(006) The Unity Marines: Chapter Organisation & Origins (Part I)

One of my favourite aspects of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 Universe is the massive scope that exists for creating your own unique armies, characters and places and fleshing them out with backstories. In fact in recent years ‘Forging the Narrative’ has seemingly become Games Workshop’s guiding philosophy, and I couldn’t be happier.

 

I started my Space Marine army during my first year at University, way back in 2002. I had been collecting and playing with a hodgepodge of models since I was about twelve. My aim in beginning a new Space Marine army was to collect a strictly rules-legal force, to paint it in a unified colour scheme and to create its backstory myself.

 

Thus was founded ‘The Unity Marines’. I’ve only settled on this name comfortably in the last handful of years. Before that I toyed with other names like ‘The Lightning Legion’ or ‘The Storm Marines’. Their chapter badge is a black lightning bolt on a white circle. Primarily because that symbol is numerous enough on the Space Marine transfer sheets to kit out an entire army.

 

 

 

In Warhammer 40,000 the lightning bolt symbol was closely associated with the Emperor of Mankind during the Unification Wars, hence the name ‘Unity Marines’, being derived from the lightning bolt symbol.

 

Over the years I have considered writing up the origin story of my chapter. I’ve always wanted to tie it to the origin of my Chaos Space Marine war band ‘The Harbingers of Discord’ in some way.

 

Originally my idea was that they began as a single Space Marine chapter, which divided in a civil war or schism. One half remaining loyal to the Imperium and the other falling to Chaos. They were called to a great battle akin to the defence of Terra at the end of the Horus Heresy. But civil war broke out.

 

After lengthy and bitter fighting on their home world the Chaos aligned marines escaped, only to find themselves too late to fight alongside their dark brethren, the battle being already over in the Imperials’ favour. They were then cursed by the Chaos Gods for failing to lend their aid to the battle.

 

The surviving Imperial aligned half of the chapter rallied and gave chase, only to be lost in the warp, emerging many years later to find themselves declared ‘Excommunicate Traitoris’. Hunted by the Imperium, hounded by other loyalist forces, they sought to clear their name and to fight for the Emperor.

I liked this origin story, until I realised how closely it resembles the backstory of the Dark Angels!

 

 

 

 

Current Size of the Unpainted Legion: 248 models.

 

 

Currently Reading: ‘The Guns of Tanith’ by Dan Abnett.