vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Space Wolves - Upon the Precipice: Most diabolical of all fates was that of Midgardia. A proud part of the Fenris System, Midgardia was a world of jungles so toxic the populace had made its home in sprawling cities under the planet's crust. Since the appearance of Warp Storms in the Fenris Sector, that teeming civilisation had been infested with noxious legions of Nurgle daemons. It was to this forsaken war zone that Logan Grimnar, Chapter Master of the Space Wolves, made haste -- and he was not alone. At his side fought not only the Champions of Fenris, the mightiest heroes of their Chapter, but also the armoured columns of Egil Iron Wolf. The Great Companies hit the planet's invaders like a thunderbolt. With the Space Wolves' dramatic counter-invasion, many hundreds of daemons were banished back to the Warp. Yet so strange was Midgardia's terrain that within a matter of solar hours, Egil Iron Wolf and his Spears of Russ found themselves bogged down in the quagmire, fighting hard for every inch of ground they took.Logan and his champions, taking the fight below ground, banished a host of Plaguebearers before meeting the architects of the planet's demise -- an alliance of four Daemon Princes known as the Infernal Tetrad. The Champions of Fenris met these titanic fiends blade to blade, only to be buried under tonnes of rock -- the daemons' trap had been well laid. The Space Wolves had been robbed of their wisest leaders in their greatest hour of need, and all the while, the Imperial fleet that held their doom grew ever larger in the firmament of Fenris.
Space Wolves - Architect of Fate Revealed: During the Horus Heresy, when the Space Wolves came for Magnus the Red, they forced his hand. The consequences of the deal with the entities of the Warp, set in motion before Horus had even become the Warmaster, was hastened into fruition. With his power base forcibly dislocated to the Eye of Terror in order to escape the Space Wolves, Magnus used spells with the ease a mortal man might draw breath. He erected the eldritch Tower of the Cyclops upon his adoptive world, the better to survey the Empyrean and realspace alike. His defeat at the hands of Leman Russ had broken him in mind as well as in body, the shards of his consciousness dispersed to the four winds. Even the Thousand Sons still bound to their Primarch's cause could not heal his wounded animus. There Magnus brooded, his body saturated with the power of the æther.For long centuries Magnus sought vengeance against the Imperium, and the Sons of Russ in particular. In the 32nd Millennium he struck at Fenris, having lured the Great Companies from their lair with false visions. He was denied at the last by the redoubtable might of The Fang and the wisdom of the ancient hero, Bjorn the Fell-Handed. Since that day, Magnus' ambitions have grown ever deeper and more esoteric. Now he seeks not just to conquer the Space Wolves, but to strip away all they hold dear, corrupt those under their aegis, and visit upon them the same horrors his beloved Legion once witnessed. The conquest of the Fenris System is just the beginning. The final defeat of the Space Wolves will be the jewel in the crown of a far-greater work -- one in which the Imperium itself is tipped screaming into a sea of anarchy from which there can be no escape. Across the galaxy, the Thousand Sons used their fell magicks to manipulate the Warp rifts that had disgorged the Wulfen. Within days of the Wulfens' recovery by the Great Companies, Rubricae were sighted wherever the bestial warriors had been recovered. The sorcerers of the Thousand Sons were using the Warp rifts to launch a galaxy-wide invasion.
Space Wolves - The Silver Towers of Tzeentch and War Zone Fenris: Colossal in size and staggering in their complexity, the Silver Towers scar the minds of all who look upon them. They are the citadels and spires of ancient Prospero, torn free by sorcery -- but at the same time they are fragments of Tzeentch's Crystal Labyrinth, bequeathed unto his most devious servants so they might spread his Chaos influence in realspace.The enchanted Silver Towers float through the skies, arcane lightning playing around the strange structures at their base. Oppressive and maddening to behold, they are the strongholds of Magnus' chosen.Many are studded with deadly cannons and arcane guns. Yet they are not bound to a single locale, nor a single dimension -- the master of each tower simply has to will his fortress to move, and it floats eerily through reality at his bidding.The appearance of one Silver Tower is enough to spell doom for a civilised world. Upon Fenris, no less than nine of these surreal fortifications descended from space, each aligned with a site of geomantic power. The Crimson King's great work of conquest had begun. Fenris itself had once more become a war zone.
Space Wolves - Chapter Gene-Seed: The Space Marines of the Emperor's Legions of old were genetically engineered, psycho-indoctrinated warriors with superhuman abilities and minds and souls tempered for war. In addition, each individual Legion had its own idiosyncrasies and character -- the product of their gene-seed and unique warrior culture. Renowned both for their savagery and their obedience to the will of the Emperor, the Space Wolves Legion long stood apart from the other Legiones Astartes. Distant and aloof, they were separated not only by bellicose demeanour, but by an almost impenetrable web of self-generated myth and allegory which guarded well the VI Legion's secrets, not only of who they were but what they had done in the service of the Master of Mankind. The unique gene-seed of the Space Wolves, altered as it was by the inclusion of what is known as the Canis Helix, had both its advantages and disadvantages, making them at once more animalistic than their fellow Astartes -- a factor which made them uncommonly talented hunters and ferocious killers -- but also more readily prey to the power of their own instincts and drives. To their detractors, it made them more beasts than men.
