Mordekaisers

"Kaiser! The enemy has sealed off the deck! We're trapped!" "No, brother, the enemy is trapped on this deck with us! Slaughter them all!"

- Kaiser Markus Diascalon

The Mordekaisers (translated to High-Gothic as ' Murder Lords ' ) are a Successor Chapter created as a 24th Founding of the Imperial Fists. While it is confirmed that their Primarch is indeed Rogal Dorn, it can’t be confirmed which Chapter they are descended from for there is no record of which specific Chapter the Mordekaiser’s gene seed comes from. Some scholars believe the Mordekaisers descend from the Excoriators due to both chapters leaving their battle damage untouched. The Excoriators deny any link to the Mordekaisers. Either way, the Mordekaisers are merely recorded as Sons of Dorn.

Upon their creation, the Mordekaisers were sent to the far reaches of the Galaxy into the Ghoul Stars. Their destination was the Imperial Starport Morgen Schwach, located near Lunaphage before the Malefactus Warp Rift. The Mordekaisers purpose was to patrol and defend the areas surrounding the Starport and warp rift, for which they bear the title of "Stewards of the Ghoul Stars". As expected for a chapter descended from Rogal Dorn, the Mordekaisers take their duty seriously and defend the the sector vigorously. Of course, when needed, the Mordekaisers will answer summons for aid all across the Galaxy. Those who fight alongside the Chapter welcome them but remain wary, for there is a reason why their name means "Murder Lords".

Earning the Scars
The Mordekaisers were created as part of the 24th Founding in the 39th Millennium, originally officially bearing the name of Murder Lords. Although the Gene-Seed is indeed of the Imperial Fists, it is unknown if it is directly from the Imperial Fists or from one of the many other Chapters of Dorn. Several traits of the Murder Lords' gene-seed points to the Excoriators though this is denied by the Excoriators. Thus the Murder Lords are recorded as Successors of the Imperial Fists. Following their creation, the Murder Lords were sent off to guard the untamed Ghoul Stars in the Starport of Morgen Schwach. Once they had arrived and established themselves, the Murder Lords swiftly set about engaging the pirate fleets and Ork warbands that prowled the areas around the starport.

It was only after their first decade of combat that the Murder Lords established their identity. The entire Chapter had deployed in answer to the sudden appearance of a space hulk near Morgen Schwach. The Hulk was full of chaos renegades ranging from pirates to heretic astartes. The fighting was so grueling that every single one of the surviving Murder Lords left the purged hulk with significant armour damage and various wounds. However, rather than repair them, the Chapter decided to bear the damage proudly. To them, the fact that they had survived despite the wounds and damage was a sign that they could survive anything the Galaxy could throw at them. As such, the Murder Lords refuse to repair all but the most serious of damage and prefer to engage in void and boarding operations, relying on their inherent hardiness and skill in close quarters to emerge victorious.

Since then the Murder Lords have honed their craft, specializing themselves in void warfare and boarding operations, to the point of mastery. They became experts at boarding a ship and taking it out in a small window of time, clearing it of enemy occupants before scuttling it, and many of their ships became outfitted with Ursus Claws. They also became extremely good at close orbital assault, landing right on top of the enemy lines and using the shock of their arrival to overwhelm and shatter their foes. It was also at this time that the Chapter ceased using the name "Murder Lords" and instead used "Mordekaisers", a translation of their original name in Morgen Schwach's language Germanik, and thus became known by that name.

Kaisers of the Stars
The Mordekaisers performed their appointed duty with extreme dedication, fueled by a hope that the Imperium's inevitable victory over the Galaxy would come at any time. The Mordekaisers' determination to be present at such a victory spurred them forward as they went from battle to battle. Their legend was swelled by how they broke the Iron Warriors Warlord Garthon the Unbroken's fortress line on Xallion XII with a single drop assault while the Strideland Longbows 19th Regiment speak of how the ships of the Mordekaisers smashed the T'au ship formation apart with the might of their 4th Company Breachers. With many tales such as these it was little wonder such a young Chapter earned much glory so quickly. Yet with fame comes infamy as the Mordekaisers were criticized for their recklessness to throw themselves into lethal warzones with no regard for their lives or how their loadouts' bias to close assault often left them short handed in other circumstances. Typically stubborn for a Chapter of Dorn, the Mordekaisers ignored these blunt, yet well meaning, critiques. This would prove to be a costly mistake.

Disaster at Zirkyros
When Zirkyros was invaded by a T'au force, the Mordekaisers responded with five whole Companies under the leadership of Kaiser Targotz. Confident that they would easily swat aside the T'au, the Mordekaisers tore through the xenos fleet and made planetfall. At first they easily smashed the T'au battlelines to pieces and made good progress. However, the T'au had one advantage the Mordekaisers didn't, adaptability. Suddenly, instead of static firing lines, the Mordekaisers were pressed with fast moving hovertanks and battle suits and that flew around them. Having only a few long ranged weaponry, most of them on slow moving dreadnoughts, the Mordekaisers began being picked apart by the fast and accurate firepower of the T'au who fired lethal volleys before quickly flying to a new location before the Chapter could retaliate. Knowing that defeat was inevitable, 3rd Hauptmann Crygus begged Targotz to sound the retreat. Alas the headstrong Kaiser refused and called for a charge, only to be blown to pieces by a T'au hammerhead tank. Dismayed and broken the Mordekaisers took their dead and retreated, leaving Zirkyros in T'au hands. Other 500 Mordekaisers marched to war, less than half returned.

Humiliated and humbled by the disaster, the Mordekaisers began to rethink their ways of war. While some stubbornly insisted their methods were tried and true, others saw that they limited the Chapter's ability to fight in situations that did not favour them. The arguments raged on and on until the new Kaiser, Heinrach, stepped forward and presented his reformations. The Mordekaisers would continue specialising in close assault and void warfare but they would never again be so bound to it. In time the Mordekaisers became more capable at other theaters of war and no longer saw themselves at a disadvantage when not in the void.

Wolf and Kaiser
As their stewardship over Morgen Schwach continued the Mordekaisers have made allies with other Chapters that operate in the Ghoul Stars. As of M42, their most prominent allies are the Star Wardens, a Chapter who also specialises in void warfare. They also count the Dawn Stalkers and the Blood Hounds as close allies. Furthermore those who are sons of Dorn may count on the Mordekaisers to eagerly lend their aid when asked. Yet, those who name the Mordekaisers friend may note some hesitation for them to fully extend their hands. It takes much for the Mordekaisers to name friends, even for other sons of Dorn. The reason for this is an old tale of friendship turned to hatred.

Long ago, the Mordekaisers held a friendship with the Wolves of Retribution, a chapter known for its extreme zeal and devotion to the Imperial Creed. Despite the differences in belief and culture the two Chapters fought alongside each other without issue, their skills combining into an effective force. The only point of contention was that the Wolves' hardline version of the Imperial Creed that often brought them into conflict with Priests of the Ecclesiarchy and even other Chapters. The Mordekaisers overlooked this, seeing as the Ecclesiarchy often praised the Wolves for their devotion regardless of the strict interpretation, there could be not trouble. Alas, they were wrong.

When reports of the Wolves of Retribution purging entire worlds came out, the Mordekaisers were concerned but stood by as Inquisitor Duran Heika was sent to investigate the Wolves' claims of the worlds' heresies. What he found was terrible. The worlds were no bastions of corruption, they were shrine worlds or homes to loyal regiments! The Wolves had burned these worlds not for the crimes of heresy but for the crime of not following their own strict interpretation of the Imperial Creed! At the same time, Kaiser Heinrach received a message from Raedwald Harus, Chapter Master of the Wolves of Retribution. The message consisted of insane ranting and murmured prayer that ended, to the Kaiser's horror, with a declaration that the Imperium was rife with heresy and must be purged. Already aware of the investigation into the Wolves, who were close friends with the Mordekaisers, Heinrach contacted Inquisitor Heika with this new development and immediately set off for the Wolves of Retribution homeworld of Cythron in order to confront them.

But it was far too late.

