Blood Angels

"Say what you like, I will not fight alongside these madmen. The past proves nothing, except that the Blood Angels are cursed and but a single step from damnation."

- Brother-Captain Yuron, Patriarchs of Ulixis Chapter

The Blood Angels are one of the 20 First Founding Legions of the Space Marines and were originally the IX Legion before the Second Founding broke the Legiones Astartes up into 1000 separate Chapters. They are well-known across the galaxy for their bloodthirsty nature in battle, and feared for the curse of flawed gene-seed they carry. The Blood Angels are amongst the longest-lived of the Adeptus Astartes, with some of the Chapter's Space Marines having served the Emperor of Mankind for over a thousand standard years. Thanks to recent events, the Blood Angels' numbers have been severely depleted. Under the threat of extinction, and in order to quickly replenish their numbers, the Blood Angels were forced to ask their kindred Successor Chapters from subsequent Astartes Foundings for a tithe of warriors from the related Chapters' pools of Neophytes, their candidate Space Marines. With these tithes of new recruits, the Blood Angels were able to replenish their losses, though they still face a time of trial like none the Chapter has known since the days of the Horus Heresy.

Sanguinius
When the 20 genetically-engineered superhumans known as the Primarchs were scattered across the galaxy by the machinations of the Chaos Gods from the Emperor's secret gene-laboratory hidden beneath the Himalayan Mountains on Terra, some were afflicted by some forms of mutation induced by their brief exposure to the powers of Chaos. The most seriously affected was the infant that fell in his gestation capsule to the second moon of the world of Baal, Baal Secundus, the child-Primarch who already bore vestigial wings when he was found by the Baalite tribe known as The Blood. Although they initially wanted to kill the boy because of his strange mutation, the tribe quickly recognized him as an angelic being in both body and soul, and named him Sanguinius, the Angel of The Blood in their corrupted dialect of High Gothic.

The feral tribes of Baal were miserable groups of individuals, forced to eke out an existence from the irradiated deserts of Baal Secundus. The levels of radiation experienced on the moon were capable of killing an unprotected man in mere moments. The Baalite tribes were forced to continually wear heavy, cumbersome radiation suits in their nomadic travels, and forced to continually defend themselves from cannibal-like mutants.

Sanguinius, like all the Primarchs, grew at an impressive rate. After three weeks, he was strong enough to defeat a Baalite Fire Scorpion with his bare hands, a creature that stood twice the height of a grown man, and whose stinger carried a poison virulent enough to burn a man from within. A year after his landing on Baal Secundus, Sanguinius stood taller than any man on the moon. His form was perfect, despite the massive amounts of radiation he was exposed to. His wings had grown strong; pure-white pinions that could carry him into the sky.

Under his guidance and protection, The Blood prospered and grew. They were protected from the mutants that plagued the world of Baal Secundus by Sanguinius, the Primarch capable of defeating hundreds of mutants single-handedly. The other pure-blood tribes soon united under Sanguinius' guidance, and a successful war of annihilation was waged against the mutants of Baal Secundus.

The Coming of the Emperor
When the Emperor of Mankind found Baal in his search for the twenty Primarchs, he went to the surface of Baal Secundus to ascertain if the psychic signature he sensed was that of one of his sons. The Emperor entered the natural amphitheatre being used for the event known as the Conclave of Blood, and stood amongst the soldiers of The Blood, listening with humility to the speech of Sanguinius. The speech was said to lift the souls of Sanguinius' people, and at its conclusion, he soared into the air with a cry that every man present echoed.

It was also recorded that Sanguinius immediately recognised the Emperor for who he was, and bent down on his knee, pledging his service. In this, Sanguinius was one of the few Primarchs who did not challenge the Emperor upon their reunion. The Emperor then took Sanguinius and a number of his best warriors and placed him in the command of the Blood Angels Space Marine Legion.

The Great Crusade
The Blood Angels threw themselves into the Great Crusade, quickly finding a role as specialised assault troops, forming a rivalry with the similarly assault-oriented World Eaters Legion. Of all the Primarchs, Sangunius formed the closest bonds to Horus, Leman Russ and Jaghatai Khan.

Signus Prime
The Blood Angels Legion was sent in the final days of the Great Crusade to quell an uprising against Imperial authority on the planet of Signus Prime. They discovered that the planet was infested by Chaos daemons. During the conflict Sanguinius was nearly killed by the mighty Bloodthirster Lord Ka'Bandha. The Primarch's legs were crushed and broken, but instead of killing the defenseless Primarch, the daemon said "Your legs will heal but this wound will always fester." Then, as Sanguinius was powerless to help them, hundreds of the Primarch's Astartes were slaughtered by the daemon in a single rampage. The psychic backlash of so many Loyalist deaths at once caused Sanguinius to black out. While their Primarch was unconscious, the remaining Blood Angels felt a raging madness take over them as they slew the remaining Chaos cultists and daemonic legions without mercy. This, as much as Sanguinius' death, is the cause of the Black Rage. The daemonic legions of Khorne, normally nigh-invincible, were banished, and Ka'Bandha quit the field. When Sanguinius awoke, the surviving Space Marines were sullen and despairing, the berserker rage they experienced having left a brooding shadow on their souls. Shortly after, the Blood Angels were recalled to Terra to aid the defence of the Imperial Palace from the Traitor Legions, leaving behind grim memories of Signus Prime.

The Horus Heresy
The Blood Angels were present for the titanic final battle of the Horus Heresy, the Battle of Terra. The Blood Angels, Imperial Fists and White Scars defended the Imperial Palace with zealous fervour. Sanguinius himself led the defence of the outer walls. Three times the Warmaster's troops gained footholds on the walls, and three times they were driven back by Sanguinius and his Blood Angels.

When the wall was broken by attacks from Chaos Titans, Sanguinius organised the retreat to the Inner Palace. At the Eternity Gate, the entrance to the Emperor's throne room, Sanguinius defied the Chaos horde long enough to buy time for the Loyalist wounded to be carried inside. As the last were carried in, Sanguinius went to return to the Palace. Before the Eternity Gate could shut, Ka'Bandha, Arch-Daemon of Khorne and Lord of all the Bloodthirsters, attacked the Primarch. The Angel and Greater Daemon fought in the air over the Imperial Palace, but Sanguinius, weary and taken by surprise, was cast down. Ka'Bandha hovered in the air, laughing gutturally at his opponent's despair. Sanguinius, however, was not dead. Sanguinius regained his senses, and took to the air. Flying as swift as a missile, the Primarch seized the daemon's ankle and lifted it high into the air. Before the daemon could bellow its fury, Sanguinius broke its back over his knee. He hurled the carcass back at the Chaos horde, who howled in fury. The Eternity Gate was closed. When the imminent arrival of the Space Wolves, Dark Angels and Ultramarines Legions forced Horus to gamble on forcing a final battle with the Emperor by dropping the Void Shields protecting his Battle Barge, Sanguinius, Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists, and the Legio Custodes joined the Emperor in a teleport assault upon the vessel. The Chaotic sorcery protecting the ship scattered the Loyalist strike force throughout the vessel after they teleported. Sanguinius was the first to make it onto the bridge of the Battle Barge, confronting the corrupted Warmaster. As Sanguinius possessed the psychic ability of foresight, it seems almost certain that he knew he was going to his death. It remains unknown whether fatalism or loyalty brought Sanguinius aboard. The Blood Angels themselves have no doubt on the matter. The two Primarchs and former brothers finally met on the command deck. Horus offered Sanguinius a position of power if he renounced his loyalty to the Emperor, and Sanguinius refused. Even though he was wounded and weary from his battles on Terra, Sanguinius was able to match Horus' martial prowess, even at the height of his daemonic power, and Horus was forced to deal with the Angel by psychic methods. In his limitless malice, Horus made sure that Sanguinius' death was the most painful and foul that the boundless evils in his service could administer. The Warmaster's psychic assault was so powerful, it echoed down through the generations of Sanguinius' sons who are haunted by its echo within their souls to this day. However, the battle with Sanguinius was enough to weaken Horus sufficiently that the Emperor was able to defeat him, and because of this, the Blood Angels claim him to be the greatest of the Primarchs.

