Knights Exemplar
| Knights Exemplar | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Battle Cry | Sworn to valour!/For the emperor! | |
| Number | XX | |
| Successor Chapters | Broken Blades | |
| Primarch | Klaus Staffel - Knight-Imperator, Knight-Protector of Terra, Sword of the Emperor, The Emperors Champion, Swordmaster of the Emperors Legions. | |
| Homeworld | Prexes I | |
| Specialty | Terminator armour and single combat | |
| Allegiance | Imperium of Man | |
| Colours |  |
|
Klaus Staffel
Rise to Knighthood
Klaus Staffel was a bear of a man, broad, tall, and both heavily muscled and scarred, and where he could he displayed those scars proudly, reminders of mistakes and victories alike an old custom he had picked up from his upbringing, as befitting a noble of prexes he also displayed facial hair, trimmed rather than wild, his features were friendly for lack of a better word, and his eyes were the same green as the plains of the world he called home.
After he and his brothers were scattered he was discovered by a hunstman on the backwards feudal world Prexes I, whose highest technological achievement was the trebuchet. The man brought him back to his family and raised him for a while, in that time Klaus had many brothers, and though he grew up significantly faster than them it left an impression, soon however he was more proficient than his father or any in the village with a longbow, and he became a provider for his family, It was out on one of these hunting trips he came upon a wagon, corpses strewn about it and leather clad men wielding swords encircling it.
Recognizing the plate armored men on the ground as knights in service to his feudal lord Klaus had little doubt as to what he had to do, and he swiftly leapt into action dispatching of the bandits, Impressed by the young mans skills the lord decided to take him on as a squire and he eventually made his way up in the world, all the while having the code of knighthood and its virtues hammered into his head, while most of the other primarch's became kings conquerors or great rulers on their homeplanets Klaus ended his ambitions at the station of marshal to his king. Though he flung himself into anything he did with enthusiasm and passion he had little wish to become a ruler, much rather preferring to stay behind with his friends and hone his skill with the sword, and his grasp of military tactics and strategy.
Legion Commander
Klaus had been summoned to appear before the king, it had been a strange day, late last night lights that were not stars had appeared in the skies, this could not be unrelated.
He strode through the capital towards the palace, Uncharacteristic of a man of his station but he had yet to find a horse which could carry him, a blade bigger than any common man was slung over his shoulder and he was clad head to toe in mail, swaying in the wind behind him was a purple cloak displaying his sigil, a simple sword in a silver hue.
And the day got stranger, as he approached the residence of his liege lord he saw men, tall and armored in a way he had never seen before, at their waists hung an assortment of weapons he could recognize, and some he couldn't, and in their hands they held what he could only surmise was some type of crossbow, he stood and looked at them for a moment, they were tall that was for sure, not quite as tall as he but he had rarely met a man of the size these foreign knights were, after giving them a respectful bow he headed inside the courtyard, It smelt of burnt grass and taking up a significant part of it was a metal structure colored much the same as the knights, such heavy presence within the city and even within his kings keep could only bode ill, yet he made his way up the stairs and towards the throne room.
Kneeling for king Dietrich after having approached him, Though he was still the taller man, "we, Or should I be more precise you, have visitors," Klaus looked up and nodded, "I can see that, though I am curious as to where these strange knights come from, none of our neighbors sport armor plating that thick and their appearance is... Outlandish
A figure revealed himself and over the course of the evening talked to Klaus, a meal was rapidly prepared and after a while the stranger revealed to Klaus who he was, he made him an offer, and Klaus being a sworn knight had no choice but to decline it, stating that the stranger would have to take the issue up with his king, Eventually they came to an understating when The Emperor said that when he took command he would be allowed to use his legion as he saw fit, Klaus ended up leaving a garrison of 500 Knights Exemplar to police the planet.
Legion Organization
The Legions is organized into ten smaller Brotherhoods, Each with its own name and iconography, And each brotherhood is further divided into a hundred knightly orders.
Legion Lancer
Lancers are Knights Exemplar terminators equipped with heavy weapons to counter tanks and other heavy vehicles, They also work as generalist heavy weapons specialists, They are primarily armed with multi meltas though specialized heavy bolters have also been produced.
The skies were burning, Shots rang all around Terra, On the horizon Lancer Albrecht could spy the gigantic forms of traitor titans, Their impressive armaments bringing destruction upon the legion, Knight superior Carsten's voice appeared over the vox, "Lancer Albrecht, bring your armaments to bear on that traitor dreadnought," Albrecht wasted no time speaking his affirmation, Quickly looking through his visor and finding his target.
He lifted his shield and placed the multi melta on its brace, Made a few adjustments as pings rung from his shields as bolt rounds impacted on it, And then, He fired, A blue wave of heat erupted from the two barrels, the holes in the heatshield venting visible steam as the shining spears erupting from the barrels gutted the dreadnought, Punching clean through.
The first shot was off, and hit left to the sarcophagus, Albrecht made no curses and swiftly he had adjusted his aim and punched another hole clean through the casket, the once venerable war machine had been quickly dealt with, Its once heroic occupant dead.
The job of his battle brothers was to duel men, As a legion lancer his was to duel dragons. - Titanslayer Albrecht during Klaus's Terran offensive.
Scriveners
The aspirants of the Knights Exemplar are known as scriveners, for their primary duties is to record their liege lords victories and glories, as well as aid in combat, once someone has been seen as worthy of joining they are put into the service of a knight who will act as their teacher in all matters, during this training they accompany their liege on the battlefield, and eventually when they are judged to be ready they are given their power armor and put into their lieges order as a full worthy battle brother.
The Broken Blades
| The Broken Blades | ||
|---|---|---|
| Battle Cry | For those betrayed we fight on! | |
| Number | XX | |
| Successor Chapters | None | |
| Primarch | Klaus Staffel (Deceased) | |
| Homeworld | Vengeance (Legion Battleship) | |
| Specialty | Terminator armour and single combat | |
| Allegiance | Fallen Imperium of Man | |
| Colours |  |
|
"As long as a single Blade remains it shall be swung against the oathbreakers" - Detlef Adler Grandmaster of the Broken blades at the council of titans.
Council of Orders
The blades and their auxilliary forces are ruled by the Council of Orders, the council draw representatives widely from the legion, With the Grandmaster at the top of the martial arm and the twenty knight commanders underneath him, Representatives are also drawn from the librarium and human naval auxilliaries.
The Broken Blades are the post heresy remnants of the Knights Exemplar, shattered as a legion the few remnants fight on, seeing themselves as the first bulwark to protect the eastern imperium.
The Brotherhood of Broken blades retain the organization of the past, Being divided into smaller orders and even smaller knightly houses, Standing at head of each order is a knight commander, And at the head of every house a knight captain.
Legion Auxilliary
Previous to the Treaty of Gryphonne the legion auxilliary consisted primarily of infantry and artillery regiments, But after the capture of vital forge worlds in the gap these regiments were bolstered by several tank and mechanized regiments, And not least of all a house of knight titans, three warlord titans were also produced and attached to the knight titans, 'The Last Light' 'Spirit of the Hawk' And 'Emperors Visage', these three god machines are frequently deployed together and great care is taken that they are not lost, Auxilliary regiments usally have an Astartes attached to them as a tactical and strategic advisor.
House Tarkyn
After production of knight titans had started members of the Auxilliary who had distinguished themselves greatly were uplifted by the Council of orders to the rank of knights, These men and women are considered to be the equals of the Astartes who share these titles and the Knight captain of house Tarkyn even has a permanent spot on the council, Currently they number one hundred machines.
