Artorius Draefend

Knight-Captain, Knight of the Ghost Wolf, Master of the Hunt, The Abyssal Blade

History

Artorius' youth has become very mythologized since his rise to glory among the Sons of Avalon. The more fanciful tales that peasants tell of him being half-fae, being born from a falling star or even being the Pryndracis reborn can be dismissed. This misinformation about Artorius is so pervasive that even the Mystics of the Chapter have labelled Artorius as the scion of various noble houses. A mistake that Artorius, a keen reader, has pointed out on more than one occasion after finding his name penned as the successor to a legendary house in historical texts. The truth of the matter is that Artorius is the son of a peasant hunter in the frozen north of Albatanica, being born sometime in M41. Most of the accurate information from this time comes from Artorius' memories, which are unusually clear for a Space Marine. His family was large as many peasant families are and Artorius spent most of his childhood hunting with his brothers and father. In the evenings though his family would gather to listen to the legends of the knights of the Emperor, questing out amongst the stars. Like numerous young boys on Albatanica, Artorius was enraptured by these stories and resolved to join the Sons of Avalon. Just like his brothers before him, Artorius set off to Ar-lic, his family holding out little hope as Artorius was considered unremarkable. He showed no talent for hunting nor any great physical aptitude. So his family simply prayed he would return alive, unlike some of his brothers.
Upon arriving at Ar-lic Artorius was inducted as an aspirant to the Sons of Avalon where he rubbed shoulders and butted heads with his noble-born peers. They had trained from birth to face these trials and Artorius could simply not compete. Soon Artorius was sidelined and assigned to the gardens of Ar-lic as his instructors didn't wish to see him get himself killed. Yet it was in these gardens that Artorius met Oathkeeper Beowin Cenric, a legendary duelist. Artorius begged the Oathkeeper to train him so that he could become a knight. This nearly resulted in his death as he dared to insult Beowin's honour calling him a coward. With one blow Beowin nearly killed him, yet Artorius rose after the blow and stood for a second before collapsing. Impressed by the resolve of the boy Beowin began to train him, starting the very next day. Every day Artorius would train from morning till night, often collapsing and often being rushed to the apothecarium. Yet no matter how many broken bones, no matter how exhausted, he trained. Beowin once asked the young aspirant what drove him to such feats and Artorius simply replied: "I want to be more than I am."
Yet despite this Artorius only narrowly managed to pass the final trails to become a Space Marine. Artorius then served dutifully and without merit within the 10th company. Even as a fully felged battle brother Artorius was considered nothing more than a line warrior. An Astartes of no renown or note. It was only during the Battle of Faraxus that Artorius distinguished himself. Slaying the Emperor's Children Champion Vortenion, shortly after Vortenion has killed Beowin. Shortly after slaying Vortenion, Artorius returned to Albatanica and met his closest friend and lifelong companion, Starlight. One of the quasi-mythical Aetherwulfs. These strange enigmatic creatures are native to Albatanica and have the ability to disappear and hide from even the most finely tuned Auspex sensor or skilled psyker. Artorius found Starlight as a pup in a glade, wounded. Unlike many of his brothers who would have slain the creature for the glory of saying they had slain a mythical Aetherwulf. Artorius shared with it some of his kill and tended to its wounds. The next time Artorius went hunting he found the pup and slowly the two began to bond.
Artorius served with distinction after taming Starlight, the Aetherwulf was a deadly companion in battle. After quickly rising through the ranks Artorius was inducted into the Inner Circle of the Chapter and promoted to Knight-Captain of the 2nd Company. Being inexperienced as a commander Artorius relies heavily on his more experienced Oathkeepr and Knight-Errants to aid in leading his company. It was also shortly after Artorius rose to the rank of Captain that he found The Abyssal Blade in the depths of the Labyrinth of Heroes.
During the Great Reforging Artorius was ordered to be the last to undergo the rite so that his risk of death was greatly lessened. Utherdane left instructions that should he die, Artorius should be elevated to the position of Knight-Commander. Artorius publically protested the order and went so far as to challenge Utherdane to a duel. Yet his challenge was rejected and Artorius watched his brothers be sacrificed so that his rite would be safer. This opened a rift between the two, one that has yet to heal and has only fueled the insubordination levelled at Utherdane Pryndrach.

