Blood Angels - Great Crusade and Horus Heresy Era Personnel: Sanguinius - Sanguinius, also sometimes referred to as the Angel, was the winged Primarch of the Blood Angels Legion. He was slain during the climax of the Horus Heresy at the end of the Siege of Terra defending the Emperor of Mankind from Horus aboard his flagship, the Battle Barge Vengeful Spirit. Though Horus slew Sanguinius, who had once been one of his closest friends amongst the Primarchs, legend holds that it was the chink in Horus' armour created by the Angel that allowed the Emperor to slay the Arch-Heretic and thus prevent Mankind from falling to the corruption of the Ruinous Powers of Chaos.Azkaellon - The venerated hero and founder of the Blood Angels' Sanguinary Guard, Azkaellon served as the Herald of Sanguinius during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. He continued to serve with his Primarch until Sanguinius perished in the assault on the Warmaster Horus' Battle Barge Vengeful Spirit during the final hours of the Siege of Terra. He would be the lone member of the Sanguinary Guard that survived that final confrontation. Sanguinius' prescient vision of his own fate led him to insist that his Herald remain on Terra so that should he fall, the Sanguinary Guard would not be extinguished. Once reconstituted by Azkaellon, they would go on to serve as a beacon of hope for the Blood Angels and the wider Imperium in the dark days ahead. Though he yearned to fight at his Primarch's side one final time, with a heavy heart Azkaellon acceded to Sanguinius' wishes. He knew that he could not jeopardise the sacred duty entrusted to him. Following the death of Sanguinius, there was no clear line of succession, and soon factions within the Blood Angels formed around potential candidates. In addition, the Flaw slowly made its presence felt, further muddying the Legion's future. Ultimately, it was Azkaellon, sole survivor of the Sanguinary Guard, who drove the Blood Angels' destiny onwards. Azkaellon -- who saw clearly that the Blood Angels had more pressing worries than organisational doctrine -- ensured the division of the Blood Angels Legion into the Chapters that endure today. These were the Blood Angels themselves, who maintained the old Legion's heraldry and traditions, the Flesh Tearers, the Angels Vermillion, the Angels Encarmine and the Angels Sanguine. What became of Azkaellon himself after this point is unrecorded, but his legacy lives on in the Chapters he created. Following his Primarch's final orders, the Sanguinary Guard also managed to survive when the Blood Angels' Primarch did not, for Azkaellon made certain that their legacy was maintained, not just in the Blood Angels, but in every Successor Chapter that arose from the dissolution of the Blood Angels Legion during the Second Founding. The Sanguinary Guard believe the spirit of their founder lives on in the form of the golden angel of vengeance known as the Sanguinor, preserved against the withering millennia by the Emperor's grace.Legion Master Ishidur Ossuros - Ishidur Ossuros was the first and only Legion Master of the IX Legion of Space Marines before it was reunited with its Primarch Sanguinius and renamed the Blood Angels. In truth, the real Ossuros died early on in the Great Crusade, but his identity and memories were taken by his successors though the abilities granted by their Legion's overactive Omophagea gene-seed implant. They allowed his legend to live on through them until their own deaths. The last incarnation of Ishidur Ossuros fell during the first battle of the newly-named Blood Angels with their Primarch at Teghar Pentaurus, when he gave his life to save Sanguinius from being overrun and slain. Ossuros' body could not be found, so his persona could not be passed on to a new Astartes through the consumption of his flesh.Chapter Master Raldoron - Raldoron, known as the Blooded, was the legendary First Captain of the Veteran 1st Company of the IXth Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. He was one of the Primarch's most trusted men and carried many honours alongside his stewardship of the elite 1st Company, the Protectors, a responsibility hard-won through decades of war in the Emperor's name. Raldoron was Equerry to his Legion's Primarch and held the then-new honourific "Chapter Master," serving in a similar advisory role to Sanguinius as the warriors of Horus' cadre of advisors, the Mournival. Raldoron was a Veteran Space Marine Captain of the Three Hundred (the commanders of the 300 companies of the IXth Legion), but he was commander of the 1st Company, and his promotion to Chapter Master placed him in a special class of seniority that few other warriors of the Legion could claim. He wore the honour with pride and humility, as was the Blood Angels way, but nevertheless, this esteemed rank set him apart from his fellows. He was not a man given to impulsive