Legion Relationships
Pre-Heresy
| Primarch | Legion | Opinion |
| Graha'nak | Void Lords | Have close bonds, both legions being primer void combatants. Friendly rivalry most likely. Disagreed with his fondness of Orbital bombardment. |
| Samson | Hekatonkires | Worked well with but never grew close to. |
| Xun Tohilcoatl | Sky Serpents | A close friend, both vocal proponents of the Librium Project. |
| Alexios the White | Angels of Light | Envious of his ability to build empires, but knows that his is the soul of a wanderer, and would hate being 'trapped' in a single place for too long. |
| [Master of Mars] | Fists of Mars | Don't quite understand the fondness of machines but definitely a fan of the results. |
| Sarco Funerus | Undying Scions | The legion sees being trapped in dreadnoughts as a fate far worse than death, having a strong ancestor honouring culture. They would pity them, but also most likely hold them in high regard for the sacrifice they would have made to be incarcerated within the dreadnoughts armour |
| Engerand | Storm Hammers | Respected, but only worked with on a few occasions. |
| Klaus Staffel | Knights Exemplar | Close bonds, most likely Falx's closest ally. |
| REDACTED | Eyes of the Warmaster | Most hated enemy, having fallen prey to the traitorus tournament. To this day hunting these traitors is always considered a top priority. A step or two below the devotion that DA hunt the fallen, the Warhawks definately hold the a grudge. |
| Enoch the Relentless | Judgement Bringers | Worked with extensively, never got along with. |
| Rubinek | Iron Hearts | Up until the Heresy they worked closely together, and shared many battle honours. Was devastated by their betrayal. |
| Balthasar the Bloody | Bloodhounds | Disapprove of methodology, and think they are shameful "hunters". A Barbarian. |
| Kashaln | Silver Spears | Disapproved of utilisation of mass infantry assaults, thinking them a waste of resources - and callous, but mostly a waste. |
| Saul Sheridan | Second Sons | Felt comfortable around, worked with rarely. |
| Gengrat Vannevar | Behemoth Guard | Avoided whenever possible, disagreed with tactics, mentality, and personality. |
| Oramar | Warp Raiders | TBC |
| Anders Kor | Paladins of Kor | Respected his humanitarian outlook but thought him overfond of Xenos. Lost his respect when he turned Renegade, seeing no divide between the traitors actions and his. |
| Faustus Ascelpious | Oathsworn | Lost his respect when he turned Renegade, seeing no divide between the traitors actions and his. Hates him for preaching 'neutrality' a pointless and empty gesture in a galaxy at war. |
Post-Heresy
| Loyalties | Summary | Description |
| Traitors | ++EXCOMMUNICATE TRAITORIS++ | Betrayers of oaths and lieges, Honourless curs that should not be granted a quarter and must be fought until death. |
| Independents | Desperate Allies | These men fought not alongside our fathers during the heresy and in some cases left us for dead, they have broken their oaths and are fools who know not that the dark gods cares not whence the blood flows, Still we can not afford to fight amongst ourselves. |
| Crusader States | Desperate Allies | While still loyalists, tensions are vary from Legion to Legion, the Blades having closer ties with some Legions than others. Ultimately though, they resent those with the power to retake the Imperium and avenge the fallen. |
| The "True Blades" | Battle Brothers | A covenant of those that have remained committed to the Eternal War and defending teh Emperors vision. |
The Treaty of Gryphonne
After the recapture of both the Gryphonne and Deliverance systems the Blades approached The Fists of Mars, Offering them a quarter of the production of forge world in those systems in return for the fists running the production lines, Partially because they had no means to do so themselves partially because they had not the time to learn how to and partially because they would rather be on the front in the tempestus gap.
The Treaty specifically detailed the number of marines the Fists might station on these worlds and that a Blade would oversee and decide what to be produce for the True Blade war effort, though Gryphonne being titan capable significant amounts its production capabilities was used towards that end the rest of its factories were to create terminator armor for the blades, Kiavahr on the other side was used to produce equipment for the human auxilliary forces the Blades planned to raise.