Dark Angels - Dawn of the Imperium, M30-M31: Unification Wars (ca. Late 29th Millennium-712.M30) - The Dark Angels Legion was the very first of the original 20 First Founding Space Marine Legions to be created at the beginning of the Great Crusade, and so was originally under the command of the Emperor Himself. When He first began to breed a new type of superhuman warrior using the genome of the missing Primarch Lion El'Jonson, candidates were selected from those Terrans that had fought beside the Emperor during the Unification Wars when He first revealed himself and His purpose.  With the I Legion's aid, the Emperor reconquered Terra and Humanity was on the brink of launching into a golden age -- the Age of the Imperium. So it was not strange that when the Emperor perfected His techniques for the creation of the Space Marines, many of these Terrans were chosen to lead the Great Crusade.Cull of the Thunder Warriors (ca. 669.M30) - Extant sources state that as the Wars of Unification came to a close, the Thunder Warriors at last realised that their creator had cursed them with short lifespans as a result of their imperfect genetic augmentations, and turned upon Him for what they saw as His betrayal. It was a cadre of several hundred Custodians of the elite Legio Custodes, even then believed to have been led by the legendary Constantin Valdor, and accompanied by several thousand prototype Astartes of the I Legion of the newborn Space Marines, that stood in the Emperor's defence, carrying out a merciless culling of the obsolete and rebellious gene-soldiers.Great Crusade (ca. 798.M30-005.M31) - As the Warp Storms of the Age of Strife subside, the Emperor and His newly created Space Marine Legions forge outwards from Terra to reconquer the galaxy. First amongst the Legions' number are those who would come to be known as the Dark Angels. It is while reclaiming the planets colonised by Humanity during the Age of Strife that the Primarch Lion El'Jonson, one of the lost sons of the Emperor, is discovered on Caliban, and is reunited with the Legion made from his gene-seed. Under El'Jonson's leadership, the newly renamed Dark Angels serve the Emperor’s cause with great distinction, claiming more victories than any other Legion save for the XVI -- the Luna Wolves, under the command of El'Jonson's brother Horus.Discovery of Primarch Lion El'Jonson (846.M30) - The Emperor of Mankind came to the Death World of Caliban and reunited with His lost son, Lion El'Jonson. A young, newly-inducted Calibanite Ist Legion Librarian, Zahariel El'Zurias narrowly averted an attempted assassination on the Emperor's life. After being given command of the Ist Legion, the Lion reforged it into his own image, and dubbed them the Dark Angels, named after an allegorical figure of Calibanite myth.Compliance of Molech (869.M30) - This was one of the Dark Angels Legion's earliest recorded campaigns under the command of their newly appointed Primarch Lion El'Jonson. The newly discovered Knight World of Molech was brought into Imperial Compliance through a massive joint-Compliance operation between multiple Legiones Astartes, including the Dark Angels, Luna Wolves, Emperor's Children, White Scars and thousands of Imperialis Auxilia soldiers and various Mechanicum and Legio Titanicus assets. Cyprian Devine of House Devine was named planetary governor of Molech. In the presence of several of His primarch sons, the Emperor led them to a Warp portal, where He proceeded to enter into the Realm of Chaos to parley with the Ruinous Powers. When He returned, the Emperor appeared aged, but much more powerful. He then suppressed His sons' memories of Molech and stationed a large garrison force comprised of nearly 100 Imperialis Auxilia regiments, three Legio Titanicus cohorts, along with detachments from two Space Marine Legions to protect the secrets of the Warp portal on Molech.Rangdan Xenocides (ca. 839-890.M30) - The Titans of the Legio Gryphonicus as well as the Legio Vulturum, the Legio Kydianos and other Xanithe Mechanicum forces of Xana II, served alongside the vaunted Dark Angels Legion during the vital campaign known as the Rangdan Xenocides. The Dark Angels hurled themselves at the enemies and broke their greater strength in countless battles against the vile xenos on the edge of the Halo Stars. This campaign culminated in the Third Rangdan Xenocide around 890.M30, which resulted in the loss of the lives of 50,000 