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This article, Ash Soldiers, was written by LudovicusSchmied. Please do not edit or 'acquire' this fiction without the writer's permission. |
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The Ash Soldiers are a loyalist non-Codex compliant Chapter created during an unknown founding. But comprised almost entirely of newly revealed Primaris Space Marines - the next stage of evolution of the Adeptus Astartes.
Only a couple dozens of their members are Firstborn Astartes, but they work as the masters and mentors of their newer brothers. They are closely linked to the governors of the Katabruk sub-sector, having their favor and being part of their structure of power.
Chapter History
Heraldic panoply, that Ash Soldiers officially display in palaces and courts, distinguishing them as an important part of the executive life of Napcos.
Deep within the Napcos underhive, among the abyssal ruins of the ancient sunken forges of hive city of Napcos Prime, lies the fortress-monastery of Thymiaterion, home to the Ash Soldiers chapter.
This ancient chapter was consecrated to the world of Napcos long before the sinking and flooding of the depths of the hive of the same name, it was granted to them for their intervention in the so-called Phantom War (Abbadon's 7th Black Crusade), in which they successfully achieved, thanks to their rigorous vigilance, foil the constant threat of Chaos and its attempts at disinformation in the sector.
Due to their Chapter precepts, such as the daily strengthening of each Marine, they chose, to settle, the extinct fumaroles and ancient chaos-infested forges of the Napcos Prime underhive. As if it were a cauldron, the brightness of Thymiaterion, the Underground Torch, would be the light of the darkest and most depraved area of the sub-sector, purifying the constant incursions that would surround them to ash. Helped by servants loyal to the Gaurina House, the powerful structure was built with the intention of staying at the point of greatest hostility on the planet; hordes of mutants and infected animals, together with the corrosive contamination and the incandescent smoke from the natural chimneys, made the new home of the Ash Soldiers the ideal area to continue putting themselves to the test without rest.
For decades the Ash Soldiers pacified city's sectors while their Crusader companies set out in their former capital ship, an ancient Oberon-class battleship, the Stella Trahentium, to attend to the Empire's military requests. Every day Napcos was gaining in greatness thanks to the power represented by the Astartes settled in its very heart. Few hives in the empire were as orderly and secure under the direct protection of the Ash Soldiers, to such an extent that the Napcos Imperial Guard regiments were branded as soft and comfortable.
But the situation did not last forever. A dispute between the noble houses of the subsector, pitting the Adeptus Mechanicus against the subhuman squats who had made the forges of the cities of Hibok and Napcos their territory, led to civil war throughout Katabruk.
Chapter Homeworld
Departmento Cartographicae pict-file of Napcos, Chapter Home World of the Ash Soldiers.
Current map of the galaxy with information on various chapter homeworlds showing the location of the Milky Way and Imperial Segments after the formation of the Great Rift in 999.M41. Highlighting the location of Napcos, homeworld of the Ash Soldiers.
Napcos lies on the border of Segmentum Ultima, in the Katabruk sub-sector north of Sacred Terra and the Cicatrix Maledictum; between the Gothic, Athelaq and Palatine sectors. Its border location touching three galactic sectors has served its rulers to use the laws and bureaucracy of the various sectors to their advantage.
Napcos is officially a hive world that despite having two large hive cities (the eponymous Napcos Primus and Hibok) is self-sufficient in food. What on other planets of its type would be barren and polluted wastelands, on this one, the surface is overgrown with ubiquitous native reddish vegetation that stands it somewhere between an hive and agri-world. The so-called Napcos Flower, which looks more like a lichen, proliferates in the most toxic areas of the planet's dry surface, resulting in a red mantle over almost the entire planetary surface. This edible plant is harvested all over the planet and processed by armies of farmer-servants to feed the two gargantuan hives. It has its own related ecosystem and although animals feed easily on it, very few plant species manage to survive its suffocating growth. Despite this, the flower does not thrive in the oceans which, unlike the atmosphere and the surface, are extremely polluted.
Geologically Napcos is active, the planet's mantle generates hundreds of volcanoes all over the surface. Napcos has two large inland oceans and its land masses are all connected except for small volcanic islands. Its average temperature is 16 degrees Celsius, with a relatively small difference between highs and lows. Planetary rotation is quite fast for a planet of similar characteristics to Terra (somewhat larger and denser), and its days are about 19 hours long, causing weight differences between the equatorial and polar zones.
