Relictors

The Relictors are a Renegade Space Marines Chapter Founded in the 36th Millennium, though of an unknown origin and Founding. When the Relictors were first established they were known as the Fire Claws. Founded to guard against the threat of the Traitor Legions attacking from the Eye of Terror, the Relictors were once counted amongst the most stalwart defenders of Mankind. But Chaos is insidious and a sinister secret now lurks at the heart of the Chapter, a secret that almost destroyed it and now threatens its very existence as well as the souls of its Battle-Brothers. The Relictors are believed by some to be a Successor Chapter of both the Ultramarines and the Dark Angels, as gene-seed from both Chapters was probably used in their Founding, though this remains unknown for certain. The Relictors were one of the 20 Chapters of the Astartes Praeses, created by the Imperium of Man after the Horus Heresy specifically to guard the threatened sectors of Imperial space surrounding the Eye of Terror.

The Epiphany and Renaming
Originally designated the Fire Claws, it is thought that the Relictors were Founded during the dark days of the Age of Apostasy, though Imperial records of events during that strife-torn period are notoriously ambiguous and difficult to uncover. One transcription of the Mythos Angelica Mortis suggests that the Fire Claws may have been one of the so-called Astartes Praeses Chapters, a Founding intended to bolster the defences around the Eye of Terror by deploying twenty or so newly-formed Chapters at strategically vital points in the region. The Fire Claws' fortress-monastery was based on an ancient Ramillies-class Star Fort in geostationary orbit around the world of Torva Minoris, called Neutra by its inhabitants, and the Chapter served as part of the Imperium's defences against the Forces of Chaos for nigh on five millennia.

The Fire Claws are listed in the annals of Imperial history on many occasions, and have taken part in many glorious victories. Not least amongst these conflicts were the Purging of the Cult of the Inner Eye, the First Siege of Cocalus, and the Albrecht IV Landings. They were also part of the relief force that made possible the evacuation of the millions-strong Crusade army of Warmaster Hendrik during his ill-fated expedition into the Wheel of Fire, far from the Eye of Terror.

In the middle of the ninth century of the 41st Millennium, the Emperor's Tarot revealed the existence of a badly damaged Space Hulk emerging from the Warp near the Forge World of Stygies in the Segmentum Obscurus, and the Fire Claws mobilised to intercept it. The Hulk, codified by the Imperium as the Captor of Sin, contained a warband of Chaos Space Marines led by a Chaos Champion of Tzeentch known as the Excoriator. The Fire Claws' Strike Cruisers crippled the vessel as it entered the Stygies System and Terminator Assault Squads led by Librarian Decario and the shadowy figure of Inquisitor De Marche stormed the vessel. Realising they were doomed, the Renegades made their stand in the cavern-sized engine room where furious battle was joined and Decario and De Marche fought the Excoriator.

The Champion was a mighty warrior and carried a weapon forged in the heart of the Eye of Terror, a terrible Daemon Sword with the essence of a Greater Daemon bound within its unearthly steel. The Inquisitor hacked at the Champion with his Power Axe, but the unnatural armour of the Excoriator was impervious to his blows. The Chaos Champion retaliated, his Daemon weapon easily cutting through De Marche's armour and greviously wounding him. With another strike, the Excoriator shattered Decario's Force Sword and laid open his Terminator Armour. Decario staggered, but struck back with his Power Fist, ripping the Chaos Champion's sword arm from its socket in a welter of blood. Even mortally wounded and unarmed, the Champion fought with hideous ferocity, smashing the Librarian to the ground and slaughtering four Terminators. Decario muttered a prayer to the Emperor, reached for the nearest weapon to hand and struck out at the Champion. The Excoriator's head was chopped from his shoulders and Decario realised he had picked up the Daemon Sword, killing the Champion with his own Chaotic weapon.

