The Shadowhawks were formed from Ultra Marine gene-seed during the 22nd founding, their Fortress Monastery was built in the Segmentum Obscurus, upon Rathyrrn the 3rd moon of the gas giant Planisi. Rathyrrn was totally covered in a dense forest, it's human population living in small settlements scattered across the world. Still in a tribal state the human population provided a good source of warriors to maintain the Shadowhawks ranks. Living on a forest world the tibesmen were natural hunters, silently prowling their domain, ambushing the beasts that lurked in the dark woods, protecting their homes through stealth, suprise and ambush. Each tribe's young men would take a Trial of Manhood before being accepted into the ranks of the hunters. This would normally involve being taken blind-folded deep into the heart of the forests, drugged and on waking having to find their own way home with nothing but a flint knife to aid them.
The Shadowhawks would secretly watch these trials for any potential neophytes and take them to be tested for induction into the chapter. Over the years the tribesmens affinity with the forest started to have an effect on the Shadowhawks combat doctrine, the chapter strayed from it's Codex reliant origins and started to rely more and more on stealth and guerrilla tactics, even repainting their armour depending on the terrain they would be fighting in. This change in tactics and appearance resulted in a considerable amount of distrust and disdain from other Adeptus Astartes chapters, the use of camouflage particularly scorned . Naturally, the Inquisition took an interest. Inquisitor Lergar of the Ordo Malleus was despatched on a routine investigation, merely to confirm as believed this change was due to natural events rather than corrupting outside influences. Unfortunately for the Shadowhawks Inquisitor Lergar was not free of corruption himself. Lergar had been dabbling with the art of binding demonhosts, a dark art with great risks, but risks Lergar claimed were justifiable for the good of the Imperium. He had bound the Greater demon of Tzeentch 'Dranneyninh' to a mortal host succesfully, and for many years consulted with the creature. But regular contact with such evil is not with out consequences and gradually the words of Dranneyninh twisted Lergar's mind towards the path of chaos. He became the worst type of traitor, secret, powerful and at the very heart of the Imperium. Seeing an opportunity to cause havoc in the Segmentum and weaken Imperial control, Lergar declared the Shadowhawks tainted by the Dark Gods and abominations. Acting quickly, he presented false 'evidence' to the nearby Star Legion, ordering them to attack the Shadowhawks and destroy their homeworld with Cyclonic Torpedoes. In a surprise assault, the entire Star Legion's fleet destroyed Rathyrrn's orbital defence and surveyor systems, and then targeting the Fortress Monastery itself, unleashed a massed bombardment. The Shadowhawk's powerfield had no chance of coping with such an incredible onslaught and it collapsed leaving the Fortress below unprotected. In minutes there was nothing but bare rock. After Cyclonic Torpedoes were launched with no defence systems to stop them, Rathyrrn was utterly stripped of life.
However Lergar's attack hadn't destroyed the Shadowhawks entirely. As is the way with nearly all space marine chapters, very rarely will the entire chapter be on their homeworld. Numerous Shadowhawk battle forces were spread across the segmentum, but of most significance the 3rd, 4th and 7th Companies were on route to Rathyrrn having defeated the cultist uprising on Grenitiis IV. Their fleet left the warp to discover their home world a lifeless rock, where there had once been the great forest now there was nothing but dust.
Librarian Elrinat contacted the Astropaths at Port Maw discovering how Lergar had sealed their fate and that now the remaining companies would be hunted down as traitors! Lergar had sent his supposed evidence to the High Lords of Terra declaring the Shadowhawks to be Arch-Hereticus, the mark of chaos upon them. The remaining Shadowhawks were outraged that this great crime could have been committed, let alone in the Emperor's name. While the fleet orbited the dead moon, the remaining company commanders and officers held council. After three days of discussion it was decided the only path open to the chapter was to discard the allegiance to the Imperium and fight in the Emperor's name as and where they chose. With the Imperium resorting to Exterminatus so quickly, it was clear whatever fabrication had been presented to the Inquisition had them totally convinced of the Shadowhawks as heretics.
