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This article, Angels of Rebirth, was written by Archangeloffrost. Please do not edit or 'acquire' this fiction without the writer's permission. |
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- "Did the Emperor conquer the galaxy in a day? No, it took centuries. Does the Cult Mechanicus build Titans in a year? No, it takes many life times of a man. Such is the nature of the inevitable. It may take millennia, but we will triumph. When the Angel is reborn and the Emperor descends His throne at the End of Times, we will be there and we will show them our work. Let us therefore embark on a great work. We will rebuild the empire, uplift the fallen and we will utterly destroy the legacy of the Great Traitor."
- — First Lord Harbinger Jophiel Sadron
The Angels of Rebirth are a Loyalist Successor Chapter born of the bloodline of Sanguinius during the 7th Founding, yet they walk a path seldom tread by other scions of the Great Angel. Where others among the Blood Angels' progeny are gilded in ritual and bound in blood-fevered glory, the Angels of Rebirth bear a solemn, quiet nobility - a brotherhood risen from flame and shadow. They are a Chapter marked by duality: radiant faith in the angelic legacy of their gene-father, and a cold, silent practicality shaped by hard-won lessons in the void and on ash-stained battlefields. The echoes of Sanguinius course through their veins, yet their actions are tempered by a philosophy shaped as much by pain as by reverence.
What sets the Angels of Rebirth apart is their deep and deliberate adoption of Raven Guard methodologies - not simply in battlefield doctrine, but in belief and bearing. From the sons of Corvus Corax they have learned the value of precision strikes, whispered death, and cold vengeance. They make war with ghostly patience and surgical wrath, preferring the unseen blade to the thunderous charge. This divergence has made them a Chapter of introspection and restraint, rarely given to the overt displays of passion that typify many of their Blood Angel kin. Their rituals, while still rich in symbolic blood imagery, carry a somber gravity - reminders of sacrifice, rebirth, and the weight of inheritance rather than pageantry.
Though their origins lie in the same sacred bloodline, the Angels of Rebirth remain distant from the greater communion of Blood Angels Successor Chapters. They are known to withhold their presence from the rituals of unity that bind the broader Blood lineage, save for the Lamenters - the only brethren they regard with open kinship. In the Lamenters, they see a mirror of their own exile: warriors burdened by deviation from the archetype of their Primarch, haunted by the same curse of blood and memory, yet unbowed in their loyalty. This bond, forged in mutual understanding and quiet defiance, stands as one of the few enduring fraternal ties the Angels of Rebirth maintain beyond their own Chapter halls - a flickering ember of fellowship in the ever-darkening void.
Chapter History
War for Herleven
- "We are the heralds of Sanguinius. We will bring his visions to life and save the Imperium from succumbing to the injuries of Horus's betrayal."
- — Lord Harbinger Alma Dawn-Son, Third Chapter Master of the Angels of Rebirth
The genesis of the Angels of Rebirth lies not in the vaults of Mars nor in the gene-forges of Terra, but in flame, isolation, and desperate survival. In early M33, a joint-Chapter crusading force composed of several companies from both the Blood Angels and the Raven Guard, alongside an Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator fleet and regiments of the Astra Militarum, was dispatched to the Herleven System following troubling reports of Iron Warriors activity. Soon after entering orbit around the resource-rich planet of Herleven, the system was swallowed by a titanic warp storm that severed all communication with the Imperium. For over two centuries, silence reigned. With increasing xenos aggression from a growing Ork WAAAGH! in the surrounding sub-sector, the Imperium declared the task force and all assets lost - martyrs to the long war.
Yet what the Imperium believed destroyed, endured. Amid the seething madness of the warp storm, the Loyalist forces engaged in a brutal campaign to wrest control of Herleven from the Iron Warriors and their warp-tainted auxiliaries. The pivotal moment came during the Battle of Broken Skies, where Captain Galatus Elias of the Blood Angels and Shadow Captain Kaar Severae of the Raven Guard enacted a sacrificial gambit to cripple the Iron Warriors' flagship, Crusher of Hope. While the Bloodmoon and a battered Imperial Navy escort group challenged the enemy directly, the Raven Guard’s contingent, hidden in the void-shrouded orbit of the moon Patmos, struck from the shadows. Though the gambit was victorious, the cost was harrowing - the Bloodmoon was annihilated, and a catastrophic failure aboard the Raven Guard's flagship obliterated two more strike cruisers. With their commanders dead, reinforcements lost to the storm, and the system irrevocably sealed off by the empyrean, the surviving Imperial forces had no choice but to adapt. The forge-moons were gifted to the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the Astartes established Heaven's Rest, a nascent fortress-monastery upon Herleven's highest peak. It was there, in the ashes of ruin and sacrifice, that the seeds of a new Chapter took root.
The Old Guard
Following the death of both senior commander, Lieutenants Seraphiel Bael of the Blood Angels and Khrysel Arthas of the Raven Guard were elevated to command of what remained of their respective forces. Cut off from the wider Imperium due to the upsurge of strong warp storm activity, the Astartes Crusade fleet anchored in orbit above Herleven. Taking stock of their situation, an ad hoc council of senior officers and specialists formed the core of what would eventually become the "First Circle of Rebirth," or simply the "First Circle." This council consisted of six legendary warriors - each selected for their battlefield acumen, leadership, and deep understanding of the spiritual burdens carried by the Astartes of their respective lineages. While not all survived the earliest decades, their names are still spoken with reverence in Chapter rites. Members of the "First Circle" include:
- Captain Seraphiel Bael (Blood Angels), "The First Blade of Herleven" - Warlord and visionary, Seraphiel led the first great cleansing of Herleven’s corrupted cities and wastelands. His doctrine of trial through suffering shaped the Trial of the Body, and he was instrumental in the establishment of early recruitment protocols.
- Shadow-Captain Khrysel Arthas (Raven Guard), "The Black Lantern" - Master of reconnaissance and psychological warfare, Khrysel designed the doctrine of covert insertion and sabotage that remains core to the Chapter’s infiltration tactics. He shaped the earliest Scout formations and cloister codes.
- Chaplain Elion Vast (Blood Angels), "The Flame of Sorrow" - Spiritual architect of the Chapter. Elion penned the Canticles of Rebirth and fused the doctrines of Sanguinius with the whispered rites of the Raven Guard into a unique liturgical path. He also created the Death Company’s mourning rites.
- Sanguinary Priest Nareus Tahl (Blood Angels), "The White Phoenix" - Senior Sanguinary Priest and genetic custodian, Nareus created the hybridized ceremonies that would allow safe induction of gene-seed into Herleven's brutal aspirants. His work ensured the survival of the Chapter's genetic purity.
- Forge-Brother Mirdan Vael (Raven Guard), "The Hammer of Silence" - Architect of Heaven's Rest and designer of the Chapter's sacred vaults and reliquaries. Mirdan's works combined Raven Guard stealth-tech with Blood Angels reverence, creating weapons, tombs, and relics of silent power.
- Captain Jophiel Sadron (Blood Angels), "The First Lord Harbinger" - A strategic mind and natural unifier, Jophiel was the last of the First Circle to be elevated - but ultimately became its greatest voice. Chosen by consensus from among the captains, he assumed command of the newly named Angels of Rebirth and led them into the light of the Imperium.
Rediscovery
When the warp storm finally broke in mid-M34, a Rogue Trader fleet discovered not ruin, but a thriving Imperial colony held together by the iron resolve of the Adeptus Astartes and the disciplined heirs of the Astra Militarum. The surviving Blood Angels and Raven Guard had long since trained a new generation of warriors from amongst the finest sons of Herleven, guided by the genetic teachings of both lineages. The Imperium met this rediscovery with uncertainty. With nearly 350 fully equipped Astartes now operating autonomously, many within the Administratum pushed for their reintegration into their parent Chapters.
However, fate soon intervened. A massive Ork WAAAGH!!! swept into the region, threatening to engulf the subsector. It was the Herleven-born Astartes who broke the green tide, spearheading the defense with unrelenting fury and precision. So profound was their victory that the High Lords of Terra sanctioned the formation of a new Chapter under the 7th Founding - the Angels of Rebirth. From amongst the ranks of the First Circle, the young Captain Jophiel Sadron was chosen to lead the newly incepted Chapter as its first Chapter Master. Though the remaining veterans were recalled to the Blood Angels and Raven Guard, their deeds are immortalised in the hallowed reliquaries of Heaven's Rest. In their name, the Angels of Rebirth now guard the stars, a flame reborn from blood and silence, bearing the visage of Sanguinius into the darkest reaches of the void.
The Rise of The First Lord Harbinger
Jophiel Sadron was a captain of the Blood Angels during the Ashen Martyrs Campaign, where his brilliance in logistics and coordination under extreme duress drew attention from the Chapter’s higher echelons. Selected to join the founding cadre, Jophiel was neither the strongest nor the most zealous, but he was patient, deeply compassionate, and possessed a scholar’s mind for building legacies rather than just claiming victories.
Though initially a peer among the First Circle, it was during the Burning of the Nine Shrines - a war to cleanse Herleven of its last daemon-haunted strongholds - that Jophiel demonstrated his worth. He coordinated a tri-theater assault combining Raven Guard infiltration, Blood Angel shock assault, and native resistance cells, breaking the power of the warp-tainted Shrine Kings. When the final bastion fell, it was Jophiel who refused the title of Chapter Master until every member of the First Circle voted for him in full. Surprisingly, it was not Jophiel who first took the title 'Lord Harbinger', but his brother captains - who began to call him such in private after hearing his plan to turn Herleven from a ravaged frontier into a beacon world. "He does not merely lead us," Captain Bael once wrote, "He heralds the world we will shape."
Notable Campaigns
- War for Crosis (445.M34) - The first war the chapter fought in after it's founding. Following an Adeptus Mechanicus distress signal the 1st and 2nd companies along with other local Imperial forces arrived in the Crosis System to find a Mechanicus fleet doing battle with a minor Ork WAAAGH! for control of the planet Crosis-3. The Adeptus Mechanicus had found the remains of a lost Titan Legion on Crosis-3 and were in the process of salvaging/repairing the God-Machines when the Ork WAAAGH! had swept into the system. Utterly unwilling to let the Orks claim the ancient machines, the Adeptus Mechanicus instead engaged the Orks in a battle for the system. By the time the Angels of Rebirth arrived the Mechanicus fleet had been decimated by the Ork forces, with the remaining rapidly building whatever fortifications and desperately trying to revive the ancient God-Machines. with the 1st Company remaining with the fleet in order to engage the remaining Ork warships.
On the surface the situation was grim - the defense, while solid, were starting to give way before the endless hordes of Greenskins. The arrival of the Astartes was enough to drive the horde back for a time, but the 2nd Company Captain Nero knew that they had only bought a short reprieve. Sure enough, the following morning the Ork forces renewed their assault. Seeing no other way to victory the 2nd launched a counter-assault against the Orks in order to get a force of tech-priests to an ancient bunker, deep in the now Ork held territory. When they arrived they found that the bunker had remained, almost entirely intact. Deep within the bunker the tech-priests found that the bunker was actually a munitions depot for Deathstrike missiles dating back to the Great Crusade.
Deep in the Ork-held territory with nearly all of the 2nd Company dead, Captain Nero decided to sacrifice himself and his company in order to destroy the Orks. As the remainder of the company held back the Ork hordes for as long as they could, the tech-priests used what functional machinery they could find to move and fire the Deathstrike missiles, managing to fire nearly a dozen missiles at the Ork battleships before the line broke. Before the Orks could enter the depot to claim their prize Captain Nero, wounded and near death, revealed his final plan. Knowing there was no way they could hold out against the Orks long enough to fire all the missiles, and being unwilling to allow the Orks to claim them, he had instructed his remaining Techmarine to rewire as many missiles as he could to be set of simultaneously. As Nero's body hit the ground, a final prayer escaping his lips, the missiles exploded in a blast that not only vaporized the bunker but most of the remaining Orks. Nero's sacrifice made possible the recovery of the Titans, and as thanks for their aid, the Adeptus Mechanicus made for the young chapter numerous vehicles such as Thunderhawks and Land Raiders as the chapter had nearly none at the time of their founding.
