Brethren of Spite

"A galaxy full of adventure awaits us boys. We have legends to make and tales to tell, come with me and we'll be the greatest pirates to sail on the tides of the warp"

- Cain

The Brethren of Spite are a fleet based warband of piratical Chaos space marines. Originally making up the core of the “Brotherhood of Man” Space marine chapter, the Brethren formed from secessionist splinters that remained after the chapter collapsed in late m.37. The Brethren are led by Cain, the former Captain of the 2nd company and now Daemon Prince. The Brethren of Spite are known to worship Chaos undivided, with some squads worshiping a specific patron.

Notable History
Though not much is known about the Brotherhood of Man before their civil war and their rebirth as the piratical Brethren of Spite, what is known is that the organisation of the chapter and its tactical doctrines are relatively the same. The Brotherhood of man extensively used its fleet as the basis of its chapter and recruited on selected worlds across the Imperium, which it's forces where thinly spread across. With the constant warfare that raged throughout the galaxy, the Brotherhood found their casualty rates begin to climb. The chapters numbers began to dwindle to a mere four hundred strong as the eternal conflict of the galaxy took its toll, and soon members of the chapter began to object to chapter commands actions, and the perceived future extinction of the chapter.

The leader of the opposition was Cain, Captain of the Second Company. He believed that the chapter needed to regain its numbers before involvement in any further major engagements, but chapter command would have none of it. Realising that without action that the chapter would be destroyed by Chapter commands incompetence, Cain rallied his brothers against the Chapters leadership and began a civil war.

Civil War "The ranks are half of what they should be and with every day they dwindle further, I cannot count the number of the brothers we have lost. This cannot continue."

- Cain

While Cain possessed a large force of the Brotherhood at his disposal, Chapter command had sway over most of the specialists and old guard of the Chapter. This meant the loyalist forces possessed Veterans and Sergeants, who had many years of fighting experience, against a largely inexperienced force. The war was grueling, both sides taking heavy casualties, before Chapter command was defeated. The war had lasted 3 years, leaving the chapter at only 240 members, and deprived of most of its original leadership. A new chapter command was formed, led by Cain as its chapter master.

But the chapter faced a new hurdle. It had lost most of its specialists and along with that, almost all of the tenth company. It quickly began to recruit new members, but with few experienced Chaplin’s and Librarians to monitor the recruits, corruption began to worm its way into the chapters growing ranks. As well as this, the chapter began to withhold its gene-seed tithe, claiming it required it in order to survive. However the Inquisition looked upon the reformed and rebuilding chapter with a sense of suspicion. The murder of its specialists and original commanders could be seen as heresy, and with its numbers swelling, what if it were to suddenly turn upon the Imperium with the same abandon as its chapter command?

A small fleet of Ordo Hereticus ships were able to locate the Brotherhood’s fleet over one of their recruiting worlds, and attempted to hail the fleet, demanding that the Brotherhood man surrender and allow its members to be interrogated and scanned for heresy. Cain ordered that his ships open fire on the Inquisition fleet, before fleeing from the eventual reprisals, deep into the Eastern Fringe. As they descended further and further into the void, they also descended further into madness and anarchy. Spiralling into chaos, the chapter looted and raided dozens of worlds under Cain's command, slaughtering thousands and enslaving defeated foes as they struck at their former allies. Imperial outposts and space stations greeted the arriving Astartes, only to find themselves under attack. The Brotherhood of Man was reborn as the Brethren of Spite.

The Covenant of Sin
"We have our ships, we have our guns, we have our armour. The galaxy is ours to plunder, come on lads, let's get to it."

While the Brethren marauded through the eastern fringe, they would happen across a great discovery. The twisted cadre of warriors where able to find an Ark Mechanicus silently drifting through the void, deep within the eastern fringe. Though scarred by laser fire and without crew, the Brethren of Spite where able to slowly but surely repair and re-crew the craft through the assistance of Dark Mechanicus 'Hereteks' who were paid through activities found within the great crafts vaults. The ship was named the "Covenant of Sin" by Cain, who considered it a gift from the gods.

Now the Brethren of Spite possessed a sizable fleet of twenty ships and around four hundred astartes, along with numerous militia and pirate groups they had enslaved. Cain himself sought little more but to continue his trail of marauding and destruction, and was happy to oblige to his corrupt lieutenants and captains own goals, in order to keep them in check. The eastern fringe of the Imperium of man hosts numerous shipping lanes which are vital to those far out worlds under the Imperium's command, and are well guarded, however, the Brethren's sizable fleet could easily overwhelm other ships quickly in battle. Soon the Brethren of Spite began to target the shipping lanes, and destroyed and looted numerous craft. Even well guarded convoys could not properly counter the Brethren's tactical advantage of numbers, and when the Imperium possessed any advantage, the Brethren would retreat. Hit and run attacks soon formed the core of the Brethren of Spites tactical doctrine.

But the Brethren of Spites actions where not without consequence. In an attempt to tackle the rising raids and attacks, larger and better defended convoys where used instead. These small battle groups could fend off the Brethren's smaller strikes and forced them to adopt larger groups when assailing the Imperials, but this cost the Brethren of Spite resources, and could led to them being bogged down in large naval battles. This led to a lower rate of Brethren activity against the Imperium. The Brethren however refused to be pushed away from their hunting grounds. Deploying fleets of cruisers and dreadnoughts, the Brethren of Spite continued to raid and loot Imperial shipping lanes on the Eastern Fringe.

The Sons of Dorn
"Loyalist Cunts, we've been waiting for days now, days waiting to send a message to the rest of your kin."

- Cain

The knowledge a fellow successor chapter has betrayed the Imperium is not well taken, espically by the Black Templars. The news that the Brotherhood of Man had become a fleet of renegade pirates enraged the chapter, and as soon as it was possible, a fleet of Black Templar ships deployed alongside the main Imperial battle fleet. News of the Black Templar crusade against them quickly reached the Brethren of Spite, who realised that their piratical acts where threatened by the Loyalist arrival. Seeking to both eliminate the Black Templars and quickly secure as much loot as possible before making a retreat into the Eastern Fringe, dare the Templars be joined by other any other Sons of Dorn. The Brethren of Spite began to plot a trap.

