Hounds of Kerberos

"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!"

- From the tragedy Julus Kasar, by the ancient Terran dramaturge, Shakespire, ca. M2

The Hounds of Kerberos are an ancient and bellicose Space Marine Chapter whose legendary savagery has earned these notorious Astartes a fell reputation across the width and breadth of the Imperium. Of all the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, none exemplifies the virtues of martial honour and strict self-control more than the Hounds of Kerberos. Just as their ancestors transcended their violet beginnings, they ensured that their descendants would shrug off every setback and betrayal to become paragons of the warrior creed, and ardent supporters of the Emperor's dream to unify the galaxy. But once unleashed against an enemy, the aggressiveness and savagery of these Astartes is often difficult to reign in, for they will not stop until their foes are utterly decimated.

Despite their bloodthirsty ways and merciless reputation, they are known to be some of the most devout and honoured Chapters counted amongst the Adeptus Astartes, though their detractors often point out that the Hounds are no better than a feral pack of murderous butchers. This Chapter has writ a bloody legacy across the annals of Imperial history down the millennia, leaving terrible devastation in the wake of one of their marauding campaigns.

An isolated and often reclusive Chapter, the Hounds of Kerberos are known to continuously operate on the fringes of Imperial space, disappearing from official Imperial records for decades, or even centuries at a time. Extant records indicate that when the Hounds have attempted to intervene on behalf of beleaguered Imperial forces, arriving from the outer dark unheralded (and often unlooked for) to lend their considerable might to a conflict or Crusade, they are often treated as unwelcome allies at best.

Due to the Hounds' reputation for carnage and the inherent dangers of fighting alongside such battle-crazed Astartes, most Imperial military commanders are loathe to accept their assistance, though this has proven to be a dangerous prospect at best. Refusal to accept the Hounds' aid could be misconstrued as an insult to this proud Chapter, and on the very rare occasion when this has occurred, the consequences have often times proved fatal for those commanders foolish enough to do so.

Despite their (sometimes) questionable reputation, the Hounds of Kerberos have proven to be quite tenacious in carrying out their personal crusade to purge the galaxy of the Emperor's foes, though they continue to walk a precarious path between purity and damnation.

Chapter History
The Hounds of Kerberos are a Space Marine Chapter whose name has long been a byword for carnage and devastation. Their dichotomous nature manifests in the form of their savage tactics and brutal efficiency which is counteracted by their iron-bound discipline. Their namesake is derived from the creature of ancient Grecian mythology - the gigantic, three-headed hound of Haides, which guarded the gates of the underworld and prevented the escape of the shades of the dead - an apt appellation, as this Chapter continuously guards the Imperium of Man from the myriad of enemies that threaten Mankind.

Due to the scarcity of information regarding the identity and status of the 2nd Founding Chapters, a huge amount of mystery and legend surrounds many of them. Some have appeared in the annals of the Imperium's history in name only, their deeds and fates unknown to all but the immortal Emperor. Others have a glorious history, yet have not been heard from in centuries. The status of some Chapters as Second Founding is disputed by especially learned historitors and savants, though never in the presence of the subject. Some Chapters that believe themselves Second Founding may not be at all, while others may be of this Founding, but be ignorant of the fact. The ten thousand year history of the Imperium is so fractured, its annals so scattered and incomplete, that it is likely that the full truth of the matter may never be known.

The Hounds of Kerberos are believed to be one such Chapter, founded in the wake of the Age of Darkness, but whose details of their conception are either lost or carefully occluded, however, their dark history has been much more difficult to hide. It is believed that the Hounds of Kerberos were conceived from the chaos and strife of the Horus Heresy, moulded from the very fabric of disorder, bloodshed and hatred that tore the galaxy asunder. The lineage of this mysterious and isolated Chapter remains unknown, however, the fearsome mien and bitter anima of these vengeful and murderous Astartes has garnered the Chapter a fearful reputation as bringers of terror and death.

Despite their infamous reputation, this Chapter fights tirelessly in the service of the Emperor of Mankind, never relenting in battle beneath the gaze of their Chapter Master as they pursue the liberation of Mankind with a fervour of zealots. However, the Chapter's detractors point out that these Astartes display tendencies like those that have been condemned for committing some unspeakable crime - seeking absolution from the God-Emperor for their sins - as they cast themselves into the cauldron of blood and fire again and again, determined to sell their lives or be consumed by hatred for a galaxy in which their kind no longer has a place. Their restless fleet ploughs the cold void from one campaign to the next, resupplying on the move, never pausing, prosecuting their endless war. The Hounds of Kerberos do not garrison, nor do they build, they only destroy and slay, coldly, determinedly and with the inexorably progress of a contagion, as their enemies fall before them.

Origins
The Hounds of Kerberos' origins actually harken back to the bygone era of the Terran Unification Wars, as their lineage hails from the ancient XII Legion of the Legiones Astartes. Circumstantial evidence indicates that there may have been psychological screening used to single out the most inherently aggressive and competitive recruits in an experimental pre-selection program. From the outset, the XII Legion were deemed a highly aggressive force, its warriors hot-blooded and savage. One of its earliest and most ferocious candidates was Baalor Gath, who rose quickly within the ranks of the nascent Legion, and eventually assumed command of his own company as a Praetor. Following several notable victories during the Unification Wars, for unknown reason they were largely held in reserve by the Emperor during the latter years of this conflict and right through the subsequent re-conquest of the Sol System.

