Though born of the blood of Corvus Corax, the Shades of Adrasteia were raised beneath the gaze of Roboute Guilliman. In the fires of the Indomitus Crusade they swore oaths of brotherhood with warriors of the Ultramarines and Imperial Fists. As such, when the Shades of Adrasteia formed they did so in the stringent mould of the Codex Astartes.
However, those Greyshields sent to reinforce the Ashen Sentinels were few and were never intended to form a Chapter of their own. Combined with the loss of their Torchbearers, the loss of so many of the Ashen Sentinels recruiting worlds and the grinding attrition of warfare in Imperium Nihilus, the Shades of Adrasteia have never achieved full Chapter strength, typically being able to call on between 400 – 600 battle brothers.
Though divided into ten companies as the Codex instructs, in reality the chapter has only nine. They have never numbered enough warriors to warrant a second battleline reserve company and so though the Shades of Adrasteia record the existence of a 7th company, no Battle Brother has ever been a part of it.
For the same reasons each company remains below a hundred brothers. Despite this, each company maintains the regulation ten squads though they rarely number more than five Space Marines each.
The ranks of the Shades of Adrasteia are still dominated by the Terran born Greyshields who first founded the Chapter. The positions of Chapter Master, Chief Librarian, Master of Sanctity, Master of the Forge and Chief Apothecary are all held by Terran born Space Marines, as are six of nine company captains. The 1st Company, led by Captain Aku Soturi, the Sword of Adrasteia, comprises exclusively of Indomitus Crusade veterans, a status quo the captain will fight to maintain.
The second largest group is the recruits drawn from the tribal world of Jaegenheim. The highest ranking brother born on Jaegenheim is Olin Sharpeye, captain of the 2nd Company and Master of the Ambush. Sharpeye and Soturi are fierce rivals, for each is an exemplar of the chapter. Soturi, the crusading veteran, forged by the word of the Codex Astartes represents their past and their origins. Sharpeye, formed by the blood of Corax and his people’s legends of the Ashen Sentinels represents the Shades of Adrasteia’s likely future.
The third and smallest group are the recruits drawn from the hive world of Zanderex. Though Zanderex’s population is far greater than Jaegenheim, it’s environment produces far fewer viable candidates for ascension to the ranks of the Adeptus Astartes.
Enter the Smithsorium 