Witch hunters

To: ++ Inquisition Clearance Insufficient ++

From: ++ Inquisition Clearance Insufficient ++

Date: 013.M36

Subject: Adeptus Astartes, Exorcists Chapter

Thought for the day: Ruthlessness is the kindness of the wise.

Honoured Lord, it is with great pleasure I contact you to inform you of the success of our project. Minor setbacks aside, I can report that the first two companies of the Chapter created in this thirteenth founding are responding well to the daemonic possession therapy. Under controlled hexagramic conditions, the subjects were exposed to possession by minor creatures from the daemonic pantheon under the watchful eye of Ordo Malleus daemon hunters protected by sigils and wards of great power. Incense inimical to the summoned creatures was burned while chants of binding were continually intoned from the ++Liber Expurgatorius. Inquisition Clearance Insufficient ++.

Once the subject was exposed to the essence of the daemon, the creature was allowed to remain in the host body for twelve hours before being cast out by a daemon hunter. In some cases the resultant physical and psychological damage to the Space Marines was irreparable and we were forced to terminate, but the majority of the subjects survived the procedure and required only minor reconstructive surgery and corrective psychotherapy.

After a period of recuperation, the subjects were instructed in the methods of combating the daemonic, trained in the use of the 666 verses of the Book of Exorcisms and equipped with the weapons of an Exorcist. The two companies were then put into action on a daemon infested world on the northern fringes of the Eye of Terror. With a squad of the Grey Knights held in reserve, the Exorcist Space Marines achieved a kill ratio of 97:1. Impressive under normal circumstances, but against the daemonic, I'm sure you'll agree that these figures clearly indicate that the procedure is both safe and effective. The test subjects adrenal production more than tripled and levels of the neurotransmitter Serotonin dropped drastically, resulting in heightened states of aggression and combat effectiveness. Only 1% of the Space Marine subjects re-succumbed to daemonic influence on the planet and I believe that, subject to careful monitoring, this Chapter might eventually be granted a base and limited autonomy within a reasonable time frame. With this success behind us, I believe the time is right to begin the creation of a full Chapter of Exorcists. The technology is in place and the need for such troops has never been greater. The two test companies can be integrated into normal Chapter organisation with the minimum of fuss and the resulting Chapter of Exorcists could be operational within less than fifty years. By then, the minor side effects that have manifested in a number of test subjects should hopefully be eliminated.

I remain your humble servant

Lauram Clelland

Genetor-Major, Xenobiologis

Index Astartes – Exorcists I

Origins:

A thirteenth founding chapter, Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus and Ordo Hereticus held a council. Known as the Conclave of Truth, they communed in secret to discuss the increasing threat from beyond reality.
Some called for the training program of the Grey Knights to be shortened or the powers of the Adepta Sororitas to be broadened. Others argued a shortening in the training time would defeat the point of them and reduce their effectiveness overall. In time it was agreed a new chapter would be created. It was also decided that the chapter would need an extra advantage whilst fighting the daemonic, after all it took many decades to train a Grey Knight and they did not have time to spend on the extensiveness of training.
Later it was decided that the battle brothers would be educated against their chosen foes through first hand experience. It is whispered in dark circles that they went so far as to allow the battle brothers to be possessed by minor daemons and left to fight them for several hours before a daemon hunter banished the daemon. This chapter was named the Exorcists Ω for the Ordo Malleus and the Exorcists I for the Ordo Hereticus. 
They were first created in small numbers and unleashed. Achieving a kill ratio of 97:1 in their favour, it was agreed a full chapter should be created.

Combat Doctrine:

The Exorcists have learnt from long experience. The only way to defeat an enemy is to rip out its heart. They specialise in shock and terror tactics. Striking out, killing the enemies leaders with perfectly timed orbital strikes designed to shatter enemy's moral.
In the case of the daemonic, this is much harder as most daemons have some ability to see the future.

Organisation:

Unlike most chapters the Exorcists I chapter is (and for some time shall be) severely under strength due to the test on Mordax Prime.  Only 58 of the original 200 test marines came off the test planet.  Instead of fielding full sq’s of veterans, 40 of the original test marines now have full sq’s of recruits. 14 have been given honors and the remaining filled key rolls of the chapter.  Also 3 fallen brothers were given the honor of continuing the fight through interment in a dreadnought.

