Marines Baleful

Marines Baleful armorial with Chapter iconography.

Marines Baleful Knight-Errant (Veteran Marine) of the 3rd Company, unknown Veteran Squad.

## Space Marine Chapter

### **Allegiance**

Imperium of Man
(*Fedelitas Tenebrae*)

### **Successor of**

Dark Angels
(Lion El'Jonson lineage.)

### **Homeworld**

N/A; Fleet-Based
Telrath; Formerly; Destroyed (Subjected to *Exterminatus*)

### **Specialty**

Terror Tactics, Psychological Warfare, Ambush Tactics, Coordinated Strikes, Terror Assaults

### Successor Chapter(s)

None known.

"*They are what they need to be. None can fault them for that.*"
— Supreme Grand Master Azrael of the Dark Angels
The **Marines Baleful** are a 15th Founding Dark Angels Successor Chapter, one with a dark and shrouded history. Originally known as the Angels of Valiance, a proud and arrogant chapter obsessed with their own superiority. However, after their arrogance nearly became their downfall, the chapter underwent drastic changes to its structure, livery, and and culture, renaming themselves the Marines Baleful. They have since become a mysterious and potent force against the enemies of the Imperium, striking fear into the hearts of their foes.

## Chapter History

### Angels of Valiance

"*We do not need a reminder of how we failed, only the knowledge that we did.*"
— Attributed to the current Grand Master of the Marines Baleful

Very few of the earliest records of the Marines Baleful's existence remain, most due to the Chapter's own efforts to destroy any records of the time before the Re-Founding. Regardless, what the higher echelons of Imperial bureaucracy do know is that the Marines Baleful were originally known as the Angels of Valiance, a Chapter created during the Fifteenth Founding from the gene-seed of the Dark Angels chapter, although it is still unknown whether the Angels of Valiance were birthed directly from the ranks of the Dark Angels or were instead sired by one of the First Founding chapter's many successor chapters.

In 432.M36, shortly after the Chapter's creation, the Angels of Valiance claimed the feudal world of Telrath as their new homeworld. Telrath boasted medieval level of technology and culture, complete with various Knight-Orders that divided the planet through various baronies and fiefdoms known as Knight-Houses, making Telrath a world of constant political tension that always seemed on the brink of all-out war. To settle disputes between Houses and thus prevent such a calamity, the Houses had established a system in which Telrathi Knights would fight in ritualized one-on-one duels to the death, the winner's Knight-House winning whatever argument or claim through right of combat. It should also be noted that Telrath was in many respects similar to the Dark Angel's destroyed homeworld of Caliban, which is perhaps the primary reason why the Angels of Valiance chose the planet as their new recruiting ground.

Establishing their fortress-monastery within the Great Skypiercers, the largest mountain range on Telrath, the Angels of Victory immediately began to recruit from the Telrathi populace, eager to bolster their numbers so that they might begin their galactic conquests in the name of the Emperor and Imperium. As the years passed the Angels of Valiance began to recruit exclusively from the squires and noble sons of the Knight-Houses, as these adolescents were trained to fight in the name of their respected Houses from the moment they could walk, and thus they made capable and able-bodied recruits. However, this had the unintentional effect of instilling a sense of entitlement and aristocratic self-assurance amongst the Angels of Valiance, their noble-born recruits continuing to act like nobility even after becoming fully-fledged Space Marines.

Soon the demeanor of the Chapter had become a pompous and arrogant one, one that wholeheartedly believed in the innate superiority that came through their bloodlines. Quite simply, the Angels of Valiance thought themselves to be better than everyone else, better warriors, better tacticians, even better hunters of the Fallen, a statement which angered many of their fellow Unforgiven chapters. They refused to fight alongside those they considered "unworthy", and even began to deliberately avoid battles they considered to be minor and therefore not worth their time, much to the misfortune of many a beleaguered planet. The Imperium eventually began to distance itself from the Angels of Valiance, it's many defenders having long since grown tired the Chapter's condescending ways, leaving the Angels of Valiance to sink ever deeper into the cesspit that had become their own arrogance...

### Corruption from Within

The ultimate demise of the Angels of Valiance was ironically birthed from their own self-assurance, specifically the hubris of the Chapter's Librarius. The Librarians of the Angels of Valiance had always been reckless when consorting with the powers of the Warp, so caught up in the delusion of their own incorruptibility that they recklessly delved deeper into the Immaterium than any self-respecting psyker would dare. Such action could only end in catastrophe, and it did, with the promotion of the Epistolary Desparaux D'Argentan to Chief Librarian of the Chapter. A nobleman's brat who had become a Space Marine mostly due to his own psychic ability, D'Argen lacked even the slightest shred of humility, believing himself to immune to the temptations of Chaos because of the near-divine power that his bloodline gave him.

Of course, his ego and psychic power made his soul glow bright in the warp, particularly to those who served the Dark Prince Slaanesh. D'Argentan's constant delving into forbidden arcana heedless of the risk made it all too easy for him to be possessed by the Keeper of Secrets Slaries, who feasted on the arrogant Librarian's soul, a tasty morsel to the Greater Daemon. He twisted and corrupted D'Argentan's very being, painstakingly drawing out his essence into his fell clutches and replacing it with his own, until their was no distinguishing the Daemon from the Space Marine. Unbeknownst to the Angels of Valiance, their Chief Librarian was fast becoming something vile and corrupt, something that plotted the Chapter's downfall.

