Azrael - Knight of Caliban: Many are the great deeds performed by every Space Marine, and Azrael was no exception following his rise to the Battle Companies of the Dark Angels. Amongst warriors that will fight fearlessly and tirelessly for the cause, capable of feats that would make them heroes amongst the ranks of normal men, it takes a particular kind of Space Marine to earn even higher respect and recognition.For Azrael, this turning point came during the Scouring of Truan IX. On a night-shrouded world on the edge of the Truan System, the 3rd Company responded to the disappearance of an Adeptus Mechanicus outpost. At first, they encountered no foe amongst the abandoned hab-domes and mine workings, and they discovered no sign of what had happened to more than five hundred thousand Tech-priests and colonists; there were no corpses and no evidence of battle.Unperturbed, the 3rd Company ventured into the depths. There, in caverns deep beneath the surface, they discovered the remnants of the inhabitants, their decaying remains scattered where they had fallen, Tech Adepts and miners locked together in mortal combat with themselves and each other.What had driven them to fall upon each other like wild animals made itself known as the Space Marines soon came under a powerful psychic attack. From the heart of the world, a corrupting siren song permeated the minds of the Dark Angels, demanding obedience and sacrifice, filling the warriors with a rampant paranoia.Their souls hardened to such intrusion, the Space Marines did not fall immediately under the spell as had the weak-minded colonists, but the assault was not without consequence. Discipline was failing, and arguments between the battle-brothers sparked confrontations and sporadic bouts of violence as the company continued to explore.Their commander, Master Batheus, led his squad at the front, delving ahead into the ancient tunnels the mines had unearthed, leaving behind the rest of his command. Twelve solar hours later all contact was lost. After two Terran days, during which the rest of the company came to the verge of open rebellion and internecine fighting, Azrael disobeyed Batheus' last command to evacuate if he did not return, instead gathering about himself such sergeants and battle-brothers as seemed least affected by the psychic malaise.They followed Batheus into the catacombs. They found the corpses of the Command Squad, broken and battered by Chainsword and bolt. Coming under the scrutiny of the foul creature that resided in the depths, Azrael's ad-hoc command suffered the full force of the psychic assault.Pushing through the waves of demented paranoia that assailed him, Azrael left his companions behind and continued on alone, chanting hymnals and battle-prayers to harden his resolve.In a temple-like chamber, he came across the siren-beast -- a bloated Warp entity trapped half in the real universe and half in the immaterial. Holding true to his faith in the Lion and the Emperor, determined that his loyalty was to no other, Azrael confronted the Warp creature.While it lashed at the Space Marine with ethereal tentacles, every touch from the writhing appendages sending a burning psychic pain through him for his disobedience, Azrael slashed and blasted at the creature's material form. Yet no matter how many cuts he made with his combat blade or how deep were the wounds gouged by his Bolter, the Warp-spawn could not be slain.Fighting through the agony of real wounds and psychic assault, Azrael realised that the creature's Warp-self had to be banished. With a handful of Melta Bombs taken from the corpses of the Command Squad, Azrael fought his way from one side of the ancient temple to the other, withstanding the tormenting lashes while he placed the explosives.There was no way to escape the temple and still detonate the charges, so Azrael resigned himself to his death and brought the temple down upon himself and his foe. With the warding stones destroyed, the monster was wrenched back into the Warp with a last howl of rage, leaving Azrael alone inside his self-made tomb.Azrael believed his sacrifice to be mortal, but after three solar days, the survivors of the company dug him free. Returning to the Tower of Angels, the warriors of the 3rd Company demanded, with due respect and humility, that Azrael be recognised for his efforts. In honour of his mental resolve, he was directly inducted into the Deathwing Knights of the 1st Company.