Dawn Chasers

''"The conviction of Man is stronger than the worlds that must break to accommodate it." ''

— Sergeant Garroc Plint, Dawn Chasers 3rd Company

Overview
The Dawn Chasers are sons of Rogal Dorn, created during the third founding. Known as Lawkeepers in some parts of the Imperium, they dogmatically follow the Imperial Creed, not for its religious value but for its value as a uniting set of laws that bind humanity together, the last living monument to the Emperor's will. This faith in the Imperial Creed has earned them many allies within their brothers, the Black Templars, and amongst the faithful within the Inquisition.

They are specialists in planetary compliance and subversive warfare, most often operating in small teams in order to retake human worlds from rebellious governors, chaos conquests, or xeno occupation. They see themselves as the ones charged with bringing order to a chaotic galaxy, and will rarely lift a finger to help in a fight outside Imperial territory, focused mainly on protecting what the Imperium has or retaking what they have lost. They most often operate in small strike squads, three or four squads usually being enough to conquer a world, but when the full chapter mobilises, it is truly a sight to behold.

Chapter History
The Dawn Chasers were a third founding chapter, sired by Julianus Thoss, a Captain of Rogal Dorn during the years following the heresy. Thoss admired the Primarch greatly, attempting to forge his chapter based on the ideals of Dorn. However, long before he became one of Dorn’s favoured captains, Julianus was involved in a joint combat operation with a contingent of Ultramarines, seeking to stabilise a world that had been unified into the empire during the crusade, and had become embroiled in civil war after the Imperial forces withdrew to face the traitor Horus. Thoss’ Imperial Fists worked side-by-side with the Ultramarine company to restore civil order and ensure compliance. It was there that Thoss learned a lesson that Dorn could never teach him: the role of an Astartes during peacetime. The fifty Ultramarines on this world were able to do a better job of governing the world and maintaining order than its corrupt and quarreling human government. When Thoss was given his own fortress-monastery, he took his role as acting planetary governor very seriously, and insisted that his Astartes, while not in combat, would take these duties very seriously as well.

While many chapters have given up their duty of Compliance after the Great Crusade, the Dawn Chasers have never forgotten the true purpose of their creation. They continue to spread the Imperial Truth to all worlds that have forgotten the will of the Emperor, and they will use whatever means necessary to enforce this compliance. To ensure compliance, they will deploy their covert strike teams across a planet to destabilise its economy and political structure. Their preferred strategy is to identify power structures and eliminate as many critical points in this structure as possible. For example, to capture a world, they will avoid open combat, preferring to slowly wear an enemy down into capitulation, taking world leaders hostage, sabotaging factories and transport networks, fuelling civilian discontent, and demoralising opposition. They will operate in small teams across this world, never tiring, never ceasing, knowing that the enemy will give in before their bodies do. For Dawn Chasers, plantery compliance is an integral part of their existence. A scout graduates to full marine after his first involvement in a full-scale planetary compliance action, and is permitted to take the name of said planet as his surname as a display of honour he earned. To not have a surname within the Dawn Chasers can either be a mark of shame or a badge of honour. Scouts and some low level marines will have no surname because they have never been involved in a planetary compliance action, while some high ranking officers within the Dawn Chasers such as Harken, Lord Grane, and Reverus choose to forgo a surname because the worlds they have conquered are so numerous that it is a disservice to their reputation if only one were named.

The Dawn Chasers lost a great number of their forces during the invasion of Hive Fleet Leviathan, which threatened many worlds in their sector. Too cocky in their own strength, they spread themselves too thin, deploying on half a dozen worlds in defence of Sector Oris, accompanied by their ancient allies, the Knights of Vinora. Worse still was the loss of Karlan Tarus’ Seventh Company Fleet to the volatile warp. Their numbers dipped below 100 as they continued to throw everything they had at the Tyranids. The Dawn Chasers were prepared to let their chapter die in defence of Oris, in defence of Chivis, but that black day would not come so soon. They were instead saved by the timely reinforcement of 1,000 Primaris marines, let by Captain Enorus Hamar. Hamar, already a veteran of the Indomitus Crusade, his marines had arrived wearing the emerald and gold of the Dawn Chasers. After carving through hordes of Tyranids, Enorus’ marines were able to rescue Chapter Master Cadmar Dexus, from what he believed to be his final stand. Standing in a field of alien corpses, Hamar and his emerald-clad marines dropped to one knee before Dexus and pledged their service to him.

