Editing Thunder Kings (section)

= Notable Figures =

'''The Eleventh Squad of the Sacred Band'''

1. Roc Galveoc, the "Thunderbird": Squad Sergeant; First Chapter Master of the Thunder Kings, slain in the 2nd Black Crusade

2. Finn the First, Apothecary: Slain during the Scouring

3. Zebulon Uriy: Lost in the warp during the Great Crusade

4. Conan Maoll, the "Hairless": Slain by daemons at Ostium

5. Aengus Bloodmane: Slain by eldar reavers before the Hektor Heresy

6. Oscara, "Deadeye": Slain by plague magic on Ostium

7. Dek VanDyne: Slain during the taking of The Great Scar on Terra

8. Luthor Storen, the "Razortusk": Slain during the Scouring

9. Sebastian Moran: Lost in the warp during the Great Crusade

10.

'''Ferdiad, Hand of the King'''

Ferdiad mac Aran was a direct descendant of the ancient High King Conar the Thousand-Slayer, who had briefly united the 12 Tribes before his death. He was the son of the chief of the Hundred Swords of Conar, a clan then considered subordinate to Brennus' Lords of Thunder. Ferdiad had been born shortly after the Primarch's discovery, and in a long running tradition, his father fostered the child with the Lords of Thunder. As Brennus' adopted father had no sons of his own line, the two boys became fast friends, and remained so even as Brennus grew into a superhuman. Unlike many of the rest of Alessia's inhabitants, Ferdiad never looked at his king with worshipful awe, but rather as a brother; likewise Brennus felt a strong affection for Ferdiad, more than any other human. The Primarch liked to say that while Ferdiad kept his feet anchored to the earth, Brennus helped his friend touch the skies.

By the time Brennus began his campaign to unite the 12 Tribes, the King's Hand had returned to rule the Hundred Swords. He pledged their strength to the campaign immediately, and quickly made a name for himself in the battles that followed. Where the High King was patient and considered, looking at a problem from all angles before choosing a solution, Ferdiad was bold and impulsive. He favored a quick strike with overwhelming power. The young Primarch knew exactly how to use a warrior of this nature: he sent Ferdiad and his troops to overcome those among the Tribes who would not bend to diplomacy. Though the High King participated in many of these battles himself, he often gave Ferdiad operational command. Some said that were it not for Brennus, Ferdiad would have united the lands himself. But he scoffed at this notion. He was the High King's right hand, and needed no higher honor.

When The Emperor came to claim his lost son, Ferdiad was against the entire idea. In his mind, this Imperium that had come to claim them went against the natural way of things. He suggested that the Alessian people resist. After all, this Imperium might have many soldiers, but Alessia was a world of heroes. In a rare moment, Brennus disagreed with his foster brother. He had felt the glow of his father's spirit, and knew that the Emperor was the rightful king of Alessia. Indeed, he was the rightful king of the entire human race. The Primarch assured Ferdiad that all would be well, that he had judged these strangers and found them deserving. He made sure that Ferdiad was uplifted along with him; though Ferdiad was too old to become an Astartes, he was a vigorous man in the prime of life. He took easily to the cybernetic and chemical enhancements provided to him, but never truly lost his doubts. He felt that a rift had formed between himself and Brennus, and he grew disillusioned with what he saw as an increasingly tyrannical and brutal realm.

Ferdiad was a tall man, with raven dark hair and a haunted look even in the feast hall. With the enhancements and power armor granted to him by the Imperium, he was nearly the height of a true Space Marine. The Thunder Kings had no disdain for what some might label a “false Astartes”, as they remembered their own shaming as similar to the Thunder Warriors. Ferdiad bore a great chain spear that he named “The Gnawer”, alongside a small round storm shield and a volkite rifle. He was also among the first of the Thunder Kings to be granted Terminator Armor. Towards the end of the Great Crusade, and during the Heresy, he bore a four-tined silver daemon spear. The malevolent spirit within helped to push him towards Chaos and rebellion against the Imperium.

'''Aeron, the Storm's Eye'''

Aeron mac Morna was the Captain of the Thunder Kings 1st Company during the Great Crusade, and was also the pre-eminent member of the Horned Gods. Aeron was one of the few Thunder Kings who regularly used a pair of weapons in melee, forgoing a shield; usually these would be matched power swords, though he did posess a formidable array of melee weapons, including a rarely-seen lightning claw. Aeron was not the greatest tactician among the Thunder Kings, but this was not what Brennus required of him. The Storm's Eye was the primarch's personal champion and executioner, easily the most proficient among his brother marines with a blade. He was often mentioned in the same breath with Kariman of the Sons of Fire and the other notable captains of the Legions. Aeron was no blood-mad berserker, and was notable for the expression of perfect calm he displayed from the center of his whirling blades. After the Heresy, Aeron led his clan, The Blazing Spears of Dagra, to form a new codex-compliant chapter, the Blazing Spears.


'''Roc Galveoc, the Thunderbird; Duke of Nova Yoruk'''

Roc's first pure memory is of The Emperor himself, reaching out a hand to free a boy from the hellish slums of Earth. At only 9 years old, Roc had survived as a member of a Nova Yoruk street gang, and an accomplished killer at that. The Master of Mankind's soldiers freed several other gangers from the rubble, but Roc's insistence that he was the "eY Numbah WUN" led to his inclusion in the Astartes project.

