Adamant Wardens

"You shall not bar the way. I am the breaker of bastions. I am the Emperor's right hand. I am the siegebreaker. I am your doom! No wall shall stand!"

- Adamant Wardens Catechism of Adamant Ruination

The Adamant Wardens are a non-Codex compliant Space Marine Chapter in the 41st Millenium. They were created as a part of the 22nd Founding of Adeptus Astartes from uncertain lineage. The Adamant Wardenss are siege masters, specialising in the breaking of sieges and assaults on static fortifications. Though a loyal Chapter, they have a reputation as being quite dour and secretive, much to the dismay of other Imperial organisations such as the Inquisition.

History
The chapter was originally founded as a standing army force to be used for the protection of reaches near the Azuran Sector, made to break sieges and renegade fortifications that may reach into the Segmentum Pacificus. Their primogeniture is unknown to all of them, and it's a topic of great shame among their kin, this also contributes to their lone and aloof tendencies toward most Imperial Organistions.

Notable Campaigns

 * Treachery at Falchius (200-210.M38) - The Adamant Wardens send their whole chapter strength to the planet of Falchius. A long 10-Year campaign ensued with Brigades being reduced to nearly one third of their original strength by a large Iron Warriors warband whom took over most of the world. The war was waged by the Iron Warriors, 5th Halios Siege Infantry, Adamant Wardens, and Renegade Guard. The war was composed of many brutal sieges and assaults between the two siege specialists, grinding themselves against each other in a battle of grand attrition. Tank advances crushed eachother, dreadnoughts grappled in competition over breaches, artillery shelled across the vast fields of what once was a loyal civilized world. It was a near stalemate, the Adamant Wardens only being saved by the noble Imperial Fists upon the reception of their distress signal and their proximity to terra. Even then the Wardens could do little more than a tactical withdrawal of their remaining forces after most of their number were dead, missing, or even fallen to heresy. The Lord Siegesmith Virius swore vengeance upon the Iron Warriors and to this day they have a toxic and harsh rivalry with them alongside the Imperial Fists. The chapter has to hunker down for almost 300 years to recoup their losses.
 * Gulman Pacification (526.M40) - A Brigade of Adamant Warden forces was conducting a failing Siege upon the Traitorous world of Gulman Secundus. With reinforcements weeks away they set out a distress signal, calling upon nearby chapters to aid them in their engagement. This took a hearty debate considering the chapter's innately aloof nature but eventually a force of Astral Leviathans arrived. They butted heads at first but begrudgingly gave operational command to the Leviathans under Commodus Harathiel, the Wardens still operating rather independently. Over the course of the engagement another chapter soon arrived, The Ordinators, quickly beginning to take the operation further into the Governor's Palace. It was soon revealed that the forces involved were not simply renegades, they were servants of Tzeentch. While this happened, an initiate of the ++CENSORED BY THE ORDO MALLEUS++ ended up ++CENSORED BY THE ORDO MALLEUS++. Legatus Pharseus held an offense at the Governor's palace, fighting alongside 1st Siegesmith Thrantis and Reclusiarch Errael. After a long fight that left even the Astartes beleaguered, they soon laid siege to the Throne Room, the Governor slain and Daemon Prince of Tzeentch in his place. A hard battle ensued, the Astral Leviathans and Ordinators successfully destroying the Daemon Prince and his coven at the cost of 56 Wardens, leaving one alone. The Lone Warden cursed Vengeance on the forces of Tzeentch, soon to become a Sergeant for his honor in battle.

Order of Battle
The chapter follows a Codex-divergent Order of Battle, choosing to have larger and more independent formations, known as Brigades, at any given time as opposed to the standard company. Each Brigade is akin to a double-strength company, consisting of roughly 200 men each plus fleet assets and motor pool. The Brigade is run by a Siegesmith with 2 Siege Officers running Demi-Brigades or Companies beneath him, after this is either an Armour Century or Infantry Section lead by a Lieutenant.

Ranks
The Adamant Wardens believe in a large yet strong command structure, this is reflected directly in their ranks and titles.

Officers

 * Lord Siegesmith - Overall Chapter Commander and wielder of the legendary Thunderhammer Siegecrafter as a staff of office.​​
 * Siegesmith - Equivalent to a Captain or Force Commander, a Siegesmith coordinates an entire Brigade of forces.
 * Siege Officer - Overseer of a Demi-Brigade or Company, they primarily work to lead in the field beneath the Siegesmith of a particular Brigade.
 * Lieutenant - Primary leader of Infantry Sections or Armor Centuries beneath the Demi-Brigades/Companies that Siege Officers see to.