Soon after, summons came from the Chief Librarian for the Chapter's Librarius to gather on Telrath, to discuss an urgent matter that concerned corruption within the Chapter. Fearing the worst, every single Lexicantum, Codicer, and Epistolary rallied within the confines of the Chapter's fortress monastery, where D'Argentan revealed that he had detected an unseen cancer clawing away at the minds of his battle-brothers, trying to draw them into the embrace of the Ruinous Powers. In order to cast out this warp-born malady, he needed the combined strength of every single psyker within the Chapter, all focused through a ritual of his own devising. Agreeing to their Chief Librarian's proposition, the Librarians of the Angels of Valiance submitted themselves to D'Argentan's ritual, and unknowingly fell into his trap.

The ritual ripped the souls from each Librarian, their combined essences given up as tribute to the Dark Prince while at the same time reducing their bodies to fleshy husks ripe for possession. Momentarily satisfied by the tormented psyker-souls, the Dark Prince chose to reward his new servant by granting him new followers, which came in the form of a horde of Slaaneshi Daemons that burst from the Immaterium on to the surface of Telrath, falling upon the Telrathi people like a tidal wave of ecstatic madness.

However, hope was not yet lost, for in their final moments a group of the Chapter's senior Librarians had pooled their remaining strength to send a single astropathic message across the stars, so they might contact their battle-brothers in a last ditch attempt to destroy D'Argentan before his madness was unleashed into the greater Imperium. The message was received, though fraught with psychic disturbance, by none other than the Chief Astropath of the Chapter's mighty flagship Glory of Telrath. The transmission consisted of only two words; TELRATH FALLS.

### The Battle for Telrath

Chapter Master Gideon Arenbourne quickly mobilized the remainder of the Chapter and made all haste to their homeworld, only to find they had arrived too late. D'Argentan's corrupting influence had spread far and wide in the Angel's absence, what little of the planet that had not been overrun by the forces of Slaanesh was instead overrun by the maddened Telrathi, who had long since been warped and corrupted by the power of the Dark Prince. Knowing they had to cut off the head of this threat before it was to late, the Angels of Valiance rained down upon their former Fortress-Monastery in a hail of Drop Pods and Thunderhawks, only to be Close Supported in turn by the fortresses' now daemonically-powered anti-aircraft defenses. Nearly a third of the Chapter's attack forces perished before even reaching the battlefield, cut down mid-air by the very same formidable defenses that they had once boasted could not be penetrated.

Touching down within the confines of the fortress, the Angels of Valiance quickly discovered a new threat; their former Librarius. The shells of these once venerable psykers had been twisted and corrupted by their new daemonic hosts, the psychic powers now brought to bear on those they had once called brother. The possessed released waves of shrieking sonic force and gibbering warp-energy that ripped entire squads of Space Marines to shreds, radiating discordant waves of pain and pleasure so strong that battle-brothers began to keel over in the midst of battle, their very souls overwhelmed with sensory overload. Yet despite their formidable resistance the Angels of Valiance broke through their lines through sheer strength of numbers, though numerous lives were lost in the process.

As the battle for Telrath waged in the halls of their corrupted fortress, Chapter Master Arenbourne, alongside Master of the Forge Arcanus and Reclusiarch Tenshire, broke away from the chaos and confronted D'Argentan within the cavernous expanse that had once been the fortress-monasteries meeting hall, now transformed into a dark place of worship. The warp throbbed within the confines of this place, ready and waiting to spill forth so it might claim the planet for the Dark Prince, and in the midst of it all stood the Chief Librarian. He was barely recognizable, his armor having fused with pinkish muscle and sinew that stood out on his surprisingly lithe form, mimicking the curves of his musculature in a riot of gaudy shades and obscene symbols.

Yet despite all his transformed flesh, D'Argentan's face had been left untouched, save for the orbs of burning witchlight that served as his eyes. The Chapter Master demanded to know why he had betrayed his Chapter, to which the Keeper of Secrets inhabiting D'Argentan replied that he had not corrupted the Librarian, it had merely pushed him in the right direction. Enraged by the daemon's response, the Angels of Valiance drew their weapons, and the battle began.

The Reclusiarch died first, scythed into bloody meat by a vortex of screaming kenetic force released by the Possessed Librarian. Wary of suffering the same fate, the Master of the Forge circled to the left while the Chapter Master flanked from the right, hoping to close the distance between them and their foe. D'Argentan was more than happy to oblige their wish, summoning a pair of warp-forged blades into his hands and rushing into their midst in a whirlwind of slashes almost too fast for the eye to follow. Power armor rent open like paper, both Marines fell to their knees before the Possessed. He could have finished them both of them right then and there, but some of D'Argentan's old arrogance shined through, and thus he stopped to gloat over their prone forms.

