"None fall as far or as fatally as those who soar the highest, for pride does not precede the fall. Pride is the fall."
- — The Lethean Revelation - Psalm 451
The Angels Resplendent was a little known Codex Astartes-compliant Loyalist Successor Chapter of the Blood Angels, created during the 9th Founding. Many amongst this Chapter were once fine artisans, echoing their genetic forebears. While other Chapters fought for glory, faith or the sheer joy of slaughter, the Angels Resplendent had made nobility its creed.
Alone amongst the scions of Sanguinius in the Sanguinary Brotherhood, this Chapter had been entirely free of the madness that haunted the Angel's bloodline. No Space Marine in the red and gold had ever succumbed to the Black Rage. Recently, the arrival of a strange mortal known as the "Undying Martyr" led to the Chapter's conversion to a puritanical variant of the Imperial Creed.
The Angels Resplendent renamed themselves the Angels Penitent, banned the production of all forms of art, and have dedicated themselves to the elimination of all sin and the castigation of all sinners, whether they be mortal or Astartes.
Chapter History[]
"Those who stood unblemished yesterday shall fall tomorrow or the day after, for treachery hides in our blood, cloaked in pride."
- — Proclamation from Chaplain Icharos Malvoisin
Angels Resplendent Chapter Colour Scheme as displayed by a Firstborn Space Marine of the 2nd Company.
At some point in the Chapter's history, a strange individual, known only as the "Undying Martyr," came unexpectedly into the custody of the Angels Resplendent. The Undying Martyr was a mortal who had miraculously survived crossing the River Tristesse that served as the moat of the Angel Resplendent's fortress-monastery, Kanvolis.
Few Space Marines could have mastered the crossing of the Tristesse, and so it was a mystery how a mortal had achieved the feat. Instead of ending the strange Human's life, the Undying Martyr was brought before Chaplain Icharos Malvoisin for interrogation.
The Chaplain conversed with the stranger for nineteen solar days before proclaiming him a prophet of the God-Emperor who bore terrible new insights into the Imperial Creed. These truths were dark indeed, for he revealed that Mankind was corrupt beyond redemption and that its greatest guardians, the Adeptus Astartes, were the basest of all sinners, for they had faltered and fragmented in the war against the arch-betrayer Horus.
There could be no hope of ascension into the Emperor's light, only penitence and pain for Humanity's collective sins past and future. The war was already lost and the only course was to fight on in the knowledge of certain defeat. Thus began the "Great Purge" of the Chapter of all activities and items considered blasphemy, including many objects once crafted by the warrior-artisans of the Chapter themselves. The Great Purge swept Kanvolis clean of beauty, yet it had left the fortress filthy, just as the Undying Martyr's words had befouled the Chapter itself.
When traversing the corridors, one would trample through a mulch of rotting tapestries and pulverised statuary. The Undying Martyr had pronounced this effluvium of desecrated glories sacrosanct -- a mockery of treacherous pride. Things might have been different if the Angels Respendent's Chapter Master Varziva Czervantes had been with his Chapter during this harrowing time, but the Knight Resplendent had been absent for many standard years, campaigning with the Chapter's elite 1st Company. There had been no word of them since the Great Purge and Chaplain Malvoisin had declared them lost, though many within the Chapter refused to believe it.
The Knight Resplendent would return some day to reclaim and redeem his Chapter. In the absence of the Chapter Master, only Chief Librarian Athanazius and his Librarian brethren had spurned the Undying Martyr's testament. Inevitably they were denounced as Heretics and soon those loyal battle-brothers who followed the will of the Chaplains obediently stormed the Librarium, driven by a hatred for their fellows that had been unmatched even in battle with xenos.
Athanazius and his followers had awaited their brothers' assault, absent arms or armour, yet shielded by a contempt that brought the zealots' charge to a standstill. The attackers waited for the frigid electric tang that presaged a psychic assault, but when Athanazius spoke only a single sentence: "We will rise on burning wings." This assault was comprised of only words, but they were the Chapter's credo, delivered with a conviction that drained the poison from many of the attacking battle-brothers.
It might have been enough to stop the madness, but then Chaplain Icharos Malvoisin bellowed the new credo, the one revealed by the Undying Martyr: "The Emperor condemns!" The Angels Resplendent died that day and the Angels Penitent rose from their grave, shadow-bound and bitter.
The Chapter is now ruled by a council of zealous Chaplains called the "Crown of Thorns." They judge those amongst their brethren who they consider to have sinned against the Emperor, which includes such minor offences as creating scrimshaws honouring the Primarch Sanguinius -- for they believed that art exalted the tyranny of the sin of vanity.
