The Hexagrammaton

> Of all the weapons wielded by the Emperor's Legions, it is not cannon or blades that are the most deadly. It is knowledge that has carried us to victories beyond count, and wisdom that has broken empires and kings. Yet still there are those who question why we keep such a potent weapon concealed from our foes within the folds of the Hexagrammaton.
>
> From the *Lion Codex*, the collected words and deeds of Lion El'Jonson.

The **Hexagrammaton**, colloquially known as the **"Six Wings,"** are the specialized formations that exist outside the regular chain-of-command and organization of the Dark Angels Space Marine Legion.

These formations owed their existence to the old Space Marine Legion formations of Terra, the amalgamation of the Terran pre-*Principia Belicosa* approach, the organisation of the later proscribed formations of the early *Legiones Astartes* and the "brotherhoods" of The Order from Caliban's knightly fellowships.

The Hexagarammaton, a phrase in ancient Terran that loosely translates as the "The Six Divine Ways," is the title given to the Dark Angels hosts. It came into use throughout the Legion at some point around 830.M30, when the Legion first reached a nominal strength of 100,000 warriors and had excised many of the early hosts by means of attrition in battle and the failure of their doctrines.

Those hosts that remained were regarded as the purest and most efficacious expression of the tactics and strategies forged by the Ist Legion over its long history, worthy of a permanent place within their order of battle. So successful were they that, when he took command of the Legion, Lion El'Jonson retained the Hexagrammaton virtually unchanged. The primarch took steps only to re-organize their hierarchies and to more closely echo the Calibanite knightly cohorts with which he had conquered the dark forests of his adopted homeworld, symbolically changing the title of those forces to "wings" to mark his ascension to the position of grand master of the Legion.

After the Shattering and beyond, the Dark Angels still keep to the main six wings, although more minor wings have been created under the umbrella of the six major wings during the founding of the Caliban Protectorate.

## History

Before the creation of the Dark Angels, each of the *Legiones Astartes* were organized instead into a formation known as the "Six Hosts of the Angels of Death," with each of these hosts having its own specialization and purpose. During the Terran Wars of Unification the Six Hosts had each been created by the Emperor for a specific task, or from a particular type of warrior. Their names, if they had ever had any, were unknown by the second century of the Great Crusade.

These hosts did not fight alone, being too specialised for general warfare on Terra and during the initial stages of the Great Crusade. Instead, elements of each host were combined into battle groups of different sizes and designations. As and when required, the hosts provided their troops to these armies depending upon the military need.

The warriors of each host could be called upon when a particular threat or situation presented itself. The leader of a host, elected by his sect-brothers rather than appointed by the Emperor in those times, would assume temporary command of a battle or campaign so that their expertise could be deployed fully.

It is not fully understood what happened to the Hexagrammaton in the other Legions and why its structure persisted only within the Ist Legion. For reasons only He knows, the Emperor chose not to continue with the Six Hosts and instead created the *Principia Belicosa* to structure the *Legiones Astartes* along the tactical lines which are now most familiar. The old ties of the brotherhoods continued in the Ist Legion, though, and so the Six Hosts persisted in name and function. Being created from scratch, the later Legions were never built upon this foundation.

Following the Ist Legion's reunification with their Primarch Lion El'Jonson on Caliban, the Lion incorporated the traditions of the Six Hosts with those of his own native knightly brotherhood known as The Order. Thus, the Six Wings of the Ist Legion were created.

The "wings" of the Dark Angels existed beneath the hierarchical structure prescribed by the *Principia Belicosa* that shaped the other *Legiones Astartes*, a substrate of organisation and tradition that predated the adoption of the structure of The Order of Caliban and even the amalgamation of the Six Hosts of Angels -- the Hexagrammaton -- but was also a result of both.

The Ist Legion did follow the principles of the later *Principia Belicosa*, organising their Legion's strength into chapters, led by Chapter-Captains, great companies, led by Masters, and orders, which in turn were led by Paladin-Captains. These formations were further broken down into companies, led by lieutenants, and squads commanded by sergeants.

Membership in one of the Six Wings of the Hexagrammaton was a mark of skill and worth within the ranks of the Dark Angels. It was a rare sight to note one of their warlords without the insignia of one of these secretive organisations upon their battleplate.

Members of the Six Wings were distributed amongst squads and companies, where they acted as captains, sergeants, and line Legionaries, or in specialised formations when assembled on orders from their respective "voted-lieutenant" of a wing. These voted-lieutenants, also called masters, were special officers of the Ist Legion who acted as both commander of their wing and often served as a counsel to their primarch.

Voted-lieutenants were elected by their peers rather than being nominated for the rank by a superior officer, hence their name. They would then have their nominated successor chosen to command the wing in the event of their untimely death, so as not to interrupt the cohesiveness of a wing's command structure.

The voted-lieutenants who served as the chosen leaders of each wing often gathered together in a group known as the Council of Masters, first in the great fortress of the Ist Legion on Gramarye and later wherever the Legion was engaged after being reunited with their primarch.

On the field of battle, a commander responsible for an area of operations or campaign had to request the intervention of one of the Six Wings. When such a request was made and eventually accepted, the members of the requested wing were summoned from their regular duties, when possible, in order to assemble and conduct operations under the command of their voted-lieutenant's orders.

The first of Hexagrammaton formations that existed within the Dark Angels Legion at the time of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy included the following:

* **Deathwing**
* **Ravenwing**
* **Dreadwing**
* **Firewing**
* **Ironwing**
* **Stormwing**

After the establishment of the Caliban Protectorate, the Dark Angels still use the six wings, but more minor wings have been established.

