Raven Guard

"From the darkness we strike: fast and lethal, and by the time our foes can react... darkness there and nothing more." - Raven Guard saying

The Raven Guard is one of the original First Founding Chapters of Space Marines and was originally the XIX Space Marine Legion before the Second Founding and the adoption of the Codex Astartes. The Primarch of the Raven Guard was Corax, a name which is a play on the Latin word for raven, corvus (binomial species classification: corvus corax). The Raven Guard's homeworld is the planet called Deliverance, the airless mining moon of the Forge World Kiavahr, though its original name, before the Horus Heresy, was Lycaeum. The Raven Guard's fortress-monastery on Deliverance is known as the Ravenspire. The Raven Guard are known for their cool-headed, even intellectual temperament, their superb infiltration skills and skill at furious close-quarters engagements (as especially displayed by their Successor Chapter the Raptors). The Raven Guard is also rightly feared for the potent units of Assault Marines they field, who use a pair of Lightning Claws instead of the usual Bolt Pistol and chainsword. Captain Kayvaan Shrike, the famed commander of the Raven Guard's 3rd Company, is the commanding officer of just such a unit.

The Primarch Corax
Corax was separated from the Emperor while still an infant in the Emperor's gene-laboratory beneath the Himalayan Mountains on Terra by the Ruinous Powers of Chaos. The Chaos Gods snatched the infant Primarch's gestation chamberand flung it through the Warp half-way across the galaxy. Corax was eventually discovered on the world of Lycaeus, the desolated but inhabitable moon of the planet Kiavahr. At this time, Kiavahr was a technologically advanced Forge World, providing its city-size factories with minerals extracted from the non-atmospheric moon by legions of mine slaves.

Under the iron watch of heavily armed guards, the enslaved inhabitants of Lycaeus, who included criminals, political opponents and workers who had failed to meet their quotas, had long provided the rulers of Kiavahr with a free and unlimited source of manpower. When they discovered the pale-skinned child who became Corax, "The Deliverer" in the Kiavahran tongue, they kept him from their masters, training him in the various skills they believed a leader and warrior needed: urban warfare, close combat and demolitions as well as political and philosophical matters. Ultimately, the Primarch's abnormally fast maturation comforted the slaves and fixed Corax in their belief that he was the savior they had long waited for.

Educated to be a leader of men as well as a rebel guerilla, Corax began his task by organizing the Lycaean workers into fight teams, promoting the best to squad leaders. He began building huge stockpiles of weapons, concealing them in numerous secret caches across the moon. He ordered a campaign of psychological warfare, launching riots and strikes to increase the number of followers for the workers' rebellion and to stretch the Kiavahran garrison's strength and morale to the breaking point. Waiting for the most opportune time, Corax's forces eventually launched their attack, taking key security points and destroying them by crude force or sabotage, killing every man of the Kiavahran defense forces stationed on Lycaeus.

When Kiavahr's rulers struck back, Corax was ready for them. He outmanoeuvred and ambushed their forces on Lycaeus with his battle-hardened warriors, crushing their supply lines and striking Kiavahr with atomic mining charges via a supply gravity well. Soon, their forces nearly destroyed, their vast factories unable to produce anything due to the minerals shortages, the Tech-Guilds of Kiavahr collapsed in civil war. Celebrating their victory, the inhabitants of Lycaeus renamed their rugged homeworld Deliverance.

It is said that the Emperor appeared on Deliverance that day and, after a day and a night spent with his son, appointed Corax the Primarch of the XIX Space Marine Legion that had been derived from his genome, which he renamed the Raven Guard. Nothing is known of the pair's conversation, but one condition of Corax's acceptance was the help of the Emperor in the task of bringing peace to Kiavahr. Soon the Adeptus Mechanicus stepped in to retake control over their ancient colony world and the planet was rebuilt to the benefit of the Imperium while the black tower which had once housed the Kiavahran garrison of Lycaeus became the Ravenspire, the fortress-monastery of the Raven Guard.

