Force Commander and Captain Indrick Boreale of the Blood Ravens Chapter
Indrick Boreale was a Space Marine captain and the force commander of the five companies of Blood Raven Astartes sent to the Kaurava System to reclaim that star system for the Emperor during the ill-fated Kaurava Campaign.
History
Captain Indrick Boreale of the Blood Ravens was a student of the famed Captain Gabriel Angelos of the Blood Ravens' 3rd Company and the force commander of the 5 Blood Ravens companies that were dedicated to the ill-fated Kaurava Campaign.
He was unexpectedly forced to battle his fellow Imperial forces of the Sisters of Battle of the Order of the Sacred Rose and the 252nd Conservator Regiment of the Astra Militarum that were also operating against the enemies of the Imperium in the Kaurava System due to conflicting orders and the different interests of these Imperial organisations.
In battle Boreale favoured a tactic known as Steel Rain which made extensive use of Space Marine Drop Pods to overwhelm and put pressure on the enemy. Because of his preference for this tactic Boreale preferred not to make use of static defenses such as turrets.
In the PC game, if the Blood Ravens prove victorious over the other factions in the Kaurava Campaign, they proceed to train a new planetary defence force (PDF) to better protect the system, and are cleared of allegations of heresy brought by the Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus because of the Blood Ravens' actions against the Astra Militarum's 1st Kronus Regiment during the earlier conflict on the world of Kronus.
Blood Ravens Force Commander Indrick Boreale during the Kaurava Campaign.
In this victorious scenario, the Chapter builds its first fortress-monastery on Kaurava II, giving up its nomadic ways, and name it Borealum in honour of their commander.
In the PC game Dawn of War II it is confirmed by the Blood Ravens' Scout Sergeant Cyrus that the Kaurava campaign was actually a dramatic failure for the Blood Ravens and that Captain Indrick Boreale perished in battle during the failed defence of the Lands of Solitude on Kaurava II's northern continent where the Blood Ravens had established their base in the system.
Cyrus says that "Kaurava was a huge mistake" and that he would not speak of it again. Nevertheless, Boreale does seem to have attained some level of prominence during his service, since several pieces of Blood Ravens wargear mention him specifically, most notably an Iron Halo that was intended to be presented to him by the Chapter upon his victory at Kaurava.
The loss of three of the Blood Ravens' five companies deployed to Kaurava was a terrible loss for the Chapter, essentially wiping out nearly half of its extant manpower in a single campaign. As such, the Chapter became even more reliant upon the Sub-sector Aurelia from which it normally recruited new neophytes.
When a splinter Tyranid hive fleet suddenly began to threaten that sub-sector during the time of the First Aurelian Crusade, it put the survival of the Blood Ravens as a viable Chapter in question.
Wargear
Boreale starts the Soulstorm campaign with a standard-issue Space Marine Bolt Pistol and chainsword but also has access to the master-crafted Power Mace Rogal's Fist and a Daemonhammer.
He is able to upgrade his long-range arsenal to include a Plasma Pistol and eventually a Meltagun. His basic Power Armour can also be upgraded to Artificer Armour and have Errant Pattern Greaves installed on his legs to increase his movement speed and health.
The Chapter also made available to Boreale certain Chapter artefacts like the Iron Halo and the Blood Raven's Chapter Banner. Captain Boreale was also known to use a back-pack-mounted teleportation device during the Kaurava Conflict.
Sources
- Dawn of War - Soulstorm (PC Game)
- Dawn of War II (PC Game)