Decario was filled with a sense of utter purpose as he wielded the Chaos sword and instinctively felt that this was a weapon that could be turned against the Forces of Chaos. The wounded De Marche cautioned the Librarian to put the weapon down, that only he was trained in the use of such artefacts. The Librarian handed the Inquisitor the weapon and the Space Marines returned to their ship, leaving behind Adeptus Mechanicus survey teams to search the Hulk for any archaeotech. De Marche explained that he also believed that such weapons could be used to fight Chaos and should not be destroyed out of hand as was standard Imperial policy. With the aid of Decario, he was able to convince the Fire Claws' Chapter Master of this and, under De Marche's guidance, the Fire Claws embarked on a Crusade to explore the worlds around the Eye of Terror and uncover more such Chaotic relics. Over the decades that followed, many such artefacts were discovered and the Fire Claws Chapter became known instead as the Relictors.

Judgment and Crusade
However, it was only a matter of time before others discovered the Relictors' practise of using Chaotic weapons in battle. A cell of Puritan Inquisitors backed up by the fleets of no less than four Chapters of Space Marines and an Emperor-class Battleship descended upon the Relictors' fortress-monastery on their homeworld of Neutra and demanded they hand over De Marche and all recovered Chaos weaponry or be destroyed. Faced with destruction, the Chapter had no option but to obey. As penance for dealing with heretical weaponry, the Chapter was despatched on a century-long penitent Crusade gainst all the foes of the Emperor to atone for their impurity. De Marche was taken by the Inquisition and executed by the Ordo Hereticus as a Heretic. As part of their Penance Crusade, the entire Relictor Chapter (all 10 companies) were deployed to the Hive World of Armageddon during the Third War for Armageddon in 998.M41 in the Equatorial Jungles to fight the rabid tribes of Feral Orks. However, the Chapter was publicly criticised during this campaign, as the majority of its warriors concentrated their efforts in the region surrounding Angron's Monolith, despite repeated requests for assistance elsewhere.

Vision and Quest
The Chapter later left Amageddon after the Chapter's Librarians had a vision of a lidless eye weeping blood. The Relictors left Armageddon in their spaceborne Ramilies-class Star Fort for the Eye of Terror. Conflict with the other forces in the area increased as the Relictors descended deeper into the Eye of Terror in their search for more tools of Chaos to turn against their owners. This conflict eventually culminated with a Relictor raid on the remote Diamedes Archive where the Space Marines destroyed an Inquisition force guarding a Chaotic artefact of great power and claimed it for their own.

Excommunication
Continued conflict with the Inquisition over the use of Chaotic artefacts during the 13th Black Crusade resulted in the Relictors ultimately being declared Excommunicate Traitoris by the Ordo Hereticus and the Chapter was all but destroyed by the Ordo Malleus' Grey Knights under the command of Inquisitor Cyarro. Only a few hundred Relictors now remain, and it is suspected that these survivors have fled to the relative safety of the Eye of Terror. It is currently unknown whether these survivors have thrown in their lot with the Forces of Chaos and become full-fledged Chaos Space Marines or whether they continue their struggle of trying to turn the dark powers of the Chaos Gods against them and their servants for the good of the humanity, much like another well-known Renegade Space Marine Chapter, the Soul Drinkers.

