INQUISITORIAL RECORD 000017845648
Name: The Dark Masters
Founding Chapter: Iron Hands
Founding: 16th
Warlord: Arakosh the Shadow
Howeworld: Keesangard (Daemon World)
Fortress-Monastery: Temple of the Gods
Colors: Grey with a single black skull on the left shoulder
Specialty: Stealth and Assassination, Daemon Summoning
Strength: 4,000 Marines, 10,000 Cultists
Battlecry: Walk in the Shadow (whispered repeatedly)
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The Dark Masters were once loyal servants of the God-Emperor before the schemes of Tzeentch, Changer of Ways brought them to Chaos. They were children of the Iron Hands, but did not hold the value of augmentation. They believed in natural healing to make the flesh stronger, only going to augmetics in extreme situations. The chapter was a legend on the Northern front, where they beat back repeated Tyranid attacks and charted vast swathes of the Ghoul Stars. As many as fifty percent of their numbers served tours in the Deatwatch and they were considered the experts on Xenobiology in the Ghoul Stars. During a systematic purge of a world they came across an unexpected enemy. Loyal Space Marines. The Ultramarines were on the world and they fired on the Dark Masters as soon as they entered orbit. The Dark Masters disgorged their drop pods and fled to behind an asteroid belt. On the world the space marines were shocked to find the Ultramarines were twisted and mutated into abominations of chaos. They sent pictures to the Inquisition and to Macragge and purged the other marines brutally. When these pictures reached Macragge the Ultramarines responded in horror, claiming that no marines had been deployed. An Imperial citizen came to the Fortress-Monastery on Kharus, their home world, and showed them records of the Ultramarines deploying their whole fourth company to the Stars. Chapter Master Arakosh was furious and sent an envoy to Ultramar. The citizen went with them and at Calth, they were fired upon and destroyed. The Ultramarines had not actually fired, but the citizen, a cultist of tzeentch is disgiuse, had planted charges that blew apart the ship. Arakosh had no choice. The entire chapter mobilized and invaded Ultramar. They hit Calth first and burned the shipyards. Next Talassar fell, and the Ultramarines responded in force. A fleet from Macragge counter-attacked at Talassar and blew a full half of The Dark Masters fleet out of the sky. They retreated back to their home, where the cultist was waiting for them. He said he could give him the power to destroy the Ultramarines forever. Arakosh accepted and all of the Librarians were trained in the arts of summoning. The Dark Masters attacked again, but this time they had help. They hit Macragge first through a Warp Portal opened by Tzeentch above the planet. A vicious bombing smashed into the population centers and the death toll rose to the thousands. The Doom Eagles Chapter came to the besieged planets aide. The Council of Eagles was nearly destroyed by Arakosh, taking the heads their Librarian, Forge Master, and a Chaplain alone. The rest of the chapter was torn apart by savage strikes on their ships and domination of their ground forces. The entire chapter went to aid Macragge, forty-five marines left. The sudden attack was devastating and Marneus Calgar was pushed up against the Tomb of Guilliman by the combined ferocity of the daemons and the subtlety of The Dark Masters. Only through the intervention of the Blood Angels were the marines able to hold off against The Dark Masters. They retreated into the Warp and settled on a daemon world, where they built a new fortress, a temple to their new gods. And now they raid the Imperium, systematically attacking Space Marine home worlds, relishing in the challenge of fighting those they once called brothers.
