Chapter Heroes of the Modern Era
Chapter Master Vodius Leok – Leok has led the chapter since his inheritance of the roll in the latter years of M41. Known to be one of the youngest masters in the chapter’s history, his relative lack of experience compared with former leaders has been far from apparent, with Leok having led the chapter with distinction through the highly tumultuous years at the end of the 41st millennium and continues to do so over a century later.
Originally inducted into the 8th company after displaying particular skill and ferocity in close combat actions during his time as a scout, Leok earned veteran status extremely quickly after a near unanimous decision that his heroic actions laying low an Ork war leader with particular violent efficiency in a difficult assault on an Ork cruiser had proven sufficient to earn him the imperial laurel, even at such a relatively early stage in his career as an Astartes. The following years saw him assigned to a vanguard veteran squad in the 1st company, in which he gained a particular talent for the usage of twin lightning claws in combination with fierce jump pack assaults. This time also saw him temper his zeal for brutal melee fights with a keen eye for small unit tactics and admirable decision making skills under heavy fire.
After serving a short term with the chapter’s honor guard and gaining further insight into the higher level command structure of the chapter that Leok was subsequently presented with the iron skull and promoted to sergeant, leading an assault squad back in his original 8th company. In this role he served for many years with quiet efficiency, passing on his skills for ferocious close combat to the newly initiated battle brothers of the 8th company. His heroic actions allowing for the extraction of the majority of his squad and other company members from a disastrous assault on a hidden genestealer brood saw him further promoted to the position of company lieutenant leading the 8th company command squad.
This commission however barely lasted more than a couple of years before the violent demise of his captain saw his immediate battlefield promotion to 8th company captain. In this role he successfully led his company with exemplary ferocity and tactical nous for a little over half a century, seeing him win much respect from his peers amongst the other captains recognizing his instinctive talent for the continual command of various company elements whilst at the same time being fixed in the violent swirl of melee. It was upon the interment of the former 1st company captain in the chassis of a dreadnought after a particularly savage encounter with a rampaging tyranofex that the other company captains near unanimously approved Leok’s advancement to the command of the veteran 1st company.
This time was probably the most violent of Leok’s career so far, for the first time essuing his power armor and jump pack for a suit of terminator plate in order to better fight alongside the terminator armed brethren of the 1st. This hardly blunted his fury however, learning to make usage of precisely coordinated teleport assaults to land himself and his brothers right in the heart of the thickest fighting. Under his leadership the 1st became ever more devoted to close combat tactics and the eradication of dangerous foes in only the most challenging environments. Whilst most of his company was ever split amongst different campaign forces, Leok himself and his command squad were always found leading chapter elements in only the most hazardous and high stakes missions.
So it was when in year 901 of M41 that previous chapter master Alektos was killed in a brutal void assault that Leok was formally promoted to the leadership position of the chapter, inheriting the relic arms of the chapter master in the process. Any doubts as to his command abilities after the near unsurpassed speed of his rise through the ranks of the chapter were very quickly erased after his tactical acumen was tested like never before following the conflicts of the last century of M41 and early M42 in which only his admirable decision making was what held the chapter together in the darkest of days.
Now having served in the role of chapter master for just over two centuries, Leok has gone from the youngest chapter master in its history to nearly its longest serving overall commander. His watch has seen the integration of the new primaris brotherhood into the chapter as well as the unprecedented decision of co-operation with various xenos factions as an effort to strengthen to overall defense of this tiny, remote corner of the imperium from the worst threats to sentient life. Most recently after the process was displayed as possible by the actions of marnius calgar, Leok was the first to volunteer to cross the Rubicon primaris, along with a score of other volunteers from the original firstborn astartes of the chapter, elevating him and the majority of the rest of the chapter into a new brotherhood and a new age for astartes everywhere.
Librarian Cadmus – Since the coming of the great rift at the end of M41 the chapter grudgingly adopted a new initiative for the increased training of psychic warriors within their ranks, despite their general distain for such soldiers. While conventional arms no doubt still performed adequately in dealing with warp spawned threats, no one could deny the effectiveness of fighting psychic entities with their very own power. It was under this auspice that the already expanded recruitment net was further widened to include a higher number of youths formerly bound for the black ships.
Cadmus was one such aspirant, being identified as a suitable candidate after displaying his admirable foresight abilities, predicting the coming of the chapter recruiters weeks in advance to his remote holding camp on the outskirts of Cyon’s capital city.
Though his mind was keen and psychic abilities already honed at such a young age it remained to be seen whether the trials of initiation would break him like so many other hopefuls. Luckily the implantation process and subsequent therapies and training went well for Cadmus, being one of the first recruits in the chapter to receive the additional 3 primaris implants in addition to the tried and tested implantation techniques.
Though immediately inducted into the chapter librarius to train how to fully utilize his psychic powers for the chapter’s benefit, it was also agreed that Cadmus’ enthusiasm and innate skill for the usage of ranged weaponry he displayed during training was something far from ordinary for a psychic warrior. Indeed Cadmus himself displayed little interest in the learning of the standard battle magics of the chapter librarians but instead devoted most of his time to ever greater training on the chapter’s firing ranges.
This approach caused concern amongst the other librarians with many wondering if Cadmus was suited to the role at all and not better suited to simply be inducted into the 9th company along with the chapter’s other long range specialists. A solution however was presented by chapter master Leok himself when the matter was mentioned to him in passing one day. Why not let Cadmus use his psychic abilities to aid his admirable marksmanship rather than substituting it for kine shields and witch bolts?
After the solution was subsequently presented to Cadmus he carefully considered the option. While he had never tried using his abilities to enhance his mundane sharpshooting skills the prospect did seem intriguing. After gaining further permission to peruse the chapter vaults to find something to use as a suitable psychic focus he surprisingly emerged with only a rather ordinary boltgun, much the same as any other of the godwyn pattern bolters in the process of being retired for the updated bolt rifles. This weapon however he stated he felt a special connection too, as if it had been touched with some ineffable psychic presence many years dead and gone. Despite the skepticism from his peers, no sooner had he taken up the battered old weapon than he began to produce tangible psychic results. Over the subsequent years Cadmus learned a variety of near unique abilities involving the focusing of his psychic powers into his bolter, in a similar manner to any other librarian may do with a force weapon.
In such a way he learned how to guide the bolts from his rifle to hit their mark almost every time with a mixture of foresight and psychokinesis, even when an adversary was hiding in deep cover or behind thick walls and barricades. He also learned how to infuse his psychic might into the very ammunition itself, giving his bolts the smiting punch of witchfire or allowing them to pass through even the thickest armour or energy fields as if it were merely smoke. Eventually however even Cadmus forced himself to learn a few of the more basic psychic disciplines common to many librarians, mostly so he could better repel his foes when at close range or more easily slip out and reposition at a safer location.
Near 50 years later Cadmus has learned to hone and improve these skills upon many battlefields, especially on those where his psychic sharpshooting abilities have proven the most useful. A not inconsiderable amount of high ranking foes have been covertly slain by his psychic bolts, earning him the marksman’s honor several times over, though he has never accepted such an award as he states (maybe rightly so) that his psychic abilities give him an unfair advantage over other ‘more worthy’ recipients. Most commonly therefore Cadmus can be found working alongside the more stealthy elements of the 10th and 7th companies, equipped with phobos pattern armor, where his sharpshooting helps to complement the talents of his allies.
Master of the Forge Daedalus Atekon – Undoubtedly the oldest member of the chapter not interred within a dreadnought, Atekon ages just over a millennium old, having been first recruited into the chapter during the opening years of M41.
Atekon was originally raised by a pair of techpriests and groomed toward a position within the ranks of the adeptus mechanicus, working within the towering hab and petro-chemical complexes of Naigra. Even at this young age he was known to possess a phenomenal knack for machine empathy, seeming to instinctively know just what ailed the spirit of any malfunctioning hardware. More than that however he, like his parents, greatly enjoyed even the more mundane rites of maintenance and was intensely fascinated by the mighty works of the machine god.
His destiny however was forever changed in an accident during a routine maintenance cycle, causing him to fall into the very lowest depths of the hive complex where he was presumed dead from the fall. Days later however his friends and parents were overjoyed to find him once again, having fought his way single handedly through the toxin soaked, mutant haunted lower levels of the hive back to relative safety, despite sustaining considerable wounds in the process. It was clear however that the journey had changed him not just physically but mentally too. There how burned a fire of determination and hatred in his eyes that had been unknown to him before as well as a newfound will to enact terrible justice on all those who were impure or would threaten the weak.