- Antolies Wrath Space Hulk (102.M35) - After the Space Hulk Antolies Wrath crashed into the moon of Calvicle-5 the 1st Company was sent in to salvage what they could only to find a Chaos Warband also there. After 23 days of searching and battle, the 1st Company of managed to drive the Traitor marines from the Hulk and claim the prize, the remains of the Ark Mechanicus Soul of Steel and a STC for a modified Cataphractii pattern Terminator Armour dating back to the Horus Heresy. Upon returning to the Herleven System the Chapter Master of the Angels, Harbringer Irondale, gave the Ark Mechanicus and STC to the Master-Fabricator of Patmos in return for the promise of sets of this newly discovered Terminator Armour. The Patmosian Mechanicus did not disappoint. Using the STC, the forge world would regularly manufacture sets of this modified Terminator Armour, dubbed Zephyr-pattern Terminator Armour, for the Angels of Rebirth leading to them having more sets of Terminator Armour than most other chapters.
- Mallorn Crusade (245.M36) - Within the Segmentum Obscurus in 242.M36, a large Ork WAAAGH! had sprung from seemingly nowhere and swallowed nearly 100 Imperial systems before running down. Infuriated by the loss of the Imperial worlds, and worried about the defense of Cadia, the High Lords of Terra ordered a crusade to be organized to retake the worlds and ensure Cadia remained secure. For this crusade the forces of the Raven Guard, Iron Sights, and Angels of Rebirth Chapters agreed to aid in the campaign. This was the first time the three chapters would fight together. Many an Ork horde fell to the lighting strikes from the Raven Guard while trying to contend with the fury of the Angels of Rebirth, all while the largest Orks were whittled down by precise fire from the Iron Sights. During the crusade all three chapters gained a mutual respect for each other and the Iron Sights even overcame the distrust of the Iron Hands towards the Raven Guard.
Eventually the campaign would separate the Chapters. The Raven Guard would leave the crusade, called away to another battlefield, while the Iron Sights would remain with the main force and continue to devestate Ork-held worlds. The Angels of Rebirth were sent with a force to Cadia to find it under attack by Chaos forces led by the Black Legion. With the hatred the sons of Sanguinius held for the get of Horus, the Angels of Rebirth would scour the planet with such fury, the Chapter still speaks of it with pride.
The Iron Sights during the campaign saved the 1st Company of the Angels of Rebirth from a force of Ork Gargants. To show their gratitude after the crusade the Lord Harbinger (Chapter Master) of the Angels of Rebirth gifted the Iron Sights with a set of Zephyr-Pattern Terminator Armour.
- Alliance War (987.M41)
- Defense of Ania-Anga (032.M42) - After the destruction of Cadia, Abaddon felt confident enough to try striking at Ania-Anga, a vitally important forge world. He arrived in system with a massive force, only to find the defenders up to the challenge. Every planet in the system had been equipped with orbital defenses, so even if the Despoiler tried to establish a base in the system, it would be hard fought for. In addition to the Adeptus Mechanicus' own defenses there was also the majority of the local battlefleet, as well as both the Chapter fleets of the Angels of Rebirth and the Exalted Paladins chapters. While they managed to stop the Warmaster of Chaos from ever setting foot upon the forge world it was a hard fought victory, with the defenders taking heavy losses despite their superior numbers. Eventually the war culminated in the Despoiler trying to take the Angels of Rebirth out of the fight by boarding their Battle-Barge Fist of Herleven, where he was confronted by the Angels of Rebirth's Chapter Master, Lord Harbinger Koios Vivifica, in a battle that greatly resembled the battle aboard the Vengeful Spirit. While Abaddon may have been mightier than the Lord Harbinger he was weary from earlier fighting, and could scarcely react in his heavy Terminator Armour, to the lightning attacks of his lighter armoured foe, both physical and psychic. Before he could strike a lethal blow however, more of the Black Legion intervened, giving the Despoiler time to withdraw. While they failed to kill Abaddon, they achieved a great victory in forcing the Despoiler to withdraw from combat. Since then, the battle between them has begun to spread through the Imperium as a new legend, already spiraling out of all reality of the battle.
Chapter Homeworld
- "Only in death does the desert offer rest. Only in blood do the mountains shine."
- — Inscription carved at the Gates of Heaven's Rest
Departmento Cartographicae official pict-file of the arid death world of Herleven, Chapter homeworld of the Angels of Rebirth.
Herleven is a paradox incarnate - a death world of sublime majesty and unforgiving violence. To the untrained eye, it is a world of wonder: vast deserts glitter with crystalline sand that shimmers like powdered starlight beneath a pale sun; arctic forests stretch across the polar reaches, their silver-grey canopy howling with ghostly winds. But to live upon Herleven is to endure a crucible without end. Its beautiful sands conceal storms that can strip flesh to bone in seconds, while its forests are home to predatory beasts of terrible cunning and unnatural resilience. Only seven bastions of civilization - the Seven Cities of Endurance - have managed to survive across this planet’s hostile surface. Between them lies a trackless wilderness stalked by nomads, monsters, and the cursed - those exiled from the safety of stone and steel.
The Seven Cities
Forged during the long centuries of isolation following the Herleven Warp Storm, the Seven Cities were each constructed to fulfill a singular civic purpose, ensuring the survival of the Imperium's stranded children. Each is named after a cardinal virtue, and each guards its walls with the vigilance of a fortress. Diligence, ringed by molten rivers from a still-active volcano, serves as the forge-heart of the world, feeding the manufactorums of the Chapter and the Planetary Defence Forces. Intelligence, a bastion of learning and calculation, is where the most promising youths of the other cities are sent - not merely to be educated, but to be tested. Those who survive its trials may earn the right to be inducted into the Mechanicus or serve as officers in Herleven's armored legions.
Wisdom, the smallest of the cities, lies within a glacier-choked valley and houses the central archives, astropathic sanctums, and the Council of Custodians who govern the system's data-vaults. Hope, by contrast, is vast and warm - nestled between twin oasis basins in the crystalline desert. It feeds the planet with its agri-domes and is seen as a beacon for pilgrims and the faithful. Preparation teems with life and steel; it raises soldiers for the PDF and supplies arms and armor for war. Penance, the most brutal of the cities, is carved into the base of Herleven's scarred mountains, housing prisoners and penitent laborers who mine the volcanic crust under relentless conditions.
Last of the seven is Valour, the hidden jewel of Herleven. Built deep beneath the Invisible Mountains - a range of nearly transparent quartz so pure it is seen only when the sun strikes it at dawn - Valour is both sanctuary and crucible. Protected from the deadly storms and suffused with radiant light filtered through crystal peaks, it is a place of haunting beauty and unyielding discipline. Every citizen of Valour is born into service, bred to become serfs of the Chapter, artisans of sacred wargear, or aspirants who dream of the Trial of Blood and Flame - the harrowing test to earn a place among the Angels of Rebirth. It is here, cradled within these shining mountains, that the fortress-monastery of Heaven's Rest rises.
Fortress-Monastery
A monument to martyrdom and hope reborn, Heaven's Rest is a vast cathedral-fortress carved into the heart of Valor’s highest peak. From afar, its spires glimmer blood-red in the sunlight, shaped from native quartz stained with sacred iron. Within, the tone shifts from awe to solemnity. The Hall of Reverent Purpose, a great scarlet nave over half a kilometer in length, is paved with slabs of dark red marble veined in gold. Along the right wall are inscribed the names and epithets of every honored hero of the Chapter, from the first martyr of the Founding to the most recent fallen Captain. Opposite them, etched into black basalt, are the names of those lost to the Black Rage - warriors now housed within the Tower of the Reborn. These two walls symbolize the dual fates of the Chapter's sons: to die with honour or to die in holy madness, both seen as paths of sanctity. Heaven's Rest is more than a fortress. It is a living shrine, a fortress of renewal built on the bones of the dead, where every stone whispers of sacrifice, and every angel waits to rise again in fire.
At the end of the hall rise twin thrones atop a dais of obsidian and bone-ash. The lower, modest in design yet stern in presence, belongs to the Lord Harbinger - the Chapter Master of the Angels of Rebirth. Above it looms a second throne, grand and empty, wreathed in votive candles and bound in purity seals. This is the Throne of Sanguinius, left vacant in the hope - or prophecy - of the Primarch's return. To even touch this throne is seen as sacrilege. In one infamous case, an arrogant Inquisitor dared to seat himself upon it during a diplomatic visit; he was struck down without ceremony by the First Harbinger, his body never returned to the Inquisition. Even now, the Chapter makes no apology.
Notable Locations
- Sanctum of Blinding Flame - Above the Hall of Reverent Purpose soars the Sanctum of the Blinding Flame, a chapel dedicated to the memory of the Chapter’s progenitor angels — the lost heroes of the Blood Angels and Raven Guard who fell during the War for Herleven. Their relics are enshrined in crystal vaults watched over by silent serfs clad in white ash.
- Tower of the Reborn - The Tower of the Reborn, a towering spire at the monastery's northern edge, houses the Death Company. Those consumed by the Black Rage are not caged or drugged but revered - seen as vessels carrying the fractured essence of Sanguinius himself. Pilgrims of Herleven climb the outer stairs of the tower in pilgrimage, hoping to glimpse the black-armored angels through the stained-glass slits. Few leave unchanged.
- Crucible of Atonement - Deep beneath the monastery lies the Crucible of Atonement, where aspirants undergo their final trial - a descent into darkness, hunger, and battle. Only those who rise again from the flame-slick tunnels below are deemed worthy of rebirth in crimson.
Chapter Organisation
Unlike many other Blood Angel chapters the Angels of Rebirth are notably non-Codex compliant, deviating from it on many points. Most obvious is that they don't consider their Death Company to count towards the number of Battle-Brothers in their chapter claiming that they "have a higher purpose than serving as a simple soldier". The Chapter maintains anywhere from 10-20 Death Company marines per company, to be used as need requires, meaning that in theory the number of Astartes could potentially rise to over the normal 1,000 normally allowed. However, given the low survival rate of neophytes and the Chapter's regular missions and crusades, this is a rare occurrence.
Another deviation from the Codex Astartes is that, instead of having initiates serve as Scout Marines, they are instead inducted into either a Battleline Squad or Close Support Squad depending on his talents, while their scouts, given their importance for their infiltration skills, are generally comprised of more experienced Battle-Brothers. Over half of the companies therefore has at least 1 squad of Scout Marines or Vanguard Marines (except the 1st, 2nd,3rd, and 4th) as well as at least 1 Battleline, Fire Support, and Close Support Squad. This enables the companies to function relativity autonomously. Usually the chapter uses this to it's advantage in order to pursue multiple goals at a time, but this is sometimes a problem as a single company sometimes is not enough to achieve victory, therefore the companies act in pairs most of the time.
The final major deviance from the Codex Astartes is the number of Terminators in their squads. Due to their larger-than-standard amount of terminators the 2nd through 4th companies are all able to field Terminators if need be, though many captains are reluctant to risk such valuable assets.
Officer Ranks
- Lord Harbinger - Chapter Master equivalent.
- Captain
- Lieutenant
Specialist Ranks
- Master Herald - Reclusiarch equivalent.
- Herald - Chaplain equivalent.
- High Sanguinary Priest - Chief Apothecary equivalent.
- Sanguinary Priest - Apothecary equivalent.
- Chief Librarian
- Librarian
- Master of the Forge
- Techmarine
- Ancient - Chapter/Company Standard Bearer equivalent.
