Codex Test

Welcome Brother Marine to the Fandex: Book of the Unforgiven, a book dedicated to the most secretive of all Space Marine Chapters. Fandex: Book of the Unforgiven is the definitive guide to collecting, painting and playing with a Dark Angels army in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop wargame. THE WARHAMMER 40,000 GAME The Warhammer 40,000 rulebook contains the rules you need to fight battles with your Citadel miniatures in the war-torn universe of the 41st Millennium. Every army has its own Codex book that works with these rules and allows you to turn your collection of miniatures into an organised force, ready for battle. This particular fandex, although self created and not completely official, details everything you need to know about the Dark Angels, and allows you to use them in your games of Warhammer 40,000. WHY COLLECT A DARK ANGELS ARMY Space Marines are amongst the most powerful warriors of the 41st Millennium. They are not Human, but geneenhanced superhumans, armed with the mighty bolter and protected by suits of power armour. Though few in number compared to the innumerable ranks of the Imperial Guard, each is a formidable warrior the equal of a score of mortal Men. They are able to call on a fearsome array of weapons, equipment and vehicles.

HOW THIS FANDEX WORKS This Fandex is split into four main sections that deal with different aspects of the army. •

The Dark Angels: The first section introduces the Dark Angels Chapter of Space Marines and their part in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. It includes details of their origins, the terrible events of the Fall of Caliban, and the Dark Angels’ organisation. Also included are details of famous battles in which the Chapter has fought.

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Forces of the Dark Angels: Within the Forces of the Dark Angels section you will find special rules relating to the Dark Angels and Special Character profiles with a brief history on each.

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The Dark Angels Army: This section contains photographs of the range of Citadel Miniatures available for your Dark Angels army, gloriously painted by members of the Dark Angels community. Markings for the various squad types and vehicles are included, as well as the history and colour schemes supported by some of the successor chapters.

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Dark Angels Army List: The army list takes all of the units presented in the Forces of the Dark Angels section and arranges them so you can choose a force for your games. A force organisation chart categorises the units you can pick into HQ, Elites, Troops, Fast Attack and Heavy Support choices. Each unit type also has a points value attached to help you pit a force against an opponent’s in a fair match.

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The Fallen Angels: The Dark Angels Fallen Brethren are mentioned within this section of the fandex including character profiles and special rules needed to use them within your own games of Warhammer 40,000.

The Dark Angels Space Marines are all of this and more. Their story is one of bitter betrayal and a secret mission they have pursued for ten thousand years – the truth of this quest for redemption known only by a select few. The Dark Angels appeal to players who like their Space Marines dark, gothic and sinister!

FIND OUT MORE While Fandex: Book of the Unforgiven contains everything you need to play a game with your army, there are always more tactics to use, different battles to fight and painting ideas to try out. The monthly magazine White Dwarf contains articles about all aspects of the Warhammer 40,000 game and hobby, and you can find articles specific to the Dark Angels at: www.games-workshop.co.uk

Deep within the core of the Asteroid that was once Caliban lie a myriad of dungeons and passageways. Ancient caverns that predated the heresy lie side by side with those cored out by modern science. Some such chambers are so secret that very few within the entire chapter know even of their existence. Within one such chamber called the Liber Mortis Angelus lie great tomes and data crystals bristling with a vast array of information. Secreted within the depths of the Liber Mortis Angelus lies a single massive tome with embedded data crystals that chronicle the entire history of the Dark Angels Legion and their Unforgiven chapters, from their inception by the most benevolent emperor to their current activities. This is the Apocrypha of Caliban. Only the Grandmasters of the Inner Circle even know of it's existence, let alone it’s content. It is the most complete accumulation of the events comprising the history of the Dark Angels. To understand fully, the origin of the Unforgiven chapters and their antecedent legion, one must delve far in to the early history of humanity. One must go far back in time to the period preceding the birth of the emperor, his subsequent birth on Terra and hence on to the golden era when the holy emperor walked amongst his warriors. One must then study the events in that era of magnificent achievements and horrendous deeds! Of brilliant conquests and cataclysmic wars! Much has been lost in the mists of time, yet much is remembered! Time moves inexorable forward, washing the events of history in to insignificant dust. Time is the mortal enemy of man as it disposes his achievements and buries his memories without second thought. History becomes legend....Legends become myths....Myths turns in to fables...and fables slowly fade away. Yet the immortal emperor endures for the sake of humanity and as do the emperor's first legion! The Universe, Warp and the Early man. The universe in the Warhammer 40K system, as we know it is made up of two parallel realms. The physical realm is the one we know of, consisting of galaxies, star systems and worlds with physical space in between. This realm is influenced by the conventional science of physics. The alternate reality is called by many names, such as "the warp", "warp space", "sea of souls" or "the realm of chaos" It is composed entirely of psychic energy, which whirl and eddy constantly. Every living creature contributes its psychic energy to this alternate realm. Our thoughts and emotions are mirrored there. It is the spiritual reflection of the life of the entire universe. The laws of physics do not apply in this realm, which is inhabited by creatures of the warp, that you will later learn to be called demons and

demon gods. Originally the natural psychic forces of all animals and plants flowed harmoniously creating a unifying force flowing through all living beings. Their relatively simple thoughts and emotions maintained smooth psychic flow within the warp. As intelligent races developed, their extremely potent minds filled the warp with very powerful energies, which were not harmonious. These negative energies, in time coalesced in to troublesome spots, which then grew in size, developing a consciousness of their own, resulting in the chaos powers that we know now as chaos gods. The primitive man, the hunters and harvesters of ancient times had a special relationship with the warp. The natural energies of the warp flowed harmoniously through them too. Some humans were more sensitive to these energies, and being able to discern subtle variations, were able to predict future occurrences and therefore benefit their communities. These were the witch doctors; the shamans; the psychics. However as humans and their civilisations developed, their myriad feelings such as power ambition and greed began to disturb the natural flow of the warp. This inevitably made the warp less accessible to the shamans and also detached the human race from their natural connection to the warp. These new forces became localised forming new focuses in the warp resulting in the formation of the chaos powers. Long before the human race developed their appreciation of this realm of chaos, many other races had flourished in the universe. As old as the stars themselves, sentient beings were born within the roiling energy of massive stars. These would in later millennia be known and feared as the C'tan gods. These beings lived off the energy of newly born stars, completely ignorant of the cooler planetary systems forming around them and the sentient beings beginning to flourish. The earliest of the sentient beings that mastered star travel were the Slaan. Highly intelligent, the Slaan or the Old Ones, defined the science of astronomy and the art of astrology to a finite level. Their mastery of the warp was paramount and they understood the importance that each sentient life played in the universe. They nourished and nurtured new life and newer races wherever they went. In there wake younger more vibrant races also thrived. One such race of beings, called the Necrontyr was born in a terrible star system. Constantly bombarded by their ultra radiant star, they had but a very short life and all their energy was focused in to scientific achievements aimed at survival. As they came in to contact with the Old Ones, the longevity nearing on near immortality and mastery of the universe the latter displayed resulted in terrible and vengeful conflict. Despite the scientifically advanced nature of the Necrontyr, they were consistently outmanoeuvred by the old ones who used their warp portals and understanding of the universe to dramatic

effect. The Necrontyr were pushed back to their system. It was then that the Necrontyr somehow tapped the potential of the sentient beings within the stars, awakening what would eventually be the truly awesome might of the C'tan Gods. These beings provided the Necrontyr with terrible weapons of war and as a final gift harvested the entire population in to automatons, giving them the immortality they had so dearly sought. The entire Necrontyr civilization then became Necrons, the mechanical slaves of the C'tan gods. Armed with terrible weapons of war and supported by their inhumane gods, the Necrons now took the battle back to the Old Ones. Hundreds upon hundreds of civilizations nurtured by the Old Ones became fodder for the C'tan gods as billions were culled without mercy. The essence of life becoming a much sought after morsel amongst those terrible gods. It was around this time that the C'tan Gods turned amongst each other, consuming one another with hated passion until only four were left. As the Old Ones were pushed back, their legendary patience running short, they contemplated their options. This respite had allowed them to develop the newer, psychically more powerful races able to tap the energy of the empyrean. These launched a counter attack against the relentless assault of the mechanoid Necrons sending them reeling back. The warp was anathema to the C'tan, who once and for all devised a great plan to completely separate the warp from the material universe thus depriving the Old Ones of their source of power. However, before that could happen, the psychic emotions, which were mirrored in the warp, resulted in unforeseen creations. These warp entities became terrible predators, invading the material realm through the warp portals and the minds of Psychers. As the Old Ones turned to face this unforeseen threat, other races took advantage, especially the enslavers. As the Old Ones' warp portals were lost to them, their civilization collapsed. As the live population of the galaxy was culled, the C'tan gods were running out of sustenance so went in to hibernation in a vast number of dead worlds. They would re-emerge when a race suitable to be their slaves disturbed their tombs once again. Thus the galaxy suffered the most terrible of wars and in its aftermath returned to a peaceful quiet as the new life began anew. The Eldar race, created by the Old Ones, reached an unimaginable level of psychic development. Having discovered their warp portal technology, they held sway over the universe even as the human society slowly developed in to a spacefaring race. Birth of the New Man When shamans, those humans with the gift of tapping in to the warp died, their souls entered the warp bathing and flowing with the natural energies until reborn in another body. However, with the disturbances in the natural rhythm of the warp that humanity created, this was becoming more difficult. Souls were being lost to the malign predatory chaos powers that now emerged in the warp. As their ability to lead and

protect their communities receded, the worried shamans began a long debate and research lasting hundreds of years. At its conclusion they realised that they were doomed, as they would gradually be consumed by the warp entities, and that without them, all of mankind was doomed to the predations of the chaos powers. They finally concluded that the only hope for mankind was to pool all their energies in to the creation of a single immortal being who would guide humankind to their destiny. Being immortal, he would not need to be reincarnated and thus not be at the mercy of the chaos powers in the warp. Shamans in the thousands committed suicide and their kind was gone forever from the earth. Their energies coalesced together in the warp and within a year was born as a single entity of immense power. The new man. The emperor of mankind! For thirty eight thousand years the immortal New man wandered the earth, first observing but then taking on various personae to guide and advance humanity. As the human race prospered the warp became disturbed by their myriad thoughts and emotions and its natural flow could no longer sustain the planet. Despite the New mans' best efforts, the intrinsic traits of martial honour, self -satisfaction and ambition resulted in persecution and war. These emotions also fed the newly developing powers in the warp. Even before the coalesced emotions and psychic forces in the warp developed their own consciousness, they sensed the presence of the new man and that this future Emperor was their greatest enemy. Khorne, the blood god, was the first of these chaos powers to fully awaken, as massive wars swept throughout the earth. This was followed by Tzeentch, the Changer of ways as nations developed political intrigue and diplomatic manipulations. Finally Nurgle, the god of plague awoke, sweeping the earth with famine and disease. By the middle ages, all three had fully awakened. Humanity reaches for the stars The New Man realized the latent psychic potential of the human race and the threat posed to them by the warp entities. He also came to realize that it was near impossible to prevent the highly attuned human psyche from conflict. As nations and races grew and warred for supremacy, the malign chaos powers in the warp became stronger, fed constantly by the psychic turmoil of conflict, deceit and disease. The New Man thus took on many roles and identities to minimize these effects and to direct humanity's technological advancements. As a consequence of the scientific advancements under the unseen direction of the New Man humanity began to head out in to space in the 15th millennium. Using early sub-light engines, travel was painstakingly slow, taking up to ten generations to reach and colonise other systems. With the constant direction and advice by the New Man behind the scenes, human scientists discovered warp engine technology in the 20th millennium. In parallel to this, massive computerised databases called Standard

Template Constructs were also developed. These STCs could be the basis to produce everything a colony needed from food to weapons using locally available raw materials. Both these developments, pioneered subtly by the new man, revolutionised space expeditions resulting in an enormous expansion of space farers.

became perilous and then altogether impossible. This age of strife lasted from the 26th millennium to the 31st. During these five thousand years the ancient pan-galactic human civilisation of the past broke down and was replaced by many thousands of local civilisations based around either a single solar system or, occasionally, a small cluster of nearby stars.

It is around this same time a new "Navigator" gene developed in human society. This gene resulted in their owners being blind but being able to see and feel the tides and flow of the warp. The navigator gene allowed them to steer space vessels within the warp very accurately enabling longer and more accurate warp jumps. As a consequence Navigator families and cartels become very powerful, controlling trade and communications between systems.

During the Age of Strife Earth and the other planets of the Terran solar system were unable to communicate with other human worlds, but maintained contact with each other. For much of this period the government of Earth held sway over the entire system, at other times Mars and the Moon were dominant. For much of the time the different worlds found themselves at war. During the 28th millennium Earth government broke down completely and the planet divided into dozens of interwarring nations. After two and a half thousand years of continuous warfare little remained of the once sophisticated civilisation of the past. The planet had become a battleground fought over by techno-barbarian warlords and their warrior hordes. This was a dark time for the people of Earth. A time dominated by brutal rulers like Kalagann of Ursh, Cardinal Tang, and the most infamous of all, the half-mad half-genius Narthan Dume Tyrant of the Pan pacific Empire. It was against this background of techno-barbaric warfare that the New Man finally shed his cover and began to lead his people openly.

The New Man had thus directed the human society's scientific development in readiness for the coming of the Navigator gene. This was one of the early great steps towards the creation of the Imperium of Man and an excellent example of the long-term designs of the New Man. Thus followed a golden age of scientific exploration and expansion. A massive explosion of human colonization of the known space occurs as humanity pushes back the frontiers of space. The Age of Strife (25th millennium) In the early period of the 25th millennium, termed the age of strife by contemporary scholars, the emperor remained in the background, gently guiding humanity as they reach the farthest reaches of the galaxy. Alien races were encountered; especially the ubiquitous Orks, and localised conflicts break out. Order is maintained by commerce and communication through the warp. Commerce and trade from the colonies sustains the civilization on earth. Then two events of enormous significance occurred concurrently. First, humans with psychic ability begin to appear on many worlds across the galaxy. The human race was not yet aware of nor were they ready to tap the potential of the warp. With no training and experience, the minds of these latent Psykers were an open gateway to the warp leading to daemonic possession and insanity. Civilizations across the human empire began to fall because of such rogue Psykers. It is in this period that the Eldar race had reached its full psychic potential. Having achieved the ultimate in scientific, cultural and psychic development, the majority of the race looked elsewhere for fulfilment. Apart from a few far-sighted individuals, the bulk of Eldar society descended in to debased cults and activities, unknowingly feeding their own doom. Their lust for pleasure was amplified by their strong psychic presence in the warp and these currents began to coalesce in to another focus. The Eldar race was unwittingly creating another chaos entity. The tremors of its slow growth began to result in colossal disturbances in the warp, producing massive warp storms, which erupted across the galaxy. This turmoil cut of and prevented most systems from each other. No communication was possible as warp travel first

Conquest of the Solar System With the mighty psychic powers, immortal physique and the combined intelligence provided by the thousands of Shamans who pooled their psychic powers to create him, the New Man now stepped in to his role as a warlord intent on conquering earth and then the solar system. When the Emperor began his conquest of the planet his retinue was equipped and armed in the same way as the troops of other warlords. The first Space Marines formed part of that retinue and were equipped with the same sort of armour as other warriors of the time. The techno-barbaric state of science lent itself to the creation of early genetically modified warriors and the first prototypes of powered personal armour. Thus the first Space Marines were created and the first Space Marine Armour type developed during the conquest of earth. Personally leading these genetically enhanced warriors, who would subsequently form the first Space Marine legion, the New Man conquers all who opposed him on earth and then on all the planets of the Solar system. The tech-priests of Mars subjugate themselves to his will, awed by his intricate knowledge of the arts of the machine god. After bringing the Solar system under his control the New Man ascends the throne and has since been known only as the Emperor of Man. With the Solar system well and truly under his control, and still cut off from the rest of the galaxy by warp storms, the process of rebuilding the civilization is put in to motion. The tech adepts of Mars begin the process of rearming humanity. Their forges and armouries work constantly to produce every weapon conceivable to support the emperor's plans. Genetic engineering is further developed to enhance the

emperor's warriors. New, space capable armour is created in preparation for subsequent space conquests. The Adeptus Astra Telepathica was established to train and sanction Psykers in the ways of the warp. A massive underground base was built in the Himalayas range, containing the psychic conduit necessary to project the Astronomicon. This was a psychic beacon, maintained by a choir of a thousand Psykers, which would emit a psychic beacon in to the warp, to allow navigators a site of reference for safe and accurate warp travel. Primarch Project In a secret laboratory on Earth's Luna colony, the emperor begins his most wondrous and potent creations after a lengthy research and development program in the utmost secrecy. It was the Primarch project. Based on his own genetic code, he directs his scientists in the creation of 20 superhuman and highly potent beings, termed the Primarchs. Each one was superhuman in physique and psyche but also had individual traits. These were to be the leaders of the human recon quest of the galaxy. The threat posed to the chaos powers by these Primarchs was immense. The painstaking creation of each Primarch was a very long and arduous process. The first Primarch created was tailored to be a grand tactician. Extra-ordinary precautions were taken. Massive psychic shields and wards were placed by the emperor on Luna to protect the whole project and to keep it a secret from chaos powers. But the depredations of chaos are everywhere, and through the weak willed and self-aggrandised minds of one of the scientists on Luna, the chaos powers learned of the project. Using the mind of the weakling as a gateway the combined chaos powers made a concerted effort to infiltrate and destroy the Luna scientific facility. Warp entities cannot enter the physical realm directly. They may take over the physical body of a mortal being by entering his minds (daemonic possession) or in the presence of a concentrated psychic energy, materialize for short periods of time. The latter needs to be maintained by sacrifice as the warp entities consume souls in order to remain in the material realm. So powerful was the immortal emperor and his psychic wards that the combined powers of Khorne, Nurgle and Tzeentch could not remain on Luna long enough to destroy the nascent Primarchs in their incubation capsules. All they managed to do was to thrust the capsules in to the warp, with the aim of subsequently destroying them. The twenty incubation capsules drifted through the warp for decades or even centuries, until finally coming to rest on human-inhabited worlds throughout the galaxy. The capsule of one Primarch, he who was to become known as Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Dark Angels, was dropped on an isolated planet on the northern fringe of the Eye of Terror - the death world of Caliban.

