Nightscream

"...we lurk in the darkness. We lurk in every shadow. No amount of light will prevent us from killing you while you sleep in your beds. No walls will protect you from our blades. You are as helpless as children in the blackest night with ravening creatures of the night all around. For they we are, right now and you cannot see. In the dark, in the light, it matters not..for we see you..and our blades hunger."

- World-wide vox-transmission played on a loop, broadcasted to the rebellious world of Ataratheh, c. M37

The Nightscream are a mysterious Successor Chapter created from the lineage of the Raven Guard during the ill-fated and oft-maligned 21st Founding, the so-called 'Cursed Founding', sometime during M36. Misfortunate, physical idiosyncrasies and rampant mutations often plague the Chapters created during this time. The Nightscream too, fell victim to the ineptitude of the Magos Biologus genetors that attempted to improve upon the Emperor's design, proving far less-skilled than the Master of Mankind's mastery of the genetic sciences. This proved disastrous for the Chapters created during this Founding, which resulted in seriously flawed gene-seed being given to them. Only much later would these flaws become readily apparent, affecting the overall character and doctrine of these Chapters.

The Nightscream were one of these Chapters affected by the Mechanicus' failed attempts at genetic manipulation, which resulted in the Chapter suffering from a debilitating flaw that affects their vision, which rapidly worsens until the affected battle-brother is rent completely blind. However, this unnatural blindness has resulted in them developing far superior senses than even a standard Astartes - superior hearing, an enhanced sense of smell, tastes and acute sensitive touch. But their most unique ability is that the Astartes of this Chapter have developed a form of echolocation which grants them an omnidirectional field of vision. This latter ability allows them to detect objects in their environment by sensing echoes from the sounds that bounce off of objects. This grants these transhuman warriors extreme spatial awareness, allowing them to react much quicker than an average Astartes. The advent of such unique abilities has given rise to rumours that the Astartes of this Chapter possess latent psychic abilities which grants them some kind of innate 'sixth sense', but this couldn't be further from the truth, although their natural abilities do serve to increase these warriors' already fearsome capabilities to preternatural levels.

Throughout the millennia of their existence, the Nightscream have developed superb expertise in stealth, infiltration and deep strike tactics deep behind enemy lines, committing acts of sabotage, assassination of enemy commanders, and the sowing of destruction and chaos behind the lines mid-battle. This Chapter are also experts at conducting psychological warfare on their foes - broadcasting vox messages whispering dire warnings, making shrill, haunting cries that echo throughout the long night, and randomly killing sentries as they penetrate ever deeper into an enemy's position. Through the use of such terror tactics, often whole rebellious cities have willingly surrendered rather than face the wrath of these silent killers.

The Cursed Founding
The Nightscream are a Chapter whose origins, like many of the Chapters created during 21st Founding, have been purposely obfuscated or been lost to the midsts of history, due to the unforeseen circumstances surrounding their inception. Though initially deemed successful by their creators, many of these Chapters would go on to be plagued by ill-fortune or be subjected to unforeseen genetic idiosyncrasies or rampant mutations.

Due to these unfortunate set of circumstances, this particular Space Marine Founding would be dubbed the 'Cursed Founding'. Like many of their fellow Chapters created at this time, the earliest records following the Nightscream Chapter's inception have been lost, but what is known with any certainty is that they were a fleet-based Chapter.

Nightfall
The Astartes of this Chapter were created with experimental gene-seed taken from the lineage of the heroic and mysterious Raven Guard Chapter, which was heavily modified, in order to remove some of the more undesirable traits. It is also believed that these Astartes might have received additional experimental Astartes organs that were crafted by the Magos that took part in "Project Home Sapiens Nova". The experimental organs implanted into their makeup helped enhance their already formidable senses commonly displayed by the average transhuman warrior, including various enhanced senses as well as superior balance and coordination. However, despite these groundbreaking advancements, like many of the Chapters created during this time, there would be long-term side effects that went unforeseen by their creators. Though initially deemed successful, soon many of the Chapters created during this Founding were plagued by spontaneous random mutations or devolved into something no longer human or sane. Though the Nightscream escaped the latter fate, within a matter of months, they began to show signs of acute blindness, which greatly affected the overall mindset of the Chapter. Refusing to give into their fate, the Nightscream vowed to sell themselves dearly in a final Crusade into the outer void, before their physical deficiencies could fully overtake the entirety of the Chapter. What occurred during this voyage into the furthest reaches of known Imperial space and beyond, is unrecorded. But when the Nightscream Chapter eventually emerged from their long and mysterious sojourn into the unknown, many centuries later, they were a far different Chapter than the one they had once been - one that had been irrevocably changed.

