"Ours is the blood of Sanguinius and ours is the honour of the Angels."
- — Brother-Captain Vitaro of the Angels Sanguine
The Angels Sanguine is a Loyalist Chapter of Space Marines and a Second Founding Successor Chapter of the Blood Angels. Theirs is a long and glorious history, having been pivotal in many victories against the Chaotic horrors that have emerged from the Eye of Terror.
Yet the shadow of the Blood Angels' genetic flaw lingers ever about the Angels Sanguine. With a history of heroism and valour as laudable as the Angels Sanguine, it is easy to see why they are heralded far and wide across the Imperium as exemplars of the Blood Angels stock.
They have vanquished foes far and wide from Orks to Chaos Space Marines, and always upheld the honour of their Chapter, and founding Legion.
Yet, in spite of these deeds, rumours and unease surround them. The Angels Sanguine possess several strange habits and traditions that unsettle those around them, foremost among which is the fact that they shield their faces from those they fight alongside.
It is a strange thing that hiding one's face garners more attention than thwarting a Traitor army led by Typhus of the Death Guard, but such is their lot. Speculation also continues about why they have so many Librarians within their ranks, a Librarius that has grown to almost twice the size of that fielded by any other Blood Angels Successor.
And many in the Imperium also have concerns about what exactly goes on in the mysterious catacombs beneath the Angels Sanguine's fortress-monastery on their homeworld of Baalus Trine.
Chapter History
Angels Sanguine Chapter Colour Scheme as displayed by a Firstborn Space Marine.
The Angels Sanguine are another Chapter formed when the Blood Angels Legion was divided during the Second Founding, and like many of their peers, the Chapter's Battle-Brothers have served with honour and courage throughout the ten thousand years of the Age of the Imperium.
The Chapter is especially honoured for its heroic actions defending the regions surrounding the Eye of Terror against the Black Crusades of the servants of Chaos, and held in high esteem by most other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. Despite this proud heritage, there lingers an air of mystery about the Angels Sanguine that can only be a result of the tragic flaw of the Blood Angels.
The most outwardly distinctive feature of the Angels Sanguine is that none of the Chapter's Battle-Brothers ever remove their helmets, nor reveal their faces in the presence of one not of their own Chapter. Even amongst their own kin, whether of their own Chapter or others of the line of Sanguinius, they obscure their features beneath monkish hoods.
Angels Sanguine Chapter Colour Scheme as displayed by Primaris Marine Brother Artellios, 6th Company, 4th Squad (battleline).
Exactly why this should be the case has never been determined by any outsiders, and as a result, the Chapter's Battle-Brothers are regarded with a measure of dread by most they encounter. What might lie beneath the helmets and hoods none can say.
Perhaps they are afflicted by some physical mutation linked to the flaw, or maybe they simply choose to obscure their faces as some form of penance. Furthermore, a number of dark tales have emerged regarding the Chapter's fortress-monastery, most of which concern the dark catacombs said to lie far beneath it.
Their terrible secret, called the Red Thirst, is that Angels Sanguine Marines develop an overpowering physiological need to drink blood because of the mutation of their gene-seed, a not uncommon problem for the heirs of Sanguinius.
This shameful truth is known only to a few souls outside of the Chapter. Despite this flaw, they have a long and glorious history of service to the Imperium of Man.
In the Jericho Reach
The Angels Sanguine have been active in the Jericho Reach since at least 791.M41, when a detachment from the Chapter's 1st Company arrived unannounced through the Jericho-Maw Warp Gate and attached itself to a larger force of the Angels Vermillion, a fellow Blood Angels Successor Chapter.
The Angels Vermillion were engaged upon a mission deep into the Chaos-held systems surrounding the Hadex Anomaly, a mission launched at the behest the Master of the Vigil, Watch Commander Mordigael of the Blood Angels.