Chapter Homeworld
For the majority of its history, Chivis was an uninhabited jungle deathworld full of dangerous flora and fauna. It first became colonised in M33 by the recently formed Dawn Chasers. After spending roughly a millennia as a fleet-based chapter, the Dawn Chasers finally found their place in the universe after responding to a distress call from the Knight World of Vinora. The Knights were facing raids from Dark Eldar pirates, and while they were capable of repelling them from the ground, the Knights were lacking in ships that could combat them in the void. And so the Dawn Chasers fleet arrived in sector and swiftly dealt with the raider fleet. The Knights swore themselves as allies to the Dawn Chasers after that battle, and forged a strong brotherhood that stands to this day. And so the Dawn Chasers finally found their place, on Vinora's jungle moon of Chivis. With the help of the knights, the Dawn Chasers were able to clear out a sector of the planet and built mighty walls to keep the native wildlife from disturbing them. They constructed their mighty fortress-monastery Watcher's Keep in the centre of these walls, and slowly the city built up all around them, reaching from wall to wall, until the city started needing to expand up, rather than out, to stay within the walls. It is for this reason that the Adeptus Administratum considers the planet to be a proto-hive world, since it likely that the city will start to build up the layers of a hive in the future. The walls of Chivis are manned by Astartes of the Dawn Chasers Fifth company, who have a permanent station on the planet, serving as the Chivan's greatest protectors as well as their most effective governors.

Chivis is ruled by the Chapter Master of the Dawn Chasers, who serves as the planetary governor in all official capacities. Every Dawn Chaser will spend time governing the world of Chivis. The founder of their chapter, Julianus Thoss, considered this experience in bureaucracy to be invaluable to a marine, as it teaches them leadership, connects them with the citizens that they are charged with protecting, and gives them deep knowledge of governing structures, which they use to their advantage when bringing compliance to human worlds. While the Dawn Chasers are expert governors, they are still Adeptus Astartes, and therefore tend to lack the elements of humanity often ascribed to good rulers. The laws of Chivis are enforced strictly and uniformly, designed with the goal of creating a society that benefits all. An upside to this is that the Astartes are virtually immune to the prospects of money or power, so their decisions will always be made to benefit society rather than themselves. Those who would disrupt the balance of this society are punished harshly. This is not to say that Chivis is a dictatorship, or that it’s people are oppressed, but the Astartes know Chaos better than any planetary governor ever will, and their methods to eradicate dissent from their society are more extreme than many other areas of the Imperium. The Chivan people live under stringent mass surveillance, and any dissonance may warrant severe repercussions. Their culture, from the outside looking in, seems almost utopian, but every citizen knows that their utopia is upheld by secret police and strict penalties.

Chivis has a prideful and strongly martial culture, attributed to the presence of the Dawn Chasers Astartes who run the planetary government. All citizens are trained in self-defence as part of standard schooling cirriculum, and at age ten they undergo extensive testing in order to qualify for their advanced education. A low scoring student will be sent to academies with low-grade educators, and have very few career prospects beyond unskilled labour. The particularly bright students will recieve the best education available, and go on to serve in the planetary government, serve as Dawn Chasers chapter serfs, or find lucrative work within the system's trading guilds. Boys who score in the 99th percentile will be taken to the Dawn Chasers to be trained as an Astartes, and girls who score the same will be forwarded to the neighbouring Schola Progenium on Caris for their training. This creates a highly competetive atmosphere for parents, who all wish for their children to achieve the highest resultes, since the results of this one test determines the child's social class for life. There are no native people of Chivis, all of its citizens have heritage able to be traced back to countless other worlds. Their culture is still finding its place in the world, as thousands of unique cultures mesh together to form a cohesive society.

Notable Dawn Chasers

 * Chapter Master Julianos Thoss - Thoss was a Captain of Rogal Dorn during the years following the Horus Heresy, and when the Third Founding was ordered, Julianos was granted his own chapter to command. He was known for being a shrewd and farsighted leader, one to take the time to ingratiate himself to allies and consider all viewpoints before taking action.
 * Chapter Master Cadmar Dexus - Dexus is the Chapter Master of the Dawn Chasers who has been in command for almost 200 years. A resilient survivor, Cadmar Dexus has outlived almost two generations of his subordinate captains.
 * Chaplain Reverus - Reverus is the Grand Chaplain of the Dawn Chasers, capable of rousing the hearts of even the most apathetic marine. He is Master of Sanctity and veteran of a thousand battlefields.
 * Librarian Lodah - Lodah the Telepath has served as the Chief Librarian of the Dawn Chasers since his predecessor passed in the War of Oris in early M42. His wisdom is highly respected by Chapter Master Dexus, who often fights at his side during battle.


