The Obsidian Talons are a Loyalist Chapter who - unknown to the vast majority of the Imperium for millennia - were Founded during the 21st Founding. Those who do know their origins expect to see some form of mutation - some reason to cry heresy - based on the often damning side effects known to be rife within the Chapters of the 21st Founding, but no such heresy has yet been both found and proven.
Whenever an imperial citizen of any position whether it be a lowly inhabitant of a hive world or a member of the Inquisition, they will often give you similar assessments of the Astartes of the Obsidian Talons: Aggressive, secretive, extremely slow to trust, and more metal than flesh.
Known for their abilities in exterminating xenos breeds, they predominantly operate on the Eastern Fringe in the untamed areas of space where an uncounted number of planets have fallen prey to the xenos that are still running rampant in the region. They are also known to successfully campaigned against many an Ork WAAAGH! - most recently the Ork Empire of Jagga - and the Tyranid Hive Fleet Tiamet.
Chapter History
Cursed Beginnings
Their beginnings were largely kept hidden because of the intense secrecy typical of the Chapter as well as incomplete records, and - in the eyes of many - would go a long way in explaining their employment of extensive bionics.
This truth was known by the Chapter itself and kept well for millennia, but they were not the only ones to remember this secret. The Adeptus Mechanicus also remembered, and the secret was revealed during the return of Roboute Guilliman and the birth of the Primaris Space Marines. Exactly how widespread the secret the Chapter spent millennia hiding is unknown.
Early History
The earliest years of the Chapter are shrouded in secrecy, but surviving records suggest that they did not always operate within the Eastern Fringe. Instead, it is suggested that they were a crusading Chapter without a homeworld and thus were fleet-based for many centuries.
These records also suggest that their specialty and purpose - though no wildly different from that of today - was more broad in their scope. They were created for and charged with the protection of humanity's colonies from all threats, their fleet-based nature allowing them to cover a wider swathe of space. While the idea that they defend humanity from all threats remained and always will remain true by virtue of being a Space Marine Chapter, their skills were honed towards particular targets in later millennia.
Others have speculated that they were also charged with bringing the feral and otherwise rebellious worlds found in various parts of the Segmentum Ultima under the hardened fist of Imperial Rule, and though it is something they have been known to do, no records that remain in existence suggest any such a specific charge was laid upon them. That is not to say, however, that they did not serve this function.
As their dawn turned to day in the recorded histories of the Imperium, information surrounding the Chapter fell in and out of obscurity, their history being largely unknown. Whether this was because they were deliberately secretive, reports were lost, or because of some other reasoning is unknown.
Current Activities
Their current activities are entirely unknown. Though they have surfaced and maintained some level of contact with the Imperium, what the Chapter occupies their time with is generally not known. It is not even known whether or not they maintain their fleet-based modus operandi as they have for millennia or if they have taken a homeworld for their own in the decades since their conflict with the Hive Fleet Tiamet. The taking of a homeworld seems highly unlikely without some word of it reaching the Imperium at large, but it is still technically possible.
Reports of their appearances alongside their allies within the Imperium have returned some disturbing information. Many describe them as bulky even for Astartes while other reports have paraphrased the description of '...Giants Even Among Giants...'. Their bionics also seem unfamiliar to many, especially some of the more specialised equipment their 1st Company has been seen employing.
Because of these reports, the Inquisition - who had initially begun investigating the Chapter in relation to matters connected to their Founding - renewed their efforts to make contact with and study the Chapter. But they remain elusive at best, their contact with the Inquisition minimal. Some speculate that it is because they tend to operate so close to the edges of the Astronomican's reach that contact of any sort is difficult at best, but many speculate that they use this as part of their design to remain hidden - to serve the Imperium on their own terms.
Even the Torchbearers had extreme difficulty making contact with the Chapter during the early parts of the Era Indomitus, and it is said that they ultimately did not find the Chapter - the Chapter found them.
Such varied and disturbing reports relating to the Chapter's unorthodox employment of relatively unfamiliar technologies, the Chapter's apparent avoidance of the Inquisition, and their very nature and the nature of their conduct in war continually brings into question their loyalty to the Imperium, but the overarching nature of the Chapter's activities that the Imperium is aware of - particularly their military campaigns - seem to suggest an undeniable though potentially flawed sense of loyalty.
Notable Campaigns
Across the millennia since their inception, the Obsidian Talons have engaged in countless conflicts of infinite nature. However, only a few have ever been truly noteworthy.
