Crimson Owls

**This article, Crimson Owls, was written by MightyPatata. It may be linked to any page without asking for the author's permission.**

## Crimson Owls

Crimson Owls Insignia, depicting a horned owl from Cor Caeruleum

Crimson Owls Battle-Brother of the 2nd Company ('Duskclaws'), 6th Battleline Squad arrayed in Mk VII power armour with Mk VI helmet

## Space Marine Chapter

### **Allegiance**

Imperium of Man
(*Fidelitas Constantus*)

### **Successor of**

Blood Angels
(Sanguinius lineage.)

### **Number of Marines**

Around 700 at full force (Virtually never due to the Flaws, 550-600 astrates is the maximum they can mantain in normal circumstances.)

### **Specialty**

Strategic Planning, Use of Complex Manoeuvre and Discursive Tactical Planning, Macro-Coordination of Strategic Operations, Librarians; Psychic Warfare, Precision Assaults, Misdirection, Lore Culling

### **Battle cry**

"*In the Emperor's name, retrieve the glory of Mankind!*"

### **Colours**

Crimson and Sangria, Tan and Teal, Brass and Copper Trim

### Successor Chapter(s)

None.

"*We will fight and we will seek, we will kill and we will learn. We will bleed, we will be ablaze. In the end, we will fall, but it shall be with a smouldering field before, and a great cathedral behind.*"
— Ahmed Borbocrates, Master of Sanctity of the Crimson Owls
The **Crimson Owls** were created during the ill-fated 'Cursed' 21st Founding in an attempt by the Adeptus Mechanicus to fabricate an especially psychically apt chapter. To do so, they used the already psychically inclined gene-seed of The Angel, but that proved to be a great mistake, since while they achieved their objective of creating a chapter with a great amount of librarians, the Flaws affected its members in even deeper ways than other successors of Sanguinius.

Even with such flagrant taint the Crimson Owls escaped the fate that gobbled so many other chapters of the Cursed Founding by being extremely strict, and executing all the battle-brothers who fall into the Red Thirst or the Black Rage. Thanks to these drastic measures, they manage to stay on the good side of the High Lords of Terra and the Inquisition, avoiding the risk of beeing disposed of and warding themselves of close investigations that could bring to light dangerous secrets. The new Chapter Master though has begun to take actions in name of the search of knowledge some consider to be careless, driving the Owls to places that can be seen dangerous for an already tainted chapter, and some tongues are starting to talk about a possible dark future awaiting the Crimson Owls.

## Chapter History and Notable Campaigns

* **Founding of the Chapter (995.M35)** - The Crimson Owls were originally called the Bastard Suns, and their colours were ash and umber. For their aggravated flaws, they thougt of themselves to not be wothy of Sanguinius name nor his colours.

* **The Dark Marches Crusade (610.M36)** - In the Dark Marches Crusade the Bastard Suns retrieved the Eurydice Sector from a xenos species that used ancient technology from the Dark Age of Technology they found and enslaved the humans of the sector. After the star in their original system died due to the abuse of this technology, the xenos established the nucleus of their empire in Ashhalandes, a planet inhabited by humans in the Zalleus system, and tried to expand their empire even outside the sector. Thanks to their might the Bastard Suns stopped their advance and retrieved the sector from the alien empire, freeing the human worlds and purging the xenos. The war was harsh beacause the aliens had acces to a few pieces of incredibly powerfull ancient technology, but these artifacts were scarce, and the technological development of the race was lacking as a result of their dependance to them. The fate of the war was sealed in a last decisive battle at the surface of Cor Caeruleum. The enemy army trying to stop the marines before they reached Ashhalandes was crushed, and their lider was slain by the Chapter Master Borbocrates in the place where now raises Niu Maktada. He wielded a powerful artifact, a stave of ancient technology. After Borbocrates defeated him, the stave was renamed the *Cor Caeruleum Staff*, and ended up becoming the symbol of the Chapter Masters of the Crimson Owls. For their deeds retriving the sector and defeating the xenos empire, the Zalleus System was bestowed to the Bastard Suns, a forge world was founded in it, and Cor Caeruleum became their homeworld. Borbocrates declared the chapter worthy of his gene-father and changed the colours to suit him, adding the tan and teal right arm to honor Cor Caeruleum, beeing the blue a symbol of their psychically inclined nature at the same time. The chapter name had to change as well, and seeing great affinity with the giant horned owls of their new homeworld the chosen name became the '*Crimson Owls*'. Although this, Borbocrates deemed the humility of the Bastard Suns important, and the name and the ash and umber were maintained in the chaplains of the chapter.

* **Echoes of Stone (817.M36)** - The Owls managed to retrieve the STC for the polar melta weapons. Feat achieved by the Clockwork Seraphins squad.

* **The Triumvirate of Screams (963.M36)** - Heresy by the governor of a system.

* **The Wolf's Lair (123.M37)** - Confrontation with a warband of former Wolf Brothers and other traitor astrates, the Ousia Gale. The warband is leaded by Kataigida Allagon, a wulfen [[chaos lord, and Shakl Ghayr Mustaqirina, a former thousand sons exalted sorcerer, as his councelor. 13 Wolf brothers and two thousand sons sorcerers represent the elite guard, and the leading body of the warband is completed by three former iron warriors, one former emperor's children and two former alpha legion marines. The bulk of the fighting force is conformed by rubric marines, summoned daemons, daemon engines and chaos cultists. The owls foiled a plan to ascend the chaos lord to daemon princehood, but were unable to deafeat the warband, that retired unscathed.

* **The Dark Plunder (548.M37)** - After centuries of the Owls pacifying the sector the Drukhari started to retaliate in a coordinated manner. A seriuous of raids and conquests all around the sector staring a short era of terror.

* **Burnt Feathers Campaign (552.M37)** - Once the Crimson Owls reagruped and evaluated the situation they launched a campaign to regain control of the sector. With the help of other imperial forces, the plunderers where driven out of Eurydice, and their strongholds in the sector where erradicated.

* **Ma-Azimika Bond (749.M37)** - A secret project of Ma-Azimika got out of hand. The details never were clear to the Owls, but it was clear that it involved Machine Spirits and Abominable Intelligence. The magos of the forgeworld didn't want to call for help, if what they had been doing got out it could spell the end of Ma-Azimika, but open war on the planet was to noticeable and the Crimson Owls quickly rushed to help their allies. When the conflict was over, the techpriests feared of what might happen, but the Owls decided not to ask questions and leave their allies to sort their own problems. Since then, the bond between the chapter and the forgeworld are even stronger, and a great shift should have to pass to break those ties of trust and brotherhood.

* **The Karstillion (924.M37)** - Long feud with a necron lord to control a prized artifact. Artifact finally lost.

* **The Black Crusade of Von Mallas (113.M38)** - Von Mallas Black Crusade affected the Eurydice sector as the rest of the Segmentum Tempestus, and the Crimson Owls had to erradicate multiple heretic insurrections.

* **A campaign of Blood, Water and Fire (258.M38)** - In this campaign the Crimson Owls colaborated with the Tidebenders. The third company of the Owls was beeing overwhelmed trying to liberate a sea planet from a species of xenos behemots. Due to the stigma over the Crimson Owls for having their origin in the Cursed Founding the call for support didn't recive resonse for a long time. When the liutenant gave the fight as lost and the Owls were ready to abbandon the planet the Tidebenders responded. Along with the numbers, the Tidebenders brought their expertise in anphibious combat, and turned the tides of the conflict. The chapters learned from one another, and the most important interaction was between the librarians of the Owls, followers of the Cult of Salt, and the Keepers of the Tidebenders. The Keepers taught the librarians how their connection with their homeworld and the ancient culture of the tide-warriors helped them command the waters. While Cor Caeruleum wasn't a planet of oceans, its only sea was its the beating heart, and the material librarians of the Cult of Salt reconized the connection with the seas. Thanks to the teachings of the Keepers a conjuntion of Kalypsan and Caerulean tidebending was one of the keys of the victory over the xenos, decimating the invading armies in the major oceans of the planet. Meanwhile the capital was surrounded by the most elite forces of the enemies, and while the expert hunters of the Tidebeners were able to keep them at bay, it was inpossible to destabilize the ironclad siege. The techmanines of the Owls deviced a substance, that when disolved into the sea turned large areas of water into kind of oil imperceptibly. Once the hunters had spreaded the substance in apparently normal defensive maneuvers, the oil was set aflame, and the disarranged command structure of the xenos was anihilated by the space marines. [...]

