The Lightning Sons (High Gothic: Filiatus Ignis) are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown Founding and lineage, known to be composed of staunch and aloof Imperial traditionalists. It is widely agreed upon that the Chapter was formed as part of the 23rd Founding in the late 37th Millennium, however the lack of any verifiable record makes confirmation next to impossible.
With their history nebulous and origins otherwise occluded, the Lightning Sons possess a fanatical drive to record, retain and preserve historical information, most importantly information pertaining to themselves and their Chapter. Each Battle-Brother is required to carry a Liber Invigilata (Low Gothic: Guarded Book) upon his person, and seldom leaves his side. It acts as a testament to his life, his victories and glories throughout centuries of service; a carefully woven tapestry, to be added to the Chronicon Magna upon his eventual demise.
Guided by the ancient precepts of the Civitas Imperialis, declared by the Emperor of Mankind during the Imperium's long-dead age of golden glories, the Lightning Sons wage dogged battle against the heretic, traitor and renegade. They wholeheartedly strive to embody the vision birthed by Him on Terra at the onset of His Great Crusade; they believe that only through the enlightenment of the Emperor's Imperial Truth, and the ultimate denial of divinity, can Mankind finally make manifest His ancient dream.
The Lightning Sons have since the 38th Millennium been the stewards of the Eagle's Gate, egress point of the single stable warp corridor that connects the Uridian Isola to the greater Imperium. Upon their homeworld of Navaern the Chapter wards the Pharus Astropathica, the ancient psychic beacon that maintains the vital bridge across the dark miasma of the Whispering Deeps, powered by techno-arcana birthed during the Dark Age of Technology.
With the opening of the Cicatrix Maledictum in 999.M41, and the launch of the Lord Regent's Indomitus Crusade, the Lightning Sons have continued the bitter fight for humanity's survival across a hundred worlds, having recently and successfully defended their home Sub-sector from the encroaching tendrils of the Ruinous Powers.
Chapter History[]
- "Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it."
- —Unknown Terran Philosophant
Lightning Sons Chapter Standard, the Vexilium Lux Aeternae, or 'Standard of the Light Eternal'.
Firstborn Brother Ramillies Amyntal of the 2nd Cohort, 3rd Battleline Tactical Maniple adorned in a mixture of Mark IV "Maximus" and Mark VII "Aquila" Power Armour, ca.998.M41.
A prideful and bullish Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, the Lightning Sons have, over their four millennia of confirmed history, always been ready to defend the Imperium. To push back the wicked tendrils of the ever-dark, and to cement and preserve Imperial dominion wherever it may be challenged.
Though the Lightning Sons have a long and glorious history of service in the Emperor's name, their exact origins and earliest days are obscured and uncertain. Suspected to have been established as part of the 23rd Founding, vague references of their service in the litanies and chronicles of other Chapters and Imperial Adepta prove that they have existed and fought the enemies of Mankind since before even then.
The gaps in Imperial records concerning the Chapter's origins are so extensive that the Lightning Sons don't even know the origins of their own gene-seed, with the line between myth and fact becoming terribly blurred. Chapters such as the Tome Keepers, Knights of Eternity and even the Rampagers have been put forward as possible progenitors, with some going so far as to suggest the long dead Praetoria Penitent, a Blackshield warband active in the Uridian Isola during the Horus Heresy.
However it is more than likely that these speculations have simply been based on some observed similarities in livery, iconography, trappings, cultural quirks or character between these Chapters and the Lightning Sons, which has given birth to likely unfounded assumptions by certain scholars of the Adeptus Terra and Deparmento Stratagos.
Ongoing attempts have been made by elements of the Adeptus Mechanicus' Magos Biologis, to at least identify the origin of the Chapter's gene-seed, but even these have met with universal failure, with more than one attempt ending abruptly under mysterious circumstances, or a complete and utter loss of recovered data.
Most troubling of all, is that it is unclear whether the mysteries concerning the Lightning Sons' origins are due to deliberate tempering by an Imperial Adepta, or whether simply lost due to clerical error. The fact that no existent Imperial record contains any verifiable evidence of the Chapter prior to the 37th Millennium, and the absence of any and all record from the Chapter's own extensive archive, points to a number of disturbing possibilities.
The first verifiable appearance of the Chapter within Imperial records was during the First Aephidic War of the late-37th Millennium, where in tandem with elements of the Royal Herculeans Chapter, the Lightning Sons brought the recalcitrant Aephidian Sector back under Imperial control. For their part in the conflict, the Chapter was awarded the world of Navaern as fife-in-perpetuity by the High Twelve, and given the recruitment rights of it and the Inaeon System.
They are stalwart traditionalists among the Space Marines, and staunch protectors of the Imperium's order and authority. This steadfast traditionalism has often found the Lightning Sons labeled as 'purists' by their brethren. Adhering not only to the precepts of the Civitas Imperialis, the Lightning Sons are said to still follow ancient doctrina taken from the Principia Belicosa, and other texts and treaties dated to the lost golden days of the Great Crusade.
Following and propagating the dictates of the Civitas Imperialis to an almost fanatical degree, the Lightning Sons have found few allies among those Chapters with a more bellicose or barbaric constitution, whose forms of warfare and cultural practices are either deemed unnecessarily destructive, or outright savage by the Chapter, such as the Subjugators or the Carcharodons Chapters respectively.
Relations between the Lightning Sons and other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes declined further following the 'Kindeath'. Suggested to have occurred during the 40th Millennium, the event has been surprisingly ill recorded, given the zeal of the Chapter's archival doctrine. The event caused not only internal strife within the Chapter, but saw it become estranged from its allies, both abroad and at home.
Relic patterns of Power Armour and ancient weapons of war once abundant, were suddenly spread thin, reserved for the veteran fraternities of the Chapter's elite 1st Cohort. Ancient doctrina, followed since the Chapter's earliest record, were suddenly altered or utterly abandoned.
Darker still, were the rumours of 'moral and spiritual degradation' endemic within the Chapter. Though perhaps exaggerated by begrudged adepts of the Adeptus Ministorum, there existed grains of truth beneath the rumour mongering. Hidden behind closed doors, and occluded to the rest of the Imperium, the Chapter suffered from sudden and rampant genetic degradation. Suspected to be the result of high yield Warp exposure, mutations in the Chapter's genetic stock spread like wildfire in the Kindeath's aftermath.
Caused by an aberrant mutation in the Omophagea, the Chapter was slowly being consumed. Its warriors were increasingly given to bouts of suicidal frenzy, driven by deep set feelings of unexplainable remorse and rage. As such, Chapter Medicae termed the mutation the 'Moritat's Malady', for so alike were they to the Moritats of the old Legions. In an attempt to combat the rampant genetic degradation of the Chapter's gene-stock, desperate and bloody measures were implemented.
Mentioned sparsely and vaguely within the Chapter's archival records, the Act of Decimation was the Chapter's answer to their rampant genetic degradation. Afflicted Battle-Brothers who were not slain in combat outright, or taken by their mutations wholesale, were returned to the Chapter's Fortress-Monastery and sequestered deep within its labyrinthine catacombs of ancient munitions stores and forgotten armourium cathedra, to await their execution.
The lack, and possible censure, of any record pertaining to such a hallowed event as the Kindeath, or the subsequent genetic mutations in its aftermath, have given rise, and then credence to other, fouler rumours abound the Adeptus Astartes and other Imperial Adepta. Rumours of sedition, of dark pacts and bloody betrayal. For a Chapter that covets the recording of its own history, the glaring holes in its archived chronology have beggared questions from external observers for over a millennia.
