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Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:44:15Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* The Battle */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum ~25,000. Some companies reduced to 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists - presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High - Number unknown. Higher number & percentage than the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]], to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, even for a primarch, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the loyalist [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces. However, this was a surrender brought about entirely by the machinations and sabotage of a single ambitious individual (Cawl's boss), following the death of her superior. The loyalists had actually been putting up a stiff fight, but were unwillingly prevented from continuing due to the interference of that individual. This left a substantial reserve of very well-equipped, capable warriors who Cawl would eventually be able to free and unleash against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:27:50Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum ~25,000. Some companies reduced to 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists - presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High - Number unknown. Higher number & percentage than the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]], to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, even for a primarch, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:26:14Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum ~25,000. Some companies reduced to 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists - presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High - Number unknown. Higher number & percentage than the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]], to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:21:10Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum ~25,000. Some companies reduced to 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists - presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High - Number unknown. Higher number & percentage than the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:14:55Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum ~25,000. Some companies reduced to 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists - presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High - Number unknown. Higher number & percentage than the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:13:28Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum ~25,000. Some companies reduced to 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists - presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown - higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:12:04Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum ~25,000. Some companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists - presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown - higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:10:37Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Max estimates around 25,000 casualties. Some companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists - presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown - higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:10:03Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum estimates around 25,000 casualties. Some companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists - presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown - higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:08:38Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum estimates around 25,000 casualties. Some companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown - higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Siege]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:08:05Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum estimates around 25,000 casualties. Some companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown - higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Terra]] in time. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:07:00Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum estimates around 25,000 casualties. Some companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown - higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Terra]] soon enough to make a difference. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:06:05Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum estimates around 25,000 casualties. Some companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown - higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Terra]] soon enough to make a difference. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T11:05:13Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum estimates around 25,000 casualties. Some companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown - higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Space Wolves retreat to Yarant and prevented from returning to participate in the [[Siege of Terra|Terra]] soon enough to make a difference. Effectively ended the VIth as a "Legion". Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T10:59:26Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum estimates around 25,000 casualties. Some companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown - higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant and were subsequently prevented from returning to Terra soon enough to make a difference on the [[Siege of Terra|battle]]. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-20T10:58:09Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High - Maximum estimates around 25,000 casualties. Some companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, but a sizeable amount survived past the end of the war
|casualties2= Extremely High. Number unknown, but higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant and were subsequently prevented from returning to Terra soon enough to make a difference on the [[Siege of Terra|battle]]. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' was the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Signus Campaign

2022-03-17T12:29:27Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* The Battle of Signus Prime */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Signus Cluster Campaign
|image=
|attacker= [[Blood Angels]]
|defender= Chaos
|commander1= [[Primarch]] [[Sanguinius]]
|commander2= Kyriss the Perverse, [[Ka'bandha|Ka'Bandha]], Bloodthirster of [[Khorne]]
|date=005-006.M31
|scale=Intrasolar, planetary
|theatre=The Signus Cluster
|strength1= ~120,000 Blood Angels, Imperial fleet, Space Wolves contingent, Custodes detachment, Mechanicum allies
|strength2= Uncounted daemons and human cultists
|casualties1= Between Mild to Moderate losses among Blood Angels Legionnaires but awoke their dormant Red Thirst. Severe losses among mortal auxiliaries and support elements. All Space Wolves KIA.
|casualties2= All daemons slain or banished to the Warp. All mortal combatants killed. Erebus' face.
|status= Blood Angels victory
|outcome= The Blood Angels win, though at cost. The Red Thirst becomes active in all Blood Angels. The forces of Chaos were denied their stronghold, the whole of the Signus Cluster is scoured, declared ''mortis perdita'', and left to rot for eternity. The Blood Angels seal all records away to be eternally guarded by Crimson Paladins.
}}

The Signus Cluster campaign was the IX Legion's first taste of the galaxy-spanning clusterfuck formally known as the [[Horus Heresy]]. Hilariously, it is also a prime example of Chaos getting in its own way, as nobody on Team Horus could agree on whether they were trying to corrupt Sanguinius or just kill him, and wound up doing neither.

==The Background==

With his big rebellion against the Emperor getting underway, [[Horus]] wanted to take Sanguinius off the board permanently, knowing that he was both one of the Imperium's greatest assets and a potential rival should he be corrupted by the Ruinous Powers. Unfortunately, no one else on Team Horus could agree on a course of action. The Warmaster wanted his brother dead, but [[Erebus]] and the Chaos gods wanted to bag another primarch for their side. The only thing any of them could agree on was that they wanted the Blood Angels to give in to their innate bloodthirst and fall to Chaos. To this end, Horus decided to lure the Blood Angels to the Signus Cluster, a recently settled system out on the ass-end of the [[Imperium]], with a calculated lie. Years earlier, while the two primarchs were on campaign together against some xenos, Horus had accidentally witnessed Sanguinius mercy-killing one of his sons who had fallen victim to the [[Red Thirst]]. After getting over his initial bout of "WTF did I just see?", Horus had promised to help his brother find a cure.

Remembering all this, Horus sent some [[Word Bearers]] and an astropath to tell Sanguinius that the same dickwad xenos they'd fought together previously had invaded the Cluster. He also mentioned that said dickwads might have some technology that could help with the Blood Angels' little "problem". Sanguinius promptly rounded up the entire IX Legion and took off for Signus, though not before a Space Wolves pack turned up and attached themselves to the fleet because of [[Burning of Prospero|certain events]] that had recently occurred. Unbeknownst to them, Chaos was turning Signus into an immense booby trap for the IX Legion. Led by a Davinite priest, the Warmaster's troops began summoning daemons and transforming the entire cluster into a screaming hellhole with all kinds of horrors lying in wait for the unsuspecting Blood Angels.

==The Opening Stages==

When the Blood Angels’ fleet arrived in Signus, a bizarre veil descended over the Cluster, cutting them off from outside contact. Puzzled, they set off to find out what the hell was going on. Every world they scanned had been scoured of life. Dozens of ships drifted in the vacuum, unresponsive to hails. When the Blood Angels boarded these hulks, they discovered that the crews and passengers had all been reduced to boneless sacks of skin. The first planet they investigated exploded into Chaos runes when they got too close. The second planet turned out to be overrun with giant trash golems that nearly wiped out the squad sent to investigate it, and then started flinging chunks of itself at the legion’s fleet. Sanguinius, who was becoming increasingly irritated by all this unmanly warp fuckery, had his fleet drop an [[Exterminatus]] on that world. They stopped at the next planet, an agri-world called Scoltrum, long enough to look for survivors. They found that the planet was overrun with daemons (which they thought were some kind of aberrant xenos) but were able to recover a few survivors including a lady named Tillyan Niobe, who was a [[blank]], unknown to her. While all this was going on, the Word Bearers had sacrificed their astropath to summon Ka’Bandha the Bloodthirster, whom Horus tasked with killing Sanguinius.

Meanwhile, the non-Astartes in the fleet were going increasingly nutty thanks to all the Chaos bullshit going on around them, and the legion's ex-Librarians were suffering from really intense psychic visions of a screaming angel drenched in blood. When they got close enough to Signus Prime, things went to hell in very short order. Something unleashed a psychic shriek that staggered even the Space Marines and caused every mortal in the fleet to completely lose whatever was left of their shit and start killing themselves and everyone else. A [[Keeper of Secrets]] named Kyriss the Perverse used the frames of some broken servitors to manifest on the bridge of ''Red Tear'', Sanguinius' flagship, and start mocking him, and then a horde of Chaos-corrupted ships popped out of a nearby asteroid belt and began engaging the Blood Angels. This ended with the fleet admiral snapping, murdering her entire bridge crew, and setting the flagship to crash into Signus Prime. All the rest of the Blood Angels on board wanted to GTFO, but Sanguinius ordered them to hold fast and rode his ship down like a boss until it plowed into the corrupted soil of Signus.

==The Battle of Signus Prime==

After their abrupt landing on Signus Prime, the Blood Angels started securing their position on the planet. In short order, they found out where all the hundreds of thousands of missing bones had gone: the daemons had used them to build a gigantic palace known as the Cathedral of the Mark. Sanguinius ordered his sons to tool up and prepare for some ass-kicking. As the legion stormed the Cathedral, they were met with wave after wave of human cultists and lesser daemons led by the Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha, who taunted Sanguinius by telling him that Horus had betrayed him and that he planned to turn him and his entire legion to the service of the Blood God. Sanguinius responded by kicking Ka'Bandha's ass up and down the battlefield until the Greater Daemon got in a lucky shot with his whip that crushed the primarch’s legs. Ka’Bandha then unleashed a psychic mindfucking weapon called the Ragefire that instantly killed five hundred Blood Angels. The psychic backlash sent Sanguinius into a coma and triggered the onset of the Red Thirst in every single Blood Angel. This was precisely the wrong move to make and it resulted in a massive case of [[not as planned]] for Team Chaos, who realized to their horror that they'd bitten off far more than they could chew; a horror that only increased as the Blood Angels became so colossally, jaw-droppingly, batshit [[Rage|ANGRY]] that they proceeded to [[rip and tear]] through literally everything in their way, and even some things not in their way at all, but instead off to the side, as was the case with the poor Space Wolf tagalongs who had the misfortune to run afoul of the future first [[Nassir Amit|chapter master]] of the [[Flesh Tearers]] and his 5th Company. An interesting aside to note here is that though they clearly seem to have lost their capacity (or perhaps just their patience) for higher levels of thought while fully immersed in the Red Thirst, the Blood Angels did not devolve into a dumb, aimless, fuckangry moshpit such as happens to the [[World Eaters]] once the latter is lost to the Butcher's Nails, and perhaps as had been expected by Team Chaos.

[[First Captain]] [[Raldoron]] and [[Apothecary]] [[Meros]] gathered a small team of Blood Angels who'd maintained control of their faculties, grabbed Niobe the blank, and attacked the Cathedral while making use her anti-psyker aura to shield themselves from the Ragefire's effects and even ward off some of the lesser warp entities once the party's cover was blone. Meanwhile several of the legion's former Librarians chucked the Edict of Nikaea out the window and used their psychic abilities to snap their primarch out of his coma. Sanguinius immediately grabbed his sword, took off for the Cathedral, and kicked in the windows just as the Blood Angels assault team arrived. He proceeded to break open a massive can of whoop-ass on Ka'Bandha and Kyriss. Pinning the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh to a wall with his sword, he beat the shit out of Ka’Bandha UNARMED, noosed him with his own whip, then tore off the Bloodthirster's wings and tossed him into a warp portal, though not before dropping one of the most kickass one-liners in all of Warhammer canon. Before he could finish the job, Kyriss offered him a deal: if Sanguinius were to take the Ragefire into himself and become a servant of Chaos, then the Blood Angels would be cured of the Red Thirst for good. A dubious assurance from a wholly untrustworthy source at the best of times, Sanguinius was nevertheless all set to do it, but Meros refused to let his gene-father make such a sacrifice. Instead, he jumped into the Ragefire after extracting his own gene-seed, becoming a daemonhost known as the Red Angel. Kyriss promptly had a bitchfit about how this was all Not As Planned, whereupon an annoyed Sanguinius shut him/her/it/that up with a quick head-chop.

==Outcome==

The IX Legion had won the Signus campaign, but it wasn't a clean victory. Hundreds of Blood Angels had been killed in the battle, the legion’s fleet had lost a lot of its mortal crews and several of its best ships were heavily damaged, and what's more, the 5th Company had to live with the shame of knowing that they'd murdered some of their fellow loyal brother legionaries in their Thirst-induced rage. Sanguinius was so disgusted by the whole thing that he had his Astartes clean up every last trace of their presence in the system down to the bolter shells, then parked some warning beacons around the Cluster and ordered his fleet to set course for Terra to answer the summons of [[Rogal Dorn]]. They wound up getting lost in a huge warp storm, bigger than anything they had ever seen before. Eventually, their Navigators spied some kind of light in the Warp and made a beeline for it, and thus they stumbled upon [[Imperium Secundus]]...

The loss at Signus was the first major setback of the Heresy for the Traitors. Sanguinius and the IX Legion had been hurt, but they remained uncorrupted and would continue to fight for the Imperium. Horus was pissed, Erebus was pissed, the Chaos gods were pissed, and Ka’Bandha was supremely butthurt about the whole thing; a butthurt that would last forever more. Erebus made the mistake of going to Horus’ flagship and throwing a tantrum at the Warmaster about how he'd fucked up the Chaos gods' plan. Horus reacted about as calmly as a Chaos-corrupted primarch could be expected to: he skinned the douchebag's big, stupid face off with a fuckmothering ATHAME and reminded Erebus that ''he'' was in charge of the Heresy, not some bitch-ass warp gribblies.

{{40k-Timeline}}

[[Category: Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-17T12:17:28Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* The Battle */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When the loyalist Mechanicum forces came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-17T12:13:02Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]], [[Jaghatai Khan]], and [[Vulkan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action (though the latter had arrived in secret, had remained in the basement ever since, and so wasn't invited to attend). [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When they came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-17T11:45:04Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll on manpower and material. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes, the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When they came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-17T11:42:02Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]], always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than was ideal, with no time to take on new recruits or receive repairs. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When they came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-17T11:34:34Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]] always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech. Upon arriving to Fenris, through the combined efforts of Russ and his best Rune Priests, Russ would enter the world spirit of Fenris to gain the knowledge he sought, and while this was hardly a risk-free endeavor, it effectively meant that Russ was able to enter into a plane of the warp directly, without exposing himself to chaos. Russ was ultimately successful, and when he re-emerged back into the materium, he had determined that he would have to take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he did too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When they came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-17T11:13:54Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch, [[Leman Russ]] always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech, determining that he should take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he brought it too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When they came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-17T11:10:11Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics and appearances notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech, determining that he should take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he brought it too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When they came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-17T11:09:37Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious battles. Loud space viking antics notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech, determining that he should take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he brought it too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When they came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Dark Angels

2022-03-16T12:13:47Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* The Dark Angels Fleet */

{{Awesome}}

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Dark Angels
|Heraldry = [[File:Darkangelslogo.png|center|140px]]
|Battle Cry = Usually they fight silently, but situationally: "Repent! For tomorrow you die!" or "For the Lion!" or "A moment of Laxity spawns a lifetime of Heresy!"
|Number = I
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = Angels of Death, the Six Hosts
|Successor Chapters = Hell of a lot; according to the [[Deathwatch]], Dark Angel successors make up about 15% of all Marines {{Blam|+++completely autonomous+++}} Chapters, most notably the [[Blades of Vengeance]], [[Angels of Defiance]], [[Disciples of Caliban]], [[Consecrators]], [[Angels of Absolution]], [[Angels of Redemption]], [[Angels of Vengeance]],[[Guardians of the Covenant]], [[Bringers of Judgement]], [[Cowled Wardens]], [[Knights of Abhorrence]], [[Prime Absolvers]], [[Penintent Blades]] and [[The Unnamed]].
|Chapter Master = [[Azrael]].
|Primarch = [[Lion El'Jonson]].
|Homeworld = [[The Rock]], originally [[Caliban]].
|Specialty = [[Plasma]], [[Deathwing|terminators]], [[Ravenwing|bikes]], [[Fallen Angels|{{Blam|+++hunting down the filthy traitors to the Imperium!+++}}]][[derp|babysitting the Space Wolves during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy]]
|Strength = 1,000 (officially, {{Blam|+++much more counting chapter serfs, officers, pilots and the 10th company like all other chapters+++}}|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man|:{{Blam|+++"Loyalty is its own reward" - The Lion+++}}]]
|Colours = Green, black, bone white
}}
{{Topquote|The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one.|Margaret Atwood}}

{{Topquote|Tumbling waterfalls plunge from its top in a cascade to foam in a wide pool of churning water. Vibrant greenery stretch in all directions and Zahariel felt peace pierce through him unaware of how empty his soul had become until it was filled.|''Descent of the Angels'', setting a Graalic theme unto The Order.}}

{{Topquote|♫ Do you wanna hunt the fallen? ♫|Azrael's Ringtone}}

{{Blam|+++Welcome to the Dark Angels Page! Your entrance is being monitored by [[Chaplain|Interrogator-Chaplain]] [[Zacharias]]. Any questions you have will be answered to the best of our ability, no matter if you are [[Imperial Guard|a lowly servant of the Emperor]], an Inquisitor, Primaris Space Marine brother, or Dark Angel initiate.+++}}
{{Blam|+++'''THIS ARTICLE IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE AND IS REWRITTEN FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION. ALL MESSAGES WRITTEN IN RED ARE THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH ABOUT OUR HISTORY.+++}}
{{Blam|+++Any attempt to follow links without the approved authorization may end in your unfortunate demise.+++}}

== The Unforgiven ==

::''‘Listen well, initiates, for I bring light to the darkness. It is''
::''the weak-minded that crave comforts – the Dark Angels need''
::''them not. Wealth? The sons of the Lion covet no baubles, for''
::''they are meaningless to us. Sensual gratification? We know''
::''well its transitory nature. Pride? We are no whelps of Russ.''
::''By our actions alone shall we be known.’
::''- Brother-Chaplain Valeforr

Their [[Primarch]] is [[Lion El'Jonson]] a.k.a The Lion. As a result, the Dark Angels are totally {{Blam|+++awesome and without a fault +++}}. Their Primarch happened to be named after a [[Wikipedia:Lionel_Johnson|homosexual poet]] who wrote a poem called "The Dark Angel" and might've dated [[Fulgrim| Oscar Wilde]]. Oh, and their homeworld is called [[The Rock]], [[Grimdark|{{Blam|+++a refuge for peace and meditation where nothing sinister ever happens +++}}]] (it's actually a mobile space station that can take out most of Battlefleet Solar on its own). They were the posterboys for both [[6th edition|6E]] and [[Citadel Miniatures|Citadel's]] "new" line of paints. Fuck yeah, we guess? Russian fa/tg/uys believe that Dark Angels are Jews because the name "Lion" and surnames ending with "-son" are popular with Jewish Russians. Interestingly, they also employ retainers known as the [[Watchers in the Dark]]. These {{Blam|+++adorable sword hugging beings are chapter serfs. They are so small because they need to be that small for cleaning the corners in the Rock+++}}

When dealing with the Dark Angels it is important to bear in mind that they are the very embodiment of the phrase [[Vindicare|“the end justifies the means”]] and they will go to any lengths and do anything that they need to in order to {{Blam|+++protect the Imperium from the perils of the universe.+++}}

The new Codex heavily implies that they may be at Legion strength {{Blam|+++as we have now more reinforcements from the Ultima Founding, which leads to more successor chapters. Thanks to Lord Commander Guilliman, another unfaltering loyalist like ourselves.+++}}The lack of clarification on this matter and the suspiciously close cooperation between the Dark Angels and their successor chapters hasn't gone unnoticed by the [[Inquisition]], although their attempts at exposing the Dark Angels' secrets [[Abaddon|haven't met with much success]] thus far. However, one reason they and their successors work together so well is likely due to the fact that the pre-heresy Dark Angels Legion was already assembled out of chapters. After the Heresy, they merely needed to give the chapters names instead of numbers and have the chapters adopt different heraldry and colors; as such, the Dark Angels and their successor chapters might still be (functionally and unofficially) a (more-or-less) cohesive Legion.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByQ7L5aRu1A Their theme] by [[HMKids]],which SHOWS THEIR ABSOLUTE LOYALTY. [[FATAL|{{Blam|+++If you have any doubts regarding the Dark Angels' ABSOLUTE LOYALTY, then you should follow this servo skull down this totally not in any way dark and ominous corridor towards room 42 where Brother Asmodai will be waiting to answer any questions you might have.+++}}]]
They have apparently also become the love-chapter of some of GW's writers, since they now have the best motorcycle squads around (yes, apparently even better than the [[White Scars]]) and the "last" jetbike in the Imperium (they might have a ton of them or be making new ones!). {{Blam|+++The honourable Custodes have jetbikes as well. We would never commit a tech-heresy such as hoarding precious tech-knowledge+++}}.

[[File:Penance by majesticchicken.jpg|thumb|left|400px|The Dark Angels, the flagbearers of grimdark gothic design.]]
=== Gene-Seed ===

Much like the Ultrasmurfs, the Dark Angels have some of the most stable gene-seed of all the progenitor chapters, with no significant mutations documented. Due to this and the fact that they were the first Legion produced by the Emperor, they remain one of the most favorable ones to use for founding successor chapters. Although, the High Lords are supposedly iffy about using the DA's gene seed due to the rumors that all Dark Angel successors stay in one command structure with the Dark Angels still calling the shots, effectively all of their descendant chapters still act as part of a legion. Nevertheless, because there's no official proof of this, the Inquisition cannot call an Exterminatus on the Rock. [[Deathwing|{{Blam| +++Should you have such evidence, please report yourself with the material in hand so we can fix this issue.+++}}]]

One of the Lion’s greatest legacies to his sons is his [[Perturabo|strategic]] [[Roboute Guilliman|genius]] – a quality passed on to his sons through the Chapter’s gene-seed. This trait manifests exponentially as a Dark Angel ascends toward the rank of Company Master. Such officers can plan a campaign to the last detail, execute faultless assaults, and assemble impenetrable defenses instinctively. Central to this ability is the deployment of the correct mix of squads, vehicles and support elements. To this end, the Dark Angels form strike forces – self-contained armies assembled to prosecute a specific campaign or defeat a particular foe.

According to the {{Blam|+++words of brother [[Ezekiel]]+++}}, Librarians from the Unforgiven can pick up the unique psychic signatures of those who bear traces of their shared Primarch. Even the most spliced or tainted gene-seed of Lion El’Jonson emits a distinct signal powerful enough to be detected. Basically all you need to do is put a Dark Angels Librarian near a {{Blam|+++fellow Dark Angel playing a millennia-long game of hide and seek+++}} and they might as well have a great big flashing neon light hanging over their head saying “SON OF THE LION HERE. COME AND GET ME.” (This has precedent in earlier fluff such as the battle for Rynn's World, where the death of 600 [[Crimson Fists]] nearly killed a nearby librarian).

=== Battle Cry ===
Unlike more warlike chapters like the [[Space Wolves|Space Corgis]] or the [[Black Templars]] who would go into battle screaming about how they're going to skullfuck the enemies of man, the Dark Angels go into battle in cold, efficient silence, somewhat similar to that of [[Angry Marine]] Terminators who are so enraged that they march into battle with stone hearts and steel faces. In fact, their "Repent! For tomorrow you die!" is less of a battle cry and more of a foreboding proclamation against their real targets: [[Fallen Angels|{{Blam|+++the damnable traitors from the nine fallen legions+++}}.]] This makes more sense the more you realize what the Chaplains do to the [[Cultist-chan|Dark Angels' greatest obsession]] {{Blam|+++teach them to love the Imperium and the real fiasco of following chaos.+++}} within the depths of The Rock, until they repent.

==History==
{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Dark Angels
|Heraldry = [[File:Dark_Angels_chapter-crusade-hersey_.jpg|center|140px]]
|Original Name = The First, Primaris Angelus Mortis (Honorific)
|Successor Chapters =
|Primarch =
|Homeworld = Caliban (home world), Terra, an unknown number of void outposts and watch fortresses on the Imperium’s fringes. The planet Gramarye was once the home base of the First legion, likely as a muster world before reuniting with their primarch.
|Specialty = Combined arms and multi-spectra warfare, exterminatus and purgation campaigns, extended independent void operations.
|Strength = By the time of the Horus Heresy, the Legion numbered around 200,000 marines.
|Colours = Black
}}

{{Topquote|They had walked into the mouth of hell, and not only had they returned, but they had left hell shattered in their passage.|}}
[[File:Hexagrammaton.jpg|200px|left|thumb|The symbol of the Hexagrammaton.]]
===Organisation===
Not simply a [[First Founding|Legion]] numbered "one", they were quite literally the First legion created by the Emperor and in their earliest incarnation fought as the personal army of the Master of Mankind in the dawning years of the [[Great Crusade]]. Their first official battle took place before the Great Crusade began, being used to destroy an army of mixed troops and Thunder Warriors that had come to arrest Constantin Valdor. HH: Extermination tells us that as the prototype Legion the Dark Angels served as the template for all the Legions that would follow after which the Emperor decided to make the following legions more specialised and engineered their development towards different roles, and as a standard by which these successors would be measured (however they would eventually get supplanted by the empire-building [[Ultramarines]] after the Horus Heresy, in part due to the severe losses they took during the Rangdan Xenocides). So basically the Emperor simply intended the First Legion to sally forth and "just be Space Marines". The original Legion were a bunch of bloody killers, and they took great pride in their job. They were the very definition of the Emperor's Angels of Death, marching forth and crushing the foes of the Emperor, wherever they could be found. They took great pride in their primacy, acting as teachers and mentors towards the younger legions.

That meant the Dark Angels had to figure out warfare all on their own, and the techniques they developed would have entire Legions built upon those principles when they were raised later on. Including the first attempt at creating a group of battle ready psychic marines, and although this order was eventfully disbanded the lessons learned would eventually be used in the creation of the [[Librarius]].

There existed six specialised "Wings" collectively known as the '''Hexagrammaton''' originally coalesced from the various Hosts used by the first Terran members of the Great Crusade as they each learned their methods of warfare in the initial years of fighting. When the Lion was united with his Legion he reorganised the Hosts to run across and through the normal Dark Angels structure of orders, chapters, and companies (similar to how the DA company veterans work in 40k) and every Dark Angel from the lowest to the highest is a member of one of the wings. Each acted as an independent formation that was both a part of the main body of the legion but also separate from it at the same time. Each of the wings/hosts is commanded by an officer known as a Voted-Lieutenant and several Voted-Successors who are outside of the normal legion command structure. One of the key strengths of the First legion seems to have been their ability to adapt and change things up when needed. Not every battle can be fought the same way, especially when considering the varied and unique opponents that exist within the galaxy, so spreading your specialists across your standard forces and using their experience when necessary seems like it might actually be a pretty good idea. Like the Dark Angels of 40k who don't really specialise in any single form of combat, but actually prefer to create tailor fitted strike forces to deal with any given opponent, the existence of the Hexagrammaton in 30k provides the First Legion with a great deal of flexibility.

When confronted with a situation that requires a more specialised touch the commanding officer can hand operational control over to the highest ranking member of one of the wings. A call will go out across all the First Legion forces present for all members of the required "Wing" to gather and pool their combined specialized skills and equipment in order to bring ruin to the enemy. Unlike legions like the Death Guard who preferred to keep their legions as a single whole, the First Legion seems to have given Legion forces that are operating away from the main body a bit more freedom to think for themselves. This would allow the Legion to continue to operate independently, even if they may have been cut off from the rest of the Legions command, this would also allow them to operate in a far greater number of theatres of war across the Great Crusade; this would normally be considered a good thing, but this is 40k and "freedom of thought" can only lead to bad things.

Each was dedicated to a different form of warfare of which two survived into the later 40k:

*'''[[Deathwing]]''' - Veterans specialists, Marksmen and linebreakers who also provided bodyguard duties for other officers. (Think Space Wolves or Luna Wolves)
*'''[[Ravenwing]]''' - Cavalry & Fast Attack (White Scars)
*'''[[Stormwing]]''' - Initially described in the [[Black Library]] books as boarding specialist formation comprised mostly of [[Breacher Siege Squad|shield-wielding units]], it has been [[retcon]]ed by Forge World into a no-speciality wing of sorts. (Ultramarines)
*'''[[Dreadwing]]''' - Called in when you [[Exterminatus|just want something gone and you really don’t care about the collateral damage.]] (Death Guard)
*'''[[Firewing]]''' - Excel in destroying enemy command structures and assassination, they were the opposite of the Dreadwing. (Alpha Legion, Raven Guard)
*'''[[Ironwing]]''' - Heavy emphasis on battle tanks and mechanized infantry and had the highest concentration of Terminators in ANY of the Legions, including experimental suits unseen elsewhere. (Iron Warriors, Iron Hands)

A Dark Angel's membership in a particular wing seems to not only be based on their abilities but also their personality, attitude, and personal mindset; for example the Dreadwing are made up of the most brutal, destructive, and warmongering members of the Dark Angels whilst the Ravenwing (if they are anything like their 40k counterparts) are made up of the most impulsive, wild (by DA standards), and inquisitive members (being a speed freak helps). How they are designated into each wing is unknown...perhaps they are given extensive physiological evaluations or maybe they just have some sort of [[Harry Potter]]-esque sorting hat.

In addition to the ''Hexagrammaton'' is the '''Hekatonystika''' - also called the ''Hundred Esoteric Arts (although the exact numuber of orders fluctuates, there were hundreds of them over the crusade)'' and is divided into Orders each commanded by '''Preceptor''' and his Seneschals. These '''Orders''' are each tasked with the protection of some kind of lore that that useful in battle, such as combat about particular kinds of enemy or on certain kinds of battlefield; if necessary the commander in charge of a battlefield could request members of an order with knowledge relevant to the situation come together to form a '''Cenobium''' to concentrate their expertise and offer assistance in the same way that the whole force can reorganise according to the six Wings. The Orders stood alongside the wings and were complementary in many ways, such as the Order of the Broken Wings being anti-air specialists and preferring recruits from the Ironwing for instance. It was also possible to have membership of more than one Order, though this was considered rare. Some orders were extremely small and numbered only a handful of marines, others were massive and capable of deploying to the battlefield on their own as collections of whole Chapters of thousands of warriors.

In addition to the combat orders, there were also many Orders Civilis that were specialist in support and logistical roles, though they rarely numbered many full battle brothers among them, they were a means of honouring failed aspirants and serfs with important and vital positions.

This all stands in combination with the "standard" chain of command as laid down by the ''Principa Bellicosa'' of Chapters and Companies, meaning any individual Space Marine could hold several ranks and be the superior of his comrades in different situations. One example is given in HH9 Crusade where a simple line Legionary in his company actually holds the rank of '''Cenobite''' in his Order as well as '''Proctor''' of the Stormwing, therefore outranking his own sergeant in many situations, serving as an example of how the First Legion puts experience above authority.

Thanks to the Hexagrammaton and Hekatonystika the Dark Angels were almost impossible for outsiders to comprehend, Such disregard for strict and unchanging lines of command and control frustrated some legions and primarchs, especially Guilliman who had implored the Lion on multiple occasions to reform his legion to match the example of the Ultramarines, but for the Dark Angels it allowed them to adapt and evolve from moment to moment on the battlefield. these formations proved to be fertile grounds in the training of large numbers of highly skilled veterans, and leaders from amongst the dark angels; allowing them to function perfectly well when denied a central command, as they had already been forged into a flexible force that could function independently even in the most dire of circumstances.

The Dark Angels would even have a bit of fun with the other forces of the Imperium; upon arrival they would deliberately not inform the other Imperial forces, about who was in overall command of the Dark Angels forces, and then see if anyone was able to work it out; If anyone was able to do so they would have gained the Dark Angles respect and acknowledgement.

It has been hinted that because of the Dark Angels’ highly traditional and sectarian nature it made them ‘immune’ to the intrusions of the warrior lodges and acted as a similar buffer to infiltration and manipulation from the likes of the Alpha Legion. Luther outright laughed at Erebus's suggestion of the creation of a Dark Angel warrior lodge.
:*according to the Alpharius Primarch book, Alpharius himself (not the Alpha legion) was able infiltrate the legion, although even the most sneaky of Primarch's had a really difficult time doing so. Alpharius highly suspects that the Lion was actually fully aware of his infiltration but didn't take any action, which really annoyed Alpharius, as he couldn't get a good reading on whether he had been caught or not; which lends credence to the idea that the Lion was the only brother Alpharius was unable to truly read.

===Great Crusade===
Whilst the First legion took the fight to the horrors in the dark, the younger legions continued to grow in strength to the point that the first were no longer the only angels of the Emperor, now they were only the first amongst equals; this led to a growing resentment towards these upstarts, who had been carefully and safely grown whilst the First had been punching monsters in the face, and who had been gifted with the knowledge and tactics learned from their bloody work.

This would prove to be a mortal blow to the very identity of the First Legion, and they would begin to throw themselves into danger; leeroy jenkins's themselves into the most bloody situations, in the desperate attempt to prove their worth. They would go out of their way to take on the most dangerous of tasks, even if the losses they would sustain were not worth the prize. The first would continue to bleed out, in their desperate attempts to prove themselves until the lion was found and started kicking some sense into them.

In this fashion, acting all on their own without support from the other legions that followed they killed lots of [[Orks]] and other xenos scum for great justice and were once the most numerous and powerful of the legions. Their numbers would be depleted by decades of savage warfare, particularly in the wars of the [[Rangdan Xenocides]] where their numbers fell below 166,000 after they lost almost 50,000 Marines preventing the destruction of the entire northern Imperium by an unknown menace from the outer darkness. The scars of these battles would change them, as would their reunification with their Primarch and his adopted world of Caliban. Unyielding, technologically capable, ruthless, and insular, the Dark Angels by the time of the Heresy were once again a powerful and highly independent Legion used to operating on its own to conduct large scale campaigns and compliance actions. When the Legion was first reunited with their Primarch, the massive influx of warriors into the Legion following the rediscovery of Caliban was able to provide the First with an additional 20,000 new Dark Angels. However, this would not last as just before the Heresy started Luther, who had by then decided Caliban should be free of what he saw as the Imperium’s tyranny, began to starve the legion of any new legionaries, armour, weapons and ammunition. He began by cancelling the deployment of 4212 new recruits to the Legion. He would also reduce the time it took to implant and train new legionaries to about two years, so by mid-heresy there were around 45,000 new Dark Angels on Caliban who were swearing oaths of fealty not to the Emperor but to Caliban and the Order; as these were never deployed to the legion they are not counted as part of the legions over all total, but as a separate force. (Not everyone was pleased with this, especially those who had originated from Terra.)

Some time during the Crusade some planetary ruler insulted [[Leman Russ]] and he got all pissy about it. Then Lion ended up killing the leader and Leman was like "Whatchu do that fo' fool?" because ''he'' wanted to take the bitch-ass out. And Lion was like "fuck off, furry," despite his own furtastic name and his dickish kill-stealing. Leman, never being good with words, reason, or sobriety, megaton punched the Lion. The two of them fought for a day or two, an epic struggle between cool-headed tactician and hot-blooded barbarian, douchebag and bro-tard. Then Leman said "this is stupid" and started laughing... then the Lion knocked him out.

In true [[anime]] fashion, after Leman regained consciousness and was less-inebriated, the two eventually became best buds and treated it as water under the bridge; their respective chapters still carry on the friendly rivalry, a pair of champions engaging in sacred and [[Derp|non-fatal]] honour duels whenever the Spess Lions and [[Space Wolves|Space Corgis]] meet. One particular incident during the Heresy had a member of the watch-pack that had been sent to keep an eye on Guilliman being paired off against the Lion himself after the Wolves pushed the issue. The Lion, who had more important things to do and wanted it over as quickly as possible, stepped forward and nominated himself. The fight (if that’s what you want to call it) was as predictably hilarious as you would imagine it would be. And a couple of light years away, the [[Tyranids]] eat a planet while two of the most important Space Marine chapters waste time on this Nerf-chainsword-duel-honour-bullshit because ''that's how they roll''.

=== [[Horus Heresy]] ===
[[File:Luther.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Luther, {{Blam|+++If you see this man in your sector, report immediately to the Inner Circle+++}}]]
Much of the history of the First Legion during the events of the Horus Heresy are largely unknown to the Imperium at large, thus you will find that {{Blam|+++paper records are highly flammable, thus we put here all we have recovered.+++}}

During the [[Horus Heresy]] Lion El'Jonson rushed to come to the aid of the [[Emperor]], fighting his way through the [[Night Lords]], [[Death Guard]] and [[Lost and the Damned|traitor Army]] to reach [[Terra]], stopping off at [[Macragge]] to kick [[Roboute Guilliman]] out of inaction and start actually paying attention to the Horus Heresy. In fact, despite all of the mystery surrounding the intentions of the First Legion, the Emperor still had complete faith in them. A discussion between Him and [[Malcador the Sigillite]] during [[Graham McNeill]]'s Vengeful Spirit proves that even the Emperor expected Guilliman to procrastinate and start building his own empire and they were somewhat relieved when Russ told them that the Lion had intervened.

Despite all this he didn't make it to Terra in time because he ended up buying into Guilliman's new [[Imperium Secundus]], and set himself the task of defending the 500 worlds from attacks by the [[Word Bearers]] and the [[World Eaters]], all the while seeking out his elusive brother [[Konrad Curze]]. When the Night Haunter was eventually caught, his visions coupled with those of [[Sanguinius]] were sufficient to prove to the collected brothers that the Emperor was in fact still alive, and that the Imperium Secundus was a massive folly and a distraction. Though they attempted to return to Terra, it was clear that the route would only be opened for one of the brothers; Sanguinius, therefore the Lion and Guilliman set themselves the task of attacking the traitors in the rear, hoping to draw enough of them away to buy time for the defenders at the [[Siege of Terra]].

Afterwards he returned home to [[Caliban]] only to find that shit hit the fan when {{Blam|+++ our kitchen servitors accidentally left all of the cooking gas lines running and this caused an explosion that destroyed our home planet. We suspect this to be the work of foul traitors.+++}} When daybreak came Caliban was nothing more; only The Rock was left standing. {{Blam|+++ These stressful days were what caused the Lion to go on vacation. The remaining Dark Angels painted their armor green (as penance and because green was the shit back then).+++}} All of this caused one battle brother to say "I hate Mondays."

Because Caliban was far away from many Imperial Worlds, the core leaders of the Dark Angels known as the {{Blam|+++Inner circle (because that band rocks) decided to destroy all history, evidence, and blueprints of the Rock to protect it from falling into the wrong hands+++}}
The Imperium's not exactly sure what happened to Caliban as anyone who investigates this matter, even [[Inquisitor|Inquisitors]] {{Blam|+++are made to feel very welcome on the Rock and most never want to go back to their job after experiencing one of our wild parties.+++}}

Ahem, to carry on where my predecessor left off after his {{Blam|+++long-needed vacation+++}}, the Dark Angels became the most obscure chapter in the millennium following the Horus Heresy. Whereas Imperial officials can try to order around chapters like the Space Corgis and Black Templars, the Dark Angels can never be approached because they can't be found 90% of the time. They are known for mysteriously appearing out of nowhere to aid Imperial forces and disappearing just as fast, even if the forces they were aiding were still in need of their help. This has led to much complaint from Imperial commanders who are often understandably pissed off. {{Blam|+++We sincerely apologize, but we try to multi-task+++}}

===After the destruction of Caliban to the 41st Millenium/[[Time of Ending]]===
[[File:The rock-Fenris.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Dark Angels arrive in style.]]
Ever since that fateful day ten thousand years ago, the Dark Angels have striven to prove to the Emprah and their Primarch that they are still cool guys to hang around with, despite {{Blam|+++their grim nature+++}}. To this end they have acquired toys like plasma cannon jetbikes, more suits of Terminator Armour than most chapters can shake their chainswords at, and a mini-[[Wikipedia:Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp|Gitmo]] in a flying chunk of planet to {{Blam|+++capture enemies of the Imperium from the nine traitor legions+++}}, in order to prove {{Blam|+++that the Imperium RULEZ+++}}

[[Luther]] himself was kept within a special cell equipped with stasis fields; both to keep him from escaping (which didn't work so hot) and to prevent him from dying of old age before some kind of confession can be extracted from him (even Astartes are unsure if they can die of old age, although there was a living Salamander whose armor fused to the deck of a ship and had been floating around since the Drop Site Massacre). He was last publicly seen barking mad from Chaos withdrawing its influence from him. But his ramblings have occasionally assisted the Dark Angels in locating lost relics within the Rock. Recently, he's been claiming that the time for the Lion to return and absolve the Chapter of its past is growing closer...

After the destruction of Caliban the Dark Angels would throw themselves into the Scouring with a zeal that surprised many of their brother legions. Whether they were seeking retribution for the death of their Emperor and father or some other reason known only to themselves, the Dark Angels would hound the traitors with a single bloodied mindedness that boarded on insanity. They would grow, if possible, even more distant with the rest of the Imperium, appearing without warning on battlefronts across the galaxy to bring destruction to the enemy, and then leaving just as unexpectedly as they had arrived; if their brother legions found their new zeal strange, they kept it to themselves, for none could doubt their conviction or the fanatical devotion in which the Dark Angels took vengeance upon the traitor forces. Such as when they saved a trapped force of Ultramarine's; dying to a man holding back the traitors long enough to allow the Ultramarine's to evacuate, refusing to leave whilst the enemy yet lived.

The Dark Angels would bleed themselves almost dry in their pursuit of the traitor forces, throwing themselves into the blender in their desire to make the traitors pay. Much like before the discovery of the Lion the Dark Angels would throw themselves upon the blades of the enemy (almost like they sought absolution in their mutual destruction), but where as before they had done so to prove themselves to others, now they did so out of shame; they no longer cared for the opinions of others, only that they make amends for their failings in the eye of the Emperor.

It’s important to bear in mind that the Dark Angels themselves do not have the whole story regarding {{Blam|+++the traitor Marines from other legions+++}} and Caliban's {{Blam|+++upgrade into being the most AWESOME SHIP+++}}. When the legion first arrived back at Caliban during the Scouring they would have been unaware of the events that had led up to Astelan ordering the attack on the fleet. After the destruction of Caliban they would have found themselves in a position where they had not only lost their Emperor and their Primarch but their home world as well. The legion had been tarnished beyond repair by those that they had once considered sworn brothers, and worst of all, they didn’t know why. All they had left was the Legion, and so the assembled masters of the Dark Angels decided to cover up what had happened in order to protect and preserve what was left of the once mighty First. They had been under the impression that the {{Blam|+++traitor Marines who like to wear black+++}} had all been slain during the planet's destruction. Once {{Blam|+++said traitors+++}} began to reappear it would prove to be a decision that would eventually end up damning them and all those that would follow. The present day Dark Angels are forced to shoulder the burdens and consequences of those decisions made so long ago that they themselves had taken no part in. Where in other chapters the ascension into the higher ranks is a thing of justified pride and honour, within the Unforgiven it is a soul-crushing experience as their delusions of honour and false glory are systematically torn down around them as the chapter's dark secrets are revealed to them one by one.

The Dark Angels and their successors have spent the past 10,000 years hunting down {{Blam|+++said traitors+++}}, slowly and painstakingly piecing together the pieces of an elaborate jigsaw of lies and deceit. Who knows who was responsible for what happened all those millennia ago. Was {{Blam|+++this particular traitor and heretic+++}} one of the architects of the betrayal or was he just an unwitting pawn who was just following orders? And, if so, then who gave that order? As they have slowly filtered the lies from the truths and sifted through the many different contradicting {{Blam|+++traitor's lies+++}}, the Dark Angels have uncovered many unsettling truths that had been unknown to them before. Yet the masters of the Unforgiven are aware that they do not have the full story and that there are still many dark revelations to come. Not least that the Black Legion includes (or included) {{Blam|+++traitors wearing stolen Dark Angels armour in obviously Black Legion colors+++}}

Unbeknownst to the Dark Angels, Lion El'Jonson is alive and well. After his duel with Luther we, the Watchers in the Dark, brought him to a hidden chamber in the depths of the Rock so he could be healed of his wounds. He is fully healed, and now all that is needed for the last loyal Primarch to return [[Games Workshop|is for the Emperor to give him the signal to do so.]]
{{Blam|+++ :) +++}}

===42nd Millennium and the [[Age of the Dark Imperium]]===
With the return of Magnus (and his assault on Fenris), as well as the return of Guilliman (with his Terran Crusade and subsequent Indomitus Crusade), the Dark Angels are probably scrabbling HARD to make sure that {{Blam|+++all disgusting traitors are captured+++}}.

Firstly, with the return of Magnus: the Dark Angels were duped by Tzeentch into leading their own crusade to bring the Space Wolves to account for their protection of the mutated Wulfen. This was eventually resolved with the intervention of the Inquisition who said they would raise their own conclave to deal with the matter. Unfortunately for the Dark Angels, {{Blam|+++those traitors escaped our watch +++}} as the Inquisition had {{Blam|+++given zero fucks +++}}

It would get worse for them later with Guilliman's return as the reborn Primarch's return to Terra was assisted by {{Blam|+++Ravenwing Dark Angels
including one officer with a HUGE SWORD, obviously a TERRANIC GREATSWORD OF OLD+++}}. While Guilliman didn't have a clue what to make of {{Blam|+++these mysterious Marines+++}}, they were allowed to be part of the celebratory parade to the Emperor's palace so they would have been viewed by billions of bystanders. Though most people probably wouldn't know what to make of black Dark Angels, the Unforgiven were probably clinging to the TV sets while facepalming {{Blam|+++because their military parade walk wasn't the best+++}}. However, Guilliman did order {{Blam|+++these Marines+++}} arrested when they finally reached the doors to the throne room. The [[Adeptus Custodes]] now have a group of {{Blam|+++undisciplined Dark Angels wearing non-codex colors+++}} in their custody and it may be only a matter of time before they and Guilliman have some idea of what the Unforgiven have been up to (if they didn't know already). Guilliman did recognize the sword that {{Blam|+++said officer+++}} carried and the sensation filled him with dread. Given that this may be {{Blam|+++a really cool and wholly unrelated+++}} sword, Guilliman may have some inkling as to what might happen if the sword ''(or whatever psychic imprint contained within)'' comes into contact with the Emperor, but has not decided to reveal or act upon that information.
Bear in mind that having some knowledge directly from the mouths of {{Blam|+++Space Marine traitors+++}} does not automatically provide the whole story on the actual {{Blam|+++building of The Rock+++}}.

Taking this further, even if Guilliman does find out (or happens to already know), he would have to be very careful with that information because of his own prior association with the Lion and the Dark Angels during [[Imperium Secundus]] and his own attempts at burying it ''(see the formation of the [[Scythes of the Emperor]] and his sealing of the Library of Ptolemy)''. He might not be aware of how much the descendants of the First Legion know about this ''"off the record"'' version of history. Even if some {{Blam|+++filthy traitor Marines+++}} came out claiming that the ''"Lion was a closet traitor who waited to see who won"'' {{Blam|+++Obvious Chaos lies +++}} and sincerely believed it, Guilliman is one of the few people who actually knew what the Lion was doing for much of the Heresy, even if the Dark Angels don't know themselves. This is on top of having to contend with the aforementioned unresolved "agenda" relating to the sword of the Lion ''(which Guilliman himself broke)'' and the unknown repercussions of what may come if it reaches the Emperor's throne room. All in all, Bobby G's got a lot on his plate.

Turns out the {{Blam|+++veterans who are too busy serving the Emperor to repaint their armour+++}} escaped so no secrets getting out today. Also, when they found out, the Custodes went into a full on panic the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the War of the Beast. Maybe GW should calm down with the plot armour for {{Blam|+++the well respected Dark Angel who saved Guilliman and brought glory to the Chapter+++}}.

As Guilliman traveled the Imperium leaving reinforcements and new toys in his wake, Supreme Commander [[Azrael]] ordered a summit of all Supreme Grand Masters to muster on the Rock to discuss the state of things. Considering the reports of Fallen massing in numbers never seen before, the Rock itself being attacked by a {{Blam|+++vile traitor legion+++}} daemon-prince which appeared to be the cover for the release of [[Luther]], and a recent ambush by the Fallen that had left six chapters of the Unforgiven severely depleted in manpower, suffice it to say that things were looking rather grim. Coincidentally, the summit was gate-crashed by the arrival of Guilliman's fleet who demanded to board the Rock. The collected Chapter Masters were no doubt concerned by the arrival of an Imperial fleet when the Unforgiven had gathered together as a single Legion, and considered shooting them down. Luckily, it turned out that Guilliman was not there to censure the Unforgiven host but instead came bearing reinforcements in the form of thousands of Primaris Marines. Guilliman also permitted them to retain their [[Deathwing|1st Company]] and [[Ravenwing|2nd Company]] organizations as an exception to his amendments to the Codex Astartes based on their "excellent service records", only stipulating that they continue to serve the Emperor well, suggesting he is willing to put up with their unorthodox methods for the sake of his brother.

Moreover as a "[[Creed|tactical genus]]" Guilliman isn't dumb enough to risk losing the unique capabilities that only the Dark Angels and their successors are able to deploy at a moment's notice. Obviously, due to the current state of the Imperium, neither the Dark Angels nor Guilliman can spare a few moments for "Story Time with Uncle Bobby and the Inner Circle." Good thing for Guilliman. The number of people who know/knew about the Secundus besides him [[Emperor|can be]] [[Lion_El'Jonson|counted]] [[Sanguinius|on one hand]], and all of them are either dead or unable to say anything about the matter.

It is also stated that the Inner Circle alone are aware of the ''[[Fallen Angels|very specific prey]]'' that they seek. Therefore while tidbits of information may be held by others outside of the chapter, they do not understand their significance or know what to make of them. Either way, they haven't acted upon that information so the Hunt still continues as normal.

As of Phil Kelly's book “War of Secrets”, despite Cypher's antics and having Fallen on Terra, the secret has returned to the status quo, although the new Primaris get treated like shit and are seen as disposable tools. They have made a second Inner Circle (this being the chapter Inner Circle not the whole Unforgiven Inner Circle) for the Primaris who figure shit out and don’t get put in a ditch. The Dark Angels have suddenly become really tolerant; the Primaris literally worship not just the Emperor but the Omnissiah and the Dark Angels just get a bit miffed. As for the new Primaris successors, they were founded without knowing about the Dark Angels' secrets, so we can assume they are not Unforgiven. It is clear that GW are just waiting for Primaris terminator and biker sets, at which point we will get some basic upgrades sprues, and the Unforgiven will fully accept the Primaris.

In addition to a couple of named characters, the Primaris Marines have finally joined the Deathwing and Ravenwing in the form of Bladeguard Veterans and Outriders. While the Ravenwing getting Primaris on bikes is no big surprise, the fact that Bladeguard can be in the Deathwing without wearing Gravis armour is a little confusing ([[Derp|especially since White Dwarf all-but explicitly stated that Deathwing Primaris exclusively use Gravis alongside the Firstborn in Terminator armour]]).

According to their 9th edition supplement the rumours of their suspected legion building has earned them some surprising support, the [[Inquisition]], since Guilliman's return they have grown increasingly concerned at the sheer power that he now wields. They have turned their sights upon the united might of the Unforgiven and now see them as a power that is capable of countering the new lord of the Imperium, should he ever go against what they have built. Considering the not so friendly relationship between Guilliman and the [[Ecclesiarchy]], they may get even more support from them; should a theoretical civil war break out, it will be interesting to see who sides with who.

== The Legion with "Dark" in its name ==
[[File:DA-Scouts.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Their scouts are never to be underestimated. Also this is probably the best scout artwork so far. And it's not new.]]
After the Horus Heresy, the remaining Legions were forced to split into chapters of around 1,000 men according to [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s brand new [[Codex Astartes]], and the Dark Angels followed suit mostly because they had no Primarch to disagree for them; not that it mattered by this point anyway.

Where [[Rogal Dorn]] [[RAGE|RAGED]] against the idea of splitting his legion, but eventually relented on the threat of civil war, the Dark Angels quietly split themselves up but maintained [[Just As Planned|covert]] contact with each other. They kept the same chain of command as before and mostly the same traditions and expectations (particularly concerning co-operation in the hunt for the [[Fallen Angels]] but also in referring to one another as "brothers" in arms). ''([[Kaldor Draigo]] noted that the correct terminology for a different chapter is "[[Gene Seed#The Tithe and New Foundings|cousin]]" and resolved to have a word with [[Azrael]] over it)''. The Supreme Grand Master of [[The Rock]] is deferred to as the [[Spiritual liege|highest authority]] on the secrets of the newly formed Inner Circle.

It transpires from Gav Thorpe's 2015 novel '''Unforgiven''' that the Inner Circle was in fact formed decades AFTER the [[Second Founding]] when [[Cypher]] revealed himself at [[The Rock]] and made it evident that survivors from Caliban who could reveal the truth of what happened would be dropping out of time and space. So the Grand Masters of the '''Twelve''' Second Founding chapters held a council and formed the Inner Circle to make sure their collective honour remained intact. Previous to that we must have assumed that the descendants of the First Legion were just relieved to have weathered the Horus Heresy and followed Guilliman's commands quietly.

All in all, the Dark Angels and their successors still function unofficially as a Legion. This gets the [[Inquisition]] and the [[High Lords of Terra]] particularly worried, though they can't prove anything since on the surface each chapter has its own distinct chain of command and adheres to [[Codex Astartes|codex]] requirements.

It's not known how large the collective Unforgiven actually is; [[Deathwatch (RPG)|Statistics]] indicate that the Dark Angels successors make up around 15% of the total Space Marine chapters at large in the Imperium. While this does not seem like a massive amount ''([[Ultramarines|Ultramarines]] make up around 50%-66%, depending on which author you ask)'' that would still be around 150 chapters. It is uncertain whether all of those chapters are actually aware of their history, given the Dark Angels prefer to have as few people with the damning knowledge as possible. Yet GW has never presented us with any Dark Angels successors who know of their heritage who are ''not'' part of the Unforgiven ''(the [[Astral Claws]], [[Relictors]] and [[Star Phantoms]] are all "maybes")'' so we can only assume that once you're in the club, you're in balls deep or you get erased.

What is known is that the Unforgiven are not beyond drafting new chapters without official sanction ''(like the [[Consecrators]])'' or outright blackmailing the seal of approval out of the High Lords ''(as with the [[Disciples of Caliban]])''. These chapters are raised with specific purposes in mind, and fill either supporting roles to the collective or are tasked with special missions that the others aren't prepared for. The officers of the successors also hold unique ranks and titles in the Inner Circle relevant to their Chapter's function or position within the Unforgiven. The best part is that no one can complain about it. The law is a thousand Marines per Chapter. It never said the Chapters couldn’t make their own new Chapters. It even encourages close co-operation and communication between Chapters so long as their command structures are separate. The First Legion operates more like a pseudo-Legion than the real thing. Each Chapter fulfills its role to the Legion and they support each other in whatever manner they choose while maintaining a strong feudal-like relationship with each other. There is no command structure in this “Legion” higher than any one Chapter. This functions well simply because these Marines are not dick-waving egotists.

Each chapter possesses formations equivalent to the [[Deathwing]] and [[Ravenwing]], though usually operating under different names. This would mean that the collective Unforgiven have access to a whole bunch of surplus archeotech or possess the means to manufacture Terminator suits and fighter planes at a remarkable rate. They also trade recruiting worlds between each other, though each Chapter routinely has more than one anyway. They regularly transfer ownership between them for the specific purpose of ensuring that the Administratum's records become unreliable and get lost. This practice also has a secondary usefulness: loyalty. By trading recruiting worlds frequently, the Legion ensures that if one world’s population is corrupted, the other Marines from other worlds will not be. Likely a lesson learned from the Horus Heresy in which most Terran recruits remained loyal within the Traitor Legions.

So far ''(and for ten thousand years)'' these indiscretions have passed as little more than quiet rumours since the Unforgiven go to [[Ophidium Gulf Crusade|extreme lengths]] to protect their honour. Plus they mostly keep to themselves so no one knows what they're actually up to.

=== LOYAL? Or Traitor? ===
{{Blam|+++INNER CIRCLE ACCESS GRANTED+++}}

Gav Thorpe's '''Angels of Darkness''' was intended to display that the Dark Angels' quest for redemption had made them sinister and brutal, not label them as being traitors (as the wider audience and /tg/ often treats them as). This is because most people took '''Astelan''' and the accusations he leveled at the modern-day Chapter and the Lion as truth, not taking into account his jealousy of the Lion nor his skewed interpretation of events and logical fallacies (something that Gav himself has tried to remind people of). Astelan thought the Lion to be a traitor and opened fire on the fleet when they were in orbit around Caliban without ''any'' attempt at negotiation or communication. The fleet returned fire in self-defense, so Astelan drew the [[FAIL|perfectly logical and sound]] conclusion that the Lion had betrayed them. It doesn't seem to matter as much as people think it does, however, as Gav himself said that it wasn't an objective view of what happened on Caliban but a character study on a member of the Fallen.

Admittedly, though, some of Astelan's theories do make just a little too much sense to be easily dismissed, like his belief that the Dark Angels' paranoia and obsession with secrecy is just as much a gene-inheritance from the Lion as it is a post-heresy development. It's possible it's something el'Jonson developed (or was tainted with) as an infant in the darkness of old Caliban. However, Astelan's mind and his recollections of things are unreliable - not only is he a Fallen Angel, he is trying to cause others to fall as well. We only have his word to take for it (not to mention that he ended up consorting with [[Typhus]] against the loyalist Dark Angels over the course of The Unforgiven).

Another factor that hasn't helped the First Legion's tainted reputation was the implication that the Unforgiven would be destroyed in their entirety if their secret went out - skewing the Dark Angels from ultra-loyalists trying their damnedest to reach some sort of absolution for their wrongdoings and mistakes into a bunch of cowardly extremists concerned only with self-preservation and their honor. This confusion is the result of an attempt to raise the stakes despite universal proof that their assumption is completely wrong. This coupled with the increasing plot emphasis on them abandoning their allies demonstrates some authors prioritizing shock value at the expense of any actual depth the Chapter might have once had. Even though only the Inner Circle hunt Fallen and every other Marine is kept away from hunts, which would mean abandoning allies to hunt Fallen would be outright impossible because only a handful of people in the Chapter are allowed to hunt Fallen. They are supposedly a calculating, heavily coordinated group orchestrating a covert operation of monumental proportions, yet they [[Derp|clumsily attract the attention of the very people]] they are trying to keep their secrets from.

About the only positive thing that can be said about all this is that it at least provokes discussion. As it stands, it's simply lazy writing. The writers at GW could do a lot with what the Unforgiven would be willing to do or to sacrifice in the name of their hunt for the Fallen, but right now it's demonstrative of just how threadbare DA fluff has become in recent years. As fun as it is to hypothesize whether or not they're loyal or traitor, the truth probably has more to do with who they're loyal to. The Dark Angels themselves are more like the [[Soul Drinkers]] rather than full on Chaos Marines: more devoted to Emps and humanity as a whole than the rotting Imperium.

To clarify, the First Legion ''(and later Chapter and all their successors)'' are indeed loyal and not traitors. The Lion himself has now been quoted as saying "Loyalty is its own reward", which sort of kills the whole "they might be closet traitors" thing. There is even an example where the Dark Angels encounter a Consecrators Marine that had fallen to Nurgle. When he was captured, the loyalists explained that there would be no taking him back to the Rock to be interrogated. They did not consider him "Fallen", since he was not deceived by [[Luther]] who led astray the Angels on Caliban. This traitor was considered weak for allowing Chaos to get to him and was promptly executed and his body left in the dust. Come to think of it, other than the Fallen who fell to Chaos (which seems to not actually be many of them), the Dark Angels don’t seem to have had anyone turn to Chaos, neither Marine nor Chapter. No other Legion can claim such a thing.

In conclusion, the sons of the Lion are ostensibly loyal, albeit with a massive guilty conscience that ''(unlike the [[White Scars]] who resolved their internal issues at the time and look back on it as a shameful memory with no guilt placed on the modern descendants of the Legion)'' the Unforgiven cannot let go of, because the sins of the past are '''not''' ancient history as long as these Fallen Angels keep falling out of space and time to remind them of it. So, what might have begun as a relatively innocuous "stomp the traitor" exercise has devolved into a millennia-long slog. The Unforgiven continue to skirt the grey area as each abandoned battlefield or trusted ally silenced adds to their burden of collective guilt. By now, the actions they have taken to continue the Hunt have become more shameful than the original crime. Therefore rather than the shame fading with the passage of time it only becomes more imperative for them to complete their task.

This is spelled out bluntly by [[Troll|Cypher himself]] in ''The Unforgiven''. While every legion took part in the [[Great Scouring]], the Dark Angels did so in secret, never admitting to having traitors and Horus sympathizers in their ranks like the other eight legions did. Most Fallen were totally unaware of the Heresy and, as a result, they either fell to Chaos of their own accord or were deceived. Now in the 41st Millennium it's FAR too late to rectify this; the time for earning forgiveness is long past. However, perhaps the Dark Angels' true redemption is near despite their long-running record of questionable actions. The [[Iron Hands]] have been recovering from their fatalistic attitude and repressed emotions in the wake of the Gaudinian Heresy. Perhaps the Dark Angels can finally get past their shame, especially since the recent Horus Heresy books and other lore have explicitly made the Lion's loyalties very clear. Furthermore, in ''Leman Russ - The Great Wolf'' by Christ Wraight, we learn that the Lion knows about the Wulfen yet never called his brother or his legion out on it despite their mutual grievances, so some interesting revelations may yet come.

Despite the Unforgiven being prepared to do anything and everything in order to keep their secrets hidden, Supreme Grand Master Azrael has stated that should the day ever arrive when the Imperium discovers their dark history and turns its fury upon the sons of the Lion, then the Unforgiven will refuse to raise arms against the Imperium. Not one shot will be fired or blade drawn in their own defense. Although they are prepared to do some very shady things in order to keep their secrets hidden, they are unwilling to plunge the Imperium into what would assuredly be a very costly civil war that the Imperium really can’t afford to fight. '''They will not be responsible for a second Horus Heresy, or a Badab 2.0'''. The recent lore has really hammered home that, in spite of how suspicious and shady the Dark Angels are, they have never been ''delusional.'' They know what they are doing is wrong, but they have a ten-thousand-year promise to fulfill. Also, the reason the rebels in the Horus Heresy rushed to reach Terra instead of being careful was because the Lion and his Legion were coming. Half the Legions and a third or so of the Imperial Army’s rebels were running away from the Legion previously known mostly as The Angels of Death.

With the resurrection of Guilliman, this oath would be tested like never before. With the knowledge that Guilliman had spent time around Cypher and members of the Fallen, Azrael had every reason to believe that the game was up when Guilliman's armada appeared above the Rock. The temptation to strike back against their potential executioners and to protect his brothers was very real. Yet despite the possible ramifications, Azrael kept true to his word and ordered the Unforgiven to stand down (good thing old Guilliman still doesn't know the truth).

With the release of the new Codex, Phil Kelly himself said on Twitch TV the full recount of the events on Caliban, short history Dark Angels Good, Fallen Bad, ''just kill the [[Troll|joke]], [[Luke|its not funny anymore]].'' A bit odd considering how he'd go on to release a book where, due to a Fallen releasing a highly infectious psychic plague, the Dark Angels made a deal with the Tau to terminate those infected upon a planet belonging to the [[Angels of Absolution]] (yes, that includes killing the small number of Angels, as they had also been infected) before it spread to other systems. The justification that the book gives is that they could not be seen to be doing it themselves (even though they would have lost nothing by just telling them); they in turn would do the same to the human population under the Tau's protection. It was either a choice of killing a handful of marines or allowing a potentially apocalyptic plague to run rampant across the galaxy.
The Angels are not only one of their successor Chapters, but the Dark Angels even go so far as to supply the Tau with gear that would allow the Tau in question to detect all those that had been infected. The Tau in question may have taken it a bit further than anyone might have imagined (it's the Tau from the game Fire Warrior, he might as well have been screaming "Blood for the blood God"). The whole story is very ham-fisted and ends with the stationed Angels of Absolution finding out, and then promptly covering it up.

===Primaris Marines and suspicions renewed===
Initially, it seemed that the Dark Angels accepted their new reinforcements without much hassle or fuss, but the Dark Angels players knew this facade wouldn't last. The codex tells us that as of whatever the present day of the Imperium is (roughly 100.M42) not a single Primaris Marine has made it so far as the Ravenwing, much less the Inner Circle. Excerpts from the Hellblasters show the Primaris have to fight tooth and nail for so much as a word of approval, to say nothing of recognition or acceptance. Hellblaster Sergeant Grellius accepts that it will be no small task to impress the Sons of the Lion and, in the typical stoic manner that should be expected of any member of the 1st Legion, stated ''"And rightly so – for such duty were we created and trained."'' However, he and his Hellblasters had impressed Belial to the point that he may have actually "smiled", after which they seem to have earned their acceptance among their brethren.

''War of Secrets'' (Phil Kelly again) drops all pretense and reveals just how bad it was for the initial batch of Primaris under the First Legion's care: a far cry from accepting valuable reinforcements, the Inner Circle considers the sons of Mars to be little more than Guilliman's spies. The Chaplains and Apothecaries routinely mind-wipe Primaris Marines if they come into contact with Fallen-related missions, hypnotize them to stop asking questions, confiscate and erase their digital cameras, and even use fluids from an [[arco-flagellant]] to keep them under mind control. It’s only the Primaris Marines’ Belisarian Furnace that allows them to resist the mind-wipes and retain enough memories for them to realize they’re being tampered with.