- Chapter/Company Champion
Line Ranks
- Veteran Sergeant
- Sergeant
- Battle-Brother
- Scout Marine
- Neophyte
- Aspirant
Specialist Units & Formations
The Angels of Rebirth, inheritors of both the legacy and the tragedy of Sanguinius, maintain a number of specialized formations within their Chapter, drawn from ancient tradition, martial necessity, and spiritual reverence. These elite warriors are the burning core of the Chapter's might, exemplars of their philosophies of sacrifice, atonement, and spiritual rebirth through warfare. From the golden-winged demigods of the Sanguinary Guard to the grim Erelim of the Reclusiarch, each formation represents a facet of the Chapter's identity - martial, mystical, and martyred.
Together, these formations define the soul of the Angels of Rebirth. They are not simply warriors - they are symbols, rituals made flesh, emblems of a Chapter that believes in rebirth through sacrifice, and in martyrdom as a sacred destiny. To serve within their ranks is to surrender one's self - not just to war, but to meaning.
- "They are not warriors, they are signs. They descend from the sky like vengeance, and when they strike, the enemy sees only angels aflame."
- — Herald Thamos, Keeper of the Flame
- Ashborne Host (Sanguinary Guard) - The Ashborne Host is the name given to the Angels of Rebirth’s Sanguinary Guard, an elite cadre of warriors who serve as both sacred relics and battlefield demigods. Clad in ornamented golden armor laced with crimson and black filigree, they evoke the celestial image of Herleven's ancient martyr-angels, and more importantly, the memory of Sanguinius himself. Their wings - jet-powered and shaped like gilded pinions - allow them to strike from the sky in blazing fury, embodying the moment of divine sacrifice when the Angel met his end at Horus' hand.
Only those who have proven themselves through decades of combat and endured the Trial of the Cruciform Flame - a psychic ordeal meant to test their spiritual harmony with the Primarch’s soul — may be inducted. Each bears a Gilded Death Mask, individually crafted to reflect a vision of Sanguinius as seen in a dream or battle-trance. Some weep blood, others smile in sorrow, and all are etched with scripture from the Codex of the Fallen Light.
In battle, the Ashborne Host descend upon the most heretical or profane enemy formations, targeting enemy commanders, daemonic champions, or corrupted war engines. Their arrival is always accompanied by a solemn chant broadcast on open vox: "From fire, wings. From blood, light."
- "We guard not merely the body of the Lord Harbinger, but the memory of what he must become - not a warlord, but a living promise."
- — Veteran Sergeant Atarian Lio, First Watcher
- The Watchers of the Flame (Honour Guard) - The Watchers of the Flame form the Chapter's formal Honour Guard, sworn protectors of the Lord Harbinger and custodians of the sacred relics of the Chapter. Numbering no more than two dozen at any time, these warriors are chosen from the First Company and are required to take a vow of living martyrdom - surrendering all claims to individual glory or advancement in exchange for a lifetime of unwavering service to the Chapter Master.
Clad in master-crafted artificer Terminator Armour engraved with the phoenix and the broken halo of Sanguinius, they wield power glaives or relic swords and carry storm shields shaped like the wings of a fallen angel. Each bears a ceremonial Cerement Tabard, a funerary shroud marked with the names of every Lord Harbinger who has died in battle, worn over their armor to signify that they will die so that their master may live.
When the Lord Harbinger goes to war, the Watchers are always at his side, forming an unbreakable cordon of steel and faith. In peace, they maintain the Vigil of the Throne, silently guarding the twin seats in the Hall of Reverent Purpose - one for the Chapter Master, and one for the Great Angel himself.
- "They have already died once in fire. Now, they burn for us."
- — Master Herald Naberius Hamas, High Ash Prophet & Master of Sanctity
- The Ash-Winged Host (Erelim) - Unique among the Blood Angels' successors, the Angels of Rebirth maintain the Erelim, an austere and fearsome force of Chaplain-guardians who accompany the Reclusiarch - the spiritual heart of the Chapter. Unlike the golden Sanguinary Guard or noble Honour Guard, the Erelim are wreathed in black ash and bone-white paint, their armour scorched and scarred, unadorned save for purity seals and etched hexagrammatic wards.
Each Erelim has been touched by the Cinderlight Dream, a rare psycho-spiritual vision brought on by fasting, exposure to Herleven's volcanic ash plains, and prolonged meditation within the Crucible of Atonement. Those who survive are marked with the Ashen Halo, a scorched brand above the brow, said to protect against daemonic intrusion and psychic corruption. In truth, many Erelim are partially unstable - not due to the Black Rage, but from walking too closely with death.
They carry Censers of Final Breath, mace-like weapons that combine brutal close-combat capabilities with relic-incense burners containing ashes from the bones of Chapter martyrs. These ashes are believed to ward off the warp and inspire nearby brethren into holy fury. Their bolt pistols are often engraved with penitential psalms, and their armour bears the sigils of failed crusades and honored dead - not to boast of victory, but to remember sacrifice.
When the Master Herald marches, the Erelim walk with him as executioners, mourners, and warriors. They chant litanies in low tones, speaking in the Canticle of Ash, a tongue used only by the Chapter's dead and dying. In battle, they often form the vanguard, striking where heresy festers deepest, silencing witches, burning traitors, and executing those the Reclusiarch declares spiritually lost - sometimes even among their own allies.
- The Crimson Wings – The Chapter's Assault Vanguard, drawn from those who have shown extreme aggression and tactical precision. They are the first to deploy during orbital drops and are often the first to fall, revered as "first sacrifices" in a given battle.
- The Choir Penitent - A mysterious conclave of Apothecaries and Sanguinary Priests who tend not only the flesh, but the soul. They oversee the Blooding Rites, maintain the Chapter's gene-seed vaults, and watch vigilantly for signs of the Red Thirst. The Choir is whispered to possess forbidden knowledge regarding the flaw and the nature of the Phoenix Dream.
- The Shrouded Veil - A semi-clandestine unit of Scout Marines and reconnaissance specialists who train in the storm-blasted wilds of Herleven's deserts. Their role is intelligence gathering, assassinations, and the ritual "hunting of the cursed" - a tradition going back to the time when Herleven was infested by warp-spawn.
Order of Battle
Headquarters
Companies
| Veteran Companies | Battle Companies | |||
| 1st Company, |
2nd Company, |
3rd Company, |
4th Company, |
5th Company, |
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| Infiltrator Companies | Unblooded Company | |||
| 6th Company, |
7th Company, |
8th Company, |
9th Company, |
10th Company, |
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Chapter Recruitment
- "Only through fire is the phoenix reborn. Only through death does the Great Angel rise."
- — Codex Requiem Angelus, Verse IX
The recruitment process of the Angels of Rebirth is a sacred and harrowing ritual - not merely a test of physical prowess, but a crucible designed to scour the soul. To become one of the Chapter is not to rise above humanity, but to die to it - to sacrifice one’s mortal self and be reborn in the blood, ash, and fire of Herleven. Each trial reflects a core tenet of the Chapter's beliefs: suffering as purification, martyrdom as transformation, and spiritual agony as the path to rebirth.
The Chapter draws its aspirants exclusively from Herleven, their perilous death world whose beauty is matched only by its lethality. Though the planet boasts seven stable cities, the Angels of Rebirth almost exclusively recruit from the nomadic tribes that wander the wilds - peoples hardened by a life of survival amidst crystal deserts, silvery predatory forests, and storms that flay flesh from bone. These tribes see the Angels not merely as warriors, but as divine figures - burning-winged spirits descended from the Invisible Mountain, where Heaven’s Rest crowns the world.
To be chosen by the Chapter is a rare and holy fate, often prophesied through visions or blood rituals among the tribes. Chosen youths are offered up during the Calling of the Ember Veil, a triannual event when a delegation of Chaplains and Apothecaries descend upon the planet in burning drop-ships. Dozens may be taken from hundreds of tribes, but only a handful will ever reach the gates of the fortress-monastery. For most, the path ends in agony - but the journey itself is remembered in songs and sagas for generations.
Trial of the Body
The first trial is a test of pure physical endurance, known as the Trial of the Body, or by the tribes as the Path of Flame and Ice. Aspirants are brought, under heavy sedation, to the northern pole of Herleven - a realm of frigid arctic death. There, clad only in ceremonial wrappings and given nothing but a glass knife forged from the crystal sands of the southern deserts, they are commanded to reach the base of the Invisible Mountains - a jagged quartz range whose peaks shimmer like mirages in the sun.
The journey spans over 1,000 kilometers of punishing terrain. From frost-bound forests crawling with razor-beaked avian predators to the infamous Scouring Expanse - where sandstorms of electrostatic quartz grains can peel flesh from bone - the aspirants must survive alone. They must hunt, fight, and endure - many are maimed by predators, driven mad by thirst, or simply vanish in the shifting sands.
To reach the foot of the Fortress-Monastery is only part of the ordeal. Once there, the aspirants must begin the Climb of the Hollow Star - an ascent of over 10,000 meters to the highest peak above Heaven’s Rest. The trail is marked by memorial shrines - bones and broken weapons of those who failed, watched over by servo-skulls and bronze angelic statues with hollow eyes. The climb takes days. Winds howl with such violence they strip sound from the air. The only warmth comes from the blood-seared quartz, which glows faintly in starlight - a phenomenon still unexplained, and believed by the Chapter to be the breath of Sanguinius himself. Only a fraction survive. Fewer still climb all the way.
Trial of the Soul
Those who reach the summit of the mountain do not rest. Instead, they are ushered immediately into the Trial of the Soul, also called the Descent of Suffering. The aspirants are brought to the Tower of Reverent Flame, a vast, hollowed spire that plunges straight through the mountain into the hidden vaults of Heaven’s Rest. The descent is over ten kilometers deep, and the interior of the tower is a cathedral of grief and revelation.
This descent is both physical and spiritual - designed to strip the soul bare and expose it to the horrors an Astartes must endure. No food. No water. No rest. The only light is the eerie glow of soul-lanterns powered by the psychic essence of the fallen. The path winds through halls of relics, ossuaries filled with the armor of the Death Company, and murals depicting the Black Rage, the Great Betrayal, and the Fall of the Ninth Legion in horrifying detail.
As they descend, the aspirants are exposed to psychic projections from the Chapter's Librarians, showing them daemonic truths, the death screams of their Primarch, and visions of their own futures lost to the Red Thirst or Black Rage. Vox-transmitted temptations, spoken in the voices of dead loved ones, former tribe-mates, or soothing spirits, urging them to surrender, lie down, abandon the path. Scriptural trials, administered by Heralds who appear without warning in the dark, demanding prayers, recitations, or sacrifices. Those who fail are struck down or marked for later culling.
The tower tests every weakness. Guilt, pride, despair, rage - all are drawn out and exposed. Some scream. Some fall to their knees and never rise. Some claw at the walls until their fingers break. Only those who descend in silence, without giving in to temptation or madness, are deemed worthy. At the bottom of the tower, where the dim glow of the Fortress-Monastery's inner sanctum awaits - the survivors are met by the Erelim, the Master Herald's ash-winged honour guard. Each aspirant is anointed with sacred oils made from volcanic ash and blood. They are then taken to the Chamber of Second Birth, where they will be left to observe vigil, before drinking from the Crimson Chalice brought to them by the Sanguinary Priests which contains the mixed blood of the High Sanguinary Priest and his fellow Blood Priests - to act as a vital catalyst that will begin the inducted youths into transhuman Astartes. After imbibing the strange concoction, slumber will quickly overtake them and the aspirants will be borne by servitors to the Apothecarion where the gene-seed of Sanguinius is implanted in their recumbent bodies. From here, the aspirants are taken to the Cryptum Aeternum and each is placed within a mighty golden sarcophagus.