Notable Campaigns[]
- Aephidic War (961-995.M37) - Largely left to neglect and degradation during the Age of Apostasy, the Lords Mercantile of the Aephidian Sector had steadily become disillusioned with the Pax Imperialis proffered and promised by Holy Terra. Beset by Xenos raiders and heretical reavers, the lords of Aephidia readily and eagerly listened to the offers of friendship and mutual cooperation given out by the Votaanite UrHypek Mercantile Conglomerate. Following initial failures and setbacks by Imperial forces at securing a firm foothold in the region, the Lightning Sons, a hitherto unknown Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, claimed the first major victory at the Second Battle of Laeran. Conducting a concentrated orbital assaults' via Drop Pod, and supported by Thunderhawks and Storm Eagle Gunships, the Lightning Sons made landfall, fording a beachhead upon the heavily defended world. Outnumbered and denied vital air support by secessionist ground-to-void gun batteries, the Chapter held their landing zones for twenty seven straight hours until Imperial forces were able to clear a path planet-side, and seize the breach created by the Chapter's assault. The Chapter continued to serve through the rest of the conflict, notably acquitting itself in its final confrontation; the bloody excoriation of the UrHypek Hold World of Marzur. Spearheading the shattering of Marzur's defences, the Lightning Sons breached the Votaanite Holds with a massed assault of Termite Assault Drills. Displaying their apt ability at conducting combat operations under the duress of a Zone Mortalis combat theatre, the Lightning Sons fought bloody, prolonged, subterranean street-by-street actions against UrHypek warrior-kin and battle constructs, until victory was finally achieved. In the wake of Marzur's breaking, the remnants of the UrHypek Ancestor Core became a much sought after prize for the members of the Martian Mechanicus attached to the Imperial warhost. So much so, that a brief schism erupted in the rad-wastes of UrHypek's annihilated homeworld, over ownership of this coveted piece of technology. In the end, and only by the intervention of the Lightning Sons themselves, the schism came to a close, and ownership of the core ultimately fell to them. Debate raged between the Lightning Sons, Royal Herculeans and the warhosts General Staff, who met in conclave to decide the devices fate. Ultimately, the council ended with the near unanimous decision to eradicate the Ancestor Core. Few knew in truth what ill turns tampering with such a device might bring, much to the chagrin of the Magi-Adepts of Carthagus Minoris. For their part in the First Aephidic War, the Lightning Sons were granted the world of Navaern in the neighbouring Uridian Isola as fife-in-perpetuity by the High Twelve, and tasked with safeguarding the Eagle's Gate warp-nexus.
- 'Kindeath' (Unknown Date.M40) - <NO INFORMATION AVALIABLE>
- Gothic War (12th Black Crusade) (151-160.M41) - Directed by the prophetic visions of its Consulate, the Lightning Sons amassed a strike force of roughly two hundred warrior Astartes, command of which was appointed to Centurion Harrac Lysad of the Chapter's 3rd Cohort. Arriving in the Gothic Sector in 151.M41, amid a fresh wave of Imperial reinforcements, the Lightning Sons took to the protection of the Sector's exposed shipping corridors and badly mauled naval supply lines, operating from the Battle-Barge Sacrum Purgatio. Whilst conducting a patrol of the Manachean Commonwealth, the Sacrum Purgatio and its escorts engaged a unknown renegade flotilla in the shadow of the Dead World Lethe. During the confrontation, Centurion Lysad personally led a successful boarding action of the flotilla's flagship, the Repulsive-class Grand Cruiser Oculus of Ugiir, aboard which they found and recovered esoteric artefacts and Chapter relics lost during the Kindeath. The Chapter continued to serve during the final years of the conflict, most notably earning glories at the climactic Battle of Schindelgheist.
- Battle of New Hope (997.M41) - Elements of the Lightning Sons 5th Cohort respond to urgent Astropathic distress calls from the nearby world of New Hope, following an incursion by Hive Fleet Leviathan. Placed dangerously close to the Uridian Isola, concerns of an impending Tyranid incursion circulated the Lightning Sons War Council. In response, the Chapter's 7th Cohorts was redirected from ongoing counter-pirate operations in the Vardelt Clasp. By the time Chapter reinforcements arrived, the 7th Cohort had engaged the Tyranid threat in the New Hope System, and established a beachhead planet-side, tying up the Great Devourer before it could turn its eyes upon nearby Navaern. Whatever the outcome of Imperial operations at New Hope and in its surrounding star-space, and the Lightning Sons' involvement therein, record of the campaign remains sealed by Inquisitorial writ.
- War of Sighs (Night of a Thousand Rebellions/Noctis Aeterna) (999.M41-006.M42) - As Cadia died and Ultramar bled, and the final minute of the final hour set upon the horizons of the Imperium, the Lightning Sons faced their darkest hour. In a sudden and unprecedented act of brutal savagery, traitors and renegades seeded deep within the Planetary Defence Forces of Navaern turned its own planetary defence weapons against itself. Atomic Deathstrike warheads detonated amidst dozens of population centres to devastating effect, eradicating thousands in a blink of an eye. The Lightning Sons were swift and brutal in their reprisal, launching devastating deep-strike actions against renegade targets and strongholds amidst the newly created rad-wastes of Navaern. Though ending in a victory after several months of conflict, the victory was short lived; a deep breath before the plunge. Like a herald, garbled and frantic astropathic distress cries filled the psychic relays of the Fortis Luminus, sweeping to a grand crescendo as the bow wave of the Great Rift tore across the Uridian Isola. Naught but eerie silence followed the resulting psychic frenzy, followed by the pulsating scar of the Great Rift tearing across the heavens. Yet the Pharus Astropathica, the great beacon of Navaern and sole charge of the Lightning Sons, guttered against the empyric winds of the Great Rift, but shone on still. Drawn like moths to a flame, the silence following the Great Rift's birth was broken by the sporadic, disorganized and erratic translation of warp-tossed voidships and tertius-grade Space Hulks, replete with compliments of the mutant, the mad, and the traitor. The battle for Inaeon escalated further, as the vanguard of the Ruinhost arrived to take the Eagle's Gate in the name of their Master, and the name of the Dark Gods. Fighting erupted system-wide; from the cloud-hives of Tyrus to the outer belts of Solus. Thousands paid with their lives, in the vain attempt to stem the encroaching tide of the Archenemy. With the heretic knife-thrust aimed at battered Navaern, the Lightning Sons took to their charge with no lack of zeal, despite the damning possibility of Terra's fall. Establishing beachheads through the convenient holes left in Navaern's planetary defences by the Night of a Thousand Rebellions, loyalist and traitor forces fought bloody combat actions amongst the dunes of Navaern's Banded Desert, and within the sanctity of its northern pole. The conflict came to a grand crescendo at the Battle of the Fortis Luminus; the siege of the Lightning Sons Fortress Monastery. Every member of the Chapter, from veteran battle-brother to barely inducted neophyte took up arms in the defence of the Fortis Luminus, fighting tooth and nail until the last. When relief finally arrived, after nearly six years of bloody fighting, over 80% of the Chapter had been slain, including their Praetor Valerius Scaevola. It is said that some among the surviving, war beaten Lightning Sons openly wept upon seeing Imperial warships in low orbit; knowing then that if they were to die, they would not meet death with the Emperor's dream in tow. Breaking the back of the Archenemy upon the fields of Navaern, the unexpected arrival of Battle Group Saint Mallaeus sent the Ruinhost into flight, leaving behind only unorganised mobs and mutant hordes; foes quickly broken and obliterated by the reinvigorated Imperial defenders.
- Uridian Crusade (Unknown Date.M42) - In the aftermath of the War of Sighs, and the arrival of Battle Group Saint Mallaeus, the Lightning Sons committed proportions of its surviving and reorganised Battle-Line Cohorts to the fronts of the new crusade as it began to make its opening moves. The Chapter acquitted itself in the climatic Battle of Nedit Tertius; the confrontation that concluded the Crusade's first phase, and opened the way for a knife-thrust towards the Sector's heart of Karanhal.
