Blades of the Phoenix

Blades of the Phoenix Armorial, at the time of their Founding.

A Battle-Brother of the Blades of the Phoenix, at the time of their Founding.

The **Blades of the Phoenix** were a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter descended from the noble and vaunted lineage of the Ultramarines, created during the Second Founding from the CCLXIInd Battalion of the then Ultramarines Legion. Originally a beacon of nobility and hope, much like their progenitor, the Chapter slowly spiralled into disgrace and censure. Redeemed after a lengthy penitence and somewhat restored, albeit never to their former heights, the Chapter was eventually destroyed by a Tyranid splinter fleet in the twilight years of the 41st millennium. Their legacy would endure through the Onyx Phoenixes, which would incorporate a small number of survivors into their ranks. The new Chapter would also inherit some of the equipment and model elements of their colour scheme and heraldry on the fallen chapter, in honour of their legacy.

## Chapter History

**Origins**

Originally designated the CCLXIInd "Phoenix" Battalion of the XIIIth Legion, the Ultramarines, the marines which would later become the Blades of the Phoenix were raised during the Great Crusade as part of the galaxy-spanning war of conquest. They prosecuted a number of successful campaigns as part of this, though little of particular note until the outbreak of the horrific betrayal that was the Horus Heresy. After the revelation of this to the Ultramarines at Calth, the Phoenix Battalion was dispatched to campaign against the forces of the Word Bearers and World Eaters around the Pharos Beacon. During this time they found themselves aided by a Blackshield force, calling themselves the Silver Ashes, and a more organised entity claiming to be survivors of Taskforce Onxy, which had been officially designated as lost. Reasoning that beggars could not be choosers in this chaotic time, the Phoenix Battalion joined with these ragtag forces and conducted a raiding campaign against the traitor forces, cutting across the supply lines and assaulting the temporary void docks that had been constructed. A significant number of the Onyx survivors claimed to hail from the CCCIXth Battalion of the Ultramarines, and were thus brethren, something that aided the bonding of the two forces. The following battles resulted in heavy casualties amongst the three allies, though they were successful in crippling the traitor forces and resulting in their subsequent performance. There was a black mark at the end of the campaign though, as the Silver Ashes seemingly turned against their friends and were destroyed. It would subsequently be discovered that Alpha Legion operatives had orchestrated the incident, further adding to the pall over the event. The remaining forces, predominantly Ultramarines but including survivors of other legions, including a few loyalist traitors, united under the banner of the Phoenix battalion and dubbed themselves the "Blades of the Phoenix". Together they continued to prosecute the forces of the heretics, throughout the Great Scouring.

**Second Founding**

During these bitter reprisals, came the start of the Imperium's rebuilding and consolidation. Roboute Guilliman declared the division of the Legions into Chapters and revealed his *Codex Astartes*, the strategic document which would guide these new entities. As part of this "Second Founding" the Blades of the Phoenix, along with small groups from a number of other broken battalions would be formed into one of these Chapters, which would adopt the name of the largest entity. Thus the Blades of the Phoenix Chapter was born.
They were given a world to settle their fortress-monastery upon, a vanguard world in the west of Ultramar and one which they had been responsible for saving.
Within their ranks were a number of "rehabilitated" marines from the disgraced legions, mind wiped and renamed to obscure their origins. The chapter's apothecaries were sworn to secrecy and given classified orders to seal the vaults holding the progenoid glands of these marines upon their deaths, to ensure no evidence of this mercy could end up in the hands of those who would cry treachery.

The first task the Chapter would undertake was to continue their pursuit of traitor warbands out towards the Halo Stars to ensure their destruction. This task would take many years, beyond the time that the Great Scouring officially ended. After which they returned to their homeworld at last, to recuperate and establish their domain.

