Green Wardens
| Green Wardens | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Battle Cry | "The Green is the way!" | |
| Founding | Unknown | |
| Successors of | Unknown (Suspected Salamanders) | |
| Successor Chapters | None | |
| Chapter Master | Theodenus Gael | |
| Primarch | Unknown (Suspected Vulkan) | |
| Homeworld | Paradise World Asturias | |
| Strength | 1000 Marines | |
| Specialty | Diplomacy, Peace Efforts, Long-Range Support, Precision Strikes | |
| Allegiance | Imperium | |
| Colours | Green, White | |
The Green Wardens are a chapter of pacifist Astartes notable for incredibly low frequency of battle participation and even lower amount of reported collateral damage. Rather than direct confrontation on the battlefield, the Green Wardens can often be found employing their expertise as diplomats and negotiators. Instead of battling the outer threats to the Imperium, they focus on threats from within, and for the last millennia they participated in quelling dozens of planetary rebellions and Imperial disagreements, almost all of them resolved peacefully and with barely any aftermath cost. Even though their origin is unknown, any Imperial faction that dealt with them firmly believes that Vulkan is their Primarch, from whom they likely inherited his knack for making friendships. This being a force of superhuman Astartes, they are far from being unable to wage war. When there are no other options and no chance of negotiating, the Green Wardens resolve to employing surgical strikes backed by overwhelming long-range fire support and plethora of tamed, technologically-augmented war-beasts from their homeworld Asturias.
Fluffy bits[edit]
Origins[edit]
The Green Wardens' origins remain veiled in mystery. Administratum archives related to Foundings possess no mention of any Chapter named Green Wardens ever being found, let alone a successor of Salamanders. And if the pacifistic Astartes know anything, they know that they certainly are not sharing their history with the wider Imperium. Not even their gene-seed could be examined, as they produce their own in their ancient Forge-Groves of Asturias. Yet, what is known is that by 42nd millennium they are old, ancient even. There are sworn testimonies of beast-accompanied Astartes clad in green armor and bearing tree-like heraldry assisting various besieged Imperium forces as old as dating back to 32nd millenium.
Due to their age, coupled with their pacifistic nature, green armor and all-around toughness, one of the most popular theories is that they were a part of Vulkan's own expeditionary force when the Crusade came across the planet Asturias. The planet was beautiful beyond anything the Astartes ever saw, to the point that even Vulkan found it mesmerizing. Vast oceans of forests covered the majority of planet, various incredible and powerful albeit peaceful beasts lurking within it. There are indication that the planet was colonized thousands of years ago by ancient human colonists and terraformed into a Paradise Planet, although it was void of any human presence by the time Salamander Legion came across it. The first Wardens at that point requested to leave the force in order to protect the breathtaking planet and build it into base of operations from which they could undertake peacekeeping operations and assist Imperial forces in previously conquered regions instead of continuing with the Crusade, something they'd have likely resented considering their stubbornly pacifistic nature.
Organization[edit]
While in theory the Green Wardens abide by the Codex Astartes, in practice they diverge from it in number of things.
The most notable difference is that the duties of Librarians, Chaplains and Apothecaries are all merged within one role: the Druid. The Green Wardens possess incredibly large amount of psykers (almost a fifth of the entire Chapter), although they are relatively limited in their powers as compared to other Astartes psykers. They did, however, overcome this fault by learning how to perform powerful rituals as group. Majority of them focus on improving their healing capabilities are known as Dìonadair (roughly translated in Gothic as "Protectors"). The minority of them that could be classified as offensive psykers are known as Fearg or "Furies". While Fearg are usually found as entourage to Captains of the Green Wardens which turn their focus on major internal conflicts, Dìonadair tend to be part of smaller squads that usually roam the galaxy and lend their aid to whoever needs it.
