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==Background==
===History===
[[File:CPArtOld.jpg|thumb|right|The Crimson Fists battling [[XenosOrks]]{{Fn|Note One}} on the cover of [[Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader]], the first rulebook of [[Warhammer 40,000]]{{Fn|16c}}]]
After the [[Horus Heresy]], it was decided (in the [[Codex Astartes]] written by the [[Ultramarines]] [[Primarch]] [[Roboute Guilliman]]) that no single man should ever wield the power of a whole [[legion]] of Space Marines alone, and that each legion was to be split up into thousand-man strong chapters. [[Rogal Dorn]] of the [[Imperial Fists]] legion long opposed this, but decided to yield rather than risk the fragile peace of the post-heresy Imperium. The Imperial Fists legion was divided into four chapters: The marines most devoted to their Primarch were to remain Imperial Fists, the most zealous started the never-ending crusade of the [[Black Templars]] and the younger and more level-headed marines formed the Crimson Fists. The first [[Chapter Master]] of the Crimson Fists was [[Alexis Polux]], a hero of the Heresy. The chapter's name derives from the ceremony conducted at the initiation of new chapter masters in the Imperial Fist legion. The Chapter Master and the Primarch would both cut their palm and share blood in a warrior handshake; strengthening the marine with the blood of the Primarch and forming a symbolic bond between them{{Fn|1}}.
{{Trivia}}
[[Image:RogueTraderCrimsonFist.png|right|thumb|160px|Original depiction of the Crimson Fists{{Fn|16b}}]]
*{{Endn|Note One}} The Crimson Fists first appeared on the cover of [[Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader]] in 1987{{Fn|16c}}, and were featured prominently beside what would soon become First Founding Chapters such as the [[Ultramarines]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Space Wolves]]{{Fn|16b}} as one of the primary [[Space Marine]] factions. Precisely which While the identity of the hulking six-limbed [[Xenos]] which looms above the Crimson Fists were are depicted fighting on the book's cover is unclear as the edition was much more flexible with its bestiary, even encouraging players to invent threatening species for their marines to fight{{Fn|16d16c}}later renditions of the same art substitute an [[Ork]] [[Gargant]]. {{Fn|47}}
: As subsequent lore was established, however, the Crimson Fists were given an origin as [[Second Founding]] successors to the [[Imperial Fists]], somewhat demoting their standing{{Fn|1}}. Their Chapter colours and symbol have remained largely unchanged since their first appearance, with the most notable change being the addition of a crimson ring encircling the fist and the black field within it{{Fn|16b}}{{Fn|22c}}.
