- "The betrayal by our former brothers, the wrath you feel within? That shall be our weapon of last resort! Before you learn to wield it, to kill with ferocity and abandon, you must master fighting with skill,sublety, and restraint! After all my brothers, the honed blade cuts the deepest!"
- — Warleader Prime Barius Kor of the Brazen Lions
The Brazen Lions are a Loyalist Codex-divergent Space Marine Chapter created sometime between late-M35 and early-M36 during the mysterious 13th 'Dark' Founding from unknown genetic lineage. For much of the Chapter's history, the Brazen Lion have operated as a fleet-based, crusading force, though older extant records indicate that they once occupied a Chapter homeworld during their earliest years of service. Today, however, this world is a blasted waste, consumed by the wars of the Age of Apostasy. Though no trace of the culture from which the Chapter originally recruited from now exists, something of its ancient feudal traditions was carried over and lives on in the rites and character of the Chapter. Since the loss of their former homeworld, the Brazen Lions have continued to forever quest and give battle, knowing no home but the grace of the Emperor's mercy, finding purpose only in the destruction of the enemies of Mankind.
A bellicose and unforgiving Chapter by nature, the Brazen Lions have established themselves at the apex of military force, applying overwhelming force to bring about the total and immediate destruction of the enemy. Since their inception, this Chapter has earned the respect of their fellow Adeptus Astartes and the Imperium at large, through their acts of courage, valour, battle-prowess and centuries of loyal service in the Emperor's name. However, there once was a time not long ago that the Lions' loyalty was called into question, for it is to the Chapter's eternal shame that they are successors of the formerly loyalist Astral Claws - a Chapter's whose name that is villified within the Imperium, and is synonymous with infamy and treachery. Despite the aspersions and acrimony often displayed towards them, the Brazen Lions continue to stoically carry on, determined to raise themselves above the sins of their genetic forebears.
Chapter History
- "What are our oaths?
- The steel that binds our lives to the Emperor.
What did we swear?
- Our lives are as nought in the vision of the Emperor, save that by them we shall destroy all foes.
What is the fate of all foes?
- To perish in the fire of battle and be cleansed from the galaxy."- — Chaplain Carnaelos Sol of the Brazen Lions
Chapter Banner of the Brazen Lions
The Brazen Lions is a Chapter of Space Marines created during the 13th Founding, the so-called "Dark Founding" which occurred sometime between the 35th and 36th Millennium, before the start of the Age of Apostasy. Since the bygone era of the Horus Heresy, the Adeptus Terra had maintained a bank of original gene-seed tithed by every single Chapter ever created, up until that time. However, with the advent of this particular founding, there are no reliable records that indicate the number of Chapters created during this era or what became of them. There are very few verified Chapters created during this mysterious founding. While the Lions have always officially maintained they were forged from the gene-stock of the Ultramarines, certain defects and variations in the samples of Lions' gene-seed still held in the archives of the Adeptus Terra speak against this and the sons of Roboute Guilliman have never acknowledged any kinship, fueling suspicions as to their true heritage.
Much to the eternal shame of the Brazen Lions, there is some extant evidence that they hail from the lineage of the once-noble Astral Claws - a Chapter once held up as paragon examples of the Adeptus Astartes - they later became villified throughout the Imperium following their actions during the Badab War that occurred in the late 41st Millennium. Today their name is synonymous with infamy and treachery, however, it was not always so. For more than five millennia, the Astral Claws Chapter stood shoulder to shoulder with the finest of the Imperium's warriors, their deeds were legendary and their honour unquestioned. Despite their impressive tally of victories some of their detractors accused the Chapter of a greater lust for glory than the rewards of duty. However, despite such recriminations, the Astral Claws are stated in some extant sources as having "three sons" which most likely implies that three Successor Chapters were drawn from their ranks. Given their relative youth as a Chapter at the time, this would be a remarkable number if true, and if so, a testament to the high regard in which they were held.
The Brazen Lions were one of these so-called "sons", created during the mysterious 13th Founding. Early on, the Brazen Lions distinguished themselves from the beginning of their history, by bravely entering the conflicts of the Age of Apostasy, a tumultuous and bloody period in Imperial history that pitched the galaxy into an age of civil war and anarchy, when the Imperium was controlled by the tyrant Apostate High Lord Goge Vandire. Many Adeptus Astartes Chapters refused to take sides and get involved in the countless internecine conflicts of faith, and instead, focused on the security of the regions about their own home worlds and continued to prosecute long-standing wars against ancient and vile xenos foes. They felt to do so, was a betrayal of their sworn duties as the Emperor's avenging Angels of Death. However, the Brazen Lions had no such compunction to stay uninvolved, and wholeheartedly threw themselves into the raging conflicts of this bloody age. The Brazen Lions are one of the few beacons of light in a galaxy full of despair, as they attempted to protect the few star systems they could from the ravages of the Age of Apostasy and the carnage of Vandire's Reign of Blood.
- "It was not we who knelt to the Arch-Traitor. It was not we who turned upon the Throne. Our sin is one of blood, not of will and by steel and fire, we atone."
- —Attributed to an unknown Brazen Lion, prior to the Purging of Hadran's Reach
The Brazen Lions' involvement would see their homeworld suffer for their temertiy, a fate that befell several Adeptus Astartes homeworlds such as Zhoros, the original homeworld of the Fire Hawks Chapter. During the battles against Vandire's apostate forces the Brazen Lions' homeworld of Nemial suffered a similar fate and was destroyed by a thermonuclear orbital bombardment unleashed by a fleet of the Ecclesiarchy's Frateris Templar. Despite the great loss of their homeworld and fortress-monastery, fortunately the majority of the Chapter survived the planet's destruction, having been on campaign several sectors away. The Brazen Lions were forced to adapt to their new status as a fleet-bound Chapter. Records from this era indicate that the Brazen Lions became a Crusading Chapter, despatched from warzone to warzone in order to battle Mankind's enemies, and have continued to do so every since.
Nomadic Chapter Fleet
Scattered records about the Brazen Lions imply that the Chapter has no set home world. This is uncommon for a Space Marine Chapter to operate solely as a warfleet on a perpetual Crusade. However, the Lions do not follow the standard Crusade pattern of operation when it comes to a fleet-based Chapter.
The Nomad-Predation pattern has allowed the Lions to be an entirely sovereign force that could sustain itself without any support whatsoever. Their Chapter fleet contains as many support vessels as true warships, and is said to also contain a number of voidships capable of both combat and maintenance/repairs. Because of propensity for combat, it seems unlikely that the Lions tolerate vessels in their fleet's ranks that could not hold their own on the battle line. As a Nomad-Predation fleet, the Lions voyage indefinitely, tarrying only to identify and engage the foes of man.
The Brazen Lions are among some of the most widely dispersed Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, having Prides spread across the width and breadth of the Imperium, often hundreds and hundreds of light years from the nearest of their Pride-Brothers. In part, this is due the nature of their Chapter, pressing upon them the duty to protect a large swath of space. It is also part of the nature of the Brazen Lions and great pride they inheret which drives them to send their Prides on crusade or to the far flung regions of space to prove their loyalty to the Emperor and the skill of their warriors.
The scattered nature of the Chapter does however gives it a perspective different to those Chapters which have a homeworld or are tied to a specific region or segmentum by their history. While it is true of all Space Marine Chapters that they fight wherever the Emperor sends them, taking them to far flung worlds and against a variety of foes, for the Brazen Lions there is no planet or world to which they will return, or grand Chapter fortress-monastery where their Chapter Masters reside. It is a small but significant fact that weights on the minds of every Pride-Brother.
Notable Campaigns
- Bargonon Insurrection (Unknown M36) - The Chapter's first recorded engagement was during the Bargonon Insurrection. They would prove that they would be able to carry the attack despite their then-relatively small numbers by sheer courage and the fury of the violence they could unleash. The Lions were tasked to subdue the asteroid prison world of Bargonon which had risen up in anarchic revolt in a state of near continuous rioting and mob violence. Initial attempts to impose order by Astra Militarum troops had been thrown back in disarray as it became apparent that among the insurrectionists was a renegade cadre of outlawed Space Marines, calling themselves the Condemned. The Brazen Lions were dispatched to Bargonon with explicit instructions to reclaim the planet and carry the Emperor's wrath to those that had defied Him. Within eight hours, a signal was received from the Brazen Lions that Bargonon-Primary had been returned to Imperial Compliance. When asked by the leader of the waiting second wave how many prisoners to expect to transfer into custody, the Lions replied that they had not been ordered to take any. The second wave of Imperial Army troops were tasked with the bleak task of clean-up operations in the wake of the Brazen Lions' assault, hunting down any survivors hiding in the warren of tunnels and passageways, of which there proved to be precious few. There were multiple reports of more than once coming across carcasses torn to pieces and of choke-points and defence posts turned into blood-soaked charnel houses and of scores upon scores of insurgents cut down from behind while fleeing in blind panic, their weapons abandoned.
- The Clovis Rebellion (112-114.M37) - When a Black Crusade is launched in the Clovis Sector, a joint-Astartes strike force is sent to quell the five worlds that have become overrun by bloody insurrection. The Clovis Rebellion quickly escalates when a large force of Night Lords Heretic Astartes arrived and the Planetary Defence Forces of Clovis Prime crumbled. The Brazen Lions, Blades of Dorn, Blood Vultures and the Ebon Knights launched a counter-attack to secure vital Imperial artefacts before Exterminatus was declared. It takes the three Chapters two more years of brutal conflict to cleanse the rest of the sector's worlds before they are declared free of corruption.
