Blades of the Lion

**This article, Blades of the Lion, was written by Achilles Prime. It may be linked to any page without asking for the author's permission.**

## Blades of the Lion

Blades of the Lion Armorial

* Firstborn
* Primaris

- **Firstborn**: Armiger Brother Rahmiel Sedrial, 'Pious Blade-Master of the Ebon Monastery', assigned to the 4th Company ("Lion's Wrath"), 6th Battleline Squad.

- **Primaris**: Armiger Brother Rahmiel Sedrial after crossing the Rubicon Primaris.

## Space Marine Chapter

### **Allegiance**

Imperium of Man
(*Fedelitas Scindere*)

### **Successor of**

Ebon Knights
(Lion El'Jonson Lineage)

### **Homeworld**

N/A; Fleet-Based
Havenfell (Recruitment World)

### **Fortress-Monastery**

Castellum Tenebrae Angelicum (Havenfell)/
*Chimaera* (Maelstrom-class Galleass of War), Flagship

### **Specialty**

Ship-borne Assaults and Boarding Actions, Shock Assault, High-Mobility Warfare, Harrowing Actions and Extended Unsupported Operations Within Hostile Domains

### Successor Chapter(s)

N/A

The **Blades of the Lion** are a 3rd Founding Loyalist Successor Chapter of the lauded and venerable Ebon Knights, whose lineage hails from the ancient Dark Angels Chapter. Their adopted homeworld, Havenfell, lies near the southern rim of the Imperium, and their mountain-top fortress-monastery takes the form of a mighty Imperial cathedral, its great spire piercing the clouds.

This Chapter has garnered a reputation as being honourable to their allies and implacable to their foes. Their valiant record of heroic deeds stretches back several millennia and is enviable by even some Chapters of more ancient provenance. Despite their laudable record however, like their forbears, the Blades of the Lion are also considered outcasts amongst the Dark Angels Successor Chapters - collectively known as the Unforgiven - for they were one of the few Chapters to stand by the actions of their genetic forebears, when they had the temerity to disobey the orders of the First Founding Dark Angels during the lamentable Crimson Blade Campaign.

For their actions, the Blades have also been given an outcast status and are counted amongst those known as '*The Forgotten*'. Despite their pariah status, the Blades of the Lion continue to be unusually active and seek to carve their own legends in the annals of Imperial history. A fleet-based Chapter, the Blades patrol the outlying borders of the Imperium and are ever-vigilant against unknown threats from the outer dark.

## Chapter History

The Blades of the Lion's deeds over the millennia have become almost as famed as those of their Progenitors. They have fought in many campaigns and wars, both as a part of a greater Imperial force or as a single Chapter.

The Blades of the Lion have fought throughout the known galaxy, most often alongside their fellow *Forgotten* Chapter, the Ebon Knights. Joining forces in operations such as the Downfall of the Hereditatem, the Geryon Incursion, or the bloody suppression of the 7th Black Crusade. In doctrine and temperament, the Blades of the Lion are very close to the Ebon Knights. The two Chapters' equal chivalric code of honour and teachings are largely consistent with one another.

As a fleet-based Chapter, the Blades are an exceptionally active one at that. The Chapter's forces have been witnessed fighting in numerous war zones the length and breadth of the Imperium. Many of the wars the Chapter has become involved in appear to have been instigated by Fallen Angels, though the causes of some are simply inexplicable. In turn, the Blades of the Lion have become adept in tracking down the activities of the Fallen and acting upon the slightest scrap of evidence. How many Fallen the Blades of the Lion have captured is not known.

### Foundation

The origins of the Blades of the Lion harken back to the bygone era of the Great Crusade, when the Emperor of Mankind began His long-standing goal of reuniting the long-sundered worlds of humanity across the galaxy and bring them under one banner and be made a part of the burgeoning Imperium of Man. Such integration was reached with diplomacy and the promise of a better future and a wider connection with a galactic human society where possible, and by force of arms where not. During this era, the need for the Imperial war machine was great, thus, large inductions of potential future Legionaries of the Legiones Astartes were created on a massive scale and shipped out as quickly as possible to the every-expanding frontlines of the Imperium's newly established borders. However, the rampacious pace set by the as-yet-unnamed Ist Legion - the preeminent legion of the Legiones Astartes - far outpaced their ability to replace their heavy losses. The situation was exacerbated by the constant infighting and vitriol between the various commanders of the legion's Hosts, Orders and Chapters that continued to wage their own independent wars.

By the mid-Great Crusade, the Ist Legion had attained many victories, far outpacing many more esteemed legions. However, these victories were always achieved at a fearsome price. Yet for each victory, the Legion could not regain its former reputation. It was during this era that the Legiones Astartes continued to induct large groups of inductees into their ranks - rushing their hypno-indoctrination and training - to continue their ceaseless attempts at vindication in the eyes of the other Primarchs, as the Ist Legion had yet to reunited with their own missing primarch and be brought to heel and moulded in his image. However, the fate of these Angels of Death was about to change dramatically following the rediscovery of their missing primarch in the isolated death world of Caliban.

### The Coming of the Lion

Upon reunification with his legion, the Lion quickly enacted his will upon his gene-sons and moulded them as he saw fit - renaming them the 'Tenebris Angelis' or Dark Angels. The legion he inherited was in sore need of its Primarch and in need of a new beginning. Scattered and fractured, the First Legion remained a powerful fighting force but one whose purpose had become lost in the long years of the Great Crusade. Heronimus Grimm was a part of the first generation of recruits taken from the ranks of the worthy among the knights of Caliban. Recently raised to full knighthood within The Order, he was chosen for his superb acumen and martial skills. He went on to easily pass through the trials of induction and underwent the implantation of gene-seed, hypnogogic indoctrination and live-fire training. Within a few short years, the Lion gathered the vast majority of his Legion on the First Legion's fief world of Gramarye. Here, Lion El'Jonson made his Legion whole once again and accepted the titles of Grandmaster of the First Legion, the six Wings of the Hexgrammaton and High Preceptor of the Orders Militant of the First Legion.

### Meteoric Rise

Extant Imperial records indicate Heronimus Grimm's rise through the ranks of the First Legion was meteoric. His impressive tally of victories rivalled many of the legion's veterans, as he received praise and rapid promotions from his commanders. Attaining the rank of Centurion, Grimm's talent soon came to the notice of the Lion himself. The Primarch was known for assigning posts and commands based only on merit and not due to origin or the simple virtue of time in service. Recognised for his stalwart dedication to duty and superlative aptitude for battle and leadership skills, Heronimus was raised to the esteemed rank of Lord Commander and placed in charge of the 7th Expeditionary Fleet. During this time, he was tasked by the Lion to explore the western reaches of the galaxy and extend the borders of the Imperium as far as he was able. For the next several decades, Lord Commander Grimm continued his task with relish, prosecuting the Emperor's Great Crusade and bringing world after world into the ranks of the expanding Imperium of Man.