Notable Campaigns

 * Battle for the The Captor of Sin Space Hulk (ca. 950.M41) - The Relictors, then still called the Fire Claws, succeeded in cleansing the Space Hulk cdesignated The Captor of Sin from the Chaos Space Marine warband led by the Chaos Champion of Tzeentch named the Excoriator.
 * Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) - When the Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka led the largest Ork invasion since the Ullanor Crusade against the Hive World of Armageddon, the Relictors were amongst the first of the 20+ Space Marine Chapters to rush to its aid. Commander Dante of the Blood Angels took overall command of the Chapters present, and each was utilised to the best of its abilities towards the goal of pushing back the millions-strong Ork horde. Alone of all the Chapters, the Relictors did not acknowledge the authority of Commander Dante, or of any other Imperial leader. Dante was far more forgiving in this regard than General Kurov and others of the Imperial Guard and the planetary government, who publicly decried the Relictors as oath-breakers, after the majority of the Chapter spent the greater proportion of their time on Armageddon engaged in operations of their own in the vicinity of Angron's Monolith. The equatorial jungle in this area is dark and twisted, the only living creatures frequenting it are the Feral Ork tribes who were said to perform dark ceremonies beneath the gloomy jungle canopy. As the first phase of the campaign drew to a close, and the Season of Fire approached, a ceasefire of sorts was achieved, with both sides digging in to weather the coming storms. Many Space Marine Chapters withdrew, as their lightning attack style of warfare was of less relevance in this new stage of the war. First to withdraw were the Relictors, who, with no explanation whatsoever, emerged from the jungle, boarded their Thunderhawk gunships and simply left. Imperial Navy picket ships in orbit challenged them, and a violent confrontation between supposed allies was only narrowly averted when Commander Dante ordered the picket ships to stand down and allow the Relictors' ships to rendezvous with their fleet and their Star Fort. The next time the Relictors were seen was one month later, when they arrived at the orbital shipyards of Belis Corona and demanded a complete resupply of their entire fleet. After some tense altercations with officious Departmento Munitorum officials, the Chapter's demands were acceded to and their ships resupplied. With no further explanation, the Chapter left in the direction of the Cadian Gate.
 * 13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - The Relictors contribued all 10 of their companies to the fight against the Forces of Chaos during the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler, though their use of Chaotic artefacts to secure their victories ultimately led to outright confict with the Inquisition and the declaration by the High Lords of Terra that they were Excommunicate Traitoris.

Chapter Combat Doctrine
The Relictors are known to follow the Codex Astartes as far as overall military organisation of the Chapter is concerned, but it has been noted that they have strayed from approved doctrine in a number of other areas. The major difference between the Chapter's combat doctrine and that of any other is in its use of captured enemy weapons. Many Chapters indulge in trophy taking, but the Relictors have in the past gone out of their way to capture, master and utilise weapons taken from the Forces of Chaos. This is a practise that ultimately led to their excommunication.

Another notable feature of the Chapter's organisation is the inclusion of more Librarians than is usual within its organisation, a feature some observers have attributed to the Relictors' proximity to the Eye of Terror. In terms of battlefield tactics, many Imperial commanders who have fought beside the Chapter have voiced concerns about its behaviour. It has been noted on many occasions that the Relictors will only embark upon a specific course of action if it meets with some criteria only they are party to and will often only fight alongside other Imperial forces if that agenda can be furthered. This is most evident in the Chapter's actions at Armageddon, where it answered the general call to defend the world from the Ork invasion, but ignored all specific instructions and requests, despite these orders originating from Commander Dante of the Blood Angels himself.

Chapter Organisation
The Relictors conform, at first appearance, to that of a standard Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter, with 10 companies divided into a standard mix of Battle, Assault, Tactical, Devastator and Scout Companies. But it is in the higher echelons of the Chapter that many differences become apparent. The Chapter's command ranks are gathered together in a group known as the Conclave and every decision concerning the Chapter's deployment and operational doctrine is made there. Only those proven in combat and of guaranteed purity are permitted to rise to become members of the Conclave, and privy to the true nature of the Chapter. As a warrior rises through the ranks he is gradually initiated deeper into the Chapter's mysteries and when he is judged worthy to join the Conclave the truth about the powerful Chaotic weapons wielded by its senior officers is finally revealed. It is these warriors who, after many days praying and shriving their souls of all impure thoughts, are permitted to carry the Chapter's Daemon Weapons into combat. The Chapter's Librarians, of which there are a great many more than a Chapter should normally possess, meticulously screen potential initiates, rejecting all but the strongest willed candidates. In batlle the Chapter fights with a balanced mixture of forces, appropriate to the given threat, and deviates little from standard Adeptus Astartes battlefield operation. Only when members of the Conclave take to the field do the Relictors become something much more sinister. Senior members of the Chapter employ the weapons of the enemy against them, and individual squads carry unholy artefacts, utilising the power of Chaos against its foul minions just as the Radical philosophy of the Inquisition has long advocated.

