Index Astartes: Death Wolves 2.0
Index Astartes: Death Wolves
Founding: Ultima Founding
Homeworld: Celestia Tertius-Sigma
Fortress Monastery: The Vigilant (Jarlhalle)
Origins
The
Death Wolves are one of a handful of known successor chapters of the
Space Wolves established as part of the Ultima Founding on the direct
orders of Lord Commander Roboute Guilliman, the Primarch of the
Ultramarines. Unlike many of the other Ultima founding chapters however
the Death Wolves were established around a core of veteran firstborn
astartes absorbed into the chapter as it's founding cadre of officers
and specialists, reinforced with several hundred Primaris marines from
the Unnumbered Sons of Russ within the ranks of the Indomitus Crusade
fleets. How this unusual circumstance came about is a long and troubled
story.
In 433.M41 the Great Company of Torstein Ironbrow fought a
bitter campaign against a warband of Thousand Sons traitor marines. The
fighting was fierce and led to the loss of many of the company's
warriors including the Wolf Lord and many of his Wolf Guard bodyguard.
With their commander fallen the company was forced to withdraw from the
campaign to lick it's wounds and reorganize. The former champion of the
company, a young Wolf Guard Battle Leader named Silvar Stormblade was
ultimately elected as the new Jarl of the company. The Wolf Lord would
return the company to Fenris and gather reinforcements before setting
out to hunt down the Thousand Sons warband and seek vengeance for the
company's fallen. For a decade the company fought it's way across the
Segmentum Obscurus, engaging in many battles against many different foes
but throughout this journey they were unable to locate the one enemy
they were seeking. Bitter and bloodied the company was forced to cut
their hunt short and return to Fenris in 444.M41 after they received a
priority call to arms from the Great Wolf himself. They were to race
back home to join the chapter in a great battle against the World Eaters
on the world of Armageddon,.
The campaign against Angron and his crusade of blood was costly and difficult but the conflicts that followed would prove even more challenging. In the wake of the Great Wolf's victory against the traitors and their daemon allies the Inquisition descended on Armageddon and began it's purges, culls and cover-ups. Many thousands of survivors of the First War for Armageddon, civilians, PDF, Imperial Guard and more were slapped in chains and loaded into the bellies of Inquisitorial transports to be taken off to remote prison worlds and isolation camps. The Inquisition deemed that the survivors had witnessed too much and knowledge of the warp and daemons could not be permitted to spread and so no matter how valiantly they had fought or how loyal they were those survivors who did not benefit from significant protection found themselves sentenced to a life of imprisonment, servitude and death under the watchful gaze of the Inquisition.
To
the Space Wolves this treatment of their sworn allies, those men and
women who had shed their blood in battle alongside the Sons of Russ, was
an abomination that could not be allowed to stand. Unable to intervene
immediately in the imprisonment and displacement of the Armageddon
veterans the Space Wolves nevertheless vowed not to abandon their allies
and so the companies of the chapter scattered to the stars, hunting
down and overtaking the transport ships of the Inquisition. These dark
vessels were disabled, boarded and their prisoners liberated one after
another. It did not take the Inquisition long to notice the interference
and take action, calling on the militant arm of the Ordo Malleus, the
secretive Gray Knights chapter, to counter the space wolves aggression.
This would lead to several major clashes between the Sons of Russ and
the Knights of Titan that would culminate in a massive battle in the
skies of Fenris itself between the surprisingly large fleet of the Space
Wolves chapter and a mixed coalition fleet of the Inquisition that
included Imperial Navy, the Gray Knights and the entire Red Hunters
chapter. Although the fighting was fierce it was short and ended when
the ancient Venerable Dreadnought Bjorn the Fell-Handed personally
teleported aboard the Inquisition flagship and used his own reputation
and charisma to bring the conflict to an end.
Although the
Inquisition put down their weapons and departed the Fenris system in
defeat this conflict would not be so easily forgotten. For the
Stormblade Great Company the Months of Shame as the Gray Knights would
come to label this conflict, only served to further embitter and bleed
the company after years of fruitless campaigning.
After the
conclusion of the conflict with the Ordo Malleus the Stormblade Great
Company took some months to repair and re-arm, taking on fresh warriors,
arms, armor and refitting the company ships before setting out once
more into the stars. Although not immediately focused on returning to
the hunt for their former Wolf Lord's killers the company did steer
towards the Segmentum Obscurus once more and found itself campaigning
through parts of the Calixis Sector and the Koronus Expanse before
finally reaching the edges of the Halo Stars sometime around 483.M41.
More than thirty years had passed since the company had last left Fenris
and having reached the nominal edge of the galaxy it was past time to
return once more. Even as the company was preparing for the voyage back
to Fenris the company Rune Priest received a vision of their sworn
enemies lurking within the Halo Stars themselves. This shocking
revelation shook the company to it's core and led to a series of heated
debates between the senior officers and specialists of the company,
leading to a moot of the entire company strength where every
battle-brother was given a chance to speak his mind on whether they
should follow the traces of their priest's vision or return to Fenris
for supplies and reinforcements. Ultimately the weight of opinions
leaned heavily towards following the vision and with the counsel of his
warriors taken into careful consideration Jarl Silvar Stormblade chose
to delay their return to Fenris and follow the visions of the Rune
Priest into the Halo Stars. Silvar ordered his astropaths to send a
message to Fenris to inform the Great Wolf of the company's decision and
intended course but with the variability of the warp and the company's
inability to wait an unknown amount of time for a response they could
not be sure whether their message was received or not.
Well
known as a region of mystery and incredible danger few sane souls would
dare venture into the ancient and largely uncharted region of space but
the Sons of Russ were made of sterner stuff and disregarded the dark
reputation of the Halo Stars, sailing into that realm filled with
renewed purpose. The hunt that would follow was long and fraught with
peril. The company would clash against numerous pirates and renegades,
new and unknown xenos species and encounter strange and unnerving
stellar phenomena yet despite these challenges the Space Wolves of the
Stormblade Great Company would not relent for they had indeed found the
spoor of their foe and could feel themselves drawing closer to their
long awaited vengeance. Years passed but unknown to the company at the
time decades were passing for the wider Imperium. With each jump through
the warp the company was becoming further and further displaced in
time. The company Rune Priest was beginning to suspect that they were
advancing through time much faster than it appeared but it was not until
the company encountered a lost explorator vessel that had only recently
entered the Halo Stars did they realize that although seven years had
passed for the company, nearly a century had passed in the reckoning of
the wider Imperium and the current stellar date was 569.M41. Astounded
the company Rune Priest, astropaths and navigators held a council and
peered into the warp, the Imperial tarot and the runes for answers.
Ultimately they determined that the Thousand Sons were responsible, that
their quarry was attempting to evade his pursuers across time as well
as space and that in their hunt the company had become ensnared in the
time manipulation of their foe as well.
Once
more the company debated their course of action and while more voices
objected to continuing the hunt this time, the majority still sought to
continue after their foe and bring them to justice. After all, they had
already been displaced by decades and were likely assumed dead, there
was little additional harm to suffer to continue. So it was that the
company resumed it's hunt. Through system after system the company
tracked their foe, overtaking and destroying the rearguard of the
Thousand Sons warband time and again until at last, nearly to the edge
of the galaxy in an unnamed stellar system the company at last ran their
quarry to ground. The battle that followed lasted weeks as the opposing
ships dueled in the void from one side of the system to the other
before the great flagship of the traitor warband, an ancient Grand
Cruiser of terrible aspect, was finally crippled and boarded.