The XII Legion trained relentlessly as their number steadily grew in numbers, kept in a constant state of readiness. On the few occasions they were unleashed into battle, their Legionaries performed with almost gleeful savagery, tearing apart whatever enemy they were given to fight without mercy or falter, heedless of the risk and uncaring of the Legion's own losses. It was during this period that the Emperor of Mankind dubbed the XII Legion His "War Hounds" as a tribute to the savage and tenacious way they fought to pacify the narco-sprawls of the Cephic Hives, and how they reminded Him of the white war hounds the Yeshk warriors of the north of Terra once used in battle. In remembrance of this campaign and the Emperor's personal praise, a ferocious red warhound standing rampant became the XII Legion's new badge of war. Praetor Gath took part in many of the Legion's first recorded engagements as a part of the Great Crusade, including the notorious Cerberus Insurrection.

As the early decades of the Great Crusade progressed, and the first of the Primarchs were found, the XII Legion was broken up temporarily into a number of independent sub-commands, each several thousand Space Marines strong. Praetor Gath was granted his own independent command and assigned 1,500 warriors as a part of a detached compliance group assigned to the 16th Expeditionary Fleet under the overall command of Bercilak, Master of the Fourth Order of the illustrious I Legion - the Dark Angels. Here, Gath and his fellow War Hounds served on the frontlines of the forward edge of the Great Crusade as assault troops in glorious campaigns alongside their Dark Angels cousins, pushing the ever-expanding borders of the Imperium outwards. Often if fell to the Gath's War Hounds the honour of providing the killing-strike in war zones where an impasse had been reached, breaking strategic deadlocks in a single furious attack which sent their enemies reeling. They conducted war as any true warrior of the XII Legion did, either of which ended in only one of two ways - victorious slaughter or simple slaughter, either of which left the foe in no condition to resist further. However effective, the War Hounds were to many who fought alongside them, unpredictable, intemperate and dangerous to anything that stood in their path - be they combatant, civilian or otherwise.

The Rangdan Xenocides
By the beginning of the 860s.M30, the nascent Imperium faced one of it's greatest challenges to date, as it was beset upon by a vicious invading species of xenos known as the Rangdan Cerabvores. Invading from both the galactic north and east, the Rangdan inflicted severe losses on the Imperium on a scale that would not be seen until the dark years of the Horus Heresy. Whole expeditionary fleets were sent to their deaths without a single survivor, worlds were razed and laid waste, while dozen of Titan Legions were obliterated and entire Space Marine Legions were said to have been lost. The initial onslaught was only stymied by the personal intervention of the Emperor Himself and at least three legions from the Legio Astartes, over a dozen Legio Titanica legions, several Questor Imperialis houses, Mechanicum Taghmata and hundreds of thousands of troops of the Imperialis Auxilia.

The conflict would eventually culminate in the Third Rangdan Xenocide around 890.M30, with extensive losses sustained by the I Legion in the form of 50,000 Legionaries. These purges left entire human inhabited sectors lifeless to ensure what was hoped to be a final victory. The 16th Expeditionary Fleet was one of several detached Imperial Expeditionary Fleets recalled to take part in the subsequent decades-long series of purges of the Rangdan taint. The conflict resulted in severe losses sustained throughout the various factions of the Imperium's forces, including Praetor Gath's War Hounds, who sustained the loss of nearly half of his warriors. However, these bloody-handed warriors acquitted themselves well with the death of tens of thousands of Slaugth murder-minds.

The Primarch of Wrath
During the ongoing purges of the Rangdan Xenocides, Praetor Gath received news of monumental import. Their long-lost Primarch Angron had been discovered on the backwater world of Nuceria in the Segmentum Ultima. For too long, the XII Legion had been without a Primarch. During the Great Crusade, the primarch’s discovery had been a long time in coming. The War Hounds bore witness to other Legions uniting with their primarchs for the first time and were no strangers to disconsolate jealousy. Speculation was rife, from the muttered worry that their primarch might already be dead, to the hope he would be a warrior and general to rival Horus, Guilliman, Dorn or the Lion. And then, on that foul backwater world, they finally found him. His first and most dubious honour was to be the one primarch to refuse the Emperor's benevolence and to turn his back on the Imperium's claims of conquest. Angron, master of his doomed slave army, cared nothing for a galaxy's worth of dreams and triumphs. He wished only to die with those rebels who'd escaped the gladiator pits with him. This ragged army of his brothers and sisters were holed up in the mountains with carrion birds and snow bears for company, waiting to starve or fall in battle – whichever death came first.

The Legion were told of his refusal - their Primarch had refused the Emperor Himself! The War Hounds didn't hate Angron for his choice. They worshipped him for it. What primarch better understood the bonds of brotherhood than one who turned his back on the Emperor, on the Imperium, on life itself – to die side by side with his kindred? Yet the Emperor denied him the choice. Angron would lead a Legion in the Imperium's name whether he willed it or not. Following his discovery, the entirety of the XII Legion were recalled to the mustering grounds of their fief world of Bodt. Here, the War Hounds met their savage messiah for the first time. The mutilated, bloody, reeking, wrathful demi-god was, in their view, a greater warrior than any had known, an exemplar of a brutal ideal of honour and combat that sang to their souls. Angron became to the XII Legion their first master, displacing for many the loyalty they had once only given to the Emperor, becoming their judge, their general and a conqueror whose banner they would follow into the depths of hell. The XII Legion took on a new name - World Eaters - to honour the Primarch's slain rebel army, the 'Eaters of Cities'. They were now the Eaters of Worlds.

Gath and his War Hounds were deeply enmeshed in the xenocidal campaign against the Rangdan xenos. Therefore, they were unable to heed the Legion recall to the distant thrall world. Praetor Gath was apprised of the sweeping changes Angron swiftly worked upon the XII Legion. The regime of discipline and training the XII Legion previously abided by in the past had always been noted among the harshest of any of the Legions, but this proved to be a mere shadow of what came to pass under Angron's direction and reform. Now, conflict would be the only measure and the only judge, and training beyond its most basic elements would be as real as any war or battle a World Eaters would find themselves in - red blood flowing, live rounds and bared blades, fighting pits and gladiatorial combat. The XII Legion's martial traditions of Old Terra, never strong in the War Hounds who prided themselves in their fury and courage above all else, disappeared altogether and were replaced by Angron's own red code of butchery and savage competition.