* **The Golden Signal (466.M38)** - Traveling through the Ryza System librarians attached to a third company detachment detected a psychic imprint hailing from a planet in a nearby system. They investigated the signal, and when they arrived at the location their communications suddenly failed and their ship was attacked and precipitated to the surface. The planet was a hideout of the Dark Mechanicum that had eluded detection by the Imperium. The survivors, leaded by one of the psychers that detected the signal, a member of the Striigis Pelecanus named Rico Gaza, organized into an infiltration team, and they assaulted the hideout. They found a great quantity of defunct technology, hailing from the era of the Great Crusade, that the Dark Mechanicum had been collecting, presumably to study it and reverse engineer it. Finally, they accomplished the ransacking of the communications outpost, thanks to the powers of Rico, and they solicited support from Ryza. Rico however never saw those troops arriving, the abuse of his powers had led him to fall into the Red Thirst, and he had to be executed. In exchange for detecting the Dark Mechanicus hideout and the stash of crusade era technology, the Owls asked to keep one of the artifacts. It wasn't armor pieces or a weapon, it was an auramite wire, seemingly originally part of a custodian armor. This was the artifact that had brought hem here, the one that betrayed the position of the hideout, thanks to it's incredibly large and unique psychic presence. So large and unique in fact, that it nearly seemed a consciousness.

* **The Forbidden Temple (602.M38)** - The Owls find a temple with a strange artifact in it. To retrieve it the have to fight the native species of the planet and a very strange thrallband of the Thousand Sons, that doesn't seem to have a clear objective. In this mision the Primogenitum recived a profecy, a reading, that proclamed that "The path taken by the Crimson Owls is one walked so many times the stone has become dust. Their fate is inevitable, but two kings await their soldiers".

* **Ravenzov Campaign (887.M38)** - They fought alongside the Blood Ravens against an ork WAAAGH!!.

* **A World With Two Minds (025.M39)** - The Owls found a very advanced human populated world at the fringes of the segmentum tempestus. They started pacefull negotiations with them to annex the word to the Imperium, and found that they even were disposed to share a STC they owned. Things took a turn for the worst when the Owls met the two leaders of the planet and discovered what the STC had been used for. The STC was for a neural implant with unparalled efficency digitizing neural signals and vice versa, even allowing to digitize a conciunes. All the inhabitats of the planet had this implant, and the implants were connected between them. The same way as the connections of neurons creates a superior mind in the brain, the conection of brains created a superior mind in the planet. This was one of the governors. When someone died his mind was disconected from the ubermind, but it was downloaded into a database that contained all the expirences and thougt patterns of the dead. This database acted as the knowledge base of an extremely advanced artificial inteigence, that was the other governor. These governors didn't have bodies, instead they manifested in the word through a myriad of automatons. Automatonss controled from tendrils of the IA made all the necessary tasks, and the two governors cooperated to take the bests desicions, allways with the wellbeing of their creators, the humans, in mind. It was an utopy. But a heretical utopy. The humans of the planet woud't renounce to their governors to join the Imperium, so war broke out. With a heavy heart for destroing something like this the Owls pacified the planet, the STC was retrieved, and the world was annexed into the Imperium.

* **The Last Eclipse (274.M39)** - Another confrontation with the strange thrallband of the Thousand Sons, that announce themselves as The Last Eclipse.

* **Jords Prime Tragedy (446.M39)** - Jords Prime planet lost to Drukhari riders.

* **Reign of the Skull King (763.M39)** - Confrontation with a xenos and humans joint empire. To defeat them it was necessary the sacrifice of the last squad that conserved it's name since the founding of the chapter, the Toxic Scions.

* **The Orphean War of Faith (903.M39)** - The Crimson Owls provided support to the Angels Revenant against the heretic forces.

* **Battle of the Black Sun, the Golden Son and the Silver Knight (239.M40)** - The Owls Recieved a distress signal from Bakka. The signal was a desperate one, the senders had already sent signals in multiple directions but backup didnn't seem to appear. A distress call from such a well defended world was something alarming, and the Owls heeded the call with all their forces and support from Ma-Azimika. When they arribed to the system the reason why only they had recieved the distress call was clear. Bakka was sieged by the Last Eclipse, this was a personal endeavour. These was strange though, the Last Eclipse allways acted in misteryous ways, attacking when the Owls were most vulnerable. This time they were here at full force, and with the help of the Imperial Navy this could be the end of the thrallband. Then, warp rifts started to open and hell poured into realspace, spiting cultists, chaos marines and daemons, leaded by none other than the Osuia Gale, their forces increased tenfold during the milleniums. The Crimson Owls knew this would be their end, the numbers of the new enemies dwarfed those of the Last Eclipse, but with not much option to choose the imperial forces started the contraoffensive, and found the Last Eclipse fighting by their side. While the Imperial Navy and the Last Eclipse defended the orbit, the thrallband travesing the rifts to fight in the immaterium, the first, third, fourth and fifth companies of the Owls made landfall on Bakka and engaged with the support of the Skitarii of Ma-Azimika and the knights of the Vulper Lupus. Meanwhile, the command structure of the chapter and the second company went to the moon of the planet. A great rift was opening in it, and throw it could be seen a dark planet, lit only by an irridecent core whose twisted shine pierced the dark stone of the planet as if it was smoky glass. Shakl Ghayr Mustaqirina was in the moon, leading a massive ritual, at the venter of wich was a massive figure, Kataigida Allagon, now a Daemon Prince. The objective of the ritual wasn't fully clear at first glance, this was not an ascencion to daemon princehood, Allagon already achieved that. Instead he was beeing summoned into realspace, but something was immpeding the completion of the riutal, a chain that envolved the former Wolf Brother neck and went into the rift, and he was immobile. The Owls attacked the riutal, trying to stop it before the leash could be severed, but great wards had been put in place. Daemon engines and Rubricae rose from the ground, while a psychic field protected the sorcerers, and Ghayr Mustaqirina himself left the ritual to confront the leadership of the Owls. He was a chaos lord now, and impossible to control. His sorcery lashed rampant, bringing forth unimaginable horrors, and started to decimate the ranks of the mercury guard. The Chapter Master tried to face him with his powers, but the dark arts of chaos were far beyond his reach and he was the first to fall. The rest of the command structure attacked, knowing well what was expecting them but fighting no matter what. Borbocrates chanted liturgies of hate, the Chief Aphotecry called to embracing the Red Thirst. It was enough to work at first, forcing the sorceror to the defensive, but then they where jumped by the wulfen. The Chief Aphotecary was slew, the Master of the forge fell too. The mind, the hearth and the guts of the chapter had been felled, and the soul, Borbocrates, was about to die to, standing defensles before Ghayr Mustaqirina. And then, from the sky, descended a figure, clad in golden armor, flaming wings and a mask of angelical features. The Sanguinor charged the chaos lord, and hope was restored. What remained of the Owls fought with all their forces, travesed the psychic barrier and interrumped the ritual. Allagon started to be pulled by the chain into the rift, but then he and Ghayr Mustaqirina, still engaged with the Sanguinor, spoke words of power at the same time. A flash of light envolved the ritual, and the souls of all the sorcerers left their bodies behind and went into the chain, that changed its movement, no longer pulling the daemon prince in, but wathever was on the other end out. From the rift emerged something akin to a man, it seemed an astrates, but his armor was silver and covered in glyphs and scriptures. He didn't done a helmet, and his strong face was full of scars, including an empty eye socked covered by scar tissue. Kataigida Allagon was now free, but he was engaged by Borbocrates and the Silver Knight. The battle brought havoc to the moon, the Crimson Owls against a Sorceror Lord and a Daemon Prince, aided by a Golden Angel and a Silver Knight. It ended with the arribal of the rest of the chapter, having secured the rest of the offensive, the banishment of Allaegon and the scape of Ghayr Mustaqirina. In the moment of celebration though, all the unexpected allies had disapeared, the Last Ecliplse, the angel and the knight banished before anyone could react.

* **The False General (M40.351.)** - A traitor imperial comissar gets control of a series of systems in the Euradyce sector and tries to declare independence from the imperium. He is brought down by the Star Gazers and Silent Twilight squads.

* **The Drakes (500.M40)** - Collaboration with the Wyvern Guard.

* **Lies of the Prince (879.M40)** - The Owls got involved in a conflict between Aeldai, Drukkari and a grater daemon of Slaanesh.

* **Labyrinth of Mirrors and the Rising of Bukhar (345.M41)** - During the Storm Tide the Crimson Owls where involved in a long and gruesome campaign that ended in their greatest defeat. They suffered heavy loses and the death of the former Chapter Master Villa Forte at the hands of the Court of Miracles, thrallband of the Thousand Sons. That leadedd to a time of recess where the the numbers and the gear of the chapter were replenished, and Zayt Bukhar was elected as the new Chapter Master. Bukhar set the chapter in a dauntless path, with an even greater focus in the searh of knowledge.

