Judged, The

The Judged is the collective name given to those thirty Space Marine Chapters whose homeworld were affected by Warp Storm Dionys in 321.M37, exacerbating the flaws of their Gene-seed and threatening the stability and survival of their Chapters. Instead of being branded out as mutants, the 30 Space Marine Chapters accepted to take a death oath to bring the battle to their enemies within the Eye of Terror, and purge as many Daemon Worlds as possible before they fell.

The story of The Judged almost ended with their entry in the Eye of Terror, but 800 years later; Korvak Lann, Chapter Master of the Vorpal Swords managed to return from the Eye with a third of his Chapter and a few survivors from other Judged Chapters. After being toroughly tested for corruption and being cleared, Lann brought proof that the whole Judged affair was a plot of Chaos to corrupt as much Astartes as possible and add them to their ranks, from the summoning of the Warp Storm to the crusade proposal, to the ambush who scattered the 30 Chapters hours after their entry into the Eye. Lann and his surviving Vorpal Swords then immediatly mounted an assault upon the residence of the false Saint who condemned them, obliterating him and his fellow conspirators in one vengeful strike.

Today, the only Chapter of The Judged that has returned to the fold of the Imperium are the Vorpal Swords. Two have been declared Martyr Extremis, meaning they have been eradicated to the last Space Marine, one has been declared Perditas, meaning no contact whatsoever has ever been made again, and 25 have been identified as having fallen to Chaos. The only Chapter whose fate is totally unknown are the Blades Eternal.

Abyssal Crusade
Following the Ecclesiarchal Purges of 321.M37, dozens of star systems were engulfed by Warp Storm Dionys, its echoes rippling along the spiral arms of the Galaxy as it raged through the Empyrean. Records of mutation and Chaos Cultist activity quadrupled overnight. Worse yet, it was not only the citizens who were affected by the sudden influx of Chaos. Many of the Space Marine Chapters whose homeworlds were affected by the Warp Storm found that the secret imperfections in their Gene-seed were exacerbated in their new recruits, giving rise to a wave of disturbing manifestations both physical and psychological.

When the Ecclesiarchy heard of this sinister tum of events, Saint Basillius the Elder demanded that all those Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes whose homeworlds had been touched by the Warp Storm be rendered unto his judgement. Such was the elder's influence with the High Lords of Terra that within a standard year this had come to pass. After a series of stringent tests and prognostications, hundreds of Chapters were deemed unaffected by the Warp Storm. No less than thirty were found wanting. The Judged, as these fallen Chapters came to be known, volunteered for a redemptive Penitent Crusade. The most militant of their number demanded the right to purify their tainted flesh in the fires of battle, to make a noble end from tragic misfortune. To the surprise of his closest advisors, Saint Basillius agreed to this proposal. He saw it fitting to send the accused into the Eye of Terror, taking the fight for the Imperium's future to the Daemon Worlds inhabited by the Traitor Marines.

A representative from each of the doomed Chapters held an emergency Council of Dismay to discuss the proposed Crusade. After scant hours of debate, they acquiesced to Basillius' demands, for they believed that martyrdom was preferable to an existence of suspicion and doubt. The last few days of 321.M37 saw a solemn procession of Strike Cruisers and Battle Barges pass through the Cadian Gate into the Eye of Terror, relay systems dormant and heraldic colours obscured by black mag-plates. One by one, the Chapters of The Judged disappeared into the iridescent dust nebulae that surrounded the Eye. As the massive Space Marine flotilla entered the Eye of Terror, they were set upon by a massive Chaos warfleet. The resultant battle was so fierce that the ships of The Judged were forced to retreat and were scattered to the furthest corners of the Eye.

What exactly happened to each doomed Chapter is unknown, as only fragmentary reports from either the few returning survivors or the interrogation of captured heretics exist in the Imperial Archives, but the sad truth of the matter is that almost every Chapter of The Judged ended up on a Daemon World who slowly but surely corrupted them as they fought to purge it.

The Hideous Truth
The story of The Judged almost ended honorably with their entry into the Eye of Terror, the stories of their heroism untold, but for two things: the first was a sudden increase in raids against the Imperium from hitherto unknown warbands of Chaos Space Marines, but this was at first written off as yet another nefarious result of the Dionys Warp Storm.

It is only 800 years later, in 123.M38 that part of the truth would be unveiled to the Imperium. A small flotilla of warships using the ancient recognition codes of the Vorpal Swords Chapter emerged from the Cadian Gate and made contact with Imperial authorities. The Inquisition was swift in quarantaining those survivors, and test them with extreme toroughness for any trace of mutation, taint or heresy. The survivors, almost all of them Vorpal Swords, with a few individual Marines from other Judged Chapters, submitted to the testing with barely constrained fury, and when they were finally proclaimed free of corruption, their leader Korvak Lann, Chapter Master of the Vorpal Swords laid down a terrible accusation against Saint Basillius, proclaiming him an agent of Chaos and instigator of the corruption of The Judged. The proof and testimonies he brought visibly satisfied the Inquisition, for they gave Lann and his survivors leave to bring Basilius to justice, which they swiftly did.

List of Chapters
This is the list of the 30 Astartes Chapters who form up The Judged, and what they became: Lances of Pteros - Lords of Decay'''
 * Altar Brethren - Iconoclasts
 * Argent Hammers - Talons of Anathrax
 * Blades Eternal - UNKNOWN
 * Bronze Gorgons - Crystal Wyverns
 * Brothers of the Anvil - Deathmongers
 * Chorus of Eltain - Martyr Extremis
 * Clerics of Steel - Invocators
 * Crusaders of Dorn - Brotherhood of Lethe
 * Doom Legion - Vectors of Pox
 * Fists of Olchis - PERDITAS
 * Graven Fists - Twisted Blades
 * Illustrians - Black Psalm, The
 * Invictors - Unhallowed, The
 * Iron Drakes - Grey Death
 * Justicars - Fractured, The
 * '''Knights Excelsior - Magma Hounds
 * Lectors of Ixis - Oracles of Change
 * Lionguard - Death Shadows
 * Prophets of Mercury - Martyr Extremis
 * Sanctors of Terra - Blighted Claw, The
 * Sentinels - Corpus Brethren
 * Serpents of Light - Predator Legion
 * Sigilites - Malefactors
 * Spears of Olympus - Bloodlords
 * Star Gryphons - Sons of Midnight
 * Tempest Legion - Revelation of Gore, The
 * Vengeance Chapter - Flylords, The
 * Viridian Consuls - Broken, The


 * Vorpal Swords - Remained loyal and managed to return to the Imperium.