"Dark
Angels Space Marines "
Autor:
Games Workshop
The
origins of the Dark Angels Chapter are
shrouded in mystery.
There
are no records of its beginnings nor
any mention of its part in the Emperor’s
Great Crusade. Any reference in the Imperial
histories of its deeds during the accursed
times of the Horus Heresy has been deleted.
But yet a legend persists that once the
Dark Angels teetered on the brink of
Chaos, that a terrible betrayal besmirched
all the Chapter’s honour. Such
is their shame that from that time they
have striven for absolution from the
sins of millennia past.
The
Dark Angels are now considered to be
one of the greatest of all the Space
Marine Chapter with their Deathwing company
being particularly revered. Only the
highest ranking members of the Dark Angels
Chapter know the terrible shameful secret
of what happened ten thousand years ago
- a secret that drives the Dark Angels
to search throughout space and time for
the final conflict that will bring them
redemption or damnation….
The
Primarchs
To
understand what happened to the Dark
Angels we must return to a time more
than10,000 years ago. To a time before
there were any Space Marines; to a time
when the Emperor created Primarchs. To
help him in his Great Crusade to reclaim
the galaxy for humanity, the Emperor,
in his wisdom, created the genetically-engineered
superhuman Primarchs. The mutant genes
used as the basic building blocks for
these elite warriors had taken centuries
to gather and refine, and despite the
Emperor’s best efforts of psychic
shielding, his industry did not go unnoticed
by the Dark Gods of Chaos. Not having
the resources to actually destroy the
incubator capsules in which the embryonic
Primarchs grew, the Chaos Powers combined
their energies and instead stole them
away from the Emperor, scattering the
amniotic tanks and their foetal occupants
throughout the warp.
The
twenty incubation capsules drifted through
the warp for decades or even centuries,
until finally coming to rest on human-inhabited
worlds throughout the galaxy. The capsule
of one Primarch, he who was to become
known as Lion El’Jonson, founder
of the Dark Angels, was dropped on an
isolated planet on the northern fringe
of the Eye of Terror - the death world
of Caliban.
Caliban
Caliban
was as cruel and harsh an environment
as any in the galaxy. In the bleak forest
that covered the globe lived creatures
that had been by Chaos, and which were
of such ferocity that mere day-to-day
survival was a constant struggle. The
human inhabitants of Caliban were forced
to live in huge fortresses and castles,
located in clearings hacked from the
forests of the planet. Cut off from earth
by the Warp storms that savaged the galaxy
in the Age of Strife, civilisation on
Caliban devolved back into a semi-feudal
state, with most of the population ruled
over by a small warrior elite.
The
nobility of Caliban were a bluff and
pugnacious race. Raised from childhood
to live and die by the sword, they were
great warriors and extremely brave. They
fought in a form of power armour much
like that used by the Space Marines,
and like them their main weapons were
the chainsword and bolt pistol. Most
other forms of advanced technology had,
however, been lost, and the warrior nobility
therefore rode into battle on huge warhorses
known as destriers.
The
nobles’ life was one of constant
struggle as they fought against the multitude
of chaotic creatures that threatened
to overrun their small settlements. Sometimes
a particularly fearsome creature would
stay in one area and terrorise it, in
which case the ruler of the community
would declare a quest against the monster,
and the nobles from all around would
come and attempt to kill the beast. Slaying
a quest-creature could bring honour and
fortune for the noble lucky enough to
kill it - more often than not though
it brought only a bloody and horrific
death at the teeth and talons of a hell-spawned
abomination.
The
Young Lion
Such
then was the planet where the young Primarch’s
capsule crash-landed. Most of the other
Primarchs were fortunate enough to be
found and raised by the local human inhabitants
of the planet they landed on. Such was
not to be Jonson’s fate, for his
capsule landed in a remote and isolated
region of Caliban many miles from the
nearest human settlement.