Residing in Darkness
Initially, the Nightscream had begun their existence with much promise and were highly favoured by their Adeptus Mechanicus creators, hailed as one of their greatest successes of their experimentations. Thus, the newly incepted Chapter was blessed with advanced weaponry and a large number of highly experienced Techmarines to oversee the care and maintenance of their specialist equipment. It was fortunate that the Chapter possessed an abundance of these specialist Astartes, for when they began to experience rapid macular degeneration these Techmarines, alongside their Apothecary brethren, would help play an instrumental role in the Chapter's salvation. However, soon the Astartes of this Chapter began developing other unexpected and much more serious genetic idiosyncrasies; overactive sensory sensitivity to light, sound, taste and smell. In order to compensate for these troublesome physical abnormalities, the Chapter's Techmarines and Apothecaries worked in tandem, developing several modifications to their battle-plate to overcome their overactive sensory sensitivity.

The Techmarines installed specialised in-built acoustic dampeners to compensate for their battle-brothers' overactive auditory senses. As the Astartes of the Chapter began to suffer the effects of macro degeneration they developed an extreme sensitivity to light, which forced the Techmarines to remove the optic lenses from the helmets of their fellow Astartes. But despite the loss of their sight these affected Astartes quickly realised that had developed a form of radar sense to compensate for their loss of vision. This newly acquired trait allowed a blind battle-brother to build a mental image by actively creating and listening for sounds, allowing them to interpret the sound waves reflected by nearby objects and enabling them to accurately identify their location and size. The modifications made to their battle-plate, combined with intensive regular training, helped the Astartes of the Nightscream Chapter to adapt and overcome their handicaps, and within a matter of decades, they were able to fully incorporate their inherent 'gifts' and utilise them to their full potential.

Massacre of Ataratheh (Unknown Date.M37)
Of the early centuries following the inception of the Nightscream Chapter cannot be said with any accuracy whatsoever, and even the rumours and conjecture that would later grow to surround the Chapter's activities is absent. However, what remains instead are a few sparse but suggestive fragments, anomalous records of unknown sable-clad Astartes carrying out targeted strikes and assassinations throughout the various regions of the galaxy.

One such notable incident occurred sometime during the first few decades of M37. Known as the Massacre of Ataratheh, this little-known incident is one of the first probable campaigns conducted by the mysterious Nightscream Chapter. When the hive world of Ataratheh fell into civil unrest and eventual all-out insurrection, several regiments of the Morana Black Guard regiments of the Astra Militarum were dispatched by Segmentum high command to put the revolt down and bring the recalcitrant world back into the Imperial fold.

Though the initial assault on the governor's palace in the hive capital succeeded, the Imperial ground assault forces soon fell prey to cunningly wrought ambushes and sabotage. The Imperial Navy fleet were also subjected to near-continuous raids by small squadrons of Heretic Astartes spacecraft in orbit, identified as belonging to the Merciless, a splinter warband of the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion. Led by their unforgiving and bloody-handed Chaos Lord Torian, the Merciless were infamous for their brutality and the devastation they could wreak during one of their bloody campaigns of destruction. They had been summoned by the corrupted planetary governor, who had made some kind of dark bargain with the Chaos Warband.

The Imperial Navy vessels were hard-pressed to fully suppress the raids by the warships of the Merciless while still bound to protect those troops they had landed on the surface, placing them in a precarious and untenable position. However, the intercession of a fleet of unmarked warships of Imperial pattern was to shift the balance in the Imperial forces' favour. Emerging some distance away from the main Imperial Navy flotilla, these sable-clad vessels moved to engage the Merciless warships. Caught between the crossfire of the Imperial Navy vessels and the sable-hulled craft, the Merciless were forced to withdraw or face imminent destruction.