Space Marines, spent in preventing the destruction of perhaps the entire northern Imperium by the menace from the outer darkness. Due to these extensive losses suffered by the Ist Legion, by 899.M30, the Ultramarines Legion was on the cusp of becoming the largest Space Marine Legion, standing at around 166,000 Legionaries.Asaault on Dulan (870.M30) - As the Space Marine Legions pushed back the frontiers of the Imperium, each primarch strove to excel in the eyes of the Emperor and none more so than Leman Russ, primarch of the Space Wolves. Only Horus and Lion El'Jonson could claim more victories than Russ and this was a constant frustration for him. It was on the world of Dulan where the Space Wolves were fighting alongside the Dark Angels that matters came to a head. The Tyrant of Duran had personally insulted the Emperor, sacrificing thousands of Imperial officials to his patron Daemon, and both Russ and Jonson desired the honour of slaying this heretic. The Tyrant Durath insulted Russ, causing him to demand the right to lead the attack on the fortress. Johnson ignored him and led his own carefully planned attack instead, killing the Tyrant personally. After the battle Russ confronted and attacked Johnson, and the two dueled for a day and a night. Russ eventually stopped attacking, seeing the humor of the situation, at which point Johnson knocked him unconscious. Now he considered honour to be satisfied. The prostrate Russ was carried from the fortress by his men and, when he regained consciousness, the Dark Angels had already departed to fight in the Alisore campaign. Russ swore he would avenge the stain on his honour and, to this day, whenever the Space Wolves and Dark Angels meet, one of their number is called upon to refight the duel of the Primarchs in order that honour may be satisfied.Discovery of Lascal (ca. 900s.M30) - This terrestrial world was discovered on the edge of the Grail Abyss by the 7th Expeditionary Fleet under Lord Commander Suleiman Grimm of the Ist Legion. Originally it had been a feral Ork holding before the Dark Angels exterminated the Ork infestation. Lascal became a forward outpost of the Great Crusade, and later a naval fleet anchorage was constructed there in orbit under the auspices of the Lucien Mechanicum. Continuing to grow, by 902.M30, Lascal had become an independent and self-sustaining Imperial colony.Subjugation of Sarosh (ca. 945.M30) - Next, the Lion's 4th Expeditionary Fleet reported to take part in the continued Compliance of the planet Sarosh (officially codified as Sigma Five-One-Seven), which had formerly been commanded by an officer of the White Scars Legion. The Saroshi -- ruled by a bureaucracy -- had recently expressed their interest in becoming part of the Imperium, and the Imperials were eager to allow them in, believing that these people seemed to express the same secular beliefs as they did in the Imperial Truth. But the Saroshi (without mentioning it to the Imperial expedition) secretly worshipped Chaotic entities in the Warp they called the Melachim, and saw the anti-religious stance of the Pre-Heresy Imperium's Imperial Truth as unsuppressed evil. The Lord High Exacter, the leader of the Saroshi bureaucracy, denounced Jonson and the Emperor to the primarch's face aboard the Dark Angels' flagship, and Lion El'Jonson responded by ramming his Power Sword through the fanatical Saroshi leader's body. Unknown to the Dark Angels, the Saroshi had secreted a nuclear device aboard their shuttle, intending to assassinate the fleet's entire command structure, including Jonson; however, Luther and a junior Librarian named Zahariel managed to eject the shuttle into space, causing only minor damage to the flagship. After this incident, Luther, Zahariel and five hundred other Dark Angels were sent back to Caliban in disgrace, for allowing an enemy to get a nuclear device aboard the primarch's flagship, to oversee the recruitment of new Space Marines into the Legion from the Calibanite population.Compliance of Byzanthis (ca. Mid-900s.M30) - A Dark Angels' expeditionary fleet, under the command of Chapter Master Merir Astelan, discovered the far-flung world of Byzanthis during their exploration of system DX-619. A radio signature, faint or perhaps even nonexistent, had brought the Dark Angels here; the merest chattering murmur against the background radiation of the universe. Another Dark Angels' fleet, under the command of Chapter Master