That was the corrupted Angel's undoing, for his taunts allowed Arcanus just enough time to recover, and attack with his prized Conversion Beamer. Momentarily surprised, the Possessed threw up a wall of fell energy to defend himself from the deadly beam... leaving him open for Gideon's attack. Snatching up Arcanus' Omnissian Power Axe, Gideon struck D'Argentan's head from his shoulders, and crushed it into a puddle of gore underneath his boot.

Yet even with their leader dead, the forces of Slaanesh still dominated the planet, and began to converge upon the fortress-monastery guided by the psychic clarion call that was the Possessed Librarian's death cry. The Angels of Valiance were forced into a fighting retreat, having lost nearly half their numbers in the preliminary onslaught alone. Withdrawing to the safety of their fleet, the Angels of Valiance looked down upon the dammed world they had once called home, and realized the scope of their tremendous failure. With a heavy heart the Chapter Master ordered a Cyclonic bombardment of Telrath, scouring of the planet of life, and aborting it's transformation into a Daemon World forevermore. Their homeworld now a charred ruin, the Angels of Valiance readied themselves to face the Imperium's judgement.

### The Re-Founding

Overseen by the Inquisition's Ordo Hereticus, the Imperium's judgement was both swift and merciless. The Angels of Valiance were publicly censored for their failing to stop the corruption within their own ranks and for the destruction of their own homeworld, which they had subjected to Exterminatus without the Inquisition's consent. Chapter Master Arenbourne was sentenced to death, a punishment he surprisingly accepted with reverence, claiming that he was "unworthy to live" because of his failings. After Gideon's inglorious death, his gene-seed was returned to the remnants of the Chapter, who were then charged with a Penitence Crusade through the Eye of Terror. Eager to atone, the Angels of Valiance complied without hesitation, their fleet plunging into the depths of the Eye, not to be seen for nearly half a millennium.

In 149.M38, a lone battle-barge emerged from the depths of the Eye of Terror, identifying itself as the *Glory of Telrath*. It's one-hundred Space Marine occupants were rigorously screened for potential corruption, in which gene-testing confirmed that these were indeed the Angels of Valiance. They were then offered a new planet to set up operations, but the Angels declined, stating that they were not worthy. The then departed within their battered warship, disappearing the cordons sight and from from Imperial Records.

In 502.M38, rumors of a Chapter of Space Marines calling themselves the Marines Baleful began to surface, having been seen fighting alongside the Dark Angels and other Unforgiven Chapters in various locations across the galaxy. At this point it is theorized that after returning from their Penitence Crusade the Angels of Valiance sought the help of the Progenitors in order to rebuild, though the Dark Angels have neither confirmed nor denied these claims. In 784.M38, the Marines Baleful begin to surface independently gliding in and out of Imperial Space to combat the enemies of the Imperium before once again vanishing into the blackness of the void. An Inquisitorial investigation later revealed that the Gene-Seed of the Marines Baleful was an exact genetic match to that of the supposedly extinct Angels of Valiance, giving the Imperium solid proof that the Chapter was nowhere near as dead as the rest of the galaxy had previously thought, though many questions still remain.

The Marines Baleful refer to this period as the Re-Founding, though once again the exact details of this event are known only to the Chapter, the sons of the Lion having downright refused to divulge any information regarding it on more than one occasion. However, due to the sheer amount of changes that their doctrines, structure and even very identity underwent since the Chapter's return from the Eye, one can only assume it was a time of great change for the Marines Baleful. There is a prevalent particularly rumor that these reforms were instigated on the orders of the Dark Angel's Supreme Grand Master himself, though like most of the theories concerning the Marines Baleful this is only a rumor, or at least it is according to the Dark Angels and their fellow Unforgiven.

All that is known is that the Marines Baleful have become a Chapter shrouded in mystery and suspicion, drawing further away every time the Imperium attempts to unearth their secrets. Many wonder what they have to hide, and many more wonder why they are so intent on keeping said secrets...

## Chapter Organisation

After their penitence crusade, the Marines Baleful underwent several major changes to the structure of their chapter. However, like most Dark Angel Successors the Marines Baleful is structured largely the same way as their Progenitors, with Captains referred to as Company Masters, and Companies identified through heraldic markings rather than numerals. As is tradition for Unforgiven Chapters, they also retain both a Deathwing and Ravenwing company formations, which are known as the Fellwing and Raven Talons respectively.

### Officer Ranks

* **Grand Master** - Chapter Master equivalent.
* **Company Master** - Captain equivalent.
* **Seneschal** - Lieutenant equivalent.

### Specialist Ranks

* **Sanctriarch** - Reclusiarch equivalent.
* **Absconder** - Chaplain/Librarian equivalent.
* **Medicus Primus** - Chief Apothecary equivalent.
* **Chirurgeon** - Apothecary equivalent.
* **Ferrum Master** - Master of the Forge equivalent.
* **Forge-Wright** - Techmarine equivaletn.
* **Ancient Master** - Chief Librarian equivalent (No longer used).
* **Loremaster** - Librarian equivalent (No longer used).
* **Paladin** - Chapter/Company Champion equivalent.
* **Ancient** - Standard Bearer.
* **Signifier** - Signal Sergeant equivalent.
* **Venerable Brother** - Dreadnought equivalent.