When Heika and the Mordekaisers reached Cythron they found only a burnt wasteland with all life destroyed. The Fortress-Monastery, Elboros, was abandoned and filled with scenes of the Wolves' rampage. Chapter serfs had been placed in piles and used as makeshift fuel for fire pits to burn "heretics" alive, Astartes were placed in cages and similarly set alight and holy books and iconography were burned and defiled and replaced by crude icons that could only be marks of Chaos that yet praised the Emperor's name. The only living being they found was the burned form of Captain Valden, of the Wolves' 2nd Company, tied to a stake in the center of what was once the Chapter's reclusiam. In his final moments, Valden told them that he had been sacrificed to the Emperor to light the way to their new fortress from where the Wolves of Retribution will mount their noble crusade to save the God-Emperor from the Imperium's heresy. He died before he would reveal their destination, his final words being a declaration of the Wolves' of Retribution loyalty to the God-Emperor of Mankind, ignorant of chaos markings carved into his charred flesh.

For their terrible crimes and open admission of breaking from the Imperium, Inquisitor Heika declared the Wolves of Retribution to be Excommunicate Traitoris. From that day on, the Mordekaisers and Wolves of Retribution fight viciously with one another, the Wolves fighting to purge a Chapter of what they perceive as heretics and the Mordekaisers fighting to avenge the friends they once knew.

Hardship and Struggle
The Mordekaisers are an undoubtedly durable Chapter whose exemplary strength are worthy of Dorn. Yet the recent Millennia have brought them much hardship. In quick succession the Mordekaisers lost much of their 2nd Company, including its Hauptmann, to the silent berserkers of the Trial and then lost their Kaiser, Heinrach, in an ambush on Pyamax. Though these weakened the Mordekaisers, they endured still as Markus Diascalon took command of the Chapter and led them to victory at Iralan where they slaughtered a large rebel fleet alongside the enigmatic Carcharodons Astra. It is said that Diascalon met with Tyberos the Red Wake at the end of the battle and supposedly earned the title "Beast in the Halls" as a result of the blood he spilled alongside the Red Wake.

Even so, personal glories and honours meant little to the increasing danger rising to threaten the Imperium in the 41st Millennia. As they had since their creation, the Mordekaisers threw themselves into battle after battle, bearing their losses with gritted teeth as they fought desperately to hold back the relentless tide that sought the Imperium's downfall. Though the Mordekaisers fought fiercely, they still had yet to face their most trying test.

Second Defence of Morgen Schwach
In the last days of the 41st Milennium, the Mordekaisers were rocked by heavy losses in wars as Chaos and xenos rose in numbers never seen before. Things got even worse when the Great Rift split through the Galaxy in the 42nd Milennium, the warp rift of Malefactus shuddered and spewed all sorts of daemonic horrors from it’s maw. Though they were still recovering from the costly Magrin War that saw their Companies weakened and the near total destruction of the 5th Company, the Mordekaisers rallied to hold back the tide from engulfing Morgen Schwach and the neighbouring sectors.

The Mordekaisers met the oncoming hordes outside Morgen Schwach, the Chapter Fleet as well as the port's own defenses at the ready. The tides of Chaos crashed into them like a storm and a vicious fight commenced. The Mordekaisers mastery of void warfare proved to be the death of many daemonships and renegade ships and the Chapter's flagship, the Void Beast, waded through the tides like a hungry predator as it tore apart ships with it's mighty cannons or dragged in unfortunate vessels with it's Ursus Claws so that it's hungry occupants within might board and destroy them. The escort Hull-Breaker earned it's name over and over as it's strengthened front rammed through cruisers twice it's size and Morgen Schwach's own fleet carried out heroic feats that would be spoke of until the end of days. Alas, the tide of Chaos was vast in number and the defenders were slowly pushed back, the 3rd Company's strike cruiser Tempest was crippled and there were few of the Chapter's ships left that had not sustained some damage. Though unwilling to retreat, but not foolish enough to stay and be destroyed, Kaiser Markus Stahlhelm ordered a retreat back to Morgen Schwach. The 3rd evacuated the Tempest, save for a single Astartes and a group of serfs who valiantly stayed behind and detonated the strike cruiser as the tides of Chaos enveloped it, taking over a dozen of the foes' ships with it.

Though the defending fleets were not gone, they had taken heavy losses and not even the many defenses of the space port could keep out the invaders. Daemons, renegades and Heretic Astartes breached the hangars and entered the port to find the regrouped Mordekaisers, the Adeptus Arbites and even the common citizen waiting for them. Just like the Mordekaisers, those able picked up a gun joined the defense of their home.

The defenders fought viciously, using their knowledge of the port's layabouts to ambush and confound the forces of Chaos or held the passageways and docks stubbornly. However Chaos is subtle as much as it is blunt and many civilians fell to the whispers and temptations of daemons, causing great disruption in the lines. To their credit, however, there many more who spat back the lies of Chaos and cast them back into the warp. Still, mere bravery and heroics weren't enough and the Mordekaisers were forced to unleash the full might of their armoury; every dreadnought, of which the Chapter has in high numbers, were awakened from their dreamless sleep and sent into battle. Then the four Contemptor Dreadnoughts, whose sarcophagi held some of the most heroic brothers of the Chapter, were awakened. They charged into the invaders, enraged that filth like these would dare invade their home. But that wasn't all, for Stahlhelm reluctantly ordered the awakening and unleashing of the two dreaded Leviathan Dreadnoughts who were feared as much as revered by the Chapter. The behemoths, whose occupants were driven mad by the lethal strain that the Leviathan's power placed upon them, rampaged through the halls of Morgen Schwach, becoming the personification of death to the forces of Chaos as they tore through hordes of daemons and traitors or ripped daemonic constructs apart.

Despite the onslaught of dreadnoughts, the Mordekaisers' losses were mounting and every Kompanie had taken severe casualties. The Arbites and militia fared little better though each one died valiantly. But the Forces of Chaos seemed without number and showed little sign of slowing down and, though the defenders made them pay dearly for every step, the loss of Morgen Schwach seemed inevitable. Even faced with this prospect did the Mordekaisers not bow, instead they reloaded their bolters and prepared to go down fighting.

But as the Mordekaisers were preparing to face another wave, a fleet appeared led by none other than Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines. From the ships came a new breed of space marine, the Primaris. With these reinforcements, the Mordekaisers drove back the forces of chaos. The victory was hard earned for a quarter of the Chapter had been slain. Guilliman recognised the valour of the Mordekaisers and honoured their centuries of service while gifting them the technology to create new Primaris marines.

The New Breed
"Bah! You old breed shall behold the might of the Primaris! Come brothers, let us show these old breeds who holds the true power!"

- Last words of Primaris Marine Uwe, right before he was vaporized by an Ork Zappa.

Though the Primaris marines were gifted from the Primarch himself, it was not accepted gladly, however. The Mordekaisers were reluctant in accepting this new breed of Astartes. Markus Diascalon, Kaiser of the Chapter, secretly distrusted the Primaris but, recognising their tactical use and because refusing a Primarch was out of the question, accepted them. Even though the Primaris and First Born work together in combat, rifts quickly formed nonetheless. Many Mordekaisers feared that the Primaris were here to completely replace them while several Primaris believed that they were far superior to the "old breed". Tensions became so bad that Guilliman assigned a permanent detachment of five Custodes to watch over the Chapter in order to prevent a disastrous schism.

It was at the battle of Belmid-4 where something finally changed. During the battle, several kaders of First Born and Primaris found themselves surrounded onboard a Chaos vessel. They fought side by side against unending waves of daemons and chaos, in fact one First Born directly saved a Primaris’ life from a heretic’s chainsword, sacrificing his arm so that the Intercessor could plant a bolt in the traitor marine's skull. Soon the halls were stained with the blood of traitors and the marines stood together in victory. It was here that they realised the futility of their rivalry, if the Mordekaisers were to fight on then the First Born and Primaris would need to work together as brothers. As news of this understanding spread, the First Born and Primaris across the Chapter put aside their differences and accepted one another. Renewed and reunited, the Mordekaisers once more stand proud and continue to guard Morgen Schwach against Malefactus. With their extreme belief in a final Imperial victory and their endurance, they hold their ground stubbornly.