The Great Crusade
During the Great Crusade that reunited all the worlds of mankind beneath the rule of the Imperium, Corax's talents for planning and sabotage were put to great effect and the Raven Guard, fighting frequently under the orders of the Warmaster Horus, became renowned for their unmatched ability among the other Space Marine Legions in covert operations, sabotage, guerilla warfare, infiltration and lightning strikes. But the pair never saw eye-to-eye, and after an argument, the two Primarchs nearly fought each other. Corax ultimately left Horus' command. At some point during the Great Crusade, the Raven Guard came into conflict with the rogue psykers known as the Warsingers and supposedly exterminated them.

The Horus Heresy
During the Horus Heresy, the Raven Guard were involved in the Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V, where four Space Marine Legions, including the Night Lords, Iron Warriors, Word Bearers and the Alpha Legion, turned to Chaos under the banner of the Arch-Traitor Horus and unexpectedly betrayed their Loyalist Battle-Brothers, catching them off-guard in a terrible cross-fire. The Raven Guard fought ferociously alongside their fellow Loyalists among the Salamanders and the Iron Hands Space Marines against the Traitor Marines of Chaos, but suffered such heavy losses that they were effectively crippled and unable to play any further constructive role in the defense of Terra from Horus' assault during the Heresy. The Raven Guard had been all but annihilated, the Battle of Isstvan V reducing the Legion's strength from some 8,000 Astartes, making them already one of the smallest Space Marine Legions in existence, to less than 3,000. In the following reorganization of the Space Marine Legions into the Second Founding Chapters, the Raven Guard was left largely inoperable as a combat unit and was forced to spend decades recruiting new members and rebuilding itself.

It was during the Horus Heresy, when the Chapter found itself undermanned and under-equipped after the massacre on Istvaan V, that the Raven Guard honed and perfected its small unit, covert guerilla tactics that utilized little fire support, armoured support or other heavy equipment. Even today, the Raven Guard's lack of Predators, Land Raiders, and newer models of technology and equipment such as the latest models of Power Armour reflects these conditions of the Chapter's past.

Post-Horus Heresy
With his Chapter depleted following the Istvaan V Massacre and the Imperium teetering on the brink of destruction, it is rumoured that Primarch Corax ordered his Chapter's Apothecaries to use forbidden zygote acceleration and cloning processes to more rapidly replenish the Chapter's numbers. The methods used to accomplish this are lost to history, but the process allowed the creation of new Raven Guard Space Marines at the cost of the genetic purity of the Chapter's gene-seed. The process of implantation of the genetically modified Space Marine organs in new recruits suffered extremely high failure rates as a result of these genetic modifications, causing many Raven Guard recruits to become hulking, aberrant monsters who had to be destroyed. The results of this accelerated recruitment program were not always successful. Ninety percent of the recruits who underwent the accelerated treatments were unable to hold a standard Space Marine Bolter, let alone fire it. Of 100 recruits, perhaps one would have a genome stable enough to become a full Space Marine. Despite the inefficiency of this method, the Raven Guard was eventually able to add several hundred recruits and become combat-worthy enough to aid the other Space Marines in their continuing battle against the Chaos Marines both before and following the defeat of Horus on Terra, despite fielding a much smaller force.

After the Heresy, Corax personally gave the Emperor's Peace to every surviving mutant that had resulted from their accelerated program of Space Marine development, an act that led him to lock himself in his personal chambers in the Ravenspire on Deliverance and beg the recently-ascended Emperor for forgiveness. Unable to alleviate his guilt, the Primarch left the Ravenspire exactly a year after he first went into seclusion in a transport that was headed for the Eye of Terror. Corax's fate remains unknown to this day, however his last recorded words as he departed Deliverance were, "Never more."

Chapter Organisation
While the Raven Guard are organized along the guidelines of the Codex Astartes, their application is subtly different. Following the Istvaan V Massacre the Legion just did not have the resources to re-equip properly and had to make due with older arms and armor. Because of this, even in modern times the Raven Guard include a significantly higher number of ancient suits than most chapters and the individuals that are lucky enough to be gifted with these suits view themselves as blessed by the Primarch.

The officers of the Raven Guard are known as Shadow Captains and the Chapter Master is called the Master of Shadows. Corax is reputed to have ordered the use of these titles before he disappeared and the Chapter has made use of them ever since.