### Line Ranks

* **Knight-Palatine** - Senior Veteran Marines of the Chapter's Inner Circle, including members of the Fellwing Knights and Talon Knights of the 1st and 2nd Companies.
* **Knight-Errant** - Veteran Marine equivalent.
* **Preceptor-Sergeant** - Veteran Sergeant equivalent.
* **Armiger-Sergeant** - Sergeant equivalent.
* **Esquire** - Battle-Brother equivalent.
* **Squire** - Scout Marine equivalent.
* **Page** - Neophyte equivalent.
* **Apsirant**

### Specialist Formations

#### The Abscondium

"*Our history must never repeat itself.*"
— Animostitas, Sanctriarch of the Abscondium
Following the Chapter's reformation into the Marines Baleful, the source of their downfall, the Chapter's Librarius, was completely dissolved, never to be reformed. In it's place rose a new organization, known as the Abscondium, from which the rank of Absconder would be created. A hybrid role between Chaplain and Librarian, Absconders are non-psychic warriors charged with chronicling and safeguarding the history and traditions of the Marines Baleful, as well as serving as the Chapter's spiritual guides. Absconders are also responsible for the capture and interrogation of the Fallen hunted down by the Chapter, a task they undertake with grim determination.

The Abscondium is lead by the Sanctriarch, the commander of all Absconders within the Marines Baleful, and a member of the Chapter's Inner Circle.

Absconders are typically identified by their jet-black armor and bone-white robes, both of which are sparsely adorned, decorated with nothing save the symbol of the Marines Baleful on the left shoulder and company heraldry on the left knee. Like *Codex* Chaplains, Absconders wear skull-faced helms, and usually wield staff-variants of the traditional Crozius Arcanum, which serve as both their primary weapon and their symbol of office.

#### The Fellwing

Like most Dark Angels successors, the Marines Baleful's 1st Veteran Company also maintains an elite formation similar in function to their progenitor's Deathwing. Known as the Fellwing, these Veteran Marines are arrayed in the traditional bone-white Terminator Armor and bear the Broken Sword icon upon their plastrons. The Fellwing are responsible for hunting down the Fallen and delivering them into the hands of the Absconders, so they might pay for their crimes against the Primarch. Shattering the enemy lines through sheer firepower and brute strength, very few can withstand a full on close support by the 1st Company.

The Marines Baleful are known for their stoic and intractable manner, unflinching against even the mightiest of foes. The Fellwing are paragons of stoicism, unwilling to take even a single step away from the enemy when battle is joined, their prowess honed across countless battlefields that they can weather any attack.

* **Fellwing Knights (Deathwing Knight equivalent)** - A Fellwing Knight is a fell-handed warrior of the Marines Baleful, a member of the elite 1st Company whose glorious deeds on the field of battle are matched only by his unflinching devotion to the Chapter. Fellwing Knights are a truly imposing sight, for in them lives on some semblance of the Lion himself. Only the most veteran Knights-Errant are given the title of Fellwing Knights, the uppermost level of the order before being named a Knight-Palatine. They become the ultimate upholders of ancient Chapter traditions and the most skilled fighting unit of the Marines Baleful. In the stratified Chapter organisation of the Marines Baleful, the Fellwing Knights represent the elite -- only the Grand Master and Company Masters of the Chapter rank higher, and they are only chosen from among the company of the Fellwing Knights, who are also members of the Chapter's Inner Circle.

#### The Raven Talons

In addition to the Deathwing, the Marines Baleful's 2nd Company is organized into the elite close support force known as the Raven Talons. Similar in function to their progenitor's Ravenwing formation, these elite warriors are also clad in midnight-black armor bearing the Winged Sword icon, and fighting astride powerful attack bikes and land speeders, the Raven Talons are a highly mobile strike force whose sheer ability as shock troops has been the end of many an enemy. Like the Fellwing, the Raven Talons are responsible for hunting down the Fallen so that they might face judgement for their sins.

* **Talon Knights (Ravenwing Black Knights equivalent)** - Mounted on powerful, heavily customised Mark IV Assault Bikes, the Raven Talons' Knight-Palatines of the Chapter's 2nd Company, are heavily armed shock cavalry. Those who survive in the Raven Talons long enough learn to take the doctrines of mobile warfare to the next level of mastery. If they can pass the Seven Rites of the Raven, they will be inducted into the Knights-Palatines, the Inncer Circle of the 2nd Company. There, they will learn the real reason behind their hunt for heretics and the truth about their Chapter's history. To signify their exalted status, Knights-Palatine carry Corvus Hammers, which are patterned after an ancient Calibanite weapon used to hunt the Great Beasts. The Knights-Palatines' riding skills are supreme, and they can drive at top speed through almost any impediments to close on their foes.

