#declaration of intent arc

[taryn40k]

It's hard to be a big brother and a Chapter Master at the same time...

(thank you @lazywriter-artist for making many wonderful people to convince! :D)

[taryn40k]

….suddenly had image in my head of Grigori playing chess with morgen. They do this during talks about strategy and funding. XD

[taryn40k]

So what is The Wings of Dawn chapter looking for specifically?

In general, they are looking to be accepted as they serve the Imperium. Hopefully, they want to raise the bar of what a Space Marine chapter is capable of doing, to slowly better the situation of the Imperium until we see some actual victories in this damned galaxy.

Specifically right now, though, they have to focus on their Declaration of Intent : the more or less court case/product presentation for their chapter. The sells pitch, if you will! :) For it to go smoothly, they need to find patrons, supporters, influential people to go "yeah I would back that, they know what they are doing!" until they have the whole room convinced to aprove of their creation. Those patrons would also contribute to their development physically : paying for armament, potentially offering a world to be their homeworld or their recruitment world, getting a part of the food tax set aside for them, all of that good stuff. So the more they manage to convince, the more they will be well-equiped for their mission! .....Understanding that all of those patrons will want something in exchange, of course. These are many small deals with the devil, in a way.

[taryn40k]

"You see, there are many reasons why a small group of Space Marines might want to go through a Founding. Going over the troop limit of 1000, disagreements and schisms in their current chapter, or simply a safer way to achieve a higher position without having to face higher-ranking brothers... So the first hurdle is the paperwork, of course. But filling it all is only proof that you are serious, and not simply hot-headed and mad at your lieutenant that day. The next step is to present your case as to why your chapter deserves to see the light of day at all.

Remember that each chapter is a drain on an already barely surviving Imperium. So there needs to be a good, solid reason to divert more resources to new Chapters. This is where we have to be clever and make allies. Proclaiming our intentions, so to speak. Service to specific High Lords or nobles, planetary governors, or Primarch as it were, is a good way to get an important sponsor ; though it shackles us to their needs. We become their attack dogs ; or their tool for propaganda, or possibly their armored trophies to parade around to show their power. Compliance in exchange for the funds and means to fulfill our role. Guarding the Maelstrom, for example, or insuring that the Nachmund Gauntlet stays open for Imperial use could be a noble, and useful goal, that our potential sponsors might want to pay for ; if only to not lose face compared to the others. We need to be convincing, we need to have a solid idea of what we would be funded to do, where we are expected to operate, and how we can eleviate some of the cost already. If we had a recruitment world, for example, it would be that side of things sorted, nobody would have to GIVE us one, and therefore lower the guardsman tax on their world.

It is all very delicate. We need to be appealing, to appear as safe as we can be given our origin, to give insurrances and make oaths that will impact our chapter. And if we are convincing enough, then we will enter a period of probation where we will be expected to bring our chapter up to the minimal operative state : One to two active companies, a full reserve company, and minimal staff for the Apothecarium, Librarius and Chaplaincy. Once we reach that point, we will have our full chapter officialization, our Founding, and we will be ready to take on our own missions and fulfill our stated role! There is likely goin to be a years-long period of time between our statement of intent and our officialization, for neophytes to be raised and new brothers to be trained, which will give the First Light some time to finish being constructed in full. So for now... care to help me prepare a proper speech to convince the aristocracy?"