The Angels Vermillion is a Second Founding Successor Chapter of Space Marines created from the gene-seed of the Blood Angels. Their Chapter planet is Coinal, which lies in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy. Alone of the Blood Angels' successors, the Angels Vermillion shun all contact with their brother Chapters, choosing to bear their lingering curse in solitude and isolation. Little is recorded of the Angels Vermillions' actions in the days since the Second Founding, but whenever the Chapter is mentioned, its battle record is nothing short of exemplary. Indeed, there are many among the Blood Angels Chapter Council who advocate efforts to establish closer ties to this elusive successor Chapter, yet for reasons known only to himself, Lord Commander Dante has always refused. It is impossible to say why the Angels Vermillion have chosen to endure their curse without the support of its brothers – perhaps they feel the shame must be borne alone, or perhaps they have a darker cause.
Chapter History
Angels Vermillion Chapter Colour Scheme
The Angels Vermillion are a Second Founding Successor of the Blood Angels Legion, created during the massive reorganisation of the Imperial military set in motion by Roboute Guilliman in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy. While most Blood Angels Successors maintain close ties with one another and with their sire Chapter, the Angels Vermillion appear to be an exception. An aloof Chapter, they shun all contact with their brother Chapters who are also descended from the Primarch Sanguinius, choosing to bear their lingering curse in solitude and isolation. Ironically, little is recorded in Imperial records of the Chapter's exploits since the Second Founding, but whenever they are mentioned, their battle record is nothing short of exemplary. While the Chapter has earned numerous battle honours prosecuting the Imperium’s wars, they have very rarely been observed fighting in the same war zone as the Blood Angels or another of their Successors. It is impossible to say why the Chapter has chosen to endure its curse without the support of its brother Chapters. One wonders about the cause of their self-imposed exile from their brethren, and whether it is simply a case of a shame that must be endured alone, or something far darker.
In addition to their apparent isolationist nature, the Angels Vermillion is a notoriously secretive Chapter, though it is hardly unusual for the Adeptus Astartes to shun the attentions of non-Space Marine institutions. It has been suggested that the reason for this secrecy lies in the genetic curse shared by all of the Sons of Sanguinius, though why the Angels Vermillion should extend this attitude to others of their kin is unknown. Perhaps in the Angels Vermillion the Flaw manifests itself differently, in some way the Chapter would wish to hide even from their own. What extremes of affliction might be worse than those affecting some of the other Blood Angels Successor Chapters may never be known, for the Angels Vermillion appear intent upon bearing their burden alone.
Notable Campaigns
- Persecution by the Order of the Argent Shroud (Date Unknown.M41) - Sometime prior to the Third War for Armageddon (in which the Chapter did not participate) the Angels Vermillion were subjected to attacks by the Adepta Sororitas' Order of the Argent Shroud for perceived heresy on their part under the leadership of Canoness Dissenta.
- The Hives of Hollonan (992.M41) - In 992.M41, the Angels Vermillion aided the Blood Angels during the battle for the Hives of Hollonan. The Chapter sent a strike force to that world in answer of the astropathic call for assistance that was made to their Chapter homeworld of Coinal by the Blood Angels' Chief Librarian Mephiston when a splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Kraken descended upon that Hive World. The Angels Vermillion fought alongside the Blood Angels and the Eldar of Craftworld Ulthwe under the command of the venerable Farseer Eldrad Ulthran, who had brought his people into the fight for enigmatic reasons of his own. The Tyranids were crushed between the attacks of the three descending armies and this splinter of the coming Hive Fleet Kraken was removed from existence before its parent Hive Fleet arrived in full. Eldrad Ulthran and his forces remained just long enough to see Mephiston recovered from the rubble, terribly wounded but miraculously still clinging to life. This second resurrection only served to increase Mephiston's legend within his Chapter—and beyond.