Simple but efficient, the Brethren of Spite planned to lure the Templars into an ambush. Dispatching a number of "dummy" fleets, manned by skeleton crews, these small strike forces would launch raids on Imperial convoys. When the Black Templars launched their own assault or attempted a boarding action, the fleet would flee and return back to the assembled might of the Brethren of Spite's navy. Ultimately, the ploy worked. The Black Templars pursued the Brethren of Spites strike force, and found itself within the midst of the gathered Pirates fleet.

Caught in the noose of the renegades, the Black Templars were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned. The Brethren of Spite successfully crippled most of the Templar fleet, destroying any stragglers. Launching a wave of boarding craft, the Brethren of Spite sent a massed force of GriefKommando super soldiers and other shock troopers to begin the slaughter. The Black Templars showed a fierce resistance, but it could only last for so long. Eventually, the Templar hold outs were confined to a single ship. They refused to surrender of retreat, and promised they would fight to the last man. The Brethren were happy to oblige.

Chosen and other veterans began to carve and cut their way through the thinned and weakened Black Templar ranks. Veterans of dozens of raids and bordering actions, these troops made sport of the zealous Templar defenders, hunting them down and murdering them in vicious hand to hand fighting. Corridor by corridor, room by room, the Brethren of Spite exterminated the loyalists. The Black Templars did not lose heart, and took a heavy toll on the Brethren of Spite. By the end, only the strongest of the Brethren of Spite's veterans had survived. Many of these veterans still survive to this day, their armour adorned with the bones and helmets of the Black Templars they murdered.

"They know what we bring"
"Kill the children, strangle the mothers, burn the homes, string up the soldiers, lynch the leaders, torch the cities. Everyone knows what we bring."

Having fled the Eastern Fringe's Imperial Shipping lanes, the Brethren of Spite sought fresh victims, loot and plunder. Moving undetected through the void, the Brethren slowly but surely found a new source. An Eldar maiden world. The Brethren of Spite delighted in their discovery, and quickly set about launching raids on the planet. Although they faced stiff resistance from the worlds Exodite inhabitants, the Brethren's advantage of orbital weapons allowed them to crush their opponents from orbit, carving gouges into the world and burning their opponents to cinders.

Within a few days, the Maiden Worlds skies were choked with the ashes of the cities and settlements the Brethren of Spite had raised from orbit, while they carried off all manner of treasure and loot, but the Exodites remained stalwart to the end, costing the Brethren of Spite numerous casualties. It wasn't long however, before the Eldar struck back at the invaders in force. Lead by vaunted Autarch, a war host from Saim Hann sailed forth from the webway to engage the Brethren.

The Chaos marines were already scattered, too thinly spread and already being harried severely by the natives own counter attacks faced obliteration at the hands of Saim-Hann. The Brethren of Spite took massive casualties in the days after the Eldar war hosts arrival, attempts by Cain to regain the initiative failed as the Eldar countered them over and over again. In their desperation and Cain's anger, the Brethren of Spite fled to their ships, but not without unleashing one final attack on the Maiden World.

Unleashing a massive payload of biological and atomic weaponry, the Brethren laid waste to entire continents with their orbital attack. Almost two hundred and fifty Brethren astartes had died on the Maiden World, but the Brethren of Spite were not ones to forget or forgive those who had felled them. As Cain and the Brethren fled into the darkness, they plotted to strike back at the Eldar in a vicious and cruel way, but also make an example of those who sought to oppose the Brethren of Spite.

A thousand worlds to pillage...
"We found nercomancers worshipping weapons of mass destruction, a planet were the dead where raised again and again in thrall to Khorne and a moon bathed in shadow, it's glorious. We've found all sorts of strange shit out here. What kind of man would not desire this?"

While Cain moulded his next champion, the Brethren of Spite marched deeper into the Eastern Fringe. Just like the Imperial worlds they had raided before, the Brethren set fire to xenos systems and worlds in the same fashion. The Brethren of Spites greed for treasure and love of war pushed them on through even the most weary of conflicts. Often, the fleets of the Brethren of Spite would carve great runes and sigils into the worlds they had raided, great icons of the Chaos Gods. The Brethren encountered stalwart resistance from many of the foes they faced. Alien armies and hosts brought strange weapons and war-machines against the traitor astartes, but the Brethren of Spite fought on none the less. As the Brethren delved deeper and deeper into the uncharted void of space, they found themselves fighting beings that challenged the Chaos astartes own Daemonic allies in terms of strangeness. On a dead world, mass graves and great dusty tombs were home to cults of warring necromancers and sorcerers, who worshipped ancient long dead gods.

Summoning legions of skeletal warriors and constructs to battle, they warred to defend their massive libraries of knowledge, and what little resources the world had left. The Brethren of Spite bombarded the Necromancers fortresses and descended, finding the vaguely human cabals to worship them as gods or flee from them as devils. Those who attempted to defy the Chaos marines summoned massive armies of the undead, ranging from vast hosts of ghouls and skeletons to great drakes and space wyrms that breathed emerald flames. The necromancers did make what could be a valiant defence in the name of their goods, never surrendering or retreating, fighting to the end in the name of their dead god. Crushing the primitives in a fortnight, the Brethren of Spite raided the Necromancers libraries and vaults for whatever they could find of worth. Going through the old temples and lairs of the sorcerers, the Brethren found colossal shrines to the Necromancers "dead god". A massive stockpile of nuclear and atomic weaponry, which the Brethren looted eagerly.

But the Brethren encountered more than just aliens. Finding an abandoned Imperial outpost, the Brethren discovered that an exploration team had uncovered a webway portal and damaged it. From the portal, creatures from a variety of strange dimensions lurked forth, and had slaughtered or stolen away the colonists and explorers. The Brethren of Spite soon realised that the creatures they faced were Mandrakes, and that they had brought with them some sort of artificial darkness that blotted out the sun and allowed them to emerge from every corner and inch of the Imperial base. As the Brethren fought bitterly against the Mandrakes, the twisted Dark Eldar summoned more of their kin as well as other dark things from the depths of the web-way. Already nigh-invisible, the Mandrakes cut a bloody swathe through the Brethren's ranks. Only when chief sorcerer Kremlin and his cabal summon a great pillar of blinding light were the shadow creatures pushed back. The Brethren, intent on looting whatever the Mandrakes hid within their shadowy lairs, pursued them into the webway gate.