The Space Marine Legions The emperor realized that time was fast running out. The new chaos god was beginning to stir. Recreating more Primarchs would take too much time and he had to get the human civilization ready for their great re-conquest. In his infinite wisdom and foresight he had foreseen the fall of the Eldar, the rise of that Daemon God of pleasure and the abating of the warp storms. Thus, using the Primarchs' DNA, the emperor began a process of creating Space Marines by a faster method of implanting the gene-seed in to suitable human subjects. The geneseed from the first Primarch was used to implant the warriors who had formed his retinue during the conquest of the Solar system. This was the first legion of the Space marines. This first legion was named by the emperor to be the Dark Angels Legion and was to be the Emperor's personal guard during their future battles. Though these Space Marines were nowhere as powerful as the Primarchs, they were still superhumans. Twenty legions of Space Marines were created each numbering in the tens of thousands, each legion containing the traits of their founding Primarch. Along with the creation of the Space Marine legions, the ships of the Imperial Navy and the massive numbers of the Imperial Guard were also readied. Death of an ancient race & the Great Crusade At this same time the more psychically and technologically advanced Eldar were finally hurtling towards their ultimate doom. Having conquered all aspects of science and technology and outgrown the need for physical labour, as their society provided all that was needed, most Eldar immersed themselves in spurious acts of wanton pleasure. Many gave in to the most hedonistic impulses and cults developed all over their domains focused on arcane knowledge sensual excesses. The majority of the Eldar society became depraved and wanton, sinking deeper and deeper in to their desires for sensual satisfaction. The mirror echoes of their emotions coalesced in the warp, creating another monstrous consciousness. This creature was the image of the depraved and corrupt Eldar desires. As this monstrous entity dreamed in its slumber in the warp, the Eldar were riven with madness as their society crumbled around them and their worlds went up in flames. The fall of the Eldar is said to have happened in a single massive orgy of destruction. Their rabid thoughts, lustful emotions and worship of pleasure finally peaked to such an intensity, that with a mighty roar, the slumbering monster reached divine consciousness. Thus was born Slaanesh, the chaos god of pleasure, drawing all Eldar consciousness to itself and literally draining the minds of the Eldar. The energies of the Eldar passed into the warp, and infused the creature known as Slaanesh, the Power of Chaos given form by the dreams of the Eldar. As Slaanesh cried out in his birthing pain, a psychic implosion of massive proportions tore at the universe. Every Eldar mind within a ten thousand light year radius was torn to shreds and their spirits sucked in to the warp to sate the thirsting Slaanesh. The epicentre of this implosion was at the heart of the Eldar domain.

Slaanesh's violent birth sucked the souls of virtually all Eldar from their bodies, the warp energy ripping through their fragile minds and spilling in to real space. The vast majority of the Eldar race died that day. The place where they lived and died became known as the eye of terror. Here warp space and realspace overlap. Many craft worlds were caught in the implosion even as they fled. Thousands of Eldar exodites all over the galaxy also perished that night. A few far-sighted Eldar, who had steered their craft worlds away from their civilizations and some exodites in the farthest reaches of the galaxy were all that was left of this once proud and galaxy spanning civilization. The positive consequence of Slaanesh's birth was the sudden and near complete abatement of the warp storms in the galaxy. The warp became gentle and ready for travel just as the Emperor had foreseen. His legions, which had been primed and readied for this day, were then unleashed like a massive juggernaut. The largest armada of spaceships and transports left their orbital docks in the solar system in the greatest conquest ever attempted by mankind. At the cutting edge of this massive force were the warriors of the twenty legions. The great crusade had begun with the aim of to restoring the galaxy to human control. World after world and system after system were reached in all directions. Those that did not submit were pacified, purified and brought under imperial rule. Wherever the resistance was greatest, there the Emperor led his warriors personally. And where the Emperor went, there stood by his side, his first legion, his Praetorian Guard, the warriors of the Dark Angels legion. Caliban The world of Caliban was part of a single star system, just at the outer edge of a region of space, which subsequently became the Eye of terror. The planet was the only inhabitable one in their system, which was also known by the same name. It was an extremely beautiful planet with lush green forests leading to moderate sized mountain ranges. Swirling rivers and gushing waterfalls criss-crossed the landscape. The blue oceans provided some mixture of contrast with the green and brown mountainous forests, which covered the majority of the world. Off-worlders marvelled at this single planet of beauty in an otherwise barren system. During the Dark Age of Technology, human exploration reached out and discovered Caliban. Many of the explorers had been riveted by its beauty and made it their home. There were few humanoid inhabitants in that planet. Those that were present were in very small numbers and rapidly assimilated or eliminated. The society in Caliban had initially developed along feudal lines, with regional leaders dominating their mainly agricultural and forestry based society. Trade and commerce links were established with nearby systems and earth itself. The fine variety of agrifoods was it's main commercial output. However it was also made famous for the delicate

craftsmanship from the forestry where unique trees and elements lent themselves to the creation of highly sought after artefacts. The individual regions generally were at peace with each other and the planet and society of Caliban thrived. Then came the warp storms during the Age of Strife. Off-world communication and trade became more and more dangerous until finally all warp travel and communications became impossible. Cut off from earth and its trade, and having no other hospitable planet in their system, the society of Caliban became isolated. The once self sufficient society of Caliban had grown to be dependent on off-world imports and as such, social order slowly began to degenerate. Regional leaders had to resort to military measures and harsh laws to maintain order. Their society transformed from an agri-industrial-craftman society to one of martial society lead by semi-feudal warlords. Aggression between the warlords resulted in the building of massive citadels built in clearings hacked out of the lush forests. Over the millennia of the age of strife, the society of Caliban finally changed to one of a military society with a strong martial code and sense of honour. Then, as the Eldar race decimated themselves and Slaanesh was born, everything changed. The gargantuan tear in the reality of space that marked the passing of the Eldar race also decimated every world and system in a 10,000 light year radius. At the northern most edge of this massive rend in the fabric of reality lay the system of Caliban. The absence of any psychically attuned human in the planet of Caliban meant that the majority of the populace noticed nothing was amiss. However the rapidly abating warp storms were noticed, although the feudal warlord-led societies had long given up the maintenance or knowledge of space travel. Over the next decades, the population of Caliban saw their once beautiful world slowly transform in to a blighted death world. Deadly warp spawned creatures began to roam the jungles. Trees and vegetation mutated in some areas becoming more deadly than the jungle's predators. Surprisingly the lushness of the forests remained, hiding the gruesome transformation. Human settlements gradually gravitated towards the citadels of their warlords. These citadels were carved in to the bedrock of the planet and maintained within massive clearings of the jungles. The society became more warrior-orientated, with knightly orders forming to become the ruling elite. Many millennia of feudal warfare were replaced by decades of battle for survival against the warped beasts. As a consequence the populace of Caliban had become accustomed to many an unnatural phenomena. So it was that, when a fiery comet streaked through the bright starlit night and crashed in the jungle within earshot of one of the largest citadels of Caliban, no one took notice. The Nobility of Caliban The nobility of Caliban were a pugnacious race. Each group of settlements had a protector or warlord and his retinue of knightly warriors. Each such knightly order was based around a massive citadel as their base, which provided much needed security in the face of evil. Extremely brave and well versed in martial honour, they were raised from childhood to live and die by the sword. They were clad in a form of power armour similar to the early power armour used by the Emperor's retinue on

earth. They were armed with the boltpistol and a chainsword as their personal armament. Mounted on huge warhorses called "Destrieres" these noble knights were a fearsome sight and one welcomed by the besieged populace of Caliban. The life of the nobles was a constant struggle as they fought repeatedly to vanquish the multitude of chaotic beasts that appeared in their jungles. Occasionally a particularly terrifying creature may cause prolonged terror and require the declaration of a quest. Noble from many separate feudal societies would then congregate to attempt to kill the creature. To the slayer went great honour and fortune but more often than not only a horrific death awaited them. As the nobles rose in their achievements they were honoured with the title of "Master" and given a retinue of warrior knights to lead. The leader of each order was referred to as the Grandmaster of the Order. One such knightly order was always known simply as "The Order" and the brave warrior knights known as the "Knights of the Order" They were one of the largest such orders in Caliban and had a reputation across all of Caliban for the honesty, nobility and fearless skills of its brother-knights in battle. Unlike other such orders in Caliban, where admission was a birthright, members of The Order were chosen on their military prowess and martial honour. Anyone, from a lowly farm boy to a rich merchant could join the order based entirely on their merit. Contingents of brother-knights would travel across Caliban, giving their aid to whoever required it. Life and times of the young lion The fiery comet streaked through Caliban's blighted atmosphere, completely ignored by the populace in the scattered settlements. By providence, it came to rest within earshot of Caliban's greatest citadel, the fortress monastery of "The Order". The comet, which was in fact the Primarch capsule containing the nascent infant Primarch, who was the emperor's first born. As to what happened thereafter is lost in the mists of time and mythology. Suffice to say that for then next ten years no one in Caliban paid much attention to the crashing of the comet. However, whispers of old sooth-sayers were heard that there was a change in the jungles surrounding the Fortress of the citadel. Groups of knight warriors of the order began to tell eerie tales of being watched but yet not feeling endangered. The attacks by chaotic beasts around the Order's monastery began to abate. Most attributed these events to the martial prowess of the Order's knights. For ten years, spurred by their apparent success, the knightly order repeatedly and frequently began to foray deeper in to the jungles in search of such horrendous beasts. Hope began to swell, that perhaps finally there might be an end to the depredations of the mystical terror. It is undoubtedly true that the nascent Primarch survived the crash of the capsule. The emperor himself, in his infinite foresight, designed the Primarch’s capsule to cater for all eventualities. What the infant Primarch felt or thought as he lay

within the capsule, sustained by its perpetual energy sources and nutri-supplements one would never know. But as the infant grew up rapidly in a matter of weeks within the capsule he would have imbibed the knowledge reposited within the capsules memory banks. Finally leaving the capsule, the child Primarch began to wander the forests of Caliban. How he survived or what ordeals he endured remain a mystery to this day. The only person to whom he had spoken of this was his future friend and brother in arms Luther. Imperial scholars attribute the reduction in chaos predations near the Order's monastery and settlements to the arrival of the child-Primarch though this can never be verified in any manner. However surviving in the death-world jungles of Caliban for ten years without any armour or man made weapons does indeed speak volumes as to the capabilities of this godlike superhuman son of the Emperor. It is likely that the battle-honed senses of the warriors of the Order were true and the Primarch was perhaps observing them for a considerable time. Their sense of the absence of danger was perhaps the Primarchs psyche permeating the warriors mind, setting them at ease. Discovery! A large expedition of the knightly order had set off on a deep expedition in to the jungle. This one was a specific mission intended to penetrate deeper in to the jungle wasteland than ever before. Danger lurked everywhere but the knights felt the feeling of safety around them as well. Occasionally chaotic beasts were sighted, but surprisingly no ambushes were encountered. At each step, where previously an ambush by such terrifying creatures would cost the expedition dearly in lives, now they were forewarned by natural phenomena. Sometimes the ambushing creatures gave themselves away by sudden movement, sometimes they were found dead. It was as if though there was a force protecting the expedition. In the end they had penetrated deeper than ever before, not losing a single knight and collecting the carcasses of many horrendous creatures. The fact that some of those creatures had been found dead puzzled the knights, but their minds were squarely on the task ahead. Just as they were about to make camp for the night, before turning back, they heard the sounds of a scuffle ahead. They charged their steeds ahead, thinking that perhaps two chaos beasts were fighting each other, which may give them the opportunity to kill both in one battle. As they neared the area of the scuffle, an unearthly scream was heard and the sounds of battle died down. The knights thundered on and were startled to hear an almighty bestial roar! It was a cry of victory but what stunned them was that it had a human quality to it. The massive warhorses, battle-hardened by many campaigns thundered on, fully trusting their riders’ instincts. They suddenly burst out in to a clearing and saw the carnage of a massive battle between two powerful beings. One was dead. It was definitely a chaos beast, with warped heads and taloned limbs. It's broken wings lay at an odd angle, almost comical in death. Its head had been smashed on the rock on which it lay dead. The warriors reared their horses as they assimilated the scene. Standing on the head of the beast was another bipedal beast. Blood and gore spattered its body. It's

head covered in long blonde hair. As one, the knights raised their bolt pistol to rid this abomination from their beloved planet. Twenty bolt shells clicked in their chambers. The leader of the expedition, a master of the order and a veteran of many campaigns, was faster than the others. His bolt shell left the barrel at an unwitting speed. It should have removed the beast's head cleanly, but for the lightning reflexes it demonstrated. Certainly a hellspawned creation the other knights contended and let loose a volley from their boltpistols. The beast twisted and turned, dived and rolled and evaded all the shots. All but one! A single bolt shell hit the beast in the shoulder and spun it around, throwing it to the ground. The knights stared in amazement as it slowly raised itself to its feet. Realising that this was no ordinary chaos beast, they chambered their pistols as one and raised their weapons. A single knight suddenly rode across their line of sight. Holstering his pistol he called out to his brothers to stay their hands. He had observed the creature keenly and realized that it was not attacking them and that there was something human in this creature. The knight then dismounted from his steed, sheathed his sword and slowly and courageously walked up to the creature, which stood still and met his gaze. Slowly sweeping the golden flock of hair that covered its face, they were shocked to see the noble and handsome features of a human being. They were yet more amazed to find that the wound caused by the bolt pistol had begun to heal. Realising that this was indeed a human in some form or the other and that he had in fact saved their lives by killing another warp creature, which was preparing to attack them in their camp they tended to its wounds and made their way back to their fortress monastery. Significantly, there was not a single encounter with the chaos beasts on their return voyage. Luther would reminisce years later, that the sense of protection that they felt on their return journey was almost measurable. From that time onwards, the legend of the "Watchers in the Dark" found substance in Caliban society. They were said to be mystical beings that protected the weary traveller from harm. No proof was ever afforded to confirm such legend but for the personal experiences of many a battle weary knight. Perhaps the watchers had indeed watched over the young Primarch. Word of the successful quest preceded the arrival of the warrior knights. A victorious quest was not an unusual occurrence within the ranks of the Order. But returning with nary an injury let alone a single casualty was extremely unusual. Tales of their successful quest, along with trophies of the heads of the felled beasts spread like wild fire. Most intriguing of all was the rumour that the group had captured a beast alive. The inquisitiveness and excitement of the crowds that thronged the settlements turned to amazement when they saw the so-called beast riding with Luther on his warhorse. The knights passed through settlement after settlement, being feted as heroes until finally they reached the imposing fortress monastery of the Order.

The band was greeted by the supreme grandmaster of the order himself, who met them at the entrance with his retinue. Although amazed by the exploits of the knights, their attention slowly turned to the issue of the handsome but wild figure riding with Luther. The Primarch looked like a fully-grown man, though the warrior knights had no inclination that he was but ten years old. There was a majesty about him that appealed to all who saw him. Even though he was technically a captive, Luther presented him to the supreme grandmaster, offering to take on the role of friend and guide. A great feast was declared to celebrate the victorious knights and it was deemed that the newcomer would be given a name and ordained in to the order. To have single handedly, and unarmed, killed a chaos beast was a martial achievement never before heard of on Caliban. At the grand feast the young Primarch, now clad in the exquisite clothing of the nobility and flanked by Luther, made a grand entrance. As the festivities began the supreme grandmaster of the order turned to Luther and offered him the honour of giving their new brother-in-arm his warrior name. Thinking for a moment, with a grand gesture so characteristic of him, Luther named the Primarch Lion El' Jonson. In the tongue of Caliban it meant son of the forest. Incidentally, in the language of ancient terra it also referred to a majestic warrior beast. An apt description of the young lion! In response this tall, handsome and majestic figure slowly rose and raised his arms asking for quiet. To the astonishment of all who had gathered there he then spoke his thanks fluently in their own tongue. The celebrations went on unabated for days after which the Lion and Luther both returned to Luther’s home. The Lion Ascendant. The young Primarch was still growing and Luther was more than happy to be a guide as well as be guided. Their friendship was cemented as they grew, learning the skills and knowledge required of a warrior knight. The two men complimented each other perfectly. Where Jonson was temperamental and taciturn, Luther was charming and charismatic. Where Luther was rash and emotional, Jonson was a brilliant strategist and unstoppable once decided upon a course of action. Together they made some initial forays in to the surrounding jungles. In this time of familiarization the Lion realized that a greater effort was needed to rid the planet of chaos. Together with a band of knights they first toured the entire landmass of Caliban, personally reconnoitring and assessing the extent of the challenge while achieving many victorious exploits. Men from all over Caliban flocked to join the ranks of the Order. During this time, both him and Luther rapidly rose through the ranks of the Caliban nobility, reaching the ranks of grandmaster. It was in this position the Lion had set in motion a longterm strategic plan. Old technology that had been abandoned was sought after and re-established. Simple space-faring craft were constructed to re-establish contact with closer systems. Many new fortress monasteries were built to accommodate the burgeoning ranks of the Order. The forges of the fortress monasteries rang with the sound of armament production. New warriors were inducted in to the ranks of the knights.