By the waning years of M30, Grimm had played an instrumental role in the reconquest of much of the region of the newly designated Segmentum Obscurus known as the Coronid Deeps. He had also been fêted by the Council of Terra for the role he played in the eradication of the upstart xenos empire known as the Mitu Conglomerate, freeing the Coronid Deeps from their inhuman rule. The Coronid Deeps became a highly productive and vital strategic region of the newborn Imperium during the latter years of the Great Crusade, becoming a shining beacon of Imperial civilisation and all the Great Crusade had set out to achieve.

### Age of Darkness

By the opening years of M31, the Emperor's dream for united humanity and a golden era of peace and prosperity came to a sudden and abrupt end, when Legion turned upon Legion. This terrible era came to be known as the Age of Darkness. The entirety of the known galaxy was plunged into the greatest galactic civil war humanity had ever known - the Horus Heresy. Fully half of the Emperor's Space Marine Legions had fallen to the honey-coated lies and promises made by the first and most favoured amongst the Emperor's Primarch sons - the Warmaster Horus Lupercal - and openly declared their allegiance to the Arch-Traitor.

During this tumultuous era, both sides took in large groups of inductees into their legion and rushed through their hypnotic-indoctrination and training. This resulted in a growing breed of Legiones Astartes whose sole experience of war was the brutal attrition of Legionary against Legionary. The Coronid Deeps were effectively cut away from regular direct contact with the Segmentum Solar owing to the rising tide of Warp turbulence which would culminate in the so-called "Ruinstorm", which followed on from the dark events at Calth in 007.M31. By the dawn of 008.M31, the Coronid Deeps, once a stable outpost of the Imperium, had become in part a fractured series of Traitor-ruled domains in a wider galaxy riven with strife. But this too was soon to be challenged as the spirit of war that had been unleashed would not be so easily assuaged, and for some victory was to prove fleeting.

What would follow throughout the Coronid Deeps would become a protracted and bloody series of campaigns and battles with no certain victor. Outposts were raided, planets laid to waste, convoys ambushed and murderous reprisals were taken; the tables frequently turning so that the hunters became the hunted and back again, and where one side gained an advantage, it was quickly squandered or laid low by a sudden reversal of fortune. Loyalists and Traitors clashed again and again; forces came and went from the region as the tides of the unquiet Warp allowed and battle waxed high and waned in bloody exhaustion, only to be taken up again.

So it was with the Coronid Deeps; so it was to be all across what was once the unified Imperium of Man. A grim age of war had been born at Istvaan III that would never end in the lifetimes of those who were caught in its bloody embrace, an age of war that would outlast the Horus Heresy, outlast the Great Scouring and beyond.

### Founding

Following the end of the Horus Heresy, the Imperium was left a shattered and burned-out husk of its former glory. In vengeance for the wrongs inflicted upon them at the beginning of the Heresy, the remaining Loyalist Legions launched the subsequent wars of the Great Scouring. This was a period of monumental violence, of confusion and darkness. Though the newly founded Imperium fought to root out corruption and expose wrong-doers to the cold light of Imperial justice, the galaxy's scope and dark, shadowed reaches worked against them. With new betrayals and cries for vengeance emerging daily, a great many bloody-handed deeds went unseen. The ravaged Space Marine Legions were no exception to this, with many striving to cover up their own misdemeanours or exact their pound of flesh from those who wronged them. When the wars of the Great Scouring finally came to an end, great changes were wrought upon both the structure of the Imperium's hierarchy as well as its military institutions, which included the Legiones Astartes. Acting Lord Commander of the Imperium - Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman - sought to institute the tenants of his magnum opus - the *Codex Astartes*. Guilliman's extensive tome of battlefield doctrine and organisation called for the sundering of the Legiones Astartes, the vast fighting formations that had played an instrumental role in Mankind's victories during the Great Crusade, which were to be broken down into many smaller existing formations - or Chapters - comprised of 1,000 Astartes.

One Chapter would retain the original livery and glorious history it had compiled during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. Meanwhile, several Space Marine Chapters would be formed from the original First Founding Legions. Stripped of honour and tithe, of history and deed, kith and kin, these newly formed Chapters were forced to forge their own legacy. Thus, the Second Founding occurred seven years after the end of the Horus Heresy in 021.M31. One of these newly formed Chapters was the newly incepted Ebon Knights Chapter. Heronimus Grimm went on to serve as one of the Chapter's newly established command cadre and he was granted the rank of Master and the command of his own company. The stalwart veteran Astartes continued conducting his neverending crusade to seek out and purge the apostate and heretic for all the wrongs that had been inflicted upon the Imperium. Grimm continued to prosecute his private war of vengeance as he saw fit and proudly served the Ebon Knights for several centuries.

By the time the Imperial Fists Primarch Rogal Dorn initiated the Third Founding in 001.M32, Master Grimm was one of the last of the original surviving First Legion-era veterans of both the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. Recognised for his long dedicated service to the Imperium and to the Unforgiven, when the Ebon Knights were granted the esteemed honour of having a Successor Chapter created from their genetic lineage, Heronimus Grimm was raised up to the esteemed position of Chapter Master of the newly created Chapter. Naming his Chapter the Blades of the Lion, Grimm became his Chapter's first Knight-Commander. He went on to establish his Chapter on the feudal world of Havenfell and oversaw the construction of his Chapter's grand chantry upon its surface. The Knight-Commander continued his Chapter's neverending Crusade, to bring the light of the Emperor to the darkest corners of the galaxy - successfully fulfilling his duties for the next two centuries - until, finally, he was tragically slain while leading his Chapter in a suppression campaign against shadowy xenos forces within the newly rediscovered Jericho Sector.

## Notable Campaigns

* **Oathur V Uprising (Unknown Date.M32)** - One of the first recorded campaigns of the Blades of the Lion was the Oathur V Uprising. When the Imperial government was overthrown by heretics, the planet fell into bloody insurrection. Unbeknownst to the Chapter, the true threat behind the secessionist movement was instigated by agents of Tzeentch, of the Chaos Warband known as the Obsidian Suns. The Blades worked tirelessly to root out those behind the uprising and made brutal examples out of the secessionist leaders by hanging their bodies from the tallest towers of the Planetary Governor's palace for all to see - a reminder to those who would dare countenance insurrection and rebellion, that should they dare, this too, would also be their fate - a traitor's death. Since that time, Oathur V has remained a pinnacle of Imperial efficiency and loyalty, brutally rooting out rebellion and sedition at its root, before it can bloom into full-blown insurrection.

* **Foundation of the Jericho Reach (Unknown Date.M32)** - After an interregnum that has lasted for over 1,200 standard years, the Imperium of Man's hold over the Jericho Reach is finally fully cemented, and it is re-designated the Jericho Sector in the great Imperium Universalis. However, the foundation of the sector is not without incident, as a suppression campaign is fought against shadow xenos forces who had begun to prey upon the stars of the southern zone around the star system of Oertha. Several fleet-based Space Marine Chapters take part in this campaign. Though the menace is driven off, tragically, the Blades of the Lion's first Chapter Master - Knight-Commander Grimm - is tragically killed while leading his Chapter during the final battle of this conflict.