They were quick to retreat, finding that the gate was connected to the destroyed city of Shaa-Dom. Fleeing, the Brethren of Spite unleashed a monstrous barrage upon the worlds surface as the Dark Eldar began to spill out on greater numbers, dragging several of the Chaos marines into the webway. Worse still, the Brethren had managed to bring a number of the Mandrakes back with them as they departed. The Covenant of Sin held host to almost half a dozen of the shadowy creatures, before they were exterminated by Cain and his praetorian guard in a vicious series of hunts which lasted almost two weeks. The Brethren of Spite had managed to recover the mostly untouched resources of the slaughtered colonists, untouched by the Dark Eldar.

Far out on the edge of the galaxy, the Brethren discovered a strange world. It's surface red, the planet was marked by vast mountain ranges and great brazen temples. Upon landing, they found the world played host to thousands of warriors, eternally battling for some sort of daemonic sword. As the Brethren hacked and gunned their way to the sword themselves, they found that the dead re-knit and rose again, their armour and weapons repaired by some outside force. The Brethren of Spite discovered that some of the warriors who fought on the world were from the times before the Great Crusade. Among the massive free for all, the Brethren of Spite found the blades location. A colossal temple of bone, brass, iron and flesh, it was surrounded by a boiling sea of blood. Crossing it a great brass and bone bridge, the Brethren found themselves beset by great serpents and daemons that emerged from the crimson. It soon became apparent any warrior killed on the world and raised fell under the thrall of Khorne, effectively puppets to the swords will. Cain and the Brethren resorted to obliterating the bodies of their opponents, desperate to delay their resurrection. Finally landing upon the island where the sword was located, they found it was effectively a colossal fortress, manned by hundreds of Khorne daemons. The Brethren of Spite battled through the red sand beaches and pressed deep into the fortress, fighting past it's red skinned guards, they finally broke through into it's nexus.

It's walls and floors marble red, the Brethren of Spite found at it's centre the daemon blade sat upon a pedestal. A great-sword of some form, it burned with power, an aura of power surrounded it. It spoke to the Brethren, demanding that they release it from it's prison, raging at them and demanding it's release. Cain approached the blade, and placed his hands upon it. The Brethren of Spite watched as their lord was sent into a comatose state, watching him go silently as he spoke with the sword. With a sudden thrust, Cain tore the blade from it's mount, and threw it too the floor. Cain demanded his sorcerers encase the blade in some sort of protective field, and make sure it was secure. Soon the world began to rip itself apart, the resurrected warriors became dust, the red seas dried up the great fortress that had housed the sword began to collapse. Barely escaping with their lives, the Brethren now looked upon their latest trophy. Cain congratulated those who had survived the trials of the red world, and thanked them for their contribution to his and the Brethren's cause.

Tales of the Brethren's deeds spread quickly, and soon aspiring renegades, heretics and other pirates began to flock the Brethren's banner. Some were aliens, others human, and some renegade astartes. A few even hailed from the dread traitor legions, offering their services to Cain and the Brethren. The stories of the Brethren of Spites raids and adventures allowed them to almost double their numbers. They brought with them their own skills and abilities, and were valued among the Brethren of Spite for such reason. In return, they sought a share of the loot, glory and booty the Brethren had made themselves known for.

"Your kin is ours now"
"We hear you weep and rage Eldar at our acts, we hear you curse us for our 'horrid crime', and how you shall exterminate us for it. Your kin is ours now, and now we come to reap a tally for our fallen. Worry not, we shall not make prisoners of you. She, she was an exception."

Almost a year after the kindapping of Drow Thel, the Brethren found themselves beset by an Eldar strike force from the Craftworld of Saim-Hann. Across their vox-comns and through their minds using the psychic powers of their seers, the Eldar broadcast a message of doom to the Chaos space marines. The Brethren of Spite found their ships disabled or crippled from pin point bright lance fire. The Eldar then sent waves of fighters and boarding craft to assail the Brethren of Spites flagship Covenant of Sin, seeking to free their stolen kin, while the Brethren fought a desperate battle for their lives.

While aboard the Covenant of Sin the Eldar rescue teams found that their lost sister had been lost to the rage of Khorne and joined the Chaos pirates, the Brethren had begun to repair their weapon systems and begin their counter attack. Awoken, the lumbering might of the Brethren's war fleet turned upon the panicking Eldar and caught them in a tight noose. While the Eldar tried to flee into the web way from the vengeful Chaos marines, several of their ships had been caught in the heavy weapons fire of the Brethren, and now hung in the void. Evacuating as many of their kin as they could, the Eldar retreated back too their Craftworld, swearing to return and exterminate the Brethren of Spite. Those few Eldar ships that remained soon found themselves beset by the Brethren of Spite.

Crashing into the wraith bone halls of the Eldar craft, the Brethren of Spite began their massacre. While the Eldar fought back viciously, the Brethren delighted in the close confines of a space crafts halls. Drawing blades and bayonets, the Chaos marines crashed into the dazed Eldar ranks. For all their speed and agility, the Eldar found themselves cornered and outmatched by the brute strengh of the Brethren of Spite. Though they inflicted horrendous casulties and wounded scores of others, those of the Saim-Hann strike force who had been left behind faced a vile fate. Those not cut to pieces, found themselves made sport of by those Brethren who had pledged themselves to Slaanesh or on the slabs of the Brethren's science division.

The Sorcerers Hold
"You cannot win here. My library will be your tomb."