Vigilus
The Mordekaisers answered the call to Vigilus alongside the Star Wardens, where their skills have been made useful in the battles above the planet as well as in the clusters of hive sprawls. However, when the Forces of Chaos appeared under the leadership of Abaddon the Despoiler the Mordekaisers took heavy losses in the sudden onslaught and lost half of their force before managing to fall back and regroup. Once rallied, the Mordekaisers threw themselves back into the fight and swiftly taught the forces of chaos just how dangerous it was to face them in the cold of space or in the tunnels of Vigilus's Hives. They have also been seen fighting with the Wolves of Retribution that have made an appearance as well as the infamous Trial.

With the war on Vigilus grinding to a halt, the Mordekaisers took their leave to regroup and answer newer conflicts elsewhere.

Rubicon Primaris
The Primaris Marines' arrival to the Mordekaisers was at first greeted with hostility before they finally earned their acceptance, though a number of conservative elements still remain. When word reached the Chapter that famous heroes of the Imperium, such as Marneus Calgar and Varro Tigurius of the Ultramarines and Kor'sarro Khan of the White Scars, had crossed the Rubicon Primaris, the possibility of taking such a, once thought impossible, step suddenly became a reality. Several marines decided to take such a step that actually saw several successful transformations, such as 3rd Lieutenant Yngvi who was the first to volunteer and become one of the Ascended. Even Kaiser Markus followed and ascended, becoming mightier as a result.

While those who cross the Rubicon are often celebrated, or at least respected, the conservatives of the Chapter fear the possibility of the old breed of Astartes being slowly replaced by the Primaris.

The Harbingers
With the Imperium split in two and the Ghoul Stars becoming more and more dangerous, dark times are surely ahead. But as long as the Murder Lords of the Ghoul Stars stand proud, fighting with their every breath to see the final victory of the Emperor come to pass. If anyone wishes an example of the Mordekaisers' glory then one needs only look to their 5th Company, the Harbingers, who have tasted destruction many a time through their history and almost brought to the brink of utter devastation from the Magrin War. Yet, having been brought back to full strength by the Primaris reinforcements, the 5th have won many victories under the leadership of Hauptmann Fabian Alric, a veteran of the Awakened, that have brought them and the Mordekaisers acclaim from those around them.

Notable Campaigns

 * Founding of the Mordekaisers (Unknown Date.M39) - The Mordekaisers are founded as part of the 24th Founding. Led by Willafried, it's founder, the newly formed Chapter is sent to the far reaches of the Ghoul Stars to take up stewardship of Starport Morgen Schwach.


 * The Nudil Purge (Unknown Date.M39) - The Mordekaisers first combat action is to purge an Ork warfleet. In half a standard month, they utterly destroy all traces of the fleet.


 * First Defence of Morgen Schwach (457.M39) - A Space Hulk bearing the forces of chaos suddenly appears before the Starport of Morgen Schwach, prompting the immediate response of the Mordekaisers. The fighting was so brutal that every single surviving Mordekaiser had received some form of armour damage. From so forth, the Mordekaisers developed a belief of being able to survive anything and began to bear their damage proudly.


 * Battle of Munias (Unknown Date.M39) - The Mordekaisers fought in a campaign alongside the Catachan Jungle Fighters. Notably, it is said that Kaiser Willafried lost an arm wrestling match with a guardsman. Allegedly, this Jungle Fighter was [REDACTED]


 * Willafried's Rage (500.M39) - Willafried leads an assault on a Chaos held fortress. The assault goes well until a Chaos sorceress attempts to corrupt Willafried's mind. To the heretic's horror, Willafried is enraged and goes on a rampage as he battles the sorceress' influence. He massacres his way through countless Heretic Astartes until he finds the sorceress and tears her apart.


 * Battle for Isenstad (Unknown Date.M39 - The Mordekaisers defeat an Ork fleet over Isenstad but Kaiser Willafried is mortally wounded. It is only when the last ork on the Warboss's flagship is slain does the stubborn Kaiser finally allow himself to fall. Surprisingly Willafried was not yet dead and was interred into the sarcophagi of a Leviathan Dreadnought, he still serves to this very day.


 * Heinrich's Ascension (247.M39) - Taking Willafried's place as Kaiser, Heinrich has big shoes to fill. He proves his worth as Kaiser when he tears apart a giant chaos horde piece by piece by using expertly planned strikes and ambush tactics.


 * Kilmos Crusade (Unknown Date.M39) - The Wolves of Retribution go on a crusade in the Ghoul Stars alongside the Mordekaisers. Despite a huge cultural difference, the two Chapters become firm friends.


 * The Chuda Suppression (Unknown Date.M39 - The Mordekaisers crush a rebellion in the Chuda system alongside the Wolves of Retribution. Though Heinrich is concerned at the Wolves' overzealous fury, he thinks nothing more of it.


 * The Galakos Raid (540.M40) - The Mordekaisers destroy an entire Drukhari Kabal in a swift and decisive fleet attack. The Drukhari fight fiercely but are utterly defeated by Heinrich's strategies.


 * The Wolves' Treachery (560.M40) - The Wolves of Retribution are discovered to have been executing entire Regiments and Ecclesiarchy convents. Upon being declared heretics the Wolves turn traitor, declaring that it is, in fact, the Imperium who are heretics and vow to crusade against their false religion. Shocked and enraged that their former friends would turn traitor, the Mordekaisers swear they will hunt down the Wolves of Retribution.


 * Murder of the Murder Lords (643.M40) - When a report of two Chaos warbands fighting each other on Sorolas, the Mordekaisers 2nd Company is deployed to put them down. When they arrive one warband, identified as the Trial, had already wiped out the other warband. Though the Mordekaisers struck hard, the Trial overwhelmed them and inflicted heavy casualties. After the 60th Slayer kills the Kompanie Hauptmann, the Mordekaisers are forced to retreat.


 * Last Stand on Pyamax (708.M40) - The Mordekaisers engage their hated enemies, the Wolves of Retribution, over the swamp planet of Pyamax. When their ships were destroyed, the Wolves escaped to the planet below. The Mordekaisers followed them down despite their lack of skill fighting in such an environment. In the heat of the battle, Kaiser Heinrich is caught in an ambush and badly wounded with his honour guard slain. When a horde of Heretic Astartes descend upon him, the Kaiser is joined by five marines from different squads and companies who fight fiercely in his defense. Despite their defiance, they fall one by one until Heinrich himself falls. Even as he dies, the rest of the Mordekaisers mount a counterattack and wipe out the Wolves of Retribution. The bodies of Heinrich and the five marines who died in his defense were recovered and placed in tombs built on Pyamax, becoming a place of pilgrimage that many Mordekaisers visit. Heinrich was succeeded by Markus Stahlhelm.


 * Iralan Massacres (Unknown Date.M41) - The Mordekaisers engage in a void campaign against a rebel fleet. Though the battle is already one sided, it becomes a complete bloodbath when the enigmatic Carcharodons Chapter arrives unannounced and join in. In short time, the halls of the rebels' ships are painted red with blood as the hapless mortals are mercilessly wiped out. The brutality of the close quarters fighting earns Kaiser Markus Diascalon a comparison to Tyberos the Red Wake, master of the Carcharodons. Though the Carcharodons leave as soon as they arrive, they leave with the Mordekaisers' respect even if it is seemingly not returned.


 * An Eventful Feast (Unknown Date.M41) - The Mordekaisers send Chapter Champion Stronar as a participant in the Feast of Blades, their first ever to attend. In the initial games, Stronar marks himself out well and he duels other champions. However the Feast is interrupted by a large force of World Eaters. Despite the ferocity of the heretics, they are soon wiped out by the gathered champions. In the aftermath, Stronar is noted to have asked if that was part of the Feast.


 * The Magrin War (950.M41) - The entire Mordekaisers Chapter meet the sudden appearance of three traitor warbands: The Senseless Noise, Venom Spiders and the Desolate Sons. The war encompasses the entire sector until the traitors are broken and scattered. Victory is costly, for the 5th Company was almost destroyed in an ambush that claimed its Hauptmann and several other Companies take heavy losses.