Grandmasters of all the orders in Caliban were invited to join in the ultimate crusade and they flocked under the banner of the Lion. The massive crusade was finally put in to motion with the Lion and Luther leading from the vanguard. Under his brilliant strategic foresight and tactical leadership, it took just over a decade to rid the jungles of Caliban of all chaos-infested life forms. Finally the blighted world of Caliban was free once again. A golden age dawned for the inhabitants of the once troubled planet. On his return the Lion was elevated to the position of Supreme Grandmaster of the Order and ruler of all Caliban. The society of Caliban began to prosper once again. Craftsmanship and agriculture thrived. Science and technology were rejuvenated. Contact was established with the nearby star systems although warp travel was still beyond their grasp. While Jonson was conquering and clearing Caliban of evil the Emperor was waging his Great Crusade across the galaxy, reuniting humanity and purging entire star systems of their alien oppressors. As the Imperium's wave of conquest advanced across the galaxy, Imperial Scouts rediscovered the isolated world of Caliban. The emperor heard of the changes that had occurred in Caliban and sensing that his first born was the Lion decided to move directly to meet him in person. Father and Son Finally, one day a massive armada of spaceships was seen entering their atmosphere. While most remained in orbit a single ship descended to land in a clearing near the Order's fortress. Realising that the warp storms that had cut off Caliban from the rest of the universe was finally at an end, the Lion and his retinue personally arrived to greet the new comers. Those who witnessed the subsequent events were in awestruck at the majesty of the newcomer, who descended from the star ship. Wearing a magnificently crafted suit of personal armour and radiating a glow of authority and compassion he opened his arms, and embraced his long lost son, his first born! There was no hesitation or lack of recognition between the two of them. While the Apocrypha of Skaros describes a number of Primarchs fighting or challenging the emperor, Jonson simply embraced him. A close bond that could only occur between father and son was formed. The arrival of the emperor changed the society of Caliban even more. Jonson learned that the legion that had accompanied his father from the conquest of terra to the farthest reaches of the great crusade was none other than the Dark Angels Legion. A legion created in his own image, from his own genetic code. He accepted command of the ten thousand Dark Angels of his legion. The warrior elite of Caliban clamoured for the honour of becoming Space Marines. Those knights who were still young enough had the Legion's gene seed implanted within them, while those too old for this process underwent surgery to transform them into elite warriors of the Imperium. The first to be brought into the Legion in this way was Luther, who became Jonson's second-

in-command, just as he always had been within the Order. The emperor dictated that Caliban would be the home world of the Dark Angels. The entire strength of the Order and a vast number of warriors from other orders were rapidly incorporated in to the Dark Angels legion. Caliban's nomenclature and command structure permeated the legion. Their leaders were henceforth called masters and grandmasters while the Lion remained supreme grandmaster. The next few years were spent restructuring the Caliban society, making them self sufficient and proficient in the science of interplanetary travel and space warfare. The Dark Angle legion was rested and invigorated with the almost never-ending infusion of the warrior elite. These were ideal subjects for the transformation to Space Marines. The fortress monasteries of the Order became the bastions of the Dark Angels Legion. Space defence grids were deployed and the legion as a whole restructured. To manage the thousands of Space Marines in to flexible formations they were divided in to regiments or chapters depending on the local nomenclature. Each of these regiments contained approximately one thousand fighting men, divided in to ten companies of one hundred men each. In addition command and support staff accompanied these troops in to battle. Always thinking in strategic and tactical sense Jonson departed from the standard structure of the legions and not only concentrated his veterans in to the first company of each regiment. Where these deferred from other legions was they were entirely and always equipped with the formidable tactical dreadnought armour. This concentration of force and rigorous exercise resulted in the formidable 1st companies becoming renown for their fearlessness in battle. Following a number of boarding missions they were honoured with the term "Deathwing" which subsequently became infamous across the universe striking fear in to the hearts of the enemy. A further departure from the norm was the creation of an entirely mounted company for each regiment. Keeping their knightly inheritance, the seventh company in each regiment was armed entirely of bikes and jet bikes, resulting in a rapid reaction force paralleled only by the brother marines of the White Scars Legion. Taking their name from a mythological bird from old terra, the "Ravenwing" became as well known as their Deathwing brethren. As time went by and their exploits became legendary, the company number was changed to second place. During this period of rest and refit for the legion the Lion achieved a number of personal glories, which included the first sublight circum-navigation of the outer Dolomons and also personally effected the incineration of the Goyas asteroid that was approaching Caliban dangerously closely. Then came the request from the emperor for his son and his legion to join him once more to continue on humanity's great crusade. After much deliberation Jonson embarked upon this journey, leaving behind a small force of Dark Angels to guard his home planet. He left his best friend and most trusted brother-inarms, Luther, in charge of the planet and its surrounding system. The strategically thinking Jonson did this with the future of his chapter in mind. In the event of his own demise during the great crusade, his brother would be

the most suited to continue his legacy. However the embers jealousy were being stoked within Luther’s heart as he realized he would not be able to bask in the glory of the great victories that the Lion would surely achieve. Despite the importance of Luther's position, it was not one that suited his ambitious personality. Thus began the seeds of envy that would subsequently tear the chapter apart. Great Crusade Jonson led the Dark Angels from victory to brilliant victory. His battle plans were always detailed and thorough. Every possible eventuality was discerned rapidly and acted upon. His subordinates were trained to think along the same lines. He would personally reconnoitre the battlefields where possible. The creation of the dedicated Ravenwing units paid off handsome dividends as the intelligence gathered by these units reaped a deadly harvest of the enemy. The use of large units of Deathwing terminators in spearheading their assaults began to tell on enemy defences. The Dark Angels campaigns were always short and sharp, the enemy nearly always being completely outmanoeuvred in the strategic sense. Only Horus had greater number of victories than Jonson, although Jonson never looked at his achievement in competition with his other erstwhile brothers. His relationship with Leman Russ of the Space Wolves was, however different. Johnson thought Russ to be boastful and vain, though such was the true nature of the Fenrisian warriors, whose noble deeds are immortalised in ballads. Russ on the other hand, mistaking Jonson's quiet demeanour for arrogance hardly spoke to him while they were on terra. Russ was a hot headed and passionate leader of men. A true Space Wolf, his fury in battle was matched only by his true heart and loyalty to the Emperor. He was always vying for the Emperor's praise and constantly sought to prove himself in his father's eyes. Although all the Primarchs accepted Horus as a supreme strategist and tactician, thereby accepting his status as Warmaster, Russ' psyche was such that he found it somewhat difficult to accept that Jonson had far more victories than himself. Horus had a great capacity to assess and understand the psyche of those under his command and obtain the maximum effort out of them. Realising the competitive spirit of Russ, he teamed the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels in their campaigns. Both chapters constantly sought to out do each other, Jonson's tactical brilliance matching Russ' battlefield fury. Both legions fought along different principles. While the Space Wolves would manoeuvre to get in to close combat and once combat is joined their howling fury became all but unstoppable. On the other hand, the Dark Angels were methodical and planned their attacks carefully. Using combined arms techniques they would usually overcome the enemy defences by manoeuvre and firepower, but they were no less terrifying in the assault. When all elements of Jonson's legion functioned well the enemy usually was sent reeling to their destruction. Under cover of their devastators and heavy weapons the tactical

squads would manoeuvre to obtain better fire positions. The assault squads and bike mounted Ravenwing would rapidly close the range with the enemy. Landspeeders would strike from behind their lines disrupting communications and artillery positions while large groups of Deathwing terminators would teleport directly in to the command centres striking fear and swiftly bringing the emperor's justice to his enemies. The casualties suffered by the Dark Angels legion were always minimal unlike those of the Space Wolves who seemed to eschew high casualty rates as a mark of honour. Lion and Wolf The rivalry came to a head when both legions were taking part in the pacification of the Planet of Dulan. The governor of Dulan had swayed to the side of heresy, and sacrificed thousands of loyal imperial subjects to his chaos gods. He had proclaimed the emperor to be false and that he worshipped the true gods. He then ritually sacrificed a million imperial loyalists to his blood god. Utterly incensed at this affront to their father, Horus directed both the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels to pacify the planet and all contained within. As news of the loyalist fleet reached Dulan, the Tyrant Durath, now completely under the sway of the chaos gods, proclaimed that they were not worthy of a battle, especially since he believed Russ to be the emperor's lap dog. The fury of the Fenrisian Primarch knew no bounds. He swore a mighty oath to kill the tyrant in single combat. Jonson meanwhile prepared his forces with his usual thoroughness. As the loyalist fleets reached the planet of Dulan, they were surprised to find no orbital defences waiting for them. What they had not known was that Durath had not only fallen to the chaos gods, but had completely embraced the blood god Khorne. As such, he relished the thought of facing the Space Marines in close combat. To kill the emperor's finest in close battle and let their blood soak his beloved Dulan was his dream. Durath had known of the Space Wolves tactics and studied them well. As a khornate warrior he embraced the art of personal combat. His daemon enhanced physique longed for mortal combat with the best the Imperium could throw at him. His plans were cunningly laid to lure the coming Space Marines towards his citadel and there face them in combat. He had prepared extensive and layered fortifications, camouflaged and all but invisible to the naked eye. Batteries of heavy weapons commanded the killing fields outside the gates of his massive fortress. He knew that the space wolves would be eager to avenge their honour and could be counted on to come directly to battle. There he would kill them like dogs, with his superior firepower and then vanquish them with an almighty charge. Durath however hadn't counted on Horus' capacity to complement his forces. Namely Jonson and his Dark Angels who accompanied Russ were an unknown quantity to Durath. Upon meeting no orbital resistance, both legions made planet fall as prepared and rapidly closed around the crimson fortress, brushing aside the meagre resistance offered by the planetary defence forces. Advancing with the lead scouts, Jonson was eager to reconnoitre the defences before Russ could do anything rash. The Space Wolves were intent entirely in reaching the main gates of

the crimson fortress and bringing up their heavy weapons to bear. In the days that took the Space Wolves to deploy their forces around the main gatehouse Jonson had personally scouted the entire circumference of the citadel with his scouts. His astute eyes spied the few weaknesses of the citadel and plans were made to exploit them. Fall of the Tyrant It was then that Russ stormed in to Jonson's command quarters and gesturing majestically demanded that the Dark Angels stand down, as it was Russ' honour that was at stake. The Space Wolves would take the crimson fortress and expunge the stain on their honour, Quietly pointing out that the legions fought for one reason and one reason only, and that was for the emperor, their father, the taciturn Jonson explained that it would be better to launch a night assault to minimize casualties and gain the upper hand. Arguing that his meticulously planning would allow them to breach the fortress with few casualties, he wanted the Space Wolves to stage a feint assault on the main gatehouse. After a long argument late in to the bitter Dulan night, Russ stormed out of Jonson's quarters, intent on launching an assault at first light that would overcome the defences with the sheer ferocity of their combat skills. Jonson moved even faster, not wishing the hotheaded Fenrisian spoil his carefully laid plans. In the predawn darkness Dark Angel scouts infiltrated forward at a point to the south of the main gatehouse. Within a few hours they had cleared the minefields and booby traps allowing their assault squads to silently move forward to the base of the citadel. As dawn arose, with a mighty roar the Space Wolf assault began. Veteran long fangs rapidly silenced any enemy heavy weapon that dared fire. Grey hunters and blood claws charged forward with a fury that amazed even the Tyrant Durath. The sheer ferocity of the Space Wolf assault smashed asunder the gatehouse and penetrated to the inner walls of the fortress. The Space Wolf assault had been magnificent but the cost high. The hidden traps and weapon batteries had taken a heavy toll in the attackers, only the tough constitution of the Space Marines and their blessed armour preventing crippling losses. Using the Space Wolf assault as a distraction, the Dark Angel assault squads swept up the citadel walls on their jump packs and within the hour had breached the Southern gate. Scouts provided covering fire with their deadly silenced sniper rifles and heavy weapons which they had infiltrated close to the enemy positions. In a display of sheer daring and practiced accuracy, Deathwing terminators teleported directly on to the ramparts of the inner wall. Landspeeders of the Ravenwing flitted along the ramparts harrying the defenders as Jonson led his men along the ramparts like an avenging angel. Slow to anger but unstoppable once aroused, Jonson's fury knew no bounds as he spotted the Crimson Tyrant. Daemonic possession and heretic will did not stand in the way of the emperor's justice and true honour. Jonson swung his finely crafted power sword with deadly elegance as he cleaved his way towards the tyrant. With a look of horror

appearing on his face for the first time, Durath struck back. Daemon weapon struck sanctified sword with an unearthly clang of such magnitude that men on both sides ceased their fighting to look up at this mammoth clash of arms. All except one man! Russ, furious at Jonson for reaching the Tyrant before him, could only charge helplessly through the gatehouse towards the battlements when a deft stroke by the golden haired Primarch separated the heretic's head from his blasphemed body. The victorious cry of the Dark Angels and the moan of despair from the tyrant's followers nearly drowned out the anguished howl of the Fenrisian Primarch. The battle that continued was a simple blood bath as the disheartened followers of chaos were set upon by the battle lusting Space Wolves. The Dark Angels meticulously cleared the rest of the fortress and cut off any retreat for the heretics. Within hours the rest of the planet was in imperial hands. Clash of Titans As the dust of the battle died down around him an infuriated Russ searched out for Jonson. He charged through the surrounding Dark Angels, who recognizing a Primarch in anger wisely let him pass. Jonson was seated with his close advisers and captains, already planning the total pacification and maintenance of the planet and discussing their next campaign in the Allisores. Russ stormed in, livid with fury and incensed at Jonson sitting so casually after having cheated him of his honour. Unable to control his fury, Russ swung his mighty fist as Jonson turned to look up at him. The blow caught Jonson squarely on his jaw and sent him sprawling over the table, maps, data slates and other paraphernalia flying in all directions. The Dark Angel commanders, taken aback at first instantly recognized the feud between the brothers and stepped back. Jonson slowly rose to his feet. He looked up at Russ as anger and frustration built up slowly. In his eyes, Russ and his Space Wolves owed his legion their lives. He had overcome Durath in single combat and proven his martial skill. He had taken the fortress with precious few casualties as Russ needlessly rushed headlong in to the enemy's fire-lanes. Finally, he had been indignantly struck without a challenge being called. The lion of Caliban took up the challenge and charged Russ. The two mighty mortals began a personal combat that lasted throughout the night and the next day. Walls were torn down and structures demolished as the two superhumans fought each other to a stand still. Horus himself had expertly tutored both Primarchs in the art of combat. Russ was stronger than Jonson but Jonson faster and more nimble. Equally matched, each sought out the others weakness while protecting their own. They fought not only for their own pride but for the legion's honour too. After the long night and day of combat, with both men close to exhaustion, Russ realized the folly of their deeds, and seeing the humour of their actions stood up and began to laugh. For him, honour was satisfied! They had been equally matched. But to the taciturn Jonson, it was not to be. His anger at Russ' actions only worsened as he considered the initial blow to be a treacherous one. He lashed out at the laughing Russ with a mighty double handed blow that threw the Fenrisian Primarch off his feet and in to unconsciousness. As the surrounding Dark Angels burst in to a victory chant the shocked Space Wolves quietly carried their prostrate

