Index Astartes: Death Wolves 2.5
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. How this unusual circumstance came about is a long and troubled
story.
In 433.M41 the Great Company of Torstein Ironfang 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. One of the few survivors among the company veterans was the company champion, Silvar Stormblade. A swordsman and duelist of great skill Silvar led the last of his fellow Wolf Guard in a desperate counter-attack that manged to slay the Sorcerer Lord commanding the traitor forces and broke the back of the Thousand Sons forcers. Silvar had avenged his fallen Wolf Lord and in the aftermath of the battle the remaining Wolf Guard elected him as the new Jarl of the company. Over the next decade the company fought it's way across the
Segmentum Obscurus in pursuit of the scattered remains of the Thousand Sons warband. After fighting many battles against many foes the company was on the brink of ending their hunt and returning to Fenris to resupply and receive reinforcements when they received an emergency summons to the Armageddon system. The dread Primarch of the World Eaters traitor legion, the unstoppable daemon gladiator Angron, had carved a bloody path across many systems, butchering whole worlds and had brought his crusade of slaughter to a hive world not far from Fenris itself. The Great Wolf, Logan Grimnar, had recalled all available forces to join the battle against the traitor legion and it's daemonic allies in a desperate bid to save the heavily populated hive world from annihilation.
Upon their arrival the company learned that the Great Wolf had managed to rally the defenders of Armageddon and martial together a sizable civilian militia, putting as many bodies and lasguns on the line against the oncomming traitor astartes as possible. Yet in reality this action was merely a ploy to lure Angron and his Bloodthirster bodyguards into a trap, even as the World Eaters crashed into the Imperial defense line a strike force of the secret militant arm of the Ordo Malleus, the Gray Knights, teleported directly into the conflict. The psyker paladins of Titan surrounded Angron and his daemonic allies and cut them down. Though the victory came at great cost, claiming the lives of nearly the entire Gray Knights detachment, the daemon primarch was banished along with his most powerful daemonic allies. Stripped of their driving focus and leadership the remaining World Eaters berserkers were efficiently routed. Victory had been attained and the impossible achieved, Armageddon had been saved, or so it appeared.
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 shipped 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. No matter how valiantly the survivors had fought or how loyal they were the veterans of the First War for Armageddon found themselves sentenced to a life of imprisonment, servitude and death under the ever 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 their allies the 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 vessels of the 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 authority to bring the conflict to an end. Although the conflict with the Inquisition would end without turning into a complete disaster the event would further grow the rift between the Space Wolves and the Inquisition and would mark a dark stain on the honor of the Gray Knights themselves who would come to refer to the conflict as the Months of Shame.
After the aborted battle above Fenris the much battered Stormblade Great
Company took some months to repair and re-arm. The company would take on fresh warriors, weapons and armor and their great ship would undergo major refit and repairs before setting out once
more into the stars. It is unclear whether fate or mere chance led the company to steer
towards the Segmentum Obscurus once more but over time the Stormblade company 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. Unfortunately that was when disaster would strike. While licking their wounds after a fierce battle with a pirate flotilla in a remote, unnamed system on the very edge of charted space the company strike cruiser was suddenly struck from all sides by the lightning fast and deadly reaver ships of the Dark Eldar pirates. Already scarred from recent engagements the great ship of the company was slow to respond, lashing out ineffectually at the darting attack ships. A handful of the foes were swatted from the void by the Storm Breaker's powerful macro cannons but many more swept in and unleashed waves of boarding torpedoes that struck all along the flanks of the embattled cruiser. Alarms blared in every compartment of the ship, sending astartes and thrall alike racing to take up arms and repel the boarders. Fights broke out along the entire length of the ship as the lithe and agile murderers of the drukhari butchered their way through the stubborn but outmatched crew.
