phase of pacification had been completed.

From there, expansion slowed, but not much. The Lords worked carefully, meticulous that their gains would not be taken from them. From Little Mercury and the planets already found loyal flowed new colonies into suitable worlds, and in turn those worlds were governed to improve their infrastructure, their wealth of their resources, and their influence. The silvered colors of the Chapter became bywords for good fortune and the reward of faith as the quality of living for their citizenry soared. For many, simply having the security that no xenos or raiders would darken their skies was enough to buy their loyalty. For others, the cessation of political turmoil and a promise of a steady hand to guide their futures won their support. In time, these worlds themselves would be developed into the bedrock of stability for other, newer colonies, as the Lords that oversaw them cultivated new Guard regiments to defend them, new shipyards and fleets to patrol them, and new allies to hold them.

For the Lords knew that they could not be petty kings, alone ruling in the safe domain they were creating. The Imperium was too vast, too complex, and it was against the Codex for any one space marine to have too much power. So the Guard regiments were fairly and generously tithed to High Command of the Astra Militarum, and the fleets and shipyards were either given as gifts, if not invited to be directly constructed by, the Navis Imperialis. It was the Lords who reached out to the Mechanicus, asking them to establish new Forge Worlds on planets that were rich in resource and logistically convenient. The chapter gave freely of the worlds they conquered to the members of these organizations who stood steadfast against rebellion. This, in turn, legitimized the Mercurial Lords claim to the worlds they kept, as the other powers of the Imperium were incentivized to work with and indeed empower the chapter to bring in more spoils of war.

And time passed, and the Mercurial Lords mission did not change. Though they eventually stopped claiming worlds as their own to govern, the chapter's reach became wide amongst the dense clusters of stars. Even if they did not claim fealty to the chapter themselves, many worlds became indebted by way of the Lords saving them from hostile invasion, Chaos corruption, or from being overthrown in rebellion. Others were colonies fully created by the chapter, guarded over until they could guard themselves. Still others were dependent on food, material, or manpower from one of the chapter's worlds. Over 900 years, close to a millennia, the chapter built a grand web of star systems bound logistically and politically together. It was no Ultramar, but the Lords toiled for a thousand years to build it. By this time, every marine that served had been made since after the chapter had settled on Little Mercury. It was becoming popular for marines to wear a shield or a token emblazoned with the heraldry of the world they had been recruited from, and in this way over a hundred worlds were represented among the brothers of the chapter.

All was not well, however, in the wider Imperium. Even as Segmentum Pacificus rejoins the Imperium in the Cataclysm of Souls, marking a hopeful end to a dark age of rebellion, the Ecclesiarchy begins siphoning funds and resources away from the rest of the Imperium to build monuments to their own power and the Emperor's glory. Initially the Mercurial Lords turn a blind eye to this -
they judged resources spent by the Ecclesiarchy as important for maintaining the loyalty of the faithful. And, surprisingly, another chapter had settled on one of the worlds well within the influence of the Mercurial Lords. These were Blood Angel successors, claiming to be from the 13th Founding, calling themselves the Sanguinary Ghosts. They claimed a psychic vision from their chief Librarian had led them to settle there, on a world called Mallach V, a world ravaged by Exterminatus some centuries before. Yet the world had become a secret outpost of a far reaching Chaos cult, which was quickly purged by the Ghosts. Surprised and troubled by this news of a secretive Chaos cult that might be affecting their worlds, the Lords quietly accepted their strange new brothers.

Ecclesiarchal spires rose across a dozen worlds claimed in the name of His most holy church, and with those spires rose taxes and demands of their neighbors. Unrest rippled from these places of worship, but for the first time the chapter hesitated to intervene. The demands of the Ecclesiarchy were taking from the wealth and infrastructure that the chapter had so carefully constructed, and in doing so inciting the very rebellion the Lords wanted it to prevent. Still, the power of the church was growing, as was the Inquisition. Reluctantly the Mercurial Lords stepped forward to intervene, but they did so first attempted to balance political and diplomatic strength to convince the Cardinals of Mercurous into compromises and more merciful demands, even as across the Imperium the demands of the Ecclesiarchy grew and grew.