**Tragedy**

The Blades of the Phoenix were one of the Chapters which responded to the First Black Crusade, seeing the fight against Chaos as their responsibility and a continuation of what they deemed to be the unfinished Great Scouring. In their zealous desire to prosecute heretics however, they committed a grievous error. They stripped their homeworld of defenders, leaving it vulnerable to attack in their absence. When they returned from their campaign, they found a homeworld ravaged by raids and strife. In response they oversaw a formidable fortification of the world, mobilising an enormous PDF and constructing a vast number of bunkers and bastions. Unbeknownst to the Chapter, one of the warbands which had attacked the world had implanted an engineered disease into the population during the raid, which rendered them unsuitable for initiation into the Chapter. For centuries afterwards, the Chapter would be unable to take aspirants from their homeworld.
These events began to stoke resentment and discontent amongst the populace of the world, who felt they had been first abandoned by and now punished by their protectors.

**The Long Vigil**

Over the following several thousand years, the Chapter went through a period known as the "Long Vigil", where they prosecuted a series of wars against the foes of the Imperium.

At the turn of the 31st millennium the Chapter fought against an incursion of a since censored xenos race, whom they battled for three hundred years across the breadth of the galaxy. The majority of their Librarium fell in this conflict, and only with reinforcements dispatched by the High Lords did the campaign finally manage to turn the tide.

The War of the Beast would however be a shining moment for the Chapter, which was an active combatant throughout. They did not participate in the conflicts around Terra itself but proved to be an effective striking group, countering scouting parties of the Orks, sabotaging their supply lines and committing to thousands of individual kill-team actions. They continued operations against Ork threats in the years after the war and after earned the moniker of 'Ork bane' for it.

They would be instrumental during The Beheading in maintaining peace and order through a dozen systems, and with the following Second Black Crusade]]. After these lengthy crusades, the Chapter returned to their homeworld to respond to it being once again under assault, though this time the defences had held and the attackers were surrounded and annihilated upon the Chapter's return.

Later they joined the great push to expand the Imperium's borders in the wake of the Beheading, joining Crusades against Maiden Worlds, Ork strongholds, independent human empires and novel xenos species. At the end of a hundred years of these wars, the Chapter was exhausted and returned to their homeworld once more.

They returned to unrest and rebellion, an insurgency aimed at unseating them. The insurgency had not had time to fully prepared however and was forced to launch early, and the Astartes were able to quickly dismantle it through a series of brutal strikes. While the uprising was swift, the repercussions however would be longer lasting. While the wider populace had not joined the uprising, this had not spared them from the casualties inflicted by the takedown and the reprisals. The resentment against the Chapter grew, as did the Chapter's shame at allowing this to occur. They departed the world once more, and their visits would become less frequent, preferring instead to draw their replacements from worlds along the paths they took, effectively becoming fleet based.

**A Question of Faith**

Firm adherents of the The Imperial Truth, the Chapter railed against the rise of the Ecclesiarchy, and for many years had argued and resisted the growing power of the organisation, to no avail. They had refused to support the wars of faith, instead choosing retaliation missions against the redoubts of heretic forces in dozens of lengthy and costly sieges.

As the radicalisation of the Imperium grew ever stronger, the Chapter found itself being increasingly side-lined by an empire that had no time for their beliefs.

The Chapter was began to find itself at the heart of the most disastrous wars of the Imperium as if their masters wished to see them destroyed yet lacked the stomach to do it themselves. Too proud to refuse the call upon the aid of their gene-sire, the Chapter continued to answer the calls to battle, even as they entered a punishing cycle of depletion, rebuilding, victory and defeat. Still, they were reluctant to return to their homeworld, preferring to replenish locally, drawing recruits from across the galaxy.

As their misfortune continued, the chapter would be embroiled in conflicts around the Ghoul Stars.
They established a temporary keep deep in the Eastern Fringe, on the far-flung and isolated world of Penthos, to allow them to repair quickly and support the ongoing campaigns they found themselves involved in on the edges of space. Before long the temporary keep was becoming more permanent, a new homeworld in all but name.

The Chapter saw out the 34th millennium with campaigns against the Orks, one after another, dealing a series of hammer blows against the greenskins, which had grown strong and emboldened by the weakening Imperial defences.