It appears that this combined force had as its target an individual Chaos warlord, and that the mission was a matter of Chapter business and had nothing to do with the Deathwatch's mission in the Jericho Reach. The mission was not debated in the Chamber of Vigilance of Watch Fortress Erioch, nor were any accounts of it shared with the Ordos of the Inquisition or with the high command of the Achilus Crusade.
Concerned by this turn of events, an ad hoc conclave of Inquisitors based in the Tower of Brass on Watch Fortress Erioch determined to discover something of what had occurred, and in so doing setting themselves against the Master of the Vigil, one of the most powerful individuals in the entire Jericho Reach war zone.
Though it cost them the lives of several of their most valued followers, the Inquisitors discovered one single, key piece of information regarding the mission. Its target was a warlord last seen three Terran centuries before in the vicinity of the Screaming Vortex Warp Storm that lies between the Calixis Sector and the Koronus Expanse.
The Renegade had not been seen since then, but his sudden reappearance in the Jericho Reach had clearly been of great import to the Watch Commander. The reason for this, and the involvement of the Angels Sanguine, was hinted at when the Inquisitors discovered the title the warlord was now operating under -- Lazoreth the Faceless.
The prying Inquisitors would never have the opportunity to disseminate their discovery, for over the course of the solar days and weeks following the Watch Commander's return to Watch Station Erioch, each one seems to have disappeared or met with some unfortunate end.
Of those Inquisitors whose bodies were found, one was discovered frozen solid in the airless ice-chambers of the Hunting Grounds, a section of the Watch Station given over to training in arduous environments. Another was discovered floating in the void, a chilling expression of stark terror etched onto his face.
The body of a third was found, exsanguinated, at the base of the Tower of Brass, sprawled in plain view as if in dire warning. Several of the Angels Sanguine then took the Apocryphon Oath, and stand the Long Watch of the Deathwatch to this day.
Notable Campaigns
- The War of Broken Wings (261.M33) - A unified armada of vessels drawn from the Night Lords Traitor Legion and its myriad allies assaulted the Angels Sanguine's battlefleet in high orbit above the world of Anzyra. The Angels Sanguine, fighting for their homeworld and the very survival of their Chapter, were pressed into a defensive battle to prevent mass bombardment of their fortress-monastery. To end the engagement, which records list as several days of protracted void war and boarding actions, the Angels Sanguine forced a final resolution by offering the perfect bait: they allowed their flagship, the Cruor Domina, to be crippled and boarded by hundreds of enemy Traitor Marines. While the Space Marines defended the Battle Barge to keep it from being taken as a prize by the raiding Night Lords, a full three hundred Death Company warriors were sent by boarding torpedoes to slaughter their way through the vulnerable crews of eight enemy capital ships, including the renowned Lies of Dawn and the Brotherhood of Darkness warship Sightless Godling. The Angels Sanguine have always suffered fiercely from the flaw, and such an assault represented a century's worth of prisoners within their monastery's Tower of the Lost being unleashed into battle one last time. Without Chaplains to lead them, the Death Companies were sacrificed in desperation, with no hope of recovery. It turned the tide. Suddenly, at risk of losing many of their own flagships, the Traitor warbands fought their way back to their own vessels, only to be cut down by the enraged defenders as they turned their backs and fled. Those Traitors that managed to return to their own ships were met with entire decks left as abattoirs by the rampaging Death Companies, and were forced to contend with the blood-maddened boarding parties even as they ordered their ships back from the primary assault.
- Task Force Iscon (721.M41) - Captain Iscon of the Angels Sanguine Chapter led a mixed strike force drawn from his own and several other Chapters against Aeldari Corsairs plaguing the Mining World of Volyn. At the height of the campaign, Iscon cornered and slew the Corsair Prince Nhilus the Ardent in an epic duel that has since become a legend of the Chapter.