- Liberation of Carthagus Minoris (Unknown Date.M42) - One of the largest engagements of the Uridian Crusade prior to the Battle of Nedit Tertius, a total of three Battle-Line Cohorts of the Lightning Sons were deployed in support of the liberation of the forge moons of Carthag, along with two of the Chapter's Vanguard-class Strike Cruisers; Perl of Aeglos and Herald of Retribution, as well as the strike cruiser Vinco Epsilon. Both the Perl of Aeglos and Herald of Retribution were lost during the ensuing battle, with the latter crashing onto the surface of Carthagus Minoris itself, prompting an immediate search-and-salvage operation in order to deny the enemy any valuable war materials.
- Siege of Murdax (Unknown Date.M42) - Part of the Uridian Crusade's initial thrust into the Aegymanid Sound, the Fortress World of Murdax was assailed by the mustered might of the Crusade, shortly following its victory at Nedit Tertius. What was intended to be a quick victory to christen in the new command of Groupmaster General Castinus Svenstein, soon turned into a quagmire of bitter trench warfare against heavy entrenched and supplied elements of the Ruinhost. In response, the Lightning Sons were deployed in order to reinforce the flagging Imperial thrust and try to forge a breakthrough in the fortress world's heavily fortified defenses.
Homeworld[]
Departmento Cartographicae pict-file of Navaern, homeworld of the Lightning Sons.
The world of Navaern, homeworld of the Lightning Sons Chapter, stands on the very threshold of the Uridian Isola, Sector Imperialis and tithe-realm of the Imperium of Man. Third world of the Inaeon System, Navaern straddles the systems 'green belt', however it's surface is covered largely in arid deserts, with temperatures ranging near boiling point (100 °C / 212 °F) along its equatorial band. Hollow wrecks and corpses of void craft litter the sands of Navaern, many dating back millennia to the age of Old Night. These vessels, though long stripped bare of anything of use, exist as a constant mystery to plague both the Adeptus Mechanicus and Navaern's own scholastic circles.
Most of the planets population have gathered at its northern and southern polar regions around the seas of Mithonbaal and Bisha, in large, urbanised city states, protected from the encroaching sands by series of mountain ranges, and ancient sand buffers. The Twelve Leagues of Navaern represent a mono-culture of interacting polities who loosely share certain touchstones, including beliefs, cultural practices, language and religion.
Each city-state of Navaern is ruled over by a prominent household, who under them control a varying number of clans, which occupy the households given territory. The number of clans within one household can vary depending on the size of the households given territory, its political influence or economic power. As of the 42nd Millennium, these numerous city-states can be grouped into one of twelve Leagues. Conflict between the different urban polities was common place prior to Navaern's Compliance in the 10th century of the 31st Millennium, ranging from territorial conquests, resource wars and dogmatic conflicts.
Imperial governance over Navaern is traditionally conducted via the Council of Sovereigns, the hereditary peerage of Navaren's nobility. Made up of the Twelve Leagues of Navaern, and their scores of major and minor clan-houses, they are in theory the planet's ruling hands. However in truth, they are subservient to the planets Zilarch, the appointed chapter-serf of the Lightning Sons who acts as the planets de facto ruler in the stead of the Chapter's Praetor, speaking with his voice in all matters.
Fortress-Monastery[]
In the foothills of the Aqhat Mountains, close to the shores of the Sea of Mithonbaal, stands the Fortis Luminus, ancient and indomitable fortress-monastery of the Lightning Sons. Alleged to have once been a vast fortification constructed during the golden days of the Great Crusade, the ancient stone of the bygone fortress has long since been mixed with newer brickwork; expanded and reworked over the prevailing millennia to best suit the predilections of its stewards.
Since their arrival, the Fortis Luminus has grown beyond its original size. Split into two tiers, the Fortis Luminus consists of the 'Lower' and 'Upper' wards. The former houses the vast 'Serf-Clans' of the Chapter, who toil and work in the name of the Lightning Sons, and by their beneficence, live in their protective shadow. The latter consists of the ancient Legiones Astartes fortifications erected over ten millennia prior, said by some to be akin to the Eternity Wall far on distant Terra. Designed by ancient hands, much of the once abandoned fortress-monastery remains unused or undiscovered, buried deep beneath the planets surface in the 'Labyrinth', the vast nexus of catacombs, munition stores and armouriums long gone unused since the Great Scouring.
Chapter Organisation[]
- "Superiority of force is key and the key to superiority is above all structure. With structure comes order, with order the ability to carry out purpose, and only through clear purpose can victory be perceived."
- —Principia Belicosa, Ch. XXXIV, Vs. I-IV
Like many Chapters, the Lightning Sons adhere to the Lord Regent's tactical treaties of the Codex Astartes, if only to avoid the ire of their brother Chapters and evade undue scrutiny by the Inquisition. However the Chapter does not limit itself to the strictures of Ultramar. The Chapters internal structure bears considerable similarities to the military doctrina of the ancient Principia Belicosa. Accordingly however, the Chapter possesses a standing strength no greater than the designated one thousand battle-brothers under arms, split into equal company sized formations recognized as 'Cohorts' within the Lightning Sons' combat doctrine.
Unlike many Codex Compliant Chapters, the Lightning Sons are assigned to their Cohorts straight from the 10th Auxilia Cohort, remaining there until their death, unless chosen to fill the ranks of the venerable 1st Cohort, or reassigned to another Cohort by the Chapter's command cadre.
These cohorts can be broken down into squad formations, referred to by the Chapter as Maniple formations, comprised of 5-10 warriors. Ten Maniples form a Cohort of roughly 100 battle-brothers, led by one of the Chapter Ceturions, and ten Cohorts form 1,000 battle-brothers, under the direct command of the Praetor himself; the largest singular tactical unit able to be fielded by the Lightning Sons. Usually, Lightning Sons will operate in formations no smaller than a Cohort when engaged in a theatre of war, however depending on the strategical demand of the day, Lightning Sons Cohorts are capable of being split into demi-Cohorts and further, giving the Chapter the necessary flexibility to operate in a varying of different and constantly changing warzones across the Imperium.
The greater mechanism that commands the Lightning Sons can be likewise split into a number of component parts. At the pyramid's head sits the Praetor, Lord and master of the Chapter, yet beneath him is the Centurionate, the cadre of seasoned Cohort commanders, the Consulate, the convent of schooled and learned Battle-Psykers, the Prelatus who maintain the Chapter's purity of faith, the Medicae who ensure the physical health of the Chapter and the purity of its gene-stock, and the forge-wrights of the Armourium. The masters and members of each of these component parts maintains a permanent seat upon the War Council of their Praetor, whose conclaves can set the direction of the Chapter for decades, if not centuries to come.
Reformations Indomitus[]
Known under the unofficial pseudonym of the 'Reformations Indomitus', post War of Sighs Chapter organization changed to meet the requirements of both the Indomitus Crusade, and the rigors of the 42nd Millennium. Devastated to near extinction in the War of Sighs, the introduction of the Lord Regent's Primaris Marines curtailed the inevitable decline of the Chapter, despite its own reservations.
Enacted during the Conclave of Navaern in 006.M42(est), the Reformations Indomitus saw a reshuffle of the Chapter's Cohorts, with the bulk of the Chapter's Decurion and Centurion positions being taken up by many of the Chapter's surviving Firstborn, as a means of training its new Primaris warriors, and preserving their culture and ways of war.