Tensions continued to escalate despite the Lords best efforts, until Goge Vandire seized the title of Ecclesiarch and plunged the Imperium into the Reign of Blood. In such a time of crisis, the Lords could do little. For even one Hive to defy Vandire would a system burn, and indeed countless innocents were purged in the name of the Ecclessiarch’s tyranny. If the Mercurial Lords were to make a move against Vandire, they feared he would put to torch their entire realm. Everything they had built could be so quickly rendered naught but ash if the baleful attentions of Vandire turned toward the chapter, and so the Lords turned a blind an eye they could towards the terror and the tyranny.

Though it was the pragmatic choice, this dark time is still considered a shameful mark on the history of the chapter. But Vandire was eventually beheaded by the will of the Emperor Himself, and as the news reached the Lords, they celebrated the death of a tyrant and the end of fear for their people. Pleased with the Daughters of the Emperor for finally destroying Vandire, they invited the Ordos to form several Preceptories on their worlds. To this day, there is a strong presence of the Orders of the Sacred Rose and Our Martyred Lady on the worlds governed by the Mercurial Lords.

At last the Age of Apostasy came to a close. By this time, the Lords had served for two thousand years. In the last thousand, they had served often alongside the Sanguinary Ghosts, though the other chapter preferred to keep themselves at arms length. First they had expanded their own power and influence, then they had defended and built it up further and further. Their first colonies were now thriving metropolises; their allied forge worlds were titans of industry and power that hosted their own fleets and titan legions. The Imperial Navy patrolled with force in now well tread passages through the Warp, and a thousand regiments of Guardsmen marched from the chapter’s worlds to fight in wars both near and far. It was properly a realm of prosperity, despite the trials and tribulations since the Mercurial Lords began their efforts. Pleased with a seeming new age of peace and prosperity, the chapter finally decreed their mission finished. Their realm - which they called the River of Mercury - was theirs to protect, to guide, to hold as a shining example of loyalty to the Imperium and the Emperor. It was not Ultramar, but every Lord hoped it would make Guillimann proud that they followed his example.

And so they did. Years became decades. Decades became centuries. Centuries became millennia. And finally, once again, did there come the turning of the age. To the Time of Ending.

The beginning of the end, for the Lords, came with the Necrons. First one world was revealed to be a tomb world, and the Lords, unwilling to let these xenos take even a single inch from the River, retaliated in full force. But the campaign was costly, and before it was over three more worlds had terrible monoliths and vast metal legions rising from the earth. New regiments of Guard were commissioned. The Ordos of Sisters and the Legions of Skitarii mobilized to face this new threat, but as quickly as they committed to one conflict another world would cry out for help.

As word of the fighting spread, the Ork Freebootaz, long a threat kept out of the River but too large for the chapter and its allies to exterminate on their own, turned their attention to these new battlegrounds. Worlds who freely gave of their own troops to help their neighbors found themselves with only the lightest of defenses against an unprecedented WAAAAAAGH, and often Imperial relief forces would respond to the Necron threat only to find themselves fighting a two-front war with an endless greenskin horde. Worlds thought impassable began to fall, and with them came a dozen others before these twin invasions. Worse, with time the Necrons no longer came from just beneath the Imperials feet, but from systems afar, those never in the River, and they came as harbingers of a Necron dynasty re-awakening.

Something had to be done. The Chapter Master of the Mercurial Lords summoned the First, Second, Fifth and Sixth companies, a powerful naval entourage, a dozen regiments of Guardsmen, and the Titan Legion of Trikroan to march on the apparent seat of this Necron Dynasty. Though it was far from the comfort and the needs of the River of Mercury, beheading the dynasty was reasoned to be the only way to stop more tomb worlds from awakening and threatening the realm. With their course resolved, the powers assembled, then launched their fleet towards the capital of the Necron dynasty that so plagued them.