* **The Orphean War (991.M41)** - They were involved in the Orphean War, abbandoning it save for the third company and a demicompany of the fourth to head to the aid of the Blood Angels in the Devastation of Baal.

* **The Devastation of Baal (999.M41)** - The Crimson Owls assisted Dante's call and fought in the Devastation of Baal. They suffered great, but not fatal, loses and the chapter was able to return to their usual numbers around 600 Astartes thanks to the influx of newly revealed Primaris Space Marines brought by the resurrected Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman and Arch Magos Dominus Belisarius Cawl. The more conservative members of the chapter, like Borbocrates and Torr Raffel (recently apointed as the new Master of the Forge after the death of the previous one in the Devastation) were wary of these new marines and the possible tech-heresy they supposed, but Zahyt Bukhar and his new wave recived them, and especially the innovation in their gene-seed with open arms, hoping it would help them overcome their fatal flaws. Needless to say the primaris weren't the solution to the deep flaws in the gene-seed of the Owls, but with a little time the new marines integrated without poblems with the Firstborns of the chapter, even the ones who were initally wary of them.

* **Star Tinkerers (010.M42)** - First interaction between the chapter and the Leagues of Votann. The Owls have a complicated opition of the kin, they respect them for their good job conserving the old technologies, but at the same time they see them as rivas to the imperium and thus utimately an enemy. That technology and knowledge should be retrieved from them, but ironically maybe it's safest in their hand's. There's even another layer to this, the tech heresy of the leagues is something that the Owls openly loathe, as the creed of the Imperium stablishes, but in their core, most of the members of the chapter can't help but by attracted and interested by it.

## Chapter Homeworld

The homeworld of the Crimson Owls is the civilised world Cor Caeruleum. It's the moon of Ariel, the third planet of the Zalleus system in the Euradyce sector.

Most of the moon is an inhospitable desert, dwelled only by the huge and terrible beasts that are the burrowers, but there's a visible exception. An enourmous mountain range encircles the only sea of the moon, at the shore of witch life flourishes. Cor Caeruleum has a combination of traditions and aesthetics fom Old Earth's southern Europe, the Maghreb and the Middle East.

The Seven Gems are the seven main cities of Cor Caeruleum, situated around the sea, and encircling Niu Maktada, that raises in an island at the center of the waters.

There are two revered animals in Cor Caeruleum, the burrowers and the horned owls. The burrowers are giant beasts unclasssificable by taxonomy that live in the deserts, substaining themselves on strange substances in the depths of the sands. They represent the hostile outside, the inhospitable and savage desert that can't sustain true life. The only ones allowed to interact with the burrowers outside of the hunt are the Crimson Owls and the Bremen. In the other side are the gaint Owls of the planet. With curled ram horns and a size that dwarfs and orgryn these birds were native from Ariel, but now can only be found in Cor Caeruleum. They prey on the giant mammals of the peaks and creatures of the sea, and it's common to see them surrounded with a plethora of other species of birds, specially three eyed ravens. The horned owls represent the sea that gives life, the culture and civilitzation of the seven gems and the wider imperium. The knowledge and power of humanity that has allowed the Caeruleans to survive surronded by the desert of the burrowers.

There is a high population of psykers on the planet, witch make it the perfect planet for the Crimson Owls, both to control the possible rogue psykers and to recuit aspirants with psychic potential.

The Bremen are abhumans who inhabit the deserts of Cor Caeruleum and Rosza. They are short and slender, with dark skin and pitch blue eyes. They are nomands, and their culture is very misterious. Their incidence of psykers is even higher than in the normal popullation of the planets, though their powers manifest at a low level.
Bremen blood has a dark purple color, due to a high concentration of covalt , however, if a bremen consumes certain organs of a burrower he enters a trance and his blood becomes psychoactive, with a brilliant amethyst color. When a librarian consumes this blood not only he gains a temporary power boost, he enters a state of enhaced clarity and understanding. While this is extremely usefull it is virtually never exploited due to the fact that when the effects of the amethyst blood are over, the bloodthirst of the librarian is increased tenfold, the degradation if the curse accelerates and there's a real danger of immediatly falling into its definitive end.

### Niu Maktada

Niu Maktada is the fortres monastery of the Crimson Owls. It stands at the center of the sea, in a volcanic archipelago, on the island where Ahmed Borbocrates defeated he leader of the xenos empire established in the Euradice system. All the buildings coalesce into a spire that raises through the clouds, with levels and levels dedicated to the different purposes and where constructing never really ends, with always some project active planning to add a new facility, adding on top of whats constructed and creating a curious mashing of styles through the centuries. Recently it has even started growing bellow ground, with the Tytonidae designing chambers that traverse the gloom deeps of the sea and the magma chambers of surrounding volcanoes.

### Other Locations in the Zalleus System

For their deeds exterminating a xenos empire the Crimson Owls were bestowed the protection of the Zalleus System, witch contains some locations of interest.

* **Ariel**: Ariel was once was a lush planet that lived off the tourism in Ashalandes. During the Horus Heresy the planet suffered a psychic cataclysm of unkknown origin that killed all its population and rendered it inhabitable.

* **Ma-Azimika**: It's the principal location of the system besides Cor Caeruleum, a Forge World established around a gas giant and on its 6 major moons. It supplies the majority of the the technology of the sector and the equipment of the Crimson Owls, and it's the biggest ally of the chapter. It houses a knight house, the Vulper Lupus.

* **Ashhalandes**: Once a paradisiac world Ashhaladnes was transformed by the xenos empire that established it's capital on it to make it more suitable to their physiology, and when it was retrieved by the Imperium it was classified as a Death World. It's divided in four continents, Poorv, Kunti, Thuaidh and Bëj-saalum; each with unique dangers, and the atmosphere is toxic, killing non-native humans with continued exposure to it. Moreover the forests of the planet are roamed by strange and deadly creatures brought from across the sector and unstable constructs that weren't understood even by the xenos that built them. The recuits from this planets are famed for beeing extremly tough, as it's common in Death Worlds.

* **Research Stations**: Besides the Forge World, two Research Stations were founded in the system after its retrieval, Zalleus II in the asteroid belt and the major Zalleus I in the planet Rosza, the closest to the sysyem's star. Both are scientific laboratories.

## Culture

As proud succesors of the Blood Angels, the Owls deddicate their time to the arts and the crafts, striving to be the apex of Mankind not only as warriors. For the same reason, and reinforced by the chapters quest for lost knowledge, scholardy is very important between the brothers

The chapter is divided between the 'old guard' (Borbocrates, Raffael) who are more conservative, wary of tech-heresy, xenos knowledge and the perils of the Immaterium, and the 'new wave' (Filo, Bukhar) who want to explore new paths. While they disagree they are not hostile, thay have different ideas about the perfect methodology, but the chapter and the betterment of the Imperium are always their end-all-be-all. They are brothers and trust each other to the last breath.

Since the chaper really didn't define their identity until settling in Cor Caeruleum their homeworld is very integral to their culture. Most of their traditions stem from caerulean ones, and protecting and nurturing the moon are at the core of what means to be a Crimson Owl.

### Traditions

* **The Hunt:** The Hunt is an event that takes place once a year in Cor Caeruleum and responds to two necessities of the chapter, their need for burrower blood and for recruits. The Hunt is conducted when the burrower cluthes hatch, and the adult specimens congregate to protect the broods. Here aspirants must try to capture a hatchling, and all those who do it will be accepted as neophytes. While this is a difficult task it's an achivable one, to participate in the hunt the only requirement is having a graduate from any of the many schools in Cor Caeruleum with a recruting program, and to complete it just requires strategical thinking and the phsical skills to carry the deed. Lots of aspirants are inducted every year, and this is by design. Due to the high casualty rates caused by the flaws in the chapter, there's a constant need of initiates, and the failure rate of the initiation porcess is extremely high, be it by the neophytes succumbing to the defects or outright geneseed rejection. A constant flux of recruits allows the chapter to continue existing, with a percentage of casualty rates that diminishes tied to veteranie. While the aspirants have to capture a hatchling the neophytes must do the same with adults. It's a last ceremonial test to demonstrate their evolution before becoming Scouts. Each squad must try to capture at least one specimen, and while not being able to do it will not impede the promotion (due to the need of the chapter of marines and the more cerimonial than practical nature of this tiral), the failure is considered a bad omen. While both aspirants and neophytes must capture burrowers, its extremely important to not kill them, and the beasts are liberated after the Hunt. They must have time to grow and become ancient specimens. This is what the battlebrothers do in the hunt, while the aspirants capture hatchlings and the neophytes o the same with adults the fully fledged Owls dedicate themselves to the hunt of burrowers thousands of years old, beasts of mythical proportions that inspire the very folklore of the planet. The prizes of this hunts are what allows the chapter to keep at bay the Red Thirst enough to not be consumed by it.