 * Ancient Casian Bross - Castian holds the standard of the Dawn Chasers high above his head during battle. He fights with the broken power sword of his predecessor, ineffective in combat, but a grim reminder to those around him of the cost of defeat.
 * Champion Gaius Terax - Gaius is the leader of Chapter Master Dexus’ Honour Guard, and recognised by many within the chapter to be their best fighter. Formerly Sixth Captain, he gave up the title to become the Chapter Champion after an attempt on the Chapter Master’s life claimed the lives of his entire Honour Guard in 743.M41
 * Forge Master Coreas Fabrax - Almost as old as the Chapter Master, Coreas Fabrax has served as quartermaster of the Dawn Chasers for longer than most can remember. Trained on Mars, his technical knowledge is rivaled by none within the chapter.
 * First Captain Enorus Hamar - First Captain of the Dawn Chasers. Served in a scout company during the Great Crusade, saw Dorn a couple times. Was taken to be implanted with the black carapace but Cawl plucked him out and implanted him with quite a bit more than that. Was kept in stasis for 10,000 years until Guilliman assembled the primaris marines for the Indomitus Crusade, where he earned great honours. Referred to as Hamar the Crusader, for his participation in both the Great and Indomitus Crusade.
 * First Sergeant Jaris - Intercessor Sergeant, First Company. Like all sergeants of the first company, he uses a power fist in combat.
 * Second Captain Avariel Soria - Second Captain of the Dawn Chasers. He wields a powerful boltgun, dating back to service in the Great Crusade. He is a master marksman, and is often found supporting a defensive line of troops, providing cover  to artillery units and firepower to front line aggressors.
 * Second Sergeant Bolus Renad - Intercessor Sergeant, Second Company
 * Second Sergeant Karres Omeron - Hellblaster Sergeant, Second Company
 * Third Captain Harken - Third Captain of the Dawn Chasers. A true believer that the ends justify any means, and is ruthless in his destruction of heretics. He once served a brief tenure in the retinue of an inquisitor, where his pragmatic doctrine, unorthodox strategies, and loose morality served the imperium well. He officially commands the artillery of the Dawn Chasers army, but he prefers to get right up on the front lines of battle, justifying that he is able to give exact, up-to-date locations to his artillery to rain hellfire.
 * Third Lord Incarnel - Redemptor Dreadnought, Third Company.
 * Third Sergeant Arios - Aggressor Sergeant, Third Company.
 * Third Sergeant Garroc Plint - Aggressor Sergeant, Third Company.
 * Fourth Captain-Lord Grane - Fourth Captain of the Dawn Chasers. He is a Venerable Dreadnought with hundreds of years of experience. He is a master of siege-based warfare, and is only awoken to assault the most well defended fortresses.
 * Fifth Captain Serannias - Fifth Captain of the Dawn Chasers. An expert governor, and well liked by all, including the citizens of Chivis. His natural charisma and charm make him a perfect face for the Dawn Chasers on their homeworld, and he is often at the centre of  the majority of propaganda pieces on Chivis. However, he is still a master soldier, and leads the fifth company in defence of the homeworld and neighbouring planets.
 * Sixth Captain Tynos Belleke - Sixth Captain of the Dawn Chasers. Belleke has the best mind in the Chapter, rivalling even the Forge-Master in his knowledge of logistical matters. He is responsible for the organisation and deployment of all Dawn Chaser resources across the galaxy.
 * Seventh Captain Trissius - Seventh Captain of the Dawn Chasers. An expert in void-combat, and master of the Chapter Fleet. Trissius is calm and aloof, almost to the point of arrogance. It takes nothing short of a heretical fleet to get a rise out of him. His cool calculation makes him the perfect choice to sit the captain's throne and lead the Dawn Chasers in naval combat
 * Eighth Captain Silas Ashar - Eighth Captain of the Dawn Chasers. He is an introverted, private man with many secrets, even from his fellow captains. He speaks in nought but a whisper, and is never seen outside his ancient Cataphractii terminator armour. He manages the Strike Teams, who operate in small units to destabilise enemy power structure. These Strike Teams have full independence, answering only to Ashar in the most critical circumstances.
 * Ninth Captain Sarkin Thox - Ninth Captain of the Dawn Chasers. He commands all scout squads and oversees the recruitment of new Astartes.

Chapter Fleet
The Dawn Chasers fleet is fewer in cruisers than most of their counterparts, but what they are lacking in large ships they make up for with an abundance of escort vessels. As the operation of the 8th company strike teams are so integral to the operations of the Dawn Chasers across the galaxy, it is essential that Gladius Frigates are available to transport these squads where they are needed. As of 111.M42, the Dawn Chasers fleet was counted at 8 Strike Cruisers, one for each company, and 51 Gladius Frigates.

Notable Dawn Chasers vessels within the Chapter fleet include:
 * Eventide (Strike Cruiser) - The flagship of the Dawn Chasers First Company and personal vessel of Chapter Master Cadmar Dexus.
 * Blinding Hope (Strike Cruiser) - The lead ship of Seventh Company up until 87.M42, wherein it became lost to the warp and presumed destroyed. In secret, the crew of the Blinding Hope had become seduced by the Plague Lord Nurgle and transformed into his vile servants, who now call themselves the Pestilent Dusk.

Chapter Colours
The Dawn Chasers wear green power armour, with the trim on their shoulder pads, knee pads, backpack exhausts, and helmet plating decorated in gold, with a matching gold Imperialis emblazoned on their chest.

Sergeants of the Dawn Chasers wear a solid purple helmet to distinguish them on the battlefield, and lieutenants wear a helmet of ivory and gold.

Chapter Badge
The crest of the Dawn Chasers is the clenched fist of Rogal Dorn encircled by a burning sun of gold.