Hallowed Glaive

*“These are the Astartes of the Hallowed Glaive, Lieges of Gondwana, Lords of the Nimbus Imperatoria Laurentia, Defenders of the Great Rift Thetys* *and children of the Emperor Immemorial” - Call to the Hallowed Glaive*

The Astartes of the Hallowed Glaive are the Emperors Will made manifest and honor his name both on the battlefield and when holding the scepter of governance over Glaive's Reach in Sector Gondwana, which is their fiefdom alongside the Children of the Omnissiah of Cambria and the long arm of the Administratum in the Triumvirate of Gondwana.

**Assosiated pages**

* Nimbus Imperatoria Laurentia
* Samaritan Pilgrimimage Fleets
* Laurentian Blood Brethren

## History

### Founding in Pandemonium

The ravages of time and millennia of great peril have shrouded the origins of the Hallowed Glaive in impenetrable mystery. Their elder scribes presume their origins lie with the twenty-third founding, that of Sentinels, wherein many chapters were raised in trying times for many worlds and much knowledge was lost of that time in the wars which followed.

The memory of a great pandemonium survived, which befell the world chosen as their home even before the first of their generation were fully raised. Alongside their doomed world perished all but a few dozen Astartes of the Hallowed Glaive, all their aspirants and their first fortress Monastery.

Of the enemy which befell them, the scriptures speak not, though it is said the great Drake on their banner symbolizes it. However, it was not this enemy which fell their world, but an Exterminatus by one puritan ordo of the Inquisition – a deed which robbed the newborn chapter not only of its future but also of any chance to defeat the enemy on their own.

The matter of their pandemonium was never settled in the eyes of the Hallowed Glaive and to the days of their new reign in Sector Gondwana remains a deep animosity between them and the Holy Order of the Inquisition.

### Exile and Respite

Following the early loss of their chapter homeworld and them falling out of favor with the Inquisition, the remaining Astartes of the Hallowed Glaive were all but abandoned and lost to the galaxy at large. Unable to take their place as intended by the founding, they went into exile upon few remaining ships.

For a long time, they lead an existence little more than that of rogue traders, only carrying their status as Astartes rather than a Warrant of Trade. In this state, they managed to somewhat recuperate, though they had little hope of ever gaining the true strength of a proper chapter and wandered the void in search of better places to seek their destiny.

### Rebirth during the Surge of Thetys

But the Emperor smiled on them and destiny was given to them at last, nigh one millennium after they had begun long exile. This event, their coming to the Gondwana Sector, has grown to become their spiritual rebirth, a new Founding for them, as they reached the Sector in its time of greatest need.

During this time, two and a half millennia ago, the Warp Rift of Thetys of surging and forces of the ruinous powers had even laid siege to the Ecumenopolis World of Trantor. In this time of peril, not unlike the age of their original founding, the Astartes of the Hallowed Glaive found themselves just prepared enough to join in the fight and gain recognition through masterful deeds.

It was their warriors who came to the aid of reinforcements sent from Forge World Cambria and the Archmagi of the Mechanicus Cult Cambria saw a great opportunity in adopting an Astartes Chapter of their own.

And so, as a reward for its aid before any other chapter of the Astartes, the Hallowed Glaive was gifted the Imperial Nimbus Laurentina, a great Ring Station upon which was recreated much of their lost homeworld.

### An Alliance of Brass and Glaive

The Hallowed Glaive settled the Laurentia Ring and came into possession of many of the Mechanicus finest war machines and equipment. In return, their allegiance has ever since then been tied almost as close to Mars as to Terra and in their deployments, they take great care in achieving the goals of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

In this new age of close friendship between the Astartes of the Hallowed Glaive and the Mechanicus Cult Cambria, their number has grown and the Chapter has grown to considerable strength – a well-equipped force standing between Sector Gondwana and the Rift of Thetys and all horrors from beyond.

## Astartes of the Omnissiah

Close ties with the Forge World Cambria have greatly influenced the chapter since its coming to the Gondwana Sector. Of its original specialization, nothing survived, and so the chapter was reshaped and grown according to the needs and purposes of Sector Gondwana and their closest allies of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

As a result, the Astartes of the Hallowed Glaive are heavily augmented even by the standards of their kind and bear rare weapons usually only seen in Skitarii Arsenals. Their forces are heavily mechanized and mobile, acting at times akin to heavy cavalry to the mass-deployed forces of the Legiones Skitarri et Cybernetica Cambria.

Much akin to those, the Hallowed Glaive closely communes with its machine spirits and values information about the enemy very highly, seeking to strike at its weakest point instead of charging blindly ahead.

### Instruments of the Emperor

Through the sacrifice of almost their entire chapter at the hand of the Holy Emperor's Inquisition and through the teachings brought to them by the Cult Mechanicus Cambria, the Astartes of the Hallowed Glaive have come to recognizes themselves as mere instruments of war in the Emperor's grand machine that is the Imperium. Their purpose lies not in glory, victory or even survival for themselves, but for the betterment and protection of humanity, which in itself is the highest purpose in all the galaxy. This understanding shapes the Astartes' actions and interactions with mortals, for they truly believe themselves to be servants as much as lords over the mortal souls. Their might is undisputed, but solely in service to the masses which the Emperor himself led to the stars.

## Lord Samaritans

The life and ceremonial of the Hallowed Glaive is deeply rooted in their long journey through the Imperium, their exodus from the lost old Homeworld to the new. Their long journey was caused by the uncaring machinations of the vast Imperium, and at the hands of the Inquisition, they had felt the gruesome sacrifice the Emperor demands. On their way through a thousand systems, they saw worlds under a myriad suns, the riches of some and the toiling of others. They saw the plight of mortals and felt with them.

