Woe of the Bears

The Woe of the Bears is a lamentable moment in the history of the stoic and ferocious Bears of the Claw Chapter that occurred sometime in M39. At that time, the Bears of the Claw had taken severe casualties, suffering the loss of three whole companies as a direct result due to constant campaigning against the various threats that assailed the southern reaches of the Segmentum Tempestus. Withdrawing from the front lines to lick their wounds, the Bears of the Claw's Chapter fleet was set upon by a large Drukhari raiding force. The fighting that ensued, was both bloody and vicious, in the extreme. Suffering the loss of several hundred more battle-brothers, the Bears of the Claw prepared to sell themselves dearly.

In desperation, the Bears reluctantly sent out an astropathic distress call for assistance from any and all nearby Imperial military forces. Their prayers were soon answered - in the form of the brutal and savage Blood Vultures Chapter, who arrived in their Chapter's entirety. Setting upon the upstart xenos in a lightning swift assault, soon both Chapters fought side-by-side, to repel the vicious Drukhari. Breaking the back of their main assault, the Drukhari wisely fled the ferocious Blood Vultures. Both Chapters formed unbreakable bonds of brotherhood, forged in the heat of battle, and vowed to answer one another's call for aid, whenever the need arises.

History
In what is now a largely forgotten episode of the Imperium's history, the southern fringe of the Segmentum Tempestus was assailed by wave after wave of Ork nomad fleets, xenoform migrations and strange psychic phenomenon which themselves caused a near epidemic of Witch Cults, alien infestations and daemonic incursions. Seen now by some sources within the Ordo Xenos as a precursor to the coming of the Tyranids, these events were largely unrecognised at the time as forming a pattern, as the eyes of the Imperium were focused on threats elsewhere.

The Bears of the Claw had suffered severe attrition in a series of multiple campaigns defending the Imperium's borders against invading xenos species, including the Orks and Hrud outbreaks. The Bears had been reduced to 700 Battle-Brothers when their own Chapter fleet was assailed by a much larger Dark Eldar Cabal raiding fleet. Despite still licking their wounds, the tenacious Bears were quickly roused to war, and fought against the vile xenos in a series of deadly boarding actions that resulted the loss of several hundred of their fellow battle-brothers. Though they made the Dark Eldar corsairs pay dearly, the sheer numbers of the forces soon began to take its toll on the Bears' forces.

Facing annihilation, the Bears reluctantly sent an astropathic distress call into void, as they prepared to sell themselves dearly in a final stand. Fortunately, their desperate cry for help was answered in the form of the savage Blood Vultures Chapter, which had been campaigning in a nearby sector against an Enslaver outbreak. Arriving in their Chapter's entirety, the savage Blood Vultures proceeded to launch a rapid counter-strike against the upstart xenos, and soon, the warriors of both Chapters fought side-by-side with their cousins, wreaking terrible slaughter against their Dark Eldar foes.

The Bears of the Claw had suffered terrible casualties, including the loss of their Master of the Claw, Lord Karnak Bloodclaw. After bloodily executing the Dark Eldar Cabals Archon, the two Chapters formed a strong alliance and each swore a blood-debt to one another. The Bears promised that should the Blood Vultures ever be so threatened they would respond in kind. Down the millennia, both Chapters have answered this call on at least a dozen occasions.