The culture within the Legion shifted to ever more violent and bloodthirsty mores and values, which became quickly echoed in the shifting skein of the Legion's own rites and ceremonies. The World Eaters, once known for their brotherhood, became known first and foremost across the nascent Imperium for their savagery. Reports began filtering back of excessive Legion casualties in tactic-less displays of horde warfare, and Imperial Army forces pleading for assistance from other Legions when the World Eaters were the ones to answer their call for Astartes support. Entire planets surrendered rather than face the XII Legion in battle, but not all who surrendered were spared their wrath. The planets upon which the World Eaters fell were not merely crushed - they were destroyed utterly. Those worlds that had the temerity to resist the Emperor's Imperial Truth were left as grave worlds in the World Eaters' stead - macabre, silent monuments of empty cites scattered with millions of whitening bones and fading bloodstains that littered their forlorn lifeless spaces. The World Eaters Legion became a byword for unbridled violence and slaughter on a grand scale, shunned by many of their fellow Legions for their excesses. With this legend came dark tales of atrocity and wanton destruction that froze the blood of even hardened Imperial Commanders and caused concern even at the level of the War Council and the other Primarchs.

Most troubling of all, were reports Gath received that made mention of Angron enacting a barbaric and draconian punishment against his own sons for their perceived failure in not carrying out his orders. Despite the tally of victories garnered by the XII Legion prior to their Primarch's discovery, it was not good enough. Angron had begun to order his warriors to conquer a targeted world within 31 Terran hours - the length of a single Nucerian day - and the time in which it took Angron and his rebel army to score their greatest victory upon his former home world against their hated slave-masters. Despite their best efforts, the World Eaters consistently failed to subjugate worlds within this set time limit. Each time they failed, they were ordered by their gene-sire to undergo the barbaric punishment known as decimation - lives lost in their failure, compounded by Angron's rage. One in ten of the warriors who had survived, who had fought and bled for each other, for him, would yield their throats as punishment. One in ten died to appease their lord's broken mind. Gath read the reports in disbelief. On Quadra Ni, it took more than one Nucerian day to achieve conquest, and by the Red Angel's command, the World Eaters killed themselves. They did it again at Brujo, and Holu, and Trikaton, and Cestus Four. Their blades were soaked in the blood of brothers, their own kin, for no reason than to slake their gene-father's wrath. Spilled, because they had failed.

Still, despite everything he read, and how portentous the news seemed to be, Angron was still his gene-sire. No one but a legionary could fully comprehend a primarch's splendour - to be awed by a being at a genetic level, that the mere sight of him, being in his presence for even a second no matter how far removed, could change everything. Even a single world from one of the Emperor's gene-wrought sons was enough to fundamentally alter the entire course of a life. Even though Gath had never had the privilege of standing before his gene-sire, just seeing his static image in a grainy pict-display was enough to take his breath away. However, as one of the first intakes of recruits into the XII Legion, Gath had stood before the Emperor Himself during the Wars of Unification, and his loyalty to the Master of Mankind remained, first and foremost, to Him - even above his own gene-father. Gath couldn't understand why his brothers, in their desperation to forge bonds with their long-lost primarch, were willing to disregard all the traditions and rites of their former incarnation.

Descent Into Madness
As the Great Crusade weer on there were increasingly those in the Imperial military who whispered that Angron was mad and his Legion had followed with him into madness. These whispers became openly voiced as widespread discontent and demands for censure when stories began to circulate that Angron had ordered his Apochecarion co conduct widespread psycho-surgery after the infamous Ghenna Massacre came to light. This action, undertaken at Angron's instigation, resulted in the entire planetarv population that had rebelled against its installed Imperial Commander being wiped out in a single night of extraordinary bloodshed. The psychic screams of the dying were reported to have been audible by astropaths half a sector distant. Praetor Gath read the reports with horror, as apparently, his brothers had willing subjected themselves to the implantation of crude neural implants known as the ' Butcher's Nails ', primitive copies of the malignant original lodged in the brain of their Primarch. Apparently the Nails boosted a warrior's adrenaline, resulting in greater strength and aggression in battle, but at the cost of all other emotions, save the exhilaration found in killing. The World Eaters garnered a dark reputation for wanton destruction and savagery that eclipsed all other legions.

World Eaters. Gath still felt an intruder to that name. He'd lived as a War Hound in the decades before Angron, before they took the name World Eaters to honour the Primarch's slain rebel army. He still displayed the old Legion scratch kill-markings on his battle-plate, and on his left armorial he bore the rampant war hound, collared by a chain around its throat. War Hounds. That was his Legion. Not these furious, half-lobotomised madmen who abandoned all notions of honour when they lost themselves to berserker rage. Even so, they were still his brothers. He couldn't hate them, but he could blame them. The rot started to creep in when they rediscovered Angron from that worthless world he called home, and yet, the Legion could still have refused the Nails. They chose to emulate their gene-father,, despite all it would clearly cost. They chose to tear open their skulls and let the poison be placed inside. Though Angron had ordered it, was that an excuse? Could the Primarch have forced a hundred thousand warriors to bend his will if they'd refused the mutilation of their minds? They had hoped that by breaking themselves upon the same anvil, they might finally feel unity, a sense of kinship, with their gene-father.

