Knights Exile

"Long I have been your Captain, Battle-Brothers of the 67th Company. Long have we fought alone within the barbarian space of the Lost Shore. When we returned, the Imperium as we knew it... Our Legion as we knew it, was no more. But that is of little consequence. Though Guilliman is no longer with us, though we may no longer march into battle bearing the same colors and heraldry, we are still Ultramarines. It is in our blood. It is in our scars. It is in every dent and chip in our armor. We shall honor our Primarchs final order to the 67th. We will be the Knights of the Exile Sector. As I swore this as your Captain, so now I swear it as your Chapter Master."

- Progenitor Krixus of Byzan, first Chapter Master of the Knights Exile, founding member of the Justicarium

Archaic in their ways, proud in their traditions, the Knights Exile are an ancient Chapter borne directly from the chaotic days of the Great Scouring directly following the Horus Heresy. Originally a force of 1,600 Ultramarines Legionaries ordered to run down the remaining Word Bearers within the Exile Sector, the Legionaries of the 67th Company were lost to the Warp, and ended up trapped within the barbarian space of the Lost Shore. Stranded for centuries, fighting for their lives admist the forgotten, war-torn worlds of that Emperor forsaken region that borders proper Imperial space and the Warp Storm known as the River of Exiles, the Legionaries that would become the Knights Exile eventually made it to the fortress worlds of the Golden Cordon in M32 having suffered grievous losses. Numbering only five-hundred, and so depleted and under-equipped that most Battle-Brothers had resorted to using crudely hammered out bulkheads a swords and having fashioned explosive throwing darts out of spare bolt shells.

They were brought up to date with current Imperial history, including the near death of their Primarch and the workings of his Codex Astartes, and then reforged into their own Chapter as part of the Third Founding. The Knights Exile are still remiss to abandon many of the trappings and styles of the Legions, still utilizing old titles and Codex formations in all but name. Still, this resistance to abandon the old ways of the Legion has contributed greatly to the spirit of the Chapter, for they remain optimistic as their forebears were eons ago of a future of a united humanity under the banner of the Emperor's Imperium, and in the recovery of their Primarch so that they may crusade once more under his leadership. However, such optimism is often hidden behind a taciturn facade, for the Knights Exile hold to the hard won glory of the Legions that came before, and so remain dutiful and stern, their history of grievous losses and near constant battle against the forces of the River of Exiles and beyond making them into a fighting force famed amongst the Adeptus Astartes for sheer resilience and resourcefulness. For while they hold proudly to the traditions of the Legio Astartes, the Knights Exile have long become pragmatists, priding themselves on efficiency and cohesion rather than obtuse valor and suicidal bravery.

Marching into battle with Combat Shields and bearing tattered old standards, clad in worn and pitted armor still bearing the chipped royal purple paint first anointed upon the armor when it was issued to its wearer, the Knights Exile are famed for their haggard demeanor and straightforward attitude. Brutally crushing the enemy with their sheer force of arms and sanding resolute against even the most fearsome of foes, the Knights Exile are always ready to wade headfirst into battle, shields raised in the defense of the Imperium, bolters at the ready to strike down the foe, just as the Legions of old did eons before them, and just as their future Battle-Brothers will eons after they are gone.