Tor Garadon, Captain of the Imperial Fists' 3rd Company
Tor Garadon is the Imperial Fists’ longest serving Captain of the 3rd Company, an unstoppable warrior in whom the lessons of the Primarch have been distilled to their most punishing form. Tested on a thousand worlds, he is a master of the battlefield, and an unyielding bulwark against those who would oppose Mankind.
History
Garadon was recruited to the Imperial Fists from the orbitals of Callisto. His wealthy family were only too glad to see him depart. Fate had cursed the young Garadon with a straightforward and stubborn nature, ill-matched to the glittering societal circles his kin frequented. During his first decade of service, Garadon earned commendation after commendation. Despite his deeds, Garadon never sought promotion, nor was it ever offered to him. Yet his silence concealed a sharp mind, if one little given to revealing itself except when absolutely necessary. The first time this truly came to the fore was during the Nosfer Planetstrike, when the 3rd Company was stranded behind the Necron force’s lines. Chapter Command had no contact with the 3rd for nearly two Nosferan weeks, until sixty battered Battle-Brothers appeared out of the sulphur mists and provided vital support in the battle against Majestor Zangeneb’s Canoptek hosts. Brother Garadon submitted only the tersest of reports, but other survivors spoke of how he had taken command upon Captain Opara’s death.
When Julius Vogen took command of the 3rd Company, he judged there to be more to Garadon than others had allowed themselves to see, and took it upon himself to unlock the potential of his junior battlebrother. By the time Garadon had earned a position in the hallowed 1st Company, he and Vogen shared an unbreakable friendship; one which would later see the younger Space Marine return to the Sentinels of Terra without hesitation to serve as a Veteran Sergeant.
Vogen and much of the 3rd perished during First Captain Darnath Lysander’s disastrous assault on Taladorn. That any survived at all was to Garadon’s credit, for he defied Lysander’s orders and requested assistance from other Chapters of Adeptus Astartes. The aftermath saw a change in fortunes for Lysander and Garadon, who had both come to dislike one another intensely; Lysander was angered by what he saw as the Sergeant’s presumption, while Garadon fumed at Lysander’s obvious arrogance. Nonetheless, the wisdom of Chapter Master Vladimir Pugh saw them bound together in the Crusade of Thunder. A demoted Lysander became the 3rd Company’s new Captain, with Garadon as his senior Veteran Sergeant.
At that time, a desire to restore the 3rd Company was the only goal Lysander and Garadon shared. But in being forced to work together, each gradually came to see the other’s strengths. Garadon at last glimpsed beneath Lysander’s hauteur to recognise the driven and penitent hero he truly was. For his part, Lysander came to rely ever more on Garadon’s knack for improvised warfare and unflagging determination. Though it would be an exaggeration to say that the two became friends, a warrior’s bond was nonetheless forged. More often than not, Lysander ceded command of the company’s Battleline Squads to his Veteran Sergeant while he himself led the 3rd’s assault elements against the foe. By the time Lysander was at last permitted to reclaim command of the 1st Company, Garadon was unanimously acclaimed the new Captain of the 3rd, having proved himself beyond doubt on the battlefields of Taladorn, Drashin and the Magor Rift.
For nearly three decades, Garadon led the Sentinels of Terra to victory after victory, forging a new legend for a company that had once teetered on the edge of destruction. In those years, he was ever Lysander’s most trusted comrade, and to see the 1st and 3rd Companies fighting as one was no rare sight. But Garadon had learned more than leadership from the elder Captain -- he had learned humility also, and the terrible price levied by unchecked pride.
Wargear
- Grave-Gun
- Hand of Defiance
Sources
- Codex Supplement: Imperial Fists (8th Edition), pp. 32, 52
- Warhammer 40,000: Sentinels of Terra (Codex Space Marine Supplement)