 * Second Defence of Morgen Schwach (Unknown Date. M42) - Following the destruction of the vital fortress world of Cadia by the Chaos forces of Abaddon the Despoiler, this resulted in the collapse of the last remaining defences keeping the notorious tear in reality, the Eye of Terror, to finally expand beyond its normal size. This resulted in a galaxy-wide tear in reality, known as the Cicatrix Maledictum, the extended from the Segmentum Obscurus to the Eastern Fringe of the Segmentum Ultima. With the veil of reality torn asunder, this allowed the creatures of the Immaterium as well as the Traitor Legions and various Chaos Warbands to pour into realspace. Strife, insurrection and slaughter soon erupted on thousands of worlds across the width and breadth of the galaxy. The Mordekaisers were besieged by a sudden onslaught of Chaos forces when the Warp Rift of Malefactus swelled wide as a result of the Great Rift. The Chapter was almost overwhelmed when the newly resurrected Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman and the forces of his Indomitus Crusade arrived to aid the beleaguered Chapter. After defeating the Forces of Chaos, Guilliman bestowed the Mordekaisers with a profound gift from the Emperor, in the form of the newly revealed Primaris Space Marines to rebuild the numbers of the sorely depleted Chapter, a gift the Chapter did not readily accept.


 * The Battle of Belimid IV (Unknown Date.M42) - The Battle of Belimid IV was a momentous event that occurred in the annals of the history of the Mordekaisers Space Marine Chapter. Following the formation of the great galaxy-wide tear in reality, known as the Great Rift, which occurred after the destruction of Cadia by the Forces of Chaos during the 13th Black Crusade, the home system of the Mordekaisers Chapter fell under siege by the Forces of Chaos. It was only through the timely arrival of the forces of the Indomitus Crusade that the Mordekaisers were saved from inevitable destruction. Before departing, the Lord Commander of the Imperium, Roboute Guilliman, gave the Mordekaisers a profound gift in the form of the newly revealed Primaris Space Marines. Unfortunately, the Mordekaisers only begrudgingly accepted these new Astartes into their ranks. It wouldn't be until the Battle of Belimid IV, that the old generation of Astartes and their Primaris brethren would finally resolve their differences. This intense and bloody conflict gave both sides cause to come together as one unified brotherhood, and finally accept one another as brothers. Despite setting aside their differences, for the most part, there are still some lingering doubts amongst some of the older Astartes of the Chapter, who fear that eventually their generation will someday be replaced by the Primaris.


 * Rubicon Primaris (Unknown Date.M42) - After hearing of heroes such as Marneus Calgar and Kor'sarro Khan ascending to Primaris, Lieutenant Yngvi of the 3rd Company volunteers to undergo the Rubicon Primaris and becomes the first Mordekaiser to cross it. This leads to several more marines following his footsteps and, while some died in the lengthy and agonizing process, many became the Ascended. Even Kaiser Markus Diascalon crossed the Rubicon Primaris and became a mightier warrior as a result. This has done much to bridge the gap between the Primaris and Firstborn as even some of the more conservative members of the Chapter have become Ascended.


 * The Battle of Karacya (Unknown Date.M42) - The recently rebuilt 5th Company under the new leadership of Hauptmann Fabian Alric engages the Wolves of Retribution on Karacya. Despite being forced to fight on the planet, an unfamiliar warzone to the Mordekaisers, Fabian draws the Wolves into a killing zone and breaks the traitors' backs.


 * War of Beasts/War of Nightmares (001-025.M42) - The Mordekaisers deploy to Vigilus alongside the Star Wardens. The Mordekaisers fight alongside their allies in the battles above the planet and in its hive sprawls. When the Forces of Chaos appeared, the Mordekaisers took heavy losses in the initial fight but held nonetheless. As the War raged on, the Mordekaisers proved themselves to be terrifying foes to the heretics in the void and in the hive sprawls.

Chapter Organisation
The Mordekaisers mostly follow the Codex Astartes save for a few deviations; several titles are changed and several unit loadouts are changed. One notable feature is that the 4th Company is comprised entirely of Breacher kaders, an ancient configuration from the days of the Legions. The Mordekaisers use Breachers to secure beachheads or engage in Zone Mortalis battlefields, casualties are often heavy which is why the Breachers are often attached across the Chapter rather than kept to their own Company.

The Mordekaisers also make little use of Hellblasters or any of the Vanguard Primaris. The long ranged plasma weaponry of the Hellblasters is dangerous in the conditions of a ship while the usually brutal and close combat situations mean that the lighter armour and purpose the Vanguard serve would be ineffective. As such, Hellblasters and Vanguards are only formed in the rare occasions when the Mordekaisers fight on a planet.

Because of the close quarters fighting, long ranged heavy weaponry is seldom used, thus devastator squads take short ranged heavy weapons like heavy flamers or multi-meltas. Assault squads are deployed with jump packs and often sent in with flamers and shotguns along with the standard chainsword/bolt pistol loadout. Many veterans favour the storm bolter for it's effectiveness at short range.

Due to the original distrust of the Primaris that would often lead to fighting, five Custodes have been attached to the Mordekaisers to ensure the fighting stops. Although the fighting has since stopped and the Primaris have finally earned the trust of the Chapter the Custodes have not yet departed, choosing instead to fight alongside them for now.

Germanik
The space port of Morgen Schwach has it's own language, alongside standard Gothic, called "Germanik". This language is supposedly based off a language from Ancient Terra. The Mordekaisers have adopted Germanik as their primary language, only speaking Gothic when around allies. They will however always use the Germanik translations of words for their titles:


 * Kaiser - Chapter Master
 * Hauptmann - Captain
 * Kader - Squad

Order of Battle
Like all Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marines Chapters, the Mordekaisers are divided into 10 Companies comprised of 100 Space Marines each. Each Company is led by a hero of the Chapter with the rank of Hauptmann, who -- in addition to his Company command -- is in charge of a particular aspect of the Chapter's logistics.

Due to the original's near destruction in the Magrin War, the 5th Company has been rebuilt of mostly Primaris marines.

Mordekaiser Librarians
Like their fellow Astartes Chapters, the Mordekaisers also maintain a Librarium of potent psykers who are highly talented and trained to master the power of the Warp at the highest levels. Most Chapters train and test their chosen psykers following the ancient ways laid out in the Codex Astartes. Librarians of the Mordekaisers are trained similarly to other Chapters and have a number of unique psychic abilities only used by the psykers of their Chapter:


 * Into the Crucible - The Librarian calls upon the spirits of all those Imperial Fists who gave their lives at their Primarch's side during the battle of the Iron Cage. The blows of his enemies are turned aside or healed by the incarnate force of his ancestors.
 * Noble Praetorian - Rogal Dorn is remembered by many as the right hand of the Emperor, His most faithful son who stood watch over Him and enacted His every command with unshakable loyalty. Reaching into his soul and his genetic inheritance, the Librarian channels a portion of Dorn's noble spirit, making himself a champion of the weak and a defender of the just, greatly enhancing his physical abilities and morale in combat.
 * The Golden Son - The Librarian is transformed into a radiant figure suffused with the power and nobility of his Primarch. Friends witness a glorious sight not seen since Rogal Dorn himself walked amongst Men, while enemies see the fiery harbinger of their doom.
 * Wave of Penance - The Librarian reaches into the aether and draws forth all of the pain suffered by his ancestors in the self-imposed atonement of the Pain Glove and a hundred other such rituals. In an instant, ten thousand standard years of penance is unleashed upon his foes, and every iota of pain ever felt by the Chapter is turned back upon its foes in an unstoppable blast wave.
 * The Wall - The Librarian summons a psychic barrier that deflects blows and projectiles. Although intended to be defensive, the ability may be used offensively by the Gelehrte who sends the wall forward and knocking back all in it's path.
 * Dorn's Dream - A rare ability that only the most experienced of Librarians may have. The ability allows them to glimpse a few seconds to a couple minutes into the future. This ability has turned the tide of numerous battles in the Mordekaisers' history and those who are able to use it are greatly respected.

Breachers
The Mordekaisers Chapter still use the ancient Legion Breacher formation due to their effectiveness in void warfare and close quarters. The 4th Company is comprised of 10 Breacher squads who are attached to other Companies when needed. Like the ancient Legion breachers, Mordekaiser breachers are equipped with boarding shields and outfitted with modified Mark III power armour, of which the Mordekaisers somehow have in high abundance, as well as granted equipment suited for their purpose. To be a Breacher is to be considered an elite warrior who is able to withstand the lethal dangers of Zone Mortalis warzones that nonetheless claims a heavy toll.