Primarch away. By the time Russ awoke, the Dark Angels had departed to take part in the Allisore campaign and the feud between the Angels and the Wolves had been firmly established. The grudge has survived ten thousand years and although it is carried out in a spirit of kinship and brotherly competitiveness, it is carried out ritually to this day. Every time a Dark Angel and Space Wolf force is deployed together a champion chosen from each chapter would challenge each other to imitate the combat between the Primarchs. Brotherhood Betrayed As the great crusade continued like an unstoppable juggernaut, expanding the boundaries of the Imperium and reclaiming systems for humanity, each legion had its own share of victories and honours. The fame of the Dark Angels and their Primarch grew rapidly as Jonson's tally of victories was second only to Horus. This was no mean feat considering that Horus had been elevated to Warmaster and given overall command of fully half the legions. Jonson led his beloved Dark Angels with a tactical cunning and strategic genius that was second to only the emperor. The legion suffered relatively small numbers of casualties, while causing such single-minded destruction of the emperor's foes that their persistence and stubborn execution became legendary. Where possible the Primarch was always there to lead or direct his brethren personally to victory. As the emperor's sons pushed on with their holy crusade, the powers in the dark contemplated the threat they faced. Subtle manipulations had already begun to take effect as the convoluted machinations of the dark powers sought to undermine humanity's advance. Jonson had come to trust Luther implicitly. The latter had saved his life in the jungles of Caliban where he had been discovered and had fought at his side ever since. They had been brothers-is-arms and had faced many dangers together. The taciturn and contemplative Jonson complimented the outgoing and flamboyant Luther. What Jonson accomplished in deeds Luther would match with his oratory. They matched and complimented each other perfectly and commanded the elite warriors of Caliban together. But when Jonson left on the great crusade with the vast majority of the Dark Angel legion after their refit on Caliban, he left Luther behind to guard his home planet and lines of communications. To Jonson this was an extremely important mission that he could not entrust to any one else. He needed a dependable and trustworthy friend to be in charge. However, Luther’s pride and martial honour were to undo everything friendship had built. The one constant fact in mankind's existence was the capacity of the dark powers to find each mans weakness in order to manipulate it. The warrior's pride was set upon with constant and unremitting whispers from the warp. As Jonson's success grew, so did Luther’s jealousy. He felt that Jonson and therefore by extension the emperor had foresworn them by ignoring him and his brethren on Caliban. Luther’s oratory was dynamic and flamboyant. Gradually, day-by-day and month-by-

month he slowly bent and twisted the Dark Angels left behind to his way of thinking. Instead of celebrating their brethrens every accomplishment they detested them. Anyone not so turned was quietly murdered. The few chaplains of the legion were the first to die, as even Luther knew they would resist his influence upon the legion. As the ruinous powers quietly exerted their grip over Luther, so they manipulated the emperor's greatest champion, Horus. On the feral planet of Davin, he was taken ill by a virulent illness. For a Primarch’s superhuman constitution to suffer an illness was unheard of and could only have been due to a direct manifestation of the chaos god of decay, Nurgle. As he recuperated he joined the local warrior lodge, as was his custom, to encourage the imperial edict to be passed on. That the warrior coven was but a front for a chaos cult and that he was utterly possessed by a daemon has gone in to the history of mankind as one of its greatest tragedies. Possession by a daemon did nothing to blunt Horus' forward planning and cunning stratagems. He was a great judge of character and was able to size up anyone in a moment. Having carefully gleaned the weaknesses and strengths of each brother Primarch he set about slowly distancing the staunchly loyal ones away from the emperor. In the meantime the emperor was conducting the great debate on the use of sorcery and study of the arcane arts on the planet of Nikea. The proponents of the use of sorcerous ways, namely the cyclopean Magnus, Primarch of the thousand sons faced their detractors, amongst whom stood Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves. At the end of the debate, on the advice of the greatest Space Marine librarian, the emperor decreed that human Psykers be trained and sanctioned scholastica psykana under supervision and that all other by the imperial conduct of sorcery be outlawed. The outraged and disappointed Magnus returned home looking for vindication. His ability to look directly in to the depths of the warp allowed his to see the terrible evil being spawned on Davin. He saw the horrible virus bombing of the entire populace of Istvaan IV by Horus as a sacrifice to his dark masters. He clearly saw the vanity of his brother Primarchs being manipulated by Horus; The changing loyalties of Mortarion of the Death Guard, Angron of the World Eaters and the seduction of Fulgrim of the Emperor's children; The treacherous trap being laid for Corax of the Ravenguard, Vulcan of the Salamanders and Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands as they arrived on Davin to bring Horus to justice; The treachery of Perturabo of the Iron Warriors, along with Night Haunter's Night Lords, Logar's Word Bearers and Alpharius' Alpha Legion as they planned to strike the unsuspecting loyalist legions in their rear; The decoying away of the stalwart Guilliman of the ultramarines to the eastern fringes, and the misdirection of the loyalist Space Wolves and Dark Angels to the Segmentum Tempestus. Magnus' attempt to vindicate himself in the eyes of the emperor by sending a psychic message backfired as the emperor perceived Magnus to have broken his word in dabbling with the sorcerous ways. Convinced that Magnus had indeed gone over to the dark powers, Leman Russ and his Space Wolves were sent to destroy Prospero. It was likely that the dark powers hid their arrival from Magnus in order to manipulate the cyclopean in to their clutches. The violent sacking of Prospero and the defeat of the

Thousand Sons by the Space Wolves finally sent another brother Primarch in to the hands of Horus. Quietly manipulating the emperor's trust in him, Horus' last grand move was to direct the Space Wolves and Dark Angels down to the Southern fringes. As he had tended to deploy the two legions to foster their competitive spirit no suspicion was roused. The three loyalist legions on terra, Sanguinius' Blood Angels, Rogal Dorn's Imperial Fists and Jaghatai Khan's White Scars were physically too close to the emperor for Horus to redeploy. Unaware of the impending cataclysm that was about to envelope the Imperium the massive combined fleet of the Space Wolves and Dark Angels continued on their conquests as directed by Horus. By this time a few loyalist Space Marines belonging to the Deathguard, World Eaters, Emperor's Children and the Sons of Horus gathered secretly and took over five frigates in orbit around Istvaan. While four frigates sacrificed themselves in a rearguard action to buy time for the fifth, those in the cruiser Eisenstein fled in to the warp and brought word of Horus' treachery to the Emperor. Too late to prevent the near annihilation of the three loyalist legions on Istvaan V they allowed the Emperor to mobilize his loyalists across the Segmentum. Horus realised that the bulk of the Imperial forces still remained loyal to the emperor and that the three Primarchs on terra were incorruptible. Combined with the steady Guilliman, the tactical genius of Jonson and the sheer ferocity of Russ, the emperor would be unassailable. The escape of the loyalists on the Eisenstein had prematurely exposed his plans. His only chance would be to destroy the emperor by direct assault on terra, quickly and before the ultramarines, Dark Angels or Space Wolves could intervene. The dark powers that aided him continued to interrupt warp transmissions so the eruption of civil war in the Segmentum solar and obscurus went unnoticed by Russ and Jonson until they were near the southern fringes of Segmentum Tempestus. Disturbed by the sparsity of communications coming from terra and rumours of civil war as well as the relatively easy accomplishment of their crusade goals alerted the two Primarchs that something might be amiss. Conferring with their closest counsels they considered the fact that the two legions may have been decoyed to the southern fringes. Rampant rumours of an inter-legionary war and civil unrest further strengthened their suspicions and a decision was made to end their crusade and return directly to earth. The Longest Journey The return journey of the two legions is an epic tale of great deeds and terrible tragedy for both. There are many tales of valorous deeds and devastating battles with great implications for the both legions in the future. At times both fleets diverged from each other, but continued their arduous journey as they had planned. Travel through the warp is perilous at best, even with the Astronomicon shining as a beacon from terra. Time flows differently in the warp travellers may spend months to years in real-time

while travelling what appeared to be only hours within the warp. Jonson and Russ had conferred prior to their return journey and extensive plans had been made for relatively short warp jumps to maintain accuracy as well as contingencies if the fleets were separated. Everywhere they made landfall, rumours and signs of a galaxy in flames were evident. A million worlds swayed to the Warmaster and fought under his banner. Russ intervened in Tallarn to relieve the factory world of Roxburg, where his single-handed destruction of a warlord titan went in to the legends of the Space Wolves. Jonson fretted that every battle they intervened in, delayed them further. Russ countered that their need to refuel and restock their fleets meant that the time spent was indeed essential, and the relief of important loyalist strong holds were a strategic necessity. Both knew that the other was right yet the tension remained. Their thoughts were with their father and their worst fears were being realised as they raced closer to Segmentum Solar. Their next rendezvous was Kallidus, an imperial staging planet with a massive orbital fortress that acted as both a defence station and a re-supply dock. As the combined fleet tore out of the warp near the planet of Kallidus, their scout ships reported a massive bombardment of the planet being undertaken by the space fortress. A small escape pod drifting in open space was retrieved by the captain of the leading scout ship, and the single occupant, a man called Tarus brought before the Primarchs. Tarus related his experience aboard the space-fortress, where he worked as a weapons maintenance officer. The entire crew of the fortress had apparently been possessed by daemons and he was the only survivor of those who had ejected in escape pods during the take over. The daemonpossessed crew was now slowly destroying the planet of Kallidus, city by city, by orbital bombardment. The planet was an important one with massive factories and armamentorium, which were important for re-supplying imperial fleets. The loss of such a focal logistics base would be catastrophic for imperial control of the sector and Segmentum. Though the impact was not lost on Jonson he wanted to make haste towards terra. Russ on the other wanted to destroy the fortress and relieve the populace of Kallidus. His honour as a Space Wolf demanded action. Both Primarchs again found themselves at odds. The stress of their responsibilities and the tension of prolonged travel in the warp was telling on them. Suddenly both brothers were on their feet and exchanging blows. This time both were ready, and faced each other with their combat knives. The on looking angels and wolves could not intervene. Russ slashed across Jonson's cheek and return had his arm ripped by the lion’s knife. The combat continued for just under an hour, when the suddenly both Primarchs stood still, staring unbelievingly in to each other’s faces. A veil had lifted from their minds and looking around they saw chaplain Uzziel of the Dark Angels standing over what was previously a man called Tarus. The smoking plasma pistol in his hands was proof of the demise of the escapee, who turned out to be a mind-warping daemon. The chaplain had observed the Tarus' reaction to the Primarchs' fight and had surmised correctly that chaos was at work. Both Primarchs agreed that to leave such a dangerously powerful entity aboard the space-fortress was not acceptable. Rapidly a combined force of Space Wolves and Dark Angels assaulted the space fortress. In the airless corridors of the massive structure Space

Marine fought gibbering daemons. Primarchs fought greater daemons. Inch by bloody inch they smashed their way in to the reactor core, with Jonson personally placing the melta charges before the assault teams departed. The massive mushroom that followed signified the banishment of the daemons back to the warp and relief for the embattled citizens of Kallidus. Near the world of Lemora the loyalist fleet was assaulted by a mighty armada of corsair, pirates who were making the most of the confusion caused by the civil war. Jonson's astute conduct of the battle virtually annihilated the corsair fleet and captured their leader, "Ghoran the Navigator". Jonson spared his life and made him swear fealty to the emperor, after which Ghorana and the surviving corsairs accompanied the loyalist fleet. "Seeing Crystal" The combined fleet made planet fall at the Shield worlds as their last major refuelling stop. As they approached the Shield worlds they once again realized that the imperial governor was no longer in power. Tyrant Mashashi pronounced an ultimatum to the Primarchs. As a sorcerer of the dark powers he had foreseen the arrival of the loyalist fleet and had prepared to meet them with the intention of denying them the supplies needed for their onward journey to terra. The galaxy wide conspiracy of the dark powers was becoming more evident by the day. Horus was on his way to terra and the loyalist fleets had to be delayed at all costs. Mashashi had reckoned without the tactical genius of Jonson and the unbridled fury of Russ. A single thunderhawk gunship loaded with plasma warheads penetrated the defence grids as the fleet began bombarding defence laser sites. The thunderhawk gunship penetrated the air defences at ultra low level and successfully deployed the entire payload on to the reactors supplying the massive defence shields. As the gargantuan mushroom explosion consumed the generators and the brave pilot of the gunship, a massive strike force of Deathwing terminators teleported directly to the only spaceport on the mainland. The timing was so accurate the spaceport was within loyalist hands in a matter of minutes. Within the hour drop ships were deploying Space Wolves in large numbers. The entire pacification of the Shield World took no longer than a few hours. The tyrant Mashashi lay gurgling in his command centre, his windpipe destroyed by Russ' claws. As the tyrants cursed life passed away his "Seeing Crystal" began to glow. Curiously both Primarchs looked in to it and saw their worst fears. They saw their brother Horus swaying others with his oratory to fight against their father. They saw the terrible virus bombing of Istvaan IV. They saw with tears in their eyes the fall of the Salamanders, the destruction of the Ravenguard and the demise of the Iron hands as they were caught in Horus' trap. Russ trembled with rage at the treachery perpetrated by the four accompanying legion. They saw honourable Guilliman decoyed to the eastern fringes. They saw

Horus embark his armada for the invasion of Terra. Then they saw the fallen emperor and the crystal dimmed and darkened. Russ was beside himself with anger. Jonson questioned the validity of such a blasphemed object. However they could not ignore what they had seen, in the light of their current experiences. Ghoran the Navigator, who was accompanying them, described the powers of the "Seeing crystal". For decades he had sought it as it was said to possess unique powers that allowed rapid travel in the warp. He offered to use himself as a vassal to utilize the crystal which may well allow them to reach terra faster than by any other means. They convened the greatest of the legions' librarians and after deep discussion decided to travel on to terra. They would attempt the longest uninterrupted warp jump in the history of mankind, using the "Seeing Crystal" to predict their way. Without another word both Primarchs assembled their legions and grimly set upon the epic voyage, praying to their father, that they arrive on terra in time. The voyage was one that could not be described in detail, for the events would drive most men in to insanity. Assaulted by daemons in the warp, thrown off course by the tides of the immaterium, the combined fleet took a battering. The psychic shields that protect each ship by keeping them invisible to the warp entities were constantly attacked by all manner of warp creatures. Whirlpools of warp tides, psychic assaults directed at the navigators and complete disintegration of physical barriers caused constant casualties. Men driven mad had to be killed to maintain order. It is said that only the indomitable will of both Primarchs kept the fleet on course. The battle is joined On terra the assault by Horus had begun in earnest. Treachery amongst the Imperial Guard defenders had allowed the traitors to gain possession of both spaceports, allowing rapid deployment of the invading forces. Horus rapidly struck towards the imperial palace with the sole intention of killing his father, the emperor of man, and assuming the throne of the Imperium. Sanguinius' Blood Angels were the only Space Marine legion protecting the Imperial palace against the combined might of nine traitor legions. The brilliant counter strike by Jaghatai Khan and his White Scars supported by the 1st Armoured Division recaptured the Lions Gate spaceport, halving the flow of enemy reinforcements. Rogal Dorn led his entire legion of yellow armoured warriors in his sky-fortress in a daringly successful attempt at reinforcing the imperial palace. Despite the slow grinding advance of the heretical legions and their supporting minions, time ground on. On the fifty-fifth day of the assault, Horus heard the dreaded whispers from the warp. A daemon cackled in his ears. Jonson and Russ were merely hours away with their entire legions. Horus was taken aback. The rapid approach of both legions was a complete and strategic surprise to him. He realized that Jonson’s strategic and tactical genius, combined with Russ sheer ferocity, would completely turn the tables on the invading fleet. He had no choice but to induce the emperor to come to him. Using his entire daemon given powers he blanketed terra with a mighty psychic ward. No communication was possible from within and dropped his shields. Unaware of the approach of the loyalist legions, the Emperor

teleported directly to Horus' barge with Sanguinius and Dorn at his side and the rest is history. The death of Horus while ending the immediate danger was compounded by the death of Sanguinius and the near fatal injury to the emperor. As the last of the traitor Primarchs retreated from earth in shocked disbelief, leaving millions of heretics behind, reality tore itself apart to disgorge the returning loyalist fleet. Like avenging angels the Dark Angels and Space Wolves tore in to the heretics. Blinded by rage they fought enrage gods. Jonson, clear minded as ever, once again deployed the Deathwing en masse to recapture the Eternity Wall Spaceport. As the rest of the dark Angels deployed directly on to the spaceport, the Space Wolves were assaulting on to the imperial palace from drop pods. Sending the Ravenwing units to harass the enemy, now confused without their commander, Jonson led the bulk of the Dark Angels like an avenging angel. Swinging his Lion sword, given to him by his father, his anger knew no bounds as they sliced through the invading hordes. Images of happier times flashed through the Primarchs' mind as he charged through the familiar buildings and terraces. Memories of more peaceful times, laughter amongst the brother Primarchs, competitions and conversations, discussions and arguments, all flashed by. The closer he got to the inner palace, the more desperate his efforts were as he sought out to feel the presence of his father and his brother Primarchs. Seeing daemons and heretics stalking in the inner sanctums of the imperial palace caused anger to boil over in to a physical manifestation and the Primarch of the Dark Angel became a whirlwind of destruction. His retinue was unable to keep up with him. Alone, like a cyclone of destruction, he continued his orgy of death, sending daemons and warp creatures screaming back in to the nether-world they had come from. Suddenly he was in the throne room. Bodies lay three deep, heretic and custodian’s lay grotesquely intertwined in death, a testament to the ferocity of the battles that had raged there. The throne was empty. Of the emperor or his brother Primarchs there was no sign. Suddenly overcome by the reality of the situation and emotionally overcome, the Lion fell to his knees at the foot of the Imperial throne. Slowly he looked around, his hand still tight around the hilt of the blessed Lion sword. On the far corner a shimmering of the air caught his attention. Rapidly followed by the sudden release of pressure as the shimmering became eldritch blue light and figure appeared. His stalwart brother Rogal Dorn stood there in bloodied yellow terminator armour. He carried in his arms the limp figure of the Emperor. Jonson slowly rose and dreading the worst, locked eyes with Dorn. In a moment there was understanding between the two brothers. The limp figure of his brother Sanguinius, with a spirit purer than most, lifeless wings drooping, was born by mournful Blood Angels. Sadness overcame the Lion like a tidal wave. The dreamer was dead! Their hopes and dreams lay in ruin. Everything they fought for had been demolished due to the human foibles of

