Seraphim of the Abyss

"Never again will we Sons of the Lion lose a home to foolishness and treachery, never again will we be bound from our duty, our calling. Never again will I let my blade stay dry when the enemies of the Imperium live to ravage the domain of the Emperor. Rise, Knights of Boletaria, rise and draw steel for the Lion!"

- Chapter Founder, Lordin Tolken of the Dark Angels Legion

The Seraphim of the Abyss are a mysterious and ancient semi-Codex Compliant Dark Angels Successor Chapter from the 2nd Founding, and thus members of the Unforgiven, Scions of the Lion that hunt the Fallen Angels. Once, the Chapter was named the "Seraphim of the Gryphon" until tragedy struck these sons of the Lion when their beloved home-world was destroyed, like Caliban of old, and now restlessly engage in the Hunt for the Fallen. They also have developed their own distinct culture and beliefs over the millennia inhabiting the planet that was once heralded as a "New Caliban." Due to the specialties of the Boletarian recruits uplifted to the Chapter, the Seraphim have developed either a love or a deep appreciation for hunting, whether it be the traitorous Fallen or a particularly deadly xenos species. However, their own separate cultural traditions have created a chasm of animosity between them and their fellow Unforgiven Chapters.

History
During the twilight years of the Great Crusade a small contingent of the Dark Angels Legion, more specifically, the Gryphon Knights Chapter, under the command of Master Lordin Tolken, discovered a world previously overlooked by the Imperium. This planet, Boletaria, as it would become known, had a history akin to that of the Dark Angels' home of Caliban.

Boletaria’s human population had, after millennia of degradation during Old Night, had their technology reduced. They were also plagued by another misfortune - beasts afflicted by the Warp. During a particularly horrid Warp Storm near the planet, the wildlife of Boletaria was affected by the chaotic taint of the Immaterium whilst the now feudal humans had established cities in the shadow of great mountains, hidden from the Warp Storm's effects until it passed.

However, these Beasts would develop a maddened hunger for human flesh, chief among them being the horrible conjoining of a great feline and avian, as ancient Terran mythos would label as a "Gryphon," and assaulted the many mountain-fortresses of humanity across Boletaria. Thusly, orders of noble warrior hunters were formed after years of sustaining siege by savage monsters to slay the Beasts before they could threaten their respective homelands. And so, greatly intrigued by the coincidence of stumbling across another world like their own, the Chapter of the First Legion brought low the Beasts of Boletaria and began the process of bringing the planet into compliance, before the Great Heresy had begun, and the galaxy was split by the Ruinous Powers.

During the events of the Horus Heresy, the Gryphon Knights were stranded upon Boletaria and while most were uneasy about the state of the Warp, some found the familiarity of Boletaria to grow upon them. And many years later, when reunited with the rest of their Legion, and told of both the Emperor's fate, and that of Caliban and the Lion, the Gryphon Knights all took vows of shame that they were unable to lend their blades against the treachery of the former Warmaster's or Luther's conspirators.

When it came time to break up the Legions, the former Gryphon Knights parted from the Dark Angels and claimed Boletaria as their Chapter Homeworld, erecting the grand fortress of Basilica Drangleic upon the ruins of a fallen city of Boletaria known as Drangleic. They had recruited a fair number of recruits from the planet already, and the Knights were determined to not lose another home again. And to further keep the legacy of dead Caliban alive, the new Chapter maintained the patterns of Power Armor worn by the Legion during the Crusade, proudly keeping the traditions of the First alive in their own manner.

But thoughts of preservation would turn to vengeance as the knowledge of the surviving Fallen Angels reached the Sons of the Lion and the Unforgiven was formed, the Gryphon Knights became the Seraphim of the Gryphon and merrily joined the Hunt to persecute and take vengeance for their first home lost, and their gene-sire's disappearance.

Notable Campaigns
The Purgation of Rutara (114.M31) - Being the first official war the Seraphim of the Gryphon undertook, the outcome would shape the Chapter and be a test of their fury. So soon after the climax of the Great Heresy, Imperial worlds were very susceptible to uprisings of their populace. One such planet was the case with the entire Planetary System of Rutara. So, the entire System was put to the sword and bolter by the sons of the Lion. Furious and unrelenting in their assaults of Rutara's worlds, the Seraphim were eventually aware of the reason the System had revolted- a Space Marine of dark armor had orchestrated the uprisings of the populace against the Imperium. And when this Astarte was cornered in the Governor's Palace upon Rutara Primaris, he was subjected to a long and drawn out vengeance by the knights old enough to remember the world of Caliban. But now they were also truly aware of the existence of Luther's traitorous cohorts deposited around the galaxy. The Fallen Angels.

War of the Beast - After the tragedy of the Horus Heresy, the Imperium of Man was in tatters and its morale devastated. The Emperor of Mankind had been bound to his Golden Throne, half of the Legio Astartes turned traitor and hundreds of worlds were set aflame. But there was another threat looming beyond the horizon- the Beast of Ullanor. Billions upon billions of Orks assaulted the Imperium, their sheer firepower and numbers crushing the forces of Mankind. The Seraphim proved themselves as skilled hunters during the dawn of the war against the greenskins, effectively disrupting the orks' structure by killing key xenos such as prominent Mekboys, or Warlords. But the orks threatened to drown out the Chapter, until the Deathwatch was created by Koorlund of the Imperial Fists, which the Seraphim of the Gryphon sent their best battle-brothers to. After the Beast was defeated, the Seraphim in the Deathwatch left to rejoin their Chapter when the xeno-hunters were handed to the Inquisition.

