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Chapter Name: Shadow Warriors
Founding: 21st Founding
Home World: Unknown
Active Companies: Four
Chapter Colors: Black and Blue
History:
The founding of the Shadow Warriors was thought as the first truly ‘safe’ 21st founding. After many failed attempts with other chapters, the Imperium was growing tired of the horrible after effects that cursed many of their previous attempts.
The first batch of twenty five space marines proved to be without flaw. Their first assignments were a part of the death watch. Though lacking true combat tested experience these first marines proved to be expert s of close quarters.
After their service in the death watch only half of the test subjects remained, though enough to continue their research on the batch of mixed gene seed. They had detailed accounts of their combat from their brothers that served from other chapters, most notably from the Ultramarines. Aggression and rage control often was lacking when the fighting grew more intense. Though there was no continual after effects of the rage which made the Imperium believe their gene seed mixture was pure.
The first company to be created had very little recruit deaths, they were all closely watched and trained by specialists from other chapters. It took many years before the chapter was fully equipped with suitable power armor and even vehicles. For the first engagements the chapter had as its own fighting element was that of a pure scout company. Using stealth and recon to their fullest advantage sabotage and hit and run attacks became their calling. Thus given their name, the Shadow Warriors.
As the first company grew, so did their leaders. The first sight of their chapter masters and company captains were handpicked by other chapters that could see potential in the recruits. The Imperial Fists picked the first chapter master of the Shadow Warriors, Aratus Hadrian.
The first fully armored space marines started the field as assault marines, using timed attacks with their scout squads they were able to pinpoint weak points in enemy flanks and devastate their lines creating a hole for other Imperial forces to exploit.

The fall:
The sign of the cursed gene seeds was near, or at least that’s what the Inquisition thought, the records they held of the previous 21st founded chapters proved that none could be pure. They had purged many of the cursed founding. They had seen the mutations grow wildly out of control, such as the Minotaurs and even the Black Dragons.
Though for the Shadow Warriors they had no signs of mutations, they were closely being watched and tested by the Imperium through each stage of their progression. Truly the Imperium hoped these could be the start of a new era of space marines.
The first signs of gene seed mutations started as a raid of World Eater traitor space marines raided a small planetary outpost in one of the systems close to the eye of terror. The Shadow Warriors were dispatched.
Months of fighting drew on, each side taking tolls, often times the combat ended in violent close quarter fights where the Shadow Warriors held their own. Their rage and hate grew stronger for the traitor. The blood boiled with hatred. The first signs of an uncontrollable rage had occurred. They trashed out in fits of anger and blood lust, at first Aratus Hadrian had ordered those that had become tainted with chaos be held in the reserve until their chaplains and apothecaries could diagnose their problem.
Once the chaplains and the apothecaries deemed the warriors clean of taint, their rage had subsided. Due to the need for space marines at the front Aratus ordered them to be refit and sent into combat. It was these space marines that brought out the true cruse of their gene seed. Once in combat, their rage became uncontrollable and their lust for bloodshed could only be quenched in hand to hand combat. A total of ten of these warriors slew an entire command of World Eaters, their bodies shrugged off blows that would normal kill any other space marine, they fought on, through broken limbs and loss of blood.
After the battle, the World Eaters were routed and fled back to the Eye of Terror, Aratus gathered his fallen and the enemies fallen. He had seen the work of the khorne berserkers. The rage of his own matched that of the ferocity of the traitors. He ordered the bodies of both the World Eaters and the Shadow Warriors be taken back to their fleet and sent to their home world without the knowledge of the Imperium.
The conflict between the Shadow Warriors and the World Eaters was closely watched the Imperium. With fear of another lost chapter they were taking no chances. The Inquisition was notified and intercepted the Shadow Warriors fleet. Caught off guard Aratus demanded that the reasons of blockading their fleet be brought into light.
The Inquisition stated their orders to purge their unclean gene seed to halt any further mutations they might have. Aratus and the Shadow Warriors readied themselves for a last stand against the Imperial fleet.
Boarding actions occurred quickly and many of the Imperial’s ships fell to the hands of the remorseless Shadow Warriors. The naval battle was devastating on both sides, lance strikes poured through space at one another. After an intense struggle Aratus recalled his warriors back to his battle barge for a warp retrograde. Very few made it back alive, most of them had come under their curse, their bodies covered in blood of the Imperial crewmen. With one window open Aratus took a warp jump away from the Imperial fleet, leaving it in disarray as timed explosions from the boarding teams detonated, disabling many more ships from following the Shadow Warriors.
Aboard their battle barge a lone assassin had slain their navigators, causing the remaining fleet to become lost in the warp. A total of three vessels were lost. The battle barge and two strike cruisers all plotted with Aratus’s master navigator. The Imperium recorded the chapter as excommunicated and lost in the warp.

Recovery:
Aratus and his remaining space marines fended off warp attacks and even managed to capture the Imperial assassin alive. The warp had mutated their gene seed even further. Now many of his warriors were tainted with the curse.
Before the chapter had grown in size, the Imperium noted that they were unable to create a stable psychic. Aratus himself was thought as one to become a librarian in the chapter but his gene seed masked his gift.
As they became lost in the warp, a few of the Shadow Warriors became psychically attuned. Aratus himself became very powerful and used his abilities to rid their vessel of warp beasts. Once they were stable in the warp their fleet had exited warp abruptly. Without navigators they were unable to plot any courses and they had no record of their location or even what time they were in.
The Shadow Warriors plotted a path using long range scanners to locate a system nearby to their location. They set course to find themselves a new home world and began a mission to rebuild their chapter and to seek forgiveness in the eyes of the Emperor.

Gene seed research:
Before they were cut off by the Imperial fleet so long ago, they had examined the gene seed of the fallen World Eaters, to their alarm, the other half of their gene seed was created with that of the World Eaters. Aratus knew the Imperium would surely cleanse them if they had found out what mistake they had made. It was unknown to anyone the batch of gene seed they had recovered before the creation of the Shadow Warriors was pre heresy World Eaters. The Imperium damned itself when it had destroyed records of the traitor legion’s gene seed.
They had created a blood lusting space marine chapter using halves from Blood Angels and World Eaters. Aratus kept this information from the rest of the chapter, only spreading word to the chaplains and apothecaries.
Those that came under the curse would be quickly brought to the chaplains. The Shadow Warriors created a use for these warriors, seeing great potential in their curse, thus created a new order within the chapter.
]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/285084/1423801.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/285084/1423801.page GMT http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/285084/1477605.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/285084/1477605.page GMT http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/285084/1477687.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/285084/1477687.page GMT BA and World Eaters?? LOL that promises!! it will be interesting to see how they "seek the Emperor"s forgiveness"]]> http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/285084/1477864.page http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/preList/285084/1477864.page GMT