Dante

The man in action

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep."

– Robert Frost

"Are you only the legend, or are you the truth behind the legend?"

– Amphiaraus to Hercules

"You have suffered greatly for Mankind's sake. You have won your rest a thousand times. Rarely has one man given so much, Luis of Baal Secundus. You have been a light in these dark times."

– Sanguinius to Dante

Luis Dante (sometimes called Dante Tiberius by his ultramarine coworkers) is the Lord Commander of the Blood Angels, and Warden of the Imperium Nihilus, basically second in command to only the Imperial Regent himself.

A legendary figure in the 42nd Millennium, Dante has been a Space Marine for over 1600 years, including the last 1200 as Chapter Master. He embodies the Nobledark in the Grimdark of 40k, and has kicked the asses of countless xenos, mutants, heretics and daemons in countless wars upon countless worlds. If it exists, he killed at least one.

Background

Early life

Where it all begins.

Dante's childhood is detailed in the novel Dante by Guy Haley. According to the book, Dante was born in the Great Salt Waste of Baal Secundus (Baalfora) in approximately 445.M40. His father, Arreas, was a kind but undistinguished member of the Salt clans (Irkuk clan to be specific) that made a living harvesting salt from the chemically contaminated land (they travel in sand roamers, very much like the sandcrawlers of Tatooine). His mother died giving birth to a younger brother when he was seven (452.M40), the baby naturally dying as well.

Dante was the boy's 'Angel' name, equivalent to the traditional Christian baptismal name, whereas Luis was his personal name. Most Baalite clans used their Angel name in day-to-day life, but Dante's people preferred their personal names. So, Luis is generally used in the book for the scenes where Dante is a child.

As Baalfora was a post-apocalyptic hell-hole (think Fallout with a strong flavour of Mad Max), the Salt clans were malnourished, physically stunted, and suffering from radiation. The Blood Angels did not think highly of them as a source of potential recruits. An in-universe observation is made that the Salt Clans were small and scattered, and so the inference to be drawn is that there was not much fighting to be had to breed a martial culture among them. You can imagine Dante's relative chances of becoming a Space Marine in such conditions. That said, life in the Great Salt Waste was no easy-living. Dante killed his first man when he was ten, helping his people fight off nomads who had attacked their caravan.

Journey to Angel's Fall

Dante had grown up hearing the stories of the Blood Angels from his father. When news came that there was to be a trial (456.M40), Dante decided to attempt it. However, his father Arreas tried to discourage him from attempting to join by guilt tripping about abandoning family. Arreas also pointed out that Dante's chances were not good: Dante would be much smaller and weaker physically than other potential recruits, being only eleven. The Warlords of the Dark Millennium (WotDM) info book is more explicit in stating that Dante’s growth had been stunted by malnutrition, and his body damaged by exposure to the rad-deserts of Baalfora (but so too the case for everyone else).

Regardless, Dante knew the next trials would be a generation away (he would probably be dead then, and certainly too old for the gene-seed implantation procedure if he did live that long), and so this was now or never. One night, Dante left home without a farewell to his father, making off for Angel's Fall where the trials were held.

Dante seems to carry the guilt of this abandonment in his subconscious for his entire life - early on he hallucinates a disapproving image of his father, and at the end of The Devastation of Baal a half-dead Dante hallucinates his father's image onto one of his brothers, and with child like excitement, presents himself to the illusion saying that he is an angel now and asking if he's proud of him. It's even noted in the book that him retaining such clear memories of his father is unusual, as most Blood Angels partly or completely forget their pre-recruitment lives over time.

Dante made it, showing bravery and character, but also benefiting from a combination of luck and fate. Dante fucked up at the very beginning, losing his roamer to a type of quicksand due to his own fault. He would have died of thirst while traveling across the sand dunes on foot, if not for the Sanguinor, who appeared and pointed the way to life saving water. Dante subsequently befriended a pair of older aspirants (Florian and Daneill) who did not kill him opportunistically (what are the chances?), as you suspect might or should happen to small boys traveling alone in WH40K. Well, Florian and Daneill did contemplate snuffing Dante there and then, but you can only take Grimdark so far (plus with Dante's literal guardian angel keeping an eye on him, its not like this would get anywhere if they tried).

Thereafter there is a heroic episode in which Dante shows great bravery and resolve, but continues to benefit from luck. It was this and numbers that saw the boys through when attacked by a Fire Scorpion (and it was only a juvenile), though a thirst-crazed Daneill later died when he drank 'thirstwater', which sucks the moisture out of anything it touches and looks exactly like normal water. This stroke of relative luck was pretty much the only thing that let Dante survive to take the trials, as he was running out of supplies and lacked a glider kit (critical to the next step) - both issues which were solved when he inherited Daneill's gear.

The final hurdle is using a winged para-glider to traverse the canyon from the Heavenwall mountains (the 'Angel's Leap', here being where Sanguinius first flew). The potential aspirants were attacked by Blood Eagles, fuckhuge airborne predators with a taste for human flesh that downed numerous aspirants - including Dante, who was forced down and had to walk the rest of the way, narrowly reaching Angel's Fall alongside Florian (by now his best friend, and vice-versa).

The trials

The Blood Angels and their aspirants. Don't worry, you'll be as pretty as us in no time.

After receiving a pass for genetic compatibility, and potential (First Winnowing), Dante begins the first set of athletic trials, where he fails to distinguish himself. He expects to be failed at this stage (Second Winnowing), but makes it through into the second stages, which he also survives without distinction in feats of combat and physical valour. However, it is here that Dante begins to show a flair for leadership, which he uses to help guide his team to victory in the Trial of War. Besides leadership, Dante's biggest strength and ultimate point of character, is his heart and morality.

When it came to his final physical test (Final Choosing), the High Chaplain of the time pitted him against his best friend Florian, whom he was urged to kill. Although Florian had reluctantly committed himself to the task, Dante pulled a Luke Skywalker after getting the best of his friend and threw down his staff, telling the Chaplain to shove it up his arse. To which the Chaplain gave him a pass (Florian obviously failed) -- clearing the most treacherous test of all, the Test of Horus.

Essentially, the Blood Angels egg on aspirants to shed their inhibitions about personal loyalty by matching them against those who were observed to be have become their friends or close comrades during earlier in the trials. First, the chaplains would urge them to kill comrades for the 'greater good' of serving the Emperor as remorseless killers. If that fails, aspirants are threatened with rejection from the selection process, or tempted furthermore by promises of power and glory. Everything is a trick, patterned after Horus (40K's Satanic Archetype) tempting Sanguinius (40K's version of Jesus Christ) on the Vengeful Spirit during the Siege of Terra; all true Blood Angels will do as Sanguinius did. Fucking Brilliant.

In the ultimate trial, the Winnowing of Weariness, aspirants are made to stay awake for three days without falling asleep. However, Dante fell asleep, dreaming of his parents and failing the task by doing so. It was the Sanguinor that roused him before the Blood Angels could catch on. Damn, he is a man of destiny or what?

During the gene-seed implantation (Blood Change), Dante drank from the chalice containing the blood of Sanguinius, and then slumbered in a sarcophagus for a year. As was normal, Dante had visions of Sanguinius' life and times. What was unusual was that Dante survived drifting in and out of consciousness, while screaming the names of figures and events from Blood Angels history in great torment. Normally those who suffered like this died while trying to claw their way out, or emerged as monsters in the thralls of the Black Rage.

