Dark Krakens

The Dark Krakens is a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter and a successor of the Salamanders.

It is a Chapter composed wholly of Primaris Space Marines and was raised during the Ultima Founding of ca. 999.M41 by Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl.

Most of the Chapter's more experienced Primaris Marines were originally part of the Greyshield forces that fought through the early years of the Indomitus Crusade.

Chapter History

Dark Krakens Primaris Intercessor — Dark Krakens Colour Scheme and Chapter badge as displayed by a Primaris Space Marine.

Origins

The Salamanders were kept largely unaware of what new Successor Chapters were created from their gene-seed by Belisarius Cawl, and once they learned of their existence, they were always quick to dispatch a Chaplain to the new Chapter to teach them the ways of the Promethean Cult.

The Dark Krakens' oceanic and night-bathed homeworld of Naktis only boasts one landmass capable of supporting a fortress-monastery. Naktis' vast seas are replete with bioluminescent megafauna and shoal-predators, which the native Human population hunt for sport and nourishment.

Echoing this culture of Naktis, in battle, the Dark Krakens seek out the largest foes, whether that be in terms of physical size or sheer numbers.

Cordon Impenetra

With the savage conflict known as the Octarius War between the Tyranids and Orks of the Ork Empire of Octarius spilling over into the Pankallis Sub-sector in the Era Indomitus, Space Marine Chapters have raced to the region's aid. Among these were the Dark Krakens. A powerful assemblage of these transhuman warriors fought to defend the Bianzeer's Hollow System against the Tyranid swarms.

The Pankallis Sub-sector borders the Octarian Empire, Ork-held space that has been fought over by greenskins and Tyranids for many standard years. A part of the so-called Cordon Impenetra established by Inquisitor Nashir Sahansun to protect the rest of the Imperium from that deadly fight between the two alien species, the Pankallis Sub-sector was in the midst of preparing for xenos invasion when attacks came without warning.

Now the xenos had finally arrived, and they had to be halted lest they break out of the Cordon Impenetra and push into the Imperial star systems beyond.

By luring a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan into the Orks' Octarian Empire during the Third Tyrannic War, former Inquisitor Fidus Kryptman sought to have the two xenos hordes destroy one another. However, his plan backfired. The Tyranids were fed with incalculable quantities of biomass and genetically adapted to countless kinds of new and different threats, becoming even stronger.

The huge scale of the conflict, which claimed millions of Ork and Tyranid lives each solar day, drew in ramshackle greenskin fleets from light years around, and the Orks themselves grew bigger on a diet of endless conflict.

Many Imperial observers believed that it was only a matter of time until the roiling conflict spilled out into neighbouring Imperial systems and inflicted untold damage. One of these was Inquisitor Nashir Sahansun, who devised what he called the Cordon Impenetra. Drawing a sphere around the outer reaches of the space fought over by the Orks and Tyranids, he declared almost every Imperial world within the zone of demarcation lost, and he pushed hard for every sub-sector bordering the boundary to fortify itself and be reinforced.

Many worlds in the region joined the Cordon Impenetra, which both served as a man-made boundary and was the name given to a defensive organisation made up of worlds along the border. As the worlds of the cordon were reinforced, efforts were made by Imperial troops to destabilise the warring xenos forces to ensure that neither concentrated their strength sufficiently to break through the cordon. Ultimately, these actions proved to be in vain.

When the Pankallis Sub-sector was attacked, every invaded star system called for aid, and multiple forces responded. Deathwatch from the Eye of Octos Watch Fortress and Primaris Marine warriors of the Wolfspear Chapter were among the first to arrive. They were followed by a large strike force of warriors from the Dark Krakens Chapter under the command of Chapter Master Mezonyki Reio.

Reio dispatched his warriors to all three planets in the Bianzeer's Hollow System, tasking Captain Krijeni Luceior and the 5th Company with fighting the Tyranids on the unusually named planet Death of Bianzeer. This frozen Death World was the furthest planet in its system from its star.

After arriving in Death of Bianzeer's orbit, Captain Luceior swiftly partook in a council of war with other Imperial commanders. It included Battle Leader Rakmeyr Bluewolf of the Wolfspear, Watch Master Akrep Xie of the Eye of Octos Deathwatch and Lord General Militant Arneld Heifaast, commander of the Astra Militarum troops stationed on the planet.