- Siege of Callisto (834-840.M37) - Responding to a distress call, the Brazen Lions fleet headed towards the stellar wasteland of the Callisto Sector. The Callisto Sector had been sited near the galactic core in the Segmentum Ultima close to the realspace Warp rift known simply as the Maelstrom. The Brazen Lions' warships formed a single strike force aimed at the Laterus System. They came upon the besieged Adeptus Mechanicus station world of Callisto on the edge of the Maelstrom, founded during the Age of Strife, and long cut off from aid. Callisto was being besieged by the Drukhari who wished to take the Mechanicus's technological secrets for themselves. The tech-priests of the Mechanicus had endured alone for ages, subjected to the privations of raiders and enemies all around them and always requesting aid that had never yet managed to reach them. The Brazen Lions arrived as their saviours, smashing into the heart of the besiegers. Though dramatically outnumbered and outgunned, the Brazen Lions drew into close formation and smashed through the enemy armada. Once the enemy line of defence was breached, the Brazen Lions' fleet unleashed swarms of gunships and drop pods upon the planet's surface. In the meantime, baying for blood, the Brazen Lions ravaged the enemy armada, plunging in close so that the wildfire of their foes struck their own ships as often as those of the Imperials. Boarding torpedoes and assault rams screamed out from the Brazen Lions' vessels and slammed into the hulls of terror ships of the Drukhari vessels, disgorging the Brazen Lions in their unstoppable rage, turning the enemy ships into charnel houses. Meanwhile, on the surface below, the Drukhari died by the thousands, unable to coordinate a defence against this unforeseen direction of attack. The battle raged on for hours, and the Brazen Lions took horrific casualties but fought on nevertheless. The Kabalite overlords sensed at last that the battle was turning in their favour and called upon reinforcements from across the planetoid's surface to aid them. It was then that a false dawn flared blood-red in the skies above. Seconds later, a cyclonic torpedo barrage smashed into the surface all around the Brazen Lions, who fought on. In their wake came hundreds of gunships and assault rams that represented the Brazen Lions' second wave. These warriors descended upon the Kabal of Drukhari like vengeful gods of wrath. The Siege of Callisto had been broken as the Brazen Lions speared the fleeing enemy with barbed Ursus Claws - massive lances connected to heavy, dense chains - that could pierce the hull of an enemy ship and drag them back to their inevitable doom. When they were within a short distance of the Brazen Lions' ships, their commanders would then disgorged their elite assault formations to cross the short distance between them and board the enemy vessels to slaughter those within, leaving these enemy vessels as bloody abattoirs in their wake. The campaign that was to follow would last six standard years and see no fewer than 28 worlds and outposts ravaged and destroyed by the Brazen Lions, and two separate dangerous xenos species wiped out. The Brazen Lions' fleet cut a swathe of destruction through the wastes of the Callisto Sector, and even ventured into the perilous fringes of the Maelstrom itself.
- Compliance of Argo (284.M38) - The Brazen Lions fought against a xenos-adversary whose identity is not recorded in existing Imperial records while bringing the world of Argo into Imperial Compliance. This Compliance action was a long siege of the xenos fortress-states on Argo. The grotesque xenos were greatly skilled in the arts of combat, and rose against the Brazen Lions angrily the moment their Fleet made contact. The xenos used secret tunnels to infiltrate behind the besieging Imperial army and hundreds of enemy shock troops swamped the Imperial command encampment. Unprepared and unarmoured, the Brazen Lions took heavy losses, but managed to hold out until reinforcements could arrive. Incensed by the horrendous casualties suffered and also by the use of such a cowardly tactic, the Brazen Lions fury made short work of the remaining xenos threat. This genocidal campaign proved to be a long, bloody, and miserable affair for the Brazen Lions. The xenocide of this forgotten species was eventually successful and these xenos were all but wiped out.
- Serkis Compliance (692.M38) - The Ivaldi System was settled by humanity in the distant past and had remained isolated for millennia. Even without Warp-capable starships the people of Serkis had still managed to flourish instead of regressing to barbarism. Though bringing Serkis into Imperial Compliance would bring the Imperium great renown, this formidable civilisation refused to bend the knee to the light of the Imperial Truth, and instead were prepared to fight to maintain their independence. Their warfleet was formidable, and managed to push back the initial invasion of the Imperium. But if the Serkis warships proved formidable, their warriors proved to be downright deadly. Drawn from the system's prison colonies, each was already a formidable killer and survivor. Implanted with drug glands, vat-grown muscle and bone grafts, mind-wiped and conditioned with battle-memes, they were lethal and dangerous, even to Astartes. Armoured in partially powered battle plate, bearing high penetration laser weaponry and fractally sharpened blades, they posed a grave risk to the Imperial forces. The Imperium wanted Serkis's wealth and resources to harness to their needs. So the securing of Serkis fell to Brazen Lions, supported by selected elements of the Astra Militarum and the forces of the Mechanicum. Despite meticulous planning, the campaign did not begin well as substantial losses were inflicted upon the Imperial forces. Changing their strategy, the Brazen Lions decided that instead of focusing on a systematic conquest of the system's void stations, moons and planets, they would instead focus upon Serkis's fleet. Without the ability to redeploy their strength, each of the Serkis domains would become a closed tactical problem. But the Serkis had anticipated such tactics, and instead deployed multiple strike fleets to attack the Imperial fleet. Substantial losses were incurred during this initial engagement as the Serkis took advantage and attacked the Imperial toehold on their outer moons and stations. The Brazen Lions recognized the dire circumstances of their situation and issued a request to Terra for reinforcements. Soon elements from the Blades of Dorn, Ice Dragons, Impalers, and Silverbacks arrived in-system to augment the beleaguered Imperial forces. Despite his misgivings the Brazen Lions accept assistance and immediately drew up plans for prosecuting the second offensive against the Serkis. Utilising the strength of their new reinforcements, the Brazen Lions launch a successful second offensive against the Serkis that would soon see an Imperial victory.
- Saria Insurrection (378-384.M39) - In 379.M39, contact with several worlds in the Sarias' Landing sub-sector has ceased. Something was blocking communications and all Imperial shipping had stopped without warning. Sending an Administratum investigatory fleet to discover what was happening in the sub-sector, but after a week, had failed to return to report their findings to Imperial authorities. Concerned, small Inquisitorial teams were sent to investigate. When they returned, they brought troubling news. The majority of the sub-sector had fallen into strife and open insurrection, and to make matters worse, several of these worlds were held in the grip of the Forces of Chaos. Unwilling to countenance such audaciousness, the High Lords of Terra dispatched an Imperial Crusade to take back the fallen sub-sector. Both the Brazen Lions and the savage Hounds of Kerberos Chapters were the first to answer the call-to-arms, and alongside several regiments of Astra Militarum and supporting Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii forces, they launched their crusade into the sub-sector immediately. Entire populations and ragtag fleets were led into battle by chanting Traitor Marines, clad in a panoply of colours, drawn from countless warbands. The Brazen Lions and the Hounds of Kerberos found themselves tied up in protracted conflicts and trench wars, caught in a cobweb of a much wider heresy. As the weeks became months and the months became years, more and more of both Chapters arrived to punish, cleanse, and reclaim the rebellious worlds. The Rolls of Honour run black with the ink of millions of enemies slain, but the Brazen Lions and the Hounds of Kerberos suffered casualties beyond their ability to sustain a fighting front. With dozens of Astra Militarum regiments arriving alongside several relief Chapters, the Brazen Lions and the Hounds of Kerberos withdrew from the conflict with their heads held high. Yet the bitterest blow was yet to be struck: it came as the remnants of their fleet mustered above Sarias' Landing itself, when a Traitor armada broke from the Warp, hungry for the chance to wipe the Lions and Hounds from the face of the Imperium. The battle that followed lasted for four days of void war and vicious boarding actions, during which Brazen Lions and Hounds of Kerberos were responsible for the taking and scuttling of nine capital-class vessels. When the Brazen Lions and Hounds of Kerberos at last stood victorious and took stock of their losses, fewer than four hundred Space Marines in total still drew breath.
- Fall of the Creed (562.M40) - An Imperial Compliance campaign which was conducted against the barren, desert plant Nuranus and its masters, the heretical cult known as "The Creed". These self-appointed arbiters of human purity, life and death, were twisted and withered creatures that had once been human in ages past. They had extended their lifespans into millennia with the help of technology as ancient as it was dark. Encased within mechanised war machines controlled by cybernetic implants, in order to live they required regular infusions of fresh human genetic material extracted through a painful, fatal arcane process.From their towering pyramid structure known as "Acumen of All" they held sway over a dozen nearby human-inhabited worlds through terror, offering a devil's bargain of protection from xenos assault in return for a tribute of the young and healthy. The Brazen Lions bent up fury toward such shameful atrocities would soon be unleashed upon the Creed who were to suffer the Brazen Lion's pent-up hatred and wrath. By design, the enemy was crushed without mercy and their domains were stripped of every valuable resource and technology; wreckage and weapons amassed by the Brazen Lions' fleet and the Creeds' long guarded secrets fell. The Creed forces were utterly annihilated by the victorious Brazen Lions and several planets were left in the care of its survivors.
Current Warleader Prime Barius Kor of the Brazen Lions
- The Agmus Crusade (901-912.M41) - The Agmus Crusade was an Imperial Crusade launched by the Brazen Lions and led by their Chapter Master Barius Kor. Agmus was a long-isolated star system, only rediscovered by the Imperium in the late 40th Millennium on the outer fringes of the galaxy. Attempts were made to integrate its worlds into the Imperium, but the system had long been prosperous and independent, and scorned Imperial interference. The first missionaries from the Missionaria Galaxia were slaughtered, but when a second group of Imperial priests came to the system they brought the Brazen Lions with them. Under the direct command of Chapter Master Kor, the Lions fought the forces of the rebel worlds with great success until they came to the well defended hive cities of Agmus itself. Chapter Master Kor believed the Agmus Crusade progress was being stalled and was becoming a war of attrition. For months, each attempt to capture the hives was fought back with great losses and it seemed like the Lions would be unable to force their way into the sprawling arcologies. But the answer was found, a means to use Land Raider Crusader tanks. Armed to smash through enemy defences and disgorge squads of Astartes right into the thick of the fighting, the Crusader was the perfect weapon for breaching the defences of the Agmus hives. The campaign ended with the successful capture of hive cities of Agmus and the Brazen Lions ultimately reestablish Imperial rule within the system.