Notable Campaigns
Renegade biomantic Flesh Pact marine killing an Ash Soldier somewhere at Katabruk subsector.
- Wraith Wall War (492.M37) - This year-long campaign consisted of expelling a splinter of Hive Fleet Ouroboris by pushing it into the Emperor's Warth warp storm. Much of the conflict was fought in space, with the help of some Blood Angels successor and the Imperial Navy. In it the Ash soldiers lost part of their fleet including the Strike Cruiser "Lamia Beatus".
- 7th Black Crusade (811.M37.) - The Ash Soldiers participated in the so-called Ghost War, they were required to guard the transit of chaos forces between Gothic and Ultima sectors. In it, they excelled in their vigilance and ability to foresee the insidious intentions of Alpha Legion heretics.
The Ash Soldiers' revenants were able, thanks to the help of a child whose parents were switching sides, to obtain the teleportation coordinates necessary to catch and eliminate the traitorous agents red-handed as they attempted to arm their followers and spread riots in various Gothic sub-sectors.
For their distinguished service the empire granted them settlement and recruitment on the frontier planet of Napcos, ceasing to be an errant chapter. - Psalms Wars (110.M38) - The whole conflict was born out of a decree by the ruling House Gaurina, ratified by the High Lords of Terra (thanks to certain family connections) that, according to it, the techpriests of Katabruk must supervise the creations of the squat forges present in Hibok hive, but in the case of the military industry they can only do so at the production level, being in practice, obliged to allow the modification of weapons with squat upgrades as long as they fall within the imperial production standards and nomenclatures. Thus, for example, squat forges create standard and sanctioned multi-lasers that they then modify with original designs not permitted as end products elsewhere. Weapons such as the multilasgun, which in practice retains less than 60% of the original parts of the standard model, may pass the Adeptus Mechanicus chain of supervision. All such weaponry is often referred to as "Hibok pattern models" or MkHibok. This fact led to great friction between House Gaurina, a supporter of the Napcos-based refugee squats (from whom it derives substantial comercial profits), and House Garru, alienated from the more radicalised technopriests, with whom they sought to take over the sub-sector.
Initially the conflict appeared to be a classic case of noble rebellion due to political tensions, but the virulence and conviction of the reaction by the Adeptus Mechanicus led to a rapid succession of increasingly violent clashes. Assaults and pogroms against squats and their smithies increased exponentially, and it was finally realised that the tech-priests of Napcos were using House Garru to make Napcos a forge world for the Adeptus Mechanicus rather than the other way around. While officially the Empire supported the cause of House Gaurina, unofficially it favoured the doctrines of the Mechanicus and wished to see the squats expelled (and even decimated) from the sub-sector, so when called for help against the rebellion, the Empire responded first with evasions and later with silence, signalling its intention to not intervene in the war and simply awaiting the outcome of the contest.
Left to their own devices, the poorly prepared defence forces of Napcos, led by House Gaurina, along with their subhuman allies, engaged the Adeptus Mechanicus and Garru rebel PDF in battle, reinforced in turn by cohorts from the nearby forge world of Mezoa and the Adeptus Arbitres. The initial phase of the engagement dragged on for three decades as the government loyalists lost ground but gained experience and began to understand how to confront the mechanised cohorts. Much of the Squat population was slaughtered early on, unable to oppose them, fleeing and regrouping from the various planets in the sub-sector to the capital planet of Napcos. Due to the high relative density of the squat population in the underground forges of the hive city and its high production capacity and war effort, the Skitarii decided to use seismic bombs to collapse the abyssal zones of the sea city, collapsing its forges and flooding the subhuman-inhabited sectors. The attack had several effects; certainly the underground and underwater devastation of Napcos Prime soon followed, the volcanic vents that fed the forges bursting into gas and magma as the cracks in the maritime shield at the colossal pyramid base were flooded and the now underwater zone was cut off from the rest of the city above sea level. But the Adeptus Mechanicus' tactically impeccable move had a definite strategic effect as it removed the Ash Soldiers from the neutrality of the war and instantly set them at odds with Garru's followers.
