Knights of Sol

The Knights of Sol are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter from the 19th Founding, descended from the Primarch Rogal Dorn and successor to the Black Templar Chapter, a proud heritage they strive to uphold with honor and courage, the Chapter constantly struggles against the forces of Traitor Legions and Chaos Daemons, and zealously defend their homeworld of Valium from the foul taint of Chaos.

They are known for their proud Knightly culture and the great importance they give to Honor, Brotherhood and Chivalry, as well as their disregard for combat vehicles and their preference for meele combat. Their pride works against them in many cases, specially when they refuse to hide their Chapter’s Heraldry with camouflage.

Homeworld
The Chapter is based on the world of Valium, a Feudal World with blooming hills and valleys, fertile fields and lush forests, their ample and blue oceans separating the four continents where a numerous population thrives, enjoying the protection of the Space Marines, or as they know them, the “The Golden Angels”

Many creatures thrive in the lands of Valium, from docile livestock and forest dwellers to dangerous predators and awe-inspiring creatures worthy of Ancient Terra’s Mythologies, one such creature is the Drywern, giant reptiles with great similarities to the mythological Dragons, whose bones and hides are known to be extremely resilient, as well as the Geroniak, Gryphon-like creatures, both beasts are greatly revered in the planet, featuring in the Heraldry of countless Noble Houses, successfully hunting one of these creatures is a source of great prestige, many hunters having fallen in the pursuit of this honor.

Culture
The Kingdoms of Valium are spread across the four continents, known as Qaldor, Varadon, Astur and Novaric, each continent housing a great number if different Kingdoms and Noble Houses, many with a sharply different cultures and organizations.

Yet they all share a common culture of Chivalry, Honor and Knighthood, strong Brotherhoods and Knight Orders found all across the four continents of the planet, with each Knight striving to achieve heroic and pious acts to increase their prestige and fame across the Kingdoms, frequent tournaments and duels being held by the different Orders in order to hone their skills in battle.

The Knights of Sol draw heavily from these ancient traditions, something that can be reflected heavily on their practices, from their recruitment of new aspirants to their ranks and responsabilities, the Astartes constantly strive to do heroic deeds in battle, and often tournaments are held in their Fortress to hone their combat skills, feasting and even alcoholic bevreages are known to be well appreciated in the Chapter’s halls.

Fortress-Monastery
Beyond the Aldazir Mountain Range lies the Chapter’s Fortress-Monastery of Valor, built in the valley of the same name, a massive fortress designed to withstand the most brutal of sieges, two sets of walls circle the center of the Fortress, lined up with a wide array of Bolter Turrets and cannons to bolster the defense of the thick walls.

Inside these walls lies the main Citadel of the Fortress-Monastery, the Chapter’s Banners fly high as the Chapter Serfs and Servitors, dressed in the white and gold of the Knights of Sol, tend to the needs of the fortress, maintaining and ensuring its continual functionality.

Two Courtyards are assigned as training rooms, one for the Aspirants of the Chapter and one for the full Battle-Brothers of the Chapter, and the walls are often used for Combat Drills among the Astartes, the Throne Room lies on the very center of the Citadel, the most defended and hallowed point of the Fortress, where the Relics of the Chapter are exposed, and where the Lord Commander reunites with the Knight-Captains to discuss the direction and strategy of the Chapter.

Organization and Combat Doctrine
While the Chapter is mostly Codex-Compliant, there are some considerable variations to the rank structure and ranking names of the Chapter, as well as the training of the Neophytes, these variations are drawn from both the traditions of their parent Chapters and the knightly culture of their own Homeworld.

-Grandmaster: The Chapter Master of the Knights of Sol is known as the Grandmaster, much like the chivalric orders of the Kingdoms of Valium, chosen from among the most experienced warriors and tacticians of the 1st Company, they ensure the Chapter’s resources are spent wisely.''' '''

-Knight-Captain: The equivalent to a normal Captain, the most experienced warriors of the chapter are given command of a full Company, known as an Order among the ranks of the Order.''' '''

-Knight: a full Battle-Brother, the rank and file warriors of the Chapter, these warriors are expected to take one or more squires under their tutelage to teach and initiate them in the ways of the Chapter, these Knights are as well divided into three different kinds: Knights, which fulfill the role of Tactical Marines, Seraphs, who act as Assault Marines, and Lancers, who take the role of Devastator Marines.''' '''

-Squires: All Aspirant who manage to pass the Trials Of Vanarth are initiated into the rank of Squire, where they are taken under the wing of a full Knight to continue their training and become a full fledged Astartes, these Squires often fulfill duties often expected from Chapter Serfs, and accompany their Knights into battle, where they act as either Scouts or support units.