some of his brothers. How could they have foresworn his father, he asked himself. He wandered aimlessly, sword in hand and anger in his heart. He came across Russ, who was slumped under the monument to the victory on Dulan. In their grief, harsh words were spoken, bitter accusations exchanged. Jonson blamed Russ for his insistence on assaulting the fortress on Kallidus. Had they travelled directly to terra they would in all likelihood have arrived five days earlier and their father would be alive. Russ knew this to be true and said nothing. Despite the devastation, in their hearts they realized that they had done right on Kallidus. They were the shields for humanity and to leave their subjects at the mercy of daemons would be against everything they had fought for. Russ was too exhausted to argue and too drained to confront Jonson. He simply dismissed him with a derisive gesture and went to sleep. The long battles of the great crusade and the longing for his home Caliban, their delay in arriving to render assistance to their Emperor all boiled down in to one single point of irreconcilable fury. At the epicentre of that fury, Jonson saw Russ, the man whom he called brother, but whose headstrong battle rage had disrupted so many carefully laid battle plans and ultimately cost them their father. In a storm of anger, rage blinding reason, Jonson drew his Lion sword and screamed at Russ to arm himself. The Space Wolf Primarch too had been stunned by the events leading to their father's fatal injuries, and had no fight left in him. He simply presented his chest to Jonson, willing him to strike as penance for the delay at Kallidus. As Jonson's sword arm swung down, and the chaos gods chuckled in the warp, an inner voice of reason called out to him. Suddenly the clouds dropped away, and horrified at what he was doing, the golden haired Primarch deftly shifted his aim just moments before the blade struck Russ' chest. The small shift spared the giant Fenrisian's secondary heart. As Russ collapsed, bleeding from his wound, Jonson dropped his sword and swooped down to aid his brother. Calling the apothecaries to tend to his brothers wounds, he then stormed off disgusted with himself, appalled at his own lack of self-control and the ease with which he had caused another near-calamity for the Imperium. In a state of depression and anger, with the mental and physical exhaustion of the preceding events overwhelming him, he wandered aimlessly, and found himself at the foot of the golden throne. There, in the company of his ever-watchful father he fell asleep. As he fell in to an exhausted sleep he dreamed. In his dreams he saw his father. The Emperor spoke to the lion. He explained Horus' treachery, the events of Istvaan and the battle on the barge. That the emperor would no longer walk amongst his warriors but be confined to physical imprisonment on the Golden Throne so that he may watch over humanity became clear. The necessity for the surviving brother Primarchs to unify and hold the Imperium together was imperative. In his dreams Jonson resolved to put aside his differences with Russ and stand with his brothers as one to regain humanity's hold on the galaxy. Slowly the Primarch of the first legion awoke from his deep slumber. A new purpose washed over him. Newfound resolve strengthened his steady will. He searched out the Apothecarium within the great palace and sat don by his wounded wolf-brother. Days went by as the Fenrisian Primarchs super-human metabolism repaired the near fatal blow, aided by the constant

attention of the emperor's own apothecaries. Jonson stood vigil day and night, praying to their father, for Russ' recovery. When Russ finally awoke, he found Jonson and Dorn standing by his bed. Brother Primarchs fixed gazes and they all understood. Their beloved father would no longer walk amongst his warriors. Half their brothers had turned traitors to humanity. Of the nine remaining loyalist legions three had been sundered in Istvaan, another three had suffered greatly on the battle for terra. Their dear brother Sanguinius, pure of heart, had died fighting for his father. They resolved that they would standby each other no matter what the outcome, and never again would brother Primarch raise arms against one another. Aftermath The months following their return to Terra wore on slowly. The three brother Primarchs of the Imperial Fists, Space Wolves and Dark Angels continued their Herculean task of cleansing the centre of human civilization. Gradually order was restored on Terra and its facilities rebuilt. The Solar system was finally purified once the heretical elements within the Adeptus Mechanicus were purged and loyal Imperial Guard and Navy formations re-assembled. Then word came from the Primarch of the Ultramarines, whose legion alone had survived the heresy with minimal casualties and had maintained a tight grip on Imperial rule in the vast Ultima Segmentum. His strategic mind had designed the restructuring of the legions in to smaller independent formations called chapters. Once this was accomplished they were then to re-embark on the holiest of their tasks, that of re-conquering the galaxy for humanity in the name of the Emperor. Having elected to leave noble Dorn and his Imperial Fists to yet again guard Terra, the Space Wolves and Dark Angels first honoured their fallen Brother Primarch Sanguinius. After the Blood Angels departed for Baal, the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels also embarked on to their own fleets. Jonson felt the weight of his father's death and the betrayal of his brothers deeply. His heart longed to return to the green jungles of Caliban. As the legions' command shuttle departed the Lion's Gate Spaceport looked back at Old Terra with sadness in his eyes. He would never again return there. The Dark Angel command Ship was a magnificent Imperial Battleship. It was the second gift given him by the Emperor, the first being the Dark Angel legion. The "Angelus Lionus" was a magnificent battleship born of the space docks of Mars itself. It had accompanied the Emperor's command fleet and had been renamed to its current status by the Emperor himself. Gifted by the emperor himself, as Jonson prepared to leave on the great crusade it had been extensively modified in its journeys on that great Crusade. It was twice as large as any Space Marine battle barge and five times as powerful, and had been the flagship of the Lion on each of his magnificent victories. But now that battle hardened hero balked at the sight of this ship. He felt unworthy of such a gift from the man he was unable to protect.

His father was dead. He could not bear to even enter the ship, which was so full of his memories. Memories of happier times, glorious conquests and magnificent feats flashed within his minds eye. All those dreams lay shattered amidst the ruin of treachery. Jonson signalled his second in command to lead take command of the "Angelus Lionus" and directed his shuttle to the battle Barge "Pride of Caliban". He prepared to contemplate the future of his legion in the privacy of his personal battle barge while his subordinates made preparations for their departure. The Dark Angel fleet was a magnificent site to behold. Despite the grievous losses experienced on their heroic warp jump to arrive at Terra, the majority of the fleet remained battle worthy. As the behemoths slowly fell in to their allotted position around the "Pride of Caliban" the "Angelus Lionus" took the position of the spearhead. Jonson had always led from the front whether on land or in space. Even though he now remained within the centre of the fleet, his flagship retained the lead. As the massive cluster of space vessels departed the confines of the Solar system the entire surviving legion wondered why their mighty Primarch had not issued his usual address. They all knew that they had emerged victorious but at a huge cost. The iron discipline of the Space Marines was tested sorely at this time as emotions roiled, the elation of victory combining with the bitterness of treachery and the longing for returning home. The fleet entered the warp with the utter silence of the Lion. The new order Jonson brooded within his quarters for days as the fleet travelled slowly though the empyrean. There was no need for dangerous short cuts now. They were returning home. As he slept in a stupor, wallowing in anguish at being too late to be at his father's side in his hour of need, he is said to have again experienced an awe inspiring dream. His father, he who endured eternal suffering for humanity, spoke to Jonson. What passed to him on that night no one knows. But the entire battle barge filled with a brightness that was unnatural yet soothing, while the lion slept. When Jonson awoke he was a changed man. Determination burned in his eyes. There was new purpose in his eyes. He had a duty and would carry it out for his father and for humanity. Like a man possessed Jonson threw himself to the task. Plans were drawn, strategies worked out, tactics outlined. The composition of the new structure for the Adeptus Astartes that Brother Guilliman was creating were modified to suit the Dark Angels legion. For fiftyseven days Jonson worked without respite, alone in his command cubit, until he re-emerged and signalled for an fleet wide broadcast. The fleet broke out of the empyrean for the momentous occasion of their Primarch's address. It is said that one could have heard a pin drop in any one vessel as the entire legion stood at attention to hear their beloved Primarch break his silence. Jonson appeared on the bridge of the "Pride of Caliban" in his full battle armour. View screens flickered across the fleet, as power was re-routed in all vessels to maintain clear signals. As the Primarch strode in to view an inaudible gasp seemed to quietly wash over the gathered angels. Jonson surveyed his children. His Dark Angels who had

conquered in the name of the emperor and had travelled to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. He stood there for a few minutes, unmoving, steady as a rock, allowing the gathered legion to imbibe the full implication of the sight of their Primarch. In his left hand he carried the Lion helm, gifted by the emperor and the seal of the commander of the legion. At his side hung the beautifully crafted power sword with a lion's head at its pommel, the Lion Sword. Strapped to his back stood the majestic shield, the Lion Shield. Behind him stood three honoured standard bearers, each carrying the battle-worn sacred standards of the Dark Angels. He stood resplendent in his brilliantly crafted artificer suit of power armour. To his left stood and a step behind him stood Grandmaster Lamoroch, grand tactician, close friend and commander of Jonson's bodyguard. To his right, in a similar position stood Leudegran, Grandmaster, friend, warrior par excellence and Jonson's second-incommand. The visual impact of the lion in this setting was awe-inspiring. But when the reality of this display hit the gathered legion it was like a sledgehammer. Gone was the revered black colour of the power armour. A deep turquoise green reflected off the Primarch. His Lion Helm was the same colour as were his entourage. Minutes passed as the Primarch of the first legion slowly inspected his gathered legion. Time passed as they felt the implications of the tremendous change about to take place. Then, in a resolute voice he spoke to his children. Codex Astartes Jonson spoke of the great dream of the Emperor, that of humanity achieving the psychic strength to withstand and survive against the threat of Chaos. He spoke of the destiny the father of humanity had toiled to create for them. He described the deepest treachery of his brother Primarchs and warned them of the coming perils. He shared his grief and shame at being a hands breath away from standing by the emperor at the hour of his greatest need. Them Jonson slowly let his words sink in. The colour black that they had worn as the legion was created, and as they had fought by the emperor as his personal guard would be removed. They were no longer the guardians of the all-father. They will relinquish their colours in favour of the green of Caliban. They will fight in the colours of their homeworld, the beautiful but blighted Caliban that they had cleansed of all evil. His reasoning touched the hearts of the gathered warriors of humanity. They felt the same calling. They longed to return home, and what better way than to return wearing the colours of their home world. Jonson then spoke at great length of the Codex Astartes brother Guilliman was creating, of the restructuring of the legions in to chapters and his own designs for the future of the legion, the Codex Astartes Angelus Mortis. The legion would be divided in to four chapters of a thousand men each. One would carry the name of the Dark Angels and remain based on Caliban. The other three would be named "Angels of Vengeance" "Angels of Absolution" and "Angels of Redemption" with there own unique colour schemes. They would each be assigned a

specific planetary system within close proximity of Caliban for mutual support. Each chapter would conform to Guilliman design in the Codex Astartes with a few exceptions. The first company would be equipped entirely in suits of tactical dreadnought armour and the second company be mobile on bikes and speeders. Within the Dark Angel chapter these would retain the honoured names of Deathwing and Ravenwing. They would both retain the original colour of the legion, the former as remembrance of their role of the emperor's bodyguard and the latter simply to denote the ancient bird from which they acquired their name. Finally Jonson named the chapter master of each of the four chapters, personally honouring the three who would lead the latter chapters from within the ranks of his personal command. The command of the Dark Angels chapter he would pass on to his erstwhile brother, Luther when they returned to Caliban. It is said that Jonson spoke eloquently and resolutely for five hours to the entire legion. He explained that he wished to hand over the reigns of the four chapters to his most trusted lieutenants and lead a small crusading force in to the eye of terror. His was a crusade of vengeance, to bring back his brothers to the side of the light or destroy them utterly. At the end of his address as he stepped down a single cheer that rang across the entire fleet! "For the emperor! For the Lion! For Caliban!" Then the entire fleet re-entered the empyrean to continue their journey. The legion was re-juvenated with new purpose. Frantic activity took place within each and every vessel as the Primarchs plans were put in motion. Home coming Caliban was a magnificent sight when seen from outer space. A large green and blue planet eight times the size of Old terra it was the only planet capable of supporting life in its system. When Jonson left Caliban on the Great Crusade great defensive works had already been commenced. As the populace of Caliban had yet to venture in to space, imperial technology and Adeptus Astartes innovation intervened to create and establish planetary defences.

Home coming Caliban was a magnificent sight when seen from outer space. A large green and blue planet eight times the size of Old terra it was the only planet capable of supporting life in its system. When Jonson left Caliban on the Great Crusade great defensive works had already been commenced. As the populace of Caliban had yet to venture in to space, imperial technology and Adeptus Astartes innovation intervened to create and establish planetary defences. Eighteen orbital defence stations surrounded the planet in three separate altitudes, allowing mutual support and cross fire against any intruders. Armed with a vast array of missile launchers, bombardment cannons and laser mega cannons these automated stations were veritable fortresses in their own right. Two orbital docking stations were positioned at opposite poles beneath the second layer of defence stations, named after their two greatest heroes, Jonson and Luther. How appropriate that these two had been placed at opposite poles. The true nature of the heroes would be revealed all too soon. All incoming ships would normally dock here and their content transported planet-side in shuttles. The Caliban being a self-sufficient planet most main material that was transported was of war like nature or people from imperial planets. A single spaceport resided close to the largest fortress monastery of the order from where Jonson had set out to cleanse Caliban of its blight. The jungles of Caliban gleamed green with beauty as ever. Gone was the threat of the chaos creatures which had terrorized the populace until their demise. The rivers ran freely and the oceans blue. The teutonic might of Caliban's knightly order provided the new recruiting ground for the future Space Marines of the Dark Angel legion. But unknown, jealousy, envy and personal ambition clouded the judgment of some. The threat of betrayal ran under a thin skin of normalcy. Without warning the space near Caliban rippled with the tide of the empyrean. Within moments monitors on the orbital stations had isolated the exact position of the riptide and aimed scanning and targeting matrices towards that region. Data from their ancient receivers was instantaneously transmitted to the command cubicle deep within the command fortress of the Order. Messages were relayed. Communiqué's flashed. Klaxons sounded. Something stirred menacingly in the warp. The ripple in space expanded in to large whirlpool and like a monster regurgitating its latest meal three strike cruisers leapt out of the opening in the warp. Gliding majestically behind them, with an aristocratic arrogance acquired from many centuries of conflict, came the behemoth "Angelus Lionus" A single signal was constantly repeated in all frequencies. "Behold! The Lion!" The battleship glided with practiced ease, firing retro thrusters and linking in with the telemetry of the automated docking system of the Orbital Docking Station. It took nearly an hour four the mammoth ship to position itself in the correct approach angle due to unexplained interference in

telemetry. The three escort strike cruisers had positioned to the rear of the battleship as an honour guard. The first inclination of something amiss was when an alert operator on the command deck of the "Angelus Lionus" detected energy spikes in a number of the orbital defence stations. Suddenly there was a flurry of reports of sensor sweeps emanating from the defence stations followed by multiple energy spikes. Klaxons blared on the battleship as the Admiral of the Fleet demanded explanation from the ground control. A single statement was beamed from the ground stations to the four ships now plodding slowly towards the docking station "Death to the betrayer!" Frantic alerts sounded over the communications channels within the four ships. Grandmaster Lamoroch looked on impassively. As the commander of the Lion's bodyguard, it was his duty to anticipate treachery. He had prepared for this moment countless times, and until this day, those preparations had not been needed. Even as the Lord Admiral Llacheu ordered the void shields raised Lamoroch knew that his own Space Marines would have activated them instantaneously. The Space Marine and servitor crews responded rapidly and one by one the shields started powering up. The strike cruisers, being somewhat smaller and faster were already manoeuvring backwards as the danger became apparent. The eighteen orbital defence stations were layered in at three altitudes, allowing six stations to cover the planet at each level. Such was their disposition that any given point around the planet would be visible from twelve of the eighteen stations. Ripples of long-range missiles and torpedoes fired in volleys from the twelve orbital stations with line-of-sight to the "Angelus Lionus" and its escorts. Macro cannon and bombardment projectiles flew thick towards the helplessly slow spacecraft. The crew of the "Angelus Lionus" had reacted with remarkable speed, due to Lamorochs foresight, and three void shields had already encompassed the ship, providing some measure of protection. Weapons batteries on the ships began to track the orbital stations while close in systems targeted oncoming ordnance. Initial impact by the missiles and torpedoes was against the void shields! Systems overloaded within the battleship. One of the void shields flickered and died, but yet another one powered up in time to cover its place. A huge barrage of missiles overloaded the shields of the closest strike cruiser and a massive broadside of macro cannon ripped through the heart of the unfortunate cruiser. As the plasma core overheated and all steering was lost the crippled vessel spun out of control, a deadly fireball, and smashed in to the rear of the "Angelus Lionus". The exemplary courage and proficiency of the gunners of the Angelus Lionus had already destroyed three of the orbital stations, but the battle was one sided. Unable to manoeuvre, boxed in on three sides by the enemy and surprise adding to the carnage, the battleship wallowed in space. Its rear had been caved in by the collision of the escort cruiser. Lord Admiral Llendau could just see

the other two escorts rapidly disappear in a mushroom cloud of exploding munitions. The effect of the constant barrage of eight surviving stations, which were firing at point blank range, was devastating on the battleship. The decks were awash with blood and oil. Whole sections caved in and entire subsections vented in to the vacuum of space. Casualties were horrendous, yet the crew fought on. Llendau looked around his highly protected command centre. Communications were completely jammed. Astropathic transmission were attempted only to have the astropaths die screaming as warp spawned demons assaulted their minds. He looked at around and assessed the situation quickly. He made eye contact with Lamoroch. In an instant they realized the gravity of the situation. Lamoroch's specialized assault parties had been unable to depart the hangar bays as the exit doors had been caved in by the massive close range bombardment. With all options running out fast, and their destruction all but assured, a rapid order was issued to jettison a message buoy. A second command ordered the plasma cores to be vented and demolition charges fired. They had survived the betrayal at terra only to suffer treason at home. He will not allow this treason to escape unpunished. He punched to runes of self-destruction even as a hardtipped penetrator torpedo exploded outside the command room. A finite second later the entire "Angelus Lionus" blossomed in to a gigantic explosion. To the people of Caliban on the planet below, unaware of the treachery afoot, it was as if a new star had been born in the sky. As the vented plasma superheated to critical levels by the selfdestruct explosion, a massive shockwave rippled through the surrounding space, engulfing the eight orbital defence stations and the docking station in single gargantuan fiery grave. A millisecond before the last defence station disintegrated a thin beam of laser energy stabbed out in to the darkness, vaporising the message buoy ejected so desperately from the "Angelus Lionus". Then there was silence! The Lion Roars Out in the warp the main body of the Dark Angel fleet neared its destination. Telepathic signals passed within the command ships of the fleet. Tactical doctrine taught by Jonson, insisted on being prepared for all eventualities, especially during the highly dangerous time of exiting the warp space. The prearranged telepathic signals had not been received from the "Angelus Lionus". Following long established protocols, the fleet diverted their exit vector away from that of the "Angelus Lionus" and its screen. Arriving at the periphery of the Caliban system the massive fleet exited the warp amidst a panoply of swirling energy. Void shields activated immediately in all ships. Sensor augers started automatic sweeps. Gun batteries and missile bays activated to acquire potential threats. Thunderhawk gunships readied in their hangar bays.

