Lightbringers

"...and on the break of dawn, all gathered to see what had become of the great armies of Tekutmhan... there was but ruin and blood. For the Angels had come and smote them in the night... A flaming blade that cleaved the great armies in twain, and turned their warcries into lamentation. Lo, heed the Angels of Death, for they are the Dawnbearers, they are the Duskbringers, and they shall shatter the earth and skies in their passing."

- Deeds, Epoch 11, Verse 44, of the Imperitor Divinicus, the holy scriptures of Datis

A renowned if not somewhat maligned Chapter, the Lightbringers have long fought for the purity and tranquility of the Imperium of Man. Since their inception, they have acted as the Emperor's judgment upon the most damnable foe of the Imperium, the traitor. They were exemplars of such judgment when they spearheaded the great campaign of purges following the infamous Beheading, hunting down renegade Officio Assassinatorum agents across the breadth and width of the Imperium. To this day they continue that manhunt, and some within the Imperium consider them experts when it comes to dealing with rogue agents of the Officio Assassinatorum. However, this reputation and stated mission is mostly a smokescreen, for the Lightbringers use their past deeds and the skills they are known for as a cover for their endless hunt for the Fallen. For they, as all sons of the Lion, are duty bound to find these renegades and force their confessions. Only then, when the last traitor has breathed his final confession, will they be forgiven for the failure of their brothers long since past.

The Beheading
The Lightbringers were founded at the climax of the Beheading, the violent takeover of the Imperium by the Officio Assassinatorum. Though the Lightbringers were not ready for the final great assault on Terra to reclaim the Imperium from these mad murderers, they would be the foremost prosecutors of the violent purges that followed as various branches of the Adepta Terra hunted down the surviving rogue assassins and their puppet masters. They tracked these elusive and resourceful butchers across the stars, from shape shifting Callidus Assassins to roving Eversors, the Lightbringers hunted them down, one by one. The Chapter was granted much in the way of honors and praise for their actions, but such a history lead to the Chapter becoming very distrustful of outsiders and the early development of their fast and brutal style of warfare.

Dawnbearers
"...and lo the sun rose upon the plains of Omagodden, and the dawn doth revealed what remained of the Arch Master's armies. There was but blood and smoldering ruin, smote to a man by these warriors of the Throne Eternal, struck down by they who brought forth the deadly dawn."

- Deeds, Epoch 45, Verse 888 of the Imperitor Divinicus The Dawnbearers are the Lightbringer's elite, Terminator-armored, Deathwing equivalent. Comprised of the entirety of the First Company, the Dawnbearers are considered Battle Brothers with few equals. Resplendent in their shimmering Terminator Armor, armed with the most ancient weapons of the Chapter's arsenal, they stride into battle, sweeping all aside in a brilliant blaze of weapons fire and the glorious stroke of powerblades.

Duskbringers
"And as the sun set, and night came upon them, the Warriors of Ephesties did set up camp for the night. But at the baying of the twilight hounds, did the shroud of doom come upon them. ...for there was not a man alive who could resist these giants of steel and fire, and they were all swiftly put to the burning blade. Lo did the shroud cover them, and their screams and lamentation became silence. For these ones brought the dusk, and with it, death."

- Deeds, Epoch 11, Verse 36 of the Imperitor Divinicus

The Lightbringers whole 2nd Company is given over to the infamous warriors known only as the Duskbringers, an elite unit of the Chapter's fast attack specialists. More or less identical to the Ravenwing, the Duskbringers clad themselves in black robes and paint their armor a grim gunmetal grey, only their right shoulder pad bearing the icon of the Lightbringers. Finally, they adorn both themselves and their mighty mechanical steeds in icons of death and retribution, skulls, shattered bits of enemy armor, captured weapons mounted to the bike and power armor as trophies of war. This makes them at first appear out of place amongst the otherwise regal ranks of the Lightbringers, but regardless they are held in supremely high esteem by their Battle Brothers, considered equal to the mighty Dawnbearers.

The Duskbringers themselves are a stoic and insular group, often choosing to be apart from their rank and file brethren or alone in contemplation. Many Duskbringers even refuse the company of their fellow Duskbringers, preferring the company of their select Chapter Serfs or the cold presence of combat training servitors. Many attribute this aloofness and grim aura as a result of the utter dedication the Duskbringers hold in their hearts, longing for battle and duty and nothing more. But in truth, all Duskbringers are troubled souls, tormented by the wretched truth. All Duskbringers are initiates to the Chapter's Inner Circle, and have only recently learned of the truth of the Fallen. The shame and disillusionment push many to the edge, and for some, there is simply no chance of a return to normalcy. They spend the rest of their long lives tormented, knowledge of their forebears secret shame almost driving them mad with grief and doubt. Thus, they seek only to hunt down each and every Fallen, relentlessly they throw themselves at this task, caring not for life and limb, seeking only justice and forgiveness for the sin of betrayal that sits heavy on the blood in their veins.

Ruthless hunters and fearsome executioners, the Duskbringers are considered by some to be just as potent a tool of psychological warfare than they are a conventional one, their dark robes and death iconography regularly striking utter terror into the hearts of their enemies as the great charge of bikes and blades falls upon them.