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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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By the time of the [[Great Scouring]] in 017.M31, the [[Blood Angels]] 9th Chapter, the [[Angels Vermillion]], arrived to find only scattered remnants of the Night Lords in the region around Nostramo, rather than the determined resistance of up to thirty thousand Legionaries as expected. It was speculated that the Ashen Claws were responsible for the destruction of Traitor forces based in the Nostramo Sector.{{Fn|1}}
[[Astropath]]ic fragments intercepted during a deep range patrol of the Ghoul Stars indicate that as late as 062.M31 the Ashen Claws were still expanding their realm, bringing worlds into compliance according to edicts of their 'Second Crusade' from a base on [[Atargatis Prime|Atargatis]].{{Fn|1}} Over the next millenia, the Ashen Claws continued their wars of conquest and even occasionally raided Imperial space, though they also continued to maintain working relationships to some Loyalist groups such as the [[Carcharodons]] [[Space Marines]]. The renegades also maintained honored their old ways in many ways, despising the forces of [[Chaos]] even more than the Imperium.{{Fn|3b}}
By [[M41]], the power of the Ashen Claws had diminished: Even though they still controlled a pocket empire, their numbers had decreased and they maintained a greater degree of isolation, fearing that the Imperium would one day try to destroy them. Furthermore, their culture had been substantially altered by the millenia outside Imperial control, with the Ashen Claws becoming integrated into the society of their capital world of Atargatis Prime and no longer viewing regular humans as lesser beings.{{Fn|3b}} In the 800s.M41, the Ashen Claws agreed to aid the Carcharodons in anti-[[Tyranid]] operations, partially to secure their own empire from [[Xenos]] attacks.{{Fn|3b}}{{Fn|3d}}
==Culture==
{{QuoteBox
|quote = '''''"[...] We are not traitors. I have only ever had one loyalty, to the brothers you see before you, the ones who stormed your bridge and will momentarily relieve you of the supplies you carry. Maybe it does look like treachery to you. Maybe you actually believe warriors like me – the pinnacle of gene-bred evolution in the galaxy – truly exist only to protect your pitiful life. Maybe you do not know of the others. There are far darker beings out there than those you see before you, captain. Ones as ancient as us, but enslaved to powers beyond your reckoning. We are not them. We will not tear out your soul and feed it to daemons, or bind you to nightmares made flesh. We'll just kill you. [...]"''''' - Unidentified Ashen Claw to the captain of the ''Solar Wind'', [[Inax System]], 6093755.M41{{Fn|3e}}
|}}
[[File:ArtalHelocCrop.jpg|thumb|right|230px|[[Contemptor Dreadnought]] [[Artal Heloc]] in the colors of the Ashen Claws, his armor adorned with trophies and [[Great Crusade]] markings.{{Fn|5}} ]]
The Ashen Claws often decorate their armour with fragments of enemy weapons, including the skulls or teeth of alien beasts, taken as trophies, as well as carved stone charms similar to Terran jade. Although they no longer serve the Emperor, many still bear the [[Raptor Imperialis]] that indicates they were veterans of the Unification Wars.{{Fn|1}}{{Fn|3b}}
Initially, the Ashen Claws were deeply influenced by their traditional association with slaver-warlords as well as the [[Sons of Horus]]. As a result, they treated regular humans poorly and as expandable, a trait which contributed to their exile by Corax.{{Fn|1}} Ironically, their exile forced the Ashen Claws to rely to a much greater degree on the regular humans of the Ghoul Stars both as recruits and for support roles, as the Ghoul Stars' low population count meant that human lives were rather valuable. Thus, the Ashen Claws gradually adapted and changed their culture: By M41, they were still vicious raiders and willing to engage in slavery, but they treated the human population of Atargatis Prime as equals, with a human woman even co-ruling the world alongside Chapter Master [[Nehat Nev]].{{Fn|3b}} Furthermore, the tribes of Atargatis outright aligned themselves with various factions within the Ashen Claws, thereby being able to directly influence the Space Marines' politics and operations.{{Fn|3c}}
To replenish their [[gene-seed]] stocks, ammunition, weaponry, and other technologies, the Ashen Claws traded with the Carcharodons over millenia. Despite this, many Ashen Claws disdained the Carcharodons due to their alleged "mongrel" origin, unquestioning submission to the Imperium, and the latter's extremely cruel and inhuman culture.{{Fn|3b}} The Ashen Claws also deeply despise [[Chaos Space Marine]], viewing them as slaves and monsters.{{Fn|3b}}{{Fn|3e}}
===Known worlds===
**{{Endn|3c}}: Chapter VI
**{{Endn|3d}}: Chapter XIV
**{{Endn|3e}}: Quote before Chapter III
*4: [[Campaigns of the Age of Darkness: The Battle of Beta-Garmon]]:
**{{Endn|4a}}: ''Map inside cover''