* **The Gift:** The draining of the blood of burrowers is done in a ritual conducted by Bastard Suns and Sanguinary Priests, where the burrower is oriented facing Holy Terra.

* **An Oath of Three Parts:** The neophytes have to swear an oath before becoming a fully fledged battlebrother. The oath takes three forms, and thus has to be sworn, three times, each in a different island around Niu Maktada. The first form must be sworn after beeing inducted as a neophyte, in the isle of orange trees. The second must be sworn after becoming an Scout, in the isle of oaks. Finally, after becoming a ranking file marine, he must swear the last form in the isle of olives.

* **The White Temple:** When the chapter was created and the first batch of neophytes was inducted it was clear to the Owls that some traditions of their first founding chapter weren't compatible with their geneseed. When the neophytes were submitted to insanguination and interned into their Sarcophagi they all fell to the chapter's gruesome version of the Red Thirst. Some endured hours, some weeks, but it was a far cry from the year that they were supposed to stand. This was at first a source of shame for the chapter, a sign of their unworthyness, but with time the Crimson Owls have created their own traditions. There's, lost in the deserts of Cor Caeruleum, a temple of white marble and alabaster, with nor walls nor roof, whose location is only known by the members of the chapter. Once the neophytes have completed the first phases of geneseed implantation they will pilgrimage to the temple, where they must convive alone during a year. There, they must survive sustaining themselves only with the blood of Sanguinius, consuming enough to survive, but not enough to fall to the Thirst. They must train, meditate and debate, and by the end they all must have crafted an awnser and found a question. The awnser must be something, be it an art piece or an ingenuity, that responds and resolves the desires of their past lives. The question must be essential, for they will seek its awnser during their future in the chapter.

* **The Livation of Bood:** The livation of blood is the principal ritual conducted periodically to control the Red Thirst within the librarians of the chapter. It starts in a room with the floor one inch deep in olive oil. The Bastard Suns and the librarians are disposed as the symbol of the red circle, the librarians forming the triangle and the chaplains the circle. They start humming, and the Ashen start pouring burrower blood from anphorae to a tub. Meanwwhile other ashen kindle three torches of sulphur and dissolve salt in three chalices of water. When this is done the humming turns into a chantic, and the speed in wich the ashen pour blood increases. When all the blood is poured into the tub, all the librarians and chaplains drink mercury form a chalice. Then the Ashen take the place of the librarians in the chantic and these aproach the tub and drink the blood directly from it, all at the same time. The burrower blood has a dark brown colour, and it isn't as good as human blood to contain the Thirst. However, burrowers are ancient creatures that live thousands of years and consume misteryous substances from the depths of Cor Caeruleum, and when consuming great quantities of their blood in the ritual the omophagea of the librarians is overloaded with milenia of existence. The librarians enter a trance of perspective and tranquility, an unparelled state that is the only way to quench their thirst and delay their degradation.

* **The Kindling:** When a battlebrother dies, their body is cremated. This adds to the need of retrieving the body from battlefield, and squads of neophites and Ashen are deployed to acomplish this task. To help in this also exists the Striigis Vulture, a specialist squad of aphotecaries in terminator armor. They accompany the biggests contingens of the chapter to protect the dead form desacration. They are also in charge of leading the Kindling rituals after battle, rubbing the bodies with salt and sulphur before immersing them in a bath of promethium. When a body can't be retrieved, it is incinerated by the aphotecary after extracting the gene-seed.

* **Asceticism:** After each battle the Owls don't consume blood during a period of time to halt the advancing of the Thirst caused by the battle.

* **The Firerain:** One of the ways to slow the advance of the curses is controlling one's emotions. The Owls know this, and it greatly defines their way of life. Even in battle, they try to conduct their inner fire into a precice and studied fighting style, fueled by passion but shaped by discipline. With all this they need efficient ways to externalize all the bottled up turmoil. Normally they do it through their pursues in the choruses, through their crafts and dissertations, but sometimes what's needed is unadulterated wildness. The Firerain was created to suit this visceral need, a ritual where the battlebrothers compete and coopere in a series of improvised feats of phisical prowess, armorless, while showered by a rain of sparks and at the rythm of Caerulean chants.

* **The Sisters:** The Red and Black Sisters are the most important mortals in the chapter, leagues above the masters of the refactorum and the officium, that are the next ones. They are part of the reclusiam, and obviusly they mirror the twin curses, but it goes much farther. Always women, the Sister of Blood and the sister of Death, a psycher and a blank respectibly, are the personification of some of the chapters most deep rooted beliefs. The Red Sister has two faces in her mask, that represent the two ascpects that the Owls associate with blood. One is laughting, it represents creation, joy, abundance, consumption. Objectives, desires and ambitions are in this face. The other mask is screaming and it represents destruction, loss, death. But death as seen by the living, the moment of violent death, the long withering expecting your last breath. In this face lies the interruption of the objectives, desires and ambitions, leaved without conclusion. One face for their bretheren, another for their foes, this is the promise of the Owls to the galaxy. The Red Thirst is for one to lose themselves in this faces, obsessing with consumtion and destruction and losing sight of the bigger picture. The Black Sister has only one face, one with a soft smile and conforting eyes, since she is death, but death as the definitive end. Death cherishes her sister, and offers a quiet end that comes to everyone. Fight for this world, accept all the battles that life gives you, because once the great equalizer comes all the battles will end, a what you haven't done, will be left undone. But if you know that you did what you had, if you imprimt yor will in the living, you will accept death as the present that it is. This is easly said than done, and in a galaxy so grim and so dark, with so many unfinished bussines it's not easy to meet this conforting death. The Black Rage is this, beeing unable to cope with the inebitabilty of death, and returning to the death that was only accepted by the one who suffered it. The two Sisters are present in the ceremonial rituals of the chapter, and can be, rarely, seen in battle when the Master of Sanctity Borbocrates calls for it. The powers of the Red Sister are extremely powerfull, but wild and upredictable, and can only be controled and directed by the soft hand of the Black Sister.

* **Echoes in the Spires:** The 55 standard squads that form the chapter have names. The name of the squad is conserved while the marines pass through them. While at least one battlebrother that fought under that name reminds in the squad, the name is passed down. For this reason there are legendary squads with names that lasted centurires and even milleniums. Only when the squad is whiped out and no battlebrother remains, the name is retired in glory, a new squad with a new name is born, and a new spire is raised on Niu Maktada, that bears the squad name in memoriam.

* **The Bull's Wager:** This tradition is not one deep rooted in the beliefs of the chapter, oversaw by the reclusiam or the librarium. It simply started as a wager between battlebrothers of a squad named the Flayed Bulls, and it has exteneded between the Owls so much that it's difficult to find a marine that hasn't participated in it at least once. The aim of the wager is simple, see who can create and consume the alchemical concoction that leads his Betcher's Glands to sintetize the substance with the most outlandish or curious properties. More than one Astartes has ended up unconcious with the Oolitic Kidney at full steam, but there are also cases of others that took a liking of the new poison they could produce and started taking a shot of concoction before every battle.

### Symbolism

There are lots of symbols that the chapter dones and have a meaning. Some of the most important and common are the wings, that represent the heritatge of Sanguinius, the eyes, for the search of knowledge, and horns, that are a symbol of maturity and responsability. Red tears evoke the struggle and sacrifice necessary in the path of defending humatity, and blue tears in the path of forging a future for it.

Alchemical symbols are also very common. The four cults are the obvious ones where the symbol for blood is the body, mercury the mind, salt matter and sulphur energy. The inclusion of oil transforms these concepts into two triads, the three components of the one: body, mind and soul; and the three components of the Universe: matter, energy and the immaterum. Oil representing both the soul and the immaterium indicates their conection. Different combinations of this five symbols and the addition of others ammount to a plethora of meanings. All the main symbols have as a basis triangles and cercles, and so these shapes are associated with comprehension of the basis of everything.

One of the most central symbols is the Sun. It has meanings asssociated with the cults, as it forges matter and liberates energy. Matter that becomes the body and energy that becomes the mind. It is also associated with the Emperor, as the central figure of any system and guiding light. Its scorching power is a weapon of cleansing and a tool of divination, and over all things an inspiration. A scarcely utilized but significant symbol, related with the Sun, is the Moon. It's not completely opposite to the Sun, in the Cults it represents what is out of our control, be it externally out of reach or to hidden inside. In general it represents the occult, and its the path to bring the light of the sun to places it doesn't reach, some might argue places that it should't reach.