Perhaps of greatest note is that the Captains of the Raven Guard operate autonomously when in the field, a trait that is highly uncommon within the Adeptus Astartes. Normally Companies and task forces are deployed at the will of the Chapter Master, however once a Company has departed Deliverance the Captain has nearly free reign in choosing where and how the Company will fight. Some critics claim this is a sign of ill-discipline within the Chapter, however it could also be said that the autonomy of the Raven Guard's Captains is a sign of the discipline and trust within the command structure of the Chapter.

Raven Guard Captains are fiercely independent, and it is incredibly rare for the Chapter to fight as a whole. Individual companies are completely autonomous and are quick to lend their aid to Imperial commanders across the galaxy, with or without the sanction of their Chapter Master. Such behaviour has led some in the other Space Marine Chapters to question the Raven Guard's soundness as a military force, but most recognise that such fluidity of command only proves the presence of the Chapter's formidable discipline, not its absence.4

During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy the Raven Guard were organized into specialized Companies such as the Falcon Assault and Talon Tactical Companies, organized much like the Reserve Companies of Codex Chapters.

Equipment
The Chapter makes wide use of the "beaked" older versions of the standard Space Marine Power Armour (Marks IV-VI). After their near-destruction as a force at Isstvan V during the Horus Heresy, the Raven Guard had to make to do with the older Power Armour and equipment that remained in their reserve armoury. The available resources were too few to re-equip them up to the most advanced technological standards of the Imperium and even today there is a higher percentage of ancient suits of Power Armour amongst the Chapter than for most others. The Raven Guard's homeworld of Deliverance and its fortress-monastery on that planet, the Ravenspire, has the production capacity of a small Forge World (since it can draw upon the resources of the actual Forge World of Kiavahr that Deliverance orbits), ensuring that the Raven Guard now rarely lacks for the materiél needed to prosecute its campaigns.5

Recruitment
Owing to the instability of the Raven Guard's gene-seed due to the experiments of Corax, much of the Chapter's genetic stock has been irreparably damaged. Now, much of their genetic material comes from stored supplies held on Terra by the Adeptus Mechanicus. This means the cycle of recruitment for the Raven Guard is much slower than for other Chapters while they wait for purified samples of gene-seed to be sent from Terra and fewer Raven Guard recruits for the Chapter prove able to survive their training and genetic modification. This means the Chapter is constantly short-handed. Raven Guard recruits are almost all drawn from the hardy population of miners that has called Deliverance home for millennia.

Company Disposition
Like all Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marine Chapters, the Raven Guard are divided into ten Companies of 100 Space Marines each when at full strength, a standard which Raven Guard companies rarely achieve because of their constant manpower shortage. Each Company is led by a hero of the Raven Guard, who - in addition to his Company command - is in charge of a particular aspect of the Chapter's logistics. The current Company Commanders of the Raven Guard are as follows:
 * 1st Company: Unknown
 * 2nd Company: Captain Aajz Solari
 * 3rd Company: Captain Kayvaan Shrike
 * 4th Company: Unknown
 * 5th Company: Unknown
 * 6th Company: Unknown
 * 7th Company: Unknown
 * 8th Company: Unknown
 * 9th Company: Unknown
 * 10th Company: Captain Korvydae

Combat Doctrine
The Raven Guard generally follow the dictates of the Codex Astartes, though there are some differences in the tactical application of their troops. The Chapter specializes in guerrilla tactics behind enemy lines, using precisely coordinated attacks and refraining from frontal attacks or protracted attrition warfare. The Raven Guard are known for hitting weak points in enemy defences hard and performing lightning strikes upon locations of tactical importance to cripple their enemy. The Raven Guard disdain the notion of recklessly charging into enemy ranks. This differentiates their tactics particularly from those of the Blood Angels. The Chapter also relies heavily on their Scout Marines for pinpointing enemy positions and for reconnaissance to identify good drop sites for the rest of the Chapter's deployed forces.

