The Partisan Chapters: Traitoris Perdita
That words had passed was clear. Intentions and ideas flowed and locked together in an apparently logical fabric. And yet... In the wake of his words, while the threads woven by the Eleven came to intertwine and bind each together with the others, so did it gradually become clear that the weaving taking place had no backing – no warp to the Partisan's weft.
Is it, then, any wonder that such a fabric proved wanting; that those that sought to know found their ambitions unravelling? The shame is mine; in that I had – for the briefest moment – the power to dispel the dream; to turn these former heroes; these flawed demigods; these Lords and Chapter Masters from their path.
Ah, I did not. And though the deaths of worlds sits upon me for my weakness; I ask you, with no expectation nor deceit in my heart: could you truthfully say that you did not also wish to know?
[REDACTED]
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[SALVE, INQUISITOR]
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+ The Partisans +
Arising with seeming spontaneity from the population of the worlds that came under the sphere of the 'Primarch's' influence – both directly and indirectly – the term 'Partisans' had no clear provenance, nor was it in any sense official or accredited. Rather, it was a makeshift identifier for the waxing and waning forces that allied themselves together in opposition to the Orthodoxy of the High Lords of Terra; a term as mysterious in origin as the False Primarch himself.
Initially used by Naval and Guard forces that declared their support for the Returned Primarch, by the later stages of the war it had come to be a byword for the various Astartes Chapters in conflict with the Pentarchy for their perceived perfidy. Partisan was a term variously embraced and rejected by the mix of Chapters that made up the group.
In all, eleven Chapters were declared Traitoris Perdita by Aramis Enoch on behalf of the Senatorum Imperialis; though muddled records are unclear on whether this incorporated the supposed Legion-remnant led by the False Primarch, or whether the eleven were in addition to the Silver Stars themselves.
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The War of the False Primarch reportedly saw eleven Chapters destroyed by the Pentarchy of Blood; a group of Five Chapters. The story, such as it is, is a brief war, akin to the Badab Wars or Horus Heresy (if rather more asymmerical).
For the majority of denizens in the 41st Millennium, gaps in history are well-ignored – lest you draw the attention of the Inquisition. There are, however, individual obsessive archaeognostics and ragged fact-supremacists – not to mention rather more august organisations like the Hidden Orders of the Adeptus Terra who make it their business to investigate such lacuna in circumspect manner. After all, who is to say what should be hidden from the Administratum?
Thus, we can reveal the few extant vid-captures believed to depict the now-extinct Chapters that followed the so-called False Primarch into oblivion. In alphabetical order:
 Firebreak [//cameron_m:+]  Iron Guard [//michael_m-r:studio_fatfingers+]  Inheritors [//Lars_J-D+]  Jade Talons [//adam_s-a:adam_james_creates+]  Marines Saturnine [//tom_k:ghostys_neon_rust+] 
 Riven Lords [//cole_c:sharkmanderminis+]  Star Wardens [//dark_isles+] [REDACTED [//IMAGO ABSENTIA+]] Storm Tyrants [//Jorge_P+]
[//Simon_V:heresyhobbyheadquarters+] |
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| Wormwood Sons [//nick_t:k0rdhal+] |
Viewing of such material, of course, has you marked by the Inquisition – how you react is now down to you...
+ Symbols of the Partisans +
For the first few years of the war, those sympathetic or pledge to the Primarch's service gathered under the Silver Star, symbol of the False Primarch's own 'Legion'. A rotating four-pointed star, the symbol was used indiscriminately, daubed on walls, hoisted alongside the Aquilla, and published in reports.
 |
| The Silver Star, surmounting a Legion helm |
The makeshift symbol was retired following the Conclave on Jiam, after which the Four – that is, the first Four Chapters to pledge service – began to bear the Primarch's preferred symbol; the Caputmori. Replacing the twin eagle heads of the Aquilla with a single human skull was a blunt challenge to the High Lords. That the creature was then surmounted upon the laurels of victory was demonstrative of either the ambition – or hubris – of the Legions of old.
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| The Caputmori, gathering mark of the Partisans. |
The Captutmori was borne into battle by many of the Partisans – from those afixed to the prow of Naval cruisers to those carried by Guard units, Space Marines and other forces. Many individual Astartes – especially those of the Marines Saturnine – modified or altered their armour to mark their allegiance to the Emperor Through His Son with the symbol.
Each Chapter Master or representative who pledged to the Silver Stars was granted a Vexillum-Imperialis; a banner, atopped with the Caputmori. Most were Nova-Martian Gold; but, as mark of their extraordinary courage, the Four were granted silver vexilla. The protection or seizure of these extraordinary objects would prompt some of the fiercest fighting, greatest heroism and deepest treachery of the war.
Ever fixated upon symbolism and esoterica, the Silver Stars and their commander inculcated amongst their followers a strong vision of the future; one united under the sole surviving son of the Emperor, in open defiance of Imperial Orthodoxy under the Senatorum Imperialis.
+ Wh-what's happening? +
+ Where do I start? +
With this in mind, you are cordially invited to join the Partisans; posting in the + Some Things Are Left Forgotten + Facebook group and on Instagram, using the following tags:
#somethingsarebestleftforgotten
#partisanchapters
#warofthefalseprimarch
The guidelines are necessarily short – we want to leave as much space as possible for you to explore within the following loose guidelines. The key things that all Partisan forces have in common are:
- They all support the claims of the 'Primarch'
- They are all declared Traitoris Perdita
- They are all officially destroyed by the end of the war.
- All Astartes models are scaled to match the current Primaris figures.
+ What do I do? +
- Build and paint Partisan figures who fit in the M33 period and setting.
- Work out why they follow the figure of the False Primarch; or at least how they've got caught up in things.
- Write stories, draw maps, detail battles, and share them.
- Share it with the tags #somethingsarebestleftforgotten #partisanchapters and #warofthefalseprimarch
+ A few final notes +
I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.
Attr. Roboute Guilliman, at the Convention of Jupiter
