Eclipse Lords
| Eclipse Lords | ||
|---|---|---|
| Battle Cry | "Eclipse the Non-Believers!" | |
| Founding | 21st Founding | |
| Successors of | Unknown | |
| Successor Chapters | N/A | |
| Chapter Master | Rothangal Liish | |
| Homeworld | Orphion | |
| Strength | 250 Astartes, unknown amount of human spies and reserves | |
| Specialty | Kill Team Warfare, Assassination and Covert Strikes | |
| Allegiance | Imperium of Man | |
| Colours | Green, Red and Black | |
This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.
Summary
The Eclipse Lords were founded by an unknown Legion; such information was lost after "The Death Blade Heresy." They are one of the smaller loyalist legions, numbering approximately 250 strong and are seen as a Spec-Ops chapter, rarely taking to the battlefield en-mass, usually relying heavily on assistance from the Imperial Army when forced to. They are led by a "Grand Apostle" who serves as both Chapter Master and Master of Sanctities
Chapter History
During the cursed 21st Founding, they were founded as a chapter called "Death Blades" and were known for ruthless efficiency. Some planets still have rivers that run red with the blood of their foes to this day. The Death Blades played a minor roll in border skirmishes with the Traitor legions, striking a minor victory over Horns of Ruin when they lured the Grand Cruiser "Blood of the Martyrs" into an ambush and captured it, before setting it ablaze and on a collision course for Satares, the symbol of the Death Blades cut into the hull and all identification replaced with "The Fate of Sinners"
The Death Blades clashed against the Horns of Ruin once again on Lorraros IV, where the Traitors were attempting to recover an Eldar Titan that had fallen in battle with the Necrons, before Humanity was even in its infancy. The Death Blades usual tactics were not enough for chaos-imbued Legion, which inflicted devastating losses on them. Were it not for the intervention of the Eldar Craftworld "Ulthwe" the Death Blades would have surely been inflicted many more casualties. Few other records survive, of the Chapter before its rechristening, minor skirmishes with Orks and other Xenos life.
The Death Blades met their fate at the hands of The Plague of Treason. The First Company, led by Chapter Master Lorrian Hark, whilst dealing with a Chaos Cult dedicated to Nurgle in their territory, was infected by a curse of unimaginable cruelty. The curse affected the senses of victim, turning them into uncontrollable, psychopathic killing machines that required the consumption of vast amounts of blood to survive; the worst part was that, the afflicted has no idea. They see themselves on a battlefield, surrounded by the foes of the Emperor; they were even screaming their praises to his holy name, even as they butchered whole hive-towers. The First Company managed to slaughter all but 300 of their brothers, before, finally, a champion arrived. A champion with no name, simply referred to in the texts as "The Great Howl" due to his only reported sounds being long bae's to signal his arrival on a battlefield. Howl wore a black suit of Tartaros-Pattern Terminator Armour with a large Wolf-skull as a helmet; no other markings are mentioned in the reports. Howl managed to rally the loyalists together and drove the First Company into the Warp, sealing their victory when Howl slew the rogue Chapter Master in single combat.
The Death Blades were finished... The name no longer stood for honour and decency, but instead, for filth, for Heresy, for Chaos. The Great Howl left almost immediately after the threat was dealt with. It is said that, as he left, the sun was blotted from the sky and the planet fell into darkness... The Planet stayed dark for 3 whole days, until finally, the new name was decided, the Eclipse Lords were born. Although numbering now only 450, they were still loyal, still had their ships, and still had guns and the will to use them. The Eclipse Lords were investigated by the Inquisition, due to possible corruptions amongst the Loyalists. The Investigation determined that the First Company had fallen due to being infected with a Chaos brewed virus, however, the fact that they had allowed themselves to succumb to this put the Chapter into a state of "Great Shame" And, as such, they were put on a Penitence Crusade to destroy their heretical brothers.
For a time, the Eclipse Lords were launching constant waves of Kill Teams to sabotage and run interference on Chaos Tactics, desperately attempting to hunt down their traitorous brothers, and bring the plans of the great god of filth crashing down atop him. The first two Grand Apostles met quick ends during what their history calls "The Time of Revenge" when the Chapter went out in full force, the Eclipse Lords cut a bloody swath through the galaxy. The Entire chapter joining up into one large army and, joining up with the Stone Men and the Ordo Latomus. Their fist Chapter Master was killed when his ship was sabotaged by a local Chaos Cult, the second, sacrificing himself to overload the engines of a Sons of Fire Apocalypse Battleship, destroying it and saving countless lives. The Chapter did not get a long serving until Untius Garron took command.
