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"We will not rest until every single Fallen Angel has been Hunted. Their suffering shall be but a beginning to their penance...their screams, the harbinger of their contrition."
— Grand Master Althalos of the Black Knights
The Black Knights are an ancient and proud Loyalist Space Marine Chapter created from the lineage of the secretive and mighty Dark Angels Legion of old. They were created during the Second Founding following the conclusion of the terrible galaxy-wide conflict known as the Horus Heresy, and the subsequent wars of reciprocity known as the Great Scouring. The Black Knights were created as one of several Successor Chapters following the dissolution of the Legiones Astartes into separate, smaller Chapters. Thus, the Black Knights are counted amongst the ranks of the Unforgiven.
A fleet-based crusading Chapter, the Black Knights follow in the footsteps of the Lion and their Progenitors, and will not rest until every single Fallen Angel has been hunted down and brought back to the Rock, to be interrogated and granted extreme unction by the Interrogator-Chaplains of the Dark Angels. As a crusading Chapter, their doctrines, traditions, and organisation reflect their particular approach to prosecuting the Imperium's wars.
The Black Knights are wont to become embroiled in battles that other forces would have little hope of winning, particularly Zone Mortalis operations and 'Forlorn Objective' assaults. They are unrelenting in their persecution of the Emperor's foes, reserving a particular loathing for the Traitor Legions and those who make truck with the Ruinous Powers. The Black Knights absolutely refuse to retreat in the face of any foe, however, this stubbornness has often come at a high price. Their willingness to suffer horrific casualties in the name of victory has seen their very survival as a Chapter be put into jeopardy more than once down the long millennia.
The Astartes of this Chapter are grim and dour, with all their warriors wearing battle-plate of jet-black and deep red. Extant reports, however, indicate that this Chapter wields all manner of ancient relics and holy patterns of armour, weapons, and vehicles not commonly seen on the battlefields of the modern era.
Aloof and secretive, this Chapter keeps their own counsel, concentrating solely on their duties to the exclusion of all else. Shunning accolades and laurels, they are less well-known than other Unforgiven Chapters. Bellicose and unforgiving, the Black Knights are famed for arriving in a warzone without warning and attacking without a preamble. Upon eradicating their foe they take their leave and disappear without a word, leaving naught but ash and death in their wake.
"We are the Angels of Darkness, for us there is no peace, no end but war and death. We shall not walk in the golden halls of Mankind's future, but stand resolute in the shadows beyond. While we yet draw breath, this Imperium will not fall and we will not know defeat for I pledge every warrior, every drop of blood in the Legion in the name of victory, no matter the cost."
— Solemn oath made by Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the Ist Legion, upon his assumption of command.
The Black Knights are an ancient and isolationist Chapter whose origins can be traced back to the inception of the Legions Astartes during the latter years of the Unification Wars to conquer Terra and unify the techno-barbarian states and tribes that dominated the sacred homworld of Mankind and forge the very foundation of the Imperium of Man. They were part of the first of the Emperor's Legions and the truest to the mould from which all other Space Marine Legions would be formed. As a prototypical Legion, they served as both the template for the more specialised Legions that were to come after and a standard by which these successors would be measured. From the outset, the Ist Legion displayed an unforgiving and merciless nature, making no excuses for their nature and made no compromises in the pursuit of their assigned duty, shirking neither the price they willingly paid in blood nor the price paid in infamy and solitude.
The Ist Legion was conceived as the template for those that would follow, distilled from the gene-code of the most stable of all His Primarchs and without any attempt to foster specific traits from which they sprang. However, the process by which these first samples were produced was still unrefined, initiated perhaps a century or more before the end of the Terran Unification Wars. This process was long and laborious, consuming a vast number of test subjects to produce but a handful of stable proto-Astartes.
As the Emperor subjugated the various nation-states and techno-barbarian empires, a bloody toll was enacted upon these territories controlled by the Emperor. Untainted human subjects - youths that fit a specific range of age and physical fitness - were taken into the Emperor's hidden laboratories and given the earliest examples of the organs and progenoids cultured from the gene-seed extracted from the first of the Primarchs, whose purity was noted for its stability. However, due to the surface of Terra being ravaged by millennia of atomic bombardment and genetic phages, untainted human subjects were limited. The initial ghent intakes were taken from the Emperor's conquered foes or purchased from nomadic clans of slavers. Later, territories that were brought, willingly or not, into the fold of the burgeoning Imperium were forced to pay a toll borne of flesh-tithes.
As such, the Ist Legion did not bear the stamp of any single gene-stock, unlike some of the other Legions during their earliest years whose character had been moulded by the nature of their initial intake. These first recruits were selected from the best stock available to the Emperor. They were diverse in origin and shared no single cultural heritage that would shape the way in which they made war. This diversity brought a wealth of disparate martial traditions into the fledgling Legion. The Ist Legion incorporated various arts of war from dozens of Terran cultures. This bitter knowledge and red-handed wisdom accumulated in millennia of wars were distilled and fashioned into a weapon of rare potency.
Forged in Darkness[]
To outsiders, little is known of the origins of the Ist Legion and its initial gene-stock as the genesis of the Legiones Astartes as a whole is a subject shrouded in much secrecy. It is perhaps the greatest and most enduring of the Emperor's many works and subject scholars had been warned away from in the latter days of His Imperium. What is known with some certainty is that, of all the many breeds of these post-human warriors, the Ist Legion was conceived by the Emperor as a template for those that would follow, distilled from the gene-code of the most stable of all His Primarchs, without any attempt to foster specific traits or curb the eccentricities of the stock from which they sprang. This was in stark contrast to other Legions that were created with specific traits and characteristics in mind, such as the ultraviolent XIIth Legion or psyker-heavy XVth Legion.
During the earliest years of the Emperor's genetic experiments to produce the perfect gene-bred transhuman warriors, tens of thousands of subjects were bled and died within the Emperor's hidden laboratories. Some few, however, served as something more: functional prototypes of the new breed of warriors the Emperor envisaged not only to conquer Old Earth but eventually the entire galaxy. These proto-Astartes served as a bridge between the unique power of the Primarchs and their sons, born of the strain of gene-seed extracted from the first of the Primarchs. Within the oldest records salvaged from the depths of the Imperial Archives, one such warrior was listed by name: Urias, of the seventeenth Ghent intake.
Hailing from the frozen lands of Skandia, these stoic and warlike people were known for their berserk warriors and ruthless, murderous efficiency. As a youth, Urias was noted for his physical attributes and great size, possessing physical and mental abilities that far surpassed those of most ordinary humans. His genetic purity, prodigious strength, endurance, and reflexes, made him an ideal candidate for the Emperor's new breed of warriors. Urias and a dozen of his fellow Skandic kinsmen were taken as part of one of the first few companies of initiates for the Ist Legion raised in the Emperor's Imperial Geneworks. Only he and four of his kinsmen would survive this company; a remnant of a lost age and living weapons akin to their Legion brothers who came after and yet subtly different.
Despite the thousands of subjects that died in these early genetic experiments, Urias was one of the few who not only survived but thrived under the Emperor's genetic modifications. He was an unusually large specimen amongst the proto-Astartes and his reflexes and speed were much faster than should have been possible for a transhuman Legionary of his size. This was more than likely as a result of the early implantation process at the gene-works on Terra, and in the process of creating an Astartes, Urias would have been considered a mongrel - a hybridized half-breed not stamped from a mould like those purer-strained Legionaries of later generations that would follow. Urias was the embodiment of the potential of the new breed of warriors that the Emperor had envisioned, and his success would pave the way for the creation of the Space Marine Legions.
Officially, little is known about the fate of Urias after his initial creation, however, his legacy lives on in the annals of Imperial history as one of the first successful proto-Astartes, and a testament to the Emperor's vision, foresight, and ingenuity. It is intriguing to note that extant records indicate that a warrior by the name of Uriah Marbas, whose physical description matched that of Urias, was earmarked early on for command by the upper echelons of the newly formed Council of Terra. Uriah was noted for his skills in war, intellect and mental acuity, and stood out from his peers as a superlative warrior and tactician. Uriah's exceptional abilities would see his meteoric rise to the rank of Captain within the newly formed Space Marine Legions. He led his fellow Legionaries with unwavering loyalty and determination, earning the respect and admiration of those under his command.
The fact that there is still disagreement among Imperial scholars and historitors about whether or not Uriah and Urias are the same individual speaks to the complex and often contradictory nature of the Imperium's historical records. Despite the best efforts of researchers and scholars down the millennia, it is often difficult, if not impossible to piece together a complete and accurate account of this bygone era, especially when dealing with events and individuals that are shrouded in myth and legend. Uriah Marbas is just one among many exceptional warriors who served the Imperium, but his legacy, along with that of Urias and others like them, lives on as a shining example of the Emperor's vision for the future of humanity.
The Black Knight[]
During the early years of the Legiones Astartes the Emperor sought to create a sense of shared identity and purpose among the Legionaries of the nascent First Legion. These proto-warriors, barely numbering a few hundred strong, were encouraged to eschew the names of their people and embrace a new unity unmarked by old loyalties, often drawing names of heroes from old tales and various ancient religious mythologies that had survived the Age of Strife. Combined with the grim aspect granted to them by the genetic lineage of the first Primarch, these warriors quickly garnered a reputation among the disparate throng that was at that time the army of the Emperor and came to be known as His "Angels of Death" - a name which, at that time, belonged to the First Legion alone. Fighting at first as small groups within the ranks of the Emperor's host, plying both the skills of their origins and of the drill masters of the Imperial Laboratories, they come to be known as the 'Uncrowned Princes' or simply 'Crowns'. These titles would be a homage to their place in the line of battle and the destiny bestowed upon them by their creator, a title that would inspire both a sense of unity and a certain arrogance in the first Space Marines and spur them to lead the way amongst the growing brotherhood of the Legiones Astartes.
