Mourning Years

The Mourning Years was a lamentable period in the history of the Penitent Knights Space Marine Chapter, who had the misfortune of losing not one, but two of their Chapter Masters in rapid succession within the span of two years.

History
"Look upon those days, Squires, and know what almost was. How we all could have been damned, were it not for the hearts of heroes."

- Knight-Scholar Avernus

While Highlord Lithandros, the first Chapter Master of the Penitent Knights had slain hundreds of enemy champions upon the battlefield, led a great many of successful assaults on raiding Chaos Space Marine and Ork forces throughout the Segmentum Obscurus, he ultimately was given a most dishonorable death, but not at the hand of a traitor or xenos. Lithandros had always despised the general disregard of human life displayed by the government of the Imperium after the Emperor of Mankind could no longer rule it. Many of the planets that the Penitent Knights found with human life upon them in their Feudal stages or below, were often spared the governance of the Adeptus Terra and either were made into recruiting worlds or were later discovered by other Imperial entities.

There was undoubtedly a single act that sealed Lithandros' fate, which was a speech the High Lord of the Chapter gave after routing an Ork WAAAGH! from the local sub-sector. In this speech, Lithandros dared to proclaim that, "The tyrants in their halls of gold and bone look upon our charges - Humanity - and see only worthless numbers, faithful and loyal citizens of the Imperium are NOTHING to them! If the Emperor could still speak, He would be disgusted by what is done in His name!"

Not long after the Adeptus Terra was informed of the Chapter Master's angered and perhaps even traitorous words, it was decided to cleave off this problem but leave the Penitent Knights, as the Segmentum Obscurus would have been far less secure without them there. And so, noble Lithandros was killed from the shadows by a turbo-penetrator round to the head. The entirety of the Penitent Knights Chapter grieved the loss of their great and fearless Highlord, with all of the Knights called back to the walls of Galadhor to mourn Lithandros. A grand funeral took place in the courtyard of the Fortress Monastery, the Knights assembled utterly silent for a full Terran week until a heated debate took hold of the Chapter. The Knight-Captains squabbled among themselves, along with the Council of Lords put in place by Lithandros himself: The Lord Chaplain, Kveldor, the Reclusiarch. The Lord Forgemaster, chief among the Chapter's Techmarines. The Lord Scholar, Graynerius, the head Librarian. The Lord Apothecary, Lord Executioner and Lord Admiral, Ohlssos. With all of the Penitent Knights' leadership furiously debated whether to avenge the wrong done to them by those that opposed Lithandros, the Chapter was paralyzed for two years until the stalemate was broken.

A Knight named Asterion rose from obscurity in the Order of the Winterbound and entered the Council of Lords' gathering chamber and is said to have closed the large stone doors behind him, proceeding to speak with the Lords for five days straight, shaming them for allowing the Chapter bicker and fall from their duty even for the brief time they did. When the doors of the chamber reopened, the Lords emerged and proclaimed that Asterion would become the Lord Crusader, and lead the Knights on their quest to defend humanity and find redemption in the eyes of the Emperor. Another ceremony took place soon after, in which Asterion commanded the Orders of the Chapter to end their solace in Galadhor and to reemerge with their hearts hardened with the same zeal that they carried under Lithandros.

Unfortunately, Asterion would not have reigned long as Lord Crusader among his brothers. As most of the Chapter had obeyed his directive and left to reestablish their presence among the Sub-sector, a giant Necron Tomb was opened only a few kilometers from the Fortress-Monastery, spilling out the unliving xenos across the plains of Lor'dra to massacre the feudal humans. With only the Orders of the Gryphon and Winterbound, Asterion led a charge into the Necron Tomb, the following battle bloody and costly for the Knights. Weighing his own life and those of the ones he could save, Asterion ordered all of his forces to retreat from the Tomb complex, and detonated explosives at key structural weaknesses in the Tomb to collapse it. With their new Lord Crusader martyred to protect others, the remaining Penitent Knights refused to give in to their grief ever again.