Sammael - Rising From The Ashes: When he recovered his senses, Sammael pushed himself from the rubble to find his bike was smashed beyond use and the company was in disarray. Enemies were closing from the rear and the Traitorous Ire had the surviving Ravenwing pinned back in alleys and side roads where the cultists would be able to ambush them with ease. Gideon lay crushed beneath a slab of masonry, his armour cracked in a dozen places, bones broken and organs pulverised. Yet the Grand Master still clung to life as Sammael found him amongst the devastation. Sammael asked the mortally wounded Grand Master whether or not they should press the attack or withdraw. Gideon responded that he could not say, and with his last strength and breath he pulled the Raven Sword free of its scabbard, and told Sammael the company was now his to lead. With this final effort, Grand Master Gideon, a veteran of six Terran centuries of war, died.Sammael wasted no time in taking command of the demoralised Ravenwing. Securing himself a functioning steed from amidst the wreckage, he commanded the Land Speeders to conduct harrying raids on the enemy Titan while the bikes and attack bikes regrouped under the shadowy veil of a Darkshroud. The situation was grim. Communication from the fleet announced that Traitor vessels were closing on the Ravenwing's Battle Barge Implacable Justice and no orbital support could be expected. The company had lost nearly a third of its warriors and machines. Sammael did not expend any time worrying about reorganisation, but left it to his Veterans and Sergeants to form such squadrons as were needed.Wishing to see Gideon's plan to fruition, Sammael led a fresh attack on the Traitorous Ire, using the Land Speeders and Darkshroud to feign a rear attack, while a second force was sent to the east, forming a diversion on the war engine's augur returns. Their energy signatures masked by burning buildings, sparking power lines and venting reactors, a handful of the Ravenwing's most adept riders followed Sammael through the ruins created by the Titan's weapons. They burst from their cover as the Traitorous Ire turned to confront the feint from the east. Bike-mounted weapons, even the plasma talons of the Black Knights, were little use against the void shields of a Titan. Instead, Sammael put his faith in speed, tearing across the square at the head of his warriors to strike from within the energy defences of the war machine.Cultists in the surrounding buildings opened fire on the charging Ravenwing but they dodged and jinked with reckless abandon, and all survived to reach the Titan. Barely slowing, each sped past the machine's lumbering feet in quick succession, hurling all the Melta Bombs and charges the force possessed as they raced between the Titan's legs. Even before they were clear, Sammael detonated the bombs, shearing away the lower right leg of the Traitorous Ire. As the behemoth collapsed, its reactor exploded, levelling the buildings still standing on the square and showering flaming metal and ceramite onto the swiftly-retreating Ravenwing.Following the loss of their Titan, the Chaos forces struggled to regroup. Sammael kept the Ravenwing mobile, always attacking and harassing, fighting continuously for seven weeks until reinforcements from the Deathwing, and the Dark Angels' 4th and 5th Companies arrived to purge Kapua VII of the Chaos taint once and for all. Much to Sammael's disappointment, no member of the Fallen was ever located, but the destruction of the Traitorous Ire is still remembered as one of the Ravenwing's greatest achievements. On returning to the Rock, Sammael's promotion was endorsed by the other Masters of the Chapter and he has led the 2nd Company for more than a century.