Dark Angels - Great Crusade Era Personnel: Hector Thrane (KIA) - Hector Thrane was the first Grandmaster of the Ist Legion and led them during both the Unification Wars and the Great Crusade. He earned the right to lead his Legion following his great victory against the Udug Hul soldiers of the Great King of Akkad, with the ruler's head becoming a macabre trophy that hung from his belt. Shortly after, Thrane became the Legion's Grandmaster, which also earned him the title, "Sinestra of the Emperor, the left hand of the Warlord of Terra, His most fearsome instrument of conquest." This particular campaign proved the worth of the Legiones Astartes as a viable army and Thrane went on to lead the Ist Legion against the Emperor's foes on both Terra and across the Sol System. Though the Ist Legion achieved momentous victories, the use of Exterminatus-class weapons to achieve their aims left an indelible stain on both the course of their campaigns and the soul of the Ist Legion. By the beginning of the Great Crusade, the Grandmaster's actions had forged Thrane into a ruthless and prideful warlord. His continued success saw Thrane's meteoric rise and influence within the early Imperial Court, so much so that Thrane's counsel to the Emperor was second only to that of the Regent of Terra Malcador the Sigillite and the Primarch Horus Lupercal. However, such prominence and success caused both the Grandmaster and his Legion to develop an air of extreme arrogance that led them to believe they could not be defeated. This proved to be their undoing when they faced an unnamed xenos species on the world of Canis-Balor. Suffering numerous casualties, the Ist Legion was put on the back foot and forced to make a tactical withdrawal in the face of the dangerous foe's superior technology that defied rational explanation. Eventually, Thrane personally led another invasion of Canis-Balor after becoming enraged at both the losses and marring of his reputation. Under the Grandmaster's direct command, the Ist Legion's forces cut a swathe through the xenos, but could not overcome their superior numbers. This led to the Ist Legion's near-destruction at the hands of the powerful xenos, at which point Thrane realised his hubris and pride had brought The First to the point of ruination. Seeing the futility of continuing the invasion, Thrane immediately ordered the Ist Legion to evacuate the surface of Canis-Balor. As they began to do so, Thrane and his lifeguard acted as a rearguard against the advancing xenos, valiantly sacrificing themselves in order to ensure their brothers were able to successfully retreat. Once the evacuation had been completed, Canis-Balor was destroyed by Exterminatus. Shortly after, Thrane was succeeded as Grandmaster of The First by Urian Vendraig.Urian Vendraig (KIA) - Urian Vendraig was the second Grandmaster of the Ist Legion. Vendraig was a Terran-born Legionary who joined the Ist Legion following the end of the Unification Wars and took part in the Great Crusade. Vendraig would rise to become a captain of the 14th Company of the Legion's 8th Chapter and earned an enviable record of grand victories to his name. Following the death of Grandmaster Hector Thrane during the campaign on Canis-Balor, to the surprise of all, Vendraig was nominated by Malcador the Sigillite to be Thrane's successor, after the upper echelons of the Legion could not agree on who should become the next Grandmaster. The Sigillite's reasons for doing so were simple: Vendraig was a captain who was not enmeshed within any of the Legion's numerous factions and groups. Not bound to the allegiance of any of one of these sub-factions, Vendraig would be accepted by the Legion's upper echelons as a viable compromise candidate. Malcador's insights were soon proven correct, as the Ist Legion's Council of Masters voted unanimously for Vendraig to succeed Thrane as the new Grandmaster. Following his elevation, Vendraig was tasked with unifying a divided Legion and returning them to service in the Great Crusade. A warrior first and foremost, Vendraig saw the value of having the Ist Legion serving for a time on the fringes of the Great Crusade. To help the Legion take their rightful place as one of the preeminent Legions in the glories of the Great Crusade, Vendraig allowed a small contingent of carefully-selected Remembrancers to join his entourage. Having limited access to the Legion's archives, they personally bore witness to the Ist Legion's ascension and helped to boost The First's reputation across the Imperium. Vendraig next sought a foe that would unite The First together in their hatred. The opportunity to do so soon came when word arrived of the discovery of the deadly xenos species known as the Rangda on the far rim of the Great Crusade. Considered a growing threat to the Imperium, Vendraig brought the entirety of the Ist Legion to the Advex-Mors System and immediately launched a purgation campaign. The following battle cost the lives of 5,000 Legionaries. Despite the high tally of lives spent to eradicate the upstart xenos, the Rangda were defeated and the Imperium was once again reminded of the Ist Legion's might. However, the Grandmaster's hunger for glory caused Vendraig to lead his Legion in reckless actions that earned them great renown and victories, but also eventually led to the Grandmaster's own downfall. The Ist Legion joined the efforts of the Ultramarines Legion to bring the Fortress World of Karkasarn into Imperial Compliance, which had so far resisted all efforts by Primarch Roboute Guilliman and his gene-sons. Utilising a patient strategy that would bring inevitable victory while minimising losses suffered by the Imperial forces, Guilliman had expected Vendraig and The First to follow his orders. However, the Grandmaster vehemently refused. Seeing a chance to snatch a victory from the Ultramarines and humble Guilliman, the Ist Legion launched an assault upon the recalcitrant planet. In the subsequent battle, a force of 10,000 Legionaries breached the world's defences at the costs of hundreds of lives. The First's reckless advance into the inner workings of Karkasarn forced Guilliman's hand. He ordered the Ultramarines to follow the Ist Legion, but they did so methodically while securing objectives along the way. This led the Ultramarines to suffer only minimal losses, while The First suffered grievously. When Vendraig was about to secure victory by claiming a citadel that lay at the centre of the world, the overlords of Karkasarn detonated an atomic weapon that had lain beneath the citadel. The Grandmaster and numerous warriors of the Ist Legion died in the subsequent explosion. Vendraig had indeed succeeded in uniting his Legion in hate, though this was only achieved through his death and his Legion's ignominious victory.Master Pyrhus Calagat - During the early years of the Ist Legion's existence, Pyrhus Calagat was a master of the Ist Legion's Host of Fire. He also served as the Council of Masters' ceremonial champion. Upon the Ist Legion's reunification with their primarch Lion El'Jonson, Calagat dueled the primarch upon his arrival at the world of Gramarye. The Lion willingly underwent this ceremonial process in order to bring the Ist Legion under his command. The hour-long duel between them has since become legendary. After El'Jonson emerged victorious, he was made the new Grandmaster of the Ist Legion, which was officially reborn as the "Dark Angels."Master Garradin - Garradin, known as "The Ravenbringer," was a Terran-born veteran of the Unification Wars and an elderly member of the Ist Legion by the beginning of the Great Crusade. He was once the Lord of the Host of the Void. His service began fifty standard years before the Ist Legion had first stepped out of the shadows under the command of its original Grand Master Hector Thrane. By the time of the Muspel campaign, Garradin had become the first voted-lieutenant and master of the Ravenwing.Atreus Deucalion - Atreus Deucalion, bearer of the sword Chrysaor, was a Knight-Captain of the Ist Legion, who was also a Marshal of the Firewing, and was counted as one of the finest swordsmen in the Legion and held station within three separate Orders Militant, blending his blade-techniques of each to form a unique and deadly style of his own.