Origins
Shortly after the Second Founding in M31, Roboute Guilliman entrusted Archmagos Belisarius Cawl with a task of monumental importance - a secret project to create a new breed of Adeptus Astartes.
Guilliman, scarred by the lessons of the Horus Heresy, foresaw that the forces of Chaos would never cease in their pursuit of the destruction they had once wrought upon the Imperium. The Lord Commander knew that these enemies would rise again to threaten the galaxy, and when they did, the Imperium would need warriors of unparalleled physical and mental resilience to stand against them..
Now, with the Imperium of Man teetering once more on the brink of annihilation, Cawl’s grand design is revealed in full - the creation of the Primaris Space Marines.
Among them, the Blades Exemplar stand as a testament to the genius of Cawl and the foresight of Guilliman. Conceived with a singular purpose, to combat the Chaos that would forever plague the Emperor’s realm, the Blades Exemplar are the result of further refinements to the Primaris design. Cawl, ever the architect of secretive manipulations, took this project a step further. Utilizing an adjusted gene-code derived from Alpha Primus, a unique creation of his own making, the Blades Exemplar are endowed with attributes beyond that of other Primaris Chapters.
Alpha Primus was Cawl's audacious attempt to recreate the methods the Emperor once used to craft the Primarchs. Though this endeavor fell short of its lofty goals, Alpha Primus was forged as a powerful prototype, a genetic experiment that served as a template for the Primaris Marines. Unlike standard Primaris, Alpha Primus was altered at a fundamental genetic level, possessing enhanced physical prowess and immense psychic potential, though he still fell short of a Primarchs' godlike stature.
While the full process could never be replicated, elements of Alpha Primus’ genetic code were deemed transferable—and thus, the Blades Exemplar were born with a heightened resistance to the warp and a greater number of potent psykers within their ranks. This genetic heritage remains hidden, locked behind Vermillion-class encryption known only to Cawl, Guilliman, and the Chapter’s High Exemplar.
Forged in the Flames of Terra
The Blades Exemplar, like many of the original Primaris Chapters, draw their recruits from Terra itself, their aspirants coming from the ancient and war-scarred regions of Britonnica, Franc, and Jermani. These lands, once rich with the history of Old Earth's warrior-kings, became breeding grounds for fierce warriors during the long twilight of the Age of Strife. Isolated from the stars, these regions descended into a brutal feudal system, where only the strongest survived the horrors of Old Night. From this crucible, a warlord of great renown arose—a man who claimed descent from an ancient figure of legend, Charlemagne.
Under his reign, the ancient texts of Terra's forgotten past were unearthed, among them the Code Chivalric—a set of virtues, oaths, and ideals that embodied honour, courage, and noble conduct. These ideals gave rise to a new breed of warriors, knights in both name and spirit, who swore to uphold a code of honour that transcended the brutality of their age. These knights became paragons of martial excellence, combining their skill in battle with a fierce dedication to honour, duty, and justice—an ethos that would carry on through the Unification Wars and into the modern era.
Knights of the Emperor
A Knight of Terra, forged in the fires of Old Night, was expected not only to wield the strength and skill to face the ceaseless carnage of that violent era, but also to temper such brutal prowess with nobility and fairness—qualities sorely lacking in the savage techno-barbarian states that ruled the fractured planet. This belief in honourable conduct, a relic from the lost glories of ancient Terra, survived the crucible of the Unification Wars, enduring even into the time of the Imperium.
The Blades Exemplar adhere to their own version of the ancient Code Chivalric, a warrior’s creed drawn from the legends of Old Terra. It serves as both a moral compass and a martial doctrine, one that defines every battle they fight and every oath they swear. The code they live by is thus:
By adhering to this code, the Blades Exemplar have earned a reputation as stoic, efficient, and fiercely honourable warriors. Their dedication to this code is as unyielding as their loyalty to the Emperor. They are relentless in their persecution of the traitor Primarchs and their foul legions, meeting any transgression against the Imperium with extreme prejudice, and ensuring no enemy force is left to draw breath.
The Blades Exemplar see themselves as crusaders, guardians of the Imperium’s eternal flame. They are willing to throw themselves into the most dire of wars, confronting impossible odds if it means securing the safety of Mankind. Their dedication to this cause has been demonstrated time and again across the battlefields of the Indomitus Crusade.