### Order of Battle

#### Headquarters

**The Grand Master (Name Unknown)**
**Chapter Master of the Marines Baleful Chapter**
**Paladin Vindicta,**
**Chapter Champion**
**Malignum Warders (Honour Guard)**
**Command Squad: (Chapter Ancient, Absconder, Chirurgeon, & Forge-Wright)**

**The Grand Master, (Unknown)**
**Company Master Sanctor,**
**Commander of the Fellwing, Equerry to the Grand Master**
**Company Master Silentium , Commander of the Raven Talons**
**Sanctriarch Animostitas,**
***Master of the Abscondium***
**Medicus Primus Sanatio (Vandrillis),**
***Master of the Apothecarion***
**Company Master Velox (Palidor),**
***Master of the Voidwing***
**8 Company Masters (Captain Equivalent) of the 8 remaining companies**
**All Fellwing Knights (Deathwing Knights Equivalent)**
**All Talon Knights (Ravenwing Black Knights equivalent)** | **Sanctriarch Animostitas,**
***Master of the Abscondium***
**Absconders**
**Acolytum**
**Chapter Serfs** | **Paladin Vigilans (Askelon),**
***Warden of the Umbra Vigilemus***
**875 Servitors**
**Administrative Support Staff**
**Ferrum Master Conditor (Mandeus),**
***Master of the Umbra Vigilemus***

**The *Master of the Umbra Vigilemus* serves as the Chapter's Master of the Forge; he is NOT a member of the Inner Circle because of his shared allegiance to the Adeptus Mechanicus.**

**25 Techmarines**
**112 Servitors**
**14 Predators**
**4 Vindicators**
**10 Whirlwinds**
**Company Master Velox (Palidor),**
***Master of the Voidwing (Master of the Fleet equivalent)***
**2 Battle Barges;**
***Umbra Vigilemus**Redemptor***
**3 Strike Cruisers;**
***Dark Harbinger**Wrath of the Lion**Alterius Aevi***
**10 Rapid Strike Vessels**
**Medicus Primus Sanatio (Vandrillis)**
***Master of the Apothecarion***

## Chapter Recruitment

"*Your souls are forfeit, but are you prepared to pay the price? In the coming days, we shall see...*"
— Derisus, Master of Recruits
The Marines Baleful are a Fleet-Based Chapter, and thus they have no homeworld to recruit from but rather recruit from a variety of planets. As a result, each recruit has a unique cultural background, one that is beaten out of them over the course of his trials, all of which are designed to make the initiate accept that he is no longer a person, he is an instrument of the Emperor and the Primarch's will, nothing more. As a result the Marines Baleful's trials are hash to an inhuman level, and thus only the strongest, most devoted recruits survive. While this does ensure the quality of new Scouts to be initiated into the Chapter, it also means that the Marines Baleful receive a low input of new Battle-Brothers.

Once the Initiate has passed his final trial, he is taken aboard the *Umbra Vigelimus*, where before the Grand Master himself does he take his final oaths, including forgoing his old name in place of a new one that shall identify him forevermore. This ceremony, known as the Last Rite, is considered a sacred occasion, and oftentimes the entire Chapter will gather simply to watch the aspirants take their final oaths.

## Chapter Culture

The Marines Baleful have learned from their time as the Angels of Valiance that pride is a weakness, and so they are a very humble chapter, never going into battle seeking glory but simply victory. They also "give up" their names after being initiated, giving up all sense of individuality in an ultimate act of humility and are only referred to by the High Gothic names that they give themselves in order to tell one another apart. These names usually refer to a certain aspect of the marine, like "Brother Ultorious (Vengeful)" or "Brother Contritus (Penitent)". They do not decorate their armor or weapons, and members of the Marines Baleful only receive honors after their deaths. Others, even their fellow Unforgiven Chapters, tend to find the Marines Baleful's lack of the concept of individuality unnerving.

While the Marines Baleful may be humble, but they are also cruel. They believe that the only way to fight the enemies of Man is to break them completely, and so they never give any quarter or mercy no matter what the circumstances. Anyone who is in the least affiliated with the enemy is an enemy themselves and is killed on the spot. They also do not barter or make deals with those they consider to be enemies, not even with more benevolent factions such as the Tau or Eldar. In addition, The Marines Baleful strongly dislike psykers, as they were nearly the death of their chapter, and thus they believe them to be easily corrupted. This does not mean they will not associate themselves with psykers, but they will keep a close eye on them, ever wary in case of potential corruption.

The main aspects of the Marines Baleful's creed are centered around the belief that they are merely the Emperor's weapons of war, and nothing more. They believe that things like battle-honors and even their own names are superficial in the grand scheme of things, as only purpose in life is to kill the enemies of the Imperium, and they do so with great zeal. Simply put, the Marines Baleful do not want to be honored or respected, they are content with being feared by mutants, heretics and xenos alike. The Marines Baleful also dislike the overly proud or boastful, knowing that their pride will be their downfall just like it was almost theirs.

### The Hunt for the Fallen

Like all Unforgiven Chapters, the Marines Baleful are on a constant search for the Fallen, capturing them and breaking them through the ministrations of the Absconders before executing them. Also like their fellow Chapters, the only members of the Deathwing, Ravenwing, and Abscondium are aware of this secret quest, the leaders of these factions alongside the Grand Master himself making up the Marines Baleful's Inner Circle. The rest of the Chapter is unaware of this hidden agenda, unless they are brought in to the Abscondium or Veteran Companies, in which case they are informed of the sons of the Lion's secret shame as part of their initiation.