Roc wielded the Midnight Special, a high powered volkite pistol, and The Stinger, a monstrous excruciator chainsword.

'''Zebulon Uriy, the Topaz Prince'''
Zebulon's origins are lost to time. He first appears in the 11th Sacred Band's records during the Cleansing of the Great Scar, where he appropriates a needle gun and several vials of mutagenic chemicals to fight a band of renegade Thunder Warriors. Zebulon is recorded as being tall, as befitting a member of the 11th legion, but unusually slim. He and his ship, the ''Coire Cruach'', have been seen helping and hindering many forces in the galaxy

'''Garrick Hammerhand, Foeseeker and Chabad Rig of the Slaigo tribe''' 

After the unification of the twelve tribes of Alessia each chieftain was given voice as lord of his people. This tradition forged a unity previously unknown to the world, one which Brennus carried with him to the stars when he rejoined the Emperor. Each grand company of the Thunder Kings would draw from one of the great tribes for recruits, and as before, the chieftains, now captains over armies of Astartes, served as the council for their primarch. They too were served by internal councils of their own, consisting of the greatest of the clan captains under their authority.

Garrick was one such captain, drawn from the Slaigo tribe of the coast lands. His rise to authority had not been a meteoric one, but rather a steady rise through the attrition of war. His leadership and combat skills were well respected, but promotion by circumstance other than the death of his predecessors never came due to his clash with the patient ideal of the legions ways of war. Garrick was a bold man, favoring decisive action and swift, powerful deployment of the forces at his command. His peers view his command as a reckless one that risks too much for little gain. His retort has always been that fortune favors the bold, and only those who dare will know the glories of victory. To his credit, Garrick's style of leading the charge has galvanized a loyal following of troops within his tribe, forming a solid spearhead that faces the foes of mankind with unflinching resolve and fury. Upon his elevation to a place in the Slaigo council, the reputation of his troops was one of great renown and open mindedness, with a willingness to drive home unorthodox and aggressive tactics to gain victory.

Ultimately, the loyal following Garrick possessed would be his only saving grace. When the treason of the warmaster was discovered, so too were the roots of cancer that gnawed at his company. The majority of the Slaigo clans had been long since corrupted, their greed having led them into the arms of Chaos. Garrick was one of the few who revered The Emperor above gold, and so his voice on the council quickly lost support. Garrick and his clan were chosen for the "honorable" position of serving as the tribe's representatives on Ostium. They managed to survive that terrible conflict - only to be betrayed from within when the tribe mustered at Alessia.

In the end the captain of the Slaigo found his position usurped and his ship torn by a sudden, violent mutiny. His personal guard and loyal men from his days as a lesser officer quelled the fighting, but only after five hours of ceaseless slaughter as brothers in arms fell upon one another. Such bitterness only grew worse when his ship, the Astral Huntsman, was fired upon by the remaining vessels of the company's fleet. Word of the failed uprising had reached the other vessels where similar mutiny had ended swiftly in the traitors favor. Shocked and enraged, Garrick had to be restrained by his men, lest he command his ship on a suicidal final stand. Better, they reasoned, to flee and give word of their losses than to leave Brennus short a captain and the vital news. Fleeing from the treasonous Slaigo fleet, they rejoined with elements of the still loyal Thunder Kings. Swearing vengeance upon the grave breach of faith his men had committed, Garrick joined the marines bound for the Jovian campaign and became the Hammer of Brennus, instrument of the primarch's wrath.

==The Hammers of Brennus==

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Hammers of Brennus
|Heraldry = 
|Battle Cry = "Vengeance is Nigh!"
|Number = 79th
|Founding = 2nd Founding
|Successors of = Thunder Kings
|Successor Chapters = Gold Wardens
|Chapter Master = Drust the Tumultuous
|Primarch = Brennus
|Homeworld = Fleet Chapter
|Specialty = Fast Assault
|Strength = 2000
|Allegiance = Imperium of Man
|Colours = Gold and Black
}}

The Hammers of Brennus were formed in the early days after the Heresy from survivors of the loyalists that fled annihilation from the traitor tribes. They were added to the roster of one of the tribes decimated in the fighting late in the Heresy to bolster their numbers, the chapter now forms a vengeful, vindictive offshoot of the more temperate parent legion. The Hammers of Brennus hold an eagerness to exact a toll of blood and violence on those who turned from the Emperor's light, and hold incredibly strong ties of brotherhood within their own ranks as survivors and warriors, which extends to the rest of the Thunder Kings and their child chapters. Among the Thunder Kings, it is the Hammers that are first to fight. They respond swiftly to calls for aid (especially from forces facing the Archenemy) and deploy using an extensive number of drop pods form a sudden, explosive presence on the battlefield. From the bitter close combat of planetfall a landing zone is swiftly secured for the rest of the chapter's forces to deploy, allowing a multitude of heavier supplies to be ferried into the hot combat zone under extensive gunship protection. This vanguard force swiftly shifts from a defensive posture to an offensive one once the beachhead is secured. As reinforcements arrive, the chapter turns to a highly aggressive force focused on harrying the enemy and ensuring superiority of mobility by assaulting air and rapid attack assets. This in turn frees gunships from convoy detail, allowing for even greater reach. Ultimately, the Hammers turn the crucible of deep strikes and rapid assault into an art, one which marks the bane of slower, more cumbersome foes. Given their close ties to their imperial allies, it is safe to assume that when Brennus' hammers make landfall, relief is soon assured.