The non-psyker members of the Chapter, collectively known as the Rangers, are not locked in membership of a single company which are called Covens. Rather, they swap between themselves depending on needs of each Coven. Covens are generally defined by their acting captains and their personalities, usually succinctly described by each Captains title, which is given on their promotion. There is always at least one company-sized contingent of Astartes deployed on Asturias (not counting the 10th Scout Company), while others spread out in the galaxy, usually declaring a certain system or region as their point of interest and in which they reside until their goals are accomplished. This usually entails helping calm down political hostilities, build and improve infrastructure, teach local populace of medicine and defensive tactics, etc.
One peculiar thing about the Green Wardens is that they have a rather old average age of their Astartes. This is due to the fact that, since they rarely immerse in open combat, their casualties rate is incredibly low. Thus, Wardens can expect to reach quite an old age. Every single Ranger and Druid is venerated as teacher, and they value their experiences above all else except the Emperor, whom they revere and call Neach-Glèidhidh Mòr, or the Great Guardian.
On top of rarely participating in battles, the healing powers of Druids are more often than not enough to bring back to life even the Wardens that have been proclaimed dead. These Wardens are then entombed into Dreadnoughts, which are also basically the only vehicles the Wardens possess and would ever use. The Dreadnoughts, known as the Shìorraidh ("Eternals"), are reserved only for the hardest of battles where millions of civilian lives could be at stake, which they will protect with every ounce of their being. They also serve as advisors to the leadership of the Chapter: the Chapter Master, the Captains and the Conflagration of Druids. Important thing to note is that the Chapter has no Techmarines. Rather, like their suspected progenitors, each member is taught all the necessary skills to maintain their own gear. What is beyond their capabilities, the Wardens request the aid of the Mechanicus which is given freely as do Wardens give their to the Imperium in general.
The Green Wardens possess one particular rule which is deemed incredibly wasteful at best and borderline heretical at worst by the Inquisition and the Administratum. When a Warden does fall in combat, their geneseed is not recycled. Rather, the Druids retrieve the geneseed and using secret methods known only to them transform it into a seed. The seed is then planted in the plains of Asturia, where it grows into a breathtaking Star-Oak. These luminescent trees are known to grow hundreds of meters tall and are believed to harbor the soul of the dead Warden who is venerated as a hero of the Imperium. His name and deeds are inscribed into the bark of the Star-Oak, and the tree itself is considered a sacred shrine often visited by both the young and the old when in need of an advice. More than one Warden has sworn that they heard whispers of the dead hero when they needed it the most, carrying words of encouragement.
Recruitment and Training[edit]
Druids play a large part in recruitment of potential neophytes for the Green Wardens. Druids regularly roam the Asturias system, gazing into the very souls of the young children they encounter, looking for the ones who appear as legitimate potential to be recruited. These children are known as the "Green Souls" and represent the most kind, caring, empathetic that the humanity has to offer. Even though they are taken young, the Chapter encourages them to maintain relationship with their families, believing that by knowing their family enables them to grow and care and consider all of humanity as their family.
Captain of the 10th Scout Company is always a Druid and carries the title of Aràch, the Nurturer. When young Scouts are deemed to be ready for the next part of their training, they are assigned to one of the other companies where they are instructed to gain valuable experience of how the galaxy functions. When this stage of their training is completed, they return to their homeworld and their Fortress-Monastery, the Triskellion. There, under the watchful eyes of the Chapter Veterans, the Aspirant needs to venture into the wilds of the plains, forests, deserts and tundras of Asturias. Their quest is to find an adult specimen of one of Majestic beasts of Asturias, defeat it without killing it and then claim its offspring as his future, life-long companion.
There is a plethora of these beast living on Asturias, remnants of ancient human experiments brought to the planet and genetically engineered to understand and live among the humans. From powerful Goliath Axe-Bears and Dire-Dingos, over majestic Terra-Eagles, Hydra Turtles and Chimeran Apes, to even Irontail Pythons, these extraordinary animals exhibit incredible intelligence and abilities.