## Chapter Organization

The chapter has two types of organitzative units outside the commmand structure.

* **The Choruses:** The Choruses are lodges were the Owls converge to pursue their objectives in refining their humanity. A marine can be a member of various Choruses, and in each he can share his interest in a subject with battlebrothers that are working in the same field. There are artistic Chorus, researcher Chorus, tinkerer Chorus and much more, and its the way of the Owls of conserving the lessons of Sanguinius.

* **The Orders:** In the chapers there are two orders, the Strigidae and the Tytonidae. These are more exclusive, normaly with around 100 members each, and an astrate can only be part of one of them.
	+ **Strigidae:** The Strigidae are the recordkeepers of the chapter, documenting all the research made by the diferent wings of the chapter and serving as a point of connetion between them. In the Strigidae, a Librarian studying ancient texts, an aphotecary versed in biologic fields, and a techmarine from a tikerer chorus can come toghether and see how each one speciality can help the others. The recorkeeping is not restricted to research, it involves also things like the evoution of the artistic expression of the marines and the exploits of the chapter, acting as a sort of remembercers from the crusade era. The Strigidae are also in charge of dipomacy, as a point of reunion and memory, they are deemed the most adequate to represent the voice of the whole chapter.
	+ **Tytonidae:** The Tytonidae are on charge off devicing the future of The chapter, they analyze the state of the chapter and the galaxy and the records made by the Strigidae. Then they prepare a plethora of plans and projects and present them to the rest or the astrates and to the Logisticiam and Red Circle, who decide wich projects will be followed and command the Tytonidae to make adjusments to them if necessary. The Tytonidae are also the architects and builders of the chapter.

### Chapter Command

**Sight of the Owls**
**Chief Aphotecary Asvestio Filo, the Protector**
 **Honor Guard: 16 Mercury Guards, including 3 Blood Weavers**
 **Logisticiam: Brother Phisis Santanna, Striigis Ibis, 10 logisticians, Chapter Equirries and servitors**
**Master of the Forge**
**27 Techmarines (1 High Artificer, 3 Quasi-magos, 3 Ruin Cavaliers)**
**55 Servitors**
**14 Predators**
**13 Baal Predators**
**20 Land Riders**
**14 Repulsors**
**9 Gladiators**
**5 Vindicators**
**4 Whirlwinds**
**Invictor Warsuits**
**Storm Speeders**
**6 Hunters**
**4 Stalkers**
**21 Stormraven Gunships** | **Ancient Ahmed Borbocrates, Venerable Lirarian Dreadnought,**
**Master of Sanctity and Rites**
**1 Primogenitum**
**16 Bastard Suns** | **Asvestio Filo,**
**Chief Apothecary**
**14 Birds of Salvation**
**Striigis Vulturus**
**36 Sanguinary Priests** | **(Master Zayt Bukhar**
**Chief Librarian)**
**26 Epistolaries****(including 3 Blood Weavers)**
**29 Codiciers**
**32 Lexicanum**
**50 Acolytum**
**Striigis Pelecanus**
**Striigis Pavous**
**6 Furioso Librarian Dreadnoughts** | **Brother Iñigo Odessus**
**Master of the Fleet**
**Battle Barge (*Patris Lacrima*)**
**3 Strike Cruisers (*Brazen Star, Impending Night, Hearth in the Storm*)**
**6 Rapid Strike Vessels**

* **The Red Circle**

The Red Circle is the leading body of the Crimson Owls, it was established in the early days of the chapter, and has undergone a lot of changes through the ages, but for the last thirteen centuries the Red Circle has been conformed 15 brothers: The Chapter Master, the Chief Aphotecary, Ahmed Borbocrates as the Chapter Ancient amd the Master of Sanctity, the Master of the Forge, the five company captains, the head of the Logisticam, the Master of the Fleet, and four representatives of the Mercury Guard, the captain and the 3 Blood Weavers.

* **The Mercury Guard**

The Mercury Guard is the honour guard of the Crimson Owls, akin to the Sanguinary Guard of the Blood Angels. They wear winged jump packs and silvery master-crafted armor, each slighly different, including unique owl masks. Their weapons are a master crafted power spears and a wrist-mounted Angelus Boltguns or Duat Pistols. As the honor guard the Mercury Guard are the highest exponent of the chapter in martial prowess, only the best veterans can wear the silvery armor. While not necessarly the best duelist, the captain of the Mercury Guard is always the best warrior of the chapter, and he is in charge of the Chapter Master security.

Apart from the captain, three members of the Mercury Guard are special. The three Blood Weavers are the three greatest librarians of the chapter besides the Chapter Master, masters of the four Cults. They have a place in the Red Circle for their knowlege, and in the Mercury Guard for their might. Their combat prowess is nearly on par with the rest of the Mercury Guard, and their psychic power is unparalleled. It's common that the new Chapter Master is choosen between them. The Mercury Guard fights as an entity, perfectily coordinated by a mental link between them created by the Blood Weavers.

* **Logisticam**

The logisticam is key to analyze all the data gathered by the chapter and simulate the possible outcomes and consecuences of each action taken, creating the efficient modus operandi the chapter uses.

The Striigis Ibis under the command of the Head Logisticiam field to battle clad with dark armor decorated with starmaps, not to engage in combat, but to analize the tides of war and descipher the best course of action in every situation.

* **Librarius**

Extremely important in the chapter, they are the main responsables of all the knowledge the chapter retrieves and the training of the librarians that give his characteristic psychic might to the Crimson Owls. Moreover, lots of brothers, even without psychic powers, study the ways of the four cults and most serve some time in the librarium before taking leading ranks in the chapter. An understanding of the cult of Blood is required for all the captains, and the members of the Mercury Guard must be versed in the cult of mercury.
While the Librarius uses the common ranks estipuled by the Codex Astrates, with the addition of some intermediate and specialized ranks, there's another whole system of titles. These titles don't correspond to psychic might or role in the chapter, they are instead certification of the dominion of technical and philosophical aspects of the fields studied by the Librarius and the Cults. These can be gained by all battlebrothers that study in the Librarium, including non-Librarians. The upmost of those titles, are those of Nigredo, Albedo and Rubedo, that are signified by pieces of cloth of the apropiate color with a symbol of the field where the distinction was acquired.

Librarian helmets have ram horns, and their robes tend to be tan or dark brown, with white and azurite or indigo blue details.

**The Cults**

The librarians of the chapter dedicate themselves to four schools of knowledge:

-**The Cult of Blood**: Attains power over the body.

-**The Cult of Sulphur**: Attains power over energy.

-**The Cult of Salt**: Attains power over matter.

-**The Cult of Mercury**: Attains power over the mind.

There is another disipline, symbolized by oil. It's attains the Immaterium itself, and it's practised by all the cults as a tying element, but not researched further as it would be considered heresy. The Striigis Pelecanus are librarians that recieved training from the Reclusiam. They are the most acquainted with the disipline of oil, because they are in charge of watching against the perils of the Immateruim. There's also the Striigis Pavous, experts of the cult of blood trained in the Aphotecarium to devote this discipline to healing.

Each cult has a leader, ancient librarians encased in sarcophagus and fully dedicated to the study of the ways of their respective cult aidded by a hoast Iris.

* **Apothecarion**

Their helmets have antelope antlers.

The Apothecarion coordinates with the Librarius to work with the knowledge retrieved related with biologic fields, and have as their most sought objective to solve the problem that augmented the Flaws when the Mechanicus tinkered with the Empereors work. The Sanguinary Priests of the chapter have the common responsabilities of the ones in other Blood Angels succesors, but have a special interest in biological investigation, be it medical or not. They also have a role leading the creation and caring of dreadnoughts, as its considered their duty as guardians of life and death in the chapter and as overseers of the flaws in such delicate processes.The last difference is their relation with the Red Thirst. As the Sanguinary Priests of other chapters they guide their battlebrothers while they suffer the tempations of the Thirst, but while others encourage resisting the Flaw when necessary and embracing it in battle, the Priets of the Crimson Owls will never indulge the advance of the flaw, preaching control in the agression, cool in the savagery. Their job is to direct the leaks of bloodlust efficently, adjust the valves so the pipes won't explode, never to open the floodgates and watch the enemy drown. The only ones that can open these gates are the Birds of Savation.