Only where the drukhari encountered the Space Wolves themselves were they driven back. Whole packs splintered into smaller bands of two or three warriors as they scattered across the decks, rallying the mortal defenders and pushing the raiders back to their boarding craft. the great flagship of the traitor warband, an ancient Grand
Cruiser of terrible aspect, was finally crippled and boarded. Slowly but surely the boarders were being contained or forced out of the ship while the Storm Breaker's guns had finally found their targets and crippled or destroyed most of the harassing reaver vessels. Only two major threats remained as Jarl Silvar carved a path through the arterial transit-way along the spine of the cruiser. One force of heavily armored elites wielding great two handed power blades was making for the navigator's sanctum while a second band of twisted monstrosities and strange xenos was close to breaching the enginarium. Jarl Silvar knew he had a responsibility to protect the navigator but the loss of the engines and generatorium could see the entire ship destroyed. Faced with a tough decision the Wolf Lord chose to dispatch his Wolf Guard bodyguard to reinforce the Gray Hunter pack guarding the sanctum while he would rally those warriors he could find on his way to the enginarium and contain that threat personally. The Wolf Guard were reluctant to leave their lord but carried out his orders and charged off to engage the Incubi force while Silvar headed after what reports indicated was very likely a senior Haemonculus flesh-weaver and its escort of abominations.
As he made his way aft Silvar encountered scattered groups of armed thralls and isolated space marines who he gathered up in his wake. Few raiders remained between the Wolf Lord and his quarry, the bulk of the enemy attackers now having been exterminated or forced to flee but the sight that greeted him in the enginarium was still enough to bring him up short in shock. Scores of creatures that must surely once have been human grappled with the defenders wielding all manner of hooked blades and implanted barbs, mutagenic needler rounds liquefied thralls alive while a trio of horrific floating creatures with gene-bulked muscles and crackling electro-flails tore through the armed servitors defending the great generator. Overseeing it all was a thing whose original form and gender were impossible to tell, lizard scales of iridescent hues covered a twisted body with too many limbs, two heads and dozens of eyes. Writhing serpentine tentacles carried the creature along the deck with movements that were so terribly unnatural that even looking upon them made bile rise in the Wolf Lord's throat. Despite their years of experience in pitched battles the warriors around Silvar were frozen in surprise and terror, even the Space Wolves caught by indecision, unsure of how to proceed. Quickly realizing he needed to rally his warriors before the situation became irrecoverable the Wolf Lord let out a fierce howl that, amplified by his helmet's powerful voxmitters, cut through the noise of the raging battle, the screams and weapons fire and momentarily froze the hearts of all who heard it. Even the twisted abominations of the haemonculi hesitated for a moment and looked around in confusion. One by one the other Space Wolves, both those who had just arrived and those desperately defending the generators took up the howl, filling the cavernous space with the reverberating echoes of their war cry.
The company Ironpriest, Haelfdar Ironhelm, slew the last cronos with a series of brutal blows from his thunder hammer while the defenders and the newly arrived reinforcements slaughtered the remaining haemonculi constructs who had been left in a dazed state by the sudden death of their master. As the last of the enemy were cut down Silvar surveyed the scene, the enginarium was in a terrible state. Many of the machines had been savagely mauled by the cronos engines, the primary generator bled an unhealthy color through rents in it's outer armor and a huge number of the enginarium thralls and servitors had been butchered. Even as Jarl Silver surveyed the damage he saw Haelfdar immediately turning to the task of mending the damaged generator, his great servo arm whining as the priest wrenched damaged plates back into place and hammered them into shape with his great weapon. The Wolf Lord decided not to interrupt the priest and ask for a damage assessment, that could come later, he would leave the repairs in capable iron hands and turn his attention to the remaining invaders. A check over the vox received no response from the navigator sanctum's defenders and with a sickening feeling settling him the pit of his stomachs the Wolf Lord turned and raced from the enginarium, a number of his wolves falling in behind him automatically.
