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This article, Solar Falcons, was written by Sezrion. Please do not edit or 'acquire' this fiction without the writer's permission. |
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This article, Solar Falcons, is currently under active construction. The author, Sezrion, apologizes for the inconvenience. |
- "To the people of Karadon Prime. Hear us and heed our warning. Surrender now, and pay for your heresy as the Imperium sees it. Place your weapons on the ground and bend your knee, and you will be granted mercy. If you refuse, and your weapons are still in hand by the time we arrive planetside, not only will you pay for your temerity, but your old, your women, and even the children, shall suffer our wrath...and suffer lightly, they shall not."
- — Vox-wide warning broadcast on all planetary vox channels, prior to a Solar Falcons' planetary assault on the world of Karadon Prime, ca. 029.M35.
The Solar Falcons is a venerable Successor Chapter created from the lineage of the wild and unforgiving White Scars during the Third Founding in 001.M32. The initial members were drawn from the few surviving Terran-born Astartes. To this day they still recruit from the continent of Europa but keep their Fortress-Monastery elsewhere on the small planet of Camenox in the Segmentum Solar. This Chapter is mostly utilised to explore and subjugate unexplored parts of space, bringing any human empires into Imperial compliance and wiping out all xenos found, as well as being a quick reaction force for the Segmentum Solar. They are known for having an overly savage nature for warfare and for their strict adherence to the Imperial Creed compared to most other Adeptus Astartes Chapters. Both were born from being deployed alongside the crusading Black Templars during an early chapter-wide assault on the Chaos-held world of Camenox.
History
The origins of the ancient and noble Solar Falcons harken back to the dark days of the Horus Heresy - the galaxy-wide conflict that ended the Emperor's dreams for a unified humanity - when His most favoured Primarch-son, Horus Lupercal, renounced his oaths of loyalty and waged an internecine conflict to tear down the Imperium he had once help build, and instil himself as the new Master of Mankind. Following the end of this bloody conflict and the subsequent war of reciprocity against the Traitor Legions known as the Great Scouring, the Imperium and the newly instilled High Lords of Terra decided to institute the dictates of the tome known as the Codex Astartes. This massive tome was the magnum opus of the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, who was a master strategist and logistician.
This sacred text outlined Guilliman's ideal for the moral behaviour, order of battle and tactical doctrine that should be adhered to by all Space Marines, as the Heresy had revealed several weaknesses within the Legiones Astartes. This included the rapid indoctrination and psycho-conditioning practices utilised by most Legions at the time, as well as revealing several troublesome idiosyncrasies and flaws within the genomes of the various Legions' gene-seed. The existing First Founding Chapters were to be broken down into separate 1,000-man Chapters, with one keeping the original livery and history, while the newly spawned Chapters would become the basis of the Primogenitor Chapters of the Second Founding. Stripped of kith and kin, heraldry and deed, they would forge their own path of glory.
Legacy of Shame
Many of the surviving Terran-born Legionaries that remained within the White Scars decided to band together in order to keep their own personal history alive and separate from the Chogoris-born members. Despite their close brotherhood, there remained some enmity between both factions, which had come to a head during the early years of the Heresy. Many Terran Legionaries amongst their number who were members of the Warior Lodges, had turned against their own brothers in the hopes of turning the Khagan and their Chogoris-born kindred towards the Warmaster's cause. However, they had not truly understood what they had been working towards, for the Horus they venerated no longer existed. Had the Khagan wished, he could have enacted swift and bloody retribution against his errant sons, for the old laws of their Primarch's homeworld demanded but one punishment for betrayal - death.
Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and counselled the Khagan on what actions he should take. A kurultai was called - a summit of the Vth Legion's Khans - and convened to purge any remaining bad blood. Grievances were heard, penance was meted out and bonds restored. However, there was a wedge driven between the Terran-born and Chogoris-born brethren that could never be removed. Despite their drive to atone for their past sins, many of the Terran-born would forever after, feel judged by those brothers of Chogoris lineage. Even if they were not directly involved in the minor inter-Legionary conflict that had taken place at the outset of the Heresy, these brothers felt that those of Terran origin that had instigated this conflict had permanently tainted their honour and resulted in them being judged for their actions, forevermore. Though these Terran-born brothers would acquit themselves well during the Siege of Terra, defending the walls of the Imperial Palace as they fought side-by-side with their Chogoris-born brothers against the numberless hordes of the Arch-Traitor, the pall of guilt and shame clung to the Terrans like a cloying second skin. They felt that there was nothing they could do to erase their brothers' past misdeeds and wipe the slate clean.