In the earliest moments of the Legion's existence, this became the genesis of the Hosts of the First Legion, which would later be further refined by their Primarch, Lion El'Jonson, into the six Wings of the Hexagrammaton. The foundation of the doctrine that would lead to the formation of the Hosts is often credited to the Emperor Himself in the histories of the Legion, a strand of the great plan that He had formed for the first of His Legions. One of these hosts was known as the Host of Bone. Sometimes known as the Skandic Host, it was a fearsome fighting force known for its wild and brutal tactics. Its warriors were primarily recruited from the harsh and unforgiving lands of Skandia, where life was hard and survival depended on strength and cunning.
In battle, the Host of Bone fought not to simply break the lines of the enemy, but to crush their spirit entirely. They were masters of finding and exploiting the weaknesses of their foes, using ruthless and often barbaric tactics to gain the upper hand. They were not bound by the conventions of civilised warfare and brought to the field of battle the most terrible weapons and tactics imaginable. The Host of Bone was renowned for its reavers, who were without equal in their ability to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies. They would sweep down upon their foes with unmatched speed and ferocity, cutting them apart with savage glee. Their weapons and armour were often adorned with the bones and skulls of their fallen enemies, serving as grim trophies to display their prowess in battle to the enemy.
Despite their reputation for brutality, however, the warriors of the Skandic Host were not mindless savages. They were fiercely loyal to their leaders and to each other, and their tactics and strategies were often as cunning as they were ruthless. They were a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, and their enemies knew that they could expect no mercy at their hands. Uriah was one of the first Legionaries to be initiated into this host of savage killers. His bloody, practical skills as a warrior were the terror of his foes and were recognised by Legion command, which quickly saw him elevated to the role of Judiciar. Like the Moritats of other Legions, he was given the freedom to unleash even more terror and destruction on the enemy. Despite his brutal and merciless reputation, Uriah was also highly intelligent and had a strong instinct for survival which defied belief, earning him the nickname, the "Black Knight".
The Emperor's Own Angels of Death[]
A Ist Legion veteran Tactical Legionary during the early years of the Great Crusade, arrayed in Mk II 'Pravane' sub-pattern power armour. Note the use of mortuary markings and impassive black colouration of this legionary's battle-plate.
Among the armies of Unification, the First Legion became synonymous with death, for where they walked it seemed as though that pale rider followed after them with an inevitability that spawned many long-held superstitions regarding the reclusive warriors of the First.
They were treated with an awe that sat somewhere between respect and terror by those who served alongside them, for it was said that to offend them was to bring the scrutiny of their patron, Death himself, upon the offender. Among the host gathered by the Emperor, they were not heroes, but rather a breed of monsters made loyal by the will of their master. They were not to be lauded for their bravery but rather placated to assuage their wrath. Ever of pragmatic mind, the warriors of the First Legion painted their battle-plate in mortuary black and soon began to assume the guise in which they had been cast, adopting the skeletal icon of Death as their own and adorning their armour with funerary symbols.
Following the pacification of Mankind's birth world, the Emperor formally declared victory in the Unification Wars, bringing centuries of warfare to a close. The Master of Mankind was now ready to begin His Great Crusade in earnest to reunite all the scattered colony worlds of Mankind beneath the single banner of His burgeoning Imperium of Man. The Ist Legion was lauded and fêted by their maker and awarded the greater honour of acting as the Emperor's left hand; a brutally efficient weapon of grim aspect that eschewed laurels and accolades. Despite their great power and prestige, the Ist Legion was known for its grim and secretive nature. They often fought against terrifying and unknown enemies that lurked in the dark between the stars, far from the wider Imperium. Many of the foes they fought against were so monstrous that all mention of them was deemed necessary to be erased from history. The warriors of 'The First' were content to remain wreathed in rumour and mystery, as they believed that their duty was to protect humanity from these terrible threats, no matter the cost.
As the armies of the Emperor set forth on the Great Crusade and pushed beyond the edges of those few star charts that had survived Age of Strife, they encountered such terrors that the battles on Terra were made to seem inconsequential by comparison. Here, the Ist Legion discovered why they alone among the Legiones Astartes were granted the exclusive use of the forbidden weapons of Old Night, a time of great chaos and violence that preceded the rise of the Emperor. These technologies were considered forbidden because they had been responsible for the destruction of countless worlds during that time. The Ist Legion made use of gene-phage and rad wave, to fight the unknown terrors that the Emperor had foreseen in His path that would impede the progress of His Great Crusade into the stars. Utilising such terrible and destructive weapons they were employed to wipe clean the nests of those enemies deemed too terrible to be faced in open battle. They had no other choice if they were to defeat the monsters that threatened the newborn Imperium. The First were the fulcrum of the Emperor's wrath, the agency of His hate, and they were willing to do whatever it took to protect humanity from these terrible threats. The Ist Legion did not bring simple destruction to their enemies, but rather the all-encompassing oblivion of utter annihilation. Though their methods were incredibly brutal and effective, they also raised questions about the morality of their actions.
Pride Before the Fall[]
Despite the hidden nature of many of their triumphs, they were acknowledged by all as pre-eminent among their posthuman kin; the most powerful force-at-arms in the serried ranks of the Imperial armies. In those heady years of conquest and victory the First Legion stood true to their name at the apex of Imperial might, feared by those who stood against the Emperor and His dream of unity and respected by all those who fought at their side. Yet, as with all things, the glory of the First Legion would be a fragile thing and one that could endure only for a short time before becoming something less than it once was. For the First Legion, in those days before the return of their Primarch, the great foe that would topple them from their place of honour would not be any terror from the outer dark, but rather their own hubris.
For, though the black cruisers of the Legion were ever to be found at the edges of the map, hunting for monsters in the dark between the stars, they now took a perverse pride in pitting themselves against only the most powerful of foes, those that wielded a power equal to that of their own, those in whom they saw the possibility of defeat. Other threats - deemed too insignificant for the First Legion, too weak to pose a real challenge, foes that would not test their strategies or mettle - would often be bypassed and left to the Imperial Army regiments and other Legion fleets that followed in their wake. Yet with each encounter, they grew only stronger; no enemy, no matter how powerful or destructive, could stop them and each triumph only added to the shield of arrogance that further strengthened them, but would lead them down a dangerous path.
The Legion began to turn in upon itself, the openness and inquisitive nature of their early years slowly being replaced by a secretive and tradition-bound approach. They had begun the Great Crusade as mentors and guides for the other Legions, seeking out the stratagems and tactics through which the potential of the Legiones Astartes might be fully realised, but now came more and more to resent those they had once guided. The other Legions claimed world after world for the Emperor, easy victories in the eyes of the First Legion, trivial conquests against unworthy foes, yet ones for which they received laurels and praise equal to that of the First Legion's hard-won battles. Some also came to rival the power of the First: the Ultramarines, now re-united with their Primarch Roboute Guilliman, could claim more warriors under arms, and the Imperial Fists, under Rogal Dorn, boasted the firepower of immense relics such as the Phalanx in their fleets. To a Legion that had built its pride upon a sense of authority, some might say superiority, to find itself now merely one among many would shake its foundations.
Perhaps the final blow to the First Legion's fragile pride was to come at Canis-Balor, where simple conquest and stubborn complacency became ignominy and disaster. Here, in an otherwise insignificant system home to a xenos breed as yet uncatalogued by the sage-brothers of the Orders of Extinction and Annihilation, the First Legion and its Grandmaster committed a small force to the assault, supremely confident in their ability to prevail. The price for their hubris saw the death of their first Grand Master and the suffering heavy losses, an indignity that the First Legion had not known for decades.
The aftermath of the Canis-Balor disaster saw the First Legion become more insular and secretive than ever before. They began to rely more heavily on their own resources and tactics, with little regard for the strategies of other Legions or the Imperial Army. The Masters of the Hosts and Preceptors of the Orders became more entrenched in their own dogma, each seeking to gain the upper hand in the internal power struggle. Despite this, the First Legion remained a force to be reckoned with, their reputation still formidable in the eyes of many. But cracks began to show in their armour. Other Legions, such as the Ultramarines and Imperial Fists, were now seen as equal or even superior to the First, and some began to question the wisdom of the Legion's insular approach.
It was only with the return of their Primarch, Lion El'Jonson, that the First Legion began to see a path forward. Under his leadership, the Legion was reinvigorated and once again took up its mantle as a guiding force among the Legiones Astartes. The Lion's tactical genius and strategic vision helped to unite the Legion and refocus its efforts on the greater good of the Imperium. However, the scars of the Canis-Balor disaster and the internal power struggle that followed would continue to haunt the First Legion for many years to come, serving as a reminder of the dangers of pride and hubris in the face of an ever-changing galaxy.
Rangdan Xenocides[]
At the outset of the Great Crusade, the Imperium was just a fragile sliver of sanity in the void, besieged upon all sides by forces of monstrous dread that were held at bay only by the blood and sacrifice of millions of unsung and forgotten heroes. Of all these hidden threats and dire wars against the unknown, the most infamous among scholars of the forbidden is that of the Rangdan Xenocides. This conflict was a long and bitter series of multiple campaigns that raged across an isolated expanse along the northern rim of the galaxy. The xenos race, which came to be known as the Rangda, were considered a grave threat to the expanding Imperium. Relegated to the footnotes of history, this campaign was little understood by Imperial historitors save as an obscure reference to a forgotten evil. The reality, however, was that the vile technology and fearsome aspect of these monstrous xenos threatened the utter destruction of all the realms of Mankind, the destruction of the Emperor's dominion and the slaughter of his subjects.