A single merchant cruiser lumbering along the edge of Caliban space was immediately identified, tagged and intercepted by Thunderhawks. As the captain of that freight cruiser was brought aboard the "Pride of Caliban" for questioning, a massive cloud of space debris was detected around Caliban. Shortly thereafter the destruction of the lead ships and their sacrifice in destroying the orbital defence stations became known. Individual items of debris were identified from their radiometric signatures allowing accurate assessment of the preceding events. These were confirmed by the captain of the freightliner, who further described tales of rebellion. Tales of betrayal and treachery. Once again the Dark Angels were facing treason perpetrated by the most trusted of their brethren. But this was different. This was within their own ranks. Luther had betrayed them! His ambitious mind had been an easy pray for the powers in the warp. They had slowly imbued him with the craving for ambition and achievement. His vanity had been his down fall. He had come to believe that Jonson had left him behind in order to belittle him while the Primarch covered himself with glory. He hadn't realized the great importance of maintaining a secure home base, and he had been left in command simply because he was the most trusted and capable lieutenant Jonson ever had. Little had he known that Jonson planned to hand over command of the Dark Angel chapter to him after the restructuring process. Luther had used his capacity for eloquent speech to slowly drive the dark Angels on Caliban and most of the population away from belief in the emperor and the lion. He had convinced them that they had been forsaken and betrayed by the emperor and their Primarch. Knowing that the few system defence ships would be no match for the Dark Angel fleet, he had banked on destroying the lion in a sneaky, treacherous and surprise attack. Fortunately for the dark Angels, belief in the emperor and the decision to send the "Angelus Lionus" ahead saved the legion of another grievous loss. Jonson's rage was unparalleled. He did not care that the attempt was on his life. He was aghast at the depth of treachery within his own home. Reacting with the speed of a man possessed he rapidly gathered his command group and set about in motion a plan of attack. None of the traitors would be spared. He would personally lead the assault on his own home fortress monastery. As he grimly spoke to the gathered members of his command staff, his face was grim with determination. His eyes shone with fury. Clad majestically in his deep green armour Jonson was a sight to behold, his flowing golden hair contrasting with the deep colours of his armour. His personal weapons hung at the ready, the lion sword at his waist and a master crafted bolt pistol on his right. The lion shield lay loosely strapped to his back. The Dark Angel fleet separated in to three contingents with practiced ease. Two swung to straddle the green globe that was Caliban. Within an instant a deadly barrage of missile, torpedoes and ordnance was flying towards the surviving few orbital stations and docking station. They then took orbital positions over the planet and began the systematic bombardment of every

known and identified fortress monastery and military installations. Anything that was of remote military significance was culled with massive volleys of bombardment cannon. As the defenders of Caliban vainly tried to retaliate with defence laser fire, the traitorous Angels were busy consolidating their fortresses. They had expected a planetary assault on all their fortified bases as they had thought the Primarch would not dare inflict terrible injury on his own home planet. The fury with which Jonson launched his massive bombardment took them completely by surprise. Unable to comprehend the vicious tactics of their erstwhile Primarch many perished within the rubble of their fortress monasteries, buried alive by the edifices of their treachery. As the two prongs of the fleet distracted and pummelled the defenders in to submission, the third flew directly towards the planet. As the ships entered the stratosphere of the planet hundreds of drop ships were discharged. Some were dummies and decoys while a few carried an elite group of fighting force. The drop ships carrying the ground assault force thudded on the rock ground of their home planet with little return fire to oppose them. The orbital bombardments had been utterly effective. Without another word the Primarch of the Dark Angels leaped out of the leading drop ship closely followed by his bodyguard. They had landed with pinpoint accuracy within striking distance of Luther's command post. The assault force deployed in to tactical formation and rapidly advanced towards their home base, the largest citadel on Caliban. As the defenders of Luther’s command recovered from their initial shock, vicious firefights broke out. But despite the defensive battlements and emplacements, the Lion was all but unstoppable. His fury lent him strength as he became an avatar of death, the lion sword coming alive in his hand as he carved a bloody path to the citadel. The weapons of the "Pride of Caliban" were firing directly at the citadel, destroying huge areas of the outer walls and causing massive breaches. The green armoured Dark Angels poured through the breaches, their banners unfurled and death spitting from their weapons. No quarter was asked and none given. In the shadows of the massive battlements, brother fought brother. Blood mixed with sand and kindred spirits assaulted each other with uncontrolled rage. Down familiar walkways and doors they fought. Chambers that brought fond memories were deranged beyond recognition. Statues and imagery of the emperor had been battered down. The honoured dark Angel emblems effaced. The assaulting Dark Angels redoubled their efforts as they stormed like an unstoppable juggernaut towards the central chapel, the Tower of Angels. As they blasted the outer doors, the Lion signalled his men to form a perimeter outside. He would face his brother alone. The concern on the faces of his honour guard was clear as daylight, but they obeyed as a Space Marine would. And then the Lion, Primarch of the dark Angel Legion, First born to the emperor of mankind, stepped through the hallowed doorway in

to legend. Brother! Friend! Betrayer! In the command room two men faced each other. Each stood still taking stock of the other. The handsome Primarch of the Dark Angels stood majestically, his flowing golden hair discoloured with battle dust. The ornate sword in his right hand held lightly. The winged helm that he had worn had been removed and was cradled in his left arm, as he locked eyes with the man who stood before him. What he faced was far different from the warm, and good-hearted brother-marine he had left behind to guard his home world. As he looked at Luther he realized that this was not the honourable man he had called brother. Clad in black power armour and wielding the sword that the Primarch himself had gifted to him, Luther stood with an arrogance born of treachery. Unnatural energy oozed within him, distorting his noble features. His eyes were dark soulless pits. His voice was a revolting hiss of venomous words. The venerated symbols and iconography of the legion had been crudely removed from his ornate armour. The Primarch realized that he had lost his friend and brother and spoke for the last time! "Brother! Friend! Betrayer!" Both realized what that meant and without further delay moved in to combat stance. The purity of the Lion Sword weighing against the Dark might of the Black Blade. Not a single word was uttered as blood brothers lunged at each other. The Primarch was a demi-god amongst men and dwarfed even the superhuman Space Marines, but Luther had been infused with the unnatural energies of the dark powers. They struck at each other in the material world as well as in the psychic realm. It was a battle of physical strength as well as their indomitable will. Energy crackled as the pure white energy of the Lion sword clashed with the dark power suffusing the Dark blade. Thrust and parry! Sweep and block! The battle raged for hours and as they fought their physical and psychic shock waves tore at the edifice around them. Massive plascrete columns swayed like weed in a storm. Huge chunks of adamantite came tumbling down rocks in a landslide. Yet the brothers fought on. The Lion fought with the fury of a man betrayed. Surprised at first by the strength and power of his erstwhile brother he fought like a man possessed. He fought for his legion and his world. He fought for the soul of his brethren. Luther may have been equally matched in strength and skill and even more by the deeds of the dark powers, but did not have the righteous resolve of the Primarch. The Dark Angel honour guard stoically held their ground outside the citadel, cutting down counter attack after desperate counter attack by their fallen brethren. Calling down direct fire support within meters of their position, they reaped a bloody harvest of their heretical brothers with little regard to their own safety. The "Pride of Caliban" continued it's constant pounding of anything that even remotely reeked of chaos. The sounds of the gigantic clash of arms occurring within

the command chambers was audible to all those who defended the perimeter against the fallen. Only their iron disciple and utter and complete faith in their Primarch born of his service for a century kept them from attempting to intervene inside. Inside, the scene was of utter devastation. The command room, which was once the throne room of the Lion, from which many a noble deed had been initiated, resembled a charnel house. The devastation was absolute with massive hunks of plasteel and plascrete strewn about like petty rubble. The dead bodies of the minions of Luther lay crushed amongst the broken content of that once noble chamber. The titanic clash between the two brothers continued unabated. Lightning flashed within the chambers as their swords struck once again in unison. Luther was tiring as the Lion bombarded him with a constant flurry of assault. The lion sword swung as if it had a life of its own. The Black Blade countered, the energy of the demon bound within allowing Luther to match the Lion stroke for stroke. They fought wearing no helms. They locked their eyes to each other’s and held their gaze. None blinked. Hatred burned in one set of eyes while revenge thirsted in the other! They circled for the hundredth time, re-assessing their opponent. The Lion was tired of betrayal. He had seen his father betrayed and now not only himself but also his legion and his world betrayed, all because of one man's vanity. "Never again!" screamed Jonson in an anguished cry that cut through the fabric of reality. The scream of pure anger echoed both in the material world and the empyrean. It struck Luther without warning, something touching him deep within his subconscious. The Lion charged like an avenging fury and Luther stumbled backwards. His foot stepped on the Lion Helm, which his brother had discarded at the beginning of their duel, and tripped. As he fell, the charging Jonson stood above him, his Lion sword raised high, his left hand accusingly pointing at his brother on the ground. Even as he weakly raised his black sword on his left hand to try and parry the killing blow, Luther knew that his neck was exposed and Jonson had him. Hatred swelled in him. Pure malice danced in his eyes. Then he saw Jonson hesitate. Jonson looked at the creature lying on the ground, pathetically trying to bring the Black Sword up to ward off the killing blow. He saw the malice in the eyes. He winced at the horrifying changes that had occurred to his brother-in-arms. Gone was the noble Luther, kind of heart but a true warrior at heart. In his place lay this hideous creature of chaos. Animosity oozed from every aspect of the black armoured warrior. Jonson's arm stayed the killing blow. His fury gave way to pity as he remembered yet again that it was Luther who had stayed his execution in the jungles of Caliban so many years ago. If not for that man, Jonson would have been dead or still roaming the jungles of Caliban. He owed this man everything he had gained even though he had betrayed his home, his legion and his emperor. In an instant realization flickered in Luther's eyes. A

soft voice hissed from the warp. Here was his opening. His enemy was hesitating, if only momentarily. The foolish weakling was exposing himself to attack at the moment of triumph. He knew why he hated Jonson and the Imperium so much. They were weak fools. He, Luther, will lead the Dark Angels to victory. He will reconquer the galaxy in the name of Caliban and establish humanity as the dominant species. No longer will they follow the weak rituals and morals of the now dead emperor! He will reap vengeance for all the time he languished on the backwater planet while, glory that was truly his was robbed by his brother. For that, he must die! With a vengeful scream fortified by the hatred he had developed over the years and strengthened by the rage within him, Luther lashed out with his mind. A massive blast of pure psychic energy flickered at first and then beamed across from the Black Sword to hit the Primarch squarely in his chest. Unnatural flames of warp fire danced across the defender of humanity. Wreathed in the burning essence of the warp that was spilling out from the Black Sword, the Primarch collapsed to his knees. His noble features wracked in agony, his gargantuan constitution tearing itself apart by this black magic, his eyes burning with terrible pain yet dancing with determination, he thrust the Lion Sword in to the path of the warp fire. Luther stared wide-eyed as his warp spawned magic cut off abruptly, broken by the purity of the blessed sword of the Primarch. As Jonson rose once more, struggling to focus on his enemy, Luther screamed in frustration. He creamed to the dark gods and focused every ounce of his will, every morsel of his hatred and every drop of his malice in to a psychic attack and directed it at the Lion's heart. Jonson felt more than saw the coming assault, and with tears of agony in his eyes and grief in his heart he thrust the sword his father had given him in to the path of the maelstrom. With a thunderclap the darkness met the light. Irresistible force met with an immovable object. Fear and hatred were countered by purity and loyalty. A massive psychic shock wave filled the chamber and blew the walls of the citadel outwards. The honour guard who were fighting outside the citadel was buried under the massive landslide of rubble along with their fallen brethren. The devastation settled and the smoke cleared to reveal two figures in the epicentre of the blast. Jonson lay on the ground. His armour splayed, his face covered in blood, his limbs broken. Yet he struggled to stand yet once more. Next to him lay the noble weapon of the lion, its blade broken by the force of the blast. It had absorbed the worst of the attack to allow its master to survive. A few paces ahead of him stood Luther. Standing tall and covered in the blasphemed black armour. A malicious smile of victory danced on his face as he surveyed the scene around him. Looking at Jonson struggling to stand, he opened his mouth to gloat, his black sword whispering words of vengeance to him. Realization In that moment a single thought flashed through his mind. Perhaps Jonson had connected psychically with Luther, or perhaps it was the emperor himself protecting his first-born. Whatever the reason, Luther had depleted his psychic potential temporarily with the

terrible attack and was momentarily weak from the influence of the dark powers. In that moment a veil lifted from his mind. The enormity of his actions suddenly dawning on him as the last vestiges of his humanity battled to the surface. Reality struck as he remembered his treachery to his brother, his legion and his emperor. He opened his mouth to ask forgiveness from the noble man who had remained loyal to him despite his heresy. But all that would come out was an anguished cry of pain and shame. The Black Sword screamed at him to strike the final blow and claim his heirdom. Jonson saw the repentant Luther and collapsed to the ground. He flung the sword aside and fell to his knees besides the collapsed form of his brother, sobbing like a newborn child. In the warp malicious gods saw their plans thwarted. Anger and frustration of the warp entities swirled in to maelstrom in the warp. The ripple in the fabric of reality created by the black sword now acted as a channel and pure warp energy spilt in to the material world. Smashing through the underground chambers of the Citadel the stream of the empyrean struck through the core pf the planet to emerge on the opposite side, coalescing in to a massive warp storm. An implosion of gargantuan proportions shook the depths of Caliban. The outer crust of the planet had been so weakened by the vengeful Dark Angel fleet it could no longer contain the warp storm created within its depths. As the fleet commanders watched incredulously the entire planet folded on itself. Urgent orders flashed between the blockading fleet as they desperately tried to back out of the developing riptide. Then suddenly, in panoply of whirling lights, the awesome might of the warp energy was demonstrated as the entire planet crumbled in to debris and was sucked in to the whirlpool of the empyrean. Almost a quarter of the blockading fleet on the far side of the planet perished in that whirlwind of destruction. The rest of the fleet looked on incredulously the whirlwind of destruction slowly died down to a ripple and then nothingness. Where previously a planet had stood majestically there remained a thin cloud of dust. As the fleets' sensor's flickered back on line, stunned disbelief turned to amazed excitement. Floating in the centre of the dust cloud was a giant asteroid. Atop the asteroid stood the Tower of Angels, the magnificent bastion of the order and the command fortress of the dark Angels legion. Tower of Angels The calamitous events at Caliban dumb founded even the battle-hardened veterans of the Dark Angels legion. The deathly silence that descended in the Caliban system was thunderous in their ears. No one moved for moments that seemed an eternity. Their thoughts were all focused on one question. What of their Primarch? Grandmaster Leudegran broke from his reverie. His stunned disbelief turned to determined anger. He looked around his command chamber on the Pride of Caliban. "Brother Dark Angels!" his voice boomed over every