- Badab War (912-913.M41) - Delayed by numerous conflicts the Chapter was already engaged in, a Brazen Lions contingent finally arrived in the Badab warzone in 912.M41. Though they did not take part in the wider conflict that raged across the system, as a highly mobile taskforce, for the remainder of the war the Brazen Lions guarded vital space lanes for Imperial shipping and fought small-scale and vicious battles on several frontier worlds against their traitorous former progenitors. Whenever the Brazen Lions saw the opportunity to mete out vengeance to the Astral Claws, these battles were bloody in the extreme - with no quarter - often fighting one another to mutual annihilation. In this way, at least the Brazen Lions were able to gain some small measure of vengeance against their hated foes.
Chapter Organisation
As a fleet-based Crusading Chapter, the Lions maintain an organisational structure that follows the Codex Astartes in its basic pattern of organisation, however, in practice the Chapter has modified its tenets to better suit the needs and patterns of its deployments. An example of this is that the Chapter's company captains ('Warleaders') and senior officers are also assigned flag command of a particular starship in the Chapter's fleet and expected to act autonomously of a higher authority for long periods if needed. Due the bellicose nautre of the Brazen Lions they also have a special affection for the use of assault tactics that make use of jump pack-equipped Close Suppport Marines or boarding assault tactics by specially designated Violator Assault Squads.
Although the Chapter maintains the usual ten companies in accordance to the dictates of the Codex, they instead refer to these standard divisions as 'Prides', which are equivalent to a company-sized element. They also maintain the usual Chapter Command, Reclusiarchy, Apothecarion, Librarius and Armoury departments of other Chapters. However, due to their cultural heritage and longstanding Chapter traditions, the Brazen Lions utilise their own unique rank stucture and titles as well as various specialist squad designations that are unique to their Chapter.
The Chapter's 1st Pride (Veteran Company) and 10th Pride (Scout Company) are nominally based on their flagship battle barges with the majority of their number being dispersed as needed to individual commands which can vary considerably in size and operational terms. The Brazen Lions are known to roam the space lanes across the width and breadth of the known galaxy in order to come to the aid of any imperial world at any time or in any given place. This enables the Chapter to maintain as broad of a reach as possible. The Brazen Lions Prides regularly operate on independent duty dispersed throughout the galaxy. With each Warleader acting functionally as commander of a strike vessel (usually Strike Cruisers), they might also command one of the Chapter's many Light Cruisers or few Battlecruisers as part of the Chapter's armada.
Each of the Brazen Lions vessels maintain a separate Armoury of vehicles, weapons and equipment, in addition to its normal complement of Space Marines. Each of the Chapter's vessels is supplemented by members of the 1st and 10th Companies. In this way, each has access to the expertise offered by the Chapter's Veteran 'Pride-Brothers' (Battle-Brothers) as well as the opportunity to train initiates ('New Bloods') and complement of Scout Marines ('Pride Stalkers') and use the latter on infiltration missions. Due to historical losses of irreplaceable advanced equipment that has never been fully replenished, the Brazen Lions have learned to carefull shepherd their resources in terms of technology such as Terminator Armour.
Due to their inability to re-equip properly because of their nomadic nature, the Brazen Lions have often had to make due with older arms and patterns of power armour throughout their existence. Due to this reality, even at present the Brazen Lions uses a significantly larger number of more ancient patterns of power armour than most Chapters and the individuals that are lucky enough to be gifted with such revered relics view themselves as being blessed by the God-Emperor. The Chapter's Forge-Wrights (Techmarines) have become particularly adept not only in maintaining and repairing said equipment, but in reclaiming and restoring weapons and gear they might come across in their long crusades.
The nature of the Chapter's errant forces and their often unorthodox lines of supply due to their separation from the bulk of the Chapter for long periods of time, has forced many Prides into the adoption of modified equipment and weapons in order to maintain an effective fighting force. Various Brazen Lions forces have been observed to wield arms and armour obviously field-modified in a variety of ways, sometimes simply to keep it functioning in the isolated conditions under which these forces often operate, but often to improve said equipment in its performance in some manner. Such modifications are not authorised by Codex Astartes doctrine and are often in flagrant contradiction of the laws of the Cult Mechanicus, though such heretical practices have never been proven.
The Brazen Lions rarely gather en masse due to their Crusading nature, except at the commencement of a major Imperial Crusade called by the 'Warleader Prime' (Chapter Master). Most of the time, the Chapter's forces are dispersed to multiple task forces deployed to various expeditions and war zones spread over the vast distances of space. Due to this isolation, it is not unheard of for a Pride or individual task force to be out of communication with the majority of the Chapter for several standard years, or even solar decades at a time. Given these factors, each Pride and battle group has to manage its own affairs and the recruiting of new Initiates when and wherever opportunities arise. As they posses no single source of Aspirants, the Brazen Lions recruit from many different worlds, returning their new brethren to the ranks of the 10th Pride to complete their formal training when practical.
Officer Ranks
- Warleader Prime - Chapter Master equivalent.
- Warleader - Captain equivalent.
- Pride Leader - Lieutenant equivalent.
Senior Specialist Ranks
- Deathspeaker Prime - Reclusiarch equivalent.
- Spiritwalker Prime - Chief Librarian equivalent.
- Lifebinder Prime - Chief Apothecary equivalent.
- Forge Lord - Master of the Forge equivalent.
Specialist Ranks
- Deathspeaker - Chaplain equivalent.
- Spiritwalker - Librarian equivalent.
- Lifebinder - Apothecary equivalent.
- Forge-Wright - Techmarine equivalent.
Line Ranks
- Pride-Sergeant - Sergeant equivalent.
- Pride-Brother - Battle-Brother equivalent.
- Pride Stalker - Scout Marine equivalent.
- New Blood - Neophyte equivalent.
- Cub - Aspirant equivalent.
Specialist Units & Formations
- Den of Lions - Modelled after the Senatorum Imperialis of Terra, the Den of Lions encompasses a commission of Brazen Lions Astartes of the highest rank who draw together on matters of import facing the Chapter. The group offers advice to the Brazen Lions' Chapter Master, and while ultimately it is he who holds the final sanction over all commands, he is able to draw upon the knowledge and advice of all his company captains, his senior Chaplain, Apothecary, Forge Master and Librarian.
- Lionwatch - Honour Guard of the Warleader Prime, they are the epitomy of the warrior elite and are the martial pride of the Chapter. These Terminator-armoured elite are an elite cadre made up the most veteran skilled Pride-Brothers to be found in the Chapter. The Lionwatch serve as the Warleader Prime's close companions in war and council. They specialise in harrowing actions, shock assaults and strategic decapitation strikes.
- Violator Assault Squads - These Close Support Astartes are a specialised formation that harkens back to the bygone Legion Breacher Siege Squads of the ancient Legiones Astartes. They utilise specialised tactics and wargear for the explicit purpose of acting as a vanguard assault force in the worst combat conditions imaginable and in the direst of war zeons, known as 'Zone Mortalis' for the sheer likelihood of death faced by any who are forced to fight within them. These elite Close Support specialists specialise in fighting in the most hazardous and desperate spheres of warfare such as boarding actions amid the cold void of space and forlorn hope of the first wave of attackers into a breached fortress. Violatores are trained to fight from behind their shield wall to deadly affect; its armoured protection and the immense firepower at their command provides a deadly match for any foes who dares to assail them.
- Honoured Ancestors - Honoured Ancestors are the Chapter's venerable Pride-Brothers that are encased within the shell of a might Dreadnought. Despite suffering mortal wounds in life, these ancient warriors continue to serve the Chapter beyond the point of death wthin formidable shell of these cybernetic combat walkers. They are war incarnate, towering over their fellow Pride-Brothers as they advance forwards with thunderous strides to bring fiery death and slaughter to their foes. Many of these venerable warriors are thousands of years old, and can still recall the Chapter's early years and long-lost homeworld of Nemial. They are a tangible link to the Chapter's past, and when rarely awakened from their millennia-long slumber, they regail their Pride-Brothers with tales of the Chapter's past glorious deeds and legends of heroic Pride-Brothers of ages past. Within each Pride's vessel lies their armoury, deep within the bowels of the ship's hull. Here, these ancient heroes slumber in-between battles, until such time their might is needed and they are stirred to wakefulness once again when war beckons. Those most ancient of the Honoured Ancestors reside within the hold of the Chapter's main Armoury, located on the Brazen Lions' capital ship, the Lion's Pride.
Order of Battle
Headquarters
| Chapter Command | ||||
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| Den of Lions |
Armoury | Reclusium | Apothecarion | Librarius |
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 (Epistolaries, Codiciers, Lexicaniums) |
Companies
| Veteran Company | Battle Companies | |||
| 1st Pride | 2nd Pride | 3rd Pride | 4th Pride | 5th Pride |
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| Reserve Companies | Scout Company | |||
| 6th Pride | 7th Pride | 8th Pride | 9th Pride | 10th Pride |
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Chapter Recruitment
- "We are Lions! Quietly we will endure, silently we will suffer, patiently we will wait! We are survivors, we are warriors! For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my battle-brother eternal!"
- —Chaplain of the Brazen Lions
Due to their Crusading nature the Brazen Lions are forced to recruit from many different worlds, often at the end of a long crusade, or if attrition is high during a particular campaign, on the fly when practical. The common form of recruitment utilised by the Lions given to their preferential mode of operation is to cull potential initiates from the young of the survivors of their assaults where practical, provided those survivors are human and free of the corrupting influence of the Warp. The young males are then forced to fight to the death to prove their worth. Those initiates who survive are then subjected to intensive hypno-conditioning and other harsh procedures designed to strip away any past loyalties.
