Lorekeepers

Lorekeepers Armorial

Lorekeeper of the 5th Company, 2nd Battleline Squad.

### **Specialty**

Recovery of Artefacts and STCs, Gnoetic Purgation of Heretical & Forbidden Lore, Use of Rare and Ancient Weapons, Squad Tactics, Stealth & Infiltration. space-hulk purging, sabotage

### **Battle cry**

"*Salutate mortem!*"
(Translated from High Gothic: "Salute the death!")

### Successor Chapter(s)

None

The **Lorekeepers** are a Loyalist Successor Chapter created from the lineage of the ancient Dark Angels during the 7th Founding. This specialist Chapter was created for the sole purpose of seeking out and acquiring lost archeotech technology and missing Standard Template Construct (STC) fragments from the Dark Age of Technology. As true warrior-monks of the Emperor, the Lorekeepers are assiduous in the acquisition of ancient lore and missing technology as well as the detailed documentation of their findings for their Chapter's extensive collection of archaic lore.

## History

In mid-M34, the High Lords of Terra started to realise that the Imperium was in the process of losing too much knowledge in regards to ancient technologies. Short lived organisations were created to prevent this but the High Lords had to accept that most sources for ancient technologies and SCT are ancient dangerouse ruins or enemies and other groups unwillingly to share them. So they had to organize an armed group for recovery missions. The most logical step was the creation of a new Space Marine Chapter which also could use other ancient weapons. Another logical step was to use Dark Angels gene-seed - a formar Legion now known for once using ancient weapons and being one of the most favoured by the Emperor.

Slow communication prevented the Dark Angels of hearing from the new Chapter until years later to a time which it was an open secret that the Lorekeepers where closely connected to the High Lords of Terra. It was too risky to induct them in the secret about the Fallen, without a report about it reaching the High Lords. So to prevent a new galactic civil war the Unforgiven have to pass their usefull skills. At least they have the satisfaction that if they would be one day be purged because of their history at least the linage of Lion El`Jonson wouldn`t die with them.

The Lorekeepers were the last Chapter from the 7th Founding and have been likely finished after the official ending of the 7th Founding but the fact that the exact date of the Founding were lost they could had been finished "in time". For the first two thousand years the Chapter hunted down SCTs and fighting against the Dark Mechanicus. During this time they stopped being a fleet-base chapter and settled on Bablon down using one of the old weapon storage facilities as the base for their fortress-monastery.

With time however the Lorekeepers spent more energy and material for regular Astartes operation and were involved in combating Hive Fleet Ouroboris who was wrongly identified as demons after flying close to the Eye of Terror. Chapter records mentioned a battle against a Splinter Fleet of Ouroboris in M39 but those reports were ignored by the Imperium. Now in early M42 the Chapter has sent out its forces to support the Iron Drakes in combating the resurfaced Hive Fleet Ouroboris.

## Notable Campaigns

* **The Legions of Ouroboris (unknown.M35):** The Lorekeeper sent out 6 of their Companies and most of their vessels to support the Imperium in the fight against this unknown threat. After heavy fightings was the 4th Company able to capture the head of one of the bigger speciemen. Reports indicate the use of an ancient type of bomb forcing the quarantation of an entire continent on the World of [REDACTED] for 800 years.
* **Battle of Logus Prime Prime Hive (678.M37):** 3 Squads of the 5th Company lead by the High Archivar Baldimir and 5 Honour Guards attack a Hrud colony under one of the Hive Cities. The mission was alongside exterminating the Hruds also to investigate romours of a STC. Even more problematic were the radioactive areas in the deepths of the Hive and 4 Marines suffered heavy damagy by the radioation. After the clearing of the Hive City the only found an already known STC which at least support the World since then.
* **Siege of Darkhalt (211.M39):** TheSiege of Darkhalt descripes a planetar assault of 3 Companies of the Lorekeepers on the planet of Darkhalt, which slowly turned into a Deamon World after its occupation by the forces of Chaos. Goal for the operation was the termination of several corrupted artifacts with the secondary goal of closing as much of Warpgates as possible to prevent the corruption of the world. With the loss of 89 Battle Brothers were the artifacts destroyed but Darkhalt turned still into a Deamonworld.
* **Destruction of GH-65 (997-998.M41):** The Lorekeeper Chapter supports the Adeptus Mechanicus attack on the Hellforge World GH-65. GH-65 had itself specialised in the production of Chaos Titans. The first wave in 997 targeted the titan forge facilities in the hope that they would also destroy most of the enemy titans. But unfortunatly those forges weren`t in use since years and no unpowered titans were meet. Those titans were already en route to the landing zone of the second wave forcing the second way to abort the mission leaving the first wave alone on the Hellforge. In a desperate attempt to take the Chaos forces with them fought the 7th and 10th Company their way to a hertitek generator fiused with a demon and destroyed it. This generator took with it an eight of the planet surface and killed most Chaos Titans and Chaos forces.