The truly horrifying part? This is actually pretty routine for the Dark Angels, even before Guilliman woke up; Interrogator-Chaplains do the same thing to the rest of the Inner Circle, presumably to keep Fallen captives from being [[Catachan Jungle Fighters|"accidentally" shot in the face]] before they can be interrogated, and uninitiated non-Primaris brothers were routinely mind-wiped if they were thought to know too much. All chapters make use of hypno-indoctrination as part of their standard training, but this is normally used to ''add'' to their worth as Marines (see [[Deathwatch]]), while the Inner Circle wants to very much ''subtract'' the more troublesome aspects from their new "reinforcements". Though since the Emperor himself has been known to wipe the memories of both Marines and Primarchs during the Horus Heresy series, one could joke that the Dark Angels are simply proving their loyalty by following in his glorious example.

In "The Unforgiven" (and hinted at throughout the trilogy), it is revealed that all Dark Angels are implanted with hypno code words to prevent another event like Caliban from ever happening again. Asmodai has to incapacitate [[Belial]] when he tries to kill [[Cypher]]. These code words can also be transmitted by a librarian directly into the minds of others. It would seem that a chaplain could unilaterally take command of whole companies of Dark Angels when Sapphon has to fight the urge to use one in a previous book on another captain. Also it involves the chaplain basically giving commands in Latin.

On the other hand, the Primaris Marines during "War of Secrets" didn't exactly help their course by being remarkably disobedient and downright disrespectful towards the Firstborn Marines, with some referring to the veterans as armored [[Ogryn|Ogryns]] behind their backs. Nor did them referring to the Dark Angels as a Chapter built on lies and swearing to ''"get to the heart of it and expose it all"'', calling them traitors, and making statements like ''"You’ll get what you deserve soon enough. We Primaris Marines are the future and we will be the death of you"'' get them on the Dark Angels' good side. It’s weird for other reasons as well because outside of the Inner Circle the Unforgiven Marines aren’t any different than normal Marines. Other than their track record throughout the Imperium’s existence showing them to be significantly more competent at kicking ass on the tactical and strategic level. This means the Primaris wouldn’t have a reason to think anyone outside of a few individuals were in any way secretive or untrustworthy.

Despite their initial reluctance in accepting the Primaris Marines, the Primaris Marines are very slowly and painfully earning their place among the Chapter. Those that prove themselves and demonstrate their loyalty to the Chapter may be inducted into the new Primaris Circle. Though they can not be brought into the full Inner Circle, it is only a matter of time.

Whilst there is a massive amount of distrust towards those Primaris brought in from outside of the chapter, the Dark Angels don't seem to have any problem with Primaris that have been made from scratch by the chapter itself, as they have been properly inducted into the traditions of the chapter. Azrael knows better then anyone else the potential challenges that the Unforgiven will face in the near future, and that every marine will be needed.

{{Blam|+++There is absolutely no evidence of the following event in any <s>canon</s> ''records'' so we can safely say that it's just some Primaris <s>fan girling</s> ''misinformation'' trying to force them into places they shouldn't be, as the only "Primaris" in the Inner Circle is Master Lazarus who started off as a proper Space Marine first. (However this story will be left here incase you want to make use of it in your own chapters.) +++}}It was Azrael that informed the Unforgiven that they must start inducting those former Greyshields into the inner circles of the chapters. This coursed no small amount of turmoil, both within the Dark Angels and the rest of the Unforgiven. In order to calm them, Azrael put forward a challenge, he would stake his reputation upon a Primaris Marine of his choosing, Brother Apharan. If this Primaris Marine could pass the required challenges, and come out the other side in a fit state to move up into the upper tiers of the chapter, then this would prove their worth; Azrael would personally oversee his training. It is a testament to the high regard that Azrael is held that the rest of the Unforgiven agreed. Needless to say Azrael chose well, and the Primaris in question succeeded, going so far as making it into the Deathwing.
(The full story can be read on page 29 of the September 2019 White Dwarf)

The Dark Angels are learning everything that they can about the Primaris creation process (though what chapter isn't?), with the intent that they will eventually have full control over it; being able to create as many Primaris as they need without outside interference or worrying about their loyalty by training them themselves.

At the end of the day Primaris will eventually get shoehorned into the Inner circle, we can only hope that GW actually put some effort into making the lore good as that's the primary attraction of the Dark Angels chapter. So far that's not been the case though, as shown by Lazarus where they tried to hype up a Primaris being in the inner circle (which almost no one wanted or cared about) he just ended up being a regular Space Marine who was already in it and just went through the Rubicon, sidestepping the whole issue of letting a Primaris in.

You can see how stupid the writing is if you read the Psychic Awakening story "Enmity's Edge" and see how stupid the Inner Circle in it are depicted; "oooooh, he's a Primaris now, he must be a different person now hur dur". If this page should have told you anything it's that the Dark Angels are not this retardedly stupid and would continue to accept Lazarus as one of their circle and would reserve this hesitation for one of the reinforcement Primaris. The point is, that Primaris entering the Inner Circle is not a big deal no matter how much GW wants it to be, the big deal is where the Primaris was made, by the chapter or by Cawl. A chapter made and trained Primaris will have few issues entering the Inner Circle other than not being able to fit in Terminator armour. GW has been lazy on this, as they've taken to taking things from 30K so Marines in Powered Armor can join the Death and Ravenwings. Allowing Blade Guard Veterans to join the [[Deathwing]] and [[Outriders]] in the [[Ravenwing]]. Though their considered inferior choices for players compared to DW and Black knights.(i.e. no point in taking them, unless you need them for Objective Secured. So they just hunker down taking pot shots.)

What makes this sad, as most of the other chapters might even mock the Dark Angels and their successor chapters if they found out about The Fallen. Because Guilliman and Cawl should've known about the traitors scatters across the other loyalist legions. As they were there during The Scouring. Nobody on either side of the issue is smart enough to ask them and neither has the time anyhow. While the Lion is still indisposed. So what The First are currently doing now is trying to save themselves from embarrassment. This might be true if the Imperium was in anyway reasonable or level headed enough to look past such a transgression, they are not. Many may look at the Dark Angels a simply say that they are just being foolish, and that the Imperium would (if they found out) simply not care and handwave the existence of the Fallen away, but they seem to be forgetting that the Imperium is made up of a bunch a overly zealous, blindly dogmatic, nut jobs. If you wanted proof of this disconnect between what the Imperium really is, and what people want to believe the Imperium is, then look no further then the recent story featuring the custodes ordering, and then taking part in the wholesale destruction of an entire chapter simply because there was a fleeting possibility of disloyalty; the outcry from the community was almost comical, with many simply not believing that the forces of the Imperium could possibly be this idiotic, well guess again. The Dark Angels are no fools, and they are fully aware about what a shitty place the Imperium is; they actually felt remorse and sorrow when they had to remove their protection from a former recruitment world, which allowed the Imperium to finally swoop down and consume the world and its population. Don't be foolish enough to believe that the Imperium isn't petty, or stupid enough to do something that you might believe to be dangerously irrational or hopelessly deranged, because they will disappoint you at every turn.

== Cool Shit ==
[[File:Dark-angels-4000x2500 come at me bro.jpg|600px|thumb|right|Come at me [[Fallen Angels|"Bro"]]]]
As the very literal "First" Legion, they were equipped with gear that predated the pacts with Mars, and were supposed to have inherited much of their equipment from the time of Old Night and the armouries of ancient Terra. They were permitted to retain exclusive access to these items (by the Emperor's own command) which were often never seen in other later Legions which were raised to the standard template. For whatever reason.

These included:
*Fellglaives equipped with Warp Cannons instead of Volkite Carronade and Vindicators which fired warp/vortex shells (Warp shells/missiles/whatever teleport inside the target, Vortex unleash small warp rifts).
*Land Raiders equipped with Anti-Grav engines instead of tank treads.
*Stasis Missiles & Grenades
*Molecular Acid Boltshells
*Short ranged Plasma Repeater carbines and Plasma Burners.
*Phosphex Incinerator cannons [[Awesome|used by Terminators]] according to ''Angels of Caliban'' (Phosphex was normally considered a horrible and dishonorable weapon, the Dark Angels don't give a fuck)
*A unique pattern of aircraft called a Swordstrike Interceptor which they might or might not still have
*A unique type of super-heavy tank which acted as a mobile Void Shield generator called a "Portcullis Mono-track"
*Along with a host of other forbidden tech, the Dark Angels where also given authority to use a large number of enslaved [[Men of Iron]] during the Great Crusade.
*When they say they had access to forbidden tech, they really aren't kidding. The stuff they have hidden away could unleash a new 'Age of Strife', if the Emperor ever gave the order; even if the Great Crusade failed he could make sure that no one else won either (burn it all down and start again). Did we mention that these weapons are stated to be stored in areas that can even survive Exterminatus level events, and would survive even if the ships that they are on are destroyed... Some of this stuff is clearly not human in origin. It's essentially Pandora's box; once some of this stuff gets out, you won't be able to put it back in.

Much of this gear would not see use in the 41st Millennium ''(or the tabletop)'' and the chapter adheres to a slightly more "codex-equivalent" loadout, probably because GW re-uses the same Space Marine range for most chapters. Though it is strongly implied that the Rock still contains a hoard of archaeotech within its dungeons from the old days.

So far, all they've got to show for themselves is bikes with plasma-guns and cool pick-axes, some sturdy but mediocre flyers, some minor Land Speeder variants, and a supposedly disproportionate number of Terminator suits (taking potential casualties into account they have to have over 200 of the fucking things!). That is, so far as the Imperium knows. I mean, if a lot of interesting wars and operations were just...never reported...

Here's hoping that GW/FW remembers that the Emperor sent these guys out on Crusade before he sat down and actually made the other Legions, so they can get their act together and make Dark Angels distinct.

=== The Dark Angels Fleet ===
Both Forge World and the Black Library books have hinted quite a bit at the Dark Angels Legion having had a very prominent void presence. They are noted to specialize in extended independent void operations and the 1st Legion's artificers were known to create the distinctive 'Paravane' sub-type armour: ''"an idiosyncratic variant of the widely issued Mark II which was renowned for its enhanced void endurance and systems."'' Though this never really gets mentioned in later 40k, but there's no stopping you using the conversion kits to represent "Void Hardened" Armour in Zone Mortalis games, if you ever play those. This would also explain why they would have a crap ton of [[Terminator]] Armor.

Although they didn’t have the largest fleet nor have the largest number of capital ships (those honours belonged to legions like the [[Imperial Fists]] and the [[Iron Warriors]] respectively), the First may still have owned one of the most powerful fleets among the legions at that time. Chalk it up to the fact that they used a whole bunch of weapon designs that were left over from the Dark Age of Technology and had a large number of void fortresses that nobody else knew about. Which, by the way, means there may be hundreds or even thousands of Dark Angels Chapters in the void no one knows about as the legion creates its own (it did so publicly at least once that we know of and we know they can build their own everything). During the Thramas campaign, Sevatar’s reaction to seeing the full force of the First Legion's fleet bearing down upon the Night Lord's legion can be summed up as “well we're fucked, time to run away” (place obligatory Monty Python joke here). Even when the Lion headed towards Macragge, leaving the largest part of his fleet in the hands of Corswain, the fleet assets he took with him were still described as being enough to casually wipe out the defenses surrounding Guilliman's home and then split the world in two.
*Some of the fleet were armed with something similar to the Rift Cannons on the Dark Angels 40k Dark Talons but on a massive scale; such weapons would be devastating in a void combat environment.
*The Dark Angels legions fleet was almost never to be found in one place, instead it would be spread out into a large number of smaller fleets; however don't underestimate these fleets as each will contain some very old and power ships, dating all the way back to humanities golden age, and each fleet will be centred around a bloody [[Gloriana-class Battleship]] (that's right they had multiples of these things).
*The Lion would lead a fleet no larger then any other of the legion, as he wanted each fleet to be just as capable as his own. The fleet he is seen using during the Heresy numbered enough ships to sustain 20,000 marines; this combined with the current Dark Angels chapter fleet numbers, sustaining the supposed "1000" marines, we can get a rough bench mark for the size of Dark Angels legion fleets during the Crusade, however the Imperial Fists are said to have the largest fleet at over 15,000 warships. Due to the numbers that are traveling with the Lion, we can reasonably conclude that the Dark Angels had at least 10 main fleets operating at any given time during the Crusade.

It makes sense that the Dark Angels fleet was on the larger end given that the majority of their successor chapters are Fleet based ''(the fact that being fleet based means that they are harder to keep track of and monitor is of course completely accidental and in no ways intended. After all, what could they possibly have to hide right?)'' However, by the time of 40k and their diminished status as a "Chapter", even when excluding [[The Rock]] itself their fleet capabilities are certainly above average when you compare raw numbers with other chapters. ''With 8 battle barges, 16 strike cruisers and 21 rapid strike vessels they are twice the size of the Ultramarines fleet and almost three times the size of the Blood Angels'.'' However the [[Space Wolves]] have a larger overall fleet and there has been little to no mention of their continued use of archeotech warships and weapons even amongst their successors. However, given that unlike everyone else the Dark Angels never forgot how to maintain and build stuff, it is likely that they and their successor Chapters' technologies never weakened anyway, including their ships. Aside from that, every other instance of degrading technology in 40k is pointed out to our faces, but this is never brought up regarding Dark Angels technology. In the ''Lion 'el Johnson, Lord of the First'' Primarch book, it's revealed that though the Dark Angels maintain good relations with the Mechanicus, they also make a point of familiarizing themselves with the workings of technology on their own, which allows them to be self-sufficient if nessessary, and develop technological insights not limited by the dogma of Sons of Mars. In addition to that, the Dark Angels, alone of probably all other imperial forces (save for the [[Custodes|Talons]] [[Sisters of Silence|of The Emperor]]) are trusted with untold stores of archeotech so rare and powerful they're unknown to even the Mechanicus. A few notable examples being small arms that ''permakill'' daemons or corporeal beings with equal ease and even [[Grimdark|sear them from memory]], DAoT planet-destroying capitol weaponry capable of [[Exterminatus]]-ing daemon worlds in the middle of a warp storm and yet '''STAY''' dead (something only previously seen from the [[Necrons]]), and [[awesome|functional Men of Iron]]. All of which could only be brought to bare by the express order of The Lion himself, and perhaps by the Dreadwing in the time since his absence. This could go a long way to explaining what separates the Dark Angels and their successors from the rest of the Imperium, technologically speaking.

It is important to note the Dark Angels are one of the very few chapters to still have a Gloriana-class ship, the ''Invincible Reason''. Additionally they do make almost exclusive use of the '''Hunter-Class Destroyer'''. Other chapters have access to the template, but the Dark Angels prefer it because they don't like getting their new fleet assets from the same sources as the Imperial Navy. So the Hunter is like a naval Cobra Destroyer; it acts like a small torpedo boat but is a bit more maneuverable and armoured.

Despite this, unless you believe that the Unforgiven are purposefully concealing the fact that they have a whole bunch of leftover cool shit (which is exactly the sort of thing they love doing), it seems like those glorious days of "Legion" are long past.

*In most Chapters all their aircraft from the sleek [[Stormhawk]] Interceptors to the hulking [[Stormraven]] Gunships are piloted by the Techmarines of their Chapter's armoury. While most Chapters can have anything from 20 to 40 Techmarines at any one time (the Blood Angels have 35),the Dark Angels only have around 22 Techmarines. The low numbers of Techmarines within the Dark Angels can be put down to their distrust of their [[Adeptus Mechanicus|dual loyalties]]. While this lack of specialists would normally be a problem for most Chapters, the Dark Angels are somewhat unusual amongst the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes in that their unique aircraft the [[Nephilim Jetfighter]] and the [[Dark Talon]] are not piloted by the Techmarines of their armoury. Instead, these agile hunting craft are flown into battle by the expert operatives of the Dark Angels 2nd Company, the [[Ravenwing]] - which gives them a whole (oversized) company that is capable of taking to the skies if they are needed. From “Death from the Skies” we learn that most chapters can field at least two “divisions” (24 to around 48 aircraft) but they are dependent on the number of Techmarines the chapter can afford to deploy. By contrast, the Dark Angels have their 22 Techmarines and the entire Ravenwing which can field at least two “Companies” or six “divisions” (72 to around 144 aircraft depending on the size of the Ravenwing at the time); the Penitent blades (one of the newest chapters), due to the nature of their chosen home base, have twice this number. Keep in mind that the Ravenwing's normal ground and speeder vehicles could be piloted by Scouts in a pinch, which means that when deployed as a whole Chapter, the Dark Angels can field nearly one and a half hundred of among the best Astartes fighters along with around a hundred attack bikes and land speeders plus a hundred Terminators and the rest of their battle-brothers. This is without even considering their previously listed examples of technology exclusive to the First Legion. So...[[anal circumference|what did you roll?]]

== Notable Members ==
*'''[[Azrael]]''' - Current [[Chapter Master|SUPREME GRAND MASTER]] of the Dark Angels. It’s not at all suspicious that “Supreme Grand Master” implies there must be “masters” for there to be “grandmasters”. Dark Angels captains are just “captains”...just saying.
*'''[[Belial]]''' - Grand Master of the [[Deathwing]]. Current member of the Hidden Masters; Azrael's personal inner circle, they are privileged with knowledge beyond that given to even the regular Inner circle. They are also allowed to access the vast wealth held within the hidden libraries of the Rock that are usually protected by the Watchers in the Dark (not all of it of course, only the right amount; can't have them learning too much before they are ready); to give an idea to the value of the info the Rock contains, Tzeentch himself sent the Blue Scribes to secretly infiltrate and steal as much info as they could. Azrael himself has access to a vast collection of 'True Names, which he uses against their demonic owners. An interesting bit of information about Belial it that he actually hates all the cloak and dagger shenanigans that go on around him, his desire to track down Gaz is fuelled by him wanting to get away from all the shadow games for a moment and just have a good honest scrap.
*'''[[Sammael]]''' - Grand Master of the [[Ravenwing]]. Member of the Hidden Masters.
*'''[[Ezekiel]]''' - Current Chief [[Librarian]]. Member of the Hidden Masters.
*'''[[Sapphon]]''' Master of Sanctity- current head chaplain of the Dark Angels; alongside Azrael and Ezekiel, he forms a trinity of level heads that keep the whole thing together. Member of the Hidden Masters. Thought to be a conservative by his brothers, he is actually a deviant named after a famous [[Space Hulk: Deathwing|poetess]] of Greek Antiquity considered [[/d/|the first lesbian known to History!!]] [[Lulz|She also died for the love of a man]]; the Greeks called Homosexuality Kinaidos (Mover of [[Fallen|Shame]]), the Aidos part is a goddess member of the same trinity as [[Grey Knight|Nemesis]]. Sneaky, sleazy [[Games Workshop]]... who knows what will happen to poor Grand-Master Sapphon in the future?
*'''[[Asmodai]]''' - Master of Repentance- Notoriously brutal [[Interrogator-Chaplain]] who's known for being an asshole and failing twice at his job for every success. Member of the Hidden Masters.
*'''[[Naaman]]''' - Noted Scout Sergeant
*'''Corswain:''' The [[Paladin]] (Company Champion) of the Ninth Order; he would later become the Lion's Seneschal. A Caliban born Dark Angel he was despite his young age widely considered one of the finest blades among the Legiones Astartes, his name ranking among such legends such as [[Sigismund]] and [[Sevatar]]. Despite coming from such a taciturn and insular legion he had by the time of the Heresy gained a well-respected reputation among the other legions with even Guilliman referring to him as “beloved Corswain”.
*'''Alajos:''' The [[Dark Angels Grand Master|Grand master]] of the Ninth Order, a Terran-born veteran of the old legion and the Lion’s go-to champion when needed. He was also one of the few people Sigismund of the Imperial Fists respected and considered a true friend and brother-in-arms. He also stood his ground against a very angry Russ, refusing to stand down or move aside to allow him to retrieve his sword that he had lost after the Lion had disarmed him during the fight. Russ did take his axe instead though and then later handed it to the first new Space Wolf to be inducted into the new Space Wolf chapter after the legions were disbanded. He would meet his end upon Tsagualsa holding off both [[Sevatar]] and Sheng of the [[Night Lords]]. Alajos and Corswain represent different sides of the Legion with Alajos representing all the positive elements of the old legion and Corswain representing the new breed of Dark Angels and what they might have become if events had happened differently.
*'''[[Cypher]]''' - see his page for details
*'''Lazarus:''' Captain of the 5th company, and only primaris member of the Inner Circle. He has a hard-on for killing psykers (Thousand Sons specifically), and was introduced in a white dwarf to replace Captain Balthazar, then featured prominately in the Ritual of the Damned chapter of the [[Psychic Awakening]].

==Daily rituals==

04:00-Morning Prayer: The Dark Angels are roused from their cells to begin prayer at the leadership of the Interrogator-Chaplain. Prayer is extra long compared to most other Chapters due to {{Blam|+++DARK ANGELS BEING SO LOYAL THAT THEY WANT TO SHOW THEIR DEVOTION TO THE EMPEROR AND THE LION.+++}} 
06:00-Morning Firing Rites: The Dark Angels take to the ranges to begin firing practice. 
07:00-Battle Practice: The Dark Angels descend to the battle cages to practice in close-combat. Members of the Ravenwing will practice with their bikes and land speeders, while members of the Deathwing will practice {{Blam|+++counter Alpha Legion scenarios+++}} 
9:00- {{Blam|+++Chocolate milk and cookies break while listening to Enigma or Gregorian music. Also, free meditation time+++}}. 
12:00-Midday Meal: A light meal is prepared by the Chapter Serfs. 
12:30-Tactical Indoctrination: The Dark Angels will engage in tactical briefings on opponents they will be facing in the future. Members of the Inner Circle determine targets. At this point a battle-brother may visit the Apothecary. Meanwhile, Interrogator-Chaplains interrogate {{Blam|+++heretics and traitors+++}}. 
14:00-Afternoon nap with dimmed lights and soft instrumental music playing in the background.
 16:00-Evening Fire Rites: The Dark Angels take to the ranges to begin firing practice. They usually use black-colored targets to better hone their skills at shooting. 
17:00-Evening Prayer: The Dark Angels assemble for prayer under the Interrogator-Chaplains, who have just finished their {{Blam|+++lively discussions+++}}. 
19:00-Evening Meal: A feast is prepared by the Chapter serfs. Dessert consists of of angel's-food cake with a layer of dark mint chocolate, which the chapter serfs are extremely careful in their delivery to the mess halls as those which drop it and cause it to fall soon come to regret it. 
20:00-Maintenance Rituals: The Dark Angels will tend to the maintenance of their wargear while also washing their robes. Members of the Ravenwing will perform maintenance of their attack bikes and land speeders. 
00:00-The Dark Angels will retire to their cells for sleep.

* Why is there a 4 hour break in the schedule?
{{Blam|+++Time is relative in the Rock+++}}

== Frequently asked questions==
*Why are you called the Unforgiven?
[[Imperial Truth|{{Blam|+++For failing to protect the Emperor in His darkest hour +++}}]]

*Why is your rank Interrogator Chaplain?
[[Fallen Angels|{{Blam|+++The rank comes with the responsibility of seeking the repentance of the heretic Astartes, traitors, etc.+++}}]]

*Didn't I read that in the Index Astartes that your armour is black? Why is it green now?
{{Blam|+++Contrary to some heretical rumours, our armour is green so that we don’t get confused with our [[Raven Guard]] brothers. The only Dark Angels who wear black are the operatives and pilots of our Ravenwing company. [[Cypher|Should you see some Astartes wearing ancient wargear with Dark Angels iconography]] please report them to the nearest Dark Angels officer so [[FATAL|that they may be brought in line with the Codex Astartes regulations]]. Also the Codex itself is centuries out of date. We have raised these concerns with Lord [[Guilliman]], who has informed us that such errors will be corrected in the Codex Imperialis.+++}}

*Wouldn't that get confusing with the [[Salamanders]], who are also green?
{{Blam|+++No. The Salamanders are usually on fire, making it very easy to distinguish between them and us.+++}}

*I have seen some [[Watchers in the Dark|little beings]] with Dark Angels carrying some relics. What are these Watchers?
{{Blam|+++Worry not, these are just chapter serfs, not associated with xenos in any way+++}}

*Why are said serfs repelling Daemons with their mere presence?
{{Blam|+++A good question, faithful servant of the Emperor. Please follow this servo skull to our debriefing room down this dark and totally not conspicuous hall and Brother-Librarian [[Ezekiel]] shall implant your mind with its secrets.+++}}

*What happened to [[Caliban]], your homeworld?

{{Blam|+++It was destroyed by heretic Astartes during the Heresy. The Rock is all that remains of our homeworld.+++}}.

*What happened to your Primarch? Where is [[Lion El'Jonson]]?
{{Blam|+++With a heavy heart, we must tell you that he is lost to us, perhaps slain by the forces of Chaos. None can say if his body was found, and evidence of his whereabouts has been buried, but we believe he will return to guide us again +++}}.

*What happened to the allies that were fighting alongside the Dark Angels who suddenly disappeared?

[[Exterminatus|{{Blam|+++We are unaware of their present location. Only bolt shells and plasma burns were encountered. We suspect an ambush from the despised Traitor Legions.+++}}]]

*What is this Imperial Secundus we keep hearing about?

{{Blam|+++ Our knowledge of the Imperial Secundus is little better than the average imperial citizen. We suggest directing questions about it to Lord Guilliman. [[Commissar|Preferably when he doesn't have a firearm or power weapon at his side.]]+++}}

The '''Dark Angels''' (also known as the '''"The Unforgiven"''') are amongst the most loyal, honoured, accomplished and powerful [[Space Marine]] Chapters in the Imperium. Their grim determination and relentless persecution of their foes are legendary, and their combat record tells a long tale of selfless heroism.

== Litany of the Dark Angels: Space Hulk Deathwing ==
'''Heralds of the coming Doom, by cry of Raven, we are drawn.'''

'''This oath of war and vengeance, on blade of exalted iron sworn'''

'''With blood anointed swords aloft, advance we, into Dread’s dark shade.'''

'''Punishment divine unleashed with hate, a wrathful storm of bolt and blade.'''

'''Purge with plasma, fist, and shell, bring cleansing fire’s righteous breath.'''

'''For the Emperor, Knights of Caliban! The Lion’s anointed Angels of Death!'''

'''No forgiveness'''.

'''No retreat.'''

==Chapter Uniform==
The original Dark Angels had black armour, back in the days of the [[Beakie|Corvus pattern helmets]]. Modern Dark Angels instead use a dark green colour, except for the [[Deathwing]] and [[Ravenwing]] companies, which are composed entirely of bone-white Terminators and black Fast Attack units respectively. They were introduced in the Deathwing expansion to 1st edition ''[[Space Hulk]]'' with a spiffy background story by Bill King.
*To paint your armour black was to show that you served the Emperor directly in the same way Sigismund did when he was chosen to serve as the first Emperor's Champion.
*It could be that one of the reasons for swapping the black for the green was because they no longer felt worthy of it. The Dark Angels are literally wearing their shame for all to see, but no one else knows it.
*The Dark Angels wear green to remember Caliban's forests. The Calibanites first started it during the Heresy and it spread throughout the legion after the destruction of Caliban. (Some who were upset about how the Imperium had basically devoured Caliban's resources {and forests} as an expression of anger and possibly loyalty to Luther..or Caliban..or both.. it gets complicated)

Veterans wear robes and capes and such on the field of battle representing any number of ritualistic ranks and titles that are mostly unknown to those outside of the Chapter but harken back to the traditions of "The Order". Plus they look pretty [[awesome]].

==Gallery==
<Gallery>
File:DA Codex Cover.png|Here's some badassery right here.
File:Lulz.jpg|Happens quite often.
File:Dark-Angels-warhammer-40000.jpeg|Funnily enough, the angrinator-pattern helmet utilized by the Angry Marines was actually pioneered by the Dark Angels.
File:Dark Angels awesomeness.jpg|Always recognizable with their beautiful artworks and <s>amazing aesthetics.</s> FUKKEN DUALWIELDING FLINTLOCKS.
File:Interrogator Chap.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Welcome sir, let's start your [[FATAL|"interview"]] ([[Mark Gibbons|MG]])
File:Unforgiven.jpg|The Dark Angels and most of their confirmed successors
File:Beakie da fe ft.JPG|On the left: Dark Angel trooper in the glory days of the Legiones Astartes.
File:The_truth.jpeg|The true secret of the inner circle
File:Eternal-Crusade-Dark-Angel.jpg|Just a friendly reminder to all Dark Angels currently playing “Eternal Crusade”: every time the phrase “YOU HAVE FALLEN” appears on your screen brother Asmodai will kill a puppy.
File:-spacehulk-parchemin.png|Battle Hymn of Vengeance
File:20171125 150941.jpg|November 25, 2017—a date which will live in infamy—
File:FB_IMG_15118378317321618.jpg|Chicks dig Dark Angels
File:Space-Marine-Veteran-Print.jpg|Robes: always a classic.
File:FunkoPop-Jan21-DarkAngel8jvdds.jpg
File:Fallen DAMarine.jpg|The Dark Angels' turnover rates after their serfs have just mopped the floor are horrendous.
File:Lance Decurion.jpg|Dark Angels Lance Decurion
File:Space_marine_38.jpg|Dark Angels as depicted during the golden ages of GW art
</Gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Dark_Angels (9E)|Dark Angels Tactics]]
* [[Dark Angel Shoulder Pad]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwZISypgA9M Unofficial theme song for the Dark Angels]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckom3gf57Yw Unofficial theme song for the Unforgiven]

{{Template:Marines-Official}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]]
[[Category:Dark Angels]]
{{Dark Angels}}

Dark Angels

2022-03-16T12:11:17Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* The Dark Angels Fleet */

{{Awesome}}

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Dark Angels
|Heraldry = [[File:Darkangelslogo.png|center|140px]]
|Battle Cry = Usually they fight silently, but situationally: "Repent! For tomorrow you die!" or "For the Lion!" or "A moment of Laxity spawns a lifetime of Heresy!"
|Number = I
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = Angels of Death, the Six Hosts
|Successor Chapters = Hell of a lot; according to the [[Deathwatch]], Dark Angel successors make up about 15% of all Marines {{Blam|+++completely autonomous+++}} Chapters, most notably the [[Blades of Vengeance]], [[Angels of Defiance]], [[Disciples of Caliban]], [[Consecrators]], [[Angels of Absolution]], [[Angels of Redemption]], [[Angels of Vengeance]],[[Guardians of the Covenant]], [[Bringers of Judgement]], [[Cowled Wardens]], [[Knights of Abhorrence]], [[Prime Absolvers]], [[Penintent Blades]] and [[The Unnamed]].
|Chapter Master = [[Azrael]].
|Primarch = [[Lion El'Jonson]].
|Homeworld = [[The Rock]], originally [[Caliban]].
|Specialty = [[Plasma]], [[Deathwing|terminators]], [[Ravenwing|bikes]], [[Fallen Angels|{{Blam|+++hunting down the filthy traitors to the Imperium!+++}}]][[derp|babysitting the Space Wolves during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy]]
|Strength = 1,000 (officially, {{Blam|+++much more counting chapter serfs, officers, pilots and the 10th company like all other chapters+++}}|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man|:{{Blam|+++"Loyalty is its own reward" - The Lion+++}}]]
|Colours = Green, black, bone white
}}
{{Topquote|The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one.|Margaret Atwood}}

{{Topquote|Tumbling waterfalls plunge from its top in a cascade to foam in a wide pool of churning water. Vibrant greenery stretch in all directions and Zahariel felt peace pierce through him unaware of how empty his soul had become until it was filled.|''Descent of the Angels'', setting a Graalic theme unto The Order.}}

{{Topquote|♫ Do you wanna hunt the fallen? ♫|Azrael's Ringtone}}

{{Blam|+++Welcome to the Dark Angels Page! Your entrance is being monitored by [[Chaplain|Interrogator-Chaplain]] [[Zacharias]]. Any questions you have will be answered to the best of our ability, no matter if you are [[Imperial Guard|a lowly servant of the Emperor]], an Inquisitor, Primaris Space Marine brother, or Dark Angel initiate.+++}}
{{Blam|+++'''THIS ARTICLE IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE AND IS REWRITTEN FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION. ALL MESSAGES WRITTEN IN RED ARE THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH ABOUT OUR HISTORY.+++}}
{{Blam|+++Any attempt to follow links without the approved authorization may end in your unfortunate demise.+++}}

== The Unforgiven ==

::''‘Listen well, initiates, for I bring light to the darkness. It is''
::''the weak-minded that crave comforts – the Dark Angels need''
::''them not. Wealth? The sons of the Lion covet no baubles, for''
::''they are meaningless to us. Sensual gratification? We know''
::''well its transitory nature. Pride? We are no whelps of Russ.''
::''By our actions alone shall we be known.’
::''- Brother-Chaplain Valeforr

Their [[Primarch]] is [[Lion El'Jonson]] a.k.a The Lion. As a result, the Dark Angels are totally {{Blam|+++awesome and without a fault +++}}. Their Primarch happened to be named after a [[Wikipedia:Lionel_Johnson|homosexual poet]] who wrote a poem called "The Dark Angel" and might've dated [[Fulgrim| Oscar Wilde]]. Oh, and their homeworld is called [[The Rock]], [[Grimdark|{{Blam|+++a refuge for peace and meditation where nothing sinister ever happens +++}}]] (it's actually a mobile space station that can take out most of Battlefleet Solar on its own). They were the posterboys for both [[6th edition|6E]] and [[Citadel Miniatures|Citadel's]] "new" line of paints. Fuck yeah, we guess? Russian fa/tg/uys believe that Dark Angels are Jews because the name "Lion" and surnames ending with "-son" are popular with Jewish Russians. Interestingly, they also employ retainers known as the [[Watchers in the Dark]]. These {{Blam|+++adorable sword hugging beings are chapter serfs. They are so small because they need to be that small for cleaning the corners in the Rock+++}}

When dealing with the Dark Angels it is important to bear in mind that they are the very embodiment of the phrase [[Vindicare|“the end justifies the means”]] and they will go to any lengths and do anything that they need to in order to {{Blam|+++protect the Imperium from the perils of the universe.+++}}

The new Codex heavily implies that they may be at Legion strength {{Blam|+++as we have now more reinforcements from the Ultima Founding, which leads to more successor chapters. Thanks to Lord Commander Guilliman, another unfaltering loyalist like ourselves.+++}}The lack of clarification on this matter and the suspiciously close cooperation between the Dark Angels and their successor chapters hasn't gone unnoticed by the [[Inquisition]], although their attempts at exposing the Dark Angels' secrets [[Abaddon|haven't met with much success]] thus far. However, one reason they and their successors work together so well is likely due to the fact that the pre-heresy Dark Angels Legion was already assembled out of chapters. After the Heresy, they merely needed to give the chapters names instead of numbers and have the chapters adopt different heraldry and colors; as such, the Dark Angels and their successor chapters might still be (functionally and unofficially) a (more-or-less) cohesive Legion.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByQ7L5aRu1A Their theme] by [[HMKids]],which SHOWS THEIR ABSOLUTE LOYALTY. [[FATAL|{{Blam|+++If you have any doubts regarding the Dark Angels' ABSOLUTE LOYALTY, then you should follow this servo skull down this totally not in any way dark and ominous corridor towards room 42 where Brother Asmodai will be waiting to answer any questions you might have.+++}}]]
They have apparently also become the love-chapter of some of GW's writers, since they now have the best motorcycle squads around (yes, apparently even better than the [[White Scars]]) and the "last" jetbike in the Imperium (they might have a ton of them or be making new ones!). {{Blam|+++The honourable Custodes have jetbikes as well. We would never commit a tech-heresy such as hoarding precious tech-knowledge+++}}.

[[File:Penance by majesticchicken.jpg|thumb|left|400px|The Dark Angels, the flagbearers of grimdark gothic design.]]
=== Gene-Seed ===

Much like the Ultrasmurfs, the Dark Angels have some of the most stable gene-seed of all the progenitor chapters, with no significant mutations documented. Due to this and the fact that they were the first Legion produced by the Emperor, they remain one of the most favorable ones to use for founding successor chapters. Although, the High Lords are supposedly iffy about using the DA's gene seed due to the rumors that all Dark Angel successors stay in one command structure with the Dark Angels still calling the shots, effectively all of their descendant chapters still act as part of a legion. Nevertheless, because there's no official proof of this, the Inquisition cannot call an Exterminatus on the Rock. [[Deathwing|{{Blam| +++Should you have such evidence, please report yourself with the material in hand so we can fix this issue.+++}}]]

One of the Lion’s greatest legacies to his sons is his [[Perturabo|strategic]] [[Roboute Guilliman|genius]] – a quality passed on to his sons through the Chapter’s gene-seed. This trait manifests exponentially as a Dark Angel ascends toward the rank of Company Master. Such officers can plan a campaign to the last detail, execute faultless assaults, and assemble impenetrable defenses instinctively. Central to this ability is the deployment of the correct mix of squads, vehicles and support elements. To this end, the Dark Angels form strike forces – self-contained armies assembled to prosecute a specific campaign or defeat a particular foe.

According to the {{Blam|+++words of brother [[Ezekiel]]+++}}, Librarians from the Unforgiven can pick up the unique psychic signatures of those who bear traces of their shared Primarch. Even the most spliced or tainted gene-seed of Lion El’Jonson emits a distinct signal powerful enough to be detected. Basically all you need to do is put a Dark Angels Librarian near a {{Blam|+++fellow Dark Angel playing a millennia-long game of hide and seek+++}} and they might as well have a great big flashing neon light hanging over their head saying “SON OF THE LION HERE. COME AND GET ME.” (This has precedent in earlier fluff such as the battle for Rynn's World, where the death of 600 [[Crimson Fists]] nearly killed a nearby librarian).

=== Battle Cry ===
Unlike more warlike chapters like the [[Space Wolves|Space Corgis]] or the [[Black Templars]] who would go into battle screaming about how they're going to skullfuck the enemies of man, the Dark Angels go into battle in cold, efficient silence, somewhat similar to that of [[Angry Marine]] Terminators who are so enraged that they march into battle with stone hearts and steel faces. In fact, their "Repent! For tomorrow you die!" is less of a battle cry and more of a foreboding proclamation against their real targets: [[Fallen Angels|{{Blam|+++the damnable traitors from the nine fallen legions+++}}.]] This makes more sense the more you realize what the Chaplains do to the [[Cultist-chan|Dark Angels' greatest obsession]] {{Blam|+++teach them to love the Imperium and the real fiasco of following chaos.+++}} within the depths of The Rock, until they repent.

==History==
{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Dark Angels
|Heraldry = [[File:Dark_Angels_chapter-crusade-hersey_.jpg|center|140px]]
|Original Name = The First, Primaris Angelus Mortis (Honorific)
|Successor Chapters =
|Primarch =
|Homeworld = Caliban (home world), Terra, an unknown number of void outposts and watch fortresses on the Imperium’s fringes. The planet Gramarye was once the home base of the First legion, likely as a muster world before reuniting with their primarch.
|Specialty = Combined arms and multi-spectra warfare, exterminatus and purgation campaigns, extended independent void operations.
|Strength = By the time of the Horus Heresy, the Legion numbered around 200,000 marines.
|Colours = Black
}}

{{Topquote|They had walked into the mouth of hell, and not only had they returned, but they had left hell shattered in their passage.|}}
[[File:Hexagrammaton.jpg|200px|left|thumb|The symbol of the Hexagrammaton.]]
===Organisation===
Not simply a [[First Founding|Legion]] numbered "one", they were quite literally the First legion created by the Emperor and in their earliest incarnation fought as the personal army of the Master of Mankind in the dawning years of the [[Great Crusade]]. Their first official battle took place before the Great Crusade began, being used to destroy an army of mixed troops and Thunder Warriors that had come to arrest Constantin Valdor. HH: Extermination tells us that as the prototype Legion the Dark Angels served as the template for all the Legions that would follow after which the Emperor decided to make the following legions more specialised and engineered their development towards different roles, and as a standard by which these successors would be measured (however they would eventually get supplanted by the empire-building [[Ultramarines]] after the Horus Heresy, in part due to the severe losses they took during the Rangdan Xenocides). So basically the Emperor simply intended the First Legion to sally forth and "just be Space Marines". The original Legion were a bunch of bloody killers, and they took great pride in their job. They were the very definition of the Emperor's Angels of Death, marching forth and crushing the foes of the Emperor, wherever they could be found. They took great pride in their primacy, acting as teachers and mentors towards the younger legions.

That meant the Dark Angels had to figure out warfare all on their own, and the techniques they developed would have entire Legions built upon those principles when they were raised later on. Including the first attempt at creating a group of battle ready psychic marines, and although this order was eventfully disbanded the lessons learned would eventually be used in the creation of the [[Librarius]].

There existed six specialised "Wings" collectively known as the '''Hexagrammaton''' originally coalesced from the various Hosts used by the first Terran members of the Great Crusade as they each learned their methods of warfare in the initial years of fighting. When the Lion was united with his Legion he reorganised the Hosts to run across and through the normal Dark Angels structure of orders, chapters, and companies (similar to how the DA company veterans work in 40k) and every Dark Angel from the lowest to the highest is a member of one of the wings. Each acted as an independent formation that was both a part of the main body of the legion but also separate from it at the same time. Each of the wings/hosts is commanded by an officer known as a Voted-Lieutenant and several Voted-Successors who are outside of the normal legion command structure. One of the key strengths of the First legion seems to have been their ability to adapt and change things up when needed. Not every battle can be fought the same way, especially when considering the varied and unique opponents that exist within the galaxy, so spreading your specialists across your standard forces and using their experience when necessary seems like it might actually be a pretty good idea. Like the Dark Angels of 40k who don't really specialise in any single form of combat, but actually prefer to create tailor fitted strike forces to deal with any given opponent, the existence of the Hexagrammaton in 30k provides the First Legion with a great deal of flexibility.

When confronted with a situation that requires a more specialised touch the commanding officer can hand operational control over to the highest ranking member of one of the wings. A call will go out across all the First Legion forces present for all members of the required "Wing" to gather and pool their combined specialized skills and equipment in order to bring ruin to the enemy. Unlike legions like the Death Guard who preferred to keep their legions as a single whole, the First Legion seems to have given Legion forces that are operating away from the main body a bit more freedom to think for themselves. This would allow the Legion to continue to operate independently, even if they may have been cut off from the rest of the Legions command, this would also allow them to operate in a far greater number of theatres of war across the Great Crusade; this would normally be considered a good thing, but this is 40k and "freedom of thought" can only lead to bad things.

Each was dedicated to a different form of warfare of which two survived into the later 40k:

*'''[[Deathwing]]''' - Veterans specialists, Marksmen and linebreakers who also provided bodyguard duties for other officers. (Think Space Wolves or Luna Wolves)
*'''[[Ravenwing]]''' - Cavalry & Fast Attack (White Scars)
*'''[[Stormwing]]''' - Initially described in the [[Black Library]] books as boarding specialist formation comprised mostly of [[Breacher Siege Squad|shield-wielding units]], it has been [[retcon]]ed by Forge World into a no-speciality wing of sorts. (Ultramarines)
*'''[[Dreadwing]]''' - Called in when you [[Exterminatus|just want something gone and you really don’t care about the collateral damage.]] (Death Guard)
*'''[[Firewing]]''' - Excel in destroying enemy command structures and assassination, they were the opposite of the Dreadwing. (Alpha Legion, Raven Guard)
*'''[[Ironwing]]''' - Heavy emphasis on battle tanks and mechanized infantry and had the highest concentration of Terminators in ANY of the Legions, including experimental suits unseen elsewhere. (Iron Warriors, Iron Hands)

A Dark Angel's membership in a particular wing seems to not only be based on their abilities but also their personality, attitude, and personal mindset; for example the Dreadwing are made up of the most brutal, destructive, and warmongering members of the Dark Angels whilst the Ravenwing (if they are anything like their 40k counterparts) are made up of the most impulsive, wild (by DA standards), and inquisitive members (being a speed freak helps). How they are designated into each wing is unknown...perhaps they are given extensive physiological evaluations or maybe they just have some sort of [[Harry Potter]]-esque sorting hat.

In addition to the ''Hexagrammaton'' is the '''Hekatonystika''' - also called the ''Hundred Esoteric Arts (although the exact numuber of orders fluctuates, there were hundreds of them over the crusade)'' and is divided into Orders each commanded by '''Preceptor''' and his Seneschals. These '''Orders''' are each tasked with the protection of some kind of lore that that useful in battle, such as combat about particular kinds of enemy or on certain kinds of battlefield; if necessary the commander in charge of a battlefield could request members of an order with knowledge relevant to the situation come together to form a '''Cenobium''' to concentrate their expertise and offer assistance in the same way that the whole force can reorganise according to the six Wings. The Orders stood alongside the wings and were complementary in many ways, such as the Order of the Broken Wings being anti-air specialists and preferring recruits from the Ironwing for instance. It was also possible to have membership of more than one Order, though this was considered rare. Some orders were extremely small and numbered only a handful of marines, others were massive and capable of deploying to the battlefield on their own as collections of whole Chapters of thousands of warriors.

In addition to the combat orders, there were also many Orders Civilis that were specialist in support and logistical roles, though they rarely numbered many full battle brothers among them, they were a means of honouring failed aspirants and serfs with important and vital positions.

This all stands in combination with the "standard" chain of command as laid down by the ''Principa Bellicosa'' of Chapters and Companies, meaning any individual Space Marine could hold several ranks and be the superior of his comrades in different situations. One example is given in HH9 Crusade where a simple line Legionary in his company actually holds the rank of '''Cenobite''' in his Order as well as '''Proctor''' of the Stormwing, therefore outranking his own sergeant in many situations, serving as an example of how the First Legion puts experience above authority.

Thanks to the Hexagrammaton and Hekatonystika the Dark Angels were almost impossible for outsiders to comprehend, Such disregard for strict and unchanging lines of command and control frustrated some legions and primarchs, especially Guilliman who had implored the Lion on multiple occasions to reform his legion to match the example of the Ultramarines, but for the Dark Angels it allowed them to adapt and evolve from moment to moment on the battlefield. these formations proved to be fertile grounds in the training of large numbers of highly skilled veterans, and leaders from amongst the dark angels; allowing them to function perfectly well when denied a central command, as they had already been forged into a flexible force that could function independently even in the most dire of circumstances.

The Dark Angels would even have a bit of fun with the other forces of the Imperium; upon arrival they would deliberately not inform the other Imperial forces, about who was in overall command of the Dark Angels forces, and then see if anyone was able to work it out; If anyone was able to do so they would have gained the Dark Angles respect and acknowledgement.

It has been hinted that because of the Dark Angels’ highly traditional and sectarian nature it made them ‘immune’ to the intrusions of the warrior lodges and acted as a similar buffer to infiltration and manipulation from the likes of the Alpha Legion. Luther outright laughed at Erebus's suggestion of the creation of a Dark Angel warrior lodge.
:*according to the Alpharius Primarch book, Alpharius himself (not the Alpha legion) was able infiltrate the legion, although even the most sneaky of Primarch's had a really difficult time doing so. Alpharius highly suspects that the Lion was actually fully aware of his infiltration but didn't take any action, which really annoyed Alpharius, as he couldn't get a good reading on whether he had been caught or not; which lends credence to the idea that the Lion was the only brother Alpharius was unable to truly read.

===Great Crusade===
Whilst the First legion took the fight to the horrors in the dark, the younger legions continued to grow in strength to the point that the first were no longer the only angels of the Emperor, now they were only the first amongst equals; this led to a growing resentment towards these upstarts, who had been carefully and safely grown whilst the First had been punching monsters in the face, and who had been gifted with the knowledge and tactics learned from their bloody work.

This would prove to be a mortal blow to the very identity of the First Legion, and they would begin to throw themselves into danger; leeroy jenkins's themselves into the most bloody situations, in the desperate attempt to prove their worth. They would go out of their way to take on the most dangerous of tasks, even if the losses they would sustain were not worth the prize. The first would continue to bleed out, in their desperate attempts to prove themselves until the lion was found and started kicking some sense into them.

In this fashion, acting all on their own without support from the other legions that followed they killed lots of [[Orks]] and other xenos scum for great justice and were once the most numerous and powerful of the legions. Their numbers would be depleted by decades of savage warfare, particularly in the wars of the [[Rangdan Xenocides]] where their numbers fell below 166,000 after they lost almost 50,000 Marines preventing the destruction of the entire northern Imperium by an unknown menace from the outer darkness. The scars of these battles would change them, as would their reunification with their Primarch and his adopted world of Caliban. Unyielding, technologically capable, ruthless, and insular, the Dark Angels by the time of the Heresy were once again a powerful and highly independent Legion used to operating on its own to conduct large scale campaigns and compliance actions. When the Legion was first reunited with their Primarch, the massive influx of warriors into the Legion following the rediscovery of Caliban was able to provide the First with an additional 20,000 new Dark Angels. However, this would not last as just before the Heresy started Luther, who had by then decided Caliban should be free of what he saw as the Imperium’s tyranny, began to starve the legion of any new legionaries, armour, weapons and ammunition. He began by cancelling the deployment of 4212 new recruits to the Legion. He would also reduce the time it took to implant and train new legionaries to about two years, so by mid-heresy there were around 45,000 new Dark Angels on Caliban who were swearing oaths of fealty not to the Emperor but to Caliban and the Order; as these were never deployed to the legion they are not counted as part of the legions over all total, but as a separate force. (Not everyone was pleased with this, especially those who had originated from Terra.)

Some time during the Crusade some planetary ruler insulted [[Leman Russ]] and he got all pissy about it. Then Lion ended up killing the leader and Leman was like "Whatchu do that fo' fool?" because ''he'' wanted to take the bitch-ass out. And Lion was like "fuck off, furry," despite his own furtastic name and his dickish kill-stealing. Leman, never being good with words, reason, or sobriety, megaton punched the Lion. The two of them fought for a day or two, an epic struggle between cool-headed tactician and hot-blooded barbarian, douchebag and bro-tard. Then Leman said "this is stupid" and started laughing... then the Lion knocked him out.

In true [[anime]] fashion, after Leman regained consciousness and was less-inebriated, the two eventually became best buds and treated it as water under the bridge; their respective chapters still carry on the friendly rivalry, a pair of champions engaging in sacred and [[Derp|non-fatal]] honour duels whenever the Spess Lions and [[Space Wolves|Space Corgis]] meet. One particular incident during the Heresy had a member of the watch-pack that had been sent to keep an eye on Guilliman being paired off against the Lion himself after the Wolves pushed the issue. The Lion, who had more important things to do and wanted it over as quickly as possible, stepped forward and nominated himself. The fight (if that’s what you want to call it) was as predictably hilarious as you would imagine it would be. And a couple of light years away, the [[Tyranids]] eat a planet while two of the most important Space Marine chapters waste time on this Nerf-chainsword-duel-honour-bullshit because ''that's how they roll''.

=== [[Horus Heresy]] ===
[[File:Luther.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Luther, {{Blam|+++If you see this man in your sector, report immediately to the Inner Circle+++}}]]
Much of the history of the First Legion during the events of the Horus Heresy are largely unknown to the Imperium at large, thus you will find that {{Blam|+++paper records are highly flammable, thus we put here all we have recovered.+++}}

During the [[Horus Heresy]] Lion El'Jonson rushed to come to the aid of the [[Emperor]], fighting his way through the [[Night Lords]], [[Death Guard]] and [[Lost and the Damned|traitor Army]] to reach [[Terra]], stopping off at [[Macragge]] to kick [[Roboute Guilliman]] out of inaction and start actually paying attention to the Horus Heresy. In fact, despite all of the mystery surrounding the intentions of the First Legion, the Emperor still had complete faith in them. A discussion between Him and [[Malcador the Sigillite]] during [[Graham McNeill]]'s Vengeful Spirit proves that even the Emperor expected Guilliman to procrastinate and start building his own empire and they were somewhat relieved when Russ told them that the Lion had intervened.

Despite all this he didn't make it to Terra in time because he ended up buying into Guilliman's new [[Imperium Secundus]], and set himself the task of defending the 500 worlds from attacks by the [[Word Bearers]] and the [[World Eaters]], all the while seeking out his elusive brother [[Konrad Curze]]. When the Night Haunter was eventually caught, his visions coupled with those of [[Sanguinius]] were sufficient to prove to the collected brothers that the Emperor was in fact still alive, and that the Imperium Secundus was a massive folly and a distraction. Though they attempted to return to Terra, it was clear that the route would only be opened for one of the brothers; Sanguinius, therefore the Lion and Guilliman set themselves the task of attacking the traitors in the rear, hoping to draw enough of them away to buy time for the defenders at the [[Siege of Terra]].

Afterwards he returned home to [[Caliban]] only to find that shit hit the fan when {{Blam|+++ our kitchen servitors accidentally left all of the cooking gas lines running and this caused an explosion that destroyed our home planet. We suspect this to be the work of foul traitors.+++}} When daybreak came Caliban was nothing more; only The Rock was left standing. {{Blam|+++ These stressful days were what caused the Lion to go on vacation. The remaining Dark Angels painted their armor green (as penance and because green was the shit back then).+++}} All of this caused one battle brother to say "I hate Mondays."

Because Caliban was far away from many Imperial Worlds, the core leaders of the Dark Angels known as the {{Blam|+++Inner circle (because that band rocks) decided to destroy all history, evidence, and blueprints of the Rock to protect it from falling into the wrong hands+++}}
The Imperium's not exactly sure what happened to Caliban as anyone who investigates this matter, even [[Inquisitor|Inquisitors]] {{Blam|+++are made to feel very welcome on the Rock and most never want to go back to their job after experiencing one of our wild parties.+++}}

Ahem, to carry on where my predecessor left off after his {{Blam|+++long-needed vacation+++}}, the Dark Angels became the most obscure chapter in the millennium following the Horus Heresy. Whereas Imperial officials can try to order around chapters like the Space Corgis and Black Templars, the Dark Angels can never be approached because they can't be found 90% of the time. They are known for mysteriously appearing out of nowhere to aid Imperial forces and disappearing just as fast, even if the forces they were aiding were still in need of their help. This has led to much complaint from Imperial commanders who are often understandably pissed off. {{Blam|+++We sincerely apologize, but we try to multi-task+++}}

===After the destruction of Caliban to the 41st Millenium/[[Time of Ending]]===
[[File:The rock-Fenris.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Dark Angels arrive in style.]]
Ever since that fateful day ten thousand years ago, the Dark Angels have striven to prove to the Emprah and their Primarch that they are still cool guys to hang around with, despite {{Blam|+++their grim nature+++}}. To this end they have acquired toys like plasma cannon jetbikes, more suits of Terminator Armour than most chapters can shake their chainswords at, and a mini-[[Wikipedia:Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp|Gitmo]] in a flying chunk of planet to {{Blam|+++capture enemies of the Imperium from the nine traitor legions+++}}, in order to prove {{Blam|+++that the Imperium RULEZ+++}}

[[Luther]] himself was kept within a special cell equipped with stasis fields; both to keep him from escaping (which didn't work so hot) and to prevent him from dying of old age before some kind of confession can be extracted from him (even Astartes are unsure if they can die of old age, although there was a living Salamander whose armor fused to the deck of a ship and had been floating around since the Drop Site Massacre). He was last publicly seen barking mad from Chaos withdrawing its influence from him. But his ramblings have occasionally assisted the Dark Angels in locating lost relics within the Rock. Recently, he's been claiming that the time for the Lion to return and absolve the Chapter of its past is growing closer...

After the destruction of Caliban the Dark Angels would throw themselves into the Scouring with a zeal that surprised many of their brother legions. Whether they were seeking retribution for the death of their Emperor and father or some other reason known only to themselves, the Dark Angels would hound the traitors with a single bloodied mindedness that boarded on insanity. They would grow, if possible, even more distant with the rest of the Imperium, appearing without warning on battlefronts across the galaxy to bring destruction to the enemy, and then leaving just as unexpectedly as they had arrived; if their brother legions found their new zeal strange, they kept it to themselves, for none could doubt their conviction or the fanatical devotion in which the Dark Angels took vengeance upon the traitor forces. Such as when they saved a trapped force of Ultramarine's; dying to a man holding back the traitors long enough to allow the Ultramarine's to evacuate, refusing to leave whilst the enemy yet lived.

The Dark Angels would bleed themselves almost dry in their pursuit of the traitor forces, throwing themselves into the blender in their desire to make the traitors pay. Much like before the discovery of the Lion the Dark Angels would throw themselves upon the blades of the enemy (almost like they sought absolution in their mutual destruction), but where as before they had done so to prove themselves to others, now they did so out of shame; they no longer cared for the opinions of others, only that they make amends for their failings in the eye of the Emperor.

It’s important to bear in mind that the Dark Angels themselves do not have the whole story regarding {{Blam|+++the traitor Marines from other legions+++}} and Caliban's {{Blam|+++upgrade into being the most AWESOME SHIP+++}}. When the legion first arrived back at Caliban during the Scouring they would have been unaware of the events that had led up to Astelan ordering the attack on the fleet. After the destruction of Caliban they would have found themselves in a position where they had not only lost their Emperor and their Primarch but their home world as well. The legion had been tarnished beyond repair by those that they had once considered sworn brothers, and worst of all, they didn’t know why. All they had left was the Legion, and so the assembled masters of the Dark Angels decided to cover up what had happened in order to protect and preserve what was left of the once mighty First. They had been under the impression that the {{Blam|+++traitor Marines who like to wear black+++}} had all been slain during the planet's destruction. Once {{Blam|+++said traitors+++}} began to reappear it would prove to be a decision that would eventually end up damning them and all those that would follow. The present day Dark Angels are forced to shoulder the burdens and consequences of those decisions made so long ago that they themselves had taken no part in. Where in other chapters the ascension into the higher ranks is a thing of justified pride and honour, within the Unforgiven it is a soul-crushing experience as their delusions of honour and false glory are systematically torn down around them as the chapter's dark secrets are revealed to them one by one.

The Dark Angels and their successors have spent the past 10,000 years hunting down {{Blam|+++said traitors+++}}, slowly and painstakingly piecing together the pieces of an elaborate jigsaw of lies and deceit. Who knows who was responsible for what happened all those millennia ago. Was {{Blam|+++this particular traitor and heretic+++}} one of the architects of the betrayal or was he just an unwitting pawn who was just following orders? And, if so, then who gave that order? As they have slowly filtered the lies from the truths and sifted through the many different contradicting {{Blam|+++traitor's lies+++}}, the Dark Angels have uncovered many unsettling truths that had been unknown to them before. Yet the masters of the Unforgiven are aware that they do not have the full story and that there are still many dark revelations to come. Not least that the Black Legion includes (or included) {{Blam|+++traitors wearing stolen Dark Angels armour in obviously Black Legion colors+++}}

Unbeknownst to the Dark Angels, Lion El'Jonson is alive and well. After his duel with Luther we, the Watchers in the Dark, brought him to a hidden chamber in the depths of the Rock so he could be healed of his wounds. He is fully healed, and now all that is needed for the last loyal Primarch to return [[Games Workshop|is for the Emperor to give him the signal to do so.]]
{{Blam|+++ :) +++}}

===42nd Millennium and the [[Age of the Dark Imperium]]===
With the return of Magnus (and his assault on Fenris), as well as the return of Guilliman (with his Terran Crusade and subsequent Indomitus Crusade), the Dark Angels are probably scrabbling HARD to make sure that {{Blam|+++all disgusting traitors are captured+++}}.

Firstly, with the return of Magnus: the Dark Angels were duped by Tzeentch into leading their own crusade to bring the Space Wolves to account for their protection of the mutated Wulfen. This was eventually resolved with the intervention of the Inquisition who said they would raise their own conclave to deal with the matter. Unfortunately for the Dark Angels, {{Blam|+++those traitors escaped our watch +++}} as the Inquisition had {{Blam|+++given zero fucks +++}}

It would get worse for them later with Guilliman's return as the reborn Primarch's return to Terra was assisted by {{Blam|+++Ravenwing Dark Angels
including one officer with a HUGE SWORD, obviously a TERRANIC GREATSWORD OF OLD+++}}. While Guilliman didn't have a clue what to make of {{Blam|+++these mysterious Marines+++}}, they were allowed to be part of the celebratory parade to the Emperor's palace so they would have been viewed by billions of bystanders. Though most people probably wouldn't know what to make of black Dark Angels, the Unforgiven were probably clinging to the TV sets while facepalming {{Blam|+++because their military parade walk wasn't the best+++}}. However, Guilliman did order {{Blam|+++these Marines+++}} arrested when they finally reached the doors to the throne room. The [[Adeptus Custodes]] now have a group of {{Blam|+++undisciplined Dark Angels wearing non-codex colors+++}} in their custody and it may be only a matter of time before they and Guilliman have some idea of what the Unforgiven have been up to (if they didn't know already). Guilliman did recognize the sword that {{Blam|+++said officer+++}} carried and the sensation filled him with dread. Given that this may be {{Blam|+++a really cool and wholly unrelated+++}} sword, Guilliman may have some inkling as to what might happen if the sword ''(or whatever psychic imprint contained within)'' comes into contact with the Emperor, but has not decided to reveal or act upon that information.
Bear in mind that having some knowledge directly from the mouths of {{Blam|+++Space Marine traitors+++}} does not automatically provide the whole story on the actual {{Blam|+++building of The Rock+++}}.

Taking this further, even if Guilliman does find out (or happens to already know), he would have to be very careful with that information because of his own prior association with the Lion and the Dark Angels during [[Imperium Secundus]] and his own attempts at burying it ''(see the formation of the [[Scythes of the Emperor]] and his sealing of the Library of Ptolemy)''. He might not be aware of how much the descendants of the First Legion know about this ''"off the record"'' version of history. Even if some {{Blam|+++filthy traitor Marines+++}} came out claiming that the ''"Lion was a closet traitor who waited to see who won"'' {{Blam|+++Obvious Chaos lies +++}} and sincerely believed it, Guilliman is one of the few people who actually knew what the Lion was doing for much of the Heresy, even if the Dark Angels don't know themselves. This is on top of having to contend with the aforementioned unresolved "agenda" relating to the sword of the Lion ''(which Guilliman himself broke)'' and the unknown repercussions of what may come if it reaches the Emperor's throne room. All in all, Bobby G's got a lot on his plate.

Turns out the {{Blam|+++veterans who are too busy serving the Emperor to repaint their armour+++}} escaped so no secrets getting out today. Also, when they found out, the Custodes went into a full on panic the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the War of the Beast. Maybe GW should calm down with the plot armour for {{Blam|+++the well respected Dark Angel who saved Guilliman and brought glory to the Chapter+++}}.

As Guilliman traveled the Imperium leaving reinforcements and new toys in his wake, Supreme Commander [[Azrael]] ordered a summit of all Supreme Grand Masters to muster on the Rock to discuss the state of things. Considering the reports of Fallen massing in numbers never seen before, the Rock itself being attacked by a {{Blam|+++vile traitor legion+++}} daemon-prince which appeared to be the cover for the release of [[Luther]], and a recent ambush by the Fallen that had left six chapters of the Unforgiven severely depleted in manpower, suffice it to say that things were looking rather grim. Coincidentally, the summit was gate-crashed by the arrival of Guilliman's fleet who demanded to board the Rock. The collected Chapter Masters were no doubt concerned by the arrival of an Imperial fleet when the Unforgiven had gathered together as a single Legion, and considered shooting them down. Luckily, it turned out that Guilliman was not there to censure the Unforgiven host but instead came bearing reinforcements in the form of thousands of Primaris Marines. Guilliman also permitted them to retain their [[Deathwing|1st Company]] and [[Ravenwing|2nd Company]] organizations as an exception to his amendments to the Codex Astartes based on their "excellent service records", only stipulating that they continue to serve the Emperor well, suggesting he is willing to put up with their unorthodox methods for the sake of his brother.

Moreover as a "[[Creed|tactical genus]]" Guilliman isn't dumb enough to risk losing the unique capabilities that only the Dark Angels and their successors are able to deploy at a moment's notice. Obviously, due to the current state of the Imperium, neither the Dark Angels nor Guilliman can spare a few moments for "Story Time with Uncle Bobby and the Inner Circle." Good thing for Guilliman. The number of people who know/knew about the Secundus besides him [[Emperor|can be]] [[Lion_El'Jonson|counted]] [[Sanguinius|on one hand]], and all of them are either dead or unable to say anything about the matter.

It is also stated that the Inner Circle alone are aware of the ''[[Fallen Angels|very specific prey]]'' that they seek. Therefore while tidbits of information may be held by others outside of the chapter, they do not understand their significance or know what to make of them. Either way, they haven't acted upon that information so the Hunt still continues as normal.

As of Phil Kelly's book “War of Secrets”, despite Cypher's antics and having Fallen on Terra, the secret has returned to the status quo, although the new Primaris get treated like shit and are seen as disposable tools. They have made a second Inner Circle (this being the chapter Inner Circle not the whole Unforgiven Inner Circle) for the Primaris who figure shit out and don’t get put in a ditch. The Dark Angels have suddenly become really tolerant; the Primaris literally worship not just the Emperor but the Omnissiah and the Dark Angels just get a bit miffed. As for the new Primaris successors, they were founded without knowing about the Dark Angels' secrets, so we can assume they are not Unforgiven. It is clear that GW are just waiting for Primaris terminator and biker sets, at which point we will get some basic upgrades sprues, and the Unforgiven will fully accept the Primaris.