Specialty Ranks

 * War Priest - Title given to battlefield chaplains. The master of their domain is still called the Reclusiarch.
 * Siege Engineer - The designation for the chapter's many Techmarines. Novices under their tutelage go by the moniker of Junior Engineer and the Forgemaster goes by the title of Master Engineer.
 * Mindsmith - Designation for the chapter's few Librarians, ranks typically prefix this title(Epistolary-Mindsmith, Lexicanum-Mindsmith, Chief Mindsmith, etc.)
 * Surgeon - The name of the chapter's apothecaries. The master of the apothecarion is named the Surgeon General.
 * Fleetmaster - Appointed by a Siegesmith to act as a void leader in the Siegesmith's stead when he may be coordinating the engagement or leading on the field, his field authority is believed to be similar to a Siege Officer outside of his voidfare duty.

Mid Officer/Warrant Titles

 * Chief Warden Officer - Rank given to senior specialists often appointed at the top of a Brigade, hazy authority but suspected to be near a Lieutenant or Siege Officer. Even fewer line personell reach this rank simply due to the post of the Lieutenant's existence.
 * Warden Officer - A rank given to various talented tank commanders and specialists who may be called to lead the Armor Centuries or 3rd/4th(Secondary) Infantry Sections(5 Squads) of any given Brigade. Due to their field-oriented posting they generally have a lot of time to attend to auxiliary duties, often in command of small vessels and doing independent operations for the chapter and operating Kill-Teams when needed.
 * Colour Warden (Colour Sergeant) - A title commonly given to specialists who are assigned to holding a Brigade's colors.
 * Siege Champion - The rank given to a particular Brigade's champion.

Terminator Ranks

 * Errant-Sergeant - Terminator Sergeant. Often the default rank for the 1st Sergeant of a particular Brigade
 * Errant-Corporal - A slightly rarer rank for a Terminator appointed to the second of his sergeant.
 * Warden-Errant - A title for a Warden who wears Terminator warplate.

Veteran Ranks

 * Watch-Sergeant - A Sergeant of particular esteem or Veterancy, often in command of a veteran squad.
 * Watch-Corporal - Appointed second to a Watch-Sergeant.
 * Watch-Warden - A veteran warden, often underneath a watch-sergeant.

Line Ranks

 * Warden Sergeant - The leader of a Squad or Support Team within the Wardens. Primary NCO rank.
 * Warden Corporal - The direct appointed second to a particular Warden Sergeant.
 * Warden - The basic Mainline rank of the Adamant Wardens, based off of their namesake.
 * Initiate - The basic rank of a scout within the chapter, their surgeries may complete and they will still be held in a less than senior posting and only rare few among these completed Initiates may don Power Armor despite being able to wield it, they are promoted to fill battle-losses at appropriate times. They are not counted upon the chapter's numeral tally and aspirants may also be looped into this category.
 * Serf Militant - An adolescent aspirant or a hopeful who was too old, these serfs will serve as the Brigade's Logistical support, auxiliaries in battle, and Naval Armsmen and are near Tempestus Scions in terms of training and equipment. They generally have more rights than normal serfs and get indoctrinated into the chapter cult as a part of their service, the younger ones who prove themselves strong in battle may become Initiates while the weak die. At age 21 they are automatically placed into the normal Serf category.

Unique Troops

 * Decimator Squad - A namesake given to the few Heavy Support units esteemed enough to wield the chapter's dwindling pool of powerful energy weapons. Often armed solely with specialty weapons like the Plasma Cannon, Grav-Cannon, and Lascannon. This is also a retroactive redesignation of Primaris Hellblasters. A Brigade may only have one or two of these combat-squads(5 men) at any given time.
 * Hammer Siege Terminators - A name given to the Elite Terminators who wear Cataphractii warplate, often directly at the fore of breaches with traditional Assault Terminators protecting them.
 * Doomcasters - Veteran Centurion Warplate Pilots whom often work in concert with Hammer Terminators. These warriors always enter the field donned in their relic Centurion Armor unlike their less senior brethren in the Heavy Support specialty.

Chapter Gene-Seed
The Gene-Seed of the Adamant Wardens is highly pure, making recruitment easy with notably low rejection rates. This is not without oddities though, and it has a notable effect upon a Warden's psyche. They become cold, near ruthless individuals masking their good intentions and are often highly paranoid or untrusting of others. They also have a natural predilection towards modifying weaponry and quickly learn about their weapons of choice and set out to modify them, much to the dismay of more radical aspects of the mechanicus. Due to this machinist genetic tendency there are more techmarines than in normal chapters and more customized weapons, armor, and vehicles built to the tendencies of the Adamant Wardens. This adds up to a cold and calculated craftsman persona that goes across the chapter, adding onto their secretive and inward tendencies.