However, Dante emerged in normal condition, every inch the angel that the gene-seed implantation was supposed to produce. Some Blood Angels believed that it was a sign of greatness. The Black Rage could not be held off forever, but only forestalled. Dante's mastery of his anger inside the sarcophagus basically foreshadowed his future potential to hold off the Black Rage for an absurd length of time (1600 years and counting, even if he has nearly slipped once or twice).

Generally, the novelisation (if you can't tell by now, it is fucking awesome) tries to avoid making Dante a Mary Sue (Haley neatly undercuts the trope in chapter one), but it is clear that he is a man of destiny. So, there is a bit of a revisionism to the earlier fluff about his non-Mary sueishness that readers drew from the WotDM info book. Dante (at this stage) is clearly not the strongest, but he is good enough, and certainly good-hearted enough to be the chosen of whatever force that guides the Sanguinor.

The Blood Angel

Scout to Chapter Master

What he looked like before getting kitted in gold.

In the novels and the rest of the fluff, Lord Commander Dante is generally portrayed as a stern but kind fatherly figure to the Blood Angels, who's a good guy and doesn't afraid of anything. But before becoming a legend, he was simply Captain Dante, and before that Sergeant Dante, and of course, a battle-brother and a scout at the beginning.

Scout

As a young Space Marine scout, Dante fought against the Orks in the Ash Wastes of the planet Rora, Eudyminous System (467.M40). It was Dante's 23rd engagement. Turns out that his sergeant, Gallileon, is assessing him for potential as a line officer, and so he gets put on the spot. Dante's tactical plan works, but then he was also at fault for leading the Orks onto his squad in the first place. So, good brain, but not an infallible warrior. The larger campaign is more difficult for the Blood Angels Company, and the Sanguinor himself has to bail them out.

A few years later in 470.M40, Dante fought under Sergeant Basileus on Ereus V, participating in the extermination of the Orreti. However, Dante sympathised with the fate of the pitiful Xenos race. Blood Angels indoctrination techniques are quite obviously a fail, or perhaps Dante was too much for them, the Mr. noblebright that he is.

On the other hand, Dante and the Blood Angels do end up going all vampire on the Orreti, mercy be damned. Yeah, who would miss these sorry-ass aliens? (Ugluk Basileus: looks like meat's back on the menu, boys!)

Of course, this obviously has to be the first step on Dante's route to non-blood sucking enlightenment.

Battle Brother

Dante has his first encounter (besides an aspirant who came back mad from inside the sarcophagus) with the Black Rage in the hive world of Tobias Halt (518.M40). Battling the Chaos marines of The Purge, Dante's battle-brother Laziel falls to the Black Rage and thinks they are the old legion, relieving the siege of Terra. As for Dante, his fury at his inability to protect the factory workers of Holywell Hive leads to him temporarily going berserk due to the Red Thirst, killing six Chaos Space Marines single-handedly.

Unfortunately, this did nothing to actually sate the thirst, driving him to drain the civilians dry in a maddened frenzy before the Sanguinor appears to knock him out of it (quite literally - Sangy beats Dante unconscious with two punches, with the thirst having receded by the time he wakes). The last surviving civilian (who had initially greeted Dante) was executed by the Blood Angels that found the two of them, to hide the secret of the Red Thirst from the Imperium.

After that he swore off the partaking of blood save for sacramental rituals, disgusted and deeply guilted by his loss of control.

Sergeant and Captain

Dante rose to become the Captain of the Blood Angels 5th company in 753.M40. He replaced Captain Avernis, who fell during the assault on the Odrius pirate lair freeport in Mas the year before. At that point, Dante had been a sergeant, leading 'Squad Dante'. The Eldar corsair king Hellaineth attempted to engage Dante in some philosophical discussions, but Dante wisely turned him down. While the port was destroyed, Hellaineth escaped, and not before leaving Dante with some niggling doubts anyway. Damn Space Elves. But no worry, the Sanguinor is there to ensure the emperor's finest remains eternally committed to the good fight.

Rise to Chapter Master

In the WotDM info book, Dante became the Chapter Master in approximately 900-999.M40. Turns out that Dante was not chosen because he was the best of the Captains, but simply because he was the only surviving line officer after the debilitating Kallius Insurrection that left no more than 200 Blood Angels alive. Some might interpret this as lessening Dante's legend, and indeed the point is raised in the infobook from an in-universe POV. As a legend of M41, there is a retrospective rose-tinted perception of his every deed, and how Dante became a Chapter Master is apparently a matter the Blood Angels care not to discuss. This is stupid. It is actually saying something that Dante is the only line officer left after perhaps the most dangerous campaign the Blood Angels had fought in a long time. In WH40K survivors are the winners, and Dante was a survivor. Whoever wrote that bit of fluff did not think it through.

The WotDM is only one version of how Dante became Chapter Master. Another version of his ascent involves the Secoris Disaster, which is similar enough to the Kallius Insurrection, whilst maintaining some key differences. In this, Captain Dante and Captain Kadeus were the only line officers who survived the Secoris Tragedy (996.M40), a disastrous attempt by the entire chapter (under Chapter Master Sangallo) to cleanse the Space Hulk Sin of Damnation. Only fifty Blood Angels survive. Kadeus would go on to become Chapter Master, and together with Dante, rebuild the chapter. Ultimately, Kadeus would die in the Blood Angels fortress-monastery on Baal, naming Dante as his successor and handing him the Axe Mortalis.

Obviously the dates are off, for the latest fluff has Dante as Chapter Master for over 1000 years. However, due to the Imperium's shitty record keeping (acknowledged from a meta POV in WotDM), it is quite possible to correct hedge the dates. Alternatively, Dante has been Chapter Master for less than thousand years, and the whole over a thousand year shtick is Imperium propaganda (possibility acknowledged in WotDM). To be sure, the Secoris tragedy comes from the earlier fluff by James Swallow (see Dante: Lord of the Host) and Gav Thorpe (Space Hulk), but not that old. Moreover, the Sin of Damnation (Secoris incident) is mentioned prominently in the Blood Angels 7th ed (2014), whereas the dates for Dante's rule of the chapter is not quite clear from it.

Finally, note that Blood Angels codex like the 5th and 6th ed state that that Lysander does not recall a time when Dante was not the Chapter Master of the Blood Angels. Since Lysander was lost in the warp in late M40, and reappeared almost a thousand years later in 964.M41 (Codex: Space Marines 5th ed), Dante must have been Chapter Master before the former date. Thus, it is probably the Secoris tragedy that has been retconned, or at least, given less precedence by recent BL writers. It's probably down to shitty Imperial record keeping and GW being hopelessly inconsistent with dates. If Dante hasn't corrected it, it may be because it is too hard on him to think about how many brothers he lost.

Ultimately, whatever fluff you choose to follow, Dante was a badass. It was to him to lead the Blood Angels Chapter during the Dark Millennium that is M41.

That said, the 8th Edition Blood Angels Codex (most recent on the moment of writing) also reinforces previously mentioned info from 5th and 6th codexes, as Captain Lysander still doesn't recall times when Blood Angels had the Chapter Master other than Dante, thus making his ascension after Kallius Insurrection more likely one, if not outright makes it canon.

It is 2021 here, and GW has chosen the only surviving line officer as canon (Darkness in the Blood). They made a good story and a good lesson out of it though; you can either stay strong to outlive your mistakes, or you can pick an easy way out, as the main supporting character in the book did. The book also says the chapter master before Dante was called Remael, actually, is this part of story taken directlly from WotDM?