How
Jonson survived those early years on
Caliban is a complete mystery. By rights
he should have died within the first
few minutes he was exposed on the planet.
But Jonson did not die. Somehow, as a
young child on one of the most deadly
death worlds in the Imperium he not only
survived, but grew strong and tall. What
it was like for him in those grim and
dark days none can say, for there was
no-one there to record the events of
his life, and Jonson never spoke of those
times himself. All that can be said for
certain is that for a decade Jonson was
forced to trust to his own wit and skill
in order to survive. He had no-one to
aid him, he could rely on only himself.
And so it was, in this state, that at
the turn of the decade since his arrival
on the planet, the Primarch encountered
his first humans.
The
Order
The
brave warrior knights he encountered
belonged to a group known simply as the
Order. The Order had a reputation across
all of Caliban for the honesty, nobility
and fearless skills of its brother-knights
in battle. Uniquely amongst the knights
of Caliban, then members, or brothers,
of the Order were selected by merit rather
than inheritance. Anyone could join the
Order, no matter how low born they might
be. Contingents of brother-knights from
the Order travelled across the planet,
giving their aid whenever it was needed.
It
was while on one of their great expeditions
that a band from the Order came upon
the wild man that lived in the forests.
Thinking him a monster, the knights were
ready to kill the Primarch when one of
their number, sensing that there was
something more to the creature than was
at first apparent, halted his fellows.
Luther, for such was the name of the
Primarch’s saviour, and the other
knights returned to civilisation, taking
with them the man born of the forest.
Because
of his appearance and the place of his
discovery, the Order gave the wild man
the name of Lion El’Jonson, which
meant ‘The Lion, the Son of the
Forest’. Jonson easily adapted
to the ways of humans, learning to speak
remarkably quickly. But of his time growing
up in the forest he never spoke.
Within
the fortress monastery of the Order of
the Primarch was assimilated into human
society on Caliban. There he and Luther
formed a close friendship. It appeared
that the two men filled in the gaps in
each other’s personality. Where
Jonson was temperamental and taciturn,
Luther was charming and charismatic.
Where Luther was rash and emotional,
Jonson was a brilliant strategist and
unstoppable once decided upon a course
of action. They realised that they complimented
each other and, as such, became an incomparable
team.
Over
the following years Jonson and Luther
rose through the ranks of the Order.
Their exploits became the stuff of legend
on Caliban, and the reputation of the
Order rose accordingly. The number of
young warriors wishing to join the Order
grew and grew, so that in time many new
fortress monasteries had to be built.
As the Order grew in size Jonson and
Luther argued for a crusade against the
monsters that infested the forests, to
cleanse the planet once and for all of
their foul presence. The oratory of Luther
convinced the Grand Masters of the monasteries
and most of the nobles of the planet
to join in the crusade, but it was Jonson’s
supreme ability at planning and organisation
which ensured that within the course
of a single decade the entire planet
of Caliban was cleared of the monstrous
creatures that had once inhabited it.
A golden age dawned for the inhabitants
of the once troubled planet.
In
recognition of his triumph against the
creatures of Chaos Lion El’Jonson
was proclaimed new Supreme Master of
the Order and Caliban. Although Luther
did not openly begrudge Jonson the honour
he had won, he would not have been human
if he did not feel some twinge of jealousy.
Thus was lit the first small spark that
would lead to the schism which would
tear the Dark Angels Chapter apart. But
all this was in the future - for the
present the people of Caliban enjoyed
a time of peace and plenty.
The
Emperor Reaches Caliban
Meanwhile,
unbeknown to Jonson and the people of
Caliban, the Emperor was waging his Great
Crusade across the galaxy, reuniting
humanity and purging entire star systems
of their alien oppressors. As the Imperium’s
wave of conquest advanced across the
galaxy, Imperial Scouts rediscovered
the isolated world of Caliban.
