The Rooks of Anthaeus
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From the Loremaster’s Study is an occasional series of articles that focuses on home-brewed lore and background for our Warhammer 40K and Age of Sigmar collections - be it an army, a warband or a compelling one-off character. Today, we’re looking at the background for Jamie’s fledgling space marine chapter, the Rooks of Anthaeus.
The Rooks of Anthaeus are a primaris space marine chapter of the Ultima Founding, and scions of the Imperial Fists. The chapter's initiates are drawn from the nobility of Anthaeus, a remote feudal world in the Heldrath subsector of the Segmentum Pacificus. In the short time since its founding, the chapter has become infamous for its recklessness, conflicting loyalties and numerous deviations from the Codex Astartes.
The feudal regime on Anthaeus is particularly harsh even by the standards of the Imperium. Brutalised and emaciated peasants toil under the yoke of vicious lords representing over ten-thousand noble houses. These houses, as well as the relationships, conflicts and rivalries between them, define every aspect of Anthaean society. Whilst all out war between the houses has become extremely rare since the planet's reunification the Imperium, internal politicking and assassinations are rife.
Unlike the nobility of many feudal worlds, the lords of Anthaeus have not grown weak or complacent in their privilege. On the contrary, survival in their great game of one-upmanship requires physical strength, mental fortitude and constant vigilance.
Great hunts, in which teams of brawny, bellowing aristocrats track down and slaughter the planet's vicious native wildlife are ubiquitous in Anthaean society, both as a test of worthiness and as a demonstration of power. Weaker specimens are unlikely to survive - if the beasts don't get them, an assassin's blade at the post-hunt feast just might. It is from the ranks of these hardened nobles that the Rooks of Anthaeus draw their initiates, with the chapter extracting a tithe of young lordlings at the apex of every stellar cycle.
Unusually for a chapter that traces its heritage to the Imperial Fists, the Rooks of Anthaeus are not codex-compliant. Hints of the deviations to come occurred when the Imperial Fists liaisons tasked with their early training noted a tendency among initiates to act with recklessness in the pursuit of personal glory, rather than with the coordination and discipline expected of a space marine. This tendency was so endemic that the fledgling chapter was very nearly disbanded, but fate intervened when the liaisons were called away to provide urgent aid for a beleaguered Imperial Fists expeditionary force, forcing the training and indoctrination process to be cut alarmingly short. This questionable behaviour during training was the Rooks' first display of aberrant individualism, but it would not be the last.
The chapter began deviating from the Codex Astartes almost immediately upon the withdrawal of the Imperial Fists liaisons. Battle brothers eschewed standard squad and company markings in favour of displaying the personal heraldry of the great houses they had once belonged to. There was some logic to this, in that squad markings are intended to facilitate rapid identification in the heat of battle, and nothing is more immediately recognisable to an Anthaean lord than the heraldry of a friendly house, or a bitter rival. The practice quickly spread to every echelon of the chapter.
Concerns have been raised that the Rooks of Anthaeus may occasionally act in the petty self-interest of the Anthaean elite to which they formerly belonged, rather than in the interests of the Imperium they are sworn to serve. Despite the chapter's short history, Chapter Master Verek von Draun has already issued the order for Exterminatus upon no less than three imperial worlds - worlds that just happen to border and rival the seven systems that comprise the Anthaean Demesne. The official reason given in all three cases was genestealer cult infestation and, while there is evidence to support these claims, it has been noted with suspicion that the power, influence and territories of the Anthaean nobility were greatly expanded as a result. These are far from isolated examples of what others perceive to be the chapter's conflicting loyalties.
It comes as little surprise that such extreme activity, coupled with the chapter's reputation for aberrant individualism and primitive ritual, has brought the Rooks of Anthaeus to the attention of the Imperial Inquisition. Inquisitor Jaro of the Ordo Hereticus was permitted to embed within the chapter during the siege of Tallagor IV, and observed many practices of which she thoroughly disapproved.
One notable example was the chapter's adoption of Bahon'var, the ancient Anthaean ritual used to demonstrate superior constitution by consuming vast quantities of an intoxicating native beverage. Despite the fact that the marines' numerous implants should render intoxication impossible, Jaro noted subtle indications that many of their number appeared to be making an effort to hide the adverse effects of the drink. She further suspected that the most heavily affected were being hastily ushered from the hall under various unlikely pretexts before more detailed observations could be made.
Nevertheless, despite their many dubious and unorthodox practices, no hint of outright heresy was uncovered, and the Inquisition was ultimately forced to conclude that the Rooks of Anthaeus were loyal servants of the Emperor. The chapter has never once failed to answer a call to arms and has fought with honour in defence of the Imperium in multiple theatres of war. Whilst their fellow astartes view them with distaste and even suspicion, the Rooks of Anthaeus seem set to continue bringing glory to the Imperium unhindered, for now at least.
