Blood Serpents

The Blood Serpents are a terrifying Chaos Space Marine warband that have plagued the Segmentum Obscurus for millenia, using a sinister arsenal of poison- based weaponry that gives them the edge over opponents. 
==History==
The story of the Blood Serpents is a long and tragic one, starting with the long- dead Space Marine Chapter, The Red Vipers. The Red Vipers were a 21st Founding Raven Guard successor chapter of some acclaim that at first seemed to have no mutations whatsoever, a rare case for a Cursed founding chapter. But, slowly some Red Vipers began to develop highly mutated Betchers Glands that allowed them to spit streams of powerful acid at a irregular frequency. Some even developed snake- like fangs through which they could pump this acid. While this mutation was useful in combat, Chapter Master Geralt Kaiden of the Red Vipers feared that it would see the chapter purged by the Inquisition. So in secret, he organized the non- mutated members of the Red Vipers to instigate a secret plan to purge the chapter of it's tainted members before it was to late. By doing so, Kaiden had sealed the grim fate of his chapter.
===The Purge===
Kaiden's plan was simple, gather all the tainted in one spot and then kill them all. Kaiden sent out a false distress signal summoning all the Tainted to the Red Viper's homeworld of Apothis. It was their that the Kaiden's followers prepared to bombard the plantet from orbit, killing all the mutated Red Vipers, but Captain Aran Pythor, a Tainted himself had guessed something was afoot and he and the other mutated instead bored the Chapter Masters vessel, the Battle Barge Reclaimer, demanding answers. Kaiden simply replied: "It is for the good of the Chapter." , then ordered all the Red Vipers loyal to him to kill Pythor and his fellow tainted. Thus ensued a bloody battle in which brother fought brother in the confines of the Reclaimer. The tainted under Captain Pythor's command fought hard, and Pythor personally fought Chapter Master Kaiden one on one. In the end the Tainted succeeded, and Pythor killed Kaiden, his mutations giving him the edge he needed to kill the Chapter Master. Now in control of the Reclaimer, Pythor and the 124 tainted Red Vipers activated the ship's warp drive and fled to the place all renegades go, the Eye of Terror.
===Vengance===
A 10 years passed, and the Red Vipers had somewhat rebuilt themselves, while the Inquisition had declared Pythor and his renegades Excommunicate Traitoris for their crimes against their own chapter. But little did they know, Pythor and his followers had become an even more potent threat to the Imperium. For decades they had bided their time within the timeless expanse of the Eye of Terror, watching, planning, and preparing for the day they would strike back at the Red Vipers and the Imperium that had condemned them. Then, without warning, Pythor and his followers struck. Clad in armor bearing the symbols of Chaos and armed with an exotic arsenal of deadly toxin- based weaponry, Pythor and his newly christened Blood Serpents attacked the Red Viper's fortress- monastery. Taking the still weakened Red Viper's by surprise, the Blood Serpents slaughtered all the fortress' inhabitants, down to the last chapter serf. No distress signal was sent, but a false signal was sent by the Blood Serpents to lure the rest of the Red Vipers back to their homeworld. The rest of Red Vipers arrived only to be greeted by catastrophe, for Pythor had set off a devastating chain reaction inside the world's unstable core. The Blood Vipers watched from their renamed battle- barge, the Atrocity, as the Red Vipers Chapter died in the cosmic inferno of their homeworld. The Dark Gods, pleased by the death of an entire chapter, rewarded Pythor by transforming him into a serpentine Daemon Prince, and so the Blood Vipers have plagued the Imperium.    
==Leadership==
The inner workings of the Blood Serpents is largely unknown, but a few key members of the warband have been identified:
Daemon Prince Pythor the Vengful (marked for banishment) - Pythor was originally captain of the Red Vipers 1st Company, but after obliterating his former chapter, was transformed by the Chaos Gods into a Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided. He now resembles a massive blood- red daemonic serpent, with arms and a vaguely human face, an image that is befitting of his warband's name. He is supreme master of the Blood Serpents, but is rarely seen, preferring to speak through his lieutenants.
"Poisoner" Daric Ketor - Originaly the Apothacary of the Red Vipers 3rd Company, Ketor is now Pythor's weaponsmaster, his sole purpose is to create new and more deadly weapons for the Blood Serpents. From his twisted designs came the toxic weapons that that first gave the Blood Serpents the edge over their opponents. Ketor uses his medical expertise to craft new and more potent toxins as well as designs for the poison based weapons that the Blood Serpents are infamous for, which has earned him the name "Poisoner" among the Blood Serpents.
Zayn Zarik - Zarik was the Chief Librarian of the Red Serpents, now a Chaos Sorcerer and Pythor's right hand man, the de facto leader of the Blood Serpents when Pythor is occupied. Zarik is a mysterious individual, commanding from the shadows, and only seen when he wants to be. Along with being a powerful psyker, Zarik is also a master strategist, and he has won many battles all through is tactical genius.
Kardan Vul - Vul is by far one of the best assassins the Blood Sepents has to offer, a battle- scared veteran of a thousand fights even before the Blood Serpents were formed. What makes him even more dangerous is that Vul possess a Daemon Weapon, a sword by the name of Aziahrath. How and where he got this weapon is a mystery, although rumours abound.
