Argent Blades

The Argent Blades are a 5th Founding successor of the Ultramarines, tasked with the defense of the Kolleshian Sector in Segmentum Pacificus. Obsessed with the purity of their genes and their heritage, the Blades are rarely at full strength, and have become adept at utilizing doctrines laid out within the Codex Astartes. They rarely deploy more than a company to face a given threat, and have become experts at small tactical strikes, using small, tactically flexible forces to take down their foe as they attempt to repel the numerous threats that seek to destroy the sector.

Chapter History
Since their inception as part of the 5th Founding, the Argent Blades have been the defenders of the Kolleshian Sector. At first the Argent Blades were unwavering followers of the words of the Codex Astartes, and modeled themselves after their Progenitor, the Ultramarines. Over time, however, the Argent Blades have begun to follow not the exact words of the Codex, but the spirit of the words laid out by their revered Primarch. With their change in view towards the Codex came a sense of purity and superiority as the Blades realized the wisdom and perfection of the Primarch's teachings, and a growing hatred for the warbands that plagued their holy sector.

Teachings of Impurity
In 560.M35, the Argent Blades were stretched thin. The forces of the Archenemy struck into the sector at an alarming rate, and the Argent Blades were deployed in their entirety to purge the traitors. With the already under-strength chapter dropping in number at an alarming rate, the Purifiers and Apothecaries were tasked with finding new recruits, and quickly. They scoured the sector for recruits, and in the end they succeeded in reinforcing their chapter to successfully repel the invaders. But the price of this success was soon revealed in a bloodbath.

Starting on the world of Luminis, many of these new recruits revealed the failings of the Purifiers and Apothecaries, as many turned on their brothers and pledged their service to the dark gods of those they had just fought. Their willpower and minds had not been tested to the extent that the Blades deemed standard, and the recruits had been easily swayed to the service of the Ruinous Powers. All across the sector, recruits turned on their kin, and while they took a few down in the surprise, the recruits were slain. After this, the Argent Blades became more strict on their definition and tests of purity, starting these new tests on the Purifiers and Apothecaries responsible. They all failed.

Scarred by the Impure
Towards the end of the 39th Millennium, the Argent Blades were caught up in wars across the sector and even beyond its edges, as Orks terrorized the edges of the Kolleshian Sector. As the chapter purged more and more worlds of the filthy greenskins, they pushed further and further away from Alexandria. Then, the Blades were called back by the Master of the Watch, desperately calling for reinforcement. When the 2nd Company arrived as the spearhead of the fleet, the world was in flames. Dropping to the surface like valkyries from the heavens, the Argent Blades fought in the streets of Alexandria against a warband of the Black Legion. Witnessing the impurity they wrought upon the beautiful cities of Alexandria, the Argent Blades flew into a rage, and each squad fought with the fury of a Primarch, gunning down anything that dared to stand against them and burning the remains.

Even after the warband's defeat was certain and their fleet blown from the void, the Argent Blades massacred the cultists and Chaos Space Marines. Their disgust at the impurity wrought by the Black Legion and the anger they felt for the destruction of Alexandria caused some among the Blades to lose themselves in the fight, blacking out and awaking covered in the blood of the heretic and a boltgun aimed at them by their suspicious brothers. These marines were rounded up and given a chance to defend themselves for their impurity, but were shot nonetheless. The already suspicious chapter took the fate of these marines to heart, and the Chapter Command began an investigation into what had caused their impure and savage actions. Officially, no reason was found.

When the Traitor's hand strikes
In 580.M41, the Argent Blades continued to watch of the Kolleshian Sector, but would rarely find the need to deploy their forces within the sector, and rarely more than a company was required. Without a need to remain confined by the borders of the Sector, the Lord Commandant permitted companies to leave the sector and take part in crusades beyond more often than before, spreading their influence throughout the Imperium. Then, at the same time, worlds across the sector began to erupt into civil wars, rebel factions rising from the underworlds of each planet and overthrowing the Imperial Rulers, claiming those worlds for a warlord only referred to as "the Faithful."

All 600 Argent Blades returned as soon as they could to the Kolleshian Sector, bringing with them regiments of Imperial Guard who had been ordered to contain the spread of rebellion across the sector. As the Blades and the guard fought to purge the rebellions, a new force entered the Sector, boldly passing from system to system in a straight line towards Alexandria. On full alert, fully half of the Argent Blades returned and began mounting defenses within the system and in the systems nearby, watching as the other half of the Blades slowed the assault of the growing armada of the Archenemy, but even they soon returned as they found stopping the advance to be cumbersome and ineffective. Soon, the ships of the Faithful appeared at the Mandeville point of the Alexandrian system.