* **The Tenebra Uprising (014-103.M33)** - The Tenebra Uprising was a massive sub-sector-wide conflict that erupted in the Tenebra Sub-Sector located in the Caligari Sector, an ancient and nearly forgotten region located on the fringes of the Segmentum Tempestus. Several forge worlds formed an outlaw technocracy, declaring their independence from the Imperium proper, and soon began raiding nearby worlds in their obsessive quest to obtain lost technology. When word reached the ears of the High Twelve, they immediately dispatched a large Imperial castigation Crusade in order to bring the wrath of the Emperor down upon the upstart forge worlds. Several Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, including the Death Templars, the Blades of the Lion, Imperius Ravagers and the Tempest Knights, alongside several Astra Militarum regiments and Skitarii forces of multiple forge worlds, joined the Imperial Crusade to take back the disputed sub-sector. As the conflict ensued for over a decade, the staggering death toll continued to climb into the hundreds of millions. With no end in sight, and lacking the resources to end the conflict decisively, the Imperial forces blockaded the system, to contain the secessionist technocracy forces. From the outer dark, an unknown Imperial force soon arrived, unheralded and unlooked-for - the mysterious and previously unknown Space Marine Chapter, the Shadow Talons. With the arrival of such a fierce force, the tide of the entire conflict was about to shift in the Imperium's favour. Without a preamble, the Shadow Talons officially entered the conflict during the Siege of Metis, which was under siege by both the Blades of the Lion and the Tempest Knights Chapters. Launching an all-out assault on the forge world's capital city, launching a Vanguard Strike force deep into the bowels of the capital city's primary forge. Once they reached their intended target, the forge's main reactors, and then in an act of pure malice, they planted melta charges. In a series of coordinated explosions, the Shadow Talons caused a catastrophic chain reaction, which resulted in significant damage to the capital. The Siege of Meratis was effectively ended, and though the cost was high, it was nothing compared to the lives that would've been lost had the siege been protracted. Following the end of this conflict, the Shadow Talons would continue prosecuting this campaign, reaping a huge tally in enemy lives and establishing a fell reputation as harbingers of death.

* **The Yula Crusade (235.M33)** - The Yula Crusade was an Imperial crusade carried out against the Tau Ka'Sha Sept upon the desert world of Yula, located in the Eastern Fringe of the Segmentum Tempestus. This vitally important Imperial world was defended by a combined force led by the Blades of the Lion's 2nd Company, the Persepolis Janissaries 12th ('Dancing Dervishes') Regiment and local Planetary Defence Forces. Though they finally managed to halt the inexorable march of the Tau, it was at a great cost to Yula itself.

* **The Gorganos War (875.M33)** - The Gorganos War was a sector-wide Imperial suppression campaign carried out against the Imperial worlds of the Gorganos Cluster that had declared their independence from the Imperium of Mankind. Several Space Marine Chapters, including the Blades of the Lion were despatched by the High Lords of Terra to carry out terrible and swift retribution against these recalcitrant worlds.

* **The Downfall of the Hereditatem (278.M34)** - The Blades of the Lion, along with their progenitors, the Ebon Knights, strikes expeditiously when the hive world of Korazon declares against the Imperial Creed in favour of the council of elders, known as the Hereditatem, whose charismatic oratory and persuasive powers allowed them to hold entire hives in their thrall. The renegades are exterminated, and the Hereditatem are hung until death from their own hive spires. The world of Korazon is brought back under Imperial compliance within three days.

* **The Geryon Incursion (974.M35)** – The Ecclesiarchy attempts to rebind the sundered Imperium during the Nova Terra Interregnum, into a religious state that transcends political differences. Billions die in the religious wars that follow when the Ur-council of Nova Terra rejects the Ecclesiarchy's teachings, unleashing a terrible new civil war, the likes of which have not been seen since the Horus Heresy. Still operating largely in the Segmentum Pacificus during the Nova Terra Interregnum, the Blades of the Lion and the Ebon Knights take part in the fierce fighting in the Geryon Incursion. They search for signs of the Fallen, in addition to putting down those who rejected the authority of the High Lords of Terra and the Ecclesiarchy.

* **Burning of Ventos (128.M36)** - The Burning of Ventos was an Imperial campaign involving the Blades of the Lion Chapter upon the Imperial world of Ventos, which they defended from a massive Ork WAAAGH! in the latter centuries of M36. Faced with an overwhelming tide of greenskin forces which seemed to be drawn to the brutal conflict on Ventos, and with two whole companies nearly destroyed, the Chapter was forced to enact *Exterminatus* upon the doomed world to prevent it from falling into the hands of the vile Orks.

* **Trail of Sorrows (324-354.M36)** - The Blades of the Lion and the Ebon Knights begin a three-decades-long campaign that uproots hidden cults and corrupt officials across three sectors of Imperial space. In truth, the Chapters learned of twenty Fallen that were concealing themselves within the ranks of Osiris the Man Eater's Dark Core Chaos Warband operating within these sectors. Beset with many battles to hunt down these traitors, and despite several ambushes set by the Night Lords, the two Unforgiven Chapters eventually prevail as they locate the Fallen on the plague-ridden world of Lithios Prime, capturing all of them at the Battle of Crimson Ridge.

* **Bear's Encounter (442.M36)** - The Bear's Encounter was an event that occurred while the Blades of the Lion Space Marine Chapter were in pursuit of the Aeldari known as the Nathlion in the Eastern Fringe. The Blades encountered the Chapter Fleet of the venerable Bears of the Claw. Both Chapters agree to work alongside the other and swiftly purge the Nathlion from their midst.

* **Cleansing of Ostara (575.M36)** - While on routine patrol, the Blades of the Lion intercepted a call for aid from the Hive World, Ostara. The planet was engulfed in a civil war between the local Imperial Guard forces and Secessionists. Compounding and escalating matters worse was a collection of local Chaos Cultists enforced by the deadly warband of Chaos known as the Blood Jaws. Originally planning to dispatch other companies, the Chief Librarian detects that the leaders of the Chaos Forces are members of the Fallen, commanding from the fortress, Borrok. Thus the Chapter's elite 1st and 2nd Companies work together to put down the Chaos uprising and later besiege the Borrok Fortress, to route the Fallen within. The planet of Ostara is pacified of chaos taint within seven days.

* **7th Black Crusade (811.M37)** - The Forces of Chaos spewed forth from the Eye of Terror past Cadia and then disappeared. This event is what earned this conflict its informal name of the 'Ghost War'. The following years saw a game of hide-and-seek played between the Forces of Chaos and the Imperium of Man. The Blades of the Lion and the Ebon Knights launched a Crusade into the Segmentum Obscurus to help defend multiple beleaguered Imperial worlds across the sector.

* **War for Frubia Prime (142-146.M38)** - Frubia Prime, located within the Segmentum Obscurus was a campaign to cleanse the planet of Necrons known as the Zarkharth Dynasty. The Blades of the Lion received a distress signal from the Forge World of Frubia Prime. After a millennium-long slumber, the reawakening of Necrons was eradicating the populists of the Forge World. The Blades sustained heavy losses and the loss of the planet to these vile Xenos. After four long years of fighting, the Blades of the Lions had little choice but to enact *Exterminatus*. Cleansing the planet thoroughly and painfully of the Necrons.