Despite the Gene-Seed's marked purity, it does have several mutations that have albeit stabilized and are easily predictable by the Surgeons and are monitored by the Surgeon General and the stock has no signs of any change outside of extreme circumstance. Their Omophagea has atrophied and being seen as an unnecessary risk has been ceased from implantation entirely. Various changes in their Larraman's Organ, Ossmodula, Biscopea, Secondary Heart, Multi-Lung, and Haemastamen have given the Adamant Wardens a notable resilience and stamina compared to other chapters though nowhere near the level of the Primaris Marines and short of the Sons of Antaeus. These changes have seemed to have been around since the beginning of their existence and according to Surgeon General reports haven't diverged notably for their whole existence.

Chapter Culture
The Adamant Wardens hold a staunch belief in stoicism and calculation. This is reflected in their behavior greatly, each Warden is a cold and callous individual with the heart of an honorable craftsman. They venerate the Emperor as a god and see him as the pinnacle of man, a perfection that mere men can only hope to obtain. The practice of craftsmanship is highly encouraged and instinctively rooted in the chapter, each brother's weapon often being modified to personal tastes. A great emphasis is placed upon meditation within the Adamant Wardens, each Warden taking time to meditate on his own over the natures of war, drill, philosophy, or whatever else may interest them.

Their dour secretiveness translates directly into their treatment of other chapters, often they will be outwardly untrusting of just about any Imperial Organisation at first, with trust having to be earned overtime and even then their secrets are never divulged to any but the most loyal of allies.

Rituals
Deep in their sanctums, far behind closed doors, various ceremonies are brought on by the chapter's War Priests(Chaplains) in the form of dark and esoteric divinations to the Emperor alongside Mindsmiths. One of these dark divinations is the Crafting of Death, where an initiate has to forge a blade up to the War Priest's standards and carve the Catechism of Adamant Ruination onto the flat of it, the blade is to be heated and used as a brand to be applied to the initiate's breast above the second heart. This blade is then discarded and destroyed to show the idea of duty being harsh and unforgiving. Another one of these rituals is the Rite of Decimation, in which one tenth of a particular set of initiates are selected by lottery to be killed by their brethren. The initiates who survive are allowed to continue their training, if one initiate fights back and survives he is given an honor for his strength and killing off the weak.

A ritual often given to newly appointed Siegesmiths is The Forging wherein the Siegesmith is rid of his armor and chained before an altar to the Emperor by the forearms, these chains are ritually heated and are carved with rites of the chapter. This lasts for exactly 16 hours, sleep is not allowed, food is not allowed, any form of respite outside of prayer while the chains are re-heated is not allowed. This is a test of faith, to let them find salvation with the Emperor. At the very end of the ritual, he is unchained and told to stand upright. A brand with the chapter symbol upon it is applied to his back, if he strays away from it he is to fail the trial, but if he steels himself and stays against the brand he passes and is lauded as an honorary Siegesmith.

A ritual given to new inheritors of Terminator Armour is the Rite of The Mason, wherein the Warden-Errant to-be is to cut himself twice on each limb with an anti-coagulant put into his blood to prevent his anatomy from compensating. He is then to slather all of his wounds in cement. After this process he does one final cut to his dominant hand and lets it drip into the tins of paint that will adorn his armor while reciting the Catechism of Adamant Ruination. Once done with this, his armor is given a fresh coat of paint by him or a Siege Engineer. At the very end of the process, he is to personally help the Siege Engineer repair and assemble the armor for his ready use. Only then is he to don it and recite their signature Catechism once more.

The arguably tamest among these rituals is the Rite of The Armor of Faith, where a Warden newly awarded his power armor is to stand before his new Sergeant unflinching and take a single shot from his Sergeant's boltgun in the chestplate. Particularly brutal Sergeants will load Armor Piercing ammunition and purposefully place a non-lethal though painful shot, then help them up.

