Black Eagles

Basic Information
Name: Black Eagles

Progenitor: White Scars

Chapter Master: Nikolas Ivanov

Home Planet: Khansgrad

Battle Cry: 'We ride for Khansgrad and the Emperor!'

Founding: 11th

Inspiration
The Black Eagles are an 11th founding successor chapter of the White Scars, who draw heavily from the culture of the Cossacks and Imperial Russia.

Heraldry
Their left shoulder pad displays the chapter icon, and the right displays their company number. They do not display squad markings as they tend to be flexible with their deployment of marines in battlefield roles. They are known to be covered in small holy inscriptions.

Structure and Organisation
They are mostly a codex following chapter, however they have no reserve companies because every battle brother is trained to be able to fight as a devastator, tactical marine or assault marine. Whilst this results in a very slightly lower quality of training, this does not really matter as they are primarily riders above all else. They maintain a scout company as normal. In addition, a large amount of the chapter is now composed of Primaris Marines, a gift from Roboute Guilliman to bring them back to full strength after the doom that came to them on Rikvan. Now, those marines who survived Rikvan are known as The Revenants. They ride the native Khansgradian Black Eagles, after which they were named (counts as bikes), and every battle brother must capture and train a Black Eagle as part of the recruitment and training process, and as such each battle brother has the ability to come to battle as a rider and this is primarily what they do. Their devotion to the emperor is highly fanatical, and as such they have close ties to the Ecclesiarchy and Adepta Sororitas. Their combat speciality is quashing rebellions, particularly against imperial worlds who seek to ally with the Tau Empire or other xenos.

Chapter Strength
The Black Eagles were standing at a full compliment of 1000 marines as well as specialists, however after the Rikvan Disaster, their strength was greatly reduced to only one company- the 1st. Now, they stand back at 1000 marines, the marines lost replaced by Guilliman's new Primaris Marines.

Armoury
The halls of their monastery are home to a number of ancient relics, specifically relic weapons and armour. The chapter currently owns a Stormlord Super-Heavy Tank- the last super heavy vehicle owned by Khansgrad's Planetary Defence Force before it was dissolved, and the munitorum and mechanicus deemed it unnecessarily costly to send heavy transport dropships just to carry one vehicle, and as such it's possession was assigned to the Black Eagles. Since, it has been transformed into Master of Sanctity Mikhail Rani's personal mobile command centre, an inspiring presence to all when it arrives on the battlefield. The chapter is also known to own a large number of Tepesh pattern terminator suits- a rare design of terminator armour, developed by Magos Dominus Remliez during the Horus Heresy. It is similar in design to Cataphractii terminator armour. It is believed that their nigh-exclusive use of this power armour is believed to be due to the fact that the STC for this armour was destroyed after ignorant tech-heretics overwhelmed the forge world in the subsector, where it was kept after the Black Eagles retrieved it from Tau forces studying imperial power armour technology. Some of these suits have, however, been retrofitted to be more like the more common Indomitus terminator armour because it is in more widespread use and is much easier to repair (especially after the STC was destroyed). They also make use of Immolator light tanks, typically only used by the Sisters of Battle.

Nikolas Ivanov
Nikolas Ivanov, Huntmaster of the Black Eagles, was renowned and feared throughout the sector as a ruthless commander. Whilst it can often be tactically unwise, when he is in command he always, without fail orders his marines to constantly move forwards and press the enemy, stopping for nobody. He has been known to get very hot-headed on the subject of Gue'Vesa, Chaos Cultists or human empires independent from the Imperium. Though it is rash, he has a habit of getting unreasonably hateful, and in his rage choosing to personally head strike forces. His rage has been amplified tenfold after the Rikvan disaster and being returned to the Imperium, and his screams of rage and fury can be heard throughout the Eastern Fringe as he wages war upon the Tau Empire as well as his new personal archenemy, the Thousand Sons of Tzeench.

Jakkus Malakarth
Jakkus Malakarth is now the standing Chapter Master of the Black Eagles- Nikolas Ivanov was deemed too unreliable as a leader of the Chapter, and as such Jakkus Malakarth, a Primaris Marine given to the Black Eagles by Guilliman. Malakarth has adjusted well to the attitude of the Chapter, and unlike the other Eagles Primaris he has integrated very well into Chapter culture.