Of all the campaigns waged by the Ist Legion, it is their battles against the Rangda that have most intrigued historitors and scholars, for the veil of secrecy cast over these engagements, has served only to make the myths that have taken the place of truth all the more grand. These wars were the most terrible of any fought by the expeditionary fleets of the burgeoning Imperium of Man before the Horus Heresy. The alien threat was only stymied after the intervention of the Emperor Himself and at least nine Space Marine Legions, over a dozen Legio Titanicus Titan Legions, several Imperial Knight houses, the military forces of the ancient Mechanicum and hundreds of thousands of troops of the Imperialis Auxilia.
By the conclusion of this devastating conflict, more than 80,000 of the Legiones Astartes and uncounted millions of the Imperial Army gave their lives to hold back the hordes of the Rangda and their cohorts, over wars fought across some two decades of the Great Crusade. The First Legion stood prominent in the telling of this tale, and it is by their hand that so few details are known, for it was deemed by the First Legion that all knowledge of the Rangda and the wars fought against them should be purged for the good of the Imperium. The Ist Legion, now known as the 'Dark Angels' following their reunification with their long-lost Primarch, stood at the forefront of the Rangdan campaigns, and it was their Primarch, Lion El'Jonson, who led the Imperial forces in the final battles against the Rangda. The Lion wrought his own legend in those dark times, a grim figure of death and vengeance that descended upon the Rangda in a cold fury.
For near a decade, the battles would rage. It was a time of great hardship and sacrifice for the forces of the Imperium, and the losses suffered in these wars would be felt for many years to come. Victory was bought at the cost of the lives of the Dark Angels and with the blood of the old Legion, for when victory was at last proclaimed and the Rangdan menace vanquished, the Ist Legion were but a tenth of their old number. In some accounts, it is stated that during the final apocalyptic conflict of these campaigns, an estimated 50,000 Dark Angels were killed as they fought off a massive Rangdan invasion which brought the entire northern Imperium to the brink of destruction. These horrific losses eventually contributed to the Dark Angels losing their status as the largest and most preeminent of the Legiones Astartes to the Ultramarines. The Dark Angels were deeply affected by their experiences in the Rangdan Xenocides, and it is said that the secrets they keep about these wars are among the darkest in the history of the Imperium.
Rise of the Black Knight[]
Following the extensive losses sustained by the Dark Angels during the Rangdan campaigns it was to Caliban that the Lion turned to replenish the ranks of his Legion. With the threat of the Rangdan plague neutralised, the first influx of true Calibanite Legionaries entered the ranks of the Legion. Where there had been but a few older companions of the Primarch, now they were dispersed across all the Wings and Orders of the Legion. They were a new breed of warrior, guided more by ancient traditions and rituals than their forebears and unburdened by the weight of pride that had characterised the Terran veterans, which made them more open to the teachings and guidance of the Lion and his senior commanders. This allowed them to quickly assimilate into the existing structure of the Legion.
The arrival of the Calibanites marked a new chapter in the history of the Dark Angels, as they brought with them a fresh perspective and renewed sense of purpose. Their inclusion in the Legion also served to strengthen the bond between the Dark Angels and their adopted homeworld, which had previously been somewhat tenuous. Overall, the Calibanite Legionaries would play an important role in replenishing the Dark Angels' sorely depleted ranks, helping them recover from the losses sustained during the Rangdan conflict. Their traditions and rituals would further shape the Legion's identity in accordance with the Lion's will, making it more distinct from their fellow Legiones Astartes. However, many among the ranks of Terran veterans were reluctant to fully accept Calibanite culture and traditions despite the influx of a large number of newly received Legionaries from their gene-sire's homeworld into their ranks. A few detractors even whispered that the Lion had sent them into slaughter during the conflict so he might replace them with more tractable, Calibanite warriors. Whatever the truth, the overall identity of the Legion seemed to change almost overnight.
Master Uriah Marbas, after his elevation to command, following the Rangdan Xenocides. Here, he is wielding the newly gifted Advex-Mors Greatsword, Thanatos.
Uriah Marbas was a rare survivor to emerge from the fires of the Rangdan Campaigns alive, where many of the finest officers attached to the 27th Company had been killed by the monstrous xenoforms. Despite the horrific losses, Uriah showed tenacity and ferocity in leading his surviving brethren to glory, emerging as the only officer of his company to come out alive. However, the conflict left Uriah with terrible scars that would mar his features forever after. Despite this, Uriah's leadership qualities were recognised by Legion command, and he was raised to the position of Master, assuming command of not only the devastated 27th Company but also two other decimated companies. This put Uriah in command of his very own Chapter-sized formation - the newly formed 15th Chapter.
As a newly instilled Master of the Dark Angels, Uriah felt a responsibility for upholding the honour and traditions of the old Legion. The majority of the warriors under Uriah's command were Terran veterans who had served within the Dark Angels since the time of the Unification Wars on Terra. This made Uriah's task all the more difficult, as he had to lead a force composed of veterans with their own traditions and loyalties, hailing as they did from the various Hosts within the Legion. Despite their initial lack of cohesiveness, the variety of Legionaries from the various Hosts all working together, lent Master Uriah their experience and skills so that the whole had a value far greater than any one individual. This helped to forge his Chapter into a united formation of skilled specialists that were well-equipped to fight in various spheres of warfare, making them more than capable of turning the tide of even the direst battle. Uriah was able to gain the respect and loyalty of the warriors under his command through his leadership and personal example. Leading his own small expeditionary fleet Uriah did his duty and continued to explore the outer reaches of known space, expanding the borders of the burgeoning Imperium ever-outwards, liberating newly discovered worlds from xenos overlords and honing the skills of his Chapter like a finely honed blade. The trials they endured shaped the warriors under his command into a fearsome weapon. The 15th Chapter upheld the honour of the Ist Legion of old, standing true to their moniker "Angels of Death" - the apex of Imperial might - feared by those that stood against the Emperor and His dream of unity and respected by all those who fought at their side.
Horus Heresy[]
During the closing years of the Great Crusade, the 15th Chapter, numbering no more than 5,000 warriors, was deployed apart from the bulk of Legion, directed by their Primarch to help push back an unrecorded xenos threat in the western reaches of the galaxy. They were heavily engaged in prosecuting a difficult campaign when news reached them of the tragic events of the Isstvan III Atrocity. Often, smaller battle fleets such as the 15th Chapter, were rarely given the opportunity to make contact with either the upper echelons of their own Legion's command or that of the Divisio Militaris that coordinated Great Crusade deployments, and their Primarch Lion El'Jonson remained far from the reach of his Legion with no news of his progress or the fate of the troops that accompanied him.
Current events and news from further afield took several months to disseminate across the galaxy to these isolated fleets. Though blinded, and by accepted military logic exhausted, the Arch-Traitor Horus, his strategists and co-conspirators deemed such small forces to be of negligible threat to the Traitor's overall plans. They felt that since these smaller forces were isolated from any central command they would be unable to mount any real opposition to the Warmaster's rebellion. They were sorely mistaken.
Unlike other Loyalist Legions and expeditionary fleets that reacted to the unified onslaught of the Traitor forces by scrambling their forces and standing up barely adequate defences to slow their advance, the Dark Angels fleets took their own initiative and met this new challenge head-on. They turned their disadvantage to opportunity, each fleet an unpredictable threat to the Traitors and their allies. Despite being outnumbered and outgunned, the Dark Angels were able to hold their own and inflict heavy losses on their enemies, thanks to their superior tactics and training. They were also able to exploit their knowledge of the enemy's weaknesses and vulnerabilities, which allowed them to strike at critical targets and disrupt their plans.
Initially, the Ist Legion's outlying fleets were kept to the outskirts of the initial conflict purposefully through the Warmaster's machinations. Deprived of the chance to strike directly at Horus' new centres of power, the Dark Angels Knight-Praetors and Chapter Masters set their Chapters upon those outlying worlds that dared to opening declare their loyalty to the Warmaster. In this way, they were able to cut off their supply lines and support to the Traitors, striking at the heart of the Warmaster's war effort indirectly. The destruction and chaos wrought by these smaller independent Dark Angels fleets kept many systems and industrial centres along the southern and western galactic rims from supplying the main Traitor forces.
With the corruption of Warmaster Horus by the Ruinous Powers and the shattering of the Emperor's dreams of unity, the galaxy was engulfed in flames in the fires of perfidy which consumed the burgeoning Imperium of Man and saw the deaths of countless worlds and trillions of human lives. Overall, the Dark Angels helped play a crucial role in the early stages of the Horus Heresy by buying time for the Loyalist forces to regroup and mount adequate defences upon the Imperial Throneworld. Their success in disrupting the Traitor's plans and slowing their advance proved to be a turning point in the conflict, paving the way for the ultimate defeat of Horus during the final cataclysm on Terra itself. The Arch-Traitor Horus was slain and the Emperor was mortally wounded, His dreams of creating a brighter future for Mankind forever broken.
Great Scouring[]
Following the end of the Heresy, the Traitor Legions were splintered and dispersed, but many hard battles remained. In the wake of this conflict, the Imperium was left a dismal shattered thing. The Master of Mankind was a broken husk, confined upon the great prosthetic device known as the Golden Throne, His dream of Human unity erased forever. Yet for all this, the Imperium retained might enough to exact bloody revenge upon its foes. There would be no forgiveness for the crimes of the Traitor Legions. The newly instilled High Lords of Terra - those who now ruled in the Emperor's name - had neither the ability nor the desire to prevent a war of reciprocity. Thus began the wars of the 'Great Scouring', the great counter-offensive against the Traitor Legions and their allies in the service of the Ruinous Powers. The Arch-Traitor's death had not ended the fighting, but it had renewed the resolve of the Loyalists to destroy the Traitors.
Arriving after the end of the final cataclysmic battle, Master Uriah Marbas was enraged at his inability to take part in the glorious defence of the Imperial Throneworld. Hearing the terrible news of the life-threatening wounds sustained by the Emperor and His subsequent internment upon the Golden Throne, the warriors of the 15th Chapter were inconsolable and soon fell into a state of melancholy. When they found out that some of the Traitor Legions that had fought fought on Terra had turned tail and fled, Uriah's and his warriors' sorrow quickly turned into incandescent rage. Some obscure records indicate that the 15th Chapter were dispatched by the Lion himself, to seek out and bring the blade of vengeance and slaughter the Traitors. However, some apocryphal reports indicate that Master Uriah and his Chapter gave chase of their own accord.
The Dark Angels, Space Wolves and even the Ultramarines, all followed their own agendas as the wars of the Scouring gathered pace. Many Imperial worlds during the Heresy had refused to commit their forces to either side or seceded entirely from the Imperium to regain their independence. Such indecision was punished by Loyalist and Traitor forces alike. These forces were often bled white attacking the rebel strongholds of worlds that only wanted to be free of the Imperium entirely, whether they swore allegiance to the Emperor or to the Dark Gods. Many Chaos-corrupted star systems were cleansed and placed under the watch of the newborn Inquisition. However, a great many bloody-handed deeds went unseen. The ravaged Space Marine Legions were no exception to this, with many striving to cover up their own misdemeanours or exact their pound of flesh from those who wronged them.
The fledgling Imperium was wrested back from the brink of destruction by those who remained staunchly loyal to the Emperor's vision for Humanity. After the death of Horus, those Traitors who had not been slain outright during the siege of the Imperial Palace fled before the vengeful wrath of the Loyalist forces. Many made good their escape into unexplored space or disappeared into the hellish realms of the Eye of Terror or other, lesser-known Warp rifts such as the Maelstrom.
Second Founding[]
Chapter Banner of the Black Knights.
Grand Master Uriah Marbas, the 'Black Knight', following his elevation to command of the newly formed Black Knights Chapter.
The Great Scouring was followed by the period of Imperial history known as the "Time of Rebirth" which saw the Imperium stabilise under its new bureaucratic and military structure and even recover from some of the terrible losses and devastation of the Horus Heresy. Changes swept both the Imperial military and the offices of government. All of these post-Heresy reforms were overseen by Roboute Guilliman, the primarch of the Ultramarines Legion, who was selected to serve as the Lord Commander of the Imperium and the Imperial Regent in the wake of the Emperor's incapacity.
Changes swept both the Imperial military and the offices of government. The Excertus Imperialis (Imperial Army) was divided up into the separate branches of the Astra Militarum (Imperial Guard) and the Navis Imperialis (Imperial Navy). The Space Marine Legions, the vast fighting formations so instrumental in Mankind's victories during the Great Crusade, were broken down into many smaller Chapters comprised of 1,000 Astartes. This transition allowed for greater tactical flexibility without placing the command of an entire Space Marine Legion into the hands of one individual -- never again would the awesome power of hundreds of thousands of Space Marines be misused.
The original First Founding Space Marine Legions were divided into small Successor Chapters, with one Chapter maintainting their parent Legion's original name, badge, colours and history, while the remaining Chapters were stripped of honour and tithe, of history and deed. These new Chapters took on new names and heraldry. The Second Founding Chapters would have to forge their own histories and traditions distinct from their Progenitors. As such, the first warriors to form the ranks of the new Chapters were the very same Space Marines who had fought at the side of their primarch before and during the tumultuous Horus Heresy.
The Black Knights were one of several new Space Marine Chapters founded from the newly sundered Ist Legion. They were sired from the same ancient and potent genetic stock of Lion El'Jonson. Uriah Marbas was recognised by the Lion himself and was honoured with leading this new Chapter. Taking the title of Grand Master he lead his newly incepted Chapter on a perpetual crusade across the width and breadth of the Imperium's borders, to bring the light of the Emperor to the darkest corners of the galaxy. Following their inception, like many of their fellow Chapters of the Unforgiven, the earliest records of the Black Knights mysteriously vanished shortly afterward, once again leaving an uncertain number of Unforgiven Chapters that have been created. What is known with any certainty is that as time marched on and the original Legionaries of the old Ist Legion passed into memory, the Second Foundign Chapters forged their own histories and traditions distinct from their Progenitors. The Black Knights remain rightly proud of their roots and even many millennia later, they are held as second only to the First Founding Chapters in the honour afforded to them.
The Fallen[]
Following their inception, a core group of senior officers was put in place to help stand up the newly-created Chapter. They were charged with forming their own Inner Circle to guard the knowledge of the Dark Angels' secret shame - to seek out and hunt those Dark Angels which had rebelled against their PrimarchLion El'Jonson and their own kin. Following the end of the Horus Heresy, the Dark Angels returned to their home world of Caliban, and were fired upon by those they once called 'brother'. Consumed by his jealousy of the Lion's glories, the heroic knight Luther -- formerly Jonson's closest friend and ally -- had embraced the Dark Gods of Chaos. Worse, his impassioned oratory had led all the Dark Angels on Caliban into heresy. The resulting struggle between the two factions of Dark Angels saw the Ist Legion's home world of Caliban engulfed by a furious Warp Storm and scattered these rebellious Dark Angels across time and space. Thus began the terrible, endless quest by the Lion's sons to find and silence those fallen Dark Angels who would become known as the Fallen, to secure their repentance and finally wash away the stain upon their Chapter's soul.
Though the Chapters of the Unforgiven claimed their own heraldry, doctrines, and home worlds, in reality, their Grand Masters (Chapter Masters) would attend clandestine meetings on the Rock - the Dark Angels mobile fortress-monastery - with the Supreme Grand Master of the Dark Angels. There, they would receive orders from the master of the Dark Angels, so that the Unforgiven could continue their ongoing hunt for the Fallen in utmost secrecy. Like their peers, the Black Knights give every outward appearance of fighting their own wars for the Imperium, but in reality, they would secretly continue to aid in the Dark Angels' hidden hunt for the Fallen.
Dark Heritage[]
A Black Knights Paladin (Veteran Marine) of the Inner Circle in battle.
Though the Black Knights rarely appear in the annals of the Imperium's history, on the few occasions when the Chapter's presence has been suspected or confirmed, it has deployed and acted according to its own agenda, appearing unheralded and departing as soon as its own, shadowy objectives are achieved. How closely the Black Knights align themselves with the Dark Angels and the Inner Circle is unknown. While the Black Knights have earned numerous battle honours prosecuting the Imperium's wars, they are considered an aloof Chapter, shunning all contact with their fellow Successor Chapters who are also descended from the Lion, choosing to bear the burden of Hunting the Fallen on their own. The Black Knights have very rarely been observed fighting in the same war zone as the Dark Angels or any other of their fellow Unforgiven Chapters. In fact, they have only been recorded in taking part in joint operations with their Progenitors a handful of times.
Since their inception, the Black Knights have undertaken a never-ending Crusade to hunt down every single Fallen Angel. Indeed, it is said that the Black Knights are one of the most active of all the Unforgiven Chapters. Their Chapter Master, Grand Master Althalos, is forever seeking opportunities to lead his Chapter on campaign against the enemies of Mankind. As a result, the Black Knights are rarely at full strength, their numbers worn down by attrition of constant warfare. What the Black Knights lack in numerical strength, however, is more than compensated for in fervour. Since their Founding the Black Knights have primarily operated in the regions of the Segmentum Pacificus to find any of the Fallen, as well as continuously fighting the enemies of Mankind. Most recently, the Black Knights fought against the Word Bearers Traitor Legion, as the Chapter found one of the Fallen amongst the traitor's ranks.
Notable Campaigns[]
Hrakon Campaign (495.M35) - The Segmentum Pacificus is the centre of unrest during the Nova Terra Interregnum and the Dark Angels' Inner Circle continues to follow the many clues that have led them deep into the internecine fighting in the region. This is the earliest recorded engagement of the Black Knights, and one of only a handful of accounts when they fought alongside their Progenitors. Known as the Hrakon Campaign, these two Chapters systematically seek out Obidiah Hrakon, the despot ruler of an upstart planet that had been pivotal in its support of Nova Terra. In the Veiled Region, the Dark Angels finally cornered Hrakon, who took refuge on a piratical port world. Seeking to ensure that none escape, the Dark Angels and Black Knights blockade the planet and unleash the entire Deathwing and Lion Guard.
Deploying in sequential teleportations, the Terminators prosecute an epic slaughter until only a single foe is left alive -- Obidiah Hrakon -- once a Standard Bearer for the ancient Dark Angels Legion. Refusing to give up, Obidiah is subdued after a duel with the Grand Master of the Deathwing and is transported back to The Rock to face the tender mercies of the Interrogator-Chaplains. His death is not an easy one.