The run to the sanctum went by in dreadful silence, the wolves passing through dozens of chambers and halls littered with corpses, both friend and foe alike until at last they reached the navigator's private fortress along the uppermost spine of the strike cruiser. The gates had been blasted inward by a powerful energy weapon and inside the once richly appointed sanctuary of the House Bellisarius Navigator had been turned into an abattoir. It was clear the defenders had not gone down without a fight, in fact a great many drukhari corpses littered the chambers but it was nevertheless clear who had emerged victorious. The Wolf Guard had fought the longest and fallen the hardest, four of the five had been brought down within the navigator's throne room itself, the final and most heavily shielded of the navigator's spacious sanctuary quarters. Horrible gashes and rents had been torn in the Wolf Guard's armor, some had lost limbs and several were missing their heads but their leader, Arnulf One-Eye, was draped across the navigator's throne itself. Curiously the navigator himself had not been taken or mutilated by the enemy, instead his skull had been crushed in Arnulf's fist. It was immediately obvious to Wolf Lord Silvar that his huscarl had chosen to execute the navigator rather than allow the dangerous mutant to fall into the xenos hands. Arnulf's body was particularly badly mauled, likely torn apart in a fit of pique by the enemy before they withdrew. Silvar and his warriors could only speculate as to the objective of the enemy but the scene in the sanctum strongly indicated the enemy had intended to capture the warp-seeing mutant, for what purpose could only be imagined but their objective had failed and with that the remainder of the foe had vanished like smoke. The xenos flagship, a wickedly spiked cruiser of some form, had disappeared, leaving the gutted wrecks of it's lost escort and raider craft drifting lifelessly in the void. The barbed bodies of boarding torpedoes still jutted from the Storm Breaker's hull by the dozen and the ship was running on emergency power only. Thousands of crew had been slain, more were missing, presumed taken by the xenos pirates. Countless systems across the ship had been damaged in the drukhari raid, most importantly the primary generatorium. Of the Space Wolves themselves, dozens had fallen, more were greivously wounded. Several dozen battle-brothers were alive only thanks to cryostasis or sus-an membrane enduced comas while a similar number had been killed outright, their gene-seed harvested wherever possible.
Over the next few weeks the company licked their wounds, the Storm Breaker limped into the terminal asteroid belt of the system, concealing itself among the rock and ice in case more raiders came looking for them. Running on minimal power the crew, outfitted with void-suites or cold-environment gear to handle the growing chill spreading across the ship, worked tirelessly to repair what they could. After days of struggle the generatorium was stabilized and partial power was restored, though the Iron Priest would not permit the generator to run at more than twenty-percent output for concern of causing greater damage. Without full power the warp-engines and gellar field were inoperable and even if they were usable the ship had no Navigator and blind jumping through the warp was absurdly dangerous. In summary the ship was left without full power and with no means of sailing the tides of the warp. The system the company was presently within was uninhabited and there was no telling if or when any other Imperial forces might pass through. The company did possess a single remaining astropath who had survived the drukhari raid but so far out on the fringes of Imperial space it was highly unlikely that anyone would receive an astropathic distress call anytime soon or be able to come to the company's aid in a timely manner. After much discussion with the company officers and priests Jarl Silvar decided that the best course of action was to send out a series of astropathic distress calls and then shut down all non-critical systems, have the company and crew enter extended cryo-stasis, and wait for someone to respond. Jarl Silvar did this knowing that it could be years, possibly decades, before any other Imperial forces happened on the system, and the Astropathic calls, if anyone received and translated them, could similarly take years to receive any response or spur action. Many of the company's warriors were uneasy at this decision but none were able to propose any more viable options and so, reluctantly, Jarl Silvar's orders were carried out. However even the most pessimistic of the company's warriors did not anticipate just how long it would be before they were found.
Four hundred and ninety four years, seven months, eleven days, twenty-one hours, fifteen minutes and thirty three seconds would pass before a boarding craft would latch onto one of the exterior hatches of the Storm Breaker and human feet would tread the ship's decks once more. In that time the Storm Breaker had drifted, powerless, near the boundary astroid belt of the system, slowly circling the system's unnamed blue star. The boarders cut their way into the ship through a maintenance hatch, and slowly began to spread out through the darkened, lifeless ship. Hall by hall, deck by deck the interlopers searched, prying open frozen shut hatches and skirting around routes blocked by wreckage or torn open to space by the drukhari guns. Eventually the boarders reached the cryo-vaults at the heart of the ship, the only chambers that their ship had detected any still operational power source. It will remain a mystery as to what the boarders expected to find there, crew who could be ransomed or enslaved, treasures to be looted and claimed, lost artifacts that could be sold on the black market somewhere, but they clearly had not expected to find death waiting for them.
The first of the boarders to enter the cryo vault encountered what he first mistook to be a statue standing sentinel in the middle of the corridor. His stuttering yellow lumen shone on curved surfaces of stone gray material depicting some kind of armored giant. It was not until the gauntlet of that giant rose and crushed the man's skull that the boarders realized it was not a statue at all, but something very alive, and very deadly. Within moments the boarding team was annihilated by the first of the Space Wolves to have awoken. From the moment the newcomers had begun to cut their way inside the intrusion detection systems had triggered the awakening protocols in the cryo vault. A dozen sons of Russ were already awake and ready for combat and the eight pointed star daubed on the void-armor of the first boarder to enter the vaults made it very clear these visitors were not allies.
