Death Eagles
| Death Eagles | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Battle Cry | Unknown | |
| Founding | Unknown | |
| Successors of | Emperor's Children | |
| Successor Chapters | Unknown | |
| Chapter Master | Unknown | |
| Primarch | Fulgrim | |
| Homeworld | Unknown | |
| Strength | Unknown | |
| Specialty | Unknown | |
| Allegiance | Imperium | |
| Colours | Black with bone white helmet and aquila skull with white inner pauldrons | |
The Death Eagles is a Loyalist, Codex Astartes-compliant Space Marine Chapter. Its exact Founding date is unknown. It is suspected by most Imperial scholars that the Death Eagles is one of the rare Successor Chapters of the Raven Guard. However, it is also possible that the Death Eagles' true and hidden origins may lie in the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium among those Astartes of the Emperor's Children Traitor Legion who remained uncorrupted by Chaos and loyal to the Emperor.
Chapter History[edit]
Another Chapter that has been left in the dust. Or so we thought, more on that later. These guys were supposedly a Raven Guard Successor. That has yet to actually help give us any idea of what they really do, until the fourth Horus Heresy Black Book came out. In said book, the 34th Millennial of the Emperor's Children sided with the Imperium and bore their colors with pride and fought against the traitors. What was the name of that Millennial? The Death Eagles. Their fate is considered "unknown" but we know that's just a front. How they survived the Great Scouring or anything afterwards is left up to interpretation. Probably because loyalists of traitor legions became Blackshields or whatever and eventually reconstituted as Chapters. Originally they just looked like Pre-Heresy Emperor's Children. But after a few editions, they were brought back as a Raven Guard successor. Bet GW had come up with the name only to have their fans point out they already exist. Forge World, who takes GW's usual fuck-ups and make them into something useful, decided that the Death Eagles were actually a loyalist branch of the Emperors Children. Thus making their old paint job make sense along with their new paint job.
Gene-Seed[edit]
The long-term viability of a Blackshield force surviving through the nightmare of both the Horus Heresy and the subsequent Great Scouring is difficult to say. However, given sufficient gene-seed and technical competence it is entirely possible for such a formation to maintain its strength over a protracted period, inducting and training new recruits in the same way as a normal Space Marine Chapter of the 41st Millennium.
There are certainly numerous cases cited throughout Imperial history where this has occurred, such as the Space Wolves 13th Great Company. This might explain how the Death Eagles were able to survive the Age of Darkness as well as the subsequent era of the Great Scouring to be reborn as a Loyalist Chapter in their own right. If the Death Eagles are indeed descended from Loyalist elements of the Emperor's Children, it would explain why their true origins have been purposely obfuscated.
Such a connection to a reviled Traitor Legion would also be a terrible dishonour and would explain why the Death Eagles' heritage and original Legion colours may have been deliberately obscured from the Imperial record.
Campaigns[edit]
- The Solar Rebellion (Unknown Date.M32) - Warbands from the Night Lords, Iron Warriors, and World Eaters gang together and start causing Chaos Cults uprisings in the western marches of the Segmentum Solar back in M32. Their mayhem comes to an end when a combined force of Death Eagles, Space Sharks, Minotaurs and the Angels of Absolution show up delivering vengeance from the void upon the Heretics.
- War of the False Primarch (860-940.M33) - Joined the Flesh Eaters, Red Talons, Space Sharks and the Charnel Guard in purging eleven other chapters. Notable because the Death Eagles don't have the brutal reputation of the other chapters, yet still were hand picked by the High Lords of Terra to form part of the Pentarchy of Blood.
- Reconquest of the Forsarr Sector (999.M41) - After the failed raid on Kastorel-Novem, WAAAGH! Garaghak grows across the Forsarr Sector to the point of threatening the Raven Guard homeworld of Deliverance. The Death Eagles help out the Aurora Chapter, Revilers and Imperial Guard forces to retake the sector from the hands of the greenskins.
daily rituals[edit]
04:00 - morning rising = the Death Eagles rise from their inquisitorial sanctioned and sanctified astartes-sized beds
05:00 - morning grooming rituals - the Death Eagles descend to the cleanatoriums to brush their teeth, hair and bodies, any astartes who spends too long in the mirror will be flogged by astartes sized pieces of soap in ropes by all attending brothers
06:00 - armor preparation and equipment - serfs attend to the battle brothers helping their brothers "get dressed" for the day however the chapter is still confused as to which color their supposed to be wearing, with older battle brothers swearing the chapters always wore white pink and gold and newer brothers wearing black and white, failure to wear the chapters correct colors will result in a mind wipe for the offending brother and servitorisation for the serfs who made this happen
07:00 - first apothecary checkup - the Death Eagles will now go visit the chapters many apothocaries to ensure their geneseed is 100% perfect, no mutations or freaky monster astartes here.
