[X] Plan: Keepers of Truth.
-[X] Chapter Name: Keepers of Truth.
-[X] Chapter Colors: Dark Red primary, Ashen secondary with White for kneeplate and pauldron trim.
-[X] Chapter Symbol: Bright red, burning torch with wings at it's sides.
-[X] Chapter Creed: "Burn The Lies of Ignorance! Burn The Lies of Darkness! Burn The Lies of The Warp!"
-[X] Entrenchment: The Chapter is better at erecting and maintaining fortifications than average.
-[X] Counterintelligence Training: The Chapter is proficient in the art of detecting and thwarting enemy infiltration attempts.
-[X] Extra Assault Packs: The Chapter has a great number of Assault Packs, letting them retain a greater number of Assault Marines in each Company.
-[X] Heavy Weaponry: The Chapter is well supplied with heavy weaponry, and can field a larger proportion of Devastator squads.
Name: Keepers of Truth
Chapter Colors: Dark Red primary, Ashen secondary with White for kneeplate and pauldron trim.
Chapter Symbol: Bright red, burning torch with wings at it's sides.
Chapter Creed: "Burn The Lies of Ignorance! Burn The Lies of Darkness! Burn The Lies of The Warp!"
Homeworld: For the most part, the Keepers of Truth's homeworld of Akasha II has been considered to be an 'average' jungle death world, with relatively mediocre threats - poison dart frogs toxic enough they are capable of killing Space Marines, giant snakes, and all manners of horrible jungle beasts. However, even on a world such as this, one predator stands above all others - the Warp Eater.
Warp Eaters: The dominant predator of Akasha II, the Warp Eaters resemble a mass of human limbs surrounding a singular large maw. The smaller 'child' stage Warp Eaters are only a little big larger than a Space Marine, though strong enough to rip one appart. The adult Warp Eaters, on the other hand, are as large as four baneblades stacked on top of one another and are strong enough to casually destroy Imperial Knights if allowed to get into close range. Larval Warp Eaters are the smallest stage and more often than not attack by swarming their targets. Regardless of age, they are inexplicable capable of tracking down Daemons or beings blessed by Warp 'gods', and will savagely tear apart and devour anything that falls under those conditions. However it would be foolish to mistake Warp Eaters for violent berserkers, as they have shown themselves to be fairly stealthy in the lead up to a given attack - more often than not attacking their foes from ambush, or targeting ranged combatants to take them out of the fight before facing off against the rest of a group of 'prey'. In fact these creatures are so stealthy that they were only discovered after the Keepers of Truth Space Marine Chapter chose Akasha II as their homeworld, with no others having managed to discover them and survive in the time since the world was discovered.
Fortress Monastery: A massive mixture of a traditional Fortress Monastery and an immense library, the Keepers of Truth spend a great deal of time reviewing, cross references, and cataloging the vast stores of knowledge the chapter has gathered over its existence within their home. The monastery is also home to an extensive tunnel network, which Warp Eaters of all sizes use to move from place to place in rapid succession.
Combat and Structure: The Keepers of Truth, aside from unique quirks such as extra skill in defensive warfare, larger numbers of Devastator and Assault Marines with commensurately fewer Tactical Squads, and a skill at preventing enemy infiltration could be considered to be a standard codex compliant Chapter, though they do have some notable differences that make them stand out from the average. The fact that the Keepers of Truth are significantly more resilient to the powers of Chaos, and enemy psyker abilities as a whole, has made them one of the first choices to fight traitor marines should the Exorcists or Grey Knights be unavailable.
Imperial Bulwark: A sub-realm of the Imperium, like the Realm of Ultramar, located within Segmentum Tempestus. It is very closely tied together by a shared belief in the Imperial Truth, both among the planetary populations and the Space Marine Chapters within its space. Due to this the state has often found itself at odds with the Ecclesiarchy, which has been all but banned from it's space both by local governments and a decree from the High Lords of Terra.
