Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Ravenwing Cavalry

"The enemy have been sighted. I am going to engage. In the name of our Ancestors: Ravenwing - Attack! Attack! ATTACK!"

-Ravenwing Cavalry

Ravenwing Cavalry are a specialist branch of Astarte veterans who serve as the main scouts of the Astarte Legions, replacing the Assault Bike for that subfaction. Voiced by

Tactical analysis

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Background
The Ravenwing is the name of the 2nd Company of the Dark Angels Chapter of Space Marines and todays served as a specialist branch for the other chapters.

The Ravenwing Company is a highly specialized unit that is intended to make use of mobility and speed to defeat the enemy rather than heavy firepower. Originally the Ravenwing was the portion of the Dark Angels Chapter that was tasked with hunting down the remaining Fallen Angels, the Dark Angels who turned to Chaos during the Horus Heresy and betrayed both the Coalition and the Dark Angels' Primarch Lion El'Jonson. But today the other chapters have used it name to for a branch of veteran bikers

Black-clad, save for their right pauldron bearing the markings of their original chapter, huntsmen and masters of the art of lightning warfare, the Ravenwing race before their Chapter like thunder before a storm. Prizing speed and mobility above all else, they are a part of the space marines' battlefield strategies, with many Ravenwings coming from the Whit Scars and Blood Angels. Conversely, the Imperial Fist and Salamanders have the fewest Ravenwings.

Engines roaring, the Ravenwing tear forward, dodging enemy fire while moving at breakneck speed, a highly specialized formation that fights fast-moving attack vehicles, and has the privilege to pilot the rarer jetbikes. They are assembled from the finest riders and pilots in the Chapter, and their skills are further honed upon induction. Though the true purpose of their specialist training remains unknown by the wider Coalition, they have become renowned for their skill at mobile warfare.

Appearance
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History
"The hunt is only over when the sound of the Silencius Shroud locks into place, obscuring our quarry's face and silencing their infernal rants."

-Sammael/Samantha, Grand Master/Mistress of the Ravenwing

The Ravenwing originated as the heavy cavalry unit of the feudal knights known as The Order on the Dark Angels' home city of Caliban before the Great Crusade. The Order hunted the potent Chaos-mutated Great Beasts that terrorized the deep forests of that ancient city. This cavalry unit of The Order wore black plate armor with distinctive winged helms and was so skilled in battle that its members could survive the deep forests of Caliban alone.

The Ravenwing was the wing of the Dark Angels Legion's Hexagrammaton most changed by the return of Lion El'Jonson. The Ravenwing was named after the Calibanite knightly Order of the Raven which had trained the most fearsome mounted warriors to be found on that savage world. Combining those warriors of the Order of the Raven inducted into the Dark Angels with the remnants of the Legion's earlier Host of Wind and Host of the Void, the Lion created a formation that would carve a legend for itself on the battlefields of the Great Crusade and beyond.

Based on the principles of mobile attacks, of strike and fade tactics, and skirmish warfare, the Ravenwing excelled at the use of light skimmers and tactical aircraft but also incorporated significant infantry assets. These were mostly reconnaissance squadrons, though among those infantry units specialized in the use of Drop Pods and other orbital assault doctrines, there were many initiates of the Ravenwing marked by the symbol of a white corvid. When the Legion gave battle to a foe that sought to evade or confuse them or one whose overwhelming power compelled them to counter it with speed, it was the initiates of the Ravenwing that took to the fore.

These initiates were often considered mavericks and glory-hounds by the more hidebound veterans of the Legion's other wings, for the Ravenwing retained a number of more barbaric customs associated with its recruits, many of which hailed from more remote Feudal cities. As such, those Calibanite warriors who gained admission to its ranks were often those out of favor with the masters of the more prestigious wings of the Hexagrammaton or those eager to forge their own legend.

The Ravenwing today is now a specialized formation used by the wider Astartes chapters that takes to the field in rapid assault vehicles manned by the Chapter's most capable riders and pilots. The warriors of the Ravenwing are selected for their skills with the fastest assets and are given more advanced training upon their induction to the company so that they can perform even more incredible maneuvers, adopting new formations that only the Ravenwing know.

A new inductee can expect to master the Beat of the Unfurled Wing, the Strike of the Piercing Beak and the Slash of the Bladed Claw within months of joining, pushing themselves and their allocated vehicle beyond what they thought possible.