Combat Doctrine
The Mordekaisers are masters of void operations, ship-to-ship combat and boarding operations. They also prefer to engage in close quarters combat, using close ranged weaponry such as meltas and shotguns due to the nature of ship warfare. The Mordekaisers also make use of their battle damaged armour to cause a psychological impact. Again, due to the confined nature of boarding operations, the Mordekaisers eschew long ranged weaponry due to their ineffectiveness in a close ranged environment, saving them for when they make planetfall.

The Mordekaisers have little use for rhinos and various patterns, using them only for beachhead protection. The rest of the vehicle pool is only used for when the Mordekaisers occasionally fight planetside. Instead, the Mordekaisers make heavy use of dreadnoughts due to their ability to act as walking heavy support. Strangely the Mordekaisers have four contemptor dreadnoughts and two leviathan dreadnoughts, a rare number of ancient walkers especially for a Chapter formed so long after the Great Crusade. The Leviathan Dreadnoughts are released only in the most dire of circumstances, their might highly effective in the claustrophobia of a Zone Mortalis battlefield.

A typical Mordekaiser battle plan is to ensure that an enemy vessel is boarded and cleared as quickly and efficiently as possible. Once a breach is made, breachers will pour in to clear a path, they will usually be supported by devastator squads or aggressors. The devastator squads make use of heavy flamers, multi-meltas and heavy bolters to provide firing support while aggressors are used as heavy support. Once the way is clear, intercessors will arrive and act as line holders while tactical and assault squads swarm in. Teleporter homers will be placed to allow terminators to teleport in and strike into the heart of the enemy. This has been the base of several Mordekaiser battle plans and has been effective many times. For some reason the Mordekaisers can be heard laughing over the vox net in battle. This is most likely a scare tactic.

It is noted that, despite their appearances, the Mordekaisers do not throw themselves in the meatgrinder of battle senselessly. They operate with maximum tactical efficiency; establishing beachheads and securing them before moving ahead, maintaining overlapping firing zones that serve to cover each squad as they advance or choosing vital areas to attack and cripple their target. Many foes have assumed that the Mordekaisers are disorganised rabble who cannot take care of their armour, only to learn the opposite as their armies are destroyed in rapid succession.

The Mordekaisers make frequent use of Tarantula Turrets in boarding actions as defensive or offensive measures. Due to the closed nature of a ship, these turrets are incredibly effective in holding chokepoints or providing fire support. Usually, tarantula turrets that survive many battles bear a lot of scars and rents, similar to the Astartes that deploy them. Such turrets are especially honoured by the Mordekaisers.

Chapter Beliefs & Traditions
The first thing an observer would notice of the Mordekaisers is their tendency to bear all but the most serious of battle damages, scars and markings. A single Astartes would need at least five dents, scratches and marks on his armour before he would call himself a true Mordekaiser. The reason for this is that the Mordekaisers believe that they are nigh unstoppable, their superhuman endurance, even more pronounced as sons of Dorn, and discipline making them forces to be feared. They believe that their battle damage signifies that they can survive whatever comes before them. This extends to the reverence the Mordekaisers have for dreadnoughts, even after the most grievous of wounds, still serve proudly. Though their scars and damage is often scorned and derided by other Chapters, the Mordekaisers laugh back at those who spend more time cleaning and polishing their armour than slaughtering enemies of Mankind.

The Mordekaisers are also known for their extreme sense of brotherhood to their parent Chapter and other Chapters who share their blood. Whenever a Chapter of Dorn is in need of aid, the Mordekaisers will rush to their call if they can. Another belief that the Mordekaisers hold close is their hope for a better future. The Mordekaisers genuinely believe that the Imperium will eventually triumph and rule the Galaxy and they want to be there to see that victory. The Mordekaisers fight valiantly in the hope that tomorrow will bring the inevitable victory of mankind. While this may be an odd belief for a Chapter whose name translates to "Murder Lords", their justification is that they must do whatever is necessary to ensure the Imperium's final victory,

The Mordekaisers maintain an extremely rigid discipline when not in battle. Astartes will patrol the sectors around Morgen Schwach. They also insist on doing many tasks that most Chapters have serfs to do. The Mordekaisers will clean their quarters and ships, cook their meals and maintain their wargear and armour. This is to instill a sense of duty and discipline within the Astartes and to prepare them for post-war life when they are no longer needed as warriors.

The Mordekaisers regularly walk amongst the people of Morgen Schwach. Ever since their arrival, their first Chapter Master, Wilhelm, made it a point that the Mordekaisers shall be known to their wards and maintain good relations. These interactions are so commonplace that, where any other citizen would quake in fear at the sight of an Astartes, particularly one in damaged armour, a citizen of Morgen Schwach would barely bat an eyelid. In fact, group of Mordekaisers frequently go out into the port to visit places or lend assistance. These groups will either patrol the halls, help with repairs or even help in cleaning an area. Whatever it is, the Mordekaisers will gladly help. Many times has this been pointed as hypocritical of the Chapter by critics due to the fact the Mordekaisers show little concern for collateral damage in battle.

When Mordekaisers campaign with other Chapters, they have a tendency to get very competitive with Chapters who also specialise in void warfare. The Mordekaisers will try and outperform the other Chapters in boarding and destroying more ships than any other. Those who manage to best them will earn their respect, as well as a vow for a rematch. The biggest example of this would be their friendly rivalry with the Star Wardens of whom they are locked in a stalemate with for which Chapter has slain the most ships.

The Long Lived
The Long Lived is a collective term used for Mordekaisers who live past 200 years of service. Due to their specialisation in fighting in zone mortalis battlefields and in the void, the Mordekaisers rarely live past 100 years. Hence, those who live past 200 years are regarded as legends who can survive anything the universe throws at them. The Long Lived is typically made up of veterans of the 1st Company, dreadnoughts and senior members of the Chapter.

Contemplation of the Void
While most Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes have chambers or certain places for a Battle Brother to meditate, the Mordekaisers instead use the void. Donning their power armour, a Mordekaiser will go out into the areas outside of Morgen Schwach and find a place to sit or simply walk around in contemplation with only the silence of the void and the sound of their breaths for company. Some Mordekaisers take it a step further and attach themselves to a tether before demagnetizing and allowing themselves to float in the void in silent meditation. The reasoning for this is that the void-born heritage of the Mordekaisers allows them to see the black of space differently to those born on planets.

Chapter Gene-Seed
From the heritage of their progenitor, the Mordekaisers' gene-seed is very stable and has never exhibited signs of mutation. However, over time they have lost the use of two of the special organs produced by the basic Astartes genetic template: the Betcher's Gland, which allows a Space Marine to produce poisonous/acidic spittle, and the Sus-an Membrane, which allows an Astartes to enter a state of suspended animation.

Being sons of Dorn the Mordekaisers are able to take a large amount of punishment, a fact they are not afraid to show in the state of their armour. Superficial things scrapes, dents and the like are ignored and several occasions where Mordekaisers have fought on with terrible wounds have been recorded. These facts point to their supposed origins from the Excoriators, a Chapter of Dorn who are known to also bear their battle damage. But with the records lost and the Excoriators continued denial, none may truly know.

The Mordekaisers' voidborn heritage has the drawback of being unused to planetary environments and it is common for Mordekaisers to take time to adjust to a planet when they set foot on it. It can even be said that Mordekaisers can suffer great unease from being on a planet, the completely different environment being disorienting to one who spends most of his life in the confines of a ship. It is common for a Mordekaiser to wear his helmet all the time on a planet, even when not in battle, in order to cope with the open world.

Many Chapters have flaws within them, and the Mordekaisers are no different. They appear to suffer from what they call "Fearful Sleep". Every now and again, a Mordekaiser will dream that they are Rogal Dorn himself walking through the halls of the Vengeful Spirit. They can feel his fear as he traverses the halls, slaying all in his path, until he finally reaches Horus's chambers. But at the moment he walks in, the dream ends and the Mordekaiser is left with a bad feeling in his hearts. This dream is generally regarded as a bad omen. Many scholars believe that the Fearful Sleep is a lesser form of The Darkness, a genetic curse that the Excoriators bear, another piece of evidence that the Mordekaisers are in fact Excoriators descendants.

