Black Thorns



"Forever a Thorn in the Archenemy's side."

- Motto of the Black Thorns

The Black Thorns are 10th founding chapter descended from the Iron Hands. This battle- hardened chapter's first duty as a chapter was watching over the volatile Infernus Sector, known for it's proximity to a Minor Warp rift known as the Fracture. The High Lords of Terra feared that the Fracture would one day serve as a gateway for the forces of Chaos, and their fears were justified when the Fracture unleashed a horde of Daemons upon the Black Thorns' homeworld of Lorem. The young chapter barely managed to defeat the Daemons, loosing more than three quarters of it's forces in the process. But from that day forward, the Black Thorns became known as the heartless warriors they are now, believing that the cold, hard strength of steel shall always triumph over the Ruinous Powers.

History
The Black Thorns were created during the final days of the Nova Terra Interregnum, charged with safeguarding one of the places the Imperium neglected to watch over during the turmoil: the Infernus Sector. This sector was located at the very border of the Imperium, and was known only for the fact that within the Infernus Sector lay a minor Warp Rift known as the Fracture. While not as vast a rift as the Maelstrom, the Fracture did represent a threat if the Forces of Chaos ever spilled into the Materium. So, the High Lords authorized the creation of a new Space Marine chapter to guard the Infernus Sector from the Ruinous Powers. Created from the infamous Iron Hands Chapter, the Black Thorns were born.

The Black Thorns claimed the Death World of Lorem as their new homeworld. This miserable planet had once been a prosperous place until the Age of Strife, until a brutal civil war had torn it apart, escalating so far as to the point where a doomsday weapon of unknown origin was detonated, scouring Lorem of life. Those few who survived found their former home reduced to an irradiated wasteland where only the strongest survived. The Black Thorns felt right at home. They transformed the old system of fallout tunnels underneath the surface of Lorem into an underground fortress, naming it the Briar Labyrinth. They then settled in, recruiting from the small populations of non-mutated humans than somehow still survived on Lorem, slowly building up their forces, preparing for the day when the forces of chaos would spill out from the Fracture and into the Infernus Sector. That day came sooner than expected.

A Horde of Daemons suddenly burst from the Fracture, descending upon Lorem with unearthly fury and glee as they sensed new life upon the near- dead planet. The Black Thorns quickly mobilized to meet the threat with the full force of the chapter, eagerly attacking the Daemons head- on. That proved to be a catastrophe for the Black Thorns, as the sheer amount of Daemons simply proved to be to much for the young chapter. They were forced to give ground, their numbers reducing dramatically with each Daemonic assault. It seemed that all was lost for the Black Thorns, until a Space Marine by the name of Solaka convinced the Black Thorns to try a different strategy.

They retreated within the Briar Labyrinth, forcing the Daemons to pursue them within the under ground depths of Lorem. Within the maze of tunnels, the Daemons were cornered, ambushed, and destroyed. This new tactic allowed the Black Thorns to not only fend of the Daemons at their door, but eventually bring the fight to them. After a lengthy campaign with numerous losses, all the Daemons had been destroyed, and the Black Thorns praised Solaka for delivering them victory against impossible odds. Solaka became the first Supreme Commander of the Black Thorns, and his name is still praised by the Thorns to this day. The Black Thorns have since then fully rebuilt their chapter, and are ever watchful in case of yet another Daemonic incursion.

Chapter Organization
The Black Thorns emulate the Iron Hands, so it is no surprise that the structure of the two chapters is similar. Like the Iron Hands, the Black Thorns are divided up into 10 clan companies, each with it's own symbol, combat style, and traditions. They do not have Techmarines or Chaplains, but rather have Curates, Marines that take up both roles. They preach the mixed Imperial/Machine cult of the chapter as well as maintain the Black Thorn's armory. However, the Black Thorns, unlike the Iron Hands, have a Chapter Master known as Supreme Commander. The Supreme Commander along with the leaders of the Clan Companies, the Lord Commanders, make up the leadership of the Black Thorns.