A Galaxy at War
For the remainder of the Great Crusade and the opening years of the 31st Millennium, Praetor Gath and his War Hounds remained on the forward edge, fighting against various xenos threats, heretical empires and ancient horrors of Old Night, pushing the borders of the nascent Imperium, ever outwards. Being so far from the Imperial Throneworld, any news of Gath's Legion and tales of their deeds trickled in with less and less frequency. It was not until 006.M31, nearly over a year, that word first reached them of the Isstvan III Atrocity, where the newly instilled Warmaster Horus and several other Legiones Astartes, including Gath's own Legion, committed the unthinkable - slaughtering their own kindred.

Notable Campaigns

 * Saria Insurrection (378-384.M39) - In 379.M39, contact with several worlds in the Sarias' Landing sub-sector had ceased. Something was blocking communications and all Imperial shipping had stopped without warning. Sending an Administratum investigatory fleet to discover what was happening in the sub-sector, but after a week, had failed to return to report their findings to Imperial authorities. Concerned, small Inquisitorial teams were sent to investigate. When they returned, they brought troubling news. The majority of the sub-sector had fallen into strife and open insurrection, and to make matters worse, several of these worlds were held in the grip of the Forces of Chaos. Unwilling to countenance such audaciousness, the High Lords of Terra dispatched an Imperial Crusade to take back the fallen sub-sector. Both the Hounds of Kerberos and the unforgiving Brazen Lions Chapters were the first to answer the call-to-arms, and alongside several regiments of Astra Militarum and supporting Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii forces, they launched their crusade into the sub-sector immediately. Entire populations and ragtag fleets were led into battle by chanting Traitor Marines, clad in a panoply of colours, drawn from countless warbands. The Brazen Lions and the Hounds of Kerberos found themselves tied up in protracted conflicts and trench wars, caught in a cobweb of a much wider heresy. As the weeks became months and the months became years, more and more of both Chapters arrived to punish, cleanse, and reclaim the rebellious worlds. The Rolls of Honour run black with the ink of millions of enemies slain, but the Brazen Lions and the Hounds of Kerberos suffered casualties beyond their ability to sustain a fighting front. With dozens of Astra Militarum regiments arriving alongside several relief Chapters, the Brazen Lions and the Hounds of Kerberos withdrew from the conflict with their heads held high. Yet the bitterest blow was yet to be struck: it came as the remnants of their fleet mustered above Sarias' Landing itself, when a Traitor armada broke from the Warp, hungry for the chance to wipe the Lions and Hounds from the face of the Imperium. The battle that followed lasted for four days of void war and vicious boarding actions, during which Brazen Lions and Hounds of Kerberos were responsible for the taking and scuttling of nine capital-class vessels. When the Brazen Lions and Hounds of Kerberos at last stood victorious and took stock of their losses, fewer than four hundred Space Marines in total still drew breath.

Chapter Organisation
What few Imperial records exist about the Hounds of Kerberos suggest they are entirely fleet-based. Having no homeworld of their own, the Hounds are known to spread themselves far and wide across the stars. Normally, at least two-thirds of the Chapter's companies are often found engaged in the Imperial Crusades proclaimed by the High Lords of Terra, a proportion unmatched by most Chapters, save for the Black Templars. These companies are the vanguard of the battle against the Ruinous Powers and xenos threats from the outer dark and reclaiming areas of the galaxy long-lost to Imperial rule. Such a role is a dangerous one even for the Adeptus Astartes, and the vehemence in which the Hounds of Kerberos pursue this task is enviable. Once a Crusade has achieved its intended objective, the Chapter returns to the Imperium proper, to their recruitment world of Acherousus, to recruit, train and replenish their strength. Though this could be considered as reserve status, there are still many battles to be fought inside the Imperium. Uprisings against the rightful rule of Imperial authority are sadly all-too common, as well as corsairs plaguing space-lanes and wide-scale invasions by the Forces of Chaos and warlike alien races.

Operating strictly as a fleet-based Chapter would suggest that the Hounds have fundamental differences from most, more conventional, Space Marine Chapters. The attitudes of the Hounds of Kerberos seem to apply to the Chapter's overall organisation. Although anecdotal evidence indicates the Hounds roughly conform to the tactical and squad doctrines of the Codex Astartes, this does not carry over to its command structure and company arrangements. Instead, the Hounds seem to split their Chapter into a number of Battle Companies designed to operate independently.

It is said that the Hounds of Kerberos are known for its harsh enforcement of internal discipline and the hot-blooded temper of the Astartes within the Chapter. Command within the Chapter are gained through a mixture of martial prowess on the battlefield and displays of leadership on the front line, with specialists singled out by aptitude early on. No rank or role within the Chapter is exempt from the expectation that they will fight as hard as the rest, however, nor is the desire to grapple with the foe and cut them down by blade-stroke discouraged if the opportunity were to arise, be they a battleline Astartes, an Apothecary or Artillerist rather than a frontline fighter.

Compared to many of the other Astartes Chapters, order and discipline does not come as naturally to those of this gene-seed as might be expected. Tempers often seethe, slights perceived or real are met with anger, and more often than not, violence will result should a Hounds' sense of honour be impugned. All officers of the Chapter know that they are expected to back up their authority by force if needed, and the punishment of infractors by an officer's own hands is the Chapter's way. To disobey an officer's order in battle is a death sentence to be carried out without delay. Trial by combat is the Chapter's preferred route for settling disagreements within its ranks, and bloodletting by warriors in open discord is an honourable thing in the Chapter's eyes. Here, also could one of higher rank be challenged for the right of command, although such rare contests are always to the death.

Only a few intelligible accounts of the Hounds exist that tell of the Chapter's very disciplined order of deployment and battle, despite the evidence from casual observers that they are a barbarous and savage Chapter in nature. Displaying a preeminent desire to close with the enemy using their tactical deployment and use of shock-assault tactics to shatter their foes in bloody personal combat.