Belath, joined Astelan's only two weeks earlier in the Calcabrina System, on orders from the Lion, that Belath add his forces to the expedition. Astelan had never met Belath but this was not surprising. The massive influx of warriors into the Legion following the rediscovery of Caliban meant that there were many commanders who had never met each other, tossed together on task forces and in warzones all across the galaxy. That one such Chapter commander had been despatched to assist Astelan was curious for the simple fact that there had been little enough for Astelan's Chapter to do and additional forces were unlikely to change that. When the two Chapter Masters finally met face-to-face, they differed on their approach of what action should be taken against the newly discovered world. Astelan advocating making a peaceful overture to the planet's locals in order to foster good relations. Belath advocated a more aggressive approach and to subdue the planet through force of arms. Chapter Master Astelan cautioned Belath that they should only use force when all other forms of diplomacy had failed. The younger Chapter Master did not agree with the senior commander's assessment, but would defer to his position for now. Upon first contact with the local populace, Astelan's landing force was engaged by the local military. The local military sustained substantial losses while the Dark Angels received only minimal casualties. Receiving a looped message from planet's global council (known as the Committee of Nations) Astelan hoped to make amends for the inadvertent conflict and communicate with the council, forcing the state governments to treat with them through the Committee of Nations, and hopefully forge a common fate for the whole planet. The younger Calibinite Chapter Master Belath would not consent to this course of action. Chapter Master Astelan and one of his commanders agreed to meet the Council in their chambers and explain their purpose. Astelan explained to the Council representative of the benefits of becoming a part of the newly forged Imperium of Man under the beneficence of the Emperor of Mankind. But these negotiations were interrupted by the unheralded arrival of Chapter Master Belath. Ten massively armoured Terminators teleported into the chambers and opened fired on the startled delegates, massacring a good portion of their number. Belath deferred to the senior Astelan and inquired whether he should order the rest of his fleet to attack or whether they should teleport back to orbit. Astelan was filled with a mixture of rage and incredulity. Forcing his hand, Astelan reluctantly ordered the assault. He warned his younger counterpart that the blood of all who died on Byzanthis would be on his hands, and that he would not let his actions go unpunished. The younger Chapter Master merely dismissed the senior commander's threats and proceeded to inform Astelan that he had already sent word to Caliban of what had occurred on Byzanthis and that he would soon learn the consequences of disobedience.Alisore Campaign (900s.M30) - This was an Imperial Compliance carried out by the Dark Angels during the Great Crusade against the world of Alisore.Siege of Barrakan (900s.M30) - This was an Imperial Compliance carried out by the Dark Angels during the Great Crusade against the Orks on the world of Barrakan. A notable campaign of this Compliance action was the defence of Firebase Endriago. A Chapter of the Dark Angels had been cut off by the Greenskins and trapped at the firebase for 18 months. By the end, the beleaguered Astartes were fighting off the alien assaults with fists and pieces of sharpened steel scavenged from bombed-out strongpoints, but through it all Brother Nemiel had never wavered. He had taunted the Greenskins relentlessly and exhorted his brothers to acts of ever-greater defiance in the face of insurmountable odds. When a Greenskin's crude axe had shattered his knee he had grabbed the beast by one of its tusks and kicked it to death just for spite. When the last line of defence was broken, he had stood his ground in the face of a massive xenos champion and fought an epic duel that had given the Chapter time to launch a counter-attack that finally exhausted the last of the enemy's strength. The next day, when relief forces finally managed to fight their way through to the firebase, Nemiel had stood on the ramparts and cheered with the rest of his brothers. It took several minutes before he registered the slaps on his shoulders and back and realised that the Chapter was not cheering for victory -- they were cheering for him. Not long after, the Chapter voted unanimously for him to take the place of Brother-Redemptor Barthiel, who had fallen during the darkest hours of the siege.Suppression of the Gordian League (ca. 998.M30-005.M31) - This was an Imperial Compliance action carried out by the Dark Angels during the 200th year of the Great Crusade against the Shield Worlds of the Gordian League -- a confederation of Human worlds who were allied with degenerate xenos. During this campaign the Dark Angels high command received word that Warmaster Horus and his Legion had renounced their oaths of allegiance, along with Primarch Angron's World Eaters, Mortarion's Death Guard and Fulgrim's Emperor's Children. They also received word of the atrocity committed against the doomed world of Istvaan III, when Horus ordered it to be virus-bombed, rendered it a lifeless planet. The Warmaster knew that the Emperor would respond with all the force he had available. Jonson believed that the Dark Angels' deployment to the Shield Worlds was part of an effort to scatter the Imperium's most loyal servants as far as possible in order to minimize the number of Legions Horus would have to face at any given time. Even so, a strike force of seven full Legions posed a dire threat to Horus's survival, as they made their way towards Istvaan V. Jonson's forces were too deeply enmeshed in the Shield Worlds to respond quickly to Horus's treachery; the best estimates of the primarch's staff indicated that it would take them nearly eight months to conclude their offensive operations, even on an emergency basis, and reposition themselves for a strike against Istvaan V. Even if they could move more quickly, Horus's agents would be able to alert the Warmaster in time to organise a counter-strike. However, Jonson believed that a small, hand-picked force, might accomplish what an entire Legion could not. The primarch issued orders for many of their reserve squadrons to resupply and prepare for immediate deployment to the Tanagra System. Their primary target was to secure the Forge World of Diamat. They could not afford to let the Warmaster acquire the substantial supplies and ordnance needed to fortify the world of Istvaan V against the approaching Loyalist strike force. Jonson would personally lead the expedition to Diamat, with a battle group of fifteen warships. Secrecy was vital, as the primarch was aware that the Warmaster's agents were more than likely tracking the Dark Angels' movements.Horus Heresy (005-014.M31) - Knowing the Dark Angels and their primarch would remain stubbornly loyal to the Emperor, the Warmaster Horus orders them to the Eastern Fringe on the far side of the galaxy. Hampered by distance, ambushes set up by the traitorous Night Lords and daemonic attacks, the Dark Angels cannot ultimately reach Terra in time to participate in the defence of the Imperial Palace, the culminating battle of the civil war.Battle of Diamat (005.M31) - When word reached the Dark Angels of the Istvaan III Atrocity, Lion El'Jonson and the Ist Legion were bogged down fighting a campaign against the Gordian League. Therefore, the Lion led a small war fleet of 16 vessels against the Forge World of Diamat, in order to seize Ordinatii heavy siege engines, and deny them to the Traitors. He encountered some resistance from vessels loyal to the Traitor cause, as well as traitor Imperial Army forces and a Sons of Horus Company on the planet's surface. The Lion ordered the destruction of the planet's primary forges, which annihilated the Traitor forces in a great conflagration and denied Horus Diamat's manufacturing abilities. In the battle's aftermath, the Lion encountered the Iron Warriors fleet, led by Perturabo, who were on their way to Istvaan V to "pacify" the treacherous Warmaster. Unaware of their true loyalties, the Lion unwittingly handed over the captured Ordinatii to be used against Horus.Thramas Crusade (ca. 007-009.M31) - During the Horus Heresy the Warmaster Horus sent Night Haunter and his Night Lords Legion on a campaign of genocide against the Imperial strongholds of Heroldar and Thramas in the Aegis Sub-sector of the Eastern Fringes, thus protecting Horus' flank and delaying the Dark Angels Legion from reinforcing the Loyalists. This bitterly contested campaign dragged