Seven minutes after the first boarding team had gone silent the second mysteriously disappeared from vox communion. Five minutes after that the third team went silent, the fourth and fifth were lost ten and nine minutes later respectively. It was not until nearly an hour after the first team went silent that the chaos aligned raider vessel's captain realized he was in trouble and by then it was already too late. For a moment the twisted mutant butcher had been relieved, one of the boarding craft had detached from the derelict's hull and powered back to the renegade cruiser, hopefully with a hold full of loot and minions who could explain what had happened. Instead the moment the craft touched down in the ship's hangar the sounds of gunfire and screams erupted across the vox. Nineteen hours and forty-five minutes later Jarl Silvar Stormblade declared the vessel cleared of renegade filth. The crew, direly under-strength but still numbering in the thousands, had taken a painfully long time for the Space Wolves to hunt down and slaughter. Many had scattered into abandoned and disused chambers and decks, crawling into maintenance shafts and air-circulation ducts in an attempt to escape the armored giants murdering their way across the ship. Jarl Silvar had dispatched several packs of Fenrisian Wolves into those spaces to hunt down the last of the degenerates. Even before the bulk of the renegade crew had been exterminated the boarding teams of wolves had secured the bridge, gunnery decks, armory, munitions storage, hangars and generatorium, ensuring the enemy could not scuttle the ship, escape or attempt to retaliate against the Storm Breaker still drifting nearby. While packs of space wolves continued to cut their way through the lower decks Jarl Silvar had ordered the first of the awakened crew to shuttle to the renegade ship and begin assessing it's systems and overall condition. If the Storm Breaker could not be repaired the company might have to transfer to the renegade ship and use it to finally return to Fenris.
By the time the hunting packs had finished their work and begun to return to the upper decks the initial assessments of the vessel's condition were already complete. Iron Priest Haelfdar Ironhelm reported that the renegade vessel was in poor shape overall but that it could be stripped for parts and with those salvaged components Halefdar was confident he could effect repairs to the Storm Breaker's generatorium and restore full power. Even better the packs had found the renegade ship's navigator, a wasted wretch chained to the navigator's throne, his body carved with corrupted runes and daubed in tainted blood but the man had been measured by the company Rune Priest Bradach Doom-Caller and it was the priest's conclusion that the navigator was a prisoner whose soul remained loyal to the Golden Throne. After medical treatment, rest and food the Rune Priest was confident the navigator could pilot the Storm Breaker through the tides of the warp.
Despite these confident assessments it would be nearly five months before the careful and laborious work would be completed. The renegade ship's corrupted systems fought the company at every step, chambers and whole decks depressurising at random, doors opening or closing at the most inconvenient times, lifts malfunctioning, power fluctuating constantly, overloading the lighting on one deck while shutting down the artificial gravity on another. Eventually Iron Priest Haelfdar managed to completely shut down and disconnect the plasma generator at the heart of the vessel, starving it's corrupted-machine spirit and finally bringing an end to the traitor vessel's spiteful resistance. Although working without light, heat or gravity was challenging it also allowed the company thralls and servitors to remove the large reinforced shielding plates from the traitor ship's generator without much difficulty and transfer them to the Storm Breaker. Siphoning plasma from the generator to refuel the strike cruiser and using the salvaged shielding and dampeners from the traitor ship allowed the Iron Priest to finally restore the great ship's power. While repairs to the Storm Breaker were being affected the rescued navigator had been largely restored to good health. His physical appearance was still unsettling, bearing obvious mutations and unnatural features but he was, as best as the Wolf Priest could ascertain, healthy enough to pilot the vessel. The navigator was a scion of House Cassini, a young man named Othello. He was captured from the merchant ship he had been contracted to pilot just a few months earlier by the renegades and forced to serve them after their previous navigator had expired. He was extremely grateful for his rescue and swore an oath of service to his rescuers. Nearly five hundred years after entering their long sleep the warriors of the Stormblade Great Company were finally able to depart for home once more.