In addition to a couple of named characters, the Primaris Marines have finally joined the Deathwing and Ravenwing in the form of Bladeguard Veterans and Outriders. While the Ravenwing getting Primaris on bikes is no big surprise, the fact that Bladeguard can be in the Deathwing without wearing Gravis armour is a little confusing ([[Derp|especially since White Dwarf all-but explicitly stated that Deathwing Primaris exclusively use Gravis alongside the Firstborn in Terminator armour]]).

According to their 9th edition supplement the rumours of their suspected legion building has earned them some surprising support, the [[Inquisition]], since Guilliman's return they have grown increasingly concerned at the sheer power that he now wields. They have turned their sights upon the united might of the Unforgiven and now see them as a power that is capable of countering the new lord of the Imperium, should he ever go against what they have built. Considering the not so friendly relationship between Guilliman and the [[Ecclesiarchy]], they may get even more support from them; should a theoretical civil war break out, it will be interesting to see who sides with who.

== The Legion with "Dark" in its name ==
[[File:DA-Scouts.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Their scouts are never to be underestimated. Also this is probably the best scout artwork so far. And it's not new.]]
After the Horus Heresy, the remaining Legions were forced to split into chapters of around 1,000 men according to [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s brand new [[Codex Astartes]], and the Dark Angels followed suit mostly because they had no Primarch to disagree for them; not that it mattered by this point anyway.

Where [[Rogal Dorn]] [[RAGE|RAGED]] against the idea of splitting his legion, but eventually relented on the threat of civil war, the Dark Angels quietly split themselves up but maintained [[Just As Planned|covert]] contact with each other. They kept the same chain of command as before and mostly the same traditions and expectations (particularly concerning co-operation in the hunt for the [[Fallen Angels]] but also in referring to one another as "brothers" in arms). ''([[Kaldor Draigo]] noted that the correct terminology for a different chapter is "[[Gene Seed#The Tithe and New Foundings|cousin]]" and resolved to have a word with [[Azrael]] over it)''. The Supreme Grand Master of [[The Rock]] is deferred to as the [[Spiritual liege|highest authority]] on the secrets of the newly formed Inner Circle.

It transpires from Gav Thorpe's 2015 novel '''Unforgiven''' that the Inner Circle was in fact formed decades AFTER the [[Second Founding]] when [[Cypher]] revealed himself at [[The Rock]] and made it evident that survivors from Caliban who could reveal the truth of what happened would be dropping out of time and space. So the Grand Masters of the '''Twelve''' Second Founding chapters held a council and formed the Inner Circle to make sure their collective honour remained intact. Previous to that we must have assumed that the descendants of the First Legion were just relieved to have weathered the Horus Heresy and followed Guilliman's commands quietly.

All in all, the Dark Angels and their successors still function unofficially as a Legion. This gets the [[Inquisition]] and the [[High Lords of Terra]] particularly worried, though they can't prove anything since on the surface each chapter has its own distinct chain of command and adheres to [[Codex Astartes|codex]] requirements.

It's not known how large the collective Unforgiven actually is; [[Deathwatch (RPG)|Statistics]] indicate that the Dark Angels successors make up around 15% of the total Space Marine chapters at large in the Imperium. While this does not seem like a massive amount ''([[Ultramarines|Ultramarines]] make up around 50%-66%, depending on which author you ask)'' that would still be around 150 chapters. It is uncertain whether all of those chapters are actually aware of their history, given the Dark Angels prefer to have as few people with the damning knowledge as possible. Yet GW has never presented us with any Dark Angels successors who know of their heritage who are ''not'' part of the Unforgiven ''(the [[Astral Claws]], [[Relictors]] and [[Star Phantoms]] are all "maybes")'' so we can only assume that once you're in the club, you're in balls deep or you get erased.

What is known is that the Unforgiven are not beyond drafting new chapters without official sanction ''(like the [[Consecrators]])'' or outright blackmailing the seal of approval out of the High Lords ''(as with the [[Disciples of Caliban]])''. These chapters are raised with specific purposes in mind, and fill either supporting roles to the collective or are tasked with special missions that the others aren't prepared for. The officers of the successors also hold unique ranks and titles in the Inner Circle relevant to their Chapter's function or position within the Unforgiven. The best part is that no one can complain about it. The law is a thousand Marines per Chapter. It never said the Chapters couldn’t make their own new Chapters. It even encourages close co-operation and communication between Chapters so long as their command structures are separate. The First Legion operates more like a pseudo-Legion than the real thing. Each Chapter fulfills its role to the Legion and they support each other in whatever manner they choose while maintaining a strong feudal-like relationship with each other. There is no command structure in this “Legion” higher than any one Chapter. This functions well simply because these Marines are not dick-waving egotists.

Each chapter possesses formations equivalent to the [[Deathwing]] and [[Ravenwing]], though usually operating under different names. This would mean that the collective Unforgiven have access to a whole bunch of surplus archeotech or possess the means to manufacture Terminator suits and fighter planes at a remarkable rate. They also trade recruiting worlds between each other, though each Chapter routinely has more than one anyway. They regularly transfer ownership between them for the specific purpose of ensuring that the Administratum's records become unreliable and get lost. This practice also has a secondary usefulness: loyalty. By trading recruiting worlds frequently, the Legion ensures that if one world’s population is corrupted, the other Marines from other worlds will not be. Likely a lesson learned from the Horus Heresy in which most Terran recruits remained loyal within the Traitor Legions.

So far ''(and for ten thousand years)'' these indiscretions have passed as little more than quiet rumours since the Unforgiven go to [[Ophidium Gulf Crusade|extreme lengths]] to protect their honour. Plus they mostly keep to themselves so no one knows what they're actually up to.

=== LOYAL? Or Traitor? ===
{{Blam|+++INNER CIRCLE ACCESS GRANTED+++}}

Gav Thorpe's '''Angels of Darkness''' was intended to display that the Dark Angels' quest for redemption had made them sinister and brutal, not label them as being traitors (as the wider audience and /tg/ often treats them as). This is because most people took '''Astelan''' and the accusations he leveled at the modern-day Chapter and the Lion as truth, not taking into account his jealousy of the Lion nor his skewed interpretation of events and logical fallacies (something that Gav himself has tried to remind people of). Astelan thought the Lion to be a traitor and opened fire on the fleet when they were in orbit around Caliban without ''any'' attempt at negotiation or communication. The fleet returned fire in self-defense, so Astelan drew the [[FAIL|perfectly logical and sound]] conclusion that the Lion had betrayed them. It doesn't seem to matter as much as people think it does, however, as Gav himself said that it wasn't an objective view of what happened on Caliban but a character study on a member of the Fallen.

Admittedly, though, some of Astelan's theories do make just a little too much sense to be easily dismissed, like his belief that the Dark Angels' paranoia and obsession with secrecy is just as much a gene-inheritance from the Lion as it is a post-heresy development. It's possible it's something el'Jonson developed (or was tainted with) as an infant in the darkness of old Caliban. However, Astelan's mind and his recollections of things are unreliable - not only is he a Fallen Angel, he is trying to cause others to fall as well. We only have his word to take for it (not to mention that he ended up consorting with [[Typhus]] against the loyalist Dark Angels over the course of The Unforgiven).

Another factor that hasn't helped the First Legion's tainted reputation was the implication that the Unforgiven would be destroyed in their entirety if their secret went out - skewing the Dark Angels from ultra-loyalists trying their damnedest to reach some sort of absolution for their wrongdoings and mistakes into a bunch of cowardly extremists concerned only with self-preservation and their honor. This confusion is the result of an attempt to raise the stakes despite universal proof that their assumption is completely wrong. This coupled with the increasing plot emphasis on them abandoning their allies demonstrates some authors prioritizing shock value at the expense of any actual depth the Chapter might have once had. Even though only the Inner Circle hunt Fallen and every other Marine is kept away from hunts, which would mean abandoning allies to hunt Fallen would be outright impossible because only a handful of people in the Chapter are allowed to hunt Fallen. They are supposedly a calculating, heavily coordinated group orchestrating a covert operation of monumental proportions, yet they [[Derp|clumsily attract the attention of the very people]] they are trying to keep their secrets from.

About the only positive thing that can be said about all this is that it at least provokes discussion. As it stands, it's simply lazy writing. The writers at GW could do a lot with what the Unforgiven would be willing to do or to sacrifice in the name of their hunt for the Fallen, but right now it's demonstrative of just how threadbare DA fluff has become in recent years. As fun as it is to hypothesize whether or not they're loyal or traitor, the truth probably has more to do with who they're loyal to. The Dark Angels themselves are more like the [[Soul Drinkers]] rather than full on Chaos Marines: more devoted to Emps and humanity as a whole than the rotting Imperium.

To clarify, the First Legion ''(and later Chapter and all their successors)'' are indeed loyal and not traitors. The Lion himself has now been quoted as saying "Loyalty is its own reward", which sort of kills the whole "they might be closet traitors" thing. There is even an example where the Dark Angels encounter a Consecrators Marine that had fallen to Nurgle. When he was captured, the loyalists explained that there would be no taking him back to the Rock to be interrogated. They did not consider him "Fallen", since he was not deceived by [[Luther]] who led astray the Angels on Caliban. This traitor was considered weak for allowing Chaos to get to him and was promptly executed and his body left in the dust. Come to think of it, other than the Fallen who fell to Chaos (which seems to not actually be many of them), the Dark Angels don’t seem to have had anyone turn to Chaos, neither Marine nor Chapter. No other Legion can claim such a thing.

In conclusion, the sons of the Lion are ostensibly loyal, albeit with a massive guilty conscience that ''(unlike the [[White Scars]] who resolved their internal issues at the time and look back on it as a shameful memory with no guilt placed on the modern descendants of the Legion)'' the Unforgiven cannot let go of, because the sins of the past are '''not''' ancient history as long as these Fallen Angels keep falling out of space and time to remind them of it. So, what might have begun as a relatively innocuous "stomp the traitor" exercise has devolved into a millennia-long slog. The Unforgiven continue to skirt the grey area as each abandoned battlefield or trusted ally silenced adds to their burden of collective guilt. By now, the actions they have taken to continue the Hunt have become more shameful than the original crime. Therefore rather than the shame fading with the passage of time it only becomes more imperative for them to complete their task.

This is spelled out bluntly by [[Troll|Cypher himself]] in ''The Unforgiven''. While every legion took part in the [[Great Scouring]], the Dark Angels did so in secret, never admitting to having traitors and Horus sympathizers in their ranks like the other eight legions did. Most Fallen were totally unaware of the Heresy and, as a result, they either fell to Chaos of their own accord or were deceived. Now in the 41st Millennium it's FAR too late to rectify this; the time for earning forgiveness is long past. However, perhaps the Dark Angels' true redemption is near despite their long-running record of questionable actions. The [[Iron Hands]] have been recovering from their fatalistic attitude and repressed emotions in the wake of the Gaudinian Heresy. Perhaps the Dark Angels can finally get past their shame, especially since the recent Horus Heresy books and other lore have explicitly made the Lion's loyalties very clear. Furthermore, in ''Leman Russ - The Great Wolf'' by Christ Wraight, we learn that the Lion knows about the Wulfen yet never called his brother or his legion out on it despite their mutual grievances, so some interesting revelations may yet come.

Despite the Unforgiven being prepared to do anything and everything in order to keep their secrets hidden, Supreme Grand Master Azrael has stated that should the day ever arrive when the Imperium discovers their dark history and turns its fury upon the sons of the Lion, then the Unforgiven will refuse to raise arms against the Imperium. Not one shot will be fired or blade drawn in their own defense. Although they are prepared to do some very shady things in order to keep their secrets hidden, they are unwilling to plunge the Imperium into what would assuredly be a very costly civil war that the Imperium really can’t afford to fight. '''They will not be responsible for a second Horus Heresy, or a Badab 2.0'''. The recent lore has really hammered home that, in spite of how suspicious and shady the Dark Angels are, they have never been ''delusional.'' They know what they are doing is wrong, but they have a ten-thousand-year promise to fulfill. Also, the reason the rebels in the Horus Heresy rushed to reach Terra instead of being careful was because the Lion and his Legion were coming. Half the Legions and a third or so of the Imperial Army’s rebels were running away from the Legion previously known mostly as The Angels of Death.

With the resurrection of Guilliman, this oath would be tested like never before. With the knowledge that Guilliman had spent time around Cypher and members of the Fallen, Azrael had every reason to believe that the game was up when Guilliman's armada appeared above the Rock. The temptation to strike back against their potential executioners and to protect his brothers was very real. Yet despite the possible ramifications, Azrael kept true to his word and ordered the Unforgiven to stand down (good thing old Guilliman still doesn't know the truth).

With the release of the new Codex, Phil Kelly himself said on Twitch TV the full recount of the events on Caliban, short history Dark Angels Good, Fallen Bad, ''just kill the [[Troll|joke]], [[Luke|its not funny anymore]].'' A bit odd considering how he'd go on to release a book where, due to a Fallen releasing a highly infectious psychic plague, the Dark Angels made a deal with the Tau to terminate those infected upon a planet belonging to the [[Angels of Absolution]] (yes, that includes killing the small number of Angels, as they had also been infected) before it spread to other systems. The justification that the book gives is that they could not be seen to be doing it themselves (even though they would have lost nothing by just telling them); they in turn would do the same to the human population under the Tau's protection. It was either a choice of killing a handful of marines or allowing a potentially apocalyptic plague to run rampant across the galaxy.
The Angels are not only one of their successor Chapters, but the Dark Angels even go so far as to supply the Tau with gear that would allow the Tau in question to detect all those that had been infected. The Tau in question may have taken it a bit further than anyone might have imagined (it's the Tau from the game Fire Warrior, he might as well have been screaming "Blood for the blood God"). The whole story is very ham-fisted and ends with the stationed Angels of Absolution finding out, and then promptly covering it up.

===Primaris Marines and suspicions renewed===
Initially, it seemed that the Dark Angels accepted their new reinforcements without much hassle or fuss, but the Dark Angels players knew this facade wouldn't last. The codex tells us that as of whatever the present day of the Imperium is (roughly 100.M42) not a single Primaris Marine has made it so far as the Ravenwing, much less the Inner Circle. Excerpts from the Hellblasters show the Primaris have to fight tooth and nail for so much as a word of approval, to say nothing of recognition or acceptance. Hellblaster Sergeant Grellius accepts that it will be no small task to impress the Sons of the Lion and, in the typical stoic manner that should be expected of any member of the 1st Legion, stated ''"And rightly so – for such duty were we created and trained."'' However, he and his Hellblasters had impressed Belial to the point that he may have actually "smiled", after which they seem to have earned their acceptance among their brethren.

''War of Secrets'' (Phil Kelly again) drops all pretense and reveals just how bad it was for the initial batch of Primaris under the First Legion's care: a far cry from accepting valuable reinforcements, the Inner Circle considers the sons of Mars to be little more than Guilliman's spies. The Chaplains and Apothecaries routinely mind-wipe Primaris Marines if they come into contact with Fallen-related missions, hypnotize them to stop asking questions, confiscate and erase their digital cameras, and even use fluids from an [[arco-flagellant]] to keep them under mind control. It’s only the Primaris Marines’ Belisarian Furnace that allows them to resist the mind-wipes and retain enough memories for them to realize they’re being tampered with.

The truly horrifying part? This is actually pretty routine for the Dark Angels, even before Guilliman woke up; Interrogator-Chaplains do the same thing to the rest of the Inner Circle, presumably to keep Fallen captives from being [[Catachan Jungle Fighters|"accidentally" shot in the face]] before they can be interrogated, and uninitiated non-Primaris brothers were routinely mind-wiped if they were thought to know too much. All chapters make use of hypno-indoctrination as part of their standard training, but this is normally used to ''add'' to their worth as Marines (see [[Deathwatch]]), while the Inner Circle wants to very much ''subtract'' the more troublesome aspects from their new "reinforcements". Though since the Emperor himself has been known to wipe the memories of both Marines and Primarchs during the Horus Heresy series, one could joke that the Dark Angels are simply proving their loyalty by following in his glorious example.

In "The Unforgiven" (and hinted at throughout the trilogy), it is revealed that all Dark Angels are implanted with hypno code words to prevent another event like Caliban from ever happening again. Asmodai has to incapacitate [[Belial]] when he tries to kill [[Cypher]]. These code words can also be transmitted by a librarian directly into the minds of others. It would seem that a chaplain could unilaterally take command of whole companies of Dark Angels when Sapphon has to fight the urge to use one in a previous book on another captain. Also it involves the chaplain basically giving commands in Latin.

On the other hand, the Primaris Marines during "War of Secrets" didn't exactly help their course by being remarkably disobedient and downright disrespectful towards the Firstborn Marines, with some referring to the veterans as armored [[Ogryn|Ogryns]] behind their backs. Nor did them referring to the Dark Angels as a Chapter built on lies and swearing to ''"get to the heart of it and expose it all"'', calling them traitors, and making statements like ''"You’ll get what you deserve soon enough. We Primaris Marines are the future and we will be the death of you"'' get them on the Dark Angels' good side. It’s weird for other reasons as well because outside of the Inner Circle the Unforgiven Marines aren’t any different than normal Marines. Other than their track record throughout the Imperium’s existence showing them to be significantly more competent at kicking ass on the tactical and strategic level. This means the Primaris wouldn’t have a reason to think anyone outside of a few individuals were in any way secretive or untrustworthy.

Despite their initial reluctance in accepting the Primaris Marines, the Primaris Marines are very slowly and painfully earning their place among the Chapter. Those that prove themselves and demonstrate their loyalty to the Chapter may be inducted into the new Primaris Circle. Though they can not be brought into the full Inner Circle, it is only a matter of time.

Whilst there is a massive amount of distrust towards those Primaris brought in from outside of the chapter, the Dark Angels don't seem to have any problem with Primaris that have been made from scratch by the chapter itself, as they have been properly inducted into the traditions of the chapter. Azrael knows better then anyone else the potential challenges that the Unforgiven will face in the near future, and that every marine will be needed.

{{Blam|+++There is absolutely no evidence of the following event in any <s>canon</s> ''records'' so we can safely say that it's just some Primaris <s>fan girling</s> ''misinformation'' trying to force them into places they shouldn't be, as the only "Primaris" in the Inner Circle is Master Lazarus who started off as a proper Space Marine first. (However this story will be left here incase you want to make use of it in your own chapters.) +++}}It was Azrael that informed the Unforgiven that they must start inducting those former Greyshields into the inner circles of the chapters. This coursed no small amount of turmoil, both within the Dark Angels and the rest of the Unforgiven. In order to calm them, Azrael put forward a challenge, he would stake his reputation upon a Primaris Marine of his choosing, Brother Apharan. If this Primaris Marine could pass the required challenges, and come out the other side in a fit state to move up into the upper tiers of the chapter, then this would prove their worth; Azrael would personally oversee his training. It is a testament to the high regard that Azrael is held that the rest of the Unforgiven agreed. Needless to say Azrael chose well, and the Primaris in question succeeded, going so far as making it into the Deathwing.
(The full story can be read on page 29 of the September 2019 White Dwarf)

The Dark Angels are learning everything that they can about the Primaris creation process (though what chapter isn't?), with the intent that they will eventually have full control over it; being able to create as many Primaris as they need without outside interference or worrying about their loyalty by training them themselves.

At the end of the day Primaris will eventually get shoehorned into the Inner circle, we can only hope that GW actually put some effort into making the lore good as that's the primary attraction of the Dark Angels chapter. So far that's not been the case though, as shown by Lazarus where they tried to hype up a Primaris being in the inner circle (which almost no one wanted or cared about) he just ended up being a regular Space Marine who was already in it and just went through the Rubicon, sidestepping the whole issue of letting a Primaris in.

You can see how stupid the writing is if you read the Psychic Awakening story "Enmity's Edge" and see how stupid the Inner Circle in it are depicted; "oooooh, he's a Primaris now, he must be a different person now hur dur". If this page should have told you anything it's that the Dark Angels are not this retardedly stupid and would continue to accept Lazarus as one of their circle and would reserve this hesitation for one of the reinforcement Primaris. The point is, that Primaris entering the Inner Circle is not a big deal no matter how much GW wants it to be, the big deal is where the Primaris was made, by the chapter or by Cawl. A chapter made and trained Primaris will have few issues entering the Inner Circle other than not being able to fit in Terminator armour. GW has been lazy on this, as they've taken to taking things from 30K so Marines in Powered Armor can join the Death and Ravenwings. Allowing Blade Guard Veterans to join the [[Deathwing]] and [[Outriders]] in the [[Ravenwing]]. Though their considered inferior choices for players compared to DW and Black knights.(i.e. no point in taking them, unless you need them for Objective Secured. So they just hunker down taking pot shots.)

What makes this sad, as most of the other chapters might even mock the Dark Angels and their successor chapters if they found out about The Fallen. Because Guilliman and Cawl should've known about the traitors scatters across the other loyalist legions. As they were there during The Scouring. Nobody on either side of the issue is smart enough to ask them and neither has the time anyhow. While the Lion is still indisposed. So what The First are currently doing now is trying to save themselves from embarrassment. This might be true if the Imperium was in anyway reasonable or level headed enough to look past such a transgression, they are not. Many may look at the Dark Angels a simply say that they are just being foolish, and that the Imperium would (if they found out) simply not care and handwave the existence of the Fallen away, but they seem to be forgetting that the Imperium is made up of a bunch a overly zealous, blindly dogmatic, nut jobs. If you wanted proof of this disconnect between what the Imperium really is, and what people want to believe the Imperium is, then look no further then the recent story featuring the custodes ordering, and then taking part in the wholesale destruction of an entire chapter simply because there was a fleeting possibility of disloyalty; the outcry from the community was almost comical, with many simply not believing that the forces of the Imperium could possibly be this idiotic, well guess again. The Dark Angels are no fools, and they are fully aware about what a shitty place the Imperium is; they actually felt remorse and sorrow when they had to remove their protection from a former recruitment world, which allowed the Imperium to finally swoop down and consume the world and its population. Don't be foolish enough to believe that the Imperium isn't petty, or stupid enough to do something that you might believe to be dangerously irrational or hopelessly deranged, because they will disappoint you at every turn.

== Cool Shit ==
[[File:Dark-angels-4000x2500 come at me bro.jpg|600px|thumb|right|Come at me [[Fallen Angels|"Bro"]]]]
As the very literal "First" Legion, they were equipped with gear that predated the pacts with Mars, and were supposed to have inherited much of their equipment from the time of Old Night and the armouries of ancient Terra. They were permitted to retain exclusive access to these items (by the Emperor's own command) which were often never seen in other later Legions which were raised to the standard template. For whatever reason.

These included:
*Fellglaives equipped with Warp Cannons instead of Volkite Carronade and Vindicators which fired warp/vortex shells (Warp shells/missiles/whatever teleport inside the target, Vortex unleash small warp rifts).
*Land Raiders equipped with Anti-Grav engines instead of tank treads.
*Stasis Missiles & Grenades
*Molecular Acid Boltshells
*Short ranged Plasma Repeater carbines and Plasma Burners.
*Phosphex Incinerator cannons [[Awesome|used by Terminators]] according to ''Angels of Caliban'' (Phosphex was normally considered a horrible and dishonorable weapon, the Dark Angels don't give a fuck)
*A unique pattern of aircraft called a Swordstrike Interceptor which they might or might not still have
*A unique type of super-heavy tank which acted as a mobile Void Shield generator called a "Portcullis Mono-track"
*Along with a host of other forbidden tech, the Dark Angels where also given authority to use a large number of enslaved [[Men of Iron]] during the Great Crusade.
*When they say they had access to forbidden tech, they really aren't kidding. The stuff they have hidden away could unleash a new 'Age of Strife', if the Emperor ever gave the order; even if the Great Crusade failed he could make sure that no one else won either (burn it all down and start again). Did we mention that these weapons are stated to be stored in areas that can even survive Exterminatus level events, and would survive even if the ships that they are on are destroyed... Some of this stuff is clearly not human in origin. It's essentially Pandora's box; once some of this stuff gets out, you won't be able to put it back in.

Much of this gear would not see use in the 41st Millennium ''(or the tabletop)'' and the chapter adheres to a slightly more "codex-equivalent" loadout, probably because GW re-uses the same Space Marine range for most chapters. Though it is strongly implied that the Rock still contains a hoard of archaeotech within its dungeons from the old days.

So far, all they've got to show for themselves is bikes with plasma-guns and cool pick-axes, some sturdy but mediocre flyers, some minor Land Speeder variants, and a supposedly disproportionate number of Terminator suits (taking potential casualties into account they have to have over 200 of the fucking things!). That is, so far as the Imperium knows. I mean, if a lot of interesting wars and operations were just...never reported...

Here's hoping that GW/FW remembers that the Emperor sent these guys out on Crusade before he sat down and actually made the other Legions, so they can get their act together and make Dark Angels distinct.

=== The Dark Angels Fleet ===
Both Forge World and the Black Library books have hinted quite a bit at the Dark Angels Legion having had a very prominent void presence. They are noted to specialize in extended independent void operations and the 1st Legion's artificers were known to create the distinctive 'Paravane' sub-type armour: ''"an idiosyncratic variant of the widely issued Mark II which was renowned for its enhanced void endurance and systems."'' Though this never really gets mentioned in later 40k, but there's no stopping you using the conversion kits to represent "Void Hardened" Armour in Zone Mortalis games, if you ever play those. This would also explain why they would have a crap ton of [[Terminator]] Armor.

Although they didn’t have the largest fleet nor have the largest number of capital ships (those honours belonged to legions like the [[Imperial Fists]] and the [[Iron Warriors]] respectively), the First may still have owned one of the most powerful fleets among the legions at that time. Chalk it up to the fact that they used a whole bunch of weapon designs that were left over from the Dark Age of Technology and had a large number of void fortresses that nobody else knew about. Which, by the way, means there may be hundreds or even thousands of Dark Angels Chapters in the void no one knows about as the legion creates its own (it did so publicly at least once that we know of and we know they can build their own everything). During the Thramas campaign, Sevatar’s reaction to seeing the full force of the First Legion's fleet bearing down upon the Night Lord's legion can be summed up as “well we're fucked, time to run away” (place obligatory Monty Python joke here). Even when the Lion headed towards Macragge, leaving the largest part of his fleet in the hands of Corswain, the fleet assets he took with him were still described as being enough to casually wipe out the defenses surrounding Guilliman's home and then split the world in two.
*Some of the fleet were armed with something similar to the Rift Cannons on the Dark Angels 40k Dark Talons but on a massive scale; such weapons would be devastating in a void combat environment.
*The Dark Angels legions fleet was almost never to be found in one place, instead it would be spread out into a large number of smaller fleets; however don't underestimate these fleets as each will contain some very old and power ships, dating all the way back to humanities golden age, and each fleet will be centred around a bloody [[Gloriana-class Battleship]] (that's right they had multiples of these things).
*The Lion would lead a fleet no larger then any other of the legion, as he wanted each fleet to be just as capable as his own. The fleet he is seen using during the Heresy numbered enough ships to sustain 20,000 marines; this combined with the current Dark Angels chapter fleet numbers, sustaining the supposed "1000" marines, we can get a rough bench mark for the size of Dark Angels legion fleets during the Crusade, however the Imperial Fists are said to have the largest fleet at over 15,000 warships. Due to the numbers that are traveling with the Lion, we can reasonably conclude that the Dark Angels had at least 10 main fleets operating at any given time during the Crusade.

It makes sense that the Dark Angels fleet was on the larger end given that the majority of their successor chapters are Fleet based ''(the fact that being fleet based means that they are harder to keep track of and monitor is of course completely accidental and in no ways intended. After all, what could they possibly have to hide right?)'' However, by the time of 40k and their diminished status as a "Chapter", even when excluding [[The Rock]] itself their fleet capabilities are certainly above average when you compare raw numbers with other chapters. ''With 8 battle barges, 16 strike cruisers and 21 rapid strike vessels they are twice the size of the Ultramarines fleet and almost three times the size of the Blood Angels'.'' However the [[Space Wolves]] have a larger overall fleet and there has been little to no mention of their continued use of archeotech warships and weapons even amongst their successors. However, given that unlike everyone else the Dark Angels never forgot how to maintain and build stuff, it is likely that they and their successor Chapters' technologies never weakened anyway, including their ships. Aside from that, every other instance of degrading technology in 40k is pointed out to our faces, but this is never brought up regarding Dark Angels technology. In the ''Lion 'el Johnson, Lord of the First'' Primarch book, it's revealed that though the Dark Angels maintain good relations with the Mechanicus, they also make a point of familiarizing themselves with the workings of technology on their own, which allows them to be self-sufficient if nessessary, and develop technological insights not limited by the dogma of Sons of Mars. In addition to that, the Dark Angels, alone of probably all other imperial forces (save for the [[Custodes|Talons]] [[Sisters Of Silence|of The Emperor]]) are trusted with untold stores of archeotech so rare and powerful they're unknown to even the Mechanicus. A few notable examples being small arms that ''permakill'' daemons or corporeal beings with equal ease and even [[Grimdark|sear them from memory]], DAoT planet-destroying capitol weaponry capable of [[Exterminatus]]-ing daemon worlds in the middle of a warp storm and yet '''STAY''' dead (something only previously seen from the [[Necrons]]), and [[awesome|functional Men of Iron]]. All of which could only be brought to bare by the express order of The Lion himself, and perhaps by the Dreadwing in the time since his absence. This could go a long way to explaining what separates the Dark Angels and their successors from the rest of the Imperium, technologically speaking.

It is important to note the Dark Angels are one of the very few chapters to still have a Gloriana-class ship, the ''Invincible Reason''. Additionally they do make almost exclusive use of the '''Hunter-Class Destroyer'''. Other chapters have access to the template, but the Dark Angels prefer it because they don't like getting their new fleet assets from the same sources as the Imperial Navy. So the Hunter is like a naval Cobra Destroyer; it acts like a small torpedo boat but is a bit more maneuverable and armoured.

Despite this, unless you believe that the Unforgiven are purposefully concealing the fact that they have a whole bunch of leftover cool shit (which is exactly the sort of thing they love doing), it seems like those glorious days of "Legion" are long past.

*In most Chapters all their aircraft from the sleek [[Stormhawk]] Interceptors to the hulking [[Stormraven]] Gunships are piloted by the Techmarines of their Chapter's armoury. While most Chapters can have anything from 20 to 40 Techmarines at any one time (the Blood Angels have 35),the Dark Angels only have around 22 Techmarines. The low numbers of Techmarines within the Dark Angels can be put down to their distrust of their [[Adeptus Mechanicus|dual loyalties]]. While this lack of specialists would normally be a problem for most Chapters, the Dark Angels are somewhat unusual amongst the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes in that their unique aircraft the [[Nephilim Jetfighter]] and the [[Dark Talon]] are not piloted by the Techmarines of their armoury. Instead, these agile hunting craft are flown into battle by the expert operatives of the Dark Angels 2nd Company, the [[Ravenwing]] - which gives them a whole (oversized) company that is capable of taking to the skies if they are needed. From “Death from the Skies” we learn that most chapters can field at least two “divisions” (24 to around 48 aircraft) but they are dependent on the number of Techmarines the chapter can afford to deploy. By contrast, the Dark Angels have their 22 Techmarines and the entire Ravenwing which can field at least two “Companies” or six “divisions” (72 to around 144 aircraft depending on the size of the Ravenwing at the time); the Penitent blades (one of the newest chapters), due to the nature of their chosen home base, have twice this number. Keep in mind that the Ravenwing's normal ground and speeder vehicles could be piloted by Scouts in a pinch, which means that when deployed as a whole Chapter, the Dark Angels can field nearly one and a half hundred of among the best Astartes fighters along with around a hundred attack bikes and land speeders plus a hundred Terminators and the rest of their battle-brothers. This is without even considering their previously listed examples of technology exclusive to the First Legion. So...[[anal circumference|what did you roll?]]

== Notable Members ==
*'''[[Azrael]]''' - Current [[Chapter Master|SUPREME GRAND MASTER]] of the Dark Angels. It’s not at all suspicious that “Supreme Grand Master” implies there must be “masters” for there to be “grandmasters”. Dark Angels captains are just “captains”...just saying.
*'''[[Belial]]''' - Grand Master of the [[Deathwing]]. Current member of the Hidden Masters; Azrael's personal inner circle, they are privileged with knowledge beyond that given to even the regular Inner circle. They are also allowed to access the vast wealth held within the hidden libraries of the Rock that are usually protected by the Watchers in the Dark (not all of it of course, only the right amount; can't have them learning too much before they are ready); to give an idea to the value of the info the Rock contains, Tzeentch himself sent the Blue Scribes to secretly infiltrate and steal as much info as they could. Azrael himself has access to a vast collection of 'True Names, which he uses against their demonic owners. An interesting bit of information about Belial it that he actually hates all the cloak and dagger shenanigans that go on around him, his desire to track down Gaz is fuelled by him wanting to get away from all the shadow games for a moment and just have a good honest scrap.
*'''[[Sammael]]''' - Grand Master of the [[Ravenwing]]. Member of the Hidden Masters.
*'''[[Ezekiel]]''' - Current Chief [[Librarian]]. Member of the Hidden Masters.
*'''[[Sapphon]]''' Master of Sanctity- current head chaplain of the Dark Angels; alongside Azrael and Ezekiel, he forms a trinity of level heads that keep the whole thing together. Member of the Hidden Masters. Thought to be a conservative by his brothers, he is actually a deviant named after a famous [[Space Hulk: Deathwing|poetess]] of Greek Antiquity considered [[/d/|the first lesbian known to History!!]] [[Lulz|She also died for the love of a man]]; the Greeks called Homosexuality Kinaidos (Mover of [[Fallen|Shame]]), the Aidos part is a goddess member of the same trinity as [[Grey Knight|Nemesis]]. Sneaky, sleazy [[Games Workshop]]... who knows what will happen to poor Grand-Master Sapphon in the future?
*'''[[Asmodai]]''' - Master of Repentance- Notoriously brutal [[Interrogator-Chaplain]] who's known for being an asshole and failing twice at his job for every success. Member of the Hidden Masters.
*'''[[Naaman]]''' - Noted Scout Sergeant
*'''Corswain:''' The [[Paladin]] (Company Champion) of the Ninth Order; he would later become the Lion's Seneschal. A Caliban born Dark Angel he was despite his young age widely considered one of the finest blades among the Legiones Astartes, his name ranking among such legends such as [[Sigismund]] and [[Sevatar]]. Despite coming from such a taciturn and insular legion he had by the time of the Heresy gained a well-respected reputation among the other legions with even Guilliman referring to him as “beloved Corswain”.
*'''Alajos:''' The [[Dark Angels Grand Master|Grand master]] of the Ninth Order, a Terran-born veteran of the old legion and the Lion’s go-to champion when needed. He was also one of the few people Sigismund of the Imperial Fists respected and considered a true friend and brother-in-arms. He also stood his ground against a very angry Russ, refusing to stand down or move aside to allow him to retrieve his sword that he had lost after the Lion had disarmed him during the fight. Russ did take his axe instead though and then later handed it to the first new Space Wolf to be inducted into the new Space Wolf chapter after the legions were disbanded. He would meet his end upon Tsagualsa holding off both [[Sevatar]] and Sheng of the [[Night Lords]]. Alajos and Corswain represent different sides of the Legion with Alajos representing all the positive elements of the old legion and Corswain representing the new breed of Dark Angels and what they might have become if events had happened differently.
*'''[[Cypher]]''' - see his page for details
*'''Lazarus:''' Captain of the 5th company, and only primaris member of the Inner Circle. He has a hard-on for killing psykers (Thousand Sons specifically), and was introduced in a white dwarf to replace Captain Balthazar, then featured prominately in the Ritual of the Damned chapter of the [[Psychic Awakening]].

==Daily rituals==

04:00-Morning Prayer: The Dark Angels are roused from their cells to begin prayer at the leadership of the Interrogator-Chaplain. Prayer is extra long compared to most other Chapters due to {{Blam|+++DARK ANGELS BEING SO LOYAL THAT THEY WANT TO SHOW THEIR DEVOTION TO THE EMPEROR AND THE LION.+++}} 
06:00-Morning Firing Rites: The Dark Angels take to the ranges to begin firing practice. 
07:00-Battle Practice: The Dark Angels descend to the battle cages to practice in close-combat. Members of the Ravenwing will practice with their bikes and land speeders, while members of the Deathwing will practice {{Blam|+++counter Alpha Legion scenarios+++}} 
9:00- {{Blam|+++Chocolate milk and cookies break while listening to Enigma or Gregorian music. Also, free meditation time+++}}. 
12:00-Midday Meal: A light meal is prepared by the Chapter Serfs. 
12:30-Tactical Indoctrination: The Dark Angels will engage in tactical briefings on opponents they will be facing in the future. Members of the Inner Circle determine targets. At this point a battle-brother may visit the Apothecary. Meanwhile, Interrogator-Chaplains interrogate {{Blam|+++heretics and traitors+++}}. 
14:00-Afternoon nap with dimmed lights and soft instrumental music playing in the background.
 16:00-Evening Fire Rites: The Dark Angels take to the ranges to begin firing practice. They usually use black-colored targets to better hone their skills at shooting. 
17:00-Evening Prayer: The Dark Angels assemble for prayer under the Interrogator-Chaplains, who have just finished their {{Blam|+++lively discussions+++}}. 
19:00-Evening Meal: A feast is prepared by the Chapter serfs. Dessert consists of of angel's-food cake with a layer of dark mint chocolate, which the chapter serfs are extremely careful in their delivery to the mess halls as those which drop it and cause it to fall soon come to regret it. 
20:00-Maintenance Rituals: The Dark Angels will tend to the maintenance of their wargear while also washing their robes. Members of the Ravenwing will perform maintenance of their attack bikes and land speeders. 
00:00-The Dark Angels will retire to their cells for sleep.

* Why is there a 4 hour break in the schedule?
{{Blam|+++Time is relative in the Rock+++}}

== Frequently asked questions==
*Why are you called the Unforgiven?
[[Imperial Truth|{{Blam|+++For failing to protect the Emperor in His darkest hour +++}}]]

*Why is your rank Interrogator Chaplain?
[[Fallen Angels|{{Blam|+++The rank comes with the responsibility of seeking the repentance of the heretic Astartes, traitors, etc.+++}}]]

*Didn't I read that in the Index Astartes that your armour is black? Why is it green now?
{{Blam|+++Contrary to some heretical rumours, our armour is green so that we don’t get confused with our [[Raven Guard]] brothers. The only Dark Angels who wear black are the operatives and pilots of our Ravenwing company. [[Cypher|Should you see some Astartes wearing ancient wargear with Dark Angels iconography]] please report them to the nearest Dark Angels officer so [[FATAL|that they may be brought in line with the Codex Astartes regulations]]. Also the Codex itself is centuries out of date. We have raised these concerns with Lord [[Guilliman]], who has informed us that such errors will be corrected in the Codex Imperialis.+++}}

*Wouldn't that get confusing with the [[Salamanders]], who are also green?
{{Blam|+++No. The Salamanders are usually on fire, making it very easy to distinguish between them and us.+++}}

*I have seen some [[Watchers in the Dark|little beings]] with Dark Angels carrying some relics. What are these Watchers?
{{Blam|+++Worry not, these are just chapter serfs, not associated with xenos in any way+++}}

*Why are said serfs repelling Daemons with their mere presence?
{{Blam|+++A good question, faithful servant of the Emperor. Please follow this servo skull to our debriefing room down this dark and totally not conspicuous hall and Brother-Librarian [[Ezekiel]] shall implant your mind with its secrets.+++}}

*What happened to [[Caliban]], your homeworld?

{{Blam|+++It was destroyed by heretic Astartes during the Heresy. The Rock is all that remains of our homeworld.+++}}.

*What happened to your Primarch? Where is [[Lion El'Jonson]]?
{{Blam|+++With a heavy heart, we must tell you that he is lost to us, perhaps slain by the forces of Chaos. None can say if his body was found, and evidence of his whereabouts has been buried, but we believe he will return to guide us again +++}}.

*What happened to the allies that were fighting alongside the Dark Angels who suddenly disappeared?

[[Exterminatus|{{Blam|+++We are unaware of their present location. Only bolt shells and plasma burns were encountered. We suspect an ambush from the despised Traitor Legions.+++}}]]

*What is this Imperial Secundus we keep hearing about?

{{Blam|+++ Our knowledge of the Imperial Secundus is little better than the average imperial citizen. We suggest directing questions about it to Lord Guilliman. [[Commissar|Preferably when he doesn't have a firearm or power weapon at his side.]]+++}}

The '''Dark Angels''' (also known as the '''"The Unforgiven"''') are amongst the most loyal, honoured, accomplished and powerful [[Space Marine]] Chapters in the Imperium. Their grim determination and relentless persecution of their foes are legendary, and their combat record tells a long tale of selfless heroism.

== Litany of the Dark Angels: Space Hulk Deathwing ==
'''Heralds of the coming Doom, by cry of Raven, we are drawn.'''

'''This oath of war and vengeance, on blade of exalted iron sworn'''

'''With blood anointed swords aloft, advance we, into Dread’s dark shade.'''

'''Punishment divine unleashed with hate, a wrathful storm of bolt and blade.'''

'''Purge with plasma, fist, and shell, bring cleansing fire’s righteous breath.'''

'''For the Emperor, Knights of Caliban! The Lion’s anointed Angels of Death!'''

'''No forgiveness'''.

'''No retreat.'''

==Chapter Uniform==
The original Dark Angels had black armour, back in the days of the [[Beakie|Corvus pattern helmets]]. Modern Dark Angels instead use a dark green colour, except for the [[Deathwing]] and [[Ravenwing]] companies, which are composed entirely of bone-white Terminators and black Fast Attack units respectively. They were introduced in the Deathwing expansion to 1st edition ''[[Space Hulk]]'' with a spiffy background story by Bill King.
*To paint your armour black was to show that you served the Emperor directly in the same way Sigismund did when he was chosen to serve as the first Emperor's Champion.
*It could be that one of the reasons for swapping the black for the green was because they no longer felt worthy of it. The Dark Angels are literally wearing their shame for all to see, but no one else knows it.
*The Dark Angels wear green to remember Caliban's forests. The Calibanites first started it during the Heresy and it spread throughout the legion after the destruction of Caliban. (Some who were upset about how the Imperium had basically devoured Caliban's resources {and forests} as an expression of anger and possibly loyalty to Luther..or Caliban..or both.. it gets complicated)

Veterans wear robes and capes and such on the field of battle representing any number of ritualistic ranks and titles that are mostly unknown to those outside of the Chapter but harken back to the traditions of "The Order". Plus they look pretty [[awesome]].

==Gallery==
<Gallery>
File:DA Codex Cover.png|Here's some badassery right here.
File:Lulz.jpg|Happens quite often.
File:Dark-Angels-warhammer-40000.jpeg|Funnily enough, the angrinator-pattern helmet utilized by the Angry Marines was actually pioneered by the Dark Angels.
File:Dark Angels awesomeness.jpg|Always recognizable with their beautiful artworks and <s>amazing aesthetics.</s> FUKKEN DUALWIELDING FLINTLOCKS.
File:Interrogator Chap.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Welcome sir, let's start your [[FATAL|"interview"]] ([[Mark Gibbons|MG]])
File:Unforgiven.jpg|The Dark Angels and most of their confirmed successors
File:Beakie da fe ft.JPG|On the left: Dark Angel trooper in the glory days of the Legiones Astartes.
File:The_truth.jpeg|The true secret of the inner circle
File:Eternal-Crusade-Dark-Angel.jpg|Just a friendly reminder to all Dark Angels currently playing “Eternal Crusade”: every time the phrase “YOU HAVE FALLEN” appears on your screen brother Asmodai will kill a puppy.
File:-spacehulk-parchemin.png|Battle Hymn of Vengeance
File:20171125 150941.jpg|November 25, 2017—a date which will live in infamy—
File:FB_IMG_15118378317321618.jpg|Chicks dig Dark Angels
File:Space-Marine-Veteran-Print.jpg|Robes: always a classic.
File:FunkoPop-Jan21-DarkAngel8jvdds.jpg
File:Fallen DAMarine.jpg|The Dark Angels' turnover rates after their serfs have just mopped the floor are horrendous.
File:Lance Decurion.jpg|Dark Angels Lance Decurion
File:Space_marine_38.jpg|Dark Angels as depicted during the golden ages of GW art
</Gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Dark_Angels (9E)|Dark Angels Tactics]]
* [[Dark Angel Shoulder Pad]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwZISypgA9M Unofficial theme song for the Dark Angels]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckom3gf57Yw Unofficial theme song for the Unforgiven]

{{Template:Marines-Official}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]]
[[Category:Dark Angels]]
{{Dark Angels}}

Armageddon

2022-03-16T11:26:31Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

[[File:ArmageddonPlanet.JPG|300px|right|thumb|Ghazghkull's favourite playground.]]
'''Armageddon''' is <s>a perpetual clusterfuck</s> an [[Imperial|Imperial (barely)]] [[Hive World]] in [[Segmentum#Segmentum_Solar|Segmentum Solar]]. It is one of the most well-known Hive Worlds in the galaxy, with an industrial output surpassing that of many [[Forge World#Planet|Forge Worlds]]. As it supplies dozens of worlds with materials and protection, Armageddon is a strategically vital world and is heavily garrisoned. Climate-wise, Armageddon is an ash-filled polluted hellhole. On the main continent there is little more than ash-filled deserts, though its southern regions and the secondary continent have jungles home to carnivorous plants like the Helsreach Monsters. It is home to the [[Armageddon Steel Legion|Steel Legion]], one of the most recognized [[Imperial Guard Regiment]]s in the galaxy.

Armageddon was also the location of some of the largest wars in the history of the galaxy, including the Third War for Armageddon (the largest land and space battle in the history of the Imperium of Man bar none), and the subject of numerous [[fail|failed]] Imperial Assaults during a *small* occurrence called [[The War of The Beast]]. Notably it was also the largest gathering of [[Space Marine]] ships in history, including the [[Siege of Terra]] or the Ullanor Crusade (the latter of which was what led [[The Emperor]] to declare [[Horus]] his [[Warmaster]]).

Speaking of which, it turns out there's a reason for why the place is an Ork magnet. A "special" [[CS Goto]]-level retcon made Armageddon into the teleported Ullanor itself, ancestral home of two of the greatest Ork Empires to have ever existed. So, perhaps unknowingly, the Orks aren't invading - they're coming home. Or maybe it's just bad, disjointed, schizophrenic writing in a book line known for them, but hey-ho.

== First War for Armageddon ==
[[File:Armageddon.jpg|thumb|right|A typical Tuesday on Armageddon]]
===The Beginning===
The first war for Armageddon began with a series of [[Chaos]] rebellions in the hive populace as the [[Daemon]] [[Space Hulk]] ''Devourer of Souls'' came out of the warp above the planet. Much of the [[World Eaters]] legion was aboard the hulk, and they made planetfall amid the bloody rebellions, [[RIP AND TEAR|slaughtering all resistance on the main continent]]. Realizing that the main hives were lost, what was left of the loyalist populations retreated to the smaller continent across the sea to regroup and resupply at the small military bases and outposts located there. For a few short weeks the [[Khorne|Khornate]] hordes busied themselves with sacrificing civilians to summon daemons to bolster their ranks, and the Loyalists used this time to fortify as well as they could, but they had little more to offer their foes than [[Lasgun|flashlights]] and insults.

The Blood God's hordes turned their eyes to the last defenders, now bolstered by daemons and the [[Daemon Prince#Demon Primarch|Daemon Primarch]] [[Angron]] himself. The ragged refugees and soldiers could do little more than pray for deliverance when...

===The Cavalry Arrives===
Out of the fucking blue with no real lore explanation the [[Space Wolves|Vlka Fenryka]] showed up, led by the [[Logan Grimnar|Old Wolf]] himself! The wolves blast the fuck out of the ''Devourer of Souls'' and make planetfall to help the remaining [[Planetary Defense Force]] and [[Armageddon Steel Legion|Steel Legion]] forces defend the remaining civilians while they awaited the [[Grey Knights|help]] that [[Logan Grimnar|Logan]] had called for. They actually started gaining ground against the World Eaters until Angron and his [[Awesome|Cruor Praetoria]], his bodyguard of twelve [[Bloodthirster]]s, charged the Imperial line and started [[RIP AND TEAR|chopping up everything that stood between them and Armageddon's south pole]].

The [[Grey Knights]] fucking finally show up to the party and this 'ragged brotherhood' fight Angron and his Bloodthirster posse and win when their brotherhood's Grandmaster was able to banish [[Angron]] after [[Hyperion]] shattered the daemon Primarch's blade. Of the 109 Grey Knights who took to the field, [[Grimdark|13 survived]]. Following [[Angron]]'s banishment the Wolves and Steel Legion were able to destroy the few Khornate forces that remained.

===The Months of Shame===
As the whole planet had been contaminated by [[Chaos]], by the sanction of [[Inquisition|Inquisitor Lord Ghesmei Kysnaros]], the decided course of action was that the remaining population of Armageddon, civilians and soldiers alike, were to be [[Grimdark|sterilized and sent to Inquisitorial compounds to be worked to death]] or otherwise exterminated, and optimistically intended to have any Space Wolves who had seen the Grey Knights be mindwiped save for Grimnar.

The Space Wolves were not fucking amused, to put it mildly. Logan [[RAGE|politely and calmly]] explained to the Inquisitor that by punishing the citizens of Armageddon for their heroism and survival, the Inquisition were sullying the honour of the men that yet lived and disrespecting the memories of the dead. The Inquisitor Lord more or less told Logan to go fuck himself. [[RAGE|The Old Wolf was not amused]].

Shortly after this exchange, surviving refugees and soldiers began to be transported off-world, only to mysteriously 'disappear' (certainly nothing to do with the Grey Knights knocking out their warp-drives then blowing them apart, not at all!). The Wolves pretty quickly figured out what was up and called the Inquisition to explain their deeds, but they weren't feeling talkative. The Inquisition began firing on any civilian craft leaving the planet, including the ones escorted by the Space Wolves, who blocked the Inquisitorial fire, [[Noblebright|first with their void shields and then with the hulls of their ships, but never fired back.]]

After months of tense standoffs and passive resistance against the Inquisition, the Space Wolves had eventually dispersed unquantified numbers of survivors and utterly shattered the Inquisition's best attempts at containment (including several outright [[Exterminatus]] actions on planets where survivors were believed to have been), to the point where the Inquisition themselves unofficially admitted containment was simply no longer possible. Having failed with his previous attempts, the Inquisitor Lord was feeling a bit [[butthurt]] and so decided to lash out, and this is where the Space Wolves finally got sick of the Inquisition's shit.

See, the Inquisitor Lord Kysnaros and the Grey Knights Grand Master serving him had hit upon a brilliant (read: utterly bone-headed) plan: they would call a truce with the Wolves and meet with them in a neutral system to parley, with their respective ships' weapons and shields powered down to prevent any "unfortunate incidents". The catch, of course, was that the Inquisition never intended to live up to their word - when the fleets met as planned, they would open fire almost immediately to cripple the Space Wolves' fleet and force Grimnar to submit to their demands under the threat of annihilation.

Grimnar, unaware of the trap, duly showed up in the relic [[Strike Cruiser]] ''Scramaseax'' with its weapons off and shields powered down (as both sides had agreed upon), only for its escorts to be destroyed and the Strike Cruiser itself halfway crippled. Kysnaros took a moment to gloat before "inviting" Grimnar across to his ship, to discuss how the Wolves were going to atone for their actions against the Inquisition (hint: it involved stripping away a lot of their independence and sending them on a [[Lamenters|Penitent Crusade]]). As it would turn out however, that Inquisitorial Gloating™ would prove to be a bit premature.

Unsurprisingly ''royally'' pissed off at this betrayal and Kysnaros's outrageous demands, [[Just as Planned|Grimnar traveled to the Inquisitor's ship]], and (upon finding out he gave the order to fire on the Wolves) [[Not as Planned|promptly split the Grey Knights Grand Master open from head to nadgers before he could even draw his blade]], before verbally tearing into both the Grey Knights (who were becoming increasingly demoralized, feeling this campaign was a failure and far out of their remit) and the Inquisitor Lord for their incompetence, betrayal of parley, and overall pig-headed approach. When the Knights tried to prevent the remaining Wolves (Logan and three of his Honour Guard, all others having died in the betrayal) from teleporting out, the Wolves answered by shooting their way back to the ''Scramaseax'' and departing the system at speed.

(Evidently the Inquisitor Lord thought it was a good idea to be in a void war with [[Logan Grimnar]], a dude who can call on EIGHT battle barges and FUCKING THIRTY [[Strike Cruiser]]s, and in command of a chapter, a [[First Founding]] chapter no less, of Space Marines, and whose [[Awesome|forces are typically assumed to be approximately triple the average number]], [[Black Templars|if not larger]]. [[Rape|He was wrong]].)

===The End===
The next few months were... [[Anal Circumference|messy, to say the least]]. The Space Wolves, infuriated by this latest betrayal, began actively hunting down and destroying Kysnaros's vessels - including the 10,000-year-old GK flagship ''Glaive of Janus'', with its entire crew and the fifty Veteran Grey Knights aboard. The Inquisitor Lord, despite knowing that any effort at containing Armageddon's survivors had failed by this point, responded by escalating the purges of located survivors and calling in favours from [[Red Hunters|the Inquisition's unofficial Astartes lapdogs]]. It was also around this time that a number of the Inquisitor's underlings (among them, [[Hyperion]] of the Grey Knights and Fenrisian Inquisitor Jarlsdottyr) began plotting to assassinate Inquisitor Lord Kysnaros outright, fearing that his actions were going to spark off an outright civil war between the Wolves and the Inquisition.

After eight months of the Inquisition getting its ass kicked, the Inquisitor Lord finally called on every resource he could muster and set off to [[Fenris]] with an entire [[Imperial Navy]] fleet, a [[Grey Knights]] Strike Cruiser and the entire [[Red Hunters]] Chapter fleet. Their mission? To hold Fenris, as well as the (currently lightly-defended) Fang hostage, and ultimately (again, ''optimistically'') intending to strong-arm the Wolves into a final parley in which the Inquisition could dictate the terms under the threat of annihilating the Wolves' home.

To make a long story short: the Wolves caught onto the plan and returned, attacking the Inquisition's task force; both sides gave each other bloody noses and everyone lost various amounts of men and ships (the Inquisition-GK-RH soup more so than the Wolves), and the fighting ended when Logan thoroughly demonstrated that for all that the Grey Knights are peerless [[psykers]] capable of going toe-to-toe with [[daemons]] and perma-killing them, in a close-quarters fight they couldn't hold a candle to the sons of Russ. He made this point by teleporting to the Inquisition flagship's bridge, killing the Lord Inquisitor (who by now was on the verge of a nervous breakdown as he realized how ''monumentally'' boned they all were) in a single blow, and throwing [[Hyperion]] a [[Kharn]] vs [[Erebus]] level of beating as his retinue dismantled the surviving Grey Knights.

With the top Inquisitor dead, Hyperion busy being beaten into ground beef, and Logan both utterly frothing mad and more than willing to kill everyone aboard, [[Bjorn]] teleported up into the brouhaha and had what is quite possibly the single most "Bjorn" moment ever. Not only did Bjorn tell the Inquisition to get off his damn lawn, not only did he tell Logan to "quit making so much damn noise with this out-of-hand party, young man," Bjorn actually came onto a Fenrisian Inquisitor (who earlier had tearfully fallen to her knees in reverent awe upon first seeing Bjorn and now fought at his side AGAINST the Inquisition's hooligans), calling her a "beautiful frost-born maiden" (revealing himself to be a crotchety old romantic neckbeard after our own hearts).

Everyone was pretty fucking dumbfounded, but hey, the Lord Inquisitor was dead, and he was pretty much the only one who'd been in favour of this strategy in the first place (though his colleagues and implicitly the highest levels of the Inquisition, promptly began ([[Derp|AGAIN, optimistically]]) looking for ways to bring the Wolves to heel), so the vast majority of those involved simply shrugged and went their own ways. Inquisitors, even Inquisitor Lords getting ahead of themselves, trying to throw their weight around with Astartes, and then getting in way over their heads is hardly unprecedented, and is a scenario that usually only ends one way. Trying that shit with First Founding chapters however... You'd have better odds trying your luck in a game of [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies|chicken with a black hole]]. Just ask the [[Dark Angels]].

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT2g2JywF2g| Now in song form!]

==Second War for Armageddon==
To make a short story even shorter, the Second War for Armageddon was a massive fucking meatgrinder full of happy [[Orks]] and pissed off [[Human]]s. [[Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka]] arrived on the planet with a bunch of [[Ork_Fleets#Others|Roks]] and a few billion Orks and decided to make things more interesting. Armaggeddon's ruler at the time was a fucker by the name of [[Herman von Strab]], a man so delusionally assured of his own abilities and decisions that ignored every piece of sensible tactical advice given and sent numerically inferior, split focus forces to fight against the uncharacteristically clever Ork hordes. He actually deployed a [[Titan_(Warhammer_40,000)|Titan Legion]] [[FAIL|without any kind of support, resulting in their total defeat]].

When things really started going south, he evacuated to his private bunker and bombarded his own cities with past-the-use-by-date [[Exterminatus#Virus_Bombs|Virus Bombs]], killing millions of his own people as well as the Orks. The planet was only saved due to the actions of a few loyal but disobedient commanders, including [[Commissar Yarrick]], the Old Man himself, who took over and started [[gets shit done|getting shit done]]. Yarrick managed to hold things together with his half-whipped and half-starved forces until the Marines arrived to help out. [[Dante|Commander Dante]] arrived with a taskforce to finish the fight. Ghazghkull got bored and fucked off to space. Kinda like WWI.

All this war did in the long term was create [[Mephiston|Mephiston]] and set the scene for the big war that came after, which brings us to...

==Third War for Armageddon==
The third war for Armageddon was the biggest land war in the history of the [[Imperium]] and the [[RIP AND TEAR|galaxy's mosh pit]]. FUCKING EVERYONE was there - well, all the Orks and Humans anyway. Seriously, all nine former Space Marine legions were there along with a lot of successors, a dozen Titan Legions and a metric fuckton of Guard regiments, along with a few billion Orks. There were more Void Ships and ground forces at the third war for Armageddon than any other war in the history of mankind, surpassing even the Siege of Holy Terra and the Ullanor Crusade (though this has been partially retconned by [[Games Workshop|our overlords]]). Commanding this clusterfuck was [[Helbrecht|High Marshal Helbrecht]] in charge of the Void Battle, as the [[Black Templars|Templars]] are void specialists, and [[Commissar Yarrick]] in overall command on the ground (says a lot about how hardcore Yarrick is that even the Astartes were willing to take orders from this guy).

To make a short story even shorter: Ghazghkull was annoyed that he had to fuck off to space last time, so he came back with even MORE Orks to come back and get Yarrick, though this time the Imperium was prepared and eventually forced a stalemate. [[Derp|Ghazghkull got bored and fucked off to space again]], with Yarrick joining the Templars on an epic road trip to go smite the green fucker, only to be left in the proverbial dust when [[Gork]] and [[Mork]] intervened on Ghazghkull's behalf. The conflict has kept going ever since, with no sign of slowing down.

Meanwhile, the events of the [[Gathering Storm]] ended up putting Armageddon directly in the path of the Blood Crusade - a colossal legion of Khorne Daemons who almost certainly are ready for a second round. As of ''Dark Imperium'', the Blood Crusade tried to summon Angron but the [[Salamanders_(Chapter)|Salamanders]] managed to muck up the ritual. While the Chaos warbands were fighting each other, the Orks and the Steel Legion actually teamed up to banish them on occasion before going back to fighting each other. At this point, half of the planet is now a Daemon World occupied by the forces of [[Khorne]] and [[Tzeentch]] (which as usual are fighting among themselves as well) and the other half is presumably clinging to whatever territory they can old while waiting for Old Man Yarrick to come back to fuck shit up. Even worse, there are signs that the Salamanders merely delayed the summoning of Angron rather than preventing it completely, and the warp rift left behind from his initial banishment brings forth more and more daemons as if preparing for the return of the Red Angel.

'''Armageddon indeed.'''

===Codex: Armageddon===
As with the [[13th Black Crusade]], Third Edition also introduced a Codex supplement for the Third Armageddon War with a basic overview of the war and some variant armies based on the forces arrayed.

*'''[[Black Templars]]''': A variant [[Space Marines]] army. If you're wondering how they got their 4th Edition Codex as badass as it was, you'll find the origins here. Vows, a lone-wolf [[Emperor's Champion]], Crusader Squads, all of it was introduced here.
*'''[[Salamanders_(Chapter)|Salamanders]]''': Another variant Space Marines army. This is where the -1 Initiative rule came from and how they became the diehards, including reinforcing their tanks with ceramite. All Fast Attack units are 0-1 here, meaning that you'd need to either make your options count or rely more on other FOC slots.
*'''Speed Freeks''': A variant [[Orks]] army list focused entirely on going fast. Every unit in this army has a compulsory transport they had to start the game in, and thankfully the boyz knew well enough to fall back to their rides in the event that they failed a morale check. Even your big guns are strapped to trukks, something we've somehow never gotten since.
*'''Steel Legion Mechanized Infantry Company''': A "variant" [[Imperial Guard]]. Rather than introducing new units or rearranging the FOC, a Mechanized Infantry Company instead required all units either be vehicles or hitch a ride in a chimera - something the army list happily opens up for any units otherwise incapable of taking them. The only units you couldn't bring along were the Deathworld Veterans from the Catachans supplement, which wasn't much of a loss.

{{40k-Timeline}}

{{40k-Planets}}

[[Category:Imperial]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-16T11:21:46Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* The Battle */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious engagements. Loud space viking antics notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech, determining that he should take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he brought it too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor. When they came back online, they caught the traitors completely flatfootted and unleashed all kinds of hell. This also meant that the traitors were forced to split their efforts and fight on two fronts, rather than focus on the Space Wolves.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-16T11:16:36Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* The Battle */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious engagements. Loud space viking antics notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech, determining that he should take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he brought it too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's considerable loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict. Not just some paltry offerings either. Remember, this is a FORGE WORLD, so it's up there with among the hardest of targets in the setting to hit, and probably only really second to the Necrons. It's further suggested that the forces garrisoning this forge world were particularly formidable. Some even survived well after the war, later coming to Cawl's defense, and vouching for him when the latter was suspected of being a traitor.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-16T10:59:59Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Aftermath */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious engagements. Loud space viking antics notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech, determining that he should take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he brought it too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are literally (not figuratively) ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-16T10:55:35Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Aftermath */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious engagements. Loud space viking antics notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech, determining that he should take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he brought it too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was [[butthurt|NOT happy]] in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that [[Not as Planned|Russ had bested him]]. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-16T10:53:55Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* The Battle */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious engagements. Loud space viking antics notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech, determining that he should take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he brought it too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device in the form of narrative cliché]] which momentarily [[Bullshit|overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was NOT happy in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that Russ had bested him. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-16T10:47:15Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront for many of the most vicious engagements. Loud space viking antics notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech, determining that he should take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he brought it too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device by way of narrative cliché that momentarily overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was NOT happy in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that Russ had bested him. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Battle of Trisolian

2022-03-16T10:46:50Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Background */

{{Infobox 40k Campaign
|title=The Battle of Trisolian
|image=
|attacker= [[Space Wolves]]
|defender= [[Sons of Horus]]
|commander1= [[Leman Russ]]
[[Belisarius Cawl]]
|commander2= [[Horus]]
|date= ~011.M31
|scale=Void battle
|theatre= Horus Heresy
|strength1= ~40,000 Marines, the near entirety of remaining Space Wolves; majority of fighting forces on a sizable loyalist Forge World
|strength2= ~50 capital ships; [[Sons of Horus]] Legion; considerable elements of [[Word Bearers]], [[World Eaters]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Night Lords]] & [[Iron Warriors]]; Mechanicum Traitors
|casualties1= Extremely High, several companies reduced to less than 20% strength. Unknown number of Mechanicum loyalists, presumably high, though a fair amount managed to survive the end of the war
|casualties2= Higher number & percentage than of the Space Wolves, but with sufficient reserves to absorb the losses largely unphased
|status= Imperial retreat
|outcome= Effectively ended the Space Wolves as a "Legion", who retreated to Yarant. Horus badly wounded/partly de-corrupted. Leman Russ badly wounded and/or traumatized.
}}

The '''Battle of Trisolian''' is the ill-fated attempt by [[Leman Russ]] to kill [[Horus]] before the inevitable [[Siege of Terra]]. It also marks the earliest appearance of a young [[Belisarius Cawl]] who is a mere up-and-coming but still notoriously unconventional tech-adept by this stage.

