Raven Guard and Their Dark Legacy – Part 4

Title: The Haunting Legacy of the Raven Guard: Secrets and Shadows

In the shadowed annals of Warhammer 40,000, the tale of the Raven Guard stands as a harrowing testament to the burden of choice and the cost of mistakes. In a time now lost to the fog of history, the Primarch known as Corax made a decision that would forever alter the course of his Legion’s fate.

When Corax discovered the horrifying consequences of his experimentation within the Apothecarium, he took swift and decisive action. He ordered the Apothecarium to be abandoned and forbade any further experiments. Then, in an act of grim resolve, he entered the forbidden bounds alone, and personally granted the Emperor’s Mercy to each Space Marine created by his ill-fated attempts at genetic enhancement.

Little is known about this dark period, for Corax ordered all records to be destroyed. But it is said that he emerged from his last visit there as a changed being, as if a piece of his burdened soul was torn out for every wretched creature he had killed. The Apothecarium itself was purified with Promethean fire, its doors sealed, and a new Apothecarium block was built in the higher Halls of the Raven Spire.

Yet, the psychic scars of the Primarch’s actions linger in the old building, a stain of torment and betrayal that unveils dark circumstances beyond the veil of reality. On long moonlit nights when the Liberation reaches its annual apex of Akavar, a bestial howl echoes through the tunnels of the old Apothecarium. The veterans of the Raven Guard’s First Company stand guard at its doors, a grim testament to the sins of the past.

In the wake of these events, an unsettling trait began to manifest in some of the Raven Guard. A peculiar form of battle frenzy took hold, marked by a cold-blooded resolve to fight on, disregarding self-preservation, and an inability to distinguish the whispers of the dead from the words of the living. This madness, known as the Sable Brand, reflected the traits of Corax himself and seemed to be a manifestation of his defective Gene-seed.

Corax, burdened by the near-annihilation of his Legion at Istvaan V, sought to mitigate the effects of the Sable Brand. He systematized his tactical doctrines into the Trifold Path of Shadow – martial axioms that the possessed must adhere to in order to contain their madness. Despite his efforts, those who succumbed to the Sable Brand rarely emerged from their spectral state, instead being confined within the Raven Spire for further experiments.

Despite their isolationism, the Raven Guard largely adheres to the wisdom of the Codex Astartes for their organizational structure. Corax saw the teachings of Roboute Guilliman as a means through which his diminished Legion could still thrive. This decision is still respected to this day, with few chapters following the directives of the Codex more closely than the Raven Guard.

The Raven Guard is divided into ten companies, each led by a Shadow Captain and consisting of a hundred Battle Brothers. These forces are complemented by the chapter’s specialist warriors – Apothecaries, Chaplains, Librarians, and the venerable machines of the Armory. The Chapter Master is traditionally known under the ancient title of Master of Shadows.

Understanding their limited resources, the Raven Guard rarely utilizes the might of an entire company. Instead, they rely on autonomous, rapidly moving strike forces known as Talons, which may consist of only one or two squads and support assault engines. These Talons allow the Raven Guard to conduct operations across multi-planet war zones, sowing chaos from the shadows before regrouping to deliver the final, fatal strike.

In the grim darkness of the future, the Raven Guard continues to bear the weight of their past, a haunting legacy etched in the shadows of their deeds.

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