Wolf
Lord Silvar Stormblade led the assault personally, at the head of his
Wolf Guard Terminator bodyguard and the bulk of his surviving company
warriors the Sons of Russ carved their way through everything that stood
against them. Sorcerous illusions were dispelled, animated Rubricae
warriors were torn apart, bands of mutants and renegades and strange
horned beastmen were cut down, shot to pieces and slaughtered to the
last before finally the Wolf Lord and the warband's sorcerer lord met in
single combat on the bridge of the ancient ship. Abrax the Undying,
Sorcerer Lord of the Eternal Brethren was a warp-corrupted monstrosity,
multi-armed, bird, legged, winged and feathered, born aloft on a
daemonic disk and wielding a staff of flames the sorcerer was
preternaturally fast and deadly. He evaded or deflected every bolt,
plasma blast and lasbeam that shot towards him and only the devastating
fury of the Wolf Lord's frost-axe proved capable of breaching the
traitor's sorcerous defenses. Although the battle was costly Silvar
Stormblade slew the traitor and took his head, banishing the traitor's
daemonic allies and slaughtering his mortal servants to the last.
With
their long hunt finally ended the company found itself isolated on the
very edge of the galaxy, reduced to a third of it's former strength and
with most of it's fleet lost or severely damaged. Even worse, food,
ammunition and fuel were all running dangerously low. The company great
ship was barely void worthy after the final battle with the Thousand
Sons and the company was in poor shape to fight in any serious conflict.
Jarl Silvar chose to put most of the remaining mortal crew into stasis
sleep, only critical personnel would remain awake and even then most of
those roles would be filled by surviving space wolves of the company
wherever possible. The vessels of the company fleet too damaged to
continue were scuttled and supplies and crew concentrated on the
flagship, an ancient Mars-Class Battlecruiser known as the Harbinger
that the company had acquired as war-geld from a band of renegade
pirates early in their campaign into the Halo Stars after their own
Strike Cruiser had been crippled in battle. Running on minimal power the
company would make many short, cautious warp jumps from one uninhabited
system to another, always avoiding notice or conflict wherever possible
and staying in real-space only long enough to get their bearings before
returning to the warp once more. It had taken years to get as far as
they had and it would take years to return, but exactly how long they
had been gone the company would not learn until at last it returned to
the Koronus Expanse and made contact with the Imperium once more.
As
a matter of fact the year was 891.M41. Four long centuries had passed
since the company had embarked on it's journey into the Halo Stars and
it would take decades longer for them to return to Fenris. Refit in the
Koronus Expanse took five long years, it took another ten to fight their
way out of the expanse, and another thirteen to cross the Segmentum
Obscurus once more. As they went the company was drawn into multiple
smaller conflicts, fighting to aide beleaguered Imperial worlds wherever
possible though always with a mind to preserve the dwindling number of
warriors left to the company. By the time the Stormblade Great Company
returned to the Fenris system on the edge of the Segmentum Solar the
company numbered fewer than fifty warriors from the one hundred and
sixty that had departed Fenris after the First War for Armageddon. It
was now 919.M41, four and a half centuries after the company had
departed.
Their brothers were stunned to see the long-lost
company return and more so when Silvar presented the head of Abrax the
Undying to the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar. Torstein Ironbrow had been
avenged and the honor of the chapter restored but the problem remained
that the company had been declared lost just a few years after it had
entered the Halo Stars and had been replaced in the chapter's ranks
centuries ago. A number of Wolf Lords had risen and fallen in that time,
companies had been raised from death repeatedly and now a band of
battered survivors had returned from the cold void of space to find
their places at the hearth taken by new blood. Grimnar knew that the
company would not take kindly to the suggestion of disbanding and
dispersing among the current companies but by the same token he could
not afford to add another company to the chapter's ranks and rile the
Inquisition still further than he already had in recent centuries.
Instead Grimnar offered to keep the Stormblade Great Company as a lost
company for the time being, he would quietly direct reinforcements to
the company ranks and give them assignments to patrol and protect the
chapter protectorate but he would not officially acknowledge them unless
or until one of the current Wolf Lords fell in battle and then he would
give the lost company the opportunity to merge with the leaderless
company and return to the chapter's ranks once more.
This state
of affairs was troubling to the warriors of the Stormblade Great Company
but they were in no place to argue with the Great Wolf at that time,
short on everything from warriors to ammunition the company and their
lord were grateful for whatever support Grimnar was willing to give
them. Fifty young blood claws, a sizable boon, were transferred to the
company along with stores of fresh supplies. The company fleet was
reinforced with fresh escorts and support craft and their mortal
servants replenished as well. Freshened and ready for a fight the
Stormblade Great Company began it's long mission of patrol and defense
that would last decades. Every twenty years or so the company would
return to Fenris, receive some support and then depart as quietly as
they had arrived. Between those occasional visits to home the company
spent it's time sailing the stars between the scattered domains of the
Space Wolves protectorate, hunting down pirates, renegades and xenos
wherever they could be found and ensuring that the worlds under the
protection of the chapter remained secure.
This situation would
continue until the last years of the forty-first millennium when the
galaxy was torn asunder by war and conflict. The return of the lost 13th
Company scattered the chapter across the stars in an attempt to recover
their lost brothers before the wider Imperium could learn of their
existence. The Stormblade lost company was left out of this hunt
officially but Jarl Silvar still managed to rescue several packs of
Wulfen from remote worlds on the edge of the Segmentum Solar. These
efforts kept him and his company away from Fenris when Magnus launched
his surprise invasion and by the time the lost company returned the
fighting had already ended and most of the chapter had departed for the
Cadian Gate. Jarl Silvar and his men were shocked to see the devastation
wrought on their homeworld and it's surrounding worlds but when they
learned that Grimnar had allowed many thousands of surviving Fenrisians
to be taken by the Inquisition they were driven into a deep fury. Even
worse, although at least one Wolf Lord had fallen in the defense
Grimnar's previous promise of returning the company to the chapter had
been withdrawn, he had left a message for Jarl Silvar informing him that
the Inquisitorial scrutiny on the chapter meant he couldn't acknowledge
the return of a lost detachment of warriors at that time. Enraged and
ashamed Silvar chose to ignore his company's standing orders and set out
to repeat their actions during the Months of Shame, hunting down the
vessels of the Inquisition, overtaking them, boarding them and
liberating the stolen Fenrisians held within. The company was still
engaged in this mission when Cadia fell and the Cicatrix Maledictum
split the galaxy in two.
Barely avoiding the edge of the growing
warp storms the company found itself adrift on the edge of the worst
stellar disaster in the history of the Imperium. The Astronomicon beacon
had gone dark and the warp was a boiling maelstrom even beyond the
borders of the great rift. At that time the company had grown to nearly
two hundred warriors with the addition of several large packs of Wulfen
and the company fleet had grown to encompass half a dozen warships and a
dozen escorts as they had captured and claimed many of the Inquisition
transports they had run down. Yet again Jarl Silvar gathered his
warriors in a grand assembly and let them give voice to their opinions
on the situation. While some argued they should return to the chapter,
having heard that at least one more Wolf Lord had fallen and with the
galaxy torn in two Grimnar might finally be willing to honor his earlier
promise and let them return to the chapter at long last, but the
majority were no longer interested in Grimnar or his promises. The Great
Wolf's actions in the defense of Fenris had been shameful, his bending
the knee to the Inquisition unforgivable. They argued that it was better
to remain as they were, an ignored and abandoned company of exiles than
to go back to Fenris and bend their knee to the Great Wolf that had
ignored and betrayed them and the tribes of Fenris both.
With
the will of his company made clear Jarl Silvar turned his company and
their ships back to the void, sailing along the borders of the great
rift, hurling back incursions of chaos fleets, pirates and xenos and
rendering aide to what Imperial worlds and forces they could while
ignoring and avoiding any detachments of Space Wolves they found. Years
passed this way and by limiting their losses, carefully managing
gene-seed and recruiting fresh warriors from the ranks of the chapter
serfs and recovered Fenrisian tribesmen they had taken back from the
Inquisition the company not only survived but slowly grew in strength.
Their fleet suffered losses but gained new ships too as they captured
renegade and pirate vessels where possible and sought to ever grow the
company's strength. Jarl Silvar took to having the Harbinger lead
the fleet in every warp jump, making short jumps only in close
formation with a team of three to four navigators guiding the flagship
through the storm tides as carefully and safely as possible.