- O'kar, the Sorcerer lord

The Brethren of Spite had undertaken many dangerous adventures throughout their fierce history, though very few have comparison with those battles that occurred on a planet the Piratical Chaos marines came to know as the Mirror world. A Daemon world located far out in the Eastern Fringe, the planet was discovered by the Brethren of Spite in late m.38. Located in a desolate system, far from even the most remote Imperial outpost, the Brethren of Spite gazed down from their ships on the strange planet with a mix of hunger and delight. They had not come here at random, they had learned of it from a captured renegade Inquisitor, who had sold of the knowledge of the world in exchange for his life. The man had told the Brethren of Spite of a far flung world in the fold of Tzeentch, that bore host to a vast museum and library controlled by a venerated Sorcerer. Within it's pink and blue crystal halls, built in emulation of Tzeentch's own sprawling nether realm lay fabled tomes of sorcery, weapons ranging from the times before Eldar Empire to the days of the Dark Age, and other treasures only fabled to exist. The Brethren of Spite, given it's location, quickly sped to their new prize, ready for what would be the adventure of a lifetime.

None of the Brethren were fooled, they knew what awaited them would not be acquired easily. While they had never raided a target of such scale or fame, the Brethren of Spite had looted a number of other similar places. Hidden libraries and archives scattered across the galaxy had been broken into and stolen from by the Brethren, though the Chaos marines had learned there was much to fear when the guardians of such placed turned on them. Magical wards, Daemons, Thrall Wizards and Rubricane Space marines often acted as wardens. Many possessed unnatural defences as well, some were not even located in reality, while others were the lairs of much worse things. They knew that to be successful here would require the sacrifice of many of their comrades, but few of the Pirates were truly concerned about this.

Instantly upon arriving over the world, the Brethren of Spites war-fleet was greeted by an unnerving site. A colossal ring of broken and shattered ship wreckage orbited the planet, their hulls scorched and blackened. Blasting their way through the ship graveyard, the Brethren of Spite began to scour the world with orbital scans, but found it was impossible the map the planet. Some sort of warp field distorted their instruments, while across the fleet, Chaos Sorcerers and other psykers in the Brethren of Spites service experienced strange visions. Poltergeist activity bloosmed, while Possessed Chaos space marines told of their kin hungering for their mortal coil belong.

But the Brethren of Spite are not easy to dismay or scare. If the universe had taught them something, the more dangerous a place was, the greater chances that it possessed loot worth the risk. Arming themselves to the hilt, the first of the Chaos Space Marine strike forces made planetfall, headed by Cain himself.

The first of the Brethren of Spite's attack forces crashed through the canopy of a forest of glass trees, and quickly were swiftly assailed by a host of Daemons of Tzeentch. Spiting pink and blue fire at the pale armoured Chaos space marines, the Daemons were brought down by volleys of bolt gun fire. Advancing under the cover of the glass forest, the Brethren of Spite swiftly worked their way through the forest, gunning and cutting down dozens of daemons. By the time the Brethren had reached the edge of the forest, the piratical Chaos space marines were assailed by a silent mass of Rubricane and another host of Tzeentch daemons.

Under fire from the blue armoured and pink fleshed daemons, who spat out vicious bolts of purple and regal blue warp fire that set alight flesh and metal with the same effect. A number of the Chaos space marines were incinerated by concentrated warp fire, or set alight. Those who survived the magical barrage closed fast with the Tzeentchian Daemons and Astartes, and a fierce close combat began. The pirates cut and blasted apart clumsy masses of gangly limbs, who split apart into smaller creatures. The Rubricane were slow, and once their psyker master had been murdered, they fell into a strange state. The servants of Tzeentch were after a vicious battle, but the Brethren of Spite had began their long march. Those that survived placed the first beacons, and soon the rest of the Chaos space marines began to land.

However silently the world itself vomited out further reinforcements for it's inhabitants as the Brethren of Spite began to carve and gun through scores Tzeentch Daemons and Rubricane. The servants of the God of Change took their toll, but the Pirates longed for a fight, thrust into a terrible hunger and frenzy as they launched into the clumsy and unorganised ranks of Daemons and astartes. Soon Daemon Engines joined both sides, fighting across rivers of silver.

The K'rr massacres (450.M38)
In late M450.38 Craftworld Nazrihai sought to deliver a crippling blow to the Brethren of Spite for its crimes against the Eldar race. Having discovered the Brethren of Spite had hidden themselves on a mining world named K’rr. K’rr had been an old world from the times of the Dark Age of Technology, but was filled by factories and mining facilities, still in working condition and ready to begin operating again. Seeking to harvest the valuable materials and resources that still resided on K’rr, the Brethren established a base and under the direction of head researcher Orion Strasse began to reactive the old machinery and begin a process of repair and reconstruction across the Brethren of Spites armoury and fleet. Nazrihai believed in this state of weakness, the Brethren of Spite could be swept away in a single sweep, or at least a massacre of it’s leadership leaving the remnants to scatter to the wind. The Brethren of Spite would be an example to others who sought to harm the Eldar, a chilling and powerful example to both it’s rivals and allies throughout the Imperium’s Eastern Fringe.

K’rr itself was a rocky, mountains, barren world, marked by long abandoned foundries, factories, munitoriums, mines and warehouses. The Brethren of Spite had established their headquarters within the planet's largest mine, a cavernous and inhospitable place. Considered easy to defend and an excellent hiding place, the mine was also outfitted with numerous bunkers and even bore a massive fortress. However, despite these defenses, the Brethren of Spite where not prepared for defensive warfare. K’rr was simply a refuge, a hiding place. A skilled foe could easily exploit or bypass it’s weak defenses. The Brethren relied mainly upon not being found, or simply scaring off any attacker or trespasser with their assembled fleet.

But Nazrihai’s war host had been weakened. An invasion of the Craftworld by an army of Slaanesh devotees and daemons had almost crippled the Nazrihai warhost, and left it deprived of adequate manpower. Despite this, Nazirhai’s Seer Council predicted a victory for the Eldar, and a slaughter of their hated enemy, but they had failed to factor in something of great importance. Drow Thel, the fallen Autarch.

Nazrihai had never known of Drow Thel’s corruption, and believed that the Saim-Hann Autarch had perished in a failed rescue mission, slain by a Khornate champion. Now the lead military commander bar the Pirate Lord Cain of the Brethren of Spite, Drow had risen to a position of power through martial strength and Cain’s favour. Helping to organise the Brethren of Spite into an efficient military force through her skills as an Autarch, Drow had quickly become a notable Champion of the Blood God. Nazrihai would not know of Drow’s existence until it was too late.