Space Wolves - Physical Appearance: The frightening potency of the Canis Helix is legendary, and has accounted for the loss of the lives of millions of Aspirants as their bodies writhe and churn in anguish. Those it does not kill it transforms into slavering monsters. The Canis Helix is necessary, however, as without this essential part of Leman Russ' heritage the other gene helices cannot be implanted at  all. When it is first implanted within an Aspirant, the genetic sequence will work hideous changes on the warrior's mind and body; they revert to a primal state where their bones split and buckle, thick hair sprouts from across their body and their only desire is to gorge on fresh meat and glut themselves on blood. The warrior's body mass grows by up to eighty percent, many of the bones fuse, and canine fangs sprout from his gums. While in the midst of this radical and severely painful transformation, a warrior must overcome the shadow within himself, lest they are overcome and fall to the Curse of the Wulfen and become a giant, feral creature no longer sane or human.As a Space Wolf warrior grows older his hair turns course and wiry, turning a particular shade of grey, and his canines lengthen into true, wolf-like fangs. Even his skin becomes thicker and more leathery like a wolf pelt and all Space Wolf Marines are usually quite hirsuite. These traits in their fully matured form are usually emblematic of a Space Wolf who has become a Grey Hunter, the name given to the Veteran Marines of this unusual Chapter. For those lucky enough to survive the brutal centuries of warfare on hundreds of different battlefields, their hair eventually turns white as the driven Fenrisian snow, and their wolf-like fangs become veritable tusks. These elder warriors, known as Long Fangs, are held in high esteem by their younger kin. For they have mastered the wolf within, and have learned to curb their warlike spirit  with a will of iron, having become akin to a stone upon which their foes' blades break.
Space Wolves - Wolves of Iron and Sky: Within the Space Wolves, as with the majority of other Space Marine Legions, armoured and airborne assets were distributed at the Chapter level, with each Chapter -- or Great Company in the VI Legion -- maintaining a pool of such vehicles to be assigned to combat detachments as required.For the assault on the capital city of Tizca during the Razing of Prospero, the vast majority of these assets were deployed in combat in support of the VI Legion's main force. This relentless use of their firepower was essential in the rapid advance of the Space Wolves Legion's units and formed the core of Leman Russ' initial tactics for combating fellow Astartes. Aircraft were often utilised in continuous ground support of the advancing Space Wolves Claws and War Packs.Such missions fell mainly to Storm Eagle and Fire Raptor gunships, as these craft were both nimble enough to keep pace with the frantic advance of the Space Wolves' lines and sturdy enough to brave the anti-aircraft fire of ground batteries and man-portable heavy weaponry. Any strongpoint that stymied the initial assaults or was bypassed by the advance felt the wrath of the airborne predators, whose relentless attacks swiftly reduced them to nothing but tattered ruins and ashes.The only limiting factor to the use of airborne assets during an assault was the need to retreat to low orbit to rearm, forcing the Space Wolves to utilise rotating wings of ground attack craft in order to maintain pressure on the enemy. This, combined with the sheer area which the craft sometimes had to cover, forced these wings to act as support for ground assaults rather than engaging in a policy of indiscriminate bombardment.
Space Wolves - War Disposition: At the time the order reached the Space Wolves Legion for the censure of the Thousand Sons, it was able to muster what is believed to have been roughly two-thirds of its active strength. This comprised some 75,000 Astartes assigned to the Prospero assault, with the estimated remaining 20,000-25,000 either scattered across various sub-fleets and taskforces beyond their master's immediate call, with a small contingent left to garrison Fenris in the Legion's absence. This itself reflected the heavy degree of campaigning the Space Wolves had conducted in the preceding Terran decades, having fallen in overall strength from about 130,000 Astartes after a series of actions, some of whose nature remains sealed.Its fleet is believed to have comprised some sixty capital class vessels at this time, with perhaps four times this number of smaller strike craft and Escort vessels. In particular, the VI Legion was disposed towards heavily armed and augmented frigate designs, which allowed for the long-range independent operations of small task forces. In contrast, its flagship by the time of the Horus Heresy, the Hrafnkel, was one of the largest patterns from the Gloriana-class frame, and configured  both as a heavy Battleship and capable of conducting independent planetkill operations.
Space Wolves - Post-Heresy: The Space Wolves are known for their fiercely anti-authoritarian behaviour. They strongly resist the central command structure of the Imperium, organising themselves into "packs" instead of the normal squads deployed by the Adeptus Astartes and continue to refuse the dictates of the Codex Astartes, the standardised guide to Space Marine tactics and organisation created by the Ultramarines' Primarch Roboute Guilliman.The Space Wolves only accept some standard Imperial tactics that were considered useful for their own preferred style of warfare. As such, they have a reputation among the Imperial military for being as ill-disciplined as they are fearless. It is often said that the best way to get a Space Wolf to do something is to tell him not to do it.
