Dark Angels

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Dark Angels
Battle Cry	"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 of +++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 and Guardians of the Covenant.
Chapter Master	Azrael.
Primarch	Lion El'Jonson.
Homeworld	The Rock, originally Caliban.
Strength	1,000 (officially, +++much more counting chapter serfs, officers, pilots and the like+++
Specialty	Plasma, terminators, bikes, +++hunting down the filthy traitors to the Imperium!+++
Allegiance	:+++Loyal since day one+++
Colours	Green, black, bone white

"The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one."

– Margaret Atwood

"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

"Be careful who you trust, the devil was once an angel."

– Unknown

"Tumbling waterfalls plundge 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.

+++Welcome to the Dark Angels Page! Your entrance is being monitored by Interrogator-Chaplain Zacharias. Any questions you have will be answered to the best of our ability, no matter if you are a lowly servant of the Emperor, an Inquisitor, Primaris Space Marine brother, or Dark Angel initiate.+++ +++THIS ARTICLE IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE AND IS REWRITTEN FOR YOUR OWN PROTECTION. ALL MESSAGES WRITTEN IN RED ARE THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH ABOUT OUR HISTORY.+++ +++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 +++awesome and without a fault +++. Their Primarch happened to be named after a homosexual poet who wrote a poem called "The Dark Angel" and might've dated Oscar Wilde. Oh, and their homeworld is called The Rock, +++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 6E and 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 +++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 “the end justifies the means” and they will go to any lengths and do anything that they need to in order to +++protect the Imperium from the perils of the universe.+++

The new Codex heavily implies that they may be at Legion strength +++as we have now more reinforcements from the Ultima Founding, which leads to more successor chapters. Thanks to Lord Commander Guilliman.+++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 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.

Their theme by HMKids,which SHOWS THEIR ABSOLUTE LOYALTY. +++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!). +++The honourable Custodes have jetbikes as well. We would never commit a tech-heresy such as hoarding precious tech-knowledge+++.

Gene-Seed

The Dark Angels, the flagbearers of grimdark gothic design.

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. +++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 strategic 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 +++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 +++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 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: +++the damnable traitors from the nine fallen legions+++. This makes more sense the more you realize what the Chaplains do to the Dark Angels' greatest obsession +++teach them to love the Imperium and the real fiasco of following chaos.+++ within the depths of The Rock, until they repent.

History

Dark Angels
Original Name	The First, Primaris Angelus Mortis (Honorific)
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.
Strength	By the time of the Horus Heresy, the Legion numbered around 200,000 marines.
Specialty	Combined arms and multi-spectra warfare, exterminatus and purgation campaigns, extended independent void operations.
Colours	Black

"They had walked into the mouth of hell, and not only had they returned, but they had left hell shattered in their passage."

–

Dark Angels Lance Decurion

Luther, +++If you see this man in your sector, report immediately to the Inner Circle+++

Not simply a 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.

The symbol of the Hexagrammaton.

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.

• Deathwing (see page for more details) - Veterans specialists, Marksmen and linebreakers who also provided bodyguard duties for other officers.

Ravenwing.

• Ravenwing (see page for more details) - Cavalry & Fast Attack
  • The Ravenwing protocol originated from the early Legion's rapid moving search and destroy formations. These formations were revived and expanded upon as they offered a form of rapid strike warfare that the Knights of Caliban both understood and had perfected over many generations.They also act as the First Legion's infiltration, information gathering and espionage specialists. They also excelled in the use of mobile attacks, strike and fade tactics, skirmish warfare and orbital assault..
  • Aloceri - Voted-Lieutenant of the Ravenwing, a master of jetbike and speeder, as well as traditional horsemanship (one wonders how big the horse must be to accommodate an Astartes)

Stormwing.

• Stormwing - Initially described in the Black Library books as boarding specialist formation comprised mostly of shield-wielding units, it has been possibly retconed by Forge World into a no-speciality wing of sorts. According to Book 9: Crusade it was the largest "wing", incorporating line infantry, mobile ordnance and training battalions. Valued more for their discipline and massed firepower on the open battlefield rather than their skill at arms. This Wing had a high number of veteran officer Marshals for directing the men and many Apothecaries for dealing with the wounded. If this sounds like the standard Battle Companies aka 40k Green Wing before they existed. That's because it is.
  • Calloson - Voted-Lieutenant of the Stormwing, had been declared dead no less than three times. Continued surviving as a mass of scar tissue, augmetics, and muscle grafts.
  • The Stormwing does not have a unique unit to represent them on the table top, but are mentioned to have Breacher Squads/Assault squads (they seem to be an odd mix of the two) armed with power halberds (the Dark Angels version of the Ultramarines Invictus Suzerain Squads).
  • The Stormwing functions as the thinking mans wing, focussing on the application of Strategy, tactics as well as logistics upon the battlefield. This may not seem like the most exciting thing, but its function is of vital importance in the wider legion, as it was within this wing that the large numbers of highly skilled field commanders and apothecarys (with many holding both positions) would be forged; these marshals would be the key in allowing the widely spread forces of the Dark Angles to function effectively, even if removed from the rest of the legion for extended periods of time.
  • The Stormwing was especially valued for their skill at reading the subtle shift of war when it came to the massed ranks of both friend and foe. The ability to change your approach at a moments notice was a highly prized skill, as adaptability and flexibility were key tenets of this wing.
  • Given the physical state of their voted-Lieutenant, it would appear that they were highly adept at wars of attrition, given the large numbers of Apothecary's running around patching up the wounded so that they can fight on longer then they would normally be able to.