It was then the maw of hell opened and the Cicatrix Maledictum screamed its way into reality.

The Mercurial River lay right along its path, yet in some miracle of the Emperor, it was not wholly consumed. All around it lay terrible Warp storms, save for two exit points : one to the Imperium Sanctus, and one to the Imperium Nihilus. The Lords themselves were at first blind to what this meant. To them, it meant only one thing - a chance to evacuate the doomed peoples they had so carefully cultivated. The chapter had one last duty to fulfill - to prove the Emperor protects the faithful.

They drew up battle plans, made one last coordination of their allies, and sent out a general distress cry, one among countless others as the dread warp storm ravaged the galaxy. Then the survivors marched. They engaged the daemons spilling out from the Warp, ready and hungry to devour the souls of the innocent. They struck out against the Necrons, casting devastation upon the tombs to buy time for colonists to escape. Even as the orks pressed in, gleeful at the bounty of war that suddenly appeared around them, the chapter pushed back, committing to devastating last stands.

But something strange happened that they did not expect. Even as the chapter dwindled, the Sanguinary Ghosts, for so long distant and mysterious, appeared time and time again by their side. It was not enough, but the two chapters committed to fighting and dying together. Even as such oaths were sworn, however, another fleet arrived from Imperium Nihilus. It was a crusader chapter, with what relief forces they could gather, calling themselves the Thundering Wings. They came to protect the chain of warp lanes still intact that could lead them to Imperium Sanctus. Even with their relief forces, however, it was clear that they would not be enough either to slow the doom of the Mercurial River. It was only a matter of time before their assembled enemies overwhelmed them. Still, the Chapter Master of the Thunder Wings, Elias the Heartpiercer, insisted they try to hold the channel. This was bigger than the River.

Together they fought, until Elias was proven correct. A mere year and a half after the Wings deployed, though an eternity to the besieged Imperial forces, a much, much larger fleet appeared in the skies above Little Mercury. This was the Indomitus Crusade, the saving grace of Rouboute Guilliman. He spoke once with the acting Chapter Master of the Mercurial Lords, Callistus Maklin, before departing two days later for Imperium Nihilus. Seventeen chapters of Primaris Marines stayed in the River, the total twenty forming a council, with Callistus at its head, and there was at last again hope.

-----------------

Comments and feedback welcome.

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by Dark Apostle Thirst

[Minigiant]

I extend my greetings to the Mercurial Lords as they step into the halls of The Liber. Your contribution to the Index Astartes is received with great anticipation, and I, along with our esteemed readers, am eager to delve into the history and exploits of your Chapter.

 

As I perused your initial draft, a thought emerged regarding the nomenclature. It's true that the moniker "Lords" might lead to ambiguity considering the intricate hierarchy of the Adeptus Astartes and the involvement of the High Lords of Terra. Perhaps adopting the full title "Mercurial Lords" throughout your account could help eliminate any potential confusion, allowing readers to immerse themselves more deeply in your Chapter's unique narrative.

 

I concur that the grim darkness of the Warhammer 40,000 universe often leans towards a more visceral and unrelenting portrayal. The phrase "but perhaps inefficient sector, step in to govern it, and then spread that stability to the regions around it, and from those regions to those that followed" might indeed come across as overly pragmatic and subtle, whereas the Imperium and its Astartes typically engage in actions with a greater degree of overt force and sacrifice. In this age of unending war and unforgiving darkness, the Imperium's approach is often marked by brutal necessity rather than strategic finesse. Chapters are known to embark on campaigns of unrelenting fury, descending upon their enemies like vengeful angels of death, their actions driven by the uncompromising ideals of the Emperor.

 

Consider rephrasing this portion to reflect a more direct and unapologetic tone, one that resonates with the unyielding spirit of the Adeptus Astartes. For instance, you could emphasize their willingness to seize control of a sector, crush opposition with unwavering might, and ensure Imperial dominance is unchallenged. This would align your narrative more closely with the established atmosphere of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, where strength and determination are often the guiding principles.