When the Ash Soldiers saw the area around their monastery-fortress dismantled and flooded, they did not hesitate for a moment to enter the fray and actively supported the forces of House Gaurina and the subhumans, tipping the balance in favour of the latter in less than two years. After years of waves, counter-attacks and lightning actions by Gaurine forces supported by the new Astartes allies, at the end of the second stage of the conflict, the retreating aggressors took refuge on the last planet they controlled, the homeworld of House Garru, Gordor, a feudal agri-world. With both sides determined to fight to the last man, suddenly the Empire, some thirty-five years later, broke its silence and reported its decision on the conflict, of which, of course, it knew only the beginning.
The kinship of House Gaurina with one of the High Lords of Terra eventually gave birth to a decree favourable to the squat chain of producction. While this was effectively in force, and despite their hidden desires, the Empire declared House Garru guilty of treason and rebellion, condemned every adult in the family to death penalty and stripped every minor descendant of their titles, removing the family name from the noble records from that point onwards. Any collaborator with the rebel cause was to be punished at the discretion of the legitimately ruling house, and if he did not affect the interests and proper functioning of society in the system, he was to be exiled. Thus the allied Mechanicus cohorts, accepting their defeat, were expelled and returned to Mezoa, taking with them most of the Katabruk techno-priest caste and the remnants who fought alongside them. The few tech-priests who remained with House Gaurina returned with honours to their oversight duties in positions highly favoured by their rulers.
The Ash Soldiers returned to recuperate in their now dilapidated and underwater fortress, honoured as the ultimate guardians of the Katabruk sub-sector, as their cause was recognised the rightful one by the Empire. House Gaurina consolidated its power and entered into an extensive campaign of reconstruction and repopulation. By dint of family contacts, decrees, legal and bureaucratic talent, they managed to make it possible to sell their squat technology outside Katabruk, establishing a powerful industrial network focused on upgrades and modifications named "MkHibok" models. The Adeptus Mechanicus, led by the forge world of Mezoa, remained silent in the face of this officially legal situation, but maintained its vigilance and grudge against House Gaurina and its domain, now rulers of the entire Katabruk Subsector. What is less well known is that the hatred of some veteran techno-priests of the Psalm War led them to contact dark powers and hide in abandoned warforges where they became hereteks ready to become the greatest threat to House Gaurina and their beloved underworld servants, the Ash Soldiers. - Nasternie Raids (879-884.M38) - A series of heavy assaults on the Nasternie star system by the Drukhari. The raiders were driven off for good and suffered heavy casualties, but the tithe was paid in slaves and human lives stolen by the xenos. The conflict involved the old Chapter Master, Julan Verdas, who disappeared in the final battle after killing the Haemonculus leader and his talos. It is believed that one of those enemies severed his arm wich was recovered and kept by the chapter as a holy relic. Since the hand has not yet been corrupted and is still bleeding, it is believed that Julan is still alive somewhere in the Webway.
Chapter Organisation
The Chapter is organised in three Companies, the two first with approximately 100 Space Marines each, and the second is still growing but still having reached 100 soldiers at any time. Their Companies are lead by Captains. Since the existence of the Cicatrix Maledictum, the first company is focused on the fortification and defense of the Katabruk sub-sector and only the second company take part on missions out of the subsector.
The Lashock Honour Guard on military manoeuvres demonstrating the use of a multilasergun outside the Napcos Hive.
The Chapter also possesses more Librarians than is common.
Officer Ranks
- Chapter Master
- Company Captain
- Lieutenant
Specialist Ranks
- Claustrum Chaplain (Chief Chaplain equivalent).
- Chaplain
- Chief Librarian
- Librarian
- Chief Apothecary
- Apothecary
- Master of the Forge
- Techmarine
- Ancient - Standard Bearer.