Unique Units
Warp Eaters: Warp Eaters of various size have been used by the Keepers of Truth in a variety of roles, ranging from fast attack, to battling Greater Daemons, to even being sent out to assassinate prominent Chaos Sorcerers.
Marine Heralds: One of the most notable departures of the Keepers of Truth from the Codex Astartes is the fact that their Chaplains are divided into two separate roles. The Heralds are responsible for maintaining the traditions of the Chapter's culture, as well as spreading the word of the Imperial Truth throughout the Emperor's domain. While the Chapter keeps a number of Heralds among their own to maintain their own traditions, a great many more wander the galaxy - especially among the worlds of the Imperial Bulwark - on a Crusade of their own against the forces that would destroy the Emperor's true vision. In combat a Marine Herald is typically armed with a large flaming chainsword in one hand, while the other uses a more typical bolt-pistol.
Marine Scouror: While the Heralds have taken the role of guardian of the Chapter customs ,the Marine Scouror has taken on the role of rooting out heresy wherever it can be found. To do this, the Scouror is aided by a larval Warp Eater, kept in a force cage mounted on top of a Servo-Skull that follows the Marine Scouror at every turn. Even larval Warp Eaters are extremely sensitive to the touch of the 'divine', and will consistently direct the Scouror to any would-be cultists no matter how hidden they might think their connection to their pathetic deity to be. In combat, the Marine Scouror wields a Barbed Power Shield in one hand with a bolt-pistol in the other, as well as a unique wrist mounted flamer built into their armor.
Marine Purgers: Marines utilizing flamers fueled with a unique substance, developed through the combined efforts of the Keepers of Truth Librarians and the Academy of the Imperial Truth. The fires powered by this fuel are especially potent against Chaotic beings (And, oddly enough, the Sisters of Battle) and burn especially violently on Daemons, to the point that while Marine Purgers cannot unleash True Death, the flames have been recorded as leaving permanent scars that persist into the Daemon's next manifestation on the physical plane. The formula used in the Marine Purger's weapons has been considered cursed by the Ecclesiarchy ever since the burning of the Shrine World Moonaaarchia.
Librarian Deniers: The Keepers of Truth Librarians, though not as dominant as in Chapters such as the Blood Ravens, are still treated with great respect - for their powers have been noted to be especially devastating versus, the Arch-enemy and not once has one of the Librarian Deniers ever so much as suffered from a symptom of corruption, with even Nurge's most potent plagues seemingly unable to find purchase.
Notable Events of the Keepers of Truth
-The Keepers of Truth begin a resurgence of the Imperial Truth on the planets surrounding their homeworld, quickly quashing the budding Imperial Creed within local space. The region these worlds, and the Keepers of Truth themselves, reside in would become known as the Imperial Bulwark, considering themselves the last vestiges of the Emperor's Truth in an Imperium slowly going mad from fanaticism.
-During the Third Founding, two Space Marine Chapters would be founded on planets adjacent to the Keepers of Truth, and would also adopt the Imperial Truth as their overriding philosophy.
-The Imperial Creed is adopted as the official faith of the Imperium of Man. Seeing the last holdout of the Imperial Truth as a threat to their dominance, the Ecclesiarchy declares war against the Imperial Bulwark. The battles between the two factions are intense, with entire worlds on both sides reduced to nothing but ash - but the Keepers of Truth managed to slow down and bloody the Ecclesiarchy's crusade long enough for the Chapter's contacts in the Ordo Malleus to begin working against the Ecclesiarchy. This does not entirely stop the crusade, but the Ecclesiarchy's increasing madness would eventually lead them to foolishly try and pressure the Adeptus Mechanicus into providing extra aid… Something that angered the Priesthood of Mars deeply enough for them to provide political and material aid to the Imperial Bulwark instead. Faced with Inquisitorial investigations, the Adeptus Mechanicus being on the verge of openly declaring for the Bulwark, and the threat of an impending counterattack from the Bulwark itself, the crusade is called off and the Treaty of Truth is signed, under which the Ecclesiarchy and the Bulwark would leave each other to their own affairs.
