Hell Warders

Icon of the Hell Warders Chapter.

### **Purpose**

Charged to stand eternal watch over the dual warp storms known as the Hellgates and defend the sector's worlds against Chaos incursions.

The **Hell Warders** are a collective made up of a quintumvirate of Space Marine Chapters, including - the Gatekeepers, Knights of the Anvil, the Lightning, Spartiate Marines and the Templars Moline (lost, and presumed destroyed). Created in the early centuries of M36, these Space Marine Chapters were selected by the High Lords of Terra themselves to be permanently stationed around the infamous dual warp storms known as the Hellgates and to protect the worlds of Sector Occident Prime from the constant Chaos incursions that emanate from within. Through their millennia-long vigil, these Chapters have forged bonds of kinship stronger than forged ceramite and will willingly answer one another's call for aid without question.

## History

### The Hellgates

Located in the Segmentum Solar a mere 1,000 light years from the Imperial Throneworld, lies a pair of relatively small, duel warp storms known as the Hellgates. These naturally occurring warp phenomena are riven by warp storms so intense that stellar travel in the region is virtually impossible. With the difficulty of travelling through the region, this area of space also became a haven for corsairs, criminals and renegades. Within these hellish realms lies a haven made up of several Renegade Space Marine Chapters, various Chaos Warbands, outcasts, vile xenos and worshippers of the Dark Gods. With the warp-energies that permeate its worlds, this region is imbued with the evil energies of the warp which slowly poisons those mad enough, or desperate enough, to reside within. Though considered a Minoris Grad anomaly, these dual rifts still pose a potential risk to the security of the Segmentum Solar, rendering them an acute threat to the safety of the Imperium.

Remaining considerably more stable than most other warp rifts, evidence indicates that the Hellgates have been in existence since the evolution of Mankind. Due to their relative stability, the Hellgates have long served as a haven for all manner of renegades, corsairs, outcasts, exiles and other forgotten horrors. These hellish realms are ruled by all four factions of the Ruinous Powers, who constantly vie with one another for absolute supremacy. Many worlds found within the Hellgates' depths have been tainted by Chaos in some way, shaped by the individual wills of their respective masters, while others have been touched by the lapping of stranger tides. The Hellgates are a point of constant interface between the real and the unreal, realspace and the warp overlapping each other like a blurred image. Daemonic incursions and the predations of marauding Chaos warbands are common at the points within the Hellgates where these realities overlap.

### First Hell Crusade

In 110.M36, a massive Slaaneshi warhost led by the Daemon Prince Xeraz the Exquisite, and his Chaos allies, erupted from the hellish pleasure realms from within the Ashaklun Gate, and soon the entire sector became embroiled in bloody conflict. Hearing of the massive Chaos incursion, Polemarch Leonidas Gorgo of the Spartiate Marines leads his 1st, 2nd and 3rd companies, along with a regiment of Astra Militarum Laconian Guard Regiments in support of the beleaguered sector. Arriving in the theatre of operations, Polemarch Gorgo found many of the planet names uncannily familiar, especially 'Thermopylae', a name out of the Laconian's most ancient legends. It was instantly clear to him that this was where he should establish his blockading force. He was, of course, well aware of what had happened to those ancient Laconians at Thermopylae, but his aim was to buy time, with all their lives if necessary. As one of the first Imperial forces to respond, this potent force bought precious time for the Imperial defenders to mount a sufficient counter-attack.

Receiving multiple astropathic calls for assistance, the Golden Castellans Chapter, located in the nearby Gathalomar Sector, send their entire Chapter in response to this grave threat. Several other nearby Space Marine Chapters - including the Knights of the Anvil, the Lightning and the Templars Moline - respond to the threat, rushing to commit their strength to the rapidly escalating war. Though several worlds burn in the fires of destruction, and the shadows gather close, throughout the sector, the Emperor's avenging Angels of Death stand fast, determined to save the besieged Imperial worlds of this sector or die in the attempt.

Like their genetic forbears, the Lightning possessed a similar penchant for mobile, high-speed warfare to almost illogical extremes. This Chapter is noted for being masters of guerrilla warfare and the hit-and-run attack, always seeking to avoid combat through misdirection or guile until they have attained the maximum tactical advantage, before unleashing the full fury of their assault. Launching multiple campaigns throughout the besieged sector, the various Brotherhoods (companies) of The Lightning strike like sudden squalls, that comes and goes without warning, leaving only devastation in its wake.

The Spartiate Marines focus all their efforts on superbly devised, ranged kill patterns far superior to any that could be conceived, and thus, launched very successfully executed ambush tactics that assured an extremely high kill ratio, in which every Astartes traded his life for hundreds, if not thousands, of Chaos heretics. From their Chapter homeworld of Achaemenia, the Knights Anvilar launched multiple campaigns across the besieged sector, while the fleet-based Templars Moline utilised their massive Chapter fleet and immediately deployed alongside the Golden Castellans and Battlefleet Loculus. Leading the Imperial defence of the besieged sector, the Golden Castellans spearheaded the fleet of Battlefleet Loculus against the vast Chaos armada. Utilising their flagship, the *Incursus Defensior*, a Ramilies-class Starfort, this colossus of war utilised its formidable firepower to fight valiantly in many major battles against the Forces of Chaos.

After nearly eight decades of bloody conflict, this mighty vessel becomes the lynchpin in the blockade of the Hellgates, and eventually plays an instrumental role in turning the tide of the conflict, as the Imperial forces finally managed to drive the Chaos armada back into the swirling eddies of the Hellgates.

### Formation of the Hell Warders

Due to their close proximity to Terra and the periodic incursions launched by the Forces of Chaos against the Imperial worlds of the vitally important Sector Occident Prime, the High Lords of Terra were forced to take measures to ensure the security of this region of space and support for the sector capital and the local Inquisition as needed. The establishment of the Hell Warders Chapter was fully documented in the ancient text known as the *Codex Furioso* or '*Book of Fire*'. According to this ancient text, in 199.M36, following the end of the massive Chaos incursion known as the First Hell Crusade, the High Lords of Terra pronounced an Edict Imperialis in response to the dire predations, ordering several Adeptus Astartes Chapters to permanently base themselves near the Hellgates in order to protect the Imperium's interests and pacify the region.

Assigned permanent overwatch over the twin warp rifts, the newly-renamed 'Gatekeepers' Chapter, would lead this alliance and stand sentinel over the worlds of Sector Occident Prime. Once the Hell Warders were put in place, each Chapter utilised a different world near the Hellgates, building their fortress-monasteries and established the strategically located planets as their base of operations.

These Chapters are comprise of the following:

 Templars Moline |  | This fleet-based Chapter was a successor of the zealous Black Templars. Like their progenitors, they were a fleet-based Chapter, distinguished by the Cross Moline, and took part in the First Hell Crusade. The Templars Moline do not appear as a named chapter until the Second Hell Crusade and are assumed to be a 14th Founding Chapter established for the purpose of providing fleet support to the original Hell Warder chapters. Tragically, the entire Chapter fleet disappeared into the warp rifts during the Castigation Crusade of 742.M41 and was officially declared lost two years later after careful search by their fellow Warders found no survivors. At the dawning of M42, with the events surrounding the destruction of Cadia and the formation of the galaxy-wide tear in reality, known as the Cicatrix Maledictum, the Templars Moline have once again risen from the ashes of their former demise in the form of a new Ultima Founding Chapter comprised entirely of Primaris Space Marines. With the re-formation of the Templars Moline the Hell Warders have been re-forged anew. However, only time will tell whether or not these new Astartes will live up to the heroic legacy of their forebears.