It
was not long before the Emperor was at
last reunited with the Primarch and was
filled with joy as would be a father
on finding his lost son. The Emperor’s
first action was to give Lion El’Jonson
control of the Dark Angels Legion. This
body of Space Marines had been created
by the Emperor from its Primarch’s
gene-stock and had fought alongside the
other Imperial forces as the Great Crusade
was waged across the galaxy.
Caliban
was made the home world of the Dark Angels
and the whole of the Order moved to join
its ranks. Those knights who were still
young enough had the Legion’s gene
seed implanted within them, while those
too old for this process underwent surgery
to transform them into elite warriors
of the Imperium. The first to be brought
into the Legion in this way was Luther,
who became Jonson’s second-in-command,
just as he always had been within the
Order.
The
Great Crusade, of course, had to go on:
there were countless human worlds that
were still under the influence of Chaos
or suppressed by the harsh rule of alien
races. So it was that Jonson and many
of the Dark Angels set out with the Emperor
to continue the battle for humanity and
Luther was left behind in charge of the
remainder of the Legion on Caliban. Despite
the importance of Luther’s position,
it was not one that suited his ambitious
personality.
As
Jonson’s fame spread throughout
the galaxy and reports of his great deeds
and prowess in battle reached the Legion’s
home world, Luther felt robbed of his
share of the glory. He wanted the fame
and recognition that he felt he deserved
as Jonson’s equal. His role as
planetary governor of some half-forgotten
backwater world seemed more and more
to him like an insult. The seed of jealousy
and dissension that had been planted
within Luther when Jonson was made the
Supreme Master of the Order now began
to grow and rankle within his heart as
the Primarch became more and more celebrated
and famous.
The
Fall of Caliban
Then
came the terrible days of the Horus Heresy.
As the Emperor fought Warmaster Horus
for the possession of the Earth, Lion
El’Jonson was far away fighting
for humanity alongside Leman Russ, Primarch
of the Space Wolves Legion of Space Marines.
Hearing of the potentially disastrous
proceedings taking place around the Earth,
the two generals hurried back as quickly
as they could. Coming into Earth’s
orbit they realised that they had arrived
too late. Events had already taken their
terrible course and the cataclysmic final
battle was over. The forces of Chaos
had been defeated, but they had left
the Imperium in ruins. And for Jonson
one final, shattering betrayal remained
to be discovered on his return to his
home world of Caliban.
It
had been many long years since Jonson
had been to Caliban, and he longed to
see his home world once more. As the
unsuspecting ships of Jonson’s
fleet moved into orbit they were met
with a devastating barrage of defence
laser fire. Ships exploded into flame
and crashed to the surface like monstrous
comets. Stunned by the attack, Jonson
withdrew and attempted to find out what
had happened.
A
captured merchant ship soon provided
the answer: Luther had used his skills
at oratory to lead the Dark Angels under
his command to the path of Chaos, instilling
his own feelings of jealousy and rage
in the Dark Angels who had been left
on the Caliban during the Great Crusade.
Luther had convinced them that they had
been shamed, that the Emperor had turned
his face from them.
While
Jonson and those Space Marines who had
gone with him battled for humanity light
years away, Luther’s feelings of
anger and jealousy had grown within him
like a corrupting canker until they were
his only purpose and driving motivation.
Luther was now a man obsessed, whose
own neuroses had pushed him over the
edge and made him dangerous beyond imagining.
The
fury of Jonson and the loyal Dark Angels
at learning this horrible information
knew no bounds. They had fought from
one end of the galaxy to the other and
thought that the curse of Chaos had been
cleansed from the planets of the Imperium,
and now they found that their own home
world and their own brethren, had been
corrupted and turned against them. Jonson
immediately ordered an assault on the
planet, driving the rebel Dark Angels
back to their fortress monasteries.
