+++Salamanders+++

by Jon Boyce

The History of the Salamanders

According to legend the Emperor created the Primarchs from artificially engineered genes, carefully imbuing each of them with unique superhuman powers. It took many hundreds of years to collect and refine the mutant genes needed to produce the Primarchs. When all was ready the genetic matrices were placed within twenty incubator capsules. Legend goes on to tell how the Dark Gods of Chaos spirited away the Primarchs within their incubator capsules, scattering them widely throughout the warp. More than one of the capsules was breached whilst it drifted through warp space. The forces of the warp leaked in wreaking havoc in the developing genetic material inside the capsule. Undoubtedly damage was done, although the nature of that damage would only become apparent during the Horus Heresy.

When the twenty Primarchs were scattered by Chaos, the capsule containing Vulkan landed on the highly volcanic world of Nocturne. Here his massive young frame was charred and blackened to a dark blue-black as he was scorched by the heat of a thousand volcanoes and the bright light of the lava fields. Managing to survive in the phenomenal heat, he was found by the indigenous population - a semi-barbaric race who worshipped innumerable fire gods. Vulkan planted the seeds of the Imperial Cult into these peoples who now worships the Emperor through their traditional rituals of burnt sacrifices and branding. By establishing the Imperial Cult and subsequently bringing planetary peace between the many tribal factions, Vulkan gained great respect was famed for his fair teachings of love, war, compassion and humanity, combined with righteous fury.

When at last the Emperor discovered Vulkan, he found a huge black man, gigantic in stature, with an inner peace that marked him out as one of the Emperor’s chosen. His love for the Emperor was as greater than any man’s, yet any heresy or infidel was routed out and struck down with the fires of righteousness. Vulkan readily took to his task as Primarch and quickly created a chapter of marines who were righteous and loyal to their Emperor but quick to respond to any threat with wrath and cleansing flames. The marines taken from Vulkan’s seed grew to be large framed marines with a pious demeanour. Each of the marines shares Vulkan’s love of the Emperor and his blue-black skin, reminding each daily of the scorching fires from which Vulkan was born.

The Salamander Chapter is the Eighteenth Chapter of the first founding and is an enigmatic chapter, known only for their devout and righteous love for the Emperor. Following the Horus Heresy, the Salamanders Primarch Vulkan set the chapter the task of the Purging. The Purging is the great crusade of the Salamanders. They have taken is upon themselves to delete all heretical, chaotic and alien presences that threaten the Imperium.

During the Horus Heresy, the Salamanders were left isolated in the small system of Rechem Prime, far from the epicentre of war. The chapter battle cruisers had recently been crippled by a strong raiding force of Dark Eldar pirates, leaving the entire chapter helplessly looking on to the plight of their brother chapters. As soon as the repairs were made, the Salamanders made a dangerously long warp jump in a futile attempt to assist the loyalist forces. Fully half of the chapter never made it through the warp, but were lost to the gibbering daemons that assailed them from all sides and dragged them apart. By the time the remaining Salamander ships entered orbit around Terra, the battle for humanity was over. Horus lay dead and the Emperor was crippled. If the Salamanders had been able to reach the Terra in time, then maybe some of the devastation and carnage wreaked by the forces of chaos would have been prevented.

As soon as possible, Vulkan visited the broken body of his Emperor. His massive black frame encased in the dark green power armour only served to accentuate the Emperor’s mangled body. In the sight of his emperor, Vulkan pledged his brother Salamanders to the great crusade of the Salamanders, the Purging. So embarked the Salamanders on a crusade of self-retribution. Their only request, that they gain forgiveness in the eyes of the Emperor. As part of their pledge, the Salamanders chose not to create any primogenitor chapters. They as one felt that they could not do so until they themselves had been purged and made pure. In this way the guilt of the Salamanders would not be passed on. Chapter lore state that this guilt will be purged in the great Holy Furnaces of the Chapter by one sent by the Emperor.

The Salamanders’ homeworld is Nocturne, a fiery, highly volcanic, ash-laden world. The harsh climate creates unbreakable men tempered in the heat of a million lava flows. The indigenous population are a semi-barbaric people from ancient Terran afro-Caribbean stock. These people are fierce and primitive, but unwaveringly loyal to the Emperor and provide the perfect source for new initiates. The Chapter’s base on Nocturne is well placed on the fringes of the galaxy in readiness for any alien or chaos incursion. The chapter is constantly on standby in order to swoop down with fires of retribution and wrath on any threat to humanity. A large number of astropaths and psykers remain in a constantly alert state in order to mobilise the chapter with immediate efficiency. Due to these lightening strikes by the chapter that are often not linked to any campaign, the profile of the Salamanders is relatively low and their fame does not precede them as it does with the more famous Blood Angels, Space Wolves and other Codex Chapters. However, the Salamanders believe that they have a vital role to play, and that their forgiveness should be earned with the cleansing fires that characterise them.

The Salamanders deviate from codex practices in several different ways. The first of these is the predominance of flamer type weapons. Salamanders believe in the flamer as a symbol of cleansing and faith and feel it epitomises their crusade. Flamers are therefore intrinsic to the Salamander squad organisation and battle tactics. This has resulted in a large proportion of flamer type weapons in the chapter armouries when compared to more traditional chapters, this is reflected in the wargear lists. The Salamanders Librarians have also conducted an extensive study into the use of pyrotechnic psychic abilities and therefore make predominant use of such powers. Apothecaries of the Salamanders bear an unusual colour scheme; the left arm and left-hand side of helmet are painted red, right shoulder pad and right-hand side of the helmet are white and the remainder of the armour is Chapter green. The origins of this practice are lost to history, but Chapter lore points towards an unidentified Apothecary who refused to wash off the blood of his fallen brothers as a mark of respect. He therefore painted his whole arm red to hide the blood. Another major difference is in the Chapter’s worship of Vulkan and the Emperor. The Salamanders do not see the Emperor in the same light as many other chapters, or, indeed the Ecclesiarchy.