Such an incredible story of survival quickly caught the attention of chapter recruiters and Atekon was brought in for preliminary testing in which he was found more than suitable for astartes implantation and training. With much honor and reverence Atekon accepted the offer of recruitment and over the following years took to his new astartes implants and conditioning well. Though his training record was deemed merely ‘average’ by normal astartes standards, his inherent love for technology saw him quickly exceed even the junior techpriests of the chapter in levels of technological understanding, even before his time in the scout company was concluded. It was therefore no surprise that Atekon was immediately recruited into the chapter forge upon the completion of his scout training; a role which he straight away took to like a fish to water. Atekon has remained as a permanent fixture to the chapter forge ever since, first serving like all junior tech adepts as the commander of several of the chapter’s fleet of vehicles before being formally promoted to junior tech priest. Since then he steadily rose in the ranks of the chapter forge until he finally attained the position of forge master in the middle years of M41 which he still holds to this day.
For the greater part of the last few centuries it would be hard to reasonably call Atekon a true astartes any more, as the vast majority of his body, save his central nervous system and a few select organs have long having been replaced or upgraded to artificer quality bionics, built mostly by his own two (or sometimes more) hands. This however has never hampered his ability on or off the battlefield as it is his immense wealth of technological knowledge and deft application of such lore from long years of exceptional service that proves his immense value to the chapter. Such knowledge has seen him oversee the recovery and reconstruction of much equipment and many vehicles and space vessels thought unrecoverable by high ranking members of the adeptus mechanicus, as well as the continuous effort to improve the efficiency of all local forge complexes in local space providing vital war material for all imperial forces in the region.
Such roles have seen him forge close associations with many a high ranking member of the martian priesthood and through this influence has been able to secure or retain a wealth of rare technology for the chapter rarely seen beyond the highest echelons of the mechanicum. Perhaps more importantly however is the utilization of this influence to deflect attention away from the chapter of its occasional but gradually increasing usage of less than orthodox pieces of technology in its war efforts. Atekon himself sees no harm in this path for the chapter, having always been deemed a little ‘eccentric’ in his approach to technological theology compared to the more traditional teachings of the wider mechanicum. His study and occasional usage of types of xenos technology has especially caused concern amongst many of the local priesthood. Atekon however has frequently dismissed such concerns, maintaining that his fascination with xenos tech lies in an effort to potentially turn the machine spirits of such devices to the usage of humanity with the application of the rites and prayers so thoughtlessly neglected by most xenos races. Such efforts however have rarely returned fruitful results as the machine spirits of such devices seem just as alien in their temperament as their creators.
Originally inducted into the 8th company after displaying particular skill and ferocity in close combat actions during his time as a scout, Leok earned veteran status extremely quickly after a near unanimous decision that his heroic actions laying low an Ork war leader with particular violent efficiency in a difficult assault on an Ork cruiser had proven sufficient to earn him the imperial laurel, even at such a relatively early stage in his career as an Astartes. The following years saw him assigned to a vanguard veteran squad in the 1st company, in which he gained a particular talent for the usage of twin lightning claws in combination with fierce jump pack assaults. This time also saw him temper his zeal for brutal melee fights with a keen eye for small unit tactics and admirable decision making skills under heavy fire.
After serving a short term with the chapter’s honor guard and gaining further insight into the higher level command structure of the chapter that Leok was subsequently presented with the iron skull and promoted to sergeant, leading an assault squad back in his original 8th company. In this role he served for many years with quiet efficiency, passing on his skills for ferocious close combat to the newly initiated battle brothers of the 8th company. His heroic actions allowing for the extraction of the majority of his squad and other company members from a disastrous assault on a hidden genestealer brood saw him further promoted to the position of company lieutenant leading the 8th company command squad.
This commission however barely lasted more than a couple of years before the violent demise of his captain saw his immediate battlefield promotion to 8th company captain. In this role he successfully led his company with exemplary ferocity and tactical nous for a little over half a century, seeing him win much respect from his peers amongst the other captains recognizing his instinctive talent for the continual command of various company elements whilst at the same time being fixed in the violent swirl of melee. It was upon the interment of the former 1st company captain in the chassis of a dreadnought after a particularly savage encounter with a rampaging tyranofex that the other company captains near unanimously approved Leok’s advancement to the command of the veteran 1st company.
This time was probably the most violent of Leok’s career so far, for the first time essuing his power armor and jump pack for a suit of terminator plate in order to better fight alongside the terminator armed brethren of the 1st. This hardly blunted his fury however, learning to make usage of precisely coordinated teleport assaults to land himself and his brothers right in the heart of the thickest fighting. Under his leadership the 1st became ever more devoted to close combat tactics and the eradication of dangerous foes in only the most challenging environments. Whilst most of his company was ever split amongst different campaign forces, Leok himself and his command squad were always found leading chapter elements in only the most hazardous and high stakes missions.
