In the mute void beyond the flickering light of the Astronomican, where the Emperor’s guidance dissolves into an ink-black abyss, the Carcharodons hunt. Formally known as the Carcharodons Astra, they are the “Space Sharks” of Imperial legend—a Loyalist Chapter that embodies the insatiable hunger of the shadows that prowl between the stars. To the few who have witnessed their grey-armored forms, they appear as phantoms, strangers to both friend and foe, operating within the cold, inexorable depths of space.
For ten millennia, the Chapter has adhered to a “nomad hunter” pattern, existing as a self-sufficient fleet rather than a tethered protector of a specific sub-sector. This isolation is not merely a strategy but an existential state. They are the Imperium’s remorseless executioners, emerging from the black beyond to deliver swift, crushing retribution to those who have turned from the light of the “Void Father,” the name by which they revere the Emperor.
This creates a harrowing paradox. How can a force remain so miraculously loyal while existing as an alien presence, terrifying even to the citizens they defend? They are the “Gray Phantoms” of the outer dark—a Chapter that serves the throne with a savagery that rivals the most bloodthirsty traitors, yet they do so with an icy, calculated discipline that suggests a culture older and deeper than the current Imperial Creed.
1. The Shadow of the Raven: A Legacy of Exile
While much of their history is expunged from the annals of the Imperium, evidence points to a lineage rooted in the 19th Legion. The Carcharodons are believed to be the descendants of the Terran-born Legion Master Arcus Fal—the original Shade Lord—who commanded the Raven Guard for three decades before being united with Corvus Corax. When the Primarch assumed control, he sought to purge the “cold, oppressive tendencies” of the Terran tribal elements. Arcus Fal and his fleet were essentially discarded, sent into the outer darkness on an endless voyage to exterminate the enemies of humanity at their source.
The Chapter refers to Corax as “the forgotten one,” yet they maintain a culture rich in ancient symbols. Company Master Bail Sharr, for instance, still wears an ancient suit of Mark III power armor adorned with the skull and lightning bolts of the Terran Unification Wars. While the current Chief Librarian, Teahorangi, is known as “the Pale Nomad,” the title of Shade Lord remains a direct link to Arcus Fal. There is a profound irony here: a brotherhood cast out by their father has remained steadfast for 10,000 years, holding the line where the Imperium’s maps simply end in blackness.
“Solitary contemplation offers the best opportunity for revelation.” — Shade Lord Arcus Fal, Beyond the Veil of Stars
2. The Red Tithe: Harvesting the Biological Reservoir
Survival in the void requires more than faith; it requires flesh. The Carcharodons do not recruit through the traditional, celebrated trials of other Chapters. Instead, they enact the “Red Tithe,” a brutal harvesting of populations from feudal worlds and the Maelstrom zone. Following the Badab War, they secured a grim agreement with the Firehawks Chapter to “empty the arsenals” of the vanquished Mantis Warriors, culling both material and men from the survivors.
The induction process is notably harsher than the standard Astartes transformation. Aspirants are subjected to grueling trials and hypno-conditioning designed to erase their identities entirely. Those who survive the high attrition rate and the “deep void sickness” eventually become “Void Brothers.” After a solar decade of service, these warriors earn their first “exile markings”—jagged, spiraling tattoos on their forearms and scalps.
The moral ambiguity of the Red Tithe defines the Chapter. To the Carcharodons, the Imperium’s citizens are a resource—a biological reservoir to be harvested to sustain their endless, lonely crusade. They are the “protectors and judges” of humanity, viewing the universe in stark, uncompromising shades of black and white.
“From the outer dark we come and into its depths we shall return. The Black Sea beyond the stars calls to us.” — Teahurangi, the Pale Nomad, Chief Librarian
3. Living Museums: The Pragmatism of the Predator
The Carcharodons’ fleet is a “mottly mosaic” of salvaged relics, kept operational only by the ingenuity of Techmarines. This pragmatism extends to their armory; they go to war in “museum relics” such as Phobos-pattern bolters and Mark V “Heresy” armor. This is not by choice, but a necessity born of eternal exile. To maintain their strength, they engage in the “Gray Tithe,” recovering ancient archotech to trade with the Tech-priests of Mars through secret, ancient pacts. When desperate, they have even negotiated with the renegade Ashen Claws—outcast Raven Guard who forsake both Imperium and Chaos—trading war materiel for fresh initiates.
The Chapter’s flagship, the Nikor, is a modified Great Crusade-era Grand Cruiser that serves as a mobile fortress-monastery. It is outfitted with a plasma destructor, an archaic weapon that exceeds the destructive potential of standard magma bombs, allowing the Carcharodons to bypass conventional bombardment tactics. Within the Chapter, wargear is held in such high regard it is considered “tapoo” (forbidden); it is a violation of the hierarchy for a lower-ranked brother or serf to even touch the gear of a superior.
4. The Eerie Stillness: Tactical Horror in the Deep
In battle, the Carcharodons are defined by an “eerie stillness.” Their assaults are conducted in complete silence, with orders transmitted only via encrypted vox. They utter no battle cries; the only sounds are the hum of power armor and the screams of the dying. This silence is shattered only by the mechanical savagery of their tools. In ship-to-ship actions, they utilize Ursus Claws—massive barbed lances that harpoon enemy vessels, dragging them into range for brutal boarding actions.
The Chapter’s Librarians amplify this psychological horror with the “Rending Maw,” a psychic power that conjures visions of freezing, inky depths teeming with unseen, writhing creatures before the ground itself buckles into rows of crushing, spectral teeth. This calculated savagery is personified by Shade Lord Tyberos, the “Red Wake,” who wields “Hunger and Slake”—unique gauntlets combining lightning claws with mechanized chain-blades, reportedly claimed in a duel with the renegade Master of the Ashen Claws.
“Do not think you hold the advantage that we are brought to bay in the open and vulnerable. We stand here by our choice and while you strive to slay the few of us our brothers strike unopposed elsewhere.” — Strike Leader Tara Ryhan
5. The Three Stages of the Curse: The Final Silence
Despite their discipline, the Carcharodons carry a genetic burden—a slow descent into a cold, predatory madness that manifests in three distinct stages:
- Stage One: Coldly Formal. The warrior becomes withdrawn, adopting a frosty demeanor and speaking almost exclusively in High Gothic.
- Stage Two: Merciless. The warrior reaches the zenith of ruthlessness, executing all opponents, including non-combatants or those with intelligence value, refusing all surrenders.
- Stage Three: Silent as the Depths. All social interaction ceases. The warrior begins to undertake missions alone.
It is said that Stage Three warriors occasionally appear at Death Watch fortresses to fulfill ancient, secret oaths. Clad in dark gray, speaking archaic dialects, they strike as lone predators before disappearing back into the void. This is the tragic finality of the Carcharodons: a warrior whose loyalty remains absolute even as he loses the ability to communicate with the humanity he is sworn to protect.
The Long Vigil in the Dark
In the Age of Indomitability, the Carcharodons Astra continue their nomadic vigil. Though granted the former homeworld of the Mantis Warriors to bolster their presence near the Maelstrom, they remain phantoms. Serving alongside Fleet Secundus as “Grey Phantoms” and “Morblades,” they strike where needed before vanishing back into the “Black Sea.”
For ten millennia, they have survived on ancient wargear, the silence of the void, and an unyielding faith in Rangu, the Void Father. They wait for the day the “edicts of exile” are lifted and the “forgotten one” returns to lead them home. Until then, the Imperium must wonder if the Carcharodons are still truly “brothers” in arms, or if ten thousand years in the outer dark have transformed them into something far more dangerous than the enemies they hunt.
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