Before the Dark Krakens' arrival, much had happened, and much had gone wrong. The Wolfspear had slaughtered a huge horde of Tyranids by causing an avalanche that drove all the creatures that survived into the world's Mirror Sea. However, the resulting tsunami destroyed the access point for the promethium rigs on the sea's bed. On the frozen Great Lakes of Peldathusa, thousands of locals had driven swarms of Tyranids onto the weakest part of the ice, sending countless Tyranids into the freezing waters.

Despite the apparent victory, many Tyranids survived the extreme temperatures, bursting out from the lakes and devouring the people who had orchestrated the trap. More mysteriously, troops from the Death of Bianzeer Trackers planetary defence militia had observed Tyranids stalking packs of the native ursun-wolves in the Herrdalo Forests north of the world's equatorial permafrost.

The wolves were highly intelligent, pack-hunting alpha predators with instinctive knowledge of the local terrain and where Human settlements lay. Their genetic material would be of great value to the hive fleet.

Leaving five squads with his ships under the command of Chaplain Talin and Codicier Ekko, Luceior deployed the rest of his forces to the surface. His intention was to engage the Tyranids in the Herrdalo Forests, drive them from the area and therefore stop them from consuming the ursun-wolves. Though it was an unorthodox mission for them to protect wild beasts, if the Tyranids wanted something, Luceior was determined they would not be successful. Success would also mean pushing the xenos away from the world's methane pumps and relays.

When additional reports warned of Tyranid monsters attacking the now isolated promethium extraction rigs beneath the Mirror Sea, Luceior ordered Lexicanium Uari and Techmarine Eroan to aid in securing them. Deathwatch Kill-teams deployed alongside them. Akrep Xie of the Deathwatch declared that he would aid the Dark Krakens personally in the forests, alongside several of his own Kill-teams.

Lord General Militant Heifaast also approved of the plan, committing dozens of Astra Militarum regiments to sweeping the forests clear while planetary defence militia regiments increased their patrols around the permafrost's industrial areas.

The Imperial forces fighting in the forests faced harsh challenges from the outset. They had to scale treacherous cliff faces and wade through towering snow drifts, all while at the mercy of the bitter cold. Soldiers plunged through broken ice into freezing pools or were struck by heavy branches as they broke and fell beneath the weight of accumulated snow.

This all meant little to the Dark Krakens. They had slain beasts three times their size on their homeworld of Naktis' ocean floor. On a hundred and more battlefields, many had fought all manner of xenos and abominations of the Warp in the most gruelling conditions imaginable. They had all the rugged determination, stubbornness and resilience of their gene-sire, Vulkan, and they put down any and all Tyranids they encountered, most of their squads operating in loose skirmish formations.

Incursors followed the barest tracks from both xenos and ursun-wolves alike, leading Intercessors armed with Stalker Bolt Rifles to dens and nests. Reiver squads rappelled over the most arduous terrain whilst covered by the careful aim of Eliminator squads, who picked off beasts with perfectly aimed shots as ursun-wolves or other predators attempted to intercept the manoeuvring terror troops.

This did not mean the fighting was straightforward. The Dark Krakens so admired the power of the ursun-wolves that they endeavoured to shield them from the Tyranids and even forbade the Imperial Guardsmen and militia from killing them, though some did so out of necessity.

But the ursun-wolves cared little for that fact, and they attacked Space Marines and Guardsmen alike to defend their territory as well as claim prey. Those with young fought especially viciously, and several Dark Krakens were severely wounded or even killed when these predators successfully isolated them and struck en masse.

For the Tyranids' part, broods of Hormagaunts burst from piles of snow, savaging Imperial Guardsmen and bowling into the Space Marines. Lictors emerged from hidden tunnels and cliff overhangs behind and amongst the Dark Krakens, inflicting many casualties before being brought down. Gargoyles hung perfectly still from the highest tree branches, only diving down to attack the Space Marines once the Adeptus Astartes had advanced past the trees they were hidden in.