## Chapter Beliefs

"*Vengeance tempers the soul, keeps the blade of our hatred keen and reminds us that none are beyond suspicion.*"
— Introit, Thirty-third *Book of Admonitions*
## Chapter Gene-Seed

As the first of the Space Marine Legions the Dark Angels gene-seed is one of the purest of the Adeptus Astartes gene-stocks with virtually no known flaws or degradations. Despite this genetic purity relatively few Successor Chapters have been founded of Dark Angels gene-stock in the long centuries since the Second Founding. However, exceptions have occasionally been made, as was the case with the inception of the Angels of Valiance.

Even today, the Marines Baleful's gene-seed is surprisingly pure, bearing the least evidence of mutation, with all nineteen implants functioning with commendable efficiency. The only noticeable trait is that these Astartes tend to show a tendency for moral exoneration and a drive to enact retribution. It is not known if this is a result of the genetic legacy their gene-seed was derived from, or whether it was introduced long ago from some unknown genetic stock from one of the several worlds the Marines Baleful recruit from while on crusade. There are no common phenotypes amongst encountered Marines Baleful.

### Primarch's Curse: Dark Nature

Although only the upper echelons of the Chapter are aware of the awful truth of their progenitor's past, even those newly recruited are possessed of a secretive, even introverted nature. The idea that outsiders are not to be trusted is drilled into the recruits from an early stage, and they are tested continuously to ensure their compliance until it becomes second nature. After all, a brother who cannot be entirely trusted to keep the Chapter's secrets is unlikely to advance through its ranks.

Although the Marines Baleful have fought beside all of the branches of the Imperium's vast military machine, they prefer to stand beside other Space Marines. Many, even brother Astartes, find the Marines Baleful aloof and uncommunicative. The Marines Baleful, for their part are impatient and unforgiving with strangers who pry into their affairs. In truth, those Marines Baleful who are aware of the existence of the Fallen are ever watchful for any sign of their activity, and will abandon whatever mission they are about should they gain any clue that one is nearby.

Like their forebears, the Marines Baleful are also notoriously intolerant of non-humans and will often refuse to fight alongside armies that include abhuman warriors or alien races. They are highly suspicious of outsiders and often appear unreasonably aloof and intransigent. Indeed, there have been a number of occasions where the Marines Baleful have withdrawn suddenly and with no explanation from a warzone when confronted by an Inquisitor or missionary. Despite such incidents, many Marines Baleful have served with distinction and honour. Their taciturn nature and stubborn refusal to accept anything other than total victory over their foes has served the Unforgiven well.

### Primarch's Curse: The Secret

The progenitors of the Marines Baleful have a shadowy past hidden by the weight of history and shrouded in the smoke and blood of the Horus Heresy itself. Few outside the Chapter can even guess at the exact facts surrounding the Chapter's beginning, and those within its ranks guard their secrets well. Such weighty secrets can come to press heavily on a Battle-Brother's soul:

* **Level 1 (Dark Dreams)**: The Battle-Brother is beset with memories of past times and deep, hidden secrets that cast a shadow over periods of rest and meditation.
* **Level 2 (Scorn of Outsiders)**: The Marine Baleful has grown to view those outside the Chapter as misguided or ignorant of the truth and cannot bring himself to deal with them any more than necessary.
* **Level 3 (Deep Suspicion)**: Trained in an atmosphere of silence and secrets, the Marine Baleful has become very distrustful of anyone outside his Chapter and cannot take the words or promises of others at face value.

## Combat Doctrine

The Marine's Baleful combat doctrine has always put emphasis on the division of one's forces, as to "divide and conquer" as the saying goes. Thus before entering combat, the Marines Baleful split their forces into smaller kill-teams each tasked with a different objective. Some kill-teams strike at the enemies resources, conducting hit-and-run attacks on outposts and supply depots to weaken the enemy forces. Other will take a more direct approach by using heavy support units such as carious tanks, Dreadnoughts, and Fire Support Squads to destroy enemy fortifications and overwhelm the opposing forces with sheer firepower. Whenever the enemy tries to retaliate, they will quickly find the tables turned on them as other kill-teams will be lying in wait to ambush the inevitable counter-attack. Only when the enemy force has been sufficiently weakened will the Marines Baleful re-join their forces, collecting into a formation referred to as a "Spearhead", a single devastating wave to overwhelm whatever opposition still remains.

If the opportunity is present, the Marines Baleful will also resort to terror tactics to demoralize their foe, striking at civilian centers and medical refuges and slaughtering all within. Scouts will plant explosives in major centers of activity in order to yield mass casualties when the bombs are detonated, resulting in mass panic and hysteria as the enemy begins to dread to next inevitable massacre. Some might call the tactics unnecessary and overly cruel, but none can deny it demolishes the opponent's morale. However, these sort of tactics are the main reason why the Marines Baleful are not a very well-liked Chapter.

