| abstract
| - The Space Wolves, known in their own dialect of Juvjk as the Vlka Fenryka or "Wolves of Fenris", are one of the original 20 First Founding Space Marine Legions, and were once led by their famed Primarch, Leman Russ. Once the VI Legion of Astartes raised by the Emperor at the dawn of the Great Crusade, the Space Wolves are renowned for their anti-authoritarian ways and their embrace of their homeworld Fenris' savage barbarian culture as well as their extreme deviation from the Codex Astartes in the Chapter's organisation. After the Horus Heresy and the resultant Second Founding reforms of the Adeptus Astartes, the Space Wolves Legion was divided into two Chapters: the new Space Wolves Chapter, which was not compliant with the dictates of the Codex Astartes and retained the name of its parent Legion, and the second Chapter which took the name of the Wolf Brothers. The Wolf Brothers suffered from rampant mutation of their gene-seed not long after their Founding and were later disbanded. It is currently unknown if there are any other Successor Chapters of the Space Wolves in the Imperium. Since the Imperium came into being, the Space Wolves have fought tooth and nail for the cause of the Emperor. Amongst the most famous of the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, their sagas are told from one end of the galaxy to the other. As headstrong as they are fierce, the Space Wolves excel at close-quarters fighting, their warriors vying keenly for glory on the field of battle. The Space Wolves live to fight, and death holds no fear for them. The legends of the Space Wolves Chapter are told on countless thousands of worlds, and like the greatest of their fellow First Founding kin, they hold so many battle-honours that it would take a battle-scribe an entire lifetime to commit them all to parchment. The manner in which such laurels are won and recounted amongst the Space Wolves is very different to how such things are achieved amongst other Chapters. The Space Wolves are savage and proud, and they seek glory in all they do. Some, especially the Dark Angels, regard the Sons of Russ as braggarts and gloryhounds, finding their methods crude and their desire to make a name for themselves vainglorious. In truth, every Space Wolves Battle-Brother longs for his story -- his saga -- to be recounted by his kin long after he has fallen, and for his name to be spoken in the same breath as the Primarch himself. The Space Wolves deviate from the Codex Astartes and the essential nature of what it is to be a Space Marine about as far as is possible. Their genetic inheritance is at once a blessing and a curse, for although each Space Wolf is gifted of the superhuman senses of Russ himself, their enhanced physiologies can be overcome by the change and mutation can occur. In organisation, the Chapter has never paid any regard to the dictates of Roboute Guilliman's Codex Astartes, stubbornly cleaving to the structure that saw it through the wars at the dawn of the Age of the Imperium. In appearance, the Space Wolves are savage and wild, adorning their armour with a combination of finely-wrought talismans and skins, bones, and teeth taken as trophies from beasts they have slain in single combat. Even in their manners, the Battle-Brothers of the Space Wolves differ from most other Space Marines, for they are competitive and headstrong, and at once individualistic and fiercely loyal to their "Pack." Space Wolves seek to write their saga with every deed they perform and every battle they fight, and perhaps more than any other Chapter, their service is an epic in itself. The rites of initiation that a Space Wolf must undergo in order to be accepted as a Neophyte are amongst the most harsh of any Chapter. Often he must actually fall in combat having slain all of his foes first, a guttering spark of life remaining. His deeds witnessed by a so-called "Chooser of the Slain," the young warrior awakens far from his tribe. But this is only the beginning, for so potent is the gene-stock of Russ that most who receive it are overcome, their bodies ravaged by mutation as they transform into savage beasts called Wulfen. Those who can contain this animal potency are judged fit to proceed, and after countless more trials may be accepted into the ranks of the Blood Claw Assault Packs. At this stage in his life, a Space Wolf is likely to be a headstrong berserker competing with his peers for the approval of his superiors. He is also full of the disdain and reckless overconfdence of youth, convinced that his methods are correct and the older warriors are simply stuck in their ways. Only as he matures with experience, faces more foes and suffers the cathartic tragedy of losing beloved Battle-Brothers does he change, and progress to join the Grey Hunter Packs. Later in life, having faced every foe and seen all there is to be seen, the Space Wolf and his few surviving peers might form a Long Fangs Pack, where their hard-fought experience and wisdom affords them the ability to provide fire support to the rest of the force, and to act as an immovable island in the seething ocean of battle. Throughout his service, the Space Wolf compiles his great saga, not in words, but in deeds. He seeks out the most powerful of enemies and faces the most arduous of tasks. Every Adeptus Astartes Chapter is a cadre of heroes, and the Space Wolves even more so than most, so to earn a special place in the annals of his Chapter, a Space Wolf must perform truly epic deeds and face such foes as would give even the mightiest of figures pause. As a result of these deeds, each Space Wolf carries within him unparalleled expertise, and wears the scars to prove it. Perhaps more than any other Chapter, the character of a Space Wolves Battle-Brother is defined by his age. Perhaps the changes wrought within him by the Canis Helix grant him something of the essence of the Primarch, a potent nature the Battle-Brother must struggle to control. Leman Russ was known as a being of wild humours and often contradictory drives. One moment he was jovial, the next sullen. At the conclusion of one battle he might have ordered clemency and mercy, and at another brooked no quarter. To the Space Wolves, there is no contradiction, for the very world that birthed them is subject to such extremes. One season the land of ice and fire is cold and snow swept, the next the skies blacken with ash and lava flows dissect the plains. Thus, the nature and character of a Space Wolf depends very much upon his stage in life. The youngest are headstrong and cocksure, seemingly determined to get themselves killed charging headlong into battle. The Grey Hunters are more mature, knowing the constraints of their abilities but confdent of their skills. The Long Fangs are the oldest and the wisest, affably disapproving of the antics of the youngsters but ever ready with words of advice. The most skilled in battle and leadership serve as Wolf Guard, the guardians of the Chapter's mightiest heroes. Whatever his station, a Space Wolf knows that he travels a glorious path, and that thousands of great warriors have trod it before him.
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