Command Ranks

 * Carnifex Primus (Lord Executioner) - Chapter Master equivalent.
 * Praetor - Captain equivalent.
 * Centurion - Lieutenant equivalent.

Specialist Ranks

 * Warmonger Consul - This specialist rank is taken from the honorific of the ancient Legiones Astartes - a specialist rank reserved for those exclusively chosen to have the honour to make first contact with any enemy force or lead the spear-tip of any assault. This hardened commander is much respected for his willingness to heroically throw himself and his warriors into the toughest resistance, and is entrusted to prosecute shock assaults which crush a foe in a single action, breaking the enemy's lines of supply and leaving their defences in disarray. This title is reserved for the Chapter's First Captain - a warrior without peer or equal, save the Carnifex Primus himself.
 * Armistos Consul - This is another bygone specialist rank utilised exclusively by the Hounds of Kerberos. This rank is granted to those few individuals that are capable of the unending operation of maintaining, categorising, requisitioning and dispensing the vast arsenal of an entire Space Marine Chapter. Beyond this, the Armistos Consul works to improve the weaponry at their disposal, running simulations and field tests of augmented weaponry. The skills required of an Armistos are much sought after by the Chapter's Lord of Forges, particularly in those Legionaries of even temperament who are not apt to charge into the fray but are capable of supporting and supplying their battle-brothers without desire for aggrandisement.
 * High Funerary-Warden - Reclusiarch equivalent.
 * Funerary-Warden - Known formally as Bustuarius, they are equivalent to a Chaplain of more Codex-oriented Chapter. These spiritual warriors are responsible for overseeing the spiritual needs of their fellow Blade-Brothers. They are also tasked with the vitally important duty of keeping an accurate tally of each warrior's kills on the battlefield. As each Blade-Brother is expected to forge their own path to glory and becoming worthy of remembrance in the Chapter's great sagas, those who have the greatest tallies of enemy dead will, forevermore, be recounted by the Chapter's Funerary Wardens during Chapter feasts.
 * Retributors - A specialist rank unique to the Hounds of Kerberos, they are hand-picked by the Chapter's Lord of the Dead. These are usually battle-hardened veterans who adhere strongly to the tenets of loyalty and discipline and often display an abiding faith in the Emperor of Mankind. These individuals are considered Chaplains-in-training and are are accorded the proper respect by the rank-and-file warriors of the Chapter. These disciplinary officers serve to maintain order in the ranks, both during and away from battles, as well as curb any attempts to disregard or circumvent orders. Retributors ensure discipline is maintained at all times. Displaying the power of life and death, a power they are infamously quick to exercise in its extreme, they are known for carrying out summary punishments for any merely human forces who they feel lacks military discipline or resolve.
 * Lord of Oracles - Chief Librarian equivalent.
 * Arbelas - Librarian equivalent.
 * Medicus Primus - Chief Apothecary equivalent.
 * Medicus - Apothecary equivalent.
 * Lord of Forges - Master of the Forge equivalent; senior Techmarine of the Chapter.
 * Forge-Wright - Techmarine equivalent.
 * Dimachaerus - Chapter or Company Champion equivalent, named for ancient Terran Romanii gladiator rank of Dimachaerus (meaning "bearing two blades"), these elite champions are known for their exclusive preference for fighting with a pair of swords.
 * Vexillary - Standard Bearer (or Ancient) equivalent.
 * Essedarius - Equivalent to a pilot.
 * Rudiarius - Veteran warriors of the Chapter, these individuals are retired from active service in the Chapter's battleline formations due to extensive injuries and refuse to be interred within a sarcophagus of a Dreadnought. They are utilised as trainers of new generations of Astartes.

Line Ranks

 * Dominus-Sergeant - Veteran Sergeant equivalent.
 * Secutor-Sergeant - Sergeant equivalent, commands a squad. Usually assigned to the esteemed ranks of the Secutors, the Chapter's elite assault formations, which are held in high regard.
 * Decurion-Sergeant - Junior Sergeant, assistant squad leader.
 * Blade-Brother - Battle-Brother equivalent.
 * Provocator - Scout Marine equivalent, these elite formations of Scout Marines specialise in infiltration deep behind enemy lines and help identify a foe's command structure, taking it out at the right moment in order to sew confusion and cause anarchy within the enemy's ranks.
 * Crupellarii - Neophyte equivalent.
 * Gallus - Aspirant equivalent.

Squad Designations

 * Thraeces Sternguard Veteran Squads - The Chapter's elite cadre of veteran marines.
 * Myrmillo Terminator Squads - The Chapter's cadre of Terminator-armoured elite veterans.
 * Retiarius Battleline Squads - Tactical squad equivalent.
 * Scutarius Breacher Siege Squads - Breacher siege squad and void-borne specialists.
 * Secutors Close Support Squads - The Chapter's elite assault squad formations.
 * Sagittarius Fire Support Squads - The Chapter's formidable heavy weapons formations.
 * Provocatorii Squads - The Chapter's Scout and Vanguard Space Marine squads.

Specialist Units

 * Disciplinary Retributor Squads - Typically operating as independent five-man squads, Retributors are the Chapter's disciplinary officers who oversee the discipline of the rank-and-file of the Chapter, ensuring order is maintained both during and away from the field of battle. They often interact and support attached Astra Militarum units by organising stragglers, re-grouping broken units and carrying out summary punishments against those whom they feel are lacking discipline or resolve. These squads are also charged with providing overwatch of a particular unit or squad that has transgressed, but are considered redeemable, in the eyes of the Emperor. While these disciplinary officer are authorised to help direct a Space Marine squad that has lost their sergeant during a battle, many of their fellow Blade-Brothers often hold them in contempt, seeing them as over-glorified 'nursemaids', but will nevertheless comply with their position of authority.
 * Triarii - The Triarii are made up several squads of each Company of the Chapter's finest shipboard warriors who excel in void warfare and boarding actions. These warriors are honour-bound to protect the Chapter's various vessels from void-borne enemy assaults.