The return voyage to Fenris would turn out to be far less eventful than expected. The company did not divert to respond to any incoming astropathic communiques and only paused in any system long enough to receive news of the events of the last half millennia before continuing their voyage home. Eleven months after leaving the borders of the Halo Stars the Storm Breaker would emerge from the warp within the borders of the Fenris System. Immediately the ship was hailed and it's identity demanded. News that the ship and it's company had survived and returned centuries after their departure spread across the system like wildfire. By the time the strike cruiser arrived in orbit of Fenris everyone within the Fang, from lordliest astartes to lowest thrall knew of the company's return. Yet when the warriors of the Stormblade company set foot on Fenris they found the warm welcome they had expected was strangely absent. Thralls and astartes alike looked on the returned warriors with guarded expressions and they were quickly ushered the the grand annulus to be received by Logan Grimnar himself. In the chamber of the annulus the returned company found a large gathering of warriors, all of them armed and watching the newcomers suspicously. Grimnar met Jarl Silvar coldly, inquiring as to the wherabouts of the company over the last five centuries and how and why they had finally returned. Slowly, with anger dripping from his words at the implied insults, Silvar recounted the events that had led to their long delayed return. The watching crowd of warriors slowly relaxed as it became clear the company had not forsaken their oaths or turned renegade in that time but they remained cool and unwelcoming. When Silvar eventually concluded his tale Grimnar finally declared, with false warmth, his pleasure at their return and suggested the company retire to prepared chambers to rest and recuperate. Jarl Silvar suspected this was merely a pretense for isolating the company and putting them on a form of polite imprisonment but he had little choice but to accept. As the Wolf Lord suspected their quarters were a glorified gaol and over the next few weeks the company would be systematically examined by the chapter priests, each and every surviving member of the company poked and proded by the Wolf Priests, interrogated repeatedly and scoured both mentally and physically for any sign of corruption, deception or treachery.
After weeks of demeaning examinations the chapter priests finally declared the company free of taint and their account of their trials truthful. A feast was finally thrown to welcome the lost warriors home but no matter how much Grimnar and the other warriors of the chapter attempted to put on an air of celebration and welcome that warmth felt false. Suspicious glances and guarded distance remained. Towards the end of the feast Jarl Silvar finally managed to gain a short audience with the Great Wolf and inquire as to when his company would be reinforced and permitted to head out on campaign again and it was then that the chapter master delivered his most disappointing news yet, he would not authorize the restoration of the company, it had long been replaced by a new company of warriors whose symbol now lay on the grand annulus alongside those of the other Wolf Lords of the chapter. Grimnar would not permit the company to be reinforced and could not allow them to stand alongside the other companies of the chapter. The Space Wolves may not pay heed to the dictates of the codex astartes but even so Grimnar was reluctant to appear as though he were purposefully attempting to grow the strength of the chapter further beyond the nominal strength a chapter was supposed to possess. Nor would Grimnar permit the company to be absorbed into another, their long absence had left a stain of suspicion on the company that not even the assessment of the priests could erase, no other company would take them.
Jarl Silvar stood stone faced as Grimnar told him all of this, either unable or unwilling to voice his fury at this disgrace to the venerable Great Wolf but clearly displeased. Grimnar attempted to be sympathetic and express how he regretted the way the company had been welcomed and lamented that he could not restore them to their rightful place the way the deserved. Nevertheless he offered the company an alternative assignment, Jarl Silvar would nominally retain his rank of Wolf Lord but his company would be reclassified as a task force and would be dispatched to Garm to replace the lost garrison there. In time, if another Wolf Lord or their company was lost, the Stormblade Great Company could be restored to their rightful place, should they carry out their duties faithfully. In short, if Silvar and his men chose this disgraceful exile and endured it there was a chance that Grimnar would restore the company in the event of another company being lost. Despite every fiber of his being raging at the shame being heaped upon him and his men Jarl Silvar chose to accept the Great Wolf's orders. Just a few weeks after their arrival the company departed Fenris once more, headed for the chapter fortress-shrine on the industrial world of Garm. There the company strike cruiser would undergo a proper refit in orbit while the company would take up the thankless task of garrisoning the shrine of Garm. The year was now 979.M41 and little did the company know that in a mere twenty years the galaxy would be split in half and the Imperium as they knew it would be forever changed.