* **The Gothic War (139-160.M41)** - The Blades of the Lions and the Ebon Knights are two of many Space Marine Chapters deployed to the Gothic Sector to protect it against the vile Arch-Traitor Abaddon the Despoiler and his Chaos forces during the 12th Black Crusade.

* **13th Black Crusade (999.M41)** - A vast tide of Chaos worshippers pour forth from the Eye of Terror into the Cadian Gate. A tide of heretic filth comprised of daemonic legions, Chaos Cultists, and Renegade Chapters, spearheaded by the Traitor Legions and led by Abaddon the Despoiler, begin to assail the fortress world of Cadia and its surrounding systems. Detecting many Fallen amongst the horde, the Ebon Knights deploy their Chapter in its entirety to launch a headlong assault against the renegade forces. Coincidentally, the Dark Angels risk all by ordering the Unforgiven to join them in their assault against the Forces of Chaos. Though the Blades of the Lion and the Ebon Knights' presence isn't acknowledged by their Progenitors or their fellow Unforgiven, they nevertheless perform their sacred duty and begin to hunt down the Fallen in earnest. Unlike the rest of the Unforgiven, who split their forces across the Cadian Sector, the Blades and the Ebon Knights chose to fight as one, and soon took part in many battles. However, increasing warp storm activity ensures that their fellow Unforgiven cannot reunite as a cohesive force.

* **The Great Rift (999.M41)** - Despite the best efforts of Imperial forces, the Cadian Gate finally falls. Though the arrival of some unexpected Imperial reinforcements prevented Abaddon from personally sealing his victory by crushing Cadia's defenders and led to the destruction of the Blackstone Fortress *Will of Eternity*, the Despoiler unleashed a brutal contingency plan. He had the massive fragments of the *Will of Eternity* hurled from orbit like an artificial asteroid onto the surface of Cadia. The strike destroyed what remained of Cadia's faltering defences and the network of Necron-built Cadian Pylons that had long prevented the Eye of Terror from naturally expanding into the Cadian Gate. Within only solar hours, most of Cadia was in the process of being consumed by the Immaterium when the tectonic instability caused by the impact of the Blackstone Fortress finally caused Cadia to tear itself apart. The thin veil between realspace and the Immaterium is finally broken, as a massive tear in reality forms from the Eye of Terror and stretches across the width of the galaxy, to the Hadex Anomaly. Every realm is touched by the *Cicatrix Maledictum*, or the Great Rift, blighting them with intense Daemon storms - howling tempests that carry a thousand types of death upon their fell winds. Thousands of Chaos cults emerged, and soon, planetary-wide rebellions erupted, plunging hundreds of worlds into bloody insurrection. The Blades of the Lion and the Ebon Knights take stock of the dire situation, and though battered and bloody, they resolutely stand against the tide of Chaos that now rode upon the winds of the Great Rift. Despite the loss of over one-third of their Chapter, the Blades begin to respond to the myriad distress calls that flood in from the isolated and warp-storm-battered worlds of the galactic north. Though the Chapter continues their quest to hunt for the Fallen, the Blades of the Lion and the Ebon Knights ensure to put the needs of the desperate Imperial citizens before their own, and successfully break sieges and rescue several beleaguered populations.

* **The Primarch's Summit (999.M41)** - In the wake of the recent catastrophic events, Dark Angels Supreme Grand Master Azrael decided to convene an emergency council of the Unforgiven's Supreme Grand Masters, including the Renegade Manticores and 'The Forgotten' (the Blades of the Lion and the Ebon Knights), though Azrael was initially hesitant to do so. The Chapter's Librarians sent out a scattered astropathic summons - though several died in the attempt to pierce the veil of the Great Rift - and soon every available loyal son of the Lion prepared to embark on a perilous journey to the Rock. Not all found their way to that last fragment of their ancestral home, as entire Successor Chapters became lost in the Warp, while others found themselves bogged down in one of the galaxy's many raging conflicts. The battered Blades of the Lion and the Ebon Knights managed to find their way through the roiling storms and soon arrived safely to dock with the Dark Angels' fleet, though they remained aboard their ships. Only Knight-Commander Tyrus Kane of the Blades of the Lion and Knight-Commander Marius Kyron of the Ebon Knights along with a small contingent of the Chapter's Inner Circle embarked to meet Supreme Grand Master Azrael aboard the Rock. After the Blades of the Lion and the Ebon Knights arrived, naturally they were treated with contempt by their peers. Nevertheless, a small Dark Angels Honour Guard were present to meet them as they disembarked from their Thunderhawk gunships. They accorded the two Chapter Masters and their delegation with the proper custom and courtesy and then reluctantly escorted the Blades of the Lion along with the Ebon Knights contingent to the Rock's command chamber to meet with their fellow Supreme Grand Masters. Not long after their arrival, Azrael was informed of a new fleet transitioning into orbit around the Rock - that of the new Lord Commander of the Imperium - the resurrected Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman and his forces of the Indomitus Crusade. The Lord Commander had brought the Chapters of the Unforgiven much-needed reinforcements. From the depths of Archmagos Belisarius Cawl's vast freighter-hulk marched Primaris Space Marines, created from the purest genetic material ever taken from Lion El'Jonson. Rank upon rank entered the Rock clad in new variants of power armour painted in the colours of the Dark Angels and their successors - including the Blades of the Lion. At a brief war council, Guilliman outlined the threats facing the Indomitus Crusade. He also spoke of the updated *Codex Astartes*, and how his brother Lion El'Jonson's descendants had earned the right to maintain their specialised wings, as long as they continued to serve the Emperor well. So did Azrael and the other Supreme Grand Masters kneel before Guilliman and pledged their Chapters to the new Imperium.

* **The Indomitus Crusade (999.M41-Early Centuries of M42)** - Newly reinforced, the Blades of the Lion began to take the fight to the Forces of Chaos as they responded to the myriad distress calls that flooded in from the isolated and battered, war-torn worlds of the galactic north. Though there were some immediate concerns over their newly received Primaris Space Marine brethren, these initial misgivings were soon assuaged as the new warriors adapted to the Blades of the Lions' ways of war and performed well alongside their battle-brothers. As campaigns progressed and decades passed, many of the Primaris Space Marines gained veteran status, and it remained only a matter of time before a decision had to be made to initiate one into the ranks of the elite Palatines. The Blades of the Lion distinguished themselves time and again during the middle years of the Indomitus Crusade, earning much praise from the Lord Commander of the Imperium, and even reluctantly gained some admiration from their fellow Unforgiven Chapters, despite their pariah status. However, it remains to be seen whether or not the cold relationship between the Blades of the Lions and their Progenitors eventually thaws, and The Forgotten are allowed back into the fold of the Unforgiven.