Line Ranks
- Veteran Sergeant
- Sergeant
- Battle-Brother
- Scout Marine
- Neophyte
Specialist Units & Formations
- Claustrum Revenants - The Revenants are comprised of the individuals with the most potent Doom Aura among the chapter's marines. Those Ash Soldiers, who can destabilise the psyche of any entity with a self-preservation instinct, including their own battle brothers, are segregated in the Claustrum of Thymiaterion's fortress and locked in Noctilith-lined cells. These brothers maintain their confinement by meditating and training in solitude until they are needed. Since it is not possible to transport these warriors safely on chapter ships, they are teleported from the deepest chamber of the cloister to reappear at beacons placed by scouts on distant battlefields.
- Lashock Honour Squad - This squads consist of teams of veteran bodyguards, between 2 to 5 marines, armed with multi-lasers or multilasguns that are able to control large waves of lightly armoured enemies by protecting specialists, heavy weapons and officials that are more vulnerable to high concentrations of light infantry.
Order of Battle
Headquarters
Companies
| Companies | ||
| 1st Company | 2nd Company | 3rd Company |
 
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Chapter Combat Doctrine
A battlefield after an Ash Soldiers victory on an unknown planet.
Fighting the Ash Soldiers is like facing your own death, not singularly, but every possible death you can imagine. Every marine in the chapter has, to a greater or lesser extent, a psychic spark, the so-called Doom Aura, which alerts the marine in stress situations by showing him how he might die from the surrounding dangers. Depending on the strength of this precognitive force, which varies in intensity in each of them, it is transmitted to other living beings nearby, giving them visions of their own death. The closer and more Ash Soldiers gather, the more powerful, vivid and constant these images become, even killing weak-willed enemies collapsing their minds in panic. Notably, this amplification also affects the marines themselves, who train their will to master their Gift and overcome it, but this causes these warriors to fight in very open formations, as harassers and even individually when the pressure of the aura is too terrible.
For Ash Soldiers, pre-battle intelligence is extremely important, as their skills can destabilise weak flanks and rearguards with ease. Scouts and recon units mark the most vulnerable locations to drop their Claustrum Revenants, lone warriors who live in isolation in the monastery cloisters due to the extreme power of their Doom Aura, teleporting onto the battlefield in the most precarious areas of enemy armies and often forcing enemies to flee by their presence alone. The effects of their gifts also favour close combat with the enemy, these warriors of the Emperor are often good melee combatants and use flaming bladed swords with great skill.
Another characteristic of the Ash Soldiers' way of war is their ability to fortify and defend enclosed spaces. They are experienced fortifiers, creating impregnable labyrinthine buildings, full of traps and nooks and crannies to use against assailants. They are able to repel even the most stubborn attackers with proper planning, amplifying the terror they are able to cause even from separate rooms.
Due to the mining characteristics of the sub-sector, the scarcity of certain resources makes the manufacture of bolter ammunition more complicated, so for millennia the people of the sub-sector have been prone to producing laser and energy weapons in general. For Ash Soldiers this is reflected in the increased use of specialised plasma weaponry and the appearance of multilasers instead of heavy bolters in many light vehicles and devastator teams.
The chapter also encourages the use of Tactical Auto-Reliquaries. The relatively low number of techno-priests since the Psalms War forced the use of these devices to bless equipment quickly on the battlefield. Blascus tree wood, bones and other human remains such as ash, are often the preferred items to carry with them.
Chapter Culture & Beliefs
Ash Soldiers worship the God Emperor and are defenders of the Faith of the Ecclesiarchy and the Cult Imperialis. In this area the chapter functions in a standard way compared to others.
In addition to the classical Empire cult, the Ash Soldiers worship the Eternal Fire, this cultural model is suspected to come from a primordial homeworld lost in time and history. No Curator or book speaks of this place but there is no doubt that the Chapter's own idiosyncrasies were born elsewhere than Napcos. This cult is based on sacrificial rites and allow the Ash Soldiers to obtain their Doom Aura.
It is important to note that the marines of the Chapter do not generally use fire as a weapon. Rather than using it as a purifying agent, they venerate only fires that are born from "pure" propellant agents. Burning unholy entities defiles it by changing its ontological nature. For this reason, the fortress-monastery chaplains keeps a perpetual flame fed with blascus tree wood, which they have to import from a region far away from the Segmentum Ulima.
Recruiting Practices
Gaurina Grand Plaza in the hive city of Napcos Prime. As usual, the rain is pouring down on the coastal city, further encouraging the growth of the misnamed Napcos flower.