Cataclysm of Souls (975.M35) - Following the waning of the Ur-Council's power on Nova Terra, and the inevitable end of their civil insurrection, the Ecclesiarchy attempts to rebind the sundered Imperium into a religious state that transcends political differences. The Ur-Council rejects the Ecclesiarchy's teachings, unleashing a terrible new civil war, the likes of which had not been seen since the Horus Heresy. Billions die in the subsequent religious wars that follow, which come to be known as the Cataclysm of Souls. The Black Knights are one of several Chapters that take part in these religious wars. In addition to putting down those who reject the authority of the High Lords of Terra and the Ecclesiarchy, they also continue to search for signs of the Fallen.
Hrud Rising (980.M35) - The Black Knights take part in the task force charged with cleansing Hrud infestations that erupt across the Imperium. With two of their three assigned sectors cleared, the Dark Angels and their fellow Unforgiven Chapter abruptly leaves the campaign to pursue their own objectives. Despite a formal grievance filed by the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines in regard to the Dark Angels and Black Knights behaviour, no action is taken against them.
Age of Apostatsy and the Reign of Blood (100-600.M36) - During this time, warp storms increase in frequency and magnitude across the galaxy, making travel between anything other than worlds in the same planetary system increasingly perilous. Seeing their foes tearing themselves apart, the myriad enemies of humanity struck. The Traitor Legions sallied forth from the Eye of Terror, while Orks traverse the Warp in ramshackle space hulks, and wreaked havoc on Imperial worlds in regions previously unreached. During this time, the megalomaniac - Goge Vandire - engineers his ascension to the ranks of the High Twelve, one of the sitting members of the High Lords of Terra. Through his cunning manipulations, back-stabbing, and acts of outright murder, he becomes simultaneously both the Master of the Administratum and the Ecclesiarchy. An unheard-of event in the annals of Imperial history, this makes Vandire the single most powerful person in the Imperium and a usurper of the Emperor's will.
Vandire's Reign of Blood begins across the worlds of the Imperium and his tyranny, enforced by the blindly-loyal Divine Army, slaughters almost 14 billion innocents during the Purge of Lastrati. Both the Adeptus Astartes and the Adeptus Mechanicus become estranged from Terra, fortifying their own fiefdoms while undertaking their traditional duties as best they could. The Black Knights are one of the few beacons of light in a galaxy full of despair, as they attempted to protect the few star systems they could from the ravages of the Age of Apostasy and the carnage of Vandire's Reign of Blood.
Rebulus Cleansing (439.M36) - Following a mysterious trail, the Dark Angels and several of their Successor Chapters - including the Black Knights - begin a 30-year campaign that uproots hidden cults and corrupt officials across three sectors of Imperial space. The battles against this network of subversion bring much suffering to the Rebulus System before the corruption is finally subdued, culminating in the destruction of the artificial moons surrounding the planet Ixx.
The Black Knights Chapter march to war upon the Hive World of Aemilius.
Attack on Aemilius (678.M40) - The Black Knights deploy upon the hive world of Aemilius to put down a planet-wide insurrection that had been instituted by hidden Chaos cults. The Chapter strikes like a thunderbolt, deploying the entirety of the Chapter in a massive drop pod and gunship assault. They quickly make short work of the mortal cultists, crushing each ad hoc force in a series of brutal combined-arms engagements that sees the cultist and traitor Planetary Defence Forces corralled into Aemilius' capital hive city. As the battle rages, the Chapter's Chief Librarian detects several Fallen ensconced within the hierarchy of the cult's leadership within the hive capital. He quickly determined that they had taken refuge within a massive industrial manufactorum. The Black Knights employ the entirety of the Lion Guard and the Ravenclaws during the final assault. A vicious battle erupts between the elite companies of the Black Knights and the traitor forces, but after two hours of brutal fighting, the traitors lay broken and bleeding. The few remaining leaders are taken back to their flagship, The Wrath of Caliban, to be taken to The Rock for slow, painful interrogation.
Siege of Varak Fortress (578.M41) - While on routine patrol, the Black Knights intercept a call for aid from the Hive World, Halis. The planet is currently locked in a civil war, with one side being Imperial Forces, and the other being a collection of local Chaos Cultists enforced by Chaos Space Marines. Upon arrival, the Chapter's Librarians detect the unmistakable presence of their Fallen kin are leading the Chaos Forces, commanding them from Varak Fortress. Thus, the Black Knights' Inner Circle immediately despatches the elite Lion Guard and Ravenclaws Companies to capture their wayward foes. Upon arriving on the planet, they greet their fellow Unforgiven Chapter, the Manticores, who have also despatched their Deathwing Company and 8th Company. The two Unforgiven Chapters work together to put down the Chaos uprising and later besiege the Varak Fortress, to route out the Fallen within. It is thanks to the Manticore's Knightwing Squads that the fortress fell, as they sabotaged its outer defences before capturing the three Fallen Angels. The Manticores gave custody of the Fallen to the Black Knights, so that they may be judged, though the Black Knights gave credit of the capture to the Manticores in return.
The Titan Wars (920.M41 - 925.M41)
The Fall of Perilliam (934.M41) - The entire first company of the Black Knights Chapter, en route to the Ork-infested warzones of Perilliam Primus, make an unscheduled detour to Demeter II, a small and unremarkable mining planet on the edges of the Perilliam System. Resplendent in their sable-coloured Terminator armour, the Lion Guard teleport en masse onto the planet and kill or capture every one of its inhabitants. Perhaps as a direct result of their delay in reinforcing the beleaguered planet of Perilliam Prime, the entire system buckles and falls under the crushing might of WAAAGH! Blud-Killa. The Black Knights are never called upon to account for their actions, as there is no one left to report what they had witnessed.
13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - A vast tide of Chaos worshippers pour forth from the Eye of Terror into the Cadian Gate. A tide of heretic filth comprised of daemonic legions, Chaos Cultists, Renegade Chapters, spearheaded by the Traitor Legions and led by Abaddon the Despoiler, begin to assail the fortress world of Cadia and its surrounding systems. Detecting many Fallen amongst the horde, the Black Knights deploy their Chapter in its entirety in order to launch a headlong assault against the renegade forces. Coincidentally, the Dark Angels risk all by ordering the Unforgiven to join them in their assault against the Forces of Chaos. The Black Knights immediately heed their progenitor's call to arms and make all haste to join them in the hunt for the Fallen. Like the rest of the Unforgiven, the Black Knights split their forces into several demi-companies across the Cadian Sector, and soon take part in many battles. However, increasing warp storm activity ensures that their fellow Unforgiven cannot reunite as a cohesive force.
The Great Rift (999.M41) - Despite the best efforts of Imperial forces, the Cadian Gate finally falls. Though the arrival of some unexpected Imperial reinforcements prevented Abaddon from personally sealing his victory by crushing Cadia's defenders, and led to the destruction of the Blackstone Fortress Will of Eternity, the Despoiler unleashed a brutal contingency plan. He had the massive fragments of the Will of Eternity hurled from orbit like an artificial asteroid onto the surface of Cadia. The strike destroyed what remained of Cadia's faltering defences and the network of Necron-built Cadian Pylons that had long prevented the Eye of Terror from naturally expanding into the Cadian Gate. Within only solar hours, most of Cadia was in the process of being consumed by the Immaterium when the tectonic instability caused by the impact of the Blackstone Fortress finally caused Cadia to tear itself apart.
The thin veil between realspace and the Immaterium is finally broken, as a massive tear in reality forms from the Eye of Terror and stretches all the way across the width of the galaxy, to the Hadex Anomaly. Every realm is touched by the Cicatrix Maledictum, or the Great Rift, blighting them with intense Daemon storms - howling tempests that carry a thousand types of death upon their fell winds. Thousands of Chaos cults emerged, and soon, planetary-wide rebellions erupted, plunging hundreds of worlds into bloody insurrection.
The Black Knights took stock of the dire situation, and though battered and bloody, they resolutely stood against the tide of Chaos that now rode the upon the winds of the Great Rift. Despite the loss of nearly half their Chapter, the Black Knights began to respond to the myriad distress calls that flood in from the isolated and warp-storm-battered worlds of the galactic north. The Chapter continues its quest to hunt for the Fallen, unabated, heedless of the calls for help by desperate Imperial citizens, putting their mission before the needs of the innocent. Several beleaguered populations are massacred and many worlds fall to the predations of Chaos due to the Black Knights' callous disregard.
The Primarch's Summit (999.M41) - In the wake of the recent catastrophic events, Dark Angels Supreme Grand Master Azrael decided to convene an emergency council of the Unforgiven's Supreme Grand Masters, including the Renegade Manticores and 'The Forgotten' (the Ebon Knights and their Successor Chapter, the Blades of the Lion), though Azrael was initially hesitant to do so. The Chapter's Librarians sent out a scattered astropathic summons - though several died in the attempt to pierce the veil of the Great Rift - and soon every available loyal son of the Lion prepared to embark on a perilous journey to the Rock. Not all found their way to that last fragment of their ancestral home, as entire Successor Chapters became lost in the Warp, while others found themselves bogged down in one of the galaxy's many raging conflicts.
The severely battered Black Knights managed to find their way through the roiling storms and soon arrived safely to dock with the Dark Angels' fleet. A small Dark Angels Honour Guard were present to meet Grand Master Althalos and his command cadre as they disembarked from their Thunderhawk gunship. They accorded the Chapter Master and his delegation with the proper custom and courtesy and then escorted the Black Knights contingent to the Rock's command chamber to meet with their fellow Supreme Grand Masters. Not long after their arrival, Azrael was informed of a new fleet transitioning into orbit around the Rock - that of the new Lord Commander of the Imperium - the resurrected Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman and his forces of the Indomitus Crusade. The Lord Commander had brought the Chapters of the Unforgiven much-needed reinforcements.