- Lost Brothers (238.M38) - During one of the Chapter's shortest conflicts, they were tasked with the complete extermination of a very Warp-sensitive xenos breed about which exists effectively no record. The only records thought to exist are in the possession of the Inquisition who reportedly took great interest in the conflict, while no other records are even speculated about.
Nothing is known about exactly what happened since the only relatively widespread knowledge of what happened exists as stories that are regarded as nothing but myth.
Those stories most often told about this conflict suggest that a Warp Rift swallowed the planet before it closed, with nothing but a scattered debris field teetering on the fringes of the Warp Rift's reach. As many as four hundred Astartes - the true number being lost to time - were thought to have been lost during the conflict, with this number impossible to confirm.
- Ferocity of Tiamet (000-003.M42) - During the dawn years of the 42nd Millennium, they came into contact with a tendril of the Hive Fleet Tiamet while reestablishing Imperial Rule in the Canatarus Sub-sector. They were in the final stages of their task in the Telius System when the all the warning signs of an impending Tyranid arrival became apparent.
The Obsidian Talons had a very short window to prepare, and during these rushed attempts to ready themselves it became apparent to them that - to their luck if one could say so - only Tellius III showed signs of the forerunners for a Tyranid invasion. It was based on this data that they focused all the Imperial forces they could must on the defense of Tellius III.
The planetary defenses were staggeringly brilliant, but the Chapter- strong as it was - could not put as many ships in orbit as it would have liked in the time that they had available to them. This led to plans being drawn based around allowing their enemy to come to them - an element of the strategy that would surely see them put on the back foot - before using their ships in precision-heavy maneuvers to allow them superiority in firepower once more, thus swinging the tides of battle into their favour.
Being experts in the extermination of xenos breeds and having fought xenos similar to the Tyranids as far out as the Astronomicon allowed the Chapter to travel, they had a sense of how to approach this combat and how to play their strengths to their fullest effect. It was because of this that their plans were successful, though they came so close to disaster that they could have tasted the foul breath of defeat. The planet itself was ravaged by the war that saw this splinter of Hive Fleet Tiamet destroyed, and so was the Chapter. It was on the day the achieved victory that they - as surviving members of the Chapter - vowed never to be under-prepared for their coming should they ever return to face them.
- The Grey Crusade (Unknown Date, M42) - Thought to be during the closing years of the Indomitus Crusade, the Obsidian Talons had embarked on a reclamation crusade into the fringes of the Sautekh Dynasty. The campaign itself lasted for many years though none can be sure of exactly how long, and it was met with a mild though temporary amount of success.
The reports that have been made known show that the Chapter had relatively great initial success as they penetrated deep into the dynasty's territories, with many worlds that were captured by the Chapter being reinforced by other imperial forces who then set out to transform the worlds into imperial worlds and reestablish imperial rule.
However, the Chapter - who had formed the primary and largest element of the crusade - soon met resistance they could not break before being pushed back across almost all of the territory that the Chapter had gained. Worlds fresh from the forges of establishment fell once again to the power of the Necrons and untold millions died.
The campaign was considered an undeniable and very costly failure, and many of the forces that remained with enough of their own resources to avoid being merged with other forces - as is common with Astra Militarum regiments - refused to fight alongside the Obsidian Talons again, saying that the loss was unacceptable and the failure of the Chapter was too costly to be worth the risk any future military endeavours together would pose.
- The STC Machine (Unknown Date, M42) - It was on the world of Amurtora that the Chapter made its most significant discovery and thus won a grand prize for the efforts in the Campaign. What they discovered was a structure that bore a striking resemblance to a manufactorum one might expect to see on the Forge Worlds of the Imperium. Given that there was no record of a Forge World anywhere in this region of space, the Chapter deduced that the world could have been settled by the Cult Mechanicus long before the Great Crusade took place. Such worlds - while rare at best in the modern era - still had the potential to exist in the furthest and most untamed regions of space.
The structure had not been entirely destroyed, though from the outside it looked as if it were entirely in ruin as the result of conflict and natural processes. The relatively intact depths of the facility were only discovered as a result of members of the Chapter's 3rd Company being forced to retreat into and fortify a position within the ruins, the entry to the depths only being opened to the wider world as a result of the preceding fighting.
In the depths, they discovered the remains of a small number of STC Machines that were quite evidently far beyond function or repair, and they found one that at least could still function. Unaware of whether or not the machine actually still functioned and still otherwise occupied with the fighting that would undeniably resume shortly, the 3rd Company instead left it be.
When the conflict had been won and the 3rd Company returned to the site, the STC Machine was examined by the Techmarines of the Chapter who accompanied them down in order to study and transport the machine. The STC Machine was found to be functional and was subsequently removed from is resting place. After initial assessments were made and various other data fragments recovered, only a limited level of functionality was properly restored.
