“Brothers, I know what I ask of you is unfamiliar and uncomfortable, even difficult. We are warriors born in shadow, we have mastered darkness itself and bent it to our will. We know well the power of its secrets and the comfort of its depths. For eight thousand years, our mastery of it has been our greatest strength, and now I ask you to relinquish that strength for something we previously considered an anathema to our ways.

I can only offer this assurance to placate your doubts… Know that I have knelt at the feet of the Emperor himself! There in his palace I was granted a glimpse of his great plan laid out in all its meticulous glory in the expanse of my mind. I know that his holy majesty does not wish his newest warriors to remain shrouded in darkness any longer. The way of our honoured cousins in the Raven guard is no longer our way. Their customs no longer our customs. The Emperor asks us to take that boldest step, to walk that which to us is the most arcane and unfamiliar of paths and forge our own destiny. He demands we make our name burn brightly throughout the stars.

And we are Astartes! Even more we are the sons of Corax! There is no demand he can make that we will ever refuse, no obstacle to great to overcome if he wills it so! Help me show our most holy majesty that his confidence in our ability is not misplaced. To show that the children of Corax are ready to face any challenge no matter how imposing, and conquer it with the unparalleled skill for which we are known.

Brothers! I stand before you now as a Lord Commander, Master of the Celestial Falcons. No longer a shadow Captain of the Raven Guard. And I ask all who kneel here today, which of you will follow me as I step out of the darkness? Who here will answer the Emperor’s call and embrace our future in the light!”
First speech of the newly promoted Lord Commander _______, first chapter master of the Celestial Falcons to his brethren at the onset of the Avernus Crusade.

Chapter Symbol:

OOC:
Welcome former brethren of the Raven Guard! You have all volunteered or been selected to join a most auspicious undertaking in the form of a new founding. Your new brethren and your new lives await you aboard the ‘Brightwing’ The first battle barge of the Celestial Falcons, A new chapter of space marines raised from the ranks of one of the most famous and honoured chapters in the Imperium. The hollowed Raven guard themselves. Some of you were handpicked by your new lord commander or by the Master of Shadows (Raven Guard chapter master) and assigned positions within the Celestial Faclons. Your skills and experience were foreseen as necessary and instrumental in establishing a solid foundation for the future of a new chapter.

Your parent chapter was kind to their parting children. The Raven Guard armoury is famously well stocked even by Astartes standards, and with so few descendants over the millennia they can afford to ensure the successors they do have do not lack for proper equipment to persecute their conflicts. Suits of armour, bolters, even select master crafted weapons were created and offered as parting gifts, as a father would to a son leaving home for the first time to make his own way in the world.

Your personal parting from the Raven Guard is Joyous but solemn, none of you will ever see Deliverance or the Ravenspire again, but you all know that your names are the first of your chapter and will be forever enshrined in the annals of the Celestial Falcons as such. The first to kill and perform the great deeds in its name that will inspire young aspirants for centuries to come. A higher honour could not be asked for from any astartes.

Some of you volunteered for your own reasons. Perhaps you craved adventure, or you served under your Lord Commander while he was still a shadow captain and remain loyal to him through this monumental shift. Perhaps you really do believe in the vision granted to your new Lord Commander, and that this new founding of warriors will lead to a blessed and honourable future you yearn to be a part of. Or perhaps the logic behind your decision is a mystery even to yourself.

Whatever your reasoning you are here and you sail towards your new destiny in the stars. Following the commands of a new master you are ready to face whatever challenges he deems worthy of a space marine. The first test of your young chapter calls you towards the Avernus sector. A region of space long eyed by the Imperium and finally expeditionary fleets have been assembled and dispatched to bring its worlds into the welcoming embrace of the Emperor’s light. You do not sail alone; Other chapters have attached themselves to this crusade. Most notably elements of the Black templars and red Scorpions. Both active and well-travelled crusading chapters that jumped on the opportunity to expand the Imperium’s borders. But their reasons for being here are not your reasons. Your Lord Commander has claimed this is where his vision from the Emperor compels him to go, where he claims the future of this new chapter will be found.