The Ritual of Souls: Ash soldiers must go through the Ritual of Souls before they even begin their training as recruits. The ritual consists of bathing the aspirant in the psychically charged ash of their family members sacrificed and cremated for the process. When the chapter decides that new members need to be added, the chapter librarians gather together, using their precognitive abilities, to generate a large number of future visions in which their brothers-in-arms will die. Through these they are able to identify names and clues that will lead their servants and recruiters to find these, still children, who will die in the name of The Emperor.
The last word: In order to be found in the "future", every ash soldier is taught to speak his name just before one of his possible deaths, if an ash soldier begins to have visions of his death, he will begin to whisper his name, where he was found the day he was recruited, and other small clues as to how he was located. These psychic traces will reverberate through the Immaterium into the minds of his former recruiters, allowing them to find novices with exceptional potential to become a battle brother.
Once the librarians have picked up the spiritual traces of the subjects who might die as angels of doom, they transcribe these clues to their agents, who begin tracking the aspirants. The bulk of recruits are located in the Katabruk sub-sector, where the Ash Soldiers are based and where they are widely known, revered and feared. Every family with pre-pubescent sons, from the farmers of Gordor to the nobles of the Napcos Prime spires, knows that there is a slim but real possibility that one day they will have to sacrifice their lives for The Emperor and give their ashes to his soldiers so that their son can ascend to transhumanity.
The Ritual of Souls requires the young man to be invested as an aspiring Ash Soldier, to be covered by the ashes of his relatives sacrificed by the librarians for this purpose. The librarians solemnly char the young man's relatives, using sacred blascus wood, to generate an aura of foreboding that is both a curse and a gift. Only if the aspirant's relatives sacrifice themselves willingly can the ritual be successful, with their spirits bonded, watching over their child as true guardian angels.
Through these cremation ceremonies, in which the ashes are collected and then compacted by the Segrestein-Librarians, those are compressed into diamond-like pieces in one of the nine gigantic archaeotechnological casting moulds of the God-Emperor, the so-called ‘Fusura’, using the energy of the volcanic vents in the underwater heart of the monastery. Each statue, over fifteen metres high, contains millions of charred devotee kin and corpses of recovered Ash Soldiers. These magnificent and hallowed works of art and dark technology are secretly guarded and venerated in the depths of the burial chambers of Thymiaterion's fortress monastery.
Chapter Gene-Seed
Ash Soldier displaying the use of energy weapons.
The sources for the gene-seed of the Ash Soldiers remains unknown, however, they tend to display physical similarities with the Raven Guard, having pale skin and often long black hair and black eyes, but their melanochromic organ is known to function properly. Their gene-seed seems to be stable and little prone to mutation, but in some cases, the dark iris will mutate into red ones, some of their librarians have complete red eyes that emits their own light. Despite this, ancient documents in the Thymiaterion archives suggest some genetic connection to the Imperial Fists.
Magos Genetor Marmania Toedriaz attempted to study the chapter's geneseed between 084-102.M39 without reaching any definitive conclusions. In the final stage of her studies, she wrote enthusiastically about the possibility of being studying a complex "chimeric geneseed", believing she had found traces of Imperial Fists, but in her words "too diluted, or perhaps mixed", to say so. The magos presented a first draft of their study to House Gaurina on the possible manipulation, or forced creation, in the bioengineering of the Marines.
Unfortunately, in 102.M39 Marmania abruptly abandoned her work and weeks later was found dead in her quarters. Investigations into her death found possible connections to renegades present in Katabruk and mentions of Flesh Pact heretics, so all her studies were shelved for review and officially discarded, leaving the genetic origins of the Ash Soldiers as officially "unknown" until further research was commissioned.