The
worlds the lost company aided were almost exclusively isolated and cut
off, their astropaths dead or blinded and almost all travel between
systems rendered all but impossible by the lack of the astronomicon and
the state of the warp. So it was that it was almost twenty years before
the lost company finally made contact with the Imperium in the form of
the vanguard of the Indomitus Crusade Fleets as they carved their way
across the Imperium Sanctus as it had come to be known. The Astronomicon
had returned in that time and the warp tides had settled somewhat but
travel and communication over any distance were still fraught with
peril. The company had heard rumors from intercepted astropathic
messages that a Primarch had returned, that a new crusade had been
called and a strange new breed of Astartes had appeared but had little
believed these rumors until they encountered the Primaris of the
Indomitus Crusade first hand. Astounded by these new, larger, and
strangely armed warriors the lost company was cagey about who they were
and what they were doing. Suspicions of heresy, treachery or renegade
status were bandied about by the Indomitus Crusade leadership and the
situation risked turning violent when Jarl Silvar demanded an audience
with the returned Primarch, declaring that he would only reveal his
history to the Primarch and that all would be made clear then. Although
still suspicious the request was moved up the chain of command to
Guilliman's right-hand, the Lord Lieutenant Messinius himself. Curious
to know more about this unusual band of Space Wolves the Lord Leiutenant
sailed to meet with the company. Jarl Silvar chose to meet with the
Lord Lieutenant and after a private meeting he and his fleet were
granted permission to follow Messinius and rendezvous with Fleet Primus
and there he would have an audience with the returned Primarch Roboute
Guilliman. Months passed and the voyage was filled with danger and
multiple diversions but eventually they reached the bulk of Fleet Primus
and Jarl Silvar was conveyed aboard the mighty flagship of Roboute
Guilliman, the Gloriana-Class Battleship the Macragge's Honour.
What exactly passed between Silvar and Guilliman is not known for
neither spoke of it or recorded the content of their conversation in any
way but when Silvar departed the Macragge's Honour he did so
with four hundred unnumbered sons of Russ at his back, fresh
reinforcements for his company which would become the founding veteran
cadre of the Ultima Founding successor chapter dubbed the Death Wolves.
Although
significantly reinforced with hundreds of fresh warriors and several
new Primaris strike cruisers the newly minted Death Wolves chapter would
still take some considerable time to find it's footing. Integrating the
new warriors into the chain of command, reorganizing itself into a
chapter proper rather than an oversized company, distributing material
and personnel across the growing fleet and mastering the new implants,
weapons, armor and machines Cawl's Primaris warriors had brought with
them would delay the chapter's departure from the Indomitus Crusade
fleet for months. Trailing behind fleet Primus, aiding in minor missions
of reclamation or extermination, and undertaking much needed repairs
and refits to the chapter's ships the Death Wolves would slowly take
shape as a proper chapter in their own right. Many of the Wolf Guard of
the Stormblade Great Company would be promoted to Wolf Lords, and the
veterans of the company would be dispersed among the Primaris
detachments which themselves were split into a rough approximation of a
complete chapter structure. Six hundred warriors was a sizable force,
but nowhere close to a full-strength chapter and certainly not one
ordered along the dictates of the Sons of Russ rather than the Codex
Astartes. Despite this Chapter Master Silvar Stormblade chose to
nominally form his warriors into thirteen great companies, the same as
the original XIII Legion. Each would consist of roughly fifty warriors
to start with, while the thirteenth company would serve solely as the
domain of the bestial Wulfen.
Liberated from having to recruit
solely from Fenrisian stock thanks to the improvements made by Cawl to
the XIII Legion gene-seed the Death Wolves began drawing recruits from
feral world populations wherever they found them. Especially those
worlds doomed to destruction in the wake of chaos invasion or Tyranid
consumption. Hundreds of thousands were hauled from the surface of these
worlds, used to replenish the crews of the chapter's ships and drafted
into shock assault infantry forces to supplement the chapter's fighting
strength. After months of reorganization and recruitment Silvar
Stormblade chose to take his chapter and depart the ranks of the
Indomitus Crusade fleet and return to isolated campaigning along the
edges of the Great Rift along the Segmentum Solar and Segmentum
Obscurus. Guilliman had given the chapter orders while it was serving
alongside the rearguard of Fleet Primus but the new chapter master chose
to break from the fleet with the explanation that the chapter needed to
find a stable recruiting ground and establish a chapter stronghold of
it's own, not merely continue following in the wake of Fleet Primus and
picking up the scraps. Some recrimination came in return to this
statement but the Death Wolves were already gone by the time the news
filtered up through the crusade chain of command.
One of the
former lost company's favorite hunting grounds was a remote system on
the edge of a small region of space known as the Vanyr sub-sector, a
region of space held as the protectorate domain of the middling sized
Imperial Knight Household known as House Cenwulf. The Celestia System
was technically within the sub-sector but had long been abandoned and
was not deemed a standing part of the protectorate and so there was no
real resistance to the chapter taking up residence there. Thousands of
years ago the system had served as a popular refueling point for ships
moving along the edge of the Segmentum Solar from Fenris to Armageddon
but subtle changes in the stable warp routes in the mid thirty-eighth
millennium had led to the system and the refueling stations located
there being abandoned. In the long centuries after it's formal
abandonment the system had become home to various pirate, renegade and
freebooter warbands who used the remote system as a safe haven from
which to launch raids along the borders of the Segmentum's Solar and
Obscurus. Trailing the pirates to their stronghold had brought the
Stormblade Company to the system for the first time decades earlier and
the warriors of the lost company had become quite fond of the dead and
forbidding system, it's melancholy and derelict state resonating with
the brotherhood adrift.
Now the system stood on the very edge of
the Great Rift and had become a graveyard for ships spat out of the
terrible warp storms in addition to the various abandoned hulks left in
the system from it's time as a major supply point for galactic trade.
Thousands of derelict vessels now filled the system and the Death Wolves
had towed more there during their time patrolling the Fenris sector and
in the decades that followed. After departing from the Indomitus
Crusade the reinforced chapter fleet sailed for the Celestia system and
there set about turning the once pirate refuge into their new home. The
first step was to salvage and restore the old orbital refinery and
dockyard that orbited the gas-giant Tertius Sigma. Known as Vigilant Station
the facility was once a bustling center of trade in the sub-sector
where ships traveling across the northern reaches of the Segmentum Solar
would stop to refuel, resupply and dump waste. The original core of the
facility was a large orbital gas extractor that pulled precious
minerals from the atmosphere of Celestia Tertius and processed them into
fuel, water, oxygen and other useful resources much needed by the
voyaging ships of the Imperium. Around those core refineries a series of
docks, repair facilities, storehouses and basic defenses had grown
until Vigilant Station had become a sizable amalgamated mass of
industry and trade. Yet those days were long ago and centuries of
neglect and occupation by pirates and renegades had left the orbital
station in terrible shape but the Iron Priests and accompanying
tech-adepts of the chapter set to work restoring the station and
refitting it to serve as the fortress monastery of a chapter of the
adeptus astartes. The Death Wolves chose to rename their new home the Jarlhalle
and the station quickly became the central hub of chapter activity as
it's various facilities and systems were slowly brought back into
operation. Having not originally been built as a fortress the station,
docks and refineries would take time to reinforce with armor, shields
and weapons but to supplement the defenses the chapter chose to drag
derelict vessels from across the system and chain them to the station.
Most of these ships were no longer void-worthy, their generators dead,
their engines burned out and keels broken but those that could were
brought together and tethered to the station. Minor attitude adjustment,
emergency power and point defense guns as well as what lances and
broadsides could be repaired, were restored, creating a series of
floating defense installations drifting in a loose cloud around the
station. The dead but dangerous hulks orbiting the station like moths to
a flame, held loosely in place and their guns and ruined hides serving
as ablative protection for the core of the installation. Openings in the
cloud of wrecks led to the obscured docks where the chapter's warships
could be refit, repaired and resupplied between deployments.