Founding
Even after the sundering of the Vth Legion into several newly incepted Chapters, these Terran elements would cling together and keep their own counsel. A number of White Scars companies contained a large proportion of Terran-born veterans, who opted to continue waging their own personal war of reciprocity against the Traitor Legions in a vain effort to expunge their kin's past misdeeds. They often operated for years, or even decades, entirely independent of the Chapter. Indeed, even when recalled by the ruling Great Khan, these Terran Astartes would only reluctantly heed their Chapter Master's recall, but at other times chose to ignore these summons altogether. At the dawning of the 32nd Millennium, the Imperial Fists Primarch Rogal Dorn, the acting Lord Commander of the Imperium, initiated the Third Founding in 001.M32, the White Scars saw the opportunity to rid themselves of these troublesome and fiercely independent elements within their ranks who had been deemed vexatious. Therefore, the few remaining Terran-born Astartes of the old Legion that remained were granted the honour of forming their own Chapter. With this, the Solar Falcons Chapter was born. Shorn at last of their last ties to the old Legion, the newly created Chapter was free to forge their own destiny as they saw fit.
The Camenox Crusade
It was early in their existence during a small crusade on the planet Camenox, around 039.M32, that the chapter saw its final penance to erase their legacy of shame from the time of Horus. The horror of this crusade would forever cement the Chapter's religious beliefs and savage demeanour.
The Last Holdouts
A large force of the Sons of Horus, now calling themselves the 'Holdouts of Horus', had forced the planet of Camenox to help the Warmaster and was still under their control. Most of the population had by this point converted to the worship of chaos to survive. Except for an underground resistance, known as 'The Last', that did its best to undermine the heretics but was seen as little more than vermin skulking in the underhives. When the Solar Falcons arrived into the system they found a seemingly desolate area covered in hills and away from the hives and known heretic fortifications that would make a perfect dropsite.
Drop into Hell
Orbital defence fire erupted from the surface as the Falcons closed in onto drop pod range. When their fleet got within range the entire chapter deployed en masse to quickly strike at the enemy before they could mount a real counterattack. As the bulk of the drop pods and Thunderhawks reached the edge of the atmosphere cultist piloted fighters swarmed from a hidden hanger near the dropsite and destroyed most of the vanguard and much of what followed with waves of suicide attacks, over a third of the chapter and half of its vehicle assets was wiped out by the time the last of the surviving elements had landed. They had gathered around their Lord Castilian, surrounded by damaged entry vehicles and the debris of so many destroyed and prepared for the incoming heretic assault. In space, their fleet was hammered by enemy warships moving in to defend the surface, with few marines left in space their ships fell easily to boarding actions or were picked off from massed barrages from the surface and heretic voidships.
Last Stand on Castilian Hill
The few vehicles they had were put to use for scouting and hit-and-run attacks on the enemy forces, while the rest of the Falcons used what they could for cover as the heretics came upon them. Though the heretics had more astartes and were backed up by thousands of cultists, they could not overwhelm the Falcons or their position. For hours they fought a savage and desperate melee that should have wiped them out but somehow a defiant core of them had beaten back the tide of heretics. Each one of the Chaplains and Librarians voxed hymns as loud as possible to keep the faith of their brothers strong, soon every Falcon was screaming hymns and religious oaths while slaughtering and dying alike. Eventually, a second force of heretic forces was seen approaching from the opposite side of the first, along with the slow heavy armour columns of tanks and personnel carriers they were escorting.
Templars Cometh
While the ground forces were fighting the fleet was down to its last few warships, but the fleetmaster had contacted a nearby loyalist force right after the disastrous drop pod assault and before the flagship he was on was destroyed, a crusading fleet of Black Templars. They arrived right as the second ground wave was sighted and quickly moved in to add their warriors to the fight, as well as orbital fire support to keep the heavy armour back. As the second heretic wave faltered under the counterattack the Falcons redoubled their fury and held their position until the Templars were able to fend the rest of the heretics off.
Aftermath
The crusade would take another two decades before Camenox and its surrounding system were clear of heretic forces, in the process massive genocides against most of the populations were founded in order to keep any spread of chaos from happening. Much of their time during this crusade was used as outriders for the larger Templar force. After the final chaos lord was killed the Lord Castilian claimed the planet as their new homeworld and set about rebuilding their brutalized chapter, less than 200 of the original 1,000 Astartes that dropped, survived the crusade. The resistance groups known as 'The Lost' were allowed to live though they and all future generations would toil in the planet's hives to repay the Chapter and the Imperium.
Homeworld
The Solar Falcons' fortress-monastery of Castilian Hill is located on the planet Camenox in the Segmentum Solar, at the site of the Dropsite during the war that claimed the planet from chaos. It is a harsh and unforgiving planet with small amounts of human natives, as they consider the natives little more than peasants their recruiting is done on Terra. They have a small fortress on Europa for this purpose. One thing of note is that they seem to have a constant influx of neophytes to replace the fallen and aspirants taking the trials to join the chapter, leading several to accuse them of using rapid indoctrination and psycho-conditioning to reach these numbers of recruits fast enough to keep up with their casualties, both outlawed practices in the Codex.
Notable Campaigns
- Camenox Crusade (039-061.M32) - Savage and bloody crusade that almost saw the destruction of the chapter at the hands of a left-behind garrison of Sons of Horus. The chapter was saved by the arrival of the Black Templars who took on much of their own beliefs within their own.