Lord Commander

One of the best ever pieces depicting Dante.

There is some fluff in the novels about Dante's personality as a leader. Basically, it can be said that he functions as an executive authority of the Blood Angels, rather than a 'lord' (like a Jedi Master of the High Council rather than the pre-Ruusan Reformation Jedi Lords). However, the title of Lord Commander is often used in conjunction with High Lord in the Blood Angels series by James Swallow. Meanwhile, the 7th ed codex and WotDM infobook seems to have shortened the title to just Commander, while including subsidiary titles like Master of the Blood Angels and Lord of the Angelic Hosts. It is not clear what exactly is the precise wording of the title. Swallow enjoys appending 'Lord' or 'High Lord' to Commander, but it could be just be reflecting the in-universe reverence of the Blood Angels for Dante. In any case, Dante behaves anything but like a 'lord' or 'master'. He is first-among-equals amongst the Blood Angels (or likes to think himself as such). He addresses First Captain Karlaen as brother, and brooks no ceremony while interacting with Mephiston and others.

According to the WotDM infobook, Dante has led the Blood Angels to their "most glorious and triumphant millennium since the time of the Scouring". Some of his notable personal exploits are mentioned here.

It seems he doesn't sweat the small talk per se, and venerates a warriors honor more than a title. He certainly has many titles, all of which signify that he is indeed a warrior to be venerated above all others, but Dante really places respect above all else. Dante respects even the lowliest guardsmen who lays it all on the line for the defense of humanity, he doesn't ask anything more.

The Gates of Pandemonium (Undated; M40-M41?)

Dante kicked Skarbrand's ass at Pandemonium sometime during M41, casting the creature back into the warp. With Skarbrand’s banishment, the Daemonic armies were overwhelmed by the Blood Angels.

Skylos (Undated; M40-M41?)

Dante defeated a powerful Chaos chronomancer at Skylos, who had shrouded the whole planet with his dark sorcery. The chronomancer would attempt to use time as a weapon against Dante, even stealing several decades of his life. Unfortunately for the chronomancer, the loss of a few decades is irrelevant to one such as Dante, who hacked him down with the Axe Mortalis (detailed in the short story Dante: Lord of the Host).

Ruden III (Undated; M40-M41?)

Dante's victory over Eldar corsairs on Ruden III is mentioned as one of his legendary deeds in Shield of Baal: Exterminatus.

Vetrim (Undated; M40-M41?)

Dante's role in the liberation of Vetrim from its Tau overlords and human turncoats is one of the legendary deeds singled out in Shield of Baal: Exterminatus.

Orana (Undated; M40-41?)

Sometime during M41 Dante personally led the Blood Angels strike force that saved the planet of Orana from an invasion of Chaos Space Marines and Daemons. Orana's capital hive was transformed into a hideous Hellspire, with stone and metal transformed into bloody flesh and bone, and Chaos sorcerers summoning a powerful Daemon lord. When all seemed lost Dante launched himself at the Daemon lord, banishing him back into the warp. With the Daemon's banishment, the Chaos forces were overwhelmed and the planet saved for the Imperium.

Alchonis Campaign (Undated; M40-M41?)

Not much details about this, but that badass "I have seen all the evil that the galaxy harbours...." quote of Dante was uttered at the start of this campaign, with Dante personally involved (Codex Blood Angels 3rd ed).

Pyrus Reach (Undated; M40-M41?)

Dante personally led a Blood Angels force during the Pyrus Reach campaign, which is featured in the Dark Millenium cardgame. The conflict involved forces of Chaos led by Erebus and his Word Bearers, and an Ork Waaagh! led by Warboss Garzulk the Faceless from the mighty Goffs clan. Space Elves from a Craftworld are also involved, and as usual, involved in some behind the scenes shenanigans that got the Dark Angels into the mess as well.

Canau (Undated; M40-M41?)

Dante led the Blood Angels to liberate the planet of Canau from the Orks. Singled out as one of his most legendary exploits, subject to much mythmaking where he slew so many Orks that even the Dark Lord has trouble accepting the numbers cited.

Ultima Macharia (Undated; M40-M41?)

Dante performed some memorable deed here (Blood Angels 5th ed). No details are given, but possibly something to do with the Macharian Heresy. Most probably it is mentioned because it is the farthest planet on the western half of the galaxy, providing a nice mirror to Dante's involvement in Jonol (see below), the planet on the edge of the Eastern Fringes of the Segmentum Ultima.

Jonol (Undated; M40-M41?)

Dante is mentioned as being involved in some bloody victory on this planet. Jonol is the homeworld of the Honoured Sons Space Marine Chapter, on the Eastern Fringes of the Galaxy, and probably the rationale for its prominence in Dante's fluff is to show he has fought across the length and breadth of the Imperium.

Terion (Early M41)

Dante led the Blood Angels to relieve the world of Terion at the dawn of the 41st Millennium, defeating an alliance of Night Lords and the Traitor warband known as the Brotherhood of Darkness. In an upbeat ending, the devastated Terion was rebuilt into a paradise, and all that remains of the war’s legacy is a colossal monument to Dante in the capital city. Grimdark? What grimdark?

WAAAGH! Big Skorcha (798.M41)

Dante led the Blood Angels in defense of Baal and its moons from WAAAGH! Big Skorcha, which included numerous Orks from three entire Space Hulks.

Battle of Stonehaven (901.M41)

Dante led the drop assault that broke WAAAGH! Bludcrumpa's decade-long siege of the Forge World Ironhelm.

Kalagazaar (911.M41)

When Grey Knight prognosticars predicted Ka'bandha return to the mortal world, the Grey Knights revealed themselves to the Blood Angels, bringing the news to Dante and proposing a joint strike. The Blood Angels and Grey Knights then attacked Ka'Bandha at his fortress on the Daemon world Kalagazar, banishing him and his Daemonic legions and then subjecting the planet to exterminatus. At the end of the mission the surviving Blood Angels have their memories wiped, with Dante having agreed to that at the mission's start. The fluff does not make it clear if Dante himself actually participated in the mission, but it seems much more probable that he did than not (7th ed rulebook).

Second War for Armageddon (941.M41)

Dante's reputation led Chapter Masters Tu'Shan of the Salamanders and Marneus Calgar of the Ultramarines to acknowledge his overall command of imperial forces in Armageddon.

At the walls of Tartarus Hive, Dante and Tu'Shan would famously fight side by side against Ghazghkull Thraka and his bodyguard, winning the day for the Imperium. A generation later, Dante's name is still spoken with reverence in Armageddon, and one of the Armageddon system's deep space monitoring installations was named in his honour.

Malogrim (Undated; 941-999.M41?)

Sometime during M41 Dante personally led the Blood Angels as they defended the planet of Malogrim from a three-way invasion involving Orks, Dark Eldar, and Chaos Space Marines of the Emperor's Children. The Orks were led personally by Ghazghkull Thraka, and the Dark Eldar spearheaded by Lelith Hesperax and her Wych Cult of Strife.

This conflict is undated, but the appearance of Ghazghkull gives a date shortly before 941.M40, or sometime afterwards. Of course, there is no hard and fast canon, and this is from a card game the Siege of Malogrim Hive. Possibly there was never a date indicated, just like what developers claimed for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine.

