IL X - The Fire Keepers

[simison]

Keepers of the Flame

 

Although the Chaplain Edict was responsible for introducing the familiar skull-faced officers to the Legiones Astartes as a whole, several Legions had established chaplaincy corps long before the Prosecution. Unlike other Legions where the Librarius was charged with maintaining the traditions and histories of the Legion, the chaplains of the Eagle Warriors served as the keepers of the Legion's spirit. However, to outside observers, there was concern that these chaplains drew too much on the customs of Mexicatii Prime and not enough of the heritage of Terra. In contrast, the chaplains of the Halcyon Wardens were highly respected for their dutiful watch for their brothers' well-being. The one black mark were whispers of a secret duty hidden to all by the Warmaster's order no less. 

 

Regardless, there was no question that the chaplain order within the Fire Keepers towered above all others. While other chaplain orders contained at least two ranks, the lay member and the high chaplain, only the Fire Keeper order had five distinct ranks, organized within three Circles. By far, the most common are the members of the Third Circle. With one chaplain to serve every hundred Fire Keepers, the Third Circle hosts well over a thousand members and is the common chaplain that the greater Imperium interact with. For much of the Great Crusade, they were viewed as an oddity at best or suspicious at worst, especially in light of the Imperial Truth.

 

This was further aggravated by the Second Circle. Its existence was a spurious thing since so few of its members were seen in public, even though it was confirmed that any member of the Second Circle outranked even the highest rank of the Third Circle, the Reclusiarchs. Yet, despite wielding greater power, they were rarely seen on the battlefield. More confusing were their exact duties. Mixed responses from the X^th Legion muddied the truth as some would say the Second Circle was in charge of simply managing the Third Circle, while others whispered that they were no more than brutal enforcers of Niklaas' will. The fact that no rank is ascribed to any member of the Second Circle is further cause for uncertainty.

 

Contrary to the secretive Second Circle, the number and responsibilities of the First Circle were well known. In a mirror of the chaplaincy itself, the Third Circle was also divided into three. The Chaplain Sovereigns formed the lowest rank within the Third Circle. Above the Chaplain Sovereigns were the four Elders. The Elders' sole duty was to advise the High Chaplain, who stood at the top of the Fire Keepers' chaplaincy. 

 

Although every chaplain was a proven warrior, this was not the limit of their duties. While chaplains are historically considered to be concerned with the spirituality or morale of the Legion, the Fire Keeper chaplains stood out for how many responsibilities were under their purview. The Chaplain Sovereigns could and often did double as field officers, commanding siege wings seconded to other Legions. The four Elders were considered of equal rank to a Praetor in another Legion. The High Chaplain himself appeared to be second only to the Primarch Niklaas. Although Fire Keepers argued that the reality was more nuanced, it is without a doubt that the High Chaplain had consistent direct access to the Lord of the Fire Keepers, who in turn valued the High Chaplain's counsel. 

 

In addition to these unprecedented influence and power among the Fire Keeper chaplaincy was their legalistic training. Every Fire Keeper chaplain was versed in administration and law and were active in these matters in-between battles. Fulfilling their nicknames as the 'Judges', chaplains would divide their time between meditation and mediation between aggrieved parties. Nor was this limited to inter-Legion affairs. If a Legion serf, an Army trooper, or even a common citizen wished to pursue an issue of justice with a Fire Keeper, the Fire Keeper chaplains would not turn them away and were renowned for their impartiality to the point where other legal experts would seek their knowledge to better their own. 

 

Among their brother Legions, reactions ranged across a spectrum. By far, the most hostile response would come from the Berserkers of Uran, further aggravated by the Chaplain Edict. To the Berserkers, the chaplains represented nothing more than a tyrannical force whose duty was to delude and chain others. The Fire Keepers' chaplaincy earned additional scorn for their judicial work, which the Berserkers saw as a distraction from their purpose as weapons. Other Legions adversely affected by the Chaplain Edict tended to share a similar vexation toward the Fire Keeper chaplains, such as the Warriors of Peace, the Drowned and Warbringers. Ironically, due to differences in philosophy, the chaplains of the Eagle Warriors and Fire Keepers came to distrust each other and claimed the other had corrupted its purpose. 

 

Most Legions cared little for the chaplains, viewing them as an oddity. Only two Legions respected and admired the Fire Keeper's chaplaincy. The first were the Predators. In the chaplains, the Predators saw parallels to their own shamans on Mardum as keepers of the law and guarding the spirit. The second were the Halcyon Wardens, who's chaplains found much admire among their cousins in the X^th Legion. Often, chaplain candidates of the V^th Legion would seek out Fire Keeper units for their required inter-Legion experience.