Dreadwing.

• Dreadwing - Were apparently the 1st Legion's "dirty tricks department", with all sorts of secret and very nasty gear that they really shouldn't have - really shocking stuff. They are called in when you just want something gone and you really don’t care about the collateral damage. “We have come. We are death.”
  • When despair and loss forced the ideals of the Great Crusade to be rejected, the Dreadwing became the host for those warriors who were allowed to use their psychic powers by the primarch.
  • Despite the devastation caused by the Dreadwing upon Macragge, Laurie Goulding has hinted that this was actually them showing restraint and “you should see what they COULD have used…”.
  • Farith Redloss - Voted-Lieutenant of the Dreadwing (takes out a World Eaters Leviathan Dreadnaught with his axe). Was sent a message by the Watchers to get the Dark Angels to return to Caliban before it was too late, but gave up arguing when weighed against his loyalties to the Lion and his friendship with Holguin.
  • The Dreadwing are represented on the table top by the Dreadwing Interemptors, and the "Eskaton Imperative" rite of war. They also had a Terminator unit called the Naufragia; terminators armed with phosphex incinerator cannons have been mentioned before.
  • Far from dumb brutes, it fell to the initiates of the Dreadwing the caretaking and maintenance of some of the most dangerous technologies to exist within the Imperium.

Ironwing.

• 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. Ironically Interestingly, the Ironwing protocol was used as the template for the Iron Warriors and the Iron Hands when it came time to raise those Legions, despite the fact they hadn't been named yet. The Lion claims that the Ironwing is functionally just as good at sieging and fortifying as the Iron Warriors and Imperial Fists, but stylistically unique. For example, when the Lion tasks Duriel with building a fortress, the reason the fortress is so strong is because of its design. Ironwing fortresses are intended to be a maze that cannot even be navigated by the majority of the Legion's command hierarchy. Each commander knows the layout of his assigned position and nothing more, preventing enemies from navigating the fortress and allies from giving up weaknesses. Only the Lion and the Voted-Lieutenant of the Ironwing know the complete design of the fortress.
  • Duriel - Voted-Lieutenant of the Ironwing during the Great Crusade and the Rangdan Xenocides and a major character in the Lion's primarch novella. Known as a skilled master of siege warfare and was tasked by the Lion with constructing a stronghold that could resist the Khrave attackers. Ultimately died during the conflict when he personally nuked a titan that had been possessed by the Khrave.
  • The Ironwing contains the Dark Angels own version of the Techmarines, who were responsible for maintaining their unique weapons and tech. These marines enabled the Dark Angels to function independently, with the bare minimum number of Mechanicus cronies.
  • Venerable Titus - Voted-Lieutentant of the Ironwing. He was a dreadnought and hence could not "take the chair". He had passed through at least one chassis before finding himself in command of the Ironwing. Fun fact, Titus was old enough to have fought with the emperor during the Unification Wars.
  • The Ironwing are represented on the table top by an Excindio Class Battle-Automata, an enslaved Men of Iro... I mean a completely ordinary Terran built combat robot. Probably going to be a mod of the Castellax molds because Games Workshop are slackers.

Firewing.

• Firewing - The smallest wing whose numbers were mostly terran and were severely reduced by the Rangdan Xenocides. The Wing of Fire specialized in all the bloody subtleties of warfare. It was the hidden blade of the Legion, a knife in the dark, and a blade at the throats of enemy commanders. They excel in destroying enemy command structures and assassination, they were the opposite of the Dreadwing, in that that they were about destroying the enemy without coursing needless collateral damage. Using Seekers and Moritats and seek to break resolves rather than slaughtering ranks. The new primarch novella for the Lion seems to imply that the role of interrogator-chaplain originated in the Firewing, even managing to successfully torture information out of a Night Lord Praetor. Though obviously at this point they aren't capturing and torturing confessions out of the Fallen during the Crusade. This is also the part of the First legion from where the Consecrators Chapter originated from.
  • Griffayn ‘The Spear-Cast’ - Voted-Lieutenant of the Firewing, though his rank is held in abeyance. Later pledged allegiance to Luther.
  • Vastael - Voted-Lieutenant of the Firewing in the run up to the Siege of Terra. Was so energetic that he was said to be unable to sit still for more than thirty seconds at a time.
  • The Firewing are represented on the table top by the Firewing Enigmatus Cabal's.
  • the Firewing also acted as the legions lore masters, with vast archives of information and knowledge.