Knowing
that one surgical strike was all that
was needed to end the conflict Lion El’Jonson
led an assault on the greatest monasteries
himself. He knew that this was where
he would find Luther: and so it was that
there, the two former friends, now mortal
enemies, faced each other. Even thought
the Primarch possessed superhuman powers,
the two opponents were equally matched,
for Luther’s own, already considerable
abilities, had been enhanced by the dark
gods of Chaos.
What
followed was a fight of titanic proportions
during which the two equally-matched
adversaries laid blow for blow against
each other, tearing down the monastery
around them until the whole massive edifice
had been levelled by their battle. Meanwhile
the massed guns of the fleet carried
on pounding the planet, reducing the
fortress monasteries to rubble. The very
surface of Caliban began to crack and
heave under the strain of the bombardment.
As
the planet itself started to break apart,
the battle between Jonson and Luther
reached its climax. Luther, weakened
by the long combat, staggered and fell,
leaving himself open to a death blow
from Jonson’s power sword. But
Jonson could not bring himself to strike
the fatal blow. As he hesitated, Luther,
aided by the powers of Chaos, unleashed
a furious physic attack that knocked
Jonson to his knees and left him mortally
wounded. But as the dying Primarch struggled
to stand, his noble features racked with
pain, it was as if a curtain was lifted
from Luther’s eyes and he realised
the full extent of what he had done.
His was a triple betrayal: of his friend,
of the Dark Angels, and of the Emperor.
The truth shattered his sanity and he
slumped down beside Jonson, no longer
willing to fight.
Luther’s
psychic cry of pain and despair echoed
through the warp and the Chaos gods realised,
that once again, they had been defeated.
They lashed out in fury and frustration.
A rent appeared in the very fabric of
space and a warp storm of unprecedented
fury engulfed Caliban. In an uncontrollable,
swirling flood of psychic energy the
warp rushed into the physical universe.
Those ‘fallen’ Dark Angels
who had served under Luther his clandestine
masters were sucked from the face of
Caliban into the warp and scattered throughout
space and time. Caliban, already weakened
by the loyal Dark Angels bombardment,
was ripped apart and destroyed, the debris
being sucked into the warp.
The
only part of the planet that survived
the storm was the huge fortress monastery
where Jonson and Luther had fought. Protected
by force fields of awesome power the
monastery and a huge chunk of the bed-rock
of Caliban held together. When the storm
abated this was all that was left of
the once magnificent home world of the
Dark Angels.
The
Dark Angels flew down to the dark surface
of the rock and gazed about them in horror
at all that remained of their once beautiful
home world. The great fortress had been
razed to the ground and of all the living
things that had once teemed across the
face of Caliban only one remained. At
the heart of the ruined wasteland the
Space Marines found Luther. The warriors
were unable to get anything coherent
out of the shell of the man who had once
been Jonson’s closest friend and
second-in-command. Luther just constantly
repeated the same words over and over
again: The Primarch had been carried
away by the Watchers in the Dark and
one day he would return to forgive Luther
for the terrible sins he had committed.
Of the mighty Primarch, Lion El’Jonson,
there was no sign.
The
Chapter Today
This
story of treachery and betrayal is the
Dark Angels’ secret shame. None
know of it other than the Dark Angels,
their Successor Chapters and, maybe,
the Emperor on his Golden Throne. Even
within the Chapter itself very few Brother-Marines
know exactly what happened during those
fateful days.
The
organisation of the Dark Angels Chapter
has been shaped primarily by events in
its history. As a result it is different
from that of any other order. The Chapter
is monastic in nature with much time
being given over to worship and prayer.
There are also many different levels
within the Chapter which individuals
may gradually rise through. On attaining
each level, they find out a little more
about the truth behind the Dark Angels’ origins.
Most Dark Angels themselves know nothing
about the beginnings of the Chapter.
It is only those at the very top who
have learned the whole truth.