Notable Members
- Chapter Master Brother Janus Sors - Janus Sors is the Ash Soldiers' Chapter Master. Relatively young, Janus rose through the chapter hierarchy surprisingly quickly, reaching his current position at only 240 years old. It is rare to see Janus on the battlefield, because, although he does not lack prowess or combat experience, his capabilities stand out more in charge of leadership and planning war situations. He is a close friend of Exitus Lashock, the Chapter Councillor and venerable dreadnought, whom he does not hesitate to consult in case of extreme need of advice, both forming a mix of old and modernized visions that complement the chapter' intelligence. Due to the Doom Aura, finding efficient troops that disrupt the enemy ranks is a simple task, but it is very difficult for them to find leaders who can control their power without putting their company and their allies at risk, even more so when it comes to common human relationships and logistical or diplomatic tasks. Unlike the line marines, all captains and officers usually have, to a greater or lesser extent, some control over the intensity of their Doom Aura, but in the case of Janus The Ritual of Souls process gave him an especially useful ability, as if he were a "Doom Aura Blank", Janus Sors is able to turn off at will both, his power and that of the rest of the nearby ash marines, which allows to pacify their minds and release their burdens, and that makes him the perfect leader for these men of the Emperor. This is particularly practical when it comes to organizing men, ordering, commanding and also giving rest and support to their brothers. Luckily for the chapter, this skill is accompanied by the tactical genius of Janus Sors, who is rather an scholar, a logistician, an strategist and a tactician master.
- Exitus Lashock (Venerable Dreadnought)- Chapter Councillor and historian, master of planning, logistics and strategy. Great engineer and master blacksmith, expert in laser technology. He is usually awakened by both, his combat prowess and his intellectual abilities, which are in surprisingly good shape, even for such a venerable dreadnought. Lashock Honour Squad is called after his name.
- Endros Mor (Furioso Dreadnought)- The origin of Endros Mor is unknown, it is only certain that he did not belong, initially, to the Ash Soldiers chapter. It is said, in the cloisters of Thymiaterion, that the occupant is the last survivor of a lost chapter who fought alongside the Ash Soldiers and Blood Angels with such fierceness and ferocity that he was rewarded by being preserved in a dreadnought. He himself decided to join his brothers and adopt the new colours, keeping the skulls of the last officers of his fallen chapter and treated them with ceramite. Over the millennia Endros has fallen deeper and deeper into a dark rage that prevents him from sleeping or going into stasis, which has caused him to lose part of his reason and causes many difficulties for his repair, forcing only those that are most necessary.
- Captain Brother Larraka "The Mane" - Captain of the 1st company, "Cinere Recorder", and court liaison of the House Gaurina. Gifted with an unsurpassed control over his, moreover, potent Doom Aura, Larraka can decrease the force of its power at will. An uncommon convenience that makes him the perfect leader among standard humans, and one of the visible faces of the Ash Soldiers in the Katabruk's sub-sector courts and nobiliary halls. Larraka is not the most skilled fighter in his Chapter (although his prowess as a duelist is comparable to that of other captains) but, after more than two hundred years in service and almost as many in politics, his capabilities as a schemer and strategist are beyond question. He is also known for his exotic facial beauty, his portly bearing and his black hair of more than one and a half metres (it is said by some courtesans that the polished black parts of the armour of the Ash Soldiers represent Larraka's mane). Those facts has not gone unnoticed by House Gaurina to benefit his presence and personal preference among the nobles of the Napcos Prime spires.
- Captain Brother Zeno - Captain of the 2nd "Errant Soldiers" Company. Master of close combat. Known for killing Chaos Lord Beliahmoth in personal duel causing the disband of the Night Lords warband Blaak Kriminae that operated near the Ghoul Stars.
- Chief Librarian Faestus "the fire that does not burn" - Current Chief Librarian of the Chapter. A leader and capable politician, Faestus is dragged into a low profile outside the chapter due to how his ever-burning eyes create suspicions among some inquisitorial forces. His enormous size has forced the forge masters to build a custom Artificer Armour for him.
- Julan Verdas (Missing) - Old great librarian and chapter master Julan Verdas, who went missing in 884.M38 fighting against the drukhari.
Chapter Fleet
In ancient times, the Ash Soldiers were a wandering chapter. Their fighting force moved around the galaxy supporting the Emperor's wars and eliminating heretics and xenos alike. To do this they had a Battle Barge (a custom Oberon-class Battleship) that acted as a monastery fortress. This gigantic old ship contained the entire chapter, which at the time numbered about seven companies. All the servants and officers necessary for the smooth running of the spaceship travelled with them, as well as the forge, armourers and logisticians.Currently, the ship travels with several support ships, but the chapter has only one more lesser ship of note, so all travel throughout the Imperium is done using this two ships with their escort squadrons.
