Combat doctrine The Storm Swords largely follow the Index Astartes. They have taken influences from the stories of the wars Lion el'Jonson fought, and place a huge importance on careful planning. This somewhat limits their ability react to surprises. Methodical gathering of intelligence and precise strikes of awesome power mark the Storm Swords operations. As a relatively young Chapter, they have only limited experience of warfare and often exaggerate their actions, taking a long time to plan a strike and using overt power to accomplish it. Their Codex roots do show, however, and the majority of their tactics and doctrines can be traced to Guilliman's work. The first company is used more independently from the rest of the Chapter by the discretion of its captain. The veterans gather information about the Fallen Angels and attempt to follow all traces they find. This at times limits their availability to the operations the Chapter conducts. Final detail is the sightings of the Chapter deploying at least two, and probably no more, Storm Sword super heavy siege tanks in 925.M41. It is not know for certain how these were acquired, but the Inquisition postulates that the ties between the Storm Swords and the Adeptus Mechanicus have brought these behemoths of steel to Hel V. The planet has evidently traces of ancient technologies and the tanks are believed to be some form of payment for access to the archeotech hidden under the frozen black stone of Hel V. Whatever their reason for being controlled by Space Marines, they are deployed very rarely, only in large campaigns where a slow and meticulous advance can not be avoided. Famous battles: Against Omega Bears: In 3055739.M41 the last stand of the Omega Bears Chapter took place on their home world, at the military base on the hill named the Crown of Thorns. Their Chapter Master, his forces scattered and his Fortress Monastery in flaming ruins, had led his first company to the fortified hill. When the inquisition-led Storm Swords reached them, they were ready. The fighting lasted for a full week. The experience and desperation of the Omega Bears enabled them to repulse every assault made by the Swords. They could not last forever, though. The walls of their fort had begun to crumble under the bombardment from orbit and every assault on every breach cost more and more veterans. The fanatic Storm Swords were so eager to prove their worth they did not give up and paid little heed to their mounting casualties. Finally this led to the breaching of the Crown's Gate. The final attack lasted for seven hours and ended up high on the top of the hill. The tall spikes of the battlements cast long shadows in the dying light of the bloodied sun when the Omega Bears' Chapter Master faced the leaders of the Storm Swords. He went down proudly, his lightning claws claiming the lives of the Swords' Master Chaplain and grievously wounding Chapter Master Turis, who ultimately felled the beast of a man. Then the Inquisitor Lord Vain-Io of the Ordo Hereticus stepped forth and fired his bolt-pistol to the dying Marines' exposed head. The Omega Bears were finished. The pacification of the Raukiv system: The rebellion on the Raukiv system had grown too big for the local forces to handle, and the 5th company of the Storm Swords was deployed to pacify the area in 3220932.M41. They began by conducting a planetfall on the capital city of the planet. The Swords offered no mercy for the transgressors and hundreds of demonstrators died during the first hours of the attack. The company shot their way through crowded streets to reach the planetary governor's palace where the leaders of the uprising had been traced by scouts and informants. The palace was heavily fortified and the rebels holed inside had the heaviest weapons of the governor's personal guard mounted on the battlements. Still, they had no hope against a full company of Space Marines. Untrained and inexperienced, the rebels' morale began to falter as the melta-charges of the Swords breached their said to be impenetrable walls. They soon found there was no way out and were slaughtered to a man. The rebel commanders, however, were still hiding in the bunkers beneath the palace. Their escape tunnels had been cut by lance strikes ordered by the cautious Company Commander Synk. Now they were cornered and had no choice but to fight. The chaos-worshipping cultists were cut down within minutes, but their leader proved to be something totally unexpected: a Space Marine. And a Dark Angel for that matter! The surprised Swords were quickly reminded of the danger presented by the power axe of the Marine. Many Swords fell, but ultimately the strange Dark Angel was subdued. The worried Captain Synk ordered him to be restrained and taken to their Strike Cruiser in great secrecy. This turn of events led to the 5th company ending the rebellion as quickly as possible by using orbital bombardment to cripple the planet. The whole infrastructure was destroyed, leaving the traitors to exist on a blasted wasteland with no contact out of their world. Then the Storm Swords sped home, anxious to show their menacing prisoner to their superiors. Battle Cry: "Storm of Hate! Death Arrives!" |