## Notable Members

* **The Grand Master**
* **Company Master Sanctor** - Current commander of the elite 1st Company ("Fellwing") and Equerry to The Grand Master.
* **Company Master Silentium** - Current commander of the elite 2nd Company ("Raven Talons") and *Master of the Hunt*.
* **Company Master Robustus (Azadael)** - Current commander of the 3rd Company and *Master of the Arsenal*.
* **Company Master Velox (Palidor)** - Current commander of the 4th Company and *Master of the Voidwing*.
* **Company Master Exemplar (Vardis)** - Current commander of the 5th Company and *Master of the Marches*.
* **Company Master Fortis (Valerius)** - Current commander of the 6th Company and *Master of the Rites*.
* **Company Master Acutus (Amardiel)** - Current commander of the 7th Company and *Master of Logistics*.
* **Company Master Irae (Furion)** - Current commander of the 8th Company and *Master of Blades*.
* **Company Master Iratus (Apollyon)** - Current commander of the 9th Company and *Master of Sieges*.
* **Company Master Magister (Derisus)** - Current commander of the 10th Company and *Master of Squires*.
* **Sanctriarch Animostitas** - Current *Master of the Abscondium*.
* **Ferrum Master Conditor (Mandeus)** - Current *Master of the Umbra Vigilemus* (Master of the Forge equivalent).
* **Paladin Vigilans (Askelon)** - Current *Warden of the Umbra Vigilemus* and *Master of the Logisticiam*.
* **Medicus Primus Sanatio (Vandrillis)** - Current *Master of the Apothecarian*.

## Chapter Fleet

The Marines Baleful are known to have the following ships in their Chapter Fleet:

* ***Umbra Vigilemus* (Battle-Barge)** - The mighty flagship of the Marines Baleful, the *Umbra Vigilemus* has served as the Chapter's impromptu fortress-monastery since the re-founding. The Battle-Barge also contains the Chapter Librarius, the repository of all the Marines Baleful's knowledge and history, and thus is considered a sacred vessel by the Abscondium.
* ***Redemptor* (Battle-Barge)** - The *Redemptor* serves as a prison-ship of sorts, in which the Chapter's Fallen captives are imprisoned, interrogated, and made to repent within the darkened confines of it's lower decks. It also oftentimes serves a meeting place for the Chapter's Inner Circle, where the Marines Baleful's leaders might discuss the Chapter's more secretive matters away from prying eyes.
* ***Dark Harbinger* (Strike Cruiser)**
* ***Wrath of the Lion* (Strike Cruiser)**
* ***Alterius Aevi* (Strike Cruiser)**

## Chapter Relics

### *The Amissae Memoria*

After the Angels of Valiance re-emerged from the Eye of Terror, only one hundred of their number remained, the rest having fallen to the many perils of their penitence crusade. As the Chapter's Inner Circle began to reform their Chapter in an event known as the Re-Founding, Master of the Forge Arcanus was embarking upon a project of his own. Gathering up the shards of Power Armor taken from the bodies of his fallen battle-brothers, the Techmarine smelted them down and reforged them into a suit of Artificer Armor unlike any other. On the final day of the Re-Founding, Arcanus emerged from the forges to present his tribute to those who had died to absolve the Chapter of it's sins. He called this armor the *Amissae Memoria*.

It's name literally translating to "Remembrance of the Lost", the *Amissae* is the master-crafted armor passed down from Grand Master to Grand Master since the Marines Baleful's Re-Founding. While beautifully crafted, this armor bares no ornamentation; it's pauldrons bare, it's helmet a faceless mask save for a pair of burning red eye-slits. It's only decoration is the Winged Skull of the Chapter, proudly displayed on it's chestplate. To the Marines Baleful, the *Amissae Memoria* not only represents the authority of the Grand Master, but also is a symbol of the Chapter's repentance, of their re-forging into the deadly force they are today through the sacrifices of their valiant brethren, and thus it is a highly coveted artifact worn only by the Marines Baleful's Grand Masters.

### *The Baleful Tome*

After the Re-Founding, the first Grand Master of the newly named Marines Baleful penned a book compiling the newly-created culture of the reformed Chapter, a book that would later become known as the *Baleful Tome*. A revered repository of the Chapter's complied traditions and teachings, the *Baleful Tome* has been revised and re-written many times over the millennia, each new Grand Master adding his wisdom to theancient book with each passing generation.

Three copies of the *Baleful Tome* exist; the original copy lies within the Librarium of the Battle-Barge *Umbra Vigelimus*, kept safe within the Abscondium's vaults. Another copy is always in the possession of the current Grand Master, and the third and final copy is carried by the Sanctriarch Animositas, who often reads from it's pages during important sermons.

## Chapter Appearance

### Chapter Colours

#### Original Livery

Originally, the Angels of Valiance wore forest green battle-plate with the execetpion of their armorial insets, which were bone in colour. Their shoulder pauldron trim as well as any other trim was white in colour. A black coloured *Codex*-approved squad specialist symbol was stenciled upon their right armorial inset, which indicated a battle-brother's assigned combat role (Fire Support, Close Support, Battleline, Veteran or Command). A small white coloured gothic numeral was prominently displayed upon this squad specialty symbol, indicating a battle-brother's assigned squad. Like their progenitors, the Angels of Valiance made use of the same unique heraldic sytem to identify which company a battle-brother was assigned. This heraldry was prominently displayed upon their left poleyn (knee guard).