==Organization==
The main structure of the Blood Serpents is unknown, as is their exact numbers. What is known is that Pythor, or Zarik if Pythor is unavailable, is the leader and his word is law. Also the Blood Serpents never attack in force, but rather small cadres of Blood Serpents sell their services to other servants of Chaos in exchange for technology, weapons, and even recruits. Each of these Blood Serpents is a master assassin, armed to the teeth with poison- based weaponry, so their skills are highly valued. As long as the one who hires them honors their end of the deal, the Blood Serpents keep their word and obey them until the contract is finished. But those who go back on their deals usually end up with their throats cut.
==Combat Doctrine==
The Blood Serpents work in groups, each one zeroing in on target, and silently approaching them until them are close enough to strike. Using envenomed weapons, it rarely takes long for them to finish off a foe and move on to the next. They prefer to get the drop on their opponents, sneaking up from behind and slicing their enemies throats before they have the chance to retaliate. In all- out combat the Blood Serpents prefer close quarters combat, using envenomed blades, as well as their mutated betchers glands to gain an edge over their opponents. Because of this, Blood Serpents rarely wear helmets in order to bring their "natural" weapons to bear.
==Weaponry==
The Blood Serpents use a variety of envenomed and toxin- based weaponry to gain an edge. Most of their poisons are more than strong enough to kill a Space Marine.
Snake Fangs: These curved blades are roughly the size of a combat knife. The blades of these weapons are hollow, filled with deadly poison from a small container inside the hilt. The blade's monomolecular edges are proliferated with tiny holes through which the venom seeps through, making even a single cut from a Snake Fang deadly. Larger versions of this weapon it the form of various power blades also exist.
Spewers: Spewers are flamers that have been modified to spew a stream of acid instead of flames. While a Spewer is only good at close range, it can easily turn a Imperial Guard into a soup of flesh and acid.
Panic Grenades: A panic grenade is not a incendiary device, but rather explodes into a cloud of neurotoxic gas. The toxin confuses enemies, making them see terrifying hallucinations in place of their comrades. A single panic grenade can make an entire squad of Imperial Guards attack one another out of fear.
Corroder Grenades: This gas grenade releases a cloud of acidic gas, which can burn through flesh straight to the bone, and even burn through metal given time.
Wrist- Dart Lauchers: A Wrist- Dart Launcher consists of a spring- powered launcher mounted on a Blood Serpent's gauntlet. The monomolecular tip of the wrist dart can pierce flak armor, and is loaded with a cocktail of various poisons, including:
*Fury Darts - These darts are loaded with a neurotoxin that causes the target to go brezerk, lashing out at anything around him.
*Destoyer Darts - These darts are filled with acid, and burn their target from the inside out, killing them slowly and painfully.
==Religion/Demeanors==
The Blood Serpents do not actually worship chaos, seeing it as a means to gather more power and nothing more. This has earned them some greivences with more zealous Chaos Warbands, but the Blood Serpents really do not care as long as they receive their due at the end of the deal. They also don't like daemons much, which is strange considering that their leader is a Daemon Prince, but this is mostly because they like being able to anticipate what their "friends" will do next.
The Blood Serpents are cruel, taking pleasure in sticking a poisoned blade between someones ribs and watching the light fade from their eyes as they die in agony. They enjoy killing, some Blood Serpents even consider murder to be a form of art, and prefer to kill quickly, quietly, and efficiently. They love killing Imperials, especialy Space Marines, seeing them as little more than slaves to a corrupt Imperium, and not even worthy of contempt.
==Livery/Appearance==
The Blood Serpents colors are dark red and black. They have no specific symbol, usually using various depictions of blood red serpents as a general symbol. As for the Blood Serpents themselves, thousands of years within the Eye of Terror has changed them forever. Almost all have serpentine appearances, such as forked tongues, scaly skin, and slited eyes. A few Blood Serpents even have cobra hoods or snake- like fangs.
==Allies==
Storm Draugar - The Blood Serpents have fought alongside the Storm Draugar when it is mutually benifical, and often from some for of payment in return.
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==Enemies==
Sons of Ruin - the Sons of Ruin are on of the few Chaos Warbands that the Blood Serpents will not assosiate with. The Sons of Ruin believe the Blood Serpents to be unfaithful to the Chaos Gods, and thus despise them. The only thing keeping the Sons of Ruin from destroying them is the fact that the Sons of Ruin know very little else about the Blood Serpents, and the Blood Serpents make sure to keep it that way.
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==Quotes==
===By:===
"Seeing the light leave their eyes as they die, it's almost blissful."
- Unknown Blood Serpent
"They call me 'the Vengeful' , and with good reason."
- Daemon Prince Pythor
"Now just stay still, this won't hurt. HA! I'm lying, this is going to be excruciatingly painful. But I'm going to enjoy it and that's what really matters."
- Daric Ketor, testing new poisons on another victim.
===About:===
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"The slithering cowards have their uses, and their loyalty is easily bought... just dont turn your back on them."- Ingar Blackspawn to Heshgar the Heathan upon hiring a cadre of Blood Serpents to assassinate a Chaos Lord of the Red Corsairs
==Trivia==
The Blood Serpents Theme Song is Asimov by Two Steps From Hell
Category:Chaos
Category:Chaos Space Marines
Category:40kfan
Category:Chaos Warbands