The Rock

The Rock is the massive mobile Fortress-Monastery and home of the Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter.

History
The Rock was formerly the original fortress-monastery of monastic knights known simply as The Order. This fortress was known as Aldurkh, which meant "the Rock of Eternity" in one of the ancient Calibanite dialects of Low Gothic. Aldurukh was originally the name of the mountain that the Order's founders had decided for the site to build their fortress-monastery, using the name of the mountain for the fortress. Though the Order had other fortress-monasteries, Aldurukh was their first, and so they gave it a name that mattered, a name that summed up exactly what they were trying to build. This sacred site was the Order's literal rock, their foundation of stone. As long as it endured, then some part of their ideals would always be alive.

When the Imperium of Man rediscovered the lost human-settled world on the fringe of the Eye of Terror during the Great Crusade they brought with them their formidable technology, and transformed the face of Caliban. The Emperor’s servants had descended on the planet with enormous machines that cleared dozens of kilometres of forest a day and left flat, lifeless earth in their wake. Mines, refineries and manufactorums had followed, ready to transform the planet’s abundant resources into vital war materiel for the Emperor’s ongoing Crusade. Aldurukh rose above all else, a bastion of strength and tradition surrounded by a sea of constant change. Its granite flanks had been scraped bare by Imperial construction machines. Titanic excavators had scaled its sheer sides, carving out ledges and boring tunnels deep into the rock as the fortress was expanded into the heart of the mountain itself. A series of gates were built at the foot of the mountain that provided access to the fortress’s subterranean levels as well as lifts that would carry passengers up into the centre of the fortress within seconds. For all its efficiency, this notion seemed vaguely offensive to those senior members of the old Order; the path up the Errant’s Road to the castle gates had been trod by the knights of the Order for centuries, and had taken on great spiritual significance in their legends and lore. Brothers could ride the lifts if they preferred; but some intended to walk the path built by their elders for as long as they were able.

The fortress hadn’t changed so much in the years he’d been away. At the base of the mountain, rising incongruously to either side of a narrow, paved lane that passed between two towering barracks facilities, stood the ancient, weathered menhirs that marked the foot of the old road. The old stones depicted the beginning and ending stages of a knight’s journey: the left menhir was carved in the likeness of a proud knight striding forth into the world, pistol and chainsword in hand; the one on the right showed a battered and weary warrior, his armour splintered and his weapons broken, kneeling wearily but with head held high as he contemplated his return home. Brother knights would often brush their fingertips lightly against the right-hand menhir as they passed by, a tradition that reached back to the earliest days of the brotherhood. This simple gesture of feeling the smooth stone beneath their fingertips made a returning knight think of the generations of their forbears who had done the same, stretching back for millennia.

Horus Heresy
The Dark Angels drilled deep into the old bedrock and rebuilt the ruins into a vast new complex with advanced Imperial technology worthy of a Chapter of Astartes. The fortress-monastery is known officially as Angelicasta (the Tower of Angels) but is more commonly referred to as "The Rock" just like its ancient predecessor Aldurukh. The Rock has been equipped with massive Warp-Engines, enabling faster-than-light transit through the Immaterium. The warrens beneath The Rock are where the Dark Angels bring their Fallen Angels brethren to be redeemed by their Interrogator-Chaplains. It is believed by the Inquisition to hold many other secrets of critical importance to the Imperium. Only when a Dark Angel reaches the rank of Master (Company Captain) does he truly learn all the secrets of the Dark Angels, but one secret is known only to the Supreme Grand Master, the Master of the Chapter: the Fallen Angels' leader, the Chaos Champion Luther, is not only still alive, but imprisoned within the deepest, most secure cavern of The Rock. He is incurably insane, and has thwarted the attempts of every Supreme Grand Master to make him repent to date. Luther simply rants and raves that he has no need of confession or repentance, for one day Lion El'Jonson will return and forgive him for his sins against the Emperor.