The following Specialist Ranks are different as well:

Paladin: The Chaplains of the Chapter, who ensure the faith and loyalty of his Battle-Brothers.

Smith: The Techmarines of the Chapter, they mantain the little vehicles the Chapter posses, and their number is low compared to other Chapters.

Iron Knight: The Forgemaster of the Armory, the head of the Smiths.

The Doctrine of the Chapter aims for a mostly balanced approach that tilts towards melee combat, where the Lancers pound the enemy from afar with their heavy weapons, the Knights flank them and the Angels rain upon them to break their ranks and slay as many enemies as possible.

Each Knight is given both a Chainsword and a ranged weapon befitting of their specialization, so a Tactical Marine can both deal with targets from afar and cut them down once they are close enough to engage in close combat.

The Chapter is known for their heavy reliance on Infantry and their disregard for vehicles, they keep a fairly low stock of them, with the exception of Dreadnoughts, known as The Reborn among the Chapter’s ranks.

To suit their Doctrine, the Company’s Organization is switched to hold 4 Tactical Squads, 3 Assault Squads and 3 Devastator Squads, and having inherited the Black Templar’s mistrust of Psykers, they have no Librarians among their ranks.

Chapter Traditions
The Knighting: Upon completing their training, Squires are taken to the Grand Hall of their Fortress-Monastery, where a grand feast and celebration is given to the Squires who have proven themselves worthy of joining the chapter, here they shed their old weapons and are knighted by the Knight they trained upon, and handed a Chainsword, a ranged weapon, and a ceremonial sword they will carry through the rest of their life in the Chapter.

The High Paladin then leads the Squires and the present Knights in a religious ceremony, where each Squire is anointed by sacred oils and given a new name by the High Paladin, the Squires saying their new oaths to the Chapter as they are fitted with their new Power Armor, a Squire enters the Hall and a Knight leaves, ready to immediately fight their eternal war against the enemies of the Imperium.

Burial: all Knights will fight with great zealously to retrieve the bodies of their fallen comrades, who are taken back to Valium and given a mournful ceremony by their Battle-Brothers, the Knight is buried with his sword and his weapons inside a decorated sepulchre as the High Paladin prays for their safe arrival to the God-Emperor's side after a life of combat.

Tournaments: It is rather common in the different Companies for all their Knights to engage in tournaments to hone their skill and prove their worth, after days of heavy fighting and competition, the Astartes that emerges as the victor is granted the title of Company Champion, these Champions will be fitted with Artificer Armor and be granted the ancient power sword of their Company until he is defeated in another Tournament or falls in battle.

Chapter-wide Tournaments are common as well, with one among a thousand proving his might and being ascended to become the Solar Knight, the champion of the whole Chapter, it is common for these brave warriors to become Chapter Master due to their great deeds.

Gene-Seed
Drawn from the gene-seed of the Imperial Fists and the Black Templars, the Knights of Sol lack the Sus-An Membrane and the Betcher’s Gland just like their progenitors, upon their inception the Chapter’s Apothecaries attempted to fix these deficiencies in the Gene-Seed, however, the attempts went wrong, and the Omophagea and Neuroglottis Zygotes were affected greatly by the modifications, these Zygotes no longer functional with the Knight of Sol’s Gene-seed, no further attempts to modify the Gene-Seed have been done ever since this grave mistake.

The Grand Tournament
Periodically the “Golden Angels” leave the Valor Valley and venture into the Kingdoms of Valium, where they tell tales of glory and faith to the locals and hold a Grand Tournament in each of the Four Continents of Valium, attracting Knights and Warriors from all across the realms to participate in such glorious events, where grand competitions of Jousting, Melee Combat, Will, Feasting and other competitions are carried out for a full month.