Chapter Homeworld
Torva Minoris, called by its population Neutra, is the Relictors' Chapter homeworld, and it is situated in an area of the Segmentum Obscurus notorious for the intensity of the Warp Storms afflicting it. It is believed the world was trapped within such a storm throughout the early years of the Chapter's founding. A plague of Warp Storms affected the Imperium during the Age of Apostasy, during which invasion and insurrection were rife across the Imperium. The area surrounding the Torva System was so ravaged by the taint of the storms that frequent pogroms are, to this day, carried out to ensure instances of mutation within the population do not rise above tolerable levels.

Neutra is a satellite of the massive, blood red gas giant Torva Prime, and is classified by the Administratum as a Feral World. The population are superstitious savages who worship the Relictors as emissaries of the God-Emperor when the Chapter visits them, once a generation, to carry off the most promising young warriors to its "sky fortress". The tribes are known to revere the artefacts carried by the Space Marines as divine weaponry that can only be weilded by true and worthy servants of the Emperor; an attitude that seems to have been carried forwards into the dogma of the Chapter.

The "sky fortress" is the Relictors' fortress-monastery, a massive Ramilies-class Star Fort that orbits Neutra. Few emissaries are known to have returned from the fortress, but those few that survive speak of a monastery wreathed in perpetual gloom, where Acolytes toil within locked cells to transcribe ancient, some say forbidden, texts as part of their training to become a Battle-Brother of the Chapter. One such report, recounted by the notorious Heretic Archivist of the Gethsemane Reclusium, tells of the existence of a chamber deep within the fortress, sealed behind stasis fields and protected by the most severe of psychic wards. Exactly what is held within this chamber is unknown, but the account speaks of a miasma of evil that leaks through the metre-thick adamantium blast doors despite the safeguards. The Heretic Archivist's writings suggest that the original witness was driven insane by what he saw, and died a slow, painful death within the torture chambers of the Ordo Malleus.

After the Inquisiton censured the Relictors for the actions of Inquisitor De Marche, the Chapter lost its feudal rights to Neutra, which meant they could no longer recruit from amongst its feral tribes. The Relictors were forced to gather potential Acolytes from amongst the populations they encountered during their penitent Crusade. The Inquisiton has ruled that no Adeptus Astartes Chapter may recruit from Neutra, and it is believed the Ordo Malleus keeps a close watch on the world to ensure its ruling is adhered to. The superstitious natives of Neutra now believe the God-Emperor has forsaken them, and every year their ceremonies of abasement grow more extreme in their attempts to atone for whatever fault has caused the emissaries of the Emperor to turn from them. It will not be long before the population of the planet has become outright Heretics in service to the Dark Gods unless something is done.

Chapter Beliefs
Central to the Relictors' belief system is the tenet that Chaos is not inherently evil, that it is merely a power that may be turned against those who choose to wield it for evil. This manifests most commonly in the Chapter's use of captured Daemon Weapons, but also extends to their increased reliance on Librarians. As a relatively new Chapter, the Relictors display the confidence of youth that borders on arrogance, as they believe that they have the strength of will and faith to resist the corruption of Chaos. They disdain those who have not the courage to use such artefacts, claiming that the power of Chaos is a weapon like any other and that the evil that threatens to engulf the galaxy merits the use of such weapons. The Librarians and Chaplains of the Relictors teach that a warrior who is armoured in faith in the Emperor can withstand the temptations of Chaos and it is their belief that they possess this in sufficient amounts to do so. They believe it is their sworn duty to hunt down such artefacts and study them that they might better understand the machinations of the enemy. This attitude has often brought the Relictors into confrontation with other Imperial organisations like the Inquisition's Puritan faction when their objectives are in direct opposition, but thus until the end of the 13th Black Crusade open conflict had been avoided.