The Birds of Salvation are a special category of apothecary within the chapter. They are the most experienced apothecaries, and the responsable for the control of the flaws in the chapter, including beeing the main responsables of delivering the Emperor's Mercy to the battle-brothers that fall to the Black Rage and the Red Thirst in battle. They are equipped with special neural rifles to accomplish this task. They wear robes, a hood and a beacked mask, all golden. The presence of a Bird of Salvation is a safeguard against the battlebrothers fallen to the flaws, for this reason they are permited to call to embracing the Red Thirst. This is however, a last resort with dire consequences, since every time a Bird of Salvation calls for the unshackling of the bloodlust, he knows he will dedicate the rest of the battle executing brothers that have fallen to its definitive end.

The Striigis Vulturus are apothecaries in terminator armor in charge of retrieving not only the gene-seed but the bodies of their fallen brothers, the squad includes a Bastard Sun and they all carry hand flamers to incinerate bodies in case they can't retrieve them.

* **Reclusiam**

The chaplains of the chapter retain the name of Bastard Suns, their helmets have deer antlers and their robes are ash and umber.

When Borbocrates was interned in his dreadnought and abandoned the title of chapter master, he decided to become Master of Sanctity. He saw it as a place of upmost importance, because it was the key to protecting the Crimson Owls. If the ways of the chapter were lost, if they abandoned the traditions set to keep the Flaws in check and the iquisition reasured, they would follow the dark path that leaded most of their founding to damnation.

There is a special Bastard Sun, the High Chaplain or Primogenitum. He is the right hand of Borbocrates at any given time, and can act in his place when he is in suspended animation thanks to a process known as the comunion.

The fact that the Reclusiam has been leaded by the same marine during five milleniums has defined it a lot. When Ahmed Borbocrates was a ranking file marine, during the Dark Marches crusade, he was very influenced by the first Master of Sanctity of the chapter, Leonus Aldiyk. He came from a very old and proud chapter, hailing from one of the first foundings, and had beem selected as one of the ranking officers that would guide the chapter in its first steps. Due to the long heritage of his former chapter, Aldiyk was a firm upholder of the remmnants of the Imperial Truth and the non divinity of the Emperor, and he imparted this belief to the newborn chapter. Ahmed maintained this creed in the chapter during milleniums, but what he lived in the events of the Golden Son and the Silver Knight changed it all. What he saw was irrefutably brought throw the divine power of the Emperor, something he had spent millenius teaching against. Since then the reclusiam studies the true nature of the Emperor, still firmly holding his non divine status, but knowing that there is something more. The quest for knowledge of the chapter doesn't elude the Bastard Suns, and in the the enigma of the true nature of the Emperor they have found their true goal.

The Bastard Suns work throughly with the librarians to conduct the rituals they need to use safely their powers, containing the Red Thirst.

* **Armory**

As in other chapters in the Armory the war machines of the chapter are taken care of. In the Crimson Owls, since these machines are mostly deployed by the fifth company, the Burning Knights, there's a lot of relation between the Armory and the company. The majority of techmarines served in the comapany and were initiated in the Cult Mechanicus in it before beeing sent to Mars, and there are three techmarines in the Armory that have the rank of Ruin Cavaliers, and are effectively command staff of the company with a rank similar to liutenants. Moreover the captain of the Burning Knights is always a techmarine, although he leaves the Armory to become captain.

The Armoury of the chapter is a place of connection. The techmarines are in charge of all the technological findings of the chapter, but the ties of the chapter with Ma-Azimika make the process complicated. All the fingdings are shared with the forgeworld, and much of the research is not conducted in the Armory, but the bonds between the techmarines of the chapter and the tech-priests of Ma-Azimika are strong, and the forgeworld isn't seen as a foraneous entity, but nearly an extension of the Armoury, the logical next step when the resources of the chapter are not enough. To honor this cooperation the magi of Ma-Azimika give to the Armoury five titles of Quasi-magos, that are hold by the Master of the Forge, the High Artificer and three other techmarines.

Techmarine helmets have bull horns of different kinds, indicating their rank in the armoury. The Master of the Forge over the High Artificer and the Captain of the Burning Knights, then the Quasi-magos and the Ruin Cavaliers and finally the normal techmarines.

### Battle Companies

Due to the rampant affection of the Flaws in the chapter and abnormaly high number of battlebrothers assigned to the Librarium and the Apothecarion, the Crimson Owls are incapable of mantaining ten active companies, thus the chapter lacks reserve companies.

**2 Lieutenants**
**42 Veterans (3 Striigis Aquila)**
**2 Battleline Squads**
**2 Close Support Squads**
**1 Fire Support Squad**
**4 Furioso Dreadnoughts** | **Captain Yasmin**
**2 Lieutenants**
**38 Veterans (3 Striigis Cygnus)**
**2 Battleline Squads**
**2 Close Support Squads**
**1 Fire Support Squad**
**3 Furioso Dreadnoughts** | **Captain Tales**
**2 Lieutenants**
**6 Battleline Squads (1 Striigis Corvus)**
**2 Close Support Squads**
**2 Fire Support Squads**
**6 Scout Squads**
**2 Dreadnoughts** | **Captain Hathor**
**3 Lieutenants**
**8 Battleline Squads**
**3 Close Support Squads**
**3 Fire Support Squads**
**Roc Squad**
**Phoenix Squad**
**5 Dreadnoughts** | **Captain Abdelkader**
**2 Lieutenants**
**2 Battleline Squads**
**3 Close Support Squads (1 Striigis Falco)**
**5 Fire Support Squads**

* **First Company ('Dawnblades')** - The glorious first company of the Crimson Owls, the presence of its veterans in battle is a symbol of hope, the golden shine of the rising sun. Seeing the full company fighting as one is said to be an espectacle, but its a rare sight, since normaly the squads are divided to support other companies. Their captain Diego Joia is the Hero of the Chapter, the best duelist, and his guard are the Striigis Aquila.

* **Second Company ('Duskclaws')** - Veterans of the same right as the first company, the Duskclaws present a stark contrast. If the first is the golden sunshine, the second is the silvery moonlight. Their precept is efficency and elegance, and when this company is sent to a mission you know that the victory will be clean, swift and absolute. Their captain Yasmin Miyalo is famous not only for beeing a duelist almost at par with the Hero of the Chapter, but also for his analytical mind distinguished even among his fellow captains. His guard are the Striigis Cygnus.

* **Third Company ('Red Scarabs')** - The third company is in charge of the defense of the Zalleus system, and for this reason it allaws has some batttlesquads in Niu Maktada. At the same time the captain Tales Muhafiz is the Master of Reconnaissance and coordinates the Scout Squads and the Blackwing Infiltrator Squads, including the Striigis Corvus.

* **Fourth Company ('Sun Legion')** - The biggest commpany, with more than a hundred marines. It has three demicompanies. The fourth also has two specialized ultra-elite squads permanently assigned to it. The Roc Squad is a Terminator Strike Force, and the Phoenix Squad is a squad of librarians devoted union of the cults of sulphur, mercury and salt.

* **Fifth Company ('Burning Knights')** - This company serves as a support company, its battle-brothers are the ones that most cooperate with the armory to deploy with the war machines. Within them the destacable swiftwing biker squads of the chapter, including the Striigis Falco. In this company there are a lot of ex-librarians that have had to have limbs replaced with prosthesis and now they can no longer use the Immaterium. There is a strangely large number of marines like this.

* **Scout Company** - Since Tales Muhafiz is the Master of Reconnaisance the Scout company is attached to the Third, and lidered by Agulez Amamenon, one of Tales luitenants. Due to the high casualty rates in the chaper the Scouts spend little time as such. For Only half of the company is comprised by new recuits, and the other squads are hardened marines masters of infiltration and reconnaissance. In this company theres a special squad too, the Striigis Alauda, recuits of great promise that are entrusted with special missions to see if they are fit for unique roles in the chapter.

### Serfs

There are four types of serf in the chapter:

* **Serfs:** The normal serfs that acomplish the same tasks as in the other chapters. Normally recluted between the failed aspirants of the trials or born from other serfs. Serfs start their service as aprentices, dont have a fixed role and don't wear a robe. When the serf has learned enough he will recieve a robe and a function.
	+ Terras: They wear an umber colored robe, and are in charge of the vital areas for the day to day funcioning of the chapter, like cooking and cleaning. They respond to the Master of the Refectorium, Sorra Qalb .
	+ Ignis: They wear a sangria colored robe, and have the function of artificers. They repspond to brother Torr Raffaelo himself.
	+ Aers: They wear a tan colored robe, and are in charge of the organitzation of mundane chapter maters and the monitors tasks. They respond to the Master of the Officium, Nasim Cap.
	+ Aquas: With the low their low numbers of space marines, the chapter can't spare battlebrothers. Aquas help commanding and operating the chapter fleet. Multiple of them are needed to replace each battlebrother, and the effecctiveness of the fleet is innebitabily lowered, but it alows dedicating to battle the maximium amount of Crimosn Owls possible. Aquas wear a teal colored robe, and respond to brother Iñigo Odessus himself.
	+ Sanguines: They wear a crimson colored robe, and are the personal assistants and equerries of the battlebrothers. They respond directly to the battlebrother they are assigned to.