Despite these victories, the Astartes were growing increasingly embittered and disillusioned with the Imperium. Their homeworld shunned them, providing recruits with great reluctance and protest. The Imperium was decaying before their eyes, rejecting the Imperial Truth and falling into decadence and decay. Though those who had seen it with their own eyes were long since deceased, they knew of this more enlightened and glorious time through the vox speakers of their Dreadnoughts and the written chronicles of their history. They had tried to stand against the tide, and their reward had been to become pariahs.

During the time of the Twin Empires the Blades of the Phoenix have no recorded history, in either their own records or that of the Administratum; some speculate that their actions were deeply heretical and shameful, though others have argued that perhaps the chapter no longer recorded their own deeds out of indifference of their achievements, and the Imperium no longer cared to record their deeds.

What is known is that their campaigns during this time saw the Chapter exhausted once again, with a devastating depletion of their relics and the loss of one of their Battle Barges. For a time afterwards the Chapter was culturally divided into two parties, as the veterans of the war remained in isolated kill teams and refused to integrate with the new recruits. It led overall to a loss of skills and martial practices, as well as a number of traditions with the next generation, only stymied by a handful of Veterans who bucked this trend.

**Exile and Penitence**

One tradition was not lost in this time, the innate aversion to the growing power of the Ecclesiarchy. It would be their undoing during the Age of Apostasy, as Goge Vandire rose to power. The Chapter was driven into effective exile, seen as renegades by the Ecclesiarchy after a number of direct conflicts. Agents of the Ecclesiarchy were murdered by the Chapter, who uncovered some of the depraved and disgusting crimes that some of their members committed. They refused to be cowed and as a result reprisals were made against them. The most insulting was the scrutiny made upon their homeworld. The populace was decreed lacking in the appropriate faith and a cruel regime was enforced. The Chapter in response abandoned the world, a choice which to their shame was too easily made in light of the past. As the reign of Vandire reached its peak of power, the Chapter was finally forced into hiding, as forces of the Imperium directly attacked and prosecuted them. It was no surprise that the Chapter was one of the many that flocked to Sebastian Thor’s Crusade.

With the High Lord dead the Chapter returned briefly to their Homeworld, they found the people so broken in spirit and perversely tormented by the former regime that the Chapter committed Exterminatus upon the world, as an act of mercy. While their name had been restored with Vandire's death, the Chapter felt that they nonetheless did not deserve this for past failings and decided to undertake a voluntary Penitent Crusade. As part of this, they shed the blue from their armour and the Ultramarines symbol from their heraldry, feeling they no longer deserved to wear the marks of their progenitor. It was during this time that the Chapter saw its worst defeat yet, joining a campaign against an Aeldari Craftworld that had entered Imperial territory. Despite the efforts of the Imperials, the Craftworld ultimately succeeded in driving off their assaults and returning to the void. The chapter lost another of their battle barges and much of its fleet in a failed gambit to board the Craftworld.

**Redemption**

It would be at their weakest, at the turn of the 37th millennium, that the Chapter would return to the system that they once had liberated and had become like a second home for a time, Penthos. The battered but unbroken Chapter made haste to answer this plea for aid, finding a chaos warband overwhelming the system's defences and slaughtering the inhabitants. Outnumbered and outgunned, this defence became a turning point in the Chapters' history, as they threw themselves into the fray in spite of the odds. Battling on two fronts, with the defenders' resolve renewed, the warband was slowly and steadily driven back and eventually destroyed, though the conflict was long and brutal. The Chapter decided to remain and help the system rebuild, declaring their crusade had ended and deciding that Penthos would become their new homeworld. The Chapter established a new fortress-monastery, a modest but formidable structure, a reflection of their new, humble outlook. The campaigns they took around this time were limited, aimed at expanding the Imperium's holdings around the Penthos system, to form a bulwark against future attacks. The Chapter flourished anew, under a charismatic leader and for a just cause, in isolation from the greater events of the galaxy. The Chapter would alter their armour again to reflect their rebirth, adopting panels of blue-green in honour of the seas of Penthos.

