Rynn's World: A Space Marine Battles Novel (Warhammer 40,000)

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Known as much for his massive physical size and prowess as his leadership and tactical expertise, Polux led the Crimson Fists for the first 800 standard years of their existence. During this time, he did much to shape their interpretation of the Codex Astartes and their combat doctrines. The Crimson Fists' lives were to be expended for greater rewards than the salving of personal pride or the pursuit of vengeance, even against the despised race of Orks who nearly brought the Chapter to its knees. Now the battle-brothers of the Crimson Fists fight for more than honour and renown -- they fight so that their Chapter may survive, and one day regain its former glories in the service of the Emperor. The Crimson Fists are classified as a Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter, because they are strict followers of the sacred tome with only a few minor variants. At the end of the Crusade of Righteous Liberation in the 36 th Millennium, only 128 Marines were left in the Chapter. Since that time the Crusade Company (1 st Company) has always numbered 128 Space Marines. Since the Crimson Fists started as a crusading Chapter, they always had access to a large, well-maintained fleet of starships. Although many vessels were lost over Rynn's World, the surviving fleet was more than capable of entangling the Orks' space forces until the Imperial Navy was able to reinforce the system. He commended the stalwart Chapter Master for his leadership, tenacity and stubbornness in the face of overwhelming odds, as well as his dedication to the performance of duty above all else. He assured Kantor that he upheld the proud genetic legacy of his gene-father Rogal Dorn.

The Crimson Fists have begun recruiting additional brethren from not only Rynn's World, but across the entire Loki Sector. The process couldn't be rushed, however, for the Crimson Fists had a long and noble tradition to maintain, and to compromise on the quality and suitability of Aspirants at such a critical juncture could one day spell its doom. As Kantor's men walked amongst the carnage, ending the lives of those Orks too foolhardy or injured to flee, a robed figure detached itself from the shadows clustered on Widow's Spire and strode swiftly to Kantor's side. Coldly contemptuous of any threat posed by the watchful Space Marines, it cut through the Chapter Master's wary greeting. Lord Hellblade - Noble title accorded by the people of Rynn's World to the Chapter Master of the Crimson Fists, who is recognised as a member of the Imperium of Man's feudal nobility with Rynn's World as his demesne. Lord Hellblade is also always the commander of the Chapter's elite Crusade (1 st) Company.Following the losses of the Rynn's World Campaign, the Crimson Fists found themselves in the unusual position of having a disproportionate number of Veterans and specialists amidst their ranks, Techmarines and Apothecaries in particular. The presence of these experienced brothers was vital to the rebuilding of the Chapter, for without the Techmarines' intricate knowledge of the workings of the Machine God, the Crimson Fists could not maintain the wargear of their armoury and remain a viable fighting force. Hammer of Man - The Crimson Fists Librarian focuses his hatred of xenos into a tangible force which he projects out around him, causing pain and anguish to any sentient beings who are not human. In the aftermath of the tragic conflict known as the Horus Heresy, Roboute Guilliman, the primarch of the Ultramarines Legion, penned his sacred manual of warfare, the Codex Astartes. With the creation of this tome, Guilliman demanded that his brothers accept his example by dividing their own Space Marine Legions into 1,000-member Space Marine Chapters so that no single commander could ever control the power of an entire Astartes Legion again. Chapter Master Pedro Kantor spearheads an assault against the Orks of WAAAGH! Snagrod during the Battle of Rynn's World

And with that, the alien turned and was gone, and the shadows that lurked amongst the scree of Widow's Spire and Darkridge were gone also. Kantor weighed the words and actions he had borne witness to and led his men into Traitor's Gorge. There in the darkness a great victory was indeed his, forever ending the Ork threat in the Jaden Mountains. Chapter Dispute (819.M41) - A perceived slight caused the Mortifactors and Crimson Fists to come to blows. Only a personal intercession by the Ultramarines' Chapter Master Marneus Calgar ended the dispute before it escalated into open warfare. The matter was kept from the attention of the Adeptus Terra. Rynn's World is a feudal Agri-world within the Loki Sector. Its primary exports have historically been particularly exotic foods, which became renowned delicacies among the Imperial nobility of the sector. The world is largely isolated from other human-inhabited planets, but the Crimson Fists' presence has led to the implementation of an extensive planetary defence system. Further, the Chapter's actions during the Voltigern Crusade in the 40 th Millennium significantly mitigated the Ork presence within the sector. Also in keeping with the spirit of the original mission, the team decided to collect and paint entirely new armies in the style of their 1980’s predecessors. For the Crimson Fists they were able to capture the Rogue Trader look by utilising the new plastic ‘beakie’ MKVI Space Marines, and for the Space Ork Raiders subtle use of paint schemes and iconography taken straight from the first edition rulebook created an unmistakably retro looking Ork army. After the Battle of Rynn's World, the Crimson Fists found themselves in the interesting position of having more specialists than standard battle-brothers. The Chapter's Apothecaries and Techmarines have been forced to take on roles not normally assigned to them, although without their skills the Chapter would have dwindled beyond repair within a few Terran years. The process of rebuilding the Chapter has been slow and arduous, although any rush would result in complications that would corrupt or destroy the Chapter at a later date. A number of Scout Squads have been inducted into a newly formed 10th Company, and are said to be forging the future of the Chapter with their every action.