## Chapter Organisation

The Blades of the Lion are organised along the same lines as the Dark Angels and so are considered to partially comply with the *Codex Astartes*. Like their progenitors, they maintain a pair of elite formations comprised of the 1st and 2nd Companies, known as the Palatines and Manticores, which are comparable to the Deathwing and Ravenwing. The Blades use the same terminology that the Ebon Knights use when referring to the Chapter's officers as compared to that commonly used by other Space Marine Chapters. This is because the Blades of the Lion have continued to draw upon the ancient military traditions similar to the Ebon Knights in organising the Chapter.

### Command Ranks

* **Knight-Commander (Chapter Master)** - The Blades of the Lion Chapter Master is known instead as the Knight-Commander. It is his duty to chair all meetings of the Chapter's Inner Circle, which serves as the Blades of the Lions' replacement for the standard Chapter Council. Only the Knight-Commander is privy to all of the Chapter's dark secrets -- and even he does not know everything.

* **Consul-Master (Lieutenant Commander)** - Senior Captain who performs additional duties: Lord Executioner, Lord of Marches, Lord of Relics, Lord of Rites, Lord of the Fleet, Lord of Squires (Recruits).
* **Captain-at-Arms (Captain)** - A Captain-at-Arms serves as a Company Commander of the Chapter and is the Blades of the Lions' equivalent to the standard Space Marine Captain of other Chapters. A Captain-at-Arms leads each of the 10 companies of the Blades of the Lion and ultimately falls under the command of the Knight-Commander. Every Captain within the Chapter serves as a member of the Inner Circle, although even at this rank he is not privy to the entire truth surrounding the Chapter's dark past or all of the Chapter's many secrets.
* **Seneschal (Lieutenant)** - An ancient feudal rank, this honoured position is equivalent to the rank of Lieutenant, an officer rank utilised by the Space Marine Legions of ancient times. With the influx of newly created Primaris Space Marines into the Chapter, this rank has been reconstituted amongst the hierarchy of the Chapter. A Seneschal serves as a Demi-company leader, with two assigned per full company of 100 Space Marines. These junior officers are considered 'Captains-in-training', and are accorded the proper respect and treated as such. Seneschals act as the right hands of their Captains by providing flexibility and helping to direct their Battle-Brothers in engagements. Space Marine Battle Companies are frequently divided into two Battle Demi-companies of 50 Astartes each in order to spread their forces across multiple combat zones. Command of each Demi-company falls to a Seneschal, who leads his brothers unflinchingly into battle.
* **High Tormentor** - The High Tormentor, also known as the Master of Chaplains, serves as the Blades of the Lions' Reclusiarch, or High Chaplain, and oversees the duties of all of the other Chaplains of the Chapter. His most important duty is to train the Blades of the Lions' special class of Tormentor-Chaplains and he is usually a master of their art of interrogation and psychological manipulation. He is a member of the Inner Circle and is thus one of the only members of the Chapter privy to the whole truth surrounding the Fallen.
* **Palatine Apothecary (Chief Apothecary equivalent)** - The Palatine Apothecary serves as the Chapter's Chief Apothecary and oversees the medical needs of all Blades of the Lion as well as all biological research conducted by the Chapter. The Palatine Apothecary's most important duty is to preserve and maintain the purity of the Chapter's stock of gene-seed. He is a member of the Inner Circle and is thus one of the only members of the Chapter privy to the whole truth surrounding the Fallen.
* **Grand Vizier (Chief Librarian equivalent)** - The Grand Vizier serves as the Chapter's Chief Librarian and oversees the Librarium. He is responsible for maintaining all of the Blades of the Lions' Chapter records and the security of its secrets. He is a member of the Inner Circle and is thus one of the only members of the Chapter privy to the whole truth surrounding the Fallen.

### Specialist Ranks

* **Tormentor-Chaplains (Interrogator-Chaplain equivalent)** - The Blades of the Lion maintain a very special cadre of Chaplains known as Tormentor-Chaplains who are tasked with getting any Fallen Angel who has been captured by the Blades of the Lion to admit their sins and repent of their betrayal of the Emperor. Tormentor-Chaplains are as skilled in the arts of interrogation, torture and psychological manipulation as the most experienced members of the Inquisition. Tormentor-Chaplains are not members of the Inner Circle, though their duties require that they have knowledge of many more of the Chapter's secrets than is normal for Blades of the Lion of their rank.
* **Apothecary**
* **Librarian (Epistolary, Codicier, Lexicanium)**

### Line Ranks

* **Knight-Veteran (Veteran Marines)**
* **Knight-Sergeant (Veteran Sergeant)**
* **Preceptor-Sergeant (Sergeant)**
* **Armiger-Brother (Battle-Brother)**
* **Brother-Ensign (Scout Marine)** - Probationary rank.
* **Squire-Brother (Initiate)**
* **Aspirant**

### Elite Formations

* **Palatines** - The Blades of the Lions' 1st Company of veteran marines is referred to within the Chapter as the Palatines. They are the Dark Angels' equivalent of the Deathwing. The Palatines are comprised solely of Ebon Knights veterans who only take to the field of battle in sable and gold-coloured Terminator Armour. The Palatines are tasked with the mission of continuing the Hunt for the Fallen, which takes precedence over all other missions for the Chapter, even though they may be called upon to fight a wide range of foes. The bulk of the 1st Company is composed of Terminator Squads, indefatigable warriors who blast apart their enemies with Storm Bolters whilst advancing into melee assault range. Palatine Terminators feature a mix of weaponry, for both long-ranged and close combat-oriented roles.

* **Manticores** - The Blades of the Lions' 2nd Company is called the Manticores. They are the equivalent of the Dark Angels' Ravenwing. The members of the Manticores are chosen not only for their skill at fast assaults using bikes and Land Speeders but also for their resilience to the heretical rantings of members of the Fallen Angels. All but the highest members of the Chapter's Inner Circle are oblivious to the true purpose of the Manticores, which is to hunt down and capture every last member of the Fallen. Like the Palatines, the Manticores do not conform to the ideal of Space Marine Chapter organisation as laid out in the *Codex Astartes*, though the other Ebon Knights' companies are considered to be *Codex*-compliant. The Manticores Company is mostly composed of Bike Squads and squadrons of assault Land Speeders. These vehicles are then divided into two groups; one serves as an attack squadron and the other as a fire support squadron.

#### Specialist Units

* **Ebon Paladins (Deathwing Knights equivalent)** - A Ebon Paladin is a fell-handed warrior of the Blades of the Lion, 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. Ebon Paladins are a truly imposing sight, for in their lives on some semblance of the Lion himself. Only the most veteran Palatines are given the title of Ebon Palatines, the uppermost level of the order before being named a Knight-Veteran. They become the ultimate upholders of ancient Chapter traditions and the most skilled fighting unit of the Blades of the Lion. In the stratified Chapter organisation of the Blades, the Ebon Paladins represent the elite -- only the Captain-at-Arms and Consul-Masters of the Chapter rank higher, and they are only chosen from among the company of the Ebon Paladins, who are also members of the Chapter's Inner Circle.
* **Knights-Errant (Ravenwing Black Knights equivalent)** - Mounted on powerful, heavily customised Mark IV Assault Bikes, the Manticores Knights-Errant of the Chapter's 2nd Company, are heavily armed shock cavalry. Those who survive in the Manticores 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 Manticore, they will be inducted into the Knights-Errant, the Inner 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-Errant carry Corvus Hammers, which are patterned after an ancient Calibanite weapon used to hunt the Great Beasts. The Knights-Errants' riding skills are supreme, and they can drive at top speed through almost any impediments to close on their foes.