For the next two decades the Stormblade task force maintained their vigil on Garm. Every few years the remnants of the company would respond to some threat in a nearby system, putting down a minor ork incursion, cleansing a genestealer cult infestation or helping to crush a chaos cult but these diversions were few and far between. Long years spent standing watch wore at the tempers of the company's warriors. Isolated from the fellowship of their brothers and the aett the company grew ever more grim and dour in disposition. When the company did see battle their pent-up frustration was unleashed in unmatched savagery and brutality. Resentment grew over the long years of exile, contact with any other warriors of the chapter was extremely rare and it was clear time had not dulled the suspicions of the chapter towards them.
After years of bitter isolation the first real contact the company had with Fenris arrived in the form of an emergency astropathic message carrying codifiers of the most extreme significance. So powerful was the message that the astropath who received it expired immediately after the transcription was finished, her brain cooked to jelly within her skull by the overwhelming psychic energy she had channelled. The message was shocking in its details and the orders attached, the 13th Company was returning, scattered packs of mutated warriors emerging from the warp all across the segmentum and beyond. Every available detachment of the chapter was ordered to hunt down the spoor of the Wulfen, track their psychic signature and snatch them from wherever they had emerged before any other Imperial forces encountered them. Elated at finally having an opportunity to slip their bonds and embark on a fresh hunt the Stormblade task force set off immediately, burning hard through the warp after the psychic trace of their Wulfen brethren. The company Rune Priests Bradach and Holmgeir, worked tirelessly to commune with the world spirit of Fenris, casting bones, conducting rituals and scrying the future to locate the Wulfen. The company struck at world after world, cutting through warzones like a streaking arrow to pull packs of the lost thirteenth from the jaws of their enemies, retrieve them from uninhabited worlds or snatch them from under the noses of local authorities without notice. Two score wulfen howled through the lower decks when the company at last turned for Fenris, the traces of further wulfen too faint to continue after and dire premonitions urging the company back to the world of fire and ice.
Fate and the vagaries of the warp were not kind to the Stormblade company however, by the time the Storm Breaker clawed it's way back into realspace within the boundaries of the Fenris system the crisis had come and gone. The worlds of the system all bore terrible scars of apocalyptic battle and Fenris itself crawled with Imperial craft including many bearing the sigil of the Inquisition. Even as the Storm Breaker powered towards Fenris at full speed the sensor arrays detected numerous flights of landers and troop transports going to and from the surface of Fenris, all of them returning to Inquisition vessels. Cutting into the local vox traffic confirmed Jarl Silvar's worst fears, the tribes of Fenris were being stolen, taken from the surface of the chapter world by the thousands and hauled off by the Inquisition, and yet worst of all was the news that Logan Grimnar himself had authorized the Ordo Malleus to do this. The wolves of the Stormblade company were outraged, the Great Wolf's betrayal of their own people was almost too terrible to imagine. They had fought tooth and claw to protect the people of Armageddon from the same fate and now, for some inexplicable reason, the Great Wolf was allowing the flesh and blood of Fenris to be purged, it was insane.
Jarl Silvar attempted to learn more over the vox but the Great Wolf and nearly all of the Great Companies were already gone, headed for the Cadian Gate where augeries spoke of a terrible war already in progress, the Despoiler had return they said and with armies greater than anything the Imperium had seen since the Horus Heresy. Despite this news Jarl Silvar remained enraged at the situation on Fenris, not only had the homeworld been ravaged, the other worlds of the protectorate had suffered terribly and the Great Wolf, who was sworn to protect this realm, had taken his warriors and left, allowing the Inquisition to further ravage and abuse the sacred surface of Fenris in his absence. As the Storm Breaker progressed from the Mandeville point to the orbit of Fenris it's sensors tagged and recorded the identity of every vessel in system, paying particular attention to every vessel identifying as or likely being used by, the Inquisition. Silvar remembered the Months of Shame and would not allow the Space Wolves responsibility to protect the people of Fenris to be forgotten. But first he had to visit the Fang and learn all he could of what happened.