Such expansion could not go unchecked for long, and the Chapter encountered an indomitable strain of the Katastrokyanigos, a powerful xenos race that had run rampant across a number of former Imperial star systems. The foul Xenos had hives, war machines and starships made of organic skeletons covered in scrap metal. The war was devastating, and the chapter eventually withdrew and requested reinforcements. On the defensive, the Chapter proved able to hold them off, and eventually, a Crusade was formed to exterminate this threat.

The next historical event of note for the Blades of the Phoenix began with news of a great danger ravaging nearby star systems. Conflicting reports ascribed the threat initially as the Enslavers, and then the Umbral, before returning to an unknown threat. Survivors were few and far between and the attacks were spreading fast. Nearby Chapters were called to respond, and the Blades of the Phoenix answered.

The campaign was censored for records, but it is known that the threat escaped multiple times. In the wake of the campaign, three Chapters agreed to pursue the threat, while the rest returned to defending their own territories. The three Chapters pursued the threat for many years, from the Eastern Fringe to the depths of the Veiled Region. It was a pervasive destructive scar ripped across the Imperial Empire. Eventually, pushed far beyond the light of the Astronomicon, in star systems that had never heard of the Imperium or the Emperor and on the brink of the inescapable void, the Chapters saw the threat vanquished. They would not return to the edge of the Imperium for many more years, for without the light of the Astronomicon, a warp journey would be too risky. Entering cryo-sleep, the Chapters slumbered until they reached the faintest glow of this beacon and could risk a jump home.

When they finally reached the Penthos system again, it was unrecognisable. In their absence, the strategic value of the system as a hub between Ultramar and the Ghoul Stars had been identified. Ports had been established, Hive Cities had risen and layers of defences constructed. The former Feral and Civilised Worlds had been turned into Manufactorums, Hive and Fortress Worlds. Even their Fortress-Monastery was now overshadowed by one of these new cities. The people of these worlds were nigh unrecognisable, their former cultures and identity all but overwritten by the Imperial machine.

When word reached them of the Chapter's return, a delegation of the Ultramarines arrived and informed them of the new duty they desired them to undertake, that of a Bastion chapter on the northern fringes of the Ultramar.

In the wake of their return, the Chapter adopted a tradition of applying tribal tattoos to their bodies. The veterans of the liberation of Penthos had been daubed in similar paints by the children and tribesmen they had liberated, thanks to their deeds. The markings had been preserved in the archives of the Chapter and the Astartes decided to adopt them in a more permanent form in honour of the now lost heritage of their new homeworld.

In their role as a bastion Chapter, the Blades of the Phoenix did little of particular note. As the 38th millennium became the 39th and then the 40th, they served diligently but unremarkably, rarely gracing the annals of the wider Imperium, though they remained known and revered in the area around Penthos, which became known as the Penthos SubSector.

The Chapter resurfaces in records towards the end of the 41st Millennium when the existential threat of the Tyranids arrived in the galaxy. As part of the wider assault on the Eastern Fringe, the Penthos SubSector was slowly surrounded and isolated, suffocated by the shadow of the Warp. The Chapter ceaselessly fought against this encroaching threat, striking against the tendrils as they approached and attempting to halt the net that was encircling their domain. It was to no avail.

As the threat entered the Penthos SubSector itself, the Chapter in desperation pulled out all the stops. Their gene-seed stockpiles (including the sealed vaults) were expended in a bid to expand the Chapter's numbers, discarding that tenet of the Codex Astartes. The forges worked day and night to produce more wargear and equipment, the Serfs pressed into combat units and the most sacred relics roused from their slumber. The following battles were titanic, the mustered forces of the Subsector clashing against the innumerable bio-forms of the Hive Mind. Despite the best efforts of the defenders, they were slowly driven back until the Penthos system itself was besieged. The Chapter was a shadow of its former self, their strength expended in the fight but still defiant.

Salvation would come at the hands of a fleet of former Blackshields, which warped into the system in response to the pleas for aid. Unbeknownst to the Chapter, the two had met before, for these mercenaries were the descendants of those Blades of Onyx which had not re-joined the Imperium, choosing instead exile and had since resided within the Ghoul Stars, taking on contracts with Rogue Traders and those Imperial forces willing to turn a blind eye to their origins.