The Chapter's typical tactical doctrine consists of rapid maneuver engagements consisting of the deployment of Assault Marines, Land Speeders and bikes aimed at harassment, sabotage and the destruction of key strategic targets over the frontal engagement of enemy forces at large. The Raven Guard's Tactical Marine Squads are deployed via Thunderhawk gunship insertions, supported by drop-pod deployed Dreadnoughts (as opposed to tracked vehicles that cannot be air-deployed). The Chapter maintains few and fields even fewer fire support units such as Predators and Land Raiders. The Raven Guard relies heavily on its Scout Marine elements, which operate without support for extended amounts of time, even by Space Marine standards. The Chapter, by and large, operates as something of a cross between a mechanized infantry and a special forces unit, combining small unit tactics with their preference of covert, behind-enemy-lines operations. Because of their preference for hit-and-run guerilla tactics, the Raven Guard also make extensive use of Assault Marine Squads. The Tactical marine Squads of the Raven Guard are often deployed via Thunderhawks or drop-pods. The favorite weapons of Raven Guard Force Commanders are Lightning Claws and it is a common sight for their command squads to also be equipped with these weapons in addition to their Jump Packs. Due to their specialised combat style, the Raven Guard make less use of heavier vehicles and tanks (such as the Land Raider and Predator) than most other Space Marine Chapters.3