Space Wolves - Non-Astartes Personnel: Like all Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Wolves maintain a sizable army of mortal support staff and specialists who keep the Chapter running.Generally referred to as "bondsmen," the Space Wolves' Chapter serfs crew the Chapter's warships, man the defences of The Fang, provide medicae staff to aid their Wolf Priests, repair crews and all the various types of labour that allow the Chapter's warriors to travel and fight the Emperor's many foes.Thralls - The Thralls make up the majority of the Chapter's serfs and include the many mono-tasked servitors used by the Iron Priests.Grooms - Grooms are a sub-set of the Chapter's Thralls.Kaerls - The Kaerls are the armed and well-trained military serfs charged with the defence of the Chapter's vessels and holdings.Huskaerl - The Huskaerls are the field officers of the Kaerls.Rivenmaster - The senior officers of the Kaerls, each rivenmaster commands a force of five hundred armed Kaerls.Ship Master - The mortal commanders of the Space Wolves' void vessels are known as ship masters, charged with commanding the Chapter's warships in the absence of the Astartes of the Space Wolves themselves.Star-speakers - The astropaths in service to the Space Wolves are known as star-speakers.Navigators - Like all Imperial Warp-capable voidships, the Space Wolves' starships require Navigators to travel the tides of the Immaterium. The Space Wolves have a long-standing political alliance with the Navis Nobilite's House Belisarius to provide guides for the Chapter's voidships. Twenty-four Space Wolves are assigned to House Belisarius on Terra as guards and security officers, known as Wolfblades, in exchange for the service of an equal number of House Belisarius' most-skilled Navigators for the Chapter fleet.
Space Wolves - Company of the Great Wolf: Unlike most Chapter Masters, the Great Wolf commands his own company. The company of the Great Wolf is effectively another Great Company in itself, but differs from the others in some important respects. This company is host to the Chapter's priesthood -- its Wolf Priests, Iron Priests and Rune Priests -- and other auxiliary elements. These assets and figures of legend are added to other Great Companies as and when the Great Wolf deems it necessary.When a Great Wolf dies, his Great Company first elects a new Wolf Lord -- then the entire Chapter selects his successor from amongst the twelve existing Wolf Lords. To vote, each Space Wolf casts a stone inscribed with a name-rune into the Dragon's Skull in the heart of The Fang. Whichever Lord has the most runestones at the stroke of midnight is elected as the new Great Wolf.These votes are usually carried by a huge margin in favour of one candidate or another, for the Space Wolves value courage, strength and honour over blind loyalty to their Wolf Lord, but should two Lords accrue the same amount of stones, they will fight a duel upon the feasting table of the Great Hall, as Russ and the Emperor once did. The victor, helping his opponent back to his feet, is hailed as the new Great Wolf. The Great Wolf's sigil is always the same -- the Wolf That Stalks Between Stars; the ancient badge of Leman Russ himself and the symbol proudly emblazoned on the Chapter's banner.The exact strength of the Great Wolf's company can vary. For example, the strength of Strike Force Stormclaw that deployed to the Knight World of Alaric Prime during the Red WAAAGH! in 998.M41 is believed to stand at exactly 200 battle-brothers strong. Known officially as the "Champions of Fenris," these stalwart warriors also bear the sigil of the Wolf that Stalks Between the Stars.Before his ascension to the position of Great Wolf, Logan Grimnar's Great Company were known as the "Night Runners." As a result, the battle-brothers of the Champions of Fenris can either bear the icon of the Wolf That Stalks Between Stars or the Night Runner, and the latter is usually borne by those venerable warriors that have served with Logan since before his rise to the position of Great Wolf, though these battle-brothers are now few and far between.The Great Wolf's company is currently the largest Great Company in the Chapter, followed closely by the Blackmanes. The Champions of Fenris possess more Wolf Guard than any other Great Company and many of the Great Wolf's elite guard, known as the Kingsguard, have the honour of wearing suits of Tactical Dreadnought Armor and utilise a number of special formations that take advantage of the Terminator Armour and the deadly weapons the Wolf Guard have access to.The Shieldbrothers and Void Claws both specialise in close combat, the former wielding Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields and forming a bodyguard for Logan Grimnar with the Champion Arjac Rockfist at their head. The Void Claws are elite warriors whom wield pairs of matched Wolf Claws.