The Chapter were eventually forced to withdraw from the planet, but victory or not, they had obtained a mighty prize. Knowledge of the STC Machine's recovery and the data slipped into obscurity, the Chapter sealing its lips tight. All that the Imperium at large know is that the Chapter tried and failed to penetrate into and establish their own foothold in the Sautekh Dynasty.
Still, whispers of lost technology found within the depths of the dynasty snowballed into stories of grand manufactorums left intact for millennia and vast halls of still-function STC Machines made their way to the ears of the Mechanicum and fleets were hurriedly dispatched. However, no sign of any such technologies or manufactorums were uncovered by the Mechanicum's efforts, and they abandoned their quest of recovery soon after.
Chapter Homeworld
Fortress Monastery
While relatively standard compared to many other fortress-monasteries of the Astartes, the structure itself - which lies within the Battle Barge The Spear in the Dark - is littered with shrines to the powers of bionics and those Astartes of the Chapter who have either wielded exceptional bionics or wielded their bionics to terribly awesome effect. While more a show of reverence to bionics than it is any sort of religion or zealotry, many have made the leap in logic and accused the Chapter of such false idolatry and zeal.
Chapter Structure
It has been made apparent across the millennia that the Obsidian Talons follow the strictures set out by the Codex Astartes rather rigidly with the notable exception of their Librarius and their strictly limited employment of psykers in general.
The Librarius
The Librarius as it exists in most other Chapters does not exist in the Obsidian Talons' Chapter structure, instead replaced by a group of human auxiliaries that go by the same name and whose role is the documentation of anything and everything to do with the Chapter. They are the chroniclers of the Chapter, their personnel and their deeds.
Some have speculated that some of these librarians have even operated in a similar manner to the iterators of the Great Crusade, but the isolated nature of the Chapter's operations tends to hinder the confirmation of such speculations.
Non-Combat Psykers
The Obsidian Talons have a deep mistrust and hatred towards psykers in general as a result of the apparent weakness the Chapter sees in them, but this is not always the case. In the cases of psykers such as Astropaths and Navigators, the Chapter has a dislike for them rather than deep mistrust and hatred since they realise that without the work of such psykers, the Imperium could not function.
All psykers that fulfil roles such as those of an Astropath or Navigator are tolerated and employed by the Obsidian Talons. They are, however, not only guarded well but also strictly supervised. Such psyckers who go astray are dealt with severely, and there is very little margin of tolerance with the Chapter.
All other psykers such as Librarians of other Adeptus Astartes Chapters or the Sanctioned Psykers of the Astra Militarum are barely tolerated under most circumstances, and the Chapter goes as far as is practical for them to go in order to avoid interaction with them as well as the possibility of fighting alongside them. This intolerance is so extreme that various psykers have been executed by the Chapter, which in turn has created a lot of friction between the Chapter and those they should e calling their allies.
Chapter Gene-Seed
Because they are suspected to be able to place their origins in the 21st Founding, many suspect that their gene-seed is unstable and susceptible to mutation. Testing on the gene-seed received from the Chapter have shown a higher-than-normal chance of mutation, but this level is still considered to be within a tolerable range.
Because of the lack of knowledge surrounding the 21st Founding, it is unknown what was done to the gene-seed of the Chapter, but testing continues as well as observation where possible. Additionally, any physical manifestations that would result from genetic tampering are either difficult or impossible to observe because of the Chapter's extensive use of bionics.
Impurity of the Psyker
The Chapter's views on Psykers is thought to be a mutation that developed over time as a kind of psychic impression on the Chapter's gene-seed in a manner not unlike the origins of the Black Rage that afflicts the Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters. It had been speculated that this originated from one of two possible sources - Psychic imprinting derived from millennia of indoctrination into the idea of the impurity of the psyker, or a psychic imprint left on the Chapter itself as the result of a catastrophic psychic event involving the Chapter's own Librarius that mirrors the imprint left on the Blood Angels and their successors as a result of Sanguinius' death.
The Blood Angels Connection
Given the Founding from which the Chapter hails, it is commonly thought by those who have enough knowledge of the Chapter to make such speculations that the propensity for those of Iron Hands stock to favour machine over flesh and their apparent tendency to strengthen the minds of at least their Librarians could both serve to mitigate the curses that the Blood Angels suffer.
