Verum Illuminate Chapter

Space Marine Chapter Articles

Verum Illuminate
The Verum Illuminate is a Renegade Chapter that recruits as a Loyalist Chapter created during the 8th founding. The recruit from the Cadian Sector and planets in close proximity to the Eye of Terror including their Homeworld of Stygian. They teach the recruits to believe in the divinity of the God-Emperor and are steadfast in their search for the truth by the light of the Emperor's truth. Any kind of thinking or action that shows doubt will be met with disbandment and the traitor will be dealt with swiftly. The training is similar to other Chapters' training but the recruitment differs immensely. The men called forth for training in different chapters of the Space Marines, are intercepted by the Renegade Chapter Master and instructors. They are chosen for their mental fortitude and unwavering belief in the God-Emperor's truth. The training is similar to other Space Marine but it continues while they sleep. There is very little Information in the Imperial records about the Verum Illuminate as they are very specialized and prefer to work alone. They are often called in when others fail at finding and capturing or eliminating traitors or other heretics.They will fight, to the death, with honour, in the name of the Emperor, until all traitors are destroyed or they, themselves, take their last breath.

Chapter History Summary
"Accept your Fate for you have failed your Master! Fulfill your duty to the Emperor and Die!"

- Grandmaster Gabriel Ziad to Traitor Merill, Extermination of Merill

The Verum Illuminate founding is a little bit of a mystery as it's creation is rumoured to have occurred as a band of brothers, who had survived a major battle, decided to found their own Chapter as their own had been decimated. These Marines hailed from three different Chapters and were left stranded on a desert world, Stygian, situated near the Eye of Terror. The proximity to the Eye of Terror ensured that many Space Marine legions were already established and recruiting young men to serve the God-Emperor. These stranded Marines were about a dozen. They did not want to start over with a new Chapter, so they all agreed to create the Verum Illuminate. They would search for the Enlightened truth in order to serve the Emperor proudly and not have to repeat or disclose the failure in which they had previously taken part. There secret origins would never be revealed, therefore, they chose to paint their armour in colours that did not reflect their old affiliations. The colours were chosen based on the name of the new Chapter. Yellow and orange for light and truth. Because of their secret founding and history, they needed to find a different recruitment method than other Chapters. They chose to intercept recruits on the way to joining other Chapters on Stygian. The highest ranking survivor of the massacre was named Chapter Master as a consensus.In order to be able to function as an Independent Space Marine Chapter, they needed to be verified. Seeing as the Chapter Master had his ways of being convincing,he went to the proper authorities and with a little bit of mind games, were confirmed as a Space Marine Chapter.

The Founding of the Verum Illuminate
During the 8th founding, a group of Space Marines hailing from different Chapters banned together and regrouped on the planet Stygian. They had fought together against a mass zenos invasion of an Imperial stronghold and were survivors of the massacre. Not wanting to stop fighting for the Imperium, in the name of the God-Emperor, they decided that it would be best to create their own Chapter in order to avoid having to explain their experience and their means of survival. Together, they discussed their beliefs and philosophies and chose the perfect guidelines. A Scroll was created with the founding beliefs and rules and laws of the Verum Illuminate and it became the most important document the VI would hold. A Chapter Master was chosen, the Marine with the most experience that went by the name Rex Carleton and by the gift of speech that he had been blessed with and a strong influential mind, convinced the authorities on Stygian that they were in fact, a strong and unified chapter.

Chapter Homeworld
Stygian is a planet near the Eye of Terror. It is mostly a desert land with smaller areas of fertile land near water sources and small forests. There are some Mountain ranges where people mine for coal and other metals.The inhabitants mostly farm root vegetables such as potatoes and fruit trees such as peaches and cherries. The inhabitants are eager to join the Space Marines as a way to escape the harsh life on the planet with such an arid and dry climate. When the rains come, there are great floods. The people believe in the God-Emperor and worship him and live their lives believing that the Emperor will protect them from the eye of terror and chaos. Strategically, it is a great place for the Renegade Chapter to intercept new recruits because of their eagerness to leave this world. The Space Marine recruitment Centers are always busy so it is easy for the Renegade Chapter to intercept people waiting to be recruited.There is no large hive city but smaller towns near the fertile land. Life expectancy is usually between 50 and 60 years old. There is a slightly higher incidence of psyker births on this planet. The reasons are a mystery.

Fortress-Monastery
The Fortress Monastery for the Verum Illuminate is on the planet Stygian but is not owned by the Chapter Master. The very large building is called Dara Seans and is built outside a small city and is surrounded by the desert. Defensive weapons are positioned at the very top of the domes in order to protect from invasion or attack.