The Gehenna Campaign (955.M41)

Dante and the Blood Angels 3rd Company battled against the Necron Legions of the Silent King on Gehenna, his leadership allowing the company to fight the enemy to a stalemate for three standard weeks. When a Tyranid splinter fleet enters orbit, the Blood Angels and the Necrons ally to fight the common foe successfully.

However, it turns out that the Necrons were using the Blood Angels, letting them bore the brunt of the fighting (hmmm, perhaps Dante would have done well to internalise the lessons about Xenos perfidy). The Necrons fled before the Blood Angels recognised the treachery, but Blood Angels propaganda made it out that Dante let them leave in gratitude for their 'contributions' to the defence.

The Blackfang Crusade (994.M41)

Dante mobilised the whole Blood Angels chapter, leading them to drive the Orks from their empire (twelve worlds) in the Blackfang system, and also its two neighbouring systems. All in a single standard year.

The Third Tyrannic War (997.M41-early.M42)

Dante taking on a hive tyrant

Hive Fleet Leviathan, the largest Tyranid force ever to invade the Galaxy, is eventually defeated at Baal. Dante and the Blood Angels play an important role, contributing decisively in the Cryptus Campaign and the defence of Baal (and its moons) itself.

Responding to Dante's call-to-arms, every 2nd founding chapter of the Blood Angels and later descendants (save the Lamenters) assembled at Baal. During the fighting, Baal Primus (Baalind) and Baal Secundus (Baalfora) were both pretty badly fucked up, but the arrival of a relief force led by Guilliman allowed the Blood Angels to claim victory on Baal.

Spoilers for Devastation of Baal ahead!

As the destruction of Baal came to a close, Dante and a mere 2000 marines from various chapters found themselves in a last-stand scenario. With the Arx Angelicum's defences destroyed, their Astropathic Choir dead or maddened, most of their Neophytes consumed by the horde and no hope for victory left, each and every marine present inducted themselves into the Death Company using ash, soot, and blood in place of paint to darken their armour. Dante gives one final inspirational speech to the assembled marines and orders the prisoners of the Tower of Amareo to be unleashed to accompany them as they began their suicidal charge into the Tyranid hordes.

In the process of pushing towards the Swarmlord as their final hope of victory, Dante begins to willingly succumb to the Red Thirst and very nearly falls to the Black Rage, barely keeping his bloodlust in check by swearing to himself that he'll see the Swarmlord dead before he gives in completely. As he and his forces pushed forward and were thinned out by the swarm, the Sanguinor and Legion of the Damned showed up and assisted Dante in reaching the Swarmlord.

In the ensuing duel, Dante found that for all his might and experience, it was nothing compared to the might of the Swarmlord (exacerbated by the way Dante was exhausted, hallucinating, and bordering on psychotic madness). Dante attempted to weave around the Swarmlord to get swings in with the Axe Mortalis or shots with the Perdition Pistol, but barely drew any blood. As his jump pack ran out of fuel, the Swarmlord took advantage and very nearly killed Dante then and there, but Dante abandoned his backpack all together. However, this had the unfortunate side effect of his armor no longer having a power source and it rapidly began shutting down.

Dante made one final charge, parrying and shattering one of the Swarmlord's bone swords; however, the momentum of the sword continued through the blow and impaled Dante through one of his hearts, leaving him gravely poisoned and bleeding to death. Before the Swarmlord could cleave Dante in two, his armor's sealing foam melded it to the bone sword, catching the Swarmlord unawares. Using this momentary hesitation, Dante fired the Perdition Pistol into the Swarmlord's face at point-blank range, melting it into hot Tyranid goop (though it still manages to sever its own arm and shoot Dante an epic death glare with one eye before finally dying).

Dante finally succumbs to his wounds, wondering who the golden warrior that Sanguinius saw dying before the Emperor was. He awoke to the sight of the Sanguinor, standing beside Sanguinius himself. Sanguinius called Dante the greatest of his sons and said that Dante had earned his right to rest beside him for all time. Dante begged for eternal rest, but Sanguinius regretfully told him that he still had a duty to perform in the mortal world, and poured strength into Dante, reviving him. Dante himself is initially not too pleased by this, though he swiftly gets over it as the below is revealed to him.

Dark Imperium

Dante lives to see the Blood Angels and the Imperium win against the Tyrannids on Baal. He meets with Guilliman afterwards, who names him Warden of Imperium Nihilus, the supreme commander of Imperial forces north of the Cicatrix Maledictum. Guilliman basically orders Dante not to kneel before him and says that he, above all else, earned the right to stand up with him.

Appearance

He looks like this, but much older and with white hair

Cool guys like Dante always get cool stuff.

Dante's eyes are described as pale amber, while his once golden hair has long since turned white (WotDM and the novelisation Dante. However, in the 2020 novel Darkness in the Blood, Dante recalled himself to have black hair for some reason). In the Blood Quest comic series, his hair is long, going down to his chest à la Thranduil/Lucius Malfoy. Bishounen much?

Dante is so old that his age shows; his face is deeply wrinkled, and incredibly for a Space Marine, there are tell-tale signs of physical aging like loosening skin folds and loss of muscle definition. How old you ask? Apparently, the skins of ancient marines became thick and seamed with shallow wrinkles akin to cracks in leather. Aaand Dante has gone even further beyond that. His wrinkles at one point were so deep that they sharpened his "fine bone" face to "the point of brittleness", while the eyes suck into their sockets. Mainly the reason why Dante never shows his face in public; seeing him uncovered would shatter the mystique of the immortal golden hero. Okay, so not that Bishounen. Think Jedi Master Cin Drallig, with a flavour of Grand Moff Tarkin.

In the novel Deus Encarmine, Dante is described as having a 'hawkish countenance', including an aquiline jaw and nose. It is said he had the "aspect of a predator at rest". So, one can imagine a patrician face, which looks like a snarling Elrond when enraged. Aaand the fangs. Don't forget that Blood Angels like Dante have long fangs which grow as far to prickle the lower lip.

Dante swore off living blood after a nasty vampire incident. Towards the end of the novelisation, Dante drinks blood after fifteen hundred hundreds years, which somewhat reverses his physical aging. Still old, but the blood gives him strength and youth (well, he is a spehss vampire after all). Dante had previously taken sacramental blood, which seems to be a big thing in ceremonies etc. There is no reason why this should not have restored his youth, and indeed, Dante describes it as "borrowed life" as well. Perhaps there is something in the Blood Angels gene that allows them to draw strength from 'living' blood particularly.

Note that in the novelisation Dante brings up the in-universe speculations about the 'functional immortality' of Space Marines. He thinks that marines had rarely survived long enough to test the theory, but seeing himself after sixteen hundred years he doubts it is true. He is old, and wonders how many years he had left in him. Then again, his severely aged appearance could come from not drinking enough living blood.

Voice

Dante has a deep, badass baritone voice in the Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon video game. However, the Bloodquest: Prisoner of the Eye of Terror audiobook portrays him as having a sophisticated RP - ancient, wise and fatherly. The different setting of these stories (warrior in a wargame vs background role as ancient authority figure) could explain the choice of voice.

The Man, the Myth, the Legend

Someone made up a drawing of Dante fucking up a motherfucking Titan. The Imperium approves.

"You are the greatest hero of the Imperium! Who can claim to have lived so long or achieved so much?"

– Dante's equerry Alfred Arafeo

"I have seen all the evil that the galaxy harbours, and I have slain all whose presence defiles the Emperor."