The result were the Primaris Space Marines of the Ultima Founding, a more powerful corps of transhuman warriors, more potent than even the original Astartes. New armies were raised in breathtaking numbers and new and terrible weapons were developed whose fury even the worshippers of the Dark Gods would be unable to withstand. Gathering a great new armada, composed of elements of the Adeptus Custodes, the Silent Sisterhood and a vast war host of Primaris Space Marines from many newly founded Chapters, the Lord Commander of the Imperium launched his Indomitus Crusade.

Chapter Master Polux reorganised his battle-brothers in a format that followed closely with the structure proscribed by the Codex Astartes. However, he continued to follow many of the tactics and traditions that he had learned at the hand of the primarch as a member of the Imperial Fists. White Dwarf 288 (UK), "Index Astartes: Bloodied Fist. The Crimson Fists Space Marine Chapter," by Andy Hoare Several Greenskin warbands were known to be lurking in the planet's Jaden Mountains, conducting raids that the surviving weary and war-torn populace of Rynn's World could ill-afford to allow to continue.Due to its distance from other Imperial worlds and its proximity to Ork-controlled space, it is somewhat isolated from the rest of the Imperium, with the closest neighbouring human planet being Badlanding.

As one would expect of successors to the Imperial Fists, the Crimson Fists are steadfast and stubborn warriors, reluctant to yield so long as victory is possible. Nonetheless, the Chapter's brush with annihilation has tempered this ardour with grim reality. The survivors held out against the encroaching Orks for eighteen solar months until a massive Imperial Navy fleet arrived in 990.M41. Through the inspired leadership of Pedro Kantor, and thanks to the heroic sacrifice of scores of Crimson Fists, the Imperium won out against impossible odds. Wave upon wave of Orks crashed against Kantor's lines in New Rynn City, but the Space Marines never wavered, and countless Greenskins were brought down by Bolter fire. When ammunition ran dry, the Orks fell instead beneath Chainswords, Combat Knives and ceramite-clad fists. Still the Crimson Fists held firm, channeling in that desperate hour a measure of the close-quarters might of their long dead founder, Alexis Polux. Their aim was not simply to exterminate, for even with their newly bolstered companies, there was no way they could have taken on an entire nation of Genestealer Cultists and survived. Instead they fought a complex, overlapping web of battles designed to buy time for the untainted Imperial citizenry to escape the Genestealer's Curse. As the Crimson Fists take little direct involvement with the human population of Rynn's World, the Cagliestras had been granted the right by the Chapter to administer the fief in their Chapter Master's place and serve as Rynn's World's Planetary Governors through a hereditary succession. This Chapter trait has led to the Crimson Fists being called upon numerous times by the High Lords of Terra to exterminate their fellow Space Marine Chapters who have been declared Excommunicate Traitoris.Although the planet was officially designated by the Imperium as secure once more, Orks are always a difficult species to truly eradicate once they have made planetfall. Several Greenskin warbands were known to be lurking in the planet's Jaden Mountains, conducting raids that the surviving weary and war-torn populace of Rynn's World could ill-afford. The Crimson Fists have little direct involvement with the human population of Rynn's World. Their fortress-monastery, the Arx Tyrannus, is located within the Hellblade Mountains. The huge structure's main hall is dominated by a statue dedicated to the memory of The Great Father, Alexis Polux, which remained within the Chapter's former Battle Barge for centuries before it was dismantled and reconstructed as the Crimson Fists' fortress-monastery.