Chapter Gene-Seed
The source of the Relictors' gene-seed is largely based on gene stock taken from the Adeptus Mechanicus laboratorium on Mars and is thought to be composed of that grown from the genetic stocks of the Ultramarines and the Dark Angels. If this is the case, then it would appear that the High Lords of Terra's reluctance to sanction the use of the Dark Angel's gene-seed in the creation of new Chapters has relaxed somewhat. There are no recorded instances of unacceptable mutation in the Relictors' gene-seed, though given their officers' constant exposure to the powers of the Warp, the Apothecaries and Librarians maintain close watch on the purity of their Battle-Brothers for any signs of aberration. It is rumoured that those gene-seed organ zygotes that display mutation are allowed to mature before implantation into a host organism in order that the Apothecaries might better study the workings of Chaos on the flesh and how to defeat it. The source and veracity of these rumours are unclear.

Notable Relictors

 * Artekus Bardane - Artekus Bardane is the current Chapter Master of the Relictors. A fierce warrior from the wilds of Neutra, Artekus Bardane was the son of a battle chieftain and learned the way of war as soon as he could hold a sword. On Neutra a child learned to fight quickly or he died, and this resulted in a warrior people, living a precarious existence plundering meighbouring clans for sustenance. His confidence and courage saw him easily best his rivals, and he was chosen by the Librarians of the Relictors to become a Space Marine, quickly adapting to the ways of the Imperium and its advanced weapons of war. His supreme confidence, some would say overbearing arrogance, saw him rise rapidly through the ranks of the Chapter, accepting each new mystery revealed to him by the Conclave with ease. His skill in mastering the weapons and artefacts of Chaos led to his being given command of a company that penetrated deep into the Eye of Terror on a mission to hunt down and capture Chaos weaponry. On the world of Eidolon, Artekus defeated a mighty Champion of Slaanesh, taking up his accursed weapon, a screaming flail of daemonic faces, and destroying the fiend's warband with the howling Daemon Weapon. This Screaming Flail was placed in stasis at the heart of the Relictors' fortress-monastery, where it is kept until needed. Before wielding the Daemon Weapon, its bearer must spend many days in penitent fasting and prayer, purifying his soul and steeling his faith to resist the whispered imprecations of the imprisoned daemon within. Artekus Bardane continued to serve with great distinction, earning yet higher rank, learning more of the Chapter's secrets and unearthing more and more Chaotic artefacts. After the destruction of the Cult of the Scarlet Vein, a bloody battle of which Artekus was the only survivor, he was finally elevated to the rank of Chapter Master at the recommendation of his predecessor, who was mortally wounded in the final battle against that Chaos Cult. When the call for aid came from Armageddon, the Relictors mobilised their entire Chapter and set off to serve in the system-spanning conflict. Artekus ordered his captains to gather their warriors, and the entire Chapter journeyed to this war-torn world. Artekus led his men deep into the heart of the Equatorial Jungle, where he believed the greatest potential lay for the study of Chaos, given that the cursed Monolith of Angron squatted in its haunted depths. All through the war for Armageddon, the Relictors remained within the depths of the jungle, famously refusing even the personal commands of Commander Dante of the Blood Angels. When the war on Armageddon drew to a close, the Librarians of the Relictors claimed to have had visions of a giant eye, dripping with blood, and Artekus immediately withdrew his Chapter from the warzone. Following the Conclave's vision, he began the journey towards the Eye of Terror, where his Chapter participated in the 13th Black Crusade and ultimately was declared Renegade. Bardane has little patience for the Inquisition and believes that the Relictors are still pursuiing the right course, a course that will ultimately lead the Imperium to accept the Relictors back into its good graces, despite the stiff-necked opposition of the Puritan faction of the Inquisition.