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.

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 non-fatal honour duels whenever the Spess Lions and 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

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 +++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 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 +++ 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. +++ 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 +++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 Inquisitors +++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 +++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. +++We sincerely apologize, but we try to multi-task+++

After the destruction of Caliban to the 41st Millenium/Time of Ending

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 +++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-Gitmo in a flying chunk of planet to +++capture enemies of the Imperium from the nine traitor legions+++, in order to prove +++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 +++the traitor Marines from other legions+++ and Caliban's +++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 +++traitor Marines who like to wear black+++ had all been slain during the planet's destruction. Once +++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 +++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 +++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 +++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) +++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 is for the Emperor to give him the signal to do so. +++ :) +++

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 +++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, +++those traitors escaped our watch +++ as the Inquisition had +++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 +++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 +++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 +++because their military parade walk wasn't the best+++. However, Guilliman did order +++these Marines+++ arrested when they finally reached the doors to the throne room. The Adeptus Custodes now have a group of +++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 +++said officer+++ carried and the sensation filled him with dread. Given that this may be +++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 +++Space Marine traitors+++ does not automatically provide the whole story on the actual +++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 +++filthy traitor Marines+++ came out claiming that the "Lion was a closet traitor who waited to see who won" +++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 +++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 +++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 +++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 1st Company and 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 "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 can be counted 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 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 (especially since White Dwarf all-but explicitly stated that Deathwing Primaris exclusively use Gravis alongside the Firstborn in Terminator armour).

The Legion with "Dark" in its name

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 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 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 "cousin" and resolved to have a word with Azrael over it). The Supreme Grand Master of The Rock is deferred to as the 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 requirements.

It's not known how large the collective Unforgiven actually is; 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 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 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?

+++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 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. 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. They are supposedly a calculating, heavily coordinated group orchestrating a covert operation of monumental proportions, yet they 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.

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 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.

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 joke, 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 "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 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.

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.

+++There is absolutely no evidence of the following event in any canon records so we can safely say that it's just some Primaris fan girling 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.

Cool Shit

Come at me "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 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

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.

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 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). 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...what did you roll?

Notable Members

• Azrael - Current 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.
• 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 poetess of Greek Antiquity considered the first lesbian known to History!! She also died for the love of a man; the Greeks called Homosexuality Kinaidos (Mover of Shame), the Aidos part is a goddess member of the same trinity as 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 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 +++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 +++counter Alpha Legion scenarios+++
9:00- +++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 +++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 +++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?

+++Time is relative in the Rock+++

Frequently asked questions

• Why are you called the Unforgiven?

+++For failing to protect the Emperor in His darkest hour +++

• Why is your rank Interrogator Chaplain?

+++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?

+++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. Should you see some Astartes wearing ancient wargear with Dark Angels iconography please report them to the nearest Dark Angels officer so that they may be brought in line with the Codex Astartes regulations.+++

• Wouldn't that get confusing with the Salamanders, who are also green?

+++No. The Salamanders are usually on fire, making it very easy to distinguish between them and us.+++

• I have seen some little beings with Dark Angels carrying some relics. What are these Watchers?

+++Worry not, these are just chapter serfs, not associated with xenos in any way+++

• Why are said serfs repelling daemons with their mere presence?

+++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?

+++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?

+++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?

+++We are unaware of their present location. Only bolt shells and plasma burns were encountered. We suspect an ambush from the despised Traitor Legions.+++

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 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

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  Here's some badassery right here.

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  Happens quite often.

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  Funnily enough, the angrinator-pattern helmet utilized by the Angry Marines was actually pioneered by the Dark Angels.

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  Always recognizable with their beautiful artworks and amazing aesthetics. FUKKEN DUALWIELDING FLINTLOCKS.

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  Welcome sir, let's start your "interview" (MG)

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  The Dark Angels and most of their confirmed successors

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  On the left: Dark Angel trooper in the glory days of the Legiones Astartes.

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  The true secret of the inner circle

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  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.

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  Battle Hymn of Vengeance

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  November 25, 2017—a date which will live in infamy—

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  Chicks dig Dark Angels

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  Robes: always a classic.

• 
• 

  The Dark Angels' turnover rates after their serfs have just mopped the floor are horrendous.

See Also

• Dark Angels Tactics
• Dark Angel Shoulder Pad
• Unofficial theme song for the Dark Angels
• Unofficial theme song for the Unforgiven