Dark Krakens and Tyranids fought bloody running battles through the forests as the xenos surged against spread-out Space Marine squads. The xenos threatened to break through Imperial lines on multiple occasions, only to be stymied at significant loss.

The campaign became increasingly protracted. The ursun-wolves knew their territory well and fought ferociously to defend it. The Tyranids were equally unwilling to cede ground, launching countless raids and counter-attacks that stalled the Imperial advance across the entire front. To force any advance at all in some areas against the aliens, Imperial forces called in continuous Aeronautica Imperialis bombing runs.

Marauder bombers dropped countless tons of incendiaries and mole bombs that bored several metres down before detonating. There was no simple way to achieve victory, no single foe to slay that would signal the end. The campaign was pure attrition. Fresh waves of troops were sent behind the first to ensure that cleared areas remained clear.

Wherever the Dark Krakens fought, the advance moved more quickly, the Primaris Space Marines slaughtering the toughest enemies and inspiring the exhausted mortal troops who had become anxious and disquieted by the ever-present threat of ambush.

The Space Marines were utterly resolute in their task. Just as stalking a megabasilosaur in the depths of the Kesuramir Ocean of Naktis required patience, this was no different. Success meant outlasting their foe and meeting its displays of strength with even greater might of their own.

The Dark Krakens were as an adamantine tidewall against a ship-breaking storm. They threw back the Beast-surge of the Glonhil Valley, emerged bloody but victorious after the Night of a Hundred Horrors and held the line after five companies of the 602nd Truskan Snowhounds vanished without a trace. Even as the Space Marines' casualties mounted, they did not waver, spurred by the fiery zeal of Reclusiarch Zitadan.

It was many solar months before the first Imperial forces reached the forests' northern boundaries, having finally pushed the Tyranids out. It had required more than four dozen regiments of Astra Militarum and the combined efforts of the better part of a Dark Krakens Battle Company and several Deathwatch Kill-teams. Even then, some forces fighting in other parts of the forests still had much further to advance, their progress hampered by harsh terrain and vicious fighting.

Captain Luceior would only declare the mission complete when every Tyranid was driven from the forests. He was drawn away before he could. Word came from Deathwatch Kill-teams elsewhere on the planet. A huge Tyranid swarm was descending on the half-complete Glacialix, a colossal fortress under construction by the Adeptus Mechanicus close to several of the planet's larger population centres.

Watch Master Akrep Xie immediately pulled his Deathwatch forces from the Herrdalo Forests. Knowing the strategic importance of the citadel, Luceior deployed some of his warriors to defend it, joining them himself.

Notable Campaigns

Cordon Impenetra (Unknown.M42) - The Dark Krakens Chapter and other Imperial forces are currently fighting a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan in the Pankallis Sub-sector of the Octarius Sector. The 5th Company and other Dark Krakens forces under the command of Captain Krijeni Luceior known as Strike Force Luceior have been despatched by Chapter Master Mezonkyi Reio to the Death World oddly called Death of Bianzeer in the Bianzeer's Hollow System to clear it of the Tyranid scourge.

Dark Krakens Strike Force Luceior

Here follows the force disposition of Strike Force Luceior at the outset of the fighting on Death of Bianzeer, the third world of the Bianzeer's Hollow System in the Pankallis Sub-sector of the Octarius Sector.

Most of these assets were drawn from the 5th Company of the Dark Krakens with extra squads detached from other companies per the dictates of the revised Codex Astartes.

Company Command

Captain Krijeni Luceior
Lieutenant Suharth Keneddyr
Lieutenant Tuemarl Hena
Company Ancient Cahy Taimon
Chaplain Aperah Talin

Company Specialists

Apothecary Rirhen Mullel

Chapter Specialists

Reclusiarch Herrahdura Zitadan
Codicier Daranshi Ekko
Lexicanium Paraon Uari
Techmarine Kusnad Eroan

Squads

Squad 1: Battleline – Squad Mohici
Squad 2: Battleline – Squad Acaran
Squad 3: Battleline – Squad Iriaget
Squad 4: Battleline – Squad Qiaol
Squad 5: Battleline – Squad Tyrzahn
Squad 6: Battleline – Squad Simae
Squad 7: Close Support – Squad Batulan
Squad 8: Close Support – Squad Andati
Squad 9: Fire Support – Squad Cixin
Squad 10: Fire Support – Squad Onoto
Squad 11: Veterans – Squad Taiome (Seconded from the 1st Company.)
Squad 12: Vanguard – Squad Ketene (Seconded from the 10th Company.)
Squad 13: Vanguard – Squad Nomeaor (Seconded from the 10th Company.)
Squad 14: Close Support – Squad Akalubis (Seconded from the 8th Company.)
Squad 15: Close Support – Squad Rindyah (Seconded from the 8th Company.)