At the end of the tournament the heads of the Tournament will take the best competitors and take them to the Fortress-Monastery, where they will hold a second competition, this time to the death, among the competitors, where the winning warriors will be tested for genetic compatibility by the Apothecary, those who are proven compatible will become Aspirants, while those who aren’t are either euthanized or adopted as Chapter Serfs.

The Five Trials Of Vanarth
Named after the first Grandmaster of the Chapter, these Trials were of his design and are made to test the will, strength and character of the Aspirant in order to see if they are worthy of joining the Chapter, they are given their genetic modifications and zygotes as they progress through these trials, and attend to various sessions of indoctrination and combat training.

 

Trial of Vindication: To test their soul and strength of will, the Aspirants are released into the Mountain Range of Aldazir and the thick forest surrounding it, where they must survive with very scarce resources and no contact for a large amount of time, closely watched by the Chaplains, they are given various temptations and offers to reject the Emperor in exchange of luxuries and supplies.

 

Trial of Loyalty: To test their loyalty to the Chapter and the Imperium, the Aspirants will be kidnapped and confined in the Fortress’ dungeons, where they will be tortured and beaten, as well as interrogated to try and coerce out the location of the Fortress Monastery and information of the Chapter, those who resist pass on to the next Trial.

 

Trial of Endurance: After certain point in their training, the Aspirants must engage in a duel against an unarmed and unarmored Astartes, their performance must be exemplar for them to pass on to the next trial, and those who fail normally die at the hands of their opponent.

 

Trial of Brotherhood: The Aspirants are organized into several combat groups and taken into a series of war games in the walls of the Fortress-Monastery, these wargames often involve live fire, and it is used to root out those Aspirants too slow for combat or those unwilling to work and cooperate with his soon to be Battle-Brothers.

 

Trial of Blood: The final trial in order to join the Chapter as a Squire, the remaining Aspirants are taken alone into different parts of the planet where Drywerns and Geroniaks dwell, with the task of hunting down and slaying one of the mighty beasts with the provided weapons, many perish in the attempt, but those who triumph are given a relic, either a weapon or an amulet, with the bones and hide of the slain creature and welcomed fully into the Chapter.

Once the Trials have been completed the Aspirants will ascend to become Squires, and will be taken under the tutelage of a Knight, or in certain cases for promising aspirants, a Knight-Captain, they are expected to do things normally reserved to Chapter Serfs, like maintaining their Knight’s weapons and polishing their armor, while also assisting them in battle as a support unit or Scout.

Chapter Relationships
Feel free to add your own

Black Templars: Their revered father chapter, the Knights hold the Black Templars in high regard, and they will be one of the first to answer a call of help from their parent Chapter, it is not uncommon to find a Squad or a whole Company of Knights of Sol fighting alongsides a Black Templar Crusader Fleet.

Imperial Fists: While the Knights revere their ancestors, they have never been very close to the original sons of Dorn, any Knight will gladly answer a call of help from the Fists, and even engage in the Last Wall protocol if needed, yet they have done away with most of their traditions.

Adeptus Mechanicus: Due to their high reverence of the God-Emperor, they have a less than satisfactory opinion about the Mechanicus, with grave consequences for their Chapter, for very few of their numbers are taken to Mars to become Iron Knights, and the number of vehicles they can field is quite low indeed.

Ecclesiarchy and Sisters Of Battle: Firm believers in the divinity of the almighty Emperor, the Knights of Sol are great allies of the Ecclesiarchy and the Adepta Soroitas, offering support to the holy men and women of these organizations.

Chapter Enemies
Feel free to add your own

Word Bearers Traitor Legion: The greatest enemy of the Knights of Sol, the Word Bearers and their wretched cults were the first enemies the Knights faced after their founding, and they often find themselves facing the horrid warriors of the Dark Gods, many Knights have become Martyrs after facing their hated enemy, and the Astartes are eager to avenge them.

Apostate Knights: One of the Chapter's greatest shames, the Knights of Sol will go to war in any campaign where the hated traitor warband participates, specially the men of the 8th Company, the "Order Of Redemption", who will hunt down their corrupted former captain and traitorous brothers with hateful zeal.

