Alyxandir Guericke

## History

Alyxandir was born on a perpetual night world whos name has been lost to time. The sharp jagged rocks of the mountain ranges were the site of repeated raids by techno barbarian tribes vying for control. Alyxandir was from one such tribe. The Aeldari had visited the world many times. Sometimes to trade, sometimes to take slaves, on this occasion they decided to release a weapon of mass destruction in the atmosphere. What was once a difficult place to live became impossible and the population began to succumb to the holocaust. Alyxandir's tribe, like many migrated away from the worst effected areas and had to fight for basic necessities which were becoming increasingly hard to find. The warfare might have spoilt a young mans mind, driving him to wrathfulness and blind rage, however something human still remained in Alyxandir and those of his tribe. When the Vantage Marines chapter space marines entered the system on their nomadic exploration they found a planet on the verge of complete ecosystem collapse.

The Vantage Marines despatched a scouting force to look for survivors. Their records show they found an emaciated Alyxandir in his teenage years laying semiconscious next to his axe, apparently the last remaining clan chieftain had given him his last food and instead chosen to starve to death in a yurt nearby. It seemed apparent to the Vantage Marines squad, who are descendants of Vulkan, that this young man had some innate glimmer of promise. He was presently dying of some alien plague and it was determined that the only medicine that could save him was an infusion of marine geneseed. Should he survive the illness. Should he triumph over the marine organs implantation. Then he would arrive as a marine worthy of the astartese.

Infact many such candidates were found in a similar state on that planet. As this is the recruitment method of a nomadic chapter such as the Vantage Marines. To the chagrin of Alyxandir some of his fellow scouts were indeed from rival tribes. The some ones that had killed his ancestors and stolen food from the very mouths of their young. However he also felt a strange kinship with them, even as he detested them, as they were from the same planet. However their collective hatred for the Aeldari burned hotter than anything that went before. Confined to the history footnotes of a minority tribe on a dead planet. Furthermore their immense thirst to protect humans from a similar fate burned like black smoke every day throughout their scout training. They used it as fuel, as it turned out that hatred was an inefficient fuel compared to compassion and shaired pain. In many ways both are competing in the hearts of these scouts, but also the wider Vantage Marines who all often share similar stories of holocaust and the limits of human endurance.

When it came time for Alyxandir to go out of the sweat factories of his home ship as a scout. He was deliberately sent to a planet that was deceptively peaceful. The Desert Island Archipelago on the southern west of the planet had several settlements on it that had come under attack from suspected genestealer cults. The scouts were dispatched on a reconnaissance and destroy mission that was led by a veteran scout sergeant. The team successfully tracked down the target of the next cultist raid and repelled and destroyed the attacking waves. They voxed back that the mission was accomplished. They were then told that a flashpoint had emerged a few systems away and the nomadic fleet had moved to intercept. All without telling them. They were then informed to finish the target and then barter for travel on imperial vessels to meetup with the nomadic fleet in two years. The scout sergeant said nothing, he just watched their individual responses. Some broke out in blustery anger at the lack of organisation. Others decried the waste of time or the imposition of it. Alyxandir just watched too.

In the Vantage Marines true veterancy can only be attained by becoming a kill marine and seeking out the total destruction of one enemy or organisation, usually a small one, and after many years returning victorious. Until such marines return they are declared Missing In Action and are not included on the battle roll. As such the chapter technically has spawned many hundreds more than 1000 marines at one point in time. However due to their relation to the Salamanders who are exempt, and their nomadic lifestyle there is no administratium adept foolish enough to gainsay.

The veteran scout sergeant then announced that they will instead pursue the cultists to utter destruction. What followed was a campaign of raids on the cultists and defensive actions of the local people. The scouts were forced to integrate with the local people, learn their ways and break bread with them. Alyxandir came to love them and their ways but at all times he was watching his chrono for the time when he would rejoin his brothers. Difficulties and victories were shared, including the crushing loss of one of their brother scouts. After a short time they ran out of ammunition and were forced to hack away with scout blades and punches. Then they decided to use their training and produce their own ammunition. As they had produced it themselves it was rationed and conserved only for the utmost crises. Eventually their campaign was celebrated by the locals and they gained much notoriety. Including local names. And all too soon it was over. They bartered for travel on a super transporter that came to collect the pisceans the locals catch. They then spent many months traveling to the pickup location in return for guard duty and sharing stories at the captains table. Eventually they arrived on the planet they were to be picked up, and instead found their home ship "Heart of Nitro" conducting cleanup operations after the imperial hive world had been threatened by separatists, most likely those of the arch enemy. The main fleet had been redirected away and they would again make their way back. The Captain in charge informed them that their mission had been declared a failure. As they had lost one of their brother scouts. Then calmly offered them to help in the cleanup operations which "might improve their situation".

## Physical Appearance

A man of fair skin he nonetheless wears the customary dreadlocks of his chapter. His face is tattoed with camauflage permenantly as is a customary trapping of his chapter. He chose black clouds. Due to his experiance with the blade he is so skilled that even servo powered armour slows him down. His parrying speed and strength are both superhuman. For this reason he keeps his sword arm free of plate.