Primarch's Curse: Death Before Dishonour
All Space Marines are the product of their genetic inheritance, benefiting from its blessings as well as suffering from its shortcomings, and the Mordekaisers are no different. Their Primarch was a deeply devoted warrior who fought tirelessly at the right hand of the Emperor, but even this towering exemplar had his flaws, as he himself is known to have acknowledged. Perhaps because of his dedication, Dorn was devastated when the Emperor fell, and shouldered far more than his fair share of the blame. He cast himself into a crusade of redemption that only ended in the terrible crucible of the Iron Cage, re-forging the Legion in the bloody furnace of war. Dorn's glorious legacy lives on through the Imperial Fists, but so too does his curse. This usually occurs in three levels:


 * Level 1 (Suffer Not Failure) - The Battle-Brother believes himself deficient in some manner, whether real or imagined, and becomes truculent and obstructive when ordered to redeploy in the face of a stronger foe. When acting as a squad leader or Deathwatch Kill-Team leader, he makes demands of his squad that others might consider unreasonable, and views any disagreement as outright disobedience.
 * Level 2 (Beware Hubris) - The Battle-Brother spends his every waking moment brooding on past battles, seeking even the slightest flaw in his own deeds, and those of others. While he stops short of outright criticism of his Battle-Brothers, he condemns his own actions as falling short of the example set by his Primarch, and seeks to redeem himself in the fires of battle.
 * Level 3 (None Are Flawless) - The Battle-Brother obsessively reviews every detail of every mission he takes part in, finding fault with his own actions and those of his squad. He becomes withdrawn, maudlin and confrontational, and unwilling to accept or issue any order that does not result in imminent battle.

Chapter Recruitment
The Mordekaisers recruit from the many gangs in the deeper tunnels and halls of Morgen Schwach. The small spaces of the starport mean that fights over territories are common. The chapter is known to swoop in during fights and take potential candidates to their fortress monastery for implantation. Before implantation, the gang members are placed into a maze of tunnels and made to find their way out. The catch is, they must work together to find the exit. This means that the gang members must get over their rivalries and work as a team. Not only does this erase the gangers previous allegiances to their gangs but it instills the sense of brotherhood and discipline that the Mordekaisers hold so dearly.

Once they have received their implantations, the neophytes become scout marines. As scout marines, they are tutored in the Chapter’s ways by performing menial tasks; neophytes clean, cook and run errands for full battle brothers. This further instills discipline. When in battle, neophytes will act as hit and run units or objective takers, their smaller size making them suited for quicker movements. The 10th Company is called the Unscarred due to a scout typically having no scars at first. Scars are earned in battle and it is considered a cause for celebration when a scout earns his first. Based on individual performance, the neophyte will either advance to a devastator squad or the Vanguard.

Chapter Fleet
"They were like aged void whales, covered in scars from centuries of fights. They fight like one too."

- Unknown.

Instead of having a home world, the Mordekaisers make their base of operations on the starport of Morgen Schwach, a port in the Ghoul Stars near the Malefactus Warp Rift. Morgen Schwach is where the Chapter dock their ships, the Chapter themselves specifically residing in a fortress within the port. The port is a maze of small tunnels ruled by gangs who bear oil painted markings to identify themselves. Thus they are perfect sources of recruits for the Mordekaisers.

The Mordekaisers fleet is quite large; boasting six Battle barges, 17 strike cruisers and numbers of escorts. This makes them incredibly devastating in fleet battles. Several of the ships are outfitted with Ursus Claws, which allows them to cripple ships and reel them in for boarding. Fittingly all but the most superficial of battle damage is repaired, giving the ships are rugged look. Unfortunately for the enemy, the Mordekaiser ships are still very effective.

Several ships in the Chapter Fleet are outfitted with Ursus Claws which allow them to catch vessels and reel them in for easy boarding. Furthermore, their hulls are often strengthened to to allow for a full frontal assault.

Notable Ships

 * The Void Beast (Battle Barge) - The flagship of the Mordekaiser fleet. The Void Beast has been in the Chapter's possession since their creation. It's hull has been repaired countless times and it's metal skin is covered in scrapes and craters from millennia of battle. Even so, it works just as well as it did during its early years and has been the death of countless enemy ships.
 * Dorn's Wrath (Battle Barge)
 * Mortis (Battle Barge)
 * Emperor's Might (Strike Cruiser)
 * Killer
 * Hull-Eater (Escort) - Hull-Eater's front has been repaired and strengthened due to it's reputation of ramming enemy ships.
 * Scarred Lord (Strike Cruiser) - The Scarred Lord was the 5thCompany's Strike Cruiser. It was wrecked in the Magrin War when the Senseless Noise warband ambushed and decimated the 5th Company.

Deathwatch Service
Despite their considerable distance from much of the Imperium, the Mordekaisers regularly send marines for the Long Vigil when required. A Mordekaiser marine will often use close ranged weaponry and or take up roles as devastators or assault marines where their natural endurance makes them tough foes to put down. Mordekaisers will gladly work alongside other sons of Dorn due to their shared blood though, of course, they make an effort to work alongside any Chapter even though their damaged armour and blunt methods can be controversial.

Notable Members



 * Kaiser Markus Diascalon - Kaiser Markus Diascalon, the "Beast in the Halls", is the current Kaiser of the Mordekaisers Chapter. A hulking brute of an Astartes, even without his Cataphractii Terminator Armour, he is a fearsome sight to behold. Despite his imposing visage he walks amongst the people of Morgen Schwach, often visiting places of work and education so that he may show that the Mordekaisers care for their charges deeply. However, in battle, Markus is to a bloodthirsty beast that leaves trails of death and destruction when he is unleashed onto an enemy ship. Few can bravely stand before an advancing monster in scarred cataphractii terminator armour with lightning claws dripped in blood and even fewer can survive the encounter. As of recent times, he joined countless heroes in undergoing the Rubicon Primaris and emerging as a Primaris marine. Armoured in mighty gravis armour and now wielding one of the Fists of the First, he has become even more powerful. His actions in battle have earned him the comparison to Tyberos the Red Wake, Chapter Master of the enigmatic Carcharodons Chapter, who the Mordekaisers fought alongside once. Not only has he been compared to the Red Wake, Diascalon's endurance has been reputed to be second only to that of Asterion Moloc's, Chapter Master of the Minotaurs. As such, to cross paths with the Beast in the Halls and to be on the wrong side of the battle is a grisly fate; for Diascalon is merciless to any foe.


 * Willafried - Willafried was the first Kaiser of the Mordekaisers. It is believed that he was once of the Excoriators but, at the same time, it is claimed that he was once of the Imperial Fists. Tall, even for an Astartes, he was regarded as a brutish intimidating figure who could go toe to toe with even the mightiest of champions. Willafried's reputation was such that no one, not even Kaiser Markus Stahlhelm, would not dare claim to be mightier. He ruled the Chapter for a long period of time before finally falling at the battle for Isenstad, where the stubborn Kaiser slaughtered an entire ship of Orkz before finally allowing himself to fall. Surprisingly, Willafried would not die despite his mortal wounds. His last words was a demand to be interred into a dreadnought so he could keep fighting. As such he was interred into a Leviathan Dreadnought. Willafried still serves to this day, an icon of destruction unleashed only in the most dire of times. Surprisingly, despite the mental and physical toll a Leviathan has on it's pilot, Willafried has retained much of his sanity and remains a potent foe.


 * Heinrich - Heinrich was a successor of Willafried. Heinrich differed from his predecessor in that he was a strategist first and fighter second. He was an extremely skilled tactician who usually directed the battle from a holo table, where he found his own glory in battle. However he was no slouch in battle either and went into war with his trusty storm bolter, power sword and a thermo combi-fist. Alas he met his end on Pyamax where he and five other marines had a desperate last stand against the Wolves of Retribution, slaying scores of heretics before succumbing to his wounds.


 * Hauptmann Marz Fester - Marz Fester is Hauptmann of the 2nd Company. A veteran of the Chapter, Marz is comparable to a blunt force that smashes through anything foolish enough to be in front of his power fist. He is also a perfect example for the hardiness of the Mordekaisers for his armour is covered in tears and scars of battle and, furthermore, he was said to have not uttered even a grunt of pain when a flesh hound bit his leg off though the rumours of him beating the unfortunate daemon to death with said leg are less likely.