Together they were able to stall the tide, aided by the arrival of the tumultuous warp storms that preceded the Noctis Aeterna.

During the chaos that followed, the two sides battled inexorably, neither able to destroy the other, until at last, salvation appeared in the form of a Torchbearer fleet, lead, to their surprise, by a member of the Chapter. Thermistogenes had departed to join the Deathwatch prior to the invasion and had petitioned the resurrected Primarch Roboute Guilliman himself to lead a fleet to see if his Chapter still lived.

The revelation that their Primarch lived, and that the Imperium had come to their aid, reinvigorated the Chapter and they fought with renewed ferocity. At last with the fresh numbers to turn the tide, the Imperial forces were able to prevail against the xenos and defeat the Tyranid fleet.

The threat had been defeated but at an unimaginable cost. The Chapter was in ruins, its reserves exhausted, its ranks decimated. Barely a company could be mustered in total and with no stocks remaining, rebuilding would be next to impossible. Thermistogenes offered the Chapter a contingent of Primaris with the Ultramarines gene lineage, to aid rebuilding. After much internal debate amongst the survivors, it was decided they would decline. The Chapter was too far gone. Their history was decimated, and their culture was in ruins. The Chapter could endure but it would be markedly different, in effect a new Chapter. It was decided that the survivors would join the fleet, and when the upcoming Ultima Founding occurred, the survivors would join one of these new Chapters as their core of veterans. The Phoenixes, appropriately, would be reborn anew amidst the fires of war... as the Onyx Phoenixes.

## Notable Campaigns & Battles

* **Great Crusade (798.M30 - ca. 005.M31)** - The CCLXIInd Battalion of the Ultramarines prosecuted multiple campaigns as part of their parent Legion, steadfastly expanding the borders of the Imperium.
* **Horus Heresy (ca. 005.M31 - 014.M31)** - After the revelation of the treachery to the Ultramarines at Calth, the CCLXIInd Battallion was dispatched to the Eastern Fringe to battle against elements of the World Eaters and Word Bearers Legions. They would join with elements of the CCCIXth Battallion and a Blackshield force during this time, prosecuting a shadow war against the traitors.
* **Great Scouring (M31)** - The battallion would continue their campaign, though now on the offensive, driving back the warbands they faced into the void space beyond the Imperium. During this time the Second Founding occurred and it was decreed that the CCLXIInd and CCCIXth Battallions (along with those Blackshields which remained with them) would become one of the new Chapters, named the Blades of the Phoenix.
* **First Black Crusade (781.M31)** -
* **The War of the Beast (544-546.M32)** -
* **The Beheading (546-646.M32)** -
* **Second Black Crusade (597.M32)** -
* **Nova Terra Interregnum (075-875.M33)** -
* **Age of Apostasy (M36)** -
* **Hive Fleet Jormungandr (995.M41)** -

## Chapter Homeworld

The Blades of the Phoenix had two homeworlds during their history, having lost the first due to a combination of factors that lead them to reluctantly exterminate their own people. Their original homeworld was the planet Pyralis, on the border of the Realm of Ultramar. The second homeworld of the Chapter was the world of Penthos, in the Eastern Fringe below the Ghoul Stars.

**Pyralis**

Pyralis was a world of extreme conditions and rugged beauty, it was partially terraformed by the Imperium during the Great Crusade but the Explorators were interrupted by Ork raiders and while it was deemed suitable for habitation, it was left a violent planet, ravaged by a tectonic activity which left the skies darkened by volcanic ash and the surface criss-crossed by ravines and mountain ranges. The Blades of the Phoenix chose the world thanks to the inherited legacy of the CCIXth Battalion, whose swift intervention had saved the Exploration fleet and ensured the world remained in Imperial hands.