chamber and vault in each and every ship of the fleet. "You have seen a second tragedy come to pass. We have been betrayed by our own brethren! We shall not stray from the path of our father, for we are the true sons of the lion!" "Activate contingency plan "Divine Relief Sextus Two!" Klaxons blared and purgatory bells rang across the fleet. With grim determination the Dark Angels allowed their relentless training to overcome their initial shock and grief over their loss. The Dark Angel fleet rapidly deployed in to system wide blockade positions. No one would be allowed in to the system to see what had transpired until they had determined the outcome on the floating asteroid. Leudegran himself embarked on a thunderhawk gunship as a secondary assault force deployed from the battle barges and headed towards the floating asteroid. As they approached the asteroid they were amazed to find that it was in fact a large chunk of their own home planet. In fact the main citadel and Fortress monastery of the Dark Angels, where the Primarch had landed to lead the assault, could be seen nearly intact. The asteroid was essentially a floating bedrock of Caliban, protected by the massive force fields and void shields which protected the Fortress it had alone withstood the maelstrom of the empyrean. Hope rose within the assault group as the Thunderhawks made an assault landing. Out poured the might of the Dark Angels, ready for combat and eager for news of their Primarch. Instead all they found was death and destruction. Throwing caution to the wind Leudegran charged up to the main citadel, his honour guard following closely. Combat teams spread out to secure the perimeter as more Dark Angels landed. After hours of searching they finally broke through the rubble to the command chamber. There they found, babbling like a child, the arch heretic Luther. He was overcome by grief and close to madness. Incoherently he repeated half sentences. Leudegran ordered his honour guard to secure him and amidst great secrecy transported him to the "Pride of Caliban". Only a few would know of Luther's survival until they gleaned the whereabouts of the Primarch. From the ramblings of Luther it had become evident that the Primarch had been struck down by sorcerous chaos fuelled energy and that the Lion Sword had indeed been broken as it absorbed the main impact. In addition, the Primarch seems to have been carried away by the enigmatic incumbents of the deep caverns of Caliban, the Watchers. The watchers were rarely seen above ground and almost exclusive within the deep caverns beneath the main fortress monastery of Caliban. They had posed no threat and had previously only communicated with the Primarch. No one could glean the significance of their actions. What was clear was that the Lion Sword and the Lion himself had vanished. The Lion Helm had been reverently recovered and preserved aboard the "Pride of Caliban". Foresight For thirty days and thirty nights the Dark Angels

scoured the surface and the under ground labyrinths of the ruins of their Fortress Monastery. The large landmass of the remains of Caliban was of sufficient mass to have some semblance of gravity. At the end of that period the search was officially called off. Augustinian called a council of war. More than a hundred grandmasters of the legion along with every ranking librarian and chaplain gathered in a secret conclave within the ruins of the Fortress. For seven days and seven nights they counselled together, as Augustinian slowly explained to them the strategic plan the Lion had devised for the future of the legion. The strategic wisdom of Jonson became widely apparent as the gathered leaders of the legion listened in awe. Jonson had accepted the need for restructuring of the legions on to chapters of one thousand men and had accordingly devised his strategy. Although the original Dark Angel legion had easily numbered more than ten thousand warriors, the great crusade and the heresy had taken their toll. The return to terra had been costly within the warp and the subsequent fighting and cleansing of Segmentum solar added to the carnage. All in all, the Primarch had expected to around five thousand warriors including those left behind in Caliban. He had planned on the creation of four chapters, one with the name of the legion and three more taking their names as the Angels of Vengeance, Angels of Absolution and the Angels of Redemption. The remaining forces would be used to create a crusading force that the Lion himself planned to lead deep in to the eye of terror to seek out his traitorous brothers. His planning had been performed in exquisite detail, right down to the structure of each chapter, their colours and their new home worlds. Subsidiary home worlds had been chosen in the event of the primary world being tainted y the lure of the heresy. The chapters themselves would retain Guilliman's ten-company structure but incorporate Jonson's innovations. The first company would fight in tactical dreadnought armour, especially after their effective use en masse during the heresy. The second company would be the fast mounted Ravenwing and their equivalents. There would be three battle companies, four reserve companies and a scout company as dictated by the Codex Astartes. Agreement was unanimous amongst the greatest and noblest warriors of the Dark Angels. The Lion himself had also chosen the chapter masters of the four chapters. To this melding pot Augustinian added a few ingredients himself. The crusade in to the eye of terror would be put on hold, due to the loss of men in the battle of Caliban as well as the total loss of Caliban's garrison and populace. In its place they would begin a secret crusade to avenge their own shame. They will seek out each and every one of the fallen heretical brothers who had been sucked in to the maelstrom. Until they were all captured and made to repent, the chapter would hide its shame from all outsiders. Thus was created the inner circle, containing the most trusted and worthy warriors of

the legion. Every member of the command staff would be a proven member of the inner circle, and it is only they who would know the whole truth. Members of the first company would be tasked with this holy task. The four named chapter masters resolved to work together and pool their resource constantly and agreed that they would forever be called the Unforgiven chapters until their shame was erased and the emperor forgave them. With the finalization of their great agenda, the question of home world remained. Unanimously they had decided that the Dark Angels chapter would rebuild the Fortress monastery and make it in to a floating base. However with no populace to recruit, they had to designate a separate planet within intra-planetary craft range for initial recruitment. Such a world was selected from those designated by Jonson as secondary home worlds. It was a primitive tribal planet with a hardy warrior like populace. It was known simply as "The Plains World!" The last item on the agenda was the public announcement of the final order written personally in the handwriting of their Primarch. As the entire legion listened his words were read out by the grandmaster. "We will take the names of the ancient angels of terra! We shall steel our hearts with courage and shield ourselves with faith! In the emperor we shall trust! Like Angels of Death we shall smite his foes!" Fortress afloat! It took almost a hundred years of constant struggle and toil before Grandmaster Leudegran could reflect with ease on their accomplishments. The three successor chapters had established on their own home worlds and were now operating independently. The Dark Angels had initiated recruitment from the Plains World successfully and the hardy tribal warriors had proved to be excellent candidates. The initial recruitment force had been made up of squads of Deathwing, as the state of the world was unknown. Having found it to be free of the taint of chaos, they were surprised to find the local folklore describe a mythical bird called the "Wings of Death" or "Deathwing" Thus was born the tradition that Deathwing would visit the planet every hundred years for fresh recruits. In the meantime the fortress monastery had been transformed in to a veritable star fortress. Bristling with defensive and offensive weapons and massive hangar bays it could easily accommodate the entire chapter with room to spare. The greatest accomplishments of the techmarines and adepts was the fitting of massive warp drives and void and psychic shields which would enable a ponderous but definite travel through warp space. This gargantuan achievement was sadly only achieved nearly a thousand years after the heroic death of the first grandmaster of the Dark Angels Chapter, Leudegran who had hence been known as Galadriel. As to how this massive warp technology came in to the hands of the dark Angels is still debated within the deepest sanctums of the Adeptus

Mechanicus. Some ascribe this achievement to the involvement of the alien elder race. Others note whispered rumours of mystical beings resident within the deepest caverns of the rock fortress. Yet more tell of Dark Angel expeditions to apparently lifeless worlds. Whatever the source of such technology, the Dark Angels share it with none. For nearly four thousand years following the heresy the Dark Angels continues their duty to the emperor and the Lion from the stationary rock fortress, hanging in space where their home planet had been. The fine dust cloud still hung undisturbed as a testament to its passing. The chapter had deployed using their battle barges and strike cruisers wherever an imperial request was made. Their combat achievement reflected the tactical genius of their Primarch. The stubbornness in adversity became legendary. It was in the thirty-sixth millennium that an incident occurred which would transform the chapter once again. A group of thirty Deathwing terminators embarked on their ritual, once in a hundred year journey to their home planet. As these descendants of the plains world arrived they found death and devastation. The planet had been overrun by a Genestealer cult. Outnumbered, but loath to loose another home planet, the commander of the detachment Master Ezekiel led the Deathwing towards the cult city. Brother Lucian, formerly known as Two-Heads-Talking, shaman of the plains world and honoured Dark Angel Librarian, had already entered the city in disguise. There, having slain the Genestealer magus he was captured by the cult. Although mortally wounded, the librarian managed to lock psyche with the patriarch and kill him in his own death throes. The actions of the Deathwing detachment rescued the people of the plains world and retained the world as a continued source of recruits for the chapter. The great battle in the city of iron passed in to Dark Angel history and legend. The five surviving terminators took on roles as chieftains for their tribes and led the people back to their old way of life. The strategic weakness of not garrisoning their only recruitment base became apparent. A second conclave of the inner circle was gathered nearly five thousand years after the first one and the momentous decision taken to become a mobile chapter. Recruitment would be from many potential worlds that the Dark Angels would station recruitment chapels. The Fortress Monastery itself would begin to flex its awesome muscle and commence its first warp journey. They would remain in a particular system for a few hundred years until recruitment was complete and then journey on to the next. Thus the fortress monastery now became a mobile gargantuan battle barge, taking the chapter where they were most needed.

When the Space Marine Legions were broken down into smaller Chapters at the end of the Horus Heresy, the Dark Angels were one of the few Chapters that did not use the strict Codex organisation laid down by Roboute Guilliman in the Codex Astartes. This being said, an outside observer would find it difficult to spot any differences between the Dark Angels and a Chapter rigidly organised according to the Codex, such as the Ultramarines. It is in the organisation of the higher levels that deviations from the Codex Astartes can first be seen. All Chapters include a number of officers and specialists who stand aside from the Company organisation. In the Dark Angels these individuals are known as the Inner Circle. Members of the Inner Circle may be assigned to fight with a company in battle, and include the Chapter’s Librarians and Interrogator-Chaplains. The Chapter relies on a large support staff, and highly ranked members include the Victuallers and the Grand Master of the Fleet, the Arsenal, Recruits and the Watch. Although each Grand Master is a Space Marine, there are actually relatively few Brethren in the Chapter’s support staff, and the Chapter’s Human serfs perform most noncombatant roles. The Chapter includes a large number of support staff that do not know the full history of the Dark Angels, but hold great responsibility nonetheless. Many are non-combatants of advanced years tasked with the day-to-day administration of the Chapter. The largest group of Dark Angels Space Marines in the support staff are the Chapter’s Armourers and Techmarines, who are aided in their tasks by hundreds of mono-task Servitors. A Master of the Dark Angels, who has progressed through the ranks of the Deathwing and is a member of the Inner Circle, leads each of the ten Companies that comprise the Chapter. He is attended by a Command Squad, consisting of the Company’s Standard Bearer, Apothecary and Company Champion, as well as other Brethren assigned to aid the Master in his duties. Each Company apart from the Deathwing also includes a Chaplain, who presides over the brother’s spiritual well being and stirs their fury upon the field of battle. Of the ten Companies comprising the Dark Angels Chapter, the first two are unique and do not follow standard Codex organisation. The 1st Company is called the Deathwing and consists of veteran troops. Members of the Deathwing always fight in Terminator armour, and are never fielded in power armour, as is the case with most other Chapters. The Ravenwing is the name of the 2nd Company of the Dark Angels. It is a highly specialised formation used for scouting and assault missions where speed is more important than heavy firepower. To this end all of the Space Marines in the Company ride bikes or Land Speeders, which are organised into special units called attack or support squadrons.

The remainder of the Chapter is organised along Codex lines. The 3rd, 4th and 5th are battle companies, each consisting of up to six squads or Tactical Space Marines, two of Assault, and two of Devastators. These three Battle Companies form the main battle lines and generally bear the brunt of the fighting. Companies 6 and 7 are Tactical Companies, each consisting of ten Tactical squads. These act as a reserve which may be used to bolster the front line, launch diversionary attacks or stem enemy flanking moves. The 8th Company contains ten Assault squads. This highly mobile company is often equipped with jump packs, and is fielded in the assault role wherever a hand-to-hand fighting force is needed to storm an enemy strongpoint. The 9th Company consists of ten Devastator squads. It is the most powerfully equipped Company in the Chapter and is used to bolster defence points and provide long-range support. The 3rd to 7th Companies are able to field squads of Company Veterans in the place of Tactical squads, and these Brethren are essentially armed in a similar manner to a Tactical squad. The 10th Company consists of a number of Scout squads; youths who have been recruited and partially transformed into Space Marines. There is no formal size for this company, as the rate of recruitment is not fixed. All of the Companies, with the exception of the Deathwing, the Ravenwing and the Scout Company maintain Rhino transports for each of their squads and officers. The command squad of each Company has its own Razorback, and more are held centrally by the Armoury, each being allocated to individual squads as dictated by the needs of their mission. Drop pods are held by the fleet. The Deathwing has a permanent establishment of Land Raiders for carrying Terminator squads, and more are held in the Armoury for use as requested by the Company Master on the spot. Many of the Battle Companies and Reserve Companies include a number of Dreadnoughts. It is customary for Dreadnoughts to remain a part of the Company in which the Warrior served before being interred within the metal sarcophagus in which he fights, and his presence bolsters the Company’s fighting strength considerably. Dreadnoughts assigned to the Deathwing are particularly revered Warriors, and their experience combating the Fallen is much valued by the Chapter’s Masters.

Every combat organization, from the lowliest rebel army to the most complex Imperial Guard formations, requires a distinct order of battle and a clear chain of command. The Adeptus Astartes is no exception to this requirement. However, unlike the extremely complex and multi-tiered command structure of the Imperial Guard, the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, by virtue of their small size have a much more concise and clear chain of command. The Chapter command hierarchy of the Dark Angels Chapter follows the outline of the Codex Astartes but differs in a number of key features. The nomenclature of the command structure of the Dark Angel Chapter is a source of much confusion to the outsider, particularly those adepts in the Administratum who struggle to keep the various Chapters under observation. The command nomenclature is two fold. One is the specific rank given to individual members of the Chapter as recognition of their services and abilities. The second is the name of the command positions to which these individuals are assigned. Brother-Captain This is the first step for a promising Dark Angel battle brother. The majority of brother-captains are promoted from their previous rank of veteran sergeant or even sergeant. A disciplined and honourable service within the company organization over a period of fifty to one hundred, and a rise through the ranks from veteran space marine to veteran sergeant years usually precedes this accomplishment. These Dark Angels have proven themselves in the field of battle as worthy warriors and capable commanders with very potent leadership abilities. Brother-Captains usually belong to one of the outer rings of the Deathwing. They are commonly assigned command of small detachments of a company and small strike forces. They remain within the company structure and usually remain in the position of command of the first squad of that company, where they had previously held command as its sergeant. This allows a degree of redundancy of command should the company commander be unavailable or become a casualty in the field of battle. It is in such rare occasions that such an individual with the rank of captain would command an entire company.

Master This is the earliest command rank that is allowed official command of a company. Those being promoted to this level would have completed approximately fifty to seventy five years of distinguished service as a captain. Promotion to the rank of Master is preceded by the ritual ceremony in which the officer is admitted to the Inner Circle of the Deathwing. Few secrets are with held from these individuals. Grandmaster These are unique and highly motivated individuals with more than two to three centuries of dedicated service in the command ranks of the Chapter. They have proven their battle field abilities many times over and their unquestioning loyalty has allowed them access in to the inner most secrets of the Chapter. Grandmasters command companies, lead strike forces and form the nerve centre of the Chapter's headquarters where they remain loosely attached. They provide the command staff required to plan the strategy and manage the logistics of carrying them out. Members of Grandmaster rank also command the various other segments of the Chapter, including the Armorium, Librarium, chaplainry and Apothecarium. Supreme Grandmaster A unique and utterly dedicated individual, who has proven to be the master strategist and tactician, deft diplomat and cunning planner, a man with foresight and vision, is chosen after many hundred years of flawless service, to lead the Chapter as its supreme grandmaster. It is the highest honour the Chapter may bestow upon any one of its battle brothers. With the terrible power of the Chapter at his grasp comes the great responsibility of steering the Chapter in to a balanced future and that of seeking redemption. He is usually chosen by the preceding supreme grandmaster prior to, and appointed upon his retirement or death. The honorific title of Keeper of the Truth is given to him along with the Sword of Secrets and the Lion Helm, artefacts of extreme relevance and reverence to the Chapter and symbols of office of the Chapter master.

The headquarters of the chapter is also the personal office of the Supreme Grandmaster. This organization is somewhat very similar to the ministries and departments of the Adeptus Ministorum in their function. The entire staff of the headquarters comes under the purview of the Grandmaster of the Household. His is the responsibility of the smooth function of the nerve centre of the chapter. The command staff of the headquarters comprises of a loose group of individual masters and grandmaster that stand apart from the line battle units. Amongst these are many officers who have had many centuries of battlefield experience but have been pulled out of active service due to battlefield wounds or other reasons. Mixed amongst them are many young and promising commanders. This highly varied mix serves to maintain an extremely dynamic status within the headquarters as the future operations of the chapter are planned and executed. Furthermore the presence of independent commanders allows the rapid creation of independent strike forces made up from elements of various companies and dispatched under the command of these individuals on specific missions without disrupting the command organization of each company. In addition to the space marines attached to the headquarters there are hundreds of human chapter serfs, scribes and servitors who perform the mundane tasks of administration, housekeeping and maintenance. Chain of Command Each company reports to its own headquarters, commanded by the Master of that company, usually with a personal rank of grandmaster. All ten companies of the battle line report back directly to the chapter headquarters. The sub-organizations such as the Librarius, Chaplaincy, Armorium, and fleet command are all commanded by Grandmasters, all of who not only report to the chapter headquarters but also have direct access to the supreme grandmaster.