Auditoriums and training areas are many and there are great rooms where worship and prayer takes place. Most of the arms are stored at an undisclosed location but there is a small armory in the Monastery. Great tinted windows and sculptures of the Emperor of Mankind are erected along the hallways and in the worship halls. The word of the Emperor is written on the walls of the halls.

Chapter Recruitment
The recruitment for this Chapter is unique as the Chapter Master and high ranking Officials and Instructors intercept young men who want to join various Chapters of the Space Marines. Before they reach the recruitment Center, they are approached by the Verum Illuminate and told that their profile meets the criteria for a very prestigious Chapter of Space Marines who's purpose is to make sure that members of the Emperor's fleet have, in fact, embraced the Enlightened truth that the God-Emperor is protector of the Imperium. They should find traitors and eliminate heretics making the Space Marines pure. They will also stand against the forces of chaos. These special people are chosen for their highly suggestive minds and brute strength and steadfast belief in the God Emperor. They are people who are eager to take orders and have shown some Psyker abilities. They are told they are chosen for their mental fortitude but this is not the case.

Battle Squadrons

 * Delta Squad - Delta Squad is comprised of very susceptible Marines who are trained to push through any kind of attack and simply destroy everything in its way when called upon. When working with other Chapters, Delta Squad is rarely called upon, unless there is a need to destroy that particular Chapter, in this case, they will be sent in first and the Charlie Squad and line men finish off any stragglers.


 * Foxtrot Squad - Foxtrot Squad is comprised of very skilled fighters. They accompany Echo Squad everywhere. Their goal is to eliminate threats and to keep Echo Squad Psykers protected. This squad only has 2 higher ranking officers and will follow orders given by Echo squad blindly.

Junior Squadrons

 * Alpha Squad - Alpha Squad are usually newer recruits that have recently gone through training. Usually, they are left to guard the ship.They are comprised of 5 higher ranking officers and the rest are Junior ranks.
 * Beta Squad - Beta Squad have more experience and have proved their loyalty. Usually they would be sent in to battle after the line men or will have a secondary mission of searching for an item or just gathering data from a new planet. This squad only has 3 higher ranking officers.
 * Charlie Squad - Charlie Squad are seasoned members of the Verum Illuminate. They gather Intelligence and make first contact with locals to determine if they are loyal to the Emperor. This Squadron has 5 higher ranking officers.

Line Ranks
They have no special name or culture surrounding a majority of the line ranks.

Specialist Formations

 * Echo Squad - The most important person of echo squad is the seeker. He is a Marine who is trained in finding a target by using psyker techniques. The Seeker is the most guarded Marine in Echo Squad. He is accompanied by a leader, and up to 4 more powerful psykers depending on the nature and number of the target.The team also has very well trained combatants to protect the Seeker and detain or eliminate the targets of a mission.

Headquarters

 * Intelligence/Recruiter - The Interceptor/Recruiter is a special analyst who's primary task is to sort through potential new members according to their recruitment profile. When a profile is flagged, a Recruiter will intercept the potential recruit at a space Marine recruitment Center and convince him to join the Verum Illuminate.


 * Instructor - The Instructor is a position only few loyal men will be granted. An instructor believes deeply in the real purpose of the Verum Illuminate and is adept at manipulation with words and brainwashing. He is also a Master strategist. Most instructors belong to one family line and will pass on the position from father to son.


 * Commander - The commander hands down missions to the highest ranking officer. The paperwork that the officer receives may be different from the orders given by the Commander. The Commander's orders are to be followed, the paperwork, ignored. Every member of the Verum Illuminate is expected to obey these commands. High ranking officers report directly to the Commander or an Instructor, if the Commander is unavailable.

Companies
The Verum Illuminate is smaller than most Space Marine Chapters with 6 companies.

Chapter Culture
The Verum Illuminate are devoted to the service of the Emperor of Mankind. They believe that the god-Emperor speaks to them through higher ranking officers and instructor. They never question orders and the only person who gets to see the official orders is the Echo squad leader. Members under the leader blindly follow the orders that they are given verbally. They are trained to weed out heretics wherever they go and grant the Emperor's Mercy to traitors.

The Verum Illuminate do absolutely everything together, from breathing to marching, they are in tune to the rhythm of the Echo leader. Original thought is not encouraged, blind devotion and acceptance is expected from every member of the Chapter. They pray, eat and sleep together and trust each other implicitly.Questions are regarded as an affront to the Emperor's will.

As a Chapter, they prefer to work alone as most do not understand their ways although they seemingly work toward the same goal. If they are forced into a situation where they must work together, Echo leader will usually let another echo quad member be in the lead, in order to let the real echo leader analyse the interactions and detect traitors in other chapters.