Gathering for the conflict, Nazirhai’s warhost would slip into real space on the outskirts of K’rr and would strike at the docked Brethren war fleet in a series of bombings, quickly retreating and denying the Chaos space marines a reprisal. Swiftly the Eldar would make planetfall, striking at the Brethren of Spites weakest points in a quicksilver raid that crippled the renegade astartes defensive line and positions. Hundreds of the human and alien auxiliaries that served alongside the Brethren of Spite died as a fleet of Eldar vehicles penetrated or bypassed the weak defenses of the traitor space marines. Even the actual Chaos space marine corps of the Brethren was beginning to suffer notable casualties. Another issue now faced the Brethren. The Eldar forces were far too mobile to be accurately targeted by the Brethren of Spites orbiting fleet,. Their defenses bypassed, their forces weakened and on the retreat, and with their human auxiliaries scattered and beaten, the Brethren of Spite where on a road to defeat.

However the Eldar, as the battle went on, began to find their stratagem and tactics failing as the Brethren counter attacked with great resolve and strength. Soon the Nazrihai war host was suffering notable casualties, while the Brethren of Spite began to re-group. Meanwhile, the Eldar fleet had been thrown back by the strength of the Brethren’s naval power, unable to break or beat back the massed host of warships and cruisers that skulked and hunted the planets skies. Soon the Nazrihai found their attacks intercepted, some seemingly predicted or expected by the Brethren of Spite. The Eldar had no idea of what force now directed the Chaos space marines in such a fashion.

With their fleet driven away, and their reinforcements lacking, the Eldar warhost sought to deliver a killing blow to the Brethren of Spites leader, Cain. Having discovered the Chaos Champions location, the Eldar believed that they could launch a surprise attack, ambush Cain and kill him quickly and quietly, before fleeing back into the web-way.

The Eldar struck at Cain’s headquarters, infiltrating the cavernous mines and darkened depths, silently passing or killing the patrols they encountered as they made their way deeper and deeper into the fortress. Soon, they struck. While the Eldar strike teams made their attempt to slay Cain, a massive raid was launched upon the walls of the fortress to distract the Brethren of Spite defenders. While the strike teams made their way through the mine, killing any Brethren Chaos marines or auxiliaries they came upon, but soon realised something was horribly wrong. The Brethren of Spite had anticipated the attack. The massed flak and anti-aircraft batteries that lined the fortress walls had laid ruin to the Eldar strike force, leaving the scattered survivors to be descended on by a whole new threat. Drow Thel, the fallen Banshee.

Realising in horror who had directed the Brethren of Spite against them, the Eldar recoiled at the sight of their fallen kin. Those that could fled, but most of the Strike Force had been caught in a tight noose. Those that did not die or flee would be left for the Brethren of Spite to take as captives. A few weeks later, the Brethren of Spite would leave K’rr, never to return to the barren world again.

The Bonope wars (090.M39-092.M39)
In 90.M39 the Brethren of Spite launched an all out assault on the Knight World of Bonope, in hopes of securing it's vast riches, valuable resources and relics for their own means. Bonope itself was a hardy, frozen wasteland of a planet, marked by a number of heavily industrialized city states, which paid tribute to the Knight Nobles that ruled over the world. Bonope's population lived in relative luxury, a wealthy planet that held good relations with the nearby Forge World of Mostea, providing Bonope with an excellent pantheon of technological goods. Bonope, while appearing desolate from it's frozen, broken exterior, hosted massive underground mines, able to harvest the valuable minerals and resources needed by Mostea. Bonope, alongside it's vaunted Knight House, hosted a well equipped, funded and trained Planetary Defence force, as well as producing a number of equally skilled Imperial Guard Regiments. Further supplementing Bonope was the worlds defensive fleet, likewise well supplied and equipped.

Under most normal circumstances, the Brethren of Spite would avoid such well defended targets, unwilling to engage in long drawn out wars, especially against targets with supple and well defended supply lines which the Brethren could not rely on being broken. Instead what drew the Chaos space marines attention was the emergence of a civil war on the Forge World of Mostea. A Dark Mechanicus cult had spawned from a conflict over a recently discovered STC, and the dispute had turned into an all out Chaos incursion upon the Forge World. Rushing to their allies defense, Bonope's armies and Knight Houses found their loyalties tested when they found the utter chaos that had overtaken the Forge World. Turning into a stalemate as a number of regiments and Knights joined with the rebelling Mechanicus forces, the war left Mostea a scared, irradiated wasteland within a few months as the conflict ranged on.

As the war dragged on, Mostea itself suffered from internal conflict. Nobles and aristocracy began to bicker over the situation, and soon the seed of another Chaos incursion was set. Small cults became militias, while army units launched their own open rebellions. While these were, swiftly crushed, cracks were appearing in Bonope's defenses. The Brethren of Spite prying eyes found a new target, and with great speed their fleet gathered. At the time, the Brethren of Spite consisted of around seven hundred Chaos space marines, backed by a force of around eight to nine thousand human and xenos auxiliary troopers. Lacking much armour, the Chaos marines could only deploy less than one thousand vehicles, a mix of battle tanks and mobile artillery. The Brethren of Spite had a basic plan of attack. They would deploy en masse on Bonope when as many of the planets defense and army regiments where drawn to fight on the Mostea front, as well as pushed to fight off the increasing rate of rebelling army units, which now required the support of the Knight Nobles to properly deal with. The Chaos space marines goal was to first take, or at least plunder and destroy the capital Brora. Cain and his lead advisers believed in a swift and sudden strike, which would allow the Brethren of Spite to take the city quickly.

When the massive Brethren of Spites war-fleet tore into real-space, they discovered they were not the only force attempting to take advantage of Bonope's increasingly hostile scenario. A fleet of Bad Moon Ork's had already arrived, and was in the process of engaging the Bonope defensive fleet. The Brethren of Spite swiftly cut a path through both the Imperials and Xenos, with a number of Chaos space marine captives breaking off from the main assault with their wolf pack splinter fleets.