Many of the Chapter's Firstborn warriors, those not assigned to specialist roles under the Reformations Indomitus, were reassigned to the Chapter's 1st Cohort, doubling the size of the original formation to just over two hundred Astartes. Though a breach of Codex formation, necessity called for the action. As the Chapter stepped up its intake and training of Neophytes destined for Primaris augmentation, the 1st Cohort acted as the vanguard of the Lightning Sons. Though many have since crossed the Rubicon Primaris, there are few among the 1st Cohort who were not present during the climactic final confrontation of the War of Sighs, upon the walls of the Fortis Luminus.
Under the precepts of the Reformations Indomitus, the new additions to the updated Codex Astartes largely went ignored; Vitus Calgane and his War Council instead opting to maintain the old maniple designations and composition, adapted to make use of the Primaris Marines. Thus, the Chapter continues to use Tactical, Devastator and Assault Marine Maniples well into the 42nd Millennia, arming, equipping and deploying them in much the same manner as they had for the last four thousand years.
Codex-Divergent Nomenclature[]
| Chapter Master | Praetor |
| Captain | Centurion |
| Lieutenant | Preceptor |
| Master of Sanctity | High Prelate |
| Reclusiarch | Prelatus Prefect |
| Chaplain | Prelate |
| Chief Librarian | Lord Consul |
| Librarian | Consul |
| Chief Apothecary | Primus Medicae |
| Apothecary | Medicae |
| Master of the Forge | Master Praevian |
| Sergeant | Decurion |
| Scout Marine | Auxillia |
| Company | Cohort |
| Squad | Maniple |
Specialist Units & Formations[]
- Blades Paraclitian - The Blades Paraclitian are an elite warrior fraternity within the Lightning Sons' Chapter, that act as the personal honour guard for the Chapter's Praetor and select members of the Chapter's inner circle. The members of the Blades Paraclitian form the 1st and 2nd Maniples of the Chapter's 1st Cohort, and are equipped with some of the greatest armour and weaponry at the Chapter's disposal; some so ancient that it is said names as old as the Imperium itself are etched upon their power-swords and breacher shields. The commander of the Blades Paraclitian bears the honourary rank of Lepidus Ignis - the Lightning Blade, or the Blade of Lightning, and is held as one of the greatest living blade masters among the Chapter's ranks. The Blades Paraclitian often deploy into battle alongside the Chapter's Praetor, whether deployment to an embattled warfront, or as part of a diplomatic delegation.
- Cohors Lucernus - The Cohors Lucernus are a sub-detachment of the Lightning Sons' 1st Cohort charged with the protection of the Pharus Astropathica, made up of the Cohort's 3rd and 4th Maniples. Stationed alongside several of the Chapter's Consuls, the Cohors Lucernus patrol the halls of the great beacon, protecting it from daemonic incursion from within, or foreign infiltration from without. Historical composed of twenty marines and traditionally clad in Indomitus-pattern Tactical Dreadnaught Armour. The acting Precept of the Cohors Lucernus is given the honourary rank of Centuriatus Elucidus - Centurion of the Light. Though composed of twenty marines, only five are ever present within the Pharus Astropathica at any point, with the rest of their brotherhood cycling in and out of the Chapter's myriad combat zones.
- Fraternus Eradica - The Fraternus Eradica is a twenty man fraternity within the greater 1st Cohort, made up of the Cohort's 5th, 6th and 7th Maniples. The Fraternus Eradica are permitted special access to the arcane and ancient weaponry sealed beneath the Fortis Luminus in the ancient depot silos, stasis seals lest they deteriorate and fall to ruin. Since the Kindeath of the late 40th Millennium, the full deployment of the Fraternus Eradica is a thing seldom seen, given the significant loss of much of the Chapter's once abundant Crusade era arsenal in the fires of that calamity. The Fraternus Eradica have been likened to an echo of older, halcyon formations such as the Legion Destroyers or Devastators from the golden days of the Great Crusade by Imperial scholars and observers.
- Inductii Auxilia - Though far removed from their namesake of the Age of Darkness, the Inductii Auxilia of the Lightning Sons are those mortal warriors that have undergone the necessary cybernetic or genetic enhancements for them to effectively operate and control the panoply of war machines of the Adeptus Astartes in the stead of their Trans-human masters; as well as take up arms in defence of their fortress-monastery in the form of its garrison of mortal soldiery.
Order of Battle, Era Indomitus[]
Headquarters[]
| Headquarters | ||||
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| War Council | ||||
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| Other Departments | ||||
| Armourium | Consulate | Prelatus | Medicae | Fleet Command |
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Companies[]
| Veteran Cohort | Battle-Line Cohorts | |||
| 1st Cohort "Defenders of the Light" |
2nd Cohort "Lords of Thunder" |
3rd Cohort "Xenobane" |
4th Cohort "Truespears" |
5th Cohort "Astral Lancers" |
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| Battle-Line Cohorts | Auxilia Cohort | |||
| 6th Cohort"Crimson Spears" | 7th Cohort"Shields of Orelia" | 8th Cohort "Blades of Erulon" |
9th Cohort"---" | 10th Cohort
"Cohors Auxilia" |
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Chapter Recruitment[]
The Lightning Sons draw their fresh recruits from across their homeworld of Navaern; from the martial house-clans of the Twelve Leagues, to the fierce warriors of the desert tribes, all are drawn together in the drill yards of the Fortis Luminus, each one an equal no matter their birth. From here they are forged and tempered into righteous instruments. Into tools to be used to protect His thousand realms, and to propagate His will across the stars.
Once brought before the High-Prelate for a secondary inspection, these aspirants spend the rest of their waking lives undergoing numerous, grueling trials, geno-treatments and hypno-therapy, to forge them into the living image of the son of the Emperor of Mankind. Though the number of trials an Aspirant is expected to complete before being chosen to become a Neophyte is many, there are two particular trials an adolescent aspirants of the Lightning Sons must complete before they might ascend.
First among these grueling trials is the so called Trial of the Dunes, an exposure trial crafted by the Lightning Sons to weed out the weak - not only of body, but of mind and spirit also. The trial has its roots in the ancient martial culture of the Navaernite city-state of Corcaea, whom according to legend discarded weak or sickly children into the wilds, and if they returned, were ordained to live by the powers that be; and if not, such was their fate.
Formed into squad sized formations, these aspirants are dropped into the deep-desert via Thunderhawk Gunship and expected to navigate their way back to the Chapter's Fortress-Monastery alive. If they perish, they are left where they die, to be feast upon by carrion, until the sands strip their bones and carry them into the depths of the dune seas. Aspirants must work together, making the most of their combined experiences, expertise and knowledge to survive the harsh desert environments and traverse the great dune seas of Navaern's equator.
A byproduct of their gene-seed, every Lightning Sons is tested by the primacy - to excel and out achieve. Yet hubris, even to the augmented minds of the Astartes, can be a mans greatest downfall. Thus it is to the Prelates of the Chapter to hone and humble the burning spirits of these neophytes, lest they be consumed like so many before them, and suffer the damnable affliction of their gene-line.
The second and near to last of these trials if the Trial of the Daedalon. From whence the Trial of the Daedalon originates has been lost to time, even to the Lightning Sons with their meticulously ordered archives, yet it stands as a brother besides that of the Trial of the Dunes in terms of its casualty rate. Like the Trial of the Dunes, the Trial of the Daedalon sees the surviving Aspirants mustered into squad formations once more, albeit armed and armoured from the armouries of the Fortis Luminus.
Under the auspice of a veteran Neophyte of the 10th Cohort, these squads of Aspirants are taken into the Labyrinth; the wide spanning network of tunnels wrought under the surface of the Fortis Luminus, and pass beyond the Gate of Enyar into territory unmapped by Imperial or Chapter savants. What events transpire beyond those gates remains a mystery to those outside of the Chapter. Those Aspirants that survive return on the cusp of becoming a true Astartes, and those Neophytes that lead them, find their place among the collective Cohorts of the Lightning Sons; given their Liber Invigilata and rank of full Battle-Brother.