The full fleet of the Argent Blades struck out at the heretic ships, blowing dozens to pieces with pinpoint fire, but even more continued to approach Alexandria, and soon the sky was filled with vessels, some dropping traitors and heretics to the surface, some firing upon them as they tried desperately to cut off the ground assault. On the surface, the world of Alexandria descended into war. Squads of Argent Blades operated alone against mobs of cultists and hunting packs of Chaos Space Marines, all crying out their service to The Faithful. The naval battle lasted days as the Archenemy retreated to lick its wounds before returning again, but even after the last vessel of the Faithful had fled, the ground war would go on for another four months. Unwilling to order orbital bombardments on their own homeworld, the Argent Blades were forced to deploy strike teams alone, spreading their forces over the world in an attempt to reclaim as much ground for the pure as possible.

During the fourth and final month of the war, the warlord known as the Faithful finally emerged, becoming more than just a myth. He taunted the Argent Blades for their inability to purge him from the world, claiming that it was his fate to claim the sacred ground they stood upon for the Impure. His forces began to fight with a previously unseen level of zeal, throwing themselves into the sights of the Argent Blades at the mere mention of their warlord's title. However, the Blades used this bravado against the Impure, and began to push on, leaving stacks of charred corpses in their wake. When they reached the Faithful, the Blades had destroyed all but his most trusted and faithful servants. Lord Commandant Kysilar called for the Faithful to emerge from his den, challenging him to single combat, crying out that he would punish the Faithful for the scars of impurity that his legion of Faithful had left on Alexandria, on the Kolleshian Sector. The Faithful approached, and the duel lasted ten seconds before the warlord's head was on the ground. After that, the Argent Blades opened fire, exterminating every last trace of the vile Faithful and his servants.

Secrets Beneath the Surface
Following the second assault on Alexandria, the Argent Blades were deployed to suppress the remaining rebellions that plagued the Kolleshian Sector. As their kin fought, however, the Purifiers and Chapter Command searched for an answer to the attacks. They scoured the world, using even their serfs to incestigate theough every crack and crevice of Alexandria. Finding nothing on the surface, Lord Commandant and his Angeli Puritasi descended into the depths of the Castellam Pudicitiam, and through there into the numerous tunnels hidden underneath the cities of Alexandria. They were gone for 3 months.

When they returned, the tunnels were sealed off and warded, and the command staff were gathered, including the remaining Commandants. Behind the closed doors of the Lord Commandants quarters, secrets were discussed, secrets that never left those quarters. Since that meeting, the command staff all wear a black stripe on their helmets, declaring it to be a tactical designation of their rank, but the truth of the mark is known only to them.

Silence Amidst the Storm
Towards the end of 999.M41, the Argent Blades were deploying around the Kolleshian Sector, suppressing dozens of cultist uprisings as the forces of Abaddon the Despoiler assaulted the Cadian Gate. When uprisings arose on worlds all around Alexandria, including some within the Alexandria System itself, the Argent Blades sensed an imminent attack. Pulling away from their crusades, the chapter united once more on Alexandria, just in time to witness the galaxy rip open as Cadia's demise created the Great Rift. Knowing that this was the opportunity for the Archenemy to strike and unable to communicate with the rest of the Imperium, the Argent Blades hunkered down, waiting for the attack to come.

As the years dragged on the Blades waited, expecting a large-scale assault but only encountering the occaisional Ork or Daemonic incursion. They became paranoid about the idea of an attack, and when the Indomitus Crusade - including the Primarch they revered - arrived, they nearly opened fire, causing an hour-long tense standoff between the Argent Blades and their saviors. At last the Crusade landed upon Alexandria, and the Commandants of the Argent Blades met their idol. Upon witnessing him, some wept, and all bent their knees to him. But the gifts he left them with were another case.

It was not long before arguments arose within the chapter over the new Primaris, and as time qent on the division began to grow. Some believed the Primaris to be impure mutations of the holy gene-seed while others believed them to be closer to Guillman's holy form than the ordinary Astartes, and neither side would be willing to budge.

