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This is my fictional army that ive been making for the last few years.


Fleet based chapter.
Fortress Monastery is on a space hulk named the Aquila Imperialis.

Nominal strength of chapter: 1100

Codex Chapter to a point.

Founding: M38

Primarch Progenitor: Unknown, Geneseed points to mulitple possible Primarchs


The Emperor's Knights are a fleetbased chapter that espouse the maxim of the "Perfect Warrior". Their code is:
Be Ardent in your love of the Emperor
Dilligent to duty
Vigilant to corruption
Valiant in arms
Honoured in purity.

Chapter Master: Exthelion, formerly Gideon

10 companies , made up of 1 Veteran company, 4 Battle Companies, 1 pure reserve company, 3 training companies, one scout and neophyte company.

Training is different in the Emperor's Knights:
Scouts are put into groups of 10, and assigned a Veteran Sergeant who will be their Sergeant throughout their fighting lives.
Once they show enough aptitude they are elevated to the Ninth Company where they learn all the Heavy weapons and heavy tank crafts.
Then on to the 8th company to learn jump pack, landspeeder and bike operations
7th company is dedicated to tactical squads. only those who have shown aptitude for a variety of operations will be elevated to 7th company

6th company draws from the previous 3 companies the best squads as needed. These are then trained as needed and will be the first chosen by the battle companies.

5th Company , the Knights Ardent. Long range specialists. Whirlwinds, Landspeeders, razorbacks
4th Company - the Knights Dilligent.. Assault Specialist. multiple assault squads
3rd Company, The Knights Vigilant.. Multi operation specialists. Armoured assault
2nd Company. The Knights Valiant. Multi operation specialists, Armoured assault.
1st Company. The Honoured. 40 Terminators, 30 Vangaurd, 30 Sternguard

Idiosyncracies:

As marines get elevated in their squads and not individually then it is rare for single marines to go into the First Company.
Singular marines do not get honours like other chapters, instead the whole squad is honoured.
The exception to this is the practice of "Bronzing". This is less an honour and more a mark of showing that the marine is capable of using the squad's heavy and specialist weapon if needed. The shin covering of the marine's armour is covered in bronze to differentiate them from their brothers.
If a squad suffers casualties it does NOT get reinforced normally. Instead it continues to operate until it is below 5 men. If the Sergeant is killed then a new Sergeant from the First Company will be assigned, but this is the only reinforecment they ever receive.
IF the squad goes below 5 men then the Sergeant has the option of rejoining the First Company or accompanying his men in The Choice.

The Choice
The rigorous way the squads of the Emperor's KNights work means that often there are squads that are very experienced but through attrition or bad luck have been reduced to 4 or 3 men remaining.
When this happens the remaining members are given a choice.
1. Become a Knight Errant
They can choose to take on a quest laid down by the Chapter's Librarians, This will usually be to destroy a foe that will take them to the limits of their abilities. and sometimes beyond. These quests are done solo, and no aid can be sought from any other Emperor's Knight or anyone in the chapter. If they are victorious they will be welcomed back to the Chapter and inducted into the First Company (this was the path taken by the captain of the second company when his devastator squad was destroyed while part of the 4th company when he was a battle brother)

2. Become part of the Knights Penitent.
An offshoot of the chapter, hardly spoken of in the main fleet. A few ships on the edge of the fleet hold the chapter's unresolved problem. The Knights Penitent. Those marines who have lost their squads but have not chosen to become Knights Errant. Each marine experienced and loyal, but unable to be part of the main chapter ever again. These marines are instead used for "Special Operations". LIke the scout operations they performed a lifetime before but now with centuries of experience they often clear the way for the main Companies in combat.
Since they all come from disparate squads and different levels of experience they are fielded in ad hoc formations as the situation requires, thus a single Penitent squad may contain 2 tactical marines, 2 devastator marines, an assault marine and a sergeant.