Chapter Master--- Sextus Claudius Dominus Maximus

Master of Sanctity --- Marcus Artorius Velina Camillus

Hero of the Dark Crusade --- Giaus Mordax Velina Dominus Habitus

Lucius Arrius Velina Dominus Calidus (4 brother assault terminators)

Titus Flavius Sergia Vetus

Beliefs:

Unlike most chapters The Exorcists revere the Emperor as a God. Not having any one Primarch they have nothing but the Imperial Creed to believe in. Their thorough indoctrination in the Creed and fiery religiousness makes them a terrifying proposition for the daemonic and heretical to face.

Gene-seed:

When the decision was taken to create The Exorcists the Inquisition was aware that only the purest gene-seed could be used lest the chapter be unable to resist the daemonic presence necessary for their training. Thus the same gene-seed used for the Grey Knights was used in their creation. Even so no brother survives his possession unchanged and many battle-brothers have their latent psychic power unlocked by the daemons. Also due to the residual psychic "memory" of the daemon and its blood thirsty ways Exorcist marines show empathy for close combat more so than normal marines. An additional benefit of this is that whilst engaged in combat an Exorcists marine has nearly triple the level of adrenaline in their system compared to a normal marine. This means that an Exorcist will have much better strength and reaction time than others.

Battle-cry:

"The absence of faith is the mark of damnation."

                                         

                                            

                                                                     Hero of the dark crusade
Mordax Prime... a little known planit on the northern fringe of the eye of terror. 2 full companys of a new test chapter of space marines were deployed as a test of their exparamental conditioning. Mordax Prime was infested with both demons and cultists of the chaos lords. Many battles were fought and many hero's were made. Like that of Sextus Claudius who went on to be known as Setus Claudius Dominus Maximus, Chapter Master of the Exorcists I chapter.
Or Marcus Artorius who later became Marcus Artorius Velina Camillus, Master of sanctity for the whole chapter.
But the most known hero of the Exorcists is a marine who was known as Giaus Artorius.
He was one of the first 200 marines sent to Mordax Prime.
although his SQ. fought well and earned it's own distinction, Giaus Artorius showed more then his battle brothers.

It was on a lonly hill next to the star port that was transporting his brothers back up into orbit. Giaus's SQ. was instructed to hold their flank so that the ships could get away. They dug in and waited as the thunderhawks screamed to life, and then they saw them. A dark wave of cultests poured from the tree line tword Giaus's position. The sargent screamed and bolter fire erupted into the frount wave of cultests. The bolter shells easyly ripped through the cultest but such was their number that it made little diffrence and they slowly advanced on Giaus's SQ.
Seconds turned to minutes and minutes truned into hours as the cultests returned fire with small arms. One by one Giaus's brothers fell due to the overwelming fire from all those pistols and las rifels. Giaus fired his bolter untill it was empty and then reached down and picked up one of his fallen brothers bolters and fired that one. After many hours Giaus found himself alone and after exspending the last rounds from the pistol of his fallen sargent, he looked in horror at the waves of cultest headed for him.
Giaus looked down and noticed razor wire from the trenches and inperation from the emporer hit him. As the cultest ran forward to take the hill and then the star port Giaus lashed his fallen battle brothers knifes the the back of his hands with the razor wire and waited for them to get close enough. At that moment what is known as the rage of the emporer charged him with power and he leapt into the cultests.
No one knows how long he fought but when support arived at the hill what they found was a scean of horror. Starting at the marine postion and streching down the hill was what was left of the cultest, So thick was the layer of corpes that one could not see the ground at all. Following the trail they came upon as pile of bodys twice the size of a marine, on top was a lone marine. His arms broken and his hands had been ripped from his wrists due to the effort. The knifes still lashed to his amore, driped pure gore and the distant look in his eyes told everybody what had happened.
When a sargent asked Giaus for a report he simply said "We held this flank sir."
Giaus Artorius was given high honors for his dedication. He toke the name of Mordax in honnor of his fallen brothers and was aworded his own tactical dreadnought armor, a pair of master crafted lightning claws due to his proficance for fighting that way and the title of Hero.
To this day aside from the artifishal hands in his armor he does not use prostesetes of any kind.
Today he is known as Giaus Mordax Velina Dominus Habitus
Hero of the dark crusade.