Untius led the chapter to many of its most prominent victories, destroying the scourge that was Kaptin Faceboota's Waaagh! Capturing an Eclipse-Cruiser for study and destroying a Dark Eldar Slaver base and rescuing the inhabitants. It was after this that Untius finally came to terms with his reckless actions. Thanks to their unwillingness to change, they had lost over half of their battle brothers to the carnage of revenge. He made the highly unpopular, yet necessary, decision to pull their forces back and protect their sub-sector, reforming themselves under a new combat doctrine, that allowed them to still fight in the emperors name, but never put them at risk of losing large numbers.
However, Untius' time as leader did not last forever. Approximately 400 years after he was first instated as the Grand Apostle, the Death Blades returned to Orphius. Massing on the uninhabitable southern continent, before launching an invasion. Many died in the battle, including Untius, who defeated the now-Daemon Prince Warmaster of the Death Blades, but at the cost of his own body. Thanks to the intervention of the Inquisition and the forces of the Ordo Hereticus that had been tracking the Death Blades, the battle was won. Untius was saved by being interned in a Contemptor pattern Dreadnought that had recently been recovered from a Space Hulk. No sooner had he awoken in his giant mechanical body, was he informed by the Inquisitor that he was no longer of sound mind, and the Apostle of the first company, Rothangal Liish, had been promoted to Grand Apostle.
Rothangal was more a Spiritual man and a warrior. His first order was to call back many of his chapter to assist in the construction of their world, whilst, in the meantime, he travelled around the devastated world, preaching to the people to keep their spirits high. One of the last times that the First Company deployed was to assist their close brothers and possible parent chapter, The Stone Men, at "The Battle of Lumaria VII" which was an intense battle over the frozen world. After 5 days of intense fighting, Rothangal and Farseer Jermaine, of the Gemstone Priests, teleported aboard the "Twilight Serpent" the flagship of Kralz Starikov, one of the many prodigal sons of the Daemon Primarch. The Farseer and Rothangal fought the Chaos-born Daemon Prince and killed him; Rothangal distracted the Daemon, whilst the Farseer drove her blade through the back of his skull, and in his death-throws, managed to sever the Farseer's arm as well. After the battle, Rothangal and Jermaine teleported back to "The Great Howl" where he was fitted with cybernetic arm, The Farseer looked over the arm and told him that, to commemorate his assistance, she would get a very similar prosthesis. These would become known as "Arms of the Daemonslayers".
Notable Battles
Battle of Miroka Ridge: A raid on an Ork Konvoy, during the Faceboota crusade, the Orks were transporting equipment to the front lines, however, didn't count on a squad of Eclipse Lords Iscariots taking up positions along the ridge. Countless Orks fell before they could locate where the sniper-fire was coming from, eventually, the Iscariots ran out of ammo and were forced to retreat, but the blood of many a green skin watered the sparse plant life of the ridge on that day.
Battle of Drell Sigma: the Knights of Justice had engaged a Lions Rampant Warfleet at Drell Sigma. During the battle, a Sword Frigate from the 4th Company moved to assist, firing boarding missiles into one of their Grand Cruisers. The kill-teams fought their way to the bridge before sending it on a collision course with the flagship. The kill-team managed to teleport to a close-by Knights of Justice gunship, before the heretical ships collided. Battle of The Great Return: The Eclipse Lords had deployed to a world besieged by an immense Chaos force, operating out of a large Chaos Gate that had been hidden for millennia. During the battle, Father Untius was forced into a confrontation with a Great Unclean One and a Daemon Prince of Nurgle. Untius fought valiantly, but had his Assault Cannon arm ripped from his chassis, knowing that death was upon him, he prayed for the Emperors aid in the battle. The Daemon Prince and Untius locked swords, and as it prepared to unleash its vile decay upon him, the Daemon Prince was distracted by screams of pain. As the two fought, they had not noticed someone beat the Great Unclean One to death with a thunderous crack to its skull from a Force Maul. Untius' heart almost set ablaze as he saw the black Tartaros Terminator Armour and wolf skull helmet of his saviour, who let out a long and mighty howl to signal his arrival, the Daemon Prince forgot about Untius for a second as he moved to engage The Great Howl, which was the only second Untius required to drive his sword into the Daemons heart. As the Daemon Prince dropped to his knees, he looked towards the Great Howl, who simply stared back, Howl then looked up at Untius, before walking away. Untius attempted to pursue, but was badly damaged. And the arrival of a Drop Pod carrying a Steel Monk, who began to make field repairs, was all the distraction that Untius needed to lose track of Howl. This is one of the only confirmed reports of the Great Howl appearing after his initial contact.