Replacing a lost Pride is an extremely difficult process as reallocating and requisitioning extremely rare weapons, vehicles and armour is a tedious and drawn-out affair. While the Adeptus Mechanicus make take several centuries to provide the Chapter some of this basic wargear, other requisitions may never be fulfilled. As all Prides are expected to increase their initiation rates at such a time so that established Pride-Brothers may be tithed to a new company, unfortunately, on several occasions, once a Pride has been replaced, it is not unheard for one of these original Prides to miraculously return from an extended crusade.
This has resulted in the Brazen Lions possessing more than 10 companies and the Chapter has stood well over the Codex-mandated strength of 1,000 Battle-Brothers in each of these instances. Due to these circumstances, it is virtually impossible to accurately gauge the Chapter's true number of total assets at any given time.
Chapter Gene-Seed
Though the source of the Astral Claws' own gene-seed remains suppressed, the Brazen Lions themselves still speculate that its provenance ranges from either basic Ultramarines stock to that of the Dark Angels, pointing to the supposedly un-degraded quality of Astral Claws gene-seed as well as certain factors of temperament and style of warfare. However, due to the Edict of Obliteration enacted by the High Lords of Terra and carried out after the conclusion of the Badab War, all signs and evidence of the existence of the Astral Claws has been removed from official Imperial records, and therefore, any possible evidence of the Brazen Lions' possible inheritance, if they are descended from such a notorious Chapter or not.
Nobody knows exactly which Primarch's gene-seed was utilised in the creation of the Brazen Lions, as their gene-seed doesn't contain any specific genetic markers. Few fragmentary records that remain show the Brazen Lions' gene-seed branded as 'Chimeric', as it has been adulterated or somehow altered during its creation. Even with these few facts, the truth of who the Brazen Lions' genetic forebears will more than likely never be known. This matters not to the Brazen Lions, for they hold their loyalty, first and foremost, to the Master of Mankind who is the maker of all Space Marines. It is to Him, and Him alone, that the Brazen Lions hold both their faith and devotion to, for the Emperor is the master of all.
Combat Doctrine
- "Let them whisper of our lineage. Let them name us traitor-born. When they see the Lions break the foe beneath bolter and blade, they will remember our deeds, not our blood."
- —Deathspeaker (Chaplain equivalent) Grael Tharn
Being a Crusading Chapter, the Brazen Lions maintain a strong fleet and favor rapid strike missions and boarding actions, and as such they field strong additional auxiliary contingents of assault squads and Dreadnoughts in its armouries. Rapid speed and relentless attack are the cornerstones of the Brazen Lions' combat tactics.
It is noteworthy that the Brazen Lions are exceptionally willing to offer their assistance to any who need it. Throughout their history, this has included virtually every Imperial organisation. This includes the Inquisition, the Departmento Munitorum, and even Rogue Traders. Even more noteworthy is that it has also often included other Space Marine Chapters. Upon countless occasions, the Novamarines have dispatched substantial numbers of units to aid the Battle-Brothers of other Chapters in overcoming threats far beyond the boundaries of the current Segmentum they are patrolling.
Deathwatch Service
- "There is no greater honour than to fall unknown and unremembered, so long as the foe dies screaming beneath your blade."
- —Engraved into the sarcophagus of Dreadnought Lirkan Rauth
As the Brazen Lions are always seeking to hone their skills and improve the abilities of their Battle-Brothers, they always make it a point to send several of their Pride-Brothers to undertake the Long Vigil with the Deathwatch. Resting heavily on the shoulders of each Pride-Brother is his personal honour, as well as that of his predecessors. It is the duty of each individual to stand as an example to all, that they might inspire their comrades to even greater feats of heroism in the name of the Emperor of Man and His glorious Imperium. The Chapter takes great honour in fighting against all the enemies of the Emperor within this region and its companies are rarely if ever united in a single conflict, instead fighting enemies thousands of light years apart. All of this gives the Brazen Lions a broad knowledge of many different foes and an adaptability learnt through necessity and the needs of their ever-changing role.
Normally, a Space Marine serves a tour of duty with the Deathwatch for a predetermined length of time. However, due to the broad deployment of the Chapter, it is often challenging for a Pride-Brother of the Brazen Lions to return to his Pride at a specific designated time. His Pride's current disposition might be unknown or they might be located in a portion of the galaxy that is extremely distant from a Pride-Brother's current Watch Station. To accommodate this difficulty, Pride-Brothers of the Brazen Lions may serve with the Deathwatch long beyond their originally designated term. Then, when their Pride is once more at a known location within a reasonable transit distance, they can abruptly return to service with their Chapter.
Notable Brazen Lions
- Warleader Prime Raban Veer - Remembered as Warleader Prime and first Chapter Master of the Brazen Lions, Raban began his life of service as a proud son of the Astral Claws. In those days, Veer was renowned for his ferocity and unbending resolve, a warrior whose name was spoken with respect even beyond his Chapter. His rise through the ranks was marked not by ambition, but by an iron sense of duty to his brothers and to the Imperium. When the Astral Claws began to fracture in their loyalty, Veer was far from Badab, commanding a small flotilla on a protracted campaign. It was there, amidst the void and the fires of war, that he remained unaware of the creeping treachery consuming his Chapter. When word at last reached him, it was like a blade through the heart; the truth was too bitter to deny, and too shameful to ignore.
Years later, when Veer and his fleet returned to Badab, he found not the proud Astral Claws he had once called kin, but traitors cloaked in the armour of his own blood. The betrayal cut deeper than any wound, for these were not nameless renegades, they were brothers with whom he had fought, feasted, and bled. Veer did not falter. Instead, he gathered to him those who shared his anguish and his resolve, men who could not stomach the dishonour staining their name. With them, he waged a hidden war against his former kin, striking from the shadows like a predator against prey. His guerrilla campaigns, brutal and uncompromising, left scars upon the secessionists who had once been his brothers, each strike a reminder that the Imperium had not abandoned the fight, nor had all Astral Claws turned their backs upon the Throne.
When the Badab War at last drew to its bloody close, Veer and his loyalists stood apart: warriors without a home, scorned by association yet bound by an oath stronger than blood. They had fought against their own gene-kin, but loyalty had cost them dearly, their Chapter was gone, their honour tainted. It was the High Lords of Terra who gave them purpose again, elevating Veer as Chapter Master of a new brotherhood born of fire and sorrow. They were the Brazen Lions, named for their courage to endure shame and endure scorn, for their will to fight with unflinching ferocity despite the burden of their ancestry. The 13th Founding gave them form, but it was Veer’s indomitable spirit that gave them life.
Veer ruled not as a tyrant nor as a distant warlord, but as a patriarch scarred by betrayal, who forged his sons in the crucible of shame and defiance. Under his watch, the Brazen Lions swore to rise above the shadow of their forebears, to carve out a name worthy of remembrance, not infamy. To many within the Imperium, they were still mistrusted, their origins whispered like a curse, yet Veer taught his sons to stand unbowed. “Honour,” he was known to say, “is not given-it is taken, and held fast with blood.” His words became the marrow of the Chapter, and his memory a beacon through the storms of doubt. In life, Raban Veer endured betrayal; in death, he left behind a brotherhood of warriors who would fight until the stars themselves grew cold, determined that the sins of the Astral Claws would never chain them again.
Current Warleader Prime Barius Kor of the Brazen Lions
- Warleader Prime Barius Kor - Raising from the ashes of battlefields where lesser men would have perished, his name etched into the chronicles of the Brazen Lions through sheer force of will and an unrelenting devotion to his oath. Born into the Chapter long after the death of Raban Veer, Kor’ was forged in the bitter truth that the Imperium would never look upon the Lions without suspicion. From the first day of his initiation, he carried this burden with stoic resolve, vowing not only to serve the Emperor but to elevate his Chapter above the shadow of their progenitors. His rise through the ranks was marked by campaigns that demanded both brilliance and brutality. Leading daring assaults into enemy strongholds, outlasting sieges where others faltered, and bearing scars that became symbols of his unbreakable endurance. It was not ambition but the respect of his brothers that lifted him from Captain to Warleader Prime, for they saw in him a man unwilling to bow to despair, yet wise enough to know the price of pride.
Under Barius Kor’s command, the Brazen Lions have become a Chapter sharpened by suspicion yet unbroken by it. His influence is seen in their austere discipline and their unyielding refusal to compromise their honour, even when it isolates them from allies. Where other Chapters might revel in triumph, Kor’ tempers every victory with humility, reminding his warriors that one great deed does not erase the stain of their bloodline, only countless acts of loyalty can. His doctrine blends the guerrilla cunning of Veer with a more codified structure of warfare, teaching his sons to fight with both the ferocity of lions and the patience of hunters. It is whispered among his officers that he reads the Emperor’s silence as a test, that every suspicion cast upon the Lions is a crucible through which they must prove their worth anew.
Barius Kor’ is not a man of grand speeches, but of hard truths. In the Hall of Lions, he walks among his brothers as one of them, his presence more commanding for its simplicity. When he speaks, it is with the measured voice of one who knows that words alone cannot banish doubt; only deeds can. He reminds his Chapter that loyalty is not a birthright but a burden, one that they must carry into every battle. His warriors, hardened by his example, fight with a zeal born not of fanaticism but of necessity. To fall short in their duty is to confirm the whispers of traitors’ blood; to excel is to defy them. Kor’ has made this truth the marrow of their creed, shaping a Chapter that does not fight for glory or recognition, but for the unyielding promise that they will not be broken by the past.
Yet behind his stern exterior lies a man who feels the weight of his role with every passing year. Barius Kor’ knows that the Imperium will never fully forgive, nor fully trust, the Brazen Lions. And still, he carries that burden willingly, for to him, there is no higher honour than to guard the Imperium that once nearly cast them aside. His leadership has steeled the Chapter into a brotherhood of warriors who wear their scars as proof of loyalty, and who look to their Warleader Prime not as an untouchable demigod, but as a brother who bleeds and endures as they do. In this, Kor’ has become more than a commander, he is the living embodiment of the Lions’ defiance, a patriarch who teaches that redemption is not granted by history but earned anew upon the battlefield, until the Emperor Himself deigns to judge them.
- Warleader Malak Vetala, "Lion’s Fang" - Warleader Malak Vetala, First Captain of the Brazen Lions, is a figure whispered of with both reverence and dread among his brothers. A towering warrior clad in black and gilt, his visage is rendered even more fearsome by the leonine snarls engraved across his armor and the stark crimson glow of his helm. Known as the "Lion’s Fang," Vetala embodies the fury of his Chapter made manifest, unyielding, merciless, yet disciplined by a deep-seated loyalty to his Warleader Prime and the cause of the Imperium. His hammer, Solaris Mourn, is said to carry the weight of a hundred oaths, and when it descends upon his enemies, it is as though the Emperor Himself has judged them. Yet, behind this image of wrath, there lies a man forged from pain and betrayal, one who has never forgotten the treachery of the Astral Claws and the endless suspicion cast upon their successors. For Vetala, every strike is not just vengeance against the foes of Mankind but a hammer blow against the shame of their lineage.
Despite his fearsome exterior, Malak Vetala is not a creature of blind rage, but a warrior tempered by an almost paternal regard for his brothers. He is the first to set foot upon a breach, the last to leave the field, and he wears his scars not as tokens of pride, but as proof that he bleeds so others need not. His counsel to Warleader Prime Barius Kor’ is one born of harsh pragmatism; Vetala rarely indulges in words of hope, but speaks instead in the certainty of steel and the inevitability of death. To his men, he is a shield as much as he is a sword, carrying the weight of their fears so they might carry only the weight of their duty. Though the galaxy will never forgive the blood that birthed the Brazen Lions, Vetala has sworn that it will fear them and in fear, perhaps, respect might one day be reborn.
- Warleader Norvarus Kane - Norvarus Kane embodies the enduring wrath and silent penance of the Brazen Lions, a grim sentinel forged in the crucible of their shameful legacy. As Second Captain, he bears not only the tactical burden of the Chapter's most brutal campaigns, but also the symbolic weight of their cursed bloodline. Kane speaks little of the Astral Claws, and less still of the betrayal that saw their progenitors fall to infamy, but in his silence there is a fury barely chained, a ceaseless drive to outmatch the expectations of a galaxy that sees only treachery in their heraldry. Upon his shoulders lies the unspoken oath: that he will carve redemption into the stars, not through words or diplomacy, but through the annihilation of the Imperium’s enemies. In him, the ancient feudal ideals of the long-dead homeworld endure, duty, honor, and the unrelenting pursuit of atonement by blade and fire.
Kane is not a hero to the Imperium, but a necessity, a living weapon honed by centuries of war and scorn. Among his brothers, he is the exemplar of stoicism and martial precision, a paragon of discipline forged in the cold steel of the Lions’ crusading doctrine. His commands are final, his strategies ruthless, and his wrath absolute. In the absence of a homeworld, Kane has become a pillar of permanence for the Second Pride, instilling a warrior's creed shaped by duty to the Emperor alone, untainted by the temptations that once lured their gene line into rebellion. To him, there is no redemption—only the endless war, and in it, the faint hope that one day the Brazen Lions will be known not for the shadow of the Maelstrom, but for the light of their unyielding devotion.
- Warleader Joranax Vash, "Lion Breaker" - Joranax Vash, Third Captain of the Brazen Lions and known as the "Lion Breaker," is a living monument to the unbreakable faith and fury of his Chapter. A battle hardened veteran clad in his power armor adorned with lion sigils and purity seals, Vash is the voice of wrath given form, his war hymns often blaring over wide band vox before planetary assaults, a dirge of judgment to herald the Emperor’s vengeance. Though less calculating than his brother, Norvarus Kane, Vash is no less lethal, he is a storm unchained, leading the Third Pride in thunderous strikes that break the back of resistance through sheer momentum and overwhelming force. He carries the Mace of Oaths, a brutal relic weapon once wielded by the Lion Priors of the lost homeworld, reforged with ceramite and righteous purpose. In his eyes, every strike is a prayer, every slain heretic an offering to cleanse the stain of their Chapter's past.
Where other Captains in the Chapter speak of duty and redemption with stoic detachment, Vash roars it aloud like a creed, his zeal is not born of hope, but of need. He fights not only to avenge the sins of the Astral Claws, but to forge an identity separate from them, branding his Pride with a culture of warrior monasticism and ritual combat drawn from half remembered customs long buried under ash and betrayal. Despite his brutality, Vash is revered among the Brazen Lions as a shepherd of the faithful, feared by the unworthy and worshipped by the aspirants he drills into iron willed killers. The Third Pride follow him into hell not because they are ordered, but because they believe, utterly and without question that where Lion Breaker walks, the Emperor watches.
- Warleader Korad Jul, "Ash Mantle" - Korad Jul, Fourth Captain of the Brazen Lions and known by the “Ash Mantle,” is a figure carved from silence, steel, and unyielding contempt for failure. Draped in crimson and black, with the ceremonial threads of ancient warrior kings woven into his warplate, Jul is both executioner and philosopher. An aloof specter on the battlefield whose word is law and whose blade, Vigilus Unbound, whispers death in absolute stillness. His armor, a masterwork plate and heirloom embellishment, speaks of his obsession with history, both the lionized past the Chapter has lost, and the shameful legacy it must transcend. Jul does not roar orders; he issues them like scripture, expecting obedience not out of fear, but from an ingrained sense of fatalistic honor. To fight beneath him is to walk the razor’s edge between duty and death, for Ash Mantle tolerates neither weakness nor hesitation.
- Warleader Brydal Lok, "Gravehand" - Brydal Lok, Fifth Captain of the Brazen Lions, known as the “Gravehand,” is a warrior of solemn vengeance and immovable purpose. Clad in baroque plate reinforced with ritual studs and battle honors, Lok stands like a black obelisk amid the carnage of war calm, inevitable, and final. His artificer forged power sword, Lex Mortis, is a relic from the earliest days of the Chapter’s crusading history, inscribed with the names of a hundred worlds brought to compliance beneath its judgment. The crude bionics grafted to his left arm speak not of weakness, but of survival earned in battles where even Angels bled. Lok is not a warrior of fiery rhetoric or righteous fury, he is the executioner of the Brazen Lions' will, and he deals death with the detached certainty of a man who knows that peace is a lie the galaxy cannot afford.
Unlike the more zealous or idealistic Captains, Brydal Lok views war not as a means of redemption, but as the only truth the Imperium can trust. He is a pragmatist among penitents, a tactician who sees every battle as a puzzle of attrition, position, and sacrifice. The Fifth Pride under his command has earned the grim reputation of being the Chapter’s final answer, deployed when subtlety has failed and the only currency left is blood and rubble. Lok leads from the front, not with speeches, but with silence and certainty, his very presence suffocating morale in the hearts of the enemy. To his brothers, he is a tombstone upon which the names of traitors are carved with fire. To his foes, he is the last thing they see before darkness claims them. Gravehand does not seek glory, nor absolution, only the quiet certainty that in a galaxy built on corpses, he will always be the one to bury the last.
- Warleader Vorren Faar, "Night-Spear" - Vorren Faar, Sixth Captain of the Brazen Lions and known as the name “Night-Spear,” is the executioner in the dark, a silent terror whose fury is felt long before it is ever seen. Clad in matte black plate detailed with muted gold and armed with the precision, crafted bolt rifle Mournfire, Faar leads the Sixth Pride. Known grimly among the Chapter as the "Veiled Fang," in operations of surgical annihilation and shadow warfare. Where others bring the thunder of full scale assault, Faar brings only silence, followed by the choking smoke of dead targets and shattered command structures. His helm, featureless save for a blood red visor slit and auspex rig, gives him a faceless inhumanity that unnerves even fellow Astartes. Rumors whisper that he has never raised his voice in battle, that his kill orders are delivered only through encrypted vox-pings and hand-gestures, a language of death understood by those who have earned the right to serve beneath him.
To his brothers, Vorren Faar is not a commander, but an omen. His presence portends a war already decided, an enemy already bleeding. Though not outwardly zealous, his devotion to the Emperor is absolute, manifest not in prayer but in precision. Every kill must serve purpose, every bullet must carry meaning, and every campaign must end not merely in victory, but in lesson. He views open warfare as a failure of planning, a crude last resort for those too dull to wield fear as a weapon. The Sixth Pride under his command is a force of assassins, saboteurs, and spectral vengeance, called upon when the foe must not only be destroyed, but unmade. Where Night-Spear treads, no banners are raised, no declarations made, only the cold certainty that the Emperor’s judgment now walks beside you, cloaked in shadow and marked by death.
- Warleader Torias Wrath, "Black Mantle" - Torias Wrath, Seventh Captain of the Brazen Lions and known by the name “Black Mantle,” is a relentless hunter of oaths broken and blood debts unpaid. Draped in the austere black of his Chapter, his presence is less that of a commander and more a looming specter, silent, focused, and utterly merciless. His helm bears the blank visage of judgment, and from behind its crimson optics, Wrath sees only two types of beings: those who serve the Emperor, and those who must be punished for failing Him. His blade, Oathcutter, is a relic from a forgotten campaign, reforged in contrition and wrath, rumored to have tasted the blood of both traitor Astartes and wayward Inquisitors. With it, he leads the Seventh Pride, The Iron Reclaimers, through the wreckage of fallen bastions and fractured crusades, reclaiming glory for the Imperium one ruin at a time.
Torias Wrath is a warleader who speaks only when silence would allow failure. Every word from him is weighted, calculated, and bound to action. His warriors are known for their grim tenacity, advancing through hostile ground with the slow inevitability of a dying star. To serve under Black Mantle is to endure without comfort, to fight without respite, and to expect no glory, only the cold affirmation that justice has been served. The Seventh Pride specializes in siege reclamation and battlefield salvage, and wherever they are deployed, the Brazen Lions leave no weapon, stronghold, or heretic standing. Wrath does not court the past, nor does he flee from it. He simply carries it like a shroud, one that darkens the stars above him and buries the sins of the Chapter beneath the weight of righteous slaughter.