This led to the theory that the gene-seed of the Obsidian Talons is chimeric having been formed from that of the Blood Angels and of the Iron Hands through the Brazen Claws' gene-seed. However, because of the incomplete nature of the Founding's records, the secretive nature of the Chapter itself, and the accounts of them in battle, it has been extremely difficult at best to confirm this.
Genetics of Bionics
Their employment of extensive bionics as well as elements of their nature have led many to reaffirm the belief that the Chapter is of the lineage of Ferrus Manus. Testing on the tithes the Chapter has sent as per the requirement for them to do so has been inconclusive, but the evidence that does exist as a result of the test does indicate as much but with not enough certainty for any clear answer to be given on the matter.
Some speculate that there exists an impurity of the gene-seed resulting from the nature of the 21st Founding that interferes with testing, while others use this as further evidence to support the chimeric gene-seed theory.
The Hunger
Considered to be the Chapter's greatest curse, The Hunger is a manifestation of the Chapter's greatest and undeniably best ability and the fruition thereof - the extermination of xenos breed. Though it has manifested itself in other combat scenarios such as against the forces of Chaos, it almost exclusively manifests when fighting xenos breeds ranging from Orks to Tyranids.
The Hunger manifests as a near-uncontrollable rage and an sensational need to consume the remains of that which the affected Astartes kills. Variations of the The Hunger exist whereby the affected Astartes drinks the blood of slain foes, but this is significantly less common.
The Hunger also gives credence to the idea that the gene-seed is chimeric in nature.
Primaris Astartes
While it is confirmed that no contingent of the Unnumbered Sons joined the Chapter since none were sent for a variety of reasons, it remains unconfirmed whether or not the Chapter received the personnel and technologies that would allow the Primaris Astartes to fill their ranks. Many suspect that they did since the Torchbearer fleet did not come back, with the most popular theory being that the Torchbearers did not find the chapter - the Chapter found them.
Chapter Tactics
While the Chapter's tactics are not unique in and of themselves, the Chapter does tend to favour tactics that involve brute force as well as allow them to make use of their bionics. This can involved any tactic from allowing them to use the terrain around them to their advantage to a preference towards engaging in melee combat such that they can use their bionics to inflict devastating damage.
The Chapter also dislikes even the idea of employing stealth, often opting for alternative tactics or suffering a disadvantage on the battlefield to avoid its employment. However, when the scenario mandates it and leaves the Chapter little to no other option, they will begrudgingly employ stealth tactics.
Machine and Astartes
The Chapter has always been known for its extensive bionics, the employment of which has heavily influenced their combat doctrine. Their bionics were involved many typical bionics employed by many Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes with many similarities drawn between their bionics and that of the Chapters belonging to their suspected lineage. During the 42nd Millennium, however, their bionic evolved.
Unknown to the Imperium, their recovery of the STC Machine and corresponding data during the campaign known colloquially within the Chapter as 'The Obsidian STC' Campaign' afforded them unique advances in bionic technology. Their bionics became more advanced, more extensive, and allowed the potential for increased size.
The bionics they now employ in the 42nd Millennium afford the Battle-Brothers fitted with such bionics to augment and increase their size. These Battle Brothers are also afforded a greater capacity in many areas of their life and duties but most notably in combat.
Reports of the bionics they currently employ have made their way to the wider Imperium, but very little is actually known since the specifics have been lost among the tales of awe and fear.
Chapter Ethos
The Obsidian Talons were very aggressive as a general rule and also often don't communicate well with those who are not a member of the Chapter. The older, more senior Astartes such as Company Captains and the Chapter Master tend to be more experienced not just on the battlefield, but also reining in their aggression, meaning that they are more stoic than aggressive when dealing with outsiders.
Culturally, they were all about honour and purity, which is part of why they continue to use bionics to a massive extent. Bionics are incorruptible and thus pure, while the pursuit of martial prowess on the field of battle against all Xenos was considered very honourable. As a result of both of the aforementioned, it was not uncommon to see melee weapons that are unique in their nature which are also bonding to the bionics of its bearer. For example, a typical Assault Marine whose specialisation is close combat will often have a variant of a chainblade which is mechanically attached to one of their bionic arms and was typically only removed when the battle is finished.
It is as a result of all the aforementioned that - when engaged in combat - they will fight to the last, even if it means they meet a grizzly end. This is demonstrated to often devastating when fighting xenos breeds, even if it has dire consequences for the Chapter, for to fight to the very last - to the bitter end - against any xenos is considered the duty of all. It is considered the most honourable death to meet it in such a scenario.
