Dusk Born

The Dusk Born are a renegade chapter of Adeptus Astartes, who abandoned their duty for a power and pride only offered by the Dark Gods. They were once the Dusk Crusaders, proud servants of the Emperor who hailed from the lineage of the dutiful Rogal Dorn. Now they serve the Ruinous Powers, fully devoted to spreading their heretical faith throughout the area surrounding the Maelstrom.

History
Originally known as the Dusk Crusaders, the chapter that would become the Dusk Born were a proud and honored chapter, even gifted with a gene-sire the century before. This status would add to the shock of their betrayal, as their pride and lust for strength and power guiding them into the hands of the Dark Gods.

Fall From Grace
The Dusk Crusaders were once masters at the art of the siege, proudly displaying the inherited skill of their progenitors, the Imperial Fists. But after a disaterous campaign against the Night Lords traitor legion, the Dusk Crusaders displayed an unquenchable anger, becoming more prone to outbursts and more introvertive. They also displayed a more brutal style of combat, massacring their foes even after they had been broken. When confronted, they refused to acknowledge the darkness surrounding them, giving off an arrogant and prideful demeanor.

This all came to a head when they intervened in an Ork assault on a now-dead world, where, after slaughtering the Orks in a brutal close-quarters war, they massacred the civilian population. This was unforgivable in the eyes of the Imperium, and the Inquisition was dispatched to deal with the chapter.

Betrayal
Knowing the agents of the Emperor would come for them, the chapter gathered in their home system to fight their new foe. What they were unprepared for was the inclusion of the Imperial Fists, who had heard of their son's treachery and departed with the Inquisition to stamp out the traitors. Despite putting up a strong defense, the Dusk Crusaders lost their defenses one-by-one, until, as dusk came over their Fortress Monastery, the Inquisition fleets gathered to burn the renegade chapter's home.

'''The Dusk Crusaders knew they were defeated, and the last of the renegades evacuated the Monastery into the remains of the fleet and left the system, though they lost even more as they retreated. They fled to the Maelstrom, and were forgotten.'''

Return
'''After 30 decades of absence, the Dusk Crusaders were forgotten by all except those who were present for their fall, and they were struck from all records, their glories forgotten. This would change as they struck out into Materium once more, now calling themselves the Dusk Born in remembrance of their old title and the dusk which heralded their fall. '''

'''They first attacked the Hive World of Holghast Solar, and broadcast to the rest of the system, describing the hell the citizens of the hives were experiencing at that moment, and promising they would receive the same fate. They made good on that promise, and soon the entire system was ablaze and overcome by a madness only known to the servants of Chaos. By the time the Astra Militarum arrived, the system was corrupted, and they not only faced the terror strategies of the corrupted Dusk Born, but an overwhelming and fanatical army of cultists. The overwhelming bloodshed and violence that followed was used as an offering to the Dark Gods, and the leader of the Dusk Born, the Chaos Lord Kavros the Raider was rewarded with Princehood.'''

Homeworld
'''The former homeworld of the Dusk Born, the feral world of Nominus, was burned by the Inquisition in the fall of the Dusk Crusaders and the remaining citizens, innocent of the crimes committed by the Chapter who inhabited the same world, were burned alive while the renegades watched as they fled. '''

'''Now, the Dusk Born maintain a fleet in the warp storm known as the Maelstrom, scavenging whatever ships they can find to grow their armada. The flagship of this fleet is the fearsome battle barge known now as the Axe of Corruption, which holds the command elements of the chapter, as well as those considered by the current Chaos Lord the most elite of the Dusk Born. In it’s vile halls, corrupted chaplains preach the glory of the Ruinous Powers, while devious sorcerers conduct vile rituals and the cruel Warpsmiths maintain the armory of corrupted and horrifying weaponry.'''

Gene-seed and Demeanor
'''The Dusk Born all possess a version of the Imperial Fist’s gene-seed, one which has been mutated and corrupted beyond reason. The “gifts” granted to them by the Dark Gods only amplify these mutations, giving the Dusk Borns wings made of flesh and claws created with bone and iron, which some use as tools and weapons on their own. The wings are even seen as a representation of rank, as the oldest and most corrupted of them have the largest wings. The mutations don’t end there, as their voices have become daemonic, similar to the Bloodletters of Khorne.'''