The people of Pyralis were hardy and dour in outlook, as befitting a people who lived in permanent twilight. They lived in high walled cities, to protect against the frequent assaults by roving lava fields which could appear overnight as a new rent in the crust occurred.
Millennia of neglect and perceived abandonment by their Chapter resulted in a series of uprisings that were crushed by brutal reprisals from the Blades, who eventually genuinely abandoned the world, leaving it to the mercy of the Ecclesiarchy, whose heavy handed attempts to convert the populace to the Imperial Cult led to the people's ironically turning to the arms of Chaos. When the Blades finally returned, they decided to scour the world clean with their weaponry, realising the world was lost. Some privately suspected that this also conveniently washed away their past sins, allowing them to close that shameful chapter of their history. While limited resettlement would subsequently take place, it would no longer serve as their homeworld.

**Penthos**

While the Chapter would spend some time as a fleet-based force before settling again, they had ironically already set up a permanent presence on the world they chose even before the fall of their first homeworld. The planet of Penthos had been aided by the Chapter some time prior and a temporary base established while they conducted a lengthy campaign in the region of the Ghoul Stars. This base gradually became more permanent and by the time of the campaign's conclusion, had become a second fortress in all but name. While the Chapter would resume the use of its original homeworld afterwards, they maintained a Serf presence at the fortress and, many years later, would return to establish their new keep on the world. Penthos was a marked contrast to their first home. The people of that world were more primitive but also more content, living in simple huts over the crowded and ash-choked cities of Pyralis. The planet itself was also a stable world, with fertile lands and large blue-green oceans. The Chapter also learnt from their past errors and took a more active role in guiding the people, ensuring a happy populace which was content with the requirements of the Astartes.

Unfortunately, this idyllic beginning was marred by the Chapter's departure to the galactic rim to deal with a formidable xenos foe, a task which would ultimately and unintentionally take centuries to complete. When they returned the wheels of Imperial bureaucracy had caught up with Penthos and with the Chapter presumed extinct and the importance of the world deemed paramount, it had been transformed into a Hive World, the inhabitants unrecognisable from the rich tribal culture of the past.

### Fortress-Monastery

Likewise, the Blades had several Fortress-Monasteries during their existence. In addition to two planet-based installations, they also possessed a converted flagship which served as their monastery during the time after they lost Pyralis, and during their penitent crusade.

The first Fortress-Monastery was known as the Sanctum of Flames, a formidable bastion that stood atop the highest peak of the homeworld. The Sanctum of Flames was an architectural marvel, constructed with a combination of obsidian and reinforced ceramite. Its sleek lines and angular design evoked a sense of both strength and grace, massive gothic arches and towering spires dominating the skyline, adorned with intricate engravings that depicted the glorious history of the Chapter.

The second Fortress-Monastery on Penthos was a much more subdued structure, a reflection of the chastened mentality of the Chapter, which no longer felt it deserved finery or statements of power. A brutalist, squat series of bunkers and reinforced buildings lay atop a plateau near the northern pole, permanently semi-buried beneath the snow drifts.

## Chapter Organisation

"*The Codex Astartes is a set of rules. They guide us... shape us as Ultramarines ... teach us to hold duty and honour sacred above all. But how we live with those rules is the true test of a Space Marine.*"
—Sage advice from a member of the Ultramarines.
The Blades of the Phoenix were a *Codex*-compliant Chapter, adhering to the tenants of the *Codex* in most regards. Like their progenitors, the Blades recognised that the Codex contains many valuable treatise on warfare and logistics, as well as a logical disposition of the limited forces a Chapter has at its disposal. As such their forces were in many ways a textbook example of a codex chapter, with the traditional ten companies of 100 Astartes.

### Officer Ranks

* **Chapter Master**
* **Captain**
* **Lieutenant**

### Specialist Ranks

* **Chaplain**
* **Librarian**
* **Apothecary**
* **Techmarine**

### Line Ranks

* **Squad Sergeant**
* **Veteran**
* **Battle-Brother**
* **Scout**
* **Neophyte**

### Order of Battle

**Chapter Master of the Blades of the Phoenix**

**[Honour Guard]**
(Honour Guard)

**Command Squad: Chapter Champion, Chapter Ancient, Head Chaplain, Chief Apothecary, Chief Librarian, Master of the Forge**