## Deathwing Protocol

The Deathwing originated as the Veteran Terminators of the Dark Angels who often served as bodyguards to the Legion's officers, including its primarch. The Deathwing is unique among the Space Marines Legions in that the 1st Company of every Dark Angels chapter fights exclusively in Terminator Armor. The Deathwing are notoriously stubborn and resistant, refusing to buckle under extreme pressure from enemy advances even when it would be more advantageous to retreat.

Yet the Deathwing is not solely a tactical formation. Promotion to the Deathwing also means that an individual is made privy to many of the Legion's dark secrets. The most closely guarded of these secrets is that of the betrayal of Luther and the Fallen, and the subsequent loss of their primarch, Lion El'Jonson.

## Ravenwing Protocol

The Ravenwing protocol, which focuses on the use of anti-gravitic skimmer units and all-terrain bikes, had its origins in early *Legiones Astartes* tactics for rapid-moving search and destroy formations, some of which dated back to the nomadic war clans of pre-Unification Terra.

After Caliban's discovery during the Great Crusade, these formations were revived and expanded as they offered a form of rapid strike warfare the knights of Caliban both understood and had perfected over many generations, though now their steeds were ones of unyielding metal, rather than flesh.

## Dreadwing Protocol

The specialty of the Dreadwing was total warfare using the most sinister of weapons. The elected voted-lieutenant of this wing, bearing the title of "Dreadbringer," commanded Destroyer Squads supported by other types of units to bring total annihilation of a foe on a specific battlefield.

The Dreadwing also utilised mass armoured assaults of Land Raiders, Spartan Assault Tanks, Mastodons, and Fellblades with advanced weaponry. Their hallmark was the use of dark, sinister, and shunned munitions such as Phosphex, Rad and Vortex Weapons.

## Firewing Protocol

The Firewing was one of the six wings of the Hexagrammaton that existed during the Great Crusade and the Shattering. The smallest of the wings, the Firewing was dedicated to the hidden subtleties of warfare and within its ranks were found an eclectic mix of stalkers, champions and assassins, all bound by their shared expertise in the arts of blade and knife.

The Firewing sought the destruction of the enemy through the violent depletion of their command structure, whether in honorable duels at the heart of a battle or at the hands of subtle killers far from the battlefield. When given free reign upon the field of battle, the initiates of the Firewing choose to wage a war of wills against the enemy, seeking to break their resolve rather than slaughter their ranks.

## Ironwing Protocol

The Ironwing Protocol was developed before the Great Crusade, when the first Space Marines were used by the Emperor to exterminate threats to Mankind too dire to be allowed to endanger the glorious future. He had designed later variants of this protocol, which sought to wed the superhuman power of the *Legiones Astartes* and amplify that killing strength with newly-designed, bespoke armored units -- such as the Land Raider -- as well as mighty Dreadnoughts in close support, for the Ironwing's mission required the shock application of brute force.

Those were entered into the *Principia Belicosa* for use and development by the Legions that would follow, notably the Iron Hands and Iron Warriors Space Marine Legions, but the Dark Angels would continue to develop the tactical pattern to serve their own ends. The Ironwing comprised the majority of that Legion's armored vehicles, heavy Dreadnoughts of all patterns, field artillery batteries, and its Techmarines, known as forge-wrights, making for a force ill-equipped for operations reliant on stealth or subterfuge.

## Stormwing Protocol

As the largest of the wings, the Stormwing incorporates the majority of the Dark Angels' line infantry, training battalions and mobile ordnance batteries within its ranks. The members of this wing were drilled in the disciplined and stalwart arts of close order warfare and set-piece battles, unshakable on defence and resolute on attack. Its Veteran warriors are the core of the Legion's chapters, capable of executing complex manoeuvres and formations under the heaviest enemy fire.

The Stormwing was also the name of a tactical formation used in both the Great Crusade and the Shattering, consisting exclusively of Breacher and Assault Squads armed with Boarding Shields. This Stormwing specializes in spaceborne boarding operations. This Stormwing would be

## Minor Wings

Even though the Dark Angels still hold true to the six original wings of their mighty legion, some captains within the Legion have created a host of minor wings under the branches of each of the main wings. each branch excelling in a different aspect of their parent wing.

### Known Dreadwing-derived Minor Wings

* **Furywing:** The Fury Wing is a heavy assault Terminator unit that specializes in devastating ground assaults and siege warfare. They are equipped with heavy weapons and Indomitus-Pattern Terminator Armor, and are known for their ability to break enemy lines and hold strategic positions.

### Known Firewing-derived Minor Wings

* **Infernowing:** The Infernowing is a highly mobile and versatile unit of Dark Angels Assault Marines that specializes in lightning-fast attacks and hit-and-run tactics. They are equipped with jump packs, allowing them to strike and quickly withdraw from anywhere on the battlefield.
* **Spectrewing:** The Spectrewing specializes in infiltration and sabotage missions. They are masters of stealth and deception that able to slip past enemy defenses undetected and strike at key targets with precision and speed.

### Known Ironwing-derived Minor Wings

* **Bladewing:** Composed of the Legion's best swordsmen, the Blade Wing specializes in lightning assaults and close-quarters combat. They are equipped with master-crafted Power Swords and are known for their deadly precision and speed. They also serve as the honor guard of the Supreme Grand Master.
* **Artificerwing:** Comprised of the Legion's most skilled Techmarines and Forge-Wrights, they are responsible for maintaining the Legion's weapons, vehicles, and other technological equipment. They utilize Heavy Repair Servitors, Industrial Servitors, Gun Servitors, and are called upon as an auxillary unit within the legion.