Notable Raven Guard

 * Corax - Primarch of the Raven Guard. Corax was a taciturn and subtle warrior but a warrior nonetheless and during the Battle for Istvaan V Corax assumed a terrible and vengeful aspect, his winged jump pack and razor claws reaping a heavy toll on the ranks of the vile Word Bearers. When their Primarch Lorgar dared confront his brother, Corax nearly killed him. The pitiful and viperous Primarch of the Word Bearers, unable to face the killing frenzy of Corax even with his psychic might unleashed by the power of chaos. Corax scarred Lorgar's face during a prolonged weapon lock, the talons of his lightning-claws drawing so close to Lorgar's face that their power fields burned deep gashes in Lorgar's face and though Lorgar struck a single solid blow on Corax and shattered one of the Raven Guard Primarch's powered-claws the other bladed gauntlet tore into Lorgar's gut and cut upwards, shredding and burning the traitor Primarch's insides. Lorgar was only saved by the timely intervention of the Night Lords' Primarch Konrad Kurze. After the massacre on Istvaan V, Corax was desperate to rebuild his Legion, going to great lengths and sacrificing much to do so. The repercussions of those actions came back to haunt him, leading Corax to eventually put down all the twisted spawn of his experiments and vanish into the Eye of Terror.
 * Commander Arendi - Commander of Corax's Bodyguard during the Horus Heresy.
 * Commander Agapito - Commander of the "Talon" Tactical Companies of the Horus Heresy era Raven Guard.
 * Commander Alconi - -Commander of the "Falcon" Assault Companies of the Horus Heresy era Raven Guard.
 * Commander Branne - Commander of the Raven Guard during the Horus Heresy era. He lost in a draw to remain on Deliverance while the rest of the Legion deployed to Istvaan. Eventually he took part in an investigation mission that resulted in the combat extraction of Corax and the survivors.
 * Deathwatch Brother Apothecary Damias - Apothecary Damias served in Deathwatch Captain Bannon's team during the Tyranid Invasion of Tarsis Ultra.
 * Techmarine Dyloss - Chief Techmarine assigned to Captain Shrike's forces during the Battle for Quintus V. Brother Dyloss was responsible for detecting and successfully decoding the highly encrypted data-streams the White Scars were using to infiltrate the planet.
 * Deathwatch Techmarine Korpheus - Techmarine in service to the Deathwatch during the Herodian IV "Tyranocide" mission and part of Captain Octavius' kill-team.
 * Shadow Captain Korvydae - Captain of the Raven Guard 10th Company and the Chapter's Master of Recruits. Shadow Captain Korvydae is renowned as an efficient raider and saboteur, using Scouts and Assault Marines to launch devastating lightning assaults seemingly from nowhere. Shadow Captain Korvydae led the disastrous Raid on Kastorel-Novem against the Orks of Waaagh Garaghak. Despite Korvydae's skills and heroism the Raven Guard lost over seventy Battle Brothers in the Raid on Kastorel-Novem, for his failure Korvydae is now serving a two year penance with the Death Watch.
 * Venerable Dreadnaught Kraai - Oldest Dreadnaught within the Raven Guard and a former Chapter Master, Kraai has served the Chapter for more than 4,000 years. Ancient Brother Kraai participated in the Raid on Kastorel-Novem as part of the Chapter's 1st Company detachment.
 * Shadow Captain Aethon Shaan - Current Captain of the 4th Company, Shaan and a squad of Veterans were charged with returning the renegade Ardaric Vaanes to Deliverance to face the judgment of the Master of Shadows, the Chapter Master of the Raven Guard. Shaan was instrumental in the battle against the chaos invasion in which Vaanes was serving, most notably Shaan and his Veterans destroyed a monolithic battle-fortress of the arch-enemy known as the Black Basilica. A towering monstrosity of enormous power, Shaan and his warriors managed to infiltrate the massive mobile fortress and plant explosives in the Basilica's main store of munitions. The destruction of the Basilica was the turning point in the Battle for Calth, its destruction also ending the life of the tainted Dark Mechanicus Adept Cycerin, who had plagued the defenders with scrapcode attacks throughout the invasion. Shaan and his warriors accompanied Captain Ventris into the heart of Calth to track down the renegades, led by Ardaric Vaanes who had allowed himself to be captured in a last bid for redemption. Despite his misgivings Shaan allowed this and fought alongside the Ultramarines and the renegade against the Iron Warriors. All of the Raven Guard but Shaan were killed in the battle with the traitor Astartes and their allies, but their sacrifices were not in vain for the traitors failed in their mission and were purged from Ultramar with bolter and blade. Shaan was given permission to attend the honorary funeral service in memory of the 347 Ultramarines and 10 Raven Guard who died to protect the Imperium. Shaan returned to Deliverance with the gene-seed of the fallen, including Captain Vaanes. During the mission to Ultramar Captain Shaan and his men frequently proved the superiority of the Raven Guard in matters of stealth, managing to remain hidden under the very scrutiny of legendary Scout Sergeant Torias Tellion and the 10th Company Captain Antilochus. Without the skills of the Raven Guard the battle for Calth, and perhaps all of Ultramar may well have been lost.
 * Shadow Captain Moradius - Captain Moradius commanded the Fortress Monastery on the moon of Coron orbiting the Imperial world of Baran. When the local Feral Ork populace was stirred up by an unknown force Captain Moradius led his men to Baran to investigate, discovering the presence of an Eldar Swordwind from the Craftworld of Biel-Tan. Despite fighting valiantly Captain Moradius and his forces were encircled and greatly outnumbered, eventually dying to the last against the viperous Eldar xenos.
 * Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike - Captain of the 3rd Company, Shrike is a legendary figure in the Imperium for his many stunning victories throughout his career, emphasizing the very qualities at the core of the Raven Guard’s combat doctrine with honor and prowess. Shrike also wields “The Raven’s Talons” a pair of Master-Crafted Lightning Claws, said to have been forged by Corax himself following the Istvaan V Massacre, and are reputed to be unbreakable. After his success at Targus VII Shrike went on to assault the Orks in the Donara and Yahkhee systems. By the time he had finished there Shrike had become nothing short of a savior and a legend to the beleaguered and hopeless. Shrike now leads his company across the regions under assault by Waaaagh! Skullkrak. Not to aid the desperate Imperial commanders struggling to contain the Ork threat, but to the worlds abandoned by the overstretched and uncaring Imperial commanders. On those worlds Shrike and his Company are revered as heroes as great as those of old. On every world struggling against the Ork horde, Guardsmen clutch their weapons tighter knowing that Shadow Captain Shrike and the Raven Guard 3rd Company may be on their way and the Orks glance twice at every shadow, wondering if the Space Marines are there, just waiting to strike. During the rise of Waaagh! Garaghak Shrike was given command of the strike force dispatched to the Capitol of Forsarr in exchange for the Elysian 181st Regiment's aid in the Raid on Kastorel-Novem.
 * Shadow Captain Aajz Solari - Captain of the Raven Guard 2nd Company, Solari is famous as a very erratic but mostly successful officer, often going into battle at the head of the Assault Marines. Few Astartes better exemplify the image of the Angels of Death descending on fiery wings of flame to deliver the Emperor’s wrath to the foes of the Imperium. Recently Captain Solari commanded a victorious raid to destroy the Ork Kill Kroozer the Fang of Rukbad. Solari is currently in overall command of the Hive Fleet Leviathan Containment Operation, a massive undertaking with fully two dozen Chapters participating.
 * Commander Solero - Commander of the Raven Guard and survivor of Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre, led Bike squads in ambush against the traitor Legionaries.
 * Techmarine Straedon - A survivor of Istvaan V and member of Corax's Honor Guard.
 * Captain Torisian - Captain of the 29th Company of the Raven Guard during the Istvaan V Dropsite Massacre. Torisian and his men were amongst the first warriors to reach the barricades around the drop-site erected by the second wave and were cut down in the first volley of treacherous gunfire.
 * Ardaric Vaanes - Former Shadow Captain of the 4th Company, Ardaric Vaanes was a highly skilled officer within the Chapter and skilled in the most secret combat arts taught at the Ravenspire. He was honored by Captain Shrike when the legendary Captain of the 3rd Company personally tattooed the Chapter heraldry on Ardaric's left shoulder. Disillusioned with the Imperium, Ardaric Vaanes turned renegade and was declared Excomunicate Mortis in 934.M41. Fighting the Iron Warriors, along with a band of fellow renegades from various Chapters on the daemon world of Medrengarde within the Eye of Terror, Vaanes encountered the exiled Captain Uriel Ventris of the Ultramarines. But despite an offer of redemption Vaanes allied with the Warsmith Honsou and served as one of his chief Lieutenants until the Iron Warriors led a massive warband to the Realms of Ultramar. Vaanes caught the attention of a daemon of Slaanesh while serving Honsou and the close brush with absolute corruption brought about a change in the former Captain, who aided the Ultramarines in defeating the Chaos invasion, personally slaying the possessed Iron Warriors officer known as Grendel and grappling with the Warsmith Honsou himself. His gene-seed was returned to the Chapter by Captain Shaan.
 * Shadow Captain Corvane Valar - Captain of the Raven Guard 5th Company during the Thirteenth Black Crusade. Valar led half his company to the Shrine World of Kathur when it fell to the plagues of the Death Guard. The fifty Raven Guard sacrificed themselves and their Strike Cruiser the Second Shadow to deny the Death Guard their price and accounted for roughly seventy-five Plague Marines in the process.
 * Deathwatch Brother Siefer Zeed aka "Ghost" - A charismatic and enthusiastic member of Talon Squad of the Deathwatch. Armed unsurprisingly with a pair of lightning claws Zeed adds a mixture of humor and straightforward problem solving to the stoic members of Talon Squad.

Chapter Appearance
Due to the degeneration of the Raven Guard's gene-seed, several of the genetically-engineered organs normally implanted in Space Marines no longer function properly or simply no longer even develop after they are implanted as zygotes. For instance, Raven Guard Marines do not have the Mucranoid which allows an Astartes to survive extremes of heat, cold or even exposure to the vacuum of space or Betcher's Gland, which allows them to spit a venomous toxin. The Raven Guard's Melanchromic Organ which allows a Space Marine's skin to adjust to incoming levels of solar radiation has a unique mutation that causes the skin of a Raven Guard member to lose its pigment, regardless of its original hue. Eventually the skin becomes pure white while the hair and eyes darken, until they become jet black.

Chapter Colors
The Raven Guard Chapter paints their Power Armour black with a white Raven on their left shoulder plate. The left shoulder plate's trim is black. The right shoulder plate's symbol and trim colour denotes which type of squad the Marine serves in. Green trim indicates a Marine is a member of a Tactical Squad, red an Assault Squad, yellow a Devastator Squad and black trim is worn by Veterans. Some Raven Guard force commanders or high-ranking Veterans have all-white shoulder plates (as well as helmets and sometimes arms).

Chapter Badge
The Raven Guard Chapter badge is a stylized white raven.