High Marshal - History: Amongst the ranks of zealous warriors of the eternally crusading Black Templars Chapter is one individual whose prowess and might as the Chapter's penultimate warrior is unsurpassed. This individual is the High Marshal, the senior ranking Astartes of the Black Templars and a warrior with centuries of experience in the crucible of battle.The fighting skills of a High Marshal are unsurpassed with Bolters, blades or bare hands, as his rank speaks of a bloody past littered with the devastated enemies of the most terrifying and inhuman sort. However, it is not enough for the High Marshal to be the Chapter's foremost warrior, for he must also be a superb tactician and strategist, grounded in the teachings of those who have gone before him and honed through countless decisions made in the heat of battle. He is also steeped in the lore of the Black Templars, privy to all of the Chapter's secrets.The traditional rank of High Marshal heralds to the bygone era of the 31st Millennium, when the Chapter's founder Sigismund, the First Captain of the Imperial Fists Legion, was chosen by his Primarch Rogal Dorn to serve as the first High Marshal of the newly created Black Templars Chapter during the Second Founding after the end of the Horus Heresy. The Chapter took upon themselves the black and white panoply of Sigismund's personal heraldry.As Sigismund had been chosen as the first Emperor's Champion for his fervent faith in the Emperor and his undying devotion to Mankind, those zealous warriors who became Black Templars sought to emulate their former First Captain's heroic example. Seeing the strife that beset the Legiones Astartes during the days of the Second Founding, he determined that a gesture of supreme faith in the Reformation of the Imperium was needed.As High Marshal of the Black Templars, Sigismund swore a mighty oath that upon leaving Terra, he would prove his loyalty, never resting in the prosecution of his duties against the enemies of the Emperor. It is an oath that every subsequent High Marshal has renewed, and so the greatest and longest Space Marine Crusade in Imperial history was begun, a Crusade that has continued unbroken for ten thousand Terran years.The Black Templars chose not to adhere to the Codex Astartes and, following the oath of Sigismund, the Chapter embarked upon its Eternal Crusade, eschewing the idea of a homeworld and living aboard their Crusade fleets, made up of dozens of Battle Barges, Strike Cruisers and other spacecraft such as training vessels and gigantic Forge Ships which produce all of the Chapter's war materiel.The High Marshal himself has his own Battle Barge, the Eternal Crusader, a huge vessel that is the spiritual home of the Chapter and contains its most sacred relics, chapels and reliquaries. It has been expanded and refitted many times over ten thousand standard years, with extra docking facilities for Escort ships, additional launch bays for shuttles and Thunderhawks, as well as accommodation for twice as many Space Marines as a normal Battle Barge. Given their fleet-based nature, the Black Templars are rarely assembled as a Chapter, but are instead divided into a number of Crusades under the command of an officer with the rank of Marshal. There are usually no more than three Crusades at any one time, though there are occasionally many more.It falls to the High Marshal to oversee the progress of each of the Crusades, and he must uphold the honour of the Emperor and his Chapter. It is he and he alone who determines where the Black Templars' wrath will strike as well as the disposition of the Crusades forces that will carry out his will. Once the High Marshal has declared the Crusade and appointed those who will fight in the Emperor's name, he monitors its progress and will occasionally bless it with his inspirational presence.Actively seeking out the foes of Mankind, the High Marshals continue their Chapter's time-honoured traditions, remaining true to the Emperor's original vision of the Great Crusade. The High Marshal is one of the most autonomous commanders in the Imperium, decreeing how and where his warriors will fight without the need to wait for the Imperium's ponderous bureaucracy to give direction.The Black Templars' ongoing Eternal Crusade is of paramount importance to the High Marshal and nothing will stand between him and its continuation. Those with the ability to make contact with the Black Templars can of course petition the High Marshal for his aid, but the cause will need to be just indeed for a High Marshal to agree to send his warriors into battle at the behest of others.