Eventually, seeing the growing divide within their chapter, the Primaris themselves stepped in. The Commandant Sicaveren Thamio went to each side and stated that he would prove the value and purity of his kind by taking 15 of his brothers to Hellfa IV, intending to destroy the fortifications that had so far repelled the attacks made by the Blades. A month later he returned, bringing with him the four he lost as well as the head of the enemy warlord. Seeing this, the chapter started to unify again, and the Primaris became more accepted, with Sicaveren himself being named Lord Commandant for his display of purity in mind and body, and his tactical display.

Notable Campaigns

 * Purging of Fenothis (349.M33) - The 2nd Company descend upon the planet of Fenothis as a hive rebels, launching a devastating war against the planet. With only 3 squads, Commandant Tellinus captures the food stocks of the hive, and from there systematically dismantle the heretic army and destroy the entire hive.

Chapter Homeworld
The world of Alexandria, homeworld of the Argent Blades, was once a world of beauty, its sprawling hive clusters filled with buildings of extravagant beauty, considered the most beautiful world in the sector. Now its clusters are scarred by the aftermath of 3 major invasions and hundreds of minor incursions, with sections of the cities left in ruins or forced to rebuild. Those who still live in the ruins are under heavy surveillance by the Adeptus Arbites who, under the orders of the Planetary Governor, hunt down and punish those who are impure through faith, through action, or through mutation.

The people of Alexandria have become resilient, attempting to make the most of what remains of their world. They work to keep their world productive, and spend the time they have making the most of life. In the slums, however, dissidents thrive. The people of the slums and ruins are often those cast out by their neighbors, or those not wealthy enough to leave. Gangs dominate the slums and often fight one another in the streets, with the sound of gunfire being a common occurrence in the night.

Fortress Monastery
The Fortress Monastery of the Argent Blades, Castellam Pudicitiam, is a diamond shining in the dark. Sitting in the center of the most heavily bombed section of the planet, the Monastery remains clean and untouched, standing apart from the ruins around it. On the outside, the Monastery is a marble structure designed to replicate the capitals of mythical governments, although it is bordered by defenses and missile silos dot the area around it.

Inside the Castellam Pudicitiam is the home of the Argent Blades, starting with the Great Hall. As visitors pass through the hall, they are greeted with statues of great heroes and depictions of glorious battles, all made by the Chapter Serfs. Further in lies the Librarium and Reclusiam, and deep into the earth lies the other rooms necessary for the Argent Blades, such as sleeping areas and training rooms.

Chapter Beliefs
The culture of the Argent Blades revolves entirely around purity. Descendants of the Avenging Son, the Argent Blades take great pride in their pure genes and devotion to the Imperium, and reflect this pride in purity of both body and spirit with a vast collection of artifice-crafted wargear and relics of the XIIIth Legion. They obsess over retain this possession of body and spirit, running themselves through rigorous tests to ensure that the chapter remains pure.

Over the years, as this obsession has become more and more ingrained into the hearts and minds of the Argent Blades, their distaste towards imperfections has grown as well. For an Argent Blade, the very site of imperfection being wrought is enough to fill one's mind with hatred, and spur them into action. Within the chapter, to show sign of imperfection is grounds for harsh punishment, with only three degrees. A minor infraction will see you stripped of your rank and forced to redeem yourself, proving their purity once more as they embark on an almost impossible journey to regain their rank. A major infraction, however, can lead to banishment from the chapter, or even execution by their brothers. Outside the chapter, the Argent Blades will put anyone or anything that displays signs of impurity to death, and revile the Traitor Legions for their corruption of the human form and the impurity they bring with their very steps upon a loyal world.

Chapter Gene-Seed
The Argent Blades possess the gene-seed of the Ultramarines, and share the same level of purity. Taking pride in their progenitors, the Argent Blades are devout followers of the Codex Astartes, revering the Avenging Son over any other Primarch. Without major flaws to their gene-seed, the Argent Blades vary in appearance, but many begin to appear similar to the Primarch of the Ultramarines as they age.

Due to their culture and gene-seed, the Argent Blades are seen as egotistical and self-absorbed among the other chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. While they retain good relations with the Ultramarines and their successors, the Argent Blades are either indifferent or judgmental of those chapters which descend from the other Primarchs, and have extremely poor relations with the successors of the Blood Angels, Raven Guard, and Iron Hands, who they see as impure for their high mutation rates and cultures.

Command Ranks

 * Lord Commandant (Chapter Master)
 * Commandant (Captains)
 * Lieutenants
 * Sergeants
 * Master Purifier (Reclusiarch)
 * Purifier (Chaplains)
 * Apothecaries
 * Librarians
 * Tech Marines

Veteran Ranks

 * Terminators
 * Sternguard
 * Company Champions
 * Honor Guard
 * Vanguard
 * Ancients
 * Company Veterans

Battleline Squads

 * Tactical Marines
 * Primaris Intercessors
 * Scouts

Close Support Squads

 * Assault Marines
 * Primaris Inceptors
 * Primaris Reivers
 * Bikers

Fire Support Squads

 * Devastators
 * Primaris Hellblasters
 * Primaris Aggressors

Order of Battle
The Argent Blades are strictly adherent to the Codex Astartes, especially in terms of organization. The edicts of the holy Codex are words they live by, and to change the organization of the chapter is heresy to them, the only exception being if the orders to change were given with the blessing of the Avenging Son himself.

Deathwatch Service
The Kolleshain Sector is rife with the plague of Xenos, and the Argent Blades have engaged their fair share of Xenos. Many Argent Blades have witnessed the many forms of the alien, and have been disgusted by the impurity of their forms. Worse still, veterans of the Kalgarian, Minuso, and Garesh campaigns have firsthand witnessed the offensive mutations of the human form that the genestealers wrought. Many of the most puritan members of the Argent Blades are those who have fought against the alien for most of their service, and they are often those sent to serve in the Deathwatch.

These puritan veterans are valued for their dedication to the extermination of all that is alien and their tactical mastery, but often have poor relations with their cousins among the Deathwatch. Their obsession with the purity of man has caused conflict among Kill Teams, especially when Argent Blades are grouped together with chapters who possess obvious mutations in their gene-seed, such as the Salamanders. Either the Blades begrudgingly accept their new assignment and learn to work with those they deem impure in order to complete the mission, or they become isolated, often assigned as Kill-Marines or as scouts, separating them from the rest of the team so that conflict within the team is avoided.

Chapter Combat Doctrine
The Argent Blades rarely number over seven hundred marines, which are distributed through each company in order to retain the chapter structure. Due to these smaller companies the Blades rarely engage in large-scale engagements or with a full company, instead becoming adept in small tactical insertions with combat squads. These squads are highly flexible and trained to adapt to any situation based on the guidelines of the Codex Astartes, and when used correctly a force of only a few tactical combat squads and support units can accomplish what would take other chapters a full company of Astartes to do.

Often an Argent Blades assault will begin with the deployment of a couple tactical combat squads, each squad taking with them a special or heavy weapon that best suits their established objective in order to secure a beachhead. Once these beachheads are established, often multiple in different locations, reinforcements will arrive by drop pod and Thunderhawk, as the main assault begins. Each beachhead is reinforced with units that are best suited for their following objectives, such as devastator squads or predators to punch through heavy fortifications or assault and biker squads to flank behind an enemy force. As the two forces work their way through the battlefield and perform their assigned function the enemy is divided, so that it cannot unite and engage the less numerous Blades.

The arrival of the Primaris Marines and their forces only reinforced their combat doctrine, their preference towards combat squads and squad-wide wargear fitting perfectly into Blades' tactics. Intercessors are now used as primary insertion forces, their specialized bolt rifles working into the fast-paced combat that the Blades require. Hellblasters have since replaced Devastators as the heavy support units employed by the Blades, used as spears to break through the enemy fortifications with their plasma incinerators.