Some within the Chapter still secretly harbour their distrust of the new order, clinging to the Chapter's old identity, believing they were once warrior artisans before the outsider enslaved them. They know in their hearts that their true skills lie in arms and art in harmony, the true path of the Resplendent. But to voice such unpopular opinions is considered a sin in the eyes of the Crown of Thorns.
Another worrying symptom of the new order is that the battle-brothers of the Chapter are now prone to falling victim to the Blood Angels' genetic curse known as the Black Rage. Prior to the arrival of the Undying Martyr, the Chapter had never had a single Astartes fall victim to the dreaded flaw of the Sanguinary Brotherhood. It now appears that this curse flourishes freely enough to warrant the Chapter raising a Death Company of its own.
Chapter Beliefs[]
"Penitence and pain are the hammers and nails of devotion."
- — Psalm 27
Formerly, the Angels Resplendent believed that they were a Chapter of warrior-artisans, a band of dedicated servants of the Emperor of Mankind who understood that war was an art form in itself. In the pursuit of art, the Angels Resplendent believed that they developed a discipline and an understanding of the broader needs of Mankind that reinforced their commitment to the defence of Humanity.
Following the arrival of the Undying Martyr on the steps of their fortress-monastery, the Angels Resplendent have been seized by a new devotion to a fanatical, puritanical variant of the Imperial Creed that holds that Mankind and the Adeptus Astartes have become so corrupt that they are no longer redeemable in the eyes of the God-Emperor. As such, the only choice for mortals and Astartes alike is to receive unending punishment for their failure in the Emperor's eyes.
All sins must be severely punished, in particular the sin of vanity, of which art is but one expression. As such, since the Great Purge, the Angels Resplendent have changed their name to the Angels Penitent and no longer suffer their warrior-artisans to create the glorious works which once decorated the fortress-monastery and expressed the Chapter's inherent appreciation for aspects of Human life beyond war. They have become a bitter, humourless band of zealots, fired only by hatred for sin and the desire to castigate the sinner.
Notable Angels Resplendent[]
- Chapter Magister Varzival Czervantes - Varzival Czervantes, known as the "Knight Resplendent," is the current Chapter Master of the Angels Resplendent. However he was away campaigning with the elite 1st Company when the Undying Martyr first made himself known to the Chapter and so was unable to prevent his Chapter from coming under the Martyr's sway. A solar decade after that event, Sergeant Montaig was the only Angel Penitent who secretly refused to embrace the Undying Martyr's teachings and held to the hope that the Chapter Master and his Veterans would eventually return. When he does, Montaig is convinced Varzival will be able to redeem the Chapter and restore them to the true light of the Emperor.
- Chief Librarian Athanazius - Athanazius was the Chief Librarian of the Angels Resplendent when the Undying Martyr first came upon the Chapter. He and his Librarians were the only ones to resist the Martyr's new teachings. This led them to be targeted in the Great Purge. The purge destroyed anything that linked the Chapter to its past and the Librarians' judgement came at the hands of a group of battle-brothers led by Chaplain Icharos Malvoisin. However even as the group came to kill them, Athanazius and the other Librarians did not seek to defend themselves from their fanatical brethren. Instead the Chief Librarian uttered the Angels Resplendent's traditional battle cry, "We will rise on burning wings!" This brought their attackers to a halt, especially Sergeant Montaig, who felt his newfound self-loathing suddenly evaporate. However, Chaplain Malvoisin, who was the most fervent believer of the Undying Martyr's theology, responded with the Angels Pentinent's new battle cry, "The Emperor condemns!" This once more roused the fanatical hatred of the Astartes under his command and they fell upon Athanazius and the other Librarians. With the deaths of their Librarians, the reborn Angels Penitent felt they were no longer tied down by the sins of the Angels Resplendent's past.
- Architect Radiant Satori - A Librarian of the Angels Resplendent who died alongside Athanazius.
- Reclusiarch Relian - Relian was the reclusiarch who answered the call of Commander Dante to reinforce the Blood Angels in the face of Hive Fleet Leviathan's assault on Baal during the Devastation of Baal. While on Baal, the reclusiarch nearly struck Mephiston when he was unnaturally cured of the Black Rage, but relented and instead chose to wish that the Blood Angels' Chief Librarian be granted Sanguinius' mercy through an honourable death. Though the Leviathan was eventually defeated, it is not known if Relian survived the campaign on Baal.