Standing apart from the specific ranks of command given to individual commanders, there are a number of command positions within the chapter that carry with them a positional title. Some of these are also attached to an honorific title. Masters of the Companies Each of the ten companies that make up the battle line up of the chapter has a commander who is given the positional title of Master of that Company. The command titles of the commanders of the first and second companies are appropriately altered to read Master of the Deathwing and Master of the Ravenwing respectively. These individuals have a highly honoured task and are responsible for everything concerning their company. The nomenclature of their personal ranks may be further modified by their command position. Thus a commander with the personal rank of Grandmaster who is placed in command of the Deathwing company will retain the positional title of Master of Deathwing and his personal rank may be modified from Grandmaster to Grandmaster of Deathwing to honour his command. Grandmasters of Specific organizations There are highly specialized sections within the chapter organization that stand apart from the battle line up. These sub-organizations carry a positional title of Grandmaster with their command positions due to their extremely important roles within the chapter. Some of these positions also carry with them honorific titles. Only experienced members with a personal rank of Grandmaster can be appointed to these positions.

Origins of the Deathwing Organization: The origin of the Deathwing is clouded in the mists of time. The Apocrypha of Caliban describes the presence of Deathwing units within the old legion. However there is much debate and controversy as to when the name Deathwing was actually attributed to these elite units. \The truth remains buried in the sands of time. What is known is that, clad in the venerable tactical dreadnought armour, the units of the Deathwing were used with increasing effectiveness in the role of shock attack by Lion El Jonson. This tactics was profoundly effective with the increasing size of mass teleportation assault that these units developed to a fine art. Following the heretical betrayals of Horus and Luther, the disappearance of their Primarch and the destruction of their home world, the highest surviving commanders of the legion created a secret conclave. There, amidst total secrecy, many critical decisions were taken. The splitting of the legions in to chapters as defined by the Lion was initiated. Along with this they created a secretive order to safeguard the horrendous acts of betrayal by their brethren and all present swore an oath to dedicate their lives to returning those fallen back to the emperor's light. This organization was also very appropriately named Deathwing. They were the bringers of death to the emperor's enemies and the betrayers of the Primarch. The fact that the same name was also applied to their first company served only to confuse outsiders, and further preserve the secrecy of the organization. Organization of the Deathwing: The organization that is the Deathwing is vast and all encompassing. The ultimate authority within the Deathwing is the Supreme Grandmaster himself. All ranking officers of the Dark Angels are members of the Deathwing. The organization is divided in to various levels and circles. The levels are officially called Arcanum and there are seven such arcane within the chapter. In addition there are also concentric circles within the Deathwing, which overlap these Arcana. The more central the circle one belongs to, the higher is their rank within the Deathwing. This secretive ranking order runs parallel to that of the chapters command ranks and seniority within the Deathwing automatically outranks command ranks. Not all members of the Deathwing are known as belonging to the organization by the rank and file of the chapter. To those not inducted in to the Deathwing, this organization is merely the elite of the elite, and acceptance in to it brings with it the opportunity for command as well as entry to the first company. Arcana Fidelis The Deathwing organization is divided in to various levels, known as Arcana. Seven such levels exist. Level seven being the first one in to which new members are inducted, and level one the highest, most secretive one. Entry in to each Arcanum is dependent on the accomplishments of the battle brothers, and requires various stringent standards. Entry in to each level is also accompanied by greater access and knowledge of the chapter's past and even greater responsibilities.

Entry of a battle brother in the seventh level of the Arcana Fidelis is celebrated publicly within the chapter. He is honoured by others as they recognize their comrade's accomplishment and the inherent honour and opportunity that accompany this event. Arcana Surreptius The various levels of the Deathwing form a parallel command structure to the standard chapter command that is visible to all. However, the highly secretive and compartmentalized nature of the Deathwing is best reflected by the levels named Arcana Surreptius. These again form a parallel ladder within the Deathwing organization, from level seven to level four. Entry criteria, knowledge imparted, responsibilities and command authority are exactly the same as their parallel levels in the Arcana Fidelis. The one major difference is that recruitment and induction in to the Arcana Surreptius is accomplished in high secrecy. Members inducted in to the Arcana Surreptius segment of the Deathwing keep their induction a secret from all others except the highest order of the inner circle and their own mentor Interrogator-chaplains. They are chosen for specific duties and do not function as a unit. They usually do not enter the first company, and even in the rare occasions that they do, their membership within the Arcana Surreptius remains hidden. Ascendancy within the Arcana Surreptius is limited to the fourth level, at which point these members are given guardianship of some unique and sole responsibility. The inductees may include apothecaries tasked with the guardianship of the chapter's geneseed at secret locations, techmarines who maintain the landraiders of the first company and even veteran sergeants within the scout squads who may be tasked with unique reconnaissance missions.

Annulum Externa, Medianus and Intimus The stepwise structure of the Arcana, both Fidelis and Surreptius, further falls in to the embrace of annulae. These are simply referred to as circles and are a practical way of separating the members of the Deathwing depending on their general role. Annulum Externa comprises all members of levels five, six and seven of both Arcana. There is a definitive limit to the knowledge imparted to these members. These are the battle brothers who carry the fight to the enemy, in search of the fallen and also perform the myriad other tasks that cannot be entrusted to the common battle brother. Annulum Medianus marks a milestone in each member of the Deathwing. As they enter this level they come to meet the faces of the fallen. The names of each and every fallen, from the Book of Salvation is made privy to them. Every fallen who has been captured, killed, repented or still hunted, is memorized by these battle brothers. In the Arcana Surreptius, this marks the zenith of their rise. It is at this level, that specific missions and tasks are entrusted to the battle brother. In the Arcana Fidelis, it marks their eligibility for consideration for inclusion in the inner circle. Arcanum Intimus is the highest circle within the Deathwing. All members of the command staff from the level of master through to the Supreme Grandmaster are members of this inner circle. Once admitted to this circle, the members are honoured by a gift of the coveted robes of the Unforgiven. All librarians and chaplains are also members of the inner circle.

Arcanum Primus is the pinnacle of achievement for a Dark Angel. It is made up of the highest-ranking members of the Deathwing who decide the direction of the chapter's future.

Admission criteria and process A minimum of one hundred years of service at the rank of Grandmaster must be achieved before a member of the Deathwing will be considered for advancement in to the level one, or the inner most of the inner circles. A significant event took place in the aftermath of the heresy when the Deathwing organization was created. This was the debate that raged within the inner circle as to the creation of yet another level, the Arcanum Suprema, consisting only of the Supreme Grandmaster, and the Grandmasters of the Librarium and chaplains. However, in the end judgment weighed against such a level, as the terrible burden of secrets was deemed too heavy even for the superhuman constitution of the three individuals. It was also recognized that the concentration of undue power within a few individuals may affect the chapter in a manner similar to that of the heresy. Thus within each of the circles all are equal and may speak, challenge or support each other freely. Knowledge There is nothing about the chapter that these individuals do not know. It is on their admission that they come to know the true facts about the outcome of the battle on Caliban ten thousand years ago. Almost all are over awed by their realization that the arch heretic Luther, brother and betrayer of the lion does indeed live to this date, and within the confines of the deepest dungeons of the Tower of Angels. Eligibility Only a select few within the hierarchy of the Dark Angels chapter are allowed in to this level, all of whom have reached the level of Grandmaster and have lead a distinguished and unblemished record of service. The venerable members of the innermost circle are as follows: Supreme Grandmaster of the Dark Angels Chapter, Supreme Grandmaster Azrael Grandmaster of Librarians, Grandmaster Ezekiel Grandmaster of Chaplains, Grandmaster Sapphon Master of the Deathwing Company, Grandmaster Belial Master of the Ravenwing Company, Grandmaster Sammael Grandmaster of the Forge, Grandmaster Fortius Grandmaster Helix Primus, Grandmaster Nathaniel Grandmaster of the Household, Grandmaster Turael Grandmaster of the Tower, Grandmaster Aradiel Grandmaster of Victuals, Grandmaster Mephistophel Grandmaster of the Fleet, Grandmaster Apollyon Training and Deployment At this heightened level of command, little training is required, as the entire lives of these individuals have been dedicated towards their goal of serving the chapter in general and commanding their various organizations in specific. These men singularly share the ultimate secrets and the unrelenting burden of deciding the future of their chapter. They have no individual mentors, but always have the council of their fellow Grandmasters of the first level. Theirs is a lonely task, made easier only by the knowledge that they share it with ten other super humans who walk their paths simultaneously. These Dark Angels, rejoice in their chapter's victories, anguish in their defeats, pray for every redeemed soul and till their death stand together in brotherhood, yet walk their path in solitude.

Commander of the Librarius: Ezekiel Command Title: Grandmaster of Librarians Honorific Title: Keeper of the Book of Salvation Overview The Librarius is the organization that commands the chapter's librarians and associated individuals. The Librarius has its own hierarchical order and its own quarters, command centres and storage facilities. Included within their purview is the chapter's main library, which contains not only the ancient texts of the chapter but also all manner of arcane artefacts of value to the librarians. Another facility under their exclusive jurisdiction is the chapter's main and secondary astropathic chambers from which telepathic communications flow. Complement The total strength of the Librarius varies from time to time, but uniquely for the Dark Angels chapter, they maintain a rather higher number of librarians than most codex chapters. The main reason for this being the additional burden relating to their past, as described below. The secrecy surrounding the Dark Angels chapter limits the identification of such individuals except for those who have gained fame in the field of battle. The full complement is as follows: Grandmaster of Librarians: Epistolary: Codicier: Lexicanium:

Ezekiel 7 9 16

Duties The functions of the librarians of the Dark Angels chapter are numerous. The more important ones are listed below: Training and recruitment: Psychic assessment and mind scanning is an essential part of assessment of new recruits. Not only do recruits need to have purity of mind and clarity of thought but also the ability to undergo the rigors of space marine training. The librarians' assessment becomes crucial in the selection process. Furthermore, senior librarians also partake in the training of younger librarians and Astropaths. Interrogation: The librarians play an essential part in the interrogation of suspects, aliens and heretics. In most cases, they are able to simply read their quarry's thoughts and thereby provide intelligence rapidly to the commanders in the field. Other, more adept adversaries need the combined strengths of the Interrogator-Chaplain's blades and the soul weakening efforts of the librarians. Only the higherranking librarians, particularly the Epistolaries perform these functions.

Communications: The Astropaths who maintains the astropathic chambers on the Tower of Angels come under the direct command of the Librarius. Furthermore, the librarians act as critical conduits in long-range battlefield communications and within their fleets. The lower ranking librarians are mostly used for such communications tasks. Battlefield Psychic Assault All librarians are trained to varying degrees in the use of their psychic power in the field of battle. Their effectiveness depends on their experience and psychic potential, but needless to say Dark Angel librarians are awesome adversaries in battle. They may use their powers in a simple force attack to smite their enemies or in a more devious way to undermine and weaken the resolution of their enemies. They also may take to the battle with potent force, weapons which can be used to channel their psychic force in close combat with devastating consequences to the enemy.

Commander of the Chaplaincy:

Sapphon

Command Title:

Grandmaster of Chaplains Finder of Secrets

Honorific Title:

Overview The Chaplaincy is the spiritual centre of every space marine chapter. Tasked with maintaining the spiritual purity and faith in the emperor and their Primarch these fiercely dedicated warriors lead from the fore of their brothers in battle. Armed with their badge of office, the Crozius Arcanum and protective Rosarius, they don their characteristic black power armour for battle and covered by bone white robes. The chaplains of the Dark Angels have a further dark duty, one that relates to the treachery of their brothers ten thousand years ago. Complement The full strength of the Chaplaincy is in a constant state of flux. Young space marine warriors who show promise and fierce dedication to the Lion and the Emperor are picked out as potential future chaplains and undergo further training as chaplain-adepts under their more accomplished brethren. All the chaplains come under the overall command of the grandmaster of chaplains and are one is seconded to each line company. Once assigned to a particular company, they usually remain there for the rest of their combat lives. Others form a pool from which they may be detached to lead strike forces on highly confidential missions, or rotated through various duties in the tower of angels including guardianship of the dungeons and secret chambers and interrogation of the enemy and redemption of their fallen brethren. The full complement is as follows: Grandmaster of Chaplains: Sapphon Interrogator-Chaplains: 20 (including those assigned to the line companies) Chaplain-Adepts 9 Duties The functions of the chaplains of the Dark Angels chapter are numerous. The more important ones are listed below: Spiritual purity and Morale conditioning: The chaplains play a leading role in the maintenance of morale and spiritual integrity of their combat brethren. Each interrogator-chaplain assigned to their respective company takes as his duty the maintenance of mental discipline, faith in the emperor and the spiritual purity of his battle brothers. Training and recruitment: The chaplains play an integral part in the spiritual training as well as combat training of new recruits and weeding out those whose mental stamina is weak and may be a potential source of threat to the chapter.

Interrogation: They guard the dungeons and the secrets hidden within the Tower of Angels. They practice their duty with dedication and armed with the tools of their trade, the Blades of Reason they perform their rites of salvation on any of their captured brethren who fell from the grace of the emperor and the lion ten thousand years ago. Battlefield Combat: Interrogator-Chaplains are fiercely dedicated warriors and are all but unstoppable in the assault. Their rousing speeches and pious dedication tends to stimulate their battle brothers to greater deeds. Every Dark Angel commander appreciates their presence on the battlefield.

This section of the Fandex details the forces used by the Dark Angels – their weapons, the units, and some famous special characters that you can choose, such as Supreme Grand Master Azrael. Each entry describes the unit and gives the rules to use them in your games of Warhammer 40,000. This section is sub-divided into two parts. The first part describes all of the troops and vehicles fielded by the Dark Angels Chapter, as well as the special characters, while the second part details the Dark Angels armoury of weapons and equipment.

Stubborn Stubborn resistance against impossible odds by members of the Dark Angels is legendary. All Dark Angels automatically pass any Morale checks they have to take, even if faced by a situation or opponent that would normally cause them to fail. However, such as their stubbornness that they will keep on fighting even when discretion may prove the better of valour and so they may not voluntarily fall back from close combat. Note that this does not include tests for pinning. The Ravenwing Dark Angels of the Ravenwing practise and train continuously in the use of the vehicles they ride. They may re-roll the dice if they fail a Difficult Terrain test. In addition, they are trained to ‘jink’ their vehicles from side to side. This allows them a 6+ invulnerable save against any enemy shooting attacks as long as they moved in their previous movement phase. This save may be taken instead of their normal armour save, not in addition to it. Land Speeders and attack bikes are allowed to take this special saving throw, even though Land Speeders are vehicles and therefore do not normally get a save. Hunting the Fallen In the eyes of the Dark Angels, the only way they can rid themselves totally of their secret shame and restore their honour and trust within the Emperor’s eyes is if all the Fallen Dark Angels are found and made to repent or are slain. However, since the Fallen were cast through the warp to all corners of space and time, this in no mean task for the Dark Angels. Unlike the Inquisitors and Grey Knights of the Imperium, whose rule is to root out the agents of Chaos at work within the galaxy, the Dark Angels are only concerned with finding the Fallen of their Chapter. Although the Chapter will be called upon for many different missions for the Imperium, the search for their Fallen comrades is a constant quest that they could never relinquish.

UNIQUE EQUIPMENT You will find that some items of equipment are unique to particular characters or units, while others are used by more than one unit. When an item is unique, it is detailed in the entry for its owner, and where an item is not unique it is detailed in the wargear section. A good example is the Sword of Secrets, which is a potent weapon born by Azrael, Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels. As such, its rules are detailed in Azrael’s entry. Azrael also carries a bolt pistol, but as other Space Marines do too, the rules for this weapon are to be found in the wargear section.

Cypher, one of the Fallen, continually draws the attention of the Dark Angels. He is believed responsible for many acts of instability across the Imperium, and is hunted by the Dark Angels with zeal even greater than that reserved for 'normal' Fallen. Knights of the Order If the opposing army includes Cypher and his Fallen Angels unit then a secretive organisation within the Inner Circle known as the Knights of the order mysteriously arrive with complete autonomy and drive to capture the traitorous band of renegades. To represent this the squad can enter the battle at any given time within 12” of Cypher and his squad of Fallen Angels. In order to capture Cypher he must be slain in close combat and fail his special ‘final saving throw’. If Cypher is captured then the Knights of the Order vanish as miraculously as they appeared. The Knights of the Order will attempt to follow up every rumour and clue concerning the Fallen and will appear and disappear in the same manner to retrieve this information. Allies The Dark Angels refuse to fight alongside non-humans except under the most dire of circumstances. Because of this, unless you are playing a special scenario or game that is part of a campaign, then the Dark Angels will not fight as part of any army containing detachments that include any of the following troops: Ogryns, Ratlings, any non-human race. In addition, the Dark Angels army may not include any allies from the Heroes of the Imperium list unless you are playing a special scenario, though in this case it is because they don’t want the outsiders ‘sticking their noses’ into the Dark Angels’ private business.