The
functioning systems of the chained derelicts are crewed by mono-tasked
servitors and overseen by small contingents of chapter serfs but the
ships have also become home to thousands of transplanted feral worlders
from those tribes who showed a greater aptitude for technology. Their
task is to scour the wrecks in search of valuable technology and
functioning systems and scavenge these resources for the chapter, slowly
but surely cannibalizing these ships until there is little left but a
gutted skeleton. At that point the few remaining weapons are removed and
reinstalled on other hulks or used to restore damaged vessels of the
chapter fleet and the emptied hulks are towed away from the station and
replaced with a new vessel. This cycle of continuous cannibalism and
replacement provides a steady flow of raw materials to the chapter and
has enabled the Death Wolves to scavenge and restore a number of dead
ships for service with the chapter fleet.
While the work of turning the remains of Vigilant station into a new home for the chapter continued the chapter's attention turned to the nearby moon of Tertius-Sigma. A frozen wasteland with a barely breathable atmosphere and minimal ecosystem the world was as close to the climate of Fenris as the Death Wolves had found after leaving their former homeworld behind. Filled with a sense of nostalgia some of the warriors of the chapter elected to establish an outpost on the planet crewed by the remaining Fenrisian tribespeople that had been liberated from the clutches of the Inquisition. There was a desire among the warriors of the Death Wolves to shape the native ecosystem into something that more closely resembled Fenris but this would prove a challenge. There were a number of Fenrisian Wolves packs living within the ships of the lost company that would serve as a viable seed population but other Fenrisian species would be harder to find. Instead as the months turned to years the patrolling companies of the chapter began to routinely capture interesting specimens from the various worlds on which they fought, returning to Tertius-Sigma with whole herds for seeding. Slowly but surely the native ecosystem began to evolve into something that mirrored, albeit only just, the ecosystem of Fenris. While perhaps some might view this transformation as pure vanity to the displaced warriors of Fenris the act of preserving their ancient traditions was important, including the Test of Morkai and the alteration of Tertius-Sigma was a critical component in that tradition. Young warriors of the chapter would drink from the Cup of the Wulfen, taking in the Canis Helix of Leman Russ and activating their freshly implanted gene-seed. Then the warriors, with minimal clothing and no weapons other than a simple steel hunting knife, would be dropped into the frozen wastes of Tertius-Sigma and instructed to journey to the chapter outpost. Those who succeeded in suppressing the curse of the wulfen and surviving the hazards to make it back to the chapter would be welcomed as Blood Claws while those who failed either died or became part of the hazards other recruits would face.
Although
some of the rescued feral worlders have become scavenger clans serving
the chapter by scrapping the derelict ships chained to the Jarlhalle
the bulk of the survivors from Fenris and other worlds were slowly
introduced, one tribe at a time, to the surface of Celestia
Tertius-Sigma. Sheltered in isolated underground cavern settlements the
tribes scrape a meager existence from the surface by cultivating limited
hydroponic agriculture and hunting the fauna introduced to the rugged
planetary ecosystem. Resources are kept purposefully scarce which
encourages regular conflict between the tribes and provides the chapter
with ample opportunities to observe the feral world natives for signs of
promising recruits to the chapter. Whenever the keen eyes of
cyber-ravens spot a viable recruit within the combatants of some tribal
skirmish a Wolf Priest of the chapter will descend to the surface,
stilling the battle with their very presence before taking the recruit
and departing without a word.
Within a decade of departing the
Indomitus Crusade the Death Wolves had made great strides in
transforming the Celestia system into a worthy home for the chapter and
the growing companies had begun to campaign regularly in the surrounding
sectors, hunting down pirates, xenos and chaos warbands wherever they
could find them and protecting Imperial worlds under assault. This
activity ultimately drew the attention of the nobles of House Cenwulf
whose homeworld, Andlang, was home to the largest Astropathic relay in
the sub-sector and whose eyes and ears saw and heard just about
everything that happened in the region. It did not take long for the
nobles to notice the increased frequency of adeptus astartes activity in
theirs and other nearby sub-sectors and begin to ask questions as to
who these astartes were and where they were coming from. After several
tense confrontations with detachments of the household Silvar
Stormblade, now dubbed the Konungur of the chapter, chose to undertake a
diplomatic mission to Andlang itself and meet with the seneschal of the
house. Arriving on Andlang with much fanfare an entire company of the
Death Wolves made planetfall aboard the new and mighty Overlord
Gunships, creations of Bellisarius Cawl nearly twice the size of the
ancient Thunderhawk gunships. Descending from the ramps came serried
ranks of Primaris warriors in immaculate armor, weapons shining.
Konungur Silvar himself wore a suit of ornate Terminator armor and
marched at the head of ten similarly armored veteran warriors. To the
shock of the gathered onlookers as soon as they had assembled in ranks
and stood before the delegation of household nobles led by Jarl Sigurd
Cenwulf, lord of the house, the entire company dropped to one knee and
clashed their arms in salute of the Imperial Knight household. Impressed
by the show of strength and humility the nobles of House Cenwulf
welcomed Silvar and his warriors into their home and held a great feast
that would last for more than a week by Terran reckoning. The cultures
of the sons of Russ and the nobles of Andlang had many similarities and
appeared to have been based on very similar cultural influences from
ancient Terra. These similarities led to a fast and easy friendship
forming between the warriors of the chapter and the nobles of House
Cenwulf with many friendly duels, drinking and eating contests being
held. Although benefiting from enormous advantages in these contests the
astartes were nevertheless impressed by the fortitude and tenacity of
the nobles of Andlang.
As their warriors feasted and competed the two kings met in private and hashed out the details of a formal alliance between the chapter and the noble house. In exchange for formally recognizing their uncontested possession of the Celestia system and all within it the nobles of Andlang would receive vows of military and material support from the chapter. In addition the Death Wolves were granted very friendly supply contracts with the forges of Andlang and their allied Forge World Minoris of Ydalir, giving the chapter access to a steady and reliable stream of arms, munitions and supplies from the protectorate of House Cenwulf. This alliance would become known as the Pact of Fang and Steel and would be a major development for the sub-sector.
With
their domain established and new allies gained the Death Wolves would
continue to entrench themselves in the Celestia system, grow their
numbers and solidify their chapter's organization, traditions and
cultural identity. Much of the Death Wolves doctrines and culture was
drawn directly from Fenris but differed from the present day Space
Wolves in a number of ways. The influence of the Unnumbered Sons of
Russ, themselves largely ancient warriors drawn from the worlds of the
Imperium during the bitter years of the Scouring that followed the Horus
Heresy. The Imperium and the Fenris these warriors remembered had not
existed for nearly ten thousand years and their language, beliefs and
doctrines that had been instilled in them as youths and ingrained by
Cawl's training regimens were based on that ancient time. The mien of
the Death Wolves is altogether more grim and severe than the modern-day
Space Wolves, feasting, boasting and contests are common but less so
than among their primogenitor chapter. The warriors of the Death Wolves
are typically of fouler temper, quick to anger and slow to forgive. The
Deathwovles do not boast or laugh or even shout or howl but go about
their business and war-making in grim silence, letting their actions
speak for themselves, as cold and pitiless as the void.
Experts
in void warfare and boarding actions the Death Wolves are masters of
close quarters fighting and do not hesitate to use every dirty trick
available to achieve a rapid and total victory over their foes.
Crippling life-support, venting the atmosphere from entire decks,
deploying deadly poison gas into ventilation systems and disabling
gravity are all favorite tactics of the chapter. Few are the prisoners
the Death Wolves take and the warriors of the chapter view surrendering
enemies with little but disdain, such cowards seen as having wasted the
chapter's valuable time. Despite these tactics the chapter is very keen
to salvage and claim the resources, weapons, ships and vehicles of their
enemies, seeing any battlefield salvage as a boon not to be lightly
passed up. When drawn into direct conflict on the ground the chapter
frequently deploys support troops, vehicles and aircraft that are not
normally part of the arsenal of a space marine chapter. Packs of
Fenrisian Wolves lope alongside the warriors of the chapter while failed
neophytes whose bodies rejected augmentation but survived charge into
combat alongside their astartes brothers bearing weapons from the frozen
ice of Fenris, iron swords, shields and spears, determined to redeem
their bodies' failure by earning glorious death in combat. Tanks and
artillery normally reserved for the Imperial Guard are often deployed by
the chapter in support of the faster and more aggressive adeptus
astartes armor. Leman Russ squadrons are a common sight alongside the
occasional super-heavy tank. One of Konungur Silvar's favorite steeds is
a mighty Stormlord Super-Heavy Tank, the mighty war machine capable of
deploying nearly half a company of warriors directly into the heart of
battle.