- Warleader Jorias Krull, "Iron Gale" - Jorias Krull, Eighth Captain of the Brazen Lions and known across the Chapter as “Iron Gale,” is a warrior of kinetic wrath and punishing speed. His presence on the battlefield like a storm hurled from the void, sudden and overwhelming. Where others advance with calculated force, Krull strikes like a tempest unleashed, his tactics defined by devastating mobility, rapid redeployment, and saturating firepower. His signature helm, crested with the stark white plume of his pride, is a throwback to a forgotten warrior tradition, an echo of the Chapter's lost homeworld. With his sniper rifle Sibilant, Krull leads the Eighth Pride, The Galeborn, in relentless hammerblow assaults, scouring entrenched foes from the field before they can fully react. To fight under Krull is to become the whirlwind, blinding, furious, and without pause.
Despite his ferocity, Jorias Krull is not without discipline. Beneath the storm lies a mind sharpened by doctrine and shaped by endless war. He demands precision from his warriors, not chaos. His version of speed is not recklessness, but efficiency honed into destruction. Where other Brazen Lions embody stoic resilience or methodical slaughter, Krull is the living embodiment of offensive doctrine: strike first, strike hardest, and never allow the enemy a second breath. Though often underestimated by his enemies as a blunt instrument of war, those who survive his initial fury soon realize the terrifying truth, every assault, every sweep of his Pride, is a calculated flensing of weakness. Jorias Krull does not merely break the enemy's lines, he tears apart their will to resist, and then drowns what remains beneath the Iron Gale.
- Warleader Rolakas Sol - Rolakas Sol, Ninth Captain of the Brazen Lions, is a figure wrought in iron and silence. A towering presence among his brothers, whose thunderous wrath in battle belies the quiet grief he carries in the stillness between wars. A veteran of four Crusades and the sole survivor of the Karpathian Rift Campaign, Sol bears the scars of a lifetime spent chasing absolution through fire and steel. Beneath his obsidian plate, weathered gold etched with the lion sigil of his Chapter, beats a heart that remembers too well the shame whispered behind their name: Astral Claw. He has never spoken of it publicly, but his warriors know the weight he carries. He fights not for glory, nor even for vengeance, but for something more difficult to grasp in this age of ruin, redemption. His command deck aboard Vigil Omnis, the Ninth Company’s strike cruiser, is as austere as the man himself: no trophies, no banners, only relics of fallen kin and the names of the dead engraved in Low Gothic across its walls.
Rolakas Sol is often found in the Reclusiam in the hours before battle, his eyes fixed on the flickering flame of a single candle placed beneath the shattered helm of his mentor, Captain Atheon Vel, lost at Maldrass Gate. There, in the hush between prayers and battle orders, Sol communes not with gods, but with ghosts. He does not weep, his gene forged soul is beyond that now—but the silence around him thickens like mourning. His brothers follow him not because he shouts the loudest, but because he bears the burden they all feel and never speaks it aloud. The Brazen Lions may carry the bloodline of traitors, but under Sol’s watch, they do not bend. They burn. In every war zone they descend upon, they do so as sons of fire and penance unbroken, unyielding, and utterly loyal, not because they are free of suspicion, but because they know they never will be.
- Warleader Dolvax Falk, "Gravehand of the Tenth" - Dolvax Falk is the incarnation of grim inevitability, a cold, unyielding presence clad in adamantine black and burnished gold. Tenth Captain of the Brazen Lions known as the "Gravehand of the Tenth," Falk commands not merely with strategy, but with the weight of ancestral fury. He does not bark orders nor revel in triumph; he delivers decrees like gravestones, spoken once and sealed in blood. It is said that his voice is rarely heard outside of war-council or prayer, and that his warriors know him more through his deeds than any mortal bond. Falk’s battle record stretches unbroken for over two centuries: hive wars, xenos purges, Chaos interdictions, and void crusades. All crushed beneath the same iron doctrine: no retreat, no tolerance, no quarter. His combi bolter, Quietus, has ended more heretics than some Chapters have seen.
But beneath the ceramite and scars, Falk carries a wound deeper than any blade could cut, the shame of bloodlines. The revelation that the Brazen Lions are descended from the Astral Claws struck the Chapter like a thunderbolt. To be of the line of Lufgt Huron, the Tyrant of Badab, is to wear a curse forged in betrayal. Falk has never denied this truth. He has never uttered a word in defense of the traitors. Instead, he has turned that ancestral disgrace into a relentless fury, directing it at the enemies of Mankind with merciless clarity. When questioned by an Inquisitor about his Chapter's lineage, Falk's reply was simple: “Let the Emperor judge my deeds, not my blood.” It is a mantra he has made into an oath, one inscribed into his armor, etched into the hearts of his warriors, and spoken before every campaign. Among the Brazen Lions, he is more than a captain, he is the executioner of a legacy they did not choose, but one they will bury in fire and iron.
- Pride Champion Valtharion Ravok, "The Unyielding Fang" - Standing as a living testament to the indomitable will of his Chapter. Known as "The Unyielding Fang," Ravok is a figure of stark presence on the battlefield, his towering form clad in the black and gold of his Chapter, his armor etched with the scars of countless battles. A warrior of unmatched discipline, Ravok wields his gleaming sword, Lion’s Fury, with a precision that borders on the supernatural. Each strike is calculated, delivering death with cold efficiency, cutting down enemies with the ruthless grace of a predator claiming its kill. To watch Ravok fight is to see the embodiment of the Lion’s spirit, fierce, relentless, and unyielding in the face of impossible odds. His sword, honed over centuries of war, is both a symbol of his status and a weapon of destruction, severing the lives of heretics and xenos alike in a blur of lightning fast strikes.
Ravok’s reputation as a swordsman is not built solely on his raw skill; it is forged through the ironclad resolve that drives him to never falter, never yield. He is a hero of the chapter who leads by example, charging into the thick of battle with his warriors, his blade flashing like a bolt of retribution. The Pride Champion is known for his ability to carve through the heart of enemy formations, his speed and strength allowing him to cut down entire squads of enemies before they can react. In the heat of battle, Ravok becomes a force of nature, unstoppable, unbreakable, and relentless. His warriors follow him not just out of duty, but out of reverence for the sheer might of his presence. To them, he is a living embodiment of their Chapter’s pride—a leader who has carried the weight of their history and lineage, and who stands unbowed, no matter the enemy. In every clash of steel, Ravok's legend grows, and with every fallen foe, the Unyielding Fang asserts its place at the forefront of the Brazen Lions' unending war.
Chapter Fleet
The Brazen Lions’ fleet is a living manifestation of their relentless will and unyielding nature, a dark reflection of the Chapter’s desire to never rest, never find peace, and never stop their eternal Crusade. Unlike other fleet-based Chapters, the Brazen Lions operate under the rarely seen Nomad-Predation strategy. A method of warfare so singular and honed that it has become a hallmark of their identity. The Lions are not a fleet that follows the typical patterns of periodic resupply, reinforcements, or stable command chains. Instead, they live in isolation, their ships functioning as self sustaining war machines designed to operate beyond the Imperium’s grasp for centuries at a time. Their vessels have become their homes and their weapons, and each is a fortress in its own right, brimming with the fierce discipline and ferocity of their warriors. It is said that every vessel in the Brazen Lions fleet is a city of war, designed to survive on its own without external aid, ensuring that the Chapter can remain on the hunt for as long as the Emperor wills it.
Lion's Pride, Flagship of the Brazen Lions
This pattern utilised by the Lions has matured over the millennia when operating beyond the Imperium's boundaries for prolonged ages of time. The Nomad-Predation pattern has allowed the Lions to be an entirely sovereign force that could sustain itself without any support whatsoever. The Lions are ever vigilant, and are always ready for battle which is why they have chosen to remain a highly mobile, fleet-based Chapter.
The fleet moves with brutal efficiency, as cold and calculating as a predator stalking its prey. Their ships are rarely seen in the light of day, vanishing into the void and striking without warning. The Lions do not require the support of supply fleets or the complex network of war resources that most Chapters rely upon. Their vessels are equipped to harvest resources from the dead worlds they pass, using salvaged technology and the scavenge of ancient wrecks to fuel their endless engines of war. This self-reliance is a point of pride for the Brazen Lions, a testament to their ability to survive in the most hostile of environments. To the Imperium, the Brazen Lions are often seen as a shadow on the fringes, a force that operates far from the light of the Astronomican, yet whose presence is felt wherever they strike. The Nomad-Predation pattern is one of their defining strengths, enabling the Chapter to remain autonomous, independent, and insatiable in their hunt for enemies of mankind.
Their flagship, the Lion’s Pride, is a warship as legendary as the Chapter itself. Its hull bears the scars of countless engagements, a towering symbol of the Brazen Lions' purpose and fury. The Lion’s Pride is a fortress, a cathedral of war where no space is wasted on luxuries or comforts. The bridge of the flagship is cold, sterile, and functional, with its darkened halls often echoing only with the sounds of battle strategies being whispered between officers, and the sharp clang of ceramite boots upon iron floors. This vessel is not merely a ship; it is the embodiment of the Chapter’s spirit, a place where each warrior is ever ready, ever vigilant, and ever bound to the endless war. Aboard it, the Lions train, strategize, and worship the Emperor, but it is also a symbol of their eternal disconnection from the Imperium, for they know nothing of home except the cold void between the stars.
The Brazen Lions, however, are not just a fleet, they are a nomadic force of the Emperor’s vengeance. Their Nomad-Predation strategy dictates that they strike quickly, without mercy, before vanishing again into the void. They are ghosts of war, their enemies rarely having the time to fully comprehend their tactics before they are swept aside in a torrent of blood and steel. Over the millennia, this strategy has made the Brazen Lions both feared and respected across the Imperium. Few know the full extent of their operations, for they are always moving, always striking at the enemies of Mankind from the darkness of space. In a universe torn asunder by war, the Brazen Lions stand apart—not as mere soldiers of the Imperium, but as an unstoppable force of nature, driven by the eternal, unrelenting hunger for battle.