WIP

Cain ascendant (997.M40)
"We turned their crown jewel into a daemon world and reduced the populace to a red paste. The Dark Gods must have got a good laugh out of that one, I certainly did."

During late m.40 the Brethren of Spite allied with the Night Lords warband known as the Hell-Screamers and their leader Acherius Erinyes in order to conduct an invasion of an Imperial Shrine world known as Perta. Cain sought to finally ascend to Daemonhood by massacring the planets population and turning world into a massive shrine to his own glory, while the Hell-Screamers were promised valiant the valiant Imperial warriors known as the Sisters of Battle for entertainment, alongside artefacts from the vaults of the Covenant of Sin. While the Hell-Screamers made planet fall and infiltrated the Shrine World unseen and undetected, the Brethren of Spite slowly but surely made their approach, hidden from prying eyes. The Night Lords set to work, preparing themselves for the arrival of the renegades by launching a hidden campaign of sabotage and terror. The Night Lords strung up the skinned bodies of religious leaders from lamp posts and chapel spires, while Imperial defence systems were infiltrated and sabotaged. In the last few days leading up the Brethren of Spites own attack, the Night Lords revealed themselves to the Sortia defenders in a series of vicious strikes. While the Imperial defenders desperately sought to deal with the veteran Night Lords, who mocked the slow and sluggish Imperial counter-attacks by simply slipping away into the shadows, the Brethren of Spite burst into orbit.

The Imperial defense systems collapsed into chaos as the Night Lords sprung their trap, the Imperial fleet that hung over the world found itself under fire from the world they were supposed to be defending. Caught between the Brethren of Spites massive battle fleet and the Night Lords trickery, the Imperial fleet collapsed in hours while the Brethren began to land on the Shrine world. Planted by the Hell-Screamers, homing beacons allowed the Brethren's ships to unleash orbital strikes with pin-point accuracy, alongside massive carpet bombings which reduced many of the defensive fortifications to rubble. Other beacons allowed the Brethren to safely teleport or land within close proximity of their targets. The Sisters of Battle defending Perta found themselves out-gunned and overextending massively, while the Brethren of Spite and Night Lords were free to roam the world and slaughter it's defenders at will. The population was trapped between the Chaos space marines and their own orbital defences, evacuation transports were sliced open by precision laser fire, while the Brethren and Night Lords delighted in their acts of savagery and violence.

In hectic street battles the traitor astartes and Sisters of Battle clashed amidst the ash and rubble, where the Sortias called upon their faith in the Emperor to assist them in battle, the Brethren of Spite tore rifts in reality and summoned forth daemons. The walls between the warp and real space began too thin as the Chaos marines piled up more and more corpses. The Brethren of Spites sorcerers led great summoning rites and rituals, while in orbit the Brethren's fleet carved great runes into the planets surface. Soon the Sisters of Battle faced not only the Brethren of Spite and the Night Lords, but a host of soul hungry daemons. Quickly Perta's cities were beset by all manner of nightmarish things, while the Hell-Screamers tortured and exterminated the civilian populace, the Brethren looted the Imperial shrines and temples for any valuables they could scavenge. In less than a week, the Deaths-head symbol of the Brethren hung over most of the Shrine worlds destroyed cities.

But the Brethren had a much darker plan in mind for the Shrine World. Cain sought to turn the planet into a Daemon World, and since their landing the sorcerers of the Brethren of Spite had begun rites and rituals to bring down the walls between reality and the immaterial. While the traitor astartes rampaged across the planet, looting and stealing anything they could find, masses of slaves and psykers constructed colossal icons of summoning and massive soul furnaces among the ruin and conquered cities. Feeding the dead and wounded alike into these great soul furnaces, the sorcerers cabal watched as the first rifts in reality opened up. While the daemons that had stalked the world had been lesser creatures and few in number, what stepped forth now was a terrible site. Four legions from each of the Dark Gods spilled out into reality, while a warp storm began to form.

The Imperial defenders and those civilians who had not been massacred or sacrificed in the initial invasion now fled to the fortified capital of Perta, which acted as the last bastion for the worlds populace. Battered day and night by the encroaching Chaos armies and the space fleet from above, those who survived had no way too escape their fate. The Sortias who remained sought a glorified end in martyrdom, the Brethren and Night Lords refused to indulge the Imperials in any such way. The Night Lords began the attack, the Hell-Screamers launching a vicious assault from the air, a terrible screeching filling the air. While the Hell-Screamers descended on the refugees and Sortias, the Brethren, led by Cain attacked the city from the ground. A massive strike force formed of Berzerkers and Terminators, led by the Chaos Lord broke through the already weakened Imperial defenses. While Cain and his praetorian guard began to gun and cut down anything in their path, daemons materialized within the city. Soon the Imperial front had splintered and collapsed into nothing but desperate street fighting and last stands. As the Brethren made their way towards the city center, the warping influence of Chaos began to take hold. Structures fused with flesh and bone, while the roads became rivers of burning blood and fire. Corned with nowhere to go, those civilians who remained became slaves and fodder for the Brethren and Hell-Screamers gruesome wishes. By the end of two days, nothing remained alive in the city, anything that had survived the Brethren of Spite and Night Lords assault had met a number of terrible fates.

However before the Brethren and their Night Lord allies could claim their ultimate victory, another obstacle emerged. A small strike force of Grey Knight's had arrived, numbering fifty, they sought to kill Cain before he could ascend to Daemonhood as well as kill the premature daemon world. Teleporting into what had become known as Cain's inner sanctum, the strike team cut their way through much of Cain's vaunted praetorian guard and many of the "GriefKommando" before coming face to face with the Chaos lord and his inner circle. A terrible battle ensured between the silver armoured warriors and the Brethren of Spite, much of the Brethren's high command took part in the fight while more swarmed into it from the rest of the levelled city. The Grey Knights took a terrible toll on the Chaos space marines with their psy-bolts and force weapons, but they had severely underestimated the Brethren's numbers or ability, most likely due to a general lack of information of the Brethren that the Inquisition possessed. Whatever of the Grey Knight force teleported away, escaping the world after Cain viciously throttled and blinded their Brother Captain. With this act, Cain was lifted up by a pillar of black light and was remade.