Only the Dark Angel's senior officers are aware of the Ravenwing's primary role in hunting down and capturing the Fallen Angels of the original Dark Angels Legion. And only the members of the Dark Engels Ravenwing are granted only limited knowledge of the secrets of the Dark Angels. They know more than the line Astartes of the Dark Angels' other companies, but far less than the elite 1st Company of the Deathwing and the Chapter's Inner Circle.

Those battle-kin selected for service in the Ravenwing must not only possess an affinity for fast attack vehicles, but also a mental fortitude exceptional even for an Astartes. Only the most stoic of Space Marines are chosen to join the ranks of the Ravenwing, for those that they hunt are Traitors and debased Heretics who seek to undermine their faith in the Votann, the Lion, and the Coalition itself.

For this reason, the members of the Ravenwing, mostly the Dark Angels, are constantly monitored by the Chapter's Chaplains for any signs of spiritual turmoil or corruption that could be caused by contact with these malignant Heretics.

The Ravenwing is led by the current Grand Master of the Ravenwing company, Grand Master Sammael/Samantha. They has led this elite company into battle for over a century, inheriting their current role from the previous Grand Master of the Ravenwing, Gideon, as he lay dying.

Short story
"There is nothing to do here!"

Shas'la T'au Chin sighed as his team manned one of the outposts bordering the Coalition battlefront.

"Oh pipe down rookie, and get back into position!" his commander, Shas'ui T'au Kim, called out, forcing him back to watch duty. "And you're not doing nothing, you're serving the Greater Good."

"How is doing nothing serving the Greater Good?" Chin sighed as he looked ahead with his binoculars.

Far ahead his fellow warriors are fighting against these "Astartes" and he was stuck far behind the battle in the boonies.

"Strange..."

"Whats strange Shas'la?"

"Shouldn't the Pathfinders be back right now?"

"Your right, radio them in. They'll be in for a lecture if I find them slacking off."

"Yes ma'am. Pathfinder one status report."

Nothing came back but static.

"Team one is not responding. Calling nearby team to check out."

"Pathfinder two, can you check on team one?"

"Affirmative, we actually talked to them a few minutes ago-"

A subtle sound of jets interrupted them.

"What was that?"

"Don't know, we-"

The reply was cut off by a sudden burst of gunfire, followed by screams.

"Team two status!"

"By the ethereal! Space Marines! Space-"

The leader's cry was cut off by the splattering sound of an exploding watermelon.

"Everyone Battlestations!"

Chin grabbed his rifle and ran to the walls as his fellow warriors take their position.

How did the space marines get here? They were far behind the lines that they would have been founded sooner.

Kim open the radio channels to alert the other outposts. Instead, she was met by a myriad of screams, their own, the burst of gunfire, roar of jets, and the phrase.

"The space marines are here."

Barely were they in position when they saw a great explosion to their right. And their face fell.

That was their central communication. Now they lost contact to the greater forces.

Kim could only cursed as fear gripped Chin and his fellow warriors. How did they attack so fast and so far?

All of them then heard the sound of jets.

"I see something!"

And over the horizon Chin finally saw the space marines.

Unlike the others, he saw these marines riding on black hovering bikes. Their armor was painted black, save for the right pauldron some of which was painted white, red, or grey, thundering toward them rapidly.

"FIRE!"

Blue streaks light up the night as the Tau fires upon the marines.

Chin's fear began mounting as he saw these marines effortlessly dodging their shots, and what little hit them only glanced off their armor.

Then the bikes came had reached them. And a second later Chin witnesses a storm of shrapnel flying, sending Chin flying as his fellow soldiers are ripped apart by the blast, with Kim herself having her upper body reduced to piles of meat.

Chin coughed heavily, his chest hurts, but his armor saved him, unlike his fellow warriors. Only to see one of the bikes coming toward him, and could only raise his arms and scream before its rider decapitated him.

Kindred Maeve, the captain of this operation and former Raven Guard, looked upon the remnant of their attack before activating their auspex.

"This is captain Maeve of Ravenwing a. We have wiped out the entire outpost and brought down their communications in this region, no casualties."

"Good job captain. Now proceed towards the command center to deploy the homer for the Deathwings."

"Affirmative command."

Maeve called onto their forces to regroup further ahead. They'll only have a few hours before command noticed the sudden lost in the eastern region.