At the present time, Ash Soldier fleet is composed by; 1 Battle Barge, 1 Strike Cruiser, 2 Hunter-class Destroyer Squadrons and 16 Gladius and Nova-class Frigate Squadrons. Like many Chapters they use Thunderhawk gunships and Thunderhawk Transporters as their primary gunships, dropships and Attack Craft. One Stormbird remain in their arsenal. Caestus Assault Rams, Storm Eagle and Fire Raptor gunships are also seen within the Chapter fleet.
Notable Vessels
Stella Trahentium, Flagship of the Chapter.
- Stella Trahentium (re-purposed Oberon-class Battleship) - Ash Soldiers' flagship, formerly fortress monastery of the chapter. This capital ship have been customised for their use as fortress, but lacks the distinctive hammerhead prow of purpose-built Adeptus Astartes vessels. It was greatly armoured and extended beyond their original design, reaching over 16 kilometers in length (around 10 miles), re-purposed over the long millennia of the Chapter's service. The ship's interior is complex and labyrinthine, like a big tunnel city, having been refitted to house its own self-sufficient servant population. These women and men of the Emperor rarely leave the ship and live their lives in service to the Ash Soldiers until his death. It is considered an extreme honour to become part of the inhabitants of the Stella Trahentium so space engineering schools have even been established on Napcos Prime to train future candidates. Only the bright ones get a place aboard.
- Cinis Molaris (Strike Cruiser) - Main assault oriented ship.
- Lamia Beatus (Strike Cruiser) - Battle Barge lost in the Wraith Wall War (492.M37).
Chapter Relics
- Thymiaterion's Flamberga - This weapon, present in the Chapter since before their arrival in Napcos, seems to have come from the home world of some of the early recruits of the Ash Soldiers, this assumption is related to the rites of flame worship, burning, scorching and sacrifice still performed by the Ash Soldiers Librarians. The weapon is a monomolecular wavy-bladed sword that is made of a living crystalline structure with a blade that ends in just one molecule thick which constantly renews itself to keep its razor sharpness whenever it becomes blunt.
- Blascus first Seeds - Three seeds resting in their corresponding custodians, which according to the cult of the Eternal Flame, are the first ones given by The Emperor to men. If an Ash Soldier get close enough, they seem to cause visions of the deaths of heroes past and unknown.
- Incorrupt Hand of Julan Verdas - Relic of the complete and incorrupt hand (with part of the ulna and radius) of the former great librarian and chapter master Julan Verdas, who went missing in 884.M38 fighting against the drukhari. The wound from which it was severed is still bleeding and its blood is collected and used as blessed ointment in pre-battle rites.
Chapter Appearance
Chapter colour scheme as displayed by Battle-Brother Boscus of the 2nd Company, 2nd Battleline Squad.
Chapter Colours
The Ash Soldiers primarily wears dark matt-gray coloured power armour, with frontal greaves and gauntlets being polished glossy black. Each company is identified by a roman number in their right shoulderpad and, officially, on the knee pad, but pigment polishing and the ritual of cleaning the greaves made this usage largely obsolete. They paint their helmet's mask white for veterans and red for their sergeants.
Chapter Badge
The Chapter badge depicts a sable urn with gules inner flames. It represents the constant remembrance of death, the pure eternal flame and the Ritual of Souls.
Chapter Peculiarities
Ash Soldiers have some notable aesthetic preferences, for example, among other ornaments, they often place golden Aquila Imperialis heads on weapon pommels, vents of their energy packs and other noteworthy elements. They have preference for clean reliquary bones and carry heavy personal keys. They use to attach paper psalms to their power armours and vehicles and some like to wear tabards. Also, Primaris Ash Soldiers commonly wear old Firstborn helmets adapted to the new armour as talismans and reminders of their legacy. All Ash Soldiers wear scapulars of the Emperor and the Eternal Flame under their armours.
Notable Quotes
By the Ash Soldiers
- Exitus Lashock
About the Ash Soldiers
- Stg. Gravelia 'Venom Scar' Kurtzon. Catachan XIV Regiment.