"If you bear the honour and glories of the past, you must also bear its duties."
- — Danarth Lysander, Imperial Fists First Captain
First Captain Darnath Lysander of the Imperial Fists Chapter
Darnath Lysander is the First Captain of the Imperial Fists Chapter's 1st Company, Overseer of the Armoury and Watch Commander of the Imperial Fists' mobile fortress-monastery, Phalanx. Even for a Space Marine, Darnath Lysander has led a long and bloody career. As a Sergeant he was credited with the successful defence of Colonial Bridge and hailed as the vanquisher of the Heretics of Iduno. As Captain of the 2nd Company he led the storming of the Eldar Cruiser Blood of Khaine and rescued the Haddrake Tor planetstrike from disaster.
For two standard centuries, Lysander led the Imperial Fists' 1st Company with distinction, earning the highest praises his Chapter could bestow. Whilst leading a force of Imperial Fists, they disappeared into a Warp Storm and were feared lost, though the Chapter patiently waited for his return for quite some time. The Chapter ultimately pronounced Lysander and his men dead in absentia. In truth, Lysander's starship re-emerged into Chaos-held space where it was captured by the Imperial Fists' bitter enemies, the Iron Warriors. Lysander and the survivors were captured and taken by the Traitors to one of their accursed Fortress Worlds, known as Malodrax, and were tortured for years. Eventually Lysander, without weapons or armour, effected his escape and fought his way off the accursed Chaos world to freedom. When he returned to the Imperial Fists Chapter, many centuries had passed in the material universe. Fearing that he might have been tainted by the Ruinous Powers, Lysander was thoroughly screened by the Chapter's various specialists and found free of Chaotic taint. Afterwards, Captain Lysander was reinstated to his position as Captain of the 1st Company. Lysander then led a force to raze the Iron Warriors from Malodrax and laid the world to waste, achieving his vengeance at last.
History
Darnath Lysander is rare amongst Space Marines of the present era, for he was recruited on Terra itself. His 13 year pilgrimage towards becoming an Astartes began with his parents before his birth, following an oft difficult path towards a pilgrimage to Terra from their homeworld that was interrupted by betrayal, enslavement and the murder of his family. Lysander was kept alive by the charity of the Imperial Cult and his own wits, learning to fight, at first for survival, and then to complete the pilgrimage his parents had begun. His road to Terra was fraught with peril; such as the devastation of WAAAGH! Grozdakk and the horror of the Quesarch Heresy and the subsequent Imperial purging of Quesarch. The determination of the pilgrim boy gradually became known in high places and upon his arrival on Terra he was greeted as a hero.
At that time Chaplain Shadryss of the Imperial Fists was on Terra conducting Chapter business and first heard the extraordinary young man's tale. He sought out the young pilgrim by the Pillar of Bone, a monument that was believed to have been erected on Terra to commemorate the Imperial Fists' courage in an unnamed campaign. But in reality it was actually a sacred holy relic to those privy to the knowledge of its origin within the Imperial Fists Chapter. The Pillar was the last remnant of the once-great Imperial Fists fortress-monastery that had once existed on Terra in the days of the Great Crusade. It had been destroyed during the Horus Heresy in the Battle of Terra but, to most of the huddled masses of the Imperium, the Heresy was only a legend and few would dare to openly claim that the Forces of Chaos had ever set foot on the sacred ground of Terra. In the holes torn from the column by Bolter fire were the scrimshawed hands of ancient Imperial Fists Battle-Brothers. Part of Chaplain Shadryss' sacred mission as a Chaplain was to bring fresh relics of the Imperial Fists to the Pillar, but he also came to Mankind's homeworld to recruit pilgrims from across the Imperium who were deemed worthy of becoming Aspirants of the Chapter. It seemed to Shadryss that Lysander had the blessings of Rogal Dorn upon him.
Captain Lysander holding a grim trophy of an Iron Warriors Chaos Space Marine helm
The name Lysander first appeared on the Liber Honorus of the Imperial Fists Chapter in 567.M40 when, as a sergeant of the 2nd Company, he was first recognised for his leadership and valour during his actions on the planet of Iduno during the Battle of the Colonial Bridge. Then-Sergeant Lysander was awarded his first Imperial Laurel of many for rallying his squad with efficient Bolter fire, holding the hordes of Heretics massing at the Colonial Bridge at bay for 14 hours without rest or reinforcement. Only 18 years later, in 585.M40, Lysander rose to become the Captain of the 2nd Company after the successful boarding and subsequent capture of the Eldar Cruiser called the Blood of Khaine.
