Index Astartes: Harbingers of Sorrow

[Sete]

                Harbingers of Sorrow

 

 

The Harbingers of Sorrow are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of Primaris Marines created during the Ultima Founding (ca. 999.M41) from the noble but cursed genetic seed of the Blood Angels. They are so named for their ruthless methods of war.

 

Chapter Master; Lord Dominion Lourenço

 

Homeworld

* Velicus: An ocean-covered world with sprawling, ancient port cities built into coastal cliffs. The climate is rarely overcast but it is prone to heavy mists and sudden violent storms. The people are hardy, seafarers and traders, with a deep respect for both the bountiful and destructive power of the sea. Their culture is rich in maritime tradition and stoic endurance in the face of hardship. The architecture features intricate stonework, painted tiles and grand but often somber cathedrals and monuments overlooking the fierce oceans.

 

Combat Doctrine

Adherence to the Codex Astartes in terms of organization and battlefield procedures.

   * Favour shock assault and close air-support tactics, and are used to performing drop assaults and boarding actions.

 

Geneseed

The Flaw is present but with low incidence of the Black Rage.

* Brothers that fall to the Black Rage are put in stasis until the time for conflict predictably arrives. They are solemn equipped with golden armour and black wings, as they have the honour and curse of reliving their primarch last moments. Only one is deployed per battle and in their last singular honor, they soar through the battlefield and engage the champions and leaders of the enemy, every single one in their eyes, a shard of Horus the betrayer. 

They are known as the "Shade of Sanguinius"

 

Motto

 

"When Darkness falls, We Soar"

 

 

Chapter History

The chapter was given tithe of Velicus a civilized planet on Segmentum Pacificus, to help reinforce the sector against heresy and the emerging threat of the Tyranids on the sector.

 

Home to around to 250 million people, it was, until the arrival of the Harbingers of Sorrow, a trivial planet with nothing of note about it.

 

The population is profoundly religious and took the arrival of the Emperors Angels of Death as a sign of being chosen by the God Emperor Himself, and as such it is with a humble pride they send their sons as tithe to the chapter.

Still familiar bonds are strong and it's not with fanfare but with mourning that this is celebrated, as the hunger of war is forever unsated.

 

Recruitment

The chapter keeps chapels on the main continents, serving as recruiting grounds and places of worship, altough one particular chapel serves the opposite purpose...

On desolate island it stands alone, grim and foreboding, an ill omen to even mention its name, for those who go in are never seen again. Those who have commited unforgivable crimes  are abandoned there and forgotten, their fate forever a mystery.

 

Chapter Monastery 

The chapter spiritual and operational center is a heavily fortified orbital monastery built on an asteroid  called " Arx Lacrima " it features powerful void shields and an armed orbital ring, on a synchronous orbit with the planet.

 

 

The Flaw

At its inception and for a few initial decades the chapter battle brothers did not manifest the "flaw of Sanguinious", but eventually the curse of the primarch surfaced.

 

The chapter Judiciars, know as Wardens, keep constant vigil of their chapter brethren, and are responsible for identifying the signs that a warrior of the chapter is about to succumb.

Those who fall are surrendered into the care of the Reclusiam and put into stasis until the time for battle is nigh.

Unlike other chapters, they are not formed into Death Company squads, but given the singular honor of doning the Black Wings.

They are Sanguinious Wrath given form. Clad with Golden Power Armour, an Encarmine Blade and the bespoke winged jump pack, they take to the battlefield and are unleashed upon the enemy, an almost unstoppable force of nature, an echo of the fury of the lost primarch.

This is know as the "Somber Fate".

 

Chapter Culture

The Harbingers of Sorrow are fanatically devoted to the Emperor and Primarch.

Sanguinious the Martyr, is their fate made manifest, and the exemplar they strive to achieve, only in death does their duty ends.

Before battle the chapter congregates in what's known as the Vigil of Mourning, where the Chaplains and Librarians lead melancholic and soulful prayers. These vigils are meant to acknowledge and perhaps temporarily contain the darker aspects of their geneseed. 