Chapter Structure: The Storm Swords began as a rigidly codex chapter, but the Dark Angels set in motion a change. Their company structure remains true to Guilliman, however. The only changes thus far can be seen in the higher echelons of the command structure and in the independent role of the first company. They are currently led by Chapter Master Koldnen. Chief Librarian Ikeder: While the terrible secret of the Dark Angels made chapter master Koldnen aloof and Chaplain Nordko insane, Chief Librarian Ikeder kept his wits about him. Though disgusted, he realised what must be done and has guided the Chapter ever since. When the dour and silent Koldnen is busy pondering his strategies, striving to earn the confidence of the Dark Angels, it is Ikeder who takes the lead and often commands the Chapter in his stead. Ikeder is a stern man who has seen much horror in his life. When the orks of warboss Gorghaal ambushed Master Jaager in 4166925.M41, Ikeder was with him and the only one to survive, though with grievous injuries. Nearly half of his body has been replaced with bionics. His psyber-skull implants help to compensate for the effects of the cranial damage to his psychic powers. Now he seeks to guide his chapter, including its deeply disturbed Inner Circle, to a path of redemption and survival with the cold calculation of a machine some claim him to be. Master Chaplain Nordko: Master Chaplain Nordko was a most devout servant of the Lion and the exaltation of the Old Legion and their deeds were a constant theme on his sermons. The truth of the Fall took his sanity. Nordko became a raving madman thirsting for vengeance. He is still a master in rousing the spirits of his battle-brothers, but now he truly adheres to the chapter's motto and preaches only hatred and death. He craves nothing but combat and is always the first to charge the enemy. When war is not in reach Nordko collapses in a state of trance, uttering curses and prayers and performing ritual scarring of his own flesh. Though still formally the Master of the Chaplaincy, the Inner Circle rarely let him speak to the battle-brothers lest he expose some dread secrets in his fury. The other chaplains take care of the religious duties within the Chapter and keep an eye on their master as Nordko sits in the Reclusium wailing his hatred and despair to the uncaring walls. The First Company: After much debate, the newly formed Inner Circle of the Storm Swords decided to reveal to their first company some parts of the Fall. The veteran brothers, as loyal followers of the Lion as one could hope to find, were dismayed. Some are said to have taken their own lives, others vowing oaths of silence and flagellation. When the shock abated, anger rose. The first company roared their thirst for vengeance and became fanatical zealots, intent only in redeeming the past. The company's captain already knew, as did the command staff, and they managed to channel and direct the pure hatred so that it would serve the Chapter's purposes. They did, however, decide to follow and emulate the Deathwing as best as they could, seeing their Dark Angels counterparts as the epitome of vengeance and redemption from the sins of the Legion. This led the veterans to begin gathering suits of sacred Terminator armour in an attempt to form a full terminator company. It has been recorded that at its creation, the Storm Swords chapter were given 36 suits of TDA. After defeating and conquering the Omega Bears they must have acquired several suits, yet still they petitioned Mars itself to send them more. After decades of constant communication from the Storm Sword techmarines, Mars finally sent three Suits to Hel V. This activity has not remained a secret and many disturbing occurrences have since been laid to the Storm Swords' doorstep. Most notorious was the disappearance of a squad of Novamarine terminators, sent to inspect the Space Hulk 'Prophet of Doom' in Storm Sword controlled space. The hulk was later found completely abandoned, with no trace of chaos or xenos occupation... or the Novamarines. Other, more extravagant conspiracy theorists refer to the fate of the Relictors, another supposed successor of the Dark Angels, and hint that perhaps the suits of killed Traitor terminators might have made their way to the Storm sword armoury, after the renegades had been cut and carved out. No evidence of such actions can be found, of course. |
LEGIO INFITIALES VENIA |
THE STORMSWORDS By Henry Vainino ( The Officer ) |
This article has been published with the kind permission of Henry Vainino. Planetary image created by Shadow Guard |
Colour scheme The colour scheme of the Storm Swords divides the armour in four quarters. The top right and lower left quarter are ice blue while the rest are black. The company number is displayed on the left kneepad or greave and the squad number on top of the squad icon in the right shoulder pad. Sergeants wear ice blue helmets and veterans black helmets. This scheme is drawn from the iconography present on their Chapter Banner. The two colours represent the ice-cold, vengeful hatred against the enemies of man and the silent darkness of death that follows, adhering to the Chapter's ideal of the Storm of Hate they bring upon their foes. The Chapter insignia displays two crossed swords and bolts of lightning. There are two notable exceptions to this. The Inner Circle paints their armour however they like, usually adorning it with icons and symbols of hatred and vengeance. The first company, on the other hand, painted the left shoulder pads of their terminator suits in the bone colour of the Deathwing in their honour. They heard the stories of what happened on the Plains World much later. Individual squad markings and colour scheme variations are also becoming more common in the first company. |