**Chapter Equerries**
**Master of the Forge**

**28 Techmarines**
**95 Servitors**
**160 Battle Tanks**
**17 Land Raiders**
**110 Gunships**

**Head Chaplain**

**16 Chaplains**

**Chief Apothecary**

**20 Apothecaries**
**30 Servo-Meds**
**Chief Librarian**

**8 Epistolaries**
**12 Codiciers**
**12 Lexicaniums**
**14 Acolytum**

**Master of the Fleet**

**23 Shipmasters**
**3 Battle Barges**
**8 Strike Cruisers**
**12 Escorts**
**Chief Victualler**

**20 Victuallers**
**200 Serfs and Servitors**

## Combat Doctrine

Initially a force of generalists, much like the wider Ultramarines Legion, the campaigns undertaken prior to the Chapter's founding during the Horus Heresy and Great Scouring lead to the Astartes who would become the Blades of the Phoenix adopting a focus on high mobility warfare and void actions. Their campaigns had consisted of a guerrilla campaign against superior traitor forces, small self-contained strike forces wreaking havoc amongst the larger but more cumbersome enemy forces. In particular the Chapter initially had a strong force of "headhunters" covert teams adept at assassination and kill team operations. The Chapter's tactics pivoted slightly after they received the teachings of the Codex and reinforcements from their progenitor, though they remained a mobility focused force. Mechanised formations formed the core of their assaults, with lighter armoured "probing" forces backed up by heavy elements such as Devastators and heavy vehicles to punch into gaps. The 10th Company was larger than those being fielded by their other recently formed brethren, a reflection of the enhanced role of Scouts in reconnaissance and raiding actions. This resulted in a higher turnover than most in terms of Initiates, due to the losses this incurred. Bionics were also more commonly seen within the Chapter as a result, a result of pitting carapace armour against situations that normally required its tougher cousin.

Some time after the Chapter was assigned their role as bastion of the Penthos Subsector, they were forced to review their tactical doctrines. The Astartes were increasingly finding themselves on the defensive, conducting more static warfare rather than the sprawling crusades and counter-insurgencies of the past. They had also lost much of their armour reserves and had a smaller number of escort vessels, so could no longer field the same number of small strike forces as they could in the past. Their emphasis shifted from mobility steadily towards larger, more solid strike wings. Increasingly actions occurred at the demi-company and company level, with a focus on hammer and anvil tactics. Instead of the primary force, the mobile units were a supporting element in a greater whole.

## Chapter Recruitment

The Blades of the Phoenix followed a meticulous and rigorous process when it came to recruiting new members into their ranks. Once identified, prospective candidates were subjected to a series of physical, mental, and spiritual tests to assess their suitability for becoming an Astartes. Physical examinations gauged the candidate's physical endurance and overall fitness. Mental evaluations assessed their intelligence and emotional stability, ensuring they possessed the mental fortitude required to withstand the gruelling training and combat scenarios to come.

Candidates who successfully passed the initial assessments were then subjected to intense training regimens, designed to push them beyond their physical and mental limits. This gruelling process included combat drills, survival exercises, weapons proficiency tests, and indoctrination into the Chapter's traditions and values. This training period was both physically demanding and mentally challenging, designed to weed out those who could not endure the hardships required to become a Space Marine.

Upon completion of the implantation process, the newly inducted Astartes were entered into the 9th company to begin their time as Devastator marines.

## Deathwatch Service

Despite the friction that has existed between the Blades and organisations such as the Inquisition at times, they readily sent Astartes for the Long Vigil when required and had a long and storied history of service with the Deathwatch since the Time of Rebirth.

## Chapter Gene-Seed

The Chapter's gene-seed was very stable and predominantly flaw-free, as to be expected from a Chapter that could trace its lineage back to the original Ultramarines Legion. Like their parent Chapter, initiates implanted with the Blades' gene-seed display a marked tendency towards cohesion and the adoption of hierarchy, alongside an almost pathological dedication to the achievement of an assigned goal. In a slight deviation, certain members of the Chapter display empathetic abilities, able to discern when a lie is being told.