-With the breathing room earned from the Treaty of Truth, the Keepers of Truth would expand the borders of the Imperial Bulwark - both reclaiming Imperial Worlds lost to Xenos as a result of the earlier war with the Ecclesiarchy, and also pushing forward to reconnect with other long lost human worlds. More than a few of these worlds would end up hosting Space Marine Chapters from later Foundings, each of whom would quickly connect with the other Chapters of the Bulwark as a defensive measure against the ever present threat of the Ecclesiarchy's hostility.
-Aa particularly pompous Ecclesiarch would declare a new crusade against the Imperial Bulwark, in violation of the Treaty of Truth. However, this time around things would go very different for the crusaders, as the much greater number of Space Marine Chapters within the Imperial Bulwark as well as the Bulwark's greatly increased size would lead to the crusade being crushed in short order. Of particular humiliation to the Ecclesiarchy was the Crusade of Truth, a counterattack led by the Keepers that would lead to the complete destruction of over a hundred Shrine Worlds and lead to the reigning Ecclesiarch giving up his position in disgrace. Facing intense pressure from the other High Lords of Terra, the new Ecclesiarch would finally call off the crusade.
-While the Keepers of Truth would remain uninvolved in the volatile politics of the Age of Apostasy, the Imperial Bulwark itself would find itself heavily expanding, as many worlds push to join it rather than risk facing the potential cataclysm of a visit from Vandire. Vandire himself, in a rare move of knowing when to pick his battles, took great pains not to provoke either the Keepers of Truth or the rest of the Imperial Bulwark during his disastrous reign.
-Several warbands of the Word Bearers would launch an 'Apostate Crusade' against their 'Wayward brothers'. After fierce fighting the Chaos Space Marine led 'Crusade' would end up utterly destroyed, with only a single ship from the Word Bearers managing to escape. The most notable casualty of the Apostate Crusade on either side of the conflict would be a Word Bearers daemon prince of Slaanesh, who had permanent burns inflicted upon him by the concentrated assault of several Keepers of Truth Marine Purgers.
-An unknown incident would lead to a Black Templars Crusade Fleet invading Akasha II itself. Unable to break through the extensive orbital defenses, the Crusade Fleet would end up launching Marines down onto the planet themselves - only to end up beaten in a battle so bloody that it would have brought back horrifying memories of the Iron Cage incident, if any such survivors of that legendary event been present to witness the battle. During the the fighting, the Keepers of Truth would seize or even outright destroy several Black Templar relics, at least one of which was known to have dated back to the founding of the Black Templars Chapter itself. Further conflict was only prevented by the arrival of several other Imperial Bulwark chapters and, to the confusion of all involved, the Minotaurs of all Marines, to demand the Templars stand down.
-Incensed by an unknown slight on the part of the Keepers of Truth, an entire order of Sisters of Battle would go rogue and attack Akasha II. They would fare far worse than the Black Templars had before them, and the Keepers of Truth would burn the Shrine World the Order had been based on to the bedrock as retaliation.
- A Second Apostate Crusade would be launched by the Word Bearers, and was once again defeated by the Keepers of Truth. Oddly enough, Inquisitorial investigations into the event would reveal the intention of this crusade not as conquest, but instead some kind of attempt to discover the 'patron' of the Keepers of Truth. The Keepers of Truth themselves would of course dismiss these motives as the ravings of madmen, and paid no further thought to the matter.
-Another Sisters of Battle Order would end up at war with the Keepers of Truth. The exact causes and conditions of this fight have been censored by the Inquisition, but ever since the Order itself would take up a practice of inflicting ritualistic burn scars on themselves, and would boast a higher than average number of Sisters Repentia.
Diplomatic Relations
-Ecclesiarchy-The Keepers of Truth
despise the Ecclesiarchy and everything it stands for, and the feeling is reciprocated to such an extent that the Treaty of Truth and the threat of intervention from the Custodes themselves is the only thing keeping the two factions from trying to annihilate each other.
