Lunar Resplendent

"*Ours is not a Chapter but an order, one to uphold the Emperor’s will and vision of a galaxy ruled by Mankind once more. Ours is an unending and sacred duty towards redemption and glory that cannot and will not be stopped by any. Chaos is not the unending threat to the Emperor’s realm but the greatest of them. Let the daemon taste our blades and bolts for they shall never taste the flesh of man, be it ours or our mortal brothers and sisters.*"
—Chapter Master Azriel Chrelis
The **Lunar Resplendent** is a small band of loyalists Space Marines who have but only recently secured their Chapter by the evidence of their loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind. The Chapter originally hails from the Imperial Specters Chapter which in the current setting, have gone to extinction. The Lunar Resplendent's gene-seed is mostly comprised of gene-seed from the traitorous Warmaster Horus Lupercal. The Lunar Resplendent work towards achieving the former glory of the Lunar Wolves Legion before the Horus Heresy and the taint of Chaos engulfed their gene-father.

However their Chapter is a safe-guarded secret to the rest of the Imperium of Man by those of the Inquisition as the known existence of a Chapter of whos gene-seed is such would surely bring destruction to the Lunar Resplendent. Most within the Chapter though do make many efforts to hide their heritage towards others as they find honor and redemption in what they see as being what the Lunar Wolves were not.

## Chapter History

### Azriel Chrelis

Azriel Chrelis originally called Ishmael Thysseb would first come to know of the Angles of Death on his home world of Sothoghel Minor. His planet had received word from the Imperial Specters Chapter of their intent to use Sothoghel Minor as a staging area for their nearby campaigns. A crowd in the capital of Ollanius Secondus had gathered as the Space Marines were to touch down and confirm the planet's security. There Ishmael would stand for hours waiting until the Thunderhawks entered the skies and landed not far from him. Ishmael would travel to where he thought he saw the ship land, there he would find a crowd in silence staring upon what looked like giants clad in great white armor with murderously elegant gold with a very familiar Aquila affixed to their chests. Heroes of the Imperium and the Emperor’s own angels stood before him and he before them and there he then promised to the Emperor himself to join their ranks.

Ishmael would get the chance to prove himself as the wars nearby his planet fought by the Imperial Specters would prove very costly and the Chapter would be forced to recruit from Sothoghel Minor. All who dared were challenged to climb to the top of the tallest mountain of Sothoghel Minor where the recruiters of the Chapter resided, hundreds climbed and made it but hundreds more lost their lives on the trip. The Imperial Specters though their Chapter Master disliking of the *Codex Astartes* would follow many formats of it just as their training, Ishmael underwent the basic Codex-compliant Aspirant trials. The now Azriel Chrelis would have a very successful career as a Neophyte as he would become a Sergeant within the 10th Company and build a personnel relationship with the second Captain of the Chapter, Captain Terreath Lysos.

The circumstances to which Azriel Chrelis became Captain is fraught with mystery but what is known is the decline of the Imperial Specters Chapter. Due to the Chapter's campaigns, it would leave it drained and in response to this, the Chapter would create the Spectralus Auxilia. The Spectralus Auxilia acted as the Chapters private Guardsmen regiments to replace Astartes where needed. Someone would be needed to lead the Spectralus Auxilia and an Astartes was needed, Azriel Chrelis due to his qualifications would take the honor of Lord General Militant of the Spectralus Auxilia and would take complete control of Astra Militarum forces now under the Imperial Specters.

Azriel Chrelis would serve within the confines of the Spectralus Auxilia for decades making it the most effective force within the Chapter besides the Space Marines themselves. In this role he would lead the Spectralus Auxilia into the Domitarus Wars, a series of wars fought within the Domitarus system and its neighboring systems. Chrelis would be so successful in fact that Lazarith Luprecal, the Chapter Master would throw grand parade on Scelendion Alpha, the planet in which Chrelis had fought one of his hardest battles of all the Domitarus Wars. Luprecal would personally gift Chrelis a specially crafted chainsword named *Wraths Teeth* and would announce Chrelis to be Captain of the 5th Company but also the Master of the Spectralus Auxilia as to continue his good work as he lord of the Auxilia. Luprecal would present Chrelis' men to him to which would be the remnants of the 2nd Company after Captain Lysos and most of the 2nd had been lost to a warp storm and assumed dead.

