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CHAPTER BACKGROUND
I. Glory Days
The chapter was created in the XXVIth in 738.M41 founding after some vessels reported a strong Eldar presence in the Farid System, a system that was nominally under the control of the Imperium, even if effective control had never been established there. The plans to colonise it had been pendant for at least 3 millennia so far and only one of the planets was inhabited, even if their development level was that of bronze age. The Eldar movements detected in the system made the High Lords of Terra decide to deploy a Space Marine chapter in the system to control those movements and confirm the domain over the system. So, during the XXVIth founding a chapter was decided to be located into the Farid system to take care of the Eldar menace.
Hence, the Fire Griffons were created and 50 years after the first zygotes were prepared the chapter was successfully deployed in Farid VII. The planet had undergone huge improvements in their facilities under the direction of the Adeptus Mechanicus during that period, even if the inhabitants were still in a crude technology and social age to create tensions and enhance the battle prowess of the population. This was explicitly encouraged by the terraformers and socioformers of the Imperium since they were supposed to be the future recruitment base for the new chapter.
Even if there had been Eldar sightings during those years, no permanent Eldar presence had been detected in the system but for some stones in either of the extreme planets of the system. Superstitious as the imperials are, and given their similarity to the Cadian Monoliths the Adeptus Mecanicus had refused to remove or investigate them in depth, specially after a titan guarding the first expedition appeared destroyed one morning. No one had heard anything during the night. After the chapter was deployed in Farid VII the Adeptus Mechanicus left the system to its new rulers.
The chapter was created using the Crimson Fists geneseed and was a stable one. During the tests they performed excellently and they were specially trained in starship and rapid deployment combat since they were to control a system more than anything and counter the Eldar menace, which excelled in its high mobility operations. Given their primary duty, the fleet of the chapter was quite big for a space marine chapter, and included 4 battle barges and 10 cruisers, apart from a plenty of escort vessels and recon ships. An Imperial Navy task force was supposed to have a presence in the system as well eventually but the time for their deployment was uncertain at the time. Soon the sky around Farid VII became nearly a naval station with a large shipyard in its own right and the natives became reverent to their new masters, that had brought stars in the sky for them with their arrival.
Everything went well for 2 years, with no Eldar presence detected in the system. Even better, a large promethium source was detected in Farid VI and the marines were obviously assigned the task to protect it as well while the Adeptus Mechanicus prepared the equipment and human resources to exploit it. The deployment of the Imperial Navy task force was speeded up, meaning that only 7 more years would pass before the task force was deployed. During this period the navy of the new chapter reached the full strength that the Lords of Terra wanted to give it and their missions in a sector with a high rate of piracy were remarkable. Of special mention were the Hunter Squadrons of the chapter, that depleted more than one pirate force way larger than them in weaponry and size due to some inventions of the Techmarines of the chapter, including improved boarding and fusion torpedoes. The chapter also engaged itself in a campaign to destroy several ork kingdoms in nearby systems and used that as battle practice for the marines. Everything seemed designed to announce a future of glory for the chapter in the service of the Emperor.
II. Doomsday
Then, in one day it all changed. The truth is that the system was a webway middle step for the eldar. The large stones in each extreme of the system were in fact webway portal links. The system was a real space step between 2 large webway portals created during the golden age of the Eldar. large enough to hold out a craftworld?s army. And this is exactly what appeared through one of the portals.
The Eldar already knew that the marines were there after a small cruiser of them was intercepted by the marines half a year ago and the runes telling the farseers about the danger of having a long time secure route blocked by mon keighs. The eldar had some dire needs to permit that interruption in their communications network so they assembled their forces and appeared in the system prepared to destroy the invaders of their webway jump point.
The marines readied their fleet, and a large confrontation began. The battle raged for a day, even if the Eldar had assembled a clearly superior fleet, both in manpower (elfpower) and vessels, basically due to the fact that the marines were at the same time fighting for their lives, protecting their home system and performing the duty they had been primarily assigned to perform, strengthening their resolve beyond any known limits before. But the Eldar were clearly winning the day. Finally an Eldar Solaris light cruiser squadron broke the Marine line and blew out the promethium-rich planet of Farid VI to pieces. The deflagration whipped out most of the Space Marine fleet that was still in reserve, including their flagship battle barge, the Light Bringer, and Chapter Master Raphael with it. The explosion also destroyed Farid VII, taking out a huge chunk of the planet and making the world change its orbit as well as destroying its biosphere. After that perfectly timed blow the Eldar annihilated the rest of the marine fleet that was left in disarray after the hecatomb and left the scene, leaving only devastation and death to demonstrate they had been there. A marine chapter had all but been whipped out from their path, obliterated by Asuryan?s Wrath in less than 20 hours.
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Commanding legions forward while sitting in a nice armchair.
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(lol, jk) or is there an other factor?
lol