Now in full control of orbital space above Ataratheh, the Imperial Navy ships attempted to make contact with the mysterious craft that had come to their aid. However, their 'saviours' had disabled their ident broadcast signal, and did not display and sign of Chapter heraldry on their hulls. Any attempts to communicate, in order to secure cooperation in the conducting of the campaign on the surface of the beleaguered planet below, were met with curt rebuff. Without a word, an all-out orbital assault was launched by the sable-hulled vessels.

Once they landed on Atarathe's surface, the landing craft disgorged a host of Adeptus Astartes clad in battle-plate bearing a heraldry of black and silver. Organised into small and fast-moving units, these Astartes engaged in brutal strike and face assaults, driving the forces of the Merciless and their Chaos Cultist allies into hastily constructed defensive positions. The black-clad Astartes kept the majority of the heretic forces at bay as they constantly harassed their positions with probing strikes, and then just as suddenly, withdrew, only to re-launch another strike and shifting their foes' focus.

Meanwhile, the Morana Black Guard had been held at bay, fighting a ferocious defensive campaign for nearly two days against the heavily entrenched positions of the heretic forces surrounding the fallen planetary governor's palace. A breakthrough in the defences thrown up around the palace was forced by the Astra Militarum's combat engineers, who had dug beneath the heretics' positions and blew them up in a multi-vectored, timed detonation that simultaneously destroyed their barricades and forced a breach. Under heavy cover fire by both Lightning and Thunderbolt fighters, the Morana Regiments advanced, mopping up any further heretic resistance until they finally arrived at the main entrance to the governor's palace.

By dawn of the third day, the Morana Black Guard had successfully taken their objective, but what they found within, horrified them to the core. Upon entering the governor's palace, they found the inner gates thrown open, all the palace guards having been brutally murdered - either their necks were snapped, their throats slit or they had been stabbed through the heart. Moving throughout the massive palace complex, it was more of the same - scenes of bloody-handed carnage that left even season troopers sick to their stomachs - bodies were savagely torn apart or their necks or backs had been broken. Several of these bodies showed signs of singular stabs to the heart or neck. The governor's palace had become a bloody abattoir, like a scene out of someone's darkest nightmare.

Of their sable-clad allies, there was no sign - there vessels having withdrawn the night before. To this day, it is still not clear who these mysterious Astartes were, but based upon the tactics utilised during this particular campaign and the few surviving eye-witness accounts, all signs point to the mysterious Nightscream Chapter.

Chapter Homeworld
The Nightscream do not have their own Chapter homeworld, preferring to operate as a fleet-based Chapter, spread far-and-wide across the width and breadth of the galaxy. They have never formally established a fortress-monastery, nor has they designated a specific homeworld to call their own. Indeed, the Nightscream lacks the resources or need to maintain a traditional homeworld. Instead, their battle barges and strike cruisers serve as their primary location for command operations and Chapter coordination. This mobility grants the Chapter a greater level of flexibility for those instances when it becomes necessary to assemble multiple companies prior to embarking upon a campaign or Crusade.

Fortress-Monastery
To compensate for the few limitations the Chapter has needed to address over the course of their existence, the Nightscream had to ensure they found a secure storage location for their gene-seed. Due to the ever-present danger of exposure to the Warp or potential Chaos contamination, as well as the possible destruction of one of their Battle-Barges, the Chapter cannot take the chance of losing their precious gene-seed. Therefore, the Chapter has designated one of it's two fief world - Chordatus - as its primary gene-seed repository. Upon the surface of this verdant death world, the Chapter built a formidable subterranean fortress, known as The Crypt, whose entrance is built into the side of the world's largest mountain. This mighty citadel bears massive void shields, anti-air defence lasers, and a small garrison for defence. The world was also chosen as its location and is believed to be relatively stable from Warp incursions. During those occasions when a company of the Nightscream must rebuild its strength due to an extended Crusade or substantial losses, it is usually added to the garrison on Chordatus, so that it can add another layer to the world's defences.

