Deathwatch - Origins: The exact origins of the Deathwatch are uncertain, but its inception can be traced to the period known as the Time of Rebirth in 544.M32, and the arrival in Imperial space of the largest Ork WAAAGH! seen since the Ullanor Crusade during the closing years of the Great Crusade.Led by the mysterious warlord known only as The Beast, this Greenskin invasion threatened the very Throneworld of Terra itself. During this conflict, remembered as the War of the Beast, it was the newly-elected lord commander of the Imperium, Chapter Master and sole surviving member of the Imperial Fists named Koorland who devised the concept of utilising small, veteran Astartes kill-teams to eliminate vital strategic assets of the encroaching Greenskins and eventually, The Beast itself. Though reluctant at first to acquiesce to the lord commander's plan to approve the creation of such a force, desperate times called for desperate measures. Therefore, the High Lords of Terra consented to Koorland's proposal.The original recruits for this newly created elite force were drawn from the survivors of the various Chapters who took part in the initial invasion of The Beast's capital world of Ullanor. These Chapters suffered severe losses during the invasion. Thus standing in vigil over their fallen brethren, the seeds of the Deathwatch were sown.Lord Commander Koorland eventually came to an agreement with the Inquisitorial Representative Wienand to assuage any doubts by the rest of the Senatorum Imperialis that the Deathwatch would fall under the purview of the Inquisition, but an Astartes would ultimately serve as Chapter Master.It was in the wake of the War of the Beast that the Inquisition itself was divided into the first two of the Ordos Majoris, the Ordo Malleus and the Ordo Xenos. The Deathwatch was chosen to be an integral part of the newborn Ordo Xenos and serve as its Chamber Militant the way the Grey Knights served as the Chamber Militant of the Daemon-hunting Ordo Malleus.However, there are conflicting accounts which state the Deathwatch's origins occurred somewhat differently, and that it was founded at an unknown time centuries ago. These records state that a conclave of Inquisitor Lords -- the Apocryphon Conclave of Orphite IV -- convened with the sole purpose of formulating an Imperium-wide strategy to combat the many xenos threats that assailed Mankind.The members of this conclave were, in the main, drawn from the ranks of the Ordo Xenos, all of whom shared the belief that one day, there would come a time when Humanity would be consumed by slavering xenos beasts, or enslaved to creatures of unutterably alien origins. They foresaw an age when every alien life form in the galaxy, and others from beyond it, might rise up and the Age of the Imperium would come to an end. They had no inkling when such a terrible age might come, but they knew with dreadful certainty that it surely would, and they determined that no effort should be spared to avert such an end.The conclave sat for many standard years, and bitter debate raged back and forth between Inquisitor Lords of many different positions. Some believed that every trace of alien life should be purged from the galaxy, while a few advocated the formation of alliances with those alien races like the Craftworld Aeldari that could be tolerated. Some spoke of the existence of ancient, god-like beings that have slumbered since before the birth of Mankind awakening to enslave the galaxy, while others foresaw that death would come at the hands of invasion from other galaxies entirely.While many Puritan Inquisitor Lords declared the conclave itself an admission of defeat for even countenancing that Mankind might not prevail against these threats, wiser counsel prevailed, and a strategy was eventually formulated. The conclave would request an audience with the assembled Chapter Masters of the Adeptus Astartes, and ask of them a solemn undertaking.It is not known how many Chapter Masters assembled to hear the words of the conclave, for such an event has only occurred a handful of times in the long history of the Imperium. Nor were the words of the Inquisitors recorded for posterity. Certainly, enough Chapter Masters must have answered the call, for a quorum of sorts was convened.The conclave presented its prophecy to the Chapter Masters, evoking the galaxy-wide threat of the ravening xenos. The Chapter Masters, every one a veteran of a thousand campaigns against the terrors of the void, listened to the Inquisitors' words, and withdrew to consider the matter.The results of the Chapter Masters' deliberations were delivered to the conclave at sunrise the next solar day. Each of the masters and Inquisitors took a solemn oath together. They would form a new Chapter, consisting of Veteran Space Marines highly experienced in combating the xenos. This Chapter was dubbed the "Deathwatch," for it would stand guard against the doom foretold by the conclave.Thus, to this day, this joint oath still stands. The battle-brothers of the Deathwatch take the war against the alien to the very darkest reaches of the void, bringing to bear such force as no individual Inquisitor could hope to muster. In this mission, the Ordo Xenos and the Deathwatch are equals, the Inquisitors rooting out and tracking down the foes for the Deathwatch to eradicate.While neither party is subject to the command of the other, both work in concert towards their common goal, according to those oaths made centuries ago. The two work closely together, ever watchful for that fateful day when the prophecies of the conclave are realised.Whatever the truth of its birth, since the Deathwatch's inception in the 32nd Millennium, there have been periods when the Imperium dared to believe it was holding the xenos menace at bay. By dint of countless martyrdoms, this hidden order has kept the segmentums of the Emperor's domain safe -- until now. The crises of the Time of Ending and the Era Indomitus have exposed how thin a line lies between the present and the alien apocalypse feared by all Mankind.