The Khansgrad System
The Khansgrad System consists of 2 habitable planets- Khansgrad Prime, Petrosa- and 2 gas giants. Khansgrad Prime is an icy feudal world on the eastern fringe (close to Ultramar), however it is (barely) suitable for human life. It was discovered by Jaghatai Khan during the Great Crusade, and it's people willingly accepted the Emperor's rule seeing the Imperium as an extension of their patriotism to humanity. Khansgrad consists of a single supercontinent, amid a deathly cold sea. The Black Eagles fortress monastery stands in the middle of Khansgrad's biggest settlement, standing tall amongst the civilian huts and wooden houses. The opening halls of the fortress monastery are, in fact, open to the world's public. There, the Black Eagles chaplains lead services of worship to the Emperor for civilians. Petrosa is an ash waste desert Forge World, which was very recently raided by the thieving renegade cunts Absolvers, at which point it is presumed that the STC for the MKVII-B Praetor pattern power armour was either stolen or destroyed. Zvezda is the moon of one of the gas giants, with no breathable atmosphere it is an inhospitable world. It has been completely transformed into a shrine to the God-Emperor.

The Founding
Before the Black Eagles arrived on Khansgrad, there was a planetary defence force established on the planet as well as being defended by the Imperial Knight House Aelroc. In M35 during the Nova Terra Interregnum, the Khansgrad System was under attack from the Tau Empire, and was all but destroyed. It was then decreed that there needed to be more active forces in the sector, and the Ultramarines and Marines Errant chapters were tasked with cleansing the planet Khansgrad Prime from Tau control, mercilessly slaughtering the planet's new Tau garrisons as well as Gue'Vesa in a successful but highly costly attack. From there, the planet was still under constant attack by the Tau forces launched from the rest of the system. The Ultramarines and Marines Errant strike forces defended the planet whilst the Black Eagles chapter were being founded, leaving once they finally were. After that, the Black Eagles lead a hate-driven cleansing of the system, destroying the Xenos with no mercy.

House Aelroc
House Aelroc was an Imperial Knight Household, established on Khansgrad Prime by the local Forge World (Petrosa), however in the Tau invasion prior to the Black Eagles' founding, all but one of the Knight Titans was destroyed. This remaining Knight has gone on a pilgrimage to the Cadian gate, where is has fought alongside the defenders of the gate and been dubbed 'Infernus'. After Cadia was destroyed, Infernus pledged itself to the Black Eagles chapter, fighting alongside them in their Eternal Hunt.

The 3rd War for Armageddon
The Black Eagles 5th company fought valiantly in the 3rd Armageddon War against Waaagh! Ghazkhgull. The Company fought in the Breakout from Volcanus Hive, and Black Eagles scouts were responsible for locating and tracking traitorous Governor Herman von Strab, who was later killed by the infamous 13th Penal Legion, acting on the Black Eagles' information. However, they were involved in no other major activity other than these.

The 1st Tyrannic War
The Black Eagles 6th and 7th companies fought in the defence of Ultramar against Hive Fleet Behemoth, however after the companies were all but destroyed they fled the system.

Disaster on Rikvan
At the dawn of the 42nd Millenium, the Black Eagles were summoned along with many other Chapters to fight in the defence of Cadia from the 13th Black Crusade, but the forces of Tzeench led them into a trap- their fleet was all crashed into the passing world of Rikvan. A world which was subsequently sucked into the warp, and in the warp the planet was beset for years by the forces of Tzeench. The only access to the planet was within a chaotic relic, the Tome of Rikvan, which is currently in the possession of Tzeench Sorceror Lord Mek'Asa, who was killed in the Cataclysm of Agripinaa. and the book was reclaimed.

The Eternal Hunt
After returning to Khansgrad and receiving reinforcements from Guilliman's Primaris Marines, the Black Eagles, renewed with rage and spirit, have declared an Eternal Hunt. The Hunt has two main objectives: to kill the Absolvers Chapter Master and to kill Sorceror Lord Mek'Asa. This has lead to the Black Eagles being endlessly mobile, mostly leaving Khansgrad and instead unifying the chapter in one Hunt against the Absolvers and against the forces of Tzeench.