*************************

Establishing scene: The Avernus crusade is well underway, The conquest of no less than two entire sectors of space and their inclusion into the Imperial fold. It is a mighty undertaking and has required the efforts tens of millions of guardsman and navy armsmen just to get the recclamation fleet started. Some worlds gladly submit themselves into the imperial fold, rogue traders and Munistorium missionaries having plied these sectors since before anyone in the Imperium could remember spreading the light of the Emperor with them. Other worlds and systems need to be crushed into compliance. A lack of Imperial presence has seen the sectors fall prey to all manner of problems. Small ork empires stand defiant, the seed of chaos has been identified on more than a few worlds and Eldar corsairs seems to have marked this region of space out as their own hunting grounds for piracy. To say nothing of the countless species of xenos encountered (and currently being exterminated) by the Imperial guard. These are all but a few of the many problems that prove too difficult for the mortals of the Navy and Militarum to handle alone.

As capable as both bodies are they require the efforts of the Emperor's finest to crack the hardest pockets of resistance. The Imperium's newest Lord Commander views this as a perfect crucible and testing ground for new warriors and stratagems. Alongside nearly a dozen other space marine combat elements the Celestial Falcons ply a path through the stars of the Avernus Sector. Their bright colours clashing against the innfinite darkness of space like a bolt of the Emperor's own light. Challenging and warning all who would find comfort in that darkness, that their time has come. The Emperor's finest have arrived to put them all to the sword. They could either bend their knee and accept a place in his loving dominion or stay defiant and lose their heads, The Imperium cares little which they choose. In the end they will win either way.



Celestial Falcons:

Chapter Appearance:


The Celestial Falcons have abandoned the dark colours and subtle decorations of their forebears. The Falcons dress to match the glory reflected in their name. Purest white and shining yellow gold divides their armour down the middle. Making them not just noticable but brightly and obviously so.

Their symbol is a blackened variation of their progenitor symbol whose head is surrounded by a gold coloured, spiked halo. All on a field of white. A small nod of homage towards those they descend from.

General information:
The new Lord commander has also made decrees and insistences that his chapter does not rely too much on the tactics of the Raven Guard. For they must find their own identity and way of doing things. More emphasis is placed on proper maneuvering and offensive strikes than stealth and subterfuge.

Other The Lord commander has yet to establish a clear speciality for the chapter to adopt. Or decided how rigerously he will choose to follow the pages of the codex astartes. If he has a direction he wishes chapter to pursue in both war and structure he has not shared it with anyone yet. Or with anyone willing to break the chapter masters confidence and privacy on the matter.

Current Chapter Formation & organization:

The Celestial Falcons is a chapter in name only. In reality they are just n abnormally large battle company with a loose organization. There are sergeants and leader figures. And the Lord Commander has divided up the chapter as he has seen fit into temporary demi companies. More for the sake of establishing a chain of command than improving fighting effectiveness. So roles like captain do exist but their actual scope of command is limited for the time being.

The Librarium, Forge, Apothecarion and other auxilliary subgroups within a chapter aren't properly established either. Really there are only a small handful of individuals belonging to each group and rank within them is really just a name as there is practically no one for someone like the high chaplain to hold rank over.

Chapter Notables:

Reserved for accepted character sheets

Gonna be a Forgemaster Techmarine methinks.

Head chaplain/reclusiarch checking in

I am open to questions, comments, even critiques of this OOC and its layout. If anything seems clunky or unexplained then by all means ask away.

Well, other than the roadsign paint job, I'm ok with it. I'll play a regular, a former Raven Guard who elected to join.

Ill throw up a cs when i get the time

@Ollumhammersong
How do I join? We're going to need a devestator!

@Dealdric

you join by drafting up a character concept, putting it down into a CS, and posting it in here for me to see and review.

I'm very interested. Hold on while I get a sheet up. Is there a minimum to a character's rank? Is it possible just to play as a standard battle-brother?

it is possible, yes.

Chief Librarian, baby, lets fuckin' do this

How do you like this, boss? Every army needs good NCO's.

Name: Avernus
Age: 177
Appearance:

Avernus stands tall, even for an Astartes, reaching up to almost nine feet in height outside of armor. He is clad in standard Mark VII plate, repainted from the dark colors of his parent chapter to the glaring brilliance of the Celestial Falcons. He assesses threats and possible areas of tactical advantage through the rictus snarl of his Mark VII helm, and launches himself to the midst of the enemy with his jump pack. And together with his squad, he cuts into them with his bolt pistol and chainsword.