 

[Dark Apostle Thirst]

On 8/17/2023 at 10:25 PM, Minigiant said:

I extend my greetings to the Mercurial Lords as they step into the halls of The Liber. Your contribution to the Index Astartes is received with great anticipation, and I, along with our esteemed readers, am eager to delve into the history and exploits of your Chapter.

 

As I perused your initial draft, a thought emerged regarding the nomenclature. It's true that the moniker "Lords" might lead to ambiguity considering the intricate hierarchy of the Adeptus Astartes and the involvement of the High Lords of Terra. Perhaps adopting the full title "Mercurial Lords" throughout your account could help eliminate any potential confusion, allowing readers to immerse themselves more deeply in your Chapter's unique narrative.

 

I concur that the grim darkness of the Warhammer 40,000 universe often leans towards a more visceral and unrelenting portrayal. The phrase "but perhaps inefficient sector, step in to govern it, and then spread that stability to the regions around it, and from those regions to those that followed" might indeed come across as overly pragmatic and subtle, whereas the Imperium and its Astartes typically engage in actions with a greater degree of overt force and sacrifice. In this age of unending war and unforgiving darkness, the Imperium's approach is often marked by brutal necessity rather than strategic finesse. Chapters are known to embark on campaigns of unrelenting fury, descending upon their enemies like vengeful angels of death, their actions driven by the uncompromising ideals of the Emperor.

 

Consider rephrasing this portion to reflect a more direct and unapologetic tone, one that resonates with the unyielding spirit of the Adeptus Astartes. For instance, you could emphasize their willingness to seize control of a sector, crush opposition with unwavering might, and ensure Imperial dominance is unchallenged. This would align your narrative more closely with the established atmosphere of the Warhammer 40,000 universe, where strength and determination are often the guiding principles.

 

I do like this shift in tone, and I may edit the work to be more brutal in the second pass. Excellent suggestion, thank you.


I have added a History section which is incomplete. I worry it's a little too long now, and it only covers about 1/5th of their history, so I would mostly appreciate feedback on that aspect. Of course, if something else is worth commenting on, please do comment!

Quote

Young and invigorated by a new sense of identity, the Mercurial Lords sprang into action. A handful of suitable veterans were given instructions to organize Vacilius Greater as a proud seat of the new empire - taking command of the worlds to govern them, establishing an efficient and prosperous chain of resources as a future supply line, and beginning the next generation of Chapter recruits. The rest of the chapter surged into the surrounding star systems, wiping out pirate and xenos infestations, and bringing to heel any rebellious worlds that had grown too bold in the wake of the Ur-Council's defiance. In ten years every system that had a warp-lane that touched Vacilius Greater had been cleansed of any threat to the Lord's new home. Three colonies had become two dozen, and the first phase of pacification had been completed.

From there, expansion slowed, but not much. The Lords worked carefully, meticulous that their gains would not be taken from them. From Little Mercury and the planets already found loyal flowed new colonies into suitable worlds, and in turn those worlds were governed to improve their infrastructure, their wealth of their resources, and their influence. The silvered colors of the Chapter became bywords for good fortune and the reward of faith as the quality of living for their citizenry soared. For many, simply having the security that no xenos or raiders would darken their skies was enough to buy their loyalty. For others, the cessation of political turmoil and a promise of a steady hand to guide their futures won their support. In time, these worlds themselves would be developed into the bedrock of stability for other, newer colonies, as the Lords that oversaw them cultivated new Guard regiments to defend them, new shipyards and fleets to patrol them, and new allies to hold them.