on for nearly three standard years. In an attempt to sway his brother Lion El'Jonson to Horus' cause, the Night Haunter left a deep-void beacon in the patrol path of one of the Dark Angels' outrider vessels. The beacon was set to transmit coordinates in advance, so that the two primarchs could meet and parley on the planet of Tsagualsa. Night Haunter wanted to break his former brother either mentally, physically or both to obtain his objectives. The primarchs were accompanied by two warriors from their personal Honour Guards to the parley. The meeting began amicably enough between the two as they conversed with relative civility. This amity lasted only until the Night Haunter slandered El'Jonson, and in return the Lion struck his former brother. This melee further degenerated into an all-out brawl between the two sides. As the Night Haunter strangled the life out of El'Jonson, one of the Dark Angels Honour Guardsman ran his sword through the Night Haunter's back, saving his primarch's life. Eventually both Legions sent reinforcements in response to this incident. Each side dragged away their respective primarchs from the scene of the combat. Both primarchs survived this brutal confrontation and went on to continue the contest between their Legions for control of the Aegis Sub-sector.Battle of Perditus (008.M31) - When the Dark Angels received intelligence from an astropathic message from the nearby Perditus System, they acted accordingly and moved to intercept. Upon arrival, they interrupted the month-long conflict between the Iron Hands 98th Clan-Company, led by Casalir Lorramech and a large Death Guard contingent, led by First Captain Calas Typhon. Both sides had been fighting over an ancient sentient device, known as the Tuchulcha Engine. This device was a part of a triumvirate of similar sentient devices (another being the Ouroboros and a third, unnamed engine) which when combined could create temporal rifts that bridge space and time. On its own, the Tuchulcha was capable of precise and extremely efficient Warp jumps. Faced with the prospect of fighting the entirety of the much larger Ist Legion fleet, both sides retreated from the planet's surface at the Lion's request. Wary of both sides' motives, especially First Captain Typhon's, the Lion prevented the device from falling into the Death Guard's hands for his own nefarious ends. He then proceeded to serve his own ambitions and requisitioned the device for his own use. The Lion then ordered the destruction of Perditus, much to the consternation of both commanders. He then used the Tuchulcha Engine to make a Warp jump, but during their sojourn through the Immaterium, they were beset by Daemons. The Lion reinstituted his Legion's Librarians to fight these nefarious warp-spawned creatures. As this was in direct violation of the Emperor's Decree Absolute at Nikaea, this caused a dispute within the Legion, that eventually came to head, when the enraged Lion slew Chaplain Nemiel. During the height of the battle, the Lion encountered the Greater Daemon of Tzeentch, known as Fateweaver, who attempted to convert the primarch to the cause of the Ruinous Powers, but failed miserably, as he had nothing to sway the Lion to their cause. The Lion told the foul creature that absolute loyalty to the Emperor was reward enough, and impaled the Lord of Change through its black heart, and quipped whether he had "foreseen" his actions.Defence of Nagathar (ca. 009.M31) - Severed from the main body of their Legion by the unleashing of the Ruinstorm, a strike force from the Dark Angels Legion finds shelter in the Nagathar-system which had become a safe haven for several Loyalist splinter forces, the most important being drawn from the Imperial Fists. The many Loyalist fractions banded together to defend Nagathar from a powerful incursion led the Word Bearers, which had hoped to prey on the system's millions of inhabitants to fuel yet another of their sorcerous rites.Xana Incursion (009.M31) - Intelligence reached Terra that the renegade Forge World of Xana II on the western fringe of the Imperium had reached an accord with the Traitor forces to supply the Warmaster's armies with its vast output of arms and materiel. The bargain was sealed with the delivery by Xana of a number of newly created powerful Ordinatus-class weapons undergoing final field tests. In what was effectively a suicide mission, a handpicked force of Legiones Astartes, including