– Dante to the Blood Angels

"My son, my greatest son."

– Sanguinius to Dante

"My historitors have struggled to create a concise history of your life."

– Roboute Guilliman to Dante

Fluffwise, the WotDM for Dante seems to push for a trinity of 'big three' Space Marine Commanders of M41, including Logan Grimnar, Marneus Calgar, and Dante himself. The fluff goes on to present Grimnar as the most beloved figure in a folk hero sort of way, while Calgar turns out to be a four-star badass that is most respected in his capacity as a Chapter Master. In comparison, Dante is presented as a distant hero figure to the people of the Imperium, an immortal golden warrior whose deeds have become indistinguishable from legend. In fact, even the Space Marines are in awe of Dante. Tu'Shan, Chapter Master of the Salamanders, and his Firedrake elite, kneel to greet Dante in The Burden of Angels. Aaaand do not forget the The Diadem of Dante, a Golden Iron Halo forged in honour of Dante as a great hero of the Imperium, but now proudly paraded by the Magpies. It is said that all those wearing it hope that some of Dante's might would rub off on them.

The WotDM outlines the in-universe myths and legends surrounding Dante. He is basically to the Imperium what Calgar is to the Dark Lord. According to the Imperium, he is the oldest Space Marine alive, whereas that distinction actually belongs to the Blood Angels Veteran Sergeant Cleutin. Who cares about sergeants, eh? (but note the Cleutin fluff was 2nd ed, maybe retconned). Much is also made of the fact that Dante has basically got more shit done than several entire chapters founded in M41. AND the WotDM goes on to state this is not enough for the Imperium, they go full ham in which legend is intertwined with truth à la 'if-it-didn't-happen-it-should-have-happened" myth-making. Funnily enough, the Dark Lord is very meta about Dante's legend in the Blood Angels 5th ed. It is noted that Dante has lived so long that "his exploits have passed into myth". Thus, it is now "now impossible to say" how many Ork he slew single-handedly during Liberation of Canau, and that the "tally grows greater each time the story is recounted". The Dark Lord also questions if Dante "truly" defeated Skarbrand before the Gates of Pandemonium?, and if it was "indeed a single mighty blow that clove the Daemon in twain"? Finally, it is noted that only Dante himself could reveal whether there is truth to these stories, and how much is just Imperial legend and propaganda that Dante tolerates for the sake of providing a hero. The Dark Lord's own view is quite apparent since it is claimed that the "exaggerated nature of such tales must rankle" Dante. There is some truth to this, for it turns out that the Grey Knights needed to team up with Dante and the Blood Angels to defeat Ka'bandha on Kalagazaar in 911.M41. While Haley would also take this stance in the novelisation, you have to wonder if the Dark Lord was truly writing clever meta, or he was just taking the shine off the major threat to his beloved spiritual liege.

Note that Dante's legend is not just the result of deliberate Imperium propaganda. The Imperium is a decentralised empire of a million worlds, and Dante's legend has been distorted by time and flawed retellings across the galaxy. The WotDM goes on to offer Dante's possible reaction to his legend. One view is that Dante lets his legend grow because he knows mankind needs heroes in the Dark Millenium. Another is that Dante has better things to do than pay heed to the words of mortal men and women.

The novelisation Dante basically states outright that Dante has tolerated the embellishment of his legend to provide humanity with a hero. In the words of Dante himself "I allow my legend to grow beyond all measure of truthfulness. I allow men to think me infallible and potent beyond my means. I embrace it gladly for the service it gives mankind".

Dante himself remains grounded, and tired of the hero worship. He thinks he is no saint and that he has had to pretend to be something he is not. In his words, "...although I am mighty and wise, and of the Adeptus Astartes, I am just a man. Under my armour beats a human heart alongside the one gifted me by the Emperor". Daaaamnn.

The Sanguinor

Dante and the Sanguinor.

Dante has a special relationship with the Sanguinor, who has come to him several times in aid.

• The first time to save Dante when he was dying of thirst while trekking to Angel's Fall for the Blood Angels trial.
• The second time to aid Dante during the trials by stopping him from falling asleep.
• The third time Sanguinor appeared to save a young Dante's company from the Orks on Rora.
• The fourth time the Sanguinor appeared to pull Dante from the depths of the Red Thirst on Tobias Halt.
• The fifth time to dispel Dante's doubts about the shitty human experience in the Imperium, just before he became Captain of the 5th company.
• The sixth time was shortly after Chapter Master Dante sacrificed the world of Aeros during the Cryptus Campaign to delay the Tyrannids from reaching Baal and with the Sanguinor answering Dante's question that there is still hope in saving their homeworld.
• The seventh time was when Dante was dying and the Sanguinor heralding Sanguinius before Dante is healed.

And...counting. Since becoming Chapter Master, Dante has seen Sangunior many times. On the first occasion Dante had been praying to the Emperor to save him, and on the fifth occasion Dante had been invoking Sanguinius for guidance. This is interesting as the Blood Angels like Dante don't believe the Emperor and Sanguinius to be gods. Who is the Sanguinor and why does he help Dante? The Blood Angels do not consider him divine, but a mysterious entity which helps them in times of great peril. However, Dante was not yet a Space Marine when the Sanguinor first appeared to help him. So, the Sanguinor is some sort of Baalite entity, one who does not restrict himself to helping the Blood Angels (or because Sanguinius had the gift of Forsight and the Sanguinor is connected to/an aspect of Sanguinius "they" knew that Dante was going to be chapter master).

Dante himself believes the Sanguinor to be a pure entity, and replied as such to an inquisitor who challenged the Blood Angels over the being's true nature. Interestingly, Dante feels close to Sanguinius during the Sanguinor's presence, almost as if "Sanguinius himself were there". Hmmmmm.

Update: The Devastation of Baal all but states Aratron still serves as the Herald for Sanguinius. Even in spirit form.

More fluff

Most Chapters can only wish their Liege was this fabulous.

Dante and the Imperium

"All my life I have striven to serve not only the Imperium, but humanity."

– Dante

In the novelisation, Dante is portrayed as being aware of the grim conditions of humans under the Imperium. As most Imperial commanders (yes most, the Imperium wouldn't have survived if the majority of their top brass were incompetent maniacs), he is not okay with throwing away the lives of Imperial Guardsmen (for whom he has the highest respect), or any other soldier of the Imperium. In the short story, The Word of the Silent King, Dante allies with the Necrons to defend Gehenna from the Tyrannids. Captain Tycho pointed out that chapters had been declared excommunicate traitoris for less, but Dante was prepared to risk it for the people of Gehenna. Admittedly, Dante does have a backup plan to assassinate the Silent King with a cyclonic torpedo hidden in his own Rhino if the parley went bad, and he intended to assassinate him afterwards. In the end, the Necrons managed to leave before he could seek the Silent King out but he had already forgone a much better opportunity in the first place to help defend the people on Gehenna.

Dante's views on the impotent administration of the Imperium are....well. The relevant quote from the novelisation is revealing, "I have fought every foe that mankind must face, from the overt aggression of the orks to the grindings of unthinking bureaucracy". Yeah, Dante just included the lovely chaps at the Administratum among all the vile enemies of mankind he had slain over the last 1600 years.

Dante also wonders, if Sanguinius was a hero, why did he leave the moons of Baal as wastelands, when he could have easily restored them. He questions if an 'Angel' would leave his people to suffer so that their strife-hardened children might make for good warriors. Ultimately, Dante answers his own question, "it was the way it was, because it had to be that way". Grimdark.