His features are wide, thin-lipped and gaunt, and his head is clean shaven. Like the rest of those implanted with the seed of Lord Corax, his skin is deathly pale and his eyes are jet black. He looks like a corpse even more so than the usual scion of the Raven. Veins and arteries can be seen bulging under his skin, traveling through the mountain of muscle that makes up his superhuman form. Sometimes they cross scars from past mistakes against equal or superior foes.

Desired Position: Assault Sergeant

Equipment:

• Mark VII Aquila Full Set
• Bolt Pistol
• Chainsword
• 3x Fragmentation Grenades
• 3x Krak Grenades

Special Skills:

Shock, Awe and Death: Avernus was one of the the best assault marines in the Raven Guard. His strikes are swift, his blows are true, and his squad always seems to land at precisely where the enemy is at their weakest. Even among Astartes his melee combat skill is superb. He has absorbed the instruction of Corax like a sponge, and more than one armored column has fallen prey to his squad's ambushes and their barrage of sudden krak grenades.

Personal History:

Avernus' history before the Raven Guard is irrelevant to his current being. In fact, all he remembers of that time are just vague black-and-white images of a burning Hive World, and the giants that had come to save it. He remembers being chosen amidst smoke and flame, his still tiny hand awkwardly clutching a bloodied laspistol.

But after this, the memories turn from grayscale pictures to vibrant, colored explosions of recollection. Eager to prove himself and realizing the chance that he had been given, Avernus devoted himself entirely to the Chapter. He served his time as Scout without error and was eventually picked for the Assault role for his particular talent at hand-to-hand combat. So then Avernus began to thrive, under Sergeant Garren's command. He relished in the way the Raven Guard fought - the decisive victories won before the enemy even knew what was happening. Eventually Sergeant Garren was promoted to a higher position and Avernus would inherit the role of squad leader.

Avernus still serves in this capacity as a member of the Celestial Falcons, although he did not volunteer to be part of the successor brotherhood, and doesn't hold any strong feelings regarding the Lord Commander - rather, he was volunteered by one of the Captains. Offended at first, he quietly resigned himself to the logic that the new Chapter simply needed bodies and experience. Counsel with a Chaplain helped him to find peace with this sudden change. So he ultimately took the transfer as an honor, rather than an insult.

He was rather mellow with being stripped of his honors and starting anew. They were rather gaudy anyway. Besides, Avernus keeps his own honor roll - and that is his memory. The eidetic recollection of an Astartes gives him the ability to relive the destruction of any and every foe he has faced in the past. Space Marines like Avernus destroy the enemies of Man and this great honor doesn't necessarily have to be displayed for all to see. Visiting them in their shadowy monuments from time to time is enough to show respect. At least, that's what he thinks.

Avernus, then, has some obvious issues with his new Chapter's policies. However, he doesn't like voicing them out loud. Sometimes he is passive-aggressive over them, but he would never disobey a direct order.

Avernus currently commands Squad Avernus, an assault squad full of young blood eager to prove themselves.

Squad Avernus:

• Sergeant Avernus
• Brother Rovek
• Brother Bern
• Brother Sepricor
• Brother Erandor
• Brother Tarraq
• Brother Vurnon
• Brother Daramin
• Brother Thoric
• Brother Albus

@Ollumhammersong
Done. Am I accepted into the chapter?
Character is in character section.
Let The Emperor's Glory Shine!

@Dealdric

I ask that you do not post anything in the characters tab until your character is actually approved. either post it here or PM it to me

Please remove it from that tab until it is approved

@Ollumhammersong

Is my sheet approved, boss?

@SillyGoy

honestly the only thing I can do to your CS is nitpick a couple things. For example, your character's name is Avernus, its a good name. Also happens to be the name of the crusade they the chapter is engaged in and the sector they are conquering. As I said it's minor and you don't have to change it, but it's kinda funny.

other than that, were you intending him to have been to be some sort of Vanguard veteran while in the Raven guard? if so than he should be a bit older than 150~. Or just a more regular assault sergeant, if so than he is perfectly fine.

Other than those things it looks good. Great job, should be a fun character

@Ollumhammersong

No, he's not a vanguard vet. Just a really good assault sergeant. I'm changing his age from 152 to 177 if that helps. As for his name - well, it'll make for some very lame jokes during the campaign.

@SillyGoyyou can go ahead and post your character in the characters tab if you want

@Ollumhammersong

Thanks boss. Doing that now.