Notable Space Marines

 * Lord Commandant Ezekyle Minervus - Recognized as one of the greatest and most pure leaders of the Argent Blades, Ezekyle Minervus is the example that many Lord Commandants live by. His tactical expertise was unmatched, and across the Kolleshian Sector he led crusades to cleanse worlds of the impure, consuming worlds in holy fire and leaving only the purest souls behind. He was the first to utter the words that became the battle cry of the Argent Blades, his devotion to cutting out the impure that lurk within the Imperium pushing him to greater conquests and crusades, even departing from the sector to lead his men from the front in other large-scale crusades. His greatest and final act, however, took place only a system away from Alexandria. Faced with a Black Legion warband that was twice the size of his chapter, Lord Commandant Minervus led his men from the front, cutting through the weakest points in the warband and dismembering it. In the thick of the fighting he engaged the warlord, a Daemon Prince of Khorne, in single combat. This Daemon Prince would sever his right arm and deal an irreparable wound, but Minervus would not yield. Once the battle was won, the Argent Blades found their Lord Commandant clinging to life atop the corpse of the Daemon Prince. His last words were the ones the Blades live by: "The Impure shall forever burn."
 * Lord Commandant Aurelius Kysilar - The previous Lord Commandant, Aurelius Kysilar was a noble warrior and an icon of purity. Taking his place among the line of Lord Commandants following his predecessor's fall against Aeldari warriors, Aurelius Kysilar sought to push the Argent Blades beyond the limits of the Kolleshian Sector, wanting to bring purity to more than just those within the troubled sector. He authorized and led campaigns out of the Kolleshian Sector, bringing the wrath of the Argent Blades upon every impure soul in his path. Following the Assault of the Faithful and his descent into the underworld of Alexandria, however, Aurelius' attitude changed. The activities of the Argent Blades were once again restricted to the sector, and a company was always assigned duty through the Alexandria System, especially patrolling the world itself. To those outside the chapter, it appeared he was guarding something, a theory that was only cemented by the rising level of paranoia displayed by the Lord Commandant. When the Great Rift opened he had already assigned the entire chapter to the Alexandria System, where he waited anxiously for an attack to come. After the arrival of Roboute Guilliman, it is said that Aurelius found himself to be impure, and charged headlong into the crusade, repenting as he fell on the world of Vulimor.
 * Lord Commandant Sicaveren Thamio - The first Primaris to set foot on Alexandria and the first of his kin to ascend to the rank of Lord Commandant, Sicaveren Thamio is a humorless yet inspiring leader. Since his induction into the ranks of the Argent Blades, Sicaveren has worked incessantly to mend the gap between the Primaris and normal Astartes, having to prove time and again the purity of him and his kin. Already a veteran of the Indomitus Crusade and a captain when the crusade reached Alexandria, Sicaveren was seen as the representative of the Primaris, despite them making up most of the chapter and mutiple Primaris holding the rank of Commandant beside him. He quickly adopted the practices and tactics of the Argent Blades and blended them with his own, proving himself an excellent commandant as he deployed his squads in ways that capitalized on the enemy's weakest points and crushed them, leading his men into battle as he carved through scores of foes, his blade never resting. Even still, the gap between the Primaris and the normal Astartes grew, until he made a risky move to prevent the chapter from going to war with itself. Volunteering himself and 15 Primaris, Sicaveren pledged he would capture a fortress that had repelled even the tactics of the 1st Commandant. If he succeeded, it would prove the purity of the Primaris, but if he failed the Primaris would be rejected as impure. With the fate of his kin and his chapter on his back, Sicaveren travelled to the world of Hellfa IV, where for a month he and his 15 worked to capture the fortress. After this he returned, bringing the head of the warlord as proof. With this the tensions lessened and the Primaris were inducted into the fold, as Sicaveren was chosen to lead the chapter as a shining example of the chapter's puritan beliefs.

Battle Barges

 * Evangelica Pudicitia
 * Defaeco Incarnatum
 * Pestis Hereticus

Strike Cruisers

 * Pride of Alexandria
 * Vengeance
 * Herald of the Avenging
 * Pearl of Kolleshia
 * Bane of the Defiled

Chapter Relics

 * Heavenblade - One of the oldest relics in the collections of the Argent Blades, the Heavenblade is the Lord Commandants badge of office. Rumored to have been wielded by a Captain of the Ultramarines during the Horus Heresy, the ancient weapon is revered throughout the chapter, its very presence being enough to silence debates and turn the tides of battle. Decorated with a golden hilt and markings carved into the blade, the Heavenblade has tasted the blood of thousands of impure foes and, as its current wielder, Sicaveren Thamio has vowed to let it drink from the blood of a thousand more before he falls.
 * Wings of Ultima - Once belonging to the Ultramarines legion, the Wings of Ultima are not a single relic, but six helmets that once belonged to Invictarii who fought during the heresy. To be gifted with these helmets is to be praised as a paragon of purity, and to be held as one of the chapter's greatest warriors. A Lord Commandant must either earn his wings upon ascension or have already earned them in order to hold that rank, and it is he who decides the bearers of the wings. Most often, it is the Regent and the Commandants of the battle companies who are given these honors, though on rare occasions they have been gifted to the Scout Commandant or even the Chief Librarian.