Dante on the Xenos

Fighting the xenos. Dante taking on a freaking Avatar of Khaine like a boss.

The novel Dante reveals his views on the xenos. Dante thinks that he had been (rightfully) taught to mistrust xenos races, but that he never truly hated them. He proves sympathetic to the Orreti, a dying xenos race pitifully eking out a living by scavenging on dead worlds (think the Rom). Unfortunately for the Orreti, dead Imperial worlds are still Imperial, and the Blood Angels exterminate them after they are thought to be responsible for the destruction of a colony world. Grimdark. Actually, exterminate wouldn't describe it. The Blood Angels went all vampire on the Orreti, and even 1500 years later, Dante remembers the incident with great regret.

Dante only truly hates the Tyranids, and that is so because they seek to extinguish life itself. In a display of noblebright, Dante believes "non-humans strove only to survive as mankind strove". It could be argued that he's wrong, since the predominants aliens in 40k being shitheaded asshole space monsters is one of the reasons of mankind's struggles. Aliens like the Drukhari, Orks and Necrons are solely led at bay because the Imperium counter-attacks instead of bending over. But it could be argued that he's right, as xenos are in no way allies and they must also strove to survive each others. Either way, expect to see words like nobility, honour, mercy, and virtue in such scenes, but also perfidy, treachery, and atrocities. Dante would certainly be considered a heretic by many in the Imperium, but recent events might lead one to think otherwise.

Of course, Dante is no idealist opposed to human supremacy (he is a space marine after all). He desperately contemplates an alliance of races, but only for the great war against the Tyranids. However, Dante concedes that he could not envisage true unity among humans, let alone between the different races.

In conclusion, there are some elements which might make Dante seem to be a Mary Sue for WH40K. Oh, who are we kidding. He would be right at home in Star Trek.

Dante and the Imperial Cult

Dante wearing the death mask of Sanguinius.

"On this day, as on every other, I ask you grant me wisdom and strength, great Sanguinius, so I may guide our Chapter to ever greater glory."

– Dante praying to Sanguinius

The Blood Angels generally keep to the Imperial Truth, but venerate the Emperor and Sangunius as ancestral figures. However, it is not a stone-cold atheism that is shown by chapters like the Excoriators. There is a lot of room for doubt, and Dante at times finds himself agreeing with the Ecclesiarchy about the Emperor and Sanguinius (well, duh, the baroque Catholic vampires in spehss thing won't work otherwise).

Dante prays daily to Sanguinius in Deus Encarmine, albeit cynically noting in the novelisation Dante that Sangunius had never actually answered his prayers. Hmm, it would seem that Dante and the Blood Angels are yet to to identify why it is that the Sanguinor keeps bailing them out time and again. In the Gathering Storm, it is confirmed that heroes like Saint Celestine and the Legion of the Damned are warp entities that the Emperor himself sends forth to save the day. While there is no confirmation, it is very strongly implied in the novelisation that the Sanguinor is indeed some sort of Blood Angels warp manifestation, and to be associated with Sanguinius in some fashion (the Inquisition likes to think otherwise). When Dante has a moment of doubt, he prays to Sanguinius for reassurance, but doubts if the prayer will be answered. Not so co-incidentally, the Sanguinor appears at that precise moment and tells Dante there is hope for the Imperium.

James Swallow has also played on the atheist/religious angle in The Sanguinor: the Exemplar of the Host. In the story, The Blood Angels veteran sergeant Ganon is a cynic and very atheistic, whereas others in his squad are more spiritual. In comparison, Blood Angels like Dante fall on the agnostic spectrum, and whether the Emperor (and Sanguinius) are divine or not depends on what exactly is a god in WH40k. The one thing that is clear is that there are 'higher powers' at work that help out the Blood Angels in their time of need.

The Ecclesiarchy and Dante

pictured: too old for this shit.

A lot of people in the Imperium venerate the Space Marines as the Emperor's Angels, and the Blood Angels are at the very top when it comes to being revered (well, at least until Roboute-living-god-Guilliman showed up again). The Sanguinala is a Christmas/Easter like festival in honour of Sanguinius (aka spehss Jesus), and on that day the people of the Imperium wear the livery of the Blood Angels. You should not therefore be surprised to see the veneration even extending to the greatest warriors of the Blood Angels, including Dante. In the novelisation Mephiston: Blood of Sanguinius, fanatical pilgrims and priests even travel to Baal to worship Mephiston. It is not clear how common it is, but evidently this is not considered heresy (note that the pilgrims were led by priests who needed Mephiston's superpowers to bail their planet out, and so this is possibly an one-off display of sycophancy). On the other hand, The Carrion Throne reveals that the 9 loyalist Primarchs are extolled as the archangels of the Emperor, created to battle the 9 "great devils" of Chaos. The word Primarch itself seems to have come to denote the greatest of angels. So, simply by virtue of descent the Space Marines (especially the greatest heroes) can be expected to be treated with a high degree of reverence, being lesser angels.

In the novelisation, Sister Amity Hope of the Order of the Sacred Rose tells Dante and the Blood Angels that they are the "sons" of the Emperor's most "holy offspring" Sanguinius, whose soul is guided by the Emperor, and works through them. Interesting. The Order of the Sacred Rose appears in the Dawn of War series and are rather antagonistic to the Blood Ravens. So, it seems that the Blood Angels find a place in the Imperial cult and are exempt from the contempt shown by some sisters to other chapters. Then again: dawn of war could be an exception to this rule given it's relative distance to the main 40k canon.

The GW website states this about Dante: "Amongst mortal men he is nothing less than a saviour, a golden god who descends from the heavens on wings of fire to smite his foes in deadly close combat". There is also a bit in the Blood Angels 7th ed about him being a "golden god" to the "common soldiers" of the Imperium.

The Red Thirst

Chug! Chug! Chug!...

"He was an angel, not a monster."

– Dante on why he refused to take living blood

Despite suffering from the Red Thirst like all Blood Angels, Dante refused to drink living blood for the longest time. There is a discrepancy in the novelisation about when he took the decision. On the one hand, Dante thinks at one point that he had not drank living blood since the incident on Ereus V, whereas the decision is shown as being taken after he lapses to the thirst at Tobias Halt. In any case, Dante consequently suffered from a constant hunger for blood, compared to an appetite "gnawing at his stomach and soul" and a "hunger that filled his dreams with the bright lustre of blood".

In one council scene, Dante is shown as counting blood drop rubies in a bowl, evidently said to help in meditation. While it is not explicitly stated that it is to ward off the thirst, the immediate context for the scene is his decision not to drink wine spiced with 'dead' blood, and so one can interpret it as an attempt to distract himself from the temptation. Note that Dante did occasionally drink wine spiced with blood. It is just that by that point in the book even the tiniest dollops of dead blood could drive him to almost intolerable temptations.

He eventually drinks living blood near to the end of Dante, courtesy of a gambit by his mortal equerry Arafeo. Arafeo, knowing he was dying of old age and aware of Dante's weariness as well as his fears about the Imperium's future, cut his own wrists before using Dante's sense of honour (and his need for blood) against him to drive Dante into drinking his blood, finally rejuvenating him both physically and mentally.

