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"Into the fires of battle, unto the anvil of War!" -- Salamanders' Battlecry.
The Salamanders are a Chapter of Space Marines in the game and fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000.
History
Vulkan
When the Primarchs were seperated from the Emperor, one of the children ended up on the world of Nocturne. The baby was found by a blacksmith named N'bel, who, recognizing the child as one prophesised as a savior, named him Vulkan.
Like all the Primarchs, Vulkan grew very quickly, reaching adulthood(and bigger than any man on Nocturne) by the age of three. He was also highly intelligent, able to vastly improve the already considerable metalworking skills of the smiths of Nocturne.
When Vulkan was four, his town was attacked by the Dark Eldar. The people of his hometown hid, as the usually did when the decadent aliens came raiding, but Vulkan refused to hide. Armed with only a pair of blacksmith's Hammers, he roused the people from hiding and drove back the assault, singlehandedly slaying a hundred Eldar. As word of the battle spread, the headsmen of the seven most important settlements on the planet came to pay homage to him, swearing to forevermore crush their foes rather than hiding from them.
The Outlander
Jubilant at their victory, the people held a great celebration, involving tests of strength and craftsmanship. During the opening ceremonies, a stranger appeared. His skin was pale, compared to the dark complexions of the people of Nocturne, and his clothes were very strange. The stranger claimed that he could best any man at the competitions, causing many people to laugh at the seemingly inadvertent comparison to the superhuman Vulkan. Vulkan accepted the challengs, and the stranger waged that whoever lost would swear his eternal loyaly and obediance to the victor.
For eight days, the stranger matched Vulkan in several events, with neither able to beat the other by more than a slight difference(for example, an anvil-lifting contest was declared a draw after both men held theirs up for half a day with no signs of stopping).
The Final Contest
Finally, it came down to the final contest: Salamander Slaying. Both men had a day and a half to forge a weapon, then go out and slay the largest Salamander they could find.
Vulkan and the stranger worked all day at their forges, neither pausing to rest. As the day drew to a close, they emerged. Vulkan with a huge hammer, and the stranger with a keen-edged sword. They both climbed to the summit of Mount Deathfire, a massive volcano said to be the home of the largest firedrakes on the planet.
Vulkan found his prey first, smashing it's head off with a single blow from his hammer. As he carried the carcass back, the volcano erupted. Vulkan was nearly thrown off a cliff, but managed to grab onto the edge with one hand, stubbournly grasping the tail of his prize with the other.
Vulkan held on for several hours, but his hold finally began to slip. It was at that time the stranger reappeared, carrying a salamander larger than his own. The stanger quickly threw his carcass into the lava flow, using it as a bridge to cross over and save Vulkan.
Vulkan was declared the winner when they returned home, but Vulkan silenced the crowd. He knelt before the sranger, stating that any man who valued life over pride was worthy of his service. The stranger revealed himself to the the Emperor, and it was declared that Nocturne would be the homeworld of the Salamanders legion, with Vulkan at his rightful place as Primarch and ruler of the planet.
Horus Heresy and the Aftermath
Little is known about the Salamanders' involvement during the Horus Heresy, nor as the the fate of their Primarch, Vulkan. Some reports place them as one of the three legions massacred by the traitors at the battle of Istvaan V, and Vulkan may have very well been slain during that conflict. Others say that Vulkan disappeared after the Heresy. The Salamanders believe that Vulkan will return and lead the chapter in a grand crusade to smash the force of Chaos once and for all.
Headquarters
The Salamanders have built their Fortress-Monastery on Prometheus, Nocturne's oversized moon. When not at war, the Salamanders prefer to live among the people of Nocturne and Prometheus, and are the leaders of each settlement.
Recuitment
Like many of the First Founding Chapters(and many subsequent ones as well), the Salamanders recruit exclusively from their homeworld. Children aspiring to become Space Marines begin at the age of six or seven as the apprentice to a Space Marine. They spend several years learning the art of the smith, and the most able apprentices are then judged by the chapter's Apothecaries and Chaplains to see if they are worthy to become marines. Their training includes many of the same feats the Emperor and Vulkan competed in, finally culminating in the hunting a slaying of a massive Salamander.
Combat Doctrines
The Salamanders follow the Codex Astartes, but their doctrines are also strongly influenced by the Promethian Cult, which places a high regard on self-reliance, self-sacrifice, and loyalty. The hammer and the fire are both important symbols of the cult, and the Chapter makes widespead use of Flamethrower, Meltaguns, and Thunder Hammers in their forces. This makes them very deadly in close-range firefights. Due to their pre-training background as craftmen, the Salamanders also have a large amount of high-tech equipment, such as Artificer Armor and Master-Crafted weapons.
However, the high gravity and harsh voclanic conditions of Nocturne means that the Salamanders have little opportunity for training in fast-attack equipment such as Land Speeders or bikes, and as such, the army makes little use of them. They also seem to have slightly slower reflexes compared to other Space Marine Chapters, although still quick compared to humans.
Appearance and Colors
The Salamanders are typically armored in bright green armor, with black shoulders and yellow trim. Their symbol is a white sillohuette of the armored and spiked head of a Salamander lizard.
Salamander Space Marines have often been depicted in both drawings and models as having Negro(or African-American) features and skin colors.
Sucessor Chapters
The Salamanders have no officially known sucessor chapters. This may be because they had little to give if they were in fact massacred at Istvaan V. However, some chapters, such as the Storm Giants and Black Dragons seem to have similarities in Physique and tactical doctrines.
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