==Background==
Throughout the Horus Heresy, the Space Wolves were at the forefront many of the most vicious engagements. Loud space viking antics notwithstanding, the VIth Legion and their primarch always took their role as The Emperor's executioners very seriously, and so threw themselves into the thick of things quite often throughout the heresy. Fights they evidently mostly won, but which inevitably took a toll. Additionally, for at least the first half of the war, contact could not even be established with the [[Dark Angels]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[Ultramarines]] as they were trapped behind the Ruin Storm, and with the other [[Salamanders|loyalist]] [[Raven Guard|legions]] [[Iron Hands|indisposed]], [[Imperial Fists|detained]], or [[White Scars|otherwise]] [[Custodes|occupied]], this resulted in the Space Wolves being engaged far more frequently than ideal. By late in the Heresy, the Space Wolves legion had lost around 25% of their forces at [[Burning of Prospero|Prospero]], had taken further maulings at the [[Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula]], coupled with further engagements at Vanaheim and Daverant, reducing their numbers to around forty thousand marines, after having started with around one hundred and thirty thousand. Following Alaxxes the remnant returned to Terra to coordinate with the loyalist forces.

Leman Russ sponsored a stealth mission by the [[Knights-Errant]] on the Vengeful Spirit during the '''Battle of Molech''' in order to gauge any weaknesses in the traitor dispositions and report back on the state of Horus himself. However, the mission went sour when they were discovered, leading to the deaths of several of the Knights-Errant involved when the Warmaster decided to make examples of them.

Following the completion of this mission, [[Sanguinius]] and [[Jaghatai Khan]] had also arrived on Terra and convened a war council to determine the next course of action: [[Rogal Dorn]] urged that all remaining forces maintain a defensive posture, but was appreciative that the [[Ultramarines]] and [[Dark Angels]] were assaulting the traitors' rear and providing relief to loyalist forces, allowing them to dictate the next few battles. Dorn declared that Terra was too confined a battlezone for the loyalist contingent of Titan Legions and so proposed a muster at '''Beta-Garmon''' and make a stand there in order to give time for [[Roboute Guilliman]] and [[Lion El'Jonson]] to crush the traitors in a pincer movement. The Battle of Beta-Garmon would itself become the site of one of the greatest battles in the entire Horus Heresy.

However, Leman Russ would not be swayed from his original plan and chose to depart from Terra for [[Fenris]] in order to scry a weakness in the superhuman upgrades that Horus gained at Molech, determining that he should take the oft-maligned "Spear of Russ" with him; it's a good thing he brought it too, as it turns out that it's actually probably one of the most powerful pointy sticks in existence, being a gift personally made and given by [[Emperor|Daddy]].

==The Battle==
The battle itself took place over the [[Forge World]] of '''Trisolian A-4''', which had recently been captured by traitor forces following a surrender of Mechanicum forces, although a loyalist faction of Skitarii led by Cawl continued to fight against the traitors.
[[File:Battle_of_Trisolian.jpg|280px|thumb|right|Russ really wanted Horus's wolf pelt. And honestly, who can blame him?]]
The Space Wolf fleet used the unique gravitational properties of the three stars of the Trisolian star system to approach with stealth and speed, using most of their ships as a distraction while Russ own flagship engaged the ''Vengeful Spirit'' directly, allowing him to board with thousands of marines.

Russ had already figured that the battle would result in a loss for his forces, but thankfully Cawl's loyalist Mechanicum elements on the Forge World managed to overthrow the regime and revert the planet back to loyalist control, allowing it to lend a hand in the conflict.

Once aboard the flagship, Russ engaged Horus directly in an extremely savage duel and incredibly, [[awesome|managed to best Horus in single combat, scoring a debilitating wound with his spear and literally (not figuratively) bringing Horus to his knees]]. In addition to being the twin to Constantine Valdor's Apollonian spear, Russ' spear had been made by The Emperor himself, and so contained some of his power, and as everyone here knows, that power is anathema to Chaos, so when the Chaos-juicing Horus was wounded by it, the effect was even more destructive than it might otherwise have been. In point of fact, this power was so pronounced that when Russ began to further run him through, Horus was shown to be visibly terrified, not by Russ, the wound, or even the very real prospect of death at the hands of his brother, but of the spear's ethereal power coursing through him, obliterating the effects of his chaos-juicing, and wrecking his [[meme|massive gains]]. Unfortunately, Russ was then suddenly and without warning [[Plot Armor|beset by a rampaging plot device by way of narrative cliché that momentarily overcame his better judgment and stated goal]]. Thus, instead of immediately killing Horus like he should have done (that was precisely the primary mission objective remember) the wound gave Horus a brief moment of clarity, and so despite the sacrifices made of himself, his sons, and some of his closest advisors (like the death of his chief [[Rune Priest]], Kva), not to mention having heavily negatively impacted Dorn's defensive plans for the upcoming siege by leaving Terra, and that the [[Noblebright|single most powerful motivator for Russ had been that he wanted to protect his father]], now, with the Arch Traitor himself at his mercy, [[fail|Russ instead tried to plead with his brother to rejoin the Emperor's fold]]. [[Troll|Horus declined and then suckerpunched Russ]], starting a new duel. Tired from the last duel, emotionally devastated, and now caught unawares, Russ was on the backfoot; Horus was about to kill him, but was prevented from delivering the killing blow by a mob of dozens of Space Wolves who literally dogpiled him, allowing [[Bjorn]] to drag Russ from the battlefield and back to the Loyalist fleet where they began to disengage and retreat.

==Aftermath==
Already heavily depleted from all the military actions since Prospero, following Trisolian, the Space Wolves were mauled further still, with some companies even being reduced to just a fifth of their strength, and ultimately dropping the effective fighting force of the legion as a whole down to somewhere in the range of just 10 to 15 thousand marines, after having started the battle with around 40,000. While on its face that number of survivors may still sound a tad higher than expected, consider that A, this is all that they had to get them through the rest of the war and the subsequent [[Great_Scouring|Scouring]], and B, they would eventually form an [[Wolf Brothers|ill-fated Second Founding chapter]], also made largely of veterans of the Heresy. Or to put it another way, that means that the Space Wolves [[Grimdark|suffered something like 66% casualties to their entire legion in a single engagement]]. Under most circumstances, those are ''war-ending'' casualty figures, so don't for a second think that they got off lightly. They most certainly did not. In any case, without any means of quickly replenishing their forces, this effectively ended the existence of the VIth Legion as a legion.

For his part, Horus was NOT happy in the battle's aftermath. Far from gloating, he was sour over the considerable losses his own forces had incurred, but more than that, he was rattled that Russ had bested him. Horus hadn't considered Russ his equal even before he fell to Chaos, yet now, even being infused with additional power from the Ruinous Powers, Russ had laid him low and legitimately could have killed him, had <s>the plot not suddenly intervened</s> Russ' feelings not gotten the better of him. Horus spent time ruminating on this, fully acknowledging it to himself and taking it all in, because he clearly did not like the implications of this. It was amidst these meditations that Horus then suddenly began to experience moments of visions, or perhaps glimpses of visions of his conscience, or something to that effect, berating him for betraying his father, becoming a pawn of the Ruinous Powers, and ultimately just doing what he knew to be wrong. It was this last that most unsettled Horus as it had never happened before, and try as he might, he couldn't simply dismiss it; unbeknownst to him at the time, the wound Russ had dealt him had impacted his spirit as much as his body, and the power of the Emperor's light had slowly started to counteract the baleful malaise of the chaos gods. Flustered and annoyed, he then ordered a [[Abaddon|certain armless failure]] to lead a contingent of his forces to hunt down the remnants of the VIth and not return without Russ' head. [[Fail|Disappointmaddon then returned without Russ' head]]. Oh, and without most of the astartes Horus had given him as well. Abaddon basically starting as he meant to go on.

With their Primarch unconscious from his injuries, the remaining Space Wolf commanders have to make a decision of whether to stay together and likely die, or disperse and play no further part in the Horus Heresy. Choosing to remain together to present a viable threat that the traitors would have to divert resources to deal with, they retreat to '''Yarant III''' to make a stand where they are hunted by [[Abaddon|Failbaddon]] but are eventually saved by [[Corax]] following his own gene-seed debacle.

Horus was partially cleansed of the corruption he gained at Molech after being wounded by the Spear of Russ and a momentary glimpse of the original Primarch is witnessed by his brother, granting him enough self control to reject the Chaos Gods but continued the campaign on his own terms. [[Lorgar]] believed that Horus' failure to submit to the gods' will but still accepting their gifts would lead them to withdraw their power [[Siege of Terra|when he needed it most]] and cause the war to be lost. Horus later fell into a coma at the aforementioned battle at Beta-Garmon as his wound reopened, and Lorgar attempted a coup.

A shard of Horus' soul that had been purified by the Spear of Russ would be fought over by the [[Chaos Gods]], requiring the sacrifice of Maloghurst in order to free him and Lorgar was expelled from the Warmaster's fleet after his coup failed, with Horus warning that he would kill Lorgar if he ever saw him again.

{{40k-Timeline}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000 Battles]]

Games Workshop

2022-03-16T09:49:01Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33:

{{british}}
{{Fail}}
{{Heresy}}

[[File:GW Logo.png|center|900px]]

{{topquote|A fool and his money are soon parted.|Dr. John Bridges}}
{{topquote|A wise man should have money in his head, but not in his heart.|Jonathan Swift}}
{{topquote|For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.|Saint Paul, The Bible, 1 Timothy 6:10 (NLT)}}
{{topquote|Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit.|Conrad Hilton}}
{{topquote|xaxa Warhammer is for everyone unless you are poor...|Uamee}}

'''Games Workshop''', known to /tg/ as '''Geedubs''', or '''GW''' is a company which produces miniatures and despite their former CEO's best efforts, games. Their three most notable games are [[Warhammer Fantasy]], [[Warhammer:_Age_of_Sigmar|Age of Sigmar]] and [[Warhammer 40,000]].

{{Infobox Deity
|Name = Games Workshop
|Symbol =
|Alignment = Stupid Evil
|Divine Rank = AAA
|Pantheon = Tabletop
|Portfolio = Warhammer Fantasy, Age of Sigmar, PRIMARIS MARINES
|Domains =
|Home Plane = Lead Belt, United Kingdom
|Worshippers =
|Favoured Weapon = Exploit Worker, Union Breaker, Price-gouging, IP Lawsuit, IP Theft
}}

The first thing that you must know is that in /tg/'s general opinion, Games Workshop used to be good, and then it was shit, run into the ground by idiots. <s>Thankfully since [[Kevin_Rountree|a new guy took over]] it's been doing a lot better and most believe it could become good again. See [[Mordheim]], [[Beakie]], [[Rogue Trader (Sourcebook)|Rogue Trader]] and [[Talisman]].</s>

This turned out to be a fool's hope. See Warhammer+ and the 2020-2021 purging of the 40k fanimation community, which has led to a sharp and ongoing decline in their stock prices... even during holiday season of 2021 (as of Nov. 3rd).

The second thing you must know is that Games Workshop is the reason /tg/ exists in the first place: it was originally created as a containment board to isolate Warhammer threads from the general population on [[/b/]]. Warhammer is also a massive part of tabletop gaming culture history; as such, the importance of Warhammer in /tg/ cannot be overstated.

The third thing you must know is that Games Workshop is extremely protective about their precious intellectual properties. This is funny because you can count the number of original ideas in their core games on one hand, with the original creators outright admitting they ripped off existing works wholesale. The vast majority of backstory in Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 is a rehash of established fantasy/sci-fi literature, padded out with stuff the writers half-remembered from A-level history lectures. This is particularly true in the case of Warhammer Fantasy, which actually makes sense when you realize most of GW's founders actually had history degrees. 40k by contrast is mostly Fantasy ''IIIIN SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE'', with a heaping helping of tropes from everything sci-fi that was popular in Britain in the 1980's.

Finally, and this is very important to understand why they have become the dominant company of the miniature market and are no longer a failing business that constantly shot itself in the legs (thanks to their own failings and tarnished reputation): GeeDubs likes the top lines in the news and shows it off. Thanks to the old fucking idiot who was crippling the company deciding to leave with a large stash of money, like a rat jumping off a sinking ship, the new management was able to realize that putting out more than a catalogue was a good way to draw in new buyers and win back some old ones. Any given week you can see them bringing articles, comics, tutorials, interviews, short stories, miniatures, codices, novels and other features, this zealous dedication to '''growth''' allows them to promote and sell their different lines, which in turn allows them to make even more profit and produce more stuff while periodically trying different niches, creating a (relatively speaking) virtuous economic circle. Games Workshop's resources are comparatively vast and they use them at their full (with varied although generally favorable results) extent. Add to this the extensive use of their brands in the video game industry, and you can see why they are THE powerhouse when it comes to miniature-oriented tabletop gaming.

==History==

===Ancient History===
The original Games Workshop was established several hundred years ago BC, originating in China. However, when the Emperor placed a commission for thousands of life-sized soldiers, this predecessor began to collapse, as with all production being geared to the creation of these soldiers and the murderous ire of the first Emperor, they were unable to introduce price rises. As one, their board of directors resolved that they must fall into hibernation, to wait out the storm, screaming defiance at the one man who ever had defeated them.

===Almost-as-Ancient History===
[[File:John Peake and Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Steve, John, and Ian with their first products.]]
Games Workshop was established in 1975 in London as a small literal workshop that created wooden [[Board Games|boards]] for public domain games, such as [[Chess]] which it sold through mail-order catalogs (not its own). The original staff was just three men in a flat in London. John Peake, Steve Jackson (not to be confused with the other /tg/ Steve Jackson), and Ian Livingstone. Livingstone was a massive games fan, and was captain of the Chess club in school, while Peake carved wood as a hobby. They soon made a business of selling boards for Chess, Go, and Backgammon.
[[File:O&W!01.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Owl And Weasel, issue #1.]]
In the same year Games Workshop put out its own newsletter, called "Owl And Weasel" which somehow wound up crossing the Atlantic and ending up in the hands of pen-and-paper-gamings' Jack Kirby, [[Gary Gygax]]. Gygax sent the trio a copy of [[Dungeons & Dragons]] to play-test for a review in their publication. Jackson and Livingstone were hooked and ordered six more copies. Gygax, thinking they were a much more established (as in established at all) company, offered them exclusive distribution rights in the entirety of Europe.

In 1977, Jackson and Livingstone accepted and began selling copies of the game straight out of the flat by using Owl And Weasel to get the word out. Gygax himself had also been selling out of his apartment at the time, and neither found out the other group was just a couple of nerdy kids selling shit out of their home. Peake left the company as he had no interest or patience in new games (yep, people complaining every time something new comes along have been in since the beginning). After he left, D&D exploded in popularity and people who came to buy a game were continually knocking on the floor-level homes in the building, before being directed to talk to Livingstone and Jackson on the top floor. Predictably, this earned them a boot out the door from the landlord.

They rented a small office to be the original Games Workshop, slept in a van in the car park, and bathed in the restrooms of a nearby sports club while pretending to be patrons. They continued distributing D&D through mail order but had absolutely no success in convincing established hobby shops to carry the product. Without alternative, Livingstone and Jackson bought a place in west London in 1978 to sell mostly imported American gaming accessories from Dungeons & Dragons to Call Of Cthulhu and more. The two entered into negotiations to merge with [[TSR Games]] to retain exclusive distribution rights, but the owners of TSR (other than Gygax, who supported the idea greatly) turned the offer down.

===Citadel===
[[File:White Dwaf Issue 1.jpg|thumb|right|300px|White Dwarf, issue #1.]]
The new building allowed them to host gaming conventions which would later become the famous [[Games Day]]. This was followed Owl And Weasel being discontinued and replaced with [[White Dwarf]], a small magazine (originally just black and white on colored stationery) written by the now obsessed tabletop gamer Livingstone, which covered industry-wide tabletop gaming news. White Dwarf was supposed to be sci-fi and fantasy neutral, referring both to a dying star and to, well, [[Dwarves]]. Originally the magazine was everything Livingstone felt like writing about, from movies to publishing short stories to computer and computer gaming-related articles. The letters section quickly became THE forum for tabletop gaming in <strike>the Old World</strike> Europe, where everything from rules clarifications to personal reviews were published. Interestingly, Livingstone published letters that were critical of both him and Games Workshop.

Games Workshop's very first new product, [[Reaper]] (not to be confused with [[Reaper Miniatures]]) was a basic fantasy skirmish game for between 5 and 30 miniatures. In 1978, [[Citadel Miniatures]] was established under a man named Bryan Ansell as the miniature manufacturing division for any future Games Workshop products, which would produce them in bulk. Although initially a separate company simply owned by the same people as Games Workshop, it would eventually merge in the 90's into one company with the name only being a vestigial remainder of independence.
[[File:GW 1982.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Games Workshop team, circa 1982. Pictured from top left to bottom right: Andy Patterson, <strike>John Lennon</strike> Anthony Epworth, <strike>Abraham</strike> Bryan Ansell, Diane Lane, Gerry Ball, Chrissie Lane, Alan Merritt, [[Rick Priestley]] pre-barber, and an unknown woman (possibly Priesley's wife).]]
This was followed in 1980 by the release of [[Valley Of The Four Winds]], a mostly forgotten fantasy game where two players fight over the fate of a realm. The side of evil consists of demons and the undead while the side of good consists of Elves, humans, and <strike>Dwarfs</strike> Dwarves (that spelling comes later). Battlecars was next, as a Mad Max style game. The first RPG created by Games Workshop was a licensed [[Doctor Who|Dr. Who]] role-playing game. [[Fighting Fantasy]] was a project of Livingstone and Jackson, a fairly popular game they would leave the company to pursue.

Nothing Games Workshop made was as successful as Dungeons & Dragons, which was now being carried by competitors. Citadel sold generic fantasy miniatures for use with D&D, but players only ever made small purchases and were not in the market to collect one of everything leaving some stock hard to move. Ansell had become the primary boss of the company, and his solution was the wargaming market that had begun to catch on internationally. At this point, Games Workshop was still very much a small business with most employees putting in work as needed; a writer or mail sorter would load shipments into the building or package products.
<gallery>
Image:Games Workshop Old Ad.png
Image:Valley Of The Four Winds.jpg
Image:Doctor Who Games Workshop.jpg
Image:Battlecars.jpg
</gallery>

===Warhammer===
In 1983, [[Warhammer Fantasy|Warhammer]] was released. It was created by Games Workshop writer Richard Halliwell and his friend (former mail order department) [[Rick Priestley]] (known by [[Meme|many nicknames on /tg/, often "The Based"]]). Priestley was mostly inspired by growing up and delving headfirst into both science fiction and history, the news of the Atomic Age, and World War 2; all of which led him to the first wargames, and eventually getting a job at Games Workshop with the goal of working on his own.
The requirements for the new product were simple.
# Take advantage of popular fantasy favored by gamers like [[Conan the Barbarian]] and [[Lord of the Rings]].
# Every model must have rules, so everything gets sold.
# Use six-sided dice since almost everyone everywhere already had some they could scrounge up to play the game.
Halliwell did the first draft for the game and did most of the work on raw mechanics, Priestley did development and editing. Originally having no actual miniatures associated with it, it simply consisted of a single set of three books giving a basic rule system and scenarios. The first book, '''Tabletop Battles''', and has the core rules plus a bestiary and list of potions to be found in addition to an example scenario called '''[[The Ziggurat of Doom]]'''. The second book is '''Magic''', containing the rules for magic where spellcasting characters with the right equipment and wizard level (1-4, with the highest level being Archmages) can spend Constitution to use their chosen spells. The final book, Characters, adds the roleplaying game aspects including leveling up, alignment, upkeep costs, and the '''The Redwake River Valley''' example scenario.

While filled with typos, contradictory rules, and BADLY needing an FAQ that never came (so they quickly set the standard for what GW would aspire to) it was well accepted for introducing the concepts of magic failing and of the psychology of forces on the field. The setting was almost non-existent, and what little lore there was only existed in the flavor text of magic items. Of special interest is the game was originally conceived partly as a wargame, partly as a roleplaying game with actual guidelines for leveling up your general and interacting with the world— even an alignment system! If anything, the game combined the role of Dungeon master and player into one as a character led a force of generalized encounters against each other and looted the dead. Every group of friends had a different world, as the results of a previous battle fitted into the unending campaigns of war. A major difference between current and early Warhammer is an extra player was required as a Game Master for a battle to take place.
[[File:Citadel Design Team 80s.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The Citadel Design Team in the early 1980's.]]

Ansell used the success of Warhammer to move Games Workshop HQ from London to Nottinghamshire, in what was presented as a merger but many at Games Workshop saw as a Citadel takeover. By that time there were six other Games Workshop locations, and cost appears to have been the only reason the name was not changed to Citadel. Few Games Workshop staff stayed on, as Nottinghamshire was in the midst of a nasty Thatcher-era labor dispute that saw employees harassed.

Due to popularity, an expansion for Warhammer called '''Forces of Fantasy''' was released in 1984 which began to describe the factions in the world (all still extremely generalized, mostly Dungeons & Dragons based). Once again containing three books (Forces of Fantasy, Fighting Fantasy Battles, and Arcane Magicks), it made the skirmish roleplaying game into a war roleplaying game with a fairly important magic system. The final booklet included, The Book Of Battalions, contained example armies for the game and included the favored armies of the Games Workshop staff, including the Perry Twins, Bryan Ansell, Nigel Stillman, and Based Priestley. The same year also saw Games Workshop stop importing printed books from the United States, and instead print them in the UK while also expanding into having a US headquarters and manufacturing division so as not to have to physically import goods in reverse.

Later in 1984, the second edition of Warhammer was released. It combined the expansions with the core game as well as suggested supplementary rules from White Dwarf. Combat was the core rules, like Tabletop Battles. Battle Magic is the same as Magic, although it reduces equipment requirements and instead adds the lores of Illusionists, Demonologists, and Elementalists plus the example scenario '''The Magnificent Sven'''. The final book, Battle Bestiary, includes the stats of all the factions and models in the game and guides for forming armies out of them as well as homebrew additions. Still having very loose rules, the game was three books although this time they were actually professionally printed rather than looking like something off a photocopier. Paper punchouts were included to represent troops rather than any miniature although Citadel produced a range of minis which were advertised in White Dwarf (although the rulebooks still said in those days to simply use whatever you want), and the very first Warhammer lore was established.
:The [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|Empire]] was a vague kingdom of men in decline, [[Chaos]] was some kind of Demonic extra-planar threat that prophesied the [[End Times|end of days]], there was some kind of ancient race that created the monsters of the world called [[Slann]], and [[High Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Elves]] had some kind of [[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|civil war]] going on although the version presented in this book was a clash of kingdoms rather than a two way war of genocide.
:Three supplements were released, the first adding the very first Warhammer villain, [[Heinrich Kemmler]], in the [[Terror Of The Lichemaster]] campaign. The second, Bloodbath at Orcs' Drift, introduced the first [[Orcs & Goblins|Orcs to the setting]] (although they weren't the asexual greenskins of today, but rather generic Dungeons & Dragons Orcs and Half-Orcs). The third, '''Tragedy of McDeath''' was basically Warhammer Macbeth, involving a plot of necromancy with Dwarfs and humans who would eventually come to be the [[Bretonnia|Bretonnians]]. "Blood In The Streets", was just rules for fighting with buildings as well as paper scenery. The final expansion, Ravening Hordes, made the army choices much specific rather than relying on overlapping options.

On the side, Citadel had acquired the rights to produce miniatures for everything from [[Judge Dredd]] to [[Doctor Who]], and collaborated with many other companies including [[Ral Partha]] (one of their most successful partnerships, which launched Citadel into the mainstream of tabletop), Iron Claw Miniatures (which went out of business with their molds and copyrights being absorbed by Citadel), and Marauder Miniatures (technically another company owned by the founders of Games Workshop, much like Citadel itself, which was absorbed into the company in the early 90's much like Citadel would be absorbed by Games Workshop not long after).

Games Workshop saw aggressive expansion during this time, as White Dwarf went from a general nerd culture newsletter to specifically just a magazine for Games Workshop products which also functioned somewhat like a catalog and order form for new products. By opening physical retail stores to encourage gamers to meet at, they got easy advertising as Games Workshop products were on the shelves all around them. Many smaller companies began to suffer and close due to the slow death of the mail-order catalog business model that many companies relied heavily on.

Third edition Warhammer was also released in 1987, and was just a single hardback book (the ancestor of the [[Big Red Book]] of <strike>today</strike> yesteryear). The rules were finally ironed-out although the magic system remained the same. Players now controlled large forces with specialized troops including elites and warmachines, movement was extremely important tactically as there was Charge actions, and generally the game was considered a bit more complicated to pick up and learn than your average tabletop game. Games Workshop began to push it's own miniatures more and more, and the rules for certain types of troops came bundled with them rather than in the core book. The Warhammer setting was more fleshed out, and many consider this to be the first true edition of a Warhammer game fluffwise. Orcs and goblins were not connected and had females, undead didn't really have a reason to exist, Chaos only really mattered if you were talking about Chaos, the Empire's decline was because of cultural problems rather than being buttfucked by everyone else with twelve men or more at their command every other season, Elves were pretty much just snooty Elves and douchey Elves, Dwarves had no real flavor beyond Joseph Bugman existing, and the rest of the world was just kind of assumed to be like our own somewhat.
:Even going beyond this, [[Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay]] was released which introduced an entire world outside the not-Europe of the [[Old World]] by touching on Ind, Araby, [[Nippon]], [[Cathay]], [[Naggaroth]], and more.

Third edition had two expansions; [[Realm of Chaos]], written by Ansell as a blatant ripoff of Moorcock, which introduced everyone's favorite (or hated) [[Chaos Gods|Evil Sues]] and established Chaos in a way it would basically remain from that point on; Slaves To Darkness, which detailed pretty much everyone in the actual physical world who wanted to kill you for no particular reason; The Lost And The Damned which continued giving reasons why living in Warhammer would fucking suck; and finally Warhammer Siege which gave scenarios. So more or less the late 80's/early 90's introduced [[Grimdark|grimderp]], nicely paralleling the trend in comic books.

Also in 1983, to much less fanfare but still modest success, the board game [[Talisman]] was first released. In it, players are adventurers trying to obtain the Crown of Command and kill their opponents. In 1985 Talisman received a second edition, different only in that the pieces were printed in color. In 1986, an expansion set for Talisman, called Talisman Expansion Set (clever) was released which had an FAQ, more characters, alternate endings, and enough stuff for up to 12 players to play at once. Talisman: Dungeon came out in 1987 as well and came with an additional game board and rules for navigating it on the side of the main board.

GW also acquired the license to make Lord Of The Rings miniatures in '85, taking over from competitor Grenadier Miniatures. They'd lose this in 1987 GW, which passed to Mithril Miniatures.
<gallery>
Image:Warhamme Fantasy 1e.png
Image:1e Fantasy.jpg
Image:Talisman 1e.jpg
Image:Forces of Fantasy.jpg
Image:1e Supplement Booklets.jpg
Image:Book Of Battalions.jpg
Image:Talisman 2e.jpg
Image:Talisman Dungeon.jpg
</gallery>

===[[Indrick Boreale|Spess: Tha Finuhl Frunteer]]===
Later that year, Games Workshop released [[Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader|Rogue Trader]]. Rogue Trader was Priestley's first creation, before he became the mail packager at Games Workshop HQ. Based on the idea of having a ship and using miniatures to play the game, and he'd refined the game as he did rules articles and sci-fi discussions in White Dwarf.

Conceived as a Frankenstein's Monster of of Warhammer/Judge Dredd/[[Dune]]/Moorcock/Heinlein/Lovecraft and John Milton's Paradise Lost (the latter work inspired the [[Horus Heresy]]) with a sprinkling of anything else perceived as cool, the game was functionally a combination of Warhammer 1st edition with Warhammer 3rd edition as a roleplaying/skirmish/wargame. It was mostly just an updated version of the game [[Laserburn]] by Ansell, who after the financial failure of his solo creation re-imagined it for Games Workshop.

Forces were originally just a [[Space Marines]] faction decided by rolling dice rather than listbuilding, which was added later as well as with most of the story in White Dwarf. The [[Imperium]] was given fluff, [[Orks]] were created as green skinned assholes described briefly in 3rd Edition although now with asexuality to go with it. Extremely complex rules for vehicles were added, and finally Ansell's Chaos was copy/pasted from Warhammer to Rogue Trader with the overt Moorcockyness removed. Priestley designed the Rogue Trader setting as part irony and part parody, with only self-deluded antivillains as protagonists.

It was hinted at various points that Warhammer 40,000 was Warhammer Fantasy in the future, then later than Sigmar was a "son" (its complicated) of the Emperor of 40k and thus all of Fantasy was a planet in the 40k universe, later that the 40k universe entirely existed in a box on a wizard's shelf in Fantasy, before finally the creators decided both Warhammers are reflections of each other in a multiverse.

===For Those About To Rock, We Sell-out You!===
Many employees in 1988-1990 left the company, unhappy with the increasingly profit-driven model of the company. Many created their own games, publications, and even went to Games Workshop's (few remaining) competitors. Notable was Fantasy Warlord, which barely sold enough to break even before shutting down. The miniatures created for Fantasy Warlord by Alternative Armies are actually still available, although some were sold to Mayhem Miniatures (which became Kennington Miniatures).

Unchallenged in the market (being the Apple of miniatures in that day), Games Workshop sought to expand its customer base into the mainstream. Television commercials were made, Games Workshop expanded aggressively into France and Australia, and the miniature lines were made less grotesque and more like the artwork. Any place that could support a major sports team was designated a potential, even eventual, Games Workshop location. Later on Games Workshop prospects were locations that could afford to support high end clothing stores like Marks & Spenser or toy store retail chains like Early Learning Centre. Games Workshop stores were designed to be friendly, with owners and employees being outgoing and knowledgeable about tabletop games while popular music like Grunge and early Alternative was played over speakers.

Ansell in the meantime had begin to expand the company into entirely different mediums, and due to his love of music had begun to use Games Workshop as a publisher for bands like Sabbat, Saxon, and Bolt Thrower. He opened a Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000-themed clothing line, licensed novels set in the universe, and funded [[LARP]] events. Ambitions that were not realized even included a gameshow set in 40k where players built robots to fight other robots (so a themed version of the television show Robot Wars).

In 1988, Talisman: Timescape was released in which players in the medieval core game could randomly be thrown through space and time into other time periods, mainly those inspired by Warhammer 40,000.

In the same year, to compete with rival [[FASA]] and their [[Battletech]] game, Games Workshop released [[Adeptus Titanicus]], a 10mm scale tabletop game where twelve [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Imperial Titans]] fight each other in a city. Games Workshop tied the game to the 40k franchise to boost both games. White Dwarf expansions added rules for vehicles, infantry, and aerial combat.

Talisman: City came out in 1989 which added a new board, a city for players to interact with the city guards and buy/sell items. It was likewise followed by [[Space Marine]], which was a battle between two Space Marine armies and included miniatures for vehicles as well. In the same year, Codex Titanicus was released which combined Space Marine and Adeptus Titanicus together into one game, the first edition of [[Epic]].

Over the next year the game received major additions including Knight, artillery, and infantry models in not only Space Marines, but also Imperial Guard (1991 Armies Of The Imperium), Chaos and Eldar (1992 Renegades), Orks and Squats (1992 Ork and Squat Warlords), and finally Tyranids (1995 Hive War).

===Bitch, Where's My Money?===
In 1991 Ansell left Games Workshop, and sold his shares to the General Manager [[Tom Kirby]]. Kirby's first order of business was to grow the company to quickly pay off what he had borrowed to buy it, and he was presented with two choices; grow the company with more diverse games or focus heavily on the two Warhammers. Kirby opted for the latter, and pushed the idea of more games in the two settings along with much bigger editions.

Warhammer 4th edition was released in 1992, with changes to rules bringing the term "Herohammer" into the fanbase as most of any given army was simply there to protect the powerful characters the game was REALLY about. This was the first edition that had miniatures specifically for everything in the rulebooks, had specific race selection that prohibited using troops of another type in your army, and had a starter set which contained a two-force starter game which was High Elves VS Goblins. Magic was entirely redone, and was marketed as an expansion and used cards as spells. Magic had two further expansions, one for general magic and one for Chaos. Warhammer lore was more fleshed out, coming to resemble more or less the factions of today. The Empire was the human focus of 4th edition, with the valiant knights having no mention.

In 1993, Games Workshop came out with ''Warhammer 40,000'', normally called ''Second Edition''. Like Warhammer (now "Warhammer Fantasy Battles"), it was built around small units of infantry supporting ridiculously munchkinized special characters with complicated rules and war gear and appropriately pricey lead models, but at this stage Games Workshop actually cared somewhat about customers; models were made in plastic or wallet-friendly, Roman-Empire-collapsing lead, game sets included serviceable army lists and collections of miniatures, and paints were provided in 20ml pots, later 17.5ml. This switch was perhaps the first sign of the next age (and every other age, by the looks of things as paints are now just 12ml per pot).

===Special NEERDS!===
In the same year the very first of what would later on fall under the label of "[[Specialist Games]]" (anything not Warhammer or Tolkien) was released; [[Man O' War]]. Warhammer Fantasy setting, but rather than commanding an army the players were heads of an armada on the high seas!

1993 also saw the release of the final 2e Talisman expansion, Talisman: Dragons. It added new characters, locations, spells, and items, all themed with dragons, into the game.

In 1994 the third edition of Talisman was released, adding miniatures, experience points, alterations to the board, and the biggest change of all; it was set in Warhammer Fantasy. Later that year, White Dwarf contained mini expansions to the game while the first true expansion, City Of Adventure, reintroduced the city board as well as a forest. Dungeon of Doom came next, adding the dungeon and a mountain.
The year also saw the launch of Second edition Epic, still consisting of two games. The first was a re-release of Space Marine that had Space Marines, Orks, and Eldar. The second game was Titan Legions which had the same factions.

In 1995 Dragon's Tower expanded Talisman 3e as an alternative end goal as players climbed a tower and killed a dragon (duh). It came with another White Dwarf expansion.

In 1996 [[Necromunda]] was released. Priestley was inspired by his meetings with the creator of Judge Dredd during the days of Games Workshop licensing the IP, and used it to resurrect the forgotten RPG aspect of Rogue Trader.

Fifth edition Fantasy was released in 1996 as well, along with its magic expansion which rebalanced and simplified the magic system and included all three 4e expansions. Cards remained available to buy, although all the Winds of Magic-based magic spells were included in the core rules (meaning you still had 20 more spells you had to buy cards for).

Of particular note is the Slann finally being fleshed out, creating the [[Lizardmen]] army with the starter being Bretonnia VS Lizardmen. Campaigns were released which were heavily involved in the lore; [[The Grudge Of Drong]] featured a conflict between Elves and Dwarfs which lead to the [[War of the Beard]], Tears Of Isha involved the bitter war between the High and Dark Elves, Idol Of Gork was the first time that Orcs were truly Orcy as known today with the introduction of [[Gork]] and [[Mork]] (or was it Mork and Gork?), Circle of Blood as the [[Vampire Counts]] (then still one army with the [[Tomb Kings|Mummies]]) VS Bretonnians as the first introduction of the [[Abhorash|Blood Dragons]], and Perilous Quest as a war between the Bretonnians and [[Wood Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Wood Elves]] during their introduction to the lore.

Each campaign came with multiple endings decided by player involvement (becoming the precursor to Warhammer events and one of GW's biggest fuckups), paper scenery which defined the architectural styles of the featured races from then on (although this was sadly the last time these races got scenery before everything simply became Empire and Chaos), and a campaign book summarizing the story.

At some point it was determined that the stock army lists weren't enough, and so "Army Books" (for Warhammer) and "Codex Books" (for 40Kl, later simply "Codex:(faction)") began to come out, each bringing new models and rules into the game. The last round of these for 40K (''Codex: Tyranids'' in particular) tended to make the army ridiculously overpowered and make everyone ''else'' want a new Codex to rectify the balance. Perhaps the ultimate example of ''Second Edition'' philosophy was the last book, ''Codex: Assassins'', which consisted of nothing but four hideously powerful special characters. These included [[Culexus|this asshole]] who caused the psychology effect ''Terror'' to all psykers, regardless of anything, meaning Greater Daemons and Hive Tyrants would occasionally shit themselves and run for the hills when faced with a normal-sized human.

[[Image:Haet trees.jpg|thumb|FUCK TREES]]
One notable aspect of this period was that Games Workshop hated trees, and would thus include several million cards in every boxed set if given the slightest provocation; the core sets for ''Warhammer'' and ''Warhammer 40,000'' both received an update governing the magic / psychic system which consisted solely of cards and templates (which were card). Some entire games (''Doom of the Eldar'', ''Battle for Armageddon'', ''[[Horus_Heresy#The_Board_Game|Horus Heresy]]'') came out in this period which consisted of nothing but a board and lots of high-density card counters to lose down the back of the sofa or inside the dog.

[[Gorkamorka]] came out in 1997, and was Priestley's answer to Mad Max meets 40k, featuring Orks in different groups crashed on a desolate planet using vehicular weapons to slaughter each other.
Third edition Epic was released as well as a single game with simplified rules, but it was a financial failure after barely moving any units in six months and was recalled. This is unfortunate because [[Jervis Johnson]] and [[Andy Chambers]] consider it the greatest game they ever made. Most of the planned models were never released.

[[Mordheim]], the Fantasy version of Necromunda set in the ruins of an Empire city where all factions are scrambling for control was released in 1998.

The last Specialist Game was [[Battlefleet Gothic]], essentially Man O'War in space using massive battleships.

And did no one think of [[Blood Bowl]]?

<gallery>
Image:Talisman 3e.jpg
Image:5e Fantasy.png
Image:Grudge of Drong Cover.jpg
</gallery>
===Learning The Wrong Lessons===
Despite the Specialist Games being massively popular, Kirby had expanded Games Workshop incredibly fast into unknown markets and as a result a massive amount of Gorkamorka sets in French, Spanish, and Italian were left unsold while English demand was high. Games Workshop was left almost on the verge of bankruptcy, causing a new sales philosophy to be decided upon. Rather than one based on restraint and market research as one would expect, the new direction was "only sure things, minimize risk". Suddenly, the irony of the 40k setting was dropped. The Imperium suddenly WAS the heroes, and Chaos was the evil that always wins in the end rather than these things being the punchline at the end of a sarcastic joke.

One of Bryan's policies for the company was that the production studio and creative minds must always be kept in charge of marketing or the company would die. Kirby, after Gorkamorka, decided the opposite was true. Given today's hindsight it turns out Bryan was right and this was one of many of Kirby's bad decisions.

Plans were made to phase out all of the Specialist Games, and over the next few years the only things available were simply unsold stock. An excuse was made for the first, Man O'War, that the molds had broken and somehow couldn't be fixed (bullshit for many reasons). The rest were quietly and unceremoniously dumped while all references to them were dropped as well.

Sometime in the run-up to ''Third Edition'', it was decided that models should switch from toddler-murdering lead to safe, pointy pewter (or "white metal" as the industry (not just GW) insisted on calling it). This led to a 25% cross-board increase in all metal mini costs, even those ordered through Citadel's back catalog (because those figures from their back catalogue were cast up, when ordered, in the new white metal). At this point, it seemed something clicked in the heads of GW's management; they had just made a ton more money without actually doing anything. Perhaps they could do that again.

''Third Edition'' 40K came out in 1998 and Warhammer Fantasy Battles 6th Edition (featuring Orcs VS Empire, and the last edition to come with paper scenery) came in 2000, both reducing the dominance of single munchkin characters in favour of large armies, conveniently meaning players had to buy far more models. Then along came the fucking screw-tops, and proof that any pretense of caring about the customer had been cast aside.

===Ringhammer===
Games Workshop had begun to suffer financial troubles in the late 90's with competition from the surging (and independent) Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition, [[Magic: The Gathering]], and [[Pokemon]] (no seriously, Pokemon was THAT fucking big back then).

The answer? Huge cash cow intellectual property. Priestley suggested to Kirby they cash in on the upcoming Lord of the Rings movies with the Lord Of The Rings Strategy Battle Game. Kirby was unable to see Priestley's ulterior motives through the dollar signs in his eyes and approved the project at once, so that particular series moved away from large and complex kits back to the roots of single characters and groups of soldiers.

[[Alessio Cavatore]], a major developer of Mordheim and supplement materials, was also put on the project and it was applauded by the gaming community. Games Workshop blew through the movie material and even began making miniatures based on things from Tolkien's works that weren't in the movie such as Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. Not only that, but they also expanded armies that were barely even mentioned in the books or seen in the movies (the Easterlings in particular) and then bragged about it in White Dwarf.

The miniatures were required to be produced in 25mm scale by contract, rather than the 28mm heroic scale used by Warhammer. Its been theorized by fans this was to keep the Tolkien miniatures out of Warhammer and keep their IP from becoming an expansion to GW's existing IP.

===Short Term Gain, Long Term Pain===
The issue is that as hype from the movies diminished, so did sales. Kirby by this point had expanded sales and marketing into autonomy, and when the interest in the game died down (something creative teams said would happen but marketing had shrugged off) the result was marketing attempting to drive up profits with unpopular schemes, the first among these being a major change the range of paints sold.
[[File:Citadel Paint Pots.jpg|thumb|right|300px|As time drug on, pots had less paint and worse seals.]]
The "problem" with the older flip-top paint pot designs that had been sold up until this point was that they actually kept [[paint]] usable for a long time. While the Citadel flip-top pot suffered from shit hinges and opening tabs which would both break after about four uses, [[rip and tear|a real man opens paint with his teeth anyway]] so that was not a problem. Obviously, these flip-tops were no good to GW, and so a new pot, the Screw(you)top, was designed which would gunk up its own thread and either glue itself shut forever or prevent an airtight seal forming after a couple of uses.

Apparently forgetting ''every other company in existence'' that made model paints, GW also raised the price of these new and terrible things; clearly justified, since they contained a mere 30% '''less''' paint than the old design. It was also around this point that photographs of the [['Eavy Metal]] studio started to vanish from the pages of ''White Dwarf'' (along with all other content that could be considered useful for anything at all other than advertising models) since they kept forgetting to hide all their non-Citadel gear for photoshoots. Even though, of course, everyone had known for ''years'' that the painters didn't "mix Snot Green with a little Chaos Black" to get a paint shade that was in Tamiya or Vallejo's stock range. Nowadays of course we can get the good stuff for cheap from [[Privateer Press]] (problem, GW?), but back then it was just ''fucking terrible''. GW managers and staff also suffered a change in personality, pushing the idea that anything other than GW was a ''plague'', and it was to be treated as such. "Saw you just bought some Knights of Minas Tirith, well, what about a Stompa?"

Games Workshop, highly resistant to change (ironically), began to see the shifting face of tabletop gaming towards electronics as unimportant with Kirby even calling video games "a fad". Just as Games Workshop had crushed their competition with physical stores, the internet distribution saw many new companies begin to emerge as they brought their products directly to the consumer via the internet. Games Workshop attempted to compete in this regard, although they never moved past having anything more complex than a digital version of a catalog and a little-moderated forum (which was closed down to much rage in the 2000's). Games Workship kneejerked and made White Dwarf exclusively Games Workshop products, allowing longtime competitor [[Dragon Magazine]] to reign triumphant as the source of tabletop gaming news in the last age of printed publications. Meanwhile a new market had emerged of making miniatures specifically designed to look like Warhammer models and be used in the game. This...did not go over well, and Games Workshop came to be known as ready to sue anyone at the drop of a hat, even once famously attempting to copyright "[[Pauldrons]]" and sue over the concept of a wolfskin cloak on a viking-looking warrior.

Prices began to ramp up ridiculously as GW realized they could charge whatever the hell they liked and their longterm fans would still pay. While GW was never particularly cheap, their chunky kits ended up in the same price bracket as top-quality scale miniatures by other companies; today, a [[Citadel Miniatures|Citadel]] Space Marine Hunter( 125-parts entirely cast in opaque plastic) costs about the same as AFV club's Churchill mk3 (400+ parts with 2 vinyl tracks, 22 metal springs, 29 Etched Brass pieces and a turned aluminium barrel). At some point, someone remembered that back in ''Second Edition'' days they actually had people willing to pay for gigantically expensive, limited-edition lead Thunderhawk Gunships. To hit this niche of "people with more money than sense," [[Forge World]] was created; all you had to do was get mom and dad to sign that second mortgage and stop being so damn selfish and a 40K-scale Titan would be yours.

===Minimize Effort, Maximize Rage===
In the year 2000, [[Warmaster]] was released. Designed by Based Priestley, it was essentially the Warhammer Fantasy version of Epic.
[[File:Gw_logo.png|thumb|400px|[[/pol/]] approves of the new logo]]
Fourth edition Warhammer 40k was released in 2004, and was more an advertisement for more models than an actual edition. It was advertised as being "backwards compatible", mostly because by itself it was barely a game. The rulebook was mostly sections of painted licensed plastic terrain and large models than anything else.

In 2005, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay was given a second edition which was largely the same but was up to date with the lore, and had a better magic system. It was used more to advertise the wargame however than as a frontline product. This came with a single unified rulebook for Lord Of The Rings that included the (greatly) expanded line in the form of the One Rulebook to Rule them All.

Around this time the bulk of plastic Warhammer scenery was released, with almost all of it in Fantasy geared towards the Empire or Chaos (with some trees maybe representing Elves?) and 40k towards the Imperium or Chaos (with a few Necron and Tau pieces from Forgeworld). Games Workshop had seemingly decided who the main characters were, and some factions in either game from this point on only were mentioned in passing while receiving no support or updates.

Seventh edition Warhammer Fantasy Battles in 2006 luckily avoided this, with Battle For Skull Pass as the starter set between Dwarfs and [[Goblins|Night Goblins]]. This marked the last major change for Warhammer Fantasy, as the next update only really changed by adding more models and having minor rebalancing. Many fans of armies like Bretonnia and Wood Elves were left very unhappy their army was not updated in 7e, relying on outdated rules and thus being extremely underpowered all in favor of an event.
Looking to resurrect the dying Lord Of The Rings game, Games Workshop released Legions Of Middle Earth, an "expansion" suggesting buying larger groups of models to use in a theme force using the existing rules.

[[Storm of Chaos]] was released as the major event of the 2000's to much pomp and circumstance, supposedly being the canonical transition from the old into the new as Chaos made its great attempt to destroy reality while every faction strapped on their wardrums and marched into the clusterfuck. Players were selected to actually play the factions to drive the narrative, and the community was kept informed of what was going on. There was a problem however... Chaos couldn't win. The bulk of the story for the event was driven by the fact a fuckhuge Chaos army was invading, but the players for Chaos couldn't even manage to scrape out of the starting gate. So the narrative kept going that Chaos was a fuckmassive force that made all the other fuckmassive forces pretty much not worthy of note, and every time a player on another faction beat a Chaos player before turn four the story would state that the other player had ''barely'' delayed the forces of Chaos for only a brief time and at great cost, sometimes their complete destruction occurring anyway despite the actual battle report results saying no Chaos survived the battle and almost none of the other army was killed.

In the end, Chaos was given one last chance in the very last match as the defenders (meaning they had the advantage) in the last battle. Even this, they lost. Badly. In a phone-in result where Games Workshop made a desperate bid that fans would choose for Chaos to win and make all the actual promised narrative unnecessary, players chose to let Chaos deservedly lose. So the event ended with [[Grimgor Ironhide|a single crazy fucking Orc]] headbutting [[Archaon|Chaos Darth Vader]] in the balls, laughing at him, and walking away and thus saving the world in an ending befitting a Saints Row game. Games Workshop quickly stopped promoting the event and from that point on pretended it never happened. Combined with their Eye of Terror campaign for 40k, where Chaos conquered Cadia but lost their entire fleet in Battlefleet Gothic games (leading GW with nowhere to go aside from 'Chaos sits on a planet until the Imperium shoot them off of it') caused GW to lose faith in player-driven narrative, due to the fact [[derp|that the players were driving the narrative.]]

In 2008, fifth edition Warhammer 40k was released and borrowed heavily from 7e WFB as well as implemented a HEAVY emphasis on cover rules while making shooting much more important. In 2009 Games Workshop launched released War Of The Ring, which made the skirmish game into a full-fledged wargame. The rules were highly simplified to enable quick games with larger groups of models.

===Dawn of the Great Derpening===
[[File:GWstockfail2.jpg|thumb|300px|right|GeeDub's stock taking a very hard fall. Coincidentally, their drop in stocks coincided with the 6th Edition release of the ultra-nerfed [[Tyranid]]s codex. Hilarious when you consider them to be the "shadow across the warp", it would appear that the Tyranids became GW's shadow across their profits, something they have yet to recover from after half a year. (The share price collapse was actually caused by a less-than-promising financial report released that day.)]]
The early 2010's could generously be described as GW's '''UNHOLY FUCKING DISASTER'''.

To start with, in 2010, Based Priestley left Games Workshop forever, saying that "the creative team was no longer doing anything creative" and "game development and game design wasn't of any interest to them. The current attitude in Games Workshop is that they're not a games company, that they're a model company selling collectibles."

In May 11th 2011, Games-Workshop's new terms of use [[Embargo | restricts sales of all of their products to the European Economic Area]], (EU + Norway, Switzerland and Iceland). This essentially removed Games Workshop products from online distributors other than themselves, and furthermore made their actual in-store stock of products highly limited with many models only being available directly through them (although many Friendly Local Game Stores will order from their website to fulfill requests). Oh, and they spiked the prices another 10-15% for most models.

Additionally, all metal models were on their way to being discontinued, to be replaced with much more expensive [[Finecast|Resin]] kits which were INCREDIBLY unpopular with the community due to low quality casts and high price without the sense it was worth it. Unlike the pewter kits (which are basically tin), the resin kits are loaded with carcinogens; strange, since last anyone checked the reason for switching to pewter in the first place was that lead was toxic (and nothing to do with hiking the price). The quality of the product could lead one to believe it was much much cheaper, but [[Casting|resin damages the mold more than pewter because it sticks to the mold more]]. It gets expensive when you have to replace molds more often, and they also break fairly easily so that all the little ten year old Smurf players have to buy new ones when they snap them in half. So essentially, Games Workshop not only ruined the quality of their models, they jacked up the prices and made it nearly impossible for anyone outside the EU and 'murrica to obtain it. Kinda like going from fine French wine to your corner-store cheap beer... and the beer is more expensive than the wine. And the beer gives you cancer.

Then-Chairman Tom Kirby mentioned in a 2011 press release that they were increasing cost cutting measures and making more products while avoiding mention of actual profits (note this is a summary, not his exact words). Given their charts, it was easy to see why he chose not to disclose the company's profits (or lack thereof).

[[File:Games Workshop Stocks.png|thumb|right|300px|Not being able to increase your revenue in a decade is a bad sign.]]
In 2013, Games Workshop decided to transfer their sales restriction to Canada, just as they had to Europe. As the United States had already had international sales cut back in 2003, this had lead to a large online market for Canadian retailers, selling their products at discount sales to US customers. However, with this new change, all international sales in North America are now completely gone, as GW once again decided to fuck over long term customers and local retailers in favor of luring more small children with disposable income to their overpriced, neckbeard-run stores.

MiniWargaming, a well known FLGS with an extensive online store, decided to close shop because of these new rules. Their store manager made [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnPpfs120DA an entire video explaining their reasons and going over just how asinine Games Workshop's new rules are.] Between jacking up prices, locking down international sales, and screwing over online sales and bitz sales, Games Workshop intentionally set itself on the fast track to running itself into the ground in the eyes of long term followers. Possibly due to their apparent belief that removing the entire world (excluding European Economic Area and Canada) from their consumer base is a good idea.

As far as games went, they at least made a dent on that front.

Eight Edition Warhammer Fantasy was released in 2010, introducing 40k-esque large models (and pretending Storm of Chaos didn't happen). Many fans hold that this is the most balanced the game ever was, despite some particularly nasty cheese existing (Warriors of Chaos, Dark Elves) and some factions STILL not getting long overdue updates and having to rely on 6th/7th edition books in a system that had nerfed the core mechanics their models relied on (Beastmen, Bretonnia). It was also best not to think about how a number of the situations that could arise would realistically play out or else your head would explode, since this was the edition in which fuckhuge orcs on boars would charge a unit of skinks, and they'd all die before they could even attack. It also had units dedicating their entire lives to protecting a weak frog turn and flee, while the weak frog stayed back and fought to the death in order to ensure his guards escaped. In 2011 it was expanded with [[Storm of Magic]] which introduced fuckhuge monsters from Forgeworld that could be summoned, as well as a redone (and pretty broken) magic system. This did poorly however as the magic was terribly balanced in the main game anyway, the additions here just made it worse and the additional spells/bonuses meant to help the weaker lores were only useful to a small number of armies/situations, while the prices of the monsters were laughably high and the rules for them were not worth taking over basic infantry.

Blood in the Badlands came out in 2012 and added siege combat and advanced scenarios to the game, strangely echoing the early days of Warhammer. As Lord Of The Rings interest had largely waned, it was rereleased with updated rulebooks, new models, and licensed The Hobbit miniatures in 2012 as well.

Between all that in 2012 came sixth edition Warhammer 40k, borrowing even more heavily from Warhammer Fantasy with psychic powers becoming a clone of Fantasy's magic phase while scenery became interactive. Furthermore, armies were no longer exclusive with mixed-faction lists being possible.

In 2013, Sigmar's Blood came out with a campaign between the Empire and Vampire Counts lead by [[Mannfred von Carstein]], introducing advanced diplomacy rules mostly involving misfortune, and The Desolation Of Smaug expansion to Lord Of The Rings finished off 2013 releases.

In late 2015, pop culture business site ICv2 reported that [[X-Wing]] [http://spikeybits.com/2016/03/warhammer-dethroned-top-5-miniature-games.html had dethroned Warhammer 40K as the top-selling miniatures game in the United States]. GW ''could have'' tried to sue George Lucas and Disney over the concept of a fascist galactic empire with fully-armored soldiers who enforce the Emperor's will, but sadly even they weren't that stupid, and they instead retaliated by refusing to renew [[Fantasy Flight Games]]' licences to the Warhammer IPs. (It could also be due to FFG being bought by Asmodee, a company GW views as a direct competitor to their new line of "Boxed Games".)

===The Fall of Warhammer===
[[File:Gymz Porkchop.jpg|thumb|300px|left]]
In 2014 the [[End Times]] event was announced for Warhammer Fantasy while Warhammer 40k got its seventh edition. 7e 40k removed restrictions even more on armies and simply allow you to mostly take whatever you want if you are okay with not getting some bonuses, although you get advantages for sticking to groups existing in the canon. Otherwise it added a lot more to the game, not all of it good. Notably Gargantuan Creatures and Super-heavies were added into the game and the world was introduced to the horrors of Unbound lists (as well as GW's obsession with formations - GW's way of selling their stocks of unpopular models by giving powerful bonus rules when playing them in bulk). They also added even more Warhammer Fantasy-esque psychic and terrain rules.

Meanwhile, End Times... ended Warhammer Fantasy. Billed as the next big thing, the event consisted of staggered releases of extremely expensive books, nearly as much as a new starter set, and new (very large and expensive) models. The books contained scenarios, massive amounts of lore, and also removed a great deal of restrictions on how armies are built; first by allowing an army to be 50% low-level characters (Heroes) and 50% high-level characters (Lords) so long as the default core requirement of 25% of your army on basic troops was fulfilled while turning every spellcaster into a master of magic, then by making magic even more fucking insane by diddling with spells and giving a metric fuckload of dice to cast them, then in the final book simply throwing all listbuilding rules out the window and saying "take whatever the fuck you want and put it on the table". Meanwhile the story consisted of nearly everyone except the Undead and Skaven taking it up the ass HARD from Chaos as it slowly meandered its way through all opposition to the heart of the Empire (read: what they wanted from Storm of Chaos); the undead got forcibly united under a reborn [[Nagash]] and the Skaven trolling everyone who was fighting Chaos. In the end the final faceoff occurred between Chaos (joined by the Skaven) and the "heroes" of the setting (both including and joined by the Undead). The "heroes" all failed miserably and were consumed by black nothingness filled with plagues, gnashing teeth, evil intellects, and naughty tentacles as the world simply '''ENDS'''. Fantasy fans were left feeling cold and full of hate, and for nearly a year simply assumed their setting had been completely and unceremoniously raped to death while all the resources and time they'd invested into the hobby had become worthless.

On a side note, multiple video games for Warhammer Fantasy were announced with some being released in this time, leaving fans tearing their hair out in frustration at the idiocy of killing a setting, then FINALLY making decent video games for it. This games include [[Total War: WARHAMMER]], [[Mordheim: City Of The Damned]], [[Man O' War: Corsair]], and [[The End Times: Vermintide]].

===Age Of Skubmar: The Great Derpening===
[[File:El Presidente Gym Porkchop.jpeg|thumb|left|500px|"El Presidente Gee Double U, the people wish to express their love and dedication to you. They may have used different words."]]
[[File:Age Of 40k.png|thumb|right|500px|Like a gut-torn rabbit hiding in a wooded thicket.]]
When it seemed it couldn't get any worse, Games Workshop then decided that since it had made 40k mostly like Fantasy, it would make Fantasy into 40k. A happier, LSD-fueled version of 40k.

That version, believed by some to have actually been made with [[Skub]] mixed directly into the material, was [[Age of Sigmar]] which removed literally ALL limitations on army building (as in you can take any models in the game from any faction in any number and call it an army, with rules for your opponent to play the game with an easy win condition if your army is x3 the size of theirs) and consists of a skirmish game which only has four rules, officially making it even less of a Warhammer than Warhammer 1st edition.

If that wasn't enough, almost everything was arbitrarily renamed to be trademark friendly. Zombies became "Deadwalkers", Elves became "Aelves", Dwarfs became "Duardin" despite the perfectly good trademark-friendly "Dawi" sitting right there, and Lizardmen were given the hilariously terrible name "Seraphon" which, if googled, brings up the career work of a [[furry]] tickle-fetish artist. (In their defense, the name already existed as the name of Elf Darth Vader's dragon in Warhammer. In their offense, the connection between that and Lizardmen was never actually given, so it's a moot point.) The only factions that escaped the renaming were the Bretonnians and Tomb Kings, but that turned out to be foreshadowing akin to seeing a huge silver line on the horizon on the day you plan to go to the beach.

The story was worse still, consisting of Norse mythology mixing with superhero comics in an awkward combination where Chaos Gods can be kidnapped by Elves, Warhammer Darth Vader becomes the master of the Dark Side rather than the other way around, and characters introduced and given importance in one book immediately die in the next.

The advertising for Age of Sigmar was the rules (all four pages of them) and the stats of existing models being free on launch, followed by outrageously expensive digital content that updated the game, the core lore advancement being contained within scenario books that are ludicrously expensive, and a requirement for many scenarios to have specific models which includes the expensive as hell new terrain, the rules of which can only be viewed by buying the model. To put it simply, Games Workshop managed to take the hated practice of DLC content in video games and push it fully, hard and deep into tabletop gaming.

To top it all off, Games Workshop, almost overnight, took down their iconic Space Marine statue that had sat in front of their headquarters for years and replaced it with a giant statue of a Stormcast Eternal (the <strike>Sigmarines</strike> Space Marines of Age of Sigmar). They also replaced the Imperium Eagle with Stormcast-style wings and a Ghal Maraz replica to really hammer the point home (pun intended). [[RAGE| The beloved servant of the Emperor was relegated to being hidden under a staircase and behind an advertisement for Age of Sigmar.]] We... really wish we were making this up.

Games Workshop had promised their investors in 2014 that 2015 would be a massive year of financial returns, although by the time of the [http://www.iii.co.uk/research/LSE:GAW/news/item/1792782/half-yearly-report-and-trading-update?context=LSE:GAW Half Yearly Report] they had grown a mere 1%. To make matters worse, this included the ample revenue from their new video game licenses as Age of Sigmar had been largely rejected by large portions of the gaming community as many stores were completely unable to even move starter sets, resulting in a few months of them being at clearance prices online through third party distributors. Further still, many [[FLGS]] dumped all Fantasy Warhammer stock, some even dropped Games Workshop stock entirely.

Considering the 2015 Financial Report of Games Workshop, Age of Sigmar was going nowhere and GW outright stated they do no market research and did not plan to start. [http://www.iii.co.uk/news-opinion/richard-beddard/games-workshop-agm%3a-relentless-profit-machine They believe that only 20% of their fans actually play the game or give a fuck about the story so in their eyes the plot and rules are not to blame for any major decrease in sales and anyone who doesn't like it can fuck off.] Like it or not, Warhammer Fantasy is dead and buried while Age of Smegmar is here to stay.

Games Workshop plugged on ahead regardless by rebranding themselves, changing the names of Games Workshop Hobby Stores worldwide to Warhammer Stores after the deathrattle of The Hobbit merchandise.

===The Hangover===
Following the disastrous launch of Age of Sigmar, Games Workshop announced a plan in December 2015 to resurrect the Specialist Games division and the games Blood Bowl, Epic, Necromunda, Battlefleet Gothic, "And Many, Many More" while resurrecting the Tolkien games.

In February 2016, it was believed that Games Workshop used a Cease And Desist order to shutdown [[Warseer]], the largest Warhammer community forum other than /tg/, but thankfully that turned out to be a simple virus and database corruption (but to be fair, one could hardly be blamed for thinking GW responsible). In more substantiated dick-move news, Josh Reynolds, a freelance writer employed by Games Workshop known for actually answering fan questions about the setting and filling in plot holes in End Times (as many, MANY characters and plots were forgotten in the event even between books) and attempting to assure fans [[Sigmarines]] and Space Marines are totes different, was essentially told to shut the fuck up about GW IPs on social media while his entire list of lore mending was declared non-canon via being told to say nothing he writes reflects GW outside novels.

Going even further into community-souring, the popular Tomb Kings line and faction was squatted unceremoniously in the same month (worse than Squatted, at least the Squats got an explanation in-fluff as to why they disappeared), putting an end to Warhammer Egyptians and axing the faction that gave rise to all remaining Warhammer Undead. Needless to say, this was NOT well-received by fans, especially those who played Tomb Kings themselves and those sick of Age of Sigmar Stormstormed Stormbolters and their leader, the Celestial Primarch. This doesn't make sense, even for GW given their love of copyrights and patents, since the Tomb Kings faction was one of GW's more original creations (an Egyptian-themed non-evil undead civilization) and thus are easier to copyright (they could even have patented the name unlike with Space Marines or elves).

The only positive of axing the Tomb Kings is that it somewhat toughened the fanbase to endure when GW continued their douchey warpath by axing the Bretonnians faction and a large chunk of the Warhammer Fantasy models still in production. This included almost all named characters, while survivors of the purge were renamed to be generic (in a horrifying twist of fate, the very first Warhammer character Heinrich Kemmler was reassigned the name "Necromancer"). This wave of axing was mixed with wave after wave of Khorne Chaos, Archaon Chaos, and Sigmarine updates leaving everyone either with balls bluer than Tzeentch's ass (and Slaanesh's imprisoned everything) or dreading when their faction book came out and gutted classic and beloved models forever.

To sum up - GeeDubs started to fix their shit, but decided it was too much effort and went back on being raging dickmongers as usual.

A report that the 30k boxed set ''Betrayal At Calth'' had outsold the entire Age range coupled with a stock value steadily dropping down to their 2012 status in early/mid 2016 may have shocked stockholders, because the armies of Order that were squatted had selected models returned to the store for a "Last Chance, for reals this time guys!" sale on 4/18/16. Within the day most of the models had already sold, leaving the newest Sigmarines to remain collecting dust in their place.

===In Summary===
''It is the 3rd Millennium. For more than a hundred months Games Workshop has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Nottingham. It is the foremost of wargames by the will of the neckbeards, and master of a million tabletops by the might of their inexhaustible wallets. It is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with business strategies from the early Industrial Revolution Age. It is the Carrion Lord of the wargaming scene for whom a thousand veteran players are sacrificed every day, so that it may never truly die.''

''Yet even in its deathless state, GW continues its eternal vigilance. Mighty battleforce starter-sets cross the online-store-infested miasma of the internet, the only route between distant countries, their way lit by a draconian retail trade-agreement, the legal manifestation of the GW's will. Vast armies of lawyers give battle in GW's name on uncounted websites. Greatest amongst its soldiers are the Guardians of the IP, the Legal Team, bio-engineered super-assholes. Their comrades in arms are legion: the writing team and countless untested rulebooks, the ever vigilant redshirts, and the writers of White Dwarf, to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to hold off the ever-present threat from other games, their own incompetence, Based Chinaman - and worse.''

''To support Games Workshop in such times is to spend untold billions. It is to support the cruelest and most dickish company imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of sales discounts and Warhammer Fantasy Battle, for so much has been dropped, never to be re-published again. Forget the promise of cheaper digital content and caring about the fanbase, for in the GW HQ there is only profit-seeking, Space Marines and Sigmarines. There is no fun amongst the hobby shops, only an eternity of raging and spending, and the laughter of former employees who left GW to join better companies.''

