Crimson Bones

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Crimson Bones
Crimeson Bones armorial with Chapter iconography
Intercessor of the 8th Company, 6th Close Support Squad
Space Marine Chapter
Allegiance	Imperium of Man (Fidelitas Totalis)
Founding	5th Founding
Successor of	Blood Angels (Sanguinius lineage) Mortifactors (Roboute Guilliman lineage)
Chapter Master	Chapter Master Galataius Kaneel
Homeworld	Palotern Quintus
Fortress-Monastery	Palotern Catacombs
Allies	Red Mammoths, Blood Aurochs, Red Tusks
Number of Marines	1,000
Specialty	Aerial Assault, Hit and Run Attacks, Siege Warfare, Underground Warfare
Battle Cry	"We are Death!"
Colours	Red and Bone
Successor Chapter(s)	None

The Crimson Bones are a 5^th Founding Successor Chapter of chimeric gene-seed. They descend from the lineage of both Roboute Guilliman and Sanguinius. They specialise in aerial assault and hit and run attacks, striking hard and fast like a bird of prey, before retreating and regrouping for another assault. They are also masters of siege warfare. As Scions of Sanguinius, they suffer from the twin flaws of the Red Thirst and the Black Rage that all sons of Sanguinius are plagued by. The Crimson Bones' blood rituals have allowed them to gain control over the Black Rage, and those battle-brothers that do fall to the Black Rage have gained an unequalled control over their affliction. Like their other parent chapter, the Mortifactors, the Crimson Bones have many dark rituals and an obsession with death.

The Crimson Bones live beneath the crust of their homeworld of Palotern Quintus, in the Palotern Catacombs, which doubles as their fortress-monastery. The tunnels that snake beneath the planet's surface are bristling with weapon emplacements, ready to defend the catacombs should they be infiltrated by enemy forces.

The Crimson Bones have a similar belief to the Doom Eagles that they are already dead, and their collection of dour battle-brothers are all eager to sell their lives dearly in service to the Emperor of Mankind. The Crimson Bones are deeply traumatised by the death of their father, Sanguinius, and hold many rituals to honour his memory, in the hopes that this will grant them supremacy over the Red Thirst and the Black Rage. However, like the Mortifactors, they do not adhere to the teachings of the Codex Astartes, despite the fact that it was penned by their other primarch, Roboute Guilliman.

Chapter History

The Crimson Bones are a dour, morose chapter, with their culture largely centred around death. This is the defining trait of the chapter's character, and like their fellow Space Marines of the Imperial Fists, the Crimson Bones have a penchant for scrimshawing. Their subterranean fortress-monastery is filled with scrimshaws depicting scenes of death.

Chapter Organization

Despite being successors of the Ultramarines, the Crimson Bones do not adhere to the tenants of the Codex Astartes. Instead, like their parent chapter, the Mortifactors, the Crimson Bones have their own unique chapter organization.

Order of Battle

The following is the Order of Battle of the Crimson Bones during the Era Indomitus:

Headquarters

Chapter Command

Chapter Master Galataius Kaneel Lord of the Crimson Bones 20 Sanguinary Guards Daecin Morar, Chapter Champion Mortis Command Squad: Veteran Sergeant, Sanguinary Priest, Chaplain,Techmarine, Lexicanium & Chapter Ancient Chapter Equerries Serfs & Servitors
Sanguinary Priesthood	Reclusiam	Armoury
Fleet Command	Logisticiam	Librarius

Companies

Host of the Crimson Bones

Veteran Companies		Battle Companies
1st Company	Death Commandos	2nd Company	3rd Company	4th Company	5th Company
" Captain Altares Dolemus
Reserve Companies				Scout Company	Death Company

Chapter Recruitment

The Crimson Bones' main recruiting world is their homeworld of Palotern Quintus. As well as recruiting from their homeworld, the Crimson Bones have also built many strongholds on many planets and moons throughout the galaxy. It is common for a garrison of Crimson Bones Astartes to be stationed at each stronghold, responsible for protecting the fortress and people nearby. The garrison of Crimson Bones is also responsible for collecting a tithe of the nearby population to serve as crew members on the chapter's fleet, and if they are young enough, to become aspirants.

The aspirants are taught the doctrines of the chapter, and then it is decided whether they are worthy of joining the ranks of the chapter. As well as learning the doctrines of the chapter, numerous physical tests are administered by the chapter's Sanguinary Priests to measure their musculature, blood pressure, heart rate, liver function and so on. The Chaplains then work with the Sanguinary Priests to build a psychological profile of the aspirant. The aspirants dexterity, pain resistance, ability to shoot, intelligence and reflexes are also tested. The chapter's Librarians also test the psychic levels of the aspirants.