The Cult of Prometheus is intrinsic to the Salamanders’ beliefs and trains the Chapter’s Chaplains. The Chapter trains and maintains a large body of Chaplains to guide the Salamanders to their forgiveness and maintain purity. To the Salamanders, the Emperor is embodied and worshipped as a separate entity known as Prometheus. Prometheus is viewed as a cleansing wrath, an unstoppable force of flame and retribution who is made accessible to the Chapter by their great Primarch Vulkan. Prometheus judges humanity in the form of a raging blaze, a great sweeping sheet of flame. When the final reckoning comes, he passes over all men indiscriminately and each man’s own actions will judged by their own conscience. If a man’s actions weigh lightly, he will walk from the furnace, but if his actions weigh heavily, he will consumed within. Offerings are burnt in the sacred fires and intricate, harmonius chants recite the Chapter’s achievements, giving praise to the Emperor and Vulkan. The Salamanders also swear allegiance to the Emperor by branding themselves, using red-hot irons, with various symbols of their devotion and victories.

The Cult is central to the Chapter and forms it’s Chaplaincy and priesthood. The Cult of Prometheus headed by the High Deacon, Chaplain Orisha Kiya. The position of High Deacon is filled only by merit and proof of devoutness and purity. The High Deacon holds sway over the rites and rituals of the Chapter and is responsible for the driving of the Salamander’ Purging crusade. It is said that for the Purging to end, the Emperor will elevate an untrained initiate to the position of High Deacon who will then sacrifice himself to the Holy Furnace of the Chapter to absolve their self-imposed guilt. The High Deacon commands the council of Arch-Chaplains and under them the remaining Chaplaincy, which has a larger presence in the Salamanders Chapter than other Chapters. The Cult maintains a high number of trainees, known as Deacons. These are the most promising initiates who are trained in the ways of Salamanders faith and instructed in the rites and rituals associated with the rank of Chaplain before they are sent to Terra to receive the rosarius and blessings from the Ecclesiarchy. In battle the Cult provides a formidable assault unit, usually comprising of Deacons armed with a crozius arcanum and often led by a Chaplain.

The Salamanders played a little observed part in the Tyrannic wars against hive fleet Kraken. They conducted a series of lightening fast strikes against the head of the hive ships as they passed into known space. The Salamanders had been monitoring psychic communications and were well placed to undertake delaying tactics to allow the Imperium time to prepare. The entirety of this fighting was undertaken in space between the massive hive ships and gargantuan battle-cruisers. Severely bloodied by the tyranid attackers, the Salamanders withdrew to avoid decimation. However, by this time the full might of the Imperium in the form of Ultramarines, Emperors’ Scythes and Lamenters Chapters were ready to take on the gauntlet. Unable to contribute further, other than small hit and run attacks, the Salamanders regrouped to continue with their crusade. Only the highest ranking officials are aware of the stalling battles that prevented the tyranids from reaching an ill–prepared Imperium.

Fabius Bile, the Manflayer is known throughout the Imperium as a mutator and corrupter of the race of mankind. He is an outcast from the Traitor Legion, the Emperor’s Children and travelled the galaxy after the Heresy conducting his vile and perverse genetic experiments on an defenceless populations he could find. He moved from system to system offering his assistance to the rebel forces in exchange for prisoners or genetic material. With Bile’s assistance, a mediocre planetary defence force could be transformed into super warriors; or they might be turned into little more than gibbering spawn, driven mad by their mutation. But all the spawn of Bile’s experiments could not hold back the furious tide of loyalists from ravaged Terra. Retribution in the form of the Salamanders Chapter reached Bile in the Arden system. In their first act after dedicating themselves to the purging, the marines cleansed the flesh refineries and cloning vats from the planet, burning them all in a single night before their righteous fury. Bile fled the planet, barely escaping with his life as his ship was crippled by an Imperial Gothic class cruiser. He made for the dubious safety of the warp and was subsequently drawn to the Eye of Terror where he still lurks, corrupting genes and enhancing warriors for his own foul purpose.

The Salamanders’ power armour is painted dark green with the Chapter symbol in the form of a salamander’s head in a fiery yellow. The salamander is a fire breathing beast native to Nocturne and it is from this creature that the Salamanders take their name and fighting style. The sergeants are differentiated from their brother marines by having reversed shoulder pads; bright yellow with the chapter symbol in dark green. Veteran marines and veteran sergeants are marked by a hammer symbol adorning the left knee pad. Many veterans are branded with this symbol on their foreheads, between the eyes as a sign of devotion to Vulkan.

Apothecaries of the Salamanders bear an unusual colour scheme; the left arm and left-hand side of helmet are painted red, right shoulder pad and right-hand side of the helmet are white and the remainder of the armour is Chapter green.

The Chaplaincy is different to all other chapters due to its unusual structure. There is a strict code of battle dress for members of the Chaplaincy depending on their rank and whether they are attached to the Cult of Prometheus or a Battle Company. The table below details each rank and the appropriate battle dress: