Sons of Dorn - A Chapter's Shame: Though a noble and proud Chapter, the Sons of Dorn are not without sin. For within their long and glorious history a dark stain upon their honour still resonates from the time it occurred over five Terran millennia ago. One of their own, from the proud Lineage of their greatest Chapter heroes, plunged the Sons of Dorn into a terrible conflict that nearly resulted in their destruction.Although most of the Imperial records pertaining to the Sons of Dorn have been purged from the dark time known as the Age of Apostasy, evidence remains that it was through the machinations of the reviled Alexandros the Mad that the Chapter War was birthed.Appius Flavius Alexandros was born to the famous Archean Lineage of Alexandros the Great. He was the first Alexandros descendant who would rise within the ranks of the Sons of Dorn and play a very pivotal role within the Chapter's history, though his legacy of madness would taint the Chapter forevermore. He would be known by future generations of the Sons of Dorn as "Alexandros the Mad" -- a name which would be vilified within the Chapter's lore, synonymous with infamy and treachery, and in time would hopefully be erased from history altogether.Appius was one of the first inductees of the great Lineage of Alexandros to rise above the station of a mere battle-brother and through his numerous deeds of valour and courage, he would be elected from amongst his fellow company commanders as a prospective master of the Sons of Dorn upon the death of their old Chapter Master.He was an exceptional warrior without peer in the Chapter. Appius underwent the final trial to become Chapter Master by ritually ingesting some of his forebear's poisoned blood in the secret ritual used to choose a worthy successor. Surviving this ordeal, Appius' body appeared to overcome the potent toxins and he was deemed worthy to lead the Chapter.At first, Appius appeared to be an inspirational and formidable leader cut from the same cloth as his famous ancestor. However, unbeknownst to his brothers, the poisoned blood of Alexandros the Great had an adverse effect on Appius. It is not known whether this was due to some latent effect within the toxic blood of Alexandros the Great, the fact that Appius was a blood descendant of the Alexandros lineage and was therefore affected more severely by the toxin, or some Warp-spawned touch from the virulent disease.Perhaps it was a combination of all three. But what is known is that after the ritual ingestion of the blood, changes were quickly wrought upon the unsuspecting Appius. Over a short period of time he began to slip into madness. The changes in his character were subtle and not noticed by many of his brothers at first. This madness would be the catalyst that would eventually lead the Chapter into outright heresy.During the Wars of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium, Chapter Master Appius ordered his Chapter to withdraw from the ongoing conflict with High Lord Goge Vandire's Apostate forces and return to their homeworld of Archea. He claimed that they needed to further strengthen their Chapter's might in preparation for what was surely to be a long and brutal campaign.But this was a lie, for the Chapter would play no further role in the internecine conflict, nor would they take part in the glorious final assault on Terra against the mad high lord's fortress and witness the final, successful outcome. Appius wished to fully exploit the economic power of the surrounding sector to his Chapter's advantage, increasing the Sons of Dorn's stockpiles of arms and equipment far beyond the possible operational needs of a single Space Marine Chapter. What he planned to do with these massive stockpiles is not known, but Imperial scholars believe that he was preparing to launch his own Dark Crusade of plunder across the reaches of the Segmentum Solar.During this period of re-consolidation and preparation, Appius began to show the development of latent psychic abilities. This was highly unusual, as he had been thoroughly examined both physically and psychically, and had exhibited no natural psychic talents upon his induction into the Chapter.After much study by the Chapter's senior Librarians, the general consensus was that the tainted blood of Appius' ancestor must have somehow unlocked the psychic potential within him. This development greatly worried many of the battle-brothers within the Chapter and made them wary of their new commander. During this time a previously unknown "advisor" rose to prominence within Chapter Master Appius' court.This mysterious figure, even within his own Chapter, wore the colours of the Sons of Dorn and claimed to have been a member of the Chapter, though strangely most of his battle-brothers could not recall who he was. Some claimed to have known him from before his meteoric rise within the ranks, though these claims were dubious at best. To this day, the identity of this so-called "advisor" has still not been determined.There is some speculation that he was either a daemon-possessed psyker or Warp creature given