If selected to advance in their training, the aspirants then spend six months abroad one of the chapter's ships learning Imperial Low Gothic and High Gothic through the use of a hypnocasque. It is then that the aspirant undergoes the Blood Change.

The Blood Change

Like the Blood Angels, who a portion of their gene-seed is descended from, the aspirants of the Crimson Bones undergo the Blood Change. This involves being fed a portion of Sanguinius' blood by the chapter's Sanguinary Priests. Soon after this, the aspirant falls into a deep sleep, and is then placed within a sarcophagus within the Hall of Sarcophagi. The pillars within this massive, dimly lit hall, are engraved with depictions of scenes of death and images of the chapter's primarchs, the Angel Sanguinius and Roboute Guilliman. Each of the sarcophagi is twice the size of a mortal man, the aspirants dwarfed by their sheer size. The aspirant is entombed within, attached to life-sustaining apparatus, where they will remain for a period of time. The aspirants are fed intravenously with nutrients and injected with the sacred mix of the bloods of Sanguinius and Roboute Guilliman. The battle-brother will return to this sarcophagus each time after the implantation of one of his gene-seed organs, and remain entombed inside for a period of time. He will emerge after a period of time after each implantation to resume his training, until he is implanted with his Black Carapace and becomes a fully-fledged Space Marine.

Chapter Beliefs

Scrimshawing

The Crimson Bones maintain a culture that believes that they are already dead, or close to death's door, and so they are more than willing to give their lives in service to the Emperor. Like battle-brothers of the Imperial Fists, when memories of fallen comrades overtake them, some Crimson Bones indulge in the scrimshawing of their bones, honouring the memory of those long-passed.

It is said that as the Crimson Bones grow older and sees more of his Battle-Brothers fall in combat, his urge to master the practice of scrimshawing the bones of his fallen kin becomes all but irresistible.

Often, this devotional act serves to belay any sense of failure the Battle-Brother may feel for his own part in the death, whether real or imagined, and in some cases is an act of penance imposed by the Chapter Chaplains or by the Crimson Bones himself.

Over the thousands of years of their service, the Crimson Bones have accumulated an extensive collection of their works. The majority of their works are housed in the chapter's fortress-monastery, displayed in niches of the Palotern Catacombs and in cases in the Reclusiam.

The Crimson Bones develop an obsession with scrimshawing, often spending hours scrimshawing until their hands are raw and their fingers bleed. The scrimshaws of the Astartes often depict gruesome scenes of death, commemorating the darkest moments in their chapter's history. Often the only thing that brings them peace is their own deaths, and the knowledge that their own death will eventually be depicted in one of their brother's scrimshaws.

Culture of Death

The Crimson Bones' whole culture is dedicated to death. Like the Doom Eagles, the Crimson Bones believe that they are already dead, and are willing to go to any and all lengths to sacrifice themselves in the Emperor's name. Their entire lives are dedicated to achieving an everlasting death. Their scrimshaws are almost always depictions of scenes of battle, usually depicting the last moments of a battle-brother's life. Their underground fortress-monastery, the Palotern Catacombs, contains many murals depicting morbid scenes of death. Often, the only splash of colour on these murals is the bright red and cream depictions of the chapter's battle-brothers.

One of the most elaborate ceremonies of the chapter is the extraction of a battle-brother's gene-seed, and the entombment of the battle-brother's body in his sarcophagus in the Hall of Sarcophagi. It was within this sarcophagus that the battle-brother, as an aspirant after ingesting the sacred blood of their lord Sanguinius, falls into a deep sleep for a year. It is this very same sarcophagus that the battle-brother shall be laid to rest in, until his flesh is gone and his bones are yellow. It is usually at this time that the Space Marine's battle-brother will begin to collect the bones from his brother's sarcophagus to depict images of the warrior's life, specifically his death, through scrimshawing.

Due to this, the Chapter does not field many Dreadnoughts, as they believe their battle-brothers should be at peace when they die. However, like all Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, they do field a limited number of dreadnoughts. These dreadnoughts are often sombre figures of infinite knowledge but cursed with rage at being ripped from the jaws of death. For this reason, the dreadnoughts of the Crimson Bones often have to be restrained so that they don't throw themselves recklessly into battle.

Chapter Gene-Seed

The Crimson Bones have chimeric gene-seed, comprised of the gene seed of both the Blood Angels and the Mortifactors. However, due to this, the Crimson Bones' gene-seed has a high level of mutation.