The Brethren re-swore their oaths of loyalty to the Daemon Prince Cain, their steel god of ash and fire. Cain and the Brethren departed Perta victorious, Cain now an immortal demi-god, and the Brethren's treasuries filled by stolen artifacts and other loot from the now warp tainted Perta.

Organisation and tactical doctrine
"Our war? Our war is built from iron, and lighting and fire. Nothing will scavenge from the places we raid. There will be nothing left to take."

- Anonymous Brethren.

As a military force Brethren of Spite have always been a fleet based, and have never strayed from such a organisation. Deploring the concept of a stationary base of operations, the Brethren of Spite have built their entire military structure around their love for their craft. Standing at around eight hundred Chaos space marines, along with several thousand xenos and human mercenary troopers, alongside a large war fleet believed to number over a hundred vessels, the Brethren of Spite are more than capable of overrunning a world or crushing an Imperial fleet. However, the Brethren of Spite often operate as separate, smaller fleets with a greater sense of independence. Generally, the Brethren of Spite do not stray far from the main fleet.

The core of the Brethren of Spite are Astartes. These operate as units of well equipped, well trained and hardened units, experienced in close quarters combat and veterans of numerous of raids and boarding actions against Imperial and alien targets. While at least half of the Brethren of Spite are believed to come from the original Brotherhood of Man's gene-stock (while only around 15-20% are believed to be the original traitors from chapter) the Brethren of Spite have incorporated a large number of other renegade Space marines (including veterans of the Horus Heresy and long war into the ranks). This means the Brethren of Spite can bring a fairly varied force into battle, though it is all geared towards the Brethren of Spite's love for sudden, swift and crippling attacks. Often these Space marines will travel by Rhino or Drop pod, with many units hating the idea of having to cross a battle field by foot due to the danger of such a task. Universally the Brethren despise the concept of a fight where an enemy might fight at his or her full strength, and employ all manner of means and methods to weaken them. Along with this, the Brethren of Spite have a noticeable reliance on orbital support, something that has proved both a boon and weakness in the past.

Fighting alongside the Brethren of Spites Space marine units are those humans and xenos who have joined them, ether in search of adventure or loot as their Space marine counterparts, or mercenaries under extended stay. Like their Chaos space marine kin, a majority of these units are well trained and equipped in comparison with both loyalist and other renegade troopers. Most of these soldiers often operate as jump infantry, using grav-chutes or other means to keep up with their Chaos space marine allies, acting as scouts. Otherwise these auxiliary units will be mounted, acting as Grenadiers in support of their Space marine masters. Staying in reserve, these units will ether exploit gaps in the enemies lines or plug those in the Brethren of Spites. The astartes of the Brethren have little qualm with using these units as fire screens or distractions, even though prove a valuable asset in their own right.

Another task for these auxiliaries is to act as artillery and anti air-craft teams, tasks seen as menial by the Astartes of the Brethren of Spite. Ether acting as part of Orion Strasses armoured division or being deployed separately, these relatively small but vital units are often headed by at least one Astartes officer or NCO, ether as punishment or due to injury. A menial and hated task, few Brethren Space marines enjoy being bogged down by their lesser servants.

In typical boarding actions, the Brethren will disable key systems of enemy vessels before launching the actual assault. The Brethren of Spite will then proceed to take the engine room, preventing the crew of the craft from scuttling it. Once securing the engines, and ensuring the ship cannot be detonated by the crew, the Brethren will attempt to take control of the ships other vital systems manually. The Brethren of Spite will then begin to sweep the ship, opting to clear out any resistance as quickly as possible before fully taking control of the craft. There are numerous instances of the Brethren jettisoning the crew, or disabling the power of certain areas of a vessel, denying the enemy oxygen and access to their own equipment.

The 1st (and only) "Orion Strasse" Armored Division of the Brethren of Spite
Originally made up of what remained of the Brethren of Spites battle-tanks and armoured vehicles after it's civil war, alongside any other captured or looted vehicles that the Brethren of Spite have repaired and pressed into active service, the 1st Armored Division acts as the Brethren of Spites only tank force due to the warbands nature. Trained to act in support of the mobile infantry of the Brethren, or deal with enemy heavy armour which can prove troublesome to the lighter Brethren of Spite troopers. A majority of the units vehicles have been modified to move at faster speeds, or have been rearmed and equipped to better serve their role in the Brethren of Spite's blitzkrieg tactics.

8th Assault Company
Having long lost any real structure, the 8th assault company of the Brethren of Spite is effectively a collection of Khorne Bezerkers, former assault marines, Raptors, and Warp Talons alongside a mass of air borne human and xenos jump troops. The Eighth acts as the tip of the Brethren of Spites spear, veterans in the task of collapsing lines or exposing weaknesses within the enemies defense. Infamous for it's core of well trained grav troops, the Assault Company has carved out a noticeable reputation for close quarters fighting, brutality and love for battle. Often see as the apex of the Brethren of Spite's raider nature, the 8th Company is exclusively commanded by Drow Thel, who has led the group since her early induction to the Brethren of Spite.

Science Division
"A resilient specimen, we'll do great things with you. Now, up! Up! onto to the slab!"

The Brethren of Spite hosts an extensive "Science Division", made up of numerous tech-hereteks, renegade tech-marines, apothecaries and other rouge scientists who have been enlisted into the Brethren's ranks through the offer of support in the form of resources and access to the ancient vaults of the Covenant of Sin. The Science Division is a well protected asset, held securely on the Covenant of Sin's depths to produce and maintain all matter of dark technology and weaponry for the Brethren of Spites use. Super soldiers, daemon engines and weapons, and all manner of other forbidden technology to be unleashed upon the foes of the Brethren from their hidden forges and laboratories. All manner of dark things lurch forth from the bio-forges and soul furnaces of the science divisions blackened laboratories, super soldiers, daemon engines and armour vessels all come to answer the Brethren's call to war. In battle, the sizeable host of mechanical and biological monstrosities that the Science Division command are put to use, and can work as a capable force in it's own right.