After the Horus Heresy, as with all the other Loyalist Space Marine Legions, the Blood Angels were forced to split into many smaller 1,000-man Chapters following the reformation of the Imperium by the Ultramarines' Robout Guilliman and the publication of his Codex Astartes. The Blood Angels, however, chose not to follow the Codex's prescriptions for organizing their Chapter.

The Second War for Armageddon
As the Ork WAAAGH! Ghazghkull ravaged the Imperial hive world of Armageddon, the Blood Angels, as well as their brothers from the Ultramarines and the Salamanders Chapters, arrived on Armageddon to lend the beleaguered planet's defenders aid during the Second War for Armageddon. Such was Lord Commander Dante's reputation that Tu'shan and Calgar, the Chapter Masters of the other two Chapters, ceded overall command of the entire Space Marine strike force on Armageddon to him. The Blood Angels bore the brunt of the close-quarter fighting, which eventually culminated in a massed Drop Pod assault into the heart of the Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka's Ork forces that finally broke the back of the massive Greenskin army.

The Blood Angels Civil War and the Fabius Bile Incident
The future Blood Angel Rafen was born on the world of Baal Secundus, the son of a tribal chieftain and the brother of Arkio. The two brothers were both Aspirants in the Blood Angels Chapter's Blood Trials to see if they would become Space Marine Neophytes. After being challenged to a seemingly simple task by the Blood Angels Sergeant Koris, Rafen failed and despairingly proceeded to march into the desert, expecting to die for his loss in the Blood Trials. However, the Thunderhawk that bore Sergeant Koris, Rafen's brother Arkio and the other successful Aspirants for recruitment by the Chapter was caught in a massive storm during its ascent, and crashed near Rafen's position. Rushing to their assistance, Rafen helped Koris defend against the dangerous native wildlife of Baal Secundus that were drawn to the crash site. Having saved the Space Marine and his new recruits, Sergeant Koris noted that due to losses among the Aspirants from the crash, there was a spot amongst the Blood Angels candidates for Rafen after all.

After becoming a Space Marine, Rafen quickly earned the rank of Sergeant and commanded his own squad among the Blood Angels. He played a prominent role in the most recent events to affect the Blood Angels, including the Primarch Sanguinius' supposed rebirth in the form of Rafen's brother Arkio as part of a plot on the part of the traitorous Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus Remius Stele, who had become a devotee of Tzeentch, to destroy the Blood Angels from within. Arkio had actually been deliberately mutated by the power of the Lord of Change as instigated by his servant Stele in an attempt to transform the Blood Angels into servants of Chaos. Rafen was ultimately forced to kill his brother during the battle on the Shrine World of Sabien between the two factions, though his actions saved the Blood Angels from Chaotic corruption. Rafen also proved instrumental in defending against the assault on the Blood Angels' fortress-monastery on Baal by Fabius Bile, the Chaos Space Marine Apothecary who was a renegade even from his own Emperor's Children Traitor Legion in his obsessive quest to genetically engineer the perfect warrior. With the Blood Angels having won the battle on Baal, Rafen was then assigned a mission by Lord Commander Dante, the Blood Angels' Chapter Master, to recover a phial of the blood of the Blood Angels' Primarch Sanguinius, which had been stolen by Bile during a conclave between the Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters.

Rafen's second mission was to punish Fabius Bile with death for his transgressions against the Chapter. Having followed Bile futilely for some time on board the Blood Angels Strike Cruiser Tycho, Rafen received assistance from his blood-cousin Noxx of the Flesh Tearers Chapter. Together, the two Space Marine sergeants combined their squads to hunt down Bile, launching a strike against a powerful renegade Magos of the Adeptus Mechanicus named Matthun Zellik. Zellik had been making deals with Bile, who had usurped the identity of another Mechanicus Tech-priest named Haran Serpens, the same alias used by Bile to infiltrate the Blood Angels Chapter on Baal. The battle against Zellik took place on board the Archeohort, an ancient and unusual Adeptus Mechanicus excavation starship manned by Servitors and members of the Mechanicus' elite cybernetic warriors, the Skitarii. By taking advantage of a turncoat within Zellik's ranks, Rafen, Noxx and their men found their way to Zellik's trophy room, where they destroyed the relics recovered by the Magos and forced his surrender, lest his work be undone. During the battle, Rafen had lost his Bolter to a trap laid by Zellik. However, among the relics and goods in Zellik's collection was a Plasma Pistol bearing the name and Chapter markings of Aryon, a long dead hero of the Blood Angels, which Rafen took as his new side arm.

With the Archeohort, the Tycho and the Gabriel (on loan from the Flesh Tearers), Rafen and his men traveled to the planet of Dynikas V, where Zellik had last had dealings with Bile. The planet itself was unusual in that it had suffered an attack by the Tyranids, but the events had left the oceans intact as well as several aquatically-mutated Tyranid specimens leaderless and feral on the planet. Sacrificing the Archeohort, Rafen, Noxx and their men descended to Dynikas V using a submersible to approach the suspected base of operations of the Primogenitor, Fabius Bile. During the approach, Rafen and his allies battled large Tyranid creatures similar in size and shape to the legendary kraken. During the underwater battle, Rafen was separated from his allies and floated to the service, where mutated slaves of Bile captured him and took him to Bile's laboratory and fortress. Rafen, disarmed and implanted with a strange, genetically-engineered maggot that prevented him from moving, was taken before Fabius Bile himself. Bile, lost in grandeur, explained to Rafen his plan to clone none other than the Emperor of Mankind himself. Though wounded and weakened, Rafen managed to assault the Primogenitor, and killed him by tearing out his neck. However, Bile was not dead. Immediately after the death, Rafen was forced into a strange arena where he raced against mutants and captured Space Marines of other Chapters, lest he be killed. There, amongst the audience, Rafen saw Bile alive. During the race, Rafen convinced the morose Tarikus of the Doom Eagles Chapter to side with him in an uprising against Bile. During this time, Noxx and the remaining men under his and Rafen's command made landfall against the fortress. It was then that Ceris, a Librarian in Rafen's squad, psychically contacted Rafen and bade him to attack a strange Warp signature to prevent Bile from escaping. The Warp signature turned out to be a captured and harvested Tyranid Zoanthrope, whom Bile had bent to his will to create Warp portals and keep the Tyranids still on the planet away from his fortress. Curiously, the Zoanthrope welcomed its death by Rafen's hand.

During the ensuing battle, Fabius Bile was killed no less than four times, and the truth was revealed when Rafen and a handful of his allies encountered two copies of Bile at once: they were merely clones of the true Fabius Bile, who was not even on the planet. Still, the last clone of Bile did possess the coveted vial of the Primarch Sanguinius' blood he had stolen from the Blood Angels fortress-monastery, which Rafen managed to take from Bile and inject into himself to defeat him. By exploiting Bile's last ditch escape attempt, Rafen and his men and Bile's Space Marine slaves managed to teleport away from Dykinas V while the feral Tyranids ravaged the fortress.

The Third War for Armageddon
Despite the bulk of the Chapter being deployed at the time of the Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) against the threat of the Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan in the galaxy's Eastern Fringes, Commander Dante still deployed the Blood Angels' 3rd Company, led by Captain Tycho, to Armageddon when the hive world fell under Warboss Ghazghkull's baleful attack. Ghazghkull led the greatest Ork WAAAGH! in the history of the Imperium to assault the strategically-located hive world once more. During the ensuing conflict, Captain Tycho succumbed to the Black Rage, finally meeting a valiant end as part of the Blood Angels' Death Company upon the walls of Hive Tempestora. Brother-Captain Machiavi succeeded him in command of the 3rd Company.

The Darkest Hour
In 999.M41 a tendril of the Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan was on a direct course to attack the Blood Angels' homeworld, Baal. Exacerbating this already terrible threat was a massive daemon army led by the dread Bloodthirster Greater Daemon of Khorne Ka'Bandha, which had already struck at Ammonai, the outermost planet of the Baal System. Facing a possible war on two fronts, Lord Commander Dante sent out a call for all the Space Marine Chapters in the Imperium who were Successor Chapters of the Blood Angels to send forces to aid their ancestral Legion; the Flesh Tearers were the first to do so, deploying their entire Chapter for the war to defend Baal. Ultimately, all the Blood Angels' Successor Chapters save for the Lamenters answered Lord Commander Dante's call, including the Knights of Blood, who had been declared Excommuniate Traitoris by the High Lords of Terra centuries before but believed themselves to still be Loyal to the Emperor and their progenitors. Together with these allies, the Blood Angels prepared to meet the greatest threat they had known since the Horus Heresy.