There was few who disputed the Council's decision and even they could see no other path for the immediate future. With Auroch as the new Chapter Master the Shadowhawks left, their fleet vanishing into the warp. For over a thousand years the Shadowhawks remained on the run, fighting their secret war. They have been involved in numerous large scale wars, sometimes fighting alongside aliens, sometimes aiding rebellions or just fighting for no apparent reason. Whilst they never fought for the Imperium directly, many a defenceless human planet was saved by the appearance of mysterious Spacemarines, who destroyed the attackers and then vanished as suddenly as they appeared. It was even known for the Shadowhawks to fight alongside Imperial forces in dire need, though often the Shadowhawks would demand some form of payment for the services.
Then everything dramatically changed once more. In M41,897 the shrine world of Aquila came under siege by Slaneeshi traitor marines from the Legion of Darkness. Led by the infamous Mukal Vesh. The chaos worshippers seeked not only to defile this Holy planet, but also to claim the Gauntlet of Piety, an ancient artifact believed to have been worn by the Emperor himself. As a shrine world Aquila had considerable defences, but no where near the requirements to withstand a large scale drop pod assault by Traitor Marines. Within days the PDF and Imperial Guard stationed there had been butchered and all that remained were the Battle Sisters of the Order of the Pious Flame, left alone desperately defending the Temple of Holy Light, the Gauntlet's resting place. With nothing left to stop them, the Legion of Darkness converged upon the shrine and the Sisters prepared to commit their lives in a final, hopeless battle.
It was then that the Shadowhawks attacked. Emerging as if by magic all around the traitors, they brought unexpected and devastating firepower to bear as the entire remaining 3 companies of Shadowhawks revealed themselves. Hundreds of traitor marines died before they even realised they were under fire, as plasma and bolt fire rained amongst them. But it did not take long for the chaos worshippers to respond. Despite their sudden losses the chaos marines still had the advantage of numbers and charged screaming into the Shadowhawks. All around the temple fierce melee combat erupted as marine fought marine. It was then that the Order of the Pious Flame sallied out from the Temple. The field of battle became a swirling maelstrom of colour as the Sisters of Battle in gleaming white armour fought alongside the now dark grey armoured Shadowhawks against the hideous Slaneeshi traitor marines in their purple and gold.
As the Battle Sisters charged in, Mukal Vesh ran forward to face Canoness Gabriella. The Canoness was a gifted warrior, but stood no chance against the preternatural speed of a Chaos Lord. Vesh swung his Daemon Sword towards her, but at the last moment Commander Habaal of the Shadowhawks flung himself between them. His action saved her life, but at the cost of his own as the Daemon possessed weapon sliced through his power armour like a hot knife through butter. For a moment Vesh stood gloating over Shadowhawk Commander's severed torso, but then turned to face the Canoness once more, he sword cackling in his hand. It was then that the Melta Bomb attached to his back detonated. Unseen as ever, Sergeant Klast had not wasted the opportunity his Commander's sacrifice had provided. Assaulted from all sides and with their leader dead in spectacular style, the Chaos marines showed their true selves and opted for withdrawl, teleporting back into their orbiting cruiser.
Habaal sacrificing his life in defence of the Canoness had not gone unnoticed. As well as the Sisters of Battle, upon the battlefield that day was none other than Inquisitor Mira Kalosvki of the Ordo Hereticus, an Inquisitor of considerable standing within her Ordo. As soon as she had seen with her own eyes the Shadowhawks attacking the chaos marines and showing no signs of corruption, she began to have serious doubts about the ancient declaration of Hereticus Diabolicus. This was the first time an Inquisitor had witnessed them in action since Lergar's edict. Yet they had been a topic of debate and study for many years now after positive identification of Inquisitor Lergar was made in the Ultramar Segmentum during the Liskanza Cult Uprising, an impossible 1012 years since his last sighting. Information of the Shadowhawks actions had been incredibly hard to collate due to their mastery of stealth and their avoidance of the Inquisition, but whilst there were numerous tales of mysterious marines coming to the aid of beleaguered Imperial settlements, there had been no evidence to support Lergars claims and all records of what he had originally presented had been deleted under Lergar's own access code. Seeing the fury with which the Shadowhawks assaulted the Chaos marines and then Habaal surrendering his life in such way convinced Kalosvki of a terrible and old injustice.
