Astorath the Grim is the High Chaplain and Redeemer of the Lost, the Blood Angels Space Marine tasked with granting the Emperor's Peace to all those Space Marines who bear the gene-seed of the Primarch Sanguinius and have been overcome by the Black Rage. There is no station within the Blood Angels Chapter more greatly honoured or more deeply loathed: honoured for the burden the Redeemer of the Lost bears as he carries out his difficult but necessary duties; loathed because that duty is stained forever with the blood of his fellow Battle-Brothers.

HistoryEdit

Astorath has the sacred calling to seek out those amongst the Scions of Sanguinius whose souls have been claimed by the terrible genetic Flaw known as the Black Rage, and whose mental degeneration has become so severe that even an honourable death in battle is no longer possible. His quarry found, Astorath ends his lost Battle-Brother's life with a single mighty blow to the neck, severing his head to thwart the fiendish endurance granted by the Black Rage. This is without doubt an act of mercy, a gift to the accursed. Nonetheless, no Battle-Brother can ever feel entirely comfortable in Astorath's presence, for they know that the bite of his forbidding axe might one day be the last thing that they feel.

Whilst officially bound to the Blood Angels, Astorath's duties carry him far and wide amongst the Chapter's successors. It was long ago considered that these terrible duties were best borne by a single Astartes of Sanguinius' line, and, thus far at least, a single brother has been equal to the task at hand. So does Astorath tread the stars, seeking those who require his blessing of oblivion.

To an observer, it might seem that Astorath's presence fans the destructive fires of the Black Rage. Certainly it is more prevalent wherever he treads, and even those Blood Angels who remain sane are unmistakably wilder in the Redeemer's presence. However, the truth is entirely the opposite.

Astorath can sense the Black Rage's degenerative onset before it becomes apparent to any other soul -- including its victim. Individual afflictions echo through his mind in the form of doom-laden chords, and grow ever stronger as other Battle-Brothers fall into the Black Rage's clutches. No separation of distance can serve to mute this dolorous symphony.Whether the victims are fighting on Armageddon or in Ultramar, Astorath can sense their plight -- and he must go to them as his duty requires.

So it is that the Redeemer of the Lost has become a true Angel of Death, a legend of destruction amongst the Blood Angels, their Successor Chapters and their foes alike. Wherever Astorath the Grim treads, the enemy face not only his fury, but the onslaught of Space Marines caught in the twilight shadows of the Black Rage. Astorath's sorrow for his doomed Battle-Brothers serves only to fuel a determination that they shall pass into death having known one last great victory. In this cause he fights like a man possessed, resolute that his twin gifts of death and redemption shall not be denied.

WargearEdit

Astorath is clad in crimson-coloured Artificer Power Armour that has the appearance of exposed, striated muscles and is equipped with an ebony-winged Jump Pack. As a Chaplain he is also equipped with a Chaplain's Rosarius as well as Frag and Krak Grenades. As Redeemer of the Lost, Astorath is armed with the Executioner's Axe, a mighty two-handed Power Axe so keen it can slice through power fields.

SourcesEdit

• Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), pp. 44-45, 72, 82

GalleryEdit

An artist's rendering of Astorath the Grim

Astorath fighting against the servants of Nurgle

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