## Chapter Homeworld

Bablon is a temperate World in the Segmentum Solar which is classified as a Research Station and has a population of 8 billion people which is far more than for a normal world classified as Reseach Station. In fact it is more an Archive World thus specialised for the Adeptus Administorum govermning tasks and to keep records and artefacts, the later being the speciality of Bablon. Most experiments with ancient relicts are on a few special base while more dangerouse ones are conduct on Bablon's moon Hyamad. The Adeptus Mechanicum has also a big presents on the world.

### Fortress-Monastery

The Fortress-Monastery called "The Old Keep" is built near a mountain chain and uses heavily before existing buildings for weapon storage. Most of the monastery is built under the mountain chain. On the surface the Imperium built one big sarcophagus who covers the preexisting buildings and is supported by 500m wide columns

## Chapter Organisation

### Officer Ranks

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

### Specialist Ranks

* **Reclusiarch**
* **Chaplain**
* **Chief Librarian**
* **Chief Apothecary**
* **Apothecary**
* **Master of the Forge**
* **Techmarine**
* **Librarian**

### Chapter Specific Specialists

* **High Archivar** - Resbonsible for the SCT archieve and coordinates the transport of SCTs

* **Artifactier -** A Techmarine responsible for technical work with STCs
* **Loremaster -** A Space Marine Librarian for the recording of lore and knowledge. A Title for Space Marines from the Line Ranks
* **Seeker -** Space Marines specific tasked for the fining of STCs and other Artefacts. Title for Space Marines from the Line Ranks

### Line Ranks

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

Loremasters and Seekers are technicaly members from the Line Ranks.

### Special Formations & Units

* **Prism Guard:** The Honour Guard of the Chapter who uses Power Hellbards
* **Department for Artefacts:** Behind this not very creative named formation is the suborganisation in the Chapter responsible for the location of SCTs and other Artefacts, storing them and often works with the Adeptus Mechanicum together to discover the secrets behind them. Most members are regular Space Marines with the titles of Loremasters and Seekers. But also a hundred special Chapter serfes who support their masters in their hunt for new objects. Only the High Archivar and the Artifacier are the "classical" members of this formation next to a handful of Techpriests.

### Order of Battle

#### Companies

The Lorekeepers have because of their history not the typical special Companies of the Unforgiven and to support their task they becamemore *Codex*-deviant over the millennias in their structure of their Companies.

* **1st Company:** Includes their Terminators and most veteran Astartes. Sent regularly their Terminators out to suppport smaller taskforces. They also defend the Fortress-Monastery alongside the Honour Guard and are seen as the heavy elite of the Chapter.
* **2nd Company:** Is made up of 6 Vanguard Infiltrators Squads and supported by other Vanguard Squads. They infiltrate enemy positions and bases and sabotage vehicles, weapons and supplies and kill enemy leaders. They often are tasked to capture artefacts hold by an enemy when the Chapter doesn`t want or can`t sent massive forces out.

* **3rd Company:** The 3rd Company is specialised in the purging space-hulks: This is a very dangerously task and they have 4 Terminator in their ranks.
* **4th Company:** Specialised in fighting against Dark Mechanicum forces and is one of the vehicle Companies.
* **5th Company:** The 5th Company is the second vehicles Company and has several old vehicle variants.
* **6th Company:** The 6th Company is the close assault Company and has further Vanguard Infiltrators.
* **7th Company:** Serves as the Fire support Company.
* **8th Company:** Is a reserve Company.
* **9th Company:** A Company mixed with Reiver and Intercessor Squads
* **10thCompany:** The recon units made up by Scout Marines and Neophytes.

## Combat Doctrine

The Lorekeepers are a Chapter who likes to find weak points in the enemy positions and stealthly capitalize on it until to a big bang and then destroying the remaining enemies while fighting regularly against the enemy. If not possible they will use booby traps and sudden armoured attacks supported by infantry to disrupt enemy advances. A more underhand tactic is sabotaging potential supplies for the enemy to feint the enemy in thinking they would need to order less supplies because of their conquered loot. Or the Lorekeepers deny the enemy potential supplies. Both tactics are effective against the Tyranids. Another tactic is destroying enemy recon units, vanguard units or forwarth positions to damper the enemy abilities to scout out imperial lines and prevent potential later bases.