From the depths of Archmagos Belisarius Cawl's vast freighter-hulk marched Primaris Space Marines, created from the purest genetic material ever taken from Lion El'Jonson. Rank upon rank entered the Rock clad in new variants of power armour painted in the colours of the Dark Angels and their successors - including the Black Knights. At a brief war council, Guilliman outlined the threats facing the Indomitus Crusade. He also spoke of the updated Codex Astartes, and how his brother Lion El'Jonson's descendants had earned the right to maintain their specialised wings, as long as they continued to serve the Emperor well. So did Azrael and the other Supreme Grand Masters kneel before Guilliman and pledged their Chapters to the new Imperium.
The Indomitus Crusade (999.M41-Early Centuries of M42) - Newly reinforced, the Black Knights once again began to take the fight to the Forces of Chaos as they responded to the myriad distress calls that flooded in from the isolated and battered, war-torn worlds of the galactic north. Though there were some immediate concerns over their newly received Primaris Space Marine brethren, these initial misgivings were soon assuaged as the new warriors adapted to the Black Knights' ways of war and performed well alongside their battle-brothers. As campaigns progressed and decades passed, many of the Primaris Space Marines gained veteran status, and it remained only a matter of time before a decision had to be made to initiate one into the ranks of the elite Lion Guard.
**Reclaiming Enragon (Unknown Date.M42): The hive world Enragon had been brought into the Imperium by the Lion himself during the Great Crusade. When the Great Rift occurred, it destroyed a Tyranid Hive Fleet enroute towards the planet. This was a blessing, but the Genestealer Cult hidden on the planet had already risen up and was slowly overwhelming the planet's defenders. Unable to lose such a world, the Manticores dispatched their Ravenwing Order, along with the 5th Order and elements of the 8th and 9th Orders. Aiding them were their old allies, the Black Knights, who had also dispatched their elite Ravenclaw Company and the 4th Company. Accompanying the Manticores was the Venerable Dreadnought Gadreel. The fighting was slow, but the two Unforgiven Chapters were able to link up with surviving loyalists and slowly eliminate the rebels. The two 2nd Companies worked together perfectly as they raced through the streets, destroying Genestealer convoys and infantry, baiting the enemy into ambushes, and cutting their forces off from one another. It was during the final month, when the Imperial forces were preparing to make the last push into the Genestealer Cult base, when the Thunderhawk that had been carrying Gadreel was shot down, crashing near where the Cult's commanders were.
Bogged down, the Manticores were desperate to save the honoured ancient, but the Black Knights had come to their aid. Led by the Ravenclaw Master, Ramos Themistocles, the Black Knights stampede over the heretics as they made their way towards the crash site, with a Naufragia Terminator Heavy Fire Support Squad following from the rear. Gadreel had survived, along with a handful of Manticore Veterans, who were fighting desperately against the large cult forces, while the Dreadnought engaged the Patriarch. The crash had greatly damaged the walker, and Gadreel was slowly losing as the Patriarch loomed over him. It was only the timely arrival of the Ravenclaw that saved him, as Ramos himself fired upon the beast after running over the Magus.
This distraction gave Gadreel the opening he needed to push the Genestealer back, before obliterating its upper body with a single blast of his Plasma Cannon. Soon the rest of the Manticores arrived and gave their aid, with Master Ozlon killing the Primus. Gadreel personally thanked Ramos for his help, declaring that the Black Knights were true brothers of the Manticores and worthy sons of the Lion.
**Battle of Idolatros (Unknown Date.M42) - Following the Daemon Vashtorr's failed assault on The Rock, the Dark Angels pried as much information as they could from captured traitors and Arkifane cultists. After several days of interrogation, as if by some unseen trigger, every surviving prisoner suddenly surrendered the precise location where the Arkifane was collecting his Key-fragments - a remote system at the fringe of the Somnium Stars. Despite knowing it to be a trap the acutely suspicious Dark Angels were determined to act nonetheless. Before long, the might of three-quarters of the Unforgiven were mustered at the Dark Angels great mobile fortress-monastery. Supreme Grand Master Azrael dispatched several taskforces of Unforgiven ahead of the main fleet in order to search for Vashtorr's inevitable trap.
At the same time, Ezekiel and other Unforgiven Chief Librarians sought to unravel the strands of fate and forsee what awaited them in the Somnium Stars. Soon enough, Ravenwing scout fleets returned with word of waiting traitor armadas within the Idolatros System. These included not only expected Cult of the Arkifane and Black Legion but also Emperor's Children, Death Guard, and Word Bearers. Largest of all was the Ark of Omen Netherworld Blade and its Balefleet, which was under control of the Dark Mechanicum.
For their part, the Unforgiven Librarians under Ezekiel were able to confirm that Vashtorr indeed dwelt within the System, though they could offer little more information than that. Many other periphery Chaos fleets lay in the Unforgiven's path, and Azrael declared that several chapters strike in the Scrilem and Apostra Systems to deal with these foes.
When The Rock and its massive accompanying fleet finally arrived in the Idolatros System, it detected an unexpected concealed aberration. However, Ravenwing scouts had been correct in identifying a large Chaos battlefleet which lay in their path. Soon enough both sides traded salvoes of torpedoes and attack craft were launched as a massive void battle erupted. The Unforgiven had a significant advantage in numbers, but the Chaos forces had the advantage of Vashtorr's infernal mastery of technology as well as their weapons being seemingly boosted by the power of the Somnium Stars. The Unforgiven suffered heavy casualties and several capital ships were lost to highly advanced Chaos weaponry.
Hours passed by as the Unforgiven fleet pressed deeper into the Idolatros System with only scattered signs of the enemy. During this time, Techmarines identified a mysterious Warp resonance that was seemingly growing in strength. Though its purpose could not be surmised, it began to interfere with mechanical systems and even the minds of those in the Unforgiven fleet. Though they expected a trap, none were prepared for what awaited them. As the fleet translated from the warp, they were confronted by a grotesque simulacrum of a planet, its crust riddled with cogs and chimneys, its surface covered in twisted iron forests and the signs of Vashtorr’s dark industry. The cogitators asserted that the planet before them was no fake – and was in fact one the Dark Angels should know well. Hanging in the void, assembled from a thousand rocky fragments, held together by sorcery and artifice, was Caliban. The Forces of Chaos deemed the abomination Wyrmwood.
Seized by a profound spiritual outrage, Grand Master Azrael ordered his ships into the attack. His heart burned with the desire to rebuke such a flagrant taunt. Yet even as the Unforgiven prepared to launch themselves toward the twisted world, a new Chaos fleet approached from the glare of the system's star. At its core, unmistakable amid a hundred other traitor ships, was the Vengeful Spirit – the flagship of Abaddon the Despoiler. Assault craft rained down through the skies of the daemon world. Supreme Grand Master Azrael led the attack personally, as his strike forces targeted elements of the planet’s defence batteries so the Rock could pull closer for a fatal Exterminatus-class bombardment. Auspex scans suggested Vashtorr himself could be found deep within a nearby maze of industrial horror, a place they designated the Warpforge Palace.
The Master of the Dark Angels pressed the attack, battering his way through Heretic Astartes and tech-twisted hordes beyond count. For hours, the ground forces battled legions of Vashtorr's cultists, while in orbit the Unforgiven fleet clashed with Abaddon and the Ark of Omen Orac Myriad. Finally, Azrael and his forces broke through to the palace, finding themselves in a great complex of ancient towers dwarfed by a single colossal altar, hewn from beaten brass. Before the Dark Angels could strike a blow, the altar exploded in a wave of blood, screams, and warp energy. Where once an assemblage of praying cultists had huddled, now stood Angron, Daemon Primarch of Khorne, who bore down on Azrael's forces. Even for one as steeled to fear as a Space Marine, the sight was enough to cut a primal dread through their hearts. In that same moment, new warp signatures appeared at the edge of the system, powering towards the battle raging above the planet. Despite their skill and fury, the Unforgiven were slowly being torn apart by Abaddon's millennia of experience, and these new heretic reinforcements could not bode well – but then the choral beacons from the newcomers rang out. It was the Blood Angels, flanked by elements of the Imperial Navy.
Lion El'Jonson, the returned Primarch of the Dark Angels, confronts the Daemon Primarch Angron upon the daemon world of Wyrmwood.
How had the Blood Angels known about the Dark Angels' operation, kept secret only to their own? All doubts turned to silence when Lord Commander Dante announced that he was not alone – aboard his vessel was none other than the Lion of Caliban himself - Lion El'Jonson - returned from the mists of time. Setting his fleet on an interception course with the battle, Dante prepared to join the war on Wyrmwood and come face-to-face with the Red Angel - the Daemon Primarch Angron. Even as Angron slaughtered his way through the Unforgiven, blood-red drop pods hurtled to planetfall and golden-armoured Space Marines tackled the maddened Primarch. Atop a tower strewn with the dead and dying, Angron fought Dante and his Sanguinary Guard in a titanic brawl, one that even the cream of the Blood Angels could not endure. None could stand before the Red Angel and live. Save one.