## Notable Members

* **Avallach Solaris** - The final Chapter Master of the Blades of the Phoenix . Before Penthos itself was surrendered he was mortally wounded in the final climatic defence, though he lived long enough to negotiate with the Blades of Onyx, witness the triumphant escape in spite of the Shadow of the Warp, and spoke with Thermistogenes and the Primaris. He finally died, failing the Rubricon procedure, knowing that his legacy would live on.
* **Solanus Ignasa** - A powerful psyker who served as the Chief Librarian of the Chapter. He fell during the final battle, spitting warp fire to the last as he was overwhelmed by the swarm.
* **Valerian Pyraxis** - The first Chief Apothecary of the Chapter, Pyraxis was entrusted with overseeing the Chapter's gene stocks, and more importantly, the concealment of the origins of certain original members, something he achieved discretely.

## Chapter Fleet

The fleet of the Blades of the Phoenix varied wildly over their lifespan, due to losses and periods of expansion.
At their inception, they were provided with a Courageous Class Battleship of unknown type as their flagship, along with:

* 3 Battle Barges
* 8 Strike Cruisers
* 12 Escorts

## Chapter Relics

The Chapter initially had a powerful array of equipment and vehicles from their time in the Great Crusade. Kratos tanks, Spartans, Contemptor Dreadnoughts and Terminator armour were just a fragment of their armoury. However, millennia of warfare had dramatically depleted this stockpile, both in terms of total losses and equipment damaged beyond repair. At the time of their destruction, they had a much more modest collection of relics, including the following:

* **Blade of the Eternal Flame** - A master-crafted power sword that was passed down from Chapter Master to Chapter Master. Its blade was forged from an alloy of unknown origins, giving it an ethereal, flame-like appearance. This weapon was gifted to the Onyx Phoenixes upon that Chapter's creation.
* **Shield of Resilience** - This ancient storm shield is believed to have been forged during the earliest days of the Chapter. Adorned with intricate engravings depicting scenes of valour and sacrifice, the shield possessed a potent energy field that could withstand even the most devastating blows. During the final battle against the Tyranids, the shield was rent asunder when the last Chapter Master battled against the synapse creatures of the Hive Mind.

## Chapter Appearance

### Chapter Colours

Somewhat unusually, the Blades of the Phoenix underwent several changes over the ten millennia of their existence. The most dramatic was when the Chapter was censured and ordered to undertake a penitent crusade. In shame they removed the Ultramarine symbol from their heraldry and removed the vestiges of blue from their armour. When the crusade had ended, they decided to somewhat revert these changes.

* Pre-Founding
* Post-Founding.
* Sundering.
* Penitent Crusade.
* Post-Penitent Crusade.
* Destruction.

### Chapter Badge

Their Chapter badge has likewise undergone several changes. During their time as an Ultramarines battalion, they wore the symbol of their Chapter, encircled by a laurel wreath in honour of a past action. Upon founding this wreath was modified into a phoenix in reflection of their name. The symbol remained for some time largely unaltered, albeit with the initial yellow changing to gold, before the time of their penitence. Feeling they had shamed their progenitor, they removed the ultramarine symbol from their heraldry and painted the phoenix black. This would remain their symbol after the crusade, though towards the end of their existence they would feel redeemed enough to restore the original design, though still with a black phoenix as a permanent reminder of their shame. The badge in this configuration would endure until the time of their destruction.

## Relations

### Allies

* **Ultramarines** - As a branch of the original Legion, the Blades of the Phoenix naturally had a close relationship with their progenitor. While at times the Blades avoided seeking the aid of the Ultramarines, this was always out of pride, and they knew they could always depend upon them if needed.

### Strained

* **Ecclesiarchy** - As adherents to the Imperial Truth and outspoken critics of the rise of religion within the Imperium, the Chapter frequently found itself at odds with the Ecclesiarchy, at times coming close to war between the two.

### Enemies

* **Chaos** - The Chapter's clashes with the Traitor Legions date back to the Horus Heresy itself, developing a deep enmity towards these former brothers who turned their backs on humanity.