Space Wolves - Champions of Fenris: The Great Company of Great Wolf Logan Grimnar, the "Champions of Fenris," is fanatically loyal to their charismatic and cunning leader. Each warrior is extremely proud of his link to the supreme lord of the Chapter, and constantly vies with his peers for the Old Wolf's favour. Logan Grimnar firmly believes that a battle can be carried by a few heroes in the right place at the right time.Below is the disposition of the Champions of Fenris as they were in ca. 999.M41 on the eve of the 13th Black Crusade and the birth of the Great Rift.Company of the Great Wolf - "Champions of Fenris" 	 	<a href="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/5/51/Great_Wolfs_Icon.png/revision/latest?cb=20160902005342" class="image"><img alt="Great Wolfs Icon" src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/5/51/Great_Wolfs_Icon.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/90?cb=20160902005342" decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="90" height="100" class="thumbimage" data-image-name="Great Wolfs Icon.png" data-image-key="Great_Wolfs_Icon.png" data-relevant="1" data-src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/5/51/Great_Wolfs_Icon.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/90?cb=20160902005342" /></a> 	 		 		 		 	 *Personal icon of the Great Wolf - The Wolf that Stalks Between the StarsGreat Wolf (Chapter Master)PriesthoodTroopsDreadnoughts 	 	<a href="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/b/bf/Grimnar_Sigil.png/revision/latest?cb=20140720220758" class="image"><img alt="Grimnar Sigil" src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/b/bf/Grimnar_Sigil.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/90?cb=20140720220758" decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="90" height="76" class="thumbimage" data-image-name="Grimnar Sigil.png" data-image-key="Grimnar_Sigil.png" data-relevant="1" data-src="https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/b/bf/Grimnar_Sigil.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/90?cb=20140720220758" /></a> 	 		 		 		 	 Wolf totem, Badge of the Night RunnerLogan Grimnar, Great Wolf of the Space WolvesWolf High Priest Ulrik the SlayerWolf Priest Ulstvan MorkaisonWolf PriestsHigh Rune Priest Njal StormcallerRune PriestsIron PriestsChapter Champion Arjac Rockfist6 Wolf Guard Packs3 Long Fang Packs6 Grey Hunter Packs4 Blood Claw Packs1 Skyclaw Pack4 Wolf Scout Packs4 Lone Wolve Packs2 Venerable DreadnoughtsBjorn the Fell-HandedChapter's Dreadnoughts
Space Wolves - Unique Rite of War: The Pale Hunters - The Space Wolves Legion's reputation as hunters amongst the Legiones Astartes was matched only by the White Scars, although the tactics of pursuit and the killing blow were enacted similarly by the two both in conception and execution. The Space Wolves valued speed and the surety of their strike, as did the White Scars, but favoured more the bloody, relentless wearing down of a foe, much as their namesake of Terran lore. No mercy or honour was offered to the prey, and theirs was a fate of remorseless cruelty after which death seemed as a blessing to many.The Bloodied Claws - The Space Wolves had never shied from the gore-drenched demands of the all-out frontal assault, but in this, as with other facets of their way of war, their unique character and controlled savagery shaped much of what they did when faced with such a dire prospect. To them such battles rested upon a single, terrible moment: the breaking of the line, where one side shattered the other's strength in a single act of unstoppable violence, and all that came afterwards for the forces of the foe was little more than the living body's death after its heart was ripped from it by a bloodied claw.
Space Wolves - Post-Heresy: The forces of the Space Wolves have a very different approach to martial strategy from their brother Space Marines. There are several distinct types of squad, or Pack, in each Great Company, and each fulfills a different role in battle. As a Space Wolf progresses through his life, he may rise through the ranks until he is old and his fangs are long. If his bravery and might are without question, he will be asked to join the Wolf Guard, or even become a Wolf Lord himself. Most Space Wolves begin their careers as Blood Claws, hot-headed young warriors who cannot wait to prove themselves, charging in howling Packs at the front lines of the enemy in their efforts to garner personal glory. The Blood Claws are the shock troops of the Space Wolves and spearhead the majority of assaults. If they survive to become mature and capable warriors, they will be elevated to the ranks of the Grey Hunters, tempered by battle but nonetheless to give their lives in the name of honour. When the Space Wolves are truly mature, their hair grey and their canines pronounced, they are likely to be inducted into the Long Fangs, veteran soldiers who are disciplined and steady even in the heat of battle, and hence are entrusted with a Great Company's heavy weapons.The bravest and strongest of the Space Wolves, after proving themselves in a feat of exceptional valour or martial prowess, may become Wolf Guards. The Wolf Guard either lead less experienced Packs of warriors into battle, or form a retinue for the mightiest warriors of the battleforce, the Wolf Lord. Few can stand against these heroic warriors, equipped as they are with the best wargear in the Great Company's armoury, making them virtually unstoppable in close combat.The Space Wolves' combat doctrine is unfortunately nowhere near as organised as their brother Chapters. Given that they live for the honour of battle, it is almost certain that the younger Space Wolves will abandon a standard tactical structure in favour of simply rushing headlong at the enemy, howling at the tops of their voices. This has been known to aggravate many allied commanders over the millennia, including Lord Solar Macharius himself, who famously recorded his displeasure in the Tactica Ultimatum.  However, far from being uncontrolled berserkers, the Space Wolves as a Chapter simply relish the thrill of close combat above all else. Nonetheless, their battle tactics are undeniably effective; the Space Wolves have fought in a similar manner on a hundred thousand battlefields since their conception, and are unlikely to stop merely to conform to the precepts of the Administratum.