* **Feathers:** The Feathers are the serves that assist the Owls in operations. Their main tasks include infitration, information gathering and savotage, but they are trained for combat and it's not rare to see them assissting in battle, both in the front and in the backline. They wear black robes.

* **Iris:** The Iris are special class of serfs. To be accepted as an Iris you must have graduated with a special disctinction in The Academy of Cor Caeruleum, and overcome a unique training by the chapter. The Iris recieve special tasks and responsavilities within the chapter, among them beeing the only serf alowed to work at a high level at the Librarium, the Aphotecarium, the Reclusiam and the Armoury. Astropaths and navigators are also considered Iris. Iris wear whithe colored robes.

* **Ashen:** The bremen don't become serfs in the same way as normal humans. The Bastard Suns visit their lairs and though secret methods the younglings that will join the chapter are selected. Once part of the chapter, they recieve education in the reclusiam by the Bastard Suns themselves. Some of them will abandon the education to be normal serfs, but the rest will become Ashens, guardens of the cult of the chapter. Ashen wear ashen colored robes.

## Gene-Seed

The Blood Angels gene-seed is one of the least stable within the Adeptus Astartes, and the deep tinkering that had to be done to bring the psychic power to the chapter was too drastic to stand. Due to this fact, the Red Thirst and the Black Rage affect the Crimson Owls more frequently and in a much worse way than normal. So horrible in fact, that the chapter deems the victims too dangerous to stay alive, and mantains the effect of the Flaws on them as one of their deeper secrets. Phisically, while the gene-seed still grants them the graceful features of Sanguinius, for some reason their hair and skin tend to be darker, especially when in contrast to the porcelain sons of the Angel.

To slow the twin-curses the Crimson Owls practise the arts and the sciences, tempering their soul to delay their fate. The process of discovery and creation is ritual, and extremely important to them. Though their serfs grant them blood to consume they try to moderate themselves, and drink it only when strictly necessary. The exception to this rule are the librarians. For some unknown reason the use of their powers makes them incredibly susceptible to the Red Thirst. They are forced to consume the blood of their serfs daily, but it isn't enough. To control the flaw they need more blood, more than their serfs can provide, and the rituals needed to calm their urges are conducted with the blood of burrowers, colossal beasts that roam the deserts of Cor Caeruleum. Though the quality of the blood is inferior, the sheer quantity of blood that a burrower can provide compensates for this. An enormous volume of burrower blood is transported in the battle barge when the chapter leaves the planet to allow the librarians to perform their rituals. Even with this, in long campaigns there isn't enough blood, and some librarians need to restrain themselves from using their powers during long periods of time to avoid risk falling to the Red Thirst.

But even with all the preventatives, eventually lots of battle-brothers succumb to the flaw. They are all given the Emperor's Mercy, without exception, and their bodies are cremated in private rituals. In battle, the Apothecaries carry especialized neural sniper rifles, designed to end creatures without control over their minds. Their most important duty is to detect the victims of the flaws and kill them, even with more priority than saving other battlebrothers.

## Chapter Beliefs

The Crimson Owls belive that blood is the two sides of a coin, a symbol of death, but also a symbol of life. As such, as they bring damnation to their foes, they must bring salvation to their bretheren. Their main way of helping humanity in the side of salvation is retrieving knowledge. The Imperium has declined a lot since the days of the Great Crusade, in great part due to the loss of knowledge. Knowledge is power, and the Crimson Owls made their mission to tear off this stolen power from the hands of xenos and heretics and return it to the Imperium. Every bit of knowledge recovered can help the war effort, the lives of its citizens or even bring humanity closer to great feats such as curing the flaws in the Astartes, rediscovering ancient tecnology to contain chaos or, as a final achievement, aiding the Emperor to rise once again from his Golden Throne.

The Owls know that the Emperor created the astrates to fight for humanity, and respect the mortals as he intended. However, they priorize communities and cultures over individuals, and while its something they will never do gladly, they won't doubt to sacrifice lives if it leads to the preservation of the majority.

## Combat Doctrine

The Crimson Owls study their enemies thoroughly, and once understood their tactics attack with one or two precise and devastating often simultaneous offensives to strategicaly destroy their structure. When dealing with important threats that require great implications, they divide the companies. They are more likely to deploy, for example, half of a veteran company, one or two demi-companies from the third and some support squads from the fifth, than a full company.

The most used and preferred way to deal these precise blows is based on their two greatest strenghts, the superlative ability of its veterans in close quarters combat and the psychic power that characterises their chapter. The assault squads jump swifltly onto the foes, overwelming them with violence, giving leeway for their librarians in the backline to wreck havoc with their powers, be it by enchancing their allies or directly harming the enemies with their psychic might.

Siegecraft, attrition offensives and defensive battles aren't their strong suit. They don't have the numbers nor the firepower to take these types of battles face on. When faced with enemies behind walls they resort to infiltration, and destroy them from within. In the other cases they tend to favor guerrilla war tactics, turning continued ofensives into a series of surgical ones, and defensive battes into offensive ones.

Horned owls are giant owls indigenous from Cor Caeruleum, with razor sharp talons, vicious beaks and great twited horns. Their feathers are like metal and their skeleton is reinforced so they can withstand incredible impacts when raming prey at freefall speed. It's said that in some occasions veterans of the Crimson Owls ride them into battle.

## Wargear

### Prefered Wargear

The Crimson Owls have a preference for chainswords, lightning claws, meltaguns, hand flamers, jumpacks and assault bikes.

### Unique Wargear

* **Lenient Rifle**: The Apothecaries of the the chapter wield neural sniper rifles specially designed to sacrifice their battle-brothers that have fallen into the Black Rage in battle which are also extremly useful against foes without control of their minds.

* **Polar melta wepons**: Created in Ma-Azimika thanks to a STC retrieved by the Crimson Owls, polar melta weapons alter the polaritzation of the plasma ejected maximizing its elecric charge. This results in a heat wave that greatly dissrupts electrical systems and neural funcitons. Mirroring the Inferno Pistols, the rare polar melta pistols are called Duat Pistols.

* **Alchemical Shells**: One of the greatest strenghts of the Owls is adapting to their foes to plan their battles, devicing the perfect strategy to exploit the weak points of the enemy. This is reflected in the Alchemical Shells. If they have time and enough knowledge about the enemy, the Iris of the chapter will manufacture special substances to hinder their defenses. Be it corrosive, toxic, reactive, flamable... this substances are injected into special boltshells, and used in key moments of battle to turn the tides of war.

* **Azzel Chainswords**: The fighters hailing from Cor Caeruleum tend to prefer curved blades, and that doesn't exclude space marines. The body of an Azzel Chainsword is segmented in four parts connected by joints, and the chain runs through an independent guide. While this doesn't have any effect in battle, it allows the battlebrothers to change the curvature of the blade to suit their preferences wiwth little tinkering, form a scimitar curvature to a sickle-like blade.

### Chapter Relics

* **The Staff of Cor Caeruleum**: This is a staff of old technology, that was wielded by the lider of the xenos empire that controled the Euradyce sector before it was retrieved by the Crimson Owls. When Ahmed Borbocrates, the second Chapter Master of the chapter, defeated the emperor, he reconized the staff as human tech. The staff was modified to adapt it to astrates and remove all traces of alin technology and Ahmed transformed it into the symbol of the leader of the chapter. It's impossible unlock the true power of this relic, since it's scarcely understood, but when in hands of a familiarized user that has an understanging of the psychic world it has the capacity of phasing through plate in some ocations and causing a psychic backlash to whom it strucks.

* **The Aurimite Wire**: Retrieved by the Owls and from unknown origin, this golden wire has an incredible psychic precence, and contains the reminds of a kind of conciousness. When someone touches it they recieve a psychic backlash, but also visions of cold but sunny days, fire crackling and something growing beneath the earth. The mightiest psychers of the chapter are able to wistand the backlash and use the power of this artifact. A sense of satisfaction, happines and brotherhood embraces you when wielding the Wire around your arm, and you are able to use it to call forth scorhing fire, healing power or psychic potential.