Notable Campaigns
Few Space Marine Chapters are as consistently committed to the defence of the Imperium as the Blood Angels. Whilst other Chapters like the Ultramarines act as the guardians of particular star systems or sectors of the Imperium, the Blood Angels see the entirety of the Imperium of Man as their responsibility to protect. As a result, the Chapter's Astartes have been spread thin and have suffered higher-than-average rates of attrition. Nevertheless, the Blood Angels' roll of victories is amongst the most honourable in the Imperium and the fame of the Chapter has spread across the galaxy. The campaigns listed below are those that the Chapter itself considers the most worthy of commemoration.
 * The Scouring of Ultramar (746.M41) - Lord Commander Dante recognises that the Tyranid Hive Fleet Behemoth's invasion of the Realm of Ultramar is but the first of many scourges that will befall the galaxy at the hands of the Great Devourer. Dante sends 3 companies of Blood Angels to assist the Ultramarines in scouring the Tyranids from the sectors of the Eastern Fringe. Upon their return to Baal 3 Terran years later, the 3 companies are much reduced in number, but have earned invaluable experience in combatting Tyranids that are soon passed on to the rest of the Chapter and many of the Blood Angels' Successor Chapters.
 * WAAAGH! Big Skorcha's Assault on Baal (798.M41) - Three monstrous Space Hulks emerge from the Warp in the Baal System, bringing with them the massive Ork WAAAGH! Big Skorcha. Lord Commander Dante orders the deployment of 2 companies of Blood Angels to defend each of Baal's moons. The remaining companies of the Chapter are assigned to serve as strike forces and ordered to board and destroy the Greenskins' Space Hulks. The Blood Angels prove successful and 2 of the Space Hulks are destroyed with much of the WAAAGH!'s Orks still aboard them. Before it can be destroyed, the final Space Hulk disgorges thousands of Orks, commanded by the Warlord Big Skorcha, onto the surface of Baal. Knowing that the bulk of the Blood Angels forces is still in orbit destroying the Space Hulks or on the two moons of the world, Big Skorcha aims to lay siege to and ransack the Chapter's fortress-monastery. However, the Blood Angels prove not so easily outmanoeuvred. The Chapter's Dreadnoughts, deemed unsuitable for use in the cramped confines of the Space Hulks had remained behind on Baal. With the remains of WAAAGH! Big Skorcha still at large, the Venerable Furioso Dreadnought Astramael assembles all 41 of the Blood Angels' Dreadnoughts and coordinates the defence of the fortress-monastery in what was later known as the Battle of Iron. Although Astramael and his Dreadnoughts needed only to defend the fortress-monastery long enough for Astartes reinforcements to arrive from orbit, they fought with such savage fury that there were precious few Orks remaining when the first Stormravens finally landed.
 * Assault on Kammelstadt (801.M41) - Captain Zorael of the 4th Company leads the Blood Angels strike force Bloodhawk against rebels who have risen up against the Imperium on the world of Golgotha. Using their Land Raiders, the Blood Angels' armoured column smashed through the walls of the rebels' fortress and trapped the rebels behind their own defences. The rebels were then wiped out by an air strike by Zorael's Stormraven gunships.
 * Bloodcaller's Triumph (820.M41) - The Blood Angels Battle Barge Bloodcaller is badly damaged by an Ork Freebooterz ambushing while patrolling the Tresinka System. The Bloodcaller seemed to be finished, as its main drives had been silenced and boarding Kroozers had deployed a horde of Greenskins within it. Nonetheless, deft manoeuvring by Fleet Captain Bellerophon managed to bring the great vessel's main batteries to bear on the Ork fleet, destroying the Greenskins' flagship and half a dozen support vessels in a single salvo. Meanwhile, the furious counterassault by the Bloodcaller 's crew and Astartes swept the Orks who had boarded the Battle Barge from its lower decks and then carried the fight to the Kroozers. Though it took nearly a full standard year for the Bloodcaller to make its way at sublight speeds to the nearest Imperial Navy orbital repair docks at Haringvleet, the great Voidship did so proudly, bearing its scars as a tell-tale sign of the great victory it and its crew had won against incredible odds.
 * The Khartas Incident (823.M41) - Captain Zorael of the 4th Company is killed by the Bloodthirster Greater Daemon Ka'Bandha. Only the unexpected arrival of the enigmatic entity known as the Sanguinor prevents the total annihilation of Zorael's remaining Astartes. Francesi Castigon replaces Zoreal as the new Captain of the 4th Company.
 * The Axonar Spirewar (830.M41) - Lord Commander Dante despatches the Blood Angels' 3rd and 4th Companies to quell a rebellion against the Emperor's authority on the Hive World of Axonar. Determining that the rebel defences at the bases of the world's hive cities to be too potent for his Space Marines to launch a frontal assault, Captain Metraen, the Force Commander for the operation, orders a series of low-orbit insertions onto the cities' upper spires using Jump Packs. Once trapped behind their own defences, the rebels are easily crushed by the Blood Angels' savage assault.
 * The Dalaric Campaigns (843.M41) - Three companies of Blood Angels are sent to the world of Dalaric to stop the raids of the deceitful Eldar. The Blood Angels initially earned a string of victories against the forces of the elusive xenos, but the Eldar managed to carry out an ambush that killed almost 100 Battle-Brothers, transforming an easy victory into a catastrophe for the Chapter. Fortunately, at the darkest moment, when it seemed that every Blood Angel might receive the Emperor's peace, the Sanguinor appeared once more, striking down the alien Avatar of Khaine and forcing the remaining Eldar to flee for their lives.
 * Assault on Zoran (859.M41) - The forces of the insidious Alpha Legion incite an uprising against the Imperium on the Ice World of Zoran. The Blood Angels' Captain Metraen leads elements from the Chapter's 3rd and 8th Companies to that frigid planet to eliminate the rebellion and drive the Traitor Legion from the world. Metraen's bold tactical choice at first seems to drive the enemy back but the assault stalls when the Alpha Legion's base of operations on the world was determined to be an ancient and long-lost Imperator-class Emperor Titan left from the days of the Horus Heresy. Though still half-buried in the ice of Zoran, the monstrous war engine's Void Shield generators and weapons batteries prove to be operational with devastating consequences for the servants of the Emperor. Many Blood Angels Astartes fall in the first assault against the Titan and Metraen feares that the only course open to him to end the threat is an outright Exterminatus order against Zoran and its people. Fortunately for the innocents of that Ice World, aid arrives in the form of Kor'sarro Khan and the 3rd Company of the White Scars Chapter. Sent to claim the head of the Alpha Legion's infamous Daemon Prince Voldorius, the Khan joins his forces to the remains of the Blood Angels force on the planet. As the White Scars launch their own attack on the Alpha Legion's bastion from below, the Blood Angels use their Stormravens to initate a series of drop assaults against the secondary plasma reactors that powered the Titan's weapons. Metraen's Astartes neutralise the Titan's defences and the White Scars swarm into the massive war machine's lower levels. Though Voldorius ultimately escapes once more, his followers are exterminated to the last Chaos Cultist and Alpha Legionary. Though Kor'sarro Khan is obliged to continue his hunt for the Daemon Prince, Zoran has been restored to the Emperor's light and the recovery of a battered but fully repairable Imperator Titan is no mean feat. Metraen eventually brings the Titan back to Baal, from which it is sent on to Mars, where Lord Commander Dante hopes that such a priceless gift might finally smooth over the conflicts between the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Blood Angels.
 * The Mel'yanneth Skywar (877.M41) - Captain Metraen is charged by Commander Dante with the destruction of Eldar Raiders who are assaulting Imperial commerce from a fortress making use of Eldar anti-gravitic technology hidden in the toxic atmosphere of the gas giant called Mel'yanneth. Making use of the Chapter's entire existing fleet of Stormraven and Thunderhawk gunships, Metraen launches an airborne assault that has no equal in the Chapter's long history. Stormravens cut through the blaze of anti-aircraft fire to disgorge their cargoes of Assault Squads and Terminators directly onto the floating fortress' docking platforms. These Astartes secure the landing zones for heavy armoured vehicles like Land Raiders and Predators which are delivered by a follow-on wave of Thunderhawk Transporters. As the battle then unfolds through the Eldar fortress hangars and maintenance shafts, the overwhelming firepower brought to bear by the Blood Angels is able to scythe through the arcane traps and dishonourable defensive systems erected by the Eldar pirates. Once they realise that they had no chance to stop the human assault, the xenos abandone the fortress, although not before sabotaging its gravity nullification technology. Metraen is forced to retreat as the fortress is sucked down into the gas giant's grasping depths. Only the incredible skill displayed by the Blood Angels' gunship pilots, who fearlessly plunge deep into Mel'yanneth's gravity well to rescue their Battle-Brothers, prevents what became a famous victory for the Chapter from ending in mournful failure.
 * Battle of Stonehaven (901.M41) - Commander Dante personally leads a Stormraven drop assault on the Ork forces outside the hive city of Stonehaven that finally breaks WAAAGH! Bludcrumpa's decade-long siege of the Forge World of Ironhelm.
 * Vengeance of the Blood Angels (911.M41) - Justicar Parsival of the Grey Knights brings word to Baal that the Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha, ancient bane of Sanguinius, has returned to realspace. Sepharan, the leader of the Blood Angels' Sanguinary Guard, receives Commander Dante's permission for the Sanguniary Guard to serve in the coming battle against the hated Greater Daemon. United in their determination to banish such an evil from the mortal realm, a force of Grey Knights and the Sanguinary Guard storm the gates of Ka'Bandha's fortress and defeat both the Bloodthirster and his Chaotic army in a single night's assault.
 * The Semmel Betrayal (918.M41) - The Blood Angels strike force Breath of Hermes is attacked by a large contingent of Eldar on the ghost world of Semmel. Fragmentary communications make clear that the Blood Angels briefly held the upper hand until an unknown party intervened on behalf of the Eldar. The strike force is wiped out to the last Astartes.
 * The Necron Worldengine (926.M41) - The 2nd and 4th Companies of the Blood Angels are despatched to the Vidar Sector to assist their fellow Space Marines against the threat posed by the monstrous Necron construct known as the Worldengine. After the sacrifice of the entire Astral Knights Chapter leads to the final destruction of the Worldengine, Captain Donatos Aphael of the 2nd Company proposes that an Imperial shrine be erected upon the world of Safehold in eternal memory of the Astral Knights. From that day forth, 2 Blood Angels of the 2nd Company are always assigned to stand guard over the memorial, which is considered a signal honour for the Astartes of that company.
 * Battle for Antax (927.M41) - Captain Donatos Aphael and the Blood Angels' 2nd Company free the Forge World of Antax from the assault of the Ork WAAAGH! Gutstompa.
 * Day of the Swordwind (930.M41) - The Blood Angels' 3rd Company manages to preserve Explorator Station Ghosa Prime from the unprovoked fury of the Eldar of Craftworld Biel-Tan.
 * Second War for Armageddon (941.M41) - The massive Ork WAAAGH! Ghazghkull descends upon the Hive World of Armageddon in the Segmentum Solar and unleashes what becomes known as the Second War for Armageddon. The Blood Angels are one of 3 Space Marine Chapters who respond to the strategically-located world's plight. Lord Commander Dante's reputation amongst other Astartes is so great that Chapter Master Tu'shan of the Salamanders and Chapter Master Marneus Calgar of the Ultramarines cede overall command of Astartes operations to him. The fighting proves to be the fiercest in and around the planet's hive cities. The Blood Angels bear the brunt of the close-quarter fighting, primarily because only the overcharged engines of their Lucifer-pattern Rhinos can keep pace with the convoys of roaming Ork Trukks and Battlewagons. The tactical manoeuvrability of the Blood Angels forces is a crucial factor in the later stages of the war. The 3rd Company, under the command of its newly promoted captain, Erasmus Tycho, forms the heart of a spearhead of armoured vehicles that severs the primary Ork supply lines, which leaves the WAAAGH!'s Mekboyz without the necessary materiel to keep the Greenskins' massive Skullhammas and Stompas operational. With its heaviest units thus put out of action, the WAAAGH! is finally broken before the walls of Tarterus Hive, where Dante and Tu'shan famously fought together against Ghazghkull Thraka's own bodyguard of Nobs.
 * Gehenna Campaign (955.M41) - Commander Dante and the Blood Angels' 3rd Company face the Necron Legions of the Necron Lord known as the Silent King on the dusty wastelands of the Tomb World of Gehenna. For three weeks, neither side is able to gain an advantage though Dante finds his own tactical acumen stretched to its limits countering the space-time manipulations of the Silent King and the advanced technology of the Necrons. The stalemate is broken when a Tyranid splinter fleet suddenly enters orbit of Gehenna, which forces the two armies to break off from hostilities with each other to deal with the Great Devourer. This unwanted alliance proves to the downfall for the Tyranids. Following the final battle against the Tyranids at Death's Crag, Dante and the Silent King leave the field without further combat, as each side is now too damaged to guarantee victory over the other. In addition, for the Blood Angels, the idea of turning in combat upon those they had so recently shed blood beside was distasteful in the extreme.
 * The Tempation of Mephiston (965.M41) - The Daemon Prince M'kar the Reborn traps the Blood Angels' Chief Librarian Mephiston in the crystal caverns of Solon V. He attempts to lure Mephiston into the embrace of Chaos by accusing him of already having walked upon the path to daemonhood in the eyes of the Dark Gods. Mephiston rejects the Daemon Prince's deceptions and throttles the life from his captor, banishing him back to the Warp, but not before a seed of doubt has been planted within his heart.
 * The Vaults of Pandrax (990.M41) - In a search for a cure to the Blood Angels' genetic Flaw, Brother Corbulo discovers the repositories of archeotech from the Dark Age of Technology on the world of Pandrax III that are in the hands of the Eldar of Craftworld Alaitoc. Three companies of Blood Angels, including the Terminators of the 1st Company, are assigned to seize the vaults from the xenos interlopers. A fierce battle erupts through the tech-vaults and catacombs of Pandrax III. The Blood Angels are the ultimate victors, the Farseer commanding the Alaitoc Eldar sacrifices himself to destroy the very records of advanced genetic manipulation techniques that Corbulo had sought. The search for the cure to the Blood Angels' Flaw must continue elsewhere.
 * The Hives of Hollonan (992.M41) - In response to a request for assistance, Chief Librarian Mephiston leads the Blood Angels strike force Sanguinatus to the Hive World of Hollonan to deal with an uprising against the authority of the Imperium. What at first appeared to be only a run-of-the-mill, if still large rebellion, is soon revealed to be a deep-seated infestation of Tyranid Genestealers. Mephiston's strike force purges the xenos parasites and their psychically-addicted cult members from the hive cities of Hollonan, but it is already too late for the Hive World -- even as the last brood of Genestealers is brought down in fire and blood, Hive Ships from a splinter fleet of the approaching Hive Fleet Kraken arrive in the Hollonan System Mephiston immediately recognises that his strike force lacks the numbers to repel a Tyranid swarm of that magnitude and so he assumes command of Hollonan's defences and sends an astropathic request for aid to Baal and to Coinal, the nearby Chapter planet of the Blood Angels Successors called the Angels Vermillion. The battles that ensue within the depths of Hollonan strain even the ever-present lust for battle of the Blood Angels. The first assault by the Tyranids eliminates the planetary defence batteries and automated Sentry Guns. The second destroys the chain of ancient but necessary fusion accumulators that provide Hollonan's hive cities with most of their power. What results was a ferocious war for survival in the guts of Hollonan's primary underhive. Mephiston's Blood Angels find themselves stretched to the limit of even their considerable abilities as they try to rally the Planetary Defence Force against the endless swarms of Termagants, Raveners and Carnifexes. Only where Mephiston personally enters the fray do the human defenders hold. Over the course of two terrible weeks, Mephiston proves his worth again and again, never once sleeping or taking rest from combat, though even his fellow Astartes become weary beyond the measure of mortals of the constant bloodshed. His deeds write a new legend for the Chapter. At the Chapel of the Emperor's Repose, Mephiston tears a Carnifex to shreds with his own hands. He helds the entrance to the hive city's filtration plant for six hours by himself. In the final hours of that terrible assault, he cleaves his way alone through the spearhead of the Tyranids' primary assault, slaying a Hive Tyrant and all of its hideous guardians before he is himself struck down by a Trygon. Mephiston's fall, which could easily crush the last strands of fragile morale amongst the world's defenders, instead leads them to redouble their efforts to be worthy of his example. Such is the determination borne in the hearts of the Blood Angels and the soldiers of Hollonan that they held out long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Fresh companies of Blood Angels and Angels Vermillion Astartes come from the sky in Drop Pods and Stormraven gunships just in time to save the world's remaining defenders. Yet the Astartes are not alone, for they are joined by the Eldar of Craftworld Ulthwe, led by the ancient Farseer Eldrad Ulthran, who has decided to fight beside the guardians of Mankind for reasons of their own. The Tyranids are crushed between the attacks of the three descending armies and this splinter of the coming Hive Fleet Kraken is removed from existence before its parent Hive Fleet arrives in full. Eldrad Ulthran and his forces remain just long enough to see Mephiston recovered from the rubble, terribly wounded but miraculously still clinging to life. This second resurrection only serves to increase Mephiston's legend within his Chapter -- and beyond.
 * Blackfang Crusade (994.M41) - After determining that the Ork strongholds located in the Blackfang System had defied the will of the Emperor for far too long, Lord Commander Dante mobilises the entire Blood Angels Chapter for a year-long Imperial Crusade that not only drives the Greenskins from their empire within the 12 worlds of Blackfang but also from 2 neighbouring star systems that had long been Ork bastions.
 * Beheading the Serpent (995.M41) - Captain Tycho's 3rd Company is one of the many Space Marine strike forces that responded to the threat of the Tyranid Hive Fleet Jormungandr. Though Tycho leads his Astartes to numerous crucial victories that turn the tide against this tendril of the Great Devourer, his tactics prove so reckless, even for a Blood Angel, that the Sanguinary Priests of the Chapter began to fear for his sanity.
 * Vengeance for Semmel (996.M41) - Commander Dante learns of the location of the Eldar who slew so many Blood Angels on Semmel years before. He orders the Sanguinary Guard to earn the Chapter's vengeance. The strike force catches its quarry in the arid badlands of the world of Zoros. In the resulting aerial combat, Sanguinary Guardians duel with Eldar Jetbikes and Swooping Hawks Aspect Warriors, but emerge as the victors. Unfortunately, the identity of the individual who betrayed the Blood Angels at Semmel cannot be determined and so final vengeance for that loss remains beyond the Chapter's reach.
 * Third War for Armageddon (998.M41) - The Warlord Ghazghkull Thraka returns to the Hive World of Armageddon at the head of the largest Ork WAAAGH! seen since the Ullanor Crusade ten millennia before, unleashing the Third War for Armageddon. Over 2 dozen Space Marine Chapters respond to the Greenskin assault this time, which is necessary as the Blood Angels are forced to deploy much of their existing strength against the equally dangerous threat of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Even so, honour demands that the Chapter provides at least some assitancer to Armageddon and Dante sends the 3rd Company and genereous number of suport units. During the course of the campaign, Captain Tycho finally succumbes to the Black Rage and spends his life valiantly on the outer walls of the Hive Tempestora, taking hundreds of Orks with him down into death. The 3rd Company's new commander is Captain Galan Machiavi.
 * The Darkest Hour (999.M41) - The Blood Angels are tested as they have not been since the days of the Horus Heresy. As the launch of the 13th Black Crusade consumes the resources of the Imperium, a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan is determined to be on a direct course for Baal. To make matters worse, the dread Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha, the Bane of Sanguinius, returns from the Warp leading an army of daemons. His first blow is struck against Ammonai, the outermost world of the Baal System. Faced with a possible war of extermination for the Chapter on 2 fronts, Lord Commander Dante makes swift preparations, and unites many Imperial and even non-human worlds under the command of the Blood Angels simply for the sake of survival against Tyranid and Daemon alike. Even some former foes of the Chapter and the Imperium are counted in Dante's alliance, though whether or not they can be truly trusted when the time comes remains an open question. Well aware that even these forces will not be enough to repel both foes, Dante recalls the 3rd Company from its operations on Armageddon and sends requests for aid to all of the Blood Angels' known Successor Chapters. The Flesh Tearers are the first to respond and despatch their entire fighting strength to the Blood Angels' aid without question. Ultimately, all of the Successor Chapters save for the Lamenters lend some form of aid to their primogenitor. Even the Knights of Blood, declared Renegade by the Imperium many centuries earlier, heed Dante's call -- though they are very careful to never take the field alongside the other Chapters. The stage is thus set for the defence of Baal, and perhaps the final battle of the Scions of Sanguinius, the Sons of the Angel.