many Blackshields -- in this case Space Marines who had chosen to remain loyal despite their parent Legion's treachery -- was despatched under great secrecy to destroy the war machines and drive a wedge between Xana and the Traitors. With the help of the Dark Angels strike cruiser, Dark Sovereign and its Legionaries, the Loyalists were able to secure two powerful Ordinatii, and destroyed a third, temporarily delaying the alliance between Xana and the Traitors for a number of years.Hunting the Night Haunter (009.M31) - Utlising the Tuchulcha Engine a second time, the Dark Angels were able to execute a meticulously planned ambush on the Night Lords' fleet while it was in transit across the sub-sector that saw the back of the Night Lords Legion broken and their primarch mortally wounded after having faced his brother El'Jonson once again in mortal combat. Thanks to the skilled coordination and superb execution by the Lion, the Night Lords fleet was devastated, losing dozens of capital ships and approximately one-quarter of their Legion fleet to the Dark Angels' assault. Unfortunately, the remainder of the Night Lords fleet fled the Dark Angels' wrath, taking their critically wounded primarch with them before the Lion could finally end his wretched life. Directing a second ambush on the regrouping Night Lords, Curze reawakened from his medically-induced coma, and boarded the Invincible Reason with several of his most elite warriors, including First Captain Jago Sevatarion and elite Atramentar Terminators. The ensuing battle ended when Curze fled to the lower decks of the massive flagship and the few surviving Night Lords, including Sevetar, were taken prisoner. The Night Haunter, however, remained on the loose within the bowels of mighty vessel, and continued to wreak terror and chaos amongst the mortal crew. He also killed every hunter-killer team sent by the Lion to hunt him down. After losing several squads of Dark Angels, the Lion himself took up the hunt for Curze, stalking him throughout the Invincible Reason for the next sixteen weeks. However, he could never find his elusive brother primarch.Arrival at Ultramar and the Imperium Secundus (009.M31) - With the torrential Ruinstorm raging, blocking out the light of the Astronomican and causing warp travel to be all but impossible, the Imperium was effectively cut in half. The Dark Angels came to the realisation that they were unable to return to Terra to assist in its defence, even with the advent of the Tuchulcha Engine. Miraculously, they locked onto the beacon of the strange alien device known as the Pharos, on the world of Sotha, which guided the Ist Legion fleet safely through the Warp and to Ultramar's capital world of Macragge. There, they were greeted by Roboute Guilliman and Sanguinius, whose Blood Angels Legion was also guided to the Realms of Ultramar by the Pharos. The three primarchs were instrumental in the foundation of the "Imperium Secundus" as a means of continuing the fight against the Traitors and securing the Emperor's great work. Guilliman proclaimed Sanguinius as the rightful heir to the Emperor and declared him the new ruler of Imperium Secundus. Lion El'Jonson was made Lord Protector of this new empire of Humanity and commander over all its military forces, a title that was similar to that of Warmaster. Unfortunately, the foundation of Imperium Secundus was marred when Curze escaped from the Invincible Reason and rampaged across Macragge, intent on spreading as much terror and chaos as he could. Eventually, both Guilliman and the Lion confronted the cornered Curze. Their attempts to kill him were unsuccessful as the Night Lords primarch had laid a cunning trap. He brought down an entire chapel upon the two primarchs through the use of planted explosives and fled the scene. Guilliman and the Lion were only saved through the direct intervention of the Loyalist Iron Warriors Warsmith Barabas Dantioch, who was communicating with Guilliman at the time of the attack, through a portal that was opened by the Pharos. On instinct, the Warsmith reached through the portal and pulled the two primarchs to safety on Sotha.Battle of Zepath (011.M31) - Feeling directly responsible for the Night Haunter's rampage on Macragge, the Lion continued to obsessively hunt his wayward former brother for the next two years. In 011.M31, El'Jonson eventually was able to trace a slim lead on Curze's whereabouts to the Zepath