So it was when in year 901 of M41 that previous chapter master Alektos was killed in a brutal void assault that Leok was formally promoted to the leadership position of the chapter, inheriting the relic arms of the chapter master in the process. Any doubts as to his command abilities after the near unsurpassed speed of his rise through the ranks of the chapter were very quickly erased after his tactical acumen was tested like never before following the conflicts of the last century of M41 and early M42 in which only his admirable decision making was what held the chapter together in the darkest of days.
Now having served in the role of chapter master for just over two centuries, Leok has gone from the youngest chapter master in its history to nearly its longest serving overall commander. His watch has seen the integration of the new primaris brotherhood into the chapter as well as the unprecedented decision of co-operation with various xenos factions as an effort to strengthen to overall defense of this tiny, remote corner of the imperium from the worst threats to sentient life. Most recently after the process was displayed as possible by the actions of marnius calgar, Leok was the first to volunteer to cross the Rubicon primaris, along with a score of other volunteers from the original firstborn astartes of the chapter, elevating him and the majority of the rest of the chapter into a new brotherhood and a new age for astartes everywhere.
Librarian Cadmus – Since the coming of the great rift at the end of M41 the chapter grudgingly adopted a new initiative for the increased training of psychic warriors within their ranks, despite their general distain for such soldiers. While conventional arms no doubt still performed adequately in dealing with warp spawned threats, no one could deny the effectiveness of fighting psychic entities with their very own power. It was under this auspice that the already expanded recruitment net was further widened to include a higher number of youths formerly bound for the black ships.
Cadmus was one such aspirant, being identified as a suitable candidate after displaying his admirable foresight abilities, predicting the coming of the chapter recruiters weeks in advance to his remote holding camp on the outskirts of Cyon’s capital city.
Though his mind was keen and psychic abilities already honed at such a young age it remained to be seen whether the trials of initiation would break him like so many other hopefuls. Luckily the implantation process and subsequent therapies and training went well for Cadmus, being one of the first recruits in the chapter to receive the additional 3 primaris implants in addition to the tried and tested implantation techniques.
Though immediately inducted into the chapter librarius to train how to fully utilize his psychic powers for the chapter’s benefit, it was also agreed that Cadmus’ enthusiasm and innate skill for the usage of ranged weaponry he displayed during training was something far from ordinary for a psychic warrior. Indeed Cadmus himself displayed little interest in the learning of the standard battle magics of the chapter librarians but instead devoted most of his time to ever greater training on the chapter’s firing ranges.
This approach caused concern amongst the other librarians with many wondering if Cadmus was suited to the role at all and not better suited to simply be inducted into the 9th company along with the chapter’s other long range specialists. A solution however was presented by chapter master Leok himself when the matter was mentioned to him in passing one day. Why not let Cadmus use his psychic abilities to aid his admirable marksmanship rather than substituting it for kine shields and witch bolts?
After the solution was subsequently presented to Cadmus he carefully considered the option. While he had never tried using his abilities to enhance his mundane sharpshooting skills the prospect did seem intriguing. After gaining further permission to peruse the chapter vaults to find something to use as a suitable psychic focus he surprisingly emerged with only a rather ordinary boltgun, much the same as any other of the godwyn pattern bolters in the process of being retired for the updated bolt rifles. This weapon however he stated he felt a special connection too, as if it had been touched with some ineffable psychic presence many years dead and gone. Despite the skepticism from his peers, no sooner had he taken up the battered old weapon than he began to produce tangible psychic results. Over the subsequent years Cadmus learned a variety of near unique abilities involving the focusing of his psychic powers into his bolter, in a similar manner to any other librarian may do with a force weapon.
In such a way he learned how to guide the bolts from his rifle to hit their mark almost every time with a mixture of foresight and psychokinesis, even when an adversary was hiding in deep cover or behind thick walls and barricades. He also learned how to infuse his psychic might into the very ammunition itself, giving his bolts the smiting punch of witchfire or allowing them to pass through even the thickest armour or energy fields as if it were merely smoke. Eventually however even Cadmus forced himself to learn a few of the more basic psychic disciplines common to many librarians, mostly so he could better repel his foes when at close range or more easily slip out and reposition at a safer location.
