Knights of the Falcon

Knights of the Falcon or how else they are called Falcon Knights are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter created during the 22nd Founding and is the successor of the Dark Angels. Very proud and conceited they are faithful to the principles of chivalry and nobility, and in battle prefer close combat, because of the small size of the Chapter, they defeat the enemies by the cunning tactics and the quality of their knights. Settled in the feudal world of Faidor, the Falcon Knights follow the feudal laws, and each knight's of the Chapter is elevated to the title of the aristocrat, they clearly follow the Code of Chivalry, but almost disregard the Codex Astartes. As heirs of Lion El'Jonson, they decided to distance themselves as far as possible from the Dark Angels, preferring to choose their own way and create their own history of their Chapter.

Chapter history
Created in the beginning of the 37th millennium, the history of the Chapter for certain is not known. Where, how and under what circumstances, it was created, long forgotten or purposely hidden from prying eyes. However, there is an old Faidor legend that tells about the appearance of the Falcon Knights.

«The Legend of the Knights of the Falcon» (short version)
''A long time ago, the 12 kingdoms of Faidor waged endless wars for the right to own the Silver Crown. The Silver Crown was the guarantor of absolute power over all Faidor and each of the 12 kings and queens had the right to own it. But the throne cannot be empty and in those days, the Crown was owned by the Tyrant King Argeyn Glanhorien the Mad.''

''This war brought devastation to the whole world, rivers of blood flooded fields and castles, killed peasants and nobility. The brothers went to war with their brothers. Sisters killed sisters. And only the mad laughter of the Tyrant King was always heard.''

''At the most difficult hour for Faidor from the skies by the will of the gods (Faidor religion implies that the Emperor has five guises, each of which to some extent personifies humanity) came Knights Falcon, clothed in the heaviest armour and armed with divine weapons, they were ready to defeat the armies of the Tyrant King. They were able to unite the kingdoms under a single banner. This mighty army besieged the walls of the Capital of the Tyrant King. But the Tyrant King did not want to give up the capital so simple and ordered to burn the whole city together with himself and his people so that nothing was left to his enemies. And he set fire to the whole city. Breaking through the fire and the ranks of enemies Falcon Knights broke into the castle of the Tyrant King. And even at that moment, the Tyrant King did not stop laughing. And even when his head separated from his shoulders, there was a remained a crazy smile on his face. When the battle ended, almost the whole city burned down, the kings, queens and their armies gathered on the Capital ruins. Then the Knights of the Falcon announced to all masters that:''

''«None of you will be above the other. You are worthy, to rule your lands without the hand of a tyrant wearing the Silver Crown. You are free to decide your own destinies and build your own history...'' You all are equal, but that you are not mired in anarchy, you must have a judge, not the master, but a leader. But we can't be this leader, we are warriors, not kings.

''But among you, there is a person worthy of this burden. Thus, we Falcon Knights call Lord Dorran Eremore the first Keeper of Faidor. We will be the guarantor of your power and your heirs, but if you or your heir will not be worthy of this title, our verdict will be severe, but fair.»''

''Since then, the Knights of the Falcon have built their Castle Highnest on Faidor and protects this world and hundreds of other worlds from the encroachments of evil. As they promised, peace and order came to Faidor, and the royal family Eremor keeps this world, to this days.''

Chapter Home World

 * Faidor (Feudal World /Civilized World) is the capital of the sub-sector Orellean Space, of sector Hexos. The World of the Pearl Sun. The political system of the world rests on a feudal monarchy, where the ruler of Faidor is the head of the royal family Eremor, he or she has a special title Keeper of Faidor. The Keeper of Faidor is also the Governor of the sub-sector Orellean Space. A planet with a predominantly temperate climate is almost completely covered by fields, coniferous forests and massive mountains, on Faidor is rather cold because of strong winds, and the sun itself does not give enough heat. Although Faidor has the status of a "feudal world", it is difficult to call it backward or primitive, and with the appearance of Falcon Knights in the world and the emergence of the Sub-sector Capital status, the technical progress of the world has greatly increased, now this world is close to the type of Civilized World.

Fortress-Monastery
Chapter's Castle Highnest is located on the tops of the Lyrrain Mountains and is the largest and most reliable fortress in the world. The area occupied by the fortress is comparable to the area of a small Faidor town. Forests and mountains near the fortress-monastery are protected and there is prohibited the construction of anything and regular residence of people. The fortress is equipped with the latest technology, has an airstrip, hangars and mini-factories producing simple equipment and ammunition. More complex equipment and armoured vehicles for the order are created on the Forge World Hallrea.

Chapter Recruitment
Located on the Feudal World the Chapter, recruits neophytes only from here. For the recruitment of future members of the Chapter, Falcon Knights have the privilege of convening the Falcon Tournament on Faidor and it is on the results of this competition that future neophytes are recruited.

Falcon Tournament
The most large-scale event in the whole of Faidor Falcon Tournament is announced only by the order of the Falcon Knights themselves and is held at the Great Royal Arena of Faidor, where aristocrats and commoners from all over the world come. The tournament, held for about a week, is accompanied by festivals and feasts. Only young men from 12 to 19 years old can take part in the tournament and many noble families teach their sons to combat skills from the very young years to win the Falcon Tournament, the victory in such a tournament brings great fame to any Faidor family. At Falcon Tournament, they do not fight to the death, but to the first blood, the Knights of the Chapter act as judges in fights. However, killing during a fight will not be considered a crime, but this does not mean that the family of the deceased will not take revenge on the killer after the tournament. By the end of the tournament, the 12 best warriors have the right to try to become the neophytes of the Falcon Knights.