===New Games Workshop™: How Do You Do, Fellow Gamers?===
It was not expected, we couldn't have known, since the resignation of supreme leader [[Tom Kirby]] and the ascension of new CEO [[Kevin Rountree]] there has started to appear a pattern, sporadic reports of real discounts at [[Forgeworld]] and [[Black Library]], and then, in the last days of 2015 it has been revealed that major changes are coming, the sudden resurrection of specialist games, Games Workshop releasing starter sets with real ''saving'', all around the internet neckbeards are discussing and watching, wondering what's going on, perhaps the new guy in charge has decided is time to take some contingencies for the inevitable demise of tabletop gaming with the ever increasing development in 3D printing and the emergence of new alternatives. It seems like the boxes are a replacement for the old Battleforce packs, and while you don't get as many units as the old box, they are cheaper and usually come with a good mix of units to start a small army.

And now, there's an [http://warhammerworld.games-workshop.com/the-bugmans-xxxxxx-league-cup/ official (as in hosted and ran by the almighty GeeDubs themselves) Blood Bowl tournament] going on at Warhammer World on May 21st. Truly these are strange times. GW also appears to be preparing to start selling their product in toy stores (Toys-R-Us Etc.) as well as producing various Warhammer Merchandise such as pillows and journals (For Some Reason). Also now they've made a 40k starter set with simplified rules and all the paint you need to assemble the models. Clearly the sky is falling. (Also they've started making conversion tutorials and stuff, for some reason).

They also actually maintain their Facebook page now, and the other night they had an Age of Sigmar live tournament...

Also a number of the staff now have twitter accounts.

They've also taken over the internet leak game. When a sprue for the new Ahriman model was found on E(vil)Bay, GW not only showed off the sprue, but also the upcoming Kharn model. And recently, they've shown not only Daemon Primarch Magnus, but also new artwork, teased the Thousand Sons sprue, and made a reference to plastic SoB. Strangely, they had the Magnus video up and running mere hours after the model was leaked. And the red trashcan seen in the video looks similar to the background of the leaked photos. Is GW leaking their own products to get the Hype train up and running? Just as Planned, so it seems. Discussions with my local GW guy indicated it was a rogue employee, as nobody else would be allowed anywhere near the new models, probably a cleaner, who leaked the pictures.

BUUUUUTTT... They rehired Matt Ward.
May or may not be responsible for the return of Roboute Guilliman (which ironically has earned a lot of character development thanks to his return to 40k), or maybe Bobby G's return it's a symbolic gesture that they have finally decided to start fixing everything.

While some people will never be happy, there are few than can deny that GW has been making a massive improvement in the last year or so with their products, content, and relationship with the community. Genuinely good deals, well received releases and ad campaigns (the recent hero bases one is positively goofy, but in a "that's the GW we used to know and love" kinda way.), combined with actively encouraging and showing off fan input and content (even producing a house rules data sheet for a conversion AAAAAND putting pictures of [[Your Dudes]] ON THE MODELS PAGE ON THE ACTUAL WEBSITE!!!!!!!!!), altogether it's almost as if, dare I say it, GW has remembered how to be... [[Warhammer Fantasy|fun!]] They even made a new model for [[slambo]]!

Hell, GW is even straight up asking fans what they want brought back in the next made to order wave. Answer: [[Warhammer Fantasy]] (Well, at least we still have Total War: Warhammer as a consolation prize)... But behold friends, They cast Resurrection, hence Warhammer: The Old World!

As of January 2017, Games Workshop stock spiked 41% from November of 2015, '''bringing the stock's value higher than it was before the crash in 2014.''' Secret surveillance done by some fans reveal that after the crash a new board of directors was formed, it includes [[Sigmar]] and [[Roboute Guilliman]] (Matt Ward and Mortarion are teaming up), this may explain the sudden influx of good policies.

Games Workshop has been announced as the biggest riser in FTSE All-share index.

On a tragic side note unrelated to business, one of their most esteemed writers, Alan Bligh, died in May 2017. He will be sorely missed. In his absence the HH released have drastically slowed, probably because this leaves just 3 people in rules detachment for Horus Heresy '''and''' FW WH40k (two of those has little to no experience as rules writers, by the way). New releases still come out here and there, but they're about as common as they delays.

===2017-2020===
By the middle of 2018 Games Workshop has gone through many changes, the first indicators were not mere bluff, it seems the company is now in a new phase of expansion and successfully recovering terrain both in the skirmish, tabletop and specialist genres, let us see the list of achievements:
*Warhammer 40,000 entered it's 8th edition in July 2017, complete with a total revamp of the rules for [[Awesome|every playable faction]] in a refreshing departure from prior editions holding onto codexes from yet older editions (looking at you, [[Tyranids]]). Though full-blown codexes for all factions still had to be released individually, a series of complete indexes at least offered every faction the ability to play with modern rules right from the edition launch.
*Necromunda is back
**And the Squats with them, or at least a remnant in the form of a beardy mercenary, effectively killing the 20 years old meme (although they were at least mentioned again as far back as the 2012 6th edition rulebook). Not only that, but when they revealed his return, they referenced the meme themselves, making fun of the "Squat Clock" joke.
*In Warhammer Fest 2018 they released a photo of one of the new Sisters of Battle plastic models, the level of detail is exceptional, and it's just a line trooper.
*Adeptus Titanicus came back, in plastic, which, while it may be expensive, lets you use your knights, which mean it may be accessible even to people which "just" can buy knights.
*While Dawn of War 3 didn't go as well as expected, a new line of videogames are here, including the aforementioned Total War series with legacy tomb kings and Bretonnia, Adeptus Mechanicus, Vermintide 2 (which has sold over a million on PC), a videogame version of Titanicus, an enhaced edition of Spacehulk: Deathwing, the strategy game Gladius and Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2 (which is set in the Gathering Storm).
*Duncan Rhodes and Chris Peach painting tutorials and tips of the day have become recurrent.
*Forgebane has become the first starter set with factions other than Space Marines, featuring [[Necron]]s and [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] trying to out-geek each other.
*Did we mention [[Kill Team]] is coming back?
*With Warhammer Community and Facebook GeeDubs has fully taken into the web and social media, with regular updates as well as regular, if controlled, interaction between the admin and the people posting in Facebook.
*Aside the 40k indexes/codexes giving some units some much needed attention, the return of Chapter Approved as an annual rebalancing medium and biannual FAQ adjustments continuously bring 40k into one of the single most balanced editions in it's history. While certain tactics and lists could still be [[Cheese|cheesy]], the noted attention to the current meta and rule rebalancing helped curtail much of the abuse.
*Age of Sigmar is bringing quite original factions such as the Kharadron Overlords and the Idoneth Deepkin, with less emphasis in Tolkienesque armies and more in "let's try to make this faction unique", also they have toned down the noblebright with Malign Portents, which gives a lot of focus on Nagash and his centuries-old plans to take over the Mortal Realms.
*Black Library has worked out to give more deep to the characters and settings of 40k and AoS, the former is exploring the aftermath of the Noctis Aeterna and the Indomitus Crusade, while setting some of the books in Holy Terra itself and its denizens, in AoS there has been more focus in exploring the background and personality of the Stormcast Eternals, their former lives, as well as giving some much needed focus to other mortal races and establishing potential new characters.
**On that note, Gotrek is back, with his first novel Realmslayer, looking for Felix in hopes he has reborn in this new reality.
*Some models from the squatted factions, Bretonnians and Tomb Kings, have been briefly returned for the Warhammer classic range.
*GW has gotten fully aboard laughing at themselves, with much of their recent media awash with memes, jokes, and jolly good humor. The reveal trailer of the Stormcast Eternals Sacrosanct Chamber, for instance, has an opening animation that [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9daI6m4KsM looks for all the world like something, well, ''we'' would make].
*Age of Sigmar has gotten a 2.0 edition that looks pretty good so far. The only big downside is the May 2019 Sylvaneth release was delayed with the merchandise stuck in customs, but that was due to Brexit related political and economic problems, which Geedubs acknowledged with good humor. The new Sylvaneth release came out late July and was very good and well-received, so all is fine on the arboreal front.
*With the advent of 40k's Psychic Awakening, GW seems fully intent on keeping the narrative rolling forward (even advertising the promise of wrapping up a number of loose ends), for better or worse. At least in regards to the "better", they fully intended to go into detail about ''all'' the factions in 40k with a slew of new models for good measure. This turned out to be something of a mixed bag, with many of the narratives doing little more than [[Advancing the Storyline|maintaining the status-quo]] while others seemed to suffer from fairly blatant favoritism.
**''Phoenix Rising'': First on deck is the Craftworld [[Eldar]] feuding with their [[Dark Eldar|sado-masochist kin]]. Jain-Zar paves the way as the first [[Awesome|plastic Phoenix Lord]] leading her Howling Banshee aspect against Drahzar and his Incubi disciples (all of which are also now in plastic). A battlebox set titled ''Blood of the Phoenix'' was released alongside this book featuring the aforementioned units alongside a gaggle of other plastic kits for each faction.
**''Faith and Fury'': Next brings the [[Black Templars]] against the combined might of several [[Chaos Space Marines|Chaos Space Marine Legions]]. Unfortunately, while the book includes expanded rules for the factions within, no new chapter/legion models or battleboxes are being released for the Templars or any of the mentioned CSM Legions. At least a brand new generic CSM [[Sorcerer (Warhammer 40,000)|Sorcerer]] launched with the book.
**''Blood of Baal'': The faceoff between the [[Blood Angels]] against resurgent [[Tyranids]]. A new plastic model for [[Mephiston]] graced the Blood Angels. Tyranids, unfortunately, continue their uninterrupted streak of not receiving any new models what-so-ever.
**''Ritual of the Damned'': The [[Dark Angels]] & [[Grey Knights]] square up against the [[Thousand Sons]], with a brand new Primaris Company Master for the Dark Angels being released (and no, it's none of the pre-existing Dark Angel characters, they opted to just make a completely new character).
**''The Greater Good'': A three-way war of propaganda erupts between the [[Imperial Guard]], [[Genestealer|Genestealer Cults]] and [[Tau|T'au Empire]]. A fancy new [[Shadowsun]] model launched with the book, as well as a new Start Collecting! bundle for Genestealer Cults, but the Imperial Guard received nothing outside the usual rule supplements.
**''Saga of the Beast'': An appropriately named conflict between the [[Space Wolves]] and [[Ork|Orks]]. A minty fresh plastic [[Ghazghkull Thraka]], [[Makari]] and primaris-ified [[Ragnar Blackmane]] released in the ''Prophecy of the Wolf'' battlebox.
**''Engine War'': The most inclusive and innovative Psychic Awakening slated for 2020 yet, the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] and [[Imperial Knight|Imperial Knights]] fight their [[Chaos Knight|corrupted kin]] and the [[Chaos Daemons]] accompanying them. AdMech got the single largest batch of new units they've seen since the Skitarii launched back in 7th edition; Skitarii cavalry in the form of Serberys Sulpherhounds and Serberys Raiders mounted on cyberdogs, Sicarian jumppack infantry comprised of Pteraxii Skystalkers and Pteraxii Sterylizors and a 3-in-1 Archeopter with a transport, gunship and bomber variant filling virtually every conceivable role the Admech roster found lacking. Kinda puts every other PA to shame considering most only released one or two updated named characters, [[Imperial Guard|if]] [[Genestealer|they]] [[Tyranids|got]] [[Black Templar|anything]] [[Death Guard|at]] [[Thousand Sons|all]].
**''War of the Spider'': [[Fabius Bile]] returns with a fresh new plastic look, leading his Agents of Bile against a three-way-free-way involving the [[Adeptus Custodes|Talons of]] [[Sisters of Silence| the Emperor]], [[Officio Assassinorum]] and the [[Death Guard]].
**''Pariah'': [[Illuminor Szeras]] in his new plastic make-over and his [[Necron]] host stand against Lord Inquisitor Kyria Draxus and her contingent of [[Adepta Sororitas]] for... reasons I'm sure.
***Almost as an afterthought, the [[Deathwatch]] and [[Harlequins]] are getting a Psychic Awakening-lite release in the form of two separate White Dwarf articles (couldn't even be paired in the same book against each other) to be released this summer. Kind of an anti-climactic way to round out the remaining factions, particularly for the Deathwatch (who have their own codex) when the Black Templars (who're just crammed in the generic Space Marine codex) had significantly more fanfare.
*Plastic Sisters of Battle. That is all, even though they ran out of boxes in under three minutes. To be fair, GW apologized and said that, while they expected new SoB to be popular, they never expected them to be THAT popular. [[Shadow War: Armageddon|Because sometimes GW just. Doesn't. Learn]]. GW also promised to address insufficient number of limited edition boxes (hey, that's capitalism for ya) after their new factory is constructed.
* Warhammer: The Old World is technically the return of Warhammer Fantasy, although it won't be released for another three years.
**Despite (or perhaps because of) the continual stream of new releases pouring out monthly, prices still seem to be gradually creeping up to record heights, with the ''Blood of the Phoenix'', ''Adepta Sororitas: Sisters of Battle Army Set'' and ''Necromunda: Dark Uprising'' box sets well above $200 USD, with the Necromunda set dancing just around $290 USD. This is topped off by the exponentially expanded library of required reading players will need access to in order to play 40k in an official competitive manner (the annual Chapter Approved, the most up-to-date Codex (for Space Marine players, at least), any relevant Codex Supplements, Forge World Armoury Indexes, Campaign or Psychic Awakening books). While the latter issue may not be a concern to more freestyle or casual players, the increasing prices of the box sets make the prospect of getting new players into 40k ever more daunting.

===2020-2021: The Seeds of Treachery===
*When the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic went global (we know; something, something Nurglites), Games Workshop ceased doing online orders and closed many of their stores and factories around the world due to lockdown and quarantine policies in various countries including the UK. Thankfully, GW has been doing their best to maintain connection with the community online, lift spirits, and keep people informed about upcoming (albeit inevitably delayed) new releases.
**As of May 1st, GW's website re-opened for online orders in select locations (their webstore is still closed to the US, Canada, Italy, Australia and New Zealand). Their Forge World website is still closed and the Black Library is restricted to ebook sales only for the immediate future.
**In mid-June GW re-opened many physical stores, but social distancing is still recommended (including/especially for the Nurglites).
**GW's webstore is now fully online for everybody again, though many items now have quantity per customer limits to help compensate for their reduced ability to restock supplies. Additionally, while their factories are once again up and running, production is still continuing at a rather reduced rate, resulting in somewhat lengthy time frames for product to restock.
*Warhammer 40k entered its 9th edition in late 2020, giving the core rules a fair makeover without changing the gameplay mechanics too much. All 8th edition supplements and codexes are fully compatible with the new edition, but need to be replaced once their 9th edition variants launch.
*9th edition ushered in a new era for Necron players by propping them up as the main antagonistic faction of the new edition, granting them ''many'' new models and units in a near complete overhaul of their range. Space Marines, of course, also received yet another considerable slew of new Primaris units to keep the nearly 4-year long Space Marine release spree rolling strong.
*Though new codexes were being released near-monthly during the onset of 9th edition, further restrictions on production and shipping due to COVID-19 have resulted in extensive release delays for new codexes and models until further notice.
*Games workshop has recently hired several popular fan animators. These animations, previously available to anyone for free on youtube, are now being marketed as part of the new Warhammer+ streaming service. Furthermore, GW has recently released a change to its copyright rules banning all fan animations from making money.
*40k Kill Teams was ushered into the new edition with a new, frankly disgusting box set featuring the much coveted Heavy Intercessors and new Flayed Ones in one of ''the'' most imbalanced matchups ever seen. Priced at a rather steep $160 for 12 models in total, GW seems to have no reservations about continuing to bump up their prices.
*GW has doubled down on their animation ambitions and has signed on the talent behind very prominent fan-created projects such as ''Astartes'' and ''The Exodite'' to continue their work officially under GW's payroll. It remains to be seen how much free reign these formerly independent creators will be allowed, as the ''Astartes'' shorts were removed from their original Youtube home and transplanted onto Warhammer Community's website with a few notable edits (and definition drop).
**This has expanded into a more contentious issue as GW decided that they would jog sweatily behind the video streaming service with Warhammer+. As of May 2021, it's being promised as being the only place to see many original Warhammer-only animations like the Exodite, Astartes Part 2, and Angels of Death. Of course, [[rage|people are up in arms]] because all this shit that was originally free on Youtube thanks to crowdfunding is now being thrown behind a paywall.
**June 2021 has revealed some further aspects about Warhammer+; its launch date is slated for August 25th and it's not only going to have the original animations as part of its subscription service, but a surprisingly diverse catalog of content. Indeed, also included are exclusive models (one of which is given out to annual subscribers on their subscription anniversary with the other being available for purchase), included paid subscriptions to the 40K and AoS rules apps, inhouse Battle-Reports for AoS and 40k, painting tutorials and some back issues of [[White Dwarf]] and book series such as the Gathering Storm. All under an umbrella price-tag of £4.99/$5.99 a month (or £49.99/$59.99 a year). While tempting and all, it's still only a matter of time before the verdict comes in and people can judge the value of this not-so-ambitious model for milking money outside of the perpetual Codex Creep and plastic crack.
*In a rather interesting move, GW is preparing to release a series of rule supplements for an upcoming campaign: War Zone Charadon. The first book, ''The Book of Rust'' features the Adeptus Mechanicus, Imperial Knights and Death Guard, providing new rules, Codex Supplements and "Armies of Renown". At the time of announcement, neither the Imperial Knights or Adeptus Mechanicus have even had their 9th Edition codexes announced. As the AdMech codex has released about a month after the Book of Rust, it seems to be as compatible with 8E as it is with 9E as it didn't do anything to address any of the changes in editions.
**War Zone Charadon's second book, ''The Book of Fire'', continues the very questionable trend of dicking over factions that have yet to have their codexes released while granting more perks to armies, like the Adeptus Mechanicus and Sororitas, who just had their codexes released and are already in a relatively strong position. Chaos Space Marines get a token mention in the book...[[FAIL|by having their old rules reprinted, without even granting them the extra wound per model they sorely need]]. In the meantime, it's the best option if one wants to purchase the brand new Be'lakor and field him in his own special army.
*Kill Teams is getting another new edition (already?). This new version of Kill Teams does come with a rather juicy incentive: [[Awesome|plastic Death Korps of Krieg]] facing off against freshly minted Ork Kommandos. Indeed, to celebrate the launch, DKoK is getting a special plastic kit that can be used to make 10 standard Guardsmen or Veterans and even comes with enough extra bits and bobs to thoroughly customize individual models as specialists. Yes, they can be used for Kill Teams or for standard 40k. Yes, those bits include lots of shovels. Yes, GW released an animation of a Krieger killing an Ork with one.
**The new edition of Kill Teams features a very extensive overhaul of the game mechanics. Where last edition was built around a system relatively similar to 40k's gameplay, Kill Teams uses a completely different structure that does ''not'' translate to 40k.
*Speaking of Orks, their new codex was ushered in by a new box set containing a brand new Ork subfaction; the Beast Snaggas. These squig-riding/wrangling Orks are also accompanied by a fairly sizeable range refresh, including new Ork Boyz, Kommandos (per Kill Teams at least) and even new DeffKoptas. ''Unfortunately'', the new Ork Beast Snaggas box set was limited edition and was the only source of the Ork Codex until further notice.
*One minor complaint is that their Youtube comments section is almost always turned off; the complainers have clearly never seem how brain-breakingly terrible YouTube comments are because they'd consider this a good thing if they did. The fact that this is still better than the previous decade and a half shows how bad things really got. Thank fuck for sensible economic choices being finally deemed necessary.
*Another complaint aim at GW is them taking a stance in a political issue. After the George Floyd incident, GW released a statement on Twitter (https://twitter.com/WarComTeam/status/1268665798467432449). The response from the community has been...mixed, with some praising GW for speaking out on an important issue and other saying that they should stay out of politics and accusing them of hypocrisy due to the recent price increase actually excluding more people from the hobby.
**Now the whole message that they wrote was almost certainly corporate bullshit, because almost every big company has released a similar statement. But that didn't stop parts of the community from acting like retards. On one side, leftyfags used the fact that a corporation said something they support to discuss plans to force people they disagree with out of hobby while changing the setting to be more "inclusive". On the other side, rightyfags got salty that most don't like calling black people racist slurs "as a joke" and call them names back while blaming "the SJW menace". So you know, overly political fucktards using a tragic situation to try and assimilate the rest of the community to their way of thinking and calling for their heads if they don't.
*Age of Sigmar's Broken Realms Saga was released to moderately positive reception, with it having more narrative impact on its setting than 40k's Psychic Awakening had. Following the conclusion of the Saga, AoS Third Edition was released, with revamps to older systems in the game, and the introduction of new ones such as Monstrous Rampages, Heroic Actions, and Universal Battalions. As well as new model ranges for Stormcast and Orruk Warclans.
**As of November 2021, the Age of Sigmar community has not suffered as badly from GW's predatory and ever infuriating business practices, especially in comparison to the 40k community. Partially this can be attributed to the smaller pool of officially licensed media or fanmade content meaning fewer incidents of NDA or copyright scumbaggery. Whatever the reasoning, many AoS fans still wait with baited breath for whenever GW finally slips up and squanders their last good graces.

===Back on the Old Shit===
[[File:GW Cease&Desist-Flashgits.png|right|thumb|400px|"Oh and how is that cease and desist coming for all those Youtube animation faggots?"]]
Turns out it was all a ruse, and that GW is still a shit company, as within a period of around 12 months GW has fallen back into almost all of their old habits again.
*Prices have slowly crept up again with many new (and a fair few old) kits being more expensive, and while this is only by a small amount in some cases, the creep in price is definitely felt in start battle boxes, as many of the recent ones have had little in it and cost far too much.
** Oh, and they made so much money on all you COVID shut-ins that [[Profit|they gave everyone in the company a £5,000 bonus]].
*Power creep has reached and surpassed the point it was during 7th edition, with every almost every new codex having broken and meta lists, typically built around new units introduced making so that GW in a not so subtle way is trying to make the best things for armies new stuff that no one will have, so people almost always have to buy the new thing to have competitive armies.
**Just for reference it took 16 years and 5 editions (3rd-7th) for the old system of 40k to become broken enough that GW decided to scrap the whole thing and redo it. It's taken around 4 years and 2 editions for the game to become as broke (and arguably a bit more broken) this time around.
*There were also several cases of false advertising, when the contents of the boxes did not match the description in articles on Warhammer community site (those had to be retroactively changed). On top of it just being a bad business practice, preorders of GW boxes in countries without official GW stores can open before said boxes are put on GW's webstore, therefore making people who believed those articles and paid up front understandably angry.
*GW has been also squashing fan animations and projects, updating their IP laws to have a [[Bullshit|"Zero Tolerance Stance"]] for people who use their IP and make money out of it without their permission. Commissioned fan art? Fan animation on Youtube? Patreon supported artist who makes Warhammer fanfiction? [[BLAM|"Cease and Desist, faggot."]] We have yet to see if this extends to people who make lore videos and battle reports, but considering GW has been burning down anything that could be in competition with Warhammer+, they soon could.
**After the channel [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxIy_cPihn8|"AbsolutelyNothing" discussed his run in with GW legal] it proved what a few people had believed: that GW was actually Shanghaiing a bunch of different creators to add to their Warhammer+ service and telling them to demonetise their content with the threat of legal trouble if they didn't. Because most fan animations were both of better quality than [[Ultramarines: The Movie|GW's]] [[Inquisitor_(film)|official]] [[Warhammer_Epic_40,000:_Final_Liberation|stuff]] and more importantly free, it meant that random cunts on Youtube would outperform Warhammer+. GW thus came in and offered those a job in order to make 'officially-sanctioned and supported' animations. Not a bad thing on its own, but with the fact that if the creators didn't agree they were forced to demonetise their entire channels and cancel any monetary support to make these animations shows that these meeting were pretty much just blackmail to either get creators to work for them or potentially cripple their main source of income. Though it's also easy to see why a company wouldn't want other people profiting from what they see as their product (even though it doesn't all actually belong to GamesWorkshop). But, GW is so ignorant of its fans, the company never realized these creators brought in people who bought 40K products. Usually not models, but everything else.
**Because of these new IP rules [[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device]] has been shelved indefinitely as even though GW has not sent them anything yet, Alfabusa and the rest of the crew don't feel like their livelihoods are secure with the threat of GW breathing down their necks, thus killing what is arguably the widest reaching piece of free marketing for 40k. Images of guns and feet come to mind.
***Hilariously one of the few places that mostly doesn't give a shit about TTS indefinite hiatus is good old [[/tg/]]. While most disagree with overbearing IP rules, /tg/ has not been seeing eye-to-eye with projects like TTS as of late and the uproar on sites like Reddit and Twitter have generated large amount of mocking, joy and general feelings of schadenfreude on [[4chan]]. This stems mainly from screenshots of Twitter and Reddit accounts saying things along the lines of "I was thinking about getting into the hobby, but now I'm not", confirming in the mind of /tg/ that the majority of the TTS audience were [[That_Guy|no-model secondaries]] that didn't play the game to begin with. As far as /tg/ is concerned, those added nothing to the hobby to begin with and [[Just_as_planned|their removal from the fandom is a net positive in the long run]]. To say that this has caused somewhat of a rift to develop within the community would be an understatement.
***Some argue that this comes off as laughably hypocritical, deriding one of the most beloved and wide reaching 40k fanmade series, but also of being elitist gatekeepers who turn off new prospective fans from potentially joining the hobby. TTS also acted as a major way to bring people into buying everything other than models. The games, the books, and whatever else they could get that didn't involve physical effort and finding time to go to a store tucked into a forgotten corner of their hometown or a nearby city.
***Something else that is ironic about this is that it's [[Derp|technically the fans' - especially the Twitter and Reddittors - own fault]]. One of the major issues with IP law is that you must constantly defend it in a given medium in order to retain it in that medium. Previously, this meant that GW, like every other game and model company, didn't give a shit about fan art and fan animation on le Internets because that just wasn't the medium they published their work in. In fact, they liked that stuff - it's free advertising. But then, Twitter, Reddit and YouTube asked - no, ''begged'' - for GeeDubs to hire animators such as the creator of the [[Astartes - a fan made animation|Astartes fan film]] and make their work official, [[Not_as_planned|not realizing]] that this would suddenly make the medium of Internet fan work a part of GeeDubs' publishing territory and as such subject to draconian IP law. Except that GW had no problem with fan animations even though GW also had its own animiations. Which means the medium cannot be the cause (especially since the fans weren't in financial competition with them) and GW took so long to bother them. It was most likely butthurt over everyone mocking their animations. Though, most of the out-cry is over the fact that the stuff they supposedly have these extremely talented people working on is nowhere near as high-quality as the people made on their own and the fact that GW also has been attacking a wide variety of animated 40K fanwork that has nothing to do with GW's own animations (TTS, for example, is totally different than the Ultramarines movie). And for the most part, GW still doesn't have any problem with fanart, fanfiction, etc. except when money is involved. Which means someday they're going to go after the wrong person and not realize it until they get sued for all their own countless IP thefts.
**All this prompted several content creators and online forums to [[RAGE|call for a boycott of GW's products]]. The uproar has been massive with the topic being amongst the most liked posts in the history of several Warhammer subreddits. The efficiency of the campaign has not been noticably felt yet.
*This has caused several fans who grew tired of GW’s shit to abandon Warhammer 40k in favor of [[Battletech]], which has recently seen something of a resurgence as of late. Which may eventually create the one thing Games Workshop fears the most, [[Not as Planned |a rival]] [[Derp |big enough to]] [[FAIL |threaten them directly.]] This could have far-reaching consequences in the future.

*tldr; Prices are creeping up, Codex's are broken and horribly balanced, GW is being about as anti-consumer as they can get, outside of throwing dried cat shit at people who walk into their stores and they seem to have nothing but contempt for the fanbase. So we're right back to where we were during 5th edition 40k.

==/tg/ Analysis Of Games Workshop==

===Blind Deaf-mutes===
In a [http://www.iii.co.uk/news-opinion/richard-beddard/games-workshop-agm%3a-relentless-profit-machine meeting with shareholders], Games Workshop exhibited their attitudes quite plainly (and may or may not have mistaken 1/5th for a half).
*"- the word “Game” in Games Workshop encourages the misconception that games are its business, but that only about 20% of Games Workshop’s customers are gamers. The rest are modellers and collectors. Maybe half of them think about playing now and then. The other half have no intention. People actually walk into the stores because they’re curious about modelling fantastic armies."

When asked "-if the company would sell games with pre-painted easy to assemble miniatures like the popular Star Wars themed X-Wing game" they said:
*"It wouldn’t be a hobby business then, it would be a toy company."

*"-introducing products at new price points is different to reducing the recommended retail price, something the company resolutely refuses to do. It’s considering “putting more value in the box”, discounting in other words, when people buy in number. That ought to encourage gamer-modellers."

*"Potentially lucrative income from licenses granted to video games producers like the much anticipated and soon to be released Total War Warhammer will always be incidental because video gamers do not become modellers, and Games Workshop doesn’t know how to make good video games."

In their 2015 Financial Report, they stated:
*"The Group does not undertake research activities."
In the same report, the words "market" and "research" never referred to the same subject. They claim their main audience is teenagers, although they also state that the hobbyist crowd is their main fanbase. Furthermore, they make assumptions about their fanbase despite admitting that they do not research about them.

So what can be learned? Games Workshop has absolutely no long-term plan other than to make more expensive models, and cater to those who can drop thousands in a single impulse buy. Rather than expanding and reaching out to new customers, they are intentionally becoming a niche market for an elite crowd. In other words?
"Fuck you, you smelly hatless Irishman."

===The Digital Age (And Completely Missing the Point)===
Games Workshop would sign a deal with Apple to sell eBooks on the interwebz, instead of Amazon (the largest retailer worldwide), because then the books would have to be cheaper. Games Workshop refused to understand the fact that eBooks ''almost always'' cost less than what they would if bought from a book store. That 1 pence discount doesn't count.
(From GW point of view, even tho it's stupid to put the same price on eBooks as the Hardcover Army Books/Codices, it makes sense. Because if they were to sell them cheaper, they would sell much less books, meaning they'll lose money from the traditional books. Yes, it cost $80 in Australia for both the eBook and the Hardcover, which again is bullshit.)(A load of crap, 90 dollars for Hardcover Codex, 70 for ebook, in Aus.)

Though in this regard, GW does seem to be slowly figuring out what works: Dataslates are a cheap effective means of deploying models without committing to entire armies/detachments. Essentially like microtransactions. While around £3 might seem like a lot of money for only a few pages of crunch and only two or three new units/formations, they are some of the cheapest products GW have released in a good long time and they do also use these to repost entire rules sections dragged out of the codices in addition to the product itself, so you never needed the codex if you never owned it in the first place.

Some of the Dataslates are extremely high quality (like [[Cypher]]) and are virtually must-haves, while some others are complete dross (Reclusiam Command Squad?) that were dreamed up over a 5 minute coffee break just to sell something. But with the advent of 7th Edition, armies can be made up entirely of dataslates ''(or just go unbound)'' so they are no longer telling you how to build your army any more and you can keep it cheaper by bringing only a few models to make up your chosen formation.

[[File:Gamesworkshopinanutshell.png|thumb|300px|right|Games Workshop's probable downfall.]]

Oh, and they sell them in various formats so you don't need that iPad if you don't have one since eReaders can be downloaded for free and if you still don't have anything to read them on, then have a [[FAIL|think]] about how you got onto the Internet.
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===Why Games Workshop is Bad and Should Feel Bad===
One anon's perpsective on why GW hasn't collapsed in on itself yet. Keep in mind that was written some time during the Derpening when reading this.
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Never mind that large groups are often less efficient due to the fact that most people like to agree and be part of a group, even if the group is wrong. Forget that the burden of hard work is often shrugged off thanks to the assumption that everyone else will be carrying enough of the real challenges to pull things through (and that when things go wrong, it's a flaw of human nature that people don't like to admit and accept when they screw up). Instead, focus on the fact that the people heading GW – or most large corporations for that matter – are successful, rich, ordinary men who are blessed by good fortune in an unfair universe and probably don't realize the reality. Further, examine the knowledge that, according to Sun Tzu and a variety of psychological studies, successful rich people with the aforementioned profound luck are the folks most likely to make stupid mistakes out of anyone!

Now you know why GW (or the entire world, for that matter) is run the way it is.

A source of some debate on /tg/ is whether or not it is actually charging prices that make sense for the hobby. All logic points to a resounding “no”, but another interesting social phenomena is this: fanboyism is an inbuilt human process. Whenever money is spent on a good, especially a luxury item, man has a way of increasing the illusionary worth of that item.

Imagine buying tickets to see your local team play football, and they lose. It's not even a good game, to be honest. People around the country were disappointed. However, those tickets cost a lot of money, and having spent all that money for so little in return makes a person feel stupid. We grope for other things, then, to make the tickets worth while rather than admit we were wrong (even if we were only wrong due to events beyond our control) and learn from it. Yes, it was cold, but your wife was there, so you bonded! The beer was too expensive as well, but they sold your favorite brand! You had an experience! It was fun! Yes, those tickets were worth it in the end.

We'll even do this with soft drinks. Even if brain probes reveal a man likes Pepsi more than Coke, going back and telling the man what he was drinking can actually ''alter his memory'' so that he remembers liking the Coke more. It's amazing.

GW products are exactly the same way. They're ludicrously expensive. Even people who support GW fervently wish they weren't. It hurts. In a rough economy, it's hard to play the game. You spend months, years – who knows how long waiting for that new codex, it turns out to be awful compared to expectations (hello, Tyranids!) (UP YOURS ASSHOLE.), and now you've either got to suck it up and keep playing (got to buy the new Trygons, I guess, even though they aren't ''that'' great), or take a huge monetary loss and give up. Fanboyism steps in and makes it all okay. You're not just buying the models, but the game and the network utility too, so 40k is still totally fun and cool!

Big corporations, and GW as well, are predators. They feast on fanboyism. Like the [[Dark Eldar]], they prey on your suffering and write sick, stomach-turning poetry about the flowing, green streams of vital wealth they siphon from your being. You are a toy (''moreso than the articles they sell''). [[Hot Chicks|That cute girl at the convenience store you see all the time?]] Thanks to GW, you have to choose between inviting her to the theater and buying that new squadron of Guardsmen. Those of you scoffing at the dilemma, shut up; those Guardsmen won't cheat on you, dump you for someone else or nag nearly as much after you've had them for a little while, so it's <s>[[Neckbeard|totally a tough call.]]</s>{{BLAM|'''*BLAM!* HERESY!!! NOT CHOOSING THE EMPEROR'S FINEST IS HERESY!!!'''}}
But putty in their hands you may be, there are still some principles of basic economics that imply GW ''might not be earning enough revenue,'' and surprisingly, they can only lose more money by raising prices! There's no real way of knowing how things really are within GW without a look at the delicate, inner machinery of their business. But it does all come back to our first consideration: GW is run by the type of person most notable for making poor decisions – lucky, successful people, and a group, no less.

Whatever idiot wrote the following has no _actual_ business sense. Revenue ≠ Profit. Profit = Revenue - Cost... yes, but still give you a good idea about GW policy.

The situation is thus: there is more to money flow than just the bottom line, though often it's all we think of, but basically there's income, cost, and revenue. What is of most concern is revenue, which could also be thought of as [[profit]]. GW sells their models for a greater amount than what they cost, and the amount they make is revenue!

So now, there's revenue, and then there's marginal revenue. Revenue is just how much you make. Sell a thousand Guardsmen and make ten thousand dollars? Your Guardsmen revenue is $10,000! Marginal revenue, on the other hand, is how much you make ''compared to selling one less of the item''. In this case, the Guardsmen have a marginal revenue of $10. Each Guardsman made a profit of $10, and if you sold one less Guardsman, you'd make $10 less. See? Easy. Well, for this simplified example anyway (in reality there are a lot of fixed start-up costs, but point made).

Now let's raise prices. From now on, we'll sell half as many Guardsmen per box, and the boxes will cost the same. Now marginal revenue is $22, because every time a Guardsman is sold, we bring in $20 per Guardsman plus an additional $2 gets saved thanks to the Guardsmen we didn't make! This is cool – we're in business, just like GW, /tg/! Let's do that again – our customers are fans, they'll bear it! Now we'll sell five Guardsmen to a box, and we have a marginal revenue of $45!

Okay, wait, wait. I've got it. I'm a genius. Let's sell one Guardsman. Sell it for the same price we used to sell twenty of them! We're going to be rich! Marginal revenue is going to be amazing! Like, what, over a hundred dollars a purchase?

So what's our profit in the end? What! Negative? How!? We're making ''so much'' per model! The marginal revenue is ''so high''!

The answer is simple. Not enough people are buying one crappy Guardsman for $200 dollars. A few of the fans are sticking it out, hating us relentlessly, but newcomers to the game see the price tag and run screaming. People who can't afford it leave because they have no other choice, but they're happy in retrospect. Even some of our most loyal customers finally decided to just date that girl after all – one gets more of their money's worth from her ([[This Guy|one way]] [[Hot Chicks|or]] [[Promotions|another]]) and they'll deal with her constant bitching. Actual revenue is at an all time low.

Believe it or not, lots of other companies really do make this mistake, albeit not often to this extent (unless you check out [[Forge World]], anyway. Anyone want a Tau [[Manta]]? Under £1,000). It's because maximizing marginal revenue is very easy. It's simple arithmetic, and if your market base is rather inelastic (and GW's market base certainly is due to the high investment requirements of their games), a lot of times price changes won't have a huge impact, so it's easier to focus on. GW is at some point in the middle here, where it has started to become questionable.

It's hard to say if they're making right decisions or if their pricing makes the most sense. It's becoming the status quo that their games are really a hobby of those with absurd disposable income, which is not a quality described of the young men who are presumed to make up 40k's primary demographic. It's possible that they're targeting young teens with parents who will buy the models for them, but that's hard to say as well since parents will lack the dedicated fanboyism to continually invest in the absurdly priced hobby.

Mix in unbalanced rules that unfairly favor certain factions, long wait times between army updates, [[Casting|inferior model quality]] compared to what's provided to model hobbyists outside of the wargaming industry, and GW may have a recipe for a failing market.

In fact, by using some math and basic market theory, we can actually take a look at how much GW is supposedly spending to bring our hobby to us.

The list below will give us some basic numbers to work with. We know that GW currently sells its rule books at $74.25. What we don't know is GW's actual costs or how many books they're selling. These things have an impact on the math, but we'll sort of fudge it. Now, based on that alone, we want to price our book at twice what it costs to make the thing. In the real world all this nice math has the tendency to fly apart, but generally speaking that's the ideal manner of doing things. For example:

Quantity sold: 0
Price of book: $0
Estimated cost to GW: $0
Marginal Cost: $0
Marginal Revenue: $0
Total Revenue: $0

Quantity sold: 1
Price of book: $74.25
Estimated cost to GW: $37.13
Marginal Cost: $37.13
Marginal Revenue: $37.12
Total Revenue: $37.12

Quantity sold: 2
Price of book: $74.25
Estimated cost to GW: $74.25
Marginal Cost: $37.13
Marginal Revenue: $37.12
Total Revenue: $74.25

And so on. Since we're assuming that every book has a fixed cost to produce, we just get a rough idea of what it's actually costing GW to make rule books for us. Or so such is true only if we figure they're trying to price things according to a competitive market where the consumer sets the price. Basic economics says we want to have a marginal revenue equal to our marginal cost if we want to work with a price we can't really control, and that's what this does.

See, there's a few things to consider. The first is that, in a competitive market, people are just going to buy the cheapest product. That means whoever is selling cheapest kind of wins the day, but while GW could maybe sell their rule books at $20 each, they'd be suffering huge profit losses that are not directly proportionate to the change in price. Instead, they'll try to follow along with what the market is doing, and to their very best possible effort, they'll try to lower their costs so that the marginal costs equal the marginal revenue (or, again, their prices are basically double their production costs per item). That just simply maximizes revenue, since if they raise prices their competitors will undercut them and GW will be able to sell nothing.

But honestly, if you've read this far, then hopefully you're braced for this shock. According to estimates from a few publishers, it only costs about $3 per book to publish 5,000 hardback books, and that cost decreases as you publish in greater bulk. 40k books do have a lot of pretty pictures, so maybe that increases costs somewhat, but again, costs generally tend to get smaller as you order more of an item, and it's pretty likely that GW is not just settling for a measly 5,000 books internationally. They sell all over the world.

So where are all these other costs popping up that should cause GW to spend $37 on every single book they produce? In small production quantities, we'd consider the cost of labor. Who knows how much Matt Ward demands to be paid to lick every rule book before it leaves the factory! What do the photographers want in compensation? Actually, ''stop''. At GW's production rates, those expense considerations become almost ''completely negligible.'' You pay Matt Ward a salary to lick all the books. It's a yearly thing. You pay him once and you're done, so by the time you've produced a million books, even if you paid Matt a million dollars to slobber on every single page, Matt is only increasing the cost of the books by a dollar each.

Margins are all that matter. GW talks about overheads and so forth as an excuse, but that's insanity. In a perfectly competitive market you don't increase prices to cover overheads. You reduce the overheads because they're predictable annual costs that you more or less established on your own! Besides, you shouldn't be able to arbitrarily raise prices like that, seeing as how your competitors are supposedly keeping you in check! So really, what we can infer is the following:

A. Basically, GW has no competitors controlling their pricing right now. (This was especially true in the old days. Nowadays, this is less of an excuse as wargames and miniature companies branched out into all sorts of different fields. Thus, the monopoly GW used to have is no more.)

B. They are price gouging their players to fill the pockets of the people who run the company. (This scares off a lot of players, especially ones who have to buy a bunch just to keep up with the inconsistent update schedule or wish to start with a full army. Thus, the only people left are the people rich enough to afford it and those too ignorant to really think otherwise/the GWIDF)

C. Their pricing is not directly related to their costs, and anything they say to the contrary is a big fat lie. (This particular argument is used by Recaster supporters and proponents of 3-D Printers as they slowly advance in complexity to begin making more accurate and good-quality resin models.)

D. You could play another game, but all your friends are playing 40k anyway and you don't want to feel left out.

'''E. Fuck Games Workshop'''. ''' ''FUCK THEM WITH A FUCKING CHAINBLADE. NO. MAKE THAT A DAEMONHAMMER.'' '''

This article also explains the problem with Australian prices, in a slightly less detailed manner; [http://www.kotaku.com.au/2013/04/the-iron-fist-how-games-workshop-intends-to-monopolise-the-online-sale-of-products/]

Games Workshop have sat pretty at the top of the miniature wargames shit-heap for many years (indeed, the scale models industry tries to ignore that they're the biggest single seller of miniatures) and have abused this position to increase their own profits. However, fortunately for the long suffering gamer alternatives are emerging. [[Privateer Press]] for example produce the games [[Warmachine]] and [[Hordes]] and offers slightly cheaper models and starter sets. In the market for wargames Privateer Press and Coolminiornot are rapidly emerging as a viable challenger to GW's monopoly while Reaper Miniatures takes them on using the same tactics that made them in the first place; licensing IP's, and making things for other games. They are the Tau, Dark Eldar, and Chaos to GW's Imperium.

Also worthy of note is [[Mantic Games]] who produce [[Kings of War]], a fantasy battle game in a similar vein to Warhammer. The rules system was even written by former GW man Alessio Cavatore (essentially succeeding at what every frustrated ex-GW employee since 1988 has dreamed of) and it is fast, fluid and a lot more "fun" than Warhammer. The company is pioneering the use of plastic-resin alloy (or 'restic') as a cost effective alternative to pewter. Oh, and equivalent plastic models cost about HALF what GW charge (e.g. GW High Elf Spearmen (16 models) - £20, Mantic Games Elf Spearmen (20 models) - £13.99) the trade-off however is that Mantic models look like hammered dogshit. Mantic are basically the war gaming equivalent of Asylum films.

One can only hope that these new upstarts will beat down GWs monopolistic hold on the [[wargame]] market.
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===A Sobering Look at GW's Near Collapse===
On top of all the other financial considerations involved with a company like Games Workshop, there's one major concern that was probably gravely overlooked by the company as it raised prices and cut smaller retailers out of the picture: a concept called "network utility". A lot of products are useless unless they're used by a ton of people. A fax machine is a good example - if everyone owns a fax machine, then one person can use his own fax machine to send pictures of his ass to everyone on earth. That's a good value for a single person, and really makes the fax machine worth buying! However, if fewer people buy fax machines, it becomes less and less desirable to own one. After all, why buy a machine that's only capable of sending a picture of your butt to your grandmother, the only other person who still has a machine? Grandma is never impressed, anyway.

A similar concept exists with GW, and they've ignored it over the past couple of years, especially as they've cut models out of starter sets to reduce costs. If you go down to your local game store and everyone is playing Warhammer 40k, not only are you more likely to get into it because of friendly recommendations, but you're also likely to start playing because you know everyone has an army and everyone can play with you! Even if you aren't personal friends with the folks at your local game store, you know that anywhere you go, the people you meet at the FLGS can play the game with you!

The more difficult GW made it to carry their products, the more game stores turned to alternatives to fill shelves. [[Spartan Games]] and [[Privateer Press]] quickly moved in to fill the void with creative new IP (at least until they ran into their own problems). [[Fantasy Flight Games]] upped the ante even further with Star Wars product that was table ready straight out of the box. The network utility of FFG's products was huge because it was so accessible, making it the go-to for casuals looking to buy into whatever had the most players, despite FFG's extortionate pricing.

Now, models (and games in general) have gotten more expensive; granted, only scaled in price with inflation, but since wages have largely stagnated in a lot of markets these past couple decades, to the typical consumer the costs still feel like they've gone up and the players notice the hikes. When a product gets more expensive, people naturally quit buying it. This thins the dedicated player herd.

Meanwhile, GW also drags its feet when it comes to codex updates, and when it does update, there's no telling whether or not a new codex is going to be a complete load of shit. The Tyranid codex being a huge let down for two editions running is probably one of the most critical examples. Anyone who collected Tyranids as a main army has pretty well given up hope by now, and they've quit collecting. Other players with armies in similar straits, likely feeling abandoned during 5th edition when GW focused exclusively on Space Marines, have also probably drifted away from the hobby. Of course, there have also been a few people who just quit playing out of disgust because their local meta was a bit too hardcore and there was no way to win games without exploiting the broken, disjointed lack of balance.

Although Games Workshop continued to hike up prices and showed fantastic profits in the short term, these issues probably alienated too many people, and as they roll along with the next edition and new codices, they're probably discovering, with great horror, that there aren't enough players buying into it anymore. Worse, the effect can snowball out of control, and GW will probably lose their market control in one big flash of failure. Almost overnight, it'll suddenly seem that 40k has evaporated.

When there are too few players in the game, it's no longer true that you can go to your FLGS and play with any stranger in the store. There's always that one guy - that rich asshole who owns every army in the book and consequently has some of the most boring, broken, frustrating army lists to play against. But do you really want to play against that guy every single weekend? Eventually, you quit showing up to play 40k as well, and once you're gone, even that dick with all his money has no more reason to play. The final pillar falls, and Games Workshop is no more.

In other words, the player base has always been the most important foundation of the company, and it was always GW's greatest strength. Not the model quality, not the rules, not the setting or any of the IP that they keep suing their fans over. The reason Games Workshop dominated was because everyone played their games. As soon as that's no longer the case, the company can't save itself by releasing new models or updating the rules. Their reign is over. They topple, because the foundations have shrunk.

===GW The Bully===
Games Workshop has long had a history of being one of the most litigious companies in regards to its IP in ''existence''. One needs look no further than our own [[Pauldrons]] article to get an idea of how bad it is, in that it uses its designs to openly fight any company that dares have any remote similarity to its own models in any way, shape, or form. You have any wargame with armored dudes with big pauldrons? Lawsuit. You run a company that makes third-party components for existing models? [[Derp|Lawsuit]]. You make anything remotely resembling any GW IP ever and aren't a massive company that could actually contest the giant copyright stick GW is swinging around and make them look like the idiots they are? [[Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies|LAWSUIT]].

Whilst GW has a lengthy history of overstepping boundaries in its war to enforce its copyright, it only recently decided to go [[Deathstrike Missile Launcher|nuclear]]. [http://boingboing.net/2013/02/06/games-workshop-trademark-bully.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter In 2013, GW launched the claim that it owns the phrase ''Space Marine''], ignoring that sci-fi has used the terminology for the better part of eighty years (and showing their hypocrisy as Games Workshop shamelessly stole the term 'Eldar' from [[Tolkien]]; yes, he invented the word 'Eldar'). The story in question "Spots the Space Marine" is about a middle age housewife, nicknamed Spots, being recalled back to the Marine corp (ie a Real Marine, in space) to fight giant enemy crabs (in space). It had nothing to do with GW's Space Marines or the Warhammer 40K setting.

*The History of the term "Space Marine"; The first known use of term 'Space Marine' was made by sci-fi author Bob Olsen (real name; Alfred Johannes Olsen, 1884-1956), who first used the term in his short story "Captain Brink of the Space Marines" from his "Amazing Stories" series, first published in '''1932'''. Warhammer 40K started as the Second Edition of Rogue Trader and was released in 1993, while [[Rogue Trader]] itself was released in 1987. Games Workshop was founded in 1975 and even its oldest founding member (Ian Livingstone) was born in 1949. Therefore, the term Space Marine was in use for forty-three years before Games Workshop existed and over a decade before any of the founders were even born. Plus, with a bit of use of copyright law, in 2026 (seventy years after Bob Olsen died), the term Space Marine could theoretically become public domain, then GW would no longer be able to copyright it then.

This means that what GW tried to do was plagiarism, which is a direct violation of copyright law. Games Workshop's strategy to make "space marine" less generic involved launching high profile, bullying attacks on every professional author or artist who isn't associated with a huge company who uses it, trying to make it so people hearing the phrase immediately conclude that [[Derp|it ''must'' be related to Games Workshop]], because ''everyone'' knows [[Eldrad|what enormous cocks]] they are whenever anyone else uses the phrase. These attacks were not, again, targeted at any opponent that could credibly fight back; this is because if it actually came to attempts to litigate over the phrase, GW would be laughed out of court. It wasn't not going to stop GW from being cocks, though. In fact, as of 2014, [[Herp|Games Workshop's website still has 'Space Marine' listed as one of their copyrights]]. This copyright backlash made them rename the Imperial Guard "Astra Militarum" (This is not the correct Latin declension for "Star Military." If it was the correct declension, then it would be just as hard to trade mark as "Imperial Guard"), but their hard-on for Space Marines stopped GW from renaming the codex something original, such as "Adeptus Astartes".

After the failure and fiasco of the suit against Spots the Space Marine, GW would post a lengthy and self defeating rant on their own Facebook page, which basically displayed the ignorance of those writing the post. Shortly afterwards, the Facebook page went down after the backlash it caused. Several who queried GW over the pages removal were told that GW wished for the experience with the fanbase to be more personal, thus people should be following their own GW stores.

Their bullying came back to bite them in the ass after a failed attempt at suing third-party manufacturer [[ChapterHouse Studios]]; when they refused to back down from GW's threats to sue them for making unauthorized models (specifically Mycetic Spores, the Doom of Malan'tai, and the Parasite of Mortrex), the lawsuit went to court- which GW [[FAIL|failed]] to argue the majority of alleged copyright breaches. Apparently, just writing up the rules for a model doesn't give you the sole rights to making that model after all. Undaunted, GW did the next best thing-[[Rage|they removed the offending entries from the Tyranid codex]], cutting off its nose to spite its face. Way to put the customer first, GeeDubs. At least now we know how to save the galaxy from the Tyranids: make and sell unsanctioned Tyranid models.

Now, despite their changes for the better, their hypocrisy came back to haunt them in August 2017 when[https://spikeybits.com/2017/08/games-workshop-is-being-sued-for-62-5m.html Games Workshop got sued in the US to the tune of 62.5 million for, among other things "...stolen Intellectual property of others to establish it’s Warhammer 40,000 game in the 1980s"] Fans felt bad, worried about the future of the hobby or cheered that what goes around comes around (the latter since GW sued people for far less; see "Spots the Space Marine" above). However, given the lawsuit's bizarre, poorly written and ignorant case (eg; H.R Giger does not own the idea of aliens who use other species for their reproductive cycle and accusing Games Workshop of being European Communists) Moore's case fell apart and was dismissed in October 2017. Imagine failing to sue GW over stolen intellectual property when 40K is essentially made of other people's IP. Perhaps this was intentional, assuming double jeopardy applies to lawsuits.

Of course GW's early copyright mistakes have also bit them in the ass; [[Tony Ackland]] still owns his Daemon designs as discussed above, and [[Kev Adams]] was only ever sculpting generic greenskins which he still owns the molds for. Both lend their talents (and IP work) to the company [[Knightmare Miniatures]], who produce Daemons based on the original [[Realm of Chaos]] art, the sculpts of Kev's greenskins both new and old, and a number of 40k-related works as well. If you're wondering why GW never went after them, the two are VERY popular among the tabletop gamer community so they could easily raise the funds needed to defend themselves in court (Kev himself has already demonstrated that given the money the community raised to fund surgeries for him after he got stabbed in the fucking eye by a burglar), and since GW themselves ripped off their work the same way most 3rd party companies rip off theirs then there's always a chance they could lose the rights to make Daemonettes/Plaguebearers/Horrors/Bloodletters/Black Orcs/Night Goblins and so on in a countersuit. While renaming Black Orcs and Night Goblins as Orruk 'Ardboyz and Gloomspite Gitz might be an attempt to deflect this, Bloodletters, Horrors and Daemonettes would still be vulnerable.

===The ₽₹¥€£$===
[[Image:1271198871887.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zSxQnZ3TM8 Games Workshop's typical meeting board]]]
'''In the grim darkness of the near future, the prices must beat inflation.'''

GW is infamous for their steep prices, and they would have been replaced by a more reasonable company for gaming dominance if their popularity wasn't XBOXHUEG compared to their competitors. These price hikes have been around forever, as the rise of video games (people buying fewer models in general over time) and currency inflation have necessitated "adaptation to a more niche market". The infamous price hikes that /tg/ will remember (and be ass-mad about) forever occurred within the decade span from 2005 to 2015. Between these dates, it is safe to say that every model kit raised its price 50%, with some kits doubling in price. Note that /tg/ came into being during the price hikes, and spent most of it's lifetime (and all of it's formative years) suffering under them.

Games Workshop also have a nasty habit of making prices proportional to how good a model/unit is in-game, rather than the actual cost of materials and manufacture.

Of course, if we really want to stop the price hikes, [[/tg/]] should probably start a legitimate campaign to give perspective and shine the spotlight on other wargames like Warmachine, but /tg/ can't get REAL shit done! Regardless, it definitely won't stop until Brexit related nonsense and the Corona Pandemic are over.

The prices didn't stop them or their model customers. However, due to GW's recent bout of shittiness, people have turned more and more to 3D printing only to discover just how vast an amount GW has actually been gouged people over the years. This revelation has gone viral in the 40K community and, unlike GW, the makers of BattleTech encourage fans to use 3D printing whereas GamesWorkshop has had a small meltdown on the subject. Talk about being hoisted by your own petard.

==Positives about Games Workshop==
Take this as virtues that outshine the bad, being damned with faint praise or anything in between as you will...

*Their art departments are (usually) top notch, with every race or faction being iconic (you can easily identify Tau, Eldar, Astartes, Lizardmen, Druchii, etc at a glance) and rich in visual details, and cool minis with great conversion potential.
*GW has legitimately ''good'' customer service. If you order something from them and it gets lost in the mail or it's got a botched cast on the sprue, they will replace it without hesitation, and stick a warp drive (and a fully-functioning gellar field) on it to make sure you get it as soon as possible.
**Scratch that if we're talking Forgeworld. ''Yes, sir, that 2mm mold line shift on the leg of your Terminator is perfectly acceptable quality''
*They usually have something for anyone when it comes to fantasy or scifi, their armies, while not often the most original, are still fun to collect and paint, and will often have fun lore with lots of characters, interesting plot twists and a lot of potentiality for YOUR DUDES.
*They have influenced the entire fantasy genre from staples like green orcs, Meso lizardfolk and non-evil undead nations to evolving wargames and creating the modern fantasy miniature market.
*Growth! They have become the entry point for many people into tabletop gaming, which in turn has allowed the tabletop industry to expand.
*Sense of humour, as a company they like to joke about themselves and their settings, while they can often be grimderpy and bland they use their social media to make clear they are aware about their own thematic shortcomings (And now open more Sigmarine Chambers!).
*They actually pay decent wages even to the people on the lower end of their corporate food chain, on top of bonuses when the company does well, and comply to labour union standards with little to no commotion. All around, not the worst employer you can have.
*Most of their products are made in UK-based factories. So no outsourcing to developed or developing countries with unethical worker rights. Exceptions are terrains, books and cardboards, which are still produced in other countries and backfired hard recently with the Cursed City disaster. The one reason Geedub doesn't produce their plastic crack soldiers in other countries is their fear of cheap copies. So instead they only contribute to climate change by ferrying tons of cardboard and other gaming materials around the globe. At least they don't have a fetish for cardboard like FFG. Oh, and their main factory recently installed a shit ton of solar panels on its roof. Environmentally friendly Space marines, or just calculating businessmen

==See Also==
* [https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/GAW.L?p=GAW.L&.tsrc=fin-srch The current Games Workshop stock values, and articles on their financial status.]
* [[Rage]]
* [[Casting]]
* [[Heresy]]
* [[Proxy]]
* [[Counts As]]
* [[C.S. Goto]]
* [[Matthew Ward]]
* [[Black Library]]
* [[Citadel Miniatures]]
* [[Forge World]]
* [[Citadel Combat Cards]]
* [[40K Rules Blooper Reel]], for GW's long history of shoddy editing
* [[Army compatibility between Warhammer settings]]
* [[List of GW's cash grabs]]

==External Links==
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zSxQnZ3TM8 This Video]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnPpfs120DA A measured response to changes in the Trade Agreement]

{{Model Manufacturers}}

[[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]][[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Age of Sigmar]][[Category:Publishers]][[Category:Games Workshop]][[Category: Model Manufacturers]][[Category:Tabletop Game Paint Manufacturers]]

Luther

2022-03-04T12:58:05Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* 41st Millenium */

[[File:LutherZahariel.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Luther, with <s>[[Cypher]]</s> [[Zahariel]] in the background]]
{{Heresy}}
{{Topquote|O beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on|Iago in William Shakespeare's Othello}}

Luther was the best bro/father figure of the [[Primarch]] [[Lion El'Jonson]] before the events of the [[Horus Heresy]].

==Back Story==
Luther was a [[Knight]] of [[The Order]] of Caliban, an organisation dedicated to protecting the people of that world from the [[Chaos Spawn|Beasts]] that roamed its forests.

One day when riding through the glen with his merry band of men, he encountered <s>Tarzan</s> a naked wildman who had no business living alone in that environment. So they captured him and brought him back to civilisation, educated him and introduced him to their order, where they called him "[[Lion El'Jonson|Lion, Son of the Forest]]".
*Before the discovery of the Lion, Luther had just recently lost both his young wife and daughter to as of yet unknown means. He wonders how things would have turned out if the Lion had been raised with both a mother and sister. (All you AU fanfic writers get on this now. I want to see the Lion and his sister braiding each other's hair).
*In “Fallen Angels” Luther gives us a first-hand version of the discovery of the Lion. In it he describes how after a long and costly journey into the darkest and most dangerous parts of Caliban he and his fellow knights stopped near the banks of a river. As the other knights filled the water containers a young boy appeared in their midst. The boy showed no fear but simply stared at them coldly. Luther being the only one in a position to do anything raised his gun and aimed at the boy. As the other knights screamed at Luther to kill the child the boy simply looked at Luther silently; Luther met the boy's eyes and he found that he simply could not pull the trigger and simply let the gun drop to the ground.
:*Given the new revelation that he had just lost his wife and daughter his inability to kill the young Lion makes a lot more sense.
:*The Lion in his version is described as a young boy, which is odd as it appears that the Lion did not have the accelerated childhood that many of his other brothers seem to have experienced but aged in the same way as a normal human child would.
:*Out of all the Monsters of Caliban Luther desired to kill a Calibanite Lion. This is interesting because it raises the possibility that it was a Calibanite Lion that was responsible for the death of his family and drove him to venture so deep into the wild depths of Caliban where he discovered Lion El'Jonson; if true then was the Calibanite Lion killed by Jonson the one responsible?

Together the two warriors rose up the ranks of the Order and became living legends, eventually coming up with a plan to rid the whole world of the [[Chaos Spawn|beasts]] and make it safe for everyone. This took some time, and eventually the Lion got promoted to the top job of ''[[Spiritual Liege|Grand Master]]'' and Luther became his assistant. This is where the cracks had started to show, as many had thought that Luther was on track to gain the position if the Lion had not been discovered, and that Luther was one of the greatest men of his time, only to have been overshadowed by an even greater man due to circumstance.
*It turns out that Luther was indeed named Grand master of the order but when the Lion was nominated for the position he stepped aside. Luther claims that he felt no resentment towards the Lion but seeing as you needed to be both nominated and then voted into the position of Grand Master by your fellow knights that’s got to sting.

Luther became essentially the Lion's public relations expert. Whilst the Lion drew up plans and strategy Luther went out to gather support by wining and dining the planets nobility.
*Given that the people of Caliban have a very knightly theme going on and that they are confirmed to have noble houses then it makes sense that there should be at least one or two Calibanite based Imperial Knight Houses hanging around somewhere on Caliban. Heck the Order itself might have had its own Imperial Knights(Come on forge world you know you want to).

At some point Luther gave his word that the Order would not trespass into the territory of the Knights of Lupus; an old and very traditional knightly order that aggressively opposed the Order and the Lion.

The Order declared war upon the knights of Lupus due to a certain incident that saw the Knights of Lupus slaughter a small band of the Orders rangers because they were apparently too close to their lands. Leaving one left alive so that he could return to the Order with the decapitated remains of his friends.

During the final battle against the Knights of Lupus the Lion would lead a diversionary frontal attack whilst Luther was given the honour of leading the actual attack by attacking their blind spot when they were distracted.

In the end Luther and the Lion end up fighting what is essentially a very big Zombified flightless dragon (the badass Chaos version of a [http://www.beyondthepoint.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Dragon-from-Hroaar-dot-com.jpg medieval-style dragon]). The Lion ends up killing the beast and is cheered by his fellow knights whilst Luther ends up drenched in the creatures foul blood and feeling a bit sorry for himself.

Shortly afterwards the Emperor arrived and brought the [[Imperium]] to Caliban and told the Lion of his heritage and his destiny to lead the [[Dark Angels|First Legion]] on the [[Great Crusade]].

===Great Crusade===
The Lion took many of his Knights with him on this quest and although Luther was too old to become a [[Space Marine]] he was still augmented as much as was practical and was brought along as the second in command. Just like [[Kor Phaeron|another geriatric chucklefuck who raised a Primarch]].

This didn't last long though. Luther inwardly admitted his envy of the Lion and his Astartes brethren, and during a mission to [[Sarosh]] contemplated allowing an enemy nuclear bomb to detonate aboard the Dark Angel's flagship so he could take his rightful place in history. However, he did not follow through with this thought and successfully rescued the flagship and exposed the Saroshi plot.

Because of [[derp|(or despite)]] the Lion's knowledge [[skub|(or lack of)]] about Luther's private doubts, he sent him and [[Fallen Angels|select others]] back to Caliban in order to fortify it and train new Dark Angels for the ongoing crusade.

This is the subject of considerable nerdrage, since it was either seen as an exile for some perceived dishonour or it was part of a [[Just as Planned|greater plan]] to protect the [[Imperium]] (or Caliban) from something that the Lion knew was brewing back on his homeworld but decided not to tell his followers about, just like [[Emperor|his own father]] did with his [[Primarch|sons]]. Or maybe it was because Luther was actively plotting to kill the Lion out of nothing but sheer jealousy, and only changed his mind once he was prodded by [[Zahariel]]. So much for ambiguity. If he just took a moment to pour his heart out to his best friend and speak with him on a personal level ''like an adult'' (looking at you Emps) maybe things would have turned out for the better.

==Exile on Caliban==
Back on Caliban, Luther became heavily dependent upon the [[Librarian]] [[Zahariel]] and the [[Cypher|Lord Cypher]].

Sometime after his exile on Caliban Luther was to respond to a call for aid from the primarch of the Luna Wolves, Horus Lupercal himself. Taking his men and ships he disobeyed the orders given to him by the Lion and fought alongside the likes of Abaddon and Typhus ''(Garviel Loken when he was being interrogated by Luther remembers when Luther and Abaddon competed against each other to see who could get to the objective first).''

He would shock Typhus by revealing that he had Laughed in Abaddon’s face when he had suggested that the Luna Wolves had a greater military background to that of the Dark Angels and the Order. Typhus would then introduce Luther to Erebus who suggested the introduction of the warrior lodges to the ranks of the Dark Angels much to Luther’s amusement.

During the victory celebration the Lion managed to do what no enemy had ever done before; catch Horus by surprise. As if summoned there by the will of some vengeful god the Lion marched into the hall. Luther rose to his feet and tried to explain himself but was silenced by the Lion; Horus spoke up in Luther’s defence but was told in no uncertain terms to shut up. The Lion told Horus that if he wanted victory so badly then it should not have been at the expense of his Dark Angels and that he should instead have used his own sons. Luther then has his fleet taken from him as punishment for disobeying orders and for taking the garrisoned forces away from Caliban.

