Editing Flesh Helms (section)

===The Founding===

The Flesh Helms, despite claiming to be a Second Founding chapter, are best thought of to have originated from the Raven Guard, although the exact moment they splintered has been lost, somewhere in the Archives.

They first began as an abnormal variation in the Raven Guard geneseed. There are many differences, but the most readily apparent is their Betcher's Gland. Raven Guard normally lack this organ; the ancient Flesh Helms, however, retained it, in a damaged state. It does not produce the acidic material as it should, although it does create a large variety of vocalization problems. Some are inaudible, others perpetually scream and still others have voices the Raven Guard would describe as "maddening."

As well, they lack their Mucranoid, leaving them unable to sweat the temperature-resistant coating Space Marines use to survive in a vacuum. Additionally, like the Raven Guard, their Melanchromic Organ is deficient. Some do display the same skin and eye patterning as Raven Guard, but Flesh Helms will also display a large variation in tones that normal Raven Guard would not, from hot pink skin to deep orange, to light blue to even normal skin that is racked with blemishes.

Their abnormal gene seed also has cost them their Occulobe and Lyman's Ear, meaning that their vision is no better than a normal human's, and they are no more immune to motion sickness or dizziness than a normal human would be. This has profoundly negative results only due to what is required of a Space Marine to endure, both in training and in battle. Perhaps most detrimental is their mutated Catalpsean Node, which causes them to stay awake for weeks at a time, or to inconveniently pass out into a coma in the midst of combat.

All of these problems created intense problems within the Raven Guard. Eventually, the screeching voices, passed out bodies and horrified faces necessitated a splintering of their forces. All of the afflicted brothers were purged from the ranks of the Raven Guard, to form their own chapter.

Fortunately for these then-nameless brothers, they would find a long-time ally in the form of the Administratum. Some may deride this pivotal moment as a flippant dismissal, but when members of the Administratum dubbed them "Flesh Helms" and suggested that they "go chase a Squat," the newly named chapter knew they had discovered the Emperor's divine purpose for them all. At once, they departed to search for the fabled Squat homeworlds. As they left, their brave allies in the Administratum suggested that they might be looking for the next thousand years. Spurned by challenge, the Flesh Helms set out upon what they began to refer to as their "Millennial Quest." And they, the "Millennial Questors."

They never figured out that the Administratum was being sarcastic.