Codex Astartes/Codex Imperialis

In Deus Encarmine, the Blood Angel battle-brother Koris voices Dante's wisdom that a "Blood Angel who does not strive to question is no better than a mindless servitor". It can thus be argued that Dante is not an orthodox follower of the Codex Astartes, or at least not in the manner many other chapters chose to interpret it. Note that this also depends on if you see the Codex as being an in-universe inflexible bible (see the page), and that bit might just be an innocuous line that has nothing to do with the codex otherwise. In fact, the context for the line in the book itself is about faith and belief. However, it would be still possible that Dante's wisdom encapsulates the codex. Finally, note that the Blood Angels 7th ed says that they adhere as closely to the Codex Astartes as possible, albeit with few important variations.

Interestingly, there is a scene in the novelisation Dante in which Dante reminisces about the glory days of the old legions, set in the context of the rising tide of enemies facing the Imperium. So, Dante seems to be one who would possibly not be adverse to the concentration of Space Marines in one single force, and indeed he calls all the Blood Angels descendants to Baal for the war against the Tyranids. His logic is that only the full strength of the Blood Angels and successors in one single point of action can hope to succeed.

Devastation of Baal points to him being in favour of Guilliman's reforms.

Friends, allies, and enemies

Tyranids vs Blood Angels, or how Dante sees the End Times

During the Second War for Armageddon, Dante became bros with the Chapter Master of the Salamanders, Tu'Shan. He praised Tu’shan for his contributions, which the Salamanders take as a 'supreme gesture' (8th ed codex Space Marines). To commemorate their past victories and the bond between them, the Blood Angels and Salamanders meet every now and then to exchange counsel, trophies of war, and vows of friendship (The Burden of Angels by Nick Kyme).

The Blood Angels-Salamanders bond is remarkably strong. On one occasion to celebrate the anniversary of their alliance on Armageddon, the Salamanders led by Tu’shan arrived on Hecatomb, a planet claimed by the Blood Angels. On this planet, long ago, Dante had vanquished the Chaos champion Raegus Malifact. While exchanging ritual vows, the Blood Angels librarian Abathor became possessed by the shattered blade of Raegus, which had contained some of his essence. Waves of Daemons spilled forth, and while the warpspawn and Raegus/Abathor were beaten back, the event triggered the Red Thirst in Dante and the Blood Angels. They fought. Dante vs Tu’shan. Blood Angels vs Salamanders. Before they became dinner, the Salamanders and Tu’shan were able to calm down Dante and the Blood Angels by appealing to their humanity. Despite the unsavoury incident, the Salamanders pledged to be as strong as friends as ever.

The Blood Angels under Dante also have the dubious distinction of becoming 'allies' with the Necrons, fighting together on Gehenna against the Tyranids. Dante has the supremely dubious honour of shaking hands with the Silent King himself, in person. To be fair, the Blood Angels did fight the Necrons at the start, and it turned out that the Silent King had made an accord with Sanguinius 10,000 years before. So, this was just a (temporary) renewal of an ancient alliance. In a monologue, the Necron lord Anrakyr later admires the Blood Angels, giving honour to their dead on Gehenna.

Also to be noted are the Daemons of Khorne. Ka'bandha, ancient foe of Dante and the Blood Angels, was leading a campaign against them when Hive Fleet Leviathan invaded Baal. As the dust of the conflict cleared, it became evident that the Khornate daemons actually fought against the Tyranids on Baalind (Baal Primus), leaving behind the eight-pointed star of Chaos made out of Tyranid skulls. Suffice to say that there is some degree of respect (perhaps Khorne still desires the Blood Angels as his own, hmmm) and, if anyone is to destroy the Blood Angels, Ka'Bandha thinks it should be him.

Unsurprisingly, Dante gets on fabulously well with Roboute Guilliman.

End Times

"Death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain."

– Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors.

In the novelisation, there is a prophecy made by Sanguinius about the End Times, where a great, golden warrior will stand between the Emperor and the darkness. Dante believes that this golden warrior is him despite most Blood Angels assuming it refers to the Sanguinor. Dante used to castigate himself for what he saw as his vainglory, but he is now increasingly convinced that this warrior is indeed him, holding onto it as his reason to keep fighting through increasingly terrible odds.

"I fear what I have seen. My visions plague me with darkness. So little of comfort can be gleaned from them. The consequences of our victory are dire indeed, as I have described in these writings, and yet there are some things I cannot bring myself to record, visions so dark that they fill my heart with despair.

The dreams of my father are dead, that is certain. Long aeons await of war and suffering that would break the heart of the Emperor to perceive. He never showed any sign that He saw the dark future advancing towards us. Does He know? I cannot credit that He does not. My gift of foresight – if gift it can truly be named – descends from His, and His is more potent than I can conceive. Time and again I have asked myself, did He always know, and did He foresee all that has come to pass? Or was He, like me, taken unawares? The brighter future I once saw has been burned to ashes and a second, rotten potentiality raised in its place. I curse you, Horus, I curse you to the end of days.I have written too often on these matters. I still cannot divine the answer. I shall instead write down my dream of last night. This brought some comfort to me when no comfort ought to be expected, and is thus worthy of record. Dante unrolled the scroll, exposing the next page.

There shall come to pass days of great darkness, when mankind is diminished and all the lights of the world shall be extinguished, and the final scraps of hope torn away. I dreamed I was upon a plain of black sand studded with diamond stars. In the dream there was a great hunger that pervaded all time and space, a more terrible and consuming appetite than the thirst that dogs my sons. It rose from the east of the night, and swallowed the moons of Baal that coursed across the unfamiliar sky. Before Baal Secundus was consumed, a bright light flashed upon it and sped away, outpacing the shadows.The hunger spread rapidly, bloated by its meal of my home. Fortified by the blood of Baal, the formless hunger took shape, becoming a ravenous dragon that consumed the stars in great mouthfuls, until the only light was the memory of their glory, trapped in the diamonds on the sand. As the last star was eaten, the hellish Octed of the traitors burned through the western sky, writ in fire on the starless void. Then this too went out, and I was alone in the dark.

Shadows swirled and parted. The vision lost its disguise of metaphor, and I looked upon a scene that may be a true echo of the future. I saw my father. Ruined. Broken. I knew it was Him, though His body was little more than a corpse, for I could feel His mind. His power was much reduced in potency, and I could feel no sense of consciousness there, merely raging, ungoverned power that threatened to obliterate my sleeping mind. This living corpse of my father was trapped in machinery that fed His soul the essence of others. I do not know if I should commit this to paper, even in my private writings. He cannot ever know of this fate, if He does not already. Or is He aware, and makes this choice between that life in death and the utter destruction of mankind? If so, my respect for my father grows. As the guns of the Warmaster pound at the walls of the Palace, perhaps this miserable reality is the best that can be hoped for. Perhaps this is what I must die to ensure.

The hunger came for my father. The puppets of the Dark Gods clashed with the hunger for the pleasure of killing Him. There was a warrior in gold before the throne, surrounded by my father’s Custodians and other heroes who, mighty though they were, paled next to the lords of our days. There they fought, and there they died. The vision ended as the devourer of flesh and the devourers of souls closed in on my lord and creator. There was despair only, despair and more despair. But before I woke something more. I sensed stirring in the warp, and the touch of my father, His mind made anew, and the knowledge that all might be well.

As I am fated to, so too did this golden warrior lay down his life to protect my father. The precious seconds he bought with his blood could change everything, or they could change nothing. Maybe the vision is false. I pray the future is mutable, and so it has proved in the past. All but the moment that draws near, the reckoning when I must face my brother. That I cannot avoid.

