Helbrecht

"The galaxy is the Emperor's, and anyone or anything who challenges that claim is an enemy who must be destroyed."

— High Marshal Helbrecht at the Battle of Fire and Blood

High Marshal Helbrecht of the Black Templars Chapter

Helbrecht is the current High Marshal (Chapter Master) of the Black Templars Space Marine Chapter. In addition to being High Marshal of the Black Templars Chapter, Helbrecht is the greatest naval commander in the Adeptus Astartes, and assumed overall command of all Space Marine warships during the Third War for Armageddon in 998.M41. Together with Admiral Parol of the Imperial Navy, Helbrecht held and eventually repulsed the numerically superior Ork fleet. Helbrecht was last seen departing Armageddon with Commissar Yarrick, hunting down the Space Hulk thought to be commanded by the Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka.

History

Early Career

High Marshal Helbrecht's personal banner

High Marshal Helbrecht embodies the qualities of stubbornness and unswerving loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind inherent in the Black Templars Chapter. Early in Helbrecht's career it was clear he was destined for greatness. It was his qualities of bloody-mindedness and stubborn determination that elevated him above the rest of the Astartes of his Chapter. Following the final subjugation of the Xenarchs of the Sigilare Nebula, Helbrecht was elected High Marshal in 989.M41. His rise through the Black Templars was swift as his desire to slay the enemies of the Emperor impressed his peers with its sheer ferocity. Helbrecht served in the Vinculus Crusade that took place in 833.M41. Still a lowly Neophyte at the time, Helbrecht was merely a witness to the dramatic events of the campaign. Under the command of the legendary High Marshal Ludoldus, the Black Templars fought alongside Inquisitor Vinculus and the Sisters of Battle of the Order of the Bloody Rose against Chaotic Death Cult warriors upon the blighted world of Peleregon IV. Helbrecht was inducted into the elite Sword Brethren after he slew a Warp-spawned Vampire that had risen to power and taken control of the Hive World of Cephian IV. As part of Marshal Daidin's Crusade, Helbrecht fought with courage and furious zeal for decades, eventually rising to the rank of Marshal and command of the Crusade upon Daidin's death.

Battle for Schrödinger VII

"You have ruled this Galaxy for ten thousand of your years, and yet have so little to account to show for your efforts. Such failure must be as depressing to bear as it is shameful to behold!"

—Imotekh the Stormlord taunting Marshal Helbrecht.

In 930.M41, the forces of the infamous Necron Overlord Imotekh the Stormlord, Phaeron of the powerful Sautekh Dynasty, descended upon the frozen plains of the Imperial Ice World of Schrödinger VII. The Necrons drove the local defenders to the shelter of the labyrinthine cryonite mines, but were unable to prevent the planet's Astropathic Choir from despatching a distress hymnal. A counterattack swiftly arrived in the form of a Black Templars strike force under the command of Marshal Helbrecht. Imotekh was not caught by surprise so easily, and had already shifted his undying Necron armies into a formidable defensive configuration.

Helbrecht lead the assault, intended as a crippling alpha strike, but was instead blunted by a series of impeccably-planned Necron ambushes on the Drop Pod and Thunderhawk drop zones. As the frozen caverns echoed to the roar of explosions, scores of Black Templars and Necrons alike were hurled into rivers of molten cryonite. Eventually, Imotekh and Helbrecht met in single combat atop the stalactite-heavy span of an ice bridge. In the battle that followed, Helbrecht, driven by zeal and hatred of the xenos, dealt Imotekh a dozen ruinous blows, but each time the Phaeron's living Necrodermis was able to quickly repair in a matter of seconds.

Despite being the better swordsman, Helbrecht failed to land a truly crippling blow on his opponent, and as the duel drew on, the Marshal finally collapsed under the assault of the Necron Lord, blood flowing from a score of serious wounds. However, instead of finishing off his opponent, Imotekh brought his scythe down and merely severed Helbrecht's right hand to remind the Marshal of his "much-deserved defeat". Helbrecht roared in fury and pain as Imotekh pitched him off the ice bridge to the frigid cavern floor far below. The surviving Black Templars quickly rallied to their fallen Marshal's side and made a fighting retreat, leaving Schrödinger VII in the Stormlord's hands.

Following this humiliating defeat, Helbrecht swore an Oath of Vengeance against the Necrons in general, and Imotekh in particular, vowing that the next time they met, only one would leave the battlefield alive.

Fall of the Inevitable Conqueror

Helbrecht would get a chance at fulfilling his Oath of Vengeance in 985.M41, when his Crusade fleet detected Necron acitvity around the world of Davatas. Moving swiftly to intercept, Helbrecht rejoiced when their quarry was identified as the Inevitable Conqueror, Imotekh's flagship. Moving in with all haste, the Black Templar Battle Barge Sigismund managed to land crippling blows on the Inevitable Conqueror's propulsive array, stranding it in place.  Intending to get his revenge on his opponent personally, Helbrecht ordered an immediate teleport and boarding torpedoes assault upon it and within minutes, the decks of the Inevitable Conqueror were swarmed with vengeful Black Templars. Alas, Helbrecht would not even get the satisfaction of seeing his opponent: while Imotekh's pride urged him to fight, logic won out, and the Stormlord teleporded himself, along with as much valuable assests from his flagship as he could, to his unengaged escort ships, and those immediately accelerated away from the fighting and made good their escape. Fuming with impotent rage, Helbrecht could only gain a meagre measure of satisfaction from ensuring the total destruction of the Inevitable Conqueror by setting it on a collision course with the closest star. The frustrated Helbrecht reaffirmed his Oath of Vengeance, swearing once again thet he would see Imotekh definitively dead. Those Black Templars with some familiarity with the undying Necrons fear that their Marshal has bitten off more than he can chew, for while Helbrecht is certainly capable of besting the Necron Lord in single combat, preventing the undead fiend from teleporting to safety if the tidings for his force are dire and definitively destroying Imotekh may prove to be an impossible feat for a single Chapter of Astartes, no matter their zeal.