- The Vandred Atrocity (864.M41) - Drukhari Archon Thysk led his Kabal of the Bloody Storm against Vandred, a Feudal World from which the Angels Sanguine Space Marine Chapter recruits new Aspirants. Sure enough, a strikeforce of Angels Sanguine made planetfall within days, yet they were playing into the Archon's hands. Thysk released a blood-plague acquired at great cost from the Haemonculi Coven of the Altered, a virus that taps directly into the tragic gene-curse of Sanguinius' sons. Aware of their madness but unable to stop, the Angels Sanguine butchered and devoured those they came to save before falling upon each other, while the Drukhari drank in the agony, terror and despair.
- 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 led 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 Sanguine, 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.
- 13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - The Angels Sanguine fielded 7 companies in support of the defence of the Cadian Gate from Abaddon the Despoiler and his Forces of Chaos during the 13th Black Crusade.
- Devastation of Baal (ca. 999.M41) - The Angels Sanguine were among the Blood Angels Successor Chapters who participated in the defence of the Blood Angels' homeworld of Baal from the assault by Hive Fleet Leviathan.
- Red Scar Campaign (Unknown Date.M42) - Hurled across the void by an empyric convulsion, a T'au colonisation fleet began claiming worlds within the Red Scar. Their efforts were brought to a sudden, violent halt by strike forces of Blood Angels, Flesh Tearers and the Angels Sanguine. The planets of D'sandri and Gendal's Reach were swiftly reclaimed for the Imperium, and the war spilled into the Sevensuns System.
Chapter Organisation
The Angels Sanguine use the same organisation scheme as their parent Chapter, the Blood Angels. As such, they are considered a partially Codex Astartes-compliant Chapter.
Notable Angels Sanguine
- Lord Sentikan - Lord Sentikan is the current Chapter Master of the Angels Sanguine.
- Captain Bolthus - Bolthus was a Captain of the Angels Sanguine who accompanied the forces sent by the Chapter to aid the Blood Angels during the Devastation of Baal.
- High Chaplain Servius - Servius was the first High Chaplain of the Angels Sanguine.
- Chaplain Nolasco - Chaplain Nolasco was known in his time for the fiery zeal of his sermons, many of which he committed to parchment so that even millennia later they are still to be heard from the pulpits of Watch Fortress Erioch. The bulk of Nolasco's sermons call upon the Battle-Brothers of the Deathwatch, and indeed the Adeptus Astartes at large, to draw strength from the example of the Primarch Sanguinius, who fell defending the greater cause embodied by the Emperor Himself. Thus, Chaplain Nolasco held that a noble death in battle was both inevitable for a Space Marine, and preferable, the final moments of a Battle-Brother's service exemplifying and summarising all he stood for in life.
- Librarian Ashok - Librarian Ashok is a member of the Angels Sanguine Chapter and is currently seconded to the Deathwatch. Before his Secondment, Ashok served in a campaign against the Tyranids on the planet of Hegelian IX. Deployed with his Chapter's Death Company into the subterranean catacombs in pursuit of the fleeing xenos, he and his fellow comrades succumbed to the terrible effects of the Black Rage. This resulted in the company taking out their savagery against one another -- Ashok's hand being forced to kill three of his own battle-brothers before he finally managed to control the effects of his gene-seed's flaw. For the next three years, Ashok was strapped to the Tablet of Lestralio, a device designed to restrain those afflicted by the effects of the Black Rage, deep within the bowels of his Chapter's fortress-monastery. After finally emerging from this nightmarish event, Ashok was presented with the Shroud of Lemartes, a symbolic cloak given to those Angels Sanguine as a symbol of their mastery over the Black Rage. Though Ashok had successfully managed to deal with the flaw's affects, he would have to remain eternally vigilant in combating the signs. Shortly after, he was seconded to the illustrious Deathwatch, the Chamber Militant of the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos. Ashok later deployed with a Deathwatch Kill-team under the command of Inquisitor Kalpysia in order to deal with a splinter Tyranid Hive Fleet on the world of Herodian IV. During this campaign, Ashok became the first recorded Librarian to have ever taken on three Tyranid Zoanthropes and live. It is said that Ashok is also unique in that he is one of the few Space Marines to dislike wearing his Power Armour, and senses that its Machine Spirit is not fond of him either.