Chapter Recruitment
Every fifty years or so the Chapter undergoes their primary recruitment period, known as 'The Cull', upon their primary recruitment world of Umbra. This perpetually night-shrouded death world is inimical to human life, due to its inhospitable terrain, weather and deadly flora and fauna. But despite the hostile nature of this planet, the tribal population that inhabits this deadly world has not only survived for millennia, but thrived. Knowing neither sunlight or joy, these barbaric warrior tribes form the primary recruitment stock for the Nightscream Chapter. Enduring a brutal existence of darkness and constant intertribal bloodshed over the few resources on the planet, often times, Umbran youths have already taken hundreds of skulls before being chosen to become a Neophyte for the Chapter and earning the opportunity to fight amongst the stars and slay the enemies of the Emperor.

However, due to the Nightscream spending so much time on active Crusade, the Chapter's independently functional companies must be able to recruit while in the field. In this way, they need not wait for their return to Umbra in order to replace Battle-Brothers lost in battle. Consequently, the Chapter draws its recruits from the myriad human inhabited worlds of the Imperium. For many Initiates of the Chapter, the life of a Space Marine is the only opportunity they encounter to learn of the galaxy beyond their remote worlds. As they undergo their training, these young Battle-Brothers learn of the true nature of the Imperium at the same time that they learn the rites and combat techniques of their new Chapter. However, the vast majority of those taken during these culls for fresh Aspirants, end up as slaves and serf labourers for the Chapter's fleet, providing the means by which the Nightscream companies can function independently for long periods of time away from the main body of the Chapter.

Officer Ranks

 * Kithlord - Chapter Master equivalent.
 * Shadewalker - Captain equivalent.

Specialist Ranks

 * Lord Speaker of the Dead - Reclusiarch equivalent.
 * Wraithspeaker - Chaplain equivalent.
 * Lord of Fates - Chief Librarian equivalent.
 * Doomscryer - Librarian equivalent.
 * Chirurgeon Primus - Chief Apothecary equivalent.
 * Chirurgeon - Apothecary equivalent
 * Lord Anvilar - Master of the Forge equivalent.
 * Forge-Wright - Techmarine equivalent.

Line Ranks

 * Shade Master - Sergeant equivalent.
 * Harrow-Brother - Battle-Brother equivalent.
 * Nightshade - Scout Marine, Vanguard Infiltrator and Primaris Reiver equivalent.
 * Wraithkin - Aspirant equivalent.

Specialist Formations

 * Kith Guard - Personal Honour Guard of the Chapter Master.
 * Gloomwrought -

Squad Formations

 * Darkmantle - Assault Marine equivalent.
 * Nighthaunt - Devastator Marine equivalent.
 * Nighthaunt - Devastator Marine equivalent.
 * Nighthaunt - Devastator Marine equivalent.

Specialised Equipment

 * Wraith Pattern Power Armour - The Astartes of the Nightscream Chapter wear a variant pattern of battle-plate known as the Wraith-pattern, which includes a built-in cameoline field. When the field is activated, the armour's surface mirrors ambient lighting conditions, allowing its wearer to bend into his surroundings. When this field is disengaged, the surface of the armour takes on a flat black finish in its passive state. This specialised pattern of battle-plate also utilises in-built acoustic dampeners which enables a battle-brother to move silently and swiftly, without being detected by an enemy. Combined with their superior skills of subtle movement and affinity for the dark, a Nightscream Astartes might as well be invisible.
 * Whisper Array - A Whisper Array is a highly sophisticated communications array designed by the Chapter's Techmarines that allows a Nightscream Astartes to relay long-range communications over great distances while using their specialised sub-vocalised language known as 'Whisper-Speak'. This low-level frequency language consists of various patterns of breathing, clicks and pops, as well as sub-vocal growls, enabling a battle-brother to convey short but very precise commands and directions through their helmet's internal vox communication channels, which are highly encrypted. This allows an Astartes not to give away his position while conducting highly dangerous infiltration and assassination missions deep behind enemy lines.

Chapter Beliefs
"The enemies of Mankind should fear us, for we are the Emperor's wrath made manifest. To fear us, is to fear Him on Terra. Lesser men may fear the xenos, mutant, heretic or the daemonic, but we do not. We do not fear the gathering darkness, for we have dwelt in it for all our existence. We do not fear, for we are fear itself."