At their journey's end, blessed with the favor of the Emperor and Omnissiah, some Astartes of the Hallowed Glaives anointed themselves Lord Samaritans, dedicating themselves and all their life to sooth the plight of mortals. They have become the leaders of the Pilgrimage Fleets, visiting all worlds throughout the Gondwana Sector to bring the populace peace and gifts and the Emperor's blessings.

Accompanied by chapter serves of the Laurentian Blood Brethren and other masters of Laurentia's Kin, they seek to uplift worlds downtrodden in the Imperium's fold and restore the glory the Emperor himself once sought to create. Creating in an utterly destructive galaxy is their unending destiny and to all who see their pilgrimage vessels coming, their arrival is cause for rejoice and celebration.

## Becoming an Astartes of Laurentia's Kin

Upon Nimbus Laurentia, men are wrought from mended flesh and steel. Through the Omnissiahs blessing of the motive force, and the Emperor's breath of life, they are awoken in sacred vaults – living beings without a past and a future of only war. In this way, all living souls of Laurentia are created and from their very first breath, they all stand trial to become one of the scarcely few chosen, one of His Angels who reign from the fortress-monastery.

### Life and Trial on the Nimbus Imperatoria

**Three times** over the course of his life will an Astartes of the Hallowed Glaive ascend the Spire of creation, the holy machine temple wherein lie the birthing chambers, the halls of initiation, and the tombs of fallen angels.

* **The first** is his birth when from the tombs buried deep in Laurentia's soil, a seed is chosen to grow into a living body. Once his mind awakes, he will be cast down from the spire to join the host of Laurentia's kin, a life which itself is a trial for his choosing.

Over a short life of regimented trials and training, the youngling will learn the trinity of Laurentia: To serve through blood, steel, and scripture. By the time he comes of age to be chosen, he will have held in his hands a sword, victorious in the arenas as well as in the wild; he will have held a scorching torch of the Omnissiah, working in the void to mend the steel of the ring; he will have held accounts and codexes of millennia path, revealing to him his destiny in the Imperium.

Only when among all those who were cast from the spire, his skill in all three paths of service is exceeding, has a child of Laurentia hope to be chosen as one of the Hallowed Glaive.

* **The second** is his initiation. One who displays worthy attributes in the three paths of service even as a child, will be called upon to ascend the Spire of Creation again - this time, however, from the outside. Thus, the young aspirant stands to survive a long ascend through perils of both the body and mind. Only through mastering this challenge, may a called-one truly become an aspirant and begin the initiation and implantation process atop the spire.

Over the time of initiation, the aspirant is to achieve mastery of his paths and disciplines chosen. His service remains deeply embedded into the society of Laurentia's kin, as the Hallowed Glaive is deeply enmeshed with machines and mortals. Prevailing against all others in both natural and designed tasks, the Aspirant may successfully rise to become truly one of the chapter and go on the Aspirant Pilgrimage, at the end of which, he will be welcomed by his brothers.

* **The third** ascent to the top of the *Spire of Creation* is that of the dead and dying. Brothers mortally wounded and recovered will return on this path either, to have their gene-seed recovered, or to be entombed in one of the mighty war machines known as dreadnoughts, to continue service into the far future.

### Aspirant Pilgrimage

An aspirant prevailing in his trials upon the ring will be called to Port Laurentia to depart aboard one of the many aspirant vessels.On this pilgrimage, the aspirants will partake in combat deployments and campaigns, see the worlds they are to protect and confront the galaxy at large, becoming fully aware of the Emperor's work and their destiny.

Those who return from this pilgrimage are finally true battle brothers of the Hallowed Glaive and no longer mere mortals of Laurentia's kin. They are Astartes, Angels of the Emperors making.

## Homeworld Nimbus Imperatoria Laurentia

"*Hymns to the Omnissiah reverberate through time and space. Of a great wonder, they tell, where the holy Will of the Machine God became manifest. Laurentia, O Laurentia, lesser of the iron rings, Tiara to the Omnissiah's Crown." - ode of the Sacrum Glava, verse 2912*

Upon the Nimbus Imperatoria Laurentia lies enshrined the new domain of the Hallowed Glaive, gifted to them by the Forge World Cambria in return for their timely aid in the Surge of Thetys and the Siege of Trantor. It is one of the three Triumvirate Worlds of Subsector Cambria.

## The Relict Glaive

The most valuable relic to survive from the chapter's past is its namesake, the Hallowed Glaive, prominently depicted on all their iconography. This ancient power weapon is said to have slain the greatest of their ancient foe, a great drake which slumbered within the bowels of their old homeworld. But before the victory could be wholly achieved, it was cut short by the order of the Inquisition and their world burned and the Great Drake with it.

It is at times disputed whether the slaying of the Sundering Drake was an event in actuality or a promise which could never be fulfilled. In any case, the weapon itself is very real and in the hands of the Chapter Master at all times. When he does battle, the weapon produces great lightning and thunder, cutting through even the thickest of armor with ease. Imbued with Drake's fire, it sets aflame all it strikes.

Having investigated and studied the relict glaive for centuries, the Tech-Priests of Cambria produced a stockpile of lesser weapons created in its image. With these, still, doubtlessly magnificent arms, are the highest of the Hallowed Glaive honored.

## Deployments

Above all, the Hallowed Glaive's forces protect their domains in Glaive's Reach.

Ever since the old days of their arrival, the chief enemy of the Hallowed Glaive remain the forces of ruinous powers residing within the Thetys Rift. When it surges, their forces are often deployed against it and especially to prevent any breakthrough of the chaos force.

The Hallowed Glaive often deploys alongside other forces, serving as vanguard and falling hammer, side by side with their brethren in arms. In such instances, they have been known to show greater kinship with warriors of other forces than most Astartes.