### Rebellion

Captain Chrelis would take his new position with vigor as he would expand upon the success of the Domitarus Wars as he would begin to lead his Company into many new campaigns. With the success of Chrelis' Campaigns Luprecal himself would order new campaign efforts that would stretch the Chapter thin. This would cause instability within the Chapter as at one point the Spectralus Auxilia itself would be more effective based solely on manpower, Captain Chrelis would be enraged by this fact and at what he perceived as ignorance in his fellow Captains and his superiors for allowing the numbers of Astartes to dip so low. Captain Chrelis would use the vast worlds he had conquered to recruit droves of new Aspirants to reform the Chapter's abilities and while this benefited every Company in one way or another it would also anger the other Captains as Chrelis would find many ways to get new Astartes into his Company quickly even bypassing parts of their training within the reserve companies.

Tensions between the Captains would begin to boil over as Chrelis would believe the other Captains to be ignorant and traitors to the goals of the Chapter where as the Captains would see Chrelis almost as a tyrant vying for power over the Chapter. This tension would come to its peak as Terreath Lysos the former Captain of the 2nd Company would be refound in the Materium and sent back to the Chapter after ensuring the absence of Chaos taint within Lysos. Chrelis would be the first to meet Lysos and would be the one to explain the on goings of the Chapter in his absence, this would quickly have Lysos become a supporter of his old friend and his goals with Lysos even joining the 5th Company as the Company Ancient. Eventually, the Captain Bellerophion Gadrerius of the 2nd Company would be killed in a battle with an Orkish Warband. Luprecal though would not see the coming of Lysos as an opportunity and would instead make Sirus Corvtin who was also called Firemane the Captain of the 2nd. Lysos remains calm in the face of this but Chrelis is dumbfounded as he demands Lysos become Captain, this causes Firemane to take personal offense and the two would throw insults back and forth via vox communications. Luprecal would have the two stop and reconfirm Firemane as Captain, Chrelis would not accept Firemane as a fellow Captain and would leave the vox in anger and frustration.

Deep into Captain Chrelis' career the 5th Company would develop into a very unique Company in many ways. Some of the most obvious of that being that even though they were a Tactical Company they valued melee combat to any other and they would develop an honor code comparable to that of the Knight's of old on Holy Terra. This would cause rifts between even brothers because of their Captains and cultures, this would result in a test of honor enacted by a 5th Company Space Marine against a 2nd. The duel would be a mighty one but would end with the 5th Space Marine killing the 2nd, this would enrage Captain Firemane and he would call for the execution of the Astartes but Chrelis refused. Firemane would travel to the fleet of the 5th with his Command Squad and would board the Thundercrest where the Astartes were supposed to be held.

Firemane would make his way to the prison but there would be no one there and on transit to his ship he would meet Captain Chrelis in the halls and when things quickly got heated a fight would ensue. Chrelis would have the upper hand for most of the fight due to his skill with the blade but when he would land a hard hit on Firemane his men would open fire causing a gunfight in the hallway. Chrelis would disembark with his men and attempt to sabotage the part of the ships where Firemane was, but he would have escaped by then. Firemane would travel to the Chapter fleet which comprised many Companies worth with Captain Tyrael Magrrius being the Chapter's second in command to Lazarith Luprecal himself. Tyrael, a good friend would order Chrelis to stand down and explain himself but he would refuse and demand Firemane to do battle with him to settle their score. Firemane would insult Chrelis in many ways infuriating Chrelis causing him to destroy the screens in front of him in an untamed rage.

While Tyrael informed the Captains that surrounded him of the situation and what they should do next, a large fleet belonging to the 5th Company would suddenly appear next to the Chapters fleet. Tyrael on the command deck of the Emperor's Vengeance the Chapters capital ship and smaller recreation of the Vengeful Spirit would contact the fleet and order them to remain where they were but the ships would continue on course with their heading going for the galactic northern part of the fleet mostly made up of the 2nd Companies ships. Captain Chrelis would open a vox and speak to Tyrael personally exclaiming his outrage and his position and that unless Firemane was brought to him then he would have no choice but to fight. Tyrael trying to reason with Chrelis would be alerted as to the 5th fleet opening fire upon the 4th's. Tyrael would order for the Chapters fleet to engage and the 5th and so the 5th would flee because of the overwhelming superiority of the Chapters fleet.