- Chaplain Icharos Malvoisin - Icharos Malvoisin was the Chaplain who conversed with the stranger known as the "Undying Martyr" for nineteen solar days before proclaiming him a prophet of the God-Emperor. He also initiated the "Great Purge" of the Chapter and is the most fanatical of the Chapter in his belief in the new creed.
- Sergeant Montaig - Montaig was a sergeant of the Angels Resplendent. He secretly loathed his Chapter after it fell under the sway of the Undying Martyr and became the Angels Penitent, and hoped that their Chapter Master, the "Knight Resplendent" Varzival Czervantes, would return one day to restore the Angels Resplendent. Montaig found himself wishing for change, but always found an excuse to never take a stand against the new policies of the Council of Thorns himself. When the neophyte Phelion who Montaig had been mentoring was caught scrimshawing, now considered a crime since the creation of art was deemed sinful by the Undying Martyr, Montaig offered to help his mentee escape into the wilds of their homeworld. But Phelion had become a fanatical believer in the teachings of the Angels Penitent and indicated that not only would he accept his punishment and likely execution, he also expected Montaig to confess his sin of knowing that his neophyte was creating art and yet doing nothing about it. Facing little choice, Montaig proceeded to kill Phelion and then lied about the crime to the Council of Thorns which now governed the Chapter, claiming that he had prevented the neophyte from escaping. But Montaig promised himself that eventually, one day, he would take a stand against the Chapter's growing sickness.
Non-Astartes Personnel[]
- Undying Martyr - The Undying Martyr is an unknown mortal who came among the Angels Resplendent teaching a new and unforgiving interpretation of the Imperial Creed. The Martyr was massive in size for a normal Human, and had miraculously survived crossing the River Tristesse on their homeworld of Malpertuis where he had been discovered by the squad commanded by Sergeant Montaig. Despite his size, the Martyr was covered in scars and boils, and had suffered a severe and seemingly fatal chest wound, but wore an Aquila on a chain around his neck. When first discovered, the Martyr had asked, "Do I still dream?" Taken before Chaplain Icharos Malvoisin to decide his fate after Montaig decided to spare his life, the two talked for nineteen solar days during which time the Martyr declared that all hope of saving the Imperium had been lost and that Humanity's only option was to repent for its terrible sins and all its failures before the God-Emperor. He claimed that the Adeptus Astartes were among the worst of these sinners, for their failure during the Horus Heresy when so many turned to Chaos had been the event that started Humanity's cascade of sins for the next ten thousand standard years. Malvoisin was swayed by the Martyr's arguments and he declared the strange man to be a true prophet of the Emperor. This caused the Chapter to listen to his words and with their Chapter Master Varzival Czervantes away on campaign with the Veterans of the 1st Company, there was no one present who could stop the Angels Resplendent from falling under the Undying Martyr's sway. He became their spiritual leader and declared the Chapter to be too prideful and vain, riddled with sin. The Martyr demanded they destroy everything that tied them to their sinful past and the so-called "Great Purge" began, which wiped away much of the Chapter's former culture and beliefs. Transformed into religious fanatics gripped by self-loathing by the Martyr's oddly persuasive teachings, most of the Angels Resplendent did as he commanded, with only the Librarians refusing to follow his orders and the Chapter's new direction. This led the Librarius to become targets for the wrath of the Chapter's fanatics and Malvoisin led the attack that killed Chief Librarian Athanazius and the other Librarians.
Chapter Appearance[]
Chapter Colours[]
As the Angels Resplendent, the Chapter wore golden power armour trimmed in silver and red. The Chapter badge was said to be similar to that of the Blood Angels themselves.
The squad specialty symbol was on the right shoulder plate, with a Low Gothic numeral centred within it to indicate squad number.
The company number was determined by a Low Gothic numeral inscribed on the right knee plate.
Chapter Badge[]
The Angels Resplendent's Chapter badge was a hooded, angelic figure with its arms raised.
Sources[]
- Adeptus Astartes: Successor Chapters (Limited Release Booklet), pg. 12
- Chapter Approved 2001 - Second Book of the Astronomican, pg. 117
- Codex Adeptus Astartes - Space Marines (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), Limited Edition Booklet (Image)
- The Devastation of Baal (Novel) by Guy Haley, Ch. 6
- Requiem Infernal (Novel) by Peter Fehervari, Ch. 4
- Inferno! Vol. 2, No. 2, "The Thirteenth Psalm" by Peter Fehervari
- Angels of Death - The Crown of Thorns (Short Story) by Peter Fehervari
- The Reverie (Novel) by Peter Fehervari, Ch. 19