- Wraithspeaker Dendraar Abrulash

Due to their prolonged exposure to darkness, down the millennia, the Nightscream have become nearly devoid of emotion. They are known to be grim-natured, troubled and often driven, their souls touched by darkness. They are often seen as cold and pitiless to outsiders and are merciless and unforgiving with their enemies. Battle-Brothers of this Chapter hold very little regard for their own lives, often viewing a present incarnation as but one in an endless cycle and death as foretold and impossible to change, which can cause some of their most senior brethren to become jaded after several centuries. Their affinity with the darkness defines them as a Chapter and influences every aspect of their culture.

The Nightscream also embrace living to the limits of serving the Emperor without fail. Despite their stoic and grim demeanour they still strive for personal greatness in the eyes of Him on Terra, so that when they fall, stories of their great deeds will be passed down by the Chapter's Wraithspeakers to future generations of Astartes, and grant them a sort of immortality. In their search for personal glory, most Nightscream battle-brothers ignore comfort, morality, and safety, traits they considered banalities.

Physical Traits & Notable Idiosyncrasies
The Nightscream bear all the genetic markers reminiscent of a Successor Chapter descended from the lineage of Corvus Corax's bloodline. They share many of the physical attributes of their Progenitors, including a defect in their Malanochromic organ that change their skin colour to a paler than normal colour. Most Nightscream Astartes have dusky gray skin and colorless complexions that varies from alabaster to dark gray; black hair, with older battle-brothers having wiry grey hair after several centuries; and milky coloured eyes lacking any sclera or clear pupil. Shadows on their bodies or clothing always seem to be deeper and darker than shadows elsewhere, and shadow seemed to follow them and reach out when they are angry. Due to their affinity for the darkness, they can easily blend into the shadows at will, and are often lost from view. It is said that a Nightscream Astartes will only reveal themselves at a time and place of their choosing. This is usually when they are primed to kill an enemy at close-quarters.

Like their genetic forebears, the Nightscream also do not possess the Mucranoid organ which allows a Space Marine to survive extremes of heat, cold or even exposure to the vacuum of space or the Betcher's Gland organ, which allows them to spit a venomous toxin. They do not lament such losses, as they have been granted various other 'gifts' inherent in their modified gene-seed.

Another unusual aspect of the Nightscream is their preference for wearing their helmets at all times when they are in the presence of other Imperial military forces, fellow Space Marine Chapters or Imperial authorities. They will never remove their helmet in the presence of anyone outside their Chapter. Though this has caused some consternation amongst their allies, who believe the Nightscream to be haughty and vain, the truth of the matter is twofold; the first being their innate blindness which causes their eyes to become milky white in appearance. The vacant dead stares of these Astartes can be quite unnerving in the presence of sighted individuals, therefore the Nightscream opt to wear their helmets at all times, except when they are aboard their own vessels, amongst their own kind or Chapter Serfs, outside the presence of outsiders.

The second reason they wear their helmets at all times is more practical, rather than personal choice. The helmets of the Nightscream Astartes have specialised volume-controlled vox units. The reason for this is due unforeseen genetic drift down the millennia, which causes a notable physical abnormality that affects the larynx of a Nightscream Astartes. This abnormality causes the pitch of their voice to drop to a sepulchral whisper, which is near impossible to hear by baseline humans. Even with the advent of their modified vox units and the volume turned all the way up, it is still difficult for someone to understand them. This does not seem to affect a Nightscream Astartes at all, as their superior auditory senses allows them to hear a range of sound on several different frequencies or levels of pitch.

Despite their innate blindness, the remaining four senses of Nightscream Astartes are enhanced to near superhuman levels, resulting in them becoming radar-like. These battle-brothers claim to constantly feel numerous things, including balance, direction, minuscule changes in air density, vibrations and blankets of temperature variations that are usually imperceptible to baseline humans. That, combined with their acute hearing and olfactory senses, enables Astartes of this Chapter to evaluate their surroundings in an omnidirectional sense, which allows them to perceive the general shape of objects and surroundings of their environment. Their superhumanly enhanced senses grant them tremendous awareness of their surroundings on a wide range, thus making them alert to inherent danger, which has given rise to rumours of these Astartes possessing an innate 'sixth-sense' that makes them aware when dangerous is present.