Chapter Gene-Seed
As the inheritors of the lineage of the bloody-handed and savage Primarch Angron, the Hounds of Kerebos also inherited the overwhelming physical need to shed blood and kill. In the past, this was a driving imperative that sent them into a berserk fury of unrestrained psychosis. However, the original founders of the Chapter learned to overcome these berserker tendencies through iron-willed discipline and hypno-indoctrination. The gene-seed of the Hounds suffers an unusual degree of genetic drift, and the Omophagea implant (known as the 'Remembrancer', for it allows an Astartes to gain part of an individual person's or creature's memory by eating its flesh) has disappeared altogether. Adeptus Mechanicus records indicate that the implant abruptly and inexplicably disappeared from samples submitted for purity testing in mid-M34. When the offer was made to return purer samples of gene-seed from which still contained the Omophagea, the Chapter declined the offer, stating in no uncertain terms that it was no longer required.

The general degradation in gene-seed quality is attributed to the use of higher than recommended doses of certain chemicals involved in marine hypnotherapy and indoctrination. This hazardous treatment allows the Hounds of Kerebos marines to control their responses, emotions and autonomic reactions beyond that of other Chapters, in line with their compulsion to enforce iron-willed self-restraint on the battlefield. While this genetic drift has not yet been observed to have materially affected implant quality, there is serious concern that eventually the long term viability of the gene-seed as a whole could be in jeopardy. The Imperium can ill-afford to lose such a savage and bellicose Chapter, especially in the wake of the formation of the Great Rift, but despite this, the Chapter has strenuously resisted pressure to modify its procedures.

Primarch's Curse: Red Fury
The Hounds of Kerberos inherited from their Progenitors a ferocity within their hearts and their blood that grants them great power, but which also threatens to consume all that they are and damn them. All Hounds of Kerberos are watchful for this necessary yet insidious savagery, and it is only with great discipline, humble introspection and often the watchfulness of their Battle-Brothers that they can hope to master themselves.
 * Stage 1 (Unrestrained Rage): The Battle-Brother's discipline begins to slip and falter, allowing brief moments of untamed ferocity to emerge in the heat of battle. Often, the Battle-Brother will not even know that he is succumbing to this savagery, and it requires the presence of his Brothers to warn him of his failure.
 * Stage 2 - (Remorseless): The Battle-Brother does not tolerate any enemy, whether xenos, heretic, or even fellow humans who may have been misled into rebellion against the Imperium's rightful rule. The Battle-Brother grimly executes any opponent he encounters, even if they have surrendered, possess valuable intelligence, or are not front-line combatants.
 * Stage 3 - (Blood Madness): The Hound of Kerberos thirst for the blood of their foes and longs to see it spilled across the ground in great arcs and gouts. They also crave the feeling of hot blood on their skin and splattering across their armour, staining the dark red battle-plate a darker shade still. The Battle-Brother must engage foes in close combat if possible, either making melee attacks against them or shooting point black with pistols so that their blood spills at his feet. When he downs a foe, he must resist the urge to hack or blast the foe's corpse apart. If the Battle-Brother is attacked by a new foe while he is in this state while hacking at another foe, he will turn his attention to his new attacker instead.

Chapter Combat Doctrine
When the Hounds launch a planetary assault, they do in a most unusual matter. Upon reaching a planet's surface, the Hounds burst from drop pods and charge down the assault ramps of their gunships, rapidly establishing security perimeters at their respective landing zones. Recon squads range out and lines of communication are solidified between adjacent units as companies organise and cohere. Once fully assembled on the ground, the order is given to advance. They do not enter combat in silence like those Chapters descended from the lineage of the Gorgon, their minds devoid of any distraction and focused entirely on the cold, clinical violence they are poised to deliver. Nor do they deploy like the sons of Russ or the Chapters of the Great Khagan's get, joining the fray in a blistering charge, laughing as they level bolter and blade. For the Hounds deploy in their own way, since time immemorial.

Since the day of their ancestors' founding, whether the foe before them is xenos, machine or heretic, the Hounds of Kerberos commence hostilities according to their own fashion. Theirs is the only method more terrifying to an enemy than the sight of an Astartes sprinting towards them, light gleaming from their raised weapon, with a bellow tearing from their throat. The Hounds reach the range of their blades walking. No robotic silence or hysterical shouts ring out from their ranks, but rather the calm, even tones of bonded brothers, spoken as though they are strolling to the training pits and not into the teeth of their foes.

Rare are the times when an assaulting Decurion speeds his phalanx to meet the enemy at a trot, and almost never a run. They simply march in lockstep, imbued with an easy, natural aggression, and do not alter their stride as they strike, roll through, cut and crush any foe that dares stand against them, relentless and indomitable as the fall of shadow over the land at nightfall. By this tactic has the Chapter defeated countless enemies before they have even engaged them, such is the fear sown by this inhuman calm. It is only when the enemy breaks, all morale and cohesion shattered as they turn to flee, that the Hounds quicken their pace. In the final pursuit, running down and executing a routed enemy, the Chapter is in every way the Hounds of Kerberos to match their moniker.