Notable Astartes
The Chapter itself keeps a comprehensive record of those Astartes that are of particular note and should be venerated above others, but to the Imperium, there are few known individual Astartes let alone individual Astartes of note:
- Chapter Master Alburis Kron - The first Chapter Master of the Obsidian Talons to make it into the records of the Imperium at large, he is thought to be one of the first the Chapter bestowed the position upon. the surviving records of Alburis and his service suggest that he played an important role in leading elements the chapter against rebellions in the wake of the Age of Apostasy.
- Ancient Cahnir - One of if not the oldest Astartes in service to the Chapter, Cahnir has been serving the Obsidian Talons from within the only known Leviathan Pattern Siege Dreadnought in use by the Chapter.
- First Captain Morkam Knight - Captain of the Chapter's Veteran 1st Company, Captain Morkam - for reasons unknown to even many of those within the Chapter - has often been the face of the Chapter when dealing with those outside of the Chapter in recent years.
Chapter Fleet
The Chapter's fleet is reminiscent of the standard array of ships seen in a fleet-based Chapter. The Chapter's flagship - The Spear in the Dark - is exceptional due to the nature of its over-extravagant adornments in both bold gold and obsidian black.
The fleet itself does not often gather at anywhere near its full strength unless a majority of the Chapter is on a unified war path. Instances of such a gathering of the fleet twice in the last millennia - the first occurrence was during the Ferocity of Tiamat campaign, and the other being The Grey Crusade. This is predominantly done for the security of the fleet and to enable to scope of the Chapter's operations within the Eastern Fringe. It has provided many benefits for the Chapter including granting them the ability to avoid much of the scrutiny of the Inquisition, but many also point out that the fact that the Chapter tends to operate in the farthest reaches of Imperial space likely does much more for this than the dispersion of their fleet does.
Chapter Relics
- Leviathan Pattern Siege Dreadnought - The Chapter is known to possess at least one since one is in current use and has been seen on many occasions by allied imperial forces. Whether or not the Chapter is in possession of more - regardless of their state of repair - is unknown.
- Mark III Iron Pattern Power Armour - Though effectively removed from active service, the Chapter is in possession of a number of Mark III Iron Pattern Power Armour suits. During the 42nd Millennium, many of these suits of armour served as a basis for the heavily modified suits that have come into use since the discovery of the STC Machine.
- Mark III - V. II Pattern Power Armour - This version of the Mk. III armour is designed to adopt as many of the benefits of later iterations of power armour without sacrificing the defining features of Mk. III plate. The Chapter's 1st Company possess a enough of these modified suits to outfit the entire company, but they are typically used for ceremonial and specific functions rather than suits employed for general use.
- The Iron Chainblade - A relic only wielded by the Chapter Master of the Obsidian Talons, it is - for all intents and purposes - a polesword with the blade of a chain weapon. Beyond its unique design and the style with which it is adorned, there is nothing about this weapon that is functionally different from any other chain weapon. It is said to have been wielded by every Chapter Master since the first, but such a fact is difficult to confirm even for the Chapter itself. It is painted in the deepest black and trimmed with the brightest gold.
- The Black Axe of Orgrah - The Black Axe of Orgrah is a relic-weapon of unknown origin and remarkable potency. Though the Chapter does not lay claim to its origins, it lays claim to its keeping and - when not in use - is sheathed in a custom scabbard that is stained black and stored deep within the armoury of their Fortress-Monastery.
The STC Machine
A relic in its own right, the STC Machine the Chapter discovered during The Grey Crusade is the Chapter's greatest and most potent relic, and it has allowed them to modify the weapons, armour, bionics and a myriad of other items, structures and ships within their domain and arsenal.
The Chapter's modified Mk III Power Armour and the improvements to the Chapter's bionics are a testament to the power this relic has adorned them with.
Chapter Appearance
Chapter Colours
The Obsidian Talons paint their Power Armour an obsidian black with deep grey trim. Their left pauldron bear the deep blue, white and black of their Chapter's symbol, while their right pauldron bears the blue symbol of their rank. Veterans will also bear gold in their symbol of rank.
Their elbow guards, forearms and gauntlets are all wreathed in a bright gold. The trim of a 1st Company Veteran's left pauldron will also be gold, and - in addition to the aforementioned - the talon symbol on the left pauldron of the Chapter Master is gold instead of black.
Chapter Badge
The Chapter Badge of the Obsidian Talons is the talons of a bird - typically painted black - in a circle of white on a background of deep blue. Beyond the connection to the Chapter's name, any significance it has to them is a well-guarded secret - assuming any Astartes of the Chapter apply any such significance to it.
Relations
Allies
Enemies
Notable Quotes
By the Obsidian Talons
About the Obsidian Talons