Chapter Belief
The Verum Illuminate believe in the divinity of the God-Emperor. They are thought to follow his ways and his light. They believe that they are following the Emperors will and are taught not to question the orders because the orders are coming from the Emperor himself. The Scriptures are taught during the daytime training and prayer takes place three times per day but at night, the scriptures is recited through intercom when the Marines sleep. They believe in ridding the Imperium of chaos and heretics. During training, the Instructor mentions ways in which chaos has become acceptable. They believe that they need to change the faulty ways, discreetly. An example of this is to stop forcing the sacrifice of unwilling Psykers to the Emperor. It is believe that the Emperor would have more power if the sacrifices were done willingly and that taking these Psykers against their will weakens the psychic influence of the Emperor.

Chapter Gene-Seed
The gene seed is not common knowledge. Even the members of the Chapter do not know its origins although there are some rumours, among the Marines, of the gene seed coming from Magnus the Red. They never speak of the origin of the gene seed nor their suspicions and when asked, they reply that it is undetermined but likely from the Ultramarine stock. Some Marines have enhanced Psyker abilities. Only the Chapter Master knows the origin of the gene seed and he keeps this information to himself. There are some mutations but those are not detailed as the affected Marines are never seen again within the ranks.

Notable Campaigns

 * The Quest for the lost Scroll - This quest took place when the scroll that held the word of the Emperor was stolen from the relic chambers. It is uncertain who took it but the Verum Illuminate could not let this grave action go unpunished. Under the Chapter Master, Gregory Eagna, many seekers and Charlie squad were sent out to find the guilty party and retrieve the important document. They traveled for 5 years, finding traitors and heretics, fighting Xenos as they tried to find the guilty party. After searching far and wide and doing the Emperor's will as they encountered the enemy, they returned to Stygian with a small amount of Marines left and most Seekers still alive. The Verum Illuminate suffered a great loss, the loss of their scroll but they did the Emperor's bidding and won many battles. The Chapter Master continued to send scouts out every year, in search of the scroll but it was always in vain.Eventually, the teachings of the scroll were rewritten from memory into a simple book, for fear that the teachings be forgotten. After 20 years of searching, the scroll mysteriously reappeared back in the relic chamber in perfect condition. It was never known how it came back to its proper home but the Verum Illuminate called it the Great Miracle.


 * The Extermination of Morill - The orders were sent to the Grand Master, Gabriel Ziad to find, question and exterminate the traitor Morill who had gone into hiding after being discovered by an Inquisitor. The man escaped the planet and could not be found. The search continued until the Verum Illuminate were called upon.

Deathwatch Service
The Verum Illuminate the have a slightly higher than average deathwatch service as they are good fighters. Usually members of Delta or Foxtrot squad will join the deathwatch as they are especially focused on combat and have a one track mind. They are good fighters and it is an honour to join deathwatch although higher ranking marines usually are not assigned to deathwatch because they are too important to the training, maintenance and "esprit de corp" of their respective squads.This is especially the case with Echo squad. Seekers are not allowed to join Deathwatch.

Notable Members
Chapter Master Rex Carleton  - Rex Carleton is one of the founding Brothers of the Verum Illuminate. He survived a great battle and was said to guide other survivors of this mysterious battle to Stygian in order to survive and create the VI. He was known as one of the most persuasive Space Marines in the organisation and none other would prove as convincing as he. He once talked a Witch into voluntarily killing himself telling the heretic that his Master would be glad to see his sacrifice.

Chapter Fleet

 * The Verum Quaesitor (Battle Barge) - The Verum Quaesitor is a battle barge that is commonly used for the Verum Illuminate. Seeing as the Chapter likes to work alone and under the radar, they do not have many vessels. They tend to use it for most of their missions but has not yet sustained major damage. Although it dates back many centuries, it is a reliable vessel. It usually only holds drop pods but can engage if need be.

Chapter Relics

 * The Scroll of enlightenement - The chapter's most prized relic. The scroll lays in the coffers of the fortress monastery under heavy guard since it's mysterious disappearance and return. This scroll is of the utmost importance as it holds the Word of The Emperor. It is used as guidelines to the way of life for the members of the Verum Illuminate. The Word of the Emperor holds the values and the reason for the existance of the Chapter and must be learned, word for word and obeyed at all times. The disappearance of the Scroll is something that the Verum Illuminate dread.


 * The crystal of Nareth - This crystal was found during a campaign in which the Verum Illuminate were tasked with eliminating a necron threat in their sector. The properties of the green crystal are not well understood. It is under heavy guard. Since the Verum Illuminste have acquired this crystal, they have never suffered a loss; therefore, it must be devine.

Allies
The Verum Illuminate usually works alone, they prefer to be discreet

Enemies
The Red Crusaders