Necropolis

"We heard them! It was like they were in our damn heads! Constantly, constantly whispering "The Dead have come...", "The Dead have come..." I ran as far away as I could, and yet they STILL WHISPERED. They wouldn't leave me alone!"

- Olan Piersons, Former Traitor Guardsmen, on the shadowed warriors that attacked his company at Norville VIII

The Necropolis is a highly unusual, semi-Codex Compliant Chapter of Space Marines. They are believed to hail from the lineage of the shadowed Raven Guard Chapter of Astartes, although nothing can be definitively proven. They are obsessed with death in all its myriad forms and go so far as to include it in all of their rituals. It is even rumored, correctly, that they are actually killed during their final initiation trials before they become fully-fledged Astartes, and then are expected to either rise once again, or die for their last time.

They hail from the Night World of Mors aeterna, which translates into the Low-Gothic term of 'Eternal Death'. The people on Mors aeterna are able to maintain some semblance of a civilized culture, but only barely, and they are constantly driven to the extremes by their world, such as the harvesting of human bodies for resources. It is this world that has shaped The Necropolis and it is perhaps this world that has given them their gene-seed flaws.

As of late, the Chapter has been caught up rebuilding after the Third War for Armageddon and the Thirteenth Black Crusade. In a matter of months they lost nearly half of their Chapter to the Orks and powers of Chaos and even with the introduction of Primaris Marines, it is expected to be a long road to recovery for them.

Founding
It is unknown exactly what time the Necropolis was founded, though most agree that it was during the mid-34th Millennium. They were supposedly created from the Raven Guard's gene-seed as both exhibit similar mutations, though the Necropolis still has partial control of their Betcher's Gland, whereas the Raven Guard do not. The reason for this gap in knowledge remains unknown, but it is likely a design of the Necropolis themselves, either not wanting their history revealed in too much detail, or not to bring some form of shame upon their founders for their actions.

What is known is that their first Master Reaper (Chapter Master) was Gornvek, a warrior from an unknown Chapter that was selected to lead the Necropolis. He was pale, jet-black hair, and his pupils were completely black, and large to the point that they covered nearly all of his eyes. This meant he usually wore a helmet to keep his eyes from being damaged by light. Upon the request of Gornvek, the Chapter was given the world of Mors aeterna to recruit from, a highly unusual choice, given that its population was ridden with bone diseases due to their being no natural light on the world. The few warriors of the Necropolis landed on the planet and disappeared for nearly twenty standard years, presumably to build their fortress and indoctrinate the culture into giving recruits.

When the Chapter emerged from the planet's surface after twenty years, they stood at nearly a full company of untrained Scouts, or as they call them, 'Blinded'. Over the next several years, the Necropolis launched a multitude of raids into a nearby Ork-held planet, known as Bekonin. They bloodied themselves against the Orks, learning the tactics that would come to define them. Terror Raids sent Ork camps against one-another, believing the other had attacked it. Soon they began to realise they had visitors and they became afraid, not of merely dying, but of dying helplessly. After the raids had created several squads of Astartes, the Necropolis launched several large attacks into the Orks, coming from the shadows, silently marching onwards, like the legions of dead from many a mythical tale. The Orks began to panic in a way, believing every shadow was an enemy, and in two years the planet was in chaos, leaving the Necropolis with nearly one-hundred and fifty Astartes to take the system.