As heroic as his effort had been, Commander Dante lay battered and motionless, with Angron poised to finally finish off the ancient Space Marine. That is, until a blazing golden shield intercepted his blow – from mist-wreathed passageways to a swirling, spectral forest, Lion El' Jonson emerged to defend the man who had reunited him with his sons. As Dark Angels and Blood Angels rallied to throw back the World Eaters and defend the fallen Dante, a duel of epic proportions ensued. Angron fought like a howling, monstrous god, hurling battle tanks like stones and battering his brother with blows that would have pulverised mortal men, turned aside time and again only by the indestructible Emperor's Shield. Yet in the depths of Wyrmwood, the twisted forest of tangled machinery that had once been his home, the Lion earned the upper hand. With all the hunter's cunning of a Knight of Caliban, aided by the strange new spectral abilities that had accompanied him out of death's embrace, the Lion trapped Angron for the instant he needed. Without a shred of remorse for the creature that had once been his brother, he raised the Emperor's Shield and smashed it through the Daemon Primarch's skull, casting him back to the warp. But despite vanquishing Angron, the Imperial forces could not claim victory in the land war, and were forced to fight a retreat back to their ships. Vashtorr was nowhere to be seen.
Battling their way to their landing zones, the Dark Angels evacuated the planet, not a moment too soon. Vashtorr's Dissonance Engine had awoken, and energies beyond the ken of mortal minds bloomed from the planet's surface. Slowly, reality began to twist around the daemon world until finally, it broke, tearing a rent in the fabric of space that coalesced into a raging whirl of otherworldly power.
With a flash, Wyrmwood was swallowed into a maelstrom of silver light – taking with it Vashtorr and the battered traitor fleet. In its wake was left only an eerie, semi-visible wound in the fabric of space, appalling to behold. The Key had been forged. Now, its master hunted for the Lock. Another Primarch had returned, and Angron had been banished for a time – but Vashtorr and Abaddon had undoubtedly won a great victory. Their dark designs had come to fruition, and tremendous losses had been suffered by the Unforgiven Chapters, some of which may never truly recover. Even now, none can say what lies in store for the Imperium, or how the surviving Arks of Omen will react with their mission completed and their architect vanished.
Chapter Homeworld[]
The Black Knights have no home world to speak. As a Crusading Chapter, the Chapter Barque known as The Wrath of Caliban serves as the Black Knights' flagship and mobile fortress-monastery. This vessel of ancient provenance is believed to be pre-Imperial in origin and constructed some time during the Dark Age of Technology. It is believed that the Black Knights were awarded The Wrath of Caliban by their Progenitors sometime in the past -- a gift for their diligence and uncompromising nature in their pursuit and persecution of the Fallen.
Chapter Recruitment[]
A Black Knights Squire (Scout Marine) undertakes his final oaths before becoming an Esquire (full Battle-Brother).
As a fleet-based Chapter, the Black Knights are known to draw their recruits from a variety of different Imperial worlds within the Segmentum Pacificus, mainly those feudal worlds with a pre-industrial level of technology like that of Caliban before the coming of the Emperor. Representatives of the Black Knights visit each recruiting world once within a normal human's lifetime and take the strongest juveniles from the population. Each Aspirant is thoroughly screened, and from the moment he is accepted into the Chapter as a Neophyte Space Marine, his past becomes irrelevant. Once the recruit is accepted he will undergo the normal rites to become a Space Marine. However, should he fail, his mind will be wiped clean and his body converted into that of a servitor, the mindless cybernetic automatons that carry out the labourious tasks of the Chapter. Like their Progenitors, the Black Knights do not make use of human Chapter Serfs or bondsmen, only servitors, as they fear that human serfs could be compromised to reveal all of the Chapter's secrets.
Chapter Organisation[]
The Black Knights, like their Progenitors and their fellow Unforgiven, are not organised according to the dictates of the Codex Astartes, instead maintaining their own unique order of battle which is intended primarily to aid their continued hunt for all of the remaining Fallen Angels and to maximize their secrecy in doing so. The Black Knights are organised exactly the same as their parent Chapter.
The highest position amongst the ranks of the Black Knights is that of Grand Master (Chapter Master), who is the supreme commander of his Chapter. Rule over the Chapter falls to a council formed of the Chapter's Inner Circle, known as 'The Enlightened', formed by the Grand Master and the most senior members of the Chapter's Inner Circle, including the Lord Marshal of the 1st Company, the Huntmaster of the 2nd Company, Reclusiam, and Librarius. It also includes a small number of Seneschals (Veteran Captains) and Masters (Captains), most of which bear various appellations that are unique to their Chapter.
The Black Knights are made up of ten companies per the tenets of the Codex Astartes. Companies are sometimes deployed in their entirety, but their flexible structure and multitude of war zones in which they are needed to fight often mean that squads from different companies are assembled in order to execute a mission. Each company is led by a Seneschal or Master, and is attended by a Chaplain, the warrior-priests who preside over the spiritual well-being and stirs battle fury. Company Veterans, Champions ,and Apothecaries are also available at the company level.
Like their progenitors, the Black Knights follow the Codex Astartes's mandates concerning organisation and size in regards to the third through tenth companies, but like the Dark Angels, the Black Knights' first two companies - the Lion Guard and Ravenclaws - are unique. Like their genetic forebears, these two companies do not conform to the standard company complement of a hundred battle-brothers. Due to their Crusading nature and long periods of isolation fighting the wars of the Imperium within the darkest regions of the galaxy, it is difficult to ascertain the truth to these rumours, as elements of both companies are often spread wide, attached to forces from the Battle Companies.
The Lion Guard[]
Heraldry of the Black Knights' elite 1st Company ('Lion Guard').
The Black Knights' 1st Company is called the Lion Guard and consists entirely of veterans, with an additional upper echelon of Masters-in-training known as Lion Guard Knights. The company's many triumphs have made the Lion Guard famous throughout many regions of the galaxy, eclipsed only by the countless deeds of the famous Deathwing of the Dark Angels. All members of the Lion Guard fight in Terminator Armour and are never fielded in power armour, as is the case with other Chapter's 1st Companies.
The Ravenclaws[]
Heraldry of the Black Knights' elite 2nd Company ('Ravenclaws').
Like the Dark Angels, the Black Knights' 2nd Company is also unusual and unique in its composition and mission. Known as the Ravenclaws, they are utilised as a specialised mobile formation used for scouting and lightning-fast strikes, where speed is more of a premium than firepower. To this end, every single Space Marine in this company is mounted on a bike or Land Speeder, or flies an atmospheric fighter. Like their progenitors and their fellow Unforgiven Chapters, many of the vehicle designs used by this company are unique. These squads are organised into units called Attack or Support Squadrons, and their vehicles, like their power armour, are an ominous black.
Both of these specialist companies work closely with their Dark Angels' counterparts - the Deathwing and Ravenwing - combining their resources in order to hunt far and wide in search of their nemesis, the Fallen.
Battle & Reserve Companies[]
The remainder of the Chapter is organised along standard Codex lines, which decrees that the 3rd, 4th and 5th Companies are designated Battle Companies, and generally carry the weight of a Chapter’s combat duties. Battle Companies consist of six battleline squads, two close support squads, and two fire support squads. Most Dark Angels deployments consist of a single Battle Company, reinforced by elements of the Lion Guard, Ravenclaws, Scout, and Reserve Companies.
The 6th to 9th Companies are Reserve Companies, entirely composed of squads of the same designation. The 6th and 7th Companies are Battleline Companies, each consisting of between ten and twenty battleline squads. These act as a reserve that may be used to bolster the front line, launch diversionary attacks, or stem enemy flanking moves. The 8th Company is the Close Support Company and consists of ten to twenty close support squads, most often used wherever a strong hand-to-hand fighting force is needed. The 9th Company is the Fire Support Company, consisting of ten to twenty fire support squads. It is the most heavily equipped company in the Chapter, and its heavy-weapon-bearing troopers provide suppression and raw destructive power. Squads from the Reserve Companies are often attached to a Battle Company in order to bolster a force’s capabilities. In such instances, they are identified as the 11th Squad, 12th Squad, and so on.
The 10th Company traditionally serves as the training ground for battle-brothers of the Chapter and is made up entirely of Scouts. Led by a Sergeant, these recruits will take to the battlefield alongside the strike forces of other companies, typically acting in a reconnaissance role. The Codex Astartes dictates no formal size for the 10th Company, as the rate of recruitment is not fixed.
Company Support[]
All of the companies, save the Lion Guard, the Ravenclaws and the 10th Company, maintain Rhino, Razorback, and Repulsor transports for each of their squads. More vehicles are held centrally by the Armoury, while Drop Pods are held by the fleet. The Lion Guard has designated Land Raiders, and more are held in the armoury for use as requested by a Company Master. Although maintained by the Armoury, it is customary for Dreadnoughts to remain a part of the company in which the warrior served before being interred. When not active, Dreadnoughts can be found powered down in the Halls of Solitude.
The Black Knights Chapter includes a large number of support staff, the great majority of which are human serfs, though there are a few Space Marines amongst their number. Most of these are noncombatants of advanced years, tasked with leading the day-to-day
administration of the Chapter, such as the Victuallers or the Master of Recruits. A particularly vital branch of the Chapter's support staff is that within the Armoury. These include the Chapter's Techmarines and their vast number of mono-task Servitors that perform mundane work and maintenance.
Primaris Brethren[]
Newly inducted Primaris Intercessor, Esquire (Battle-Brother) Abdazian Ganymael, of the 5th Company, 7th Battleline Squad.