- Karadon Subjugation (029.M35) - This war saw the Karadon system in the Segmentum Pacificus brought back into Imperial compliance after the Lord Governor of Karadon Prime stopped paying its tithes. By the time the chapter left the system, the population was less than half. Those that were left were submitted to all demands given to them by the new Administratum officials sent to the planet after the Falcons departed.
- Reign of Blood Crusade (300's.M36) - This marks the beginning of a rivalry between the Void Paladins and the Solar Falcons, who spent some time backing Goge Vandire until even they realized he was insane. But during their allegiance to him they came into brief conflict when the Falcons dispatched a company along with several voidships to help patrol or fight heretics that fired upon a Paladin voidship which immediately fired back, both sides suffered damage and casualties but the arrival of the rest of the Paladin flotilla forced the Falcon patrol to flee.
- Iben Purge (721.M36): - Vicious assault conducted by Ecclesiarchy and Inquisition forces against the homeworld of the Void Paladins in an effort to extinguish them. This force consisted of a dozen guard and stormtrooper regiments, multiple Sororitas companies, almost a full chapter's worth of Astartes, combined from a few religious chapters like the Solar Falcons, and several senior Inquisitors as the commanders transported by a large fleet of warships and armed transports. Most of this force is wiped out in the ensuing conflict but most of its inner core escapes as the desperate naval battle turns to the Paladin's favour when the Company-Primus of Abba the Great boarded and destroyed the Inquisition flagship along with killing the lead Inquisitor of the assaulting forces, as well as an Athirlyn flotilla arriving and flanking the Inquisition's fleet. Entrenched enemy positions were left alone during the defection so as to not provoke them and any prisoners were locked in a barracks with supplies and a vox. Afterwards, the Inquisition used virus bombs to kill any surviving Void Pladins and Ibeni that might have stayed behind. This final solution also claimed the lives of most of the surviving remnants of the disastrous first assault who had been assumed butchered in its aftermath.
- Doth Rebellion (366-404.M41) - Savage war fought by the entire chapter alongside the entirety of the Hussars Sanguine and Iron Myrmidons plus smaller elements from a half dozen others, the venerable Titans of the Legio Tyrannica and supporting Knight houses, and two Contingents of the Mauryan Guard and supporting naval elements. They went up against traitor marine warbands like the Plague Ravens and Battleforged, and were also aided by the Dark Mechanicum and cultists drawn from the populace of the mining world of Doth.
The planet's crust is made up almost entirely of crystallized rock with large fields of moss-like lichen near the poles that served as the main oxygen producer of the planet. Doth is located next to the Pale Vortex but much closer to it than Walcha is. Subjecting it to constant assault from the denizens of the rift as well as xenos raiders that prey upon the support elements of any fleet. These xenos and chaos forces to this day still use it as an easy staging point for further raids or simply to gather slaves. Because of the danger of working on the planet, the workforce is often made up of penal labour.
During this war around 382.M41, the crystal trenches that scarred the battlefield the Count Commander was lost in combat during a fierce artillery barrage. The only survivors of the shell-shocked forces hit by the barrage were the remains of a Solar Falcons command squad and a few other Falcons from destroyed squads. All of them reported never seeing any sign of him after he was hit with a shell along with his entire honor guard. Some of the Falcons were reported as having their gene-seed extracted by the apothecary in the command squad. The apothecary was killed soon afterwards in the withdrawal back to allied trenches, but the gene-seed he was carrying was saved. After his death, Alcar was chosen to lead the chapter as the new Count Commander.
- Odun Cleansing (981.M41) - Odun was a mustering planet used by the anti-Void Paladin strike force of the Ecclesiarchy. The Void Paladins set a surprise attack and destroyed the force barricaded within their barracks. This also included their Lord-Castilian and the entire 1st House as well. These chaotic forces emptied the planetary force's warehouses of munitions and vehicles. It is unknown if the planet has been rebuilt or has been left derelict. The fleet of the Solar Falcons, arriving too late to prevent the destruction by the chaos forces declared the planet lost and degreed the world as Exterminatus.
- Second Jamaerah Crusade (040-043.M42) - Instead of fighting the chaos forces on several fronts across the sub-sector, the Solor Falcons besieged Jamaerah and sealed off its entire system. After several years of fighting, it came down to a pitted battle outside the capital hive. Millions of infantry and armoured vehicles clashed at the feet of duelling Titans and Knights. At the peak of the battle, the two warrior commanders engaged in a titanic duel that rivalled the massive war machines still fighting around them.
- Masada Crusade (M42) - War was fought against the Orks that had infested a barren system thought to have belonged to the Void Paladins. It was the site that claimed most of the second Strike Force assembled against the Void Paladins, which included a detachment of the Solar Falcons, just a year prior. Fulmanarii spies were able to keep the Strike Force's calls for help unheard. The Falcons assembled to combat these greenskins to utterly destroy them and to find the treacherous renegade chapter or any evidence of their true location.