At the end of the Vigil,  a drink known as Sangria, is shared between the brothers of the chapter.

 

Organization

 

The Harbingers of Sorrow closely follow codex standards. The chain of command within the Chapter is highly authoritarian, and all orders given by a superior are to be obeyed without question. Lieutenants are known as Commanders, Captains are called Dominion, and the Chapter Master is known as the Lord Dominion.

The elite of the chapter veterans are organised as the Angels Tears, serving as honor guard for the command of the chapter.

 

One particular idiosyncracie of the chapter is the refusal to use jump packs, a distinction reserved for the victims of the primarch curse. 

It is unknown what led to this decision, despite what rumours and conjecture say.

Due to this, they do not field Sanguinary Guard.

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 01:59 PM by Sete

[Sete]

I have been feeling a bit unhappy about my DiY as tend to focus always on similar themes. I decided to take a new approach and focus on theme core of Portugal cultural disposition. 

With this in mind I'm trying to focus more on the Fado (fate) Saudade (melancholic longing) and I do feel like the Blood Angels are the perfect medium for this.

 

One particular feature that I want on the chapter is to use the death company as a way to honor the battle brothers, as they are the epitome of the inescapable fate.

Edited July 20 by Sete

[Sete]

I'm overall done with the chapter fluff, open to any critic/sugestions/praise :3

 

 

[Lysimachus]

Very much like the feel of this Chapter.

 

The description of the Homeworld is great. I was picturing something Mediterranean, maybe Renaissance Italy, until I saw your last post re Portugal. Still, I wasn't a billion miles away, so your description in the article was obviously good!

 

I also like the idea of a BA Primaris Chapter that is only just starting to lose Marines to the Thirst/Rage. I'm picturing the Shades almost like the Lone Wolves, would they play in-game as a single Independent Character (Sanguinor, maybe?) going out to wreck as much stuff as possible before they die!

 

Interesting to think about such a Chapter moving forwards, too. Will the number that fall to the Rage increase over time? Presumably it will. How many stasis fields do they have? What happens when there are more ‘Shades’ than there are places for them to rest? Do the Chapter still see them as special… or do they begin to see them in the same way the other BA Successors do, as a curse and a shame?

 

Perhaps these aren't questions you even need to answer, as it maintains the positive, hopeful aspect… but I like the idea that as readers we all know that ‘hope is the first step on the road to disappointment’.

 

Anyway, very nice work.

 

[Sete]

10 hours ago, Lysimachus said:

The description of the Homeworld is great. I was picturing something Mediterranean, maybe Renaissance Italy, until I saw your last post re Portugal.

My exact intention! Glad I was able to convey it.

 

10 hours ago, Lysimachus said:

Shades almost like the Lone Wolves, would they play in-game as a single Independent Character (Sanguinor, maybe?) going out to wreck as much stuff as possible before they die!

In gameplay terms a Death Company Captain with Jump Pack with Speed of the Primarch enhancement.

 

10 hours ago, Lysimachus said:

Interesting to think about such a Chapter moving forwards, too. Will the number that fall to the Rage increase over time? Presumably it will. How many stasis fields do they have? What happens when there are more ‘Shades’ than there are places for them to rest? Do the Chapter still see them as special… or do they begin to see them in the same way the other BA Successors do, as a curse and a shame?

In all honesty, I'll go with the old 40k adage, of there are as many eldar as the narrative requires it to be.

 

It is "special" as it is a condition they can't escape, hence why its known as the "Somber Fate", they are very well aware its a part of their cursed gene seed, but it is also a glimpse on the last moments of Sanguinious. That is the closest they can get to their Primarch on the battlefield. It is an honor, but a cursed one non the less. 

10 hours ago, Lysimachus said:

Perhaps these aren't questions you even need to answer, as it maintains the positive, hopeful aspect… but I like the idea that as readers we all know that ‘hope is the first step on the road to disappointment’.

 

Anyway, very nice work.

Thank you :3