Edited August 29, 2017 by simison

[bluntblade]

I thought it was just called the Chaplain Edict?

[simison]

Fixed.

[Demus Ragnok]

Spit balling ideas

 

The Comnena Garrison

 

Xth Legion Fire Keepers

 

3400 Legionaries, Storm Walker Host of Tribe Leucetios

 

2700 Legionnaires, Black Sentinel Host of Tribe Dispater

 

2400 Legionnaires, Ash Treader Host of Tribe Vindonnus

 

Sigurd, Great Captain of the Storm Walkers Host-Castellan of the Comnena Garrison

 

Bohemund, Reclusiarch-Chaplain Attendant of the Comnena Garrison

Edited November 28, 2017 by Demus Ragnok

[simison]

Fire Keepers are at 150,000 from what I see. Is that old fluff and do they need the 20 year bonus? 

[Demus Ragnok]

150 is the old fluff.

[simison]

I think we were offer a 20% bonus to each Legion, and then we modified based on combat style, number of recruitment worlds, and how positive their relationship with the Imperial Army is.

 

So, how big do you think the bonus should be?

[Demus Ragnok]

I think they could get the full 20%, putting them at 180000.

 

They fight hard but aren't wasteful with men or materials. They take a tithe from human worlds brought to compliance (something previously unmentioned). And they have good relations with the Army given that they aren't "corpse grinders".

[simison]

I actually hadn't known about the tithe. Between those numbers, I think an extra 10,000 is justifiable, leaving the FK at a total of 190k. Sound good?

 

So, the total number of Comnena defenders is 8,500. That's less than 1% of the total Legion, so it's certainly a reasonable number from that angle. And Comnena is a cluster/sector, right? 

[Demus Ragnok]

I actually hadn't known about the tithe. Between those numbers, I think an extra 10,000 is justifiable, leaving the FK at a total of 190k. Sound good?

 

So, the total number of Comnena defenders is 8,500. That's less than 1% of the total Legion, so it's certainly a reasonable number from that angle. And Comnena is a cluster/sector, right?

 

190 works for me.

 

Comnena is a cluster. Sig pitched it as having 4 to 5 inhabited worlds.

[simison]

4-5 worlds or systems?

 

Also, do you have a name picked out for Niklaas' first High Chaplain?

[Sigismund229]

4-5 worlds or systems?

 

Also, do you have a name picked out for Niklaas' first High Chaplain?

My thought was 4-5 worlds with an unusually high pysker population that are a point of stability amidst a generally unstable region of space(the Maelstrom)

[simison]

I was just confused because it seemed odd to me that 4-5 planets could make a cluster, but now I see that clusters refer to whole systems as evidenced by the Endymion Cluster. 

 

So, that's 8,500 FK spread out over 5 systems, leaving, on average, 1,700 Keepers per system. Not sure if that's high or not, almost two Chapters-worth of marines. They there because of the large number of psykers or because of how unstable the region is?

[Sigismund229]

Worlds sim, not systems. And remember, that's just inhabited worlds, so there are more worlds than that, it's just that those are the inhabited ones.

 

The FK are in the Cluster due to the unusually high number of pyskers. They and a detachment, of around 200-400 I believe I said, Sisters of Silence are garrisoned in the system to keep a lid on the problem and ensure it doesn't get out of hand.

Edited September 5, 2017 by Sigismund229

[Demus Ragnok]

Penelope stirred in her bed.

“Bang, bang, bang.” Someone was wrapping on her door. She hoped it was that young Lieutenant with the bright eyes.

She draped herself in a silk robe and padded across the finely patterned rug to the hatchway. Opening the door she found, not the young officer she was hoping to romance, but a dusky skinned giant in red armor.

Penelope pushed a swath of blonde hair behind her right ear and quickly decided leaving her robe undone had been a waste of time, as the Astartes looked her straight in the eyes.

“Penelope Ivanovich?” the visitor asked.

“I…ah..yes” she stumbled trying to tie the sash of her robe.

“I am Djozer Equerry to the Primarch. He wishes to meet with you at your earliest convenience.”

And with that he turned and walked away.

Penelope stood in the half open door, fumbling with her robe, absolutely flummoxed. She had tried for years to meet with the primarch of the 10th legion and he had, without exception always been busy. And now all of a sudden he sends his senior most staff member to summon her in the middle of the night.