Armoury

3 Repulsor grav-tanks
2 Repulsor Executioners
10 Impulsors
2 Gladiators
5 Storm Speeders (and crews)
1 Astraeus

Dreadnoughts

Redemptor Dreadnought – Brother Neanzou
Redemptor Dreadnought – Brother Jughatun

Fleet Assets

Strike Cruiser: Fathom
Gladius-class Frigate: Skyllae
Gladius-class Frigate: Taniwha

Notable Dark Krakens

Chapter Master Mezonyki Reio - Mezonyki Reio is the first and current Chapter Master of the Dark Krakens. He is currently commanding the Dark Krakens forces engaged against a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan in the Pankallis Sub-sector of the Octarius Sector.
Captain Krijeni Luceior - Krijeni Luceior is the current captain of the Dark Krakens 5th Company which is also a part of the larger Strike Force Luceior despatched by Chapter Master Mezonyki Reio to defend the planet of Death of Bianzeer in the Bianzeer's Hollow System of the Pankallis Sub-sector from a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Captain Luceior is deeply aware that he has little more combat experience than many of those he commands, and he feels that he has much to prove to earn their trust and respect. As a former Greyshield, Luceior fought alongside many warriors descended from the White Scars, Space Wolves and Raven Guard Chapters. He was greatly influenced by their penchant for hunting, taking trophies and hanging fetishes from their armour. Thus, he fully embraced the similar cultures the Dark Krakens found on Naktis. He wears a scaled cloak made from the skin of a maredrak -- a kind of sea dragon native to Naktis -- that he slew. He wears a necklace of shark teeth and squid beaks, and upon his helmet, there is a bladed and stylised dorsal fin modelled on those of the impossibly quick lightning sharks that make their homes in Naktis' many shallow reefs. Being a Primaris Space Marine, Luceior is trained and skilled in the use of a huge range of weapons and armour. However, during the fighting on Death of Bianzeer, he spent much of the time wielding the power sword Ice Piercer and the master-crafted Stalker Bolt Rifle Raven's Reach, from which a corvid skull and feather fetishes hang. The latter was a gift from a fellow Greyshield that Luceior fought with who was descended from Corax – primarch of the Raven Guard -- who went on to join the Rift Stalkers Chapter. Like many Dark Krakens, Luceior has adorned his armour with symbols daubed in bioluminescent chemicals taken from Naktis' deep-sea creatures. Each of his arms is painted with one of the Kraken's Tentacles, representing his ability to strike a foe from a long distance, as well as his implacable tenacity and hunting skill. The Beak of the Kraken represents his captaincy and is painted on his right shoulder plate. He has had a laurel of viperfish teeth painted around the crown of his helmet -- representing a Chapter award for bravery. Other symbols painted onto his armour include angler fish maws, skulls and spine-limpets that represent kill markings, victories, oaths and the like. Lucieor, together with Watch Master Akrep Xie of the Eye of Octos Deathwatch, Battle Leader Rakmeyr Bluewolf of the Wolfspear Chapter and Lord General Militant Arneld Heifaast, commander of the Astra Militarum stationed on the planet, stand against the Tyranid hordes.
Lieutenant Suharth Keneddyr - Suharth Keneddyr is a lieutenant of the 5th Company of the Dark Krakens Chapter. He is currently attached to Strike Force Luceior.
Lieutenant Tuemarl Hena - Tuemarl Hena is a lieutenant of the 5th Company of the Dark Krakens Chapter. He is currently attached to Strike Force Luceior.
Reclusiarch Herrahdura Zitadan - Zitadan's role as Reclusiarch has in some ways been harder than that of those in pre-Ultima Founding Chapters, for the warriors that made up the Dark Krakens upon its formation were all Greyshields. They had spent many standard years fighting alongside battle-brothers hailing from different gene-sires and did not have the Terran centuries of tradition so many Space Marine Chapters could look to for strength and inspiration. It has been important for Zitadan, and Master of Sanctity Sukerno, to forge a culture for their Chapter around which they could unite hundreds of otherwise disconnected battle-brothers. To do this, they wholly embraced the cultures of Naktis' population -- the hunting of colossal ocean beasts, taking skins, teeth and bones to adorn their armour and more. They knew that in time, the Greyshields would be replaced by warriors recruited from the natives of Naktis, so it naturally