As the chapter has settled into its new identity and
its strength has grown companies of the Death Wolves have set out to
join various elements of the Indomitus Crusade, especially those aimed
at crossing the Cicatrix Maledictum into the Imperium Nihilus. Such a
near suicidal endeavor appeals to the grim and nihilistic attitude of
the chapter and Silvar Stormblade himself is keen on making the voyage
personally as soon as he can.
Organization
The
structure of the Death Wolves chapter more closely mirrors that of the
XIII Legion of old more than the modern Space Wolves chapter and
unsurprisingly the chapter adheres very little to the dictates of the
codex astartes, if it does so at all. The squads of the Death Wolves are
known as Packs and instead of the Tactical, Support and
Assault squads typical of Codex-compliant chapters the Death Wolves
organize their forces into Claw, Hunter and Fang packs. Veterans of
the chapter are known as Wolf Guard and are often detached to lead other
packs and spread their experience around the company rather than keep
it concentrated in a single pack. The chapter maintains scout
squads but they are not the fresh-blooded initiates of codex chapters
but are seasoned veterans known as Wolf Scouts. Like all chapters of the
Ultima founding the Death Wolves make extensive use of the entire range
of arms, armor and vehicles developed by Archmagos Dominus Bellisarius
Cawl for his Primaris marines, from bolt rifles to Repulsor grav-tanks.
Unlike most Ultima founding chapters however the Death Wolves are built
around a core of veteran firstborn warriors, most of whom have yet to
cross the Rubicon Primaris. Most of the chapter's leadership and
veterans are therefore firstborn warriors with centuries more experience
in warfare than their Primaris counterparts and subordinates.
The chapter is organized into twelve line companies, with a thirteenth company designation reserved exclusively for battle-brothers who have succumbed to the Curse of the Wulfen. A cadre of specialist officers and priests serve under the designation of the 13th Company but are deployed across the remaining companies to minister to those battle brothers suffering from the wolf within and lead their afflicted brothers into combat. The thirteenth company is never deployed on it's own and has no feast halls or quarters assigned specifically to it in the Jarlhalle fortress monastery but rather the domain of the 13th company comprises a series of armored cells and medicae halls built into the depths of the fortress monastery, far from the halls of their non-afflicted brothers. The remaining twelve companies, much like their reflection in the Space Wolves, recruit and operate largely on their own, their squad composition, numbers and armory are not reflective of the conventional battle and reserve companies of codex chapters but vary depending on the needs of the current campaign and the whims of the Wolf Lord leading the company. At present all of these companies are under-strength as the chapter continues to grow and expand from it's modest initial draft of Primaris recruits into a full and independent chapter. Nevertheless despite their numbers the chapter has had an out-sized impact on the region surrounding it's base of operations, the experience of the firstborn cadre proving an incredible boon to the chapter and an advantage most other Ultima founding chapters lack.
The Great Companies of the chapter have no formal size or structure with their numbers varying depending on recruitment and cassualty rates and the number and organization of the company packs shifting depending on the needs of a given campaign and the personal whims of the Wolf Lord in command of the company. Each company possesses it's own great ship from the chapter fleet to ferry it from warzone to warzone and each company maintains it's own armory, vehicles, gunships and equipment and even conducts it's own recruitment as needed.
Instead of the normal rank progression of codex chapters from Scout to reserve company to line company to veteran the Death Wolves youngest warriors are known as Blood Claws and are organized into Claw packs where their hot-headed aggression can be best put to use. As the warrior gains experience and restraint as well as greys in the hair and beard they will rise to the rank of Grey Hunter and join Hunter packs. These are versatile warriors expected to fight in whatever manner their lord requires and keep their heads in battle. Older warriors who have not earned a place in the veteran Wolf Guard or whose temperament is better suited to ranged warfare become Long Fangs and serve in Fang packs, the heavy-weapon specialists of the chapter. Any warrior of any age who proves themselves in battle or saves their lord's life may earn a place in the company Wolf Guard, the chapter's veteran elite. Those battle-brothers whose personality tends towards the lonesome and independent may join the ranks of the veteran Wolf Scouts, the elite reconaissance, sabotage and infiltration specialists of the chapter. Unlike in the Space Wolves the Wolf Scouts of the Death Wolves are not part of the chapter master's retinue but are organized and maintained by each great company individually the same as their Wolf Guard. Occasionally a warrior who has lost all of his battle brothers and is the lone survivor of his pack may choose to take the oaths of the Lone Wolf, forsaking brotherhood and taking on the role of the lone berserker, seeking vengeance in battle for his fallen brothers or glorious death. Only rarely will a Lone Wolf succeed in his mission, avenge his brothers, and return to the brotherhood of the chapter, most such warriors end their lives in glorious battle against some worthy foe.
Headquarters – Einherjar
-The chapter's various priests, dreadnoughts and senior command staff all serve as part of the Great Wolf's retinue or Einherjar. Like their primogenitor chapter the Death Wolves maintain cadres of Wolf, Rune and Iron Priests that fill the typical roles of Chaplain/Apothecary, Librarian and Techmarine and like the Space Wolves the chapter does not maintain a standing core of dedicated Apothecaries. Instead the Wolf Priests serve a dual role as both spiritual leaders and field medics. Specialists from the Einherjar will be detached and assigned to each of the Great Companies as needed, typically with each company receiving at least one of each priest and several dreadnoughts at any given time.
First Great Company
– Onn – The Great Wolf's Own
-The Great Wolf or Konungur of the chapter also serves as the Captain or Wolf Lord of the first company. A tradition carried over from the Space Wolves and which differs from codex chapters whose Chapter Masters do not directly command any single company. The bulk of the chapter's veterans, terminator and gravis-armor can be found in this company though each other company will typically maintain modest numbers of heavy assault specialists and veterans as well.
Second Great Company – Twa
Third Great Company – Tra
Fourth Great Company – For
Fifth Great Company – Fyf
Sixth Great Company – Sesc
Seventh Great Company – Sepp
Eighth Great Company – For-Twa
Ninth Great Company – Tra-Tra
Tenth Great Company – Dekk
Eleventh Great Company – Elva
Twelfth Great Company – Tolv
Thirteenth Great Company – Dekk-Tra – Wulfen Company
-The thirteenth company, known as the Wulfen company diverges from the generally versatile and self-reliant structure of the other companies of the chapter and never takes to the field as a single coherent unit, typically seconding packs as needed to assist other companies. On its own the thirteenth is made up almost entirely of packs of mutated Wulfen and highly specialized Wolf Guard Thunderwolf cavalry packs. These forces are reinforced with packs of Fenrisian Wolves whose numbers wax and wane depending on casualties and breeding rates but typically number in the low hundreds. The company even maintains a handful of Wulfen-Dreadnoughts, powerful but dangerous weapons unleashed on only the most savage of battlefields.
Chapter Serfs – Kaerls
Feral Worlders – Draugr
-Taking
inspiration
from the legends of Fenris the feral worlders transported to the
Celestia system and who serve as a recruiting population for the chapter
have come
to be known as draugr, literally translated as the living dead. These
are peoples
who to all intents and purposes do not exist in the eyes of the
Imperium, considered long dead by any and all who once knew them on
whatever world they once called home, if that world even still exists.