At this point, something had begun to twist inside Luther and his behaviour became erratic.

Lion El'Jonson had allowed the [[Death World]] of Caliban to become a Terran-administrated industrial world, replacing the forest with factory arcologies. Knights and peasants were replaced with workers. Though most of the planet was still heavily forested, only the areas designated for industrial use, farming and inhabitation were cleared of forest.

With the forests gone and mine shafts digging deep into the planet, bad things were waking up. Luther suspected that the Lion knew about these forces, and that he was planning on [[Exterminatus|destroying the planet]] with the Calibanite Dark Angels on it after the world fueled the imperial war machine all that it could ''(he may be becoming a bit paranoid at this point)'' Still, Luther remained loyal to Johnson until a final discovery pushed him over the brink. The then [[Cypher|Lord Cypher]], that the Lion promoted completely out of the blue over more veteran knights, was actually the only survivor of the Knights of Lupus. The very knights that had realized that as bad as the Beasts were they were seemingly keeping the whatever was buried inside of Caliban from awakening fully as their extensive library, again, that the Lion had ordered preserved out of the blue, seemed to indicate. This was the last straw that cemented the idea that Jonson knew more than he let on ''(that at least was true)'' and wanted to get rid of Caliban in Luther's unhinged mind.

Luther needs to take some of the blame here as all the stuff that went wrong happened under his stewardship. He was in charge of the planet in the Lion’s absence and although he puts all the blame on the Lion for how the planet turned out pretty much all of the decisions regarding Caliban would have had his direct permission and authorization. It may seem a bit conspiratorial but it is possible that despite being an honourable man ''(at least at the beginning)'' who would not break an oath without just cause Luther may have actually subconsciously allowed Caliban to go to hell in order to justify his future actions.

Learning from the Knights of Lupus' collection of dusty tomes about [[Chaos|rituals and incantations]], he uncovered a "plot" where Terran colonists were ''apparently'' attempting to summon a [[Daemon|creature]] called the [[Ouroboros]] onto Caliban. With Zahariel's assistance he broke up this coven and attempted to gain power over the creature for himself. After gaining access to the books from the Knights of Lupus that the Lion had hidden away, he started to dabble in the arcane arts; covering himself in runes and learning how to casts spells in the same manner as a chaos sorcerer. How advanced his studies were exactly is unknown but he was far along enough that he was able to nullify Israfael's psychic assault and resurrect Zahariel. He would even try his hand at summoning daemons, being so happy to succeed on his first time (believing he had achieved power enough to challenge even the Lion) he forgot to finish binding it to his will, allowing the daemon to leave the circle, where to Luther's surprise it took a knee and bowed to him.

Zahariel discovered that the Terran "plot" was actually false, that the Terrans were in fact attempting to banish the Ouroboros instead of summoning it, and that Luther was looking to gain power in an attempt to free Caliban from the oppression of the [[Imperium]]. Needless to say, the Dark Ones were intrigued.

===Turning Traitor===
Later, Luther captured one of [[Malcador]]'s [[Knights-Errant]]: [[Garviel Loken]], who was on Caliban to discover where the exiled Dark Angels loyalties lay, since no contact had been made from them in some time. This would prove to be a turning point, as Luther and his allies had no idea that the [[Horus Heresy]] was taking place around them and had been kept ignorant by the [[Watchers in the Dark]] and one of their Astartes allies ''(whose identity is not explicitly stated, but presumed to be [[Cypher]])'' The Knights-Errant killed a Dark Angel during their escape, which would upset the balance of ignorance that had been maintained and set the Dark Angels on the path for the Fall.

With the help of that snake in the grass '''Astelan''', Luther was able to round up all the Dark Angels on Caliban that would have opposed him and imprison them beneath Aldurukh. During the revolt Luther was able to kill a veteran Dark Angel with little more than a letter opener - Badass for a non-Astartes.

As they prepared to openly announce their secession from the Imperium a fleet led by Belath appeared suddenly above Caliban. Belath had been ordered to come and collect the newly trained Dark Angels and bring them back to the fleet in order to continue the fight against the [[Death Guard]]. Luther persuaded Belath to wait prior to departing in order to throw a grand feast to celebrate this grand occasion ''(anyone who has watched Game of Thrones probably has a good idea where this is going)''. Luther had hoped to turn Belath and his Dark Angels to his side and during the feast he gives an impassioned speech about the evils of the Imperium and how the Emperor and the Lion have abandoned them, all the while having Zahariel and his Librarians ''(now called the Mystai)'' reach into the minds of all those listening to make it easier for them to be manipulated. The plan worked almost too well for Zahariel ''(who was now under the influence of the Ouroboros)'' so he killed Belath claiming he was about to attack Luther. What happens next makes the “Red Wedding” look subtle and downplayed, much to Luther’s dismay and anger.

With the disaster of the feast behind them, Luther and Astelan claimed ownership of the Dark Angels fleet and Astelan agreed to do Luther’s dirty work since Luther needed to be seen as beyond reproach. They planned to expand their power base by “'''Liberating'''” nearby systems from the oppression of the Imperium. As they put their plan into practice they stumbled upon Calas Typhon and what remained of his fleet as they retreated from the relentless pursuit of Corswain.

Upon their reunion Luther welcomed Typhon with open arms and offered Typhon and his fleet a place to recuperate and repair their damaged starships in the Zaramund system. Unbeknownst to Luther, it was at this point that Typhon would begin his tranformation, after being confronted by a group of Nurgle worshiping pilgrims who already referred to him as '''"Great Lord Typhus"''' and beginning a sickening ritual where they started to erupt with infection. The Calibanite captain that was sent to spy on the Death Guard flew into a rage and started hacking the cultists to death and then tried to kill Typhon in front of his Grave Wardens, though at that time Typhus what completely oblivious to any change and couldn't figure out what had driven the Dark Angel to get so mad and try and kill him. During the fight although the Calibanite was able to inflict a seeming mortal wound on Typhon, the injuries the Dark Angel inflicted were only the catalyst for ''Typhon's'' final tranformation, then ''Typhus'' was able to defeat his opponent. Afterwards, asking what his own Grave Wardens had seen, they had witnessed nothing other than a Dark Angel hacking apart civilians and then trying to assassinate their Captain. To avoid further incident '''Typhus''' would then quietly leave the Zaramund system, leaving Luther completely nonplussed.

Typhus would present Luther with a weapon, a blade of horrific power, and instruction him that to complete his destiny (that would forever bind him to the ruinous powers) he would need to wield the blade to make a sacrifice. Luther would be tempted to complete the bargain by using it on Corswain when he turned up on Caliban looking for any loyal reinforcements he could bring with him on his way to Terra, but couldn't bring himself to slay such a noble son of Caliban. In a flashback to his duel with the Lion, the blade is shown driven deep into the Lion's midsection; Luther admits that although he used the blade he did "not kill" the Lion.

At some point before the Lion's return, fighting broke out on the surface between those loyal to the Lion and those loyal to Luther. “Angels of Darkness” tells us that apparently (remember this is Astelan here) agents of the Lion retook the fleet above Caliban, which resulted in the ships crashing into the planet’s surface, burning its atmosphere and turning the earth to ash with only the great shields protecting the Order's fortress-monasteries saving them from destruction.

===The Fall of Caliban===
When the Lion returned to Caliban after the Horus Heresy had finished, he found a world that despised him and the Imperium and a war took place which cracked the very core of the planet, leaving nothing but [[The Rock|fragments]].

According to the legend, Luther had been empowered by the Dark Gods and was now an equal for the Lion. This is where the lion is again the Emprahs mini me. The Lion could not bring himself to strike down Luther and that hesitation was monopolised by Luther who psychically struck him down, though in a final moment he realised his error and broke down in tears.

When the Dark Angels descended upon the site of the battle, they could not find the body of their Primarch, the only clue was given by the now-insane Luther, who had said that the [[Watchers in the Dark]] had taken the Lion away.

==41st Millenium==
Luther is still alive 10,000 years later, kept in a cell at the heart of [[The Rock]] known only to the [[Azrael|Supreme Grand Master]] of the Dark Angels and his predecessors. The cell can only be unlocked using the Sword of Secrets and it is the duty of the holder of that blade to coerce Luther to admit to his crimes against their Primarch and the Imperium. Luther is old, especially for a man not blessed with being a full Space Marine. He is older than the fungus growing under your grandfather's toenails. Older than the pill line at a nursing home. Older than the rancid bacon I found in the back of my refrigerator last night. As such when he is not being interrogated by the Dark Angels Supreme Grand Master, he is kept in stasis to preserve what little life he has left. In the Legacy of Caliban novel series, Azrael comments as to the strict time limit he has to question the old coot for fear he'll give up the ghost before he can finish a sentence. He also remarks as to how difficult this is thanks to Ole Luther being nuttier than an unwanted fruitcake on Christmas eve. Did I mention he is old? (they probably should let the guy sleep outside of stasis for a good 8 hours. The lack of sleep is prob what's driven the guy nuts. How many hours of sleep in 10000 years do you think they let him have?)

Suffice to say that no Supreme Grand Master has succeeded in getting Luther to repent. Though during some of his interrogations, Luther has been of great help to his erstwhile kin, leading them to recover lost fragments of lore and technology hidden within the country sized bulk that is The Rock. Examples being the recovery of the STC for the Nephilim Jet Fighter. Luther's "help" can be fickle at best as most of what he utters are the lunatic ravings and riddles of a man off his ass on ether. He is convinced that the [[Advancing the Storyline|time is nigh]] when The Lion will return to forgive him of his sins and is quite adamant about this to his jailers. A point which causes no small amount of consternation to his attending Supreme Grand Master.

Luther's personal 'The First of the Fallen' novel reveals that Luther is not really in a stasis field, but is halted in time by the Watchers in the Dark. The maddening effects of his dealings with Chaos forces have left his mind in a less than ideal state (sometimes voicing "other" voices, threats, promises, bargains or other unearthly sounds, including demonic laughter), with himself admitting, in his more lucid moments, that his words should be treated as a unreliable source, as even his memory's are confused and sometimes conflict with each other. The one thing that stands out crystal clear is his observation at the gradual degradation of the Dark Angels, with each encounter with new Masters becoming harsher and more extreme (he straight up tells them that the Lion would be ashamed of them). Only Azrael has surprised Luther; Luther even suspects that it was Azrael himself who left Luther unfrozen, and with the door left wide open for him to leave; what Azrael is planning is yet to be revealed, but he has long desired to bring the hunt to an end, and get the Dark Angels back on track.

As of 8th Edition, an attack by the Fallen led by the Fallen daemon prince Marbas has allowed Luther to disappear from his cell. Azrael is naturally very concerned about what this might mean but has to keep the information to himself, considering that no-one else knew Luther was alive. Now reports are coming in that a gathering of the Fallen is massing in the Nihilus Sector, assembling in ''"numbers enough to bring the entire galaxy to heel"'' and Azrael is the only one who suspects the truth of who is leading them. It will be fun to see whether Luther is even sane enough to lead ten thousand Fallen in the first place, whether Chaos will let his marked soul walk around, and what the Lion will say to him when GeeDubs is finally ready to make his model and rules.

There is, however, a notable discrepancy in Luther's apparent break-out. According to pg. 25 of the Dark Angels' 9E Codex Supplement, Azrael found that Luther's cell had been blasted into and visibly damaged during Marbas' invasion. But in ''First of the Fallen'', Luther saw that the door had simply been left open and walked out on his own, sounds of fighting in the distance but no one waiting outside the cell. And the book ends right there, with nary a daemon-prince or hooded traitor in sight. So either Luther completely imagined his "escape", Thorpe wasn't talking to the writers at GW, or there's something else going on here. Given that Luther's final memory/prophecy (the "Tale of the Heart") was about him venturing into the foundations of Aldurukh as a child, there's a possible implication that somebody let him out... and he never left the fortress-monastery at all.

Despite Azrael's suspicions of what awaits the Dark Angels in the Sommnium Stars, Luther might even now be wandering around in the deepest, darkest levels of the Rock, slowly coming closer and closer to the chamber at its very heart...

==Trivia==
"Luther" is probably named for the monk '''Martin Luther''' (Not Martin Luther King Jr., who was himself named after the monk), who was one of the founders of the Protestant denomination. This is very significant to the Dark Angels' themes of Forgiveness and Repentance, as Martin Luther advocated that salvation was earned through faith alone and not through penitence or confession and decried the Catholic Church as corrupt. Though well-intentioned, the Reformation resulted in the splintering of Christianity on a scale not seen since the schism between the Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, and some very messy conflicts.

When applied to 40k, many of the Fallen find justification for what they do and will not repent willingly, thus making it ever more difficult to make them see the error of their ways. Likewise, the conflict between the Fallen and the Loyalists often mimics the past conflict between Catholic and Protestants (real-life being less prone to Grimdark, Catholics and Protestants don't actively kill each other these days, though there are plenty of members of either side who cheerfully despise their opposite numbers), being that both were nominally of the same faith, yet of different minds about it.

{{Marines-Characters}}
{{Template:Chaos-Marines}}

[[Category:Chaos]]
[[Category:Dark Angels]]
[[Category:Fallen Angels]]

Fallen Angels

2022-03-04T12:51:58Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Further Analysis */

{{Heresy}}
[[File:FallenHeader.jpg|center|600px|]]
{{Infobox Traitor Legion
|Name = The Fallen
|Heraldry = [[Image:Fallen angel.jpg|250px]]
|Battle Cry = Unknown
|Successors of = Dark Angels
|Successor Chapters = None
|Chapter Master = Originally Luther, now ''possibly'' [[Cypher]]
|Primarch = [[Lion El'Jonson]]
|Original Homeworld = [[Caliban]], [[Terra]]
|Current Homeworld = Various/none
|Champion = ''possibly'' either [[Cypher]] or Luther.
|Specialty = Evading/trolling the Unforgiven
|Strength = Potentially thousands ''(Luther had ~45,000 on Caliban during the Horus Heresy)''
|Allegiance = Various (see below)
|Colours = Pre-Heresy Dark Angel black}}
REQUESTING DATA ACCESS, security_clearance: '''INQUISITOR'''. Processing...

''Database error #0754339867'', access: DENIED

''Greetings Inquisitor Yzaguirre, the information which you are attempting to access is classified and may no longer exist. Your service record and citizen number have been logged and recorded, any further interest in this subject on your behalf may result in the unfortunate early termination of your career.''

REQUESTING DATA ACCESS, security_clearance: '''INNER_CIRCLE'''. Processing...

Adeptus Astartes DNA ''confirmed'', scanning... chapter: [[Disciples of Caliban]], rank: Company Master, access: GRANTED

''Welcome son of Lion El'Jonson, here is the latest intel on the movements of the Fallen ones. As always this information is'' FOR THE EYES OF THE UNFORGIVEN ONLY ''and takes precedence over all other duties, no matter how urgent. For the Emperor and the Lion!

Exloading datasquirt...

The '''Fallen Angels''' are renegade members of the [[Dark Angels]] Legion who turned on [[Lion El'Jonson]] during the [[Horus Heresy]]. They have a thousand contradictory stories and a thousand contradictory motivations, from full on Chaos worship to acting on Luthor's lies to political shenanigans. To those Dark Angels who know of their existence, they are simply known as "the Fallen".

==History of The Fallen==
[[Image:Casting a shadow.jpg|250px|left|]]
Okay, so after the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor]] found [[Caliban]], Lion was made commander of the Dark Angels, and they began recruiting from Caliban's population, including taking on many of the Knights that served in the Order with Lion, amongst whom was his friend and mentor [[Luther]]. After some time had passed in the [[Great Crusade]], a cadre of 500 Astartes made up of a mixture of both Calibanite and Terran Dark Angels were relegated to garrison duty on Caliban while Lion went off and fought in the Crusade with the larger bulk of his legion. This apparently caused no small amount of discontent among the garrisoned Angels, many of whom were once high ranking [[Chapter Master]]s and [[Brother-Captain|Captains]] who were now under the command of Luther, who was not even a Space Marine. In addition, Luther and many others felt abandoned by their Primarch or they felt that the old Calibanite way of life was being eradicated by the takeover of the Imperium. For their part, the Terran Dark Angels saw the Calibanites clinging to old traditions and oaths, ''noting that, amongst other things, instead of swearing "For the Emperor", they would swear "For Caliban"'', and saw them as being insubordinate. [[Chaos]] was quick to take advantage of their resentment and convinced them to betray their [[Primarch]].

Over the course of the Horus Heresy, the garrisoned Dark Angels had no idea that the galaxy was at war around them; this was partly because events on Caliban, such as noble uprisings and daemonic cults, prevented them from looking outwards, but also because Luther had taken control of planetary communications and [[Cypher]] was doing his best to keep Luther either [[Skub|distracted OR prepared]] for something ''(the jury is still out on that one)'', so Luther wasn't paying enough attention until some [[Knights-Errant]] showed up to determine his loyalties, which accidentally let the cat out of the bag.

By mid-Heresy, Luther had enlarged the garrison up to a sizable force, all trained in the traditions of the old ''Order of Caliban'', managing to reduce training cycles for new Astartes from eight years down to an optimal 24 months ''(two years)'' and seemingly could produce around 5000 marines per cycle. As of the time Luther and Zahariel become aware of the Ouroboros, Luther cancels further deployment of these marines until further notice. When Belath comes to collect them whilst the [[Horus Heresy]] was in full swing, Luther has a force of around 45,000 warriors on Caliban ''(Belath came with enough transports for 30,000 men, then Astelan points out that it would leave less than half that number on Caliban)'' plus the six or more Fortress-Fleets that were scattered around the Imperium, of which ''at least'' one was loyal to Luther prior to his declaration of independence.

At some point after the Siege of [[Earth|Terra]] and the long aftermath referred to as the ''Scouring'', Lion El'Jonson returned to Caliban, and the Dark Angels garrison opened fire on his fleet. Heading to their fortress-monastery, Lion fought Luther in single combat whilst the Dark Angels continued their orbital bombardment. Unfortunately, Caliban was never really tectonically stable, and the force of the bombardment caused the planet to break apart... somehow. The only thing to survive was the fortress-monastery. By the time Lion's loyalists got in, Luther was [[Chaos Spawn|a gibbering wreck]] and Lion was nowhere to be seen. The garrisoned Dark Angels were apparently thrown through the [[Warp]] and scattered across the stars. Ever since, the Dark Angels have hunted for the Fallen Angels to restore their honor in the eyes of the Emperor.

However, things are a bit more complicated than that...

===Further Analysis===
[[Image:Fallen-angel.jpg|250px|right|]]
It has been shown that not all of the fallen angels are followers of [[Chaos]], which makes an awful lot of sense, because frankly, given what they had to grow up with, no child of Caliban is likely to be enticed by anything with the stink of chaos around it (Luther being the exception due to his feelings of immense betrayal and that his exposure to chaos was through reading a bunch of naughty books, rather than a more overt vector). Furthermore, many (possibly even most) of them regret their Heresy-era actions and realize that they were wrong; these members of the Fallen have gone into exile and try to blend into the local population and live a "normal" life, although quite how a seven-foot tall post-human with enough muscle to tear a bear limb from limb and the external ports from his Black Carapace poking through his skin is supposed to just "blend in" with anyone outside of the [[Blackshield|Deathwatch]] is anyone's guess.

[[File:Fallen angels.jpg|250px|thumb|right|A rare sighting of three fallen angels working together]]

Not only that, but the Fallen were said to be fighting among themselves before the Lion even arrived in orbit; as mentioned previously, many of the Terran legionnaires (and some Calibanite Dark Angels too) were uncomfortable with the way that Luther was comporting himself and tried to get a message out to Terra or the Lion to inform them of what was happening to their planet. They managed to amass a force of several thousand Astartes and tried to storm one of the astropathic relays but were double-crossed by one of the First Legionnaires, '''Astelan''', ''a guy who was one of the first 5000 space marines EVER and remembered the [[Thunder Warriors]]'', who sought his own advancement and was unhappy with the way that the Lion commanded the legion that "used" to be mostly his before the Lion showed up. These Imperial-Loyalist forces were all rounded up and placed into dungeons underneath the Rock. Which is kinda strange since Astelan had to have known there was no chance in Hell of winning against the Lion and his fleet. So, he'd lose everything. On the bright side [[Noblebright|maybe those loyalists ironically survived the destruction of Caliban due to being imprisoned deep within/under the Fortress Monestary, getting the last laugh when their brothers freed them.]] It's also possible those "Fallen" who were actually loyalists that appear are where those mysteriously appearing Chapters of the First Legion come from.
*It is a testament to Astelan's over-bloated sense of self-worth that he believes the Dark Angels would be better off under his command, especially considering that despite being one of the first 5000 Astartes ever created he did not rise to the position of chapter master until after the Lion took control of the legion. His attitude towards the Lion and the newer Dark Angels is very similar to that of the Custodians in ''Master of Mankind'', viewing all those that came after as below him; after all, he was one of the first, and was directly commanded by the Emperor in person; why should he take orders from a lesser being? He is very much a mercenary at heart, and as long as you remain the biggest kid on the playground then he will be your best friend, but as soon as an even bigger kid shows up you can bet that Astelan will do what is best for Astelan.
*In his defense though, things only really turned sour when he actually tried to uphold the initial values of the Great Crusade as set forth by Big.E. (i.e. integrate lost human civilizations into the Imperium instead of [[exterminatus|bombing them into oblivion with extreme prejudice]]) and a Caliban-born Dark Angel, Belath, manipulated events so the planet had to be [[rape|forcefully subdued]] and (insult to injury) made him look incompetent in the process. Doesn't excuse his actions after that, but it does give him a reason as to why he believed Johnson & co were just self-serving opportunists waiting to see who'd win during the Heresy.

Therefore as the Heresy has progressed several different factions of Dark Angels emerged:
:*The [[Dark Angels]] who follow the [[Lion_El'Jonson|Lion]], either accompanying him to [[Imperium Secundus]] on the far side of the Galaxy, or who are accompanying his Paladin Corswain on the other side of the Ruinstorm.
:*The [[Dark Angels]] who were on [[Caliban]] and remained loyal to the [[Lion_El'Jonson|Lion]] and [[God-Emperor_of_Mankind|the Emperor]], but who were ambushed and imprisoned beneath [[the Rock]].
:*The ''Order'', who rejects their Primarch and Emperor, who follow [[Luther]] and yearn for a return to the glory days of a free and independent Caliban regardless of whether Horus or the Emperor win the Heresy. To ensure Caliban’s “freedom and glory” Luther and the Order decided it would be a good idea to expand upon their power base by conquering… did I say conquering? I meant '''liberating''' all the nearby inhabited systems thus bringing them under Luther’s command. But you know, conquering and subjugating entire populations in order to accelerate your own personal agenda is only a bad thing when the Imperium does it; when the Order takes control of your home by military force it’s all in the name of “freedom”… yeah, this is not going to end well. (This would also make the Dark Angels' big secret a lot worse; if in their rage and grief they had to “'''deal'''” with these renegade systems that had knowledge of what had happened on Caliban… just think about it). Luther would later encounter Typhon in the Zaramund system, which gives further support to the idea that the Fallen's influence was no longer confined to one planet, but was, in fact spreading out over multiple systems. As the Heresy raged around them Luther and his buddies were busy carving out their own anti-imperium galactic empire (no wonder the Dark Angels at the time freaked out and tried to cover the whole thing up).
:*The ''First'' who follow '''Astelan''', who reject the Lion as an unworthy liege but at least put lip service to the idea that the Emperor is their true master. At the current point in the storyline, Astelan supports Luther out of political convenience. (Not all the "First" follow Astelan; many sided with the Lion and are imprisoned with the others beneath the Rock.)
:*[[Zahariel]]'s ''Mystai'', who have secretly fallen under the influence of the [[Ouroboros]] and want to see it freed from its prison buried within Caliban. Closet Chaos worshippers even if they don't realise it yet.
:*The Watchers, and the (possibly former/deceased) Lord Cypher, who have their own agenda that no other faction really knows about, but who know the truth about Chaos and the Ouroboros and want to keep it contained.
:*The current Cypher (who may or may not be Zahariel), whose motives are a complete mystery.

Over the years, some of the captured Fallen have claimed that it was Lion El'Jonson who was the traitor and took his sweet time to get to Terra, implying that Lion El'Jonson was trying to wait and see who would win the civil war and side with the victor. This is probably the Fallen lying, as they would have no way of knowing what the Lion was actually doing at all, considering he and his Legion would have been scattered across the Galaxy and never called home to see how things were going. The Lion certainly had reason to be displeased with the Emperor ''([[Horus]] correctly suspected that he resented not being chosen as Warmaster, as he was the "First" [[Primarch]] as well as the Primarch most renowned for his [[Creed|tactical genius]])'', however the consensus viewpoint amongst fa/tg/uys seems to be that these are just the ramblings of tortured Fallen repeating lies told to them by Luther and that the Lion's ABSOLUTE LOYALTY remains intact. Whatever the truth is, only the Emperor knows, and he isn't talking. Mostly because [[Horus]] ripped out his tongue and his vocal cords have faded to dust, but that's beside the point. The book ''Fallen Angels'' did note that El'Jonson supplied [[Perturabo]] with extra siege weaponry before the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V in exchange for the Iron Lord supporting him as the new Warmaster when Horus was slain. He didn't realize that the [[Iron Warriors]] were traitors until it was too late. Similarly, one confrontation between the Lion and [[Konrad Curze]] ended with the latter correctly predicting that the Lion's attempts at pursuing him and the [[Night Lords]] would be used against him as evidence of his disloyalty. Which, in usual Grimdark fashion, makes sense only to the most retarded of trolls. Since most people reading this know that fighting against a traitor legion (while sending most of his legion to fight other traitor legions) is not going to be seen as disloyalty. What is he supposed to do? ''Not'' fight the traitors? On top of that, while everyone else was being rapidly pushed back by the traitor legions, Lion was rapidly ''retaking'' traitor-conquered territory. From an outside perspective, Horus's rush to Terra could be viewed as him [[Awesome|running away from the Lion]].

However, the rantings of the captured Fallen Angels when they accuse the Lion, the Imperium or each other of misdeeds has to be taken with copious amounts of salt:
# They cannot be represented as a picture of the whole truth, especially in that there were Loyalist-Fallen & Traitor-Fallen fighting EACH OTHER on Caliban before the Lion showed up, so they do not represent the views of a unified group.
# Many Fallen are simply liars who will say anything to protect their own skins. '''Astelan''' in particular is now ''confirmed'' to be a liar and that he is as culpable a traitor as any other (just not a capital T Traitor; he's disgusted by Chaos) despite his protests in 40k that he was actually a loyal subject of the Emperor ''(if not the Lion)''.

There are even reports that some members of the Fallen may be [[Alpha Legion|Closet Loyalists]] attempting to subvert Chaos from within by drawing the Dark Angels' attention to where it is needed most only to disappear once the Dark Angels arrive leaving them free to battle the true threat to the Imperium, [[just as planned]]. Although, [[Derp|this does come at the cost of fluffing ''against'' the Unforgiven's habit of ignoring everything or abandoning wars just to hunt down even a single Fallen]]. But leaving the Fallen to focus on the real threat ''does'' fit with the Lion's knightly everything. He was secretive, not disloyal or prone to putting his honor above his duty nor shying away from punishment. That same behavior would make sense for his sons (and does show in a way with Azrael and the Unforgiven standing down when Guilliman shows up, ready to accept extermination without even trying to defend themselves).

Amongst the known Fallen Angels the most famous is [[Cypher]] whom [[Games Workshop]] just gave a dataslate full of AWESOME AND WIN. Check this shit out, the only guy with a BS of 10! He's more of a sniper than a sniper!

It is also highly possible that the Death Watch commander Israfil (the only Black Shield commander in the history of Death Watch named in lore) was in fact the Fallen ex-Chief Librarian Israfael (the one who recognized [[Zahariel]] was a psyker); this suspicion is fed not only by their similar names, but also by the strange death of Israfil during a xenocidal campaign which also involved Dark Angels forces and the inability to recover his body.

Some other Fallen decided to make the most of their shit sandwich and pledged themselves to Chaos. Among these were an Astartes named Vortigern and his Lost Lions warband, who joined the Black Legion when it was in its infancy. Vortigern became part of its ruling council, the Ezekarion, and it's partly down to him that they're still intact. When the First Battle of Cadia saw the Black Legion caught between the Black Templars and a surprise attack by a heap of Nine Legions ships, Vortigern was the first to get a decent number of Black Legion vessels to safety.

In summary: There are the guys who followed Lion directly (loyalist), the guys who wanted to do that but were imprisoned on the Rock (loyalist), Luther's non-Chaos Calibanite Separatists (lowercase t traitor), Astelan's group (itself further divided to those who backed up Luther out of convenience and those imprisoned with the Lion followers) (members loyalist, leaders lowercase t traitor), Zahariel's unwitting Ouroboros puppets (capital T Chaos Traitor), Cypher (who knows) and survivors of Luther's group who joined Chaos to make the best of what they had (capital T Chaos Traitor). In the 42nd millenium, Zahariel and Astelan's groups are extinct and any remaining seperatists are either helping mankind, if not the Imperium (or at least the Imperial Government), undercover or have joined Chaos fully. Luther also woke up and is said to be gathering them for an unknown purpose. Everyone else are modern Dark Angels and successors in the Unforgiven, some Dark Angels sucessors who are not in the Unforgiven due to diplomatic fractures but are loyalists, Dark Angels and sucessors who have fallen after Luther's treachery and are thus ordinary heretics and finally Cypher again.

===What counts as Fallen?===
[[File:Fallen DAMarine.jpg|300px|thumb|right|The Unforgiven have no mercy for the fallen, regardless of their origins.]]
While the Unforgiven put all of their focus on hunting their wayward brethren, there is an important distinction between "true" Fallen and just another traitorous space marine. In '''Pandorax''', one of the major villains is a [[Chaos Space Marine|renegade]] [[Consecrators]] Space Marine, who refers to himself as Fallen and has even had contact with [[Cypher]].

Once he was caught, he refused to be broken and repent in the dungeons of the Rock and claimed that he would escape if they did not kill him. To which [[Azrael]] & [[Asmodai]] laughed in his face. (YES, '''ASMODAI''' ACTUALLY LAUGHED!) Then they told him that the "true Fallen" were led unknowingly by Luther into rebellion and can still be saved if they repent, while ''his'' descent into heresy was his own fault and he was not led astray, finding [[Chaos]] because of his own selfish desires whatever they may have been. So Dark Angels simply consider other more recent [[Chaos Space Marine|renegades]] as traitors [[grimdark|worthy of only death]].

So they decapitate him.

The latest codex supplement (9ed) for the Dark Angels reveals that some Fallen warbands have replenished their casualties and created new space marines to join their ranks. Apparently, some of those marines involved in recruitment on Caliban made it off planet and picked up where they left off. The present Dark Angels consider these "new" Fallen to be just as legitimate as those who were present on Caliban and will treat them the same as their older brothers.

==Ophidium Gulf Crusade incident==

The precise details of this incident are somewhat sketchy, not being helped by the fact that Games Workshop have released [[derp|several seemingly conflicting versions of the event]]. What they all agree upon however is that the [[Black Templar]] [[Imperial_Navy#Cruiser|Strike Cruiser]] ''Ophidium Gulf'' disappeared in mysterious circumstances shortly after making contact with a larger Dark Angel force and taking captive a Fallen Angel in a "joint" operation. Initially reluctant to comply with the Dark Angels' demand to hand over their prisoner, they realise that the Dark Angels aren't messing about when their ships start powering up their weapons and, greatly outmatched, are left with no choice but to relent. After handing over the prisoner they make a single astropathic communication on way to the system jump point but are never heard from again, the implication being that the Dark Angels ambushed them to prevent the secret of The Fallen from becoming public. Which is stupid of the Dark Angels. Everyone would assume that Cypher was the only renegade Dark Angel and would shrug off the threat delivered to the Black Templar ship as the Dark Angels protecting their honor by wanting to be the ones to deal with the traitor(?) to their <s>Legion</s> CHAPTER, FOR THE DARK ANGELS AND THEIR SUCCESSORS ARE DEVOUT FOLLOWERS OF GUILLIMAN'S CODEX! Instead, their actions blew the whole thing out of proportion.

There are several interesting notes we can take from this:

*This is the first (known) time that any chapter outside of the Unforgiven has had contact with the Fallen; the Black Templars immediately realized that the individual was an [[Space Marine|Astartes]] however they chose to take him prisoner rather than execute him as a heretic giving some credence to reports that not all Fallen are Chaos worshipers.

*In the story as told in White Dwarf 312, the Fallen taken prisoner is none other than Cypher, who remarks upon seeing the Templars "You are not the lapdogs of the Lion... how curious"; the Templars agree to meet the Dark Angels at a pre-arranged point for a prisoner transfer but are never heard from again afterwards and Cypher mysteriously and inexplicably vanishes from his cell, thus proving he is [[awesome]]! Other versions of the story have the prisoner as wearing ancient [[Power_armor#Mark_I:_Thunder_Armour|Mark 1 Power Armour]] and seemingly being rescued by other Fallen masquerading as Dark Angels before the real Dark Angels presumably turn up to destroy the ''Ophidium Gulf'' to stop the story leaking out.

*When the Unforgiven say that they're willing to do ''anything'' to keep their secret safe, they're not kidding; murdering brother Astartes is pretty fucked up by the moral compass of most loyalist Chapters, for the Dark Angels however it's not something which they will hesitate to do or agonize about later as long as they keep their secret safe and "honour" intact. In fact, it's probably not too big a stretch to say that no other loyalist Chapter is as close to being excommunicated from the Imperium as the First Legion and it may even have already been so were they not tolerated due to their strength and importance.

*The Black Templars have not forgotten about this incident, and have strong suspicions as to the eventual fate of their battle brothers; despite their apparent mutual affinity for entering battle dressed in robes, the Dark Angels (whom were already regarded with suspicion by the Templars' for their rampant secrecy) are now openly distrusted even more than the Templars distrust any Chapter who aren't sons of [[Rogal Dorn]], which is saying a lot as the Templars distrust pretty much everyone anyway. Seeing as how the Templars are well above Chapter strength, could probably count on support from the [[Space Wolves]] who are also above Codex strength (though how above both are is a matter of debate) and whose not-so-friendly rivalry ''(depending on which codex you read)'' with the sons of Lion El'Johnson has on occasion spilled into open conflict, we could make the supposition that if the combined Unforgiven (the Dark Angels and whichever successors they call in) weren't impressively powerful then the Templars and Space Vikings might have tired of waiting for the [[Inquisition]] to dig up the Dark Angels secrets and taken matters into their own hands. The Dark Angels sure do like making powerful enemies! They also requested that the Inquisition make a formal investigation, which has been indefinitely suspended after the Inquisitor in charge of the investigation "disappeared". Though, since they were trying to levy accusations of betrayal against 1) a Legion, 2) a Legion who is the ''master'' of '''every other Legions' specialties''' and 3) has no fluff saying they don't still use the Dark Age and Strife technology the Emperor gave them including things that fuck reality and '''''enslaved Men of Iron''''' it's safe to say that the Imperium may well have gotten rid of that Inquisitor just to avoid pissing off the Dark Angels. Oh, and the fact the Emperor gave the First Legion technologies specifically capable of and intended for ''killing everyone in the galaxy so humanity could expand across a clean slate'' in case the Great Crusade failed. '''Don't Fuck With Them.'''

*A recent event (as in its form the new Iyanden supplement) reveals Dark Angels only seem to care about the Imperium finding out their little secret, as a similar event happened when Iyanden was fighting a chaos mini-empire ruled by a Fallen. Only here the Dark Angels didn't hunt down and kill the Eldar (granted it may be due to their use of the Webway). Meaning they're more willing to trust and work with Xeno Scum than Imperial forces, except that the Inquisition are a rightfully feared threat to ANY space marine chapter. Of course, it's not like the Eldar are going to tell anyone in the Imperium (or be believed if they did) or would even understand the concept, or know about the Dark Angel paranoia. Of course seeing how the Eldar only turned him over because they've read their minds... (It's implied that the Eldar let them take the Fallen, because they knew he would suffer more at the hands of the Dark Angels. Grimdark.) The Eldar mind-reading may or may not have also seen the aforementioned Dark Age and Long Night technologies the First Legion has and decided not to give them a reason to erase Iyanden.

*Strangely however, the Ophidium Gulf Incident isn't mentioned in later editions nor has it been expanded upon since. In fact, it seems to have been retcon'd out. Between the Battle of Piscina IV (997.M41), the Third War for Armageddon (998.M41), and the events of ''Master of Sanctity''/''The Unforgiven'' (999.M41), the Dark Angels chapter wouldn't have any Battle Barges or Strike Cruiser Squadrons anywhere near the Ophidium Gulf during the supposed Incident (also 998.M41). Oh, and in ''Master of Sanctity'', Cypher - who I'll remind you, was the Fallen captive at Ophidium - just walks right up to the Dark Angels anyway ''to deliver a warning'', meaning he would have little reason to run away at Ophidium. So... ''who the fuck were the Dark Angels who attacked the Ophidium Gulf?'' It seems some dickery is afoot...

Ironically in the recent Fallen comic series, the Dark Angels strike force commander, Captain Seraphus, is insistent on his refusal to fire on the Grey Knights & Inquisitorial vessels, helmed by Justicar Leofric and Inquisitor Sabbathiel, in Calaphrax Cluster in M41 when the latter demand permission to board and investigate the Dark Angels for signs of heresy (whether his refusal to shoot is either out of knowledge that doing so is heretical suicide despite the Dark Angels battlebarge' superior size and firepower or due to the distaste of shooting fellow loyalists is up to debate). In the other hand, he was more than willing to dispatch a boarding party led by Veliath while they are distracted by a battle with Iron Warriors to board the Inquisitor's vessel and discern if she knew too much and if she must be "dealt with" appropriately. So, he probably just didn't want to attack fellow Astartes but didn't give a damn about killing everyone else if necessary.

==Grey Knights==
More than any other Chapter, the Dark Angels and the Unforgiven fear what would happen if the [[Grey Knights]] should become involved with a hunt for the Fallen Angels. Making Inquisitors or even fellow Space Marines "disappear" or "dying due to battle circumstances we couldn't have prevented" is one thing. Trying to do the same to Space Marines from a Chapter designed to fight and kill [[Daemon]]s? Near suicidal, even by 40k standards.

However, as revealed in the novel ''Pandorax'', it's irrelevant. When the [[Black Legion]] attempted to open an ancient warp portal the Grey Knights were sent to the planet Pythos in order to seal the breach and deal with the demonic incursion, Supreme Grand Master Draigo was unable to wait for reinforcements from among his own forces due to his Chapter being scattered around the Imperium in response to a myriad of daemonic threats, instead he opted to enact an old oath sworn to the Grey Knights by the Dark Angels.

[[Azrael]] had initially refused to honour the pact, considering it to be tantamount to blackmail. His mind was soon changed when Draigo revealed an interesting nugget of information gleaned from interrogating a Traitor Astartes prisoner who revealed that he knew about Traitor Space Marines the Dark Angels had captured and now kept up on [[the Rock]]. Draigo was well aware that the Dark Angels would go to great lengths to protect their secrets and although he was unaware of the reasons why they would have such a vested interest in those imprisoned beneath the Rock he could still make an informed guess as to the nature of those secrets.

It was not the possible knowledge of the Fallen that had motivated Azrael and his chapter, but rather the Grey Knight's knowledge of the methods employed by the Dark Angels to keep their secrets hidden, that ultimately ensured they honoured the ancient pact struck with the Grey Knights. And so the leader of the Dark Angels committed his entire Chapter to the Pandorax campaign, operational superiority the Grey Knight’s sole concession in exchange for cooperation. Though they were nominally allies, the relationship between the two Chapters had always been fractious, never spilling over into confrontation but coming near on more than one occasion. Being forced to operate so closely together would put that to the test once again, more so in light of the circumstances of their alliance.

Several times in the book, Draigo warns Azrael that the Dark Angels will not interfere in his operations, or he will go straight to the [[High Lords of Terra]] and tell the High Lords about what the Dark Angels are doing. Azrael considers the threat so real that he commits the ''entire'' Dark Angels chapter (over nine hundred Astartes and nearly one hundred Neophyte Scouts) to the threat. However, that being said, let's be real here: for all the weight the word of the Grey Knights and Draigo's in particular may carry, the chances of the High Lords taking any meaningful action against a First Founding chapter are miniscule, and the Dark Angels are the '''FIRST''' of the First Founding, which only increases the un-likelihood. Many would likely see such actions as defying the will of the Emperor himself, and they wouldn't be unjustified for believing so. The only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn is that Draigo is [[TTS|high on narcotics]].

So yes, the Grey Knights ''"should"'' already be aware of the touchy history of Caliban, but for all intents and purposes, they don't care or haven't actually figured out what it all means yet, and to be fair, for all the memes, the Dark Angels are able to keep secrets in a way that even the Alpha Legion could admire. Kaldor Draigo never actually claimed to know about the Fallen or about what happened on Caliban. In fact at the end of the Pandorax campaign, Draigo is seen screaming in Azrael's face demanding to know who these mysterious prisoners are and why the Dark Angels are so interested in them. Though to Azrael's credit, he ''actually'' doesn't have a clue why Draigo is so upset, since the Dark Angels didn't actually know about the particular Fallen Angel in question, who turned out to be an [[Zahariel#Not_Cypher.3F_If_then_Who.3F|original]] Grey Knight Founder and was kidnapped by [[Abaddon]] instead.

At the end of the day (or the Imperium, as fluff would have it) it's hilarious. In a [[grimdark]] laugh-or-you'll-cry sort of way. But also almost justified, as the Inquisition have ex-communicated [non-First Founding] chapters for less before.

==Who knows what?==
At the close of the 41st Millennium, the Changeling managed to worm its way on to the Rock and unleash some prisoners, nearly reaching Luther's own cell before being repelled by one of the [[Watchers in the Dark]], then was later banished by [[Azrael]], [[Ragnar Blackmane]], and [[Arvann Stern]]. Though the prisoners and their specific natures were not seen by the outsiders, parts of the dungeons were, though the Grey Knights knew about them anyway. The fact that several prisoners escaped no doubt set the Dark Angel's Hunt back several centuries at the very least, considering how rare it is to capture one of them.

With the current state of the Imperium, members of the Fallen have been publicly outed by appearing on Terra in the company of a freshly reborn [[Roboute Guilliman]] and would have been viewed ''(marching alongside the Grey Knights no less)'' by the teeming masses of humanity. Though what this means is mostly a matter for conjecture, since very few people ever get to see Space Marines in the flesh and not be destroyed by them; they might have just assumed they were [[Ravenwing|normal Dark Angels]] [[Consecrators|wearing]] [[Angels of Vengeance|black]]. In any case, without specific knowledge of the Fallen ''(or the Grey Knights for that matter)'' the space marines in the company of the first Primarch the Imperium has seen in about eight thousand years would probably have been relegated to a side-show or a curious talking point.

More significant is the fact that said Fallen Angels were arrested by the [[Adeptus Custodes]] on the orders of Guilliman at the arrival to the doors of the throne room, and were placed in a Custodian prison that no-one had ever escaped from, though [[Troll|Cypher escapes in the following sentence]]. These prisoners would undoubtedly have tales to tell, though over a hundred years later, '''nothing seems to have come of it''', and the Dark Angels were reinforced with [[Primaris Marines]] in the [[Ultima Founding]], new Chapters were raised using their Gene-Seed, and they were permitted to keep their [[Deathwing]] and [[Ravenwing]] formations after petitioning Guilliman himself. And then a [[Retcon]] dialed the clock 90 years back and its around 015.M42, so the prisoners have been out for around 16 years.

So the question becomes, who knows what?

So far we know:
*The [[High Lords of Terra]] have long believed that the Dark Angels were guilty of Legion-Building, but are unaware of the reasons (because there is rarely a massive enemy force requiring such an organization). Hence why they were reluctant to utilise their gene-seed in new Foundings despite their relative genetic purity.
*The [[Grey Knights]] knew the Dark Angels were taking prisoners back to the Rock, but were unaware of who they were, but agreed to keep this knowledge from the High Lords as a condition of Azrael accompanying the Grey Knights on the Pandorax campaign. However, the Grey Knights were seemingly unaware of any cooperation between the Unforgiven Chapters and found their close-knit way of speaking about each other odd.
*The [[Black Templars]] captured a prisoner and transferred him over to the Dark Angels at gunpoint. Those Black Templars were never seen again, though that incident may have been retconned.
*Thanks to the Fenris campaign and the four way parlay ''(Dark Angels, Space Wolves, Grey Knights, Inquisition)'' taking place on the Rock, the [[Inquisition]] now has members embedded throughout the fleet of the Dark Angels. Even if they don't have access to the deeper levels, the cells or the libraries, it does mean that they can monitor fleet movements and activities from now on. Y'know, if the Dark Angels magically became stupid and careless and didn't spend ten thousand years mastering secrecy and counter-espionage.
**The Inquisition is also aware that a former Dark Angel: '''Vortigern''' was once a high-ranking member of the [[Black Legion]], though they might only suspect Vortigern was one of the Astartes who individually defected to Horus during the Heresy.
*The [[Adeptus Custodes]] have Guilliman's prisoners under lock-and-key. Although their track record for gauging loyalty is spotty at best ''(they did imprison the Crusader Host and not manage to sort out their loyalties all that quickly, though a Blood Angel and Iron Hand were set free)'' and tend to take a "you're all a threat" approach. Through the magic of Plot Armour Cypher and his fallen escaped the most secure prison in the Imperium, well apart from the even more secure prisons the Custodes have holding horrors of Old Night. They apparently gave up no information.
*Guilliman has had direct contact with [[Cypher]], knows that he carries the Lion's sword, and knows he desires to meet the Emperor face-to-face. Guilliman is also one of the few living beings with first hand knowledge of the Lion and the Dark Angels pre-, mid- and post-heresy, so will already have no reason to believe any Fallen claiming that "the Lion was a traitor". (Hell, one of the Horus Heresy books has Lion kneel and beg to Guilliman for help in granting the Emperor the highest chance of survival; as far as Guilliman is concerned, the Fallen are outright delusional). That being said he doesn't know they exist. He likely thinks of the Fallen he encountered as modern Black Shields or something similar and any anti-Imperium Fallen as [[Alpha Legion]] Psy-Ops to try to fuck with him and the Dark Angels.

It could be said that if they all sat down together, they could probably figure out what was going on. Though the different agencies of the Imperium don't tend to have a habit of sharing information, various individuals might have an idea of what's going on, but not the whole picture. Since the Dark Angels typically don't leave witnesses to their actions there isn't much hard evidence to be laid down at their feet other than some hearsay, rumour and a few wrecked planets where they purged some "heretics" ''wink wink''. This is probably not helped by the fact the [[Cypher]] managed to delete the Imperium's incriminating records on the chapter in mid M38, meaning the Imperium's ability to use hindsight has been massively curtailed. Even more so than usual.

Complicating things further still is the discovery that Luther himself has escaped his cell following an attack by the Fallen Angel turned Daemon Prince Marbas on the Rock. Azrael believes that he is planning to re-create his old Legion and has linked him to rumors of a massive gathering of Fallen somewhere in the Imperium Nihilus.

Painful irony is, as usual, quite common in 40k. In this case the fact a few (relative to a Legion) Astartes turned rogue would be so mundane and stupid a reason for the Dark Angels' behavior that the High Lords might not even believe it. They would not be able to comprehend why an entire ''Legion'' would devote itself to spending ''ten thousand years'' hunting drips and drops of their renegades showing up or why a Legion would even hide the fact it had renegades in the first place since all the Legions did. In other words, '''''they don't really have a reason for the secrecy.''''' As for dishonor, it doesn't matter if you cover it up, a dishonorable act is a dishonorable act. In fact, covering up ''adds to'' the dishonor.

To make things WORSE many Fallen Angels have joined the ranks of the Black Legion. Heck, one of them is a member of Abaddon's inner circle!

==New Rules==
In Gathering Storm: Rise of the Primarch there are new rules for the fallen, Cypher and new missions and tactical objectives for playing them against loyalists. This book also encourages combining mark IV Space Marines, Dark Angel upgrades and Dark Angel Veterans to convert Fallen.
[[File:Fallen Champions n1.png|thumb|right|Cypher and his Fallen Champions are ready for business.]]

Vigilus Ablaze includes a specialist detachment to allow Chaos Rhinos and Chaos Sorcerers to lose their option for a Mark of Chaos in exchange for getting FALLEN as their LEGION and IMPERIUM to boot. This is separate from using Cypher to stratagem in an Imperial Assassin into your Chaos force using recent White Dwarf rules.

In May 2021, White Dwarf released in that month's magazine the "Index Hereticus: The Fallen". Before its release, it was speculated by many that a couple of new rules and models would become available for the faction. Yet, when it finally came out, and people saw that the Index was actually a reprint of the Vigilus Ablaze's stuff with absolutely nothing new, they were [[Rage|not very pleased]] with it.
[[File:Fallen fighting Dark Angels.png|300px|thumb|right|One of the images within the Index. Fallen fight the Deathwing, with a Daemon Prince. <s>Which you're not allowed to bring.</s>]]

The Fallen Angels are special in that they have an ''upper limit''. As in, if you start a Fallen Angels army, you can actually finish it; there's a finish line, an end point above which you cannot go higher. As of the time of writing, the largest Fallen army you can build is:

Cypher, of course. Never not take Cypher in a Fallen list.
One Chaos Sorcerer with Jump Pack, Force Axe and Thunder Hammer. Granted, there's zero reason at all to take both the Axe and Hammer, but we're theorycrafting for largest possible here.
Three squads of Fallen with power fist and combi-melta on the Champion, four guys with Thunder Hammers, Boltguns and Bolt Pistols, one guy with a Lascannon and four more Boltgun guys. Thanks to Rule of Three, there's no way to take more than three Fallen squads, and no way to take less than three either because you have to fill a Vanguard Detachment because of your limited options.
Five Chaos Rhinos with Combi-Meltas and Havoc Launchers.

This nets you a total points cost of 1,341; pretty respectable, all in all. Generally, you'll want to not do a hammer or axe on the Sorcerer; Force Swords'll do you fine, and you'll probably want a good ranged weapon (like a combi-plasma for MEQ-slaying) instead. Your Sorcerer's your Mortal Wound source, not your beatstick, generally. The most expensive Fallen squads are actually a pretty decent loadout; the Lascannons give some good anti-tank punch, and the hammers and fist make it so they can punch tanks to death if they need to. You get a couple extra potshots with the combi-melta, and you get a few models of chaff per squad before you start taking real damage. That said, you can run a Fallen squad with five plasma guns and a combi-plasma. This is fun and fluffy - and let's face it, if you're running Fallen, you've already decided being competitive isn't what you're doing today. Author recommends you use a Mark IV plastic Tactical kit and one of the resin Plasma Gun official bit kits everyone forgets about for each squad. Take a fist on the Sergeant, run them up in a Rhino (which, for cohesion, I'd also recommend doing a Combi-Plasma on; there's no Rhino combi-plasma bit, so I'd recommend modelling it as just a guy out the top of the Rhino with a combi-plasma) pop them out, overcharge if you're suicidal and ruin some MEQ or vehicle's day. Use meltas or flamers to taste depending on what you're facing down. Since you can take up to five Rhinos, you can throw Cypher and (if you don't take a Jump Pack) the Sorcerer in one and have them tag along with the 30 angry Horus Heresy veterans with energy weapons.
[[File:I am Cypher.png|thumb|centre|"''Cypher ghosts through the shadows amidst his fellow Fallen.''" Riiiight.]]

==Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2==

{{Topquote| I don't understand. What.... I don't understand, not any of it|[[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada II|Admiral Spire]], caught in the crossfire between the Dark Angels and The Fallen}}
{{Topquote| Treasure your ignorance, it may yet shield you|Master Osmadiel, The Fallen to Admiral Spire}}

The Imperium campaign sees Spire answering the request for aid by a ‘Dark Angel’ in Caliban space using old codes and colors. Spire fights alongside this ‘Dark Angel’ named Osmadiel, who’s grateful for the aid and usually bro-tier for a ‘Dark Angel’. After another Dark Angel named Fleet Master Koraheal shows up and berates Spire for aiding Osmadiel, it becomes clear (to you the player, not Spire) that you’re aiding Fallen Angels. Koraheal orders you to destroy your former allies, while Osmadiel wants you to honor the deeds you both embarked upon and withdraw from battle. Naturally, Spire has no idea what the fuck is going on aside from two forces of Dark Angels suddenly being hostile to each other. Siding with Koraheal will elicit a sad reaction from Osmadiel, as you and the Fleet Master obliterate the Fallen. Koraheal prevents himself from revealing much information to a still confused Spire, who wishes to forget this entire episode. He does however agree with Spire’s desire for unity, and lends his entire fleet to aid Spire for the rest of the game. Siding with Osmadiel immediately ends the mission with an angry warning from Koraheal that you chose poorly. Osmadiel wants Spire to treasure his ignorance of this entire issue for his own protection, and praises Spire for having more wisdom than both he and Koraheal. He also comes back to aid Spire in the final mission with a single battle-barge. Narratively speaking this is irrelevant for the rest of the game and not even canon. Strategically speaking, Koraheal offers an immediate and much more substantial amount of aid than Osmadiel. Loyalty is its own reward indeed.

{{Fallen-Angels}}

[[Category:Dark Angels]]

Dark Angels

2022-03-04T12:28:29Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* The Dark Angels Fleet */

{{Awesome}}

{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Dark Angels
|Heraldry = [[File:Darkangelslogo.png|center|140px]]
|Battle Cry = Usually they fight silently, but situationally: "Repent! For tomorrow you die!" or "For the Lion!" or "A moment of Laxity spawns a lifetime of Heresy!"
|Number = I
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Original Name = Angels of Death, the Six Hosts
|Successor Chapters = Hell of a lot; according to the [[Deathwatch]], Dark Angel successors make up about 15% of all Marines {{Blam|+++completely autonomous+++}} Chapters, most notably the [[Blades of Vengeance]], [[Angels of Defiance]], [[Disciples of Caliban]], [[Consecrators]], [[Angels of Absolution]], [[Angels of Redemption]], [[Angels of Vengeance]],[[Guardians of the Covenant]], [[Bringers of Judgement]], [[Cowled Wardens]], [[Knights of Abhorrence]], [[Prime Absolvers]], [[Penintent Blades]] and [[The Unnamed]].
|Chapter Master = [[Azrael]].
|Primarch = [[Lion El'Jonson]].
|Homeworld = [[The Rock]], originally [[Caliban]].
|Specialty = [[Plasma]], [[Deathwing|terminators]], [[Ravenwing|bikes]], [[Fallen Angels|{{Blam|+++hunting down the filthy traitors to the Imperium!+++}}]][[derp|babysitting the Space Wolves during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy]]
|Strength = 1,000 (officially, {{Blam|+++much more counting chapter serfs, officers, pilots and the 10th company like all other chapters+++}}|Allegiance = [[Imperium of Man|:{{Blam|+++"Loyalty is its own reward" - The Lion+++}}]]
|Colours = Green, black, bone white
}}
{{Topquote|The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one.|Margaret Atwood}}

{{Topquote|Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save! Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave.|The Pierces, Secret}}

{{Topquote|Tumbling waterfalls plunge from its top in a cascade to foam in a wide pool of churning water. Vibrant greenery stretch in all directions and Zahariel felt peace pierce through him unaware of how empty his soul had become until it was filled.|''Descent of the Angels'', setting a Graalic theme unto The Order.}}

{{Blam|+++Welcome to the Dark Angels Page! Your entrance is being monitored by [[Chaplain|Interrogator-Chaplain]] [[Zacharias]]. Any questions you have will be answered to the best of our ability, no matter if you are [[Imperial Guard|a lowly servant of the Emperor]], an Inquisitor, Primaris Space Marine brother, or Dark Angel initiate.+++}}
{{Blam|+++'''THIS ARTICLE IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE AND IS REWRITTEN FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION. ALL MESSAGES WRITTEN IN RED ARE THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH ABOUT OUR HISTORY.+++}}
{{Blam|+++Any attempt to follow links without the approved authorization may end in your unfortunate demise.+++}}

== The Unforgiven ==

::''‘Listen well, initiates, for I bring light to the darkness. It is''
::''the weak-minded that crave comforts – the Dark Angels need''
::''them not. Wealth? The sons of the Lion covet no baubles, for''
::''they are meaningless to us. Sensual gratification? We know''
::''well its transitory nature. Pride? We are no whelps of Russ.''
::''By our actions alone shall we be known.’
::''- Brother-Chaplain Valeforr

Their [[Primarch]] is [[Lion El'Jonson]] a.k.a The Lion. As a result, the Dark Angels are totally {{Blam|+++awesome and without a fault +++}}. Their Primarch happened to be named after a [[Wikipedia:Lionel_Johnson|homosexual poet]] who wrote a poem called "The Dark Angel" and might've dated [[Fulgrim| Oscar Wilde]]. Oh, and their homeworld is called [[The Rock]], [[Grimdark|{{Blam|+++a refuge for peace and meditation where nothing sinister ever happens +++}}]] (it's actually a mobile space station that can take out most of Battlefleet Solar on its own). They were the posterboys for both [[6th edition|6E]] and [[Citadel Miniatures|Citadel's]] "new" line of paints. Fuck yeah, we guess? Russian fa/tg/uys believe that Dark Angels are Jews because the name "Lion" and surnames ending with "-son" are popular with Jewish Russians. Interestingly, they also employ retainers known as the [[Watchers in the Dark]]. These {{Blam|+++adorable sword hugging beings are chapter serfs. They are so small because they need to be that small for cleaning the corners in the Rock+++}}

When dealing with the Dark Angels it is important to bear in mind that they are the very embodiment of the phrase [[Vindicare|“the end justifies the means”]] and they will go to any lengths and do anything that they need to in order to {{Blam|+++protect the Imperium from the perils of the universe.+++}}

The new Codex heavily implies that they may be at Legion strength {{Blam|+++as we have now more reinforcements from the Ultima Founding, which leads to more successor chapters. Thanks to Lord Commander Guilliman, another unfaltering loyalist like ourselves.+++}}The lack of clarification on this matter and the suspiciously close cooperation between the Dark Angels and their successor chapters hasn't gone unnoticed by the [[Inquisition]], although their attempts at exposing the Dark Angels' secrets [[Abaddon|haven't met with much success]] thus far. However, one reason they and their successors work together so well is likely due to the fact that the pre-heresy Dark Angels Legion was already assembled out of chapters. After the Heresy, they merely needed to give the chapters names instead of numbers and have the chapters adopt different heraldry and colors; as such, the Dark Angels and their successor chapters might still be (functionally and unofficially) a (more-or-less) cohesive Legion.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByQ7L5aRu1A Their theme] by [[HMKids]],which SHOWS THEIR ABSOLUTE LOYALTY. [[FATAL|{{Blam|+++If you have any doubts regarding the Dark Angels' ABSOLUTE LOYALTY, then you should follow this servo skull down this totally not in any way dark and ominous corridor towards room 42 where Brother Asmodai will be waiting to answer any questions you might have.+++}}]]
They have apparently also become the love-chapter of some of GW's writers, since they now have the best motorcycle squads around (yes, apparently even better than the [[White Scars]]) and the "last" jetbike in the Imperium (they might have a ton of them or be making new ones!). {{Blam|+++The honourable Custodes have jetbikes as well. We would never commit a tech-heresy such as hoarding precious tech-knowledge+++}}.

[[File:Penance by majesticchicken.jpg|thumb|left|400px|The Dark Angels, the flagbearers of grimdark gothic design.]]
=== Gene-Seed ===

Much like the Ultrasmurfs, the Dark Angels have some of the most stable gene-seed of all the progenitor chapters, with no significant mutations documented. Due to this and the fact that they were the first Legion produced by the Emperor, they remain one of the most favorable ones to use for founding successor chapters. Although, the High Lords are supposedly iffy about using the DA's gene seed due to the rumors that all Dark Angel successors stay in one command structure with the Dark Angels still calling the shots, effectively all of their descendant chapters still act as part of a legion. Nevertheless, because there's no official proof of this, the Inquisition cannot call an Exterminatus on the Rock. [[Deathwing|{{Blam| +++Should you have such evidence, please report yourself with the material in hand so we can fix this issue.+++}}]]

One of the Lion’s greatest legacies to his sons is his [[Perturabo|strategic]] [[Roboute Guilliman|genius]] – a quality passed on to his sons through the Chapter’s gene-seed. This trait manifests exponentially as a Dark Angel ascends toward the rank of Company Master. Such officers can plan a campaign to the last detail, execute faultless assaults, and assemble impenetrable defenses instinctively. Central to this ability is the deployment of the correct mix of squads, vehicles and support elements. To this end, the Dark Angels form strike forces – self-contained armies assembled to prosecute a specific campaign or defeat a particular foe.

According to the {{Blam|+++words of brother [[Ezekiel]]+++}}, Librarians from the Unforgiven can pick up the unique psychic signatures of those who bear traces of their shared Primarch. Even the most spliced or tainted gene-seed of Lion El’Jonson emits a distinct signal powerful enough to be detected. Basically all you need to do is put a Dark Angels Librarian near a {{Blam|+++fellow Dark Angel playing a millennia-long game of hide and seek+++}} and they might as well have a great big flashing neon light hanging over their head saying “SON OF THE LION HERE. COME AND GET ME.” (This has precedent in earlier fluff such as the battle for Rynn's World, where the death of 600 [[Crimson Fists]] nearly killed a nearby librarian).

=== Battle Cry ===
Unlike more warlike chapters like the [[Space Wolves|Space Corgis]] or the [[Black Templars]] who would go into battle screaming about how they're going to skullfuck the enemies of man, the Dark Angels go into battle in cold, efficient silence, somewhat similar to that of [[Angry Marine]] Terminators who are so enraged that they march into battle with stone hearts and steel faces. In fact, their "Repent! For tomorrow you die!" is less of a battle cry and more of a foreboding proclamation against their real targets: [[Fallen Angels|{{Blam|+++the damnable traitors from the nine fallen legions+++}}.]] This makes more sense the more you realize what the Chaplains do to the [[Cultist-chan|Dark Angels' greatest obsession]] {{Blam|+++teach them to love the Imperium and the real fiasco of following chaos.+++}} within the depths of The Rock, until they repent.

==History==
{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Dark Angels
|Heraldry = [[File:Dark_Angels_chapter-crusade-hersey_.jpg|center|140px]]
|Original Name = The First, Primaris Angelus Mortis (Honorific)
|Successor Chapters =
|Primarch =
|Homeworld = Caliban (home world), Terra, an unknown number of void outposts and watch fortresses on the Imperium’s fringes. The planet Gramarye was once the home base of the First legion, likely as a muster world before reuniting with their primarch.
|Specialty = Combined arms and multi-spectra warfare, exterminatus and purgation campaigns, extended independent void operations.
|Strength = By the time of the Horus Heresy, the Legion numbered around 200,000 marines.
|Colours = Black
}}

{{Topquote|They had walked into the mouth of hell, and not only had they returned, but they had left hell shattered in their passage.|}}
[[File:Hexagrammaton.jpg|200px|left|thumb|The symbol of the Hexagrammaton.]]
===Organisation===
Not simply a [[First Founding|Legion]] numbered "one", they were quite literally the First legion created by the Emperor and in their earliest incarnation fought as the personal army of the Master of Mankind in the dawning years of the [[Great Crusade]]. Their first official battle took place before the Great Crusade began, being used to destroy an army of mixed troops and Thunder Warriors that had come to arrest Constantin Valdor. HH: Extermination tells us that as the prototype Legion the Dark Angels served as the template for all the Legions that would follow after which the Emperor decided to make the following legions more specialised and engineered their development towards different roles, and as a standard by which these successors would be measured (however they would eventually get supplanted by the empire-building [[Ultramarines]] after the Horus Heresy, in part due to the severe losses they took during the Rangdan Xenocides). So basically the Emperor simply intended the First Legion to sally forth and "just be Space Marines". The original Legion were a bunch of bloody killers, and they took great pride in their job. They were the very definition of the Emperor's Angels of Death, marching forth and crushing the foes of the Emperor, wherever they could be found. They took great pride in their primacy, acting as teachers and mentors towards the younger legions.

That meant the Dark Angels had to figure out warfare all on their own, and the techniques they developed would have entire Legions built upon those principles when they were raised later on. Including the first attempt at creating a group of battle ready psychic marines, and although this order was eventfully disbanded the lessons learned would eventually be used in the creation of the [[Librarius]].