Acute Hearing
It has also been witnessed, and verified, that the hearing of a Nightscream Astartes is far superior to not only other transhuman but sharper than a bat's and is extremely acute. The Astartes organ known as the Lyman's Ear seems to work at a far superior level than an average Astartes, allowing a Nightscream battle-brother to clearly hear conversations, heartbeats and even breathing from several metres from their position. They are able to hear and memorise the sound of someone's heartbeat, and in a crowded room full of people, are able to single them out from amongst a crowd. They can also detect changes in a person's heartbeats, which allows these Astartes to predict how they feel and what actions they'll take, such as attack or flee. Their hearing is also so acute that they can tell whether people are lying or not, based on the subtle changes in the rate of their heartbeats. When forced to improvise when fighting extremely stealthy enemies, such as Aeldari Rangers, Harlequins, Tau Pathfinders or Ork Kommandos, they can effectively keep track of their movements by listening to their breaths and the sounds of fabric swishing through the air or brushing against foliage or scraping against the ground.

Echolocation
The superior hearing possessed by these Astartes has allowed them to utilise their inherent abilities in new and unique ways, despite their perceived handicap of not being able to see. The Nightscream have learned to develop an exceptionally advanced form of echolocation. Following the implantation of their Chapter's gene-seed, newly inducted Neophytes begin to suffer the effects of rapid macular degeneration, which eventually causes their eyes to develop a milky white sheen, rendering them totally blind. They then undergo intense physical training at the hands of the Chapter's senior instructors, to learn to compensate for their loss of sight until their inherent radar and auditory senses begin to fully function. Once fully trained and mastered, they are then able to begin utilising the skills of echolocation. Through the use of this 'radar sense', they are able to detect objects in their environment by sensing echoes from those objects, by actively creating and listening for sounds - for example - making clicking noises with their tongues, the stomping of their enemies' feet, raindrops falling on a weapon, the handle of a hatch being turned, rattling chains or even a person's heartbeat. They can interpret the sound waves reflected by nearby objects, accurately identifying their location and size.

Some Magos Biologis theorise that this radar sense functions via these Astartes' brain's generation of energy within a certain portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The signal emanates (both consciously and unconsciously) from sending regions of their brain, after which it travels outward, bounces off objects around them, and returns to receiving regions of their brain. Another theory is that this particular sense functions more closely to sonar in which a Nightscream Astartes hears the faint echoes of sounds as they bounce off nearby objects. This radar sense may operate by a combination of these techniques or by other, unknown means.

It is not known what exactly causes the blindness in Nightscream Astartes, but some believe that this is primarily due to a failure in their Occulobe organ. This implant sits at the base of the brain after being implanted along the optic nerve and is connected to the retina. Normally, it helps provide hormonal and genetic stimuli which enable a Space Marine's eyes to respond to the optic-therapy that all Neophytes must undergo in their Chapter's Apothecarium. These procedures, in turn, would then allow a Chapter's Apothecaries to make adjustments to the growth patterns of the eyes and their light-receptive retinal cells. The end result, is that Space Marines achieve a visual acuity that is far superior to that of baseline humans, allowing them to see in low-light conditions and near-darkness almost as well as in bright daylight. However, the Astartes of this Chapter suffers from a mutation which causes severe macular degeneration, which results in a battle-brother's eyes becoming milky white orbs, absent of both visible iris or sclera. With the absence of their vision, Neophytes are unable to undergo the usual optic-therapy and hypno-indoctrination training, therefore, the Chapter's Apothecaries instead employ a form of infra-sound in order to achieve the same results.

Superior Olfactory & Taste Senses
Another notable superior sense these Astartes possess are incredible olfactory senses which is sharper than a dog's, allowing them to detect the scent of stale lho-stick or the smell of alcohol on a person's breath several floors above their position or through several walls. Their senses are so acute, it is said they can even smell a person several yards away and detect if they are sick with infectious disease or other deadly diseases, such as cancer. They are also known to possess enhanced taste which enables them to detect the presence of an individual by tasting copper in the air from the blood of an open wound or taste the acrid smell of a person's sweat.