Notable Members
The Great Howl
The Legendary warrior that dealt with the Death Blades heresy. Little is known about him, but legend says that he will always return when the Chapter needs him. Although, no official sightings have been made since his initial assistance, there are scattered reports that he has assisted battle brothers in distress.
However, there is little evidence, beyond hearsay and word of mouth that he existed in the first place. Some speculate that he is simply a story, based off a real person, made in order to inspire them.
Father Rothangal Liish
4th and Current Grand Apostle of the Chapter, Liish originally trained as a Chaplain, under the guidance of previous Grand Apostle, Untius Garron. Rothangal rarely sullies his hands with the battlefield, choosing, instead, to travel around the many planets under the protection of his chapter, and speak in the great Cathedrals to inspire the people. That being said, although he is unwilling to fight, this does not make him unable. He possesses 3 weapons, firstly is the great "Howl Sword", the sword given to each Grand Apostle, a sign of office and a powerful weapon. His Crozius Arcanum, the one he has carried since his first battle as a Chaplain under the personal command of Garron. His 3rd weapon is a Baal-pattern optical implant. A Cybernetic eye with a small cutting beam built in, it has the power of a Lasgun, so it can only kill at close range, and won't penetrate armour. He has a mechanicus arm, called Arm of the Daemonslayer, which was a weapon forged with the assistance of the Stone Men, which possesses powerful technologies, most notably, the Plasma Gun built into the wrist. The Arm is a twin, as another of similar design belongs to Farseer Jermaine; only, hers was built of Wraithbone, by an Eldar smith.
Rothangal is, what many believe to be, the perfect leader for their chapter in their current time of strife. A man with the charisma to convince others to keep hope alive and sacrifice the pride of the chapter in order to ensure its survival. This has earned him great respect both inside and outside of the chapter.
Father Untis Garron
Previous Grand Apostle, Untius Garron was the 3rd to hold office as the Chapter Master. Untius was a born warrior, spending his early years alone on the streets of Orphius-Tower, the central Hive City of Orphion, whilst here, he was found by a Death Blades Chaplain, who witnessed him beat 5 older boys senseless. Trained as an Assault Marine, he wore the Death Blades symbol with pride and was transferred to the first company. Luckily, he and his squad were tasked with recovering a stolen shipment of weapons from a Freeboota ship, and so were away for the Heresy. Their ship returned to find Orphion ablaze. He and his Kill-team attempted to help, but the battle was won before they could arrive. He only ever caught one glimpse of the Great Howl and regrets this to this day. Untius served his two predecessors with pride and distinction and was made Captain of the First Company. He was promoted to Grand Apostle after this and took several of the youngest members of the chapter to train into his successors. He served as one of their more successful Grand Apostles, defeating Kaptin Faceboota and his entire Waaagh! (Ending the Warboss personally) and orchestrating a successful plan to lure a Necron Tomb-Fleet into Chaos Space and pit two of the Imperium’s most dangerous foes against one another. He met his first end at the hands of Death Blades, Chaos Lord, Karathrax Lorna. Thankfully, he was rescued in time to save his mind, and was interned in a Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought. Although, due to the natural mental degradation that all Dreadnoughts suffer from, he was no longer able to be Grand Apostle, a position was created for him "Iron Apostle" which was invented for any Grand Apostle that is interned in a Dreadnought, it allows him to keep a position of authority, but allows those with full mental faculties to be Chapters leader.
Drenivive Riandus
Steel Prophet (Chief Techmarine) of the Eclipse Lords. A man thoroughly obsessed with technology, Modern, Ancient, or even Alien. Drenivive' start in life is somewhat unknown, as he was a former Death Blade, and as with many of the Marines that were formerly Death Blades, records of their early life are lost... The difference is that, whereas most are more than happy to make new records, Drenivive refuses, stating that he wishes never to remember anything from before the Heresy. He is known for 2 things; his legendarily short temper and his equally as legendary silver beard (One of the only advantages of flesh over steel) Drenivive spends most of his time sealed inside the great "Dominator Forge" (The main forge of the Eclipse Lords) with little company apart from a number of Techpriests, and the countless machine spirits that inhabit the forge. Drenivive rarely talks to anybody apart from the Grand Apostle.