## Chapter Beliefs

The Lorekeepers belive in the preserving of ancient artefacts and SCTs and that later are the only chance to get Humanity out of ist deathlock. Record keeping is seen as an important task to ensure that the Imperium is always able to react right against - known - Xeno threats. Many Lorekeepers also seek out in their freetime more knowledge, a hobby seen as fitting for their Chapter. Another task seen as fitting is the accomponying of Techpriests on archeology missions or Inquisitors hunting after Relicts.

## Deatwatch Service

The Lorekeepers sent rarely Marines to the Deatwatch but has already often supported them with their collected knowledge about Xeno technology or supported their Kill-Teams if they fought against enemies who were suspected to have SCTs kike in the Panacean Wars.

## Notable Members

* **High Archivar Baldimir:** Lived between 398.M37 to 101.M38 and was for most of his time the 61st High Archivar. He lead several operations - tactical and recovery missions alike - what was and still is quite uncommon for a High Archivar. Baldimir also undertook a mission into the deepths of the Imperial Palace which spans the Himaliya on Terra to find potential artefacts. He found his death in 101.M38 as of the results of combating a Hrud infistation of Bablon.
* **Seeker Achmid:** An Astartes from the 3rd Company and well-known Seeker. He helped in the rediscovering of several relicts from other Chapters or Organisations. One example was the Red Terror, a Chainaxe from the Blood Angles Chapter.

## Chapter Fleet

* ***Baldins Fist:* (Battle Barge)** - A battle barge and the flagship of their fleet.
* **12 Strike Cruisers**
* **25 Escorts**

## Chapter Relics

* **Ouroboris Head:** A head of a creature from the war known as The Legions of Ouroboris**.** It has striking similarities with a Trygon a snake like creature with two giant claws specialized in digging tunnels to infiltrate buildings or to suprise attack enemy forces from behind or below. The head seems to be from a more primitive form of Trygon.
* **Deimos Vindicator Tank Destroyer "Valos Honour":** A early version of the Vindicator Siege Tank. Unlike the regular Deimos Vindicator used by the Space Marine Legions in the Great Crusade they use a Laser Destroyer Array an ancient version of the Lascannon. Only one of the barrels can still shoot bursts of short impules microseconds apart. Valos Honour was the personal tank of one of the founding members of the Chapter.
* **The Longs Sword:** An early version of the modern chainsword.

## Found SCTs and Relicts

* **Daneb Texts:** Texts found on the world of Daneb in the Segmentum Solar. It contains 12 ancient texts from short before M2 up to M6. A Seeker found them when his squad was involved in crushing a Dark Eldar Kabal using ancient weeb ways.
* **Gamlin-Generator STC:** The Gamlin-Generator is a small portable generator powering civilian buildings who can`t be connected with the central energy supply-network. Found in M36 on the world of Xixon II the Gamlin-Generator is a cheap but effective and easy to transport generator for colonising efforts or mobile workshops.
* **Targeting-support modul STC:** A SCT who contains informations for the construction of a targeting modul for medium sized ship weapons. Weapons equipped with it have a 15,78% higher chance of hitting their target on a distanceof 450.000 km. Found on a Space Hulk.
* **Light Infantry Gatling Laser STC:** Found in 102.M42 and is still unter review by the Adeptus Mechanicum. It weights 20,34kg and can shout 2.100 laser pulses per minute. It is noted that it was very likely an early design.
* **Plasma Caster STC:** A weapon who is a mix of a flammer and a plasma gun found in 102.M42.The Plasma Caster uses flames of plasma to melt its target and initial tests showed that they a effective against biological mater and electronic. One of the Techpriests involved in testing it made the theory that they were used against the Men of Iron.

## Chapter Appearance

### Chapter Colours

The Lorekeepers wear traditionally a crimson robe hidding their dark green coloured body with the helmet and limbs white.

## Relations

### Allies

* **Ordo Theoreticus**
* **Hochmeister**
* **Blood Guard**
* **Dark Angles**
* **Tome Keepers**
* **Adeptus Mechanicum**

### Enemies

* **Hruds**
* **Dark Mechanicum**
* **Hive Fleet Ouroboris**

## Notable Quotes

### About the Lorekeepers

[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]