Notable members of the Brethren of Spite
The Brethren of Spite is a large and varied organisation, and is home to a number of unique squads, units and characters that form the core of the piratical war band.

Cain
Leader and self proclaimed Grand High Imperial Admiral of the Brethren of Spite, Cain was originally the Captain of the Chapters second company, and continues to lead it as a Daemon Prince. Protagonist of hundreds of raids against the Imperium of Man, Xenos and other Chaos space marines, Cain is venerated commander and warrior, respected and feared among his host of renegades.

Drow Thel
Former Eldar Banshee of Saim-Hann, Drow was captured and corrupted by the Brethren of Spite. Now a fully fledged member of the Brethren, Drow now leads the remains of the Brethren's Khonre worshiping assault company into battle, as well as acting as one of Cain's chief advisers in military matters.

Xaphon
Chief sorcerer and archivist of the Brethren, Xaphon acts as Cain's chief adviser on arcane and daemonic matters, despite his incompetence and occasional failure to properly preform spells, Xaphon remains one of Cain's most favoured and trusted servants. He took this position after the death of his predecessor Kremlin, who was killed by Drow Thel.

Orion Strasse
Leading researcher and tank ace of the Brethren of Spite's science division, Orion Strasse is a gifted and exceptionally skilled scientist in both the mechanical and biological, as well as being a skilled and competent tank commander. Orion loves his work and craft, obsessed with it and strives for perfection in whatever he creates, be it super soldier or daemon engine.

K'Hesh
A former Genoforger of the Empyran Pantheon, K'Hesh is the mentor and partner of Lead Researcher Strasse within the Science Division. A master in the arts of genetic manipulation and biological augmentation, K'Hesh augments the Brethren's warriors and bolsters their forces with gene-bred abominations, though he seems to have an agenda of his own...

Fleet
The Brethren's of Spites fleet contains a varied array of ships, though several have been noted in their regularity in raids and attacks;
 * The Covenant of Sin: The Covenant acts as the flagship and home base for the Brethren of Spites war-fleet. An Ancient Ark Mechanicus, the Covenant of Sin is a vast vessel of colossal proportions, dwarfing most other ships. The ship has been modified to host almost half the Brethren of Spites number, while it can carry smaller battle ships in it's "belly", as well as hundreds (if not thousands) of fighter craft and drop ships.

Culture and beliefs
"There's nothing here to loot, and the crew aren't worth the effort. Just flush them out the gods dammed air-lock already..."

- Recording of an Brethren of Spite member aboard a boarded Imperial freighter

The Brethren of Spite is effective a collective mix of rogues, murderers and thieves bound only by a shared love for adventure, glory, women and loot and greed. While in their early days the Brethren of Spite had original directed themselves against the Imperium in a long and grinding campaign of hatred, they have lost any real interest in seeking vengeance of the Imperium of Man. Instead the Brethren of Spite now seek to establish a legacy for themselves. They understand that the universe is uncaring and terrible place, but they know they can still make a mark on it, not matter what it takes. To commit some horrific atrocity, to have their name whispered in fear and cursed for horrid deeds is something the Brethren universally seek out. The Brethren love the idea of delving into the unknown, saber and bolter in hand, and it is something they do an almost daily basis. The Brethren of Spite know that in the end they will be remembered not just for what they have destroyed, but what they have created.

Livery
The Brethren of Spites uniform is a bleached bone colour, marked by patches of black and a silver trim. Many Brethren carve or paint runes and icons of Chaos onto their armour, and many replace the patches of black with a hue more fitting of their Chaos power. The 'icon' of the Brethren of Spite is most commonly a cracked skull, sometimes sporting a nest of serpents for hair or spilling from it's eye sockets.

Geneseed and recruitment
"All matter of traitors and rouges have come under his banner. They are a varied lot the Brethren, which makes them all the more dangerous."

The Brethren of Spite are descended from the Imperial Fists, and were part of the 13th founding. What is odd though, is that while the 13th founding is shrouded in mystery and with many chapters formed from it ignorant of their heritage, the Brethren are fully aware of their origins. Being descended from means the Brethren lack of Betcher gland and Sus-an Membrane, however due to their recruitment of various renegades and traitors, alongside the theft of gene-seed leaves the mutations and alterations within the Brethren varied and unusual.

Like all Chaos and renegade war bands, the Brethren rely on slaves and cultists as their main source of recruits for new astartes warriors. However, other methods of creation have been observed. Psycho surgery and psychic brain washing on captured astartes can create entirely new personalities, ready for combat alongside their new brothers. The theft of Space marine recruits have also occurred, and has led to several chapters swearing vendetta's on the Brethren of Spite for their heresy. During their early days as pirates, the Brethren recruited all manner of rogue and corrupted space marines into their ranks, inevitably corrupting the chapter with their influence and tainted gene-seed. This mass recruitment also led to the induction of individuals like Sorcerers, Dark Apostles and other specialists into their ranks, who inevitably have passed on their knowledge and teachings to their own acolytes within the Brethren of Spite. It's known that the Brethren were able to acquire the services of at least one Berzerker surgeon, alongside a Nurgle sorcerer capable of bestowing loyal servants of Nurgle with the gifts of the Plague marines.

Relations
If you want to add anything ask me about it first

Erranigos Vindicta Cohort
A standing Enemy hunting the Brethren of Spite, the Erranigos and their Automata despise the Brethren of Spite. The Erranigos have routinely engaged the Brethren at first opprotunity as to further bring their oaths closer to fulfillment and to bring further damage to the traitor and the Dark Mechanicus.

About
"Heretic, surrender your weapons and prepare to be cleansed in the name of the Omnissiah. Your fleet shall offer you no escape, your gods no protection. Your death was a inevitable, determined by the moment of your treason."

- Repeated message transmitted through Erranigos Vindicta Cohort automoa in battle to the warriors of the Brethren of Spite.

By
"Rape the churches, poison the women and burn the water! Wait, yeah that's actually right"

"We'll take anything not bolted down, flush the crew out the airlock, find more women and drink their alcohol. Any questions about the battle plan? Good, lets get going!"

[[Category:Chaos spac