Role in the Indomitus Crusade
The Blades Exemplar were deployed into the war-torn Segmentum Obscurus and Segmentum Pacificus, regions particularly devastated by the creation of the Cicatrix Maledictum (Great Rift). Their mastery of the blade and ability to adapt to fluid combat situations made them invaluable in guerilla warfare and spearheading assaults on fortified positions. During the Indomitus Crusade, they fought alongside many Chapters, such as the Ultramarines and Black Templars, often acting as shock troops in desperate battles against the forces of Chaos.
One of their most significant engagements was during the Liberation of Hiveworld Altoros, where the Chapter's 2nd Company performed a surgical strike to decapitate a traitor leadership under the thrall of the Word Bearers. This battle earned them the admiration of the Primarch Guilliman and a permanent place in the annals of the Crusade.
At the Battle of Vorlese, the Blades Exemplar boarded the Executor alongside Roboute Guilliman himself, cutting down the Black Legion with cold, clinical precision. Having purged the warship of traitors, they descended upon the planet’s northern continent, clearing out every last vestige of the Black Legion and its cultist followers with minimal casualties.
Later, in the same Crusade, the Chapter fought on the world of Pyros, deployed alongside the Ultramarines, Imperial Fists, and Raven Guard. Here, their precise tactical expertise was crucial in wearing down the heretical Revenants of Umidia. The campaign culminated in a climactic confrontation at the spaceport, where the Chapter’s High Exemplar engaged the warband’s champion in single combat, slaying the traitor and cementing their victory.
After nearly a century of warfare at Guilliman’s side, the Blades Exemplar were called upon to assist in the Plague Wars, joining the campaign against the festering blight of Nurgle in the Ultima Segmentum. Their honour and bravery saw them make repeated incursions into the Scourge Stars, gathering vital intelligence for the Ordo Sepulturum.
Post-Indomitus Era and Crusading Oaths
In the tumultuous wake of the Indomitus Crusade, as the Imperium sought to re-establish control across its fractured and beleaguered domains, the Blades Exemplar were dispatched to the Mortadon Praxis—a war-ravaged sector situated deep within the galactic north of Ultima Segmentum, just within the darkened expanse of Imperium Nihilus. This region, marked by its dangerous proximity to the Cicatrix Maledictum, stands as a bleeding wound in the fabric of the galaxy, where the corrupting tendrils of the warp press constantly against the fragile borders of reality. Here, Chaos holds sway, with foul daemons and heretic warbands surging forth to claim world after world, leaving the Imperium on the brink of collapse.
Upon their arrival, the Blades Exemplar swiftly set about reinforcing the beleaguered Imperial garrisons in the sector. After a series of decisive engagements, the Chapter seized the world of Hallow’s End from the grasp of Chaos-tainted insurgents. This strategically vital planet, positioned at the crossroads of several key warp routes, was critical to the defense of the sector. The Blades Exemplar, true to their nature as crusaders and guardians of the Imperium, established their Chapter’s fortress-monastery there, renaming the world Blade’s Hallow—a symbol of their eternal vigilance and a promise of retribution to all those who would dare defy the Emperor’s will.
From their new bastion, the Blades Exemplar wage a relentless campaign of purgation, striking out with surgical precision against the myriad enemies of the Imperium. Their tactics, honed through centuries of warfare, are as disciplined and measured as the code they live by. Each strike is calculated, each victory achieved with ruthless efficiency. The Chapter's warriors - steeled by their adherence to the ancient Code Chivalric - see themselves as the Emperor's knights, sworn to defend His realm with unyielding honour and unwavering faith.
Upon Blade’s Hallow, they have erected towering citadels and bastions of purity, casting a long shadow over the corrupted landscape of the Praxis. Each day, the Chapter’s Librarius scours the ether, ever-watchful for signs of impending warp storms or Chaos incursions. Their psykers, empowered by their unique genetic lineage, stand as both the guardians and weapons against the dark tides of the warp. With their enhanced resistance to the warping influence of Chaos, the Blades Exemplar fight where other Chapters might falter, holding the line in the darkest of times.
In this new warzone, the Blades Exemplar once again stand ready, their swords raised high in service to the Emperor and the eternal protection of His Imperium. Whether facing the heretic, the xenos, or the daemon, they fight with the unbreakable resolve that has become their hallmark. The Chapter’s High Exemplar, bearing the mantle of leadership, commands with a relentless drive, ensuring that the light of the Emperor continues to shine in the darkened heavens of the Mortadon Praxis. In the crucible of war, the Blades Exemplar are tempered anew, their blades forged in battle, their spirits unyielding as they carve a path of purity through the filth of Chaos.