Enhanced Vibration & Electrical Field Detection
Nightscream Astartes can feel the presence of those around them through vibrations, air currents and body temperatures. This enables them to dodge attacks and projectiles by feeling them cut through the air, creating ripples of currents only detectable by them. They can also locate enemies through walls and from different floors by feeling vibrations an enemy makes from moving, such as their footsteps. This enhanced touch also enables battle-brothers of this Chapter to sense changes in heat in their environment. They can even feel the heat generated from the blood spilling from a gunshot wound, to one-half of a degree.

These Astartes are also able to detect electric fields, similar to a shark. When out on a mission, they can often detect a hidden room or bunker by feeling an electrical current coming from a wall. They can also hear the electricity buzzing inside the wall and feel a stop in the current where a mechanism for unlocking a secret room is.

Enhanced Equilibrium
It has also been observed that the sense of balance displayed by lightly armoured Nightscream Reivers, Infiltrators and Scout Marines are near superhuman, giving them perfect equilibrium, coordinated dexterity, reflexes and agility, resulting in high levels of acrobatic and gymnastic ability. Selected for their innate physical abilities, these chosen few display enhanced dexterity and reflexes even before the intense training they receive at the hands of their Chapter's instructors, as they can effortlessly catch objects thrown at them while hearing the sound they make. They can also instinctively react to oncoming blows nearly effortlessly through the use of their other senses, such as avoiding attacks with a sharp weapon at close quarters by hearing the noise of its approach.

Sign Language & Whisper-Speak
Due to their enhanced autoritory senses and whispery, sepulchral voices, the Nightscream developed a unique form of communication that has taken the medium of both complex series of physical sign language forms used in conjunction with whispers, clicks, various pitches and frequencies. Known as 'Whisper-Speak', this unique language is similar to several notable forms of sign language, including 'Thoughtmark' utilised by the mysterious Silent Sisterhood and the battle-sign utilised by the Adeptus Astartes. Despite their stoic and silent demeanour, each battle-brother is in fact, very vocal and highly individualistic, communicating with subtle hand and finger gestures and vocalised low-level frequencies that only one of their kind can understand.

'Lay-Cant' is the symbolic sign language commonly employed by the Astartes of this Chapter. Though small in scale, it is full of delicate gestures of finger and thumb, which can be utilised to convey concepts of great subtlety or intricate nature. This formal variation is utilised when dealing with difficult philosophical and technical abstracts. In the heat of battle, the Nightscream Astartes utilise a variant form known as 'Battle-Cant', which consists of highly efficient and abrupt tactical cants. This detailed form is geared towards ready and precise expression of strategic concepts and actions. 'Battle-Cant' utilises large, sharp motions to enable a battle-brother to convey their thoughts in line of sight and can be seen at extreme ranges.

When it is not viable to utilise these silent hand gestures while conducting infiltration or assassination missions, Nightscream Astartes instead rely on low-level frequency, sub-vocalised commands, which can be relayed over highly-encrypted vox frequencies through the use of a highly sophisticated communications array attached to their backpacks, known as 'Whisper Array', for very long distances. Using whispers, various patterns of breathing (both inhalations and exhalations) clicks of their tongues, popping noises with their mouths and sub-vocal growls, they are able to communicate short, precise directions to one another, so as not to give their position away. In this way, they are able to carry on entire conversations in a private vox-channel, without any outsiders being none the wiser.

Inherent Weaknesses
Though the innate abilities granted to these battle-brothers are considered a boon, there are severe drawbacks to possessing such superhuman abilities. Just as their senses are stronger, they are also more sensitive; their main weakness is their vulnerability to powerful sounds or odors that can temporarily weaken their innate radar sense. This is especially true when battling against the putrid followers of the Plague God Nurgle or the perverse followers of the Pleasure God Slaanesh.

These weaknesses can be used to immobilise an Astartes of this Chapter. Under extreme circumstances a Nightscream Astartes can be easily immobilized, suffer great pain, and/or be left disorientated. Once the disruptive effects wear off, a battle-brother's radar sense is able to return to its normal calibration. Fortunately, the Apothecaries and Techmarines of the Chapter have devised various means to help compensate for these inherent weaknesses by incorporating sensory deprivation - such as in-built acoustic dampeners in their helmets - and battle-plate outfitted with enhanced filtration and life-support systems for noxious environments.