System, which had since fallen to the Word Bearers and World Eaters forces during their Shadow Crusade. Farith Redloss, the lieutenant-elect of the Dark Angels' Dreadwing was charged with leading the hunt for Konrad Curze upon the world of Zepath. The Dark Angels quickly uncovered the horrors perpetrated by the Word Bearers for their dark rituals. Eventually, the Dark Angels took part in multiple engagements against the forces of both Traitor Legions, which culminated in the capital city of Numentis. The Traitor forces were utterly annihilated by the victorious Dark Angels and the world was left in the care of its surviving population.Exile of the Lion (ca. 011.M31) - While continuing his obsessive hunt for the elusive Night Haunter, the Lion and Guilliman continuously clashed over policies, especially in regards to the security of Imperium Secundus, and how best to deal with rebels on Macragge, that the Lion was certain Curze had something to do with. Following a suicide bombing of an Astartes convoy, the Lion used the Ist Legion to establish martial law on Macragge. Certain that Curze was hiding within the rebellious Illyrium region, the Lion advocated the use of a massive orbital saturation bombardment of the region to ensure Curze's death. Facing resistance from both Emperor Sanguinius and Guilliman, the Lion instead, opted to deploy his Legion's Dreadwing in order to flush out Curze and the rebels. During an attack on the city of Alma Mons, the Lion finally cornered the elusive Night Lords primarch and the two come to blows. After a brutal confrontation, the Lion eventually emerged victorious, and questioned his brother why he had turned away from the Emperor, in which Curze simply replied: "Why not?" Curze went on to explain that there was a monster in his head that he could not stop. Though he finally had Curze at his mercy, the Lion couldn't bring himself to kill his brother, and instead pummeled him again. He then ripped off Curze's backpack from his battle-plate and then lifted him over his head, and then brutally brought him down across his knee, breaking Curze's spine and paralysing him. The Lion brought the grievously wounded Curze before Sanguinius and Guilliman to stand trial. A Triumvirate was later held, where Curze defended his actions, but refused to admit his guilt. Since each of the primarchs had been created to perform a specific function, Curze was merely acting according to his own nature, and therefore had committed no crimes. The Night Lords primarch then further divided Guilliman and the Lion by accusing the latter of secretly ordering orbital bombardment in direct violation of Guilliman's orders. Enraged, the Lion sought to kill Curze, but was halted by the words of Sanguinius and Guilliman who snatched El'Jonson's Lion Sword and broke the blade across his armoured thigh. El'Jonson was furious, but Sanguinius dismissed the Lord Protector, ending the Triumvirate. The Lion was then banished from Imperium Secundus. Taking his leave, the Dark Angels withdrew from Macragge only hours later. Standing in the chamber of the Tuchulcha Engine, the Lion brooded over recent events, he questioned his actions over the course of the last few decades -- the banishment of Luther, the death of Nemiel as well as other decisions he had come to regret. As the Dark Angels made their final preparations to depart back to Caliban, the Lion went back to the Tuchulcha Engine's chamber. He then ordered the device to teleport himself and Holguin, "Deathbringer", the voted-lieutenant of the Deathwing, back to Macragge. As Sanguinius prepared to execute Curze for his crimes, both the Lion and his lieutenant teleported directly into the chamber and told Sanguinius to stop. As troops entered the room, demanding the Lion to surrender, El'Jonson explained his reasons for the intrusion. He reasoned that Curze had the ability to see precognitive visions of potential futures, and repeated the Night Haunter's claim that his death would one day come at the hands of an Assassin sent by the Emperor. If this was true, the Lion reasoned, then it was proof that the Emperor was still alive. Sanguinius knew the Lion's explanation rang true, as he recognised that his own precognitive visions of his inevitable death would also eventually come to pass. When Guilliman demanded to know what would become of Curze, the Lion knelt before his two brothers and promised that he would be Curze's gaoler.