Transformation & Post-Induction
The Aspirants will slumber in stasis within the gold sarcophagi for an entire year, carefully monitored by the Chapter's Blood Priests as they are fed intravenously a mixture vital nutrients and blood containing a minute dose of the vitae of the Red Angel while the gene-seed does its work. This is a very dangerous stage during the aspirants transformation, as many die die - their bodies unable to cope with the massive metabolic strain of the physical changes that now overtakes their frail mortal forms. Those who survive grow swift and true, echoing the rapid growth of their primarch. Their once frail bodies put on an enormous amount of muscle mass and acquire the extra internal organs that mark a true Space Marine, overseen by the Choir Penitent of the Apothecarion, accompanied by liturgies of pain and cleansing chants.
When the aspirants awaked from their long gestation and finally emerge from the sarcophagi they are forever changed. Their restructured bodies are tall, strong and superhumanly powerful. Their physical features will have taken on a beauty that echoes that of their angelic forebear. Their senser are now keener, their muscles stronger than tempered steel. They are ready to begin their training as Space Marines.
Inducted as Neophytes, they undergo years of service in the Veiled Wings, the Scout Company, operating under the harshest conditions across Herleven and nearby systems. They receive spiritual training under the Chapter's Heralds, who teach the Lamentations of Fire, the Canticle of Crimson Tears, and the Scriptures of the Phoenix Dream. They also undergo combat indoctrination under Veteran Sergeants of the First Company, many of whom bear scars from centuries of war.
The final rite - The Oath of Ash and Blood - is spoken only once, deep within the Crucible of Atonement, the deepest sanctum of Heaven's Rest. There, the Neophyte bleeds into a brazier filled with the ashes of fallen Angels, and is welcomed as a full brother of the Chapter.
Chapter Culture & Beliefs
The Angels of Rebirth's culture is considered unique among the Blood Angels and their successors. Their chief devination is the belief that Sanguinius is not dead and will return when the Emperor decends from the Golden Throne. They believe that in His battle with the Warmaster, that Sanguinius's soul was shattered by Horus's betrayal and chaos magic; his nobility, wisdom, and valor coalesced into the mysterious entity known as the Sanguinor, while his wrath became the Black Rage. Thus they tend to venerate those afflicted with the Black Rage as being host to a fragment of their Primarch's soul. Because of this they have developed a mutual distrust and even hatred for chapters like the Flesh Tearers and Templars of Blood, who treat their Death Company with much greater disregard.
Also, unlike other successors of the Blood Angels the Battle-Brother rarely fall to the influence of the Red Thirst. While they might claim the cause to be greater faith than other chapters, however, the truth is far more sinister. Unknown outside of the chapter, the Angels of Rebirth long ago found a way to stave off the influence of the Red Thirst by use of a ritual that borders on heretical. They drink the blood of Astartes descended from other Primarchs in a secret ritual conducted by their Sanguinary Priests. Through these blood rites the Angels of Rebirth have found that they can temporarily silence the urge to drink the blood of others, for a time at least. They greatly fear this bloody ritual being discovered by those outside of the Chapter. When an Imperial Commissar accidentally witnessed one such ritual, where the blood of a slain Astartes of the Salamanders Chapter was used following a joint-battle to free a world from the Tau, an Angels of Rebirth captain had one of his scouts place a plasma bomb in the commissar's tent to prevent him from telling others, blaming the assassination on the Tau.
Above all, the Chapter prepares itself for the return of Sanguinius and the God-Emperor by hunting for as many relics of the Loyalist Legions as they can, typically returning it to the respective chapter, as well as hunting members of the Black Legion with a passion to match that of the Dark Angels' hunt for the Fallen. Whenever an opportunity for either arises, the Angels of Rebirth will give it priority over all other activities. This has led them to become experts on battling the Forces of Chaos, but they spend less time dealing with xenos threats leading to a rather small representation in the Deathwatch.
Similar to the Blood Angels, the chapter places great emphasis on personal craftsmanship following the example of Sanguinius and many use what time they are not in combat to improve their skills. Some are artists to match the greatest artificers. Many spend their time improving their wargear, believing focusing on these tasks will help reduce the cravings of the Red Thirst.
The Crimson Refusal
- "We are not broken. We do not require fixing."
- — Lord Harbinger Koios Vivifica, ca. 001.M42
One of the defining schisms between the Angels of Rebirth and the broader Imperium in the Era Indomitus lies in their steadfast refusal to integrate the Primaris Space Marines into their ranks. This defiance has become a cornerstone of their identity - a fiercely contested and complex stance that has placed the Chapter at odds with the will of the Lords of Terra and the technological ambitions of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Their opposition does not stem from mere pride, nor from any residual bitterness toward Roboute Guilliman, as might be expected from a Chapter of Sanguinius' bloodline. On the contrary, the Angels of Rebirth view the Primarch with a somber reverence as the Emperor's dutiful regent. But they see Guilliman as the steward of an empire, not of gene-mastery. Their suspicion lies with Archmagos Dominus Belisarius Cawl, whom they perceive as an overreaching heretek cloaked in sanctioned robes, daring to tamper with the divine blueprint of the Emperor Himself.
The Angels of Rebirth are acutely aware of the tragedies wrought by genetic hubris. Descendants in spirit—if not direct lineage - of the 21st "Cursed" Founding, they revere stability and tradition in gene-craft as sacred. Herleven's Libraria Sanctarum holds accounts of those failed Chapters: the unstable gene-seed mutations, psychic instability, and horrific transformations. To the Heralds and the Blood Priests, Cawl's "miracle" bore all the markings of a repeat folly, no matter the scale or supposed success. Their Blood Priests openly questioned the purity of the Primaris gene-forges, and whispered that the so-called "improvements" might only delay unseen ruination. Worse still was the arrogance of offering such "corrections" to the children of Sanguinius - whose blood-curse was a martyr's burden, not a fault to be "engineered away."
When the Torchbearer fleet assigned to Herleven arrived in late M41, bearing the technology and biological material necessary to transform the Chapter, they were met not with celebration but solemn rejection. The Lord Harbinger of the current age, Koios Vivifica, convened a grand conclave beneath the Crystalline Vault, attended by the senior Blood Priests, Heralds, and the Warden of the Tower of the Reborn. What followed was a full ceremonial repudiation of the gift. The Primaris organ-vats were sealed, the gene-seed stores returned, and the fleet sent away with honour but firm refusal. When the Custodes representative accompanying the Torchbearers issued veiled threats, Vivifica simply offered the Custodian a blade and asked if he intended to see Sanguinius' sons exterminated for obeying their own truth. The Custodian declined.
To this day, no Primaris Space Marine has been publicly initiated on Herleven. The fortress-monastery Heaven's Rest has not expanded its gene-vaults. The Heralds chant no rites over Rubicon surgery bays. The Angels of Rebirth stand by the ancient forms, trusting in blood, brotherhood, and the sorrowed fire of Firstborn gene-legacy.
Whispers in the Ashen Light
- "Whether Firstborn or reborn, all who wear our colours bleed for Sanguinius. Let that be enough."
- — Master Herald Naberius Hamas, Master of Sanctity
And yet... in the shadowed years following the middle phase of the Indomitus Crusade, rumours began to surface. There were battlefield reports from warzones such as the Xerxes Rift, the Stormvaults of Eidex, and even the Argento Spiral - of towering warriors bearing the crimson and stormcloud gray heraldry of the Angels of Rebirth, wielding bolt rifles of unfamiliar pattern and moving with the relentless grace of Primaris transhumanity. These reports are often contradictory.
Some name them as veterans who crossed the Rubicon Primaris in secret. Others claim they are gene-forged anew - initiated not on Herleven, but in exile, perhaps from hidden vaults seeded during the long silence of the warp-storm isolation centuries earlier. A few heretical whisperers even claim the Tower of the Reborn houses a subterranean vault - the Cradle of Reclamation - where the Chapter has secretly refined its own methods of creating Primaris without Adeptus Mechanicus oversight.
The Chapter itself offers no explanation. They neither confirm nor deny the existence of such warriors. The Lord Harbinger has not spoken publicly on the matter. The Chapter's Heralds remain silent. Torchbearers have not returned. Custodes envoys sent to inspect Herleven have not emerged again, nor are they mentioned in any later astropathic transmission.
What is known is this: the Angels of Rebirth still field ten Companies. They still bear the gene-flaws of the Red Thirst and Black Rage. And they still march into battle with ranks of warriors that appear more formidable than ever before. Whether these warriors are Firstborn ascended or a new breed altogether is a truth hidden beneath crystal mountains, golden vaults, and vows of silence. To the Imperium at large, it may not matter. For when the Angels of Rebirth descend upon the enemies of mankind, it is not their physiology that matters - but their unyielding wrath, the fire in their souls, and the echoing cry of a long-martyred angel.
Chapter Gene-Seed
Like all other descendant chapters of the Blood Angels they suffer from the genetic curses of the Red Thirst and Black Rage. Unlike some other chapters they retain almost identical gene-seed to their parent chapter, making them ideal doners of gene-seed after the 7th Black Crusade.
Primarch's Curse: Twin-Flaws
Red Thirst
Like their progenitors, the Angels of Rebirth also suffer from the 'twin-flaws' of their genetic lineage. The first, is known as the Red Thirst. Deep within the psyche of every Sons of Sanguinius is a destructive yearning, a battle fury and blood hunger that must be held in abeyance in ever waking moment. The Battle-Brothers often display a savage desire to engage their foes in the fury of close combat, their rage growing all the stronger the closer to succumbing to the Red Thirst the Angel of Rebirth steps. Most of the time, the Angels are able to hold their curse in check, but those they engage in assault soon discover the bloodthirsty savagery of the sons of Sanguinius.
Few Battle-Brothers can hold the Red Thirst in check unceasingly - it is far from unknown for an Angel of Rebirth to temporarily succumb to its lure at the height of battle. The Red Thirst is the darkest secret and greatest curse of the Chapters of the Blood, but it is also their greatest salvation - for it brings with it a humility and understanding of their own failings which make them truly the most noble of the Space Marines.
Black Rage
Another unique aspect amongst the Space Marines in that their gene-seed contains the encoded experience of their Primarch, and most deeply imprinted of all is the memory of Sanguinius' final battle with Horus. Sometimes, on the eve of battle, an event or circumstance will trigger this embedded memory and the Battle-Brother's mind is suddenly wrenched into the distant past. The Black Rage overcomes the Angel of Rebirth as the memories and consciousness of Sanguinius intrude upon his mind, and dire events ten thousand years old flood into the present.
A warrior overcome with the Black Rage appears half mad with fury; he is unable to distinguish past from present and does not recognise his comrades. He may believe he is Sanguinius upon the eve of his destruction, and the bloody battles of the Horus Heresy are raging all around him. Such a Battle-Brother stands at the end of his travails, for his path leads only to the Death Company, where he and the Chapter's other damned souls will fight one final battle in the Great Angel's name under the guidance of a Chaplain. These individuals each fight their own battle, perhaps believing themselves to be waging the wars of the Horus Heresy at the side of their beloved primarch. Death for the members of the Death Company is a blessed mercy, for those not consumed in the cleansing fires of battle must be restrained and imprisoned, for their safety and that of their brethren, until the next battle.
Combat Doctrine
- "With me, Brothers! Let us show them the wrath of the Sons of the Great Angel!"
- — Veteran Sergeant Donatos
An Angels of Rebirth Stormraven gunship executing an aerial assault.
The Angels of Rebirth, successors of the noble Blood Angels, have forged their own legacy of warfare over centuries of grueling campaigns, sacred rituals, and hard-won victories. Although they bear the blood of Sanguinius and suffer the torments of the Red Thirst, their doctrine shows a unique synthesis - a fusion of the Blood Angels' unrelenting fury with the stealth and surgical precision of the Raven Guard, whose tactics they have come to revere for both philosophical and practical reasons. This doctrinal duality has earned them the moniker across some circles of the Adeptus Administratum as "The Veiled Angels" - harbingers who move in shadow, only to erupt in light and blood at the moment of decision.