Following the completion of the trials, and the necessary geno-treatments, the aspirants are assigned to the Chapters 10th Cohort; it's auxiliary cohort. It is here, donning Mark X Phobos armour, that these aspiring Astartes have their first taste of blood. Under the command of whichever Centurion they have been attached to, they act as a light and fast auxiliary unit; securing ground quickly or plugging holes in already existing defensive lines.
Chapter Combat Doctrine[]
- "The wise commander utilises his enemy's weakness even more than he utilises his own strength."
- —Introit to the Principia Belicosa
Where other Chapters might rely on aggression or overwhelming and indiscriminate firepower to secure victory, the Lightning Sons place a heavy emphasis on clinical battlefield discipline, accurate precision fire, and adaptable planning. Fluidity, timing and technique are the mainstay for the Chapter's methods of warfare, and thus never truly stick to one standard tactical doctrine.
A highly popular doctrine cultivated by the Chapter however, is the so termed 'Hard Drop'. The Chapter's arrival within a battle space is immediately precipitate by a mass-deployment via Drop Pods, Thunderhawks and Storm Eagle gunships. Tactical/Intercessor Maniples are dispensed and deployed to secure and establish a firm bridgehead for planetside operations, which is followed by the deployment of the Cohorts heavy armour and ancillary supplies.
If the enemy still put significant resistance following the initial Hard Drop, the Lightning Sons will usually employ an extensive network of 10th Cohort Auxiliaries, to poke and prod at the enemy's defensive line, or gauge the number and nature of their foe. Depending on the information gathered by the Chapter's Auxiliaries, the Lightning Sons will alter their deployment and formation, to best counter their opponent.
Another expertise under the Chapter's belt, is their sub-specialty at Zone Mortalis operations. Largely due to their protective charge of the Inaeon System, the Lightning Sons have become adept at void-ship boarding operations and vessel seizure, using a combination of close quarters acumen with their dizzying array of heavy weaponry. Tactical and Intercessor Maniples are consistently drilled, in order to stop high-threat rogue vessels and other voidborn threats from breaching the sanctity of their stellar fastness.
The Chapter askew the use of weaponry they consider to be 'detrimental' to combat operations and 'uncivilized'; weapons such as heavy Plasma weaponry, Meltaguns and Flamers, which have a tendency to incur larger amounts of collateral damage than necessary. As a result, the Chapter keeps larger stockpiles of more precision firepower, like the Heavy Bolter, Lascannon, Missile Launcher and a sparse few Volkite weapons. Through means otherwise unknown, the Lightning Sons have long had access to a number of venerable weapons of war, dating to the dark days of the Horus Heresy, secured deep within the bowls of their fortress-monastery.
Although fully capable of employing such tactics, the Lightning Sons shun covert operations in favour of meeting their opponents on the open battlefield. They consider this type of warfare, as well as its trappings, fundamentally dishonourable, preferring to proudly display their Chapter livery upon the field of battle. While neophytes are trained as standard Astartes scout marines, even they are seldom assigned to protracted reconnaissance operations, instead more often used as an auxiliary force to secure ground before the main body of an advancing force, or to plug holes in battle line combat operations.
Lightning Sons Librarians[]
Veraf Eradaen, Lord Consul of the Lightning Sons Chapter, ca.M42
Like their fellow Astartes Chapters, the Lightning Sons keep a Librarius of potent Psykers who are highly talented and trained to master the power of the Warp at the highest levels, colloquially referred to as "Consuls", according to ancient and dogmatic traditions of Navaern. As their name suggests, Consuls not only act as fearsome warriors on the battlefield, but also as advisors for the Centurion cohort commanders and the Praetor of the Lightning Sons himself.
Each Chapter selects its Librarians in its own way, either from seed worlds or the Chapter homeworld, as it does with the bulk of its Initiates, or from the ranks of gifted psykers brought to the Chapter by the Scholastica Psykana. Most Chapters train and test chosen psykers following the ancient ways laid out in the Codex Astartes. Consuls are chosen from among those initiate that display a particular affinity for, and aptitude in, the preternatural arts of the Immaterium.
Consulate Discipline[]
In tandem with their more traditional duties, as per codex tradition, the Consuls of the Lightning Sons have also bent their preternatural talents to the research and furtherment into the nebulous past of their Chapter, and as such, have become greatly proficient in manipulating the sidereal flow of the materium via their connection with the Warp. Known as the 'Consulate Discipline', some of these unique abilities include:
- Sidereal Echo - Tapping into the winding time-ways of the Immaterium, a Consul of the Lightning Sons can retrace and recall the empyric echo of a given object, reliving vague recasts of the events it has witnessed, the wielders it has had and the locations it has been over its lifespan.
- Stilled Tide - Used by the skilled Codiciers and Epistolaries of the Consulate, the Stilled Tide is the ability to hold the flow of time at a stand-still for a limited time, though the duration of which greatly depends on the number of Codiciers and Epistolaries participating in the given ritual.
- Sidereal Erosion - A rare but highly potent ability utalised mostly by the Chapter's Epistolaries, Sidereal Erosion is a fearsome power when levied upon mortal flesh. Using their connection to the Immaterium, the given Epistolary is able to rapidly age the given target until they're physical form shrivels to dust, eroded away by the rapid passing of time.
Chapter Gene-Seed[]
The gene-seed of the Lightning Sons can be counted as one of the most stable strains among the Adeptus Astartes, never having exhibited signs of rampant mutation. However, over time they have lost the use of two of the specialised organs produced by the basic Astartes genetic template: the Betcher's Gland, which allows a Space Marine to produce poisonous/acidic spittle, and the Omophagea. Whilst the former is of little lose to the Astartes of the Lightning Sons, the latter could have, were it to work efficiently, provided much needed insight into their nebulous origins.
Over the prevailing millennia there have been some among the Magos Biologis that believe the Omophagea's absence is the result of purposeful tempering with the Chapter's gene-stock, giving rise to claims of chimeric in origin. However any kind of investigation conducted by the Magos Biologus have been mysteriously stymied before they're able to make any kind of headway.
Despite the inherent mysteries and theories surrounding their gene-seed, it is clear that the Lightning Sons' conditioning produces warriors with finely sculpted physiques, a noble bearing, with finely-controlled thought processes, a level if not oft times arrogant temperament, and a drive towards achievement and competition. The only physical abnormality registered is a shift in iris colour to violet in some recruits, however this has been attributed to a latent mutation within the Navaernine genestock, caused by its proximity to the stellar anomalies of the Whispering Deeps.
Moritat's Malady[]
Affected still by wounds taken during the ill-known Kindeath, the Lightning Sons suffer from a condition that has been termed the Moritat's Malady; a genetic defect born of warp-touched sorcery. This condition, when it arises, causes the afflicted to enter into an almost berserker like state during battle, one filled not with rage or hate, but a remorse so deep that it drives the inflicted insane.
A condition that, once inflicted, is largely irrecoverable, more often than not those that suffer from the affliction perish upon the field of battle, having thrown themselves into a suicidal melee, where after their corpse is left for the carrion, and their Prognoid Glands left to rot. Their Liber Invigilata is taken still, and safeguarded by the Chapter's Medicae, to be amended and eventually added to the Chronicon Magna, but the Battle-Brother's true fate remains obscured and censured in the Chapter's historical records.
