Huron Blackheart: Master of the Maelstrom (Warhammer 40,000)

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The Secessionist forces would continue to make major advances throughout the rest of the year almost unopposed. The Maelstrom Zone now belonged almost wholly to Lufgt Huron, the Tyrant of Badab. Before they submitted to the legate's will, the Fire Hawks had one last act of bloody vengeance to carry out, which has since been entered into the Imperial history of the war as the infamous "Firebombing of Sacristan."

Situated along the Eastern Fringe in the Segmentum Ultima, the region of the galaxy now known as the Maelstrom Zone was first explored during the Great Crusade of the 31st Millennium. Second in size and extent only to the Eye of Terror, the Maelstrom is a vast Warp rift that scars both the physical universe and the fabric of the Immaterium beyond. The scales began to tip in the Loyalists' favour as further reinforcements arrived almost solar month by solar month, with missives from the Adeptus Terra informing them that other Space Marine Chapters were en route. Lord High Commander Culln knew that he must press his advantage soon or risk the war devolving into a slow battle of attrition that would bleed his forces dry. The first move forwards would be the relief of the Fortress World of Surngraad that stubbornly held out against the Secessionist aggression by their heroic self-sacrifice and single bloody-minded faith in the God-Emperor. But as the omission persisted, this signaled to the Mechanicus that there was some darker motive at work. This would later prove to be true with the Astral Claws, as evidence indicated that this first great sin against the established traditions of the Adeptus Astartes would arguably result in the Chapter's fall into heresy. Some observers say that it was during this time that Lufgt Huron became corrupted and fell from grace. Denied the goals he had spent a lifetime fighting for, he had been denied his glory as it was snatched from his hands at the last by those he should call master, finally unhinged him, or maybe he had given in to hubris and false pride. Some of the Tyrant's detractors have even gone so far as to suggest that during the Crusade of Wrath, whilst deep within the nightmare realm of the Maelstrom, something vile or Warp-tainted promises had wormed their way into his heart.Some Imperial scholars contend that when the last remaining Tiger Claws survivors were taken into the Astral Claws midst, these once-loyal brothers grasped a poisonous viper to their hearts, thus causing them to eventually fall from grace.

To outside scrutiny, the Tyrant of Badab placed Astral Claws detachments within the Tyrant's Legion's ranks before the outbreak of the war as trainers -- tasked with the purging and improvement of the mediocre and often corrupt PDF armies of the Badab Sector. But in reality, the Legion's Astartes tribunes were in all cases passed off as the force's commanders. This perfidy succeeded in concealing the true numbers of the Tyrant's growing Chapter from prying eyes and enabled the Astral Claws to disperse these hidden forces all across Huron's domain, hidden within the Tyrant's Legion. The Mantis Warriors were reduced to fighting a guerrilla resistance against an ongoing Loyalist suppression campaign comprising combined elements from the Fire Angels and Sons of Medusa Chapters. Sporadic and oft times bloody engagements were also fought in the Tranquility, Iblis and Sigard Systems. The Loyalist forces suffered a severe defeat when the Fire Angels strike cruiser Polaris Rising was raided by the Mantis Warriors under the leadership of their prophetic Master Librarian Ahazra Redth. They succeeded in damaging their main plasma reactors and weapons bays before withdrawing their forces, leaving them at the mercy of two Ork Kill Krooze On return to the Badab System, Captain Lufgt Huron was appointed as the Astral Claws' new Chapter Master by popular acclaim of his peers in 715.M41. He became the youngest warrior in the Chapter's history to attain this esteemed rank. Imperial historitors now point out that such a man of flawed character should never have been allowed to rise to the command of a Space Marine Chapter.Helbrute • Ferrum Infernus Dreadnought • Chaos Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought • Sonic Dreadnought • Berserker Dreadnought • Leviathan Dreadnought Most of the Imperial records pertaining to the Astral Claws have been suppressed or purged following the Edict of Obliteration that was issued by the Inquisition following the conclusion of the Badab War. But there is evidence that Lufgt Huron first came to prominence within his Chapter as a Scout Novitiate during the later stages of the Ribos Crusade. Heavy Flamer - Before he possessed the Tyrant's Claw and its built-in heavy flamer in the palm, Lufgt Huron often made use of a heavy flamer as a secondary weapon. The heavy flamer is commonly employed as a squad support weapon by Terminator units deployed into closely confined battle zones. The use of such a weapon by a Space Marine commander was an unorthodox choice, but one that clearly reflected Huron's preference for participating at the forefront of battle and heavy assaults. The heavy flamer's specific pattern remains unknown, and it was likely a direct creation of Armenneus Valthex in his capacity as the Tyrant of Badab's personal armourer and weaponsmith. The Astral Claws were one of a series of Space Marine Chapters tasked with watching over the blighted region of space known as the Maelstrom. An open wound in reality as a semi-permanent Warp rift, the Maelstrom is a place where Daemons walk the worlds drowned in its depths, where aliens swarm like carrion feeders, and the outcasts of Humanity gather and grow strong. Spartan Assault Tank • Fellblade • Decimator • Typhon Heavy Siege Tank • Lord of Skulls • Death Wheel • Plaguereaper • Plagueburst Crawler • Silver Tower of Tzeentch