Chrelis and his forces would flee to Kiavrit VI, after landing on the planet Chrelis would meet with the Planetary Governor, Erasmus Merriner, Chrelis would tell Erasmus of a incoming Chaos fleet of Heretic Astartes. Erasmus with some doubt would agree to work with Chrelis and would begin preparing planetary defenses. While Chrelis overviewed the preparations of Kiavrit VI Lazarith Luprecal would contact Chrelis, it would lead to a days long conversation between Chrelis and Luprecal about many things that are largely unknown, but one thing is known and it is that both in the end agreed that war was the only option. Luprecal would announce to the Chapter that Chrelis and his Company were traitors to the Chapter and that they should prepare themselves for a purging of the 5th.

Luprecal would recall the majority of the Chapter that was at the moment not fighting in non essential campaigns and would meet Chrelis' fleet much earlier then Chrelis had expected and so Kiavrit VI was caught by surprise. Even with the Chrelis'' fleet being much smaller then the Imperial Specter's, Chrelis would hold his fleet together for almost a day before they were forced to retreat onto Kiavrit VI. Once on the planet they waited for the Imperial Specters to strike, when they did they came down in great numbers covering the skies in the flames of the endless drop pods. Chrelis would have his men pull back and allow the Guardsmen to fight the first wave and as they did they were slaughtered and Erasmus Merriner would be captured only hours into the battle. Erasmus would be interrogated on his treachery and when he exclaimed himself a loyalist he would be told the truth of Chrelis' war. Erasmus would be allowed to call off his Guardsmen forces from fighting the Imperial Specters.

With the Imperial Specters now bulldozing through the planet killing swaths of Chrelis' men he would be forced into Hyborium Secondus a small Hive City near the north pole of the planet. Hyborium Secondus would have a space port in the city where Chrelis had recalled all star ships and transports left to the Company and he would give a long and what is described as one of the most powerful speech's ever made by Chrelis to his brothers and the Guardsmen that stuck with him from the Spectralus Auxilia. After this Chrelis and his brothers would board their transports and would ascend to the stars to where they would board the Emperor's Vengeance and would hopefully be able to enact their last blow upon the Imperial Specters in a glorious frenzy of sacrifice.

"*The ascension to the stars to where we would be forces to fight our former brothers and leaders and friends was one of the most horrifying moments I can recall.*"
—Battle-Brother Galatare Astros when questioned on the "assault of last rights" on the Emperor's Vengeance.
Once in the atmosphere of Kiavrit VI Chrelis' ships would be attack and battered and a third of his forces would be destroyed but Chrelis would manage to land on the Emperor's Vengeance's surface where they would cut holes in the ship and enter. Once aboard Chrelis would lead the majority of his men through the halls towards the command deck, he would enter a large extensive hallway where his men would rush forwards as Chrelis stayed behind with a few men to plan their path ahead. Chrelis would be informed that Firemane was fighting his forces at the front this would put Chrelis into a immediate anger and he would rush to Firemane where they would meet and do battle. The fight would be drawn out but ultimately Firemane would be beheaded by Chrelis and he would raise Firemane's skull high in triumph. Captain Tyrael would meet Chrelis on the bridges that were the walkways of the halls, he would exclaim Chrelis to have allowed greed and anger to take over and that he must die for the good of the Chapter.

Before Chrelis could even make a sound the Company Standard Bearer and his dear friend Terreath Lysos would rush forwards and assault Tyrael. The two would be almost perfectly matched in prowess but Tyrael would be able to use his physic abilities on Lysos and he would end up killing Lysos in front of Chrelis. This would turn Chrelis into a unstoppable monster as rage would engulf him and he would lunge forwards at Tyrael, a brilliant flash of light caused by the physic energy output by Tyrael would engulf both Chrelis and Tyrael but when the light dissipated Chrelis would be standing over Tyrael with his sword bloodied. The Astartes of the 3rd would take their Captain away without problems from Chrelis or the 5th as Chrelis had spotted the Chapter Master Lazarith Luprecal in the distance due to the gleaming of Luprecal extravagant gold that Chrelis knew all to well.

