User:DukeDogla/Sandbox

< DukeDogla's Sandbox 2 >

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Inmortui
The Inmortui are a secretive renegade chapter that defected from the Imperium after their disregard of the imperial doctrine led to another chapter performing Exterminatus on their homeworld. Initially tasked with keeping the peace in the [] system they accidentally uncovered that their Primarch is not Roboute Guilliman as they were told, but Alpharius Omegon. This discovery then lead to a chain of events which ended in an open conflict with the [] chapter that destroyed their homeworld of [] and sent the remnants of the Inmortui fleeing into the warp. After centuries of apparent absence the formation of the cicatrix maledictum might have caused this chapter to resurface, as recent terrorist attacks have been linked back to their activities. In keeping with the heritage of their genesire, they are highly adept at any kind of covert operation and actively rely on their human personnel in their chapter organisation, however they also display a very high rate of psykers and a penchant for innovation and developing deadly prototype technology.

History
No records specifying the exact time of the Inmortui founding or the name they carried prior to their turning renegade remain, likely in no small part thanks to the actions of the chapter itself. The information that does remain suggests that they were created for the protection of the [] system, which required them to thinly spread their resources, a task they seemed to excel in.

Invasion
In M[] however, the chapter faced an outbreak of eldar raids against the system. The Eldar forces were vicious in their attacks and quickly overwhelmed the thinly spread chapter, with only those outposts that had a presence of Librarians being able to successfully mount defenses against the raids. It quickly became clear that only those forces including psykers could truly discern the alien motives of the Eldar and develop effective battle plans, but with the small number of Librarians the chapter had and the Xenos seemingly blocking their astropathic communication it seemed that failure was preordained for them. That was until a transmission using non-imperial encryption protocols was picked up in the fortress monastery of the chapter. While there was no technological way to decrypt the transmission, every Astartes hearing the transmission noted a strange feeling of familiarity arising within them and chapter master [] soon found a way to decrypt the message with the help of a memory that was seemingly locked away deep inside of him.

Heresy
The message contained detailed instructions for a breeding program involving the synthesis of the psyker gene from the Inmortui Librarians with the goal of both altering their geneseed as well as increasing the likelihood of their planets populations carrying said gene. While the contents of the transmission were without question deeply heretical, they also represented the last hope of the chapter defending itself against the Eldar, who had by now managed to scour half of the planets in the [] system of human life. With a heavy heart the chapter master decided that protecting the human civilians was worth eternal damnation and gave the order for all planets to be evacuated and all Librarians to withdraw to the systems capital, Styx. The only forces remaining on the other planets would be small garrisons, destined to die while buying time for the chapter. On Styx itself, the enactment of the breeding program was in full swing. As the humans received were genetically spliced many died from the consequences of having the psyker gene introduced into their bodies and many more revolted against the sudden change in their usually benevolent protectors' demeanor. But desperate times require desperate means, and so the dead were harvested for further study and the revolts beaten down, even if it required force. Meanwhile the garrisons died with their heads held high and sold their lives to the Eldar as dearly as they could, but this did not stop the Xenos from slowly advancing until at last their fleet moved to rid Styx, the last of the [] planets, of human life. Before the final battle commenced chapter master [] stood at the top of the fortress monastery and looked towards the skies at the Xenos' fleet. Deep beneath him, 1000 new Astartes with psychic powers slumbered. Although they were an abomination in the eyes of the emperor, they were also the last hope of the people of Styx. And yet they were not ready. The psycho-indoctrination procedures were not yet complete and none of the Astartes had actually performed any trials to ensure their suitability prior to their Apotheosis. Even if they had been suitable and ready Astartes, they would require years of training and outfitting with Librarius hoods before they could ever use their powers in battle. It seemed that after all [] had sacrificed, he had still failed. But he did not have time to ponder his mistakes.

A Bloody Birth
The Eldar attack came without warning. The shipmasters in orbit had only blinked and suddenly they were assailed by a fleet of xenos vessels. The Eldar vessels were swift, but the ships of the Adeptus Astartes were designed to withstand eternal war and the Xenos knew that they would not survive a prolonged engagement as long as the orbital defenses were firing on their ships. Thus their farseer and her most elite forces teleported directly onto the planets surface and made way for the fortress monastery to strike a crippling blow against their foes defenses. The Inmortui stood their ground and fought fiercely, but against the psychic might of the farseer and warlocks they faced they were near powerless. As the fighting started to spill over into the fortress monastery [] knew that the battle was lost. He ordered Chief Librarian [] to withdraw and release their psybred Astartes. Ready or not, they would have to fight, for the chapter to have even a chance of survival. Without the head of the Librarius assisting them, the rest of the chapter lost ground more and more quickly until only a handful of defenders were left. If they died the Xenos would deactivate the orbital defenses and crush their fleet in orbit before butchering the planets inhabitants. Those who remained fought like vipers; every Eldar making a mistake found a quick death at the end of their blades. Yet all too often the Eldar read the Astartes' minds like an open book isolated them before ending their life. As the chapter master laid dying in front of the farseer the fighting suddenly stopped. Pressure built behind his eyes and it felt as if is entire soul was set ablaze. And then he saw them. Hundreds of Astartes, born into their new existence for no more than minutes, unarmoured and untrained, charging at the Eldar. Among them was the Chief Librarian followed by the remaining members of the Librarius, who were channeling the entirety of their power to stabilize the psychic rage of the neophytes. The Eldar felled dozens of Astartes with their blades and bursts of warp lightning, but they were like a single ship challenging the ocean. The psybred Astartes ravaged their minds and souls and sent them to oblivion. The defense was won. Yet this victory came at a price. All the remaining members of the true Librarian had burnt out like candles while trying to contain the powers of their younger brothers, each death causing a chain reaction of self-destruction among the psybred. Of the thousand that were kept beneath the fortress monastery, less than half had survived the ordeals of their premature awakening. Less than half of those had survived the fighting. Those who had survived their bloody birth now gathered around the Chief Librarian who lay dying on the fortress monasteries steps.

A Dead Chapter
As Chief Librarian [] looked to the sky, he saw that the orbital defenses were destroying what remained of the Xenos' fleet. Yet their capital ship seemed to escape the conflict. He knew that the new Astartes would not be ready by the time the Eldar would return to finish what they started and so he gathered the last bits of his power to link his mind with that of the shipmaster of the only remaining defending vessel. He shared the memories of all that had happened with the shipmaster and the shipmaster in turn understood what he would have to do. In his head he recalled a final prayer for the god-emperor before ordering his ship to ram the escaping Eldar vessel, causing both to detonate. As [] saw the explosion light the sky above Styx he was suddenly overcome with grief. All of his brothers were dead. And yet there was a chance for him to ensure that the people of Styx would stay safe. He turned to the psybred Astartes gathering around him and imprinted a piece of his knowledge into each of them. He was too weak to speak, but through their minds touching for the briefest second, it was as though they had talked for a century. They knew the chapters history and all those things that lead to this. They knew that they were not yet ready. They knew that it was not the Imperium or the emperor that saved them, but the chapter itself. And because of that they knew that duty to their chapter was more important than duty to anyone else.

Notable Quotes
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By the Deathsworn Brotherhood
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