The Founding
 

The Knights of Sol were created in the 19th Founding, using the gene-seed lended by their progenitors, the Black Templars, they were created with the specific purpose of standing guard in the Alvic Sector, dangerously under guarded and with many suspected chaos cults in its worlds, the lack of any nearby Space Marines Chapter and the peril of rebellion made the Alvic Sector a recipe for disaster.

 

Yet the people of the feudal world of Valium remained pure and untouched by Chaos, their primitive feudal society maintaining a zealous faith in the God-Emperor of Mankind, and as a reward this planet was, unknowingly to them, marked as the homeworld of the soon to be founded Chapter.

 

When the 19th Founding came, Marshal Vanarth of the Black Templars was chosen by his Chapter to be the Chapter Master and founder of the new Knights of Sol Chapter, retiring from leading his Crusading Fleet to take on the honor of shaping a whole new chapter of Astartes.

 

Vanarth arrived to the Valor Valley during the time of the Founding, now bearing the colors of the Knights of Sol, and gazed upon the great Fortress-Monastery being built by countless servitors and those who would become their Chapter Serfs, as well as the  Aspirants reunited in front of him, awaiting for his training, many would not survive the test, others would remain as Serfs, unfit to be Astartes… but the rest would grow to become the first members of the new Chapter.

 

Upon the proto-Fortress Vanarth began the training of the Aspirants according to the traditions of the Black Templars while studying the culture of Valium, his interest in the culture and traditions of the world increasing as did the strength of the Aspirants, and slowly he began changing their training, fitting the ways of the world he had fallen in love with.

 

As the decades passed, Vanarth designed his Five Trials to test his Aspirants, he began deviating from the Codex Astartes and changing the composition and ranks of the different Companies that would soon be filled with proud Astartes, for he believed that a stronger brotherhood and fighting spirit would be formed if the traditions of Valium were held high

 

Upon the 70th year since their founding, the Knights of Sol stood at full strength, 1,000 Astartes standing before their Chapter Master, the brave Knights who had passed the Five Trials ready to start their crusade upon the foes of the God-Emperor.

 

The Barcinian Insurrection
 

The Barcinian Sub-Sector, close to the Chapter’s Homeworld, had risen in revolt and declared its independence from the imperium a year before the Knights of Sol grew to full strength, led by the popular Planetary Governor Galeric Vonrak, the seed of Heresy was strong among the revolters, having cast the worship of the Emperor aside.

 

The Insurrection, as it had become known, had attracted various Imperial Guard Regiments to its traitorous cause, hordes of rebels protecting the Sub-Sector and preaching heretical ideas, surrounding systems and even whole neighboring Sub-Sectors had fallen to the preaching of Governor Galeric already, no signs of stopping shown as it threatened to engulf the whole Sector.

 

A crusade was gathering to defend the Sector and bring it back into the Emperor’s Light, the local Battlefleet and several Imperial Guard Regiments, as well as forces from several Chapters, had gathered in this crusade and in it, Vanarth saw a chance for his Chapter to prove itself, and led the entire forces of the Chapter and its 1.000 Astartes into the fight.

 

The Civilized World of Beric was the first to fall, the men of the 1st and 2nd Company raining down upon the main heretical bastions with a barrage of Launch Pods, legions of corrupted PDF Forces awaited the Astartes upon their arrival, for the rebels intended to defeat the invasion force in one swift battle upon their landing zone.

 

However, the rebels proved to be ill-equipped, and the proud Knights found them wanting, the Heretics fell  at the Space Marine’s onslaught, their outdated vehicles were destroyed from afar by the Lancers, while the Knights defended their position from the hordes of rebels, pushing them back and forcing them to retreat.

 

The retreat soon turned into a full rout as the Seraphs landed on the middle of their armies, chainswords rattling and maiming the terrified rebels as the retreat turned into a full rout, what had been expected to be a decisive victory for the rebels turning into a crushing defeat.

The remaining rebels retreated into the planetary capital and starports, and Vanarth himself led the charge from the front, his power sword Daemonslayer being stained with the blood of the traitors as the city and its defenders fell to the combined might of the two Companies, and with the Capital seized, it was but a matter of time for the campaign to become a victory.

 

With Beric under heel, the Knights had fulfilled their first victory in a baptism of blood and fire, and although the first Dreadnoughts came into service, it was seen as a worthy sacrifice.