As soon as the battle was won Inquisitor Kalosvki and Canoness Gabriella approached the Shadowhawks. Sensing no malice from the Inquisitor and with the death of Habaal now in operational command, Chief Librarian Argus ordered the Shadowhawks to hold their position as he strode to forwards to meet her. Exactly what was said is not known, but after a long and private discussion Chief Librarian Argus, the Inquisitor and a contingent from the Order of the Pious Flame via Thunderhawk Gunship went aboard the Shadowhawk's cruiser "Wrath of Ages".
It was through this meeting that the Shadowhawks proved themselves free of the taint of chaos and at last ended their 1000 years of enforced isolation. However adapting back into the Imperium has not proven easy for the Shadowhawks. Not all within the chapter agreed to returning to the Imperium's service which has led to a small breakaway faction led by Shadowsniper Garan continuing to operate in a mercenary fashion, as of yet this remains unnoticed by the Inquistion and so far the chapter itself has not taken action. Also the chapter is still seriously under strength, particularly after events on Aquila and they have found other chapters reluctant to assist providing equipment or expertise. This is believed to be due to their stealth based methods being frowned upon by many of the Adeptus Astartes.
Of Inquisitor Lergar little is currently known. He vanished shortly after the attack on Rathyrrn, and there has been no official contact between himself and the Ordo Malleus since. But there have been rumours within the Inquisition's ranks since the day he vanished. Rumours that that have now become truths after DNA confirmation during the Liskanza Cult Uprising, a cultist uprising that murdered the populations of three planets. No more are they just whispered stories of an Inquisitor who should belong dead, whose presence preceeds disaster, of whom all records have been mysteriously deleted... now they are all too real.
Rathyrrn is a dead planet, with it's atmosphere stripped by the Cyclonic Torpedoes it is nothing but a hunk of rock. The Shadowhawks are based upon what remains of their fleet. Their fleet is known to include the Strike Cruisers 'Wrath of Ages', 'Death Storm', 'Holy Vengeance', they have at least 3 Imperial Navy Cruisers and since the Aquila incident are now renovating an ancient Battle Barge "Scourge of Night" gifted to them by the Ecclisarchery.
With their specialisation in stealth and infiltration, the Shadowhawks will re-paint their armour in a colour scheme to fit their surroundings. Though as they favour fighting in jungle or wooded terrain, their armour is more often than not an olive and dark green camouflage scheme. After the treachery at Rathyrrn the Shadowhawks removed the Imperial Eagle from their chest plates and painted over all other markings on their armour, but since the events at Aquila the chapter's armouries have begun to install the chest eagle once more and the chapter symbol is once again being featured. Often they will be covered with foliage, mud and webbing to help blend in with their surroundings. There are no individual Squad markings but certain elite squad types have different coloured helms; Veteran Squads in black, Assault Squads a rich maroon red and the elite Command units and kill teams in a sandy brown. It is theorized by certain members of the Inquisition this is a based upon certain legendary "Britanicus" warrior traditions from Terra.
