"They vilify us for our methods, yet nobody questions the results. We are the chosen Scions of Sanguinius, tempered weapon of the Emperor Himself. Our enemies quake with fear even before we strike first blood. They will soon know it is a fear well founded! Let them fear the Angels of Death, let them fear what is left of their short future; let them pray for death. Brothers, we will answer those prayers."
- — Force Commander Isiah of the Flesh Eaters during the Golance War, 987.M41
The Flesh Eaters are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter and successor of the Blood Angels, raised during an unknown Founding.
A savage and bellicose Chapter, despite their sobriquet of "Flesh Eaters" there is no evidence that the Chapter's Astartes actually practice cannibalism, though rumours about such incidents have flourished for millennia.
The Chapter has studiously ignored such slander.
Chapter History
Flesh Eaters Chapter colour scheme as displayed by a Firstborn Space Marine in Mark VI Corvus Power Armour.
Little is known about the origin of the Flesh Eaters beyond their descent from the Blood Angels, save for the fact that they were already active at the close of the 33rd Millennium, when they joined the Pentarchy of Blood that ended the War of the False Primarch by exterminating eleven rebellious Chapters and razing their homeworlds.
Flesh Eaters Chapter colour scheme and Chapter badge as displayed by a Primaris Space Marine.
The Flesh Eaters are currently believed to have been "fatally undone by their gene-seed," but what this actually refers to is unclear, as the Chapter is not extinct and was able to send forces to Baal in order to help their parent Chapter in defeating the onslaught of Hive Fleet Leviathan during the Devastation of Baal.
However, by that time, the Chapter's numbers had fallen dramatically.
The Flesh Eaters' lowest-known ebb was during the Golance War, where they lost at least 350 Astartes, including several officers, fighting against the Aeldari who had taken control of the planet's secret arsenal.
In the wake of the Devastation of Baal, the Chapter has received hundreds of Primaris Space Marine reinforcements, which provides a thread of hope for the Flesh Eaters' continued survival.
Notable Campaigns
- War of the False Primarch (860.M33) - During the War of the False Primarch, a dark and bloody episode in the Imperium's history now largely lost to myth and purged from the record, the Segmentum Pacificus was plunged into anarchy, and the "Pentarchy of Blood" was convened by the High Lords of Terra to enact their judgement. Five Chapters of Astartes (the Flesh Eaters, the Carcharodons, the Charnel Guard, the Death Eagles and the Red Talons) were unleashed to systematically destroy eleven Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes judged Traitoris Perdita and lay waste to their homeworlds, finally drawing the eight-solar-decade-long conflict to a close.
- Golance War (Unknown Date.M41) - The Flesh Eaters Force Commander Isiah was in charge of the campaign on the world of Golance to prosecute a war against encroaching Aeldari. Unable, after numerous attacks, to rid the planet of the troublesome xenos who had gained control of the world's secret arsenal, the Chapter was at its lowest ebb, having suffered the loss of 350 battle-brothers and officers at the hands of the manipulative and treacherous Aeldari. The Flesh Eaters finally received relief in the form of five Astartes of unparalleled skill from the Mentors Chapter to deal with the vile Aeldari scum and change the course of the war.
- Alvatine Suppression (Date Unknown) - Not much is known of this incident, save for the fact that the Flesh Eaters deployed a spearhead force of Rhinos painted in desert camouflage patterns.
- Devastation of Baal (ca. 999.M41) - The Flesh Eaters answered the call of the Blood Angels to defend Sanguinius' homeworld, Baal, from the depredations of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Their Chief Librarian, Scaraban, shared his knowledge about the Tyranids with the council before the attack. There is no data on how large a force the Flesh Eaters deployed, or the outcome of that force's fate during the conflict.
- Battle of Acrabellar (Unknown Date.M42) - An ongoing battle of the wider Angel's Halo campaign, the Flesh Eaters fought to save the Shrine World of Acrabellar from an invasion by the splinters of Hive Fleet Leviathan. The Blood Angels, Blood Scythes, Cruor Blades and Flesh Eaters were defending the Shrine World, with the spiritual well-being of several sub-sectors depending on its survival.
Chapter Beliefs
Like their fellow Successor Chapters, the Flesh Eaters appear to be strongly bound to their primogenitor Chapter, the Blood Angels; united by blood and tradition in a way difficult for outsiders to understand.
To attack any one of these Chapters is to invite the wrath of all, for whatever differences and rivalries might exist between them, they are all the Scions of Sanguinius, whose unquestioning loyalty to their Primarch's memory transcends all other duties and concerns.
Chapter Gene-Seed
The Flesh Eaters employ the gene-seed of Sanguinius, inherited directly from the Blood Angels Chapter or some other Successor Chapter.
This means they are subjected to the Flaw, and therefore suffer both the Red Thirst and the Black Rage.
In fact, the Flesh Eaters are said to have been fatally undone by their gene-seed, although what this means exactly in terms of the affect upon the Chapter's viability is unclear.
Notable Flesh Eaters
- Force Commander Isiah - Leader of the Flesh Eaters deployed during the Golance War against the Aeldari. It is likely he was the Flesh Eaters' Chapter Master, as he had the authority to strike a deal with the Mentors Chapter to garner their support in this conflict.
- Chief Librarian Scaraban - Scaraban was the Chief Librarian of the Flesh Eaters at the time of the Devastation of Baal and was among the forces sent by the Chapter to reinforce the Blood Angels. He was accused by Captain Seutona of the Angels of Light of having consorted with the Aeldari in order to further his quest for knowledge about the Tyranids, and admitted to having done so for the benefit of all. He put forth the theory that perhaps the Tyranids were a species seeking to further their own evolution and that the Hive Mind represented an intermediary stage in the Tyranids' eventual attainment of true, spiritual transcendence. It is unknown whether he survived Hive Fleet Leviathan's assault on Baal.
- Brother Ukadi - Took part in the Alvatine Suppression.
Chapter Appearance
"This symbol I wear upon my shoulder and I bear upon my banner. He who defiles it defiles me, and shall be damned for all eternity."
- —Brother Ukadi, prior to the conclusion of the Alvatine Suppression
Chapter Colours
The Flesh Eaters wear bright red power armour with a single white vertical stripe painted on the front of the helm.
It is unknown whether they use the same unique heraldry common to most Blood Angels Successor Chapters to display their company and squad designations.
Apothecaries of the Flesh Eaters have both of their shoulder pauldrons painted white, while the famous Jaws of Doom Assault Squad is known to decorate their helms with snarling maws and to use an alternative badge -- a monstrous white skull on a black circle.
Chapter Badge
The Flesh Eaters' Chapter badge is a stylised, white, monstrous jaw centred on a field of bright red. Sometimes the colours appear inverted, or the symbol resembles dripping shark jaws.
Sources
- Codex Supplement Blood Angels (9th Edition), pp. 18-19, 31
- Imperial Armour Volume Two - Second Edition: War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes, pg. 17
- Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader (1st Edition), pp. 156, 168
- Warhammer 40,000: Compendium (1st Edition), pg. 31
- Warhammer Siege (1st Edition), pg. 100
- White Dwarf 94 (UK), pg. 59 (Artwork)
- White Dwarf 98 (UK), "Index Astartes: the Mentor Legion", pg. 39
- White Dwarf 103 (UK), "Rampaging Rhinos", pg. 65
- Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), pg. 54
- Imperial Armour Volume Two, Second Edition - War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes, pg. 17
- Deathwatch: Rites of Battle (RPG), pg. 39
- The Devastation of Baal (Novel) by Guy Haley, pp. 176-179
Gallery