The Black Thorns, however, do not allow the Supreme Commander to have the final say in all things. Rather, when a extremely critical decision is to be made, the Supreme Master convenes with the Lord Commanders over what is to be done. The Black Thorns do this so the best decisions can be reached.

Combat Doctrine
''"Nothing save the Emperor is perfect. No stone is unbreakable, no weapon is invincible, no fortress is unassailable. Even the earth underneath your feet can suffer. Everything feels pain." ''

- From the Liber Sinite

The Black Thorns are masters of siegecraft, they know how to defend a fortress and how to take a fortress apart. This specialization comes from the belief that nothing is foolproof, and therefore has flaws that can be exploited. Likewise, these flaws can be at the very least improved to create a better defense. They also are specialize in the use of heavy support vehicles and weapons, having large amounts of Devastator Squads, Tanks, and plenty of Dreadnoughts. In fact, the Black Thorns even have a few Contemptor Pattern Dreadnoughts given to them by the Iron Hands, these mighty ancients only awakening when their wisdom and righteous fury are needed the most.

If an enemy should somehow push them back, the Black Thorns will make them suffer for it. Every step of the way the enemy will be dogged and damaged by the Black Thorns. Even if they are destined to fail, the Black Thorns shall make sure that the enemy's victory is a pyrrhic one. For example, during a daemonic incursion, the Black Thorns might hold the enemy while Exterminatus rains upon them, gladly sacrificing themselves to end the threat once and for all. Unfortunately, if a victory requires the sacrifice of the planet's civilian population, so be it. The Black Thorns have little time or patience for those who "get in their way". This has earned them grievances with many more humanitarian chapters such as the Salamanders.

It should also be noted since the Black Thorns homeworld is dangerously close to a Warp Rift, and the Black Thorns have had to fight off one Daemonic Horde after another for centuries. This has made the Black Thorns particularly adept at fighting the forces of Chaos, especially Daemons.

Clan Companies
Clan Gneral - Lord Commander Satar - This clan company is comprised of the veterans and elite of the Black Thorns. Their Clan Symbol is a rectangular shield.

Clan Cadova - Lord Commander Belkas - This clan company holds the bulk of the Black Thorn's dreadnought's, which has earned this clan the nickname "the Undying". Their Clan Symbol is a pair of interlocking gears.

Clan Oberon - Lord Commander Ardak - This clan company prefers mobility, and thus has a large number of Assault Squads. Their Clan Symbol is a breaking chain.

Clan Zephros - Lord Commander Agerdan - This clan company is known for it's aggressive approach to battles, and thus are great at besieging enemy fortifications. Their Clan Symbol is a war hammer.

Clan Dirgnas - Lord Commander Vesic - This clan company is better at defensive tactics and fortifying it's position. Their clan symbol is a crenelated castle tower.

Clan Vegeris - Lord Commander Orthon - This clan company has a high amount of Thunderhawks, which it uses to conduct aerial troop drops and flyby attacks. Their Clan Symbol is a missile.

Clan Drashad - Lord Commander Corbus - This clan company is known for it's preference of using scouts to sap and sabotage enemy fortifications before moving in for the kill. Their Clan Symbol is a mushroom cloud.

Clan Sadar - Lord Commander Kota - This clan company is known to flank or ambush the enemy in order to gain the upper hand. Their Clan Symbol is a stylized eye.

Clan Cadax - The Lost Clan - ++RECORDS DELETED++

Clan Kopak - Lord Commander Lothar - This clan company serves to train the future members of the Black Thorns. Their Clan Symbol is a crescent moon.

Notable Campaigns
The Noxos Incursion - The Black Thorns were dispatched to deal with a Daemonic incursion on the Agri- world of Noxos. Clan Company Cadova made planetfall only to find Noxos infested with Slaaneshi Daemons, which they quickly set about exterminating. Luckily, the Black Thorns managed to find the source of the incursion, a rogue psyker by the name of Jevik, and execute him, resulting in the closing of the warp portal. But, with his dying breath, Jevik managed to summon a Keeper of Secrets into the materium. The losses were great, but eventually the Black Thorns triumphed over the Greater Daemon when Lord Commander Belkas managed to decapitate the Keeper with his power axe, banishing it back to the warp. The Ordo Malleus would arrive later to make sure Noxos was free of taint.