Space Wolves - Chapter Beliefs: The Space Wolves are brought up believing in mystic legends and sagas of star-striding wolves, horrendous monsters and mighty heroes. Mistrustful of advanced technology and sorcery alike, the people of Fenris are a brutal but noble people and this bearing is brought to the Chapter by its recruits. Central to their belief system is Leman Russ and the Emperor, known to the Space Wolves as the Allfather, whom they see as the greatest pinnacles of mankind and heroes to inspire valor and honour. The Space Wolves' beliefs are generally regarded with distaste if not outright hostility by the Ecclessiarchy, and seen as backwards, barbaric and superstitious by many others. The Sons of Russ make no excuse for their ways, however, and have come to blows and at times outright warfare with the Ecclessiarchy and others over their beliefs and way of life.Space Wolves refer to their own souls as threads, for when a Space Wolf dies it is said his thread was severed. In the past, slain Space Wolves were generally burned in a pyre, rather than buried in a crypt. Following the death of a particularly important, high ranking or respected member of the Chapter, a sending away feast is held in his honour. Before the feast, the Great Company Skjald learns stories about the deceased of variable length and nature from every member of the Great Company and retells these tales during a period of ritual feasting with lengthy rest periods between each tale. The sending away feast lasts for an indeterminate amount of time, however long it is necessary to tell all of the Skjald's memorised stories, and as such, can last for solar days or even weeks. During the feast the feasting chamber is sealed and none may enter or leave until the conclusion of the feast. For example, after the death of Heoroth Longfang during the Great Crusade, Tra Company held a feast where 432 separate tales were told. In the present era of the late 41st Millennium, the Space Wolves' dead are interred or burned on the flattened peak of Mount Krakgard, or laid to rest in other locations of significance, such as the Tomb of Garm where the Spear of Russ is held, or the Tomb of Harek Ironhelm on the flank of The Fang.An ancient tradition of the Chapter dictates that judgements and trials must be conducted on solid ground, not aboard a cold starship sailing through the void. When a judgement must be passed, the Space Wolves will divert to the closest available planet or moon and set down to conduct the trial, pass judgement and, if necessary, perform an execution, on solid earth as the ancient traditions of Fenris demand.
Space Wolves - Traditions: Eye of Aversions - Known as the Eye of Aversion, this symbol is used by the Space Wolves to ward away evil and sorcery. In battle it is carved into a wall, support or whatever is at hand to mark an area of great danger or heavy enemy opposition. When the danger has been removed or eliminated, the mark is struck out to show the area is clear.Fenrys Hjolda - Known as Rout-Masks, these leather and bone masks were worn by the Space Wolves and their serfs during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras, but had largely gone out of use by the time of the First Battle of The Fang in the 32nd Millennium. The masks were intended to scare away Maleficarum (daemons).Primordial Annihilator - The is a term used by the Space Wolves to refer to the fell powers of Chaos.Runes - The Space Wolves Rune Priests use a form of divination known as the Casting of the Runes to tell the future and advise the Chapter's Wolf Lords and Great Wolf on decisions of great importance:Adjarr (Blood)Fengr (The Wolf Within)Gmorl (Fate)Hata (Unknown meaning)Hjarz (Ice-rune)Ragnarok (Ending)Rhozan (Rune to ward against Maleficarum)Sfar (Rune to ward against Maleficarum)Trysk (Ice)Ymr (Unknown meaning)Zhaz (Rune to ward against Maleficarum)
Space Wolves - Deed Names: Most Space Wolves bear a deed name that is either appended to their given name or replaces it entirely amongst their warrior brethren. Deed names are awarded for particular feats of courage, daring, luck, skill or knowledge. Sometimes they describe an aspect of the warrior, like the bionic Power Fist of Berek Thunderfist, or a childhood amongst wolves, as is the case with Canis Wolfborn, or the physical features of a particular warrior, such as the great shaggy eyebrows of Ulf Blackbrow. Other times a name is awarded for a particular accomplishment such as Njal Stormcaller, who earned his name after driving the Forces of Chaos from the field by summoning a massive storm during the Tokaran War. Another example is Ragnar Blackmane, who is named after the legendary and deadly Blackmane Wolf he slew during his Trial of Morkai. Some deed names do not take great imagination as to how they were acquired, such as the case of the Wulfen-afflicted Wolf Lord Bran Redmaw. Deed names are many and varied, and over time many veteran warriors will acquire more than a few names, each added to the last. Sometimes the new name will replace the old as the common title of the warrior, other times a favorite will remain in use for the rest of the warrior's life, regardless of other titles or deed names he acquires.
Space Wolves - Beast-Hunts: During particularly savage winters a Wolf Lord may choose to take his warriors into the wilderness on a beast-hunt. Unarmed, the warriors must hunt the beasts of Fenris with only their wits and skills to aid them and are not allowed to return to The Fang without the carcass of a beast as proof of their deeds. The first to return is usually the Wolf Lord, who takes his place at the head of a feast table. The last to return, dubbed the Tail, serves his Battle-Brothers red meat and blood-laced ale rather than participating in the feast. The ignominy of this position tends to result in a brawl before long.
Space Wolves - The Great Hunts: Occasionally the Great Wolf or Rune Priests will see a vision of the lost Primarch, and declare a new Great Hunt. While none of the Great Hunts have resulted in the discovery of Russ, each has accomplished some significant feat. The Second Great Hunt saw the recovery of Russ' sacred armor from the Temple of Horus on the world of Rudra, situated near the dreaded Eye of Terror. The Fourth Great Hunt led to the uncovering of the Corellian Conspiracy, which had been close to taking over the Administratum in a bloody coup for power, while the Ninth Great Hunt saw the destruction of the Genestealer infestations in the Gehenna System. Every time a Great Hunt is called it seems that the lost Primarch has a task in mind for his sons.