### Order of Battle

The current Chapter order of battle as of 999.M41, is as follows:

#### Chapter Command

**Tyrus Kane,**
**Knight-Commander of the Blades of the Lion Chapter**
**Blades Palatine (Honour Guard)**
**Knight-Champion (Chapter Champion)**
**Command Squad (Chapter Standard Bearer, Tormentor-Chaplain, Lexicanium & Apothecary)**
**Knight-Commander Kane leads a council of officers drawn from the senior-most members of the Inner Circle. This council's composition changes depending upon the wishes of each Knight-Commander.**
**Tyrus Kane, Knight-Commander**
**Consul-Master Koda Cerax, Commander of the Palatines**
**Consul-Master Gabriel Berai, Commander of the Manticores**
**Boratos Raxus, High Tormentor and Master of Chaplains**
**Kyrus Farax, Grand Vizier, Master of the Librarius**
**Mordalan Alvera, Palatine Apothecary, Master of the Apothecarion**
**Consul-Master Judes Ces, *Master of the Fleet***
**8 Captain-at-Arms (Captain Equivalent) of the 8 remaining companies**
**All Palatine Astartes**
**Kyrus Farax, Grand Vizier, Master of the Librarius**
**Librarians**
**Lexicaniums**
**Codiciers**
**Epistolaries**
**Acolytum** | **Brother Azalos, *Warden of Castellum Tenebrae Angelicum***
**Brother Daberos Titus, *Master of Chimaera***
**The *Master of the Chimaera* 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.**

**20 Techmarines**
**85 Servitors**
**14 Predators**
**8 Vindicators**
**10 Whirlwinds**
**20 Land Raiders** | **Consul-Master Judes Ces, *Master of the Fleet***
**6 Battle Barges**
**14 Strike Cruisers**
**20 Rapid Strike Vessels**
**Brother Mordalan Alvera, Palatine Apothecary, Master of the Apthecarion**
**Boratos Raxus, High Tormentor and Master of Chaplains**
**Tormentor-Chaplains**
**Chaplains** | **Brother Severiah, *Warden of Castellum Tenebrae Angelicum***
**850 Servitors**
**Administrative Support Staff**

## Chapter Recruitment

"*If you want to be a fellow Lion, you must train with Lions!*"
— Chaplain of the Blades of the Lion talking to new Aspirants
Though the Blades of the Lion still draw many recruits from their main recruitment world of Havenfell, they typically also draw their recruits from a variety of different Imperial planets as well, mainly those feudal worlds with a pre-industrial level of technology, like that of Caliban, before the coming of the Emperor. Representatives of the Blades of the Lion visit each recruiting world once within a normal human's lifetime. Initiates are chosen through a bi-annual process of trial by combat, fear and endurance known as the "Ordeal of the Angels." The Chapter's Master of Recruits conducts these series of bloody tournaments and they are carried out under the supervision of the Ebon Knights' Chaplains. They then take the strongest juveniles from the population.

Each Aspirant is thoroughly screened, and from the moment he is accepted into the Chapter as a Squire-Brother, his past becomes irrelevant. Once the recruit is accepted he will undergo the normal rites to become a Space Marine. However, should he fail, he will be made into an Intendant (Chapter Serf) to carry out the laborious tasks of the Chapter. Unlike other Unforgiven Chapters, the Ebon Knights make use of human Chapter Serfs or bondsmen. The Chapter's Tormentor-Chaplains maintain a strong vigil, ensuring that the Chapter's human serfs are not compromised to reveal the Chapter's secrets. If one is suspected of breaking their vows of loyalty or suspected of corruption, they are converted into a mindless servitor and taken away to work in the Chapter's forges.

## Chapter Beliefs

The Blades of the Lion teachings are somewhat similar to those of their progenitors, with one minor divergence in regards to the Chapter's guilt concerning the Fallen. The Blades of the Lion feel that their shame in the eyes of the Emperor of Mankind has already been wiped away and they have earned His absolution. The Blades fear no spiritual damnation from the inter-Legion war known as the Fall, but they do feel responsible for meting out the punishment upon the traitors as an act of repentance. Despite the rift between themselves and their fellow Unforgiven, the Blades of the Lion along with the Ebon Knights feel bound to continue the Hunt for the Fallen, in honour of their gene-sire.

As well as their determined drive to capture the Fallen, the Blades of the Lion hold an equal chivalric code of honour as the Ebon Knights. They are fiercely loyal and honourable and hold in high esteem the human values that many of their fellow Scions of the Lion have come to forget. The Blades of the Lion are resolute in all that they do, willing and able to make all sacrifices for the mission and their fellow Battle-Brothers. The difference is, that they hold that the life of an innocent is more important than obtaining an objective. To the Blades of the Lion, all other concerns are secondary. It has been observed on numerous occasions that the Blades show compassion for ordinary humans. This is primarily due to their heritage with their Successors, whose ancient chivalric codes have permeated throughout the Lions' ranks down the millennia, and which the Chapter eventually adopted as their own. A Blades of the Lion is honourable to a fault, holding personal honour above all else.

## Chapter Gene-Seed

As the Blades of the Lion are descended from the Dark Angels, their gene-seed is one of the purest and least degraded of all. The Blades of the Lion and the other Unforgiven chapters have an unusually close bond, often working hand-in-hand with one another. But often, these Chapters tend to be highly suspicious of outsiders and often appear unreasonably aloof and intransigent.

### Primarch's Curse: Blood of the Martyr

The genetic curse within the Blades of the Lions' gene-seed manifests divergently from their Progenitors and other fellow Unforgiven Chapters. This Chapter also possesses 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. Even though the Blades of the Lion will fight beside all of the branches of the Imperium's vast military, they prefer to stand beside other Space Marines.

Many, even brother Astartes, find the Blades of the Lion aloof and uncommunicative. The Blades of the Lion, for their part, are impatient and unforgiving of strangers who pry into their affairs. In truth, those Blades of the Lion who are aware of the existence of the Fallen are ever watchful for any sign of their activity. With a culture that emphasises self-sacrifice and a code of honour, the Blades of the Lions' taciturn nature and stubborn refusal to accept anything other than total victory over their foes has served them well.

When the Chapter's genetic curse manifests itself in an affected Battle-Brother, it comes in three stages:

* **Stage 1 (Honour Thy Code)**: The Battle-Brother weighs the facts of the situation, and he sees his current course of action as the best one. Unwilling to let the innocents and defenceless perish. Holding to their chivalric code of honour and that the life of an innocent is more important than obtaining an objective.