She closed the door and moved back to her bed. Perhaps the resent ambushes had brought some change to Niklaas’ feelings about remembrancers.

She sat for a moment on the edge of her mattress contemplating and the question that came to fore of her mind was, “what does one wear when meeting a primarch?”

[Demus Ragnok]

The king was dead.

That was the only reason there could be for the whispers stopping. The whispers and visions had been terrifying at first, the shadows that followed no man, the twists of smoke that grew from no flame, the flashes of other faces in water, some not of men. And those were the waking dreams, the beings that invaded his sleep were beyond human words.

And then the king had found him. Called him by his name, drove the others away and told him that the day would come when those who claimed to be his friends and family would forsake him.

And it did. On the first day of his thirteenth year he was called before the judges. They said he was touched by the witch sight, unclean, a monster.

And now he sat in a dungeon just as the king had told him he would.

The king had told him many other things as well. But now…he wasn’t sure they would come to be. The king had been silent for a fortnight and he felt something new. A presence unfamiliar yet not completely alien. Whatever it was it was powerful.

Rumor among his jailers was that the company of the Steel Prince was coming to Pyrgamos.

Could this Steel Prince be what Balaam felt.

 

“And that’s you, Penelope asked not looking up from her slate, the Steel Prince?”

 

“I refused to be made king, so people named me a prince instead.”

 

“And Steel Prince because you were a craftsman.”

 

The primarch meet the woman with his gaze, “no”.

[bluntblade]

So first thoughts on a RoW

Rite of War: Ash and Dust

Must take a second HQ

Models with a bolt gun may use them in CC

For each troop choice taken beyond 3 an additional HS selection may be taken beyond the usual FOC limit

How should the fluff for this ToW look?

[Demus Ragnok]

Ash and Dust is the FK of the crusade it is who they are and what they do. And it’s what makes them such brutal defenders during the insurrection.

[bluntblade]

Rite of War: Ash and Dust

The Xth Legion was unrivalled in its use of concentrated firepower, storming thousands of breached fortresses in this way. In such actions the Fire Keepers’ predeliction for flamer and melta weapons came to the fore, overwhelming whatever defence remained in their path.

[bluntblade]

Who should lead the Fire Keepers in Expansion? Sigurd?

[Demus Ragnok]

Who should lead the Fire Keepers in Expansion? Sigurd?

Sigurd has overall command of Comnena Garrison yes.

 

He is a new character I named as a nod to Sigismund229 as Comnena was his idea.

 

I have no idea what he is like.

 

Also the hosts names of the garrison relate to the canon shattered legions.

[bluntblade]

Cool

[Demus Ragnok]

The Stormwall Host

 

Tribe Grannus of the Firekeepers legion is said to be Niklaas’ personal Tribe. Comprising part of this formation is the Stormwall Host. A dedicated heavy assault formation the Stormwall Host can deploy equipped with either power armor and breacher siege shields or tactical dreadnought armor. The 740 strong host have deployed with Niklaas and his personal guard via drop pods, teleportation, and boarding torpedoes into the most dangerous zone mortalis battles.

 

The Comnena Chain

 

With the pacification of the region known as the Comnena Cluster and the subsequent population survey it became apparent to Imperial officials that there was a far higher than normal concentration of natural born psykers in the Comnena populous. This brought the Sisters of Silence to the region. Circumstances of the Great Crusade saw the Sisterhood spread thin and they made request that one of the legions Astartes bolster their numbers in Comnena. The 10th legion answered the call. Niklaas did not select a single company or host to set to the task as was common for Firekeeper garrisons. The primarch selected from each of the legion’s twelve Tribes (including the seemingly shunned Esus and Mogon) a single squad as well as two specialists. And so Niklaas ordered a force of 144 legionaries and support specialists to deploy to Comnena. The primarch dubbed the unusual formation a “Chain”. The Comnena Chain was the first of its kind used by Niklaas but it would not be the last.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Demus Ragnok

[bluntblade]

Why would Esus and Mogon be shunned? Just curious

[Demus Ragnok]

Why would Esus and Mogon be shunned? Just curious

Esus and Mogon are assigned to the 1445th expedition soon after Niklaas reorganized the legion and remain separate from the main legion force until after the DoR. Those legion librarians not assigned to the Crucible of Embers are assigned Tribe Mogon. To outsiders this appears that Niklaas is shunning the psykers and Esus and Mogon with them. Niklaas never explains his reasons, the two tribes never lack material support or recruits and remain totally loyal through the crusade and insurrection.