The two surrounding by their own forces would meet in the center of the bridge in a silent understanding on the unfortunate events that must unfold. Luprecal would first attack and a massive battle would ensue between Luprecal and Chrelis and their forces all around them in a flurry of flash's of bolters firing and blades clashing and armor withstanding bolt and blade. In the end Chrelis' forces would be pushed back but Luprecal and Chrelis would continue fighting but Chrelis would gain the upper hand and knock Luprecal to the ground. Standing before his Chapter Master who appeared defeated Chrelis would raise his chainsword the very one given to him by Luprecal himself during his initiating as Captain, and as he brought the brutish weapon down he heard dark voices in the farthest reach's of his mind beckoning him. Chrelis in that moment would realize that his outburst's and inflated ego wasn't self made but was by design of Chaos taint upon his soul, he realized his ambitions were not his own but that of the twisted form of his pride and beliefs and in this very moment he knew, he was wrong.

Chrelis would avert the swinging chainsword away from the Chapter Masters head and would only scrape his pauldron, he would look upon the weapon and cast it off the bridge cursing it as he did. Chrelis would fall to his knees before his lord and would sit there in silence, Luprecal would recover and would take up his own blade and put it to Chrelis' shoulder and would order Chrelis to remove his helmet. In front of the group now surrounding the pair Chrelis would take off his helmet and Luprecal would be torn aware from his intent of execution as he saw Chrelis' eyes and all Chrelis had realized and what caused him to spare Luprecal and bring him to his knees. He would see the sorrow and regret in his brothers eyes and he would exclaim Chrelis to no longer be his brother, friend, nor most reliable man he ever knew and would announce he was a traitor to the Chapter but causing confusion to everyone around not a traitor to the Emperor.

Luprecal would exclaim Chrelis and all with him were to be banished never to return or show their faces to him again otherwise they would be slaughtered as they should be at that moment. Chrelis would say "Do not forgive me, but forgive them" implying to his men. Luprecal would order all imprisoned and in the following days the Chapter Master would find Symard, a barren swamp covered moon that Chrelis and his men were almost certain to die on. The fleet would travel to Symard and would release Chrelis and his men onto the moon with nothing but themselves and their Gene-seed. Luprecal would not see them off himself as he would leave that job to the recovered Tyrael to whom would speak to Chrelis in private just before departure. The two would agree to one another on the causing of conflict being the fault of both sides but that ultimately Chrelis' exilation was for the best. Luprecal would announce the war as the "War of Kiavrit"

## Beliefs

### Honor

The Lunar Resplendent are a honor bound Chapter as each Astartes sees themselves as a Knight of old from Holy Terra. They often exercise duels of honor among themselves and other Chapters as well as don't often except responsibility for a kill seen by themselves or others as unhonorable. Stated even by their Chapter Master the Chapter sees itself more as a order made up to serve the Emperor's will in the capacity of redeeming themselves of their past faults in the Horus Heresy and War of Kiavrit.

### Humanity

The Lunar Resplendent see themselves just as the mortals of the Imperium do, as demigod like warriors destined to save the Imperium and protect all those who dwell within it. The Chapter is not comparable to the Salamander or their Successor Chapters in their morality but they do hold a high value for human lives not seen within most Space Marines let alone Imperial fighting body.

## Relations

### Allies

The Inquisition is technically an ally where as certain people within the organization keep the existence of the Lunar Resplendent Chapter a secret towards most, but the majority of the Inquisition are not aware of the Chapters existent by design but would be opposed to the Chapter if it was known.

### Enemies

Chaos is the Chapters sacred enemy as through their heritage having been corrupted by Chaos during the Horus Heresy they have sworn an unending war towards the threat and often ignore more important threats or the sake of pursuing Chaos.

[Source]