Chapter Relics
The Mask of the Watcher
- Grail of Angels - The Grail of Angels is a holy relic of the Angels Sanguine Chapter, a Blood Chalice that is possessed by its Sanguinary High Priest. When the High Priest initiates Neophytes into the Chapter, they must drink his blood from the Grail of Angels and in doing so they partake in the essence of the Primarch Sanguinius himself.
- The Mask of the Watcher - The Mask of the Watcher is an Artificer Helmet forged in the shape of the golden death mask of the Angels Sanguine's beloved Primarch Sanguinius. Legends of their Primarch sometimes tell of his powers of prophecy and divination. This power is latent in all Blood Angels by virtue of the psychic imprint he left upon their gene-seed, usually manifesting as the visions that lead to the Black Rage. It can sometimes be harnessed for better ends, and the advanced psy-active circuitry embedded in the impassive golden face of the Watcher's Mask allows the Sons of Sanguinius to draw on extraordinary insight.
- The Shroud of Servius - The Shroud of Servius is a relic that is named in honour of Servius, the Chapter's first Sanguinary High Priest, and remains in the possession of each Astartes in turn to hold that rank. The Shroud holds such power that when it is worn by a Sanguinary High Priest, it grants him the psychological authority to stop even the rampages of the Chapter's Death Company.
- The Shroud of Lemartes - The Shroud of Lemartes is presented to members of the Angels Sanguine who have been afflicted with the Black Rage who somehow manage to regain mastery of their minds while strapped to the Tablet of Lestrallio. The shroud is a symbol of their newfound mastery of themselves.
- The Tablet of Lestrallio - The Tablet of Lestrallio is used to restrain Angels Sanguine who have entered the Black Rage. It is named after Chaplain Lestrallio of the Blood Angels, who designed and later died on the Tablet. Members who emerge from their time on the Tablet and have regained mastery of their psyches are presented with the Shroud of Lemartes as a symbol of their newfound inner strength.
Chapter Appearance
Chapter Colours
The Angels Sanguine's power armour is halved red and black with a yellow Imperialis symbol on the chest plate.
The white squad specialty symbol -- battleline, fire support, close support or Veteran -- is indicated on the right shoulder guard.
A black Low Gothic numeral centred in the middle of the squad specialty symbol indicates squad number.
The company number is indicated on the right knee guard in accordance with the heraldry used by the Blood Angels.
Chapter Badge
The Angels Sanguine's Chapter badge is a large white skull centred on a pair of red wings on a field of black.
Sources
- Codex Adeptus Astartes - Blood Angels (8th Edition), pp. 14, 18, 23
- Codex Adeptus Astartes - Blood Angels (7th Edition), pp. 53-54
- Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), pp. 54, 80
- Codex: Blood Angels (4th Edition), pg. 22
- Codex: Angels of Death (2nd Edition), pg. 34
- Codex: Dark Eldar (7th Edition), pg. 112
- Codex: Eye of Terror (3rd Edition), pp. 16, 20
- Codex: Space Marines (3rd Edition), pg. 47
- Deathwatch: Honour the Chapter (RPG), pp. 104, 129
- Deathwatch: The Emperor's Chosen (RPG), pg. 39
- How to Paint Space Marines, pg. 82
- Imperial Armour Volume Two - Space Marines and Forces of the Inquisition, pg. 47
- Imperial Armour Volume Two, Second Edition - War Machines of the Adeptus Astartes, pg. 20
- Index Astartes: Death Company (Ebook), pg. 15
- Red Fury (Novel) by James Swallow
- Warrior Brood (Novel) by C.S. Goto, Ch. 3, Ch. 9, pp. 45, 125
- Trial By Blood (Novel) by Andy Smillie
- The Blood of Angels (Short Story) by C.S. Goto
- The Devastation of Baal (Novel) by Guy Haley, Ch. 12
Gallery