Divided up among the various drifting derelicts that circle the fortress
monastery these tribes are kept in a constant state of struggle, the
chapter ensuring that they have access to just enough food and water,
shelter and supplies to remain viable but not so much that they can be
comfortable. This state of affairs keeps pressure on the tribes and
ensures regular conflicts between the different tribes over resources,
conflicts that give the chapter reliable opportunities to spot promising
recruits to the chapter. Thousands of cyber-ravens roost in the ruins
of the derelict ships the draugr call home, their eyes ever watchful for
signs of corruption, degeneration or rebellion as well as picking out
genetically viable and promising potential recruits. Should viable
candidates be identified the Wolf Priests of the chapter will journey to
the derelicts and take their chosen candidate from his home and family
and bringing him to the Fortress Monastery for induction into the
chapter as a neophyte. To be chosen is a great honor and the family of a
chosen recruit will honor his memory and gain considerable renown for
generations afterwards.
Konungur: Chapter Master, literally “chieftain.”
Jarl: Captain, “ring giver.”
Thane: Lieutenant, “noble.”
Fáninn: Ancient, translates roughly as “flag bearer.”
Huscarl: Sergeant
Hersir: Veteran, translated as “hero.”
Ulfsark: Battle-Brother
Kennari: Scout-Sergeant, literally “teacher.”
Ungur: Neophyte, literally “young.”
Gothi: Librarians and Chaplains
Skapari: Techmarine, roughly translated as “creator.”
Huskaerl: Serf officer.
Kaerl: Chapter serf.
Fortress Monastery
Records surrounding the exact date that Vigilant Station
was built are sparse and contradictory. Conflicting sources put the
establishment of the first orbital refinery at somewhere in the latter
half of the thirty third millennium to the early half of the thirty
fifth millennium. The date the station was abandoned is better known
with the last honest Imperial inhabitants departing the station
somewhere between 121.M41 to 213.M41. The station is believed to have
sat empty for some three or four centuries before pirates began to
occupy the abandoned refinery and docks towards the middle of the
forty-first millennium until the Stormblade Great Company annihilated
the pirate inhabitants shortly after the opening of the Great Rift.
During it's abandonment and hostile occupation the station suffered
considerable damage and neglect with whole sections depressurized or
opened to the void, others left without power or infested with vermin.
Occupying the station and bringing it back to full operation has taken
considerable effort and resources from the Death Wolves chapter with
years spent slowly restoring one section after anotherr working from the
core refineries outwards. In addition to restoring the existing
facilities the Death Wolves have undertaken to heavily fortify the
station, adding meters of ablative armor to the outer surfaces,
installing void-shield generators and significant anti-ship and close
defense weaponry.
Although the restoration has taken time and
resources the station has proven a valuable asset to the chapter once it
was brought into operation. The refineries produce valuable materials
to keep the chapter's ships supplied while the storehouses and dockyards
have made a roomy and functional home for the chapter's fleet,
companies and servants. The one thing the station severely lacks is
ample forge facilities for the chapter's arms and armor but a
Lucius-pattern forgeship is currently meeting the chapter's needs.
Renamed the Jarlhalle
by the chapter the station is slowly transforming into a space-borne
Fenrisian great-hall with it's corridors lit by flaming torches and gas
lamps while it's chambers are carpeted in furs and bedecked with shields
and trophies. One of the storage bays near the station's core has been
converted into a spacious apothecarion and gene-seed repository where
the bulk of the chapter's recruits undergo their ascension into
skywarriors.
Recruitment
Since
establishing themselves in the Celestia system the Death Wolves have
slowly begun to solidify a formal recruitment process. It is early days
yet for the chapter so this process may significantly change over time
however in the last ten years the chapter has managed to draw a steady
flow of fresh recruits from the transplanted feral world populations
relocated to the surface of Celestia Tertius-Sigma. The chapter
continues to recruit from among the populations it encounters while on
campaign but the bulk of chapter initiates are beginning to come from
the frozen surface of Celestia Tertius' frozen moon. The tribes
relocated to Tertius-Sigma are housed in underground settlements,
sheltered from the worst of the frozen climate and sustained by
water-recyclers and minimal hydroponic agriculture. The tribes
supplement their sustenance by hunting the transplanted fauna for meet
and furs and skirmishing with each other over valauable resources and
hunting grounds. These minor but frequent skirmishes provide ample
opportunity for the chapter to evaluate the tribal populations for
promising young male recruits for the chapter. Thousands of augmented
cyber-ravens stalk the skies and caverns of the world, their keen gaze
missing little that happens on the surface of the chapter's isolated
domain. When one of these ravens spots a promising young warrior a
gunship will be dispatched from the Jarlhalle bearing a Wolf
Priest of the chapter who will descend to the surface and interrupt the
ongoing skirmish. None of the tribal warriors would dare obstruct one of
the sky warriors grim choosers of the slain in his duties and the
appearance of a Wolf Priest inevitably brings whatever battle was
happening to pause as the black-clad and skull masked warrior moves
among the tribesmen to make his selection. The chosen warrior, whatever
his physical state, is then carried or escorted from the field in
silence while the tribesmen look on in a mixture of wonder, fear and
envy.
Chapter Tactics
For many years the Stormblade Great Company existed as a void-borne strike force operating independently from any chapter command or Imperial authority, scavenging supplies and taking enemy ships wherever they could. This experience would become central to the emerging identity of the Death Wolves as an Ultima Founding chapter. The chapter heraldry, a wolf skull over crossed bones, was chosen to represent the marauding and piratical experience of the chapter's founding veteran cadre and it's expertise in void warfare. Even now that the chapter has a home system, fortress monastery and recruiting world the chapter's various great companies still spend most of their time operating far from their home, patrolling the edges of Imperial space and hunting pirates and renegades, taking prizes and claiming wargeld from their foes. More patient and disciplined in void warfare than their primogenitor chapter the Death Wolves are capable of waiting until the perfect moment to strike, shadowing their prey for days, weeks or longer until the perfect moment to attack presents itself. Sometimes the chapter will prefer to stalk their pray back to their lair, following marauding warbands or isolated pirate raiders to their strongholds before striking at the heart of their foes and tearing them apart.
Close quarters fighting is the cornerstone of the chapter's battle tactics, the warriors of the Death Wolves preferring the cut and thrust of melee combat over calculated ranged bombardment. The chapter makes heavy use of armored transports and assault gunships to deliver the chapter's packs into close contact with their foes, their attacks covered by mortal vassal troops rather than relying solely on chapter heavy support elements such as Long Fang packs and Whirlwind artillery tanks. Boarding actions, clearing space hulks, cleansing operations in the maze-like depths of hive cities, these are the battlefields the chapter most favors and excells in.
When
a foe proves particularly troublesome the Death Wolves may choose to
unleash the Wulfen of the 13th company on them. Packs of thunderwolf
riders and fenrisian wolves accompanying their bestial brethren in
lightning assaults on the foe, unleashing their merciless ferocity
without consideration of collateral damage. As such these forces are
rarely deployed when allied Imperial forces are anywhere nearby, the
chapter loath to allow their more savage brothers to be witnessed or
risk their wrath falling on unintended targets. It does happen but the
Death Wolves strive to ensure such incidents are rare and quickly
covered up.
Chapter Beliefs
Given the general attitude of the chapter and it's name it is little surprise that worship of the Death Wolf itself, the twin-headed wolf of legend Morkai, would take a prominent place in the culture of the chapter. The Wolf Priests of the Death Wolves hold great sway over the tempers of their battle brothers and the savage wolf-skull helmets favored by the priests have become a common sight on the warriors of the chapter with whole packs sometimes choosing to wear the forbidding headgear over more conventional battle helms. In particular the veterans and wolf guard of the chapter almost always wear the wolf skull helms, each one fashioned from a great beast slain in single combat by the wearer.
Cult of Morkai
-While
the warriors of the Death Wolves revere many of the traditions of
Fenris, including the many wolves of Fenrisian myths, the death wolf
Morkai holds the greatest favor with the battle-brothers of the chapter.
The Wolf Priests, as the choosers of the slain, hold even greater
reverence for the battle-brothers of the chapter than they do within the
ranks of their primogenitor or other known successor chapters.
