Crimson Paladins (Blood Angels)

Icon of the Order of the Crimson Paladins

The Crimson Paladins, also known as the Keruvim, or the "Storm Winds," for the sudden onset of their anger and the lasting fervour of their hate, was an Order of the First Sphere of the Blood Angels Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras.

They served as the guardians of the primarch's halls and sanctums. At Sanguinius' command, they also at times served in the field as an elite formation of the IX^th Legion.

Like all of the Orders of the First Sphere, the Crimson Paladins forsook their original names and ranks to assume a new identity that erased all sense of self to better focus on the duties assigned to them.

The Crimson Paladins no longer exist within the present-day Blood Angels Chapter or its successors.

History

An unusual example of the heraldry of the Keruvim, the Crimson Paladins, shown on a Mark III Iron Power Armour pauldron. Likely for ceremonial use rather than actual battle-plate.

The origins of the Crimson Paladins lay in the reunion of the IX^th Legion and its Primarch Sanguinius. The winged primarch was to bring a sense of order to the often fractious Legion, stamping a new structure onto it in the hopes of containing its genetic hunger. Though in essence this new order would seem to be in accord with the Principia Belicosa, the schema by which the other Space Marine Legions were organised, in actuality it also varied a great deal from the standard pattern.

It retained the basic structure of companies, initially forming the Legion into 200 companies of approximately 300 warriors each, although by the last years of the Great Crusade this would have increased to 300 companies each of 500 warriors. However, past this basic structure there were many discrepancies, each chosen by the Great Angel to serve a purpose in his plans.

These companies were grouped into "hosts" for campaigns requiring greater force of numbers than that possessed of a single company, though each host was a temporary creature broken and made as tactical need required. Sanguinius created three "spheres" to encompass his hosts, three chambers by which he would give order and purpose to the warriors of the Legion.

Each was separate and distinct from the Three Hundred Companies of the Legion and the strictures of the Principia Bellicosa, forming a distinct strata of organisation that allowed the warriors of the IX^th Legion to focus their hunger and rage towards a single end and to conquer it. Yet it was not merely a blunt tool, but an elegant and artful plan designed to promote the finer qualities of the Legion while providing an outlet for the more base. It was the Great Angel's masterwork, the fulfilment of an oath and the salvation of his children.

The First Sphere, the final demarcation of Sanguinius' new Legion, comprised the ranks of the "Immortals." These warriors stood within the presence of the primarch; they did not operate within one of the Three Hundred Companies but as the guards and servants of the Great Angel himself. Each, when inducted into the ranks of the First Sphere, gave up his common name to take on another and gave up his identity to do the work of the primarch without guilt or regret.

A squad of Crimson Paladins

They were Sanguinius' wrath, his stern resolve and his watchful eyes each given form and purpose. Upon these warriors he depended for the most dangerous of tasks, to fight upon those battlefields and to act upon those errands that would tarnish the soul and bring the hunger for flesh and blood suffered by all the Blood Angels roaring to the fore. By the armour of the new names and persona that the warriors of the First Sphere wore like their own, they put off the toll of their actions and emerged from their service untarnished, to take their places in the ranks once again.

The First Sphere was made up entirely of a series of warrior Orders, each of which operated independently of the Three Hundred Companies. The first and most famous of these were the Sanguinary Guard, the honour guard of the primarch himself, but there would be many others -- each assigned with a specific task and duty.

Also known within obscure dogma of the IX^th Legion as the Keruvim, or the "Storm Winds," the Crimson Paladins were one of the warrior Orders of the First Sphere. As with the other First Sphere Orders, they forsook name and rank to assume an identity and role that subsumed all sense of self and left them with only the singular duty assigned them.

Such a sacrifice, made in the name of the Great Angel and for the sake of their brothers, bolstered the resolve of these warriors to the point that no threat or dire fate could turn them from their purpose. It was commonly held within the Legion that no warrior who wore the armour of a Crimson Paladin had ever taken a step backwards while the IX^th Legion bore arms in righteous combat.

The Crimson Paladins of the Blood Angels stood as the guardians of the primarch's halls, a grim counterpart to the Golden Seraphs, the Sanguinary Guard. When these warriors took to the field, clad in the reliquary armour of their Order and cloaked in the names of the Immortals, they stood as a bulwark against the foe and a shield for the sons of Sanguinius.

They formed the unyielding anchor upon which the Crimson Host turned -- a single unshakeable bastion of blades and power shields. By their sacrifice and indomitable resolve were the Blood Angels freed to give vent to the noble fury of their Legion.

Notable Crimson Paladins

Leviathan Dreadnought Venerable-Exemplar Jophial

• Barbiel - Barbiel was the leader of the Crimson Paladins at the time of the Battle of Signus Prime. Barbiel defended the wreck of the Blood Angels flagship Red Tear on Signus Prime, his great hammer dripped with the ichor of slain Daemons.
• Hamonah - Venerable Hamonah once was the Lord of the Storm Winds and Principal of the Crimson Paladins. He participated in the Battle of Signus Prime in the chassis of the mighty Dreadnought Keruvim.
• Jophial - Jophial was a capable sculptor and continued to work marble even after he was interred in the sarcophagus of a Leviathan Dreadnought. Venerable-Exemplar Jophial was aboard the Red Tear, still engaged with enemy forces in the outer compartments, when that venerable warship slammed into the surface of Signus Prime. It is a testament to the formidable armour of his Dreadnought chassis that Jophial survived the impact of the crash landing, and a tribute to his valour that he was among the first of the survivors to dig himself free and secure the area around the wreck. After serving a vital role in recovery operations, the indomitable Ancient would go on to serve as a linchpin in the defence of the wreck.

Unit Composition

• 2 Crimson Paladins
• 1 Crimson Exemplar

Wargear

Crimson Paladin

• Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour
• Power Weapon (Any type)
• Coriolis Pattern Power Shield

Optional Wargear

• Equinox Power Blade (Sunset Blade)
• Iliastus Pattern Assault Cannon
• Heavy Flamer
• Plasma Blaster
• Power Fist

Crimson Exemplar

• Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour
• Power Weapon (Any type)
• Coriolis Pattern Power Shield
• Blade of Perdition (As replacement for Power Weapon and Coriolis Pattern Power Shield)
• Grenade Harness

Sources

• The Horus Heresy - Book Eight: Malevolence (Forge World Series) by Neil Wylie and Anuj Malhotra, pp. 60, 64-65, 123-124, 128-129, 207
• Better Angels (Short Story) by Ian St. Martin
• Forge World - Blood Angels Crimson Paladins