Those that survive however, engulfed by the bleak darkness of their condition, are apprehended and brought back to the Fortis Luminus to await judgement by the Chapter's inner-circle. This process acts as a formality for the sake of the afflicted Battle-Brother's honour, as the fates of those afflicted are already sealed when they succumb to the Malady; death, whether by the enemy's hands, or by their brothers. Under the auspice of the Chapter's Chaplaincy, the afflicted brother is taken to the depths of their Fortress-Monastery and imprisoner, awaiting the arrival of his 'Honour Party', the band of Battle-Brothers selected at random to mete out his decimation.
It has been observed by the Chapter's Medicae in post-mortem autopsies of the afflicted that their once dormant Omophagea are aberrant; mutated in some way, shape or form. Though a cause for the mutation yet alludes the Chapters Apothecarion, it is generally believed that the aberrant mutation harks to the Kindeath, and the empyreaic turmoil believed to have occurred there. The malady has since been kept a closely guarded secret, lest the Chapter face censure or far worse. It has been noted that the Moritat's Malady forms most notably in the younger Battle-Brothers - those still serving their first century of active service. Yet even then, those of older stock, veterans of hundreds of campaigns, have been known to fall prey to it at random.
Chapter Culture[]
- "Though he is gone, he will not be forgotten,"
"For the Historiator shall remember him,"
"Though his body is broken, he will remain whole,"
"For the Archivist shall mend him.
"Though he is lost, he will always be near,
"For the Annals shall keep him."- — Funerary Chant of the Lightning Sons Chapter
The Lightning Sons' Chapter cult places a strong emphasis on tradition, and upholding the teachings that science and reason should prevail over superstition and blind faith. Though many elements of Navaernine culture have found their way within the Chapter's cult, the Chapter upholds a strictly conservative doctrina. Stubborn and unyielding, the Lightning Sons maintain the same traditional dogma practiced by their earliest forebears, that took Navaern as their fife in the late 37th Millennium.
As a whole, the Chapter's warriors are scholars almost as much as soldiers. They are considered to be thoughtful, measured, and somewhat humanitarian by Imperial standards and will often put civilian lives before their own, in keeping with the Civitas Imperialis.
With a shroud cast over their past, the Lightning Sons are a Chapter fixated on history. They are comprised of warriors who are also archivists, scribes and librarians, charged with maintaining repositories of books and information. Each Battle-Brother is charged with keeping a concise record of their actions throughout their years of service, to be compiled upon their death in the Rite of Sealing ceremony and added to the extensive collection of historical texts known as the Chronicon Magna.
Imperial Truth[]
One of the corner stone of the Chapter's cultural identity is its strict adherence to the strictures and tenants of the Imperial Truth, as laid down by the Master of Mankind during the burgeoning days of the Imperium. It is the belief of the Lightning Sons that these tenants are the purest available description of the Emperor's great plan for Mankind.
Such a dogmatic adherence to the ancient, atheistic tenants of the early Imperium has seen the Lightning Sons at odds with some of its more august bodies, such as the Adeptus Ministorum and its multitude of branches. To them, the trappings of idolatry were burnt in the fires of the Great Crusade, and left as an ashen memory of Old Night. Though the Chapter will not openly denounce the idols and fanes erected by the Imperial Cult, neither will it go to any great lengths to defend them, lest they risk breaching the Civitas Imperialis. As a result, relations between the Lightning Sons and the Adepts of the Ecclesiarch are strained at best.
Though it is true that they follow the ancient credo of the Imperial Truth, to say that it is the Imperial Truth of old, of the founding of the Imperium, would be a falsehood. Changes and addendums have been made to its scripture over the long millennia, though not without long and arduous debate amongst the Chapter's scholastic Consuls. One cannot deny the existence of the Neverborne, nor can they hide behind archaic terminology such as 'Warp-Xenos'. So it is, that the treaties of the ancient scholar Alasteir Gundi, and his compatriots, are disregarded.
Within the greater set of edicts and tenants set down by the Imperial Truth, none resonate more with the Chapter's ethos than the Civitas Imperialis. Laid down at the foundation of the Imperium of Man in the late 30th Millennium, the Civitas Imperialis was ratified by the Emperor of Mankind Himself to "...guarantee the safety and assurance of any citizen of the Imperium of Man, wherever he or she travels or sets foot within the length and breadth of the Imperium." As such, the Civitas was therefore meant to be the hallmark of refined Imperial culture; the measure of its power and security. It has been the eternal mission of the Lightning Sons to establish and maintain the Civitas Imperialis across the Imperium, if not within its local star-space of the Uridian Sector.
Liber Invigilata[]
The Liber Invigilata is the personal tome each the Chapter's Battle-Brothers carries with them at all times, into which is vested the full account of their service history. Each Battle-brother is expected to continually add to their Liber Invigilata.
Upon the completion of the Trial of the Daedalon, and their ascension to full Battle-Brother, every Astartes aspirant is given a simple, plain leather back tome, stark in comparison to those carried by the Chapter's officers and veterans. A great honour, but meant to humble the spirits of newly ascended initiates - to reaffirm that though they have passed their trials, they have yet to make any kind of mark for themselves upon the pages of history, or within the grand Librarius of the Fortis Luminus.
These tomes, these Liber Invigilata, are the product of the Lightning Sons' nebulas past. With no official record of their founding, or their progenitor, or any confirmed historical record prior to the late 37th Millennium, the proud Astartes of the Lightning Sons have taken to recording each of their deeds throughout their lifetime. As such, the protection, and retrieval of the Liber Invigilata of fallen brothers are of the highest priority, secondary to the retrieval of their Prognoid Glands. Thus, Chapter Medicae of the Lightning Sons are often issued the task of collecting and safeguarding the Liber Invigilata of fallen brothers on the battlefield, and prepare them for their Rite of Sealing.
Decimation[]
A tradition formed during some of the darkest days in the Chapter's history, the Act of Decimation is alleged to have been created as a response to the rampant genetic degradation the Lightning Sons suffered, during the closing centuries of the 40th Millennium. It is designed to weed out genetic impurity after it has made itself evident, and if the afflicted in question does not perish in battle from their own subsequent battle-rage. If by some chance the afflicted survive the initial dark descent, they are thusly apprehended and delivered into the custody of the given Cohort's Chaplaincy, and transported back to their Fortress-Monastery, wherein they are imprisoned and sequestered away to in labyrinthine tunnels beneath the Fortis Luminus to await their execution.
By dictate, the Act of Decimation is carried out by a cadre of nine Astartes, traditionally the squad of the inflicted, led by one of the Chapter's Prelates. Deep beneath the Fortress-Monastery, the assigned Prelate leads their chosen squad of Astartes in the execution of their former battle-brother. Their Liber Invigilata is sized, censured and edited by the hands of the Chapter's Consulate, declaring the afflicted Astartes to have perished on the field of battle, forever keeping the Moritats Malady and the number of afflicted Astartes an occluded secret known only to the Chapter's Primus-Medicae, Lord-Consul, High-Prelate and Praetor.
There are other rumours however, abound within the Chapter, that not every afflicted brother meets their end in a Decimation. There are some that whisper that, somewhere deep bellow the Fortis Luminus, afflicted battle-brothers are taken and experimented on by teams of Consuls, Medicae and mortal Orderlies, in their quest to find a cure to the mysterious malady that plagues their Chapter.
Notable Members[]
- Praetor Vitus Calgane - Vitus Calgane has acted as Praetor (Chapter Master of the Lightning Sons since the conclusion of the War of Sighs in 006.M42. An unlikely candidate for the position, Calgane found himself thrust the mantle of leadership over his bloodied and beaten Chapter in the aftermath of near total annihilation. A far cry from his predecessor, Calgane notably lacks the arrogant hubris and bitterness that came to characterise the Lightning Sons for the past millennia; instead the new Lord of the Lightning Sons is a man of soft spoken authority and calm resolve. Since taking command of his Chapter, Calgane has led his warriors through the fires of the Orelian Offensive. The first member of the Lightning Sons command cadre to cross the Rubicon Primaris, Calgane felt it was his duty to endure the agonising procedure to become a Primaris Marine before asking his fellows to do the same. Clad in Mark X Tacticus Power Armour, and armed with the Thunder Hammer Nabelesar, the reborn Lord of the Lightning Sons has taken to the stars once more, to bring retribution to the enemies of Mankind.