and ill considered actions. There was some enmity between the Chapter Master and Azkaellon, the Primarch's Herald and commander of the Legion's Sanguinary Guard. Azkaellon was so severe in his manner that oft times it seemed he was utterly inflexible on every question. It was a frequent cause of friction between the warriors of the 1st Company and the Sanguinary Guard. Raldoron's fluid, adaptable command style was at odds with Azkaellon's aloof, rigid comportment, and the two of them reflected their different natures down to the bone.Captain Nassir Amit - Amit was the Captain of the Blood Angels Legion's 5th Company during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. He was a line commander, who was notorious for proudly displaying his Artificer-wrought battleplate's impact marks, blade scratches and other signifiers of battle-wear, even on formal occasions when protocol called for it to be in good order and dressed in a manner befitting such an important function. The armour mirrored the martial bluntness of the warrior who wore it. Of all the IXth Legion's captains, Amit's reputation -- and that of his company -- was the most bloodthirsty. More than once, the 5th Company had been called to censure by Sanguinius for their zeal in pursuing enemy forces. It was not for nothing that the outspoken officer had earned the nickname the "Flesh Tearer", and rather than deny the epithet, he had made it his own. The bloodthirsty officer had a predatory way about him, a sense of aggression barely held in check that the First Captain had seen unleashed in full many times on the field of battle. Like their commander, the Battle-Brothers of the 5th Company were known to bear Bolters and flaying knives in battle. During the Second Founding when the Blood Angels Legion was dissolved into a number of Successor Chapters, Amit was chosen to become the first Chapter Master of the newly formed Flesh Tearers Chapter.Captain Furio - Furio was the Captain of the Blood Angels Legion's 9th Company shield-bearers during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. Furio was an impressive physical specimen, even for an Astartes, standing taller and wider than most of the captains within the IXth Legion. Some of the Battle-Brothers joked that he would have been better suited to wear the Cataphractii armour of the Legion's Terminator Squads instead of the standard pattern power armour that seemed hard-pressed to encompass his stature. Furio's hairless head was pale, showing his origins as an iceborn from Baal's northern polar zone.Captain Galan - Galan was the captain of the Blood Angels Legion's 16th Company during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. The Battle-Brothers of the 16th Company were known to favour carrying blade-staves in battle.Captain Dar Nakir - Dar Nakir was the captain of the Blood Angels Legion's 24th Company during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. Nakir was of Baalite technomad stock, his shoulder-length hair black and plaited, his swarthy face forever caught between a killer's smile and a zealot's grimace.Captain Tagas - Tagas was the captain of the Blood Angels Legion's 111th Company during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.Captain Thoros - Thoros was one of the most vaunted captains of battle that served in the Blood Angels Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. He was present amongst the Blood Angels contingent that attended the Council of Nikaea and was introduced to Magnus the Red, the Primarch of the Thousand Sons Legion by Sanguinius. He later met his end at the hands of the vile xenos known as the Megarachnids during the campaign on the world called Murder.Lieutenant Commander Reznor - Reznor was the Lieutenant Commander of the Blood Angels Legion's 164th Company during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras.Dominion Zephon - Noble, though bleak in character, Zephon suffered from an extreme blood thirst that he desperately held in check. Zephon was a former Exarch of the High Host and warrior of the Blood Angels Legion. He served as a Dominion, an officer who commanded a company of the Blood Angels, during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. As a Destroyer Marine during the IX Legion's Compliance actions during the Great Crusade, Zephon earned the moniker "The Bringer of Sorrow" for his ruthless methods of war. Like his fellow Blood Angels, Zephon was both a warrior and an artist, as he was an accomplished musician with skill playing both the harp and the piano. During a battle against an unknown xenos assailant, Zephon was grievously injured, losing both his arms, his left thigh, knee, and right foot to its blade. Surviving the battle, Zephon's limbs were replaced with augmetic appendages, though he often suffered the symptoms of rejection of the bionics which dramatically worsened his health. No longer