Hand-to-hand combat is the Hounds' preferred form of warfare, as they throw themselves into the fray of combat to inflict the most harm and come to grapple with their foe at close quarters. The Hounds have a preponderance of close combat weaponry habitually carried by its rank-and-file. In addition to the use of the ubiquitous combat blades or gladius, Astartes attached to reconnaissance squads and vehicle crews commonly carry chainblades, flay-cutters and mono-serrated bayonets, back-up knives, hatchets and cleavers. In dedicated assault units this profusion of bloody killing tools are added to by a weapon that dates back to the techno-barbarian tribes of Terra, the broad-bladed chainaxe.

This does not mean that the Hounds lack ability and competency in ranged engagements or armoured warfare and supporting artillery attack, on the contrary, but to the Hounds of Kerberos such things are a tactical means to an end. That end being successfully delivering the killing force of the Chapter.

Chapter Recruitment
As a fleet-based chapter, the Hounds draw their recruits from a number of Feral and Feudal Worlds scattered across the Segmentae of the Imperium in order to meet the Chapter's demands. The Hounds' fleets range far and wide across the Imperium, so the chapter is able to select the finest candidates wherever they may be found. Each grand companies' battle barges have the knowledge and resources to recruit and train the next generation of Hounds of Kerberos.

Chapter Beliefs
Though the Hounds of Kerberos have a reputation for ferocity in battle, they are also known for priding themselves on their fury and courage above all else. To the Hounds, life itself is war, a conflict that never ends from cradle to grave and to the Astartes this concept is in its purest form. Failure in battle is not tolerated, surrender is never countenanced and mercy is a quick death delivered to a foe that has fought with bravery. Cowards themselves deserve no more than savage butchery in reward for their fear. This simple but resolutely brutal code of war is the Hounds' article of faith and they extend it to both their own number and their enemy.

Gladiatorial Pits
The gladiatorial pits of the Hounds of Kerberos are one of the ancient traditions taken from their ancestors in the War Hounds - and the World Eaters that followed after them. Once, the XII Legion had been a proud Legion founded upon brotherhood above all else. They taught it in the gladiatorial pits, bonding warriors from different worlds, chaining them together and forcing them to fight as pairs. Brotherhood remains strong at the Chapter's heart, and here is where the test that truly matters. For especially deserving Astartes, the Hounds even opens its pits to those born of other bloodlines. The Hounds duel because in their hearts they know that nothing forges a stronger bond of brotherhood than fighting. There is no need for pageantry, and no reason to hold back. Rank is disregarded, and all that matters is the weapon in their hands, and who strikes first.

When the Hounds fight in the pits, the combatants will first come to an accord as to how many wounds they will inflict upon one other to determine who is the victor. They will usually only fight to first blood, but sometimes bouts will go to second and even third blood. But on rare occasions, they will be fought to Sanguis Extremis - a bout to the death. The Battle-Brothers of this Chapter have an intractable and ambitious nature. Quick to anger, the Hounds are taught to avenge slights to their honour with blood, even amongst their own. But when there is a dispute between brothers, often they are settled in the pits. There is little that passes in the way of brawling or boisterous competition amongst the Hounds of Kerberos in such matters, for all such battles are to the maiming or the death of those involved. In their extreme view, honour demands no less.

The violence each Hound willingly subjects himself to within the pits often results in a warrior sustaining a web of scars from the blows of their fellow warrior's chainaxes or blades. Another notable example, would be the Hounds use of metal prosthetic teeth to replace their own. Astartes from other Chapters often tell tales of how they've never met a single Hound of Kerberos without at least one metal tooth jammed into his gums, and most sport whole sets from their time in the gladiatorial pits.

When losses are incurred during a campaign and entire squads are wiped out, they must be collapsed and folded into one another, and decisions are needed to be made as to who will lead them. More often than not, the question of leadership is decided in the pits. Normally, such means would be forbidden, especially if the Chapter is still on an active war footing, but in light of dire events, a Praetor can relent, understanding all too well that his brothers need the grounded calm that duelling can bring, an outlet to exorcise their frustrations and rage. Warriors would need to forge new bonds and have trust in the prowess of their leaders, and bleeding together in the pits was a better way to accomplish this than most.

Wearing Chains
A personal tradition of the Chapter is one that would chain themselves together in the fighting pits and duel to the cheers of their brothers. They enter without armour, naked but for loincloths to show they fear no wound, and to prove every warrior fights on equal ground. For especially deserving Astartes, the Chapter will even open its pits to those born of other bloodlines. A tradition and custom that all Hounds of Kerberos take to great zeal, binding ones weapons to one's wrists on dense black chains.

Warrior-Marks
Such few honours that the Hounds of Kerberos believe in are warrior-marks of brotherhood and the scars of battle, for these things transcended rank and spoke to the worth of the Space Marine beneath the armour. The sundered chains of one who had fought overwhelming odds and lived, and the bloody handprint over the face or heart bestowed by a battle leader for a warrior whose intrepidity and conspicuous gallantry had transcended that of his brothers, to the Hounds this means more than any mere bauble, title or trinket. Examples of such warrior-marks included:
 * Red Tears - Red "tears" (more likely blood drops) painted beneath the eye lenses on a helm are thought to denote an Astartes' ritual mourning for a fallen bonded battle-brother.
 * Crossed-Chain - A 'crossed-chain' decoration on a vambrace accorded to an individual warrior's status as having overcome their inherent rage and having mastered their baser instincts. It is said that these crossed-chains also serves to remind the recipient of the bonds that bind the Chapter together and the unbreakable strength they gain through unity.

Head Taking
One of the more bloody traditions of the Hounds of Kerberos is the gruesome contests of head-taking between members of individual squad members, various squads, and the Chapter's Companies and Captains. This may just have been an easy way to confirm kills, but it has been surmised by Imperial scholars that the Hounds see the head of a foe to be important. It is unknown if the totals of collected heads were kept for just single battles, wars, or the warrior's career.