* **Stage 2 (No One Left Behind)**: The Battle-Brother will be unmoved and stand his ground against the enemy. He will not leave behind a fallen brother or imperial civilian even if the odds are stacked against him. The *Codex Astartes* doctrine and teachings might dictate retreat or flexible defence, but the Battle-Brother will be loathed to disengage until there is absolutely no choice, and even then, will only do so under extreme protest.

* **Stage 3 (Death Before Dishonour)**: The Battle-Brother has come to accept that perhaps only the cost of his own life will be enough to secure victory and is gladly willing to give it up. This can have dire consequences should the circumstances present him with a chance to martyr himself for the Emperor and bring ruin to the enemies of the Imperium. Should a Battle-Brother suffer mortal wounds, he gains a fatalistic desire to sell his life for the cause and will choose to expend his own life for a chance at victory or the safety of his brothers. This means he will fight on regardless of his wounds and continue to attack or place himself in the path of attacks even though the next blow could mean his end. He will also gladly accept suicidal or near-suicidal tasks (such as disarming unstable warheads, leading a forlorn hope or holding a breach to buy time for his companions) without complaint.

## Chapter Combat Doctrine

Like their Progenitors, the Blades of the Lion nominally follow the standard combat doctrine of the *Codex Astartes*. Like many Scions of the Lion, the Blades of the Lion have a reputation for stubbornly standing their ground, even if it is not tactically beneficial for them to do so. They are stubborn in defence and relentless in attack, though this sometimes leads to them taking disproportionate casualties when others would have withdrawn to pursue alternative tactics. Though the Blades of the Lion are driven to capture all of the remaining Fallen Angels and force them to repent for their sins, unlike their Progenitors and their fellow Successor Chapters, they will not do so at the expense of innocent lives. The Blades of the Lion maintain a strong chivalric tradition of protecting the weak and defending those who are unable to defend themselves. Everything else is secondary to the protection of the innocent, as the Blades of the Lion hold in esteem all human lives.

## Deathwatch Service

The Blades of the Lion have been committing Battle-Brothers to the Deathwatch for millennia. In most cases, however, the Space Marine has stood but a single vigil before returning to his parent Chapter. Some whisper that the Chapter only ever allows its brethren to stand the Long Watch if and when it suits them. But the truth of the matter is that their Progenitors have several of their brethren who serve in the Deathwatch, with many of them occupying senior appointments. Due to the sour relations with their Progenitors, the Blades of the Lion will only send a handful of their battle-brothers to the Deathwatch.

## Notable Blades of the Lion

* **Knight-Commander Heronimus Grimm** - Knight-Commander Grimm was the first Chapter Master of the newly created Blades of the Lion. He was both a veteran of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. He served as a Lord Commander and was a well-known figure of the Ist Legion, whose actions during the Great Crusade brought him much honour. As the commander of the 7th Expeditionary Fleet, he was instrumental in the reconquest of much of the region of the Segmentum Obscurus known as the Coronid Deeps. It was also under Lord Grimm's command that the xenos empire known as the Mitu Conglomerate was destroyed, freeing the Coronid Deeps from their inhuman rule. In recognition of the long dedicated service to the Ist Legion, and later, the Ebon Knights Chapter, following the sundering of the original Legion into separate Chapters, Heronimus Grimm was granted the honour of becoming the first Knight-Commander of the newly created Blades of the Lion Chapter. He would go on to establish the newly created Chapter upon the world of Havenfell, as well as leading his Chapter on a neverending Crusade, to bring the light of the Emperor to the darkest corners of the galaxy. Knight-Commander Grimm successfully performed his duties as Chapter Master for nearly two centuries, until his tragic death while leading his Chapter in a suppression campaign against shadowy xenos forces within the newly rediscovered Jericho Sector.

* **Knight-Commander Tyrus Kane** - Tyrus Kane is the current Knight-Commander of the Blades of the Lion. Known throughout the Imperium, he is a warrior of great courage and battle experience, having served as a hero of his Chapter for four centuries. He has fought the slavering darkness of the daemon, xenos, mutants and the heretic, across the width and breadth of the galaxy. Throughout his career, he has displayed steadfast dedication to his Chapter through his great fortitude and uncommon valour. Renowned as an inspirational leader of unimpeachable bravery, the former 2nd Company Captain was unanimously selected by acclamation by his fellow battle-brothers following the tragic death of the previous Knight-Commander. Under Kane's skilled guidance, the Blades of the Lion have earned a well-deserved reputation for acts of heroism that are equally inspiring and terrifying to behold.
* **Boratos Raxus** - Current High Tormentor and Master of Chaplains.
* **Kyrus Farax** - Grand Vizier and Master of the Librarius.
* **Mordalan Alvera** - Palatine Apothecary and Master of the Apothecarion.
* **Brother Daberos Titus** - Current Master of the *Chimaera*. Serves as the Chapter's Master of the Forge. Most notably, he is not a member of the Blades' Inner Circle due to his shared allegiance to the Adeptus Mechanicus.
* **Consul-Master Koda Cerax** - Commander of the Blades' elite 1st 'Palatines' Company.
* **Consul-Master Gabriel Berai** - Commander of the Blades' elite 2nd 'Manticores' Company.
* **Captain-at-Arms Willhelm Calderia** - Current Commander of the Blades' 3rd Company and Master of the Arsenal.
* **Captain-at-Arms Judes Ces** - Current Commander of the Blades' 4th Company and Master of the Fleet.
* **Captain-at-Arms Azaradel Marrick** - Current Commander of the Blades' 5th Company and Master of Rites.
* **Captain-at-Arms Zephon Rohland** - Current Commander of the Blades' 6th Company and Master of Relics.
* **Captain-at-Arms Maurus Ragar** - Current Commander of the Blades' 7th Company and Master of the Marches.
* **Captain-at-Arms Timon Haduriel** -Current Commander of the Blades' 8th Company and Master of the Blades.
* **Captain-at-Arms Athonius Regalo** - Current Commander of the Blades' 9th Company and Master of Sieges.
* **Captain-at-Arms Cassyon Scala** - Current Commander of the Blades' 10th Company and Master of Scouts.
* **Brother Severiah Azalos** - Current Warden of *Castellum Tenebrae Angelicum*.
* **Grand Vizier Kyrus Farax** - Current Master of the Librarius.
* **High Tormentor Boratos Raxus** - Current High Tormentor and Reclusiarch of the Blades of the Lion.
* **Brother Mordalan Alvera** - Current Palatine Apothecary (Chief Apothecary) and Master of the Apothecarion.
* **Brother Daberos Titus** - Current Master of the *Chimaera* and Master of the Forge.