The events of the three-year-long siege of the Heretics of the hive city of Haddrake Tor would see Lysander's name entered into the annals of his Chapter and the Imperium itself. As the captain of the 2nd Company, Lysander personally led the Drop Pod assault on the peaks of Haddrake Tor to secure the high ground and plant teleport homers so that the 1st Company, clad in their ancient suits of Terminator Armour, could clear the lower levels of the Tor of the Forces of Chaos. The Chaotic defenders proved equal to the Space Marines' assault and used foul sorcerous rituals to disrupt the Warp, which led many of the teleporting Terminators off-course. This resulted in the death of a number of Veterans of the Imperial Fists as they were sent plummeting to their doom in the heights beyond the Tor or found themselves entombed in solid stone.
Before Lysander's very eyes, Kleitus, the Captain of the 1st Company materialized, his left side merged with the solid rock of the Tor. Before he died, Kleitus bestowed upon Lysander the Fist of Dorn, an ancient Thunder Hammer, thus choosing his successor to lead the 1st Company. Where other commanders would have retreated after such a disaster, Lysander scorned this advice, leading the survivors of the assault into the heart of the Heretics' defences, crushing all who stood before him. With the subsequent reorganisation of the Chapter's command in light of the losses sustained at Haddrake Tor, Lysander rose to become the Chapter's First Captain, the Captain of the 1st Company, the Overseer of the Armoury and the Watch Commander of the Phalanx.
Lysander's next noteworth victory came against the Chaos Space Marines of the Alpha Legion. In the Jorgurd Cluster, while putting down an insurrection on the world of Klebendor III, the Imperial Fist forces under the First Captain's command captured the Traitor Marines' Chaos Champion Ialo Vex and his inner circle whilst they were desecrating the Cathedral of Saint Aspira. After receiving guidance from the Inquisition, Lysander pursued the enemy back to their lair in the form of a remote space station constructed in the heart of an asteroid. Lysander immediately launched a surprise attack on the enemy's Cruiser while its power was off-line and the ship was docked. The courageous Captain personally lead the boarding party of Terminators that teleported aboard the Alpha Legion's vessel. They held off Alpha Legion reprisals for several hours while the 3rd Company landed in Thunderhawk gunships and fought their way through the space station's dock complex to reinforce the Imperial Fist Veterans already aboard the Cruiser. Lysander defeated no less then 7 foul Champions of the Dark Gods. At the height of the battle, the Chaos Space Marines made a desperate last assault on the 1st Company's encircling warriors. This appeared successful before Lysander countered their attack, ambushing them in mid-assault by cutting through the Cruiser's interposing bulkheads with his Terminators' Chainfists and Thunder Hammers. Under attack from multiple directions, the enemy's plight was only reinforced by the 3rd Company's arrival. The Traitors fled into the tunnels of their asteroid base, earning only a brief respite before Lysander's Terminator Squads purged the last of the Heretics.
Another two Terran centuries of honoured service as the master of the 1st Company awaited him before events conspired to bring about a tragedy. Towards the end of the 40th Millennium, Lysander was travelling aboard the the Imperial Fists Strike Cruiser Shield of Valour when it was lost in the Warp. With him was lost a sizable portion of the 1st Company. The Imperial Fists waited, hoping for his eventual return. But it was all to no avail, for decades and then centuries passed with no sign of the starship's return to realspace. All hope was given up and Lysander's name was entered on the roster of the Chapter's fallen and his statue placed in the Hall of Heroes in the Phalanx.