## Notable Members

* **Zayt Bukhar**: Chapter Master and Chief Librarian, Zayt Bukhar is the Sight of the Owls and the most powerful psycher in the chaper. Famous for his great strategies, he has detractors in other chapters because of the temerity he shows when in search of knowledge. He wields the Cor Caeruleum Staff, a modified weapon of ancient technology, retrieved by Ahmed Borbocrates from xenos. He always wears a master crafted lighning claw on his right hand, and no one has seen him without it since before he was Chapter Master. His crimson power armor is adorned with a cloack of colorfull feathers and a mask with the shape of an owl skull, with four ram horns and 3 eyes. When he was still a Codicer he was thougt dead in a battle, but his battlebrother Avestio Filo vowed that he knew he was alive, that he would go rescue him and that he would be back before 36 hours. 33 hours later he returned with Bukhar, who was wielding a lighning claw on his right hand for first time and forever more.

* **Avestio Filo**: The Chief Apothecary of the chapter, in charge of controling the geneseed and its flaws. He was originally a libararian, but in the misson where he retrieved Zayt Bukhar he sufered injuries that led him to loss part of his body, including his left arm and leg. Practically more prothesis than marine Filo's soul wasn't strong enough to continue performing as a librarian, and he decided to dedicate himself to protect the chapter as he protected Bukhar. Since Bukhar is Chapter Master he is his rigt hand, but he became the Chief Aphotecary years before that. In battle he wears a phobos armor, a personalised neural rifle, the hood and the golden mask of the Birds of Salvation and his helmet has the horns of a makor.

* **Ahmed Borbocrates**: He was the second Chapter Master and he is a legendary marine. Now a librarian dreadnought he is at the same time the Master of Rites and Sanctity, and in charge of controling the strict ways of the chapter to please the high lords. He is the one who keeps in check Bukhar when he goes to far. He charges into battle with a force halbred, a blood talon with an inbuilt heavy flamer and a standard of the chapter, and his dreadnought is crowned with a pair of ram horns and three of deer antlers. While he is in suspended animation the high chaplain of the chapter, currently Aladdin Bernaccio, spends most his time comuning with his mind, tansmiting him whats happening and recieving the conciunses of the Borbocrates. Doing this he can talk in plaace Borbocrates, not beeing quite himselsf nor the ancient. When in this state the high chaplain is the Master of Sanctity, not only by title, his identity becomes it, an wears a mask to denote it called Mask of the Master.

* **Torr Raffaelo**: Master of the Forge, the most recent member in the Red Circle. He has a close relation with the archmagos of Ma-Azimika. His helmet has buffalo horns.

* **Phisis Santanna**: Leader of the Chapter's Logisticam, where all the data compiled by the chapter is organised, analyzed and used to assest the best strategies.

* **Iñigo Odessus**: Master of the fleet, he is the captain of the Primarch Tear.

* **Ur Manel**: Captain of the Mercury Guard. He is the best warrior of the chapter and has a cold and eficient mind. He hates leaving the side of the chapter master, even though he often has to, and he has mild premonitory powers that some times kick into action helping him win a fight or even a battle in the case of the farthest seeing ones.

* **Diego Joia**: Captain of the First Company ('Dawnblades'). He wields two power scimitars and is the best duelist of the chapter. His is the fury of the sun, and wathing him in battle is like is an espectacle that brings joy even to his foes.

* **Yasmin Miyalo**: Captain of the Second Company ('Duskclaws'). He wields a power rapier and a lightning claw and has a friendly rivaldry with Diego Joia to become the best duelist of the chapter. He also has an analytical mind capable of designing great strategies and fighting flawlesly.

* **Tales Muhafiz**: Captain of the Third Company ('Red Scarabs'). He uses terminator armor, wields a storm shield and a force glaive, and is a librarian. There is a special group of Iris at the service of Tales, the Tasarut lineage. This is a family of serfs, originary from Cor Caeruleum, that have served the Crimson Owls for centuries. A great incidence of psykers able to become astropaths are born from this blood. The serfs are educated first in the chapter and then in then in the Academy of Cor Caeruleum before beeing sent to the Black Ships to become astropaths. The ones that return join the retinue of Tales, to become the neuralgic of the comunications of the chapter.

* **Hator Verita**: Captain of the Fourth Company, ('Sun Legion'). He wields two power spears with an inbuilt homing teleport, one 7 feet and the other 3 feet long. Called by some the lurking dragon, he uses a scaly MKIV power armor retrieved from the leader of an Alpha Legion warband.

* **Abdelkader Liderra**: Captain of the Fifth Company ('Burning Knights'). He is a techmarine, wields a grav-cannon and a two handed power sword with the help of his servoarms.

## Chapter Appearance

### Chapter Colours

The Crimson Owls primarily wear crimson coloured armour with secondary portions (helmet, powerpack jets, imperial aquila, left guantlet, greaves and sabatons) being painted a sangria. However, to represent their homeworld, the right shoulder pauldron inset and gauntlet and right side of the mask are tan in colour, with the left vambrace and rerebrace being painted a teal colour. The tan seccions usaually have decorations stylized in malachite green, egyptian blue and realgar red, painted by the battlebrothers to personalize their armor.

The armor trim is copper in colour except in the right arm where it's brass.

Totemic symbols are typically used in the heraldry of the chapter which includes: wings, horns, owls, eyes, blood tears, the sun and alchemical symbols.

Squad specialty is displayed by a large white silver coloured symbol stenciled upont the right shoulder pauldron inset (Fire Support, Close Support, Battleline, Veteran or Command). A small Roman numeral stenciled on the right inset indicates a battle-brother's assigned squadron, while a much larger white silver colour Roman numeral stenciled on the left poleyn (knee guard) indicates company assignment.

### Chapter Badge

The Crimson Owls Chapter badge takes the form of a sangria coloured, stylised great horned owl, an avian species native to their Chapter homeworld of Cor Caeruleum that posssess twisted ram horns. This symbol is centered upon a field of crimson.

## Relations

The majority of Space Marine chapters have a destain for the Crimson Owls, due to them hailing from the Cursed Founding. As their first founding chapter the Blood Angels are an exception to this. They used to have good relations with the Blood Ravens too, but the chapter has undergone a lot of changes and nowadays their relation is neutral. While in the other hand the Imperial Guard tend to be less hostile, since the Owls have a reputation of respecting mortals, there is a fear and a disconfort that can't be ignored. The High Lords and the Inquisition barely tolerate them because of their strict code, a minimum irregularity could surface the not so hidden distrust. Since they share their quest for lost knowledge, the Crimson Owls and the Adeptus Mechanicus have a pretty good relationship, but the actions of Bukhar since he is Chapter Master have created a breach between them.

### Allies

* **Ma-Azimika:** Logically Ma-Azimika is the closest ally of the Crimson Owls. It was founded thanks to them, and they share their home system. Ma-Azimika not only supplies almost all the wargear of the Owls, also helps with their own effectives in the war effort frequently, especially thanks to the knight house of Vulper Lupus. Chapter and forgeworld share their thirst for lost technologies, and while the Librarius and Aphotecarion of the Owls take care of most of the retrieved knoowledge, when it comes to artifacts the Armoury cooperates thoughfully with the magos of Ma-Azimika. Thanks to all this facts, the ties between the forgeworld and the chapter are extremely close and unbreackable.

* **Blood Angels:** As their first founding chapter the Bood Angels don't have the distain for the owls that other chapters have, and for this reason they are one of their only reliable allies. This extends to some Blood Anges succesors, such as the Tidebenders.

### Enemies

* **The Court of Miracles:** After centuries of back and forward this thrallband of the Thousand Sons defeated the Owls in the Laberinth of Mirrors. As followers of Tzeentch it seems obvious that the schemes of the Court have only started, and they have the Owls in their target.
* **The Last Eclipse:** A mysterious thallband that has caused problems to the chapter in pivotal moments. Their actions seem erratic, and while they never truly threat seriously the Owls, they allways force them to change their plans.
* **The Ousia Gale:** A powerfull warband, leaded by a daemon prince counseled by a chaos lord sorcerer. They are a potential menace for all the segmmentum.
* **Drukhari:** The Euradyce sector is plagued by xenos, but the Drukhari are a permanent thorn in the side for the Crimson Owls, raiding the Imperium words and pillaging comercial ships. In the past they where a great organized force under a sindicate of pirate lords, and while the major hideouts and mob bosses where destroyed during the Burnt Feathers campaign, the remnants of the "empire" are impossible to erradicate, and plague the sector.

[Source]

 White Scars Successors
 Space Wolves Successors
 Imperial Fists Successors
 Blood Angels Successors
 Iron Hands Successors
 Ultramarines Successors
 Salamanders Successors
 Raven Guard Successors
 Unknown Lineage
 Renegades

[Source]

## Gallery

Crimson Owls Battle-Brother of the 4th Company ('Sun Legion'), 9th Battleline Squad arrayed in Mk VII power armour with a variant Mk VI helmet