The entirety of the Solar Falcons along with regiments of Imperial Guard laid waste to every living thing they find within the Masada System. Afterwards, the Solar Falcons' forces find no traces of where the Void Paladins had gone. Evidence pointed to the system as never being their point of origin, being beyond its use against the imperial strike forces. The Falcons had lost another chance to seek revenge against the Paladins, Pizar was said to have gone into an inconsolable rage for quite some time.
- War of Wolves (076.M42) - Brutal civil war between loyalist and heretic brothers of theGrey Wolves, an Ultima Founding chapter on their homeworld of Nifhel and its surrounding star system within the Segmentum Solar. After over a week of intense siege and void warfare against the loyalist defenders and their mauled fleet, an Imperial relief force arrived in the system.
These Imperial forces consisted of the entirety of the Solar Falcons and thousands of other Imperial forces from the Imperial Navy and Inquisition. These Imperial forces turned the tide of the war and saved the near-beaten loyalists. The majority of the Solar Falcons conducted an orbital deployment after destroying Nifhel's orbital defence silos, dozens of bike squads hitting the heretic lines with hit-and-run attacks before charging headlong into them when heavier support arrived. Pizar himself led a vanguard consisting of the entire 1st Household, meeting the heretic Wolves' animal fury with their own wrath of the Khan. Following this war, the Solar Falcons helped the Grey Wolves, seeing in the wolves a bit of themselves following the Camenox Crusade.
Even ferrying the wolves to the Solar Falcon's homeworld of Camenox and allowing them to stay for several years while their ships and equipment were repaired. During this time the Inquisition held a formal hearing about the fate of the Grey Wolves. Ruling for a penance crusade, the Lord-Castilian Pizar intervened on the Wolves' behalf. He cited the incredible amount of loyalty and willpower it took for them to fight their own brothers instead of joining them in heresy. Eventually reducing the sentence to the Grey Wolves being under the mentorship of the Falcons.
- Third Jamaerah Crusade (120-Present.M42) - Mustering the largest Crusade within the Segmentum Solar since the Indomitus Crusade, almost two dozen Space Marine Chapters including the entire Solar Falcons and Grey Wolves chapters along with a massive fleet of Astartes and Imperial Navy warships deployed to the chaos held shrine world of Lamaerah to ensure that the heretical world's system would be cut off. A small shield company of Adeptus Custodes led by Eligon Teminuer, as well as a force of Sisters of Silence also partook in the Crusade. Thousands of Adepta Sororitas Battle-Sisters had also joined the Crusade as it was much a War of Faith as it was a military campaign. Adeptus Mechanicus forces were also present in large numbers from Skitarii to Titans.
Currently the crusade remains in a brutal deadlock as the capital hive along with several other prominent hives and their surrounding areas are besieged. In turn, the Imperial forces are besieged by a multitude of Chaos forces outside of their controlled area. The void war is more in the Imperial's favour as of now, but the cost of casualties and lost ships to maintain their blockade of the system is high and beginning to impede their overall progress.
Chapter Organisation
Instead of a normal Codex layout each company formation is set up like a battleline company, including the reserve companies. They deploy with light vehicles when possible like the White Scars are famous for, though most of their specialist ranks use their Codex variants like Apothecary and Librarians. Near the beginning of the Indomitus Crusade several companies worth of Primaris Space Marines were gifted to the Chapter. While these new marines were seen with distrust at first, as they were created with borderline heresy, they were eventually accepted since they were recruited from Holy Terra. They quickly adopted the chapter's religious zeal. Another thing that helped the inclusion of these new recruits was that the Chapter was also given the ability to create more of the Primaris themselves. With this new influx of Primaris Marines the chapter became over-strength, giving them a total of around 1,400 marines at their inclusion, but the brutal warfare of the War of Wolves and against the daemonic hordes of the Great Rift has already brought this figure down below 1000 as of the Third Jamaerah Crusade.
Formations
Household
The chapter's version of a company, since they try to keep some of their noble heritage alive each company is treated as a single feudal house of Camenox. Each sergeant or Baron as the rank is known to the chapter, of the house is treated like a lesser house with allegiance to their Castilian, rarely leaving even if offered promotion elsewhere. The Primaris marines are grouped into a single large Household even though they are several companies worth as the rest of the chapter feels they must earn their place in the nobility of Camenox, a feeling that has recently created tension within the chapter.
Officer Ranks
- Lord-Castilian - their term for the Chapter Master, currently Pizar Gonzalez. He rules over Camenox and its system like a king, dolling out severe punishments for even minor crimes in order to keep control over the population and stamp crime like most of his predecessors. He has also increased the planet's output many times more than it was during the reign of Gorje.
- Castilian - Commander of a House, equal to a Captain. Each is also considered a noble and controls some part of Camenox or its system, making sure that productivity and religious adherence are kept up among the peasantry of their assigned region. They even have their own castles that local forces can rally at when the system is attacked until reinforcements come. This rank is almost always recruited from inside the pool of sergeants under his command instead of other households but the inclusion of Deputies it has added another layer of aristocracy to the chapter.