The Blood Angels' Flaw
Although it is known to but a few, the Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters are a dying breed, for they suffer from a dreadful genetic Flaw. It is true that the Blood Angels now shun the company of their fellow Astartes whenever possible. Some Blood Angels, it is said, are driven by a terrible deathseeking madness called the Black Rage, brought on by visions of the death of their Primarch. Others are afflicted by the terrible Red Thirst, a craving for blood which some claim may be the first signs of corruption by Chaos. It is known that some amongst the Blood Angels themselves spend much time seeking a cure for these conditions, although most have resigned themselves to the slow and terrible decline of their Chapter. Some savants say that it is because Sanguinius was more touched by Chaos than the other Primarchs during his gestation capsule's flight through the Warp after he and his superhuman brothers were stolen from the Emepror's gene-laboratory. They cite the fact that he possessed wings -- an obvious mutation -- to support their case. Their argument runs that the gene-seed that was extracted from him was genetically flawed and corrupted even before the first Blood Angels Space Marines were created from it by the Emperor, and thus terrible consequences were preordained. Other savants of the Astartes deny this, citing that the Emperor Himself trusted Sanguinius implicitly, and personally oversaw the creation of the Blood Angels. Certain Heretics counter this with the argument that the Emperor also once trusted Horus above all others in his Imperium, and that even He could make mistakes...