When Aspirant finishes its quest and brings back young beast back to Fortress-Monastery, they both undergo a series of both magical rituals and technological improvements called the Soul-binding. In doing so, the Warden and his companion achieve connection in both soul and body that transcends regular bonds. In the rare circumstances when a Green Warden does fight, their enemies are faced with two-pronged assault performed in perfect unison, like it is orchestrated by a single mind with dual bodies. The Man and the Beast fight together, covering each other's weaknesses and enabling each other's strengths, like a magnificent dance.
Relationship with the Imperium[edit]
Green Wardens are in incredibly good relations with majority of Imperium organizations and will generally find friends wherever they go, primarily because whenever they don't have any friends, they simply make them out of whatever local populace is around.
Most notably, the Wardens are known to maintain close friendship with Salamanders. Some would say that this is another evidence about their ancestry, but then again they are also great friends with Imperial Fists and Space Wolves, with whom they have cooperated many times.
Even though their diplomatic tendencies has resulted in Green Wardens considered friendly by majority of Imperium factions, their stubbornly-pacifistic nature caused more than one conflict with officers of Imperium.
While there were numerous smaller incidents, there are two notable events where their dogged determination proved to be detrimental.
In Year 831 M39, an entire Coven of Green Wardens was ordered to hold a line against unknown Xenos pirates assaulting the southern borders of Segmentum Tempestus. Instead of going along with the orders and focusing their defenses on local Inquisition HQ, the Wardens deployed en-mass to cover the evacuation of a nearby Hive world. As a result of their actions, Inquisition lost a valuable archive and stronghold, and the Wardens themselves lost the Captain and roughly half of the Coven in question. This also marks the biggest loss of Astartes lives in Green Wardens history. To add insult to injury, even when under direct orders, the Wardens still refused to harvest the geneseed in order to expedite the recovery of their fighting capacity. Allegations of heresy were thrown by the Inquisition, but ultimately nothing came out of the affair as (unofficially) the Chapter Master of Iron Fists personally strong-armed High Lords of Terra in dropping the matter.
Second incident occurred during the Year 971 M41, when Green Wardens arrived near the Orc Empire of Charadon. Their orders were to neutralize an independent Ork Warboss by the name of Karamar the Bloody Baron who allegedly was amassing large fleet of fighter planes. Even though Karamar was his own (war)boss at the moment, intelligence reports indicated that he was being heavily pressured into joining his forces with Snagrod the Arch-Arsonist's, which of course would have been catastrophic for entire immediate region of Ultima Segmentum. The Green Wardens using the up-to-date data about Karamar's whereabouts, instead of conducting swift precision strike as they were directed, decided to first try and negotiate with Orks. They even managed to get an audience with Karamar and get the negotiations under way until they realized that the only reason they got so far is because of their green armors, which led the Orks to believe that the Wardens were just a peculiar clan of Orks. Unfortunately, the Orks figured at same time that their guests weren't Orks but rather hummies. In the following battle that ensued, Wardens managed to retreat with minimal losses after managing to wound Karamar. This, however, led the Warboss to immediately escape and join Snagrod in his Empire of Charadon. Some people within the Ultima Command believe that this particular series of events is what led encouraged Snagrod to eventually assaulting Rynn's World in 989.M41.
Notable Members[edit]
- Theodenus Gael - Chapter Master
- Brennus Storm-Speaker - Arch-Druid (Chief Librarian, Apothecary and Chaplain)
- Verc Cadeyrn, the Mountain - Captain of 3nd Coven (Company), counter-siege specialist, has Goliath Axe-Bear as companion
- Toir Nuallan, the Silver-Tongued - Captain of 4nd Coven (Company), notable diplomat, has Irontail Python as companion
- Ninnian - Famous roaming Druid, known for healing abilities
- Corvin Mearcweard - newcomer Ranger of 4th Company
- Aedan Gentorix - Recruit