- Deputy-Castilian - Also called Deputy for short, after the inclusion of Primaris Marines and the accompanying changes to the Codex Astartes, this rank was added as their variant of the Lieutenant. Every Castilian has two of them to help with commanding the larger and more varied Astartes force. As with their aristocratic hierarchy, a Deputy is the lowest ranking noble except for Barons, still above most of the chapter but totally under the command of their Castilian.
Specialist Ranks
- Reclusiarch
- Chaplains
- Chief Apothecary
- Apothecaries
- Chief Librarian
- Librarians
- Ancient - Standard Bearer equivalent.
- Veterans
- Emperor's Champion - This title is held with as much zeal as that of the Black Templars, instead of the great swords the Templars use, the Falcons use large sabres intended for single handed use. Most of these are curved like a cavalry sabre though some have straight blades instead and they are paired with smaller power blades for a duelist style of combat that is as fluid as it is deadly.
- Will of the Castilian - The personal champion and equerry for a Castilian, each Castilian has their own including the Lord-Castilian himself. Often equipped with a bolter and sabre or opt for a duelist style common within the chapter.
- Master of the Hunt - Functions the same as in the White Scars, it is this champion's duty to hunt down powerful enemies that have escaped the Emperor's justice. Instead of putting the head on a spike they display it in a massive trophy room inside their fortress-monastery. They use a relic strike cruiser for travel and are often accompanied by a retinue called the huntsmen, brothers personally affected by whatever he hunts, like a survivor of a destroyed squad or a disgraced officer looking to clear his honor of shame. Currently he is hunting Sezrion and the homeworld of the Void Paladins, bringing with him a small retinue of huntsmen and a secret flotilla of Eecleisiarchy backed naval flotilla transporting several regiments of Macabbian Janissaries.
- Emperor's Champion - This title is held with as much zeal as that of the Black Templars, instead of the great swords the Templars use, the Falcons use large sabres intended for single handed use. Most of these are curved like a cavalry sabre though some have straight blades instead and they are paired with smaller power blades for a duelist style of combat that is as fluid as it is deadly.
Line Ranks
- Baron - Lowest noble rank on Camenox, equal to the squad sergeants within a company making 10 of them under a Castilian at any given time. Each of them is utterly loyal to their Castilian and has their own small castle to directly rule over their piece of the Castilian's lands.
- Battle-Brother
- Scout Marine
- Neophyte
Order of Battle
Chapter Command
| Headquarters | ||||
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| Librarius | Reclusium | Armoury | (Apothecarion) | Fleet Command |
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Companies (Households)
| Veteran Household | Primary Households | |||
| 1st Household | 2nd Household | 3rd Household | 4th Household | 5th Household |
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| Secondary Households | Scout Household | |||
| 6st Household | 7nd Household | 8rd Household | 9th Household | 10th Household |
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| Primaris Household | |||||
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All Solar Falcons Primaris Space Marines serve in the Primaris Company, including Dreadnoughts. |
Combat Doctrine
Unlike most chapters, the Solar Falcons rarely split their forces up but prefer to send the entire weight of the chapter at once. However some of their members will be found attached to religious strike forces like on Odun or during the Reign of Blood. They make extensive use of bikes and other light vehicles to easily move around and flank enemies while their main force hammers its own path into the enemy lines. their skill in melee combat ensures that once they close with their enemy there is no escaping death at their hands, a common style of combat is a duelist style of sabres and combat knives or power blades. With the addition of Primaris Marines and vehicles, the chapter has revised its assaulting tactics to include them as part of their own battleline companies. the bulk of the Primaris deploy alongside the main Battleline houses while the normal reserve Houses are used to mop up whatever is left.
After they defeat the military forces of a planet they will often stay for solar years while they finish destroying any leftover resistance and subjugate the civilian populace. Often the survivors are forced to go through the ancient punishment of Decimation, where a lottery is held and 1/10th of those involved are randomly selected to be beaten to death by the other 9/10ths, any that refuse to participate are publicly flogged to death and any family members are forced into a second Decimation, another refusal of any kind will see the entire family burned at the stake together so as to ensure no weakness or heresy spreads further than them.
Chapter Beliefs
The Solar Falcons show a propensity for enacting retribution against those who have reneged on their oaths of loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind or have replaced the worship of the God-Emperor with something else. Particularly, those who dare make truck with the Dark Gods, are targeted for swift and merciless eradication by the Astartes of this Chapter. Whether or not this is a psychological defect or the inherent guilt ingrained into their souls as a result of their ancestors' misdeeds during the early years of the Heresy, is still a hotly debated topic amongst Imperial scholars. Whatever the case, the Solar Falcons' reputation for the zealous prosecution of their duties against the heretic and apostate is well known amongst the wider Imperium. Unlike many Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, the Solar Hawks are notably strict adherents of the Imperial Creed, much like their close allies the Black Templars, believing in the Emperor's divinity and Humanity's manifest destiny to dominate the stars. In addition to this, the chapter is very superstitious about things like omens and good luck charms, as shown by the use of the Indalo man symbol.