I do not know who this golden warrior was. He appeared similar to my Herald, and I saw my own face depicted upon his mask, but he was not me, and he wore a form of armour I do not know. It is certain that he was one of my sons, and whether his sacrifice will prove to be in vain or not, I know this: that he was a noble warrior, true and purer than any of his age, and I love him for that, for it means that my works for the Emperor, at least, have not been undertaken in vain, and that my unavoidable death might also prove fruitful."

Another prophecy concerning Dante comes from the WotDM infobook. In-universe, this prophecy was made by Sargon Eregesh, the Storm Oracle of the Black Legion.

"In the Time of Ending, we will see the final flight of the Dead Angel’s Host. They rise above us on howling wings. They fall upon us in a celestial storm. At their vanguard flies the Last Archangel. To the Neverborn, he will be the Death-that-Soars. To you and I, he will be a mortal man bearing the immortal face of his fallen father. To the Imperium of Man, he will be hope. A warrior of infinite courage. A soldier of infinite sorrows. Beware the golden mask that forever stares and never smiles, weeping tears of frozen gold."

– The Mourner’s Prophecies.

This prophecy is independent of the one made by Sanguinius, but it is clear that the fluff has Dante fated for some epic climax. He is tired after sixteen hundred years of service, and clings onto the prospect of a final battle as personal motivation in these dark times.

Finally, this account of Dante's situation from the Shield of Baal: Exterminatus.

For over a thousand years, Commander Dante has been Chapter Master of the Blood Angels. Amongst the greatest of Adeptus Astartes lords, he has overseen centuries of war across the length and breadth of the Imperium. Always clad in ancient gold artificer armour, he wears the Death Mask of Sanguinius, which bears the likeness of his Primarch. To the Emperor’s armies Dante is a golden god and the doom of the enemies of Mankind, while to the Blood Angels he is revered and respected like no other since the days of Sanguinius. Dante’s deeds are legend across the Imperium, from slaying the Bloodthirster Skarbrand before the gates of Pandemonium to vanquishing the Eldar pirates of Ruden III; from freeing the Tau bond-world of Vetrim from its deceitful overlords, to winning victory during the Second War for Armageddon against the Ork hordes of Warboss Ghazghkull. And yet for all his triumphs a shadow hangs over Dante. The Chapter Master feels the weight of years of war heavy upon him. He has been forced to witness the slow degeneration of his battle-brothers as they succumb to their genetic curse. Like Sanguinary High Priest Corbulo, Dante hopes for a cure to the blood madness that afflicts his kin. Yet with every passing year that hope dwindles a little more. Only one thing keeps Dante from giving in completely to these doubts, a prophecy recorded in the oldest of the Chapter’s records. Penned by the Primarch himself, it speaks of a golden warrior standing in defence of the Emperor’s throne during the final battle for Mankind. Dante believes that he is the one the scroll speaks of, and so he fights on, awaiting the day when he will be needed to hold back the darkness one last time.

The Devastation of Baal gives strong traction to the possibility Dante is the Golden Warrior of Sanguinius' prophecies.

Miscellaneous

Trainers Chaos hates him. Here he is, the Last Archangel, falling upon the enemies of man.

Music

Dante has his own theme leitmotif in the Warhammer 40k Armageddon video game. It is titled 'Dante's Retribution' and is an epic boss type music that lets you know shit is about to go down. Not surprising, cause Dante is the Imperium's big bad boss to kick the shit out of enemy bosses like Skarbrand and Ghazghkull. You can listen to it here https://soundcloud.com/danbewick/dantes-retribution-from-the-warhammer-40k-armageddon-ogs. The composer is Dan Bewick.

Damn, just think of that score playing when Dante beats the crap out of Skarbrand and Ghazghkull. The ominous intro transitions to a heroic action beat, climaxing into the score of a victorious Imperium. THE EMPEROR PROTECTS!

Video games

Dante's dialogues in the Warhammer 40k Armageddon video game can be heard on playthroughs of the game on Youtube. He is also an HQ Unit in the Blood Angels mod for Soulstorm.

Card games

Dante and the Blood Angels were featured in the Warhammer 40k cardgames by Sabertooth Games. These are Siege of Malogrim Hive and Dark Millennium. Note that Sabertooth Games is now defunct, and the cardgames no longer supported.

Board games

Dante and the Blood Angels are featured in the Battle for Armageddon board game.

On the Tabletop

His Model

9th Edition Dante!

	Pts	WS	BS	S	T	W	A	Ld	Sv
Commander Dante:	165	2+	2+	4	4	6	6	9	2+/4++

Commander Dante himself, one of the big three, and damn does it show. As of 8th 9th Edition, he has changed. First off, his ability to hit or shoot anything on a flat 2+ is a great buff, but when combined with his Chapter Master ability which allows him and other units with the Blood Angels keyword within 6" to reroll failed hits, he and any force he accompanies quickly become a terror to behold. His Death Mask now inflicts a -1 modifier to enemy leadership for units within 3" of him protects him with a -1 to hit on all incoming attacks.

As befitting of the oldest and most fabulous space vampire, he is no slouch in combat and has some great equipment. He comes with an inferno pistol that still has a 6" range, but it's an AP-4 Pistol 1 with Dd6 damage that gets to shoot while in melee. The Axe Mortalis has completely changed from seventh edition. It is now a S+2 AP-3 axe that does Dd3 damage and can reroll failed wound rolls against characters. Throw him at enemy characters and laugh as you tear them down while rerolling failed hit and wound rolls. Did I mention he has 6 attacks now? With lucky rolls, that's a potential 18 damage inflicted on one character or 6 elite models being struck down by this stone cold pimp. S+3 AP-3 D2 axe with no other abilities... for shame 9th edition! At first, his axe now giving him S7 to allow him to wound T6 more often looks better, but the reroll to failed wound rolls beats the hell out of S7 due to the rarity of T6 and thus S7 and S6 being functionally the same against the more common T5. Flat 2 damage instead of Dd3 damage seems more reliable, and while it is for dealing with common pesky 2 W's, the lack of a potential upper damage scaling hurts his potential against elites and characters, with special mention going to the Swarmlord, Dante as he is now stands virtually no chance against ol' Swarmy unlike in 8th edition, where he at least had a chance to kill him in one or two turns, now he has to pray that 3 of his attacks land so that Swarmy's statline is weakened so that he doesn't instantly kill poor Dante and his piddling T4 with 6 S8 D3 attacks, and against Swarmy's T7 and 3++... good luck with that, kinda makes you wonder how he solo'd him during the Devastation of Baal (although he did very nearly die there). The best Dante can hope for is that Swarmy does not have his Tyrant Guards around to eat Dante's Inferno Pistol shots, because that is the only way that Dante can hope to charge the Swarmlord and not die.

On the other hand, Dante has a few new abilities that make him more suited to be a commander rather than a face beater, Epic Hero of the Imperium gives him the ability to use a self-targeted Epic Deed Stratagem for free once per battle, Lord Regent of the Imperium Nihilus gives you a bonus CP for making him your warlord, and Heroic Bearing now increases his aura ranges to 9". With this in mind, the Emperor's new Dante is now best when leading a fast-moving line-breaking group of elites rather than smashing enemy warlord and elite face alongside his bodyguards (although he is still capable of that despite his retooling).