The company's arrival home was almost as somber and bleak as it's last visit. The halls of the Fang were nearly empty, virtually the entire strength of the chapter was gone with only a few scattered packs left behind to guard the Aett along with those too wounded to fight who were recovering in the Apothecarion and a small number of neophytes who had yet to finish their induction into the chapter. Those who remained spoke of Egil Ironwolf's fall, of the treachery of the Dark Angels and the Iron Hands, of the changeling who manipulated the situation, of the silver towers of Tzeentch filling the skies. They spoke of daemons manifesting on the soil of Fenris and of how Grimnar had banished Magnus with his blood-god tainted axe. Then they spoke of the Great Wolf bowing to the investigations of the Ordo Malleus, unwilling to resist the Inquisition under the guns of the Rock, how the loyal and brave warriors of the homeworld had fought and resisted the invaders and were abandoned in return. They spoke of the Great Companies departing for the great eye, leaving the ruin to be dealt with later. For days Silvar and his men stalked through the halls of the Fang, speaking with those who remained and assessing the situation. Much consternation and outrage filled the hearts of those left behind and Silvar was all too eager to stoke those feelings. Within the week he had made his decision, he was taking his men and everyone who would join them and heading after the Inquisition. They were forsaking their bonds to the Great Wolf, declaring themselves a Lost Company, for in their eyes Grimnar was no longer worthy of their service.
A good number of the wolves left behind chose to join the rogue Wolf Lord, several packs of freshly inducted Blood Claws, scattered groups of Grey Hunters and Long Fangs left behind due to injuries were brought aboard the Storm Breaker. These warriors could recover while the ship hunted and join their brothers in their efforts to rescue the stolen tribes people of Fenris. In addition to warriors the company took anything they could get their hands on, relic weapons and armor, ancient warmachines, equipment, gunships, and even those warships that had been left behind for repair. Dreadnought sarcophagi and chassis, tanks and aircraft, bolters and power blades, whatever could be scrounged from ancient armories and abandoned halls was loaded aboard transports and brought into orbit. Had the company possessed more time they would likely have stripped the Fang bare but given the Inquisition transports had finished their task and were departing the homeworld one after another time was not available. What the company liberated from the halls of the Fang was likely a fraction of what was there to take but would nevertheless be noticed upon their brothers return, whenever that would be.
As soon as preparations had been completed, the motley flotilla Jarl Silvar had assembled departed Fenris for the last time. Already the Rune Priests of the company were tracking the psychic echoes of their people, leading the fleet into the warp and on the trail of the Inquisition transports. Over the next months the company overtook and boarded a dozen vessels. Not all of them were Inquisition vessels and not all were transporting the stolen tribespeople, some were escorts or happened to be in the viscinity and attempted, foolishly, to intervene. All were to regret attempting to stand against the rage of the wolves. Most of those vessels the company attacked were captured and added to the growing flotilla. A few had been too badly damaged or were too slow to be bothered with and were scuttled, left behind in the company's rush to chase down more of the Ordo Malleus' transports before the trail went cold.
Just after capturing an ancient and much scarred battle-cruiser the company Rune Priests warned of a terrible cataclysm approaching. Before they could elaborate the viewports showed a great scar spreading across the galaxy from one side to the other. Worse, the scar looked to be headed directly towards the company. Every astartes and thrall and even the captured and conscripted crews formerly serving the Imperial Navy or Inquisition raced to get the flotilla ready for an emergency translation. Centered around the ancient and mighty form of the Storm Breaker the flotilla dove into the warp in close formation, the Rune Priests linking the minds of every Navigator and directing them towards a break in the onrushing storm. Several smaller vessels were lost but the group formation of the fleet managed to preserve most of the vessels as they crashed through the outermost breakers of the warp storm and emerged into real-space in a remote and desolate system that appeared to be abandoned.
It took several days for the crew to figure out exactly where they had emerged, half of the stars in the galaxy were blotted out by the great scar making it difficult for the crews to match what they could see from the viewports with their charts. Eventually the Rune Priests and Navigators were able to assist in identifying the system as an abandoned border system of the Vanyr sub-sector, a region of space where the seat of power and authority was the homeworld of an Imperial Knight household well known to the sons of Russ. The knowledge that a potential ally was located close to hand was welcome news but the warp was still in complete turmoil and travel would be extremely dangerous. Instead of departing immediately the company explored the system they found themselves in.
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.
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 another 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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