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"Remember proud Sanguinius, young Acolytes, when you are faced with hardship. When the armour of your faith is buckled and torn, see in your mind that magnificent hero. Think upon his deeds and be humble, for his like will never walk the galaxy again."

—Excerpt of Chaplain Lemartes' Sermon to the Adeptus on the Cult of Sanguinius
Chaplain Lemartes

Chaplain Lemartes, Guardian of the Lost

Lemartes is a Death Company Chaplain and the warden of the Blood Angels Chapter's infamous Death Company. Under his guidance, the Death Company has reached a new level of potency and lethality. Though Lemartes himself is afflicted by the accursed Black Rage, his formidable willpower has allowed him to remain in control of his actions, leaving him free to lead the Death Company in glorious charges that eclipse all the deeds of legend.

History

During the preparation to liberate the world of Hadriath XI, Chaplain Lemartes fell to the effects of the dreaded Black Rage. Unlike his fellow afflicted warriors of the Death Company, Lemartes survived the initial assault, and seemingly unstoppable, carved a bloody swathe through the Ork defenders. When the battle was finally won, only then did Lemartes finally collapse from his numerous wounds. The mortally-wounded Lemartes was brought to the field Apothecarium to await the arrival of Astorath the Grim, the Blood Angels' Redeemer of the Lost, to be granted the gift of final redemption by the blade of his Executioner's Axe.

Yet, when Astorath arrived to deliver Lemartes into death's embrace, he demanded to live, to continue to smite the Emperor's enemies as long as he still drew breath. Such a thing had never occurred. Though Lemartes' eyes were bloodshot and his muscles taught with fury, his words were clear and cogent. Most members of the Death Company that survived a battle were usually so deranged that Astorath had to best them in combat before being able to take their lives. Never before had one challenged him in so lucid a fashion. Quashing all dissent, Astorath ordered the Chaplain placed in stasis and returned to Baal until the Chapter's Librarians and Sanguinary Priests could make full examination of him.

LemartesArt

Chaplain Lemartes of the Blood Angels leads his brothers to war.

This investigation took several solar months, time in which Lemartes was largely kept in the chill embrace of stasis to ensure the safety of those around him, but the results seemed to reinforce Astorath's hopes. Lemartes was unquestionably in the grip of the Black Rage, for all the physical signs were there. Yet his mind was not riven with insanity -- through an act of incredible willpower, the Chaplain appeared able to hold his madness in check. Several Sanguinary Priests argued that this was but a temporary respite, and that Lemartes would succumb to the uttermost depths of madness once removed from stasis, but Astorath was not so sure. Refusing to slay Lemartes, as some of the Sanguinary Priests wished, he awoke the Chaplain from his enforced slumber and offered him a way in which he could continue to serve.

So did Lemartes become the Guardian of the Lost, and wielder of the ancient Blood Crozius. He has repaid Astorath's faith a thousand times over, for the Death Company have never been so potent a force as they are under his guidance, their modern glories eclipsing deeds of legend. He leads his charges to ever greater renown, ensuring that the dread sacrifice of the Blood Angels Death Company is never in vain. At battle's end, Lemartes is placed in stasis once more, to slumber through the solar weeks and months until his bloody talents are required again. For Lemartes, there is no longer any calm before the storm. His life is one of constant battle, for he is awoken when needed and preserved when he is not.

Surely the Chaplain is living on borrowed time, for even his formidable willpower cannot keep the Black Rage at bay indefinitely. Yet, for the moment at least, Lemartes' iron will continues to hold firm. For a Chapter slipping into darkness, Lemartes stands out as a symbol of hope, for if Lemartes can continue to reason and continue to serve his Chapter within the dark insanity of the Black Rage swelling within him, perhaps others can do so as well.

Wargear

  • Artificer Armour
  • Jump Pack
  • Skull Helm
  • The Blood Crozius - This ancient, master-crafted Crozius Arcanum was wielded by the first High Chaplain of the Blood Angels. Once it was handed down from Reclusiarch to Reclusiarch, yet after the Warp-wrought death of High Chaplain Raniel the weapon was declared cursed. Now it finds battle clutched in the furious grip of Chaplain Lemartes, its tainted power no concern to a warrior who knows he is already doomed.
  • Bolt Pistol
  • Rosarius - A Rosarius is both an ornate badge of office and a potent force-field generator that shields its bearer from harm
  • Frag Grenades
  • Krak Grenades

Sources

  • Codex Adeptus Astartes - Blood Angels (8th Edition), pp. 36, 83
  • Codex Adeptus Astartes - Blood Angels (7th Edition) (Digital Edition), "Lemartes, Guardian of the Lost"
  • Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition), pg. 43
  • Codex: Blood Angels (4th Edition), pg. 8
  • Codex: Blood Angels (3rd Edition), pg. 19
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