Space Wolves - The Fang: Native Fenrisians are used to the pattern of destruction that engulfs their planet every Great Year and have learned to love the endless mutability of their lands with a fierce warrior pride. Only on the northern polar continent of Asaheim are the human populations of Fenris protected from the extreme climate. Here there are many unique creatures not able to live elsewhere on the world. These include massive ice bears, gigantic elk and shaggy mastodons as well as stranger creatures such as the snow trolls, shape-changing doppegangrels and the great white wyrms that burrow through the glaciers and fjords. The deadliest creatures are the native semi-sentient Fenrisian Wolves themselves, for their wits are as sharp as their teeth and the largest of their number is the equal of any of the great predators that slither and stalk through the icy Fenrisian wastes. Yet Asaheim is remote, surrounded by towering cliffs that rise thousands of feet into the air above the seas and separate it from the oceans. Its fabled land mass provides no refuge for those that live beyond its rocky confines. To a Fenrisian tribesman, it is truly the land of the gods.The Space Wolves' fortress-monastery, known widely across the Imperium as The Fang and the Aett by its inhabitants, is a massive citadel built atop the tallest mountain of Asaheim. This mountain is known by many names, including The Shoulder of The Allfather, and volda hammarki, the World Spine. The Fang is the home base of the Space Wolves and extends into the surrounding mountain range as well as into orbit, drawing energy from the geothermic source of the planet's molten core. The complex includes huge ground-based anti-ship orbital defence laser weapons concealed as nearby peaks, docks at the summit for the Space Wolves' Battle Barges and Strike Cruisers, numerous shrines to the Emperor along the lower slopes, and massive fusion and geothermal reactors deep underground. Outside of Terra itself, the Fang is considered one of the most impregnable fortresses in the galaxy, constructed by the Adeptus Mechanicus during the Great Crusade using technology that has long since been lost. It has never been conquered, although the Thousand Sons Traitor Legion, the Space Wolves' most hated foes, did manage to briefly occupy the outer slopes of The Fang after luring the bulk of the Space Wolves' forces away during the First Battle for The Fang in the 32nd Millennium.
Space Wolves - The Shrine of Garm: One of the Space Wolves' most sacred sites, the Shrine of Garm, located on the eponymous world of Garm, is built around the sarcophagus of the legendary Chapter hero of the same name. This mighty hero fought during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras, and valiantly gave his life in order to save the life of the Wolf King Leman Russ. In gratitude for Garm's sacrifice the Primarch had built an intricate and lavishly built sarcophagus of astounding detail to recount Garm's deeds and house his remains for all time. Upon the lid of the sarcophagus Russ placed his weapon, the Spear of Russ, a legendary relic of the Chapter upon which countless oaths had been sworn and whose worth to the Chapter and the Imperium was beyond counting. For thousands of standard years the Shrine of Garm was a place of ritual pilgrimage for countless Space Wolves and was garrisoned by a small detachment of Astartes and Kaerls.When Ragnar Blackmane was still a Blood Claw in the Thunderfists Great Company, a force of Thousand Sons under the command of the vile Sorcerer Lord Maddox attacked the shrine and stole the Spear of Russ. Outraged, the Space Wolves went in force to end the emerging rebellion on Garm and reclaim the spear. At the height of the fighting Ragnar cast the Spear of Russ into the cyclopean eye of an emerging image of the Daemon Primarch Magnus the Red through a Warp portal that had been summoned beneath one of Garm's manufactory cities. Though this act succeeded in closing the portal and winning the battle, the Spear of Russ was lost and Ragnar was exiled to the Wolfblade as punishment. In time, the Space Wolves uncovered a plot by the Thousand Sons to use the spear to bring about the downfall of the Chapter and a strike force containing Ragnar and two of his Wolfblade companions struck at the ritual site. Though it cost the lives of many young Blood Claws and one of the Wolfblades, the Thousand Sons were defeated and the Spear of Russ was reclaimed. Once more the spear now sits safely atop the sarcophagus of Garm and serves as an eternal reminder of duty, honour and sacrifice.
Space Wolves - The Temple of the Storm Wolves: Located on the world of Pelius, the Temple of the Storm Wolves was once the resting place of the Fist of Russ, a legendary artefact of the Space Wolves Chapter said to have been wielded by Leman Russ himself. The Fist of Russ was stolen thousands of standard years ago during a raid by unknown xenos and was lost for all time. Since then, many had searched for the Fist, including the Lord Solar Macharius, but none have yet succeeded in locating or reclaiming the artefact. Of the Temple of the Storm Wolves itself, little is known, and it is unclear if the temple even still stands or if it is still garrisoned by the Space Wolves Chapter now that its greatest relic has been lost.Unknown to the Space Wolves, the world of Demetrius had become home to a radical worship of Leman Russ. The Priests of Demetrius used arcane technology to transform mortal men into lumbering beasts, with hugely oversized muscles, thick growths of white fur, and lupine snouts filled with razor-sharp fangs. The priests and their guards fought fiercely against the Imperial Guard forces of the Macharius Crusade, particularly in the protection of an artefact known as the Fist of Demetrius, an ancient Power Fist the Lord Solar Macharius believed to be, in actuality, the legendary lost Fist of Russ. The artefact was not, in fact, a weapon of the Primarch but was an ancient relic of the Space Wolves Chapter. The Priests of Demetrius claimed the fist had been left in their care by Leman Russ himself during the Great Crusade, and this might have been nothing short of the truth. It would certainly explain the fierce devotion the locals showed to the Space Wolves and the artefact, even if the Astartes had not set foot on the planet in many thousands of Terran years.