What separates the Angels of Rebirth from many other Chapters is how deeply ritualised and choreographed their battleplans are. Each assault formation is part of a greater pattern - The Cantata Bellum, a combat liturgy inscribed in the Codex Bellica Sancta, penned by Lord Harbinger Caeleon Veritas in M38. Every unit knows its role, its moment of fury or silence, descent or restraint. This complex structure allows their battlefield cohesion to approach that of the most ancient Chapters, despite their relatively young founding. To their allies, the Angels of Rebirth appear as poets of violence - composing death with rhythm and wrath. To their enemies, they are a living paradox: a ghost in the shadow, and then a crimson fury in the storm.
The Whispering Vigil
The Scout Phase, also called the Whispering Vigil, is treated as a holy act of humility and sacrifice. Neophytes often fast before missions and paint their armor in ash or shadowed crimson to reflect their solemn role as unseen guardians of the storm to come. This initial phase is led by Scout elements - drawn from the Chapter's neophytes, guided by Veteran Sergeants often schooled in the Raven Guard's teachings. These operatives are equipped with silenced bolt weapons, grav-charges, auspex disruptors, and in some rare cases, teleport scramblers or Cameleoline Cloaks. Their role is not direct engagement, but infiltration, observation, and the careful orchestration of disruption. In the earliest stages of a planetary assault, elite Scout Marines place teleport homers hidden throughout infrastructure, ruined manufactora, or beneath enemy trenches. These beacons are the key to the next phase. Random acts of sabotage occur including - power grids, vox-relays, drone networks, and reactor silos are targeted to sow confusion just as the assault begins. Lone sentries, command staff, and recon drones are eliminated to create gaps in vigilance.
The Storm of Revelation
- "They thought us broken upon the walls. Then the storm walked among them."
- — Sergeant Bariel of the 4th Company ("The Steel Angels"), Battle of the Riven Catacombs
Once the enemy is destabilised and their attention fixedon perimeter threats or frontal advances, the Chapter launches the "Storm of Revelation": a brutal, pinpoint assault using teleport deep strikes of Terminators, Death Company brethren, and Sanguinary Guard where available. While conventional forces engage in a frontal assault - often with Fire Support Squads, Rhino-borne Battleline Squads, and Predator Tanks - the elite units descend from the heavens or materialise within the very heart of enemy lines. The Chapter's elite Terminator-armoured veterans arrive via teleport homer, emerging in the midst of the enemy's reserves or command hubs, their storm bolters, assault cannons and close combat weapons scything down disoriented defenders.
Death Company squads are unleashed only in dire need, erupting in a blood-crazed fury - leaping from Stormravens screaming low over smoke-choked fields. Sanguinary Guard, clad in gleaming golden artificer armour, may descend like the avenging hosts of Sanguinius himself - delivering divine judgement upon enemy warlords or psykers. This strike is not meant for mere disruption - it is surgical decapitation, severing the enemy's leadership, cohesion, and morale in one blinding moment.
Even the famed trench masters of the Iron Warriors, whose battlements have resisted Imperial sieges for centuries, have been overrun by this method. During the Siege of Tarsyx Secundus, a full warband under Warsmith Drevik was routed in a single solar day, its battlements shattered from within by Death Company strikes teleported directly into their munitions stockpiles.
Blood Upon Wings
When facing fluid or highly mobile enemies—such as Aeldari raiders, Orkish hordes, or Tyranid bio-swarms - the Angels of Rebirth pivot their strategy to mirror the traditions of their Blood Angel ancestors, emphasizing speed, shock, and momentum. Stormraven Gunships roar over hostile terrain, delivering Terminator assault squads into enemy flanks or behind Tyranid synapse clusters. Land Raiders and Baal Predators punch through the front, unleashing furious volleys of fire before disgorging Sanguinary or Vanguard Veterans into the heart of the melee. Close Support Squads, outfitted with jump packs, inferno pistols, and chain weapons use verticality and relentless momentum to scatter enemy skirmishers and light vehicles. In such battles, the Chapter fully embraces its ancestral fury. Librarians sing battle-litanies drawn from the Canticles of Sanguinius, and Heralds walk the battlefield with crozius raised high, invoking sacred dread in the faithful and fear in their foes.
Wargear
Due to the larger than standard amount of Terminator armour the chapter possesses, the Angels of Rebirth's Techmarines have long worked on how to maximize their potential leading to several unique pieces of wargear:
- Petros Heavy Grav-Chute - An extensively modified grav-chute, the Petros Heavy Grav-Chute allows for the companies Zephyr or Indomitus Terminators to deploy from high-altitude. The high cost of producing these Chutes makes them a rare and valuable resource for any Chapter.
- Cameleoline Teleport Beacon - A smaller, more mobile Teleportation homer beacon coated in Camoline are used by the Angels of Rebirth, as well as other stealth-based chapters. Trading reliability for subtlety, they are placed behind enemy lines and used to infiltrate the larger, less mobile Terminators deep behind the enemy's line of battle in order to deliver a crushing blow when their foes least expect it.
- Gatling Bolter- A tri-barreled bolter capable of firing standard bolts at rapid speed while remaining stable. While slightly lighter than a heavy bolter, it only fires normal bolts, trading the heavy bolt's armour-piercing capabilities for sheer quantity. Angels of Rebirth Terminators commonly field them against lightly armoured foes.
- Zephyr-Pattern Terminator Armour - Recovered from the Space Hulk Antolie's Wrath the Zephyr-pattern Terminator Armour at first glance is indistinguishable from the Cataphractii-pattern. Designed on the Ark Mechanicus Soul of Steel during the Horus Heresy but was never put into production before the ship was lost to the warp. The Standard Template Construct (STC) for it was recovered by the Angels of Rebirth and put into production on the forge world Patmos. The Zephyr differs from standard Cataphractii in that it uses more powerful synthetic muscles and more advanced Auto balancers to enable faster movement. For power it has a power generator based on the atomantic power generator of the Contemptor Dreadnoughts, providing greater power at the risk of possible overloading when damaged. While most commonly found in the Angels of Rebirth, sets of this armour can also be found in the armories of other chapters, particularly successors of the Blood Angels.
- Cryptus Glass Weapons - During the Angevin Crusade the planet Cryptus was retaken by the Imperium and had the foundation was laid for a grand temple to the Emperor. the material chosen for building the temple was glass made from the crystal sands of Herleven. After the destruction of the temple it was found that shards of the glass temple were effective weapons against many denizens of the warp, and further experimentation revealed that when formed into glass and blessed by a Herald (Angels of Rebirth Chaplain) it had the same effective. Many of the Angels of Rebirth now carry a weapon forged from the glass ranging from a knife, to shotgun shells, to even a grenade encased in the glass. All of the weapons are fragile and only survive 1 use, similarly the weapons possess no supernatural power against other foes like Tyranids, Orks, Tau, Aeldari, and Necrons.
Deathwatch Service
Armorial of the Deathwatch.
As inheritors of the lineage of Sanguinius, the Chapters of the Blood are amongst some of the longest-lived of all of the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, their gene-seed granting them a vastly increased lifespan that allows a battle-brother to sometimes live for a millennium or more, if death in battle or one of the 'twin flaws' does not claim him first. Having centuries to perfect their disciplines in the art of war, the Angels of Rebirth possess the same all-encompassing belief as their genetic forebears that the enemies of the galaxy can be defeated, allowing Mankind to achieve their manifest destiny as the undisputed rulers of the galaxy and usher in the Emperor's long-standing vision of a new golden age.
In order to achieve this bold endeavour, the Angels of Rebirth have had a long-standing relationship with the Chamber Militant of the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos, and have sent volunteers to the Long Vigil with the Deathwatch since their inception. As experts in fighting against xenos threats, battle-brothers from the Angels of Rebirth make ideal candidates to serve within the ranks of these xenos-hunting specialists.
Due to their increased lifespans, many of these battle-brothers have had centuries to perfect their skills in battle and techniques in seeking out and eradicating myriad xenos threats across the width and breadth of the known galaxy. Their martical disciplines are practiced unceasingly and techniques in the purgation of xenos are brought to the fore - shared with their fellow kill-team brethren, in order to make them more effective in eradicating any alien threat that would dare assail the God-Emperor's realm.
The quest for perfection in all they do makes Battle-Brothers from the Angels of Rebirth ideal warriors to serve in the Deathwatch, yet their curse becomes all the more terrible. An Angel of Rebirth may find himself isolated from others of his kin while he serves in the Deathwatch. He appears a paragon of virtue to his fellow Deathwatch Battle-Brothers, but by night he fights damnation alone in his cell, praying fervently that the curse will not claim him here, so far from his Chapter and the Sanguinary Priests who may aid him on his final journey. When the Red Thirst takes hold, it can only be overcome with extreme difficulty.
Notable Members
The First Circle
- "We carved a throne of light from the ashe of death. Let none forget."
- — Inscription beneath the statues of the First Circle, Sanctum of Rebirth, Heaven's Rest
- The Old Guard- The Old Guard refers to the legendary band of warriors—veterans of both the Blood Angels and the Raven Guard—who were hand-selected in the earliest years of the Angels of Rebirth’s founding. These warriors were the first to set foot upon Herleven, the Chapter’s homeworld, when it was little more than a broken, half-forgotten world in the ashes of the Great Scouring. They not only purged the system of its xenos and heretical infestations, but also laid the sacred groundwork—both material and spiritual - of what would become the Heaven’s Rest Fortress-Monastery and the enduring legacy of their Chapter. Though their number was never great, their influence echoes throughout every chamber of the Chapter’s fortress, every page of its battle codices, and every drop of sacred gene-seed carried by their successors. The Old Guard are saints and martyrs both—heroes whose example remains a beacon in times of doubt, and a shadow in times of pride.
As the High Lords of Terra sought to establish new Chapters in the wake of the Horus Heresy and subsequent Foundings, a unique convergence occurred. A small cadre of veteran Blood Angels - many of whom had fought at Signus Prime and survived the madness of the Great Crusade - and a likewise hardened remnant of Raven Guard, bearing the scars of the Dropsite Massacre, were joined in a singular purpose: to bring light, order, and death to the unknown systems beyond the Kharthan Expanse. These veterans were tasked with forging a new brotherhood that would draw strength from both legacies: the poetic fury of the Blood Angels, and the haunting silence of the Raven Guard. They were given leave to found a Chapter - not just of arms, but of spirit—one that would carry forward the dual burdens of vengeance and hope.
- Captain Seraphiel Bael, "The First Blade of Herleven" (Blood Angels) - Seraphiel Bael was a paragon of Blood Angel nobility. He led the assault that cleansed the ruins of the ancient Herlevan cities from cultist scum and xenos taint, and it was he who planted the Chapter's first banner in the ice-bound soil of the northern pole. Seraphiel was the architect of the Trial of the Body, believing that only those who could survive Herleven's harshest climates were worthy of Sanguinius' gene-seed. He died in M36, struck down by a daemon of Slaanesh while defending the nascent Reclusiam. His gilded blade, Sunveil, is still carried by the Chapter Champion of the 1st Company, and his name is sung in the final verse of every Victory Lament.
- Shadow-Captain Khrysel Aasyn, "The Black Lantern" (Raven Guard) - Khrysel was among the few surviving Raven Guard commanders of the Sidrak campaign. Known for his voice, which he never raised above a whisper, and his skill with infiltration warfare, Khrysel is credited with designing the Doctrine of the Whispering Vigil, the precursor to the Angels of Rebirth’s famed scout-based infiltration tactics. He personally trained the first Scout Sergeants of the Chapter and wrote the liturgies of concealment and patience that are still recited before covert strikes. Khrysel's body was never recovered after he led a suicide infiltration against an Iron Warriors bastion deep beneath the crust of Obrium Secundus. His shattered helmet rests in the Hall of Shadows, lit perpetually by a single black lantern.