- Scions of Sanguinius Conclave (999.M41) - Teetering on the brink of oblivion following the events on the Shrine World of Sabien, the fate of the Blood Angels Chapter now required the magnanimity of their Successor Chapters. Lord Commander Dante summoned all of the Blood Angels' Successor Chapters for a conclave on Baal following the near-disastrous Chapter civil war that nearly tore the Blood Angels apart. Dante called for the support of the Blood Angels Successors to help aid the Chapter in the protection of their common Primarch's homeworld and his remains from the attack of both the Tyranids and the Forces of Chaos. While Dante lead the discussion at the conclave, the Apothecaria was working on a radical new procedure to replenish the ranks of the Blood Angels in one swift stroke: the lost art of replicae. 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 Lord Commander Dante ordered stopped, to clone Space Marines, thus eliminating the need to go through the arduous process of the maturation and implantation of the gene-seed in an Aspirant. However, Caecus disobeyed the order and secretly continued the experiments, prodded by an agent of the vile Chaos Space Marine Apothecary Fabius Bile. He was tricked into bringing Bile, who was disguised as a well-known Adeptus Mechanicus Magos Biologis, to Baal, mistakenly thinking the false "Magos" would help in cloning Space Marines to increase the Blood Angels' numbers. Through Bile's manipulations, Caecus was duped, and only managed to create monstrous, mutant clone-Astartes known as "Bloodfiends" who were consumed by the Red Thirst. These creatures were a shattered mirror reformed in the image of a Blood Angel, but lacked any of the qualities that could be thought of as human. The mutations that cursed the gene-seed of the Blood Angels had been enhanced by the machinations and Chaotic tech-heresy of Fabius Bile, and with each drop of blood they consumed, the thirst that dominated the Bloodfiends grew stronger. The mutants broke free from the confines of Caecus' laboratorium and began to run rampant through the sacred halls of the fortress-monastery of the Blood Angels. The Angels Vermillion, along with the Blood Angels and their fellow Successors successfully defended their most sacred of sites on Baal—the Golden Sarcophagus of Primarch Sanguinius within the sacred sepulchre where the Great Angel lay for all time, sleeping in light, forever preserved. The Sons of Sanguinius destroyed the horde of mutants and erased the stain of Chaos from their midst. They had paid for the continued sanctity of the Great Angel with their blood, and in the aftermath of this misery, Lord Commander Dante took responsibility for what had happened and he accepted it without complaint. Dante believed that it was his hubris that had brought the Chapter to this dark place. The Successor Chapters took this into consideration as well as Lord Commander Dante's original request for the Successors to grant the Blood Angels a small tithe of their Chapter's Initiates in order to replenish the ranks of the Chapter. The Successor Chapters unanimously agreed to hand over to the Blood Angels some of their own Neophytes to help their ancestral Chapter rebuild its strength in the wake of the Chaos assault—and in preparation for the oncoming assault by the Tyranids and the Forces of Chaos.
Chapter Organisation
The Angels Vermillion use the same organisation scheme as the Blood Angels. As such, they are considered a partially Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter, like their ancestral Chapter.
Deathwatch Service
The secretive nature of the Angels Vermillion can come to the fore when its Battle-Brothers are called to stand a vigil of the Long Watch, and others of the Blood Angels or their Successors are present in the same Watch Fortress or Kill-team. Such brethren are well represented in the ranks of the Jericho Reach's Deathwatch contingent, with several senior members of Watch Fortress Erioch’s command cadre being drawn from such parent Chapters. It is notable that very few Battle-Brothers of the Angels Vermillion have stood a vigil in the Jericho Reach, and when they have, they have taken every possible step to avoid contact with those of their brother Chapters. Whether or not such individuals serving on the same Kill-team would degrade combat effectiveness or cause internecine strife is unknown, as yet.
Chapter Relics
- Scipio's Regret - As with many other Blood Angels Successor Chapters, it is the practice of the Angels Vermillion to master many crafts and trades over the course of a Battle-Brother’s long life. The ornate and intricate ornamentation worked into the Chainsword now called Scipio’s Regret could not have been achieved without such a life span to perfect the craft. It might have been better for its wielder had he not made his work so well, for Scipio was mobbed by desperate underhivers after defeating the beasts that plagued them, with the ungrateful wretches seeking to steal his marvellous blade. A Deathwatch Kill-team on the world was diverted to avenge the noble warrior and recover his weapon.
Chapter Appearance
Chapter Colours
The Chapter wears dark red Power Armour with a yellow Aquila or Imperialis emblem upon the chest plate. The Angels Vermillion were originally depicted as wearing carmine-coloured armour with a yellow chest Aquila. In the book How to Paint Space Marines, however, the Chapter is depicted in the scheme used by the Angels Encarmine: vermillion-coloured armour with a yellow chest eagle, black shoulder plate trim and backpack. The Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition) restored their original armour colour scheme.
Chapter Badge
The Chapter's badge is a winged blood drop, with a small skull at the base of the drop, which is very similar to the badge of the Blood Angels.
Sources
- Codex: Adeptus Astartes Blood Angels (7th Edition), pp. 50-52
- Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), pp. 8, 17, 54, 80
- Codex: Blood Angels (3rd Edition)
- Codex: Angels of Death (2nd Edition), pg. 34
- Deathwatch: Core Rulebook (RPG), pg. 339
- Deathwatch: Honour the Chapter (RPG), pp. 104-105, 132
- How to Paint Space Marines, pg. 82
- Red Fury (Novel) by James Swallow
Gallery