 

Barcin Prime
 

As more planets in the Sub-Sector were retrieved for the Emperor’s Light by the might of the Crusade, a terrible truth was uncovered by the Knights of Sol, upon the planet of Aradin Secundus, Force Commander Lazarus of the 5th Company found the renegades engaging in full, public depraved worship of the Chaos Gods, after the defeat of the rebels, Lazarus was kick to report the discovery to the Chapter Master

 

Vanarth’s heart was ridden with disgust and great anger when he discovered the truth, fighting with the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Companies upon a large battle upon a nearby planet, he discussed with his allies, and demanded an immediate strike against Barcin Prime, seat of the rebellion, something the heads of the Crusade rejected, for it would mean to abandon the rest of the planets in the Sub-Sector, as well as abandoning the current battle

 

Enraged and with his vision clouded by his great hate for Chaos, Vanarth left the battle, taking his Strike Cruisers away from the void battle and retiring his companies from the planetary battle below, and to the great detriment of his allies, he abandoned them to travel to Barcin Prime, taking reinforcements from Lazarus along the way.

 

Assaulting the seat of the rebellion proved to be a fatal mistake, as soon as they arrived they encountered resistance much graver than had been expected at first, many Space Marines died before they could make landfall upon the Main Hive of the planet, and many more died upon finding even stronger defenses upon the planet’s surface.

 

Vanarth led his surviving men into a rage-filled push against the Governor’s Palace, Chainsword mutilated renegades and bolters tore apart Heretics as they fought on, the heavy resistance drawing more and more losses for the Chapter, yet they fought on, until they reached the gardens of the Governor himself.

 

And upon arriving, they were recieved by a blurry of Bolter fire, to the Knight’s horror, the Chaos Space Marines of the Word Bearers traitor legion had been called upon by the heretical Governor, and they had answered to bring the Sector into the unholy embrace of their Dark Gods.

 

As his Knights fell to the traitor fire, Vanarth realized the depth of his mistake, and a great regret befell upon his heart as he realized the great dishonor he had brought upon his Chapter, he had abandoned his allies in time of need, broke his Chapter’s oath to the Crusade, and brought the dead of many of his own men in his reckless charge against Barcin Prime.

 

Vanarth charged upon the Chaos Marines with suicidal abandon, his Knights joining him as they engaged in bloody close-quarters struggle with the Traitors, before Captain Leonid grasped him, convincing his Chapter Master to retreat, regroup their forces and clean their Chapter’s disgrace.

 

With great pain Vanarth was forced to retreat, the three Companies and the reinforcements he had led had suffered horrid casualties, with the 3rd being at only 40% operation strength and the 1st being on 60%, yet tragedy struck once more as the Strike Cruiser of the 6th Company was struck down from the skies, the Company under Captain Andrei being stranded on the planet.

 

Andrei’s Last Stand
 

Vanarth returned to the Crusade in shame, the battle had been lost thanks to his short vision, his brothers from other Chapters shunned him, and there were cries for the Inquisition to judge the Chapter as Renegades for their crime, the Crusade had been set back heavily thanks to the Chapter’s abandonment, and now the threat of the rebels had increased.

 

They were, by all accounts, a dishonorable and disgraced Chapter, and the morale of the Knights had gone to the ground, kneeling before the heads of the Crusade, Vanarth gave an oath: never again would the Knights of Sol abandon an ally, and never again would they faulter in their oaths, they would fix their mistake and earn their redemption with blood.

 

As the crusade retreated and reorganized, Vanarth led his warriors to assist and reinforce the companies spread around fighting in the Sector, helping them win their battles and making the heretics retreat as he slowly gathered the whole Chapter once more, preparing for a full assault on Barcin Prime once more.

 

On Barcin Prime, the stranded 6th Company controlled a large cathedral near to the place where their Strike Cruiser had landed, the company led by Captain Andrei had reinforced the Cathedral as best as they could, but most importantly, they had gathered the bodies of their battle-brothers who had been killed.

 

Their gene-seed was at stake, and the Word Bearers, alongsides their heretical allies, wanted to claim their gene-seed for their own, something that would have spelt doom for the Chapter, They were only 100 Marines and the few Guardsmen remaining loyal against a whole sea of heretics and their traitor brothers.