## Chapter Fleet

* ***Chimaera* (Maelstrom-class Galleass of War)** - Named in honour of the ancient Ramilies-class Star Fort that served as the heart of the Alaxxes Outpost during the dark days of the Horus Heresy, this mighty vessel serves as the current flagship of the Blades of the Lion, as well as their de facto, mobile fortress-monastery when the Chapter is on Crusade. Originally named the *Angelicus Tenebrae*, this was a vessel of ancient provenance, constructed sometime during the outset of the Great Crusade, following the Treaty of Mars. A noteworthy but relatively uncommon type of warship, a Galleass of War is the equivalent of a Grand Cruiser ("pocket battleships") which are often much larger physically. Much of the fabric of these mighty vessels was given over to freight and transport capacity, while still maintaining formidable armaments and defence. In times past, they made for ideal support vessels for deep-range explorations into unknown regions of space and as the flagships of the most powerful Rogue Traders Militant. The *Angelicus Tenabrae* is recorded to have participated as a vessel of the venerable Ist Legion in numerous Compliance campaigns of the Great Crusade and was one of the few vessels that managed to survive the horrors of the final xenocidal campaigns known as the Rangdan Xenocides. This vessel was gifted to the newly incepted Blades of the Lion by their progenitors, the Ebon Knights, following their Founding.

## Chapter Relics

* ***Sword of Sorrow*** - One of the legendary power swords collectively known as the *Heavenfall Blades*, this formidable weapon is carried by the current Knight-Commander of the Chapter. Chapter lore states that these blades were forged from the core of a meteorite that struck The Rock in orbit around the Feral World of Al Baradad. The blade of the *Sword of Sorrow* was cut from this single block of obsidian, and is said to be able to bisect even a Chaos Terminator in a single blow or shatter granite without so much as marring the blade's mirror-like finish. This potent weapon has not chipped nor lost its keen, razor-sharp edge over its many millennia of bloody use.

* ***Blades of Havenfell*** - *Blades of Havenfell* are Chapter relics and each has its own honourable heritage. Only the Champions of each Company, having performed heroic and faultless duty, earn the right to wield one of these unique Power Swords.

* ***Blades of Purpose*** - Interrogator-Chaplain Boratos uses an ancient and horrific device known as the *Blades of Purpose*, full of arcane cruelty and the sorrow of Mankind. Its many sharply honed and well-polished blades are etched with scriptures of repentance in the tongue of Old Havenfell, and criss-crossing the weapon's head are cables and fine neural-wires, mystic science that amplifies pain to agonies beyond endurance. With this archaic weapon of torture, Boratos attempts to extract confessions from captured Fallen Angels during interrogations in an attempt to save the doomed prisoner's soul through his expert and painful ministrations.

* ***Shroud of Heroes*** - The rites of the Blades of the Lion dictate that when one of their mightiest is slain in glorious battle, his recovered remains are wrapped in a death shroud until he can be interred within the crypts of the Lion's Sanctum deep within the fortress-monastery on their homeworld of Havenfell. Pieces of this fabric, stained in the blood of heroes, are then continually stitched into a single set of robes known as the *Shroud of Heroes*. It is customary for the *Shroud of Heroes* to be presented to the duration of a battle or ongoing campaign before passing the revered robes on to another worthy aspirant of the Chapter. Those who wear the *Shroud of Heroes* claim they can feel the protective powers of their predecessors swirling around them, still eager to aid the Chapter.

## Chapter Appearance

### Chapter Colors

The Blades of the Lion wear primarily gold-coloured power armour. The shoulder pauldron trim, wrist armour, tops of the gauntlets and greaves are black in colour. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chestguard is also black in colour. A black-coloured, open-faced squad specialist symbol on the right pauldron indicates a battle-brother's assigned squad specialty (Fire Support, Close Support, Battleline, Veteran or Command). A black-coloured Low Gothic numeral stencilled in the center of the squad specialty symbol indicates squad assignment.

Unlike their progenitors and most other Unforgiven Chapters, the Blades of the Lion do not utilise a unique heraldic system to designate company assignments. Instead they utilise *Codex*-approved numberals to designate which company a battle-brother is assigned. This takes the form of a large black coloured Low Gothic numeral stencilled on the right poleyn (knee guard) which designates company assignment.

Unlike their genetic forebear's 1st Company, who paint their battle-plate a bone colour, the Blades of the Lion prefer to keep their battle-plate painted in the original jet-black in honour of the ancient Ist Legion.

Veteran Blades of the Lion are commonly found wearing jet-black-coloured hooded cloaks and tabards; this symbolises their shame over the Fallen's treachery that they committed near the end of the Great Crusade. Cloaks and hoods are worn by Veteran Marines and officers of the Chapter's Inner Circle because they have learned enough about the Dark Angels' history, and thus their shame and shared burden, prior to obtaining their rank within the Chapter.

### Chapter Badge

The Blades of the Lion Chapter badge is a stylised black-coloured lion's head, a pair of crossed swords centred behind it. This central symbol is centred upon a field of gold.

## Notable Quotes

### By the Blades of the Lion

"*There can be no peace if the enemies of the Emperor still draw breath! Our death will not be in vain if we give our lives in service to the Emperor! We may not be remembered and we may never be buried beneath Havenfell, so we will build our own memorial here. The Chapter might lose us and the Imperium might never know we existed, but the Enemy - the Enemy will know. The Enemy will remember! When our Enemy is dying, its last thought will be of us! We have already won this day! Our memorial - carved into the hearts of our Enemy! Here we stand and here we shall fall, unbroken and unbowed, though the very hand of death itself come for us, we shall spit our defiance to the end!*"
—Knight-Commander Heronimus Grimm, during his last stand in the final battle of the Jericho Reach Sector
"*If they stand behind you, protect them. If they stand besides you, respect them. If they stand against you, defeat them.*"
—Grand Vizier and Master of the Librarius Kyrus Farax
"*What defines us is how we rise up after we fall*"
—Master of Chaplains Boratos Raxus
"*Warriors are not the ones that always win, but they are the ones that always fight!*"
—Consul-Master Gabriel Berai
"*The most important thing every Battle-Brother should know, is what he would die for.*"
—Anonymous
### About the Blades of the Lion

[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

Knight-Sergeant Zadkia Balthasur, 'Formidable Champion of the Lion's Nebula', arrayed in relic Tartaros Pattern Terminator Armour. Assigned to the elite 1st ('Palatines') Company Note: Ebon coloured hooded tabard, indicating his position within the Chapter's Inner CircleKnight-Veteran Nemeasus Abderas, 'Repentant Veteran of the Sanctified Gate', member of the Blades Paladins Honour Guard of the elite 1st ('Palatines') Company.Knight-Champion (Company Champion) Kepharel Nephyrael, 'Anointed Champion of the Shrouded Brotherhood', 5th ('Broken Crown') Company.Tormentor-Chaplain Zephon Cadmiel, 'Remorseless Executioner of the Consecrated Shrine', assigned to the 3rd Company ("Dragonslayers").Armiger-Brother Cadmus Ormor of the 4th ('Lion's Wrath') Company, 3rd Battleline Squad Note: Campaign badge from the Gorganos War on right greaveNewly inducted Primaris Armiger-Brother Thuriel Nadael of the 6th ('Xenos Bane') Company, 7th Battleline SquadArmiger-Brother Xaphan Luthal, 'Penitent Punisher of the Ebon Blade', assigned to the 4th ('Lion's Wrath') Company, 9th Fire Support Squad.