Near 50 years later Cadmus has learned to hone and improve these skills upon many battlefields, especially on those where his psychic sharpshooting abilities have proven the most useful. A not inconsiderable amount of high ranking foes have been covertly slain by his psychic bolts, earning him the marksman’s honor several times over, though he has never accepted such an award as he states (maybe rightly so) that his psychic abilities give him an unfair advantage over other ‘more worthy’ recipients. Most commonly therefore Cadmus can be found working alongside the more stealthy elements of the 10th and 7th companies, equipped with phobos pattern armor, where his sharpshooting helps to complement the talents of his allies.
Master of the Forge Daedalus Atekon – Undoubtedly the oldest member of the chapter not interred within a dreadnought, Atekon ages just over a millennium old, having been first recruited into the chapter during the opening years of M41.
Atekon was originally raised by a pair of techpriests and groomed toward a position within the ranks of the adeptus mechanicus, working within the towering hab and petro-chemical complexes of Naigra. Even at this young age he was known to possess a phenomenal knack for machine empathy, seeming to instinctively know just what ailed the spirit of any malfunctioning hardware. More than that however he, like his parents, greatly enjoyed even the more mundane rites of maintenance and was intensely fascinated by the mighty works of the machine god.
His destiny however was forever changed in an accident during a routine maintenance cycle, causing him to fall into the very lowest depths of the hive complex where he was presumed dead from the fall. Days later however his friends and parents were overjoyed to find him once again, having fought his way single handedly through the toxin soaked, mutant haunted lower levels of the hive back to relative safety, despite sustaining considerable wounds in the process. It was clear however that the journey had changed him not just physically but mentally too. There how burned a fire of determination and hatred in his eyes that had been unknown to him before as well as a newfound will to enact terrible justice on all those who were impure or would threaten the weak.
Such an incredible story of survival quickly caught the attention of chapter recruiters and Atekon was brought in for preliminary testing in which he was found more than suitable for astartes implantation and training. With much honor and reverence Atekon accepted the offer of recruitment and over the following years took to his new astartes implants and conditioning well. Though his training record was deemed merely ‘average’ by normal astartes standards, his inherent love for technology saw him quickly exceed even the junior techpriests of the chapter in levels of technological understanding, even before his time in the scout company was concluded. It was therefore no surprise that Atekon was immediately recruited into the chapter forge upon the completion of his scout training; a role which he straight away took to like a fish to water. Atekon has remained as a permanent fixture to the chapter forge ever since, first serving like all junior tech adepts as the commander of several of the chapter’s fleet of vehicles before being formally promoted to junior tech priest. Since then he steadily rose in the ranks of the chapter forge until he finally attained the position of forge master in the middle years of M41 which he still holds to this day.
For the greater part of the last few centuries it would be hard to reasonably call Atekon a true astartes any more, as the vast majority of his body, save his central nervous system and a few select organs have long having been replaced or upgraded to artificer quality bionics, built mostly by his own two (or sometimes more) hands. This however has never hampered his ability on or off the battlefield as it is his immense wealth of technological knowledge and deft application of such lore from long years of exceptional service that proves his immense value to the chapter. Such knowledge has seen him oversee the recovery and reconstruction of much equipment and many vehicles and space vessels thought unrecoverable by high ranking members of the adeptus mechanicus, as well as the continuous effort to improve the efficiency of all local forge complexes in local space providing vital war material for all imperial forces in the region.
Such roles have seen him forge close associations with many a high ranking member of the martian priesthood and through this influence has been able to secure or retain a wealth of rare technology for the chapter rarely seen beyond the highest echelons of the mechanicum. Perhaps more importantly however is the utilization of this influence to deflect attention away from the chapter of its occasional but gradually increasing usage of less than orthodox pieces of technology in its war efforts. Atekon himself sees no harm in this path for the chapter, having always been deemed a little ‘eccentric’ in his approach to technological theology compared to the more traditional teachings of the wider mechanicum. His study and occasional usage of types of xenos technology has especially caused concern amongst many of the local priesthood. Atekon however has frequently dismissed such concerns, maintaining that his fascination with xenos tech lies in an effort to potentially turn the machine spirits of such devices to the usage of humanity with the application of the rites and prayers so thoughtlessly neglected by most xenos races. Such efforts however have rarely returned fruitful results as the machine spirits of such devices seem just as alien in their temperament as their creators.
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