Imperial scholars believe the Chapter's adherence to the Imperial Creed is due to the Solar Falcons' original Terran-born members' guilt of their fellow Terran kindred's actions, which resulted in the little-known inter-Legionary conflict that occurred early on, during the outbreak of the Horus Heresy. Those Terran-born brethren that remained after the Khagan had rendered his judgement would forevermore have a pall of guilt and shame that would weigh heavily upon their souls. Keeping their own counsel, many of these Terran warriors sought comfort and possible salvation in the words of the Lectitio Divinitatus, which inspired a burgeoning underground cult of clandestine Emperor-worshippers. It was largely due to the soothing and inspiring words of this sacred manuscript, as well as their own experiences with how faith in the Emperor could be utilised as a weapon against the supernatural horrors of the Warp during the Heresy, that firmly cemented these Astartes' faith in the God-Emperor, and would later have a strong influence on the newly created Chapter's beliefs and doctrine following their inception.
This Chapter's Astartes are also rigid believers in the Imperium of Man's established status quo, as they take a singular interest in the destruction of renegade Imperial commanders, apostates, heretical cults and other wayward Imperial lords. They especially take great pleasure in cleansing Renegade Chapters or isolated elements within an otherwise Loyalist Chapter that refuses to suppress its own. The Solar Falcons prosecute such retribution actions with unseemly relish, driven to eradicate the stain upon the honour of the Adeptus Astartes, and perhaps, earn an iota of vindication for their ancestors' misdeeds committed ten millennia earlier. Despite recriminations from many fellow Chapters for the overzealous prosecution of their duties and adherence to the Imperium's state religion, the Solar Falcons are highly effective in their assigned duties, and none gainsay their effectiveness in battle.
Due to these beliefs, the Chapter sees such renegades as the Void Paladins Chapter, as heretics of the highest order, and their ordained destruction has been deemed of the highest priority. To this end, the Solar Falcons had committed a sizable force to both of the Ecclesiarchy strike forces meant to destroy this Renegade Chapter once and for all. Also, they have promised to commit their entire Chapter if these renegades' new homeworld should be discovered.
Chapter Gene-Seed
Primarch's Curse (Add Name)
Notable Members
- Lord-Castilian Pizar Gonzalez, the Lord of Conquest- Current leader of the chapter, earned his nickname by leading the chapter in the destruction of an entire heretic hive, personally butchering thousands of defenders and civilians alike as he purged it of life. Instead of using the relic terminator armour like most of the Lord-Castilians have, he opted to stick with his personal armour as it favoured his duelist combat style better as well as a jump pack to increase his mobility off his attack craft. For his melee weapons he uses a straight-bladed power sabre along with a short power blade or plasma pistol in his offhand. While he still carries his smaller power blade as an emergency weapon he has started using a power spear as his main weapon with his power sabre in his offhand, along with his plasma pistol for ranged combat. The idea came to him in a waking dream during the heat of battle, that of an angelic warrior bathed in ghostly golden light wielding a spear and sword while fighting off untold heretics and beckoning him to join. When he blinked he was instead looking at a Chaplain leading a furious charge into the enemy. Following the Masada Incident and the loss of the second strike force, which had several close friends that Pizar had gone through initiation with, he has become increasingly consumed by rage at the Void Paladins and is part of the reason he has tried so hard to keep the Grey Wolves from renegade status. Regardless of his passionate defence of the Grey Wolves even in the face of Lord-Inquisitors and his rousing speeches of the Falcons and Wolves being equaled, secretly to him they are quite literally nothing more than heretical attack dogs worthy of no more than an immediate purge and he plans to sacrifice them against the Void Paladins when the time comes to wipe out the renegade chapter's homeworld. Even now during the Third Jamaerah Crusade the Grey Wolves are finding themselves sent on near suicide missions while Solar Falcons are sent elsewhere to capitalize on the enemy redeployments countering them.
- Lord-Castilian Gorje, the Bulwark of Faith (Deceased)- Gorje served as Lord-Castilian during the Odun Cleansing in 981.M41. Gorje fought Sezrion of the renegade Void Paladins Chapter, while both sides fought around them. After a full day of fighting, with both inflicting serious wounds upon one another, Gorje was finally run through with Stormsword and died headbutting Sezrion. Sezrion still considers Gorje to be one of the finest and most worthy warriors he has ever fought.
- Batu, the Will of the Castilian- Aged veteran of countless wars, at more than one point during these wars becoming an Emperor's Champion. Pizar has looked to his counsel even before becoming Lord-Castilian, back when Batu was a Castilian and Pizar a Baron of his Household. Batu and Gorje had a strong rivalry that went back to their days as squad mates, this rivalry kept Batu out of Gorje's Household but ultimately spared him from dying on Odun. Uses a large power sword with a curved blade style common to their primogenitors, a relic from their founding.