For the Lords knew that they could not be petty kings, alone ruling in the safe domain they were creating. The Imperium was too vast, too complex, and it was against the Codex for any one space marine to have too much power. So the Guard regiments were fairly and generously tithed to High Command of the Astra Militarum, and the fleets and shipyards were either given as gifts, if not invited to be directly constructed by, the Navis Imperialis. It was the Lords who reached out to the Mechanicus, asking them to establish new Forge Worlds on planets that were rich in resource and logistically convenient. The chapter gave freely of the worlds they conquered to the members of these organizations who stood steadfast against rebellion. This, in turn, legitimized the Mercurial Lords claim to the worlds they kept, as the other powers of the Imperium were incentivized to work with and indeed empower the chapter to bring in more spoils of war.

And time passed, and the Mercurial Lords mission did not change. Though they eventually stopped claiming worlds as their own to govern, the chapter's reach became wide amongst the dense clusters of stars. Even if they did not claim fealty to the chapter themselves, many worlds became indebted by way of the Lords saving them from hostile invasion, Chaos corruption, or from being overthrown in rebellion. Others were colonies fully created by the chapter, guarded over until they could guard themselves. Still others were dependent on food, material, or manpower from one of the chapter's worlds. Over 900 years, close to a millennia, the chapter built a grand web of star systems bound logistically and politically together. It was no Ultramar, but the Lords toiled for a thousand years to build it. By this time, every marine that served had been made since after the chapter had settled on Little Mercury. It was becoming popular for marines to wear a shield or a token emblazoned with the heraldry of the world they had been recruited from, and in this way over a hundred worlds were represented among the brothers of the chapter.

All was not well, however, in the wider Imperium. Even as Segmentum Pacificus rejoins the Imperium in the Cataclysm of Souls, marking a hopeful end to a dark age of rebellion, the Ecclesiarchy begins siphoning funds and resources away from the rest of the Imperium to build monuments to their own power and the Emperor's glory. Initially the Mercurial Lords turn a blind eye to this -
they judged resources spent by the Ecclesiarchy as important for maintaining the loyalty of the faithful. And, surprisingly, another chapter had settled on one of the worlds well within the influence of the Mercurial Lords. These were Blood Angel successors, claiming to be from the 13th Founding, calling themselves the Sanguinary Ghosts. They claimed a psychic vision from their chief Librarian had led them to settle there, on a world called Mallach V, a world ravaged by Exterminatus some centuries before. Yet the world had become a secret outpost of a far reaching Chaos cult, which was quickly purged by the Ghosts. Surprised and troubled by this news of a secretive Chaos cult that might be affecting their worlds, the Lords quietly accepted their strange new brothers.

For a time, this concern would pause the chapter's expansion, as it raised two worrisome questions. Had they expanded so far they could not longer adequately patrol and defend the worlds they already maintained? Was it possible this taint could reach to the chapter itself?

 

[Dark Apostle Thirst]

History section done. I promise the rest will be much shorter. It turns out a lot can happen in 6000 years.

 

Quote

The Mercurial River lay right along its path, yet in some miracle of the Emperor, it was not wholly consumed. All around it lay terrible Warp storms, save for two exit points : one to the Imperium Sanctus, and one to the Imperium Nihilus. The Lords themselves were at first blind to what this meant. To them, it meant only one thing - a chance to evacuate the doomed peoples they had so carefully cultivated. The chapter had one last duty to fulfill - to prove the Emperor protects the faithful.

They drew up battle plans, made one last coordination of their allies, and sent out a general distress cry, one among countless others as the dread warp storm ravaged the galaxy. Then the survivors marched. They engaged the daemons spilling out from the Warp, ready and hungry to devour the souls of the innocent. They struck out against the Necrons, casting devastation upon the tombs to buy time for colonists to escape. Even as the orks pressed in, gleeful at the bounty of war that suddenly appeared around them, the chapter pushed back, committing to devastating last stands.

But something strange happened that they did not expect. Even as the chapter dwindled, the Sanguinary Ghosts, for so long distant and mysterious, appeared time and time again by their side. It was not enough, but the two chapters committed to fighting and dying together. Even as such oaths were sworn, however, another fleet arrived from Imperium Nihilus. It was a crusader chapter, with what relief forces they could gather, calling themselves the Thundering Wings. They came to protect the chain of warp lanes still intact that could lead them to Imperium Sanctus. Even with their relief forces, however, it was clear that they would not be enough either to slow the doom of the Mercurial River. It was only a matter of time before their assembled enemies overwhelmed them. Still, the Chapter Master of the Thunder Wings, Elias the Heartpiercer, insisted they try to hold the channel. This was bigger than the River.