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Symbols of rank are also limited, Sergeants have the lower faceplate painted black except in Veteran Squads where it is painted in dark green and Company Commanders have a black helm but with the faceplate in the same sand brown as the Command unit's helm. Librarian's armour does not feature the traditional blue, but Techmarines will normally have a limited red tribute to Mars. Chaplain's as always will be black armoured. Unsurprisingly the Chapter symbol is a simple affair, a downward pointing black triangle with white wings. As the marine inside the armour could have been recruited from countless different worlds, their physical appearance differs greatly. |
The Shadowhawks have always excelled at scouting, ambush and infiltration and make great use of these skills. What appears to be empty terrain can suddenly be full of Shadowhawk marines, appearing as if by magic. Where the bulk of the Adeptus Astartes believe their use of stealth is a waste of the marines fearsome reputation and ability to demoralise the enemy, the Shadowhawks would argue that having a 7ft tall warrior of legend suddenly charge you from nowhere is just as intimidating and the shock alone can kill.
But the Shadowhawks do not rely on stealth alone, they make good use of armoured support and have a considerable number of Dreadnoughts (possibly due to their limited numbers requiring that they keep as many veteran fighters in combat as possible). Normally the Shadowhawk infantry will infiltrate enemy lines in advance, wait until their armoured support armour arrives on target, then the marines will reveal themselves and their Dreadnoughts will make deepstrike attacks by drop pod to suddenly and dramatically overwhelm the enemy.
Currently the chapter falls short in the recon and fast strike areas, they a limited number of Landspeeders but as of yet have no Bikes of any form. However, with the Shadowhawk's ability to easily infiltrate enemy positions, their recon is excellent and allows them to better predict enemy movement and counter the chapters lack of fast response units.
With the destruction of their Fortress Monastery the Shadowhawks lost their great forges and the ability to build larger weapons of war. Combined with the fact that they were low on supplies and returning to re-equip anyway, meant the Shadowhawks had to drastically change their operating procedures. Since the destruction of their homeworld they travelled the galaxy fighting for their vision of the Emperor's
will, but due to their lack of ability to replace their battle damaged
equipment, they have were forced into effectively hiring themselves out as mercenaries,
requesting payment in vehicles, equipment and looting rights. With their supply
of traditional Space Marine tanks nearly exhausted, this led to them only using
the more common Rhinos, Predators and on occassion
even Imperial Guard armour. However, since their redemption on
Since Rathyrrn they have remained grouped into the three companies, simply known as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd. The first company is made up entirely of Veteran and now Terminator Squads, the second and third of a mixture of Tactical, Assault and Devestator squads. But now they have been able to create a 4th Scout and reserve Company, currently seriously under strength but the potential growth of the chapter lies here. New recruits are selected on the chapter’s travels from any they feel worthy. Fight well and they take you. On induction they are 'educated' with Tutory engines that teach the chapter history and manipulate the mind to understand absorb the natural stealth the chapter requires.
The command structure has stayed almost much the same with the Commanders, Chaplains, Librarians, Apothecaries and Techmarines still in place as normal. However there is one major difference; the emergence of Shadowsnipers as battlefield leaders. Shadowsnipers are the chapters masters of Stealth and officers second only to Company Masters. In the past they would often take command in the field from a hidden position having infiltrated enemy lines alone, accessing enemy strength and assassinating enemy officers, however since the Shadowhawks return to the Imperium the majority of the Shadowsnipers left with Garan, leaving few behind. As such, sighting one of these Shadowsnipers is extremely unlikely.
The Shadowhawks have a deep rooted suspicion of authority with the Imperium, particularly of the Inquisition. They still suspect the Emperor’s will is being manipulated by the High Lords of Terra and are extremely cautious in responding to their requests. However, they have a deep respect for the Sisters of Battle, an organisation they see as pure and utterly true to the Emperor.
Based on the highly stable Ultramarines gene-seed, the Shadowhawks remain pure and untainted.
They have no battle cry, more often they fight in silence using hand signals and sub-vocalised commands to communicate.
USING SHADOWHAWKS IN WARHAMMER 40,000
A Shadowhawks army uses Codex: Spacemarines with the Chapter Trait “Sombre” using the following:
Advantages
Disadvantages
Since
events on
SHADOWSNIPER GARAN AND THE SHADOWHAWK MERCENARY FACTION
Rules for using the mercenary splinter faction can be found here.
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