Space Wolves - Recruitment of a Space Wolf: The act of turning a mortal man -- even one who has managed to thrive in the harsh environs of Fenris and therefore cannot be considered typical -- into one of that world's "Sky Warriors" is a long, arduous and incredibly perilous process. Many that undertake this trial perish. To survive is to prove one's cunning, strength and fortitude beyond question, and to be a worthy successor of Leman Russ' gene-heritage. Like all Astartes, new Space Wolves are recruited in early adolescence, selected from the most able youths of the feral tribes of their homeworld of Fenris. Unlike other Chapters, the Space Wolves have one of the longest and most arduous series of Trials ever crafted to test their Aspirants. On Fenris, strangers stalk the lands of men. In the long halls, tales are told of mysterious, fur-clad wanderers who arrive in the depths of winter and challenge the strongest and most boastful of the Fenrisian tribesmen to bouts of strength and drinking. They are a frightening sight -- huge, burly warriors with burning eyes, who always outwrestle the strongest warriors and outdrink the staunchest. Once they have fought every challenger they pick the most worthy and take them away into the dark, never to be seen again.When the native tribes of Fenris clash for settling rights of the new islands that have risen from the churning seas, the same strangers can often be seen standing imperiously atop a nearby hill. If a warrior shows the signs of greatness during battle, the strangers may descend from on high and approach him, to the awe of all who witness it. Even should the chosen be on the point of death, the strangers care not. They take their prize with them away into the blizzards, and the youth is never seen again. The tribesmen do not mourn the loss of such a valiant warrior, for they know he has been chosen to live among the gods. The mysterious strangers that select these warriors are actually the Wolf Priests of the Space Wolves, Choosers of the Valiant. The youths they pick will be tested sorely, for if they have true steel in their souls, the legacy of Leman Russ will be implanted in their bodies, and they will ultimately become Space Marines. But such a gift is never given lightly.Once chosen the Aspirants are taken to training camps such as Russvik, Grimnir and Valksberg. These young Fenrisian tribal warriors form ad hoc units in battle known as Wolfbrothers. At these camps the Aspirants learn and train, engaging in gruelling challenges of skill, endurance and cunning designed to weed out the unworthy. Where other Chapters simply have Aspirants fight until only the strongest stand, the Space Wolves set a more exacting standard. Skill in battle is important, but it is not the only thing that matters in becoming a Wolf of Fenris. The Aspirants are forced to train as teams, working together as Packs to succeed or fail together. These training Packs must face the harshness of nature, the depredations of the wild monsters of Asaheim, and the exacting expectations of the training officers. Only those who have proven themselves worthy are at last brought into the Chapter as Blood Claws.
Space Wolves - Gate of Morkai: Many are the trials which a young warrior must endure before he can join the ranks of the Space Wolves. Each test will try the Fenrisian's wit as well as his strength, and place him in mortal dangers from which he must emerge alive if not unscathed. If an Aspirant survives the first few solar months of training, he must undertake the two Trials of Morkai -- one for each of the wolf-god's heads. For the first of these trials, he will be brought before the council of Rune Priests, who will test his mind as keenly as the Wolf Priests challenged his body. In the very bowels of The Fang lies the Gate of Morkai, a vast portal surrounded by fiery rivers of lava. The wolf-god's image crowns this mighty gate and its carven flanks bear enchanted runes of great power. Once the young warrior has seen the ancient archway, he must pass through it; to back down is as good as admitting weakness or deceit, and the Sky Warriors do not suffer those without purity of heart and purpose to live. As soon as he steps through the Gate of Morkai, the Aspirant's mind belongs to the Rune Priests. They will scour his soul for doubt, impurity and buried temptations -- anything that may be used against a Space Wolf or his Battle-Brothers by the fell and alien powers they will one day face. Only one who can steel himself against such horrors is worthy to call himself a Son of Russ. The exact means by which a candidate is tested will vary according to the individual. Most commonly, an Aspirant will find himself faced with impossible odds in a number of conjured scenarios. Under the spell of the Rune Priests, the young warrior will believe the situation to be reality, and react according to his heart's instincts. Those who fail this test will never wake up from their dreams, for the Rune Priests will scrub their minds and hand them over to the Iron Priests to serve out their lives as Thrall-Servitors. For those that pass, the toughest trial is yet to come.