able to fight as well as his kin and lacking the finesse to play the instruments he had once mastered, Zephon would fall into a deep depression. With his martial prowess significantly diminished, Zephon was despatched to Holy Terra to become a member of the Crusader Host comprised of one Legionary from every Space Marine Legion. Yet with the betrayal of Horus Lupercal and the eruption of the Horus Heresy, the Crusader Host was disbanded and its members imprisoned for interrogation to ensure no Traitors lurked in Terra's midst. Freed to aid the Imperium's war effort, Zephon tallied the dead of the war, yet grew restless while separated from his far-flung Legion. Denied sanction to venture into the galaxy to locate his Legion, Zephon was recruited by the Custodian Diocletian Coros to aid in the secret War Within the Webway being fought beneath the Imperial Palace. Spending many of his days off-duty within the Imperial Palace, Zephon formed an unlikely friendship with the genius Mechanicum Techno-Archaeologist Arkhan Land. Re-fitting Zephon's cybernetic limbs with improved augmetics, Land enabled the crestfallen Blood Angel to fight with renewed vigour. However, Zephon's body still rejected the bionic implants after a period of time, much to the frustration of both the Blood Angel and Land. The Blood Angels finally made their triumphant return to the Throneworld in the days before the start of the Siege of Terra. With the arrival of his Legion, Zephon openly wept at the sight of his Primarch Sanguinius and his fellow Blood Angels. Following Zephon's reunion with his Legion, Land agreed to help Zephon overcome his immune rejection of his augmetic limbs. Land chose to integrate ancient artificial intelligence technology dating back to the Age of Technology into Zephon's body to trick his physiology into accepting the new implants. In return, Zephon agreed to take Land before Sanguinius. During the Siege of Terra, Zephon returned to the side of his kin at the forefront of battle. Zephon fought in defence of the Gorgon Bar and was wounded defending the Imperial historitor Ceris Gonn. Placed within a stasis pod and delivered to Arkhan Land, Zephon's body was swiftly healed through the ministrations of Land and his three Bloodthralls Shafia, Shenkai and Eristes. Following his recovery, Zephon aided in Land's escape from his now-besieged underground laboratory. Returning to the front line in defence of the Eternity Gate, Zephon and Arkhan Land faced the hordes of Traitors. Zephon briefly reverted to his more menacing persona by ordering Land to protect his thralls in the coming battle or be beaten to death should he retreat. Though stern in this assertion, Zephon defended Land from the assaults of the Traitors while the two fought side-by-side. Escorting his ally back to the Sanctum Imperialis as the Traitors pushed their advance forward and took the Bhab Bastion, Zephon rallied several remaining Loyalist Astartes officers such as Fafnir Rann, Maximus Thane, Azkaellon, Satel Aimery and the White Scars' Keshig commander Namahi to serve under the command of Terra's most senior Astartes, Archemus, who was charged with defending the Inner Palace. During the subsequent battle, Zephon succumbed to his incandescent rage during the Traitors' assault, tearing apart the oncoming Heretic Astartes in a hail of gore. Despite this state, Zephon ultimately survived the Siege of Terra. Following the end of the Horus Heresy and the subsequent campaigns of the Great Scouring, the Space Marine Legions were reorganised and broken down into separate, smaller Chapters during the Second Founding initiated by Lord Commander of the Imperium Roboute Guilliman. One of these newly created Chapters was the Charnel Guard, raised from the ranks of the surviving Blood Angels. Zephon was installed as the first Chapter Master of this Blood Angels successor. As the memories of the Heresy transitioned from fact to myth, Zephon rarely told his battle-brothers of his gene-father's glorious deeds, though he would interject if other tellers of the tale claimed that Sanguinius waited during the Battle for the Sanctum Imperialis. He would correct them by saying that Sanguinius did not stand with his back to the Eternity Gate and watch as the "Bane of the Ninth Bloodline" -- the Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha -- attacked the Royal Ascension. Though his listeners were always interested in hearing this first-hand account, Zephon often deferred to others to set the historical record straight as legend replaced history. Zephon continued to fight for the Imperium as a dour yet respected legend of the Siege of Terra. The remainder of his deeds after becoming master of the Charnel Guard are lost to history.Anzarael - Known as "The Bringer of Wrath," Anzarael assumed the role of Exach of the High Host following the grievous wounding of his predecessor Zephon during