There existed six specialised "Wings" collectively known as the '''Hexagrammaton''' originally coalesced from the various Hosts used by the first Terran members of the Great Crusade as they each learned their methods of warfare in the initial years of fighting. When the Lion was united with his Legion he reorganised the Hosts to run across and through the normal Dark Angels structure of orders, chapters, and companies (similar to how the DA company veterans work in 40k) and every Dark Angel from the lowest to the highest is a member of one of the wings. Each acted as an independent formation that was both a part of the main body of the legion but also separate from it at the same time. Each of the wings/hosts is commanded by an officer known as a Voted-Lieutenant and several Voted-Successors who are outside of the normal legion command structure. One of the key strengths of the First legion seems to have been their ability to adapt and change things up when needed. Not every battle can be fought the same way, especially when considering the varied and unique opponents that exist within the galaxy, so spreading your specialists across your standard forces and using their experience when necessary seems like it might actually be a pretty good idea. Like the Dark Angels of 40k who don't really specialise in any single form of combat, but actually prefer to create tailor fitted strike forces to deal with any given opponent, the existence of the Hexagrammaton in 30k provides the First Legion with a great deal of flexibility.

When confronted with a situation that requires a more specialised touch the commanding officer can hand operational control over to the highest ranking member of one of the wings. A call will go out across all the First Legion forces present for all members of the required "Wing" to gather and pool their combined specialized skills and equipment in order to bring ruin to the enemy. Unlike legions like the Death Guard who preferred to keep their legions as a single whole, the First Legion seems to have given Legion forces that are operating away from the main body a bit more freedom to think for themselves. This would allow the Legion to continue to operate independently, even if they may have been cut off from the rest of the Legions command, this would also allow them to operate in a far greater number of theatres of war across the Great Crusade; this would normally be considered a good thing, but this is 40k and "freedom of thought" can only lead to bad things.

Each was dedicated to a different form of warfare of which two survived into the later 40k:

*'''[[Deathwing]]''' - Veterans specialists, Marksmen and linebreakers who also provided bodyguard duties for other officers. (Think Space Wolves or Luna Wolves)
*'''[[Ravenwing]]''' - Cavalry & Fast Attack (White Scars)
*'''[[Stormwing]]''' - Initially described in the [[Black Library]] books as boarding specialist formation comprised mostly of [[Breacher Siege Squad|shield-wielding units]], it has been [[retcon]]ed by Forge World into a no-speciality wing of sorts. (Ultramarines)
*'''[[Dreadwing]]''' - Called in when you [[Exterminatus|just want something gone and you really don’t care about the collateral damage.]] (Death Guard)
*'''[[Firewing]]''' - Excel in destroying enemy command structures and assassination, they were the opposite of the Dreadwing. (Alpha Legion, Raven Guard)
*'''[[Ironwing]]''' - Heavy emphasis on battle tanks and mechanized infantry and had the highest concentration of Terminators in ANY of the Legions, including experimental suits unseen elsewhere. (Iron Warriors, Iron Hands)

A Dark Angel's membership in a particular wing seems to not only be based on their abilities but also their personality, attitude, and personal mindset; for example the Dreadwing are made up of the most brutal, destructive, and warmongering members of the Dark Angels whilst the Ravenwing (if they are anything like their 40k counterparts) are made up of the most impulsive, wild (by DA standards), and inquisitive members (being a speed freak helps). How they are designated into each wing is unknown...perhaps they are given extensive physiological evaluations or maybe they just have some sort of [[Harry Potter]]-esque sorting hat.

In addition to the ''Hexagrammaton'' is the '''Hekatonystika''' - also called the ''Hundred Esoteric Arts (although the exact numuber of orders fluctuates, there were hundreds of them over the crusade)'' and is divided into Orders each commanded by '''Preceptor''' and his Seneschals. These '''Orders''' are each tasked with the protection of some kind of lore that that useful in battle, such as combat about particular kinds of enemy or on certain kinds of battlefield; if necessary the commander in charge of a battlefield could request members of an order with knowledge relevant to the situation come together to form a '''Cenobium''' to concentrate their expertise and offer assistance in the same way that the whole force can reorganise according to the six Wings. The Orders stood alongside the wings and were complementary in many ways, such as the Order of the Broken Wings being anti-air specialists and preferring recruits from the Ironwing for instance. It was also possible to have membership of more than one Order, though this was considered rare. Some orders were extremely small and numbered only a handful of marines, others were massive and capable of deploying to the battlefield on their own as collections of whole Chapters of thousands of warriors.

In addition to the combat orders, there were also many Orders Civilis that were specialist in support and logistical roles, though they rarely numbered many full battle brothers among them, they were a means of honouring failed aspirants and serfs with important and vital positions.

This all stands in combination with the "standard" chain of command as laid down by the ''Principa Bellicosa'' of Chapters and Companies, meaning any individual Space Marine could hold several ranks and be the superior of his comrades in different situations. One example is given in HH9 Crusade where a simple line Legionary in his company actually holds the rank of '''Cenobite''' in his Order as well as '''Proctor''' of the Stormwing, therefore outranking his own sergeant in many situations, serving as an example of how the First Legion puts experience above authority.

Thanks to the Hexagrammaton and Hekatonystika the Dark Angels were almost impossible for outsiders to comprehend, Such disregard for strict and unchanging lines of command and control frustrated some legions and primarchs, especially Guilliman who had implored the Lion on multiple occasions to reform his legion to match the example of the Ultramarines, but for the Dark Angels it allowed them to adapt and evolve from moment to moment on the battlefield. these formations proved to be fertile grounds in the training of large numbers of highly skilled veterans, and leaders from amongst the dark angels; allowing them to function perfectly well when denied a central command, as they had already been forged into a flexible force that could function independently even in the most dire of circumstances.

The Dark Angels would even have a bit of fun with the other forces of the Imperium; upon arrival they would deliberately not inform the other Imperial forces, about who was in overall command of the Dark Angels forces, and then see if anyone was able to work it out; If anyone was able to do so they would have gained the Dark Angles respect and acknowledgement.

It has been hinted that because of the Dark Angels’ highly traditional and sectarian nature it made them ‘immune’ to the intrusions of the warrior lodges and acted as a similar buffer to infiltration and manipulation from the likes of the Alpha Legion. Luther outright laughed at Erebus's suggestion of the creation of a Dark Angel warrior lodge.
:*according to the Alpharius Primarch book, Alpharius himself (not the Alpha legion) was able infiltrate the legion, although even the most sneaky of Primarch's had a really difficult time doing so. Alpharius highly suspects that the Lion was actually fully aware of his infiltration but didn't take any action, which really annoyed Alpharius, as he couldn't get a good reading on whether he had been caught or not; which lends credence to the idea that the Lion was the only brother Alpharius was unable to truly read.

===Great Crusade===
Whilst the First legion took the fight to the horrors in the dark, the younger legions continued to grow in strength to the point that the first were no longer the only angels of the Emperor, now they were only the first amongst equals; this led to a growing resentment towards these upstarts, who had been carefully and safely grown whilst the First had been punching monsters in the face, and who had been gifted with the knowledge and tactics learned from their bloody work.

This would prove to be a mortal blow to the very identity of the First Legion, and they would begin to throw themselves into danger; leeroy jenkins's themselves into the most bloody situations, in the desperate attempt to prove their worth. They would go out of their way to take on the most dangerous of tasks, even if the losses they would sustain were not worth the prize. The first would continue to bleed out, in their desperate attempts to prove themselves until the lion was found and started kicking some sense into them.

In this fashion, acting all on their own without support from the other legions that followed they killed lots of [[Orks]] and other xenos scum for great justice and were once the most numerous and powerful of the legions. Their numbers would be depleted by decades of savage warfare, particularly in the wars of the [[Rangdan Xenocides]] where their numbers fell below 166,000 after they lost almost 50,000 Marines preventing the destruction of the entire northern Imperium by an unknown menace from the outer darkness. The scars of these battles would change them, as would their reunification with their Primarch and his adopted world of Caliban. Unyielding, technologically capable, ruthless, and insular, the Dark Angels by the time of the Heresy were once again a powerful and highly independent Legion used to operating on its own to conduct large scale campaigns and compliance actions. When the Legion was first reunited with their Primarch, the massive influx of warriors into the Legion following the rediscovery of Caliban was able to provide the First with an additional 20,000 new Dark Angels. However, this would not last as just before the Heresy started Luther, who had by then decided Caliban should be free of what he saw as the Imperium’s tyranny, began to starve the legion of any new legionaries, armour, weapons and ammunition. He began by cancelling the deployment of 4212 new recruits to the Legion. He would also reduce the time it took to implant and train new legionaries to about two years, so by mid-heresy there were around 45,000 new Dark Angels on Caliban who were swearing oaths of fealty not to the Emperor but to Caliban and the Order; as these were never deployed to the legion they are not counted as part of the legions over all total, but as a separate force. (Not everyone was pleased with this, especially those who had originated from Terra.)

Some time during the Crusade some planetary ruler insulted [[Leman Russ]] and he got all pissy about it. Then Lion ended up killing the leader and Leman was like "Whatchu do that fo' fool?" because ''he'' wanted to take the bitch-ass out. And Lion was like "fuck off, furry," despite his own furtastic name and his dickish kill-stealing. Leman, never being good with words, reason, or sobriety, megaton punched the Lion. The two of them fought for a day or two, an epic struggle between cool-headed tactician and hot-blooded barbarian, douchebag and bro-tard. Then Leman said "this is stupid" and started laughing... then the Lion knocked him out.

In true [[anime]] fashion, after Leman regained consciousness and was less-inebriated, the two eventually became best buds and treated it as water under the bridge; their respective chapters still carry on the friendly rivalry, a pair of champions engaging in sacred and [[Derp|non-fatal]] honour duels whenever the Spess Lions and [[Space Wolves|Space Corgis]] meet. One particular incident during the Heresy had a member of the watch-pack that had been sent to keep an eye on Guilliman being paired off against the Lion himself after the Wolves pushed the issue. The Lion, who had more important things to do and wanted it over as quickly as possible, stepped forward and nominated himself. The fight (if that’s what you want to call it) was as predictably hilarious as you would imagine it would be. And a couple of light years away, the [[Tyranids]] eat a planet while two of the most important Space Marine chapters waste time on this Nerf-chainsword-duel-honour-bullshit because ''that's how they roll''.

=== [[Horus Heresy]] ===
[[File:Luther.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Luther, {{Blam|+++If you see this man in your sector, report immediately to the Inner Circle+++}}]]
Much of the history of the First Legion during the events of the Horus Heresy are largely unknown to the Imperium at large, thus you will find that {{Blam|+++paper records are highly flammable, thus we put here all we have recovered.+++}}

During the [[Horus Heresy]] Lion El'Jonson rushed to come to the aid of the [[Emperor]], fighting his way through the [[Night Lords]], [[Death Guard]] and [[Lost and the Damned|traitor Army]] to reach [[Terra]], stopping off at [[Macragge]] to kick [[Roboute Guilliman]] out of inaction and start actually paying attention to the Horus Heresy. In fact, despite all of the mystery surrounding the intentions of the First Legion, the Emperor still had complete faith in them. A discussion between Him and [[Malcador the Sigillite]] during [[Graham McNeill]]'s Vengeful Spirit proves that even the Emperor expected Guilliman to procrastinate and start building his own empire and they were somewhat relieved when Russ told them that the Lion had intervened.

Despite all this he didn't make it to Terra in time because he ended up buying into Guilliman's new [[Imperium Secundus]], and set himself the task of defending the 500 worlds from attacks by the [[Word Bearers]] and the [[World Eaters]], all the while seeking out his elusive brother [[Konrad Curze]]. When the Night Haunter was eventually caught, his visions coupled with those of [[Sanguinius]] were sufficient to prove to the collected brothers that the Emperor was in fact still alive, and that the Imperium Secundus was a massive folly and a distraction. Though they attempted to return to Terra, it was clear that the route would only be opened for one of the brothers; Sanguinius, therefore the Lion and Guilliman set themselves the task of attacking the traitors in the rear, hoping to draw enough of them away to buy time for the defenders at the [[Siege of Terra]].

Afterwards he returned home to [[Caliban]] only to find that shit hit the fan when {{Blam|+++ our kitchen servitors accidentally left all of the cooking gas lines running and this caused an explosion that destroyed our home planet. We suspect this to be the work of foul traitors.+++}} When daybreak came Caliban was nothing more; only The Rock was left standing. {{Blam|+++ These stressful days were what caused the Lion to go on vacation. The remaining Dark Angels painted their armor green (as penance and because green was the shit back then).+++}} All of this caused one battle brother to say "I hate Mondays."

Because Caliban was far away from many Imperial Worlds, the core leaders of the Dark Angels known as the {{Blam|+++Inner circle (because that band rocks) decided to destroy all history, evidence, and blueprints of the Rock to protect it from falling into the wrong hands+++}}
The Imperium's not exactly sure what happened to Caliban as anyone who investigates this matter, even [[Inquisitor|Inquisitors]] {{Blam|+++are made to feel very welcome on the Rock and most never want to go back to their job after experiencing one of our wild parties.+++}}

Ahem, to carry on where my predecessor left off after his {{Blam|+++long-needed vacation+++}}, the Dark Angels became the most obscure chapter in the millennium following the Horus Heresy. Whereas Imperial officials can try to order around chapters like the Space Corgis and Black Templars, the Dark Angels can never be approached because they can't be found 90% of the time. They are known for mysteriously appearing out of nowhere to aid Imperial forces and disappearing just as fast, even if the forces they were aiding were still in need of their help. This has led to much complaint from Imperial commanders who are often understandably pissed off. {{Blam|+++We sincerely apologize, but we try to multi-task+++}}

===After the destruction of Caliban to the 41st Millenium/[[Time of Ending]]===
[[File:The rock-Fenris.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Dark Angels arrive in style.]]
Ever since that fateful day ten thousand years ago, the Dark Angels have striven to prove to the Emprah and their Primarch that they are still cool guys to hang around with, despite {{Blam|+++their grim nature+++}}. To this end they have acquired toys like plasma cannon jetbikes, more suits of Terminator Armour than most chapters can shake their chainswords at, and a mini-[[Wikipedia:Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp|Gitmo]] in a flying chunk of planet to {{Blam|+++capture enemies of the Imperium from the nine traitor legions+++}}, in order to prove {{Blam|+++that the Imperium RULEZ+++}}

[[Luther]] himself was kept within a special cell equipped with stasis fields; both to keep him from escaping (which didn't work so hot) and to prevent him from dying of old age before some kind of confession can be extracted from him (even Astartes are unsure if they can die of old age, although there was a living Salamander whose armor fused to the deck of a ship and had been floating around since the Drop Site Massacre). He was last publicly seen barking mad from Chaos withdrawing its influence from him. But his ramblings have occasionally assisted the Dark Angels in locating lost relics within the Rock. Recently, he's been claiming that the time for the Lion to return and absolve the Chapter of its past is growing closer...

After the destruction of Caliban the Dark Angels would throw themselves into the Scouring with a zeal that surprised many of their brother legions. Whether they were seeking retribution for the death of their Emperor and father or some other reason known only to themselves, the Dark Angels would hound the traitors with a single bloodied mindedness that boarded on insanity. They would grow, if possible, even more distant with the rest of the Imperium, appearing without warning on battlefronts across the galaxy to bring destruction to the enemy, and then leaving just as unexpectedly as they had arrived; if their brother legions found their new zeal strange, they kept it to themselves, for none could doubt their conviction or the fanatical devotion in which the Dark Angels took vengeance upon the traitor forces. Such as when they saved a trapped force of Ultramarine's; dying to a man holding back the traitors long enough to allow the Ultramarine's to evacuate, refusing to leave whilst the enemy yet lived.

The Dark Angels would bleed themselves almost dry in their pursuit of the traitor forces, throwing themselves into the blender in their desire to make the traitors pay. Much like before the discovery of the Lion the Dark Angels would throw themselves upon the blades of the enemy (almost like they sought absolution in their mutual destruction), but where as before they had done so to prove themselves to others, now they did so out of shame; they no longer cared for the opinions of others, only that they make amends for their failings in the eye of the Emperor.

It’s important to bear in mind that the Dark Angels themselves do not have the whole story regarding {{Blam|+++the traitor Marines from other legions+++}} and Caliban's {{Blam|+++upgrade into being the most AWESOME SHIP+++}}. When the legion first arrived back at Caliban during the Scouring they would have been unaware of the events that had led up to Astelan ordering the attack on the fleet. After the destruction of Caliban they would have found themselves in a position where they had not only lost their Emperor and their Primarch but their home world as well. The legion had been tarnished beyond repair by those that they had once considered sworn brothers, and worst of all, they didn’t know why. All they had left was the Legion, and so the assembled masters of the Dark Angels decided to cover up what had happened in order to protect and preserve what was left of the once mighty First. They had been under the impression that the {{Blam|+++traitor Marines who like to wear black+++}} had all been slain during the planet's destruction. Once {{Blam|+++said traitors+++}} began to reappear it would prove to be a decision that would eventually end up damning them and all those that would follow. The present day Dark Angels are forced to shoulder the burdens and consequences of those decisions made so long ago that they themselves had taken no part in. Where in other chapters the ascension into the higher ranks is a thing of justified pride and honour, within the Unforgiven it is a soul-crushing experience as their delusions of honour and false glory are systematically torn down around them as the chapter's dark secrets are revealed to them one by one.

The Dark Angels and their successors have spent the past 10,000 years hunting down {{Blam|+++said traitors+++}}, slowly and painstakingly piecing together the pieces of an elaborate jigsaw of lies and deceit. Who knows who was responsible for what happened all those millennia ago. Was {{Blam|+++this particular traitor and heretic+++}} one of the architects of the betrayal or was he just an unwitting pawn who was just following orders? And, if so, then who gave that order? As they have slowly filtered the lies from the truths and sifted through the many different contradicting {{Blam|+++traitor's lies+++}}, the Dark Angels have uncovered many unsettling truths that had been unknown to them before. Yet the masters of the Unforgiven are aware that they do not have the full story and that there are still many dark revelations to come. Not least that the Black Legion includes (or included) {{Blam|+++traitors wearing stolen Dark Angels armour in obviously Black Legion colors+++}}

Unbeknownst to the Dark Angels, Lion El'Jonson is alive and well. After his duel with Luther we, the Watchers in the Dark, brought him to a hidden chamber in the depths of the Rock so he could be healed of his wounds. He is fully healed, and now all that is needed for the last loyal Primarch to return [[Games Workshop|is for the Emperor to give him the signal to do so.]]
{{Blam|+++ :) +++}}

===42nd Millennium and the [[Age of the Dark Imperium]]===
With the return of Magnus (and his assault on Fenris), as well as the return of Guilliman (with his Terran Crusade and subsequent Indomitus Crusade), the Dark Angels are probably scrabbling HARD to make sure that {{Blam|+++all disgusting traitors are captured+++}}.

Firstly, with the return of Magnus: the Dark Angels were duped by Tzeentch into leading their own crusade to bring the Space Wolves to account for their protection of the mutated Wulfen. This was eventually resolved with the intervention of the Inquisition who said they would raise their own conclave to deal with the matter. Unfortunately for the Dark Angels, {{Blam|+++those traitors escaped our watch +++}} as the Inquisition had {{Blam|+++given zero fucks +++}}

It would get worse for them later with Guilliman's return as the reborn Primarch's return to Terra was assisted by {{Blam|+++Ravenwing Dark Angels
including one officer with a HUGE SWORD, obviously a TERRANIC GREATSWORD OF OLD+++}}. While Guilliman didn't have a clue what to make of {{Blam|+++these mysterious Marines+++}}, they were allowed to be part of the celebratory parade to the Emperor's palace so they would have been viewed by billions of bystanders. Though most people probably wouldn't know what to make of black Dark Angels, the Unforgiven were probably clinging to the TV sets while facepalming {{Blam|+++because their military parade walk wasn't the best+++}}. However, Guilliman did order {{Blam|+++these Marines+++}} arrested when they finally reached the doors to the throne room. The [[Adeptus Custodes]] now have a group of {{Blam|+++undisciplined Dark Angels wearing non-codex colors+++}} in their custody and it may be only a matter of time before they and Guilliman have some idea of what the Unforgiven have been up to (if they didn't know already). Guilliman did recognize the sword that {{Blam|+++said officer+++}} carried and the sensation filled him with dread. Given that this may be {{Blam|+++a really cool and wholly unrelated+++}} sword, Guilliman may have some inkling as to what might happen if the sword ''(or whatever psychic imprint contained within)'' comes into contact with the Emperor, but has not decided to reveal or act upon that information.
Bear in mind that having some knowledge directly from the mouths of {{Blam|+++Space Marine traitors+++}} does not automatically provide the whole story on the actual {{Blam|+++building of The Rock+++}}.

Taking this further, even if Guilliman does find out (or happens to already know), he would have to be very careful with that information because of his own prior association with the Lion and the Dark Angels during [[Imperium Secundus]] and his own attempts at burying it ''(see the formation of the [[Scythes of the Emperor]] and his sealing of the Library of Ptolemy)''. He might not be aware of how much the descendants of the First Legion know about this ''"off the record"'' version of history. Even if some {{Blam|+++filthy traitor Marines+++}} came out claiming that the ''"Lion was a closet traitor who waited to see who won"'' {{Blam|+++Obvious Chaos lies +++}} and sincerely believed it, Guilliman is one of the few people who actually knew what the Lion was doing for much of the Heresy, even if the Dark Angels don't know themselves. This is on top of having to contend with the aforementioned unresolved "agenda" relating to the sword of the Lion ''(which Guilliman himself broke)'' and the unknown repercussions of what may come if it reaches the Emperor's throne room. All in all, Bobby G's got a lot on his plate.

Turns out the {{Blam|+++veterans who are too busy serving the Emperor to repaint their armour+++}} escaped so no secrets getting out today. Also, when they found out, the Custodes went into a full on panic the likes of which hadn’t been seen since the War of the Beast. Maybe GW should calm down with the plot armour for {{Blam|+++the well respected Dark Angel who saved Guilliman and brought glory to the Chapter+++}}.

As Guilliman traveled the Imperium leaving reinforcements and new toys in his wake, Supreme Commander [[Azrael]] ordered a summit of all Supreme Grand Masters to muster on the Rock to discuss the state of things. Considering the reports of Fallen massing in numbers never seen before, the Rock itself being attacked by a {{Blam|+++vile traitor legion+++}} daemon-prince which appeared to be the cover for the release of [[Luther]], and a recent ambush by the Fallen that had left six chapters of the Unforgiven severely depleted in manpower, suffice it to say that things were looking rather grim. Coincidentally, the summit was gate-crashed by the arrival of Guilliman's fleet who demanded to board the Rock. The collected Chapter Masters were no doubt concerned by the arrival of an Imperial fleet when the Unforgiven had gathered together as a single Legion, and considered shooting them down. Luckily, it turned out that Guilliman was not there to censure the Unforgiven host but instead came bearing reinforcements in the form of thousands of Primaris Marines. Guilliman also permitted them to retain their [[Deathwing|1st Company]] and [[Ravenwing|2nd Company]] organizations as an exception to his amendments to the Codex Astartes based on their "excellent service records", only stipulating that they continue to serve the Emperor well, suggesting he is willing to put up with their unorthodox methods for the sake of his brother.

Moreover as a "[[Creed|tactical genus]]" Guilliman isn't dumb enough to risk losing the unique capabilities that only the Dark Angels and their successors are able to deploy at a moment's notice. Obviously, due to the current state of the Imperium, neither the Dark Angels nor Guilliman can spare a few moments for "Story Time with Uncle Bobby and the Inner Circle." Good thing for Guilliman. The number of people who know/knew about the Secundus besides him [[Emperor|can be]] [[Lion_El'Jonson|counted]] [[Sanguinius|on one hand]], and all of them are either dead or unable to say anything about the matter.

It is also stated that the Inner Circle alone are aware of the ''[[Fallen Angels|very specific prey]]'' that they seek. Therefore while tidbits of information may be held by others outside of the chapter, they do not understand their significance or know what to make of them. Either way, they haven't acted upon that information so the Hunt still continues as normal.

As of Phil Kelly's book “War of Secrets”, despite Cypher's antics and having Fallen on Terra, the secret has returned to the status quo, although the new Primaris get treated like shit and are seen as disposable tools. They have made a second Inner Circle (this being the chapter Inner Circle not the whole Unforgiven Inner Circle) for the Primaris who figure shit out and don’t get put in a ditch. The Dark Angels have suddenly become really tolerant; the Primaris literally worship not just the Emperor but the Omnissiah and the Dark Angels just get a bit miffed. As for the new Primaris successors, they were founded without knowing about the Dark Angels' secrets, so we can assume they are not Unforgiven. It is clear that GW are just waiting for Primaris terminator and biker sets, at which point we will get some basic upgrades sprues, and the Unforgiven will fully accept the Primaris.

In addition to a couple of named characters, the Primaris Marines have finally joined the Deathwing and Ravenwing in the form of Bladeguard Veterans and Outriders. While the Ravenwing getting Primaris on bikes is no big surprise, the fact that Bladeguard can be in the Deathwing without wearing Gravis armour is a little confusing ([[Derp|especially since White Dwarf all-but explicitly stated that Deathwing Primaris exclusively use Gravis alongside the Firstborn in Terminator armour]]).

According to their 9th edition supplement the rumours of their suspected legion building has earned them some surprising support, the [[Inquisition]], since Guilliman's return they have grown increasingly concerned at the sheer power that he now wields. They have turned their sights upon the united might of the Unforgiven and now see them as a power that is capable of countering the new lord of the Imperium, should he ever go against what they have built. Considering the not so friendly relationship between Guilliman and the [[Ecclesiarchy]], they may get even more support from them; should a theoretical civil war break out, it will be interesting to see who sides with who.

== The Legion with "Dark" in its name ==
[[File:DA-Scouts.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Their scouts are never to be underestimated. Also this is probably the best scout artwork so far. And it's not new.]]
After the Horus Heresy, the remaining Legions were forced to split into chapters of around 1,000 men according to [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s brand new [[Codex Astartes]], and the Dark Angels followed suit mostly because they had no Primarch to disagree for them; not that it mattered by this point anyway.

Where [[Rogal Dorn]] [[RAGE|RAGED]] against the idea of splitting his legion, but eventually relented on the threat of civil war, the Dark Angels quietly split themselves up but maintained [[Just As Planned|covert]] contact with each other. They kept the same chain of command as before and mostly the same traditions and expectations (particularly concerning co-operation in the hunt for the [[Fallen Angels]] but also in referring to one another as "brothers" in arms). ''([[Kaldor Draigo]] noted that the correct terminology for a different chapter is "[[Gene Seed#The Tithe and New Foundings|cousin]]" and resolved to have a word with [[Azrael]] over it)''. The Supreme Grand Master of [[The Rock]] is deferred to as the [[Spiritual liege|highest authority]] on the secrets of the newly formed Inner Circle.

It transpires from Gav Thorpe's 2015 novel '''Unforgiven''' that the Inner Circle was in fact formed decades AFTER the [[Second Founding]] when [[Cypher]] revealed himself at [[The Rock]] and made it evident that survivors from Caliban who could reveal the truth of what happened would be dropping out of time and space. So the Grand Masters of the '''Twelve''' Second Founding chapters held a council and formed the Inner Circle to make sure their collective honour remained intact. Previous to that we must have assumed that the descendants of the First Legion were just relieved to have weathered the Horus Heresy and followed Guilliman's commands quietly.

All in all, the Dark Angels and their successors still function unofficially as a Legion. This gets the [[Inquisition]] and the [[High Lords of Terra]] particularly worried, though they can't prove anything since on the surface each chapter has its own distinct chain of command and adheres to [[Codex Astartes|codex]] requirements.

It's not known how large the collective Unforgiven actually is; [[Deathwatch (RPG)|Statistics]] indicate that the Dark Angels successors make up around 15% of the total Space Marine chapters at large in the Imperium. While this does not seem like a massive amount ''([[Ultramarines|Ultramarines]] make up around 50%-66%, depending on which author you ask)'' that would still be around 150 chapters. It is uncertain whether all of those chapters are actually aware of their history, given the Dark Angels prefer to have as few people with the damning knowledge as possible. Yet GW has never presented us with any Dark Angels successors who know of their heritage who are ''not'' part of the Unforgiven ''(the [[Astral Claws]], [[Relictors]] and [[Star Phantoms]] are all "maybes")'' so we can only assume that once you're in the club, you're in balls deep or you get erased.

What is known is that the Unforgiven are not beyond drafting new chapters without official sanction ''(like the [[Consecrators]])'' or outright blackmailing the seal of approval out of the High Lords ''(as with the [[Disciples of Caliban]])''. These chapters are raised with specific purposes in mind, and fill either supporting roles to the collective or are tasked with special missions that the others aren't prepared for. The officers of the successors also hold unique ranks and titles in the Inner Circle relevant to their Chapter's function or position within the Unforgiven. The best part is that no one can complain about it. The law is a thousand Marines per Chapter. It never said the Chapters couldn’t make their own new Chapters. It even encourages close co-operation and communication between Chapters so long as their command structures are separate. The First Legion operates more like a pseudo-Legion than the real thing. Each Chapter fulfills its role to the Legion and they support each other in whatever manner they choose while maintaining a strong feudal-like relationship with each other. There is no command structure in this “Legion” higher than any one Chapter. This functions well simply because these Marines are not dick-waving egotists.

Each chapter possesses formations equivalent to the [[Deathwing]] and [[Ravenwing]], though usually operating under different names. This would mean that the collective Unforgiven have access to a whole bunch of surplus archeotech or possess the means to manufacture Terminator suits and fighter planes at a remarkable rate. They also trade recruiting worlds between each other, though each Chapter routinely has more than one anyway. They regularly transfer ownership between them for the specific purpose of ensuring that the Administratum's records become unreliable and get lost. This practice also has a secondary usefulness: loyalty. By trading recruiting worlds frequently, the Legion ensures that if one world’s population is corrupted, the other Marines from other worlds will not be. Likely a lesson learned from the Horus Heresy in which most Terran recruits remained loyal within the Traitor Legions.

So far ''(and for ten thousand years)'' these indiscretions have passed as little more than quiet rumours since the Unforgiven go to [[Ophidium Gulf Crusade|extreme lengths]] to protect their honour. Plus they mostly keep to themselves so no one knows what they're actually up to.

=== LOYAL? Or Traitor? ===
{{Blam|+++INNER CIRCLE ACCESS GRANTED+++}}

Gav Thorpe's '''Angels of Darkness''' was intended to display that the Dark Angels' quest for redemption had made them sinister and brutal, not label them as being traitors (as the wider audience and /tg/ often treats them as). This is because most people took '''Astelan''' and the accusations he leveled at the modern-day Chapter and the Lion as truth, not taking into account his jealousy of the Lion nor his skewed interpretation of events and logical fallacies (something that Gav himself has tried to remind people of). Astelan thought the Lion to be a traitor and opened fire on the fleet when they were in orbit around Caliban without ''any'' attempt at negotiation or communication. The fleet returned fire in self-defense, so Astelan drew the [[FAIL|perfectly logical and sound]] conclusion that the Lion had betrayed them. It doesn't seem to matter as much as people think it does, however, as Gav himself said that it wasn't an objective view of what happened on Caliban but a character study on a member of the Fallen.

Admittedly, though, some of Astelan's theories do make just a little too much sense to be easily dismissed, like his belief that the Dark Angels' paranoia and obsession with secrecy is just as much a gene-inheritance from the Lion as it is a post-heresy development. It's possible it's something el'Jonson developed (or was tainted with) as an infant in the darkness of old Caliban. However, Astelan's mind and his recollections of things are unreliable - not only is he a Fallen Angel, he is trying to cause others to fall as well. We only have his word to take for it (not to mention that he ended up consorting with [[Typhus]] against the loyalist Dark Angels over the course of The Unforgiven).

Another factor that hasn't helped the First Legion's tainted reputation was the implication that the Unforgiven would be destroyed in their entirety if their secret went out - skewing the Dark Angels from ultra-loyalists trying their damnedest to reach some sort of absolution for their wrongdoings and mistakes into a bunch of cowardly extremists concerned only with self-preservation and their honor. This confusion is the result of an attempt to raise the stakes despite universal proof that their assumption is completely wrong. This coupled with the increasing plot emphasis on them abandoning their allies demonstrates some authors prioritizing shock value at the expense of any actual depth the Chapter might have once had. Even though only the Inner Circle hunt Fallen and every other Marine is kept away from hunts, which would mean abandoning allies to hunt Fallen would be outright impossible because only a handful of people in the Chapter are allowed to hunt Fallen. They are supposedly a calculating, heavily coordinated group orchestrating a covert operation of monumental proportions, yet they [[Derp|clumsily attract the attention of the very people]] they are trying to keep their secrets from.

About the only positive thing that can be said about all this is that it at least provokes discussion. As it stands, it's simply lazy writing. The writers at GW could do a lot with what the Unforgiven would be willing to do or to sacrifice in the name of their hunt for the Fallen, but right now it's demonstrative of just how threadbare DA fluff has become in recent years. As fun as it is to hypothesize whether or not they're loyal or traitor, the truth probably has more to do with who they're loyal to. The Dark Angels themselves are more like the [[Soul Drinkers]] rather than full on Chaos Marines: more devoted to Emps and humanity as a whole than the rotting Imperium.

To clarify, the First Legion ''(and later Chapter and all their successors)'' are indeed loyal and not traitors. The Lion himself has now been quoted as saying "Loyalty is its own reward", which sort of kills the whole "they might be closet traitors" thing. There is even an example where the Dark Angels encounter a Consecrators Marine that had fallen to Nurgle. When he was captured, the loyalists explained that there would be no taking him back to the Rock to be interrogated. They did not consider him "Fallen", since he was not deceived by [[Luther]] who led astray the Angels on Caliban. This traitor was considered weak for allowing Chaos to get to him and was promptly executed and his body left in the dust. Come to think of it, other than the Fallen who fell to Chaos (which seems to not actually be many of them), the Dark Angels don’t seem to have had anyone turn to Chaos, neither Marine nor Chapter. No other Legion can claim such a thing.

In conclusion, the sons of the Lion are ostensibly loyal, albeit with a massive guilty conscience that ''(unlike the [[White Scars]] who resolved their internal issues at the time and look back on it as a shameful memory with no guilt placed on the modern descendants of the Legion)'' the Unforgiven cannot let go of, because the sins of the past are '''not''' ancient history as long as these Fallen Angels keep falling out of space and time to remind them of it. So, what might have begun as a relatively innocuous "stomp the traitor" exercise has devolved into a millennia-long slog. The Unforgiven continue to skirt the grey area as each abandoned battlefield or trusted ally silenced adds to their burden of collective guilt. By now, the actions they have taken to continue the Hunt have become more shameful than the original crime. Therefore rather than the shame fading with the passage of time it only becomes more imperative for them to complete their task.

This is spelled out bluntly by [[Troll|Cypher himself]] in ''The Unforgiven''. While every legion took part in the [[Great Scouring]], the Dark Angels did so in secret, never admitting to having traitors and Horus sympathizers in their ranks like the other eight legions did. Most Fallen were totally unaware of the Heresy and, as a result, they either fell to Chaos of their own accord or were deceived. Now in the 41st Millennium it's FAR too late to rectify this; the time for earning forgiveness is long past. However, perhaps the Dark Angels' true redemption is near despite their long-running record of questionable actions. The [[Iron Hands]] have been recovering from their fatalistic attitude and repressed emotions in the wake of the Gaudinian Heresy. Perhaps the Dark Angels can finally get past their shame, especially since the recent Horus Heresy books and other lore have explicitly made the Lion's loyalties very clear. Furthermore, in ''Leman Russ - The Great Wolf'' by Christ Wraight, we learn that the Lion knows about the Wulfen yet never called his brother or his legion out on it despite their mutual grievances, so some interesting revelations may yet come.

Despite the Unforgiven being prepared to do anything and everything in order to keep their secrets hidden, Supreme Grand Master Azrael has stated that should the day ever arrive when the Imperium discovers their dark history and turns its fury upon the sons of the Lion, then the Unforgiven will refuse to raise arms against the Imperium. Not one shot will be fired or blade drawn in their own defense. Although they are prepared to do some very shady things in order to keep their secrets hidden, they are unwilling to plunge the Imperium into what would assuredly be a very costly civil war that the Imperium really can’t afford to fight. '''They will not be responsible for a second Horus Heresy, or a Badab 2.0'''. The recent lore has really hammered home that, in spite of how suspicious and shady the Dark Angels are, they have never been ''delusional.'' They know what they are doing is wrong, but they have a ten-thousand-year promise to fulfill. Also, the reason the rebels in the Horus Heresy rushed to reach Terra instead of being careful was because the Lion and his Legion were coming. Half the Legions and a third or so of the Imperial Army’s rebels were running away from the Legion previously known mostly as The Angels of Death.

With the resurrection of Guilliman, this oath would be tested like never before. With the knowledge that Guilliman had spent time around Cypher and members of the Fallen, Azrael had every reason to believe that the game was up when Guilliman's armada appeared above the Rock. The temptation to strike back against their potential executioners and to protect his brothers was very real. Yet despite the possible ramifications, Azrael kept true to his word and ordered the Unforgiven to stand down (good thing old Guilliman still doesn't know the truth).

With the release of the new Codex, Phil Kelly himself said on Twitch TV the full recount of the events on Caliban, short history Dark Angels Good, Fallen Bad, ''just kill the [[Troll|joke]], [[Luke|its not funny anymore]].'' A bit odd considering how he'd go on to release a book where, due to a Fallen releasing a highly infectious psychic plague, the Dark Angels made a deal with the Tau to terminate those infected upon a planet belonging to the [[Angels of Absolution]] (yes, that includes killing the small number of Angels, as they had also been infected) before it spread to other systems. The justification that the book gives is that they could not be seen to be doing it themselves (even though they would have lost nothing by just telling them); they in turn would do the same to the human population under the Tau's protection. It was either a choice of killing a handful of marines or allowing a potentially apocalyptic plague to run rampant across the galaxy.
The Angels are not only one of their successor Chapters, but the Dark Angels even go so far as to supply the Tau with gear that would allow the Tau in question to detect all those that had been infected. The Tau in question may have taken it a bit further than anyone might have imagined (it's the Tau from the game Fire Warrior, he might as well have been screaming "Blood for the blood God"). The whole story is very ham-fisted and ends with the stationed Angels of Absolution finding out, and then promptly covering it up.

===Primaris Marines and suspicions renewed===
Initially, it seemed that the Dark Angels accepted their new reinforcements without much hassle or fuss, but the Dark Angels players knew this facade wouldn't last. The codex tells us that as of whatever the present day of the Imperium is (roughly 100.M42) not a single Primaris Marine has made it so far as the Ravenwing, much less the Inner Circle. Excerpts from the Hellblasters show the Primaris have to fight tooth and nail for so much as a word of approval, to say nothing of recognition or acceptance. Hellblaster Sergeant Grellius accepts that it will be no small task to impress the Sons of the Lion and, in the typical stoic manner that should be expected of any member of the 1st Legion, stated ''"And rightly so – for such duty were we created and trained."'' However, he and his Hellblasters had impressed Belial to the point that he may have actually "smiled", after which they seem to have earned their acceptance among their brethren.

''War of Secrets'' (Phil Kelly again) drops all pretense and reveals just how bad it was for the initial batch of Primaris under the First Legion's care: a far cry from accepting valuable reinforcements, the Inner Circle considers the sons of Mars to be little more than Guilliman's spies. The Chaplains and Apothecaries routinely mind-wipe Primaris Marines if they come into contact with Fallen-related missions, hypnotize them to stop asking questions, confiscate and erase their digital cameras, and even use fluids from an [[arco-flagellant]] to keep them under mind control. It’s only the Primaris Marines’ Belisarian Furnace that allows them to resist the mind-wipes and retain enough memories for them to realize they’re being tampered with.

The truly horrifying part? This is actually pretty routine for the Dark Angels, even before Guilliman woke up; Interrogator-Chaplains do the same thing to the rest of the Inner Circle, presumably to keep Fallen captives from being [[Catachan Jungle Fighters|"accidentally" shot in the face]] before they can be interrogated, and uninitiated non-Primaris brothers were routinely mind-wiped if they were thought to know too much. All chapters make use of hypno-indoctrination as part of their standard training, but this is normally used to ''add'' to their worth as Marines (see [[Deathwatch]]), while the Inner Circle wants to very much ''subtract'' the more troublesome aspects from their new "reinforcements". Though since the Emperor himself has been known to wipe the memories of both Marines and Primarchs during the Horus Heresy series, one could joke that the Dark Angels are simply proving their loyalty by following in his glorious example.

In "The Unforgiven" (and hinted at throughout the trilogy), it is revealed that all Dark Angels are implanted with hypno code words to prevent another event like Caliban from ever happening again. Asmodai has to incapacitate [[Belial]] when he tries to kill [[Cypher]]. These code words can also be transmitted by a librarian directly into the minds of others. It would seem that a chaplain could unilaterally take command of whole companies of Dark Angels when Sapphon has to fight the urge to use one in a previous book on another captain. Also it involves the chaplain basically giving commands in Latin.

On the other hand, the Primaris Marines during "War of Secrets" didn't exactly help their course by being remarkably disobedient and downright disrespectful towards the Firstborn Marines, with some referring to the veterans as armored [[Ogryn|Ogryns]] behind their backs. Nor did them referring to the Dark Angels as a Chapter built on lies and swearing to ''"get to the heart of it and expose it all"'', calling them traitors, and making statements like ''"You’ll get what you deserve soon enough. We Primaris Marines are the future and we will be the death of you"'' get them on the Dark Angels' good side. It’s weird for other reasons as well because outside of the Inner Circle the Unforgiven Marines aren’t any different than normal Marines. Other than their track record throughout the Imperium’s existence showing them to be significantly more competent at kicking ass on the tactical and strategic level. This means the Primaris wouldn’t have a reason to think anyone outside of a few individuals were in any way secretive or untrustworthy.

Despite their initial reluctance in accepting the Primaris Marines, the Primaris Marines are very slowly and painfully earning their place among the Chapter. Those that prove themselves and demonstrate their loyalty to the Chapter may be inducted into the new Primaris Circle. Though they can not be brought into the full Inner Circle, it is only a matter of time.

Whilst there is a massive amount of distrust towards those Primaris brought in from outside of the chapter, the Dark Angels don't seem to have any problem with Primaris that have been made from scratch by the chapter itself, as they have been properly inducted into the traditions of the chapter. Azrael knows better then anyone else the potential challenges that the Unforgiven will face in the near future, and that every marine will be needed.

{{Blam|+++There is absolutely no evidence of the following event in any <s>canon</s> ''records'' so we can safely say that it's just some Primaris <s>fan girling</s> ''misinformation'' trying to force them into places they shouldn't be, as the only "Primaris" in the Inner Circle is Master Lazarus who started off as a proper Space Marine first. (However this story will be left here incase you want to make use of it in your own chapters.) +++}}It was Azrael that informed the Unforgiven that they must start inducting those former Greyshields into the inner circles of the chapters. This coursed no small amount of turmoil, both within the Dark Angels and the rest of the Unforgiven. In order to calm them, Azrael put forward a challenge, he would stake his reputation upon a Primaris Marine of his choosing, Brother Apharan. If this Primaris Marine could pass the required challenges, and come out the other side in a fit state to move up into the upper tiers of the chapter, then this would prove their worth; Azrael would personally oversee his training. It is a testament to the high regard that Azrael is held that the rest of the Unforgiven agreed. Needless to say Azrael chose well, and the Primaris in question succeeded, going so far as making it into the Deathwing.
(The full story can be read on page 29 of the September 2019 White Dwarf)

The Dark Angels are learning everything that they can about the Primaris creation process (though what chapter isn't?), with the intent that they will eventually have full control over it; being able to create as many Primaris as they need without outside interference or worrying about their loyalty by training them themselves.

At the end of the day Primaris will eventually get shoehorned into the Inner circle, we can only hope that GW actually put some effort into making the lore good as that's the primary attraction of the Dark Angels chapter. So far that's not been the case though, as shown by Lazarus where they tried to hype up a Primaris being in the inner circle (which almost no one wanted or cared about) he just ended up being a regular Space Marine who was already in it and just went through the Rubicon, sidestepping the whole issue of letting a Primaris in.

You can see how stupid the writing is if you read the Psychic Awakening story "Enmity's Edge" and see how stupid the Inner Circle in it are depicted; "oooooh, he's a Primaris now, he must be a different person now hur dur". If this page should have told you anything it's that the Dark Angels are not this retardedly stupid and would continue to accept Lazarus as one of their circle and would reserve this hesitation for one of the reinforcement Primaris. The point is, that Primaris entering the Inner Circle is not a big deal no matter how much GW wants it to be, the big deal is where the Primaris was made, by the chapter or by Cawl. A chapter made and trained Primaris will have few issues entering the Inner Circle other than not being able to fit in Terminator armour. GW has been lazy on this, as they've taken to taking things from 30K so Marines in Powered Armor can join the Death and Ravenwings. Allowing Blade Guard Veterans to join the [[Deathwing]] and [[Outriders]] in the [[Ravenwing]]. Though their considered inferior choices for players compared to DW and Black knights.(i.e. no point in taking them, unless you need them for Objective Secured. So they just hunker down taking pot shots.)

What makes this sad, as most of the other chapters might even mock the Dark Angels and their successor chapters if they found out about The Fallen. Because Guilliman and Cawl should've known about the traitors scatters across the other loyalist legions. As they were there during The Scouring. Nobody on either side of the issue is smart enough to ask them and neither has the time anyhow. While the Lion is still indisposed. So what The First are currently doing now is trying to save themselves from embarrassment. This might be true if the Imperium was in anyway reasonable or level headed enough to look past such a transgression, they are not. Many may look at the Dark Angels a simply say that they are just being foolish, and that the Imperium would (if they found out) simply not care and handwave the existence of the Fallen away, but they seem to be forgetting that the Imperium is made up of a bunch a overly zealous, blindly dogmatic, nut jobs. If you wanted proof of this disconnect between what the Imperium really is, and what people want to believe the Imperium is, then look no further then the recent story featuring the custodes ordering, and then taking part in the wholesale destruction of an entire chapter simply because there was a fleeting possibility of disloyalty; the outcry from the community was almost comical, with many simply not believing that the forces of the Imperium could possibly be this idiotic, well guess again. The Dark Angels are no fools, and they are fully aware about what a shitty place the Imperium is; they actually felt remorse and sorrow when they had to remove their protection from a former recruitment world, which allowed the Imperium to finally swoop down and consume the world and its population. Don't be foolish enough to believe that the Imperium isn't petty, or stupid enough to do something that you might believe to be dangerously irrational or hopelessly deranged, because they will disappoint you at every turn.

== Cool Shit ==
[[File:Dark-angels-4000x2500 come at me bro.jpg|600px|thumb|right|Come at me [[Fallen Angels|"Bro"]]]]
As the very literal "First" Legion, they were equipped with gear that predated the pacts with Mars, and were supposed to have inherited much of their equipment from the time of Old Night and the armouries of ancient Terra. They were permitted to retain exclusive access to these items (by the Emperor's own command) which were often never seen in other later Legions which were raised to the standard template. For whatever reason.

These included:
*Fellglaives equipped with Warp Cannons instead of Volkite Carronade and Vindicators which fired warp/vortex shells (Warp shells/missiles/whatever teleport inside the target, Vortex unleash small warp rifts).
*Land Raiders equipped with Anti-Grav engines instead of tank treads.
*Stasis Missiles & Grenades
*Molecular Acid Boltshells
*Short ranged Plasma Repeater carbines and Plasma Burners.
*Phosphex Incinerator cannons [[Awesome|used by Terminators]] according to ''Angels of Caliban'' (Phosphex was normally considered a horrible and dishonorable weapon, the Dark Angels don't give a fuck)
*A unique pattern of aircraft called a Swordstrike Interceptor which they might or might not still have
*A unique type of super-heavy tank which acted as a mobile Void Shield generator called a "Portcullis Mono-track"
*Along with a host of other forbidden tech, the Dark Angels where also given authority to use a large number of enslaved [[Men of Iron]] during the Great Crusade.
*When they say they had access to forbidden tech, they really aren't kidding. The stuff they have hidden away could unleash a new 'Age of Strife', if the Emperor ever gave the order; even if the Great Crusade failed he could make sure that no one else won either (burn it all down and start again). Did we mention that these weapons are stated to be stored in areas that can even survive Exterminatus level events, and would survive even if the ships that they are on are destroyed... Some of this stuff is clearly not human in origin. It's essentially Pandora's box; once some of this stuff gets out, you won't be able to put it back in.

Much of this gear would not see use in the 41st Millennium ''(or the tabletop)'' and the chapter adheres to a slightly more "codex-equivalent" loadout, probably because GW re-uses the same Space Marine range for most chapters. Though it is strongly implied that the Rock still contains a hoard of archaeotech within its dungeons from the old days.

So far, all they've got to show for themselves is bikes with plasma-guns and cool pick-axes, some sturdy but mediocre flyers, some minor Land Speeder variants, and a supposedly disproportionate number of Terminator suits (taking potential casualties into account they have to have over 200 of the fucking things!). That is, so far as the Imperium knows. I mean, if a lot of interesting wars and operations were just...never reported...

Here's hoping that GW/FW remembers that the Emperor sent these guys out on Crusade before he sat down and actually made the other Legions, so they can get their act together and make Dark Angels distinct.

=== The Dark Angels Fleet ===
Both Forge World and the Black Library books have hinted quite a bit at the Dark Angels Legion having had a very prominent void presence. They are noted to specialize in extended independent void operations and the 1st Legion's artificers were known to create the distinctive 'Paravane' sub-type armour: ''"an idiosyncratic variant of the widely issued Mark II which was renowned for its enhanced void endurance and systems."'' Though this never really gets mentioned in later 40k, but there's no stopping you using the conversion kits to represent "Void Hardened" Armour in Zone Mortalis games, if you ever play those. This would also explain why they would have a crap ton of [[Terminator]] Armor.

Although they didn’t have the largest fleet nor have the largest number of capital ships (those honours belonged to legions like the [[Imperial Fists]] and the [[Iron Warriors]] respectively), the First may still have owned one of the most powerful fleets among the legions at that time. Chalk it up to the fact that they used a whole bunch of weapon designs that were left over from the Dark Age of Technology and had a large number of void fortresses that nobody else knew about. Which, by the way, means there may be hundreds or even thousands of Dark Angels Chapters in the void no one knows about as the legion creates its own (it did so publicly at least once that we know of and we know they can build their own everything). During the Thramas campaign, Sevatar’s reaction to seeing the full force of the First Legion's fleet bearing down upon the Night Lord's legion can be summed up as “well we're fucked, time to run away” (place obligatory Monty Python joke here). Even when the Lion headed towards Macragge, leaving the largest part of his fleet in the hands of Corswain, the fleet assets he took with him were still described as being enough to casually wipe out the defenses surrounding Guilliman's home and then split the world in two.
*Some of the fleet were armed with something similar to the Rift Cannons on the Dark Angels 40k Dark Talons but on a massive scale; such weapons would be devastating in a void combat environment.
*The Dark Angels legions fleet was almost never to be found in one place, instead it would be spread out into a large number of smaller fleets; however don't underestimate these fleets as each will contain some very old and power ships, dating all the way back to humanities golden age, and each fleet will be centred around a bloody [[Gloriana-class Battleship]] (that's right they had multiples of these things).
*The Lion would lead a fleet no larger then any other of the legion, as he wanted each fleet to be just as capable as his own. The fleet he is seen using during the Heresy numbered enough ships to sustain 20,000 marines; this combined with the current Dark Angels chapter fleet numbers, sustaining the supposed "1000" marines, we can get a rough bench mark for the size of Dark Angels legion fleets during the Crusade, however the Imperial Fists are said to have the largest fleet at over 15,000 warships. Due to the numbers that are traveling with the Lion, we can reasonably conclude that the Dark Angels had at least 10 main fleets operating at any given time during the Crusade.

It makes sense that the Dark Angels fleet was on the larger end given that the majority of their successor chapters are Fleet based ''(the fact that being fleet based means that they are harder to keep track of and monitor is of course completely accidental and in no ways intended. After all, what could they possibly have to hide right?)'' However, by the time of 40k and their diminished status as a "Chapter", even when excluding [[The Rock]] itself their fleet capabilities are certainly above average when you compare raw numbers with other chapters. ''With 8 battle barges, 16 strike cruisers and 21 rapid strike vessels they are twice the size of the Ultramarines fleet and almost three times the size of the Blood Angels'.'' However the [[Space Wolves]] have a larger overall fleet and there has been little to no mention of their continued use of archeotech warships and weapons even amongst their successors. However, given that unlike everyone else the Dark Angels never forgot how to maintain and build stuff, it is likely that they and their successor Chapters' technologies never weakened anyway, including their ships. Aside from that, every other instance of degrading technology in 40k is pointed out to our faces, but this is never brought up regarding Dark Angels technology. In the ''Lion 'el Johnson, Lord of the First'' Primarch book, it's revealed that though the Dark Angels maintain good relations with the Mechanicus, they also make a point of familiarizing themselves with the workings of technology on their own, which allows them to be self-sufficient if nessessary, and develop technological insights not limited by the dogma of Sons of Mars. This could go a long way to explaining what separates the Dark Angels and their successors from the rest of the Imperium, technologically speaking.

It is important to note the Dark Angels are one of the very few chapters to still have a Gloriana-class ship, the ''Invincible Reason''. Additionally they do make almost exclusive use of the '''Hunter-Class Destroyer'''. Other chapters have access to the template, but the Dark Angels prefer it because they don't like getting their new fleet assets from the same sources as the Imperial Navy. So the Hunter is like a naval Cobra Destroyer; it acts like a small torpedo boat but is a bit more maneuverable and armoured.

Despite this, unless you believe that the Unforgiven are purposefully concealing the fact that they have a whole bunch of leftover cool shit (which is exactly the sort of thing they love doing), it seems like those glorious days of "Legion" are long past.

*In most Chapters all their aircraft from the sleek [[Stormhawk]] Interceptors to the hulking [[Stormraven]] Gunships are piloted by the Techmarines of their Chapter's armoury. While most Chapters can have anything from 20 to 40 Techmarines at any one time (the Blood Angels have 35),the Dark Angels only have around 22 Techmarines. The low numbers of Techmarines within the Dark Angels can be put down to their distrust of their [[Adeptus Mechanicus|dual loyalties]]. While this lack of specialists would normally be a problem for most Chapters, the Dark Angels are somewhat unusual amongst the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes in that their unique aircraft the [[Nephilim Jetfighter]] and the [[Dark Talon]] are not piloted by the Techmarines of their armoury. Instead, these agile hunting craft are flown into battle by the expert operatives of the Dark Angels 2nd Company, the [[Ravenwing]] - which gives them a whole (oversized) company that is capable of taking to the skies if they are needed. From “Death from the Skies” we learn that most chapters can field at least two “divisions” (24 to around 48 aircraft) but they are dependent on the number of Techmarines the chapter can afford to deploy. By contrast, the Dark Angels have their 22 Techmarines and the entire Ravenwing which can field at least two “Companies” or six “divisions” (72 to around 144 aircraft depending on the size of the Ravenwing at the time); the Penitent blades (one of the newest chapters), due to the nature of their chosen home base, have twice this number. Keep in mind that the Ravenwing's normal ground and speeder vehicles could be piloted by Scouts in a pinch, which means that when deployed as a whole Chapter, the Dark Angels can field nearly one and a half hundred of among the best Astartes fighters along with around a hundred attack bikes and land speeders plus a hundred Terminators and the rest of their battle-brothers. This is without even considering their previously listed examples of technology exclusive to the First Legion. So...[[anal circumference|what did you roll?]]

== Notable Members ==
*'''[[Azrael]]''' - Current [[Chapter Master|SUPREME GRAND MASTER]] of the Dark Angels. It’s not at all suspicious that “Supreme Grand Master” implies there must be “masters” for there to be “grandmasters”. Dark Angels captains are just “captains”...just saying.
*'''[[Belial]]''' - Grand Master of the [[Deathwing]]. Current member of the Hidden Masters; Azrael's personal inner circle, they are privileged with knowledge beyond that given to even the regular Inner circle. They are also allowed to access the vast wealth held within the hidden libraries of the Rock that are usually protected by the Watchers in the Dark (not all of it of course, only the right amount; can't have them learning too much before they are ready); to give an idea to the value of the info the Rock contains, Tzeentch himself sent the Blue Scribes to secretly infiltrate and steal as much info as they could. Azrael himself has access to a vast collection of 'True Names, which he uses against their demonic owners. An interesting bit of information about Belial it that he actually hates all the cloak and dagger shenanigans that go on around him, his desire to track down Gaz is fuelled by him wanting to get away from all the shadow games for a moment and just have a good honest scrap.
*'''[[Sammael]]''' - Grand Master of the [[Ravenwing]]. Member of the Hidden Masters.
*'''[[Ezekiel]]''' - Current Chief [[Librarian]]. Member of the Hidden Masters.
*'''[[Sapphon]]''' Master of Sanctity- current head chaplain of the Dark Angels; alongside Azrael and Ezekiel, he forms a trinity of level heads that keep the whole thing together. Member of the Hidden Masters. Thought to be a conservative by his brothers, he is actually a deviant named after a famous [[Space Hulk: Deathwing|poetess]] of Greek Antiquity considered [[/d/|the first lesbian known to History!!]] [[Lulz|She also died for the love of a man]]; the Greeks called Homosexuality Kinaidos (Mover of [[Fallen|Shame]]), the Aidos part is a goddess member of the same trinity as [[Grey Knight|Nemesis]]. Sneaky, sleazy [[Games Workshop]]... who knows what will happen to poor Grand-Master Sapphon in the future?
*'''[[Asmodai]]''' - Master of Repentance- Notoriously brutal [[Interrogator-Chaplain]] who's known for being an asshole and failing twice at his job for every success. Member of the Hidden Masters.
*'''[[Naaman]]''' - Noted Scout Sergeant
*'''Corswain:''' The [[Paladin]] (Company Champion) of the Ninth Order; he would later become the Lion's Seneschal. A Caliban born Dark Angel he was despite his young age widely considered one of the finest blades among the Legiones Astartes, his name ranking among such legends such as [[Sigismund]] and [[Sevatar]]. Despite coming from such a taciturn and insular legion he had by the time of the Heresy gained a well-respected reputation among the other legions with even Guilliman referring to him as “beloved Corswain”.
*'''Alajos:''' The [[Dark Angels Grand Master|Grand master]] of the Ninth Order, a Terran-born veteran of the old legion and the Lion’s go-to champion when needed. He was also one of the few people Sigismund of the Imperial Fists respected and considered a true friend and brother-in-arms. He also stood his ground against a very angry Russ, refusing to stand down or move aside to allow him to retrieve his sword that he had lost after the Lion had disarmed him during the fight. Russ did take his axe instead though and then later handed it to the first new Space Wolf to be inducted into the new Space Wolf chapter after the legions were disbanded. He would meet his end upon Tsagualsa holding off both [[Sevatar]] and Sheng of the [[Night Lords]]. Alajos and Corswain represent different sides of the Legion with Alajos representing all the positive elements of the old legion and Corswain representing the new breed of Dark Angels and what they might have become if events had happened differently.
*'''[[Cypher]]''' - see his page for details
*'''Lazarus:''' Captain of the 5th company, and only primaris member of the Inner Circle. He has a hard-on for killing psykers (Thousand Sons specifically), and was introduced in a white dwarf to replace Captain Balthazar, then featured prominately in the Ritual of the Damned chapter of the [[Psychic Awakening]].

==Daily rituals==

04:00-Morning Prayer: The Dark Angels are roused from their cells to begin prayer at the leadership of the Interrogator-Chaplain. Prayer is extra long compared to most other Chapters due to {{Blam|+++DARK ANGELS BEING SO LOYAL THAT THEY WANT TO SHOW THEIR DEVOTION TO THE EMPEROR AND THE LION.+++}} 
06:00-Morning Firing Rites: The Dark Angels take to the ranges to begin firing practice. 
07:00-Battle Practice: The Dark Angels descend to the battle cages to practice in close-combat. Members of the Ravenwing will practice with their bikes and land speeders, while members of the Deathwing will practice {{Blam|+++counter Alpha Legion scenarios+++}} 
9:00- {{Blam|+++Chocolate milk and cookies break while listening to Enigma or Gregorian music. Also, free meditation time+++}}. 
12:00-Midday Meal: A light meal is prepared by the Chapter Serfs. 
12:30-Tactical Indoctrination: The Dark Angels will engage in tactical briefings on opponents they will be facing in the future. Members of the Inner Circle determine targets. At this point a battle-brother may visit the Apothecary. Meanwhile, Interrogator-Chaplains interrogate {{Blam|+++heretics and traitors+++}}. 
14:00-Afternoon nap with dimmed lights and soft instrumental music playing in the background.
 16:00-Evening Fire Rites: The Dark Angels take to the ranges to begin firing practice. They usually use black-colored targets to better hone their skills at shooting. 
17:00-Evening Prayer: The Dark Angels assemble for prayer under the Interrogator-Chaplains, who have just finished their {{Blam|+++lively discussions+++}}. 
19:00-Evening Meal: A feast is prepared by the Chapter serfs. Dessert consists of of angel's-food cake with a layer of dark mint chocolate, which the chapter serfs are extremely careful in their delivery to the mess halls as those which drop it and cause it to fall soon come to regret it. 
20:00-Maintenance Rituals: The Dark Angels will tend to the maintenance of their wargear while also washing their robes. Members of the Ravenwing will perform maintenance of their attack bikes and land speeders. 
00:00-The Dark Angels will retire to their cells for sleep.

* Why is there a 4 hour break in the schedule?
{{Blam|+++Time is relative in the Rock+++}}

== Frequently asked questions==
*Why are you called the Unforgiven?
[[Imperial Truth|{{Blam|+++For failing to protect the Emperor in His darkest hour +++}}]]

*Why is your rank Interrogator Chaplain?
[[Fallen Angels|{{Blam|+++The rank comes with the responsibility of seeking the repentance of the heretic Astartes, traitors, etc.+++}}]]

*Didn't I read that in the Index Astartes that your armour is black? Why is it green now?
{{Blam|+++Contrary to some heretical rumours, our armour is green so that we don’t get confused with our [[Raven Guard]] brothers. The only Dark Angels who wear black are the operatives and pilots of our Ravenwing company. [[Cypher|Should you see some Astartes wearing ancient wargear with Dark Angels iconography]] please report them to the nearest Dark Angels officer so [[FATAL|that they may be brought in line with the Codex Astartes regulations]]. Also the Codex itself is centuries out of date. We have raised these concerns with Lord [[Guilliman]], who has informed us that such errors will be corrected in the Codex Imperialis.+++}}

*Wouldn't that get confusing with the [[Salamanders]], who are also green?
{{Blam|+++No. The Salamanders are usually on fire, making it very easy to distinguish between them and us.+++}}

*I have seen some [[Watchers in the Dark|little beings]] with Dark Angels carrying some relics. What are these Watchers?
{{Blam|+++Worry not, these are just chapter serfs, not associated with xenos in any way+++}}

*Why are said serfs repelling Daemons with their mere presence?
{{Blam|+++A good question, faithful servant of the Emperor. Please follow this servo skull to our debriefing room down this dark and totally not conspicuous hall and Brother-Librarian [[Ezekiel]] shall implant your mind with its secrets.+++}}

*What happened to [[Caliban]], your homeworld?

{{Blam|+++It was destroyed by heretic Astartes during the Heresy. The Rock is all that remains of our homeworld.+++}}.

*What happened to your Primarch? Where is [[Lion El'Jonson]]?
{{Blam|+++With a heavy heart, we must tell you that he is lost to us, perhaps slain by the forces of Chaos. None can say if his body was found, and evidence of his whereabouts has been buried, but we believe he will return to guide us again +++}}.

*What happened to the allies that were fighting alongside the Dark Angels who suddenly disappeared?

[[Exterminatus|{{Blam|+++We are unaware of their present location. Only bolt shells and plasma burns were encountered. We suspect an ambush from the despised Traitor Legions.+++}}]]

*What is this Imperial Secundus we keep hearing about?

{{Blam|+++ Our knowledge of the Imperial Secundus is little better than the average imperial citizen. We suggest directing questions about it to Lord Guilliman. [[Commissar|Preferably when he doesn't have a firearm or power weapon at his side.]]+++}}

The '''Dark Angels''' (also known as the '''"The Unforgiven"''') are amongst the most loyal, honoured, accomplished and powerful [[Space Marine]] Chapters in the Imperium. Their grim determination and relentless persecution of their foes are legendary, and their combat record tells a long tale of selfless heroism.

== Litany of the Dark Angels: Space Hulk Deathwing ==
'''Heralds of the coming Doom, by cry of Raven, we are drawn.'''

'''This oath of war and vengeance, on blade of exalted iron sworn'''

'''With blood anointed swords aloft, advance we, into Dread’s dark shade.'''

'''Punishment divine unleashed with hate, a wrathful storm of bolt and blade.'''

'''Purge with plasma, fist, and shell, bring cleansing fire’s righteous breath.'''

'''For the Emperor, Knights of Caliban! The Lion’s anointed Angels of Death!'''

'''No forgiveness'''.