The
bulk of the Dark Angels Chapter is organised
along strict Codex lines, as laid down
in the Codex Astartes. However, the First
Company and the Second Company both have
special O organisations. The Second Company
is known as the Ravenwing, and is trained
as a special mobile formation equipped
completely with either bikes or land
speeders.
The
First Company is the famous Deathwing,
and although it appears superficially
to be the same as any other Chapter’s
First Company, it is actually a highly
specialised formation. It is only when
Dark Angels reach the Deathwing that
they learn the story of Luther’s
betrayal. More terrible still they learn
that many of the Dark Angels that followed
Luther are still alive. These damned
warriors are known as the Fallen Dark
Angels, or simply "the Fallen", and it
is the eradication of this stain on the
Chapter’s honour which drives and
motivates the Chapter to this day. As
long as still one of the Fallen stays
alive, the honour of the Chapter will
never be restored. Even within the Deathwing
company there are various levels of admission,
and with these come gradually increasing
levels of knowledge.
The
Fallen Dark Angels
In
the eyes of the Dark Angels Space Marines,
the only way that they can rid themselves
totally of their shame, and restore their
honour and trust in the Emperor’s
eyes, is if all the Fallen are found
and either made to repent or are slain.
However, since the Fallen were cast through
the warp to all corners of space and
time, this is no mean task for the Dark
Angels to achieve. Unlike the Inquisitors
and Grey Knights of the Imperium, whose
role it is to root out the agents of
Chaos at work within the galaxy, in this
regard the Dark Angels are only concerned
with finding the Fallen of their Chapter.
Although the Dark Angels will be called
upon for many different missions for
the Imperium, the search for their Fallen
comrades is a constant quest that they
can never relinquish.
Not
all of the Dark Angels’ damned
brethren have succumbed to the power
of Chaos to the same degree. Some of
the Fallen have embraced the ways of
the Dark Gods totally becoming true Chaos
Space Marines. These Fallen do not belong
to a Chapter of their own, like Angron’s
World Eaters. Instead they are dispersed
throughout space and time as either isolated
individuals or in small bands.
However,
most of the Fallen realise that their
actions to the fall of Caliban were wrong.
Disgusted by the corrupting influence
of the Chaos gods and unable to reconcile
themselves with their order they lead
a solitary existence. Many of them become
mercenaries or pirates, roaming the galaxy
as masterless men. Others are willing
to atone for their sins and in an attempt
to do so have integrated themselves back
into human societies taking on the role
of any ordinary person. This only make
s the Dark Angels’ task of finding
the Fallen as they are not easy to identify
as such. But it is still the Dark Angels’ duty
to try and track them down. In order
to do so, they must investigate any rumour
or story relating to the Fallen, in case
it should lead them to one of their corrupted
brethren.
The
Dark Angels can go for years without
hearing any rumours that might lead them
to one or more of the Fallen. When they
do however, and their mission is a success,
those Fallen that are captured are taken
back to the Rock. Deep inside its dungeons
Interrogator-Chaplains attempt to make
the Fallen repent. Occasionally they
do and for their pains die quickly. More
often than not though, the captured Fallen
refuses and suffers a long drawn-out
and agonising death at the hands of those
who would save their soul.
The
Final Secret
The
only people that know about the disastrous
events that took place on Caliban all
those millennia ago are the Emperor and
the Dark Angels themselves. The Dark
Angels will never reveal the truth to
anyone outside the Chapter for they could
not bear others to know the truth of
their terrible shame. And all the while,
deep within its cell, Luther, the betrayer,
speaks of what is to come. Yet even the
highest ranking Dark Angels do not know
everything, although they may think they
do.
Buried
even deeper within the Rock, is the final,
greatest secret of the Chapter. Only
one person in the entire universe knows
the truth - the Emperor himself. For
hidden inside a secluded, unreachable
chamber at the heart of what once was
the planet Caliban, Lion El’Jonson
lies sleeping, waiting with the Watchers
in the Dark for that time when he will
be needed once again to defend the Imperium
against its enemies.