the Siege of Terra, the final epic confrontation of the Horus Heresy. His ultimate fate is unknown.Warden Dahka Berus - Served as the High Warden (High Chaplain) of the Blood Angels Legion and its senior spiritual advisor during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. One of Berus' primary duties was to ensure that the Emperor's Edicts of Nikaea were strictly enforced. He monitored those Battle-Brothers that were former members of the IXth Legion's Librarium and had been reintegrated back into the Legion's line companies.Warden Yason Annellus - Annellus served as one of the Blood Angels Legion's Wardens (Chaplains) during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy. He was assigned as one of the spiritual caretakers of the IXth Legion. One of Annelus' primary duties was to ensure that the Emperor's Decree Absolute that had been issued during the Council of Nikaea forbidding the use of psychic powers was strictly enforced within the Legion. Annellus valiantly gave his life during the final assault on the Cathedral of the Mark on Signus Prime during the Signus Campaign.Warden Arkad - Arkad served as one of the Blood Angels Legion's Wardens (Chaplain) during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy. He also served as the acting Regent of Baal during Primarch Sanguinius' absence when the Blood Angels Legion was deployed nearly in full to the Signus Cluster during the opening days of the Horus Heresy.Apothecary Meros - Meros was an Apothecary Minorius, a junior medicae, who served in the Blood Angels Legion's 9th Company under Captain Furioso during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras. Initially, Meros was a simple line-Astartes of solid, if unremarkable service. But later on, during the opening days of the Horus Heresy, his fate would become inextricably intertwined with that of his Legion and his Primarch during the Signus Campaign.Brother Ecanus - Ecanus had formally served the Blood Angels as a battle-psyker in the 202nd Company during the Great Crusade and the opening days of the Horus Heresy. Like Mkani Kano, he had accepted the orders that made the use of his skills taboo following the Council of Nikaea and the Emperor's Decree Absolute. Kano fought in many wars with Ecanus who had a particular affinity for a power they knew as "the Lance", the conjuring of a great spear of telekinetic force with which to strike down the Legion's foes. Ecanus valiantly gave his life on Signus Prime to resurrect his Primarch from a dark, unnatural torpor after Sanguinius had been struck down by malefic powers of the vile Bloodthirster of Khorne known as Ka'bandha.Ancient Cloten - Cloten was a Dreadnought who served in the Blood Angels Legion's 88th Company during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras.Venerable Leonatus - Leonatus was a Venerable Dreadnought who served in the Blood Angels Legion's Veteran 1st Company during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras.Venerable-Exemplar Jophial, Keruvim Convocation of Ancients - Jophial was a Leviathan Dreadnought of the Legion. Venerable Jophial was aboard the Legion flagship Red Tear, still engaged with enemy forces in the outer compartments, when that venerable warship smashed itself into the surface of Signus Prime at the start of the Signus Campaign. It is a testament to the formidable armour of his Dreadnought chassis that he survived the impact of the crash-landing, and a tribute to his valour that he was among the first of the survivors to dig himself free and secure the area around the wreck. After serving a vital role in recovery operations, the indomitable Ancient would go on to serve as a linchpin in the defence of the wreck from the Chaos forces.Veteran Sergeant Leonis Harum - One of the few to live through the wrecking of the Legion starship Ifrit Nine, Sergeant Harum, the leader of the Harum Veteran Tactical Squad of the 202nd Company, the so-called "Crimson Aegis," fell upon the battlefield of Signus Prime following the heavy cruiser's survivors' valiant defence of Legion armoured assets on the far flank of the field of battle. For this act, he and his Battle-Brothers were all posthumously recognised as heroes and martyrs of the IX Legion. It is said that the 202nd were one of the few units to resist the worst excesses of the rage that took hold of the Legion, steeling their spirits against the flaw in their gene-seed with the Liturgy of the Blood and holding fast to their duty till death took them.Legionary Arven Scurn - Arven Scurn was a Veteran Astartes of the IX Legion of Space Marines who served with the Legion from its earliest days when it was known as the Revenant Legion before it was reunited with its Primarch and renamed the Blood Angels. He was still serving with the Legion during the Horus Heresy. Scurn fought and died with the Blood Angels on Signus Prime during the Signus Campaign.