The Second Battle for Lorem - The Fracture yawns open once again, releasing yet another horde of Daemons on to Lorem. Luckily, this time the Black Thorns are well prepared for them. While the battle was long, but by using the same hide- and - flank techniques as before, the Black Thorns manage to minimalize casualties while at the same time effiecently destroying the Daemons.

The Purging of [DELETED] - This covert affair was a colaberation between the Black Thorns and Inquisitor [DELETED] of the Ordo [DELETED]. The goal of the operation was to send the entirity of Clan Company Cadax, led by Lord Commander [DELETED], to the Daemon World of [DELETED] to recover a pre- Imperial artifact of great importance to the Inquistion. Why exactly the Inquistor requested the Black Thorns' help is unknown, all though it is suspected that Inquisitor [DELETED] may have had ulterior motives. What is known is that the operation somehow went haywire, and Inquistor [DELETED] was forced to subject the Daemon World to Exterminatus, even while Clan Cadax was still trapped on the planet. Days later, Inquistor [DELETED] disapears, leaving no evidence that he even existed.

(MORE TO FOLLOW)

Chapter Fleet
The Black Thorns are known to have the following ships in their Chapter Fleet:

Iron Scourge (Battle- Barge)

Anguish of Thousands (Battle- Barge)

The Gorgon's Gaze (Battle- Barge)

Manus' Vengeance (Strike Cruiser)

Strength of Steel (Strike Cruiser)

Bloodied Blade (Strike Cruiser)

Painbringer (Strike Cruiser)

Chapter Culture
"Life is pain. Through pain comes rage. Through rage comes strength. Through strength comes steel. Through steel comes pain. The cycle is unending."

- The Litany of Anguish

Once the Black Thorns where like the rest of the Iron Hand's successors; bitter, proud, and forever awaiting their lost Primarch's return. But after millenia, the hard truth of the creed they themselves created slowly set in, and the Black Thorns came to the realization that Ferrus Manus, their beloved Progenitor, was never coming back. But rather than succumb to despair, they turned the grief of their Primarch's death into vengeance- fueled fury, and directed it outwards towards the enemies of the Imperium. While this belief may have angered the Iron Hands as well as several of their fellow successor chapters, the Black Thorns do not care much for their opinions, or anyone else's opinions for that matter.

The Black Thorns' creed teaches them that nothing save the Holy Emperor himself is perfect. Everything has flaws, everything dies, such is the nature of things. This fatalistic belief is what drives them to augment themselves with numerous bionics, for while the Black Thorn's know everything is flawed, that doesn't mean they can't improve themselves. The Curates, the spiritual leaders of the Black Thorns, teach that through the pain of the "steel" they augment themselves with comes the rage and strength to do strike down their foes, the unending cycle known to the Black Thorns as the Litany of Anguish.

Unfortunately this Litany teaches the Black Thorns to do what must be done, not to do what is necessarily the right thing to do. This means that the Black Thorns will commit all their strength to combating the enemy, but not even give a thought to the innocent souls that could get caught in the crossfire. For the Black Thorns, the ends justify the means, so if civilian lives must be sacrificed to to win the day, so be it. This mindset has earned them many enemies, including more humanitarian Space Marine chapters such as the Salamanders.

Ultrix Gnata
The current Supreme Commander of the Black Thorns, Ultrix was a legend among the Black Thorns even from the start. When he was 14, still just another survivor scavenging for supplies, he and his friends were ambushed by a group of mutant marauders. During the fight, Ultrix was pushed into a grove of Razorthorn Briars, where he was pirced all over by the thorns. He struggled to free himself as the mutants slaughtered his friends right before him, but the thorns only dug deeper into his flesh, holding him fast. Eventually the mutants left, believing Ultrix to be dead, even as he still tried to escape the grasp of the briars, which only impaled more thorns into his skin.

Ultrix's life might have ended there if a patrol of Black Thorns, led by a Curate named Obelon, hadn't have happened to pass him by while scouting for potential recruits. The Space Marines found Ultrix bleeding out, held fast by the briar's thorns, and yet he still tried to escape. Something about the boy's sheer will to survive inspired Obelon to order his battle- brothers to free Ultrix, in which they took the boy back to the Briar Labyrith to heal his wounds. However, the thorns had pirced Ultrix almost to the bone, and even after he became an Astartes he still has the thin scars that criss- cross his entire body, an eternal testament to the struggle that almost killed him.

Deathwatch Service
Coming Soon...

Homeworld and Recruitment
"It's not a question of whether you are ready to serve, it's a question of whether you are ready to suffer for your Emperor and your Imperium."

- Lord Commander Lothar to a group of Neophytes

Lorem is a Death World, consisting of irradiated wastelands, ruined buildings, and sparse pockets of vegetation mostly consisting of briars and other thorny plants. Many mutants live on Lorem, the result of years of exposure of radiation, that prowl the surface of the planet in primitive tribes, raiding old settlements for supplies and fighting one another constantly just to survive. The non- mutated humans that still survive on Lorem live in the old network of underground tunnels, only emerging to scavenge for supplies. It's a hard life they live, as death can come at any moment, and basic resources such as food and water are extremely scarce. As a result, the inhabitants of Lorem are a race of survivors, tough, strong, and willing to do whatever it takes to survive, which makes them ideal recruitment material for the Black Thorns.

The Black Thorns keep the human population alive by occasionally "leaving" supplies within the tunnels, whereupon it is discovered by them. Recruits are usually only selected from those youths that show exceptional promise. They are confronted by a Curate one day, and given a choice, either they can die out in the wastes, or they can become an instrument of the Emperor's will. Most youths agree to serve, in which case they are taken within the Briar Labyrinth to become Neophytes. From there the Neophytes are subjected to a brutal series of tests, each one designed to test the Neophyte's resolve and willingness to suffer for their Emperor. These tests vary but all are painful in some way, especailly the one where a neophyte has to survive a single day out in the wastelands of Lorem.

Chapter Livery
The Black Thorns' colors are metallic grey, gunmetal green, and coal black. A black stripe on the helmet identifies the Marine as a Sergeant. The Marine's Clan Symbol is made out in black on the right shoulder, while the Squad symbol is made out in black on the right knee. Curates have black armor, Librarians blue armor, and Apothicaries have white armor. Techmarines have red helmets.

Honor Marks
Wreath of Thorns - Like the Laurels of Glory, a Wreath of Thorns is a ring of thorns typically painted in black around a Marines' helmet. This honor mark is only gifted to those who defeat powerful foes, as a sign of their ability to make the enemy "suffer".

 Cog of Defiance  - This metallic grey gear- shaped badge is typically wielded on to the chest of the Marine who earned it. It is a rare honor, as it is only gifted to those who survive against incredible odds and somehow manage to win the battle.

Chapter Relics
 The Liber Sinite - Also known as the Book of Pain, this sacred book was written by Kanac Solaka, the first Supreme Master of Black Thorns. It contains the compiled traditions, beliefs, and mantras of the Black Thorns, and is as holy to them as the Codex Astartes is to the Ultramarines.

The Howling Blade - This relic chainsword is crafted in such a way that the weapon's rotating teeth actually "howl" as they move, giving the chainsword it's infamous name. Each adimantium tooth in the Howling Blade has it's own built- in power field, tripling the deadliness of the weapon. It is currently weilded by Supreme Commander Gnata.

Allies
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Enemies
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By:
"... the true weakness of the Ruinous Powers lies in their chaotic nature. Daemons themselves are erratic and random, and if one knows how to exploit this, then one can triumph over them."

- From the Liber Sinite

"I've got heretics to kill and little time to waste so whatever your about to tell me, make it fast."

- Lord Commander Belkas to an Imperial Commissar

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