Mortuus
Another Chapter tradition is known as a mortuus -- an official report made to the commanding officer of a Chapter vessel, listing those Battle-Brothers who had fallen in battle, much as Apothecaries in the other Chapters traditionally relayed them to their commanding officers. A mortuus is more than simply a casualty list, it is a remembrance -- a roll of honour, a relic for the Chapter to treasure. This often takes the form of names and ranks inked upon scrolls or names engraved in brass plaques, or chiseled into stone. These names are then entered into the ship's Archive of the Fallen.

Deathwatch Service
The Hounds of Kerberos have been committing Battle-Brothers to the Deathwatch for millennia. In most cases however, the Space Marine has stood but a single vigil before returning to his parent Chapter. It is whispered by some that the Chapter only ever allows its brethren to stand the Long Watch if and when it suits them.

Notable Hounds of Kerberos

 * Carnifex Primus Baalor Gath - Founder and first Chapter Master of the Hounds of Kerberos. He was part of the earliest intakes of XII Legion recruits raised on Terra during the Wars of Unification, long before they came to be known as the War Hounds and several decades before the rediscovery of their Primarch Angron, upon the world of Nuceria. Quickly rising through the ranks, Gath became a Praetor over his own company and was re-assigned to the fringes of the galaxy to help expand the borders of the burgeoning Imperium. Eventually, Baalor Gath would go on to renounce his former allegiance to his traitorous Legion when they declared for Warmaster Horus' cause and slaughtered their own Loyalist kin during the Isstvan III Atrocity. Despite being a member of the World Eaters, his allegiance was, above all else, to the Emperor and His Imperium. Thus, Gath decided to align himself with the Loyalist's cause while leading his own Blackshield force known as the "Hounds of Kerberos", which fought the Traitor forces of the Arch-Traitor across the width and breadth of the galaxy during the Age of Darkness. Following the end of the Horus Heresy, they were granted the Emperor's forgiveness and granted carte blanche to continue pursuing the Traitor Legions as a newly formed Chapter of the Second Founding.
 * Carnifex Primus Akon Serale - Current Chapter Master of the Hounds of Kerberos.
 * Lord of Oracles Khale Barun - Current Master of the Librarium and the most formidable battle-psyker within the Chapter.
 * Lord of Forges Cormac Rull - Current Master of the Forge and senior-most Techmarine within the Chapter.
 * High Funerary-Warden Barrac Rex - Current Master of the Faith and senior-most Funerary-Warden within the Chapter.
 * Medicus Primus Rackus Stal - Current Master of the Apothecarion and senior-most Apothecary within the Chapter.
 * Warmonger Consul Karst Serapis - Equerry and First Captain of the Hounds' elite 1st Company.
 * Praetor Onil Sollot - Commander of the 2nd Company and Master of Sieges.
 * Praetor Kanthes Grim - Commander of the 3rd Company and Master of the Watch.
 * Praetor Jorias Sul - Commander of the 4th Company and Master of the Fleet.
 * Praetor Rona Hes - Commander of the 5th Company and Master of the Marches.
 * Praetor Badrok Theem  - Commander of the 6th Company and Master of Rites.
 * Praetor Rigaru Kirr - Commander of the 7th Company.
 * Praetor Skors Quross - Commander of the 8th Company and Master of Blades.
 * Armistos Consul Karsist Bale - Commander of the 9th Company and Master of Sieges.
 * Praetor Grenx Jarr - Commander of the 10th Company and Master of Scouts.

Chapter Fleet

 * Kerberos' Wrath (Warspite-class Battleship) - A relic class battle-barge that serves as the Chapter's flagship and primary mobile, fortress-monastery.
 * Riven Hound (Unknown Class Battleship)
 * Blade of Lhorke (Battle Barge)
 * Varren's Fury (Battle Barge)
 * Banehound (Battle Barge)
 * Indomitable (Battle Barge)
 * Wrath of Kardoc (Battle Barge)
 * Rage of Darr (Strike Cruiser)
 * Ehrlen's Blade (Strike Cruiser)
 * Skraal's Spite (Strike Cruiser)
 * The Storm Walker (Strike Cruiser)
 * The Hellesek (Strike Cruiser)
 * Shade of Neras (Strike Cruiser)
 * Wrath of Vulkov (Strike Cruiser)

Chapter Colours
The Hounds of Kerberos wear dark blue coloured power armour with black on the shoulder plates, gauntlets, greaves, and parts of the backpack. The Astartes of this Chapter often modify their armour by adding large spikes on the shoulder plates to not only evoke fear but also to turn the armour's surface into a weapon in its own right. Crossed-chain iconography stenciled upon their armour's surface denotes Veteran status.

Chapter Badge
The Chapter badge of the Hounds of Kerberos is a large light grey three-headed hound, rampant, centred on a field of black. This symbol of Kerberos is from Greek mythology of the hound often called the "hound of Hades", a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving.

By the Hounds of Kerberos
"By the way of the warrior is meant death. The way of the warrior is death. This means choosing death whenever there is a choice between life and death. It means nothing more than this."

- Unknown Rudiarius (Training Sergeant) to newly inducted Crupellarii (Aspirant) "Whatever you are -- strong or weak, faithful or faithless -- all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside."

- Inspirational speech by a Hounds of Kerberos Blade-Brother to an allied Astra Militarum regiment.

"We do what must be done!"

- A Decurion-Sergeant's angry retort to an Astra Militarum officer, who dares question the motivation of the Hounds of Kerberos when their hand is forced to eradicate an entire city that had fallen to Chaos.

"Fear is proof of a degenerate mind."

- Ancient Acheroususian saying.

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