followed that the world's cultures influenced the Chapter's own. Zitadan spent much of his time as Greyshield fighting alongside scions of Roboute Guilliman, Sanguinius, Rogal Dorn and Ferrus Manus, and so he gained little inclination to slaughter beasts for trophies from them. However, he has all the tenacious pragmatism of his gene-sire, Vulkan, and in the interest of his Chapter now partakes in these pursuits. Upon his right shoulder plate is painted the Eye of the Kraken, which in darkness appears in fluorescent green. This represents his role as the Chapter's second-ranking Chaplain and the Reclusiam's total oversight and cares for the Chapter's traditions and culture. The handle of Zitadan's Crozius Arcanum, Hadosmite, is wrapped with the skin of a deadly sea serpent found around Naktis' equatorial volcanic island chain. His Raider Pattern Combat Bike, Hastam Veneatoris, is adorned with all manner of trophies taken from slain sea monsters. The book chained to it is the second copy ever produced of the Codex Tenebris Abyssor, the collected beliefs, values and legends of the Chapter. The writing on its night-black pages is visible only in darkness, for it is written in the same bioluminescent inks as that many Dark Krakens use to daub symbols on their armour.
Chaplain Aperah Talin - Aperah Talin is a Chaplain of the Dark Krakens Chapter. He is currently attached to Strike Force Luceior.
Apothecary Rirhen Mullel - Rirhen Mullel is an Apothecary of the Dark Krakens Chapter. He is currently attached to Strike Force Luceior.
Company Ancient Cahy Taimon - Cahy Taimon is the Company Ancient of the 5th Company of the Dark Krakens Chapter. He is currently attached to Strike Force Luceior.
Lexicanium Paraon Uari - Newly ascended to the Dark Krakens' Librarius, Lexicanium Uari is a psyker gifted well beyond his experience and is already tapped to one day command all the Chapter's Librarians. He is an adept wave caller -- a skilled master of Aquavitalis psychic powers -- as many Dark Krakens Librarians have learned to become. They are masters at corralling the power of the ocean and have embraced the Naktis people's reverence for the sea as a beautiful life-giver and merciless destroyer. He also has a strong grasp of telekinesis and beast-calling, the latter of which has influenced him greatly. Uari has a deep affinity with wildlife of all kinds, to the extent that he can sometimes enter their minds and take over their bodies, and so he eschews the hunting of beasts that so many of his battle-brothers enjoy when not at war. As such, he bears no fetishes, sea-beast skulls, teeth or skins. He does, however, adorn his armour, cloak and robes with bioluminescent symbols, the inks for them harvested from animals he husbands himself so none are slain for the chemicals to be acquired. Octopoid tentacles running horizontally over his arms represent the mastery of the many levels of psychic discipline he has achieved and the series of arduous tasks he completed to join the Dark Krakens' Librarius. Uari paints a symbol or image of every Naktis beast he has ever psychically linked with. Some of these images are so small they are invisible to the naked eye; others he has emblazoned boldly. They include razor sharks, coral scorpions, spinestars, pliosaurs, helikoprids, and tyrannofins. Uari has also painted a skull set in the gaping maws of a shark on each vambrace. Each represents a close battle-brother who was killed by Uari during the fire mastery trial of his Librarius training. Uari was hideously disfigured in the same trial, to the extent that he never takes off his helm. In battle, Uari's powers are more than enough to overcome most foes. However, he also wields the Force Sword Nightclaimer with great skill, delivering controlled, psychically enhanced blows which sever limbs and lop off heads. He is currently assisting Captain Krijeni Luceior of the Dark Krakens 5th Company in defending the world of Death of Bianzeer against a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan.
Codicier Daranshi Ekko - Daranshi Ekko is a codicier of the Dark Krakens Chapter. He is currently attached to Strike Force Luceior.
Techmarine Kusnad Eroan - Kusnad Eroan is a Techmarine of the Dark Krakens Chapter. He is currently attached to Strike Force Luceior.
Neanzou - Neranzou is a Redemptor Dreadnought of the Dark Krakens' 5th Company currently attached to Strike Force Luceior.
Jughatun - Jughatun is a Redemptor Dreadnought of the Dark Krakens' 5th Company currently attached to Strike Force Luceior.