- Chaplain Elion Vast, "The Flame of Sorrow" (Blood Angels) - A master of sacred oratory and lore, Elion Vast was both Chaplain and chronicler, charged with binding two lineages into one coherent spiritual legacy. He forged the Canticles of Rebirth, an evolving scripture blending the Revelations of Sanguinius with the secret catechisms of Corax. Elion also oversaw the ritual creation of the first Erelim - the elite Chaplain Honour Guard - and established the mourning rites observed by the Death Company. His crozius, Grief's Ember, is wielded only during times of greatest spiritual peril and is said to burn with black fire when held by the worthy.
- Sanguinary Priest Nareus Tahl, "The White Phoenix" (Blood Angels) - The first Blood Priest of the Angels of Rebirth, Tahl was the one who refined the hybridised geneseed rituals allowing for compatibility between Raven Guard stealth doctrines and Blood Angel genetic heritage. His blood rituals became the foundation of the Ceremony of the Second Pulse, a rite performed on every newly inducted Astartes. Tahl also enforced the Chapter's enduring refusal of outside tampering with their gene-seed, sowing the deep-rooted distrust of Archmagos Cawl's Primaris program. Tahl's bones are interred within a marble sarcophagus beneath the Chapter's Apothecarion. The walls of his tomb are carved with the names of every neophyte he ever saved - or lost.
- Forge-Brother Mirdan Vael, "Hammer of Silence" (Raven Guard) - The Chapter's first Techmarine, Mirdan Vael designed many of the secret vaults and reliquaries hidden throughout Heaven's Rest. A master of crypto-mechanics and digital sanctification, Vael was responsible for adapting ancient STC data recovered from Herleven's vault-cities into modern wargear. His war-constructs -Silent Dreadnoughts, black-armored siege walkers equipped for covert insertion—remain unique among Adeptus Astartes forces. His Mechanicus-engraved servitor skull, now dormant, is enshrined in the Vault of Echoes, accessed only during the Trials of Soul.
- Captain Jophiel Sadron, "The Lord Harbinger," "First Lord Harbinger," "The Blade of Herleven" - The last of the First Circle to be elevated, he ultimately would lay the foundations for the Angels of Rebirth's inception during the 7th Founding. During his appointment to the First Circle, he would help formulate many of the earliest traditions and combat doctrine that would later be incorporated into the Angels of Rebirth.
Following Herleven's rediscovery and the subsequent founding of the Angels of Rebirth utilising many of the surviving veteran cadre that would make up the newly formed Chapter's command cadre, Jophiel would continue to play an instrumental role in the overall character and culture of the Angels. He would see the completion of the Chapter's fortress-monastery - Heaven's Rest - and would oversee the construction of the Hall of Sarcophagi, Vault of Echoes, and Towers of Rebirth - each symbolising the union of death and renewal. The Trials of the Body and Soul would be instituted, based on the path walked by the First Circle during the purging of Herleven.
Jophiel would also show his skills at diplomacy and patient temperament by forging a system-wide government, turning the fractured remains of the Seven Cities into a vassal system ruled through monk-warrior governors known as Wardens of the Light. Finally, he would help establish the Erelim - the elite Chaplain Honour guard to protect the Chapter's Master Herald and maintain spiritual purity across Herleven and its vassals.
Though Lord Harbinger Sadron lacked the personal martial grandeur of some successors, Jophiel Sadron's era is remembered as the most foundational. He lived to see the Chapter rise from the ashes of its progenitors to become a fully-fledged, unique force in the Imperium—a brotherhood born not just of blood, but of belief. He died in 697.M34, surrounded by his closest brethren, and was interred in a sarcophagus of black crystal at the heart of Heaven's Rest. His title, Lord Harbinger, has been borne with reverence ever since - never spoken lightly, and always remembered as more than mere command, but a burden of vision.
- Captain Seraphiel Bael, "The First Blade of Herleven" (Blood Angels) - Seraphiel Bael was a paragon of Blood Angel nobility. He led the assault that cleansed the ruins of the ancient Herlevan cities from cultist scum and xenos taint, and it was he who planted the Chapter's first banner in the ice-bound soil of the northern pole. Seraphiel was the architect of the Trial of the Body, believing that only those who could survive Herleven's harshest climates were worthy of Sanguinius' gene-seed. He died in M36, struck down by a daemon of Slaanesh while defending the nascent Reclusiam. His gilded blade, Sunveil, is still carried by the Chapter Champion of the 1st Company, and his name is sung in the final verse of every Victory Lament.
These six warriors - Seraphiel, Khrysel, Elion, Nareus, Mirdan and Jophiel - formed the core of what the Chapter refers to as "The First Circle of Rebirth." Their deeds are immortalised in song, mural, and stone throughout Heaven's Rest. In the Hall of Sarcophagi, their steles rise higher than all others, flanked by relics of their deeds and draped in banners older than the Imperium Nihilus itself. Only the Lord Harbingers and the Master Herald may enter their shrine without sanction. When in dire peril, senior officers fast for three nights and recite the Litany of the Pale Dawn before stepping within the Circle to ask the dead for guidance.
Post-Founding
Each Lord Harbinger walks a path paved by the First Circle, but each must shape it anew. With every war, every sacrifice, the Chapter is reborn - through fire, through faith, through fury.
- "As the stars burn, so too do we rise again."
- — Inscription above the Hall of Sarcophagi
- Lord Harbinger Jophiel Sadron, "The Lord Harbinger," "First Lord Harbinger," "The Blade of Herleven" (Reign: 401-697.M34) - The last to be elevated among the fabled First Circle, yet the first to lead, Jophiel Sadron is remembered not as a warlord of unmatched wrath but as a forger of legacies. A former Captain of the Blood Angels during the Ashen Martyrs Campaign, he brought both vision and temperance to a Chapter born from two fractured legacies. He oversaw the transformation of Herleven from a world of ashes into a bastion of hope. His works include the construction of the fortress-monastery Heaven’s Rest, the Hall of Sarcophagi, Vault of Echoes, and the Towers of Rebirth - sacred spaces that represent the eternal cycle of death, memory, and rebirth.
It was under his rule that the Trials of the Body and Soul were instituted, based on the First Circle's own harrowing campaigns. He forged a political order across Herleven, creating a network of fealty and faith through the monk-warrior Wardens of the Light, and established the Erelim, the elite Chaplain Honour Guard of the Master Herald. Jophiel died peacefully in 697.M34, entombed in black crystal at the heart of Heaven's Rest. His name is spoken at every Rebirth Rite, and his title - Lord Harbinger - has since become a burden of vision passed from master to master.
- Lord Harbinger Malach Drustan, "The Ashen Vow," "Warden of the Seven Cities," (Reign: 697-771.M34) - The successor to Sadron, Malach was a grim sentinel raised from the ranks of the Erelim. Where his predecessor sought to build, Malach sought to fortify. Under his command, the Chapter constructed the Shrine of the First Circle, and the city-fortresses of the Seven Cities were ringed with monolithic spires and defense bastions, all designed according to the Ashen Vow - an oath never to allow Herleven to fall to enemy hands.
Though a master of logistics and defense, Malach's reign was marked by increasing psychic instability within the Chapter, a growing resonance of the Black Rage that tested even the most stoic warriors. He was lost during the Red Depths Campaign against a massive xenos incursion, interred after his death beneath the Red Obelisk - a grave marker carved with a thousand names of the lost.
- Lord Harbinger Alma Dawn-Son, "The Lightbearer," "Son of the Morning War" (Reign: 771-864.M34) - Alma was a philosopher-commander, drawn from the Reclusiam and said to have received visions from Sanguinius in the Hall of Sarcophagi. A poet and seer, Alma focused the Chapter's spiritual doctrine, reinforcing the duality of death and redemption. It was during his reign that the Book of Rebirth was first compiled - a living tome of recorded visions, warrior deaths, and spiritual reflections passed down by Chaplains and Librarians alike.
Alma's tenure also saw the Chapter cleanse the Ghoul Moon of Yvraine, where he defeated a daemon-prince of Slaanesh in single combat while reciting the Litany of Sorrow. He perished during the Crusade of the Golden Lash, shattered by Necron entropy beams while protecting a wounded Librarian. His remains were never recovered, but his soul is said to "walk the inner cloisters during moonless nights."
- Lord Harbingers IV-VII - Names Lost to the Vault of Silence - The names of the fourth through seventh Lords Harbinger have been redacted or forgotten, sealed within the Vault of Silence, a heavily guarded crypt-chamber where dark chapters of the Angels of Rebirth's history are kept under lock and Litanies of Forbiddance. It is believed that during this time—spanning much of the mid-M35 - the Chapter suffered a series of crises, including a full-scale incursion by the Word Bearers, a schism within the Librarius, and a near fall into the Black Rage on a scale not seen since the days of the First Founding. Only the Erelim and the current Lord Harbinger may view the unedited records.
- Lord Harbinger Cael Mordavon, "The Black Flame," "Master of the Thorns" (Reign: Early M36) - A ruthless warrior-scholar, Cael Mordavon rebuilt the Librarius and Apothecarion after the ravages of the prior era. Known for his grim austerity and absolute intolerance for corruption, he rooted out rogue psykers and instituted the Trial of the Mind, a harrowing psychic ordeal all Librarians must endure upon ascension. Mordavon perished during the Defense of Myrion's Teeth, struck down by a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch. His death scream is said to have burned the daemon's name into the stone around his broken armour.
- Lord Harbingers IX-XII - Various - The following centuries saw a series of competent, if unremarkable, Lords Harbinger, each safeguarding the Chapter during the slow decline of Herleven's stellar influence. The Angels of Rebirth grew more isolationist, acting as divine arbiters from their fortress-world rather than crusaders. These Lords maintained tradition and vigilance but did not expand the Chapter's legacy. Their names are recorded within the Tome of Continuance, with sacred litanies sung in their honour once every century.
- Lord Harbinger Koios Vivifica, "The Oracle of Fury," "Breaker of the Talon," "He Who Endures," "Scourge of the Warp," "The Crimson Father" (Reign: Late M41-Present (M42) - The current and most renowned Lord Harbinger of the modern age, Koios Vivifica is a living legend. A psyker of Beta-grade strength, survivor of untold battles, and mentor to three generations of Captains, Koios stands as a towering figure even among the most vaunted Blood Angels successors. Having served in the Deathwatch, Koios gained knowledge of xenos physiology, warp phenomena, and hybrid psyker warfare. He returned to Herleven bearing the spear The Fury of Betrayal, a relic of unknown origin believed to have once belonged to a fallen Angel. His armour, the Armour of the Dawn, is said to shift in hue with his will - ashen when calm, glowing crimson when his rage surfaces.
Koios's most famous duel occurred on Arthanos Prime, where he faced Abaddon the Despoiler in what Chapter annals call The Requiem of Sanguinius. The battle echoed the final duel aboard the Vengeful Spirit - yet this time, the bloodline of the Angel did not falter. Koios, bloodied and broken, pierced the Despoiler's shoulder, shattering one of the power cores of his Terminator plate and forcing him to retreat under Black Legion fire.
His rule has not been without conflict. Upon Roboute Guilliman's return, Koios refused to kneel, openly calling the Primarch a "Codex-binder and kin-betrayer." Though no formal censure followed, it is said that the Angels of Rebirth have never officially adopted the Codex Astartes in full, maintaining their unique blend of infiltration, fury, and spiritual warfare.