The Hunt for Radfael (024-029.M32) - Now with the Unforgiven's great purpose made clear, that the Fallen Angels must be made to repent for their sins, the sons of the Lion began hunting for each of the Fallen. The Seraphim of the Gryphon were assigned the task of pursuing one such betrayer, one who led a group of three traitors of Caliban. This Fallen's name was Radfael, a Sergeant of the 1st Legion's forces banished to Caliban and ardently followed Luther on his treasonous path. Now stalking through the Scarus Sector, gathering mortals to assemble an army. Much of the difficulty arrayed against the Seraphim in this campaign, however, was keeping vague the identity of Radfael and his fellows. As it was an Unforgiven venture, the names of planets involved in the hunt are unknown, save in the most classified of the Chapter's tomes, but ultimately, Radfael and his fellows were made to repent, atop the corpses of their renegade army.

Tide of Hellkrusha (123.M32) - After the successful hunt for the treasonous Radfael of the Fallen, the Seraphim of the Gryphon returned to their homeworld to find an Ork Waagh! ravaging through the sub-sector. Under the leadership of a fearsome Warboss by the name of Krokugg Hellkrusha, a xeno so frightening that rumors were abound that he might have been a vestige of the dead Orks of Ullanor. Hurrying to protect Boletaria and its sister planets, the knights of the Chapter found Hellkrusha to be a true foe, besting many of their attempts to thwart his path of destruction. But when the First Company, the Deathwing, and the Chapter Master assaulted Hellkrusha in a climatic duel. Eventually proving the superior, Grand Master Droyn Sariel sustained many wounds before slaying the Warboss with a power fist sent into the Ork's face. Burning of Boletaria (999.M41) - A battle that has been shrouded in secrecy and suspicion brought by the Inquisition, the Seraphim of the Abyss were borne of this terrible and harrowing incident. But what is known is that the Feudal World of Boletaria was destroyed during a bloody void war engaged above the planet, and that the Seraphim of the Gryphon were locked in combat with an unknown and fercious enemy. Even though they were clearly outnumbered by the foe, they denied any requests for aid as they defended their home. The Fallen Angels had assembled in great strength and sought their own vengeance on the isolated Chapter, until the Great Rift was torn open and Warp Rifts appeared across the galaxy, and Boletaria was torn apart by a newborn Immaterial Rift close by. In agonizing grief, the Seraphim of the Gryphon fled the system as the Warp-tides inadvertently destroyed much of the Fallen fleet. Their world demolished and their oaths failed, the Chapter became the Seraphim of the Abyss and their burning hatred for the heretical traitors multiplied by hundreds of times as they quickly rebuilt their ranks and immediately set out to hunt down their agressors.

Chapter Organization
While abiding the Codex Astartes, the Seraphim of the Abyss also obey the organizational structures that the Dark Angels Chapter follows, with allotting their 1st and 2nd Companies to the role of Deathwing and Ravenwing. However, one unique feature of the Chapter against its fellows, is that the Seraphim also make use of one of the forgotten "Wings," namely the Ironwing which takes position of the 3rd Company.

Combat Doctrine
With the Ravenwing and Deathwing in the Seraphim of the Abyss engaging actively in the Hunt for the Fallen, the Ironwing makes use of the deployment of Land Raiders and heavy Dreadnought support, fielding enough firepower and training to shatter any defenses that the Fallen might have built to hide their treasonous ilk from the wrath of the betrayed. The remainder of the Chapter's Companies are more Codex-compliant, their numbers being 4th through to 10th.

The Companies of the Seraphim for the most part follow the guides and dictates of the Codex Astartes, but are prone to engaging in the elimination of perceived key targets over many other tactics, like true hunters.

Chapter Culture
Being of the Unforgiven, the Seraphim of the Abyss are very slow to trust, especially after the destruction of Boletaria after the opening of the Great Rift. But they have been known to warm to Chapters they fight alongside, believing in finishing a war they enter, even if they were pursuing one of the Fallen. And thus the Seraphim have accrued very little love from their fellow Scions of the Lion. Moreover, the Seraphim were once known to be among the more open of the Dark Angel successors, if still unwilling to disclose much of their Chapter to others. But now grief and rage guide most of the Chapter's battle-brothers, and are described as having a certain "forlorn honor snuffed out."

Differing from their brethren, the Seraphim of the Abyss often show prestige and prowess through bearing trophies of fallen foes upon their power armour, a practice adopted after generations of battle-brothers recruited from the people of Boletaria. Such trophies are most commonly skulls or pelts of beasts. This has created a signature love for cleansing the galaxy of the alien, the Seraphim seeing it as their second most holy duty, the first being upholding the honor of Lion El'Jonson and to avenge the betrayed and Boletaria. Also, unlike their parent Chapter who display Black Pearls for making a Fallen repent for his crimes, Gryphon Knight Interrogator Chaplains will wear the skulls of their traitorous kin.