Other Imperial scholars claim that the Flaw lies in the process that is used to create each new generation of Blood Angels Astartes. They assert that it has crept in through the generations because the Blood Angels use the process known as Insanguination to activate the implanted gene-seed organs within their Aspirants. All Space Marine Chapters use the gene-seed organs to unleash and control the metabolic processes that transform an ordinary mortal into a Space Marine. The gene-seed is encoded with all the information needed to reshape ordinary human cell clusters into the special organs Space Marines possess in those instances where they are not directly implanted after being cultured in vitro. The gene-seed contains genetically-engineered viral machines which rebuild the male human body according to the biological template contained within it. However, even from the beginning of the Astartes' existence, there was never a set way to activate these functions of the gene-seed.

During the First Founding of the 30th Millennium when the Space Marine Legions were first created, the process was still highly experimental and many different ways of controlling and managing the transformation from mortal into Astartes were tried. This led to the Space Wolves using the ritual known as Blooding, the Imperial Fists using the process known as the Hand of Faith, the White Scars conducting the Rites of the Risen Moon and the Blood Angels using the ritual of Insanguination.

The process of Insanguination was originally triggered by injecting the Aspirants with tiny samples of their Primarch's own blood. This practice, of course, ended with the tragic death of Sanguinius at the hands of Horus during the Battle of Terra. However, some of his blood was preserved within the Blood Angels artefact known as the Red Grail. The still-living blood could not be kept this way for long and so it was injected into the veins of the Sanguinary Priests. In this way they became living hosts to the power of Sanguinius. To this day, the drinking of the collected blood of the assembled Sanguinary Priests from the relic called the Red Grail is part of the induction ritual for all Blood Angels Priests as well as the Chapter's Aspirants.

It is from these Sanguinary Priests that blood is taken to trigger the transformation of Aspirants into Space Marines. It is possible that over the countless generations since the time of the Horus Heresy the cells within the Blood Angels' gene-seed have mutated, slowly at first but more quickly in recent years, and that cumulative errors in DNA replication have resulted in the Flaw. Whatever the reason for the Flaw, it is certain that its hold over the Blood Angels has become ever stronger, and their tendency towards self-destructive insanity greater. Unless it can be halted and reversed, the Chapter and all of its Successors are doomed to extinction.