 

Turning to look upon his brothers, Andrei raised his Thunder Hammer and rallied his men with the words “We shall be the Martyrs of the Chapter, let us go down in glory!” and the battle began, hordes of cultists and their Traitor Master, as well as Renegade Guardsmen and corrupted PDF, charged upon the Cathedral’s defenses.

 

For whole months did the 6th Company stood, fighting back the assaults from the Word Bearers as they defended their brother’s gene-seed, but they were falling, one by one the Knights began dying, their ammunition ran out and their bolters jammed, yet their fought on with Chainswords and knives.

 

As the 6th Company was besieged, Vanarth’s fleet finally arrived once more upon the Barcin System, and they came prepared, the rebel fleets were spread out, hunting down the weakened Crusade, leaving their home system open for attack, and the Space Marines were keen on vengeance.

 

The whole Chapter landed upon the capital Hive of the wretched heretic world, Vanarth and the 1st company landing upon the besieging forces in front of the Cathedral, the much needed reinforcements breaking the siege and finally saving the 6th company, Vanarth came inside the cathedral to find the bodies of those he had lost in the first assault, was well as the bodies of almost all of the 6th company, most were dead, a few were too wounded to recover, and only five marines remained fighting, as well as their captain Andrei, his thunder hammer broken, his left arm cut off and countless wounds on his body.

 

Upon gazing on the reinforcements and the apothecaries rushing to retrieve the bodies of their brothers and their gene-seed, Andrei smiled in victory and succumbed to his wounds, his glorious last stand a great tale for generations of Knights to come.

Vanarth’s Redemption
 

After retrieving the gene-seed safely, Vanarth led his entire chapter into an assault against the Governor’s palace, his sword crackling with energy as he spilled the blood of Traitors and Heretics while advancing in the front of his army, keen on cleaning his Chapter’s name.

 

The survivors of the 6th had told him a terrible revelation, for the Word Bearers were summoning Daemons into the plane, wishing to spark a full Daemonic invasion of the Sector with the Daemon Prince Rik’tal as their head, the ritual was underway already, and the Prince was already materializing into the Materium as they pushed.

 

The Chapter fought as one, pushing to save the Sector from certain doom and to clean their name in the eyes of the God-Emperor, no sacrifice would be too small for victory, even as they received heavy casualties from the traitor’s defenses.

 

Vanarth himself led the final charge against the Palace, cutting down Word Bearers alongsides the 1st company as they charged towards the Khornate Daemon Prince… Vanarth managed to cut down the corrupt Planetary Governor as he reached the heart of the palace, decapitating the snake of the rebellion before setting his sight upon the Daemonic Prince

 

For a moment, Vanarth’s heart was filled with temptations, he was shown a glorious future for his Chapter as servants of the Dark Gods, they would dominate the whole sector and bring it into the Warp for the glory of Chaos… but Vanarth charged, screaming defiantly as he began fighting the Daemon Prince.

 

The 1st Company was decimated during the fight, the might of the Prince too much for them to bear, and Vanarth was succumbing to his grave wounds, yet they did not took one step back, for redemption was at hand

 

With his final ounces of strength, Vanarth pierced the Prince’s heart with his sword just as his stomach was pierced and sliced open by the Daemon’s claws, Rik’Tal being banished back to the accursed Warp, yet at a great price, for Vanarth was dead, his body ravaged by the Daemon Prince, and the whole Chapter had been gravely damaged.

 

Without their leader, the Word Bearers retreated and the rebels began infighting, the Crusade returning at full strength to crush the dispersed and weakened rebellion, when the Black Templar crusader fleet accompanying the Crusade reached Barsin Prime, they found the world fully under Knights of Sol command, with Captain Lazarus of the 5th having been elected as Chapter Master.

only 457 Astartes remained, the 6th Company had more dreadnoughts than Astartes, the 1st Company was in shambles and most companies had suffered severe losses, but their redemption was complete, and the Chapter’s honor had been restored, their name clean from disgrace.

Celebrated, the Chapter received the Battle Barge “Vanarth’s Redemption” as a reward, as well as replacements for the Strike Cruisers that had been lost, and Chapter Master Leonid led the Knights back to Valium, to begin the arduous task of rebuilding the Chapter…