 * Hauptmann Niklaus Kuhn - Life in the Mordekaisers is short for an Astartes, most do not make it past 250 years. In the case of the Breachers of the 4th Company, life is even shorter. The breachers' task is to establish a way in for the rest of Kompanie they are attached to. Such a task is dangerous and usually lethal. So when a Breacher makes it past 250 years of service he is to be respected and none are more respected than the 4th's Hauptmann, Niklaus Kuhn, whose reputation is such that even the Kaiser will go silent when he opens his mouth to speak. Niklaus is an old man, even by Mordekaiser standards, at 500 years old and is said to be the oldest Mordekaiser who isn't a dreadnought. Niklaus's scars are obvious for he is no longer the optimistic vibrant neophyte. Losing all your friends and brothers over the years of brutal warfare will do that to you. But while a mere man would break, Reiner will stand and fight on in the memory of his brothers.


 * Hauptmann Fabian Alric - Fabian is Hauptmann of the 5th Company. Alric is one of the Awakened, the Primaris marines created on Mars, and thus was of the reinforcements gifted to the Mordekaisers in the wake of Guilliman's coming. It was his skill and valour that saw him promoted to captain during the Indomitus Crusade and, as such, saw him placed as Hauptmann of the depleted 5th Company where a bulk of Primaris reinforcements were placed. As the first Primaris to be elevated to such a command, Fabian was placed under watch from the initially distrustful Chapter, placing a great deal of pressure upon him to prove his worth. He recently led the 5th Company against the Wolves of Retribution, at the Battle of Karacya where his tactics and slaying one of the warband's greatest champions won the day and the respect of his peers as well as proving the worth of the Primaris marines.


 * Horst the Unwise - Horst the Unwise was once Hauptmann of the 6th Company until he made the unwise decision of challenging a Hive Tyrant to a duel, his ravaged form was barely recovered and interred into the sarcophagus of a contemptor dreadnought from where he has fought for five centuries. His title is an example of the Mordekaiser's laconic wit.


 * Klauz - Klauz has been interred within a Contemptor sarcophagus since the days of Kaiser Willafried. His ancient and weathered frame serves as inspiration for the Mordekaisers, for Klauz has survived many blows that should've slain him. Alas, he fell in the Second Defence of Morgen Schwach after holding off the foe for several hours. Fortunately his sarcophagus and frame was recovered and largely intact, meaning a worthy hero who fell in the battle replaced Klauz and serves to continue his legacy.


 * Ignatz - Ignatz, of the 3rd Company, was one of the five marines who fought alongside Kaiser Heinrich in his last stand on Pyamax. Known for being quite the marksman, he scored a tally of 50 heretic astartes kills before finally falling to a plague marine's power fist.


 * Jakob - Jakob, of the 6th Company, was one of the five marines who fought alongside Kaiser Heinrich in his last stand on Pyamax. His plasma gun brought down dozens of traitor marines before he was laid low by bolter fire. Before he could be finished off, however, he overcharged his plasma gun to bring a further number of heretics with him.


 * Kilian - Kilian, of the 2nd Company, was one of the five marines who fought alongside Kaiser Heinrich in his last stand on Pyamax. Despite already taking several wounds, he fought bravely anyway before finally succumbing to his wounds.


 * Raban - Raban, of the 2nd Company, was one of the five marines who fought alongside Kaiser Heinrich in his last stand on Pyamax. Even though he took many blows as he fought desperately against the Wolves of Retribution, Raban was the last to fall, firing his bolter until his last dying breath.


 * Tielo - Tielo, of the 5th Company, was one of the five marines who fought alongside Kaiser Heinrich in his last stand on Pyamax. When he finally fell against a Wolves of Retribution Champion, his final act was to plunge his knife into the champion's skull.


 * Gerlach - Tall, even for an Astartes and bordering on the size of the newly arrived Primaris Space Marines, Gerlach was an intimidating figure of a marine with an attitude to match. He led Kill Team Corinth for it's entire service, favouring brute force assaults that put the Team in avoidable danger. Despite this, his talent for leadership and inherent endurance brought the Kill Team victories and without loss. When the Kill Team disbanded Gerlach returned to the Mordekaisers and took his place in the 5th Company once more. He perished in the Magrin War when the Senseless Noise ambushed and wiped out the Kompanie. Legend holds that, in his last dying breath, Gerlach detonated the grenade belt he wore around his chest and took his killers with him.


 * Yngvi - Yngvi is the first Astartes in the Mordekaisers Chapter to cross the Rubicon Primaris, a process that went successfully and saw him take his place as Lieutenant of the 3rd Company. His successful crossing has been regarded as opening the door for more marines of the Mordekaisers to take similar steps.


 * Snyda - Snyda is the other Leviathan Siege Dreadnought in the Mordekaisers Chapter. While the circumstances pertaining to his internment is lost to history, he has been serving the Chapter for millennia. Unlike his fellow Leviathan, Willafried, Snyda is a giant fire platform with twin Leviathan Storm Cannons and acts as a gun platform in comparison to the charging berzerker that Willafried is.

Non-Astartes Personnel

 * Hyamoi Amydion - Hyamoi Amydion is the Shield Captain of the five Custodes assigned to watch over the Mordekaisers Chapter by Roboute Guilliman when it was found that the Astartes were resistant to the newly arrived Primaris to the point of coming to blows. Although, this conflict has long since subsided, Hyamoi has not yet seen fit to leave. He has not given any reasons for his decision.

Chapter Relics

 * The Blade of Brand - Brand was an ancient hero of the Mordekaisers known for throwing himself into the thick of battle. He fell after 250 years of service to a tyranid horde. All that was recovered was his hand, still holding onto the sword. Unable to remove the sword from the hand the Mordekaisers have kept it as a relic. A reminder of their duty to the Imperium and that even in death they still serve.


 * Lightning Fang- The Lightning Fang is an ancient chainsword with teeth that is rumoured to have come from Storm's Teeth, the chainsword that was once wielded by Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists.


 * The Bulwark - Legend holds that the ancient suit of Mark III Armour has been in the Chapter's possession since it's founding. Those who wear the Bulwark are said to be nigh invincible in battle, as the countless marks of scarring and dents can attest.


 * Gifts of the First - Willafried was known for his use of two power fists in battle, smashing apart his foes with mighty blows. When he finally fell, his power fists became relics. Only those who have done acts of heroism may hope to wield one of the fists and emulate the might of the First Kaiser.


 * Heinrich's Insights - Kaiser Heinrich was less known for his battle prowess than for his strategic genius and his foresight. Knowing that he would not live forever, Heinrich wrote a book detailing his strategies and tactics as well as the importance of adapting to the flow of battle quickly. Even though he has long since passed, Heinrich is remembered by this book of strategies that the Chapter follows to this day.


 * Memory of the Five - In Kaiser Heinrich's last stand against the Desolate Sons, five marines of different Companies and squads came to his defense. Despite all of them falling, their sacrifice allowed the rest of Mordekaisers to mount a counter attack and wipe out the Desolate Sons and recover the bodies of Heinrich and the Five. In memory of their bravery, the Five were buried in tombs built on the site of the last stand and their names engraved into Heinrich's terminator armour. Whoever wears the armour also bears the names of the Five; Ignatz, Jakob, Kilian, Raban and Tielo.


 * XI-10 - XI-10 was Kaiser Heinrich's personal servo skull, feeding information from the battlefield directly to it's master's helmet. Having been with Heinrich since he ascended to Kaiser, XI-10 served him until the end. It recorded Heinrich and the five marines' fatal, yet glorious, last stand on Pyamax against the Wolves of Retribution. It is still in service to the Chapter today, being repaired many times, where it provides its user with extremely accurate tactical information.

Chapter Appearance
The Mordekaisers are identifiable by their battle damaged armour. The Mordekaisers care little for aesthetic and simply repair their armour to the point of functionality, ignoring superficial damages and grime. Many higher ranking Mordekaisers extend this to their attires, not bothering to fix holes in capes or repairing helmet crests. While this draws scorn from other Chapters and organisations, it ultimately makes the Mordekaisers look incredibly intimidating.