Ascension to Command

Many decades later in 990.M41, when High Marshal Kordhel was slain by a frenzied Chaos Champion of the Ruinous Powers, the Marshals of the Black Templars gathered to select a new leader. Helbrecht was unanimously elected as the new High Marshal and was ritually presented with the Sword of the High Marshals -- the most sacred relic of the Black Templars. This mighty Power Sword is said to contain fragments of the weapon wielded by Rogal Dorn when he accompanied the Emperor onto Horus' Battle Barge, the Vengeful Spirit in the final hours of the Battle of Terra. It was the decree of the Black Templars' founder and first High Marshal Sigismund that the weapon be carried by all subsequent High Marshals so that they would forever be reminded of their duty to atone for the Emperor's mortal wounding by incorporating pieces of Dorn's original sword in its forging.

Following his ascension, Helbrecht immediately declared a Crusade against the Cythor Fiends of the Ghoul Stars that became known as the Ghoul Stars Crusade, taking the fight into that desolate region of space. No previous Imperial expedition had ever returned from that area of the galaxy. Within eight standard years, the xenos population of the outlying Ghoul Stars systems had been exterminated and the Crusade pushed onwards to the aliens' homeworld, but upon reaching the core systems, they were found to be eerily empty. No trace of the aliens could be found, but before a proper investigation could be launched, a desperate call for help came from the besieged Hive World of Armageddon. The dreaded Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka had returned, at the head of a massive Ork WAAAGH! the likes which had not been seen in Imperial history since the Ullanor Crusade. The Third War for Armageddon had begun.

Three Crusades of the Black Templars mustered at the Chapter keep on Fergax and departed for the Segmentum Solar after observing the correct prayers and devotions to the Emperor. Upon arrival in the Armageddon System, Helbrecht was put in overall command of the assembled Adeptus Astartes fleet drawn from several different Chapters, as the High Marshal possessed the most naval experience of any of the Astartes officers present. Meanwhile, Marshals Ricard and Amalrich took their Crusades to the surface of Armageddon. The war in orbit was bitterly fought, with Helbrecht leading many boarding actions against Ork Hulks and, together with the Imperial Navy Admiral Parol's battlefleet, these actions effectively crippled the Ork invasion. As the Space Hulk believed to be Ghazghkull's flagship retreated from Armageddon, Helbrecht swore a great oath to pursue the Ork Warlord. Commissar Yarrick, the Hero of Armageddon, petitioned Helbrecht for the honour of accompanying the Black Templars in their quest. It is a measure of the respect in which the High Marshal held the venerable Commissar that his request was granted.

Wargear

High Marshal Helbrecht of the Black Templars

• Artificer Power Armour- Artificer Armour is forged by master craftsmen and is even more ancient and ornate than a normal suit of Space Marine power armour. It offer greater protection for a warrior than standard armour.
• Terminator Armour (Optional)
• Combi-Weapon
• Bolter (Optional)
• Iron Halo - This device is a symbol of achievement in the shape of a halo that is given to a Space Marine who show exceptional initiative or bravery in battle. The Iron Halo emits a very strong gravitic Conversion Field around its wearer, which makes his armour even harder to pierce with enemy weapons. In addition, it provides its wearer with immense resilience to even the most potent weapons on the battlefield such as Lascannons and missiles of all varieties. The shield stands a good chance of deflecting many deadly projectiles that would otherwise slay even an Astartes with ease.
• Crusader Seals - Crusader Seals are waxen or metallic tokens with vows of piety and Chapter blessings inscribed on hanging strips of parchment that are bestowed upon Space Marines of proven zeal and courage.
• Terminator Honours - Terminator Honours (commonly known as the Crux Terminatus) shows that a warrior has prove himself a superior combatant and has earned the right to wear Terminator Armour in battle.
• Frag Grenades
• Krak Grenades
• Sword of the High Marshals - As a sign of his office, the current High Marshal wields the Sword of the High Marshals, which was forged from the remnants of the sword of the Primarch Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists Legion from which the Black Templars were spawned. According to legend, Dorn broke the sword across his knee after the Horus Heresy for failing to defend the Emperor of Mankind from Horus.

Sources

• Codex: Armageddon (3rd Edition)
• Codex: Black Templars (4th Edition), p. 44
• Codex: Necrons (5th Edition), pp. 26-27, 55
• Helsreach (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
• Index Astartes II, "Righteous Zeal - The Black Templars Space Marine Chapter" by Graham McNeill
• White Dwarf 311 (US), "Chosen of the Emperor" by Nick Kyme, p. 23