Notable Members

• Chapter Master Galataius Kaneel -

Chapter Appearance

Chapter Colours

The Crimson Bones wear red and bone coloured power armour. The majority of their armour is painted blood red, but the shoulder pauldrons and arms are painted bone white. The shoulder trim is painted red. The aquila or Imperialis is also painted bone white. The chapter badge is displayed on the left shoulder pauldron.

The Crimson Bones use the traditional Blood Angels blood drop company markings, with two bones crossed over each other with the blood drops superimposed on top. They also use the traditional Blood Angels squad markings.

However, unlike the Blood Angels, the Crimson Bones do not use the colour of their helmets to denote their battle role. Instead, they use the traditional symbols to signify battle role - Battleline, Close Support, Fire Support, Veteran or Command - on their right shoulder pauldron.

Chapter Badge

The chapter badge of the Crimson Bones is a skull and crossbones with three blood drops on the forehead of the skull on a cream background. It is displayed on the left shoulder pauldron.

Relations

Allies

Allies of the Crimson Bones

Name	Iconography	Notes
Red Mammoths		The Crimson Bones have a close bond with their cousin chapter, the Red Mammoths. The Red Mammoths are a 6th Founding Space Marine Chapter, created from the lineage of Sanguinius in 831.M33 during the Year of Ghosts, a time when the honoured dead rose up to battle against the terrors of the Warp. Their homeworld is Sorrius II, a Feudal World where tribes competed amongst themselves and against one another for resources. Their fortress-monastery is the Tusks of the Mammoth, a fortress located on the western mountains, high up where there is little atmosphere. It is from this world that their main tithe of recruits is selected, although the Red Mammoths also have many other recruiting worlds, mainly feudal worlds. The Crimson Bones came to the aid of the Red Mammoths when they rebelled against the Imperium and the Red Mammoths. The Crimson Bones generously offered the Red Mammoths a portion of their neophytes as they worked on rebuilding their chapter and homeworld to its former strength. They have been allies ever since.
Red Tusks		The Red Tusks are a 7th Founding Space Marine Chapter of the lineage of Sanguinius. They are a successor chapter of the Red Mammoths, and maintain close ties with their parent chapter. They are fleet based chapter, specialising in close-quarters assaults such as space hulk purgation and boarding actions, as well as aerial assault. However, unlike their parent chapter and their progenitor chapter, the Blood Angels, the Red Tusks also excel at armoured warfare, often striding into battle inside huge war machines, crushing the bodies of their foes beneath the tracks of their tanks, the red and gold metal skin of their war machines a resplendent sight in the midst of battle. As a successor chapter of the Red Mammoths, they are also allies of the Crimson Bones.
Blood Aurochs		The Blood Aurochs are an 8th Founding Successor Chapter of the Blood Angels, one of the many Chapters of the Blood. They were created sometime in the middle of the 34th Millennium, due to the ongoing Nova Terra Interregnum, as the High Lords of Terra felt a new collection of brutal and ruthless chapters were necessary to pacify the Imperial population during this period of unrest. The Blood Aurochs were one of many chapters created during this time. As Scions of Sanguinius, the Blood Aurochs are susceptible to the twin flaws all Astartes of Sanguinius's lineage are cursed with: the Red Thirst and the Black Rage. As a chapter of the 8th Founding, the Blood Aurochs are of a particularly vicious mien, their battle-brothers prone to falling to the fury of the Red Thirst in the midst of battle. Like the aurochs they are named after, a species of old Terran cattle long since extinct, the Blood Aurochs are prone to bouts of violence, causing the deaths of countless of their enemies. They are swift and fast, like their namesake, attacking their enemies like a herd of stampeding aurochs, and then retreating and re-grouping before their foe can organise a counter-assault. The Crimson Bones came to their defence when the Blood Aurochs' homeworld came under attack by the Greater Daemon of Khorne, Ka'Bandha.

Notable Quotes

About the Crimson Bones

[Source]

Fifth Founding Space Marine Chapters
Dark Angels Successors	[There are NO Dark Angels Successors created during this Founding] (Officially)
White Scars Successors	Iron Flashes •
Space Wolves Successors	•
Imperial Fists Successors	Sentinels of Dorn • Steel Angels •
Blood Angels Successors	Death Angels •
Iron Hands Successors	Warmachines •
Ultramarines Successors	Knights of Guilliman • Warlords •
Salamanders Successors	Knight Wardens •
Raven Guard Successors	•
Chimeric Lineage	Crimson Bones •
Unknown Lineage	Titanium Bears • Twilight Lords •

[Source]