One other form of ritual they do is a summit of prayer they hold every century in peacetime. They all will gather in the chapter's highest chapel under naught but candlelight, the room is gathered in a circle surrounding a statue of the Emperor and a great hero in Terminator Armor standing back-to-back. The brothers are to kneel in the room, Command personnel closest and line brothers farthest with places made for dreadnoughts to stand believed for the dual purpose of keeping dreadnoughts pure in mind, the Reclusiarch leads dark chanting with the Chief Mindsmith done in arcane languages done by the diviners of their feudal homeworld. This induces a trancelike state of prayer where all the brothers chant the same, what is seen is not to be disclosed to anyone other than the Reclusiarch but often is never told. Some speculate it's visions of heresy, others believe they see the Emperor upon the empyrean himself, and many believe it's a simple meditative trance, a glorified hypnotherapy. The true nature of this ritual aside from honoring the Emperor as of now is completely unknown.

It's very common for brothers to adorn themselves with tattoos of various iconography. (Chains, The Chapter Insignia, Briggite Script, Gothic Script, Aquilas, War Tapestries.)

Their brotherhood due to this is extremely close-knit and Wardens will often hug eachother or do a squad or Brigade specific gesture. They have extremely good nature among each other outside of battle or prayer, likely due to the extremity of faith and brotherhood their rituals encourage. In the battlefield they are cohesive and out for eachother's interests but often will not mourn until after a particular engagement. When addressing others, their stoic tendencies go up to a maximum. They will speak in calm and measured sentences when addressing commanders or members of other chapters they do no know.

Treatment of Serfs
The way Wardens treat their serfs varies as they're often pooled in varying ways. They see their Serfs Militant as valued auxiliaries and worthy comrades, often praying and training with them. These Serfs seen as the most reliable form of human auxiliary they have, choosing to fight alongside them rather than even guard regiments they're allied with. Most serfs are also aided by initiates who are required to help with duties outside their training to help them identify a technical specialty, this includes: cooking, cleaning, technical work, nursing, cataloging, and aiding chaplains. As a result a lot of these initiate-serfs are seen as young-ins with yet to learn their purpose. Overall the chapter generally acknowledges the existence of average serfs with short and curt hellos and goodbyes of no particular note.

Notable Battle-Brothers

 * Warden Ancient Dantio (Deceased) - A venerable Ironclad Dreadnought honoured to the 1st Brigade. One of numerous accolades from 400.M39 to 526.M40. He eventually died in the Gulman Pacification.

Chapter Fleet
Battle Barges

Active Destroyed or Retired Strike-Cruisers
 * Hel's Angel - The crown battle-barge and flagship of the chapter bearing the most modifications and retroactive void repairs bringing it's tonnage up higher than a normal battle-barge. It has been in the chapter since the founding. The High Fleetmaster and Lord Siegesmith run this vessel directly.
 * Babylonia - Flagship of the 2nd Brigade
 * Grey Eagle - Flagship of the 3rd Brigade
 * Crusader of Hate - Destroyed during the 1st Incursion of Brigg
 * Vance - Scrapped in orbit of Astraj after irreparable damage

Active Destroyed or Retired
 * Bellator In Machina - Flagship of the 4th Brigade
 * Great Expectations - Flagship of the 5th Brigade
 * Tortoise - Assigned to the 1st Brigade Fleet
 * Grand Gunnery- Assigned to the 3rd Brigade Fleet
 * Assured Destruction - Assigned to the 2nd Brigade Fleet
 * Lancaster  - Assigned to the 1st Brigade Fleet
 * Abraham's Grace - Assigned to the 1st Brigade Fleet
 * Blooded Glaive - Assigned to the 3rd Brigade Fleet
 * Vivian - Assigned to the 4th Brigade Fleet
 * Castor - Assigned to the 5th Brigade Fleet
 * To Be Added

Chapter Relics

 * Siegecrafter - A unique master-crafted Thunderhammer said to have been in the chapter's armorum since their founding. It doubles as a staff of office for the Lord Siegesmith of the chapter and it is one of the only power-weapons the chapter has.
 * Spear of the Lone Warden - A master-crafted Power Spear given to the sole survivor of the Palace Assault during the Gulman Pacification by Legatus Pharseus of the Ordinators.
 * Mors Invicta - A legendary Cataphractii Terminator Plate, often given to the 1st Siegesmith also known as the "Master of the Hammer" in reference to him having the greatest sway over, and being a member of, the Hammer Siege Terminators.
 * Bloodsport - A masterfully made chainsword in the chapter armorum, often given to a Close Support Warden of particular esteem or even a Siegesmith who shows a great bias towards them. The blade is painted in black and yellow stripes and is said to cut like a powersword.
 * White Feather - A master-crafted Godwyn-Brigg Boltgun, adorned in small touches of gold and bearing a long scope and massive magazine. This bolter has been retooled by whoever once used it to fire 25.4mm Heavy Bolter shells, increasing it's range and stopping power considerably.
 * Aegis of Hate - A Land Raider Crusader made as a gift from the Master Engineer to the Lord Siegesmith at the time. This Land Raider's engines have been highly upgraded and so have the hurricane bolters to almost never have a feed failure.
 * Cataclysm - The Cataclysm is a relic Vindicator recovered from a battlefield long ago, the Master Engineer at the time took it as his personal project to restore instead of scrapping it for use elsewhere. Over time this Vindicator has been upgraded time and time again, almost every part of the gun having some sort of litany or rite of function upon it, the shells for it have been hand-loaded just for it's specific overbore size. This grand weapon of Siege is only deployed when the fighting is the most fierce