The Black Pentastars
The Black Pentastars are a legendary team within the Eclipse Lords and one of the few surviving teams from the chapters days as the Death Blades. The Black Pentastars are 5 Space Marines, including and lead by, the Second Company Apostle, Ericob Pentran. They are Assault specialists, specializing in Jump Packs, including:
Librarian Hamana: Librarian utilizes a Force Staff and Plasma Pistol.
Bishop Rinkel: Chaplain, utilizes a Crozius Arcanum and Storm Bolter
Friar Yohavan: Apothecary, utilizes a Chain Fist and Plasma Pistol
Steel Monk Ekimus: Techmarine, utilizes Power Axe and Combi-Melta
Each member of the team performs their duty to the best of their abilities, and, although normally serving apart, being utilized for other missions, when the 5 are brought together, few Xenos Commanders have survived their dreaded Deathstream Attack.
Krant Anlad
A Ratling and the Apostle of the 5th Company. The diminutive leader utilizes a Needle Rifle and uses his amazing eyes to perform feats of marksmanship that most refuse to believe. He is mainly known for his keen tactical mind and his love of the opposite gender. He is a warrior of attrition; he will wait for weeks on end, not moving, for the chance to get the perfect shot to complete his mission. Krant is more a figure-head than a leader, as his entire company is controlled by the Grand Apostle. He was made Apostle for 2 reasons; his giant list of dead targets, and to pander to the other Abhumans and mutants within the 5th company, showing that an Abhuman may get a prestigious position. Since his instating, moral among the 5th company has risen considerably... Although, many believe that it's because of his "Weekly Conjugal Visitation" policy.
Chapter Combat Doctrine
Due to their distinct lack of numbers, they make heavy use of stealth and kill-team tactics. They despise slow-moving vehicles, so have forsaken heavy vehicles almost completely. Their only Heavy vehicle being a Holy Land Raider Redeemer, and favour the Contemptor Pattern Dreadnoughts, due to their better mobility. Either make yourself unseen, or make yourself too fast to hit. They are rather unique among Chapters, as they train non-Astartes alongside their own, to become assassins.
They are split into 5 Companies:
The Hallowed First Company, of 100 men. They are the Grand Apostle's finest and most trusted allies. The First Company is the only one that ever fights on a Battlefield. The Second Company are 50 men, tasked with finding and killing any Xenos threats to the Imperium, they are led by Ericob Pentran. The Third Company number 50 and deal with Traitors, Cultists and other humans that stand in the way of The Emperor's grand master plan. The Fourth Company contains the final 50 and is tasked with hunting Daemons and other Warp Entities. Is led by Father Tychelchu The Fifth Company contains no Astartes at all; instead, the Fifth is made up of regular humans/mutants/aliens that fight in the name of the chapter and the Emperor. They are assassins, saboteurs and intelligence agents.
They do not launch raids often, as recruitment is their top priority. Rarely does a company have more than 1 kill team out at a time.
Ranks
The lower ranks of the Chapter are similar to those of the others, with Tactical, Assault and Devastator.
Iscariot's (Snipers): Unlike other Chapters, the Eclipse Lords do not utilize Scouts in their order. Scouting and all operations to do with scouting are handled by their human auxiliaries. The Eclipse Lords sniper duties are handled by specialists known as Iscariot's, who utilize Eclipse-Pattern Sniper Rifles that are large enough for an Astartes to wield. Eclipse-Pattern Sniper Rifles are powerful enough to pierce light armoured vehicles (Essentially, the middle ground between a Sniper Rifle and a Lascannon)
Steel Monk (Techmarine): Steel Monks primarily wield large Axe's and Melta guns, as well as their Servo-Arms.
Apostle (Captain): Apostles come in many different forms; although, Captains of the Fourth Company tend to almost always wear Terminator Armour. Apostles usually wield a Thunder Hammer.
Bishop (Chaplain)
Friar (Apothecary)
Possible Founders
Although nobody is entirely sure who the Eclipse Lords are descended from, these are the following speculations:
Stone Men: Their Gene-Seed bares a striking resemblance in it's difficulty to replicate and high fatality rate.
Knights of Justice: The Death Blades oldest records show them working closely with the Knights for a number of years, shortly after their founding.