## Personality

Always in a good mood, especially when under pressure Alyx has the ability to decompress from stress faster than a mortal can. Creative and Taciturn all at the same time, he has good communications skills learnt from the many cultures of the imperium he has experianced.

## Abilities and Traits

= Skillfull Parry =

He has an impressive skill with the blade, able to turn enemy attacks back with practiced ease. Even able to turn parried attacks into his own hits. Enemies engaging in melee with sword or blade will find it near impossible to hit him.

= Drakeskin =

Alyxandirs linage to the Salamanders chapter whom which the Vantage Marines are taken from has expressed itself in a single adaptation which is stronger in him than it is in other marine chapters. Alyx has what is termed "The Drakeskin" a preternatural toughness to his constitution. Regular injuries which would threaten a normal marine a Vantage Marine would shrug off. Especially those relating to fire. This building on his already hardy resistance to pain, owing to his original home; a night world of sharp jagged rocks.

= Forge Workshop =

As the Vantage Marines must operate without reliable resupply and contact with the imperium and belesarious cawl, they must produce a great deal of their own equipment. As sons of Vulkan they are apt to do this and produce a limited number of artisanal and master crafted pieces.

## Equipment

### Armour

* **Mark X Phobos Pattern ("Reiver Armour")** - Standard pattern delivered by an emissary fleet by Cawl. The helmet is instead an improved version made by the Vantage Marines themselves. It is based off of a much older STC discovered in their travels and features a simple and light axe-head blade on the crest. This allows any strikes to the head to be parried by a mono blade before it hits the armour, giving the armour a modicum of protection of a mono edge. While many remove thier helmet for greater situational awareness Alyxandir chooses not to as it increases his vulnerability to blast weaponry and adds little to his prowess with the blade as he has learnt to train with it on.

### Used Weapons

* ***Leafblade* (Power Sword)** - A power sword called *Leafblade* marking out his station as one of the chapters many blade champions. When sent out as a killmarine to attain experience before being promoted as a veteran, it is very common to fight by blade moreso than by gun. This is due to the general sparsity of ammunition and the preference for melee of most of the imperiums enemies. As such the Vantage Marines concomitantly develop much skill with the blade. This is particularly true for Alyxandir who has had experience fighting genestealer cults and hive gangs.

* ***Companion* (Master Crafted Bolt Carbine)** - It might surprise one to know that before a Vantage Marine is sent out as a killmarine into unknown territory to liais with the natives for tours lasting years at a time, the piece of equipment the forge-ships spend most of their time and care in production is the Bolt Carbine. However once you realise the doctrine of the Vantage Marines all becomes evident. They prefer what is officially termed Lightning Strike, where elite units are deployed with such overwhelming force and from such an unexpected quarter that no defence is possible and the enemy is completely destroyed. Occupying this unexpected position is normally termed the "Vantage". When a Marine is expected to operate solo for an extended amount of time with no support it has been decided by a succession of Chapter Masters, including the incumbent Chapter Master; Gover Calliburton that a kill marines gear must be manufactured as egalitarianly as possible, to wit "the equipment which best enables them to succeed in survival". As such the bolter patterns or bolt carbine adaptation referred to colloquially as a "companion" are made to a high standard. Vantage Marines can easily pick off targets of greater number of force and this synergises well with the special ammunition they sometimes are allowed, and how much the moreso with more widely available deathwatch ammunition.

Its barrel is mounted with a "Astartese Pattern Breeching Face". This improves the ability to break through walls with the bolter face similar to a hammer. While most marines are simply told to charge through obstacles like walls these marines make a particular art of it. The Breeching Face improves the strike of the marine as it is made of a hyper dense alloy and can be used in melee as a mono-hammer. However it does have its draw back as a chainblade or bayonet cannot be fitted at the same time.

* **Back Pack Mounted Tri-Launcher** - A not uncommon sight in the Vantage Marines. They eschew special backpack visual systems for a simple rudimentary smoke launcher. While issued with smoke grenades that it will disperse at a simple command rune over a wide area, they could theorhetically be fitted with any standard imperial grenade. However this launcher is impossible to reload while on mission without the action of a seperate marine.

### Munitions

Standard Deathwatch Special Issue Ammunition.

## Relations

### Friends/Allies

* **Silver Knights** - A Black Templars Successor Chapter.

## Quotes

### By:

"*After a certain time a truly intelligent one will look to the needs of others.*"
— Veteran Alyxandir Guericke while educating newly inducted Scout Marines.
### About:

"*It is our path to walk the void. To hold the vantage. To see both clearly and to the ad-vantage. To exploit the enemies lack of preparation in whichever quarter it exists. To give no quarter. Let these common commodities of sin and prejudice lead to nothing more than a vertiginous letdown. We have instead purity of sight and we hold humanities purity in our twin hearts.*"
— Grover Caliburton, Third Chapter Master of the Vantage Marines