The Chapter fleet of the Brazen Lions is known to contain the following starships:
Unknown Class Battleships
- Lion's Pride (Unknown Class Battleship) - The Lion's Pride is no mere warship, it is a dark monument to the Brazen Lions’ undying purpose, a shadow of steel that drifts through the void, relentless and unforgiving. Of unknown-class origins, its hull bears the scars of countless wars, a testament to the centuries it has endured, and to the warriors it has sheltered. This ancient vessel serves as both the Chapter’s flagship and its mobile Fortress-Monastery, where its halls echo with the constant hum of preparation, the clang of ceramite against iron, and the quiet prayers of those who walk its darkened corridors. Every deck, every chamber, every bulkhead is designed for war, there is no comfort, no respite, only the constant readiness for battle. It is here, aboard the Lion's Pride, that the Brazen Lions have bled, prayed, and plotted their endless Crusade, fighting without end and without rest, knowing no home but the cold stars and the unyielding demands of their Emperor’s will.
- Relentless Hunter (Unknown Class Battleship) - A nightmare forged in the bowels of the void, a hulking unknown-class battleship whose very name strikes fear into the hearts of the enemies of Mankind. Its massive silhouette cuts through the dark expanse like a predator stalking its prey, a ship of war built not for mercy but for annihilation. This vessel is as unforgiving as the Brazen Lions themselves, its weapons and engines refined for a singular purpose: pursuit and eradication. The Relentless Hunter is more than just a battleship; it is the embodiment of the Chapter's savage hunger for vengeance. Its dark corridors, choked with the ever-present stench of oil and blood, house a crew of warriors whose resolve is as hard as the ship’s adamantium plating. Every bolt fired, every hull breach sealed, and every enemy destroyed serves to further the Chapter’s eternal crusade, making the Relentless Hunter not just a weapon, but an instrument of the Emperor’s retribution. In its wake, there is nothing left but the echo of its hunt, a silence broken only by the screams of the dying and the thunder of the Lion's rage.
Battle Barges
- Vengeance's Oath (Battle Barge) - As cold and relentless as the Brazen Lions themselves, a vessel whose very presence on the battlefield is a harbinger of retribution. Every inch of its massive hull is carved with the names of enemies long slain, each one a testament to the ship’s grim purpose: vengeance, and nothing else. Its weapons are immense, capable of bringing entire fleets to their knees, and its engines hum with a fury that mirrors the warriors who call it home. The Vengeance's Oath is no mere ship—it is a sacred instrument of the Chapter’s wrath, its walls resonating with the echoes of ancient oaths sworn in blood. Aboard this behemoth, the Brazen Lions steel themselves for war, knowing that its hold is a crucible where only the most determined, most unforgiving warriors are forged. The ship is their sanctuary, their war machine, and their constant reminder that the past cannot be undone, but the future is theirs to claim—one shattered enemy at a time.
- Merciless Wrath (Battle Barge) - Forged from the very essence of hatred, a ship of war whose name sends ripples of fear through the void. Her hull, blackened and scarred from decades of brutal engagements, gleams with the promise of destruction. This Barge is no place for the weak; her decks echo with the pounding of boots and the silent prayers of warriors preparing for battle. Her armament is unmatched, capable of razing entire worlds, but it is the crew within her that makes her truly terrifying. The Merciless Wrath is home to those who live only for the hunt, the destruction, and the absolute eradication of all who dare stand in the way of the Emperor's will. Aboard her, there is no room for doubt or hesitation, every strike is calculated, every shot fired is a guaranteed death. The Merciless Wrath is a reflection of the Brazen Lions themselves: unforgiving, relentless, and unstoppable in their singular pursuit of vengeance. Her wake is marked by the smoldering ruins of those who dared to defy them.
Strike Cruisers
- Invictrix Leonis (Strike Cruiser) - A Strike Cruiser that embodies the unwavering might of the Brazen Lions, a ship forged for one purpose: to strike down the enemies of Mankind with unrelenting precision. Her prow is a jagged beast of steel, adorned with the sigils of the Brazen Lions, her hull scorched by countless engagements. The Invictrix Leonis moves with deadly grace, striking in silence before her enemies even realize they are under attack. Aboard her, the warriors of the Brazen Lions prepare for battle with cold, calculating focus, knowing that every assault, every raid, every engagement is another step toward securing their place in the Emperor’s eternal vengeance. She is a symbol of the Chapter’s strength and their refusal to relent, a vessel that is as relentless in battle as the Lions themselves.
- Lion's Claw (Strike Cruiser) - A brutal, no nonsense Strike Cruiser, its name a promise of savage destruction and merciless efficiency. Her hull, pitted and scarred from the ravages of countless wars, serves as a constant reminder of her crew’s undying commitment to the hunt. The Lion's Claw is known for its aggressive tactics, leading the charge into enemy fleets with devastating speed and overwhelming firepower. Her crew are warriors hardened by countless battles, each one trained to bring the might of the Emperor’s vengeance to those who dare defy His will. When the Lion's Claw strikes, it does so with the speed and ferocity of the predator it is named after, no retreat, no mercy, and no room for hesitation. She is the embodiment of the Brazen Lions' unyielding wrath.
- Void Hunter (Strike Cruiser) - A Strike Cruiser that stalks the depths of the void with a chilling, predatory grace. Her sleek design and silent engines allow her to slip through the blackness of space like a ghost, striking swiftly and without warning before vanishing back into the abyss. The Void Hunter is a ship of stealth and surgical precision, designed to disrupt and destroy with ruthless efficiency. Her warriors are masters of stealth, trained in the arts of boarding and close-quarters combat, ready to board enemy ships and reduce them to ruins. Every engagement aboard the Void Hunter is a deadly dance, each move calculated, each strike fatal. She is the ghost in the darkness, the one who delivers death before the enemy even realizes they are hunted.
- Nemial's Wrath (Strike Cruiser) - A Strike Cruiser steeped in legend, her name a constant reminder of the terrible vengeance her crew brings to the battlefield. Named after the ancient warlord Nemial, whose own wrath was infamous throughout the Chapter’s history, the ship is a harbinger of destruction. Her armament is overwhelming, capable of cracking the hulls of the largest enemy vessels with a single broadside. The Nemial’s Wrath leads the Brazen Lions in their most brutal campaigns, her firepower unmatched and her ferocity renowned. Aboard her, the Lions fight with a cold, calculated intensity, their every action driven by the thirst for vengeance that Nemial himself once embodied. When the Nemial's Wrath enters the fray, it is as though the very fury of the Emperor himself is unleashed, unstoppable and all consuming.
Escort Ships
- Warblade (Light Cruiser) - A Light Cruiser that cuts through the void like a razor, swift and merciless. Her sleek, angular design belies the brutal efficiency with which she serves the Brazen Lions, acting as a deadly escort vessel for the larger warships of the fleet. Though smaller than her more imposing counterparts, the Warblade makes up for it with lightning-fast strikes and the precision of a surgical blade. Her weaponry is optimized for quick engagements lightning fast torpedo salvos, pulse lasers, and barrages of high-velocity ordinance designed to cripple or destroy enemy vessels before they can react. Her crew are masters of rapid assault tactics, trained to overwhelm the enemy in moments of chaos, turning the tide of battle with brutal speed. To face the Warblade is to face a storm of steel, a flash of death that leaves only burning wreckage in its wake.
- Leonis Excrutio (Light Cruiser) - A Light Cruiser that embodies the more ruthless, predatory nature of the Brazen Lions. Her hull is a blackened nightmare of reinforced plating and reinforced steel, built for enduring the harshest of combat situations. A ship of war designed for terror, the Leonis Excrutio harbors a crew that is as relentless as the vessel itself, trained to strike and withdraw in perfect synchrony, leaving a wake of broken enemies in their path. Equipped with advanced close-range weaponry, the Leonis Excrutio excels in flanking maneuvers and lightning raids, striking like a serpent from the shadows of larger ships or debris fields. Her name is whispered among the foes of the Imperium with dread, for wherever she goes, the Leonis Excrutio brings not just battle, but a promise of death with no mercy. Those who have faced her and lived speak of her like a ghost, a shadow of death that is impossible to outrun and impossible to kill.
Chapter Relics
- Claws of Nemial - A relic of such age and power that their mere presence on the battlefield is enough to send shivers through both allies and enemies alike. Forged in the darkest years of the Brazen Lions’ history, these master crafted Lightning Claws are as much a symbol of the Chapter’s grim legacy as they are instruments of brutal destruction. The pair of razor edged talons are sheathed in a crackling power field, their energy arcing violently like the very fury of the Emperor’s wrath incarnate. These weapons are only donned by the Chapter Master, for they are a legacy passed down through generations of Lions, each bearer a chosen ruler marked by the weight of their ancestors’ sins and triumphs. When the Claws of Nemial are wielded, it is a declaration of war in its most pure and devastating form—the Chapter Master steps onto the field as an avatar of vengeance, and none who stand against him are spared. The Claws were once the weapons of Nemial himself, a warlord whose rage and power were legendary, and it is said that every time the Chapter Master unsheathes them, he is not just wielding a weapon, but invoking the relentless spirit of Nemial. An unstoppable force that cleaves through both flesh and honor alike, leaving nothing but ruin in its wake.