Thunder Kings: Old Thunder King Records speak of Brennus visiting Orphius on more than one occasion and talking of founding a chapter to protect the beautiful world (As it was in that day)
Scale Bearers: An old record from the time of their founding shows that, during the 21st founding, a Chapter was founded using their Geneseed. The writing was badly degraded, but what could be made out was that the chapters name started with a D, though, other Chapters, such as Damocles Swords, Dragons of Rebirth and Demonsbane, have also laid claim to this.
Entombed: Records show that, during the 21st Founding, as the chapter was being organized, many shipments came from the Sepulchra sector, from Coalition planets. The unloading schedule shows that many ships dropped off crates of undisclosed content, some speculate that these might have been the Geneseed from which their fore-bearers were created.
Recruitment
One of the main goals that the Chapter has is to return their numbers to what they were before their split from their traitorous brothers. As such, they test every male that shows potential. However, their Gene-Seed is incredibly difficult to manufacture and just as difficult to implant successfully. As such, recruitment is a slow process. Most of the time, their recruitment is between 10 and 20 a year, however, due to attacks from the numerous enemies that the Imperium possesses. they lose, on average, between 5 and 15 people a year. Meaning that they are building up VERY slowly.
Rothangal regularly travels to other chapters to ask if they could recruit from their worlds, or even if they could post some of their men to the Orphion Sub-sector to aid in its defense. But, due to Chapters being spread rather thin at the moment, few can afford to do so. Though, this has earned Rothangal respect from other chapters, as he is able to swallow his pride in the best interests of his chapter. A trait not shared by many dead, forgotten chapters.
Chapter Beliefs
The Eclipse Lords believe in Loyalty above all else, that those who are Human, Astartes, Xeno or even Mutant have a place in the universe, so long as they accept the Emperor as their lord and serve him with unwavering loyalty. Unsurprisingly, then, they have a fondness for Ratlings, due to the tiny humans amazing eyesight and hand-eye-coordination.
The Eclipse Lords are rarely seen by the civilians of their worlds, however, the far from myth-status as some other Legions and Chapters are. They recruit by sending out Vicars (Humans that wish to join their Chapter, but did not test highly enough for Gene-Seed implantation) who preach in the giant monasteries of the Hive-Cities. Teaching that the greatest joy any human can feel is the love of The Emperor, and the thrill of fighting in his name.
As with every chapter, they believe in the end times, when the Space Marines will take part in the final battle to decide the rulers of the universe. On that day, it will be the duty of each and every member of the Eclipse Lords to choose an enemy commander and make sure that they do not survive the battle. If successful, then death will be irrelevant, as those who die achieving their goal will earn the Emperor's favour and be reborn.
The Great Howl plays a prominent role in the long term plans of the Chapter, specifically because one school of thought is that the mysterious Space Marine is an astral projection of the Emperors consciousness, sent forth to assist them in their darkest hour. Others believe that he is multiple Space Marines, that one Great Howl trains a new one as he gets too old to continue, although, considering the long life of a Space Marine, and it's likelihood to end at any second, due to the nature of the universe, many of the scribes have written this off as "Wishful thinking, put forth by those who wish to emulate his glory." Another leading belief is that he is their lost Primarch that returned to destroy those who corrupted his Gene-Seed. If possible, they wish to locate him and instate him as their one true apostle that will lead them to the greatest victories imaginable.
Chapter Homeworld
Orphion: A world previously of a varied biome, similar to earth. However, after the Plague of Treason, the planet was left a husk of its former self; most of the planet’s surface was scorched, leaving countless Hive Cities mere ghostly ruins. What does remain is a wasteland of battle-scars. The last act of the Death Blades, on the planet, was to unleash a plague that infected the plant-life of the planet, changing them to give off a highly corrosive gas, rather than breathable air. The southern continent of the planet is completely uninhabitable, thanks to this plague.
Chapter Appearance
The Eclipse Lords standard armour is a dark green primary, with a black left shoulder-pad and right knee-pad, to symbolize their debt to The Great Howl and a right shoulder pad of Red, that represents the blood they must spill to reclaim their honour, and the favour of their beloved God Emperor. As with most other chapters, the trim is gold. Their Logo is of a black moon, with a wolf-skull in the centre. Their Gene Seed has minimal physical mutations, the only real mutations is that some of them will have Dark Green sclera.
The former Death Blades apparel was heralded by a banner with a sword through a demons skull. They utilized armour that was red on one side and black on the other, with white trim.