The Mordekaisers also scratch kill markers, badges and ganger signs into their armour. Others draw lines in their vox grills to make their helmets look like faces while those with a Mark Vi helm draw lines to make the helmet look like a bird's beak. The Mordekaisers will also bear Imperial imagery on their armour. The fact that they rarely repair them is frowned upon by the Ecclesiarchy.

The Mordekaisers identify Companies by the colour of their shoulder trims and the Company Icon on their left or right knee. Squad markings are placed on the pauldrons.

Because their recruitment stock consists entirely of voidborn the Mordekaisers have a pale skin tone and are typically gaunt and slightly taller than a standard Astartes.

Chapter Colours
The Mordekaisers colour their helmet, torso and backpack grey and their limbs a dark green. Colour is used also used to identify ranks; Feldwebels wear a light green helmet, Standard Bearers/Ancients wear dark blue helmets, Leutnants have light green helmets with a black stripe down the middle, Hauptmanns have bronze helmets and the Kaiser wears a gold helmet.

Chapter Badge
The Mordekaisers' badge is a damaged skull with a crown. To them it is a perfect representation of their name which means, when translated to High Gothic, "Murder Lords", a name the Mordekaisers are keen to live up to.

Chapter Relations
The Mordekaisers like to maintain good relationships with other Chapters descended from Rogal Dorn and will rush to the aid of a fellow Chapter of Dorn if they are able to. They also form friendly rivalries with Other Chapters specializing in Void Warfare

Star Wardens
Most recently, the Mordekaisers have formed a friendly rivalry with the Star Wardens Chapter. Due to their specialty in void warfare, the Star Wardens were challenged by the Mordekaisers to see who could take out the most ships in a battle. The challenge ended in a tie thus the two Chapters exchanged words of friendship and have continuously fought together in an effort to break the tie.

Dawn Stalkers
The Mordekaisers are known for being close to other Chapters of Dorn, even those of a more 'displeasing' nature. Of such chapters the Dawn Stalkers remain a close ally to the Mordekaisers, the relationship between the two Chapters begining when the Dawn Stalkers requested reinforcements for a campaign against an Ork Waaagh led by 'Bos Hamerfist'. Being close and always willing to assist a Chapter of Dorn, the Mordekaisers responded. The void war specialising Mordekaisers tore into the Ork fleet with vigorous abandon and helped the Dawn Stalkers crush the greenskin threat. The two Chapters parted with a newfound respect for one another. The Dawn Stalkers idealizing the Mordekaisers’ skill at void warfare and the Mordekaisers respecting the Dawn Stalkers’ willingness to defend the defenseless.

Duran Heika
Duran Heika's operations in the Ghoul Stars and surrounding regions often involves him calling upon the services of the Mordekaisers for their skill in void warfare as well as their intimidating armour. Furthermore, as a voidborn himself, he understands the Mordekaisers' discomfort when being on planet and actually lives on Morgen Schwach itself where he has quarters in the higher levels.

Blood Hounds
Despite the differences between the two Chapters both genetically and culturally, the combat styles of the Mordekaisers and the Blood Hounds complement each other extremely well allowing for the perfect fighting force. Whenever they fight together the Mordekaisers and Blood Hounds are known to exchange cultural markings and scars in recognition of each other's valour.

Wolves of Retribution
The Wolves of Retribution are the most hated foes of the Mordekaisers. Once former friends the Wolves' fall from grace and into chaotic corruption dismayed and angered the Mordekaisers making them swear an oath that they would purge the Wolves of Retribution and end their vile taint, as well as perhaps avenging the memory of the noble, and pious, warriors the Wolves once were.

Notable Quotes
Feel free to add your own

By the Chapter
"For millennia you have fought so hard for the Imperium and Emperor. So much has been lost since the Heresy, so much has been sacrificed. So many noble warriors, so many heroes, so many brothers lost to history. You have sacrificed so much to the Imperium and have received such little thanks. For ten thousand years you and your kind have defended the Imperium against all odds but now, that the Galaxy is split in two, we have come to share the burden! So rest now, brother of the old kind, for you have earned it. The Primaris have come to help."

- From the writings of Intercessor Brother Lukas.

"Long has it been since my feet have touched the dirt of a planet, brother. It saddens me that it is not with my own two feet that I have done so again."

- Venerable Manfred lamenting his interment to a Dreadnought to Brother Ernst, during the Tyli Campaign

"And that is where you are wrong, cousin. See this cut here on my pauldron? An ork chainsword did that. And this dent here. A chaos power maul glanced off it. And the scratch over my eyepiece? An Aeldari diresword did that. Took my eye with it. Why do I tell you this? I’m telling you my history. We Mordekaisers don’t just wear our scars as reminders that we can survive anything. We wear them to tell our story. These scars are not left due to negligence or barbarism. No, we leave them because they define us."

- Brother Landers to an Ultramarine

"Being a Son of Dorn blesses us with endurance like few others. But the amount of times I've tended to brothers who claim they are able to keep fighting despite losing all their limbs or their guts spilling out of them is going to be the death of me."

- Apothecary Hans of the Mordekaisers

"No, captain Lysander, I am alright. It is just... I am unused to walking on a planet. Me and my brethren are voidborn, we are used to the constant sounds of the engines and used to breathing air recycled countless times. The softness of the ground at my feet, the natural air and the.... breeze, are alien feelings to me. I much prefer the home of a ship."

- Hauptmann Niklaus Kuhn to Captain Darnath Lysander

"You utter fool! Imperial science is the greatest in the Galaxy!"

- Techmarine Stroheim prior to unleashing the Leviathan Dreadnoughts on a luckless force of T'au.

"Mock my scars all you want, it won't stop me tearing your smug face apart."

- Brother Otto to an arrogant Chaos Marine. He made good on his promise.

Feel free to add your own

About the Chapter
"I must say, these "Murder Lords" may wear their armour like they've been through hell but, by the Emperor, if it weren't for them smashing through the T'au fleet, we'd never have won this campaign."

- General Alexandros of the 50th Cadian Regiment reflecting on the Mordekaisers' actions.

"The state of Brother Gozzo's armour is an affront to all decency! I am truly surprised his machine spirit hasn't rebelled from such disrespect! Furthermore he throws himself into battle like a lunatic with a wish to die! It is for these reasons that I am writing this letter in order to ensure that his Chapter awards his service with the utmost of honours when he returns. Despite his armour's state, I have never fought alongside such an effective fighter. Many times has he saved my and the rest of the Kill Team's lives. I end this letter with a message for Gozzo himself: If we are ever reunited then I will be glad to fight alongside him once more."

- Excerpt from a letter written Kill-Team Leader Gaius of the Ultramarines to the Mordekaisers on Brother Gozzo.

"I know not who these Mordekaisers are. All I know is that they too are sons of the Primarch and they claim to be our successors. To this I say impossible, the Excoriators have have no successors. We have no records of our gene-seed being used to create successors. Regardless, I have read of their battle records, they perform as sons of Dorn should. So, while I do not accept them to be our successors, I will accept them to be our brothers."

- Zachariah Kersh, Chapter Master of the Excoriators.

"While their armor is in great disrepair, I'm more than happy to say the opposite of their character. For their sake, I hope they don't run into any virus bombs though..."

- Michael 'Handyman' Roweson of the Emperor's Liberators.

"They look as pale and humourless as the raven guard, charge into combat like space wolves, and despite this. I can see the spirit of Dorn in them. They have a hero you see! An old legend of a warrior who fought until consumed by a swarm, all they found of him was a single hand. Could they be any more in the image of their genefather?"

- Anonymous Jade Knives

Stories

 * A Helping Hand (See Main Article)

Videos
A holo-vid detailing the history of the Mordekaisers Chapter.

Acknowledgements
I would like to take a minute and thank you for reading this article, I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading it though, of course, if you have any feedback then feel free to give it. I would also like to thank the Wiki's discord server for welcoming me into the community and being an amazing help with setting me up and giving me a chance to bring my homebrews onto this Wiki. Special shout out goes to Algrim Whitefang and Achilles Prime for helping me with the art and page fixing. Also a big thank you to Valerius Spero and Phantom for showing me the server. Finally a big thanks to everyone who has provided feedback, suggestions and advice on how to make the Mordekaisers such an awesome Chapter!

Yours greatfully, MaliusV.