Notable Events

The Siege of Virox Hive
The Hive was the last loyal hive on Andrasta V which had fallen to rebellion. A rebellion the Sons of Avalon had foreseen and had sent the 2nd Company to prevent. The 2nd Company however had been delayed in the warp. In a desperate bid to hold this world, the 2nd Company immediately deployed from orbit into the Hive and began a gruelling urban campaign against the rebels. Quickly the rebel army was forced back and siege lines were drawn within the Hive. The Sons of Avalon were spread sparsely through the loyalist lines and they could only do so much to assist the beleaguered pdf. Any attack by the rebel army would quickly find itself met by a perfect countercharge from the Sons of Avalon. The siege dragged out and though the Sons of Avalon suffered few casualties, the civilians whose homes had quickly become the battleground suffered immensely. It was on one day, immortalised forever in local records as “The Day of Weeping.” that civilian casualties grew immensely. Several sections of the embattled Hive collapsed, and the total civilian casualties were never calculated as it was deemed too taxing for the Adeptus Administratum. What is known is that Artorius was found at the heart of this collapse, his armour battered and his head hung as he stood over a grave. It was after this event that he made his legendary proclamation. “Not one more civilian would die in this war.” He swore this oath, over every vox network, upon the honour of the chapter. In the following days, the rebel army would be driven screaming from the Hive as a gleaming stampede of bright blue ceramite crashed down upon them. A hundred legends were said to have been written in the aftermath as stories of Astartes jumping in front of stray ordnance bound for civilian homes circled. Many a knight of the emperor was found dead, his armour riddled with grievous wounds, his body shielding civilians who had been caught in the crossfire. By the end of the war the Sons of Avalon 2nd company had suffered grievous casualties but Artorius’ oath had been held. Strangely this deed does not appear in Artorius' legend, nor the works of any Sons of Avalon chronicler. The only record of it from the Chapter is a note in the ledgers of the Reclusiam. It details a full report of the war and ends with an official disciplinary citation by Oathkeeper Leofwine, calling for Artorius' removal as Knight-Captain of the 2nd.

Physical Description

Artorius is of average build for an Astartes, tall and broad like the legendary demi-gods of old Terra. His body is covered in scars, most being self-inflicted from his rigorous training but many more inflicted by old foes. His eyes and hair are brown and he keeps both his hair and beard short-cropped. Artorius is considered homely by some of the more noble stock of the Sons of Avalon whose princely features translated into statuesque beauty upon ascending to Knighthood. Artorius strides into battle wearing a suit of artificer power armour said to have been worn by one of the original 100. Mounted to the wrist of the armour is a Master Crafted Storm Bolter named Gerar, after the reforging the armour was sent to the Arch Magos of Llun to be readjusted to Artorious' increased bulk. The process took months of careful work.

Personality

Artorius has always been one to keep to himself as a child he was always reserved, not running around screaming or shouting like his brothers. He would sit and watch the world go by quietly, trying to follow his father's steps perfectly on hunts, mimicking every motion but never quite getting it right. There was always this drive in Artorius to question every little thing before he did it. A trait that Beowin would do his best to rid the boy of. Beowin truly shaped Artorious' mind and body, passing on his calculating and pragmatic approach to war, a trait rare in the Sons of Avalon. 
Yet the greatest thing that shaped Artorius' mind in later life was his unusually clear memories of his family and the intensity of his emotions. After his ascension, Artorius spent many hours with the Oathkeepers trying to rid himself of these feelings and memories but to no avail. Even submitting to hypno-indoctrination several more times, to no avail. These emotions and memories were a deadly distraction to an Astartes and Artorius nearly died several times as a scout because of them. This changed when Artorius was transferred out of the tenth and assigned his first chronicler. Gytha. Artorius bonded with Gytha and the two became firm friends. She treated him as if he were a mere mortal and helped him to learn to control his emotions. After her death, Artorius never took another chronicler.
Artorius now feels a great weight upon his shoulder, after taming Starlight and finding the Abyssal Blade, endless prophecies have been spoken on how he is the Pryndracis reborn, and how he will save Albatanica. He despises how histories are being rewritten to make him more than he was. He hates the burdens that have been placed on his shoulders after watching so many of his brothers die on the operating table. Now the Chapter looks to him as their destined saviour, turning all his endless days of training into divine talent given by the Emperor himself.

"Artillery shells care nothing for the swordsmanship of their targets." - Artorius Draefend

Affiliations
Imperium of Man, Sons of Avalon Space Marine Chapter

Current Status

Alive, fighting outside of the sector

Age

523

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Short and Brown

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Tanned

Aligned Organization

The Sons of Avalon