- Lord Consul Veraf Eradaen - Veraft Eradaen is Lord Consul, or Chief Librarian, of the Lightning Sons Chapter. Known as the Oricon among his peers, Eradaen stands as one of the most powerful battle-psykers in his Chapter's history, both in skill-of-arms, and in an unfettered mastery of the Warp. It was Eradaen who held the Fortis Luminus' Bastion Gate against the onslaught of heretics and mutants during the final hours of the Battle of the Fortis Luminus, and who together with Lord Prelate Hesiod Messar raised the unassuming Centurion of the 2nd Cohort Vitus Calgane to the position of Praetor. Following the events of the Second Battle of Navaern, Eradaen has taken to the void in search of answers to long held questions.
- Centurion Lucan Sybilla - Centurion of the Lightning Sons' 2nd Cohort ("Heralds of the Beacon"), Lucan Sybilla currently leads the only active cohort of the Lightning Sons on campaign outside of the Uridian Isola, attached to Battlefleet Tertius and commanding the Avenger-class Grand Cruiser Return to Slumber. Originally the protégé of Praetor Calgane during his tenure as Centurion of the 2nd Cohort, Sybilla rose to the rank of Centurion following the Conclave of Navaern, taking command of the remaining 2nd Cohort following Calgane's ascension to Praetor. Sybilla was the highest ranking Lightning Sons present during the Triumph of Raukos, representing his Chapter in Calgane's stead.
- Decurion Tarchon Cliniar - Decurion of the Lightning Sons' Fraternis Eradica, Tarchon Cliniar is a celebrated hero of the Chapter. Cliniar earned renown for the part he played in the Battle of the Fortis Luminus, wielding the Teleract Invigila, a dark weapon of ancient provenance. Cliniar rallied the defenders of the Aquila Gate, laying down a devastating array of firepower upon the heretic hordes massing at the breach. Since the Conclave of Navaern, Cliniar has led the heavy support cadre of the Chapter's 1st Cohort, known as the Fraternis Eradica, continuing to bring the heat-death of the Emperor's fury to the foes of Mankind on battlefields across the Uridian Isola and beyond.
- Battle-Brother Loran Kaliad - A Space Marine of the Lightning Sons Chapter, Loran Kaliad is currently under service of the Deathwatch, chamber militant of the Ordos Xenos. Formerly a shield-brother of the 1st Cohort's Forine Shields.
Non-Astartes Personnel[]
- Argeia Marsyas (Zilarch) - Argeia Marsyas is a serf of the Lightning Sons Chapter and a member of Clan Marsyas, serving as Zilarch of Navaern. During the Siege of Navaern, Argeia Marsyas took up arms with the rest of her house-clan, fighting in the penultimate battle of the conflict at the Fortis Luminus. During the fighting she suffered grievous wounds to her body, which saw a good portion replaced with augmetic replacements, as well as a portion of her face. Following the end of the War of Sighs she continues to act as Navaern's Zilarch and the voice-piece of the new Praetor, Vitus Calgane.
- Alephius Odi (Historator) - Alephius Odi is a Historiator of the Logos Historica Vertia attached to the Lightning Sons Chapter, and a member of its Chapter Master's personal retinue. Previously attached to Battlefleet Tertius, where he documented and myriad combat actions undertaken by Fleetmaster VanLeskus and her subordinates, Alephius Odi was permanently transferred to the retinue of then Centurion Calgane shortly prior to Battlegroup Saint Mallaeus' intervention in the Inaeon System. Odi has since remained at his station, as the personal Historiator of Vitus Calgane, even after his ascension to Praetor. Odi now works towards the ultimate goal of compiling a complete account of the Lightning Sons' history from Founding to present day, amongst performing his other duties.
Chapter Fleet[]
Battle Barges (including those lost, retired or destroyed):
- Purgatio Aeternum (Battleship, Unknown Classification) - The crowning glory of the Lightning Sons Chapter Fleet, the Purgatio Aeternum is an ancient vessel of unknown origins and arcane design; a revenant of humanity's last great epoch. Taken by the Lightning Sons in 382.M39, the warship once sailed as the flagship of a Heretic warband operating out of the wild and uncharted Heraglix Passage, until it encountered a Lightning Sons taskforce. The Lightning Sons overwhelmed the Traitor escort craft and boarded the vessel proper, leading to three days of prolonged ship-board fighting until the vessel was secured, and the heretics eliminated. Taking a total of seven years, the vessel was eventually cleansed, tech-exorcised and re-dedicated as the Purgatio Aeternum, before being presented to the Lightning Sons and incorporated into their Chapter Fleet.
- Return to Slumber (Avenger-class Grand Cruiser) - Vessel of the 1st Cohort, captured during a boarding operation against renegade raiders in the Hauran Depths ca.796.M41.
- Crown of Eternity (BattleBarge, Unknown Classification) - The Crown of Eternity was lost with all hands during the opening salvo's of the War of Sighs.
- Sacrum Purgatio (BattleBarge, Unknown Classification) - The Sacrum Purgatio was lost with all hands during the opening salvo's of the War of Sighs
Cruisers (including those lost, retired or destroyed):
- Vinco Epsilon (Strike Cruiser, Unknown Classification) - Participated in the breakthrough at Nedit Tertius.
- Mare Incarnatus (Strike Cruiser, Unknown Classification) - Vessel of the 2nd Cohort.
- Spear of Orsidon (Strike Cruiser, Unknown Classification) - Vessel of the 3rd Cohort.
- Hammer of Virion (Strike Cruiser, Unknown Classification) - Vessel of the 4th Cohort, notably took part in the Metzovon Campaigns and the Second Battle of Navaern.
- Herald of Retribution (Vanguard-class Strike Cruiser) - Lost during the Liberation of Carthagus Minoris in 006.M42.
- Perl of Aeglos (Vanguard-class Strike Cruiser) - Lost during the Liberation of Carthagus Minoris in 006.M42.
- Vow of Glory (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Formerly a vessel of the Imperial Battlefleet Uridian, the Vow of Glory was given over to the temporary service of the Lightning Sons to replace naval losses incurred during the War of Sighs and subsistent Orelian Offensive thereafter. Currently operates as the designated cruiser for the Chapter's 5th Cohort.
- Fidelitas Iaculum (Lunar-class Cruiser) - Formerly a vessel of the Imperial Battlefleet Uridian, the Fidelitas Iaculum was given over to the temporary service of the Lightning Sons to replace naval losses incurred during the War of Sighs and subsistent Orelian Offensive thereafter. Currently operates as the designated cruiser for the Chapter's 6th Cohort.
- Escort Craft (including those lost, retired or destroyed):
- Flame of Terra
- Adamant Faith
- Honour's Spirit
- Imperator Purgatio
Chapter Relics[]
- Chronicon Magna - The Chronicon Magna is not one single relic, but an extensive collection of the accumulated Liber Invigilata of every Battle-Brother to have served the Chapter and died on the field of battle. Stretching back almost four thousand years, from the waning years of the 37th Millennium, it is a great and extensive historical archive drawn from the detailed personnel accounts of every Space Marine to have donned the white of the Lightning Sons. It is the very nature of these detailed accounts that has made the Chronicon Magna the prime target of external forces, be they of the Inquisition, the Ecclesiarchy, or the Forces of Chaos. To this end, the vast Chronicon Magna is sealed and secure within the depths of the Fortis Luminus, locked behind three great adamantine gates, guard against even the most blasphemous arcana by ancient inscription, and warded from the ravages of time by the arcane knowledge of the Chapter's Consulate.