- Chief Librarian Golarte Bogarji - Powerful Librarian and commander of the chapter's Librarius
- Castilian Kubuljin Carandas, Master of the Fleet- Skilled admiral and warrior that controls the fleet from the bridge of the Solar Judgement.
- Castilian Sabutai Rameraz, Commander of the 1st Household- Leader of the veteran Household and right-hand man of Pizar. His Indomitus Terminator armour is richly adorned with chapter symbolism and he wields a
- Deputy-Castilian Dorbei - Lieutenant equivalent within the veteran Household, he is loyal to his Lord-Castilian over anything or anyone else and acts as his spy within the veteran Household.
- Castilian Ganzorig Tamujin, Commander of the 3rd Household- Famed and extremely popular officer within the chapter. He uses a Bolter and a curved power sabre as his main weapons, armoured in an ancient set of MkIV power armour like most veterans not in Terminator armour. While still very devout to the Imperial creed and as fanatical in purging heretics as the rest of the chapter he is not keen on the brutal subjugation that the chapter inflicts on those under them, either on Camenox or on newly subjugated worlds, his household being the only one that is considered to treat its subjects fairly.
- Castilian Oyuun Delvaro, Commander of the 5th Household- Tyrannical lord of his company and domain on Camenox, his company and several squads added to it is part of the second strike force being mustered against the Void Paladins.
- Castilian Torajin Mukhali, Commander of the Primaris Household- Level-headed commander that calmly leads the oversized Primaris Household of the chapter. Given its size he has opted to double the size of the squads past 10th squad to 20 instead of 10 marines, using these squads as reserve units for his main battle squads.
- Deputy-Castilian Khasar Tisina - Primaris Lieutenant who resents being seen as such an outsider, even though he is a Terran by birth and a skilled warrior in his own right.
- Baron Costa Ferandes, Master of the Hunt- Brutal warrior and a Baron of the veteran Household, uses a chainaxe and a heavy power sabre as his main weapons, along with a Bolt pistol for ranged combat and a ceremonial knife to take his trophies. He, along with 20 or so huntsmen, has been charged with hunting the renegade Astartes Sezrion and bringing his head back to Castilian Hill to finally avenge their fallen Lord-Castilian Gorje.
(To Be Added)
Chapter Fleet
Due to the Camenox Crusade, the chapter's original fleet of astartes pattern voidships was all but wiped out. They have replaced most of the smaller escort vessels and about half of the larger ships but to this day they have not fully recovered from a fleet standpoint. As of 999.M41 the fleet stood at 4 Capital ships, 9 Cruisers, and 15 Escort squadrons.
- The Solar Judgement (Modified Battleship)- Flagship of the chapter and transport of the Veteran Household, given to them by the Black Templars after the near total loss of their fleet at Camenox. It is not a normal Astartes pattern but a fusion of two wrecked Imperial Battleships, an Emperor-class that had lost everything in front of the launch bays and a Retribution-class that had its engines and bridge severely damaged by torpedoes, the shipwrights combined the wrecks so that the Retribution's full broadside started just after the launch bays giving it a total length of about 15 km. Like most voidcraft used by White Scars and their successors they have been modified for extra speed despite its bulk and the ship has an extra reactor installed to keep the weapons operable while mobile. In place of the cloaked angel monument usually found atop the bridge of an Emperor is an equally massive golden statue of the chapter's falcon badge, the original monument was eventually given to the Angels of the Blade as a gift for their zeal against heretics and is on display at the Chapter's massive Fortress-Monastery of Tristamn.
- The Conquistador (Battle Barge)- Part of the fleet given to the chapter by the Black Templars, currently used by the 2nd Household. It is flanked by Cruisers and has a few escort vessels as well.
- The Tizona (Battle Barge)- Personal transport of the 3rd Household and has been so since it was given to the chapter by the Black Templars following the Camenox Crusade.
- The Galicia (Battle Barge)- Currently used by the 4th Household as their main transport.
- The Numancia (Strike Cruiser, DESTROYED)- Advanced warship used by the Veteran company as their personal transport for missions away from the Solar Judgement. It was boarded, scavenged, and destroyed when the Void Paladins wiped out the loyalist forces stationed on Odun. It had been part of the fleet given to the chapter by the Black Templars.
- The Perala (Strike Cruiser)- Cruiser that is part of the 1st Household and part of the fleet given to the chapter by the Black Templars.
- The Colada (Strike Cruiser)- This warship is the constant companion of the Tizona and has been so since it was given to the chapter by the Black Templars.
- The Cazador (Strike Cruiser)- Relic warship that is the only surviving voidcraft of the original chapter fleet after the Camenox crusade. It has been given over as the personal voidship of the Master of the Hunt and his retinue.
- The Lobera (Vanguard Cruiser)- Cruiser that is part of the 3rd Household and the secondary companion next to the Colada.