-Black Templars-If anything, the Keepers of Truth seem to hate the Black Templars
even more than they hate the Ecclesiarchy. The feeling, much like with the Ecclesiarchy, is mutual, yet somehow manages to be lesser on the Black Templar's part than it is on that of the Keepers of Truth.
-Fabius Bile: The Keepers of Truth despise Bile, and want him dead at all costs. Nevertheless, the Fallen Marine has been known to frequent Imperial Bulwark territory for unknown reasons, and his disdain for the Chaos Gods and their servants seems to have actually given him limited protection from detection by Warp Eaters.
-Ordo Sanctorum: The Inquisitors dedicated to the policing the Ecclesiarchy naturally find the Imperial Bulwark as a whole, and the areas directly protected by the Keeper of Truth in particular, to be the ideal place to meet and discuss progress on their investigations. A common topic is bitterness towards the Ordo Hereticus for having lost its purpose, and even becoming reliant on the Ecclesiarchy itself for its muscle.
-Adeptus Mechanicus: Surprisingly, despite their violent secularism, the Keepers of Truth keep very friendly relations with the Adeptus Mechanicus. Most likely, this is because of a combination of a shared focus on logic and the fact that the Imperial Truth has had provisions for the existence of the Mechanicus since before the Ecclesiarchy was even a concept in the minds of its first adherents.
The Imperial Academy: The Imperial Academy is the organized body of the Imperial Truth within the Imperial Bulwark, and to a lesser extent the entire Imperium - though it's influence is naturally very limited outside of the Imperial Bulwark itself. Still, it has actually been proposed that one of the 'Board', those that make up the most respected within the Imperial Academy, be promoted to a position among the High Lords of Terra themselves from time to time. This is, admittedly, usually an attempt at provoking or checking the Ecclesiarchy more than anything else. Like most academic institutions, there are actually several lines of thought within the Imperial Academy, among which the below comprise only a handful.
-Gearists: The Gearists are in truth members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, who have taken parts of the Imperial Academy's beliefs and included it into their own faith. They are seen as strange, but ultimately harmless or even beneficial by the rest of the Academy.
-Parasitists: While the common belief within the modern Imperial Truth is that the four Chaos Gods are, at
best, nothing more than Parasites, there are some whom believe that the Ecclesiarchy is in the process of creating a fifth such 'Parasite' with its mindless faith, and thus believe that the Ecclesiarchy must be destroyed before it is too late, lest humanity share the Eldar's fate.
-Mortalists: The ultimate theory of the Mortalists is simple - that strengthening the Emperor, in any way, will eventually lead to the ultimate destruction of Chaos. They are not friendly to the Ecclesiarchy, but are more tolerant of it than others. Their name comes from the common belief that, because the Chaos 'Gods' feared the Emperor, who considered himself nothing more than a mortal man, they in turn lost any claim to the title of 'god' - and that the worshipers of Chaos are all the more pathetic for calling them as such.
-Necessarians: A belief kept only in secret but common among Xeno Hybridis Inquisitors, the Necessarians believe that the xenophobia of the old Imperial Truth was ultimately merely a tool to unite the masses under one nation, and that the Emperor would have discarded it once his Crusade was complete. Naturally, this means the Necessarians do not feel nearly the same desire to destroy Xenos that many other Imperial factions do.
-Humanitas: The Humanitas are a faction that believe the Imperium of Man as it stands is at a very high risk of crushing the very humanity out of humanity itself. Thus, to the Humanitas it is a matter of survival to try and reform the Imperium as soon as possible in order to improve the state of the average human… lest they be turned into something
inhuman, with neither the wicked Xenos or the forces of Chaos needing to lift a finger.
-Follis: A faction whose primary belief is that the Ecclesiarchy is, bluntly, stupid. It includes many Inquisitors of the Seculos Attendous philosophy.
+20 Reputation
Added New Training Option
Politics: This chapter has grown adept at manipulating the surrounding political landscape. A sad necessity, in the increasingly politically driven Imperium.
OOC: Thanks to the beta... especially since I threw what could be safly described as a chonker at them this time around.
