Ultima Founding

The Ultima Founding of Space Marine Chapters occurred in the wake of the events of Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade and the fall of Cadia in 999.M41. These newly founded Chapters have been created entirely from a new stock of gene-seed -- crafted over ten millennia by Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl -- as the supreme contingency plan and the ultimate defenders of the Imperium of Man against the darkness that now encroaches from all sides. The Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, always an optimist, but never a fool, had learned from the mistakes of the Horus Heresy. He had foreseen that the Forces of Chaos would never relent in their aim to bring the Imperium of Man low. He anticipated that the threats Chaos and the xenos presented to Humanity would engulf the galaxy and knew that warriors resilient enough to stand against them would be needed as never before. Therefore, he set a task for the Priesthood of Mars: to develop a new legion of transhuman warriors -- the Primaris Space Marines -- who were bigger, more physically powerful and possessed faster reaction times than their original Astartes counterparts. Developed by Archmagos Dominus Cawl on orders from Guilliman 100 standard centuries past, the Primaris Space Marines were perfected by the Mechanicus during the long intervening millennia. Now, as the Imperium is poised on the brink of annihilation at the hands of its myriad foes, Guilliman's task is at last complete.

History
In the latter years of the 41st Millennium, the scattered Space Marine Chapters of the galaxy have been bled dry by ten thousand standard years of constant battle. With the advent of gigantic Warp Storms that swallow whole star systems, the formation of the Great Rift and constant attacks by the Forces of Chaos, rampaging xenos and more, the Adeptus Astartes are stretched thinner than ever. With many Chapter planets now actively under siege, some Chapters are confirmed as destroyed or lost, and even those faring relatively well have suffered high casualties and are in desperate need of reinforcement. With the resurrection of the Primarch Roboute Guilliman, the Avenging Son has assumed command as Lord Commander of the Imperium over all of Humanity's military forces. Finally, after ten millennia, he has put into action his ultimate contingency plan -- the Primaris Space Marines. These new warriors are the next step in the evolution of the Emperor's Angels of Death, genetically altered from their brethren to be bigger, stronger and faster. The Primaris Space Marines represent timely reinforcements for the Imperium's armies as their enemies close in for the kill.



The newly reinstated Lord Commander of the Imperium has decreed that those Chapters most devastated by the ongoing wars should be amongst the first to be reinforced with this new breed of transhuman warrior. Starting with the Ultramarines, but also deploying these new Space Marines to every other Chapter in need, Guilliman aims to reinforce the Imperium's scattered defenders across the galaxy. It is not just as reinforcements to existing Chapters though. Guilliman has also ordered the creation of a host of new Chapters, the so-called "Ultima Founding," composed entirely of Primaris Space Marines. The warriors of these new Chapters were created entirely using the new processes discovered by Archmagos Belisarius Cawl and established with all the necessary weapons, armour and equipment that they will need to conduct their defence of the Imperium.

These Chapters still trace their genetic lineage back to the gene-seed of the First Founding, and scions of all nine Loyalist Space Marine Legions emerged from the vaults beneath the Red Planet. They benefit from three additional gene-seed organs and larger size, but it still remains to be seen if Cawl was able to successfully stabilise any of the known genetic deviations or impart any additional resistance to the effects of Chaos. Many of these new Chapters have been assigned homeworlds on the edge of the Great Rift, the Imperium's new frontline in the war against Chaos, though some have inherited the empty fortress-monasteries of Chapters that had been lost to the attrition of constant war. Many of these worlds face a continuous battle against the daemons of the Warp, as well as an unpredictable mix of xenos raiders, pirates and invaders.