'''Before renouncing their ties to the Imperium, the Dusk Crusaders were prideful and zealous, and utterly brutal in combat. Now, they are vile and violent warriors, utterly devoted to pleasing the Dark Gods, for their faith and for their own selfish ambitions. They relish every chance to kill the servanrs of the Corpse God, every kill from citizen to Astartes bringing satisfaction. They love nothing more than to pillage and spread the corruption of Chaos.'''

Recruitment
'''Without the resources once available to them as servants of the Imperium, the Dusk Born pillage worlds for resources and manpower, using those they capture as slaves or recruits, brutally implanting their gene-seed in those that seem promising, and many recruits die in the process. Those that do are now one in the most vile group of beings in the galaxy, another Heretic Astartes ready to serve in the Eternal War.'''

Organization
'''The Dusk Born's organisation is abnormally orderly, representing something similar to the chapter they once were, except now consisting of the corrupted forces of Chaos. The warband consists of a varying number of "Raid parties" each led by an aspiring champion who has earned the Chaos Lord's favor. Within each raid party is a number of specialized squads who have devoted themselves to one of the Ruinous Powers, while the majority of the party is standard chaos space marine squads, equipped with a number of stolen wargear. Currently, the Dusk Born are led by Estoden the Unyielding, a violent and brutal warrior who tears apart his foes with his chainaxe and combi-bolter.'''

Favored Tactics
'''The different Raid Parties each have their own preferences in tactics, but usually take to the field with masses of cultists and specialists, but each member of the Dusk Born possesses an inherent affection for terror, and the Raid Parties often use terror in their destructive assaults, only making the masses of cultists and specialists that act as the leading edge of the assault all the more effective. Some even specialize in terror, breaking an enemy’s will before slaughtering them in surprise assaults from what seems like any corner. '''

Devotion
'''As a group, the Dusk Born worship and do the bidding of all four of the Ruinous Powers. Individually, however, many of the Dusk Born favor one of the Pantheon over the others, and seek to please them. The outcome of this is the presence of many specialized forces within the raid parties of the Dusk Born, and so the leaders within the warband must be powerful and cunning, so that they may keep their party together and keep their subordinates under their heel.'''

Kavros the Raider
'''The last chapter master of the Dusk Crusaders and the first Chaos Lord of the Dusk Born, Kavros Delegarde, also known as Kavros the Raider, led his chapter in to the embrace of Chaos, and led the first raids of the warband from the front. His greatest deed, which led him to Princehood, was the conversion of an entire system to the worship of Chaos, and led these cultists against the Imperium when they tried to reclaim the system. The sacrifices caused by this bloody crusade appeased the gods of Chaos, and he ascended to Daemonhood, abandoning the warband.'''

Rorgar the Corruptor
'''One of the warband's Champions, Rorgar the Corrupter led his Raid Party through a system, pillaging the world's he conquered, and gained infamy in the Imperium and the envious respect of his fellow chaos space marines. He was eventually killed in a glorious attack on a Forge World, and is celebrated throughout the warband.'''

Estoden the Unrelenting
'''The longest-serving Lord of the Dusk Born, Estoden the Unrelenting is a violent and brutal warrior, wearing the venerated and sought-after Terminator Armor, and wields a chainaxe and combi-bolter, tearing apart his foes and laughing amongst the slaughter. Surrounded by a retinue of Chaos Terminators, he charges into the fray, his chainaxe whirring and bolter howling. He has led the most successful raids in the warband's history, burning whole worlds in the name of the ever-demanding dark gods.'''

Aradiel the Espionist
'''A rather strange individual, Aradiel was once a chaplain of the Dusk Crusaders, and before that a scout sergeant, notable for his expertise at stealth combat. After the chapter's fall to Chaos, Aradiel left his brothers, going to spread the word of Chaos to other worlds in the Imperium. He soon gained an affinity for disguises, and eventually he gained a reputation for disguising as even loyalist Astartes, although only to spread the word of Chaos, and would soon abandon his disguise. He was last seen disguised as a dark apostle of the Word Bearers, early in the 41st Millennium.'''