First Captain Darnath Lysander, wielding the Thunder Hammer Fist of Dorn in battle
Yet Lysander was not dead. Due to the fickle tides of the Warp, the Shield of Valour returned to normal space nearly a thousand Terran years later, in 964 M41. However, the location that the Imperial Fists found themselves in was hardly any better. They were located in the outer orbit of the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion's stronghold world of Malodrax on the western fringes of the Eye of Terror. The Iron Warriors were quick in their reaction and the firepower of 3 orbital fortresses disabled the Strike Cruiser. Lysander and a handful of Imperial Fists survivors were easily captured by the Iron Warriors. In the hands of their most hated foe, the Imperial Fists were shown no mercy or pity. The Iron Warriors tortured them for weeks and only the astonishing tenacity of the Sons of Dorn alowed them to survive a full month of incarceration and the tender mercies of the Iron Warriors. Although Lysander's body was bloody and broken, his will remained intact. Throwing off his shackles, he and the handful of Imperial Fists survivors fought their way unarmoured and initially with no weapons save for their fury and their fists through the planetery capital, managing to reach a shuttle and escape into the void.
Lysander returned to the Chapter and was received with great acclaim by his Battle-Brothers and the Chapter Council. Although none of them had even been born when the Shield of Valour had been lost to the Warp, his legend remained strong among the Astartes of the Chapter and his actions still provided inspiration to new Battle-Brothers. However, for all this joy at his miraculous return, a deep vein of fear was rooted in the minds of the Imperial Fists that their hero had been corrupted in some way during his time spent in the Warp and the dungeons of the Iron Warriors. Lysander underwent 6 months of meticulous examination by the Imperial Fists' Librarians and Apothecaries, in which his body and psyche were tested against the Chapter's records. Every corner of his soul and every cell in his body was examined thoroughly, leaving no doubt in the minds of his brothers that Lysander was free of any spiritual or physical taint. With thunderous approval, Lysander was ultimately restored to his post as the Captain of the 1st Company. Within 6 months of his reappointment, Lysander returned to Malodrax to avenge those lost and his own suffering at the hands of the Iron Warriors. None could stand before the righteous fury of the Imperial Fists as Lysander claimed his revenge.
Once Malodrax had been cleansed, Lysander vowed to scour the foul stain of the Iron Warriors from the galaxy once and for all. Gathering warriors from across the vast holdings of the Imperium, he initiated a crusade against the Imperial Fists' most hated foe that continues to this day.
During his time as First Captain, Lysander is also noted for his development of the Titan Hammer formation, which is a group of Terminator Squads armed with Thunder Hammers and the rare weapon known as a Vortex Grenade that can open a vortex between realspace and the Warp. Titan Hammer formations are tasked with the destruction of enemy Titans. It has enjoyed considerable success, having claimed the Chaos-tainted Titans Glory’s Fist, Fires of Hades, Iron Jackal, Hellfiend and Lucian’s Might.
Wargear
First Captain Lysander wielding the Fist of Dorn and a Storm Shield
Lysander is armed as befits an Imperial Fists First Captain:
- Terminator Armour - Captain Lysander utilises the superb protection of master-crafted Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour, to lead the Veterans of the Imperial Fists' 1st Company in deadly melee combat and boarding actions.
- Fist of Dorn - The Fist of Dorn is a legendary master-crafted Thunder Hammer traditionally wielded by the Captain of the Imperial Fists' 1st Company. The weapon is shaped to resemble a gauntleted fist that is holding each end of the warhammer's head. The arcane technologies built into the Fist of Dorn allows it to strike with far more powerful blows than that of a normal Thunder Hammer, and the weapon was designed to be most effective when used to assault heavily armoured vehicles and fortifications. Captain Lysander still wields the Fist of Dorn, the ancient weapon given to him by his predecessor Kleitus as Captain of the 1st Company of the Imperial Fists.
- Storm Shield - Storm Shields are large and heavy shields that can house extensive webs of field generation circuitry in their thick plating. The shield's generated energy field can fend off bullets and blasts from afar, whilst the physical shield itself protects against melee attacks. Captain Lysander's mighty Storm Shield bears the heraldry of his Chapter and includes mulitiple Purity Seals and a Teleport Homer.
Sources
- Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), pp. 93, 114, 151
- Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition), pg. 91
- Codex: Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 47
- Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition), pg. 40
- Sons of Dorn (Novel) by Chris Robberson
- Hellforged (Novel) by Ben Counter
- Phalanx (Novel) by Ben Counter
- Seventh Retribution (Novel) by Ben Counter
- White Dwarf 302 (UK), "Heroes of the Imperium", pp. 84-85