Chapter Equipment
Due to limitations and bias, the Adamant Wardens almost never use Energy Weapons or Bladed Power Weapons; the chapter has a sole Grav-Cannon and are well-under the normal standard for bladed power weapons with a similar amount of mauls and hammers in their place. They prefer to use various forms of kinetic weaponry, this has also caused near-widespread use and adaptation of the Bolt Rifle, Assault Bolter, Heavy Bolt Pistol, and Auto Bolt Rifle. They also have customized variants of weapons in use in their own chapter and steward forge world of Astraj: The chapter also has a proportionately low number of dedicated Rhino Transports, often choosing to field Land Raiders or Razorbacks instead. They also have a notably high proportional number of Vindicators and Whirlwinds, and have acquired at least one Land Raider Ares, likely due to their siege specialization.
 * Godwyn-Brigg Pattern Autobolt Pistol - Like an Assault Bolter or Bolt Pistol but built with a high-capacity magazine and tooled to fire fully automatically. It uses standard 19.05mm Boltgun ammo and is commonly built for Siegesmiths and Lieutenants by the Techmarines of the Chapter
 * Godwyn-Brigg Pattern Heavy Bolter - This variant of Heavy Bolter often has a bayonet welded to it, it can be magazine fed(Battle Line) or backpack belt-fed(Heavy Support). It uses standard 25.4mm Heavy Boltgun ammo.
 * Godwyn-Brigg Pattern Exitus Stalker Bolter - A sternguard veteran custom variant of Boltgun which has an extremely long barrel, comparable to a scout sniper rifle, it is used on the rare occasions that the chapter may be called to do reconnaissance.
 * Mk.IIb Cawl-Brigg Pattern Bolt Rifle - An adaptation of the Bolt Rifle fielded by the Adamant Wardens, no real mechanical differences are known aside from personal modification.
 * Godwyn-Brigg Pattern Bolter - The chapter often custom manufactures or modifies bolters they come upon. Godwyn-Brigg is a basic and ad-hoc classification of the many modified boltguns that Wardens end up creating. They commonly have more robust internals and are often much more noisy as a result, their bolters having an extremely metalic sound when cycling new rounds.

Their energy weapon deficit is extreme and severe by the standards of almost every chapter. The have no rifle-sized Plasma or Grav weapons and only have a small amount of Las and Plasma Cannons. The largest quantity they have is the Melta though still a rarity and it's the only rifle-size energy weapon they have. Their untrusting tendencies don't help either as despite their value they're seen as unreliable compared to their much larger reserve of specialty boltguns and explosives.

The chapter fields an extreme amount of Terminator and Centurion Armor due to the chapter's forges having an enduring mission of studying the machines behind closed doors. There's a rudimentary knowledge of how to construct Cataphractii Plate but it often requires cannibalization of multiple defunct suits. There's more clear knowledge on Tartaros and Indomitus and many of the suits are internally manufactured with aide from the forge world of Astraj. The Centurion Armor is often recovered and sometimes assembled from ad-hoc parts.

Many ad-hoc modifications are made to Power Armor in the gruff field of siege, and a large portion of Wardens wear Mk.8 Plate.

Chapter Colours
The Adamant Wardens primarily wear dark grey coloured power armour with the exception of their armorials, whose insets are painted deep red with black trim. A white coloured squad specialty symbol (Tactical, Devastator, Assault and Veteran) on the right armorial indicates a Wardens' (Battle-Brother) assigned combat role. A black roman numeral stenciled on the squad specialty symbol indicates squad assignment. A white roman numeral stenciled upon the left poleyn (knee guard) indicates Brigade assignment.

Chapter Iconography
The Adamant Wardens' Chapter iconography is a stylised white castle symbol shattered by a pair of crossed lightning bolts, centered upon a field of deep red. This icon symbolises the Chapter's forte as siege warfare specialists.

Quotes
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By the Adamant Wardens
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