Chapter Relics

Raven's Reach - Raven's Reach is a master-crafted Stalker Pattern Bolt Rifle that is wielded by Captain Krijeni Luceior of the 5th Company. It was a gift from a fellow Greyshield that Luceior fought with who was descended from Corax -- primarch of the Raven Guard -- who went on to join the Rift Stalkers Chapter. A corvid skull and feather fetish hang from the weapon in memory of the Astartes who gave it to Luceior.
Ice Piercer - A relic power sword wielded by Captain Krijeni Luceior of the 5th Company.
Nightclaimer - A relic Force Sword wielded by the Lexicanium Paraon Uari. Uari wields Nightclaimer with great skill, delivering controlled, psychically enhanced blows which sever limbs and lop off heads.
Codex Tenebris Abyssor - The Codex Tenebris Abyssor is the collected beliefs, values and legends of the Chapter. The writing on its night-black pages is usually visible only in darkness, for it is often written in the same bioluminescent inks as that many Dark Krakens use to daub symbols on their armour.
Hadosmite - Hadosmite is a relic Crozius Arcanum wielded by the Reclusiarch Herrahudra Zitadan. The handle is wrapped with the skin of a deadly sea serpent found around Naktis' equatorial volcanic island chain.

Chapter Fleet

Fathom (Strike Cruiser)
Skyllae (Gladius-class Frigate)
Taniwha (Gladius-class Frigate)

Chapter Appearance

Chapter Colours

The Dark Krakens wear black power armour with purple shoulder pauldrons and arms. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest plate is dull nickel.

The Chapter badge is worn on the left shoulder plate, and the red squad tactical speciality symbol -- battleline, close support, fire support, Veteran or command -- is on the right.

A white High Gothic numeral inscribed onto the squad speciality symbol on the right shoulder plate indicates squad number.

Chapter Badge

The Dark Krakens' Chapter badge is a white kraken centred on a field of purple.

Dark Krakens Symbols

The number of different symbols the Dark Krakens paints onto their armour is countless, and their meanings are incredibly varied.

The meanings of these can even change depending on their colour or where on a warrior's armour they have been painted. Many are unique to the battle-brother.

They can refer to past battles, the slaying of particular beasts or foes, great victories, awards for bravery, personal or unit-wide oaths, campaigns or aesthetic preference, rank and the area of Naktis from which the warrior hails.

They can also reflect mourning, bitter defeats and terrible shames.

Shown above are but a few examples, as explained below:

Deathclamp - The Deathclamp is used by the Dark Krakens most commonly to signify being a part of a crushing victory, as well as an oath that they will deliver one.
Fangcoil - The Fangcoil is typically worn by those who have demonstrated incredible tenacity in battle and overcome ferocious odds. It represents the sinking of teeth into an enemy and not relenting until the foe is vanquished. It is also favoured by Dark Krakens hailing from Naktis' northern polar regions, where life is incredibly arduous for the local population, and to survive each day is a victory unto itself.
Hammerhead - The Hammerhead is frequently used by Dark Krakens' sergeants to represent the dual aspects of their role, one of the combat commanders and the other as front-line warriors.
Hydraserpens - Naktis is home to thousands of species of deadly sea snake, many of which display incredible patience when hunting and lethal speed when striking. Particularly popular with 10th Company Space Marines, the Hydraserpens represents total self-control in battle and extreme violence of action.

Sources

Codex: Space Marines (9th Edition), pp. 63, 71
White Dwarf 466 (July 2021), "Flashpoint: Octarius - Blood and Snow", pp. 22-27