(To Be Added)
Chapter Relics
- Castilian's Raiment- Tartaros-pattern Terminator armor with an iron halo that has been worn by most of the chapter masters of the chapter if they do not have a preference to another variant.
- Bulwark of Gorje- Master crafted Storm Shield used by Gorje up to the Odun Cleansing. Many within the chapter think that it is actually a Praesidium Shield gifted to him for his service to Terra.
- Black sword of Camenox- The signature power swords used by the Black Templars for their champions, this one was given to the Falcons as a sign of friendship after the conclusion of the Camenox crusade. Smaller than the usual black swords seen wielded by the Black Templars it was meant to be used with a shield. It was used by Gorje but was lost on Odun when it was claimed by Saiot as a new relic for the chapter.
- Maul of Camenox (Land Raider Crusader) This relic transport was gifted to the chapter following the Camenox Crusade like much of their void fleet and their ground vehicles. It trades some of its transport ability for enhanced communications and sensorium. It is reserved as a command vehicle for missions that have the whole chapter fighting together, a far more common occurrence with the Solar Falcons than most loyalist chapters.
(To Be Added)
Chapter Appearance
Chapter Colours
The Solar Falcons primarily wear yellow-coloured power armour with red coloured shoulder pauldrons and the tops of their gauntlets. Veterans of the Chapter have a bronze shoulder pauldron trim and other areas upon their armour to denote their veteran status. In keeping with the ancient traditions of the old V Legion, the Solar Falcons tend to base their iconography utilised by the original tribes from which they are recruited. This usually takes the form of jagged lightning bolt designs painted on their armour and sometimes helmets, echoing the ritual scarification applied to the flesh beneath.
In addition, the Solar Falcons display their house and squad markings on their poleyns (knee guards) or greaves (shin armour) as opposed to using the standardised Gothic or roman numerals utilised by Codex-compliant Chapters. The stylised squad specialty symbol on the right shoulder pauldron (Tactical, Assault, Devastator or Veteran) indicates an individual warrior's assigned squad specialty. Squad markings are also commonly displayed upon the left poleyn, though this is not always commonplace. Due to their age and the salvage rights to most of the debris left behind by the Camenox crusade, including from the Heretic forces, they have a large amount of MkIV power armoured suits. Like their genetic forebears, the Solar Falcons often bear all manner of primitive fetishes, tokens and animal pelts taken from apex predators, a practice inherited from their White Scars progenitors.
Chapter Badge
The Solar Falcons Chapter iconography consists of a stylised yellow falcon displayed, shown affronté with its head facing forward and its wings displayed and inverted. This symbol is centered on a black circlet, superimposed on a field of red. Some veterans alternatively utilise another popular symbol from ancient Europa, called an Indalo man, a symbol long-held as a type of good luck charm or even to ward off evil spirits, inscribed onto their armour for extra protection.
Relations
Allies
| Black Templars |  |
Early in the chapters history they were deployed alongside the zealous, perpetually Crusading Black Templars. Both Chapters have a similar outlook on Chapter doctrine, tactics and deployment as well as an abiding faith in the worship of the God-Emperor. They both believe in Mankind's manifest destiny to rule the known Galaxy and will do anything to achieve this by wiping out the Apostate, Heretic, Xenos or Daemonic. Since this first joint-engagement, both Chapter's formed bonds of brotherhood and will eagerly answer one another's call-to-arms should the need every arise. Even to this day the Solar Falcons hold these Sons of Dorn with high esteem as their closest brothers outside of other White Scars' Successor Chapters. |
| Ecclesiarchy |   |
As would be expected of a highly religious chapter they have a strong bond with those of the Imperial Creed. |
| White Scars |  |
As they all are sons of Jaghatai, the Great Khagan, there is still a sense of brotherhood shared between the estranged chapter and the other Scions of Jaghatai, even with the bad blood and shame the Terran-born brothers accrued during the Horus Heresy, and their perceived guilt they still carry with them, to this day. The Solar Falcons too, mourned the loss of their Primarch as much as their Chogoris-born brethren, and to this day will aid any chapter from his lineage if they can. |
Enemies
| Void Paladins |  |
As they are followers of the Imperial Truth and the Solar Falcons of the Imperial Creed there is a bitter hatred held for the Paladins. It came to a head on the planet Odun where a short but bitter war culminated in a duel between Sezrion and the Falcon's chapter Master, Lord-Castilian Gorje, that ended with Gorje's death and that of the rest of his House. This event made the Void Paladins and Sezrion himself as a source of the Chapter's vengeance, the public broadcast only adding to their humiliation and ire. |
| (To Be Added) |
Notable Quotes
By the Solar Falcons
- "I am the blade that cuts like the wind in the hills. Relentless as the storm and remorseless as a lightning strike. I am the blade that cuts deep. For me, for I am your death."
- — Castilian Ganzorig Tamujin, commander of the 3rd Household, challenging a Chaos Champion, before engaging in a duel to the death.
About the Solar Falcons
Gallery