Command Ranks

 * Lord Commander - Chapter Master
 * Knight-Captain - Commanders of the Chapter
 * Lord Chaplain - Chief Chaplain
 * Lord Librarian - Chief Librarian
 * Lord Healer - Chief Apothecary
 * Lord Armourer - Master of the Forge

Specialist Ranks

 * Chaplain
 * Librarian
 * Healer - Apothecary
 * Armourer - Techmarine

Line Formations

 * Veteran Knight – Veteran Space Marine
 * Knight Banneret – Sergeant
 * Knight – Battle-Brother
 * Squire – Scout

Falcon Knights do not appear to use the Codex' prescribed company structure, instead of basing its organisation around that of the simple 10-men Banner-squad (an equivalent of a Space Marine squad), each squad has its own name and banner and is regarded as a detached tactical formation. Only those squads that are called Honorable can be considered a Chapter's elite, as a rule, such detachments are made up of Veteran Knights, and the Knight Captains command them. Squires (Neophytes) are not part of the Scout Squads but are part of the regular Space Marine squad where they perform the Knight Banneret (equivalent of a Brother-Sergeant) assignments. Next, the Squire who completed the training can join any Banner-squad as a full-fledged Knight, in which he will be offered, but more often he comes to the squad in which he passed his training.



Chapter Combat Doctrine
Though the Falcon Knights are able to deploy an acceptable number of vehicles, and in their ranks, there are often Dreadnoughts, the primacy of the combat squad means that they concentrate on basic infantry tactics in battle. In battle, they prefer close combat, constantly reducing the distance from the enemy, each member of the Chapter skilled swordsman ready to prove it. A small number of Space Marines in the Chapter is compensated by the quality of these Space Marines themselves. Knights of the Chapter constantly improve the skill of close combat, in training and in regular tournaments, in addition to melee skills, tournaments develop the cunning of fighters, which they then use in the battles with the real enemy.

Chivalry
The Chapter's laws imply that every Falcon Knights becomes a noble-knight (even if he was not born an aristocrat) and must follow the Code of Chivalry. Because of this, most of the Knights of the Chapter are conceited and proud, in the absence of any war campaigns they arrange tournaments among themselves and after each victory in the war, they arrange lavish feasts in which they boast of military feats. Perhaps the Chapter laws are less severe than in other Space Marine Chapters and perhaps the Falcon Knights lack discipline, but they compensate for this with courage and exceptional fencing skills.

Code of Chivalry

 * Code of Chivalry is mandatory for all members of the Space Marine Chapter Knights of the Falcon, who call themselves Knights.
 * There is nothing more disgusting for the Knight than cowardice and betrayal.
 * Each Knight must keep his word, for only cowardice and perjury is the highest disgrace for the Knight.
 * The knight must mercilessly punish any insult to the honour of his Chapter, the honour of the Emperor and his own honour.
 * A Knight must be ruthless towards the abusers of people, to criminals, to his enemies and to the enemies of the Emperor.
 * The Knight does not dare to harm a man (not a heretic) armed with unequal weapons, only if not on the battlefield or under the threat of life.
 * The Knight does not dare to harm an unarmed man (not a heretic), only if not on the battlefield or under the threat of life.
 * A Knight must be merciful to the weak and not deny those who ask for help if this request does not contradict the Code of Chivalry.
 * A Knight should be gallant in dealing with noble ladies.
 * The Knight must constantly improve in the art of war, take care of his armament and read litanies.
 * Each Knight must take part in tournaments, where he must show his courage and combat skills.
 * If a dispute arose between the Knights, or one of them insulted another by word or deed, then the Knight can claim satisfaction in an honest duel in the presence of witnesses, or renounce his words and repent of his actions.
 * A knight cannot strike a defeated opponent (in an honest duel), as well as an opponent praying for mercy if he is not a heretic, of course.
 * In the event of a violation of the Code of Chivalry by the Knight, his fate will be given to the Lord Commander, while evading from the will of the Lord Commander, this person is deprived of the noble Knight's title and all privileges, is called a traitor and must undergo the death penalty.

Notable Knights of the Falcon

 * Lord Commander Meistrus – the first Chapter Master, now dead
 * Lord Commander Astold Braveheart - current Chapter Master.
 * Lord Chaplain Eahon, the Wise
 * Lord Librarian Katier de Velaros, the Legend Keeper
 * Lord Healer Leonar Emendon
 * Lord Armourer Andre de Kaid, the Iron Hammer
 * Sigmaer, the Amiable – steward of the Chapter’s fortress-monastery

Chapter’s Fleet

 * The Intrepid (Battle Barge) - under control of Lord Commander Astold Braveheart
 * The Ubiquitous (Strike Cruiser) - under control of Honorable Banner-squad Ruthless
 * The Smashing (Hunter-class Destroyer) - under control of Honorable Banner-squad Ruthless
 * Herald of Retribution (Strike Cruiser) - under control of Honorable Banner-squad Mortions
 * Memory of Meistrus (Nova Frigate) - under control of Honorable Banner-squad Mortions
 * Blade of Faidor (Gladius Frigate) - under control of Honorable Banner-squad Whitelion
 * Alva (Nova Frigate) - under control of Honorable Banner-squad Whitelion
 * The Punisher (Gladius Frigate) - under control of Honorable Banner-squad Avengers
 * The Redeemer (Gladius Frigate) - under control of Honorable Banner-squad Umbratori
 * The Watcher (Nova Frigate) - under control of Honorable Banner-squad Engerlbert