Like other Chapters of the Unforgiven, those Veteran Marines of the Chapter as well as members of the Inner Circle also wore robes, tabards and hoods; this symbolised their shame over what the Fallen Angels had done near the ends of the Great Crusade, when they turned from the light of the Emperor and betrayed the Lion. These warrior elite had learned enough of the truth about their genetic forebear's histoyr, and thus their shame was passed onto them.

#### Reconstitued Livery

Following their Re-Founding, the Marines Baleful adopted dark blue as their primary colour for their battle-plate, with bone as a secondary colour, which includes the shoulder pauldron trim and the Aquila or Imperialis affixed to their plastrons (chest guard). A white coloured squad specialty symbol (Fire Support, Close Support, Battleline, Veteran or Command) is stenciled on the right armorial inset, indicating a battle-brother's assigned battlefield role. A small white coloured gothic numeral stenciled upon the right armorial inset indicates a battle-brother's assigned squad.

In lieu of the usual numerical markings utilised by more *Codex*-oriented Chapters, the Marines Baleful, like their progenitors, have adopted their own unique heraldry which is prominently displayed on their left poleyn (knee guard). This unique heraldry indicates a battle-brother's company assignment. For the most part, the Marines Baleful utilise nearly identical heraldry for their battle companies as their Progenitors (with only slight changes in overall colour), with the exception of their elite 1st and 2nd Companies, which maintain their own unique heraldry. However, both of these veteran companies still utilise the respective bone colour and sable battle-plate, respectively, that is utilised by their progenitors' Deathwing and Ravenwing battle-brothers.

Black coloured cloaks and hoods are commonly worn by the veterans of the Chapter as well as the Chapter's Inner Circle ('The Vigilant') because they have learned enough about the Dark Angels' true history, and thus their secret shame, prior to obtaining their rank within the Chapter.

### Chapter Badge

#### Original Heraldry

In the Chapter's original iteration as the Angels of Valiance, their Chapter icon took the form of a stylised cloaked and hooded skeletal angel with large black upswept wings, its arms held out in supplication. This central icon was crown by various icons considered sacred to their Unforgiven heritage, their exact meaning which is unknown to outsiders.

#### Reconstitued Livery

Following their reconstitution as the Marines Baleful, the Chapter adopted a more simplistic icon which consists of a large winged, bone-coloured fanged skull centered upon a field of midnight blue.

Angels of Valiance Chapter iconography.Marines Baleful Chapter iconography.

## Notable Quotes

### By the Marines Baleful

"*Tell me Inquisitor, if our roles were reversed and I was to demand that you turn over the secrets of your Ordo; to reveal every lie, every atrocity, every dark truth that the Inquisition keeps hidden from the masses, would you comply with my wishes? No? Then we have nothing more to say to each other.*"
— Attributed to the Grand Master, during an debriefing by Lord Inquisitor Hiram Burex
"*Hubris is born out of an assurance of the self, the belief that one as an individual is greater than his fellow man. Our past failings are proof that the idea of the the self leads to arrogance, which culminates in ruin, and therefore must be expunged from the mind and soul if one wishes to his truly serve His Emperor, Primarch, and Imperium...*"
— From the *Baleful Tome*
"*Mercy? There is only one kind of mercy; the mercy of a quick death. Be thankful for that small kindness if nothing else.*"
— Company Master Sanctor, before the slaughter of the surrendering Rebels of Scylla IV
### About:

*Feel free to add your own!*
"*There is no more pathetic sight than the repentant lapdog with his tail wedged between his legs. I, Baail Deurtog, will show them the price of such foolhardy repentance.*"
— Baail Deurtog, Draugar Lord of the 5th Storm, Storm Draugar
"*Come my nameless brothers, let us us go and bring death to the foes of the Emperor, let our bolters roar and swords flash. You may not yet trust my abilities and resolve brothers, but let us grow trust through the strength of our steel, and the skill of our arms.*"
— First Librarian Leadros Kerventes of the Wings of Salvaxes chapter.
"*I do admittedly feel a measure of kinship towards them. Like us, they are not ashamed of neither try to hide who and what they are. Yet I cannot escape the feeling that there is* something *they do not reveal of themselves... just like us.*"
— A Marine of the Angels Crepuscular

[Source]

 White Scars Successors
 Space Wolves Successors
 Imperial Fists Successors
 Blood Angels Successors
 Iron Hands Successors
 Ultramarines Successors
 Salamanders Successors
 Raven Guard Successors
 Unknown Lineage

[Source]

## Gallery

Angels of Valiance armorial with Chapter iconography.Angels of Valiance Battle-Brother as they appeared before the events of the 'Re-Founding'.Marines Baleful Knight-Errant, Brother Indignatio, of the Chapter's veteran 1st Company ('Fellwing'), arrayed in Indomitus pattern Terminator Armour and wielding a relic Reaper Autocannon and Power Fist.