Holmgang
-Ritual
honor duels are common among the Death Wolves and are frequently used
to settle disagreements and help warriors form bonds with their pack
brothers. However the greatest grievances and matters of honor must be
settled in the sacred contest of holmgang. These duels can only take
place on solid ground, space stations, ships or other artificial
constructs are not sufficient. When a dispute between battle-brothers is
so serious that a holmgang is demanded the Death Wolves will find the
closest available solid ground, be it a moon, an asteroid, a rogue
planetoid or even the rocky surface of a drifting space hulk. There a
circle will be drawn and witnesses will gather in a circle around the
dueling ring. All results of the holmgang are final with no further
challenges permitted on any given matter after the duel has been
demanded and resolved. All battle-brothers of the chapter will accept
the results of a holmgang, even if only reluctantly, for such duels are a
sacred matter.
The Lion and the Wolf
-Although the
Death Wolves have diverged from some of the practices of their
primogenitor chapter the honor of Leman Russ is still of utmost
importance to all of his sons. Even if they no longer wear the colors of
the Space Wolves should a strike force of Death Wolves find themselves
sharing a warzone with any Dark Angels or their successors it is
inevitable that an honor duel will be demanded with the sons of Lion
El'Johnson. Occasionally such duels are carried out by the commanders of
either force but more often a veteran or champion will be selected to
represent each chapter in the duel. These contests are always to the
first blood but serious injuries and even the occasional death do
happen. Most of the time the sons of both Primarchs are able to share a
battlefield without coming to direct blows but open aggression between
the sons of Russ and the sons of the Lion do occur and can result in
considerable destruction and many cassualties before the two sides
eventually calm their ire.
Chapter Artifacts
As
a succcessor chapter of the Space Wolves and a rare Ultima founding
chapter that benefitted from a veteran firstborn contingent, the Death
Wolves possess a number of weapons and technologies unique to the Sons
of Russ. Even though their initial supply of such artifacts was
relatively limited the chapter Iron Priests retained the knowledge of
their creation and slowly the armory of the Death Wolves has been filled
with master-crafted examples of weapons and armor unknown to the
chapters of other gene-lines.
Belts of Russ
-Rather than using the more common Iron Halo to provide protective force fields for chapter officers the Sons of Russ utilize a unique form of protective technology known as the belts of Russ. Incorporating a powerful force field generator the belts of Russ provide the chapter's Wolf Lords with formidable protection against all but the most powerful and esoteric of enemy attacks.
Runic Armor
-The Rune Priests of the chapter utilize customized suits of power and terminator armor enhanced with an elaborate series of protective runes carved and enchanted with the powers of the Rune Priests. These suits grant their wearer significantly improved protection against the aetheric powers of the warp.
Frost Blades
-These
weapons take a variety of forms, from axes forged of ice-cold crystal
to chainblades made from the teeth of Fenrisian kraken, yet whatever
their form these weapons are extremely deadly and formidable. Only the
greatest heroes of the chapter are permitted to bear such relic weapons
into battle and the chapter will take great pains to recover these
priceless artifacts should their bearers fall in battle.
Helfrost Weaponry
-Rare and unusual energy weapons powered by crystals mined from deep beneath the Asaheim mountain range helfrost weapons produce beams of incredible cold that can freeze even the most terrible monsters and warmachines in their tracks. Only a few honored warmachines and the Iron Priests of the chapter are permitted to bear these weapons and they are highly prized by the chapter.
Stormwolf and Stormfang Gunships
-Based on a
pattern of vehicle unique to the Space Wolves chapter and their
successors the Stormwolf is a dedicated assault transport while the
Stormfang is a gunship with a small passenger compartment enabling it to
insert small packs into battle. Both gunships mount helfrost weaponry
in addition to a suite of primary and secondary armaments that make them
fearsome attack craft and highly prized insertion vehicles for the
Death Wolves.
Chapter Fleet
For
a chapter of
it's size the Death Wolves maintain a fleet much larger than it should
be were the chapter being compliant to the dictates of the Codex
Astartes. In particular the Death Wolves have captured and refit a
number of classes of ships that should not be in a Codex adherent
Space Marine chapter fleet such as Battlecruisers and Grand Cruisers. In
addition to the
capitol-ships the Death Wolves have obtained through various means a
large number of escort craft. At the present time the chapter fleet
numbers fourteen capital ships of various classes, with the bulk being
made up of different light-cruisers. Each of the twelve Great Companies
is assigned one of these capital ships as it's primary transport with a
further two in reserve, the thirteenth company does not deploy as it's
own distinct force and therefore does not require it's own independent
transport vessel. The chapter was also provided with a Lucius-pattern
forgeship to aide in the manufacture of the various arms and armaments
designed by Archmagos Dominus Bellisarius Cawl for the Primaris Marines
and five fleet supply ships when the chapter departed from the ranks of
Fleet Primus. The three largest and most powerful ships of the chapter
fleet are the transports of the first, second and third great companies
and typically deploy together, concentrating their formidable firepower
to break the back of any fleet that stands against them and the
overwhelming force of more than three hundred Sons of Russ to annihilate
any foe that dares stand against the chapter. The rest of the chapter
companies and ships are more often deployed alone or in smaller
detachments, utilizing the greater speed of the chapter's light cruisers
and escort craft to deliver strike forces to beleaguered warzones
across the segmentum as quickly as possible given the still turbulent
warp conditions.
Victory-class Battleship Herald of Morkai
-This
Victory-class battleship is one of a rare few examples of it's size and
class of ship to be newly built in the Jovian shipyards in the last
century, intended for Fleet Primus of the Indomitus Crusade the ship has
seen a few major battles in that time but is still a largely untested
craft. Nevertheless the design, based on the irreplaceable
Apocalypse-class, possesses unmatched long-range firepower with lance
batteries and dorsal lance turrets combined with a prow mounted nova
cannon. When the Death Wolves were formally recognized as a chapter of
the Ultima Founding the chapter was granted a number of ships to
reinforce it's fledgling fleet but no proper Battle Barges were
available and so Jarl Silvar requested permission to select a flagship
for the chapter from the vessels of fleet Primus and the Primarch
Roboute Guilliman agreed to the request. Jarl Silvar chose the Righteous Wrath without a moment's hesitation, his time with the Storm Breaker
having left the new chapter master with a deep admiration for the nova
cannon and he was determined that any flagship of his chapter had to
possess such a weapon. In the last few decades the Righteous Wrath, renamed the Herald of Morkai, has proven to be an invaluable asset to the chapter. Together with the Storm Breaker and the Redoubtable the Herald of Morkai is referred to as one of the Three Crones,
the trio of sister ships having gained a fearsome reputation for
sailing together and unleashing the fury of their nova cannons in
simultaneous barrages capable of ripping the heart out of entire fleets
with a single salvo.
Mars-class
Battlecruiser Storm Breaker
-Claimed by the original Stormblade Great Company during it's years in exile from the Space Wolves chapter this main-line battlecruiser and served as Jarl Silvar's flagship for many years. Although not as fast or agile as a traditional strike cruiser the Storm Breaker is favored by Silvar largely because of it's nova cannon armament. The Nova cannon is one of the largest and most powerful weapons ever deployed by the Imperium of man and is capable of breaking whole ship squadrons and scattering fleets with a single shot. Few are the foes that can withstand a sustained bombardment from the formidable weapon and it is a favored tactic of the Death Wolves' Chapter Master to open fleet engagements with a shot from the mighty weapon.
Mercury-class Battlecruiser Redoubtable
-Salvaged from the wreckage found adrift in the Celestia system the Redoubtable was painstakingly rebuilt for the simple reason that it's primary armament, a deadly Mars pattern nova cannon, remained mostly intact. Despite the extensive damage to the rest of the ship the Death Wolves chose to cannibalize multiple other wrecks to restore the Redoubtable and bring it into the service of the chapter. Together with the Storm Breaker and the Herald of Morkai the Redoubtable is known as one of the Three Crones, a name derived from the chapter's habit of deploying all three ships together and utilizing their nova cannon armament in simultaneous and extremely destructive bombardments.
