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I thought of this (i.e. stole it) while playing God of War. It's a great idea IMO, and it's easy to explain.
In the year 001.M39, the a new chapter was formed; the Heroes of Ragnarok. Born of the gene-seed of Sanguinis, these Space Marines were charged with purging the heretics in their home system of Ragnarok (durrr). They were a magnificent force on the battlefield; more than half their battle-brothers were assault marines, and they were among the finest of their kind. All seemed well for the chapter; the Black Rage and Red Thirst had not been apparent since their founding, and they were devout servants of the Emperor.
However, as time passed, they grew arrogant and ruthless in their conquest. Having annihilated the taint of Chaos in their star system, they moved on to new planets. Ork empires crumbled, Tau expansions were destroyed utterly, and Tyranid hive fleet tendrils were blunted. Soon, they had rendered dozens of planets lifeless, and they saw aliens and heretics everywhere. Soon, they came across a strangely familiar world. Nevertheless, they burned it. Descending to the surface, they rampaged across the landscape, burning cities and massacring the populace, regardless of whether or not they were heretics. As the First Company cut down those who they thought were the final traitors, their vision cleared. They looked upon the ruins of their own homeworld, Ragnarok Prime. The innocent bodies of the populace lay strewn around them, torn to shreds by the crazed marines. This was a cruel trick by the Ruinous Powers, who took revenge on the chapter for killing their faithful servants, who could have overwhelmed Ultramar given enough time. A vile daemonic servant of Chaos appeared before the Marines, and said to them:
"From this day foward, the mark of your terrible deed shall be visible to all! The ashes of your homeworld's populace shall be fastened to your skin, never to be removed!"
As he spoke, the bodies of the fallen were consumed in unholy fire, and the ashes flowed onto the skin of the marines. No matter how much they scrubbed or cut it, the damning white ashes remained there. All the Imperium would know them for what they had become; the Ghosts of Ragnarok. They were ordered on a thousand-year penitent crusade. They gladly accepted this, thinking that it would purge their skin. But when it ended, the ashes remained. Not even the new initiates were free of this taint; when they were implanted with the gene-seed, their skin would rapidly turn bone-white. So it is to this day that they search for some method of true penitence, in vain.
The Ghosts of Ragnarok follow a very similar combat doctrine to the Blood Angels, with large numbers of assault troops and overcharged vehicles. Although the Black Rage occurs, it is quite rare, so the Death Company are largely composed of veteran marines who seek penitence in death on the battlefield.
I will expand on this fluff in the future, so keep an eye out!
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