Though uncommon, in unique situations where multiple objects, sounds, temperatures, and smells are in close proximity, a Nightscream battle-brother's radar sense has been known to fail, leaving them to rely on their other senses. It is also rumoured (though unconfirmed) that should these Astartes be in a large body of water, their radar sense is rendered useless. They can lose several senses while in the water and have great difficulty telling which direction sound is coming from. This might explain why younger battle-brothers are often immersed in specialised water-filled deprivation tanks during their scheduled sleep cycles, as they struggle to master their enhanced senses and continuous sensory overload. Due to the nature of their inherent radar sense and biological mechanism in which it works, several Magos Biologus have theorised that these Astartes' echolocation would be rendered all but inert in the void of space or similar vacuum environments. This would explain their reluctance to perform void operations when pressed.

Combat Doctrine
"There are no 'frontlines' or 'flanks'..to us the battlefield is a linear thing. We fight we we are most effective; deep behind enemy lines, our blades drawn, ready to deliver the Emperor's judgment upon the foe."

- Harrow-Brother Rhabyn Annok explaining his Chapter's style of warfare to an Astra Militarum officer.

Thanks to their innate abilities and strong affinity with the darkness, the Nightscream are deceptive and subtle warriors, preferring to attack from ambush and assassinating their chosen targets without being seen. Some battle-brothers enjoy watching their enemies succumb to despair, as their very presence brings about feelings of sadness and the awareness of one's own mortality. Nightscream Astartes seem to possess an almost preternatural skill at stealth, especially while in shadow. With their adeptness at utilising darkness and shadow, and the advent of their Wraith Pattern Power Armour, they can hide even while in plain sight with nothing to hide behind. Only full natural daylight, or the equivalent, can chase away the shadows and reveal them. Skilled at sneak attacks and often able to hide in plain sight, many Nightscream Astartes favour ambushes. They are adept at backstabbing and making sneak attacks on their victims. Very few of the enemy has managed to survive confrontations with these silent killers, but those few that have often described the experience as fighting living darkness, before succumbing to their wounds.

Chapter Colours
The Nightscream primarily wears flat-black coloured power armour with silver trim and some silver highlights. As a Chapter composed of primarily blind Astartes, the do not display the standardised rank and and unit signifiers in accordance to the precepts of the Codex Astartes, often decorating their battle-plate with very little iconography and the esoteric, tribalistic totemic markings commonly found on their recruitment worlds, whose exact meanings are impenetrable to outsiders. But more often than not, the Nightscream have a tendency to go into battle without emblems or markings of any kind; a faceless, anonymous army of killers without distinction or division in its ranks.

Chapter Badge
The Nightscream Chapter's badge is a stylised bat icon, the Umbran Night Bat, a vicious predatory creature known for his ability to kill its prey at night and inhabits the Chapter's recruiting world of Umbra.

By the Nightscream
"Cursed..cursed from the cradle of our birth. Our vision was taken from us, not by chance, but by sheer fate. Forevermore, we have been denied from ever seeing the glory of the Emperor shining brightly...but by His grace, we can still hear it."

- Unknown Nightscream Astartes

"Blindness may be the price I pay for the God-Emperor's sacred touch, but I can 'see' more than you can possibly imagine. No, it is you who are truly blind, ignorant and imperiled as a helpless child in the blackest night with ravening wolves all around."

- Shade Master (Sergeant) Vozirr Sinn, showing his disdain for an arrogant Imperial official.

"Attention people of Dhumon. Your transgressions against the God-Emperor have been deemed 'Diabolic Extremis'. You have been judged for your sins and found wanting. We have come to carry out the Emperor's judgment..and the verdict is guilty. The sentence...death. No clemency or mercy will be granted. Run, hide..it matters not. The time for retribution is at hand. Prepare to face thy doom."

- Final vox-transmission cast worldwide, before the assault on the rebellious world of Dhumon commences, c. M39.

About the Nightscream
Feel free to add your own