The Flaw of the Blood Angels has also been attributed to a combination of the genetic defects in the Legion's Omophagea gene-seed organ implant, and the psychic disturbance created during the final seconds of Sanguinius' life. During the battles of the Horus Heresy on Terra and Mars, the gene-seed imprint of the Blood Angels was lost, forcing the Legion to have to extract the gene-seed needed for their reconstruction from the fallen body of their Primarch himself. Every Space Marine created from the gene-seed drawn from Sanguinius after his death was doomed to fall to the Flaw, and in the 10,000-year history of the Legion and its Second Founding Successor Chapters, only three Space Marines have managed to defeat the Curse (Chief Librarian Mephiston and Brother Rafen -- both with the assistance of visions of Sanguinius, and the Librarian Ashok of the Angels Sanguine).

The Black Rage
"Treat them with honour, my Brothers. Not because they will bring us victory this day, but because their fate will one day be ours."

- Astorath the Grim, Blood Angels High Chaplain, referring to the Astartes of the Death Company

The Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters still suffer from the psychic imprint left by Sanguinius' death (or by the daemonic "wound" caused on Signus Prime). This can cause them to go insane prior to or during battle and feel the rage that Sanguinius himself felt during the Battle of Terra. The condition is largely irrecoverable and only a few Blood Angels have managed to defeat the "Gene Curse". Victims are locked away in the "Tower of Amareo" (named after an ancient Chapter Master of the Blood Angels) on the Blood Angels' homeworld. This insanity is known as the Black Rage. Rather than let them face a slow, insane death, Blood Angels will form those who have newly succumbed to the Black Rage into a special unit known as the Death Company. They wear specially painted black Power Armour, and are often led by the few Chapter officers, notably Blood Angels Chaplains, who are still able to communicate orders to the insane troops and who are still obeyed by them, perhaps because Chaplains directly represent the authority of the Emperor. The members of the Death Company are then sent out to perform the most dangerous assaults, hoping for a quick and honourable death in combat. The Rage seems to lend those afflicted with a measure of the Primarch's might, granting them the strength to rend their foes limb from limb in bloody melee. However, by some unknown means, the flaw that produces the Black Rage also seems capable of extending the victim's lifespan, at least until he finally succumbs to the Rage. Commander Dante is by far the oldest living Space Marine (not including those interred in a Dreadnought), born more than 1,000 years before the present time.

The Red Thirst
A side effect of the Black Rage is the Blood Angels' feared vampiric tendencies. They generally have pale skin, and a strong urge to drink the blood of their enemies. This flaw is known as the Red Thirst. These traits have also been passed on to their Successor Chapters, such as the Flesh Tearers, Blood Drinkers, and Angels Sanguine. One Blood Angels Successor Chapter, the Lamenters, managed during their Founding by the Adeptus Mechanicus to eliminate the Flaw from Sanguinius' gene-seed through the genetic tinkerings of some overzealous Tech-priests. However, throughout its history, the Lamenters Chapter has been stricken by extraordinary bad luck in battle ever since, suffering an improbable series of unlikely catastrophes, and has been nearly annihilated.

Blood Angels Freed From the Flaw

 * Lord Mephiston - Originally Brother Calistarius, a Blood Angels Librarian of some ability and strength of character, he was almost overcome by the Curse when part of the relief force for Hades hive during the Second War for Armageddon, where, having suffered for 7 days and nights trapped in the rubble of the collapsed Ecclesorium building, a vision of Sanguinius helped him fight off the effects. He was reborn as Mephiston, the Lord of Death, and with his full psychic potential unlocked, quickly achieved the position of Chief Librarian. He is seen as the spiritual son of Sanguinius, a figure of hope to his Chapter. He is now considered to be the most powerful Librarian in the Astartes, and possibly the most powerful psyker in the Imperium, after the Emperor himself.
 *  Brother Rafen - A Battle-Brother -- later promoted to Sergeant -- Rafen had to kill his actual sibling and fellow Blood Angels Astartes Arkio who was claiming to be Sanguinius Reborn but was in reality deceived by Chaos, having been made, through Chaotic mutation, into a likeness of Sanguinius. Rafen then had to succumb to the Gene Curse to unleash the power of the Holy Spear of Telesto (a weapon wielded by Sanguinius himself) in order to defeat Malfallax, a Lord of Change (a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch) who had deceived Arkio. However, he was eventually able to pull himself to the surface of his consciousness, and also succeeded in helping Mephiston defeat the Black Rage within himself for a second time.

Chapter Organisation
The Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters adhere to the proscriptions of the Codex Astartes in general, but deviate in several regards. The most obvious of these is the Chapter's preponderance of close-combat troops. The role of Assault Marine is heavily sought by Blood Angels Astartes, and the entire 1st Company fights as assault troops when not deployed as Terminators. The entire 8th Company is also tooled towards assault combat; the Space Marines that do not gain access to Jump Packs before a battle often deploy in support of their rapidly moving brethren, through the use of Land Speeders and Attack Bikes. Even the Librarians of the Blood Angels Chapter excel at hand-to-hand fighting.

The remaining companies of the Chapter deploy as per the Codex Astartes, but often modify the engines of the Rhino APCs assigned to them in order to increase their speed. These modifications have a negative effect on the vehicle as a whole, and the Blood Angels' Rhinos are prone to breakdowns if their engines are pushed too hard. Other vehicles have been modified by the Blood Angels. The Baal Predator mounts a twin-linked Assault Cannon, and is modified to lay down a torrent of fire as the Blood Angels advance, devastating infantry and light vehicles. The Blood Angels' Furioso Dreadnought variant eschews the heavy weaponry normally carried by Space Marine Dreadnoughts, replacing it with a second close combat weapon.

Specialist Ranks
The Blood Angels' order of battle contains several specialist formations and officer positions not present in other Space Marine Chapters:
 * Death Company - The most notable of the Chapter's deviances from the Codex Astartes is the existence of the Blood Angels' infamous Death Company. Not an actual part of the Blood Angels' standard organisation, the Death Company is made up of those unfortunate Astartes of the Chapter who have completely succumbed to the psychosis of the Black Rage. These fanatical troops are led into battle by a Sanguinary Priest or a Chaplain. The Space Marines of the Blood Angels Death Company are unstoppable, fighting on with wounds that should stop even a Space Marine.
 * Sanguinary Guard - The other major deviance from the Codex by the Chapter is the existence of the elite Blood Angels Honour Guard known as the Sanguinary Guard, which includes 30 of the Chapter's best and most Veteran Astartes under the command of Brother Sepharan. They use modified Jump Packs with mechanical wings to give them a taste of their Primarch's ability for flight, so that they are transformed into true angels of death. They are clad in ancient suits of golden Artificer Armour, wielding an ancient Power Weapon in the shape of a polearm known as a Glaive Encarmine, each one of which is a Chapter relic dating back many millennia. Each member of the Sanguinary Guard is easily the equal of a full squad of their brethren and the deeds of each are carefully recorded by the Sanguinary Priests, as they are warriors second in prowess only to the company captains and Lord Commander Dante himself.
 * Sanguinary Priests - The Blood Angels' Sanguinary Priests are the custodians of the blood of Sanguinius himself. They serve in the role of the Chapter's Apothecaries, as well as partially fulfilling the role of spiritual leaders within the Chapter.
 * Chaplains - The role of Chaplains also differs within the Blood Angels Chapter as their responsibilities are solely geared towards guarding against the Black Rage and psychologically ministering to those who fall both to it and the equally terrible curse of the Red Thirst. The traditional spiritual role played by most Astartes Chaplains is instead played in the Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters by the officers known as the Sanguinary Priests.

Chapter Homeworld
The Fortress-Monastery of the Blood Angels is located on the world of Baal, and recruits are taken from its moon of Baal Secundus. The world and its moons were once Earth-like in their climate, but have since become wastelands. Evidence points to a nuclear war fought at some point prior to the start of the Age of Strife, destroying the once-sophisticated human culture that inhabited the world and its moons. The few survivors became techno-scavengers, relying on cumbersome radiation suits to protect them from the fatal levels of radioactive fallout, and picking through the scraps of their once-great civilisation as scavengers to find the necessities of life. Many of the Baalite survivors became horribly mutated as the generations passed as a result of the population's constant exposure to radiation and were often forced to resort to cannibalism to stay alive.