Exorcist-Class Grand Cruiser Unbroken Fury
-Formerly the flagship of a small corsair fleet operating in the Segmentum Obscurus. The storm-ravaged remnants of the corsair fleet were fortunate enough to break from the warp in the Imperium Sanctus but were unfortunate enough to be met almost immediately by a fleet of Death Wolves chapter ships. The ensuing battle was short and grossly one-sided and resulted in a number of new vessels being added to the chapter fleet including the Unbroken Fury itself which now serves as an assault carrier for the chapter fleet. Fitted with spacious launch bays the aging Grand Cruiser may not be a powerful and deadly ship-of-the-line capable of slugging it out in close-ranged void war but it's hangar bays make it a highly effective launch platform for chapter void-fighters and gunships.
Dictator-Class Cruiser The Spear of Retribution
-Another recent addition to the chapter fleet The Spear of Retribution was formerly part of Battlefleet Gothic, tossed out of the warp with it's decks crawling with daemon-spawn and warp-twisted mutants, all that remained of the once human crew. The chapter stumbled upon the ship while patrolling the borders of the Cicatrix Maledictum and cleansed the vessel from bow to stern. After a lengthy period of re-sanctification and refit the vessel entered service with the chapter fleet.
Dominion-class Battlecruiser Fist of Bakka
-Like the Dictator-class cruiser the Dominion is another attempt
by the Imperial Navy to iterate on the Mars-class combining considerable
firepower and launch bays to create a versatile and powerful ship of
the line. To the Death Wolves these traits are particularly important
given the chapter's need for gunship launch platforms in the absence of
conventional strike cruisers and battle-barges. Recovered from the
blasted wreckage of an Imperial Navy patrol fleet found dead on the edge
of the great rift the chapter chose to haul the gutted wreck back to
Celestia and spent years bringing the vessel back to service.
Strike Cruiser Angurvadal
-One of a number of Adeptus Astartes strike craft granted to the Death Wolves chapter upon it's inception as part of the Ultima Founding.
Strike Cruiser Romslag
-One of a number of Adeptus Astartes strike craft granted to the Death Wolves chapter upon it's inception as part of the Ultima Founding.
Strike Cruiser Utholdenhet
-One of a number of Adeptus Astartes strike craft granted to the Death Wolves chapter upon it's inception as part of the Ultima Founding.
Dauntless-class Light Cruiser Herald of Vengeance
-One of a handful of pirate vessels captured and repurposed by the chapter in recent years the Herald of Vengeance
has proven a tough and reliable brawler despite it's relatively modest
size compared to other capital ships of the line and it's greater speed
is highly prized by the chapter's aggressive warriors.
Dauntless-class Light Cruiser Redoubtable Spirit
-The newest light-cruiser added to the chapter fleet the Redoubtable Spirit
was discovered as an abandoned hulk cast out of the warp on the edge of
the Celestia system and crewed by nothing but ghosts and foul spirits.
Many would have scrapped the ship or blasted it from the void but the
Death Wolves would not be deterred by the ghosts of the dead or whatever
foul humors may have infested the ship from it's time in the warp. The
chapter's priests scoured the vessel from prow to stern, servitors and
servo-skulls prowled every chamber, every deck and every maintenance
hatch for weeks burning insense and scrawling countless lines of prayers
and blessings across the decks. Tech-adepts scoured every system for
signs of taint and Wolf Priests carved runes of warding into every
hatchway. When the chapter was certain the ship had been cleansed of any
remaining taint it was dragged back to the Jarlhalle and underwent months of refit and restoration before it joined the chapter fleet properly.
Defiant-class Light Cruiser Sword of Constantine
-An
unusual variant of the endeavor-class cruiser the Defiant swaps the
broadside macro cannons for launch bays. The Defiant is very much based
on the old Enforcer-class cruiser, taking an old design and applying it
to a newer platform.
Defender-class Escort Cruiser Vigilant Shield
-Surprisingly
heavily armed for a ship of it's size the Defender-class light cruiser
is often used as the flagship of supply convoys where it's firepower and
speed make it an effective deterrent against pirates and xenos raiders.
Enforcer-class System Control Cruiser Adamant Scion
-A
rare variant of light-cruiser the Enforcer mounts sizable flight decks
capable of launching fighter and bomber wings as well as boarding
assault craft and gunships. Although nowhere near as potent in a direct
engagement as a Strike Cruiser the rapid growth of the chapter has
required utilizing whatever ships they can lay their hands.
1 Lucius-pattern Forgeship
5 Fleet Supply Ships
21 Frigates
36 Destroyers
19 System Defense Monitors (Celestia System Defense Squadron)
6 Orbital Defense Platforms (Celestia Tertius-Sigma orbit)
Notable Examples of Chapter Escort Squadrons
Gladius-Class Frigate Squadron Blad
-Blad/Onn
-Blad/Twa
-Blad/Tra
Nova-Class Frigate Squadron Reise
-Reise/Onn
-Reise/Twa
-Reise/Tra
-Reise/For
Nova-Class Frigate Squadron Seile
-Seile/Onn
-Seile/Twa
-Seile/Tra
Sword-Class Frigate Squadron Jakt
-Jakt/Onn
-Jakt/Twa
-Jakt/Tra
Hunter-Class Destroyer Squadron Drepe
-Drepe/Onn
-Drepe/Twa
-Drepe/Tra
-Drepe/For
-Drepe/Fyf
Cobra-Class Destroyer Squadron Skyte
-Skyte/Onn
-Skyte/Twa
-Skyte/Tra
Heroes of the Chapter
Great Wolf Silvar Stormblade, Bringer of the Red Snow, the Headtaker, Champion of Russ
-Once a brilliant young swordsman who earned glory and honor as the champion of his Great Company the warrior who became a Great Wolf of his own chapter is still a sword-master of considerable skill who is never shy to take to the field of battle and wet his legendary blade with the blood of the Emperor's foes.
Silvar first earned his title when he, as a Blood Claw, defeated an Ork Nob in single combat, witnesses claiming that Silvar's chainsword moved and flashed with the speed of lightning. Over the years that followed he clawed his way up the ranks of the company to the Wolf Guard where he served for several years as the company champion and one of it's battle-leaders. One of Silvar's most notable accomplishments as a Wolf Guard was the defeat of a Night Lords traitor warlord, a battle in which Silvar claimed an ancient Frost Sword known as Tyrfing from the Night Lord's personal trophy displays on the bridge of his flagship. Not long after claiming his sword Silvar was given the chance to serve with the Deathwatch and eagerly accepted the position, going on to serve twenty years with the alien hunters of the Ordo Xenos before returning to his company. During that time Silvar absorbed everything he could about swordsmanship frorm his comrades, particularly those of the Blood Angels and Black Templars chapters. After his return to the chapter Silvar resumed his role as company champion. The death of the company's previous Wolf Lord led to a unanimous vote for Silvar to be his successor and the Wolf Lord would continue to lead the company until it was absorbed into the newly founded Death Wolves chapter.
Wolf Lord Brynjar Razorfang
Wolf Lord Daelin Frostmourn
Wolf Lord Half Ironbreaker
Wolf Lord Skjor Angel-Bane
Wolf Lord Anrakiir Kin-Slayer
Wolf Lord Ragnvald the Red-Handed
-The only Primaris Captain of the Death Wolves chapter at the present time Ragnvald had to earn his place by defeating every other challenger from the ranks of the firstborn Wolf Guard of the Stormblade Great Company. No other primaris marines were able to overcome their challengers but Ragnvald proved strong, skilled, and extremely determined. With raw aggression and power he overcame his more experienced and skilled opponents to earn the right to command one of the newly re-organized Great Companies of the chapter.
High Wolf Priest Geirmund Wolf-Totem
High Rune Priest Holmgeir Oath-Keeper
High Iron Priest Haelfdar Ironhelm
Lord Ancient Thorvald Felldawn
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