Space Wolves - Deathwatch Service: For some Space Wolves, service in the Deathwatch, the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos, offers a unique opportunity to compose new passages in the ongoing saga of their life. While in the ranks of the Deathwatch, the Space Wolf travels to undreamed of places to battle against enemies from nightmare. Often, such enemies are entirely unknown to the Imperium and to the Space Wolf's home Chapter, and he may therefore be the only Space Wolf ever to face one, a proud boast to tell in the mead-halls of The Fang on his return to Fenris. Though many great heroes of the Deathwatch have been drawn from the Space Wolves, it takes a special type of Battle-Brother to leave the extremely close-knit Packs of Fenris to serve alongside strangers from other Astartes Chapters. It is not uncommon therefore for two or more Space Wolves to join a Watch Fortress together, so that they might witness one another's deeds and one can tell the other's tale should he fall in battle. Though Space Wolves are extremely gregarious, if somewhat uncouth to some, they soon come to regard the members of their Kill-team as brothers, treating them as if they too were born of the savage tribes of Fenris. Most Deathwatch Astartes learn to accept the Space Wolves' rough ways, and some even acquire a taste for the Fenrisian Ale invariably brought along. The presence of one or more Space Wolves in the complement of a Watch Fortress can be discerned by the sound of raucous feasting and drinking on the eve of battle, savagely joyous boasts and bold oaths echoing down the usually silent passageways and cloisters. Some find such displays disruptive, but most Watch Commanders soon learn to let the matter be, for Kill-teams including Space Wolves amongst them often become the most effective and coordinated squads the Deathwatch can field.
Space Wolves - Relationships with other Imperial Organisations: The Space Wolves are a controversial Chapter within the sordid world of Imperial politics. Logan Grimnar is completely unafraid to defend his Chapter's autonomy and will wage war even against other Imperial institutions if he feels it is just. The Adeptus Ministorum and Inquisition have both attempted to force the Sons of Russ into compliance with a spectacular lack of success. This quarrelsome and fiercely independent attitude has surrounded the Space Wolves with numerous enemies but has also earned the Chapter many stalwart allies and supporters. The legendary reputation and widespread respect of the Great Wolf has led to his position as the foremost Imperial commander during Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade. Standing alongside such valiant leaders as Ursarkar E. Creed of Cadia, the grizzled and venerable Great Wolf helps lead the Imperium's vast armies against the invading Forces of Chaos, hurling the Black Legion and their allies back into the Eye of Terror.
Space Wolves - Remembrancer Order and Outsiders: At best, the Remembrancers were a barely indulged nuisance by many Space Marine Legions during the Great Crusade. At worst, the Legiones Astartes were openly hostile to their presence. The Space Wolves were among the latter camp. The Sons of Fenris strictly opposed the use of any form of recording during the Great Crusade, preferring the oral traditions of Fenris to more formal written records. The Skjalds of each Company memorised the Sagas of each warrior for retelling during feasts and ceremonies. As the millennia wore on, the Space Wolves have taken to using archives, data-crystals and other recording medium to ensure the knowledge and wisdom of the Chapter is passed on and the ancient and esteemed Dreadnought, Bjorn the Fell-handed, periodically awakens from his long slumber to test the knowledge of the Rune Priests every millennium. A notable exception to the Space Wolves aversion to outsiders was an Imperial Conservator named Kasper Ansbach Hawser, also known as Ahmad Ibn Rustah. Hawser was given unique and virtually unheard of access to The Fang and the Space Wolves themselves during the latter days of the Great Crusade and the beginning of the Horus Heresy, witnessing some of the final battles of the Crusade alongside the warriors of Tra (Third) Company, and was present during the Scouring of Prospero. Hawser was ultimately revealed to have bee unwittingly tainted by the powers of Chaos for many solar decades, acting as one of the Hidden Ones and as an infiltrator to the Space Wolves. Despite his loyalty to the Emperor, the Space Wolves put Hawser in frozen stasis for both his own, and their, protection. His current status is unknown.In the late 41st Millennium it is not unheard of for visitors to be permitted entry to The Fang, even rarely an Inquisitor who has earned the Chapter's trust. However such visitors and honoured guests are few, and their access limited, as is commonly the case with the more insular Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.
Space Wolves - House Belisarius: The Space Wolves maintain a firm alliance with the Navigator House Bellisarius that predates the foundation of the Imperium. House Bellisarius provides the Space Wolves with 24 of their best Navigators in exchange for 24 Space Wolves known as the Wolfblade, to serve as a bodyguard for House Bellisarius' leadership. Assignment to the Wolfblade is a dubious honour and is generally considered an exile of sorts. Individual Battle-Brothers whose quirks prevent them from properly integrating within the Pack structure of the Chapter will most likely soon find themselves seconded to the Wolfblade indefinitely. However a significant number of Space Wolves heroes and leaders have, at one time or another, served as a part of the Wolfblade. Since House Bellisarius is an ancient and powerful Navigator House they maintain their headquarters on Terra, homeworld of Mankind and seat of the Imperium's vast bureaucracies. As such, service in the Wolfblade provides promising Space Wolves with invaluable experience within the world of Imperial politics. Some of the current heroes of the Chapter that have served in the Wolfblade include Wolf Lord Ragnar Blackmane and the Great Wolf Logan Grimnar himself.