- Light's Bane - A relic of the Brazen Lions that has carved its mark into the history of the Chapter as both a weapon of unmatched craftsmanship and a symbol of unyielding resolve. This master crafted Power Sword has been wielded by many of the Chapter’s finest warriors, but it now rests in the hands of Brother Tragan Karib, a warrior whose name has become synonymous with indomitable will. The blade itself is a brutal thing, one edge is graced with notched serrations, a testament to the years of heavy use it has endured, cutting through both flesh and steel with equal precision. The once pristine blade is now tarnished, its surface scarred by the brutal burn marks of its power field, as if each strike leaves a portion of the weapon’s soul etched into its steel. The Light's Bane has seen countless campaigns, its sharp edge ever ready to deliver death in the name of the Emperor. In the hands of Karib, it is more than a weapon; it is an extension of his own fury, an instrument that cuts down the enemies of Mankind with cold, relentless precision. Each swing of the blade is an echo of the Chapter's eternal fight for redemption. Each notch, each scorch mark, a reminder that the Lion’s wrath is never tempered, and it never falters.
- Felthorn - An ancient master crafted Bolt Pistol, its grim history woven into the very fabric of the Brazen Lions' long and bloody crusade. Passed down through the generations, this weapon has served as both a symbol of the Chapter’s endurance and a brutal tool of destruction. Its grip is worn smooth by the hands of countless warriors, each one marked by battle, and its barrel is adorned with intricate engravings, runic sigils that have long since faded with time, but whose meaning remains etched in the hearts of the Lions. The Felthorn has seen millennia of service, its power cells burning with a fury that mirrors the rage of the Chapter itself, sending explosive rounds tearing through the ranks of heretics, xenos, and traitors alike. Though the pistol's frame is scarred, and its once-pristine finish tarnished, it has never faltered, never failed to bring death where it is commanded. In the hands of a Brazen Lion, the Felthorn is not just a weapon—it is a reminder of their unbroken vow to the Emperor, a weapon of vengeance that has struck down countless enemies, and a harbinger of the destruction to come for those who dare challenge the might of the Lions.
- Fury of the Lion - An ancient relic of the Brazen Lions, a weapon whose deceptively simple appearance belies its terrible power. At first glance, it is but a finely decorated knife, its hilt wrapped in worn leather and adorned with symbols of the Chapter, its blade gleaming with the cold light of age. Yet within its handle lies a deadly secret: a plasma generator that, when activated, generates an intense, crackling field of superheated energy around the blade. Once thrown, the Fury of the Lion transforms into a projectile of destruction, its plasma sheath capable of searing through the thickest armor as though it were paper. Over the centuries, this weapon has become a symbol of the Brazen Lions' savage efficiency, its use reserved only for those who have earned the right to wield it. When it strikes, it does so with the precision and power of a Lion in its prime, leaving nothing but ruin in its wake. The Fury of the Lion is not just a blade, but a reminder of the fury that courses through the veins of the Chapter. A rage that can tear through flesh, bone, and steel with equal ferocity, and one that will never be quelled.
- Knight's Fall - A weapon that carries with it both the weight of history and the unrelenting fury of the Brazen Lions. Forged by the Chapter’s master artificers specifically for Captain Taelos Orric, it is as much a symbol of his status as it is a weapon of devastating destruction. This Combi-Melta, perfectly calibrated to deliver death with unerring precision, is an extension of Orric's will, and it has never failed him in battle. The Knight's Fall is more than just a tool of war; it is imbued with a Machine Spirit of exceptional nobility, a spirit that is as steadfast and loyal as the captain himself. It is said that when Orric wields the Knight's Fall, the weapon seems to resonate with his very soul, its power augmenting his own indomitable fury. When the time comes for destruction, the Combi-Melta’s meltagun burns with a righteous fire that can tear through even the thickest fortifications, while its bolter is equally capable of clearing swathes of enemies in a single, brutal salvo. In the hands of Captain Orric, the Knight's Fall has been the instrument of countless victories, and its gleaming surface, scorched by years of use, serves as a constant reminder of the Chapter's relentless pursuit of vengeance. No foe is too great, no enemy too well fortified to escape its wrath.
Chapter Appearance
Chapter Colours
The Brazen Lions’ Chapter colours are a grim declaration of their purpose, with black battle plate that absorbs the light of the galaxy, trimmed in gold to signify both their pride and the weight of their burdens. Each warrior’s armour is marked with symbols of their combat role and company, the gold of their Aquila and numerals gleaming against the dark backdrop. Silent markers of their place in the eternal war, each squad’s insignia a reminder that even in the darkest hours, the Lions remain ever watchful and ever ready to strike.
Chapter Badge
The Brazen Lions' Chapter badge is a symbol of both pride and penitence, a stark, stylised lion wrought in black and gold, its fierce visage centered upon a field of sable. This emblem, burned into the souls of all who bear it, serves as a constant reminder of the Lions' unyielding drive for redemption, their battle-hardened spirits as unbreakable as the lion’s unrelenting pursuit of its prey.
Chapter Relations
Allies
| Astral Warriors |  |
The Astral Warriors share with the Brazen Lions a grim legacy: both are the children of the Astral Claws, the once-proud Chapter whose fall into heresy remains one of the Imperium’s darkest wounds. Yet unlike their progenitors, both successor Chapters have taken divergent paths—paths soaked in penance and ceaseless bloodshed. For the Brazen Lions, the Astral Warriors represent not a reminder of shame but of endurance. Their shared ancestry has forged between them a kinship of necessity, and though suspicion follows both Chapters wherever they tread, they stand together against any who would question their loyalty. Over the millennia, the two Chapters have fought shoulder-to-shoulder in countless campaigns across the Segmentum Tempestus and beyond. From the defense of the Ceryx Gate, where both Chapters broke an Ork WAAAGH! upon the barricades of shattered hive-cities, to the purging of the Baalek Rift, where they scoured the tendrils of a splinter Tyranid fleet, the Astral Warriors and Brazen Lions have proved their bond in fire and blood. Their banners often fly side by side, not as supplicants seeking redemption, but as predators who refuse to bow to the judgment of others. Among the Astral Warriors, the Brazen Lions find not only comrades-in-arms, but mirrors of their own nature—fierce, unyielding, and ever-suspicious of Imperial hypocrisy. While others mutter of curses and tainted lineages, the Brazen Lions see in the Astral Warriors a brotherhood bound by resilience. To fight alongside them is to be reminded that the past, however stained, does not define the measure of a warrior’s soul. |
| Blades of Dorn |  |
The Blades of Dorn are a 12th Founding Successor Chapter descended from the Imperial Fists, present a stark contrast to the Brazen Lions. Where the Lions rage with brazen fury and strike with predatory zeal, the Blades are grim walls of living ceramite, unmoving and unyielding. Their stoic silence and cold detachment have often created friction between the Chapters, but when battle is joined, these differences forge a brutal harmony. The Lions' ferocity breaks the enemy upon the anvil of Dorn’s descendants, who refuse to yield until all opposition lies in ruin. Though both Chapters are distrusted for their bloodlines - the Lions for their descent from traitors, the Blades for their progenitors falling to Chaos - this common mistrust has made them natural allies. They have learned to respect each other not through camaraderie, but through the recognition of strength. When the Lions hurl themselves into the fray, the Blades of Dorn follow not with admiration, but with grim calculation, knowing that between them the foe will be annihilated. In the Second Suppression of Threxia, their combined tactics saw them slaughter a Chaos warhost whose numbers dwarfed their own, breaking the back of a rebellion that had festered for centuries. There is little warmth in the bond between the Blades of Dorn and the Brazen Lions, but there is trust of a kind more enduring than sentiment. Both Chapters know that each will die before yielding ground, that each will see the foe broken in blood and ash. To the Imperium at large, they may be misfits and pariahs, but upon the battlefield, their alliance is nothing less than a hammer and stake driven deep into the heart of the Emperor's enemies. |
Enemies
Notable Quotes
By the Brazen Lions
- "The Emperor commands us, our duty guides us, our honour shields us! Fear our name, for it is vengeance!"
- — Warleader Malak Vetala of the Brazen Lions of the 1st Pride
- "Form up ranks and stand fast my brothers! We shall show these traitorous degenerates the meaning of vengeance this day!"
- — Warleader Malak Vetala, 1st Pride commander, when confronting their former gene-sires for the first time.
- "Failure is not an option my brothers! Here we stand and here shall we die, unbroken and unbowed, though the very hand of death itself come for us, we will spit our defiance to the end! The lives of millions, and the honour of our Chapter, hang in the balance!"
- — Brazen Lions last stand against Vandire's apostate forces, as the Ecclesiarchy's Frateris Templar descends upon their homeworld of Nemial
- "Many of our brothers have fallen this day. We may be few, and our enemies many. Yet so long as there remains one of us still fighting, then the galaxy shall yet know hope."
- — Pride Master Aldrinvar Crane after the destruction of their home world of Nemial
About the Brazen Lions
- "The Brazen Lions fight like the angels of vengeance they are. They do not ask for laurels. They do not pause for acclaim. They only advance, and silence all who dare speak of their shame."
- —Inquisitor Tyras Velethon, Ordo Hereticus
- "I have fought beside many Astartes in my years. None look you in the eye the way a Lion does—like he's already judged your worth and found you lacking."
- —Colonel-Executor Darnic Hest, 54th Mordian Iron Guard
- "The Brazen Lions are not trusted. They are not liked. But when the galaxy burns, and all others falter, they are the Chapter we send to end it."
- —High Lord Toren Vhal, Senatorum Imperialis
- "They descended like iron storms, roaring like the beasts of old Caloran myth. No quarter. No surrender. Just the thunder of vengeance made flesh."
- —Survivor Account, Heretic-Commander Vorex, Final Transmission
- "Ah yes, the Lions. They think they can drown out their past with bolter fire. But I remember Vornax Prime. I saw what they did to the surrendering garrison. Loyal or not, they are but blades looking for a neck."
- —Anonymous Vox Intercept, attributed to General Kael Mordax (Missing, presumed executed)
- "They killed my brothers in silence, without cruelty, without hesitation. It was not hatred that moved them. It was duty. And that is the most terrifying thing of all."
- —Arch-Slaughterfiend Rzhalakar, Dark Apostle of the Word Bearers, prior to execution
Gallery
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Vehicle Gallery