Together they fought, until Elias was proven correct. A mere year and a half after the Wings deployed, though an eternity to the besieged Imperial forces, a much, much larger fleet appeared in the skies above Little Mercury. This was the Indomitus Crusade, the saving grace of Rouboute Guilliman. He spoke once with the acting Chapter Master of the Mercurial Lords, Callistus Maklin, before departing two days later for Imperium Nihilus. Seventeen chapters of Primaris Marines stayed in the River, the total twenty forming a council, with Callistus at its head, and there was at last again hope.

 

Edited September 10, 2023 by Dark Apostle Thirst

[Dark Apostle Thirst]

Two months later? Let's go.

 

Organization

 

 

The Mercurial Lords, though devoted to their Primarch and the greater brotherhood of the Ultramarines and their fellow successors, are only mostly Codex compliant. The chapter nominally fields the full chapter of Space Marines as normally instructed by the Codex Astartes, with two minor but significant exceptions. Firstly, and most importantly, promising officers with aptitude for the many skills of governance are often scouted by their Captains, many times even when a marine is still a scout in the Tenth Company. If found to be receptive to leadership, these candidates will be groomed to be statesmen and the leaders of not only marines, but worlds, trained in diplomacy, logistics, and statecraft. The most gifted of these mentor under an existing governing Mercurial Lord, to eventually take their place. These Lord-Governors are ultimately loyal to the Chapter Master as their only true commanding officer, but are very much expected to make their own decisions and operate outside a normal chain of command.

This led to the second minor deviation - in addition to submitting new recruits to the Chapter's Tenth Company, Lord-Governors will typically requisition five to twenty marines from one of the 7th, 8th, or 9th companies as their personal hand. This is partially to exercise their own martial might - many having earned a place in the First Company as veterans, and have not entirely cast off that life - and an excellent way to keep their protege's sharp and useful as weapons, not just as leaders. The primary duty of the Chapter remains war, and even with their pride in governing the River, every member of the Chapter must be kept whetted on martial conflict. These retinues are not counted as members of any company, but frequently reintegrate into normal chapter structure to reinforce a company that has suffered losses. In this way, it remains marginally easier for the chapter to reinforce itself - rather than waiting on a regroup with, or a detachment from, the reserve companies of the chapter, companies can simply re-acquire a few squads from nearby Mercurial worlds, who have a less immediate need for marines. These worlds can then wait comfortably for those squads to be replaced. relying instead only on the well-trained special forces units of the local PDF and Guard regiments.

Unfortunately, many among the Chapter consider these 'personal' squads a thing of the past. There's simply been too much pressure to replace the marines that have been recruited, lost, or damned to set aside any for the governors who have their own mortal armies, and many that the governors did have were lost in the long years defending their worlds rather than reinforcing the heart of the chapter.

Otherwise the chapter maintains Codex compliance in structure and organization.

Culture


The Chapter, despite all their diplomatic efforts and logistical structuring, view themselves as crusaders first and foremost. To be selected away from the frontlines for leading mortals was seen as a galling but necessary duty when the Lords first started settling colonies and reclaiming human worlds back into the Imperial fold, the same way one might view a janitor or a bureaucratic desk worker. A major part of why Lord-Governors are allowed to requisition squads outside the regular chain of command is so that they can continue participating in war of some kind, even if only by the proxy of commanding these squads. As the dark times of the last few decades pitted many of these governing Lords against new and powerful threats, many of them would confess to a chaplain that they reveled in the chance to not just maintain and patrol their worlds, but to fight actively for them.

Indeed, it would be hard to find a single other unifying factor that unites all of the chapter.




Culture not done. You don't have to comment on the very long history section