08:00 - morning chaplain sermon - the chaplains will spend the next hour emphasizing purity, loyalty and devotion to their primarch, however much confusion is had over which primarch they are supposed to venerate.
09:00 - morning meal - the serfs prepare a meal for the chapter. those who make a meal that is "too" enjoyable or those brothers who enjoyed their meal a bit "too" much will soon be met with the stern gaze of a chaplain and have their brains bashed in by his Crozius.
10:00 - second apothecary checkup - the brothers are now required to submit for more apothecary checkups and purity of their geneseed, just in case it changed in the time after breakfast.
11:00 - morning combat maneuvers - the Death Eagles will conduct morning field maneuvers with their multiple apothecaries on hand, just in case they get a boo boo or a gunshot to the stomach.
12:00 - meet with the inquisitors - the Death Eagles will spend the next hour meeting with nosy inquisitorial spies while simultaneously hiding any and all evidence that they may or may not be related to the emperors children, all musical instruments are hidden, and any invitations to a family reunion sent by Lucius the eternal are quickly burned, cut up or eaten. any inquisitor who finds out the truth will find his inquisitorial Thunderhawk used for target practice by the chapters many whirlwind artillery tanks that day.
13:00 third apothecary check up - the Death Eagles will all now submit themselves for another apothecary checkup to make sure their geneseed is still pure, just in case it changed. astartes who are good get a lollipop. any astartes who has grown an extra finger or started growing hulkingly strong in the last 2 hours will be called into the apothecaries office and proscribed 500 CCs of flamer death.
14:00 - inquisitorial secondment - the Death Eagles will lend their services to the inquisition for the next hour ranging from a squad to a company with missions ranging from search and destroy, combat patrol, artifact extraction and dropping a piano onto an inquisitors ex-wife from 2000 feet in the air.
15:00 - midday meal - the Death Eagles will stop for their midday meal, again, nothing to see here, just ordinary food, not even fancy stuff, just ordinary astartes issue gruel, absolutely not going to prepare a sumptuous meal that would raise the inqusition's eyebrows.
16:00 - midday prayers - the Death Eagles (with their apothecaries) attend the second sermon of the chaplains emphasizing the metaphorical eagle and the imperial eagle as an example, any battle brother who prays to be turned into an eagle or any other bird, like a raven or a phoenix will be shot out of a torpedo hatch at the chapter's earliest convenience.
17:00 - fourth apothecary check up - another apothecary checkup for each squad member same as before.
18:00 - evening ranged combat maneuvers - the Death Eagles will descend into their darkened combat theaters for ranged combat against a bunch of purple cut-out astartes and ones which are an odd resemblance to emperor's children, anyone who scores a headshot is commended.
19:00 - evening cqc movements - the Death Eagles descend to fight in melee with their opponents ranging from black and pink combat servitors to actual emperor's children to one-on-one sparring. anyone caught "hugging" the emperor's children, or grappling a bit too much will be forced to commit to dreadnought duty. any repeat offenders will be made into servitors by chapter master edict.
20:00 - wave bye-bye to the inquisitor hour: - the Death Eagles will spend the next hour seeing the inquisitors off to their shuttles as soon as they are gone breathing a sigh of relief that they didn't find out they're related to Fabius Bile and Lucius the eternal.
21:00 - music hour - the Death Eagles will spend the next hour practicing music, anyone who plays too well or rocks too hard is immediately executed.
22:00 - final apothecary checkup before bed - the apothecaries check the Death Eagles over once more for mutation or imperfections.
23:00 - bed time - the Death Eagles retire to their perfectly made, not heretical beds for another night of sleep and not heretical dreams about death metal, sex, drugs and Slaanesh.
Canon Conflict[edit]
The first known mention of the Death Eagles' existence was made in White Dwarf #123 (UK), published in March 1990. Within, the 'Eavy Metal team presented a section with conversions and specially painted Space Marine miniatures - among which there was a "Death Eagles Marine in armour variant".
His heraldry consisted of an asymmetrical scheme of alternate white-purple plates, with backpack and bolter in silver, and helm and cod piece halved in white and purple as well.
However in How To Paint Space Marines (2004) the Death Eagles appear already clad in black and white power armour.
It is possible that the reference in The Horus Heresy Book Four - Conquest to their origins lying among the Loyalist Emperor's Children that maintained their original heraldry (purple and gold, but also white in some plates) is a nod towards this first appearance.
Gallery[edit]
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I hope who they fight can't distinguish between light and dark colors.
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Their original look before Grimdark began.
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Death Eagles minis from White Dwarf #123 in their original livery.
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Death Eagles Astartes in Mk IV 'Maximus' pattern power armour (original colours).
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Death Eagles Fire Support Astartes in Mk III 'Iron' pattern power armour.
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Death Eagles Battleline Astartes in Mk VI 'Corvus' pattern power armour.
