Deathwatch Chaplain - Notable Deathwatch Chaplains: Deathwatch Chaplain Ortan Cassius - High Chaplain Ortan Cassius is exceptional even amongst the ranks of the Ultramarines. After learning many horrible truths over his tenure in the Deathwatch, he was discharged with full honours. The Chaplain returned to the Ultramarines Chapter, bringing back the secrets he had uncovered over the course of his Long Vigil. It was Ortan Cassius that led an Aquila Kill-team to Ghosar Quintus after the suspicious disappearance of Inquisitor Chaegryn, uncovering the Genestealer Cult that festered beneath that Mining World's surface. Since that fell discovery he has made it a personal crusade to prove the spirituality of Mankind superior to the perversion of Human religion that erupts before a Tyranid invasion. Over the centuries this quest has become an obsession, but one with a righteous and officially recognised cause -- Chapter Master Calgar, at his mentor Cassius' insistence, has reconfigured the Ultramarines to include a dedicated team of Tyranid Hunters. Known as the Tyrannic War Veterans, these battle-brothers weaponise every scrap of knowledge they and their leader Cassius have uncovered, whether in the Deathwatch or in the battles beyond it. Their unshakeable devotion to the cause, their boundless courage and their sheer expertise are critical elements in the fight to hold back the all-devouring hive fleets.Chaplain Jorge Martinez - Chaplain Martinez has become best known among the battle-brothers of Watch Fortress Erioch for his willingness to listen and offer sage advice. The Chaplain is believed to be over 400 standard years old -- clearly an established Veteran prior to his secondment to the Deathwatch. During his years of service within the Jericho Reach, he has consistently served as an advisor to the Watch Commander Mordigael. This has included consultation prior to and during numerous meetings with visiting Inquisitors. Chaplain Martinez has never been known to share any of the secrets revealed during these meetings. However, he has been known to issue assignments to kill-teams, acting entirely upon his own authority. In several instances, he has even worked directly in the field with other kill-teams, often acting in support of a team that had no knowledge of his actions. Watch Commander Mordigael has continued to seek out the Chaplain's counsel, which suggests to many battle-brothers that these missions may be taking place at Mordigael's indirect behest. In any case, the Chaplain clearly has the watch commander's trust and respect as well as access to many of the Deathwatch's secrets within the Jericho Reach.Deathwatch Chaplain Nolasco (KIA) - Chaplain Nolasco of the Angels Sanguine was known in his time for the fiery zeal of his sermons, many of which he committed to parchment so that even millennia later they are still to be heard from the pulpits of Watch Fortress Erioch. The bulk of Nolasco's sermons call upon the battle-brothers of the Deathwatch, and indeed the Adeptus Astartes at large, to draw strength from the example of Primarch Sanguinius, who fell defending the greater cause embodied by the Emperor Himself. Thus, Chaplain Nolasco held that a noble death in battle was both inevitable for a Space Marine, and preferable, the final moments of a battle-brother's service exemplifying and summarising all he stood for in life. Though Nolasco fell when the being that had dominated Sovereign was slain by Watch Captain Aesalon, the deed for which he is most commonly remembered is the moment when he earthed the god-thing's arcing power through his Crozius Arcanum. It is held amongst the Chaplains of Watch Fortress Erioch that only a weapon truly steeped in zeal and faith could withstand such an attack, and only a warrior equally blessed could bear it.Deathwatch Chaplain Titus Strome - Titus Strome embodies everything Watch Fortress Erioch stands for: unrelenting duty, unshakeable faith and an abiding hatred of all things alien. Like the fortress itself, Strome also has many secrets. Strome first came to Erioch as a Black Shield, his past history and Chapter expunged. From the outset, he made his every moment serve his duty to the Deathwatch, throwing himself into a cycle of training, fasting and prayer that caused some battle-brothers to question his sanity. Strome's readiness was truly tested in his very first deployment when his kill-team was caught in a xenos Heretek ambush on Meniscus. Battle-Brother Zarkus, the team-leader, was killed outright and every other member seriously wounded in the opening salvoes of the engagement. Despite his injuries, Strome protected the survivors by making a ferocious single-handed counterattack that destroyed the Heretek's weapon-nest and scattered its crew. After extraction, Strome's armour was found to carry over two hundred impact hits sustained in battle, fully a third of which had pierced the ceramite and drawn blood. Even Space Marines are not immortal, and their gene-enhanced metabolisms can only survive so much harm. The Apothecaries did not expect Strome to live through such injuries and the Deathwatch Chaplain was called to give final unction. It was at this time, according to Strome, that his path became clear to him. The quiet strength and unwavering sense of righteousness of the Chaplain kindled within him a lust for life that returned him from the brink of death. Slowly, painfully, Strome recovered from his injuries and pushed against the limits of his endurance. As soon as he became fit for duty, Strome sought apprenticeship with the Chaplains and was accepted as an acolyte. For many years Strome served under different Chaplains, being in effect reduced to a mere novice learning catechisms and legends of the Long Vigil. He applied himself to every trial with fervour, winning the approval of every one of his masters before he was finally inducted into their ranks. When seen without the silvered death mask of a Chaplain, Strome's face is thin and aesthetic, his eyes lighting with fanatic fervour whenever talk turns to xenos. Despite his cadaverous appearance, Strome is a masterful close-combat fighter capable of trading blows with an Ork warboss or overthrowing a Carnifex -- just two of the feats to be found in his long list of battle honours.Deathwatch Chaplain Vigilant - The individual known as Brother Vigilant arrived in the final hours of 812.M41 to Watch Fortress Erioch aboard a badly damaged Inquisitorial courier vessel belonging to an Ordo Xenos Inquisitor who had departed only a solar month before on some urgent, unknown mission. The Inquisitor was nowhere to be found and the crew had died from void exposure or radiation sickness within a solar week of departure, leaving only a single clue as to what had brought the vessel to Erioch. A stasis-crypt was found within the courier's hold, containing a single Space Marine in a Sus-an Membrane-induced coma, clad in battle-scarred black warplate and clutching a Crozius Arcanum that had seen much use. Upon the nameless battle-brother's awakening, Watch Commander Mordigael gathered the Chamber of Vigilance at the newcomer's urgent request, to hear his case. Three solar days passed, as he explained himself and put his fate at the mercy of the Master of the Vigil. Whatever was said is sealed by agreement of the Master of the Vigil and the Inquisitor of the Chamber, never to be spoken of again, and the bearer of this news was granted leave to swear the Apocryphon Oath and begin a Long Vigil without end, taking the name Brother Vigilant in place of his own. However, instead of taking to the field immediately, Brother Vigilant spent three standard years in intense study, learning the many rites and rituals of the Deathwatch, before he emerged to do battle with the Emperor's enemies, bearing once again the scarred and war-worn Crozius Arcanum he arrived with, having taken up the mantle of a Deathwatch Chaplain. At present, Brother Vigilant operates from Watch Station Andronicus, departing frequently with itinerant kill-teams venturing deeper into space contested by the T'au.