Chapter Recruitment
To ascertain who is worthy to join the ranks of the Blood Angels, the adolescents of the feral tribes of Baal Secundus who would be Blood Angels Aspirants take part in violent games and tournaments, battling against the harsh landscape and their peers. The contests are held at "Angel's Fall," the location of Sanguinius' landing on Baal, and are heralded by the arrival of Thunderhawk gunships from the Chapter.

The first trial is to reach the "Place of Challenge" by any means necessary. The aspirants must make their way across the hostile desert, leaping from high cliffs with only a crude hang-glider to cross the gap with. They must avoid Fire Scorpions and other mutated predator species that inhabit the canyons, then climb the mountain to the Place of Challenge.

Upon arrival, gladiatorial contests are held, of which only a handful of the original aspirants will survive. From this group, roughly fifty will be taken by the Blood Angels, while the remainder are tasked to protect the Place of Challenge until the next generation's aspirants begin their competition for acceptance.

The successful Aspirants are taken to the Blood Angels' Fortress-Monastery on Baal itself, and are paraded before members of the Chapter, before being escorted into the Great Chapel. Here, the Aspirants must observe a three-day vigil without sustenance or rest; those who fall asleep are taken away and never seen again. At the conclusion of the three days, a group of Sanguinary Priests will enter and offer each Aspirant a sip from a chalice believed to contain some of the Primarch Sanguinius' blood. Upon drinking this, the Aspirants fall into a deep sleep, during which the gene-seed organ implants of the Chapter are inserted into the body of each Aspirant.

Entranced by a death-like slumber, the Aspirants are transported to the Hall of Sarcophagi, and interred in great golden sarcophagi, each twice the size of a grown man. The Aspirants are attached to an array of life support equipment, before being sealed in for a year. They are fed intravenously, the combination of nutrients and the Blood of Sanguinius instigating the genetic and hormonal changes in the Aspirant's body necessary to make him a Space Marine. Many Aspirants fail at this point, their bodies unable to cope with the massive physical changes wrought by the gene-seed. Those that survive grow strong and pure, granted visions and dreams that depict the memory of Sanguinius. On rare occasions, an Aspirant will awaken well before the year is up, and will be forced to contemplate the claustrophobic darkness. Emerging from the sarcophagi these unfortunates are almost always afflicted with mental infirmity.

After the year has passed, the Aspirants are awoken and retrieved from their imprisonment. They bear little physical resemblance to the frail, radiation-warped adolescents that entered the sarcophagi a year before. Their restructured bodies take on a form reminiscent of their Primarch, keener and stronger than any mortal man. Even so, though they are now Blood Angels Neophytes, they have only completed the first stage of becoming a full Blood Angels Astartes. There is then the typical tradition of serving in the Chapter's 10th Company Scout force before joining one of the other companies as a fully fledged Brother Space Marine.

Chapter Combat Doctrine
The companies of the Blood Angels generally fight in a similar fashion as most other Space Marine forces, with a tendency toward aggressive and decisive spaceborne and planetary assault actions utilising highly mobile forces. This usually results in actions in which dedicated assault units, including the Death Company, close with the weakest point of the enemy position at the earliest opportunity under covering fire, and then are supported by mounted tactical units and armoured forces to exploit the breakthrough. This then allows the assault units to carry on into successive enemy positions behind the front line, preventing an organised response, while the rest of the units conduct a mop-up of the remaining enemy and move into positions of support, pinning down the next target with available firepower. Their passion for perfection in all things martial and otherwise, added to the longevity in which to achieve this, can be seen in their strategic and tactical planning, which is exemplary. However, they cannot be counted upon to hold a position in the same disciplined way as the Ultramarines or Dark Angels, as the Black Rage can afflict any Marine in the midst of battle, inciting him to charge forward in an attempt to tear the enemy limb from limb. This often has the benefit of creating victories in the unlikeliest situations through sheer aggression, although Imperial Commanders have been known to refrain from asking for the assistance of the Blood Angels due to fears that such savagery could become uncontrollable.

Chapter Colours
The Blood Angels paint their Power Armour blood red, with a black Chapter badge and squad markings in the colour of the Space Marine's company. The trim varies but is usually the same red as the armour or black. The Imperial Aquila on the chest plate is usually yellow, gold, white or black.

Instead of using the standard Codex-compliant symbols to show a unit's role, Blood Angels helmets are painted for distinction: Blood Angels Librarians have blue armour with the left shoulder plate painted red. The Chapter badge is located on the right knee plate, black with a red background. Blood Angel Apothecaries have red armour trimmed in white, with a white Chapter badge on their left shoulder plate. The Blood Angels Death Company varies significantly from their brethren's colour scheme; their armour is repainted black, with red crosses, symbolizing the sacrifice of Sanguinius. The Sanguinary Guard wear armour that is completely golden in colour, with white wings, and many Chapter markings all over the armour.
 * Tactical Marine: Red - Battle-Brother of the standard Battle Companies
 * Assault Marine: Yellow - 1st Company Veteran Battle-Brothers
 * Devastator Marine: Blue - Battle-Brother assigned to a Heavy Support Squad
 * Veteran Marine: Gold - Member of a company's Honour Guard

A Blood Angels company's markings differ from those outlined by the Codex Astartes in utilising symbols on the right shoulder plate instead of different colored trim and numbers. Only in special cases does the Chapter badge not appear on the left shoulder plate. The following is a list of how each Company represents itself:
 * 1st Company (Veteran): A white skull over red background on the right shoulder plate. On Terminator (Tactical Dreadnought) Armour, the left shoulder plate shows the First Company's specific heraldry, the right shoulder guard displays the Chapter badge in black (yellow for Sergeants).
 * 2nd Company (Battle): A single yellow blood drop.
 * 3rd Company (Battle): A single white blood drop.
 * 4th Company (Battle): A single green blood drop.
 * 5th Company (Battle): A single black blood drop.
 * 6th Company (Reserve Tactical): Twin yellow blood drops, side by side.
 * 7th Company (Reserve Tactical): Twin white blood drops, side by side.
 * 8th Company (Reserve Assault): Twin green blood drops, side by side.
 * 9th Company (Reserve Devastator): Twin black blood drops, side by side.
 * 10th Company (Scout Marines): The Blood Angels' Scout Company wears a black skull on the right shoulder plate, and the Chapter badge on the left.

The Chapter Master (who is called the Lord Commander by the Blood Angels) has a personal bodyguard that wears gold armour with black trim, painting the right shoulder plate red. The Chapter badge is displayed on the left shoulder plate, a white skull displayed on the right.

Unlike other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, the Blood Angels' squad markings comprise a single symbol worn on the right knee plate of their Power Armour:
 * 1st Squad: A white skull on a black background
 * 2nd Squad: A white skull on a blue background
 * 3rd Squad: A red blood drop on a yellow background
 * 4th Squad: A red blood drop on a black background
 * 5th Squad: A white X on a black background
 * 6th Squad: A white X on a blue background
 * 7th Squad: A yellow lightning bolt on a black background
 * 8th Squad: A back lightning bolt on a yellow background
 * 9th Squad: A yellow angelic wing on a black background
 * 10th Squad: A black angelic wing on a yellow background

Chapter Badge
The Blood Angels Chapter badge is a red blood drop flanked by white wings. When portrayed on armour, this design is stylised and painted completely black on the left shoulder guard. Sergeants of the Chapter have both shoulder guards painted black, with a yellow Chapter badge placed on them instead, to distinguish their rank.