- Captain Sepharael Moriar - Current commander of the 1st Company ("The Firstborn") and The Fist of Herleven.
- Captain Marius Gadrio - Current commander of the 2nd Company ("Sons of the Dawn") and Master of the Watch.
- Captain Nero- While he only had a brief tenure as a Captain of the 2nd Company, he played a vital role during the Chapter's first war - the War for Crosis. Desperate to save a lost Titan legion from being cannibalized by Orks for scrap, he led his company on a mission to recover a bunker of deathstrike missiles, and used many of them to decimate the Ork fleet and hordes. Though the second company was decimated to a man, thanks to their heroics the Titans were successfully recovered and as thanks for their heroic sacrifice, the Adeptus Mechanicus gifted the chapter many much needed vehicles of war, from Land Raiders to Thunderhawks.
- Captain Colus Furian - Current commander of the 3rd Company ("The Sky Breakers") and Master of Thunder.
- Captain Baelor Sabat - Current commander of the 4th Company ("The Steel Angels") and Angel of Frost.
- Captain Corradin Noriel - Current commander of the 5th Company ("Silent Thunder") and Father of Victory.
- Captain Marath Castia - Current commander of the 6th Company ("Guides of the Lost") and Master of Death.
- Captain Cassiel Lucian - Current commander of the 7th Company ("Long Blades")
- Captain Sepharael Tureo - Current commander of the 8th Company ("Storm Bringers") and Master of Fire.
- Captain Rapham Loraphael - Current commander of the 9th Company ("Shield Breakers") and Master of Fury
- Captain Geburathiel Cleandor - Current commander of the 10th Company ("Unblooded") and Master of Recruits.
- Sergeant Astoros Vimes- A typical space marine of the Angels of Rebirth until a fateful day on the Civilised World of Anke-4 which had started rebelling against the Imperium. The Space Marines had been sent in to reinforce the Astra Militarum forces already there, and Sergeant Vimes had his squad reinforce the Guardsmen's line and prevent the rebels from overrunning them. For two days he and the guard fought valiantly, on the third however, without warning, he suddenly descended into the Black Rage. He attacked the rebels so fiercely that, though alone in his assault, he drove off well over a thousand rebels. By the time the rest of his squad found out what had happened, he had already disappeared.
Two hours later the rebels suddenly surrendered to the Imperial forces claiming the leaders of the uprising had abandoned them and vanished. When searching the city, the Astartes forced some of the now prisoner rebels to lead them to their headquarters. When they got there they found utter carnage. Vimes had already found his way there in the midst of the Black Rage and slaughtered everyone within. They found him inside with the High Chaplain who had sensed the Black Rage and come to judge Vimes. Surprisingly however, in the aftermath of his blood rampage, kneeling in shattered armour and bleeding from dozens of wounds, Vimes was surprisingly lucid. Judging him sane enough to serve with the Death Company, Vimes was taken back to Herleven and anointed with the black and white livery of the Death Company.
Six years later he would take part in a ferocious assault upon the Black Legion on Ganus Prime and, unable to be restrained, chased the Traitors into the Warp Gates they conjured to escape. Presumed dead, the Space Wolves were startled when a raving giant was found wandering the wastes of Fenris 300 years later. While it was obvious he was a Astartes, his gear was too damaged to tell from what chapter.
Eventually the Wolf Priests managed to coax out of him the knowledge that he was from Herleven and they returned him to the Angels of Rebirth where it became clear he was dying from something unknown. In his final days he began to speak clearly in his hallucinations about beings he had met in the warp that had helped him. He described them as giants and as demigods in great armour. His final words were, "They're not dead...just trapped". After his death many marines began to wonder what his cryptic words meant and whether or not he had actually encountered the missing Primarchs.
Chapter Fleet
The Angels of Rebirth have only a modest sized fleet, requiring them to rely on local Imperial forces to win major engagements in space, possessing the following vessels:
Battle Barges
- Sanguinal Resurgence - The Sanguinal Resurgence is the flagship of the Angels of Rebirth Chapter and a living shrine to the Primarch Sanguinius. Adorned with statues of winged angels and stained adamantine glass murals of the Siege of Terra, it serves not only as a vessel of war but also a sacred place of pilgrimage. The ship's prows are shaped like spread wings, and its internal sanctum - known as the Chamber of Vitae - houses a reliquary containing a vial of blood said to be drawn from the Crimson Chalice itself. Wherever the Sanguinal Resurgence goes, it brings the fury of rebirth, descending upon battlefields with drop pods and wings of flame like a host of divine retribution. It often leads Redemption Crusades and Retribution Campaigns against those deemed traitors to the Throne.
- Throne of Ashes - Once a warship of the Blood Angels destroyed and left adrift during the Nova Terra Interregnum, the Throne of Ashes was recovered and reforged by the Angels of Rebirth. Rebuilt from ruin, the vessel now embodies the Chapter's belief in redemption and renewal through suffering. Its decks are dimly lit by votive candles and its hull bears the scars of its former destruction, left untouched as a mark of honor. The ship's Chaplaincy oversees the Rite of the Cinder Host aboard the Throne, a ritual of penance undertaken by battle-brothers seeking absolution or clarity. It is said that the Throne of Ashes never fires its weapons without first broadcasting a mourning hymn in High Gothic, lamenting the lost glory of Sanguinius before unleashing holy devastation.
Strike Cruisers
- Wings of Sanguinius - An elite Vanguard vessel used to spearhead planetary assaults, the Wings of Sanguinius delivers its warriors like descending angels of wrath. Its dorsal hull bears golden reliefs of the Primarch's final flight above Terra, and its drop pod launch bays are named for the angelic choirs of Imperial myth. It is often the first ship to enter orbit during a planetary strike, unleashing the Chapter's 1st Company - "The Firstborn".
- Ashen Seraph - The Ashen Seraph serves as a mobile purification vessel and execution platform for traitors and heretics. Marked by its bone-white hull and crimson wings painted upon its flanks, it frequently deploys Chaplain-led task forces on surgical Exterminatus operations. Those who fall in its presence are said to be judged beneath the Ashen Seraph's burning gaze. Its engines burn with a smoky trail, as if it rises from eternal cinders.
- Bloodfire Crucible - Used primarily for campaigns of penance and absolution, this vessel carries veteran squads who have sworn oaths of redemption. Internally, its walls are inscribed with litanies of atonement and verses from the Canticle of Flame-Born Saints. The Bloodfire Crucible earned distinction during the Tarsis Reach Scouring, where its strike force held orbit over a daemon-infested citadel for seven days and nights of ceaseless bombardment.
- Phoenix of Baal - This venerable Strike Cruiser bears relic armour pieces and ossified remains said to have originated from the shattered halls of Baal Secundus. The Phoenix of Baal is most often seen escorting the Chapter's reliquary priests and Librarians into battle, serving as both warship and spiritual ark. Its prow is shaped like a rising flame-wreathed phoenix, crowned with a halo of sanctified gold.
- Crimson Ascendant - A ship of omen and glory, the Crimson Ascendant is assigned to campaigns deemed fated or prophetically significant. Its halls are lined with statues of winged saints and fallen heroes, and it is said to carry an encoded copy of the Book of Rebirth, an apocryphal text of visions attributed to Sanguinius himself. It is most often captained by the Librarius or commanded directly by the Chapter Master during rites of renewal.
- Vitae Invictus - Translated from High Gothic as "Unconquered Life-Blood," the Vitae Invictus is a grim yet noble vessel, its crimson-black hull scarred by centuries of war. Known for its resilience, it often supports beleaguered Imperial forces on worlds thought lost. Its arrival is heralded by vox-hymns of angelic voices and the tolling of death-bells. The Apothecarion keeps watch aboard this ship, preserving sacred gene-seed and the blood of martyrs.
Escorts
Hunter-Class Destroyers
- Tears of the Redeemer - A ship known for sudden and brutal ambushes, its crew recite the Litany of Martyrs before every voidstrike. It bears a stylized eye weeping a single drop of blood on its prow.
- Flame of Absolution - Used in purgation missions against heretic and xenos raiders, it launches torpedo salvos like searing judgment. Crimson burn-sigils coat its prow like flensed skin.
- Ebon Feather - A stealth-optimised vessel painted in obsidian black with silver feathered motifs, a clear nod to the Chapter's Raven Guard influence. It often runs in shadow detachments, scouting ahead of larger fleets.
- Dawn of Penance - Often the lead vessel in interdiction wings, it is named for the hopeful moment between darkness and absolution. Its crew considers themselves angelic heralds of rebirth through bloodshed.
Gladius-Class Frigates
- Angelic Vow - Sworn to eternal vigilance, this frigate is emblazoned with the Chapter's icon and a golden wreath halo. It often escorts the Crimson Ascendant or Wings of Sanguinius into sacred battles.
- Seraphic Blade - A heavily armed Gladius vessel bearing a gilded two-handed sword across its dorsal hull. It is revered for cutting down Ork Kroozers during the Battle of Cryxos Nebula.
- Bloodborn Aegis - Tasked with protecting gene-seed convoys and Apothecary missions, it features reinforced shielding and sacred blood-vials etched into its shrine-chambers. It is said to be blessed with the blood of a fallen Reclusiarch.
- Chalice of Mercy - Named for the act of delivering final mercy to the Emperor's enemies, this ship often serves in evacuation or hostage liberation actions. Its hull has been anointed with relic-blood from the Crimson Chalice.
Cobra-Class Destroyers
- Echo of the Fallen - This Cobra-class strikes in silence, its torpedoes named for saints of the IXth Legion. It bears the names of every fallen Chapter Master in golden script along its bulkheads.
- Wound Unforgotten - Every salvo from this ship is a symbolic vengeance for the wounds Sanguinius bore. Its prow bears a stylized red 'X' - the saltire wounds of the Primarch himself.
- Pyre Seraphim - Known for launching incendiary torpedoes in siege warfare, it is adorned with fire-winged angels and burning scrolls. It is often the last vessel to leave orbit once a purge is complete.
- Ashes of Baal - A vessel bearing relic fragments of Baal Prime's ruins, sanctified in flame. Considered cursed by some, holy by others, its appearance is seen as a herald of destruction and purification alike.
Chapter Relics
- Armour of the Dawn - A set of Artificer Armour that resembles the armour worn by Sanguinius, the Armour of the Dawn is the chapters most prized relic. Similar in appearance to the armour worn by the Sanguinary Guard, what really sets it apart in terms of appearance is the seeming lack of a jump pack, and the mask, which is instead of Sanguinius' death mask, is a mask resembling his face while he lived leading many to believe that the armour was made before the death of the Primarch. Designed to be worn by a Space marine Pysker the armour is only truly at it's peak when worn by a Librarian. By uniquely channeling the Librarian's psychic power, it generates a psychic shield that makes the armour as durable as Terminator Armour. Furthermore, and most impressively, the Librarian the armour can further channel his psychic power to manifest a set of wings of white light that grant the wearer the ability to soar the air like the Primarch Sanguinius. The cost is that maintaining these takes so much power that if the Librarian were to try to use his power in other ways, while maintaining the armour, it would quickly tire him and leave him vulnerable.
- The Fury of Betrayal - Made from the same Angelsteel as the Glaives Encarmine, the Fury of Betrayal is a long bladed power spear made after the death of Sanguinius. What sets it apart as a weapon is it's effect on members of the Black Legion. Said to channel the fury of Sanguinius at his moment of death, the spear's destructive power multiplies at the taste of the blood of Horus, causing it to ignite into a blood red flame that consumes the creatures of Chaos while leaving all else unharmed.