'''No retreat.'''

==Chapter Uniform==
The original Dark Angels had black armour, back in the days of the [[Beakie|Corvus pattern helmets]]. Modern Dark Angels instead use a dark green colour, except for the [[Deathwing]] and [[Ravenwing]] companies, which are composed entirely of bone-white Terminators and black Fast Attack units respectively. They were introduced in the Deathwing expansion to 1st edition ''[[Space Hulk]]'' with a spiffy background story by Bill King.
*To paint your armour black was to show that you served the Emperor directly in the same way Sigismund did when he was chosen to serve as the first Emperor's Champion.
*It could be that one of the reasons for swapping the black for the green was because they no longer felt worthy of it. The Dark Angels are literally wearing their shame for all to see, but no one else knows it.
*The Dark Angels wear green to remember Caliban's forests. The Calibanites first started it during the Heresy and it spread throughout the legion after the destruction of Caliban. (Some who were upset about how the Imperium had basically devoured Caliban's resources {and forests} as an expression of anger and possibly loyalty to Luther..or Caliban..or both.. it gets complicated)

Veterans wear robes and capes and such on the field of battle representing any number of ritualistic ranks and titles that are mostly unknown to those outside of the Chapter but harken back to the traditions of "The Order". Plus they look pretty [[awesome]].

==Gallery==
<Gallery>
File:DA Codex Cover.png|Here's some badassery right here.
File:Lulz.jpg|Happens quite often.
File:Dark-Angels-warhammer-40000.jpeg|Funnily enough, the angrinator-pattern helmet utilized by the Angry Marines was actually pioneered by the Dark Angels.
File:Dark Angels awesomeness.jpg|Always recognizable with their beautiful artworks and <s>amazing aesthetics.</s> FUKKEN DUALWIELDING FLINTLOCKS.
File:Interrogator Chap.jpg|200px|thumb|left|Welcome sir, let's start your [[FATAL|"interview"]] ([[Mark Gibbons|MG]])
File:Unforgiven.jpg|The Dark Angels and most of their confirmed successors
File:Beakie da fe ft.JPG|On the left: Dark Angel trooper in the glory days of the Legiones Astartes.
File:The_truth.jpeg|The true secret of the inner circle
File:Eternal-Crusade-Dark-Angel.jpg|Just a friendly reminder to all Dark Angels currently playing “Eternal Crusade”: every time the phrase “YOU HAVE FALLEN” appears on your screen brother Asmodai will kill a puppy.
File:-spacehulk-parchemin.png|Battle Hymn of Vengeance
File:20171125 150941.jpg|November 25, 2017—a date which will live in infamy—
File:FB_IMG_15118378317321618.jpg|Chicks dig Dark Angels
File:Space-Marine-Veteran-Print.jpg|Robes: always a classic.
File:FunkoPop-Jan21-DarkAngel8jvdds.jpg
File:Fallen DAMarine.jpg|The Dark Angels' turnover rates after their serfs have just mopped the floor are horrendous.
File:Lance Decurion.jpg|Dark Angels Lance Decurion
File:Space_marine_38.jpg|Dark Angels as depicted during the golden ages of GW art
</Gallery>

==See Also==
*[[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Dark_Angels (9E)|Dark Angels Tactics]]
* [[Dark Angel Shoulder Pad]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwZISypgA9M Unofficial theme song for the Dark Angels]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckom3gf57Yw Unofficial theme song for the Unforgiven]

{{Template:Marines-Official}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]]
[[Category:Dark Angels]]
{{Dark Angels}}

Erda

2022-03-04T11:59:59Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Biography AKA The Skubian Heresy: Erda would like to Speak to your Manager */

{{Spoilers}}
{{WTF}}
{{Fail}}
{{Skubby}}
[[File:ErdaArt.jpg|300px|right|thumb|For a 40,000 year old Karen, she is quite the [[PROMOTIONS|MILF]]. But please for the love of the Emprah's rotting testicles, please don't tell [[Fulgrim]] [[Slaanesh|of her existence. Or do, she honestly kinda deserves it.]]]]
{{Topquote|In the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millennium, not even the Emperor of Mankind is safe from the horrors of Child Custody.|Erda in a nutshell.}}
{{Topquote|So basically, the entire [[Horus Heresy]] has been reduced to [[Fail|'Karen took the kids']].|Some anon's description of Saturnine.}}
{{Topquote|Woman moment|The Emperor of Mankind}}
{{Topquote|All this over a family squabble.|The Bullet Farmer, Mad Max: Fury Road}}

Woo boy! Where do we begin. First appearing in the Horus Heresy novel: Saturnine (<s>an overall good novel</s> <s>not really</s> [[TTS|'''I gave it a 5/10 It was OK review''']]), Erda (Old High German for Earth. Get it? [[Derp|''Mother Earth'']]...) is a [[Perpetual]] who used to be one of the [[Emprah]]'s most closest allies/fuckbuddy. Some [[Heresy|Heretics]] even believe that she was Big E's first and only girlfriend/waifu/onahole/babyfactory throughout the aeons. Whether or not E-Money actually [[/d/|''fertilised'' Mother Earth]] with his [[Dick|big, throbbing Power Sword,]] we have no idea, but we do know that Erda would have had the Galaxy's strongest ovaries to handle the genetic makeup of Big E's manly bits. DUN DUN DUN! Yes, Erda is the [[Primarch|Primarch's]] mummy, not sure how [[Roboute Guilliman|Big Bobby G's]] foster mom, Tarasha Euten, is gonna feel about this. Maybe we can get them on Jeremy Kyle?!

==Biography AKA The [[Skub|Skubian]] Heresy: Erda would like to Speak to your Manager==

A warning on what you are about to read: with the release of Saturnine, her entire backstory has caused [[Skub]] and [[Rage|Nerd Rage]] on a scale not seen since [[Matt Ward]]'s Ultramarine Fanwank and Grey Knight Power Scaling. You have been warned.

For all intents and purposes, as a Perpetual, Erda was one of the oldest living beings in the Imperium. She met the Emprah in [[Terra|Terra's]] ancient past when he was a warlord king known as [[Conan the Barbarian|Neoth in the age of the First Cities.]] At that time, the Golden Daddy was already shepherding Mankind into the path that would lead to the creation of the Imperium. Erda grew the hots for him and we can't really fault her for this because any normal women could not resist that guy. I mean, just look at that ''hair'' and those ''pecs''... Aaaannnyways, Erda became one of the Emprah's closest and most loyal advisers and, during the [[Unification Wars]], was his chief geneticist along with Astarte in the creation of the [[Primarch]] project.

However, this is where the true [[Skub]] begins. While it makes sense that the Emprah has chosen Erda as the Primarch's mom due to the fact that they are both Perpetuals and their genetics complement each other, Big-E prevented Erda from taking part in their lives so he could prepare them for the upcoming [[Great Crusade]]. This understandably pissed off Erda to no end as anyone with an overbearing mum would understand. On the other hand, she was horrified of the idea that her sons would be used by the Emperor as automaton-like yes-men as generals of the Astartes legions, especially as he and Malcador were all but disowned by the other Perpetuals as fringe radicals who were pushing the evolutionary envelope too fast to guide mankind's evolution into a superior species. Apparently she was one of the last to leave his inner circle.

Unfortunately for all of us, Erda's way of 'saving' her children [[What|involved the creation of a Warp vortex which scattered the Primarchs across the galaxy.]] Yes, turns out it wasn't the interference of those [[Chaos Gods|Warp Goblins]] that scattered the Primarchs, but the action of a woman. This essentially means that rather than [[Erebus|this fucktard]] ruining everything, humanity was doomed and its future stolen by a [[-4 Str|woman,]] [[Religion|again.]] [[FAIL|It was an act of such idiocy and lunacy that by 'saving' the Primarchs from the Emprah,]] [[Leman Russ|it condemned]] [[Angron|some of them]] [[Konrad Curze|to a childhood]] [[Mortarion|worse than death.]] One wonders how the likes of [[Angron]] and [[Mortarion]] are gonna react to [[RAGE|''this'']] [[RIP AND TEAR|revelation.]] Not to mention Konrad Curze and the Lion. Due to this, Erda officially wins the [[EPIC FAIL|Galaxy's worst Mom award]] and seeing as how some like to chastise the Big-E as being a shitty father, maybe those two truly deserve each other in the end. However, in the Valdor novel it is stated that residual Chaos energy could be sensed in the room, making it plausible that Erda simply lowered the shield and let the Four do the heavy lifting. If that's the case though, then fuck, Space-Karen's offence becomes all the more unforgivable, given that she knows enough about Chaos to understand its corrupting nature. What a bitch.

That is a big part of the skub. Not only is it a stupid move, it is redundant. Chaos already had the means and motive to scatter the primarchs. Both Horus and Argel Tal were even shown visions of them going back in time to be the agents of Chaos that did it, with Argel Tal's vision implied to have actually happened. Though given that both of said visions were shown '''in the Warp''', at very important moments, in highly-scripted scenes by demonstrably malicious entities with more than enough power to manipulate what was being depicted (what Horus was shown was at the behest of the four Chaos gods themselves for fuck's sake), to individuals absolutely imperative to the plans of Team Chaos (individuals that conveniently had recently become far more susceptible due to both shattering morale drops and grevious physical injury), their believability could at best be called dubious and suspicious. Welp, with the release of ''The Siege Of Terra: Warhawk'', it's been confirmed from the lips of [[Erebus]] him-motherfucking-self that actually, yeah, Erda did it. What Horus and Argel Tal were shown in the Warp by the Ruinous Powers and [[daemon]]s respectively was a lie. Shock. Even going so far as to reveal that "the scattering wouldn't have been possible without your [Erda's] intervention," and Erebus makes it very clear that the Chaos Gods are REEEAL glad that she did, but that they apparently aren't sure '''WHY''' she did it. For all that Erebus thrives on deception, we can probably believe him on this one. What does it say about your decision-making skills when the Ruinous Powers themselves effectively say your plan was silly? Even though they directly benefited from her not-plan plan. Oh! And then she even has the shitting gall to claim that actually, it wasn't her fault what happened to the primarchs and those that fell to Chaos have only themselves and Big-E to blame. For all that they disagree with [[Emperor|Daddy]] on many things, [[Konrad_Curze|Konrad]], [[Angron]], and [[Mortarion]] in particular [[RAGE|would likely take a rather dim view of that assertion]]. As indeed would anyone who values cause and effect or observable reality. Jesus of Christ. Worst. Mom. EVER. Though she gets a bit of comeuppance when Erebus attacks her with some kind of Psi-mind-rape, and floods her consciousness with the truth of the consequences of her actions, making it very clear to her that this was HER fault; she had just come off an engagement with 4 greater daemons that she killed fairly easily (even implying that they were ''true deaths'', a prospect made even more likely if she had utilized Enuncia), but Erebus' attack brought her to her knees as the sheer horror of the truth, it's magnitude, and the consequences of what she'd done was laid bare. It gets even funnier though because more than a few of the Primarchs thought that the Scattering was deliberate on the part of the Emperor. If only they knew...

And so it was that now, very late in the series, after the [[Cabal]] arc was dead, [[Fail|we get her helping forge the setting by being a bad mom on a galactic scale. While perhaps not to the same level as say, the Old Ones being dicks to the Necrontyr, setting in motion the War In Heaven, which ultimately would result in both the birth of Chaos and the rise of the C'tan, thus forming 40k's bedrock, Erda's bullshittery still literally imperiled the very survival of mankind as a whole. What a TWEEST!]]

After Erda pulled an oopsy, she then went into hiding for many years. [[RAGE|E-Money understandably, had the mother of all God rage,]] but strangely enough, he never sought to retaliate against Erda (possibly having figured out through divination that the current timeline of eternal stalemate and war was the only option), even when he knew where she was. Or maybe he just uncharacteristically forgave her due to his love of playing favourites. By the time of the [[Siege of Terra]], Erda was living in exile at Guelb, an ancient site in Mauritania close to her birthplace, with a group of servants and even her own personal Space Marine called Leetu. Leetu claimed to be an original Astartes predating the creation of the Legions and the diversification of the [[Gene-seed]] that came with the Primarch project; an odd statement since other lore claims that the Dark Angels were the baseline and the other Legions had their gene-seed cultivated from modified DA stuff. Alternatively, he could just as easily be an unrefined prototype much in the way that Cawl's Primaris prototype, Alpha Primus, is in the current era. His name comes from "LE 2", which might mean "Legion Two" and trigger our missing [[Primarch]] sensors but is really a reference to the prototype Space Marine miniature.

She was eventually visited by [[John Grammaticus]] doing his best Nathan Drake impression. Grammaticus sought Erda's help in getting into the Imperial Palace and had also arranged to rendezvous with [[Ollanius Pius|Oll Persson]] at her home. Erda was shocked to hear that Oll had become involved in the affairs of the Human race again, and expressed worry over his fate when he did not arrive. Though sympathetic to John's cause she ultimately said she had no way to help him enter the Palace due to, you know, a [[Emperor of Mankind|certain couple's quarrel.]] In Warhawk, Erebus visits her to convince her to join Chaos because of...[[Derp|reasons]]. Seriously, Erebus just...appears out of nowhere. How that [[Dick]] knew about Erda or why he was even remotely interested in that dumb broad, we have no clue. Predictably, she says no and gets jumped by 4 Greater Daemons and wins due to [[Mary Sue|super-special-psychic-mumbo-jumbo]][[Games Workshop|™]] [[Bullshit]] and/or utilizing Enuncia, but was severely wounded in the process by Erebus. He tells her again but this time, to worship him if she wants to live. She spits at him, which predictably leads to Erebus poking her face with the Athame, killing her...sort of, it cuts off before the finishing blow. Overall, pretty fucking lame way to go on [[Fail|both parties,]] both from Erebus thinking a [[Derp|48,000 year old Karen would help in anyway to the Heresy]] and for Erda in getting [[Herp|punt to the face.]] So yeah, Erda came and went, which again asks the question on what was the point of her existence if you give her less screen time than fucking [[EPIC FAIL|''Calliphone''!?]]

Thank you [[Dan Abnett|Dan Abnett]], for this [[C.S. Goto|fine addition to the established story.]] Why [[Chris Wraight]] was allowed to kill her off we can only guess. Though at least 99.95% of the fandom are hoping her death sticks. Unfortunately, that might prove unlikely since truly killing a perpetual makes truly killing a daemon look like a mundane task, and Erebus only used his athame; while ordinarily a formidable pokey-stick, multiple previous books in the Horus Heresy have pretty firmly established that (unless your name is Magnus or you're Big-E himself) to permakill a Perpetual requires fulgurite. Indeed, one in particular, ''Old Earth'', has an entire B-Plot about this very topic, and suffice it to say that if it had been as simple as acquiring an athame, that would have been a much shorter book. Nor indeed would this be the first time Erebus prematurely declared victory. Add to that, there's also the unfortunate aside that Erebus apparently "killed" her offscreen, which is so often a narrative copout (and a blatant one at that) to provide an opening for an easy possible return at some point later on in the future of the story. BUT even if she doesn't stay dead, there's NO need to show the readers that. If nothing else, it provides an out. Thank fuck.
{{Imperium}}
[[Category:Imperial]]
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]

Erda

2022-03-04T11:57:45Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Biography AKA The Skubian Heresy: Erda would like to Speak to your Manager */

{{Spoilers}}
{{WTF}}
{{Fail}}
{{Skubby}}
[[File:ErdaArt.jpg|300px|right|thumb|For a 40,000 year old Karen, she is quite the [[PROMOTIONS|MILF]]. But please for the love of the Emprah's rotting testicles, please don't tell [[Fulgrim]] [[Slaanesh|of her existence. Or do, she honestly kinda deserves it.]]]]
{{Topquote|In the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millennium, not even the Emperor of Mankind is safe from the horrors of Child Custody.|Erda in a nutshell.}}
{{Topquote|So basically, the entire [[Horus Heresy]] has been reduced to [[Fail|'Karen took the kids']].|Some anon's description of Saturnine.}}
{{Topquote|Woman moment|The Emperor of Mankind}}
{{Topquote|All this over a family squabble.|The Bullet Farmer, Mad Max: Fury Road}}

Woo boy! Where do we begin. First appearing in the Horus Heresy novel: Saturnine (<s>an overall good novel</s> <s>not really</s> [[TTS|'''I gave it a 5/10 It was OK review''']]), Erda (Old High German for Earth. Get it? [[Derp|''Mother Earth'']]...) is a [[Perpetual]] who used to be one of the [[Emprah]]'s most closest allies/fuckbuddy. Some [[Heresy|Heretics]] even believe that she was Big E's first and only girlfriend/waifu/onahole/babyfactory throughout the aeons. Whether or not E-Money actually [[/d/|''fertilised'' Mother Earth]] with his [[Dick|big, throbbing Power Sword,]] we have no idea, but we do know that Erda would have had the Galaxy's strongest ovaries to handle the genetic makeup of Big E's manly bits. DUN DUN DUN! Yes, Erda is the [[Primarch|Primarch's]] mummy, not sure how [[Roboute Guilliman|Big Bobby G's]] foster mom, Tarasha Euten, is gonna feel about this. Maybe we can get them on Jeremy Kyle?!

==Biography AKA The [[Skub|Skubian]] Heresy: Erda would like to Speak to your Manager==

A warning on what you are about to read: with the release of Saturnine, her entire backstory has caused [[Skub]] and [[Rage|Nerd Rage]] on a scale not seen since [[Matt Ward]]'s Ultramarine Fanwank and Grey Knight Power Scaling. You have been warned.

For all intents and purposes, as a Perpetual, Erda was one of the oldest living beings in the Imperium. She met the Emprah in [[Terra|Terra's]] ancient past when he was a warlord king known as [[Conan the Barbarian|Neoth in the age of the First Cities.]] At that time, the Golden Daddy was already shepherding Mankind into the path that would lead to the creation of the Imperium. Erda grew the hots for him and we can't really fault her for this because any normal women could not resist that guy. I mean, just look at that ''hair'' and those ''pecs''... Aaaannnyways, Erda became one of the Emprah's closest and most loyal advisers and, during the [[Unification Wars]], was his chief geneticist along with Astarte in the creation of the [[Primarch]] project.

However, this is where the true [[Skub]] begins. While it makes sense that the Emprah has chosen Erda as the Primarch's mom due to the fact that they are both Perpetuals and their genetics complement each other, Big-E prevented Erda from taking part in their lives so he could prepare them for the upcoming [[Great Crusade]]. This understandably pissed off Erda to no end as anyone with an overbearing mum would understand. On the other hand, she was horrified of the idea that her sons would be used by the Emperor as automaton-like yes-men as generals of the Astartes legions, especially as he and Malcador were all but disowned by the other Perpetuals as fringe radicals who were pushing the evolutionary envelope too fast to guide mankind's evolution into a superior species. Apparently she was one of the last to leave his inner circle.

Unfortunately for all of us, Erda's way of 'saving' her children [[What|involved the creation of a Warp vortex which scattered the Primarchs across the galaxy.]] Yes, turns out it wasn't the interference of those [[Chaos Gods|Warp Goblins]] that scattered the Primarchs, but the action of a woman. This essentially means that rather than [[Erebus|this fucktard]] ruining everything, humanity was doomed and its future stolen by a [[-4 Str|woman,]] [[Religion|again.]] [[FAIL|It was an act of such idiocy and lunacy that by 'saving' the Primarchs from the Emprah,]] [[Leman Russ|it condemned]] [[Angron|some of them]] [[Konrad Curze|to a childhood]] [[Mortarion|worse than death.]] One wonders how the likes of [[Angron]] and [[Mortarion]] are gonna react to [[RAGE|''this'']] [[RIP AND TEAR|revelation.]] Not to mention Konrad Curze and the Lion. Due to this, Erda officially wins the [[EPIC FAIL|Galaxy's worst Mom award]] and seeing as how some like to chastise the Big-E as being a shitty father, maybe those two truly deserve each other in the end. However, in the Valdor novel it is stated that residual Chaos energy could be sensed in the room, making it plausible that Erda simply lowered the shield and let the Four do the heavy lifting. If that's the case though, then fuck, Space-Karen's offence becomes all the more unforgivable, given that she knows enough about Chaos to understand its corrupting nature. What a bitch.

That is a big part of the skub. Not only is it a stupid move, it is redundant. Chaos already had the means and motive to scatter the primarchs. Both Horus and Argel Tal were even shown visions of them going back in time to be the agents of Chaos that did it, with Argel Tal's vision implied to have actually happened. Though given that both of said visions were shown '''in the Warp''', at very important moments, in highly-scripted scenes by demonstrably malicious entities with more than enough power to manipulate what was being depicted (what Horus was shown was at the behest of the four Chaos gods themselves for fuck's sake), to individuals absolutely imperative to the plans of Team Chaos (individuals that had conveniently become far more susceptible due to recent shattering morale drops and grevious physical injuries), their believability could at best be called dubious and suspicious. Welp, with the release of ''The Siege Of Terra: Warhawk'', it's been confirmed from the lips of [[Erebus]] him-motherfucking-self that actually, yeah, Erda did it. What Horus and Argel Tal were shown in the Warp by the Ruinous Powers and [[daemon]]s respectively was a lie. Shock. Even going so far as to reveal that "the scattering wouldn't have been possible without your [Erda's] intervention," and Erebus makes it very clear that the Chaos Gods are REEEAL glad that she did, but that they apparently aren't sure '''WHY''' she did it. For all that Erebus thrives on deception, we can probably believe him on this one. What does it say about your decision-making skills when the Ruinous Powers themselves effectively say your plan was silly? Even though they directly benefited from her not-plan plan. Oh! And then she even has the shitting gall to claim that actually, it wasn't her fault what happened to the primarchs and those that fell to Chaos have only themselves and Big-E to blame. For all that they disagree with [[Emperor|Daddy]] on many things, [[Konrad_Curze|Konrad]], [[Angron]], and [[Mortarion]] in particular [[RAGE|would likely take a rather dim view of that assertion]]. As indeed would anyone who values cause and effect or observable reality. Jesus of Christ. Worst. Mom. EVER. Though she gets a bit of comeuppance when Erebus attacks her with some kind of Psi-mind-rape, and floods her consciousness with the truth of the consequences of her actions, making it very clear to her that this was HER fault; she had just come off an engagement with 4 greater daemons that she killed fairly easily (even implying that they were ''true deaths'', a prospect made even more likely if she had utilized Enuncia), but Erebus' attack brought her to her knees as the sheer horror of the truth, it's magnitude, and the consequences of what she'd done was laid bare. It gets even funnier though because more than a few of the Primarchs thought that the Scattering was deliberate on the part of the Emperor. If only they knew...

And so it was that now, very late in the series, after the [[Cabal]] arc was dead, [[Fail|we get her helping forge the setting by being a bad mom on a galactic scale. While perhaps not to the same level as say, the Old Ones being dicks to the Necrontyr, setting in motion the War In Heaven, which ultimately would result in both the birth of Chaos and the rise of the C'tan, thus forming 40k's bedrock, Erda's bullshittery still literally imperiled the very survival of mankind as a whole. What a TWEEST!]]

After Erda pulled an oopsy, she then went into hiding for many years. [[RAGE|E-Money understandably, had the mother of all God rage,]] but strangely enough, he never sought to retaliate against Erda (possibly having figured out through divination that the current timeline of eternal stalemate and war was the only option), even when he knew where she was. Or maybe he just uncharacteristically forgave her due to his love of playing favourites. By the time of the [[Siege of Terra]], Erda was living in exile at Guelb, an ancient site in Mauritania close to her birthplace, with a group of servants and even her own personal Space Marine called Leetu. Leetu claimed to be an original Astartes predating the creation of the Legions and the diversification of the [[Gene-seed]] that came with the Primarch project; an odd statement since other lore claims that the Dark Angels were the baseline and the other Legions had their gene-seed cultivated from modified DA stuff. Alternatively, he could just as easily be an unrefined prototype much in the way that Cawl's Primaris prototype, Alpha Primus, is in the current era. His name comes from "LE 2", which might mean "Legion Two" and trigger our missing [[Primarch]] sensors but is really a reference to the prototype Space Marine miniature.

She was eventually visited by [[John Grammaticus]] doing his best Nathan Drake impression. Grammaticus sought Erda's help in getting into the Imperial Palace and had also arranged to rendezvous with [[Ollanius Pius|Oll Persson]] at her home. Erda was shocked to hear that Oll had become involved in the affairs of the Human race again, and expressed worry over his fate when he did not arrive. Though sympathetic to John's cause she ultimately said she had no way to help him enter the Palace due to, you know, a [[Emperor of Mankind|certain couple's quarrel.]] In Warhawk, Erebus visits her to convince her to join Chaos because of...[[Derp|reasons]]. Seriously, Erebus just...appears out of nowhere. How that [[Dick]] knew about Erda or why he was even remotely interested in that dumb broad, we have no clue. Predictably, she says no and gets jumped by 4 Greater Daemons and wins due to [[Mary Sue|super-special-psychic-mumbo-jumbo]][[Games Workshop|™]] [[Bullshit]] and/or utilizing Enuncia, but was severely wounded in the process by Erebus. He tells her again but this time, to worship him if she wants to live. She spits at him, which predictably leads to Erebus poking her face with the Athame, killing her...sort of, it cuts off before the finishing blow. Overall, pretty fucking lame way to go on [[Fail|both parties,]] both from Erebus thinking a [[Derp|48,000 year old Karen would help in anyway to the Heresy]] and for Erda in getting [[Herp|punt to the face.]] So yeah, Erda came and went, which again asks the question on what was the point of her existence if you give her less screen time than fucking [[EPIC FAIL|''Calliphone''!?]]

Thank you [[Dan Abnett|Dan Abnett]], for this [[C.S. Goto|fine addition to the established story.]] Why [[Chris Wraight]] was allowed to kill her off we can only guess. Though at least 99.95% of the fandom are hoping her death sticks. Unfortunately, that might prove unlikely since truly killing a perpetual makes truly killing a daemon look like a mundane task, and Erebus only used his athame; while ordinarily a formidable pokey-stick, multiple previous books in the Horus Heresy have pretty firmly established that (unless your name is Magnus or you're Big-E himself) to permakill a Perpetual requires fulgurite. Indeed, one in particular, ''Old Earth'', has an entire B-Plot about this very topic, and suffice it to say that if it had been as simple as acquiring an athame, that would have been a much shorter book. Nor indeed would this be the first time Erebus prematurely declared victory. Add to that, there's also the unfortunate aside that Erebus apparently "killed" her offscreen, which is so often a narrative copout (and a blatant one at that) to provide an opening for an easy possible return at some point later on in the future of the story. BUT even if she doesn't stay dead, there's NO need to show the readers that. If nothing else, it provides an out. Thank fuck.
{{Imperium}}
[[Category:Imperial]]
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]

Erda

2022-03-04T11:56:30Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Biography AKA The Skubian Heresy: Erda would like to Speak to your Manager */

{{Spoilers}}
{{WTF}}
{{Fail}}
{{Skubby}}
[[File:ErdaArt.jpg|300px|right|thumb|For a 40,000 year old Karen, she is quite the [[PROMOTIONS|MILF]]. But please for the love of the Emprah's rotting testicles, please don't tell [[Fulgrim]] [[Slaanesh|of her existence. Or do, she honestly kinda deserves it.]]]]
{{Topquote|In the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millennium, not even the Emperor of Mankind is safe from the horrors of Child Custody.|Erda in a nutshell.}}
{{Topquote|So basically, the entire [[Horus Heresy]] has been reduced to [[Fail|'Karen took the kids']].|Some anon's description of Saturnine.}}
{{Topquote|Woman moment|The Emperor of Mankind}}
{{Topquote|All this over a family squabble.|The Bullet Farmer, Mad Max: Fury Road}}

Woo boy! Where do we begin. First appearing in the Horus Heresy novel: Saturnine (<s>an overall good novel</s> <s>not really</s> [[TTS|'''I gave it a 5/10 It was OK review''']]), Erda (Old High German for Earth. Get it? [[Derp|''Mother Earth'']]...) is a [[Perpetual]] who used to be one of the [[Emprah]]'s most closest allies/fuckbuddy. Some [[Heresy|Heretics]] even believe that she was Big E's first and only girlfriend/waifu/onahole/babyfactory throughout the aeons. Whether or not E-Money actually [[/d/|''fertilised'' Mother Earth]] with his [[Dick|big, throbbing Power Sword,]] we have no idea, but we do know that Erda would have had the Galaxy's strongest ovaries to handle the genetic makeup of Big E's manly bits. DUN DUN DUN! Yes, Erda is the [[Primarch|Primarch's]] mummy, not sure how [[Roboute Guilliman|Big Bobby G's]] foster mom, Tarasha Euten, is gonna feel about this. Maybe we can get them on Jeremy Kyle?!

==Biography AKA The [[Skub|Skubian]] Heresy: Erda would like to Speak to your Manager==

A warning on what you are about to read: with the release of Saturnine, her entire backstory has caused [[Skub]] and [[Rage|Nerd Rage]] on a scale not seen since [[Matt Ward]]'s Ultramarine Fanwank and Grey Knight Power Scaling. You have been warned.

For all intents and purposes, as a Perpetual, Erda was one of the oldest living beings in the Imperium. She met the Emprah in [[Terra|Terra's]] ancient past when he was a warlord king known as [[Conan the Barbarian|Neoth in the age of the First Cities.]] At that time, the Golden Daddy was already shepherding Mankind into the path that would lead to the creation of the Imperium. Erda grew the hots for him and we can't really fault her for this because any normal women could not resist that guy. I mean, just look at that ''hair'' and those ''pecs''... Aaaannnyways, Erda became one of the Emprah's closest and most loyal advisers and, during the [[Unification Wars]], was his chief geneticist along with Astarte in the creation of the [[Primarch]] project.

However, this is where the true [[Skub]] begins. While it makes sense that the Emprah has chosen Erda as the Primarch's mom due to the fact that they are both Perpetuals and their genetics complement each other, Big-E prevented Erda from taking part in their lives so he could prepare them for the upcoming [[Great Crusade]]. This understandably pissed off Erda to no end as anyone with an overbearing mum would understand. On the other hand, she was horrified of the idea that her sons would be used by the Emperor as automaton-like yes-men as generals of the Astartes legions, especially as he and Malcador were all but disowned by the other Perpetuals as fringe radicals who were pushing the evolutionary envelope too fast to guide mankind's evolution into a superior species. Apparently she was one of the last to leave his inner circle.

Unfortunately for all of us, Erda's way of 'saving' her children [[What|involved the creation of a Warp vortex which scattered the Primarchs across the galaxy.]] Yes, turns out it wasn't the interference of those [[Chaos Gods|Warp Goblins]] that scattered the Primarchs, but the action of a woman. This essentially means that rather than [[Erebus|this fucktard]] ruining everything, humanity was doomed and its future stolen by a [[-4 Str|woman,]] [[Religion|again.]] [[FAIL|It was an act of such idiocy and lunacy that by 'saving' the Primarchs from the Emprah,]] [[Leman Russ|it condemned]] [[Angron|some of them]] [[Konrad Curze|to a childhood]] [[Mortarion|worse than death.]] One wonders how the likes of [[Angron]] and [[Mortarion]] are gonna react to [[RAGE|''this'']] [[RIP AND TEAR|revelation.]] Not to mention Konrad Curze and the Lion. Due to this, Erda officially wins the [[EPIC FAIL|Galaxy's worst Mom award]] and seeing as how some like to chastise the Big-E as being a shitty father, maybe those two truly deserve each other in the end. However, in the Valdor novel it is stated that residual Chaos energy could be sensed in the room, making it plausible that Erda simply lowered the shield and let the Four do the heavy lifting. If that's the case though, then fuck, Space-Karen's offence becomes all the more unforgivable, given that she knows enough about Chaos to understand its corrupting nature. What a bitch.

That is a big part of the skub. Not only is it a stupid move, it is redundant. Chaos already had the means and motive to scatter the primarchs. Both Horus and Argel Tal were even shown visions of them going back in time to be the agents of Chaos that did it, with Argel Tal's vision implied to have actually happened. Though given that both of said visions were shown in the Warp, at very important moments, in highly-scripted scenes by demonstrably malicious entities with more than enough power to manipulate what was being depicted (what Horus was shown was at the behest of the four Chaos gods themselves for fuck's sake), to individuals absolutely imperative to the plans of Team Chaos (individuals that had conveniently become far more susceptible due to recent shattering morale drops and grevious physical injuries), their believability could at best be called dubious and suspicious. Welp, with the release of ''The Siege Of Terra: Warhawk'', it's been confirmed from the lips of [[Erebus]] him-motherfucking-self that actually, yeah, Erda did it. What Horus and Argel Tal were shown in the Warp by the Ruinous Powers and [[daemon]]s respectively was a lie. Shock. Even going so far as to reveal that "the scattering wouldn't have been possible without your [Erda's] intervention," and Erebus makes it very clear that the Chaos Gods are REEEAL glad that she did, but that they apparently aren't sure '''WHY''' she did it. For all that Erebus thrives on deception, we can probably believe him on this one. What does it say about your decision-making skills when the Ruinous Powers themselves effectively say your plan was silly? Even though they directly benefited from her not-plan plan. Oh! And then she even has the shitting gall to claim that actually, it wasn't her fault what happened to the primarchs and those that fell to Chaos have only themselves and Big-E to blame. For all that they disagree with [[Emperor|Daddy]] on many things, [[Konrad_Curze|Konrad]], [[Angron]], and [[Mortarion]] in particular [[RAGE|would likely take a rather dim view of that assertion]]. As indeed would anyone who values cause and effect or observable reality. Jesus of Christ. Worst. Mom. EVER. Though she gets a bit of comeuppance when Erebus attacks her with some kind of Psi-mind-rape, and floods her consciousness with the truth of the consequences of her actions, making it very clear to her that this was HER fault; she had just come off an engagement with 4 greater daemons that she killed fairly easily (even implying that they were ''true deaths'', a prospect made even more likely if she had utilized Enuncia), but Erebus' attack brought her to her knees as the sheer horror of the truth, it's magnitude, and the consequences of what she'd done was laid bare. It gets even funnier though because more than a few of the Primarchs thought that the Scattering was deliberate on the part of the Emperor. If only they knew...

And so it was that now, very late in the series, after the [[Cabal]] arc was dead, [[Fail|we get her helping forge the setting by being a bad mom on a galactic scale. While perhaps not to the same level as say, the Old Ones being dicks to the Necrontyr, setting in motion the War In Heaven, which ultimately would result in both the birth of Chaos and the rise of the C'tan, thus forming 40k's bedrock, Erda's bullshittery still literally imperiled the very survival of mankind as a whole. What a TWEEST!]]

After Erda pulled an oopsy, she then went into hiding for many years. [[RAGE|E-Money understandably, had the mother of all God rage,]] but strangely enough, he never sought to retaliate against Erda (possibly having figured out through divination that the current timeline of eternal stalemate and war was the only option), even when he knew where she was. Or maybe he just uncharacteristically forgave her due to his love of playing favourites. By the time of the [[Siege of Terra]], Erda was living in exile at Guelb, an ancient site in Mauritania close to her birthplace, with a group of servants and even her own personal Space Marine called Leetu. Leetu claimed to be an original Astartes predating the creation of the Legions and the diversification of the [[Gene-seed]] that came with the Primarch project; an odd statement since other lore claims that the Dark Angels were the baseline and the other Legions had their gene-seed cultivated from modified DA stuff. Alternatively, he could just as easily be an unrefined prototype much in the way that Cawl's Primaris prototype, Alpha Primus, is in the current era. His name comes from "LE 2", which might mean "Legion Two" and trigger our missing [[Primarch]] sensors but is really a reference to the prototype Space Marine miniature.

She was eventually visited by [[John Grammaticus]] doing his best Nathan Drake impression. Grammaticus sought Erda's help in getting into the Imperial Palace and had also arranged to rendezvous with [[Ollanius Pius|Oll Persson]] at her home. Erda was shocked to hear that Oll had become involved in the affairs of the Human race again, and expressed worry over his fate when he did not arrive. Though sympathetic to John's cause she ultimately said she had no way to help him enter the Palace due to, you know, a [[Emperor of Mankind|certain couple's quarrel.]] In Warhawk, Erebus visits her to convince her to join Chaos because of...[[Derp|reasons]]. Seriously, Erebus just...appears out of nowhere. How that [[Dick]] knew about Erda or why he was even remotely interested in that dumb broad, we have no clue. Predictably, she says no and gets jumped by 4 Greater Daemons and wins due to [[Mary Sue|super-special-psychic-mumbo-jumbo]][[Games Workshop|™]] [[Bullshit]] and/or utilizing Enuncia, but was severely wounded in the process by Erebus. He tells her again but this time, to worship him if she wants to live. She spits at him, which predictably leads to Erebus poking her face with the Athame, killing her...sort of, it cuts off before the finishing blow. Overall, pretty fucking lame way to go on [[Fail|both parties,]] both from Erebus thinking a [[Derp|48,000 year old Karen would help in anyway to the Heresy]] and for Erda in getting [[Herp|punt to the face.]] So yeah, Erda came and went, which again asks the question on what was the point of her existence if you give her less screen time than fucking [[EPIC FAIL|''Calliphone''!?]]

Thank you [[Dan Abnett|Dan Abnett]], for this [[C.S. Goto|fine addition to the established story.]] Why [[Chris Wraight]] was allowed to kill her off we can only guess. Though at least 99.95% of the fandom are hoping her death sticks. Unfortunately, that might prove unlikely since truly killing a perpetual makes truly killing a daemon look like a mundane task, and Erebus only used his athame; while ordinarily a formidable pokey-stick, multiple previous books in the Horus Heresy have pretty firmly established that (unless your name is Magnus or you're Big-E himself) to permakill a Perpetual requires fulgurite. Indeed, one in particular, ''Old Earth'', has an entire B-Plot about this very topic, and suffice it to say that if it had been as simple as acquiring an athame, that would have been a much shorter book. Nor indeed would this be the first time Erebus prematurely declared victory. Add to that, there's also the unfortunate aside that Erebus apparently "killed" her offscreen, which is so often a narrative copout (and a blatant one at that) to provide an opening for an easy possible return at some point later on in the future of the story. BUT even if she doesn't stay dead, there's NO need to show the readers that. If nothing else, it provides an out. Thank fuck.
{{Imperium}}
[[Category:Imperial]]
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]

First Founding

2022-03-04T11:47:56Z

2603:8001:6901:2586:68A0:BC77:4FE4:BE33: /* Number of Legionaries */

{{Topquote|They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give of themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them, and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and machines so that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines and they shall know no fear.|The [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor of Mankind]] on the creation of the Adeptus Astartes}}

{{Topquote|Vos, Hæmi gelidæ valles, quas sæpe cruentis Stragibus æquavit Stilicho ; vos, Thracia, testor, Fulmina, quæ largo mutastis sanguine fluctus ; Dicite, Bisaltæ, vel qui Pangæa juvencis Scinditis, offense quantæ sub vomere putres Dissiliant glebis galæ, vel qualia rastris Ossa peremtorum resonant immania regum.
Valley of (Mt.) Hemus, which so often Stilicho buried with corpses! Rivers of Thrace, who saw blood replace your waters! I take you as witnesses. Answer, ye Bisaltians, and ye folks whose chariots labour the guts of Pangae! So many helmets covered in rust, broken into shards by the strokes of the ploughshare, a great many times the mattock ploughed the gigantic bones of fallen Kings who found death within your countryside.|Claudius Claudianus, ''In Praise of Stilicho'', first volume}}

After he conquered [[Terra]], the [[God-Emperor of Mankind|Emperor of Mankind]] set out on a [[Great Crusade]] to re-unite the lost human colonies into a mighty [[Imperium]]. He soon realized that bog-standard humans wouldn't be enough; some situations called for a small number of devastatingly powerful warriors, a surgical strike force to smash enemy linchpins. To fill this role, he created his [[Primarchs]], and from their genes, he created the '''Legiones Astartes''', the twenty [[Space Marines|Space Marine]] Legions, in an event [[Second Founding|retroactively]] named the '''First Founding'''.

==The Legions==

{|align=center border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Legion Number !! Primarch !! Homeworld !! Legion Name !! Allegiance
|-
! I
|[[Lion El'Jonson]] || [[Caliban]] || [[Dark Angels]]
| style="background-color: navy;color:white;"| ABSOLUTELY LOYAL, AND HAVE TOTALLY NEVER BEEN TRAITORS AT ANY POINT. PLEASE FOLLOW ME DOWN THIS ENTIRELY SAFE AND UNSUSPICIOUS DARK ALLEY SO THAT I MAY EDUCATE YOU ON THE TOTALLY CLEAN AND LOYALIST HISTORY OF THE DARK ANGELS!
|-
! II
! colspan="5" | +++Records expunged+++
|-
!III
| [[Fulgrim]] || [[Chemos]] || [[Emperor's Children]]
| style="background-color: maroon;color:white;"| Absolutely FABULOUS traitor
|-
! IV
| [[Perturabo]] || [[Olympia]] || [[Iron Warriors]]
| style="background-color: maroon;color:white;"| Super grumpy Traitor
|-
!V
| [[Jaghatai Khan]] || [[Chogoris|Chogoris/Mundus Planus]] || [[White Scars]]
| style="background-color: navy;color:white;"| Speedy, laughing Loyal
|-
!VI
|[[Leman Russ]] || [[Fenris]] || [[Space Wolves]]
| style="background-color: navy;color:white;"| Who's a Loyal Boy? Is it you? Is it you? ruff ruff yiff
|-
!VII
|[[Rogal Dorn]] || [[Terra]], [[Inwit]] || [[Imperial Fists]]
| style="background-color: navy;color:white;"| MEGA <s>ULTRA</s> FISTISHLY Loyal
|-
!VIII
|[[Konrad Curze]] || [[Nostramo]] || [[Night Lords]]
| style="background-color: maroon;color:white;"| Spooky traitor (dead)
|-
!IX
|[[Sanguinius]] || [[Baal]] || [[Blood Angels]]
| style="background-color: navy;color:white;"| Loyal and fabulously DEEAADD!!!
|-
!X
|[[Ferrus Manus]] || [[Medusa]] || [[Iron Hands]]
| style="background-color: navy;color:white;"| Loyal (also DEAD)
|-
!XI
! colspan="5" | +++Records expunged+++
|-
!XII
|[[Angron]] || [[Nuceria]], [[Bodt]] || [[World Eaters]]
| style="background-color: maroon;color:white;"| RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!!!! (traitor)
|-
!XIII
|[[Roboute Guilliman]] || [[Macragge]] || [[Ultramarines]]
| style="background-color: navy;color:white;"| SUPER DUPER Loyal. DEFINITELY never made another Imperium. Nope. Never. No chance.
|-
!XIV
|[[Mortarion]] || [[Barbarus]] || [[Death Guard]]
| style="background-color: maroon;color:white;"| Icky traitor
|-
!XV
|[[Magnus the Red]] || [[Prospero]] || [[Thousand Sons]]
| style="background-color: maroon;color:white;"| <s>Did Nothing Wrong</s> Traitors (Because of those fuckwit Space Wolves and Horus. Also Fucking Tzeentch)
|-
!XVI
|[[Horus|Horus Lupercal]] || [[Cthonia]] || [[Black Legion|Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus]]
| style="background-color: maroon;color:white;"| UBER Traitor (and also UBER dead)
|-
!XVII
|[[Lorgar|Lorgar Aurelian]] || [[Colchis]] || [[Word Bearers]]
| style="background-color: maroon;color:white;"| The first Traitors
|-
!XVIII
|[[Vulkan]] || [[Nocturne]] || [[Salamanders]]
| style="background-color: navy;color:white;"| Loyal (and with a slightly weird fire fetish)
|-
!XIX
|[[Corvus Corax]] || [[Deliverance]] || [[Raven Guard]]
| style="background-color: navy;color:white;"| Sneaky beaky loyal
|-
!XX
|[[Alpharius]] [[Omegon]] || Unknown || |[[Alpha Legion]]
| style="background-color: maroon;color:white;"| It's complicated; even they might not know at this point, but according to the Imperium at large, Traitor. Rogal slew Omegon, but Alpharius is (probably) still at large or is it the other way around... One of them is probably dead anyways.
|}

==Organization==
[[File:Space Marine Legion.jpg|400px|thumbnail|right|]]
The Legiones Astartes, being far larger than current Space Marine Chapters, were organized along drastically different lines. At the head of the Legion was its [[Primarch]] Commander who oversaw the Legion's headquarters. Prior to reuniting with their Primarch, this position was filled by the Legion Master, the most senior Space Marine in the Legion. Below this were the '''[[Space Marine Chapter|Chapters]]''' of the Legion, each of which was commanded by a [[Chapter Master|Lord Commander]]. Each [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapter]] in turn was divided into a number of '''Battalions''' led by a '''Lieutenant Commander'''. Each battalion was then further divided into '''Companies''' led by a [[Brother-Captain|Captain]]. The Company, itself divided into a number of '''Squads''', was the basic military division of the Legiones Astartes. Due to the varying sizes of each Legion and the varying nature of supply and attrition, there was no fixed number of how many Chapters, Battalions, Companies, and Squads a Legion would contain. But even then, there was no fixed [[Codex Astartes|institution]] that a particular Company should be composed of certain units, with each Company specialising naturally as marines and officers became veterans of a certain form of warfare.

===Number of Legionaries===
The Legions were massive armies, and the size of each could vary tremendously. A precise number was never truly achieved and maintained. Even during the Great Crusade, some Legions were very numerous, while others were not. The numbers would always vary with new recruits and inevitable battle-losses, and also important was the availability of potential recruits and the [[Roboute Guilliman|administrative]] [[Perturabo|skills]] of the Primarch and his officers.

However the closest thing to a 'standard' legion is what the Emperor started with which was 10 chapters to a legion, 2 battalions to a chapter, five companies to a battalion and 100 marines to a company. Theoretical nominal strength: 10,000.

The most numerous Legion of all was the [[Ultramarines]]. The [[Thousand Sons]] of [[Magnus]] were of a small number as many of them had developed mutations or uncontrollable levels of psychic powers. [[Fulgrim]]'s samples had been largely lost, and this left the Legion of the [[Emperor's Children]] also with a very small number. Both of these Legions would increase their numbers to acceptable standards only after their Primarchs were found. The [[Dark Angels]], being the First Legion, were originally the largest one but their numbers declined significantly during the [[Rangdan Xenocides]]. The Iron Warriors were also quite numerous for a while, but Perturabo's [[Death Korps of Krieg|unique view on what qualified as acceptable losses]] changes that in time.

The approximate sizes of a few of the Legions at the start of the Heresy have been given in various sources (it should be noted that originally these numbers were much smaller, a full zero knocked off until they were upped by the BL/Forgeworld writers):

*[[Dark Angels]] - 200,000 or just above, though it is uncertain whether this includes Luther's contingents of the Fallen. Recent Horus Heresy era fluff would seem to suggest that it does not.
*[[Emperor's Children]] - 120,000
*[[Iron Warriors]] - 150,000 to 180,000 but could have been more, if not for them regularly taking horrific casualties. The estimate is from after the notably costly series of wars that preceded their betrayal, suggesting higher numbers in the past.
*[[White Scars]] - 95,000
*[[Space Wolves]] - 95,000 to 100,000 (originally 130,000).
*[[Imperial Fists]] - 130,000
*[[Night Lords]] - Officially 90,000 to 120,000 but actually close to the larger Legions.
*[[Blood Angels]] - 150,000 divided in 300 companies 500 strong. Does not include the small caretaker force of a few additional companies constantly maintained on Baal.
*[[Iron Hands]] - In excess of 113,000
*[[World Eaters]] - 150,000
*[[Ultramarines]] - 320,000+ - In-Universe speculation starts at around 250,000, ranging up to 400,000 at the most, the truth likely landing somewhere in the middle. Massive influx hinted to have been from absorbing the remains of the [[lost legions]].
*[[Death Guard]] - 95,000 (Mortarion wanted a much larger Legion but never came close to attaining it).
*[[Thousand Sons]] - Originally around or under 10,000, retconned to have 80,000 to 85,000.
*[[Sons of Horus]] - 130,000 to 170,000
*[[Word Bearers]] - 140,000 to 250,000+
*[[Salamanders]] - 89,000
*[[Raven Guard]] - 80,000
*[[Alpha Legion]] - In-universe speculation is 90,000 to 120,000, with 180,000 probably being the greatest probable size. No-one knows for sure.

Using the lowest and highest numbers this means there were 1,933,095 to 2,358,000 Space Marines without including the White Scars. These estimations are the Legions at the closing of the Great Crusade, though it would be a mistake to assume that the number was final and only went down during the Horus Heresy. In fact, many of the Legions were still recruiting at an accelerated rate and the number actually went up, [https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Raven_Guard#The_Last_Ones_Standing|though at some cost however]. To put some context to that number, on the low end that's about the size of the American forces in the Korean War, and on the high end that's about all the Soviets that were involved in the Battle of Berlin.

It's also a mistake to assume that the Traitor Legions went turncoat completely en-masse, when in fact the [[Traitor Legion Loyalists|Loyalist elements of those Legions]] counted for a significant portion of their strength. Approximately 100,000 loyalist Legionaries were purged at Isstvan III, practically counting for a Legion-sized force to themselves. Their destruction came at a much greater cost to the Traitor Legions mustered there, cutting the traitor forces down by half, probably more, and so Horus would enter the war with his strength greatly reduced, but could count on daemon auxiliaries for reinforcements. While rare, there were also a few members of loyalist Legions who sided with the traitors as well - the Dark Angels and White Scars in particular were very nearly torn apart by the resulting infighting. The White Scars only reunited after Jaghatai Khan revealed what he had learned and made the Horus supporters surrender, after which some of the worst offenders were executed and the rest were placed in the most dangerous warzones to redeem themselves. The Dark Angels actually split more dramatically, though their detractors were more inward-looking and can't be seen as aligned with Horus. See their own article for more details.

===Assets===
Besides having far greater numbers of Astartes to draw on, the legions were also better equipped and had a much wider variety of arms and vehicles to choose from. Many armored vehicles that are currently Imperial Guard specific once served in the legions, such as the [[Basilisk Artillery Gun|Basilisk]], while other wargear like [[Volkite]] guns or [[Mastodon]]s were mothballed due to their rarity or their obsolescence for the smaller-sized chapters. Numerous tactical roles were likewise phased out, for better or worse.

'''Heresy-Era Specialties:'''
*[[Breacher Siege Squad]]
*[[Despoiler Squad]]
*[[Destroyer Squad]]
*[[Moritat]]
*[[Reconnaissance Squad]]
*[[Seeker Squad]]
*[[Sky Hunter Squad]]
*[[Tactical Support Squad]]
*[[Legion Consul]]
*Consul Praevian

== Horus Heresy ==

{{Main|Horus Heresy}}

For all their power, the [[Space Marines]] and [[Primarchs]] were not perfect; ([[Alpharius|may]][[Omegon|be]]) half of them were sufficiently flawed to be tempted by (or driven to) [[Chaos]], led by Warmaster [[Horus]]. The traitors were defeated, but at a terrible cost, including the near-death of the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]] and trillions of deaths of invaluable astartes and human beans.

[[Roboute Guilliman]] decided that the so-called [[Horus Heresy]] was proof that one man could not be trusted with power over one-twentieth of the Imperial Armed Forces, so he enacted several reforms to divide the Imperial Army into the Imperial Guard and Navy, and split the remaining loyalist Legions into Chapters, in accordance with his [[Codex Astartes]]. This event was later known as the [[Second Founding]].

==Legions in 40k==
Technically all of the Chaos Marines are still 'legions', at least in name. They never split into chapters so legions they technically remain. However, since they are all split up into roving warbands and there is no central control ([[Black Legion|with a]] [[Death Guard|few]] [[Thousand Sons|exceptions]]) it's hard to say they really count anymore. Perhaps most importantly it's impossible to guess how many dudes there are even technically in any legions pool. When they aren't fighting the Imperium, they are fighting each other, and since none of the Black Crusades have been successful we can reasonably assume that marines aren't pouring out of the Eye of Terror in their hundreds of thousands. It's utterly impossible to guess how many dudes they got. They obviously have enough to attack the Imperium with (especially since their recruiting practices aren't as picky as their Loyalist counterparts), but probably not much more than the Loyalist Space Marines. Probably more than they came to the Eye with though, between further recruiting (from the Eye of Terror human population and anyone they can abduct/brainwash) and former Loyalists turning to Chaos.

As for the Loyalists... Since the introduction of the [[Codex Astartes]], there are obviously no longer any Space Marine legions though that does not stop certain chapters from being described or implied to be at ''"Legion Strength"''. Though this is often a common [[Neckbeard]] error and sometimes even gets used in the fluff, where the term is mistakenly used to describe any significantly oversized chapter, though even then they never compare to the forces from the Great Crusade. Though some make a good attempt at it:

*[[Imperial Fists]] - As it turned out, Dorn didn't fully break up his Legion. Every Son of Dorn chapter has a secret plan dubbed "The Last Wall"- if the main Chapter were to encounter an immediate threat to Terra, it could call its successor chapters to unite them into a full Legion until the threat is dealt with; the prospect of so many chapters working in such close cooperation was something that frightened the [[High Lords of Terra]] and they did not approve. Nonetheless, this plan not only saved Terra from [[The War of The Beast|the largest Ork WAAAGH!! the Imperium has ever dealt with]], but also rescued the Imperial Fists from ''actual'' extinction in the process.
*[[Black Templars]] are obviously over-strength in multiples of 1000 and keep to the spirit of the Great Crusade unlike any other chapter. This force is made up of three primary crusade fleets of unknown size which can end up spread over up to thirty engagements, where the size of a force could be as large as [[Dawn of War|"nearly" chapter strength]] ''(but not '''over''' for obvious reasons)'' or as small as a [[Dawn of War 2|single ship and a handful of squads]], so can be averaged at around chapter strength for each primary fleet. This arrangement is meant to be fluid, and changes all the time as fleets merge and disperse. Respectable figures put their numbers between 2000-6000. The Templars are able to get away with this due to an obscure exception in the Codex allowing chapters to be over-strength during major Crusades in order to easily replace losses, and the Templars are ''always'' crusading. This is unofficially tolerated by the High Lords because of fanatical loyalty, constant casualties, consistent results and the fact that the Templars are so spread out. They may be legion sized 'total' but they're not Legion sized at any single location.
*[[Space Wolves]] make no secret of the fact they ignore the Codex Astartes, but even then they are no-where near their original size. In M32 during the '''Battle of the Fang''' it is remarked that most of ''The Aett'' is actually abandoned. Furthermore, Logan Grimnar's own Great Company numbers 200 marines prior to the Sanctus Reach campaign and is the largest company on its own ''(i.e.: not including the chapter assets)''. Their current number was originally between 1200-3000, but following the Siege of Fenris it is almost certainly much smaller.
*[[Astral Claws]] were ''actually'' accused of Legion building and declared heretics even when they were not yet followers of [[Chaos]], their number at the time of the Badab War was around 3000, though they never even used that number as a single force and spread themselves throughout their '''[[Warhammer_40,000/6th_Edition_Tactics/Tyrant%27s_Legion|PDF forces]]'''
*[[Dark Angels#The Unforgiven|The Unforgiven]] are most likely one of the closest examples of a true Legion in that each of the successor chapters arrange themselves under one ''secret'' command structure (the '''Inner Circle'''). Though they each [[RAW|obey the letter, if not the spirit]] of the [[Codex Astartes]] and maintain mostly standard chapters of ten companies. The combined numbers of Dark Angel's successors would put them at around ''150,000 marines'', and this is just a rough estimate, though we don't know if all of the Dark Angel's successors actually consider themselves part of the Unforgiven. Some definitely do though. Oh yes indeed. The Inner Circle has been known to send a random successor chapter across the galaxy to do the space marine equivalent of getting them a six pack (of traitors) when the main chapter is too busy.
*[[Ultramarines]] - The 23 [[Second Founding]] chapters of the Ultramarines are all represented in the senate of [[Ultramar]] and some of them would cooperate on matters of Codex orthodoxy to ensure that there were no deviations. The [[Genesis Chapter]] in particular routinely loaned squads and officers to the Ultramarines to fill in gaps, while other successors could loan squads to the [[Ultramarines Honour Company]] and get to wear the blue uniform. Because the Ultramarines account for nearly half of the later-founded chapters in the Imperium, they would amount to around ''500,000 marines'' and nominally look to their progenitor for the source of their leadership and guidance, with instances of Marneus Calgar stepping in to settle disputes between chapters not even of his bloodline or issuing decrees against [[Minotaurs|chapters]] in matters that have nothing to do with the Ultramarines directly. With the return of [[Roboute Guilliman]] and his re-organisation of both the Codex and the region of Ultramar; even though chapters officially maintain their sovereignty apart from each other, he has formally created a cross-Chapter command structure of Tetrarchs to coordinate and protect the Five-Hundred Worlds.

All of the original legions maintain ties with with their subsequent founding chapters (except for the Salamanders, who don't have any confirmed successors, and ignore the unconfirmed ones), though the level of formality is different from Chapter to Chapter. The Blood Angels occasionally call all their bros together and go to war, even going to far as to demand they provide the Blood Angels with new squads so that they could rebuild their weakened chapter.

The Imperial Fists successors did the same thing during the war of the Beast; donning Imperial Fist colours to ensure that the Chapter would not go extinct but even in those cases, [[Gabriel Seth]] had to remind [[Dante]] that he had no authority to actually demand troops from his successors and might get further by asking nicely.The new Imperial Fists considered changing their colours controversial and a little bit blasphemous, with the [[High Lords of Terra]] generally protesting about Space Marines working in such close cooperation at all.

While musing with Aeonid Thiel, Guilliman's original dream for the Codex was not to simply split up the Legions at all, but to create a single unified Legion formed of self-sufficient chapters that would come together or break apart as necessary, irrespective of their individual bloodlines, while making it harder for a taint in one chapter to effect the whole.

Given the number of times multiple chapters from different legions have gotten together for a big crusade, he arguable succeed in this goal. Much of what goes on with the Ultramarines tended to be done out of starry-eyed respect and deference towards them rather than grudging support, so in this case, their high level of cooperation appears to be following the spirit of Guilliman's original idea quite well.

Obviously, the High Lords would prefer to think otherwise because they were scared to death of the possibility of a second Space Marine unification and uprising, even going so far as to plotting to overthrow the resurrected Lord Guilliman before he took control over the Senatorum (which instantly backfired when the Custodians got whiff of it in about ten minutes, also you know, '''PRIMARCH''').

==Two Unknown Legions==

In the [[Rogue Trader|First Edition]] of [[Warhammer 40,000]], the twenty First Founding Chapters were all known. It seems that [[Games Workshop]] had more love for some than others; when they made [[fluff]] revisions in the transition to Second Edition, the [[Valedictors]] and [[Rainbow Warriors]] were demoted to one of the "Later Foundings."

Nowadays, <s>nothing</s> [[Horus_Heresy|little]] concrete is known about the Legions II and XI, and likewise their [[Primarch#Two Missing Primarchs|unknown Primarchs]]. Officially, the Imperium deleted all records regarding the "Lost Legions"; the only reminder of the two legions were empty plinths in the Hegemon where statues of the Primarchs stood at the Imperial Palace. Throughout the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' series, it is suggested that the [[Space Wolves]] destroyed them for some reason. [[The Horus Heresy: Massacre]] includes a timeline of the events at the end of the [[Great Crusade]], and in 965 and 969.M30, the Space Wolves engaged in two missions from which all data was redacted. In the book ''The First Heretic'', when a daemon takes the [[Word Bearers]] on a trip back in time to show them the creation of the Primarchs, the Word Bearers dialogue indicates that the XI Legion in particular did something bad enough for the Emperor to lead their purge himself.

In the book ''Fear To Tread'', Sanguinius tells Horus that he hasn't revealed the existence of the Red Thirst to the Emperor because he fears that the Blood Angels would be purged as well, indicating that gene-seed flaws may have also been a factor. ''Deliverance Lost'' has a dialogue between taking place during Corax's first meeting with the Emperor where he asks why only sixteen of his brothers were waiting to meet him if he was the nineteenth Primarch to be found, only for the Emperor to deflect the question; consequently, we can assume that the Legions were purged sometime before Corax's discovery (and were never around for the Horus Heresy), during [[Rangdan Xenocides]]. He also forced the remaining Primarchs to swear an oath never to speak of their absent brothers, so whatever they did must have been extraordinarily bad.

In ''Legion,'' a ship's captain notes that the naughtiness of the [[Alpha Legion]] isn't the first time that a Legion has "overstepped it's mark" and that the Imperial Army fleet should report the Alpha Legion "before they become too powerful," which might imply that one of the Legions got away with naughtiness for a long time and then used their entire Legion to fight the Emperor. 'Horus Heresy Book 3: Extermination also hints at the fate of the two missing Legions, first hinting that one Legion did not pass the "Alpha" intake (to take them up to Legion-Strength) when going through testing and the other saying that "the disaster of [REDACTED] had proven the folly of attempting to recruit Legiones Astartes stock from potentially tainted sources." These could be in reference to the same Legion (using tainted stock in the Alpha intake) or two separate ones, with Legion A fucking up in the Alpha intake and Legion B using tainted stock in the later Great Crusade.

In ''Fabius Bile: Clonelord'', it is stated that "one of the two" missing Legions lead an expedition to the Ymga monolith, an artefact associated with the [[Necron]]s.

Since Horus and the other traitor Primarchs managed to keep their records un-expunged during the Horus Heresy (and afterwards, since the Space Wolves clearly know who Magnus is, the Grey Knights clearly know who Mortarion is, and Horus' name seems to have [[Lulz|become a swearword]] while Guardsmen are obviously aware that traitor Marines exist and officers also know traitor Primarchs exist too), it can be assumed the missing Legions' naughtiness was something even worse. [[Heresy|Possibly they refused to wear pauldrons]], [[Alpha Legion|we don't know]]. In The Palatine Phoenix, shortly before his Legion's first solo mission, [[Fulgrim]] notes that "even the normally contemplative master of the Second had broken his silence to accuse Fulgrim of hubris", so at least one of the missing Primarchs had spent some time around their brothers, and was active during the Great Crusade. In The Chamber at the End of Memory, Dorn said that very few among his brothers interacted with the II and the XI Primarch, and he was one of them. Millennia later during the [[Ultima Founding]], [[Cawl | Belisarius Cawl]] proposes using gene-seed from the II and XI legions to make Primaris marines, so there is either surviving genetic stock from the two Legions, or possibly actual legionaries that Cawl had been experimenting on for the last ten thousand years.

''The Chamber at the End of Memory'' revealed that not only the entire Imperium were forbidden to speak of the II and XI following their fall (which according to Malcador and Rogal Dorn was terrible enough to overshadow the '''''entire Horus Heresy up to the Siege of Terra''''') but those who had interacted with them were made to undergone mind-cleansing (or memory adjustment in the case of the Primarchs) so as to wipe out knowledge of the incidents. More interesting however was that Dorn and Gulliman came up with that idea to spare the Astartes from said two legions from death, and they allowed Macaldor to mind-wipe them all. There was a very good chance that these Astartes ended up with the Fists and the Ultramarines (as the theory above described).

<s>Or there may simply be no missing Legions. According to a source who allegedly worked for Games Workshop for five years (seen [http://warhammer40000roguetrader.blogspot.com/2012/06/art-of-rogue-trader.html?showComment=1343572598289#c3841833106793028129 here]), Rick Priestley (who helped write the first Rogue Trader) read about the Roman notion of Damnatio Memoriae, and simply threw in the idea of two "missing" Space Marine Legions as a "nod" to Imperial Rome (specifically, the three Roman legions whose numbers ([[Word Bearers|XVII]], [[Salamanders|XVIII]] and [[Raven Guard|XIX]]) were never used after they were wiped out in the disastrous [[Wikipedia: Battle of the Teutoburg Forest| Battle of the Teutoburg Forest]]. So, nothing significant can ever be revealed about them, because they never really existed in the first place. Additionally, incorrectly numbering your military units to fool the enemy into thinking you have more has real life precedent. SEAL Team 6 was given its name to convince the Soviets the US had 6 SEAL teams, even though they only had 3 units at the time. In theory if the Emperor just made 18 legions, skipping numbers 2 and 11 could make an enemy think that the Imperium had two more legions than they really did, and the galaxy is large enough to make that deception work.</s> The Lost Legions actually did exist however, even if they started as a joke. The real reason that they were kept around between Rogue Trader and recent revelations was so that people could [[Your Dudes|make up their own pair of Primarchs for model painting and personal fanon]] (although this has lost its effect as doing so is synonymous with making them Mary Sues, and roughly 90% of all fan Lost Legions are this. The other common trait is to make the legion almost entirely composed of pathetic losers, the remaining 10%).

Although one possible name for at least one of the legions is the [[Stormcast Eternals]].

==See Also==
* [[Warhammer_40,000/Tactics/Space_Marine_Legion_List_(30k)|30k Legion Tactics]]
* [[Legion Consul]]

{{Marines-Official}}
{{Chaos-Official}}

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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]