Notable Blood Angels

 * Lord Commander Dante - Dante was the Lord Commander (Chapter Master) of the Blood Angels during the 41st Millennium. He is also the oldest Loyalist Space Marine in the galaxy (with the exception of several Dreadnoughts), and has commanded the Blood Angels for over 1100 standard years. He wears the Death Mask of Sanguinius, a relic believed to show the face of the Primarch himself.
 * Lord Mephiston, Master of the Librarius - Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels during the 41st Millennium. He gained immense power after overcoming the Black Rage and Red Thirst twice. Mephiston is the most powerful Librarian in the Astartes, and possibly the most powerful psyker in the Imperium, after the Emperor Himself. Given the title "Lord of Death" upon his latest successful defiance of the Red Thirst.
 * The Sanguinor, Exemplar of the Host -The Sanguinor is the golden angel of Sanguinius. Who or what exactly he is remains unknown. Some claim him to be the last remaining member of the Sanguinary Guard from the time of the Horus Heresy, while the more popular belief is that upon Sanguinius' death, the primarch's soul split into two: that which was pained and in anguish about the Primarch's actions became the Chapter Flaw, and that which was noble and great became the Sanguinor. Regardless of who he is, he only appears when the Blood Angels need him most. His most famous deed is the defeat of Ka'Bandha, the Greater Daemon of Khorne who once defeated Sanguinius himself, before the Primarch threw him from above the Eternity Gate of the Inner Imperial Palace during the Battle of Terra, and broke the daemon's back upon the surface of Mankind's sacred homeworld.
 * Captain Erasmus Tycho - Erasmus Tycho was the Captain of the Blood Angels' 3rd Company, and was once Dante's chosen successor to become the next Chapter Master of the Blood Angels. Half his face was destroyed by an Ork Weirdboy during the Second War for Armageddon. This mutilation affected his psyche, and made him wear a mask over the injury. He constantly thirsts for revenge against the Orks who wounded him. Unfortunately, he sucumbed to the Black Rage and was inducted into the Death Company. He finally attained peace when he died seeing action during the Third War for Armageddon.
 * Captain Michaelus Raphael - Captain Raphael is the commander of the 1st Company of the Blood Angels. He led his company to many glories and is most notable for having cleansed Genestealers from innumerable Space Hulks. He is the commander of the Blood Angels force in the board game Space Hulk.
 * Chaplain Lemartes - Lemartes is a Chaplain and the warden of the Blood Angels' infamous Death Company. Under his guidance, the Death Company has reached a new level of potency and lethality. Though Lemartes himself is afflicted by the curse of the Black Rage, his formidable willpower has allowed him to remain in control of his actions, leaving him free to lead the Death Company in glorious charges that eclipse all the deeds of legend. Lemartes is also known as the "Guardian of the Lost." His stern voice can cut through even the battle frenzy induced by the Black Rage.
 * Apothecae Majoris Caecus - Caecus was the Chief Apothecary or Apothecae Majoris of the Blood Angels. Disturbed by the dwindling numbers of his Chapter, and dreading its extinction, he was involved in fruitless experiments, which Commander Dante ordered stopped, to clone Space Marines. However, Caecus disobeyed the order and secretly continued the experiments, prodded by an agent of Fabius Bile. He was tricked into bringing Bile, who was disguised as a well-known Mechanicus Magos Biologis, to Baal, mistakenly thinking the false "Magos" would help in cloning Space Marines to enhance the Blood Angels' numbers. Caecus belatedly realised Bile's deception and was eventually executed by Rafen for his transgressions.
 * Brother Corbulo - Corbulo was mightiest amongst the Sanguinary Priests and served as the Bearer of the Red Grail. As sometimes happens with Blood Angels Battle-Brothers, Corbulo bears a great physical resemblance to the Chapter's lost Primarch Sanguinius.
 * Moriar the Chosen - Once an honoured Captain of the Blood Angels Chapter, he fell in battle and so great were his deeds he was honoured by being entombed in a Furioso Dreadnought -- a walking mechanical sarcophagus bristling with powerful weaponry. However, upon entering his new body, he experienced the visions of Sanguinius during the Horus Heresy and succumbed to the Black Rage, thus becoming the Death Company's only Dreadnought -- an almost unstoppable force in battle.
 * Veteran Sergeant Cleutin - Cleutin is the most senior sergeant within the Blood Angels Chapter and the current Guardian of the Shroud of Sanguinius -- one of the Chapter's most revered holy relics. It is said to be the remnants of an ancient battle standard that the Emperor used to cover Sanguinius' dead body when he discovered it on Horus's Battle Barge Vengeful Spirit after the Warmaster had slain his former brother in the waning hours of the Battle of Terra. Soaked with the blood of the Primarch, it was later retrieved by the Blood Angels and taken back to Baal. Only a small fragment remains, preserved lovingly in an iron box with a built-in stasis field. Though a miniscule relic, its powerful psychic aura can drive any Blood Angels near its presence into an ecstatic state through the psychic emanations. As the senior sergeant of the Chapter, it has fallen to Cleutin to be the current Guardian of the sacred shroud. It is rumoured that Cleutin is so old that he was the sergeant in charge of Lord Commander Dante's Scout Squad when he was still an Aspirant. Whatever the truth of this rumour, there is no doubting that Cleutin is a doughty and experienced warrior, and a worthy guardian of the Shroud.
 * Sergeant Rafen - Sergeant Rafen saved the Blood Angels Chapter from a bloody civil war, but in doing so was forced to kill his biological brother Arkio. He is one of the few Blood Angels to defeat the Chapter's Curse of the Black Rage, although he willingly used it to defeat Malfallax, a Lord of Change (Greater Daemon of Tzeentch) who had deceived Arkio into believing that he was the reincarnation of the Primarch Sanguinius. He was also key in defending the Blood Angels' homeworld of Baal from the creations of Fabius Bile. He was then tasked by Lord Commander Dante to pursue Bile in order to reclaim a vial with the blood of Sanguinius that Bile had stolen, and to terminate the ancient Emperor's Children Apothecary. Rafen eventually caught up with him on Dynikas V where he was confronted with several Bile clones. He managed to reclaim the stolen blood vial and kill the Bile clones, but in order to do so, had to inject himself with the blood of Sanguinius that Bile had taken. Malfallax, after his own defeat, presumably in order to avenge the failure of the plans regarding Arkio, offered his allegiance to Bile. Bile by then wanted to destroy the Chapter following the events at Dynikas V, and it is to this plot that both servants of Chaos now bend their talents.
 * Arkio the Blessed - Arkio was the unwitting pawn of Tzeentch and the Lord of Change Malfallax, mutated through the power of Chaos to possess a pair of angel's wings in order that he might resemble Sanguinius as part of a Chaotic plot to take control of the Blood Angels Chapter for the Lord of Change. He was killed by his biological brother Rafen at the Battle of Sabien, saving the Blood Angels from the outbreak of an internecine war within the Chapter.
 * Captain Leonatos (Deceased) - Hero of the Blood Quest, exiled from the Chapter until the Blade Encarmine was recovered.
 * Veteran Sergeant Cloten - A Space Marine from another company who joined Captain Leonatas on his quest to recover the Blade Encarmine. Cursed with the Red Thirst, he only wished to die an honourable death before he succumbed to it.
 * Veteran Sergeant Tranio (Deceased) - One of the Veterans that survived during the Last Stand on Sekundar against the Orks of Garshul the Destroyer's WAAAGH!.
 * Codicier Furion (Deceased) - A squad member of Leonatos' search and recover group who possessed psyker abilities. Unknown if he served during the Last Stand on Sekundar.
 * Brother Pallamon (Deceased) - A squad member of Leonatos' search and recover group. Unknown if he served during the Last Stand on Sekundar.
 * Brother Valerius (Deceased) - A squad member of Leonatos' search and recover group. Unknown if he served during the Last Stand on Sekundar.
 * Scout Novice Lysander - A squad member of Leonatos' search and recover group. Unknown if he served during the Last Stand on Sekundar.
 * Scout Novice Menelius (Deceased)- A squad member of Leonatos' search and recover group. Unknown if he served during the Last Stand on Sekundar.
 * Scout Novice Proteus - A squad member of Leonatos' search and recover group. Turned to Chaos after Leonatos was possessed. Unknown if he served during the Last Stand on Sekundar. Deceased.

Chapter Notes

 * The occurrence of cannibalism among the inhabitants of Baal Secundus is also what has spurred debate with regards to the cause of the Blood Angels' vampiric tendencies, and whether or not the thirst for blood is actually a genetic defect of the Aspirants themselves, or the result of the flawed gene-seed of Sanguinius.

Gallery
Ángeles Sangrientos [[Category:B]]