Chapter Appearance
Chapter Colours
The Angels of Rebirth primarily wear red colour power armour, reminiscent of their progenitors, with secondary gray on various portions of their battle-plate including; the backpack, both armorial insets, greaves and sabatons. The shoulder pauldron trim and the Aquila or Imperialis worn on the plastron (chest guard) is gold in colour. In the spirit of the ancient IX Legion, the Angels of Rebirth are not merely warriors but also artisans as well. They often decorate their armour with various flourishes, filligree and etchings to honour the Great Angel. As resplendent sons of Sanguinius, they strive to maintain their skills in arms and art in harmony.
Heraldry of the Host
Like their progenitors, the Angels of Rebirth adhere to a similar strict heraldic system, allowing them to recognise what company and squad any given Battle-Brother belongs to at a glance. The advantages of such swift recognition amid the madness of battle are obvious. More than this, however, these Sons of Sanguinius revere their heraldry, and bear these markings as badges of pride.
Angels of Rebirth Librarians wear blue coloured battle-plate with the left shoulder pad painted in their Chapter's colours and prominently displays the Chapter's icon. Sanguinary Priest wear white armour, with both shoulder pauldrons being painted in their Chapter's heraldry. Those battle-brothers who are affected by the Black Rage and assigned to one of the Death Company squads varies significantly from their brethren's colour scheme; their armour is repainted black, with red saltires (crosses), symbolising the sacrificed of their Primarch. Per tradition, the Sanguinary Guard wear gold artificer-wrought battle-plate, with large white angelic wings, and amny Chapter markings and honour all over their armour.
Angels of Rebirth company markings differ from those outlined by the Codex Astartes in utilising symbols that are displayed upon the left poleyn instead of different coloured shoulder pauldron trim and Imperial Gothic or Roman numerals.
The emblem of the 1st Company is a golden coloured, thrice-headed symbol of the elite Keruvim, the terminator-armoured elite of the old IX Legion that served as the guardians of the primarch's halls and sanctums. Other companies use different coloured blood drops.
One a brother joins the ranks of the Death Company squads, his company emblem is replaced with the icons of the doomed brotherhood.
The following is a list of how each company represents itself:
- 1st Company (Veteran): A gold triple-headed symbol of the Great Angel himself. When Terminator (Tactical Dreadnought) Armour is worn, the left shoulder pauldron shows the 1st Company's specific heraldry, the right shoulder guard displays the Chapter badge.
- 2nd Company (Battle): A single yellow blood drop.
- 3rd Company (Battle): Three red blood drops.
- 4th Company (Battle): A single green blood drop.
- 5th Company (Battle): Five red blood drops.
- 6th Company (Reserve Tactical): Twin yellow blood drops, side by side.
- 7th Company (Reserve Tactical): Twin white blood drops, side by side.
- 8th Company (Reserve Assault): Twin green blood drops, side by side.
- 9th Company (Reserve Devastator): A single large red blood drop centered over the ancient symbol of the 'Angel's Tears', the Legion Destroyer specialists of the ancient IX Legion.
- 10th Company (Scout Marines): The Angels of Rebirth's Scout Company wears a white skull on the right shoulder pauldron, and the Chapter badge on the left.
Most unusual for a Blood Angels' Successor Chapter, instead of using the same heraldic symbols to represent squad specialty and number as their progenitors, they instead use the Codex-prescribed specialty symbols (Fire Support, Close Support, Battleline, Veteran or Command), which indicates a battle-brother's assigned battlefield role. These symbols are white in colour and displayed upon their right shoulder pauldron inset. A small red blood drop is place in the center of the squad specialtist symbol. These symbols represent an individual battle-brother's assigned squad specialty, whether they be battleline, fire support, close support, veteran or command - a holdover of their ancient IX Legion heritage. These are indicated by black coloured symbols stenciled upon the right shoulder pauldron.
Angels of Rebirth squad markings, commonly displayed on the right poleyn (knee plate); the numbers above correspond to each squad within a company, 1st-20th.
Like their progenitors, the Angels of Rebirth utilise the same heraldic squad symbols to identify a battle-brother's assigned squad. These squad markings take the form of a single symbol worn on the right poleyn. Following Roboute Guilliman's recent revisions to the Codex Astartes and the reogranisation of the Reserve Companies in the Era Indomitus, ten additional squad numbers and icons have been introduced to the Chapter, which allows more than 100 battle-brothers in a company depending on circumstances:
- 1st Squad: A white skull on a black background.
- 2nd Squad: A white skull on a blue background.
- 3rd Squad: A red blood drop on a yellow background.
- 4th Squad: A red blood drop on a black background.
- 5th Squad: A white saltire ('X') on a black background.
- 6th Squad: A white saltire ('X) on a blue background.
- 7th Squad: A yellow lightning bolt on a black background.
- 8th Squad: A black lightning bolt on a black background.
- 9th Squad: A yellow angelic wing on a black background.
- 10th Squad: A black angelic wing on a yellow background.
- 11th Squad: A yellow skull on a black background.
- 12th Squad: A black skull on a yellow background.
- 13th Squad: A white blood drop on a black background.
- 14th Squad: A white blood drop on a blue background.
- 15th Squad: A red saltire ('X') on a black background.
- 16th Squad: A red saltire ('X') on a yellow background.
- 17th Squad: A white lightning bolt on a blue background.
- 18th Squad: A white lightning bolt on a black background.
- 19th Squad: A red angelic wing on a black background.
- 20th Squad: A white angelic wing on a blue background.
Chapter Badge
Angels of Rebirth Chapter icon.
The Chapter icon of the Angels of Rebirth is a sacred and solemn image, steeped in both reverence and symbolism. At its heart is a stylised depiction of the Great Angel himself—Sanguinius, the angelic Primarch of the IXth Legion - rendered in baroque splendor.
Sanguinius is shown clad in resplendent golden war-plate, his armour etched with divine musculature and adorned with several large, blood-drop-shaped rubies upon his breastplate - the sacred sigils of his lineage. His noble, classically beautiful face is framed by flowing blonde hair, and from his back rise immense white wings, outstretched in a gesture of transcendence.
With his hands raised in supplication, Sanguinius holds two hallowed relics. In his right hand is the Crimson Chalice, said to contain a draught of the Primarch's own holy blood - an eternal reminder of his sacrifice and purity. In his left hand, he bears the Angeli Integumento, the "Shroud of the Angel," a miraculous relic believed to have covered his lifeless form after the Siege of Terra. Upon its surface is imprinted a ghostly, blood-hued visage of the Primarch's serene countenance, left by his sacred vitae - an image venerated as a divine manifestation by the Chapter.
The entire figure ascends from tongues of flame, symbolizing rebirth through sacrifice, in a phoenix-like gesture of renewal and transcendence. Behind this central figure of Sanguinius looms a large bold red saltire - a deep crimson 'X' - symbolising the multiple grievous wounds he suffered during his final, sacrificial battle against the Arch-Traitor Horus. It is a mark not only of martyrdom, but of the burden carried by all of the Great Angels's sons - and the hope that through pain, there can be rebirth.
This Chapter badge is borne with reverence on the pauldrons, banners, and sacred vessels of the Angels of Rebirth, proclaiming their eternal devotion of the Great Angel and the miracle of his legacy.
Relations
Allies
Feel free to add your own
| Blood Angels |  |
As a successor chapter of the Blood Angels the Angels of Rebirth maintain relatively close ties with their parent chapter including donating Gene-Seed to help rebuild the chapter after the 7th black crusade. They and the Raven Guard are the only other chapters to be allowed into Heaven's Rest and Dante is the only non-Angel of Rebirth to even know that the Ritual to stave off the Red Thirst exists, though even he doesn't know the details. |
| Raven Guard |  |
As a detachment of the Raven Guard Fought along side the Blood Angels in the battle for Herleven the Angels of Rebirth view them as some of the first chapter heroes as well and have moddified some of the Raven Guard's tactics for their own use. |
| Dark Angels |  |
Some outside observers have remarked on the unusual alliance that exists between the Chapter Masters of the Dark Angels and Angels of Rebirth. While the details remain between the 2 it is noted that occasionally, whenever they have found a Traitor marine which doesn't seem to be from any of the known traitor legions and renegades chapters, they call in any nearby Dark Angels or Dark Angel successor to aid in their hunt. |
| Ashen Thanes |  |
While these two Chapters rarely interacted in their early history, a crusade in M38 would bring them together. Despite being still under strength the Ashen Thanes took to the battlefield with astonishing vigor. The Angels of Rebirth, in pity for the plight of the Ashen Thanes took it upon themselves to help and protect their cousins during the crusade. Through the crusade the two chapters competed, both being CQC specialist chapters and when the crusade was over they agreed to host a tournament on Herleven to determine which was best. It was agreed that while the Angels of Rebirth were better individually, the Ashen Thanes tended to be more flexible. Ever after the two chapters have enjoyed a friendly rivalry. |
Strained
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| Ultramarines |  |
While not technically enemies the Angels of Rebirth hold a special detestment for Roboute Guilliman and his descendants because of the splitting of the Legions. While they will work with the Ultramarines and their successor chapters at need, they for the most part will refuse to even join crusades with them. |
Enemies
Feel free to add your own
| Black Legion |  |
Hating the Sons of Horus above all else for the splintering of Sanguinius and the mortal wounds Horus inflicted on the Emperor. The Angels of Rebirth view their continual struggle to destroy the Black Legion as a continuation of the battle on board the Vengeful Spirit. |
Notable Quotes
By the Angels of Rebirth
- "We kill, not for malice but to protect and avenge. That is what makes us superior to the Xenos and the Traitor. One kills for sport or in a vain attempt to save their dying people, the other because there is naught but hate in their hearts. Never forget that."
- — 10th Captain Protesus to an Unblooded
- "With honour you have lived, with valour you have served. You have been chosen to bear the spirit of the Archangel Sanguinius, and with his fury you shall die."
- — Litany told to Astartes of the Death Company before unleashing them into battle
About the Angels of Rebirth
- "I've met many of the Emperor's Angels in my time, and each left me in awe; the Ultramarines for their discipline, the Salamanders for their compassion on us 'mortals', the Raven Guard who are such sneaky bastards that they'll kill ya before you know they're there. But, if I had ta pick one that best shows the Emperor's wrath it'd be them Angels of Rebirth."
- — Commander Pikan of the Map Makers Regiment
- "Was the scariest thing I've ever seen. I got to see some of the Emperor's own angels in battle and let me tell you, they put the fear of death even in those damned greenskins. Well it was like this..we were fighting in some civ world what had turned traitor, and we were hard-pressed to keep them from overrunning our position, when my buddy points up while I'm reloading. That's when I see what looks like a meteor storm coming, each of them meteors being a drop pod. Well they hit those traitors like a bolt in a coward's head and the marines come out and started sending those traitors to the Emperor like there's no tomorrow. One of them comes over to us, ten feet tall, dressed in red and grey, with a chainsword and bolt pistol. For two days he fought the traitors and on the third, well. He's fighting some traitors when all of a sudden he starts screaming something so loud it made the ground shake. Then he starts throwing himself into the enemy and butchering them so fiercely they just run. Not that they got far. What I could saw through the smoke though, I swear he was biting them traitors too..."
- — Sergeant of the Cadian 132nd Shock Troops Regiment
| Seventh Founding Space Marine Chapters | |
|---|---|
| Dark Angels Successors | Angels of the Lion • Knights Triumphant • Lorekeepers • Poison Angels • |
| White Scars Successors | Saurian Tyrants • |
| Space Wolves Successors | N/A |
| Imperial Fists Successors | Sons of Zeus • |
| Blood Angels Successors | Angels of Rebirth • Crimson Wardens • |
| Iron Hands Successors | Hellhounds • |
| Ultramarines Successors | Hochmeister • Knights of Ultramar • Ruby Consuls • Wardens of Orask • |
| Salamanders Successors | • |
| Raven Guard Successors | Emperor's Weavers • |
| Unknown Lineage | Cobalt Crusaders • Exalted Paladins • |
| Renegades | Scholari Brotherhood • |
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