the form of an Astartes. Soon, a significant rift formed within the ranks of the Sons of Dorn as the Chapter split into two camps; those that were unswervingly loyal to their new Chapter Master and those that could not bring themselves to trust Appius' increasingly suspect judgement.Appius' madness began to degenerate further, as he haughtily declared to the Chapter that he would no longer be referred to as Appius, for he had cast off his old name. He ordained that he would be referred to as Alexandros, in honour of his ancestor's namesake. This action pushed those who did not trust their commander further away.Appius' detractors soon referred to their apparently insane Chapter Master as Alexandros "the Mad," as he had become more self-absorbed, angry and hate-filled. He indulged in base debauchery, including drunken revelry and illegal gladiatorial contests held within his court between his loyal Astartes followers and condemned Archean criminals.His loyal followers did the same, indulging in every base desire and killing those that displeased them on a whim. Alexandros the Mad was soon accused of killing for mere amusement, deliberately wasting the planet's financial resources to erect statues of himself in Capuas' central forum amongst Archea's heroes, and causing needless starvation amongst the people.During one ignominious act that occurred during the games at the Gladium in which he was presiding, he ordered his Honour Guard to throw an entire section of the crowd into the arena during intermission to be eaten alive by animals because there were no criminals to be prosecuted and he was bored.Other additional tales of insanity tell of Alexandros sending his Space Marines on illogical military exercises and turning the Sons of Dorn's fortress-monastery into a brothel, though the validity of this latter tale is debatable.Frustrated and greatly disturbed by the Chapter Master's disreputable actions, a cabal composed of some of the Chapter's senior officers banded together and demanded an audience with Alexandros the Mad. They refused to follow his commands henceforth and loudly rebuked him, declaring that he was unfit to lead their Chapter and ordered him to step down from his role as Chapter Master.He and his followers would be stripped of their wargear and put in chains. They would be judged by a conclave of their peers who would determine their fate. The bored Alexandros stifled a yawn and merely laughed at their jest. He then rose from his bronze throne and flayed the usurpers' souls from their bodies with his psychic might.This final act of treachery damned the Chapter Master, and soon the Chapter erupted into outright civil war. During the course of this conflict, there were those that had initially followed the Chapter Master out of blind loyalty, but realising their error in judgment, switched sides and vigorously opposed their treacherous brethren.In the end, Alexandros the Mad and less than 200 of his loyal followers fled the wrath of their brethren in a stolen Strike Cruiser. The rest of the Chapter attempted to give chase but the Traitors managed to elude them and reach the safety of the Eye of Terror where they were welcomed into the embrace of the forces of Chaos.To this day, this dark stain on the Chapter's honour is a closely guarded secret. No one outside the Chapter knows of this internecine conflict. The Sons of Dorn enacted an Edict of Obliteration, erasing solar decades from their Chapter's records during this time period.Alexandros the Mad and his Renegade band of Chaos Space Marines have plagued Mankind ever since, and whenever there is a sighting of his infamous band of reavers, the Chapter does everything in its power to despatch a strike force to investigate. But the insane former Chapter Master continues to elude his erstwhile brethren.Despite his madness, Alexandros the Mad still displays the skills and innate abilities of a masterful Astartes leader said to rival the heroes of a bygone age. His tactical acumen is such that he can still outwit even other Space Marine commanders on the field of battle, as the handful of confrontations he has had with the Sons of Dorn since his ouster continues to prove.Further reports insinuate that the mad Chapter Master has fully given himself over to the worship of the Ruinous Powers. His warband has repainted their armour a glossy black, covering the Imperial panoply of their former heritage, and now sport the accouterments and damned iconography of Chaos. The former Chapter Master is said to sport a large pair of ebon leathery wings upon his back, appearing as some dark parody of an actual angel, a mutational "gift" of the Dark Gods.After Alexandros the Mad's fall from grace, the Chapter's Librarians fell into a deep trance and gleaned a prophecy from the strange currents of fate. This prophecy foretold the coming of a warrior who would someday rise to command the Sons of Dorn -- another Astartes born of the Lineage of Alexandros the Great who would be the polar opposite of "Alexandros the Mad" and who would one day face the Chapter's nemesis and end his madness.