- Nabelasar, the God Breaker - The Nabelasar is a relic of ancient providence, a Daemonhammer of the Lightning Sons Chapter shrouded in mystery. The Nabelasar has been in the Chapter's possession since before their earliest annuls, held in the stasis crypts of the Fortis Luminus. Some say that the weapon is the last remaining relic of some misbegotten hero of an age sparsely remembered as the War of the False Primarch; an event that wracked the Segmentum Pacificus some time in the 33rd Millennium. How this venerable and powerful weapon came into the hands of the Lightning Sons remains otherwise unknown.
- Rubric Amyntar - A tome of ancient and grim portents, it is said that it once belonged to the greatest of the Lightning Sons' Consulate, before driven to madness, and attempting to breach the fabled 'Black Library' in search of truth and power.
- Aegis Praetoria - The Aegis Praetoria is a venerable Sokar-pattern Storm Bird and the only active one of its kind in the Chapters possession, used exclusively by the Chapter's Praetor and his War Council.
- Teleract Invigila - The Teleract Invigila is a venerable Teleract-pattern Vokite Culverine currently in the possession of the Lightning Sons Chapter, and wielded by the Tarchon Cliniar, Decurion of the Fraternis Eradica.
- Ajax and Arix - The twins, Ajax and Arix, are a pair of Crusade-era Superheavy Battletanks; the former, Ajax, a Fellbade pattern Super Heavy Tank, and the latter Arix a Glave Super-heavy Special Weapons Tank.
Chapter Appearance[]
Chapter Colours[]
The warriors of the Lightning Sons are known to stand resplendent in suits of Power Armour painted a deep white, with the pauldrons inset with a deep red, and trimmed with bronze. Their helmets follow suit, taking a similar pattern albeit reversed; the face-pate inset with bronze, with the outer helm coloured a crimson red. Vagaries in the colouration of the Chapter's armour has occurred over the millennia on a number of specific occasions, however such vagaries are rare and seldom seen among the base-line battle-brothers of the Chapte's Cohorts.
Two notable examples of departures from Codex norms is the traditional colour of the Chapter's Medicae (Apothecary) and Consuls (Libriarian) battle-plate, in order to differentiate both departments from the fighting whole of the Chapter. The former wear power armour with an inverse colour scheme to the majority of the Chapter; their armour painted mostly a ruddy crimson, pauldrons a deep white, and around trimmed with bronze. The latter clad themselves in power armour painted a muted purple, with pauldrons of white and trimmed with bronze.
Officers among the Lightning Sons such as Decurions and Centurions are denoted by stripe across their helmet, and in the case of the latter, in addition to the coloured helmet markings, they also sport horizontal horsehair crests that go from ear-to-ear, dyed a vibrant red.
Chapter Heraldry[]
Heraldric Armourial of the Lightning Sons.
The heraldry of the Lightning Sons is that of a white fist enclosed firmly around a golden lightning bolt upon a field of bloody crimson. By their own account, the device represents the pure determination of the Lightning Sons, firmly holding onto a piece of the Emperor's archaic Lightning and Raptor standard; the symbol of his ancient dream for Humanity, in a sea of blood. Their heraldry is emblematic of their belief that it is their duty to uphold and continue to propagate his dream via the Civitas Imperialis.
Other theories surrounding the Chapter's iconography have been proposed over the prevailing millennia. Chief among them is that the first and lightning bolt represent their ancient mission to hold and safeguard the Pharus Astropathica, which has oft been likened to the Emperor's own Astranomicon. It is believed that it represents the pure white grasp of his immortal warriors, holding tight to a fragment of Him on Terra through a miasma of blood.
Relations[]
Allies[]
| Royal Herculeans |  |
A kinship forged during the earliest recorded days of the Chapter, the Lightning Sons found fast friendship with the Royal Herculeans Chapter, whom share a number of core values and interests. |
| House Nabaen |  |
Housed in the atmospheric Hives of Tyrus, the Navigator House of Nabaen are intrinsically tied to the Lightning Sons Chapter, supplying the Chapter with Navigators for its flotilla of warships. Though a house shrouded in mystery and conspiracy, and intrinsically linked to the ancient House Vandermoor, whatever fate House Nabaen suffered in its past to earn its place as a Shrouded House remains largely occluded to Imperial scholastic circles, known only to themselves and the Lightning Sons who took them in under pledge. |
| Grecians |  |
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| Carthagus Minoris |  |
Principle Forge World of the Orelian Sub-sector, the Forge-Moon of Carthagus Minoris has maintained close ties with the Lightning Sons since they first took stewardship over the Eagle's Gate in 998.M37. Carthagus Minoris is the primary repository from which the Lightning Sons receives the majority of its armaments and munitions, as well as the location to which its Techmarines are sent to study and learn the ways of the Omnissiah, under the watchful eyes of Carthagus Minoris' forge-thanes. |
Strained & Nebulous Relations[]
| Warstalkers |  |
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| Abators Golden |  |
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| Leagues of Votann |  |
Relations between the Astartes of the Lightning Sons, and the Squats of the Leagues of Votann have long been problematic and conflicting. Whilst retaining a cautious if not outright wary outlook on the short Abhumans, the Leagues and their Holds have posed a possibly serious threat to the sacrosanct Civitas Imperialis. Never was this more cleanly displayed than during the First Aephidic War, where large swaths of the Greater Aephidian Belt seceded to join in alliance with the Squat League present therein, if only for said League to gain further and unfettered access to the regions bountiful mineral wealth, and Archaeotech deposits. The subsequent League and its holdfasts were among the countless casualties of the First Aephidic War; broken by Termite Assault Drills and annihilated by atomics, not even the great Ancestor Cores of the Votann were spared, sealing an eternal enmity between the holds of Votann and the Lightning Sons. |
Enemies[]
| Black Scions |  |
The Black Scions are a Chaos Warband who hail from the dark and occluded worlds of the Sepulchine Stars. Though their exists little verifiable record concerning their origin, the Black Scions have long been a plague upon the Lightning Sons, and the Uridian Isola. Under the lordship of their Apostarch, the Black Scions swept across the Uridian Isola in the immediate and chaotic wake of the Great Rift's birth, laying waste to vast swaths of the Uridian Isola, and adding it to their damned pocket empire. |
| Word Bearers |  |
An ancient and lingering threat, the cults and poisonous words of the Word Bearers have turned a thousand worlds against the Imperium over the course of long millennia, and to those ends, they are among the greatest threats to the Civitas Imperialis. Long a echoed whisper throughout the southern Segmentum Pacificus, and the Uridian Isola, the Lightning Sons have contended with the dark machinations of the XVIIth Legion's Dark Apostles since they first took their stewardship of the Pharus Astropathica, fighting several notable engagements against the Burning Blades of the Dark Apostle Qarad Bol. |
| Tyranids |  |
A foe recently encountered by the Chapter, the Tyranids of Hive Fleets Leviathan and Charybdis have each earnt a special place of enmity within the hearts of the Lightning Sons. Not only are they a pervasive foe drawn to the flickering lights of Mankind, but they are the ultimate destroyer; the aptly named Great Devourer. While worlds befouled by the Archenemy or the Xenos might one day be rebuilt, nothing survives in the wake of the Great Devourer; a fact that stands in stark contrast to the beliefs of the Lightning Sons. To the Lightning Sons, they embody the loss of knowledge, and thus, must be eradicated wherever they may be found. |
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