Like the majority of the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, as the 41st Millennium drew to a close, many of these Chapters were stretched thing fighting the myriad of Mankind's foes that seemed to assail the Imperium on all sides. Sorely depleted and in dire need of reinforcements, many of these Chapters had been given little respite from the ceaseless conflicts that raged across the width and breadth of the galaxy. With the destruction of the fortress world of Cadia and the formation of the Cicatrix Maledictum, which split reality across the galaxy, the Imperium was now beset by legions of daemons from the warp as well as hundreds of Heretic Astartes warbands, Renegade Chapters, Chaos cultist uprisings and even the immortal foes of the ancient Traitor Legions. Many Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes were lost, due to the formation of the Great Rift, or cut off from the light of the Astronomican and trapped within the blackness of the Imperium Nihilus sector, the galactic north wholly cut off from the Emperor's realm.
In the wake of these catastrophic events, Supreme Grand Master Azrael sent out scattered astropathic summons to the Chapters of the Unforgiven to convene an emergency council of the Supreme Grand Masters aboard The Rock - the mobile fortress-monastery of the Dark Angels and the last fragment of the I Legion's ancestral home. With their forces sorely depleted and many of the Chapter fleets battered, the Unforgiven were in dire need to replace their sorely depleted ranks. They received their salvation in the form of the newly appointed Lord Commander of the Imperium - the newly resurrected Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman and his Indomitus Crusade fleet. The Avenging Son had brought the Chapters of the Unforgiven new hope in the form of newly revealed Primaris Space Marines - the next stage of evolution of the Space Marines. Rank upon rank entered the Rock clad in new variants of power armour painted in the colours of the Dark Angels and the Chapters of the Unforgiven. Graciously accepting this most profound of gifts, the Supreme Grand Masters kneeled before the Lord Commander and pledged their Chapters to the new Imperium.
Immediate concerns over the Primaris Space Marines were assuaged as the new warriors adapt to the Black Knights' ways of war and performed well alongside their battle-brothers. The Inner Circle remained hostile to their presence, however, for the newcomers had not gone through the long indoctrinations, nor heard the carefully built-up apocryphal tales that would prepare them to one day hear the truth. As campaigns progressed and decades passed, many of the Primaris Space Marines gained veteran status, and it remained only a matter of time before a decision had to be made to initiate one into the Lion Guard.
Command Ranks[]
Grand Master (Chapter Master) - The Black Knights Chapter Master is known as the Grand Master. It is his duty to chair all meetings of the Chapter's Inner Circle, which serves as the Black Knights' replacement for the standard Chapter Council. Only the Grand Master is privy to all of the Chapter's dark secrets -- and even he does not know everything.
Seneschal (Veteran Captain) - These are the senior Masters (Captains) within the Chapter that are members of the Inner Circle. They also perform the following additional duties:
Master (Captain) - A Master serves as a Company Commander of the Chapter and is the Black Knights' equivalent to the standard Space Marine Captain of other Chapters. A Master leads each of the 10 companies of the Black Knights and ultimately falls under the command of the Grand Master. Every Captain within the Chapter serves as a member of the Inner Circle, although even at this rank he is not privy to the entire truth surrounding the Chapter's dark past or all of the Chapter's many secrets.
Equerry - The Equerry serves as the right-hand of the Grand Master, serving as a trusted comrade and a confidant to the senior officers of the Chapter. Usually, this position is reserved for the Master of the elite 1st ('Lion Guard') Veteran Company.
Master of the Hunt - Master of the Chapter's elite 2nd Company ('Ravenclaws'), reserved for the Master of the 2nd Company.
Master of the Arsenal - The Master of the Arsenal is a Space Marine captain who is charged by his Chapter Master with overseeing his Chapter's arsenal of weapons and munitions. Reserved for the Master of the 3rd Company.
Master of the Void Wing (Master of the Fleet) - The Master of the Fleet is that Space Marine captain who is deemed to have the most experience and greatest skill at planning and executing void-combats. He is given command of the Chapter fleet and essentially serves as the Chapter's fleet admiral, commanding its flagship and all other space assets when they deploy for major engagements. Reserved for the Master of the 4th Company.
Master of the Marches - As well as leading an entire company of Space Marines in battle, the Master of the Marches has the duty of overseeing the deployment of the Chapter's fighting strength. It is his knowledge of Chapter dispositions that the Chapter Master turns to when readying for war. Reserved for the Master of the 5th Company.
Master of the Rites - The Master of Rites is charged with recording and preserving the martial traditions of the Chapter -- a bombastic, courageous warrior with unswerving loyalty to his Battle-Brothers. This individual exudes a sense of martial pride and fervour to those around them. Reserved for the Master of the 6th Company.
Master of the Reliquary (Master of Relics) - The Master of the Reliquary is the custodian of the Chapter's many technological masterpieces, the most dangerous of which are brought to the battlefield in times of exceptional strife. Reserved for the Master of the 7th Company.
Master of Blades (Lord Executioner) - The Master of Blades is the captain who serves as the master of the Chapter's Reserve Close Support Company and is usually the commander of the 8th Company. He is a brutal and direct individual, not so much given to glittering heroics and flamboyant challenges as short, bloody, and efficient close combats. Reserved for the Master of the 8th Company.
Lord Castellan (Master of Sieges) - The Master of Sieges is the commander of the Chapter's Reserve Fire Support Company, an unmatched expert in the tactics of long-ranged warfare. Reserved for the Master of the 9th Company.
Master of Squires (Master of Recruits) - The Master of Squires is the officer who is responsible for training all of the Chapter's Neophytes and who usually also serves as the commander of the Chapter's Scout Company, the 10th Company. He will be a skilled Veteran of hundreds of battles and a shrewd judge of character, easily able to determine what will bring out the best in the genetically-altered adolescents who survived their Aspirant Trials and transform them into true Astartes. As the leader of a Scout Company, the Master of Recruits will be an expert in the irregular forms of combat that define the missions of Space Marine Scouts, including sabotage, infiltration, and counterinsurgency. Reserved for the Master of the 10th Company.
Consul (Lieutenant) - Consuls act as the right hands of their Masters by providing flexibility and helping to direct their Battle-Brothers in engagements. Space Marine Battle Companies are frequently divided into two Battle Demi-companies of 50 Astartes each in order to spread their forces across multiple combat zones. Command of each Demi-company falls to a Consul, who leads his brothers unflinchingly into battle.
Master of Reconnaissance - The Master of Reconnaissance is a junior officer who oversees the Vanguard Space Marines of a Chapter, typically from the 10th Scout Company. This specialist rank is reserved for one of the two Consuls assigned to the 10th Company that shows an aptitude for covert operations.
Master of the Signal - The Master of Signal is one of the two junior officers of the 9th Fire Support Company commonly attached to the forward elements of the 8th Assault Company, providing communications support across the wider warzone. He is capable of calling down a pinpoint bombardment from either orbiting fleet assets or static artillery positions nearby, engulfing the foes of Mankind in flaming destruction. This specialist rank is reserved for one of the two Consuls assigned to the 9th Company.
Senior Specialist Ranks[]
Master of Sanctity - The Master of Sanctity serves as the Chapter's Reclusiarch and oversees the duties of all of the other Chaplains of the Chapter. His most important duty is to train the Black Knights' special class of Interrogator-Chaplains and he is usually a master of their art of interrogation and psychological manipulation. He is a member of the Inner Circle and is thus one of the only members of the Chapter privy to the whole truth surrounding the Fallen.
Chief Apothecary - The Chief Apothecary serves as the Chapter's Chief Apothecary and oversees the medical needs of all Black Knights as well as all biological research conducted by the Chapter. The Chief Apothecary's most important duty is to preserve and maintain the purity of the Chapter's stock of gene-seed. He is a member of the Inner Circle and is thus one of the only members of the Chapter privy to the whole truth surrounding the Fallen.
Master of Secrets - The Master of Secrets serves as the Chapter's Chief Librarium and oversees the Chapter's ancient and secret knowledge. He is responsible for maintaining all of the Black Knights' Chapter records and the security of its secrets. He is a member of the Inner Circle and is thus one of the only members of the Chapter privy to the whole truth surrounding the Fallen.
Master of the Forge - The Master of the Forge serves as the Chapter's senior Techmarine and the subject matter expert in regard to the maintenance and upkeep of the Chapter's relics, wargear, weapons, and fleet of vehicles. His knowledge of the arcane sciences has been refined over centuries of service and rivals that of the senior tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars. The Master of the Forge oversees the Chapter's armoury and is the chief engineer and weaponsmith of the Chapter. However, despite his senior status, this individual is not allowed to serve as a member of the Chapter's Inner Circle due to their shared allegiance to the Tech-Priests of Mars and is therefore treated as somewhat of an outsider by his fellow senior commanders of the Chapter.
Specialist Ranks[]
Interrogator-Chaplains
Vicar (Chaplain)
Apothecary
Librarians (Epistolary, Codicier, Lexicanium)
Techmarine
Lancer (Pilot)
Line Ranks[]
Preceptor-Sergeant (Veteran Sergeant)
Eskaton (Veteran Fire Support Sergeant)
Paladin (Veteran Marine)
Armiger-Brother (Sergeant)
Esquire (Battle-Brother)
Squire (Scout Marine) - Probationary rank.
Page (Initiate)
Aspirant
Non-Astartes[]
Lay Servant (Chapter Serf)
Elite Units[]
Iconography of the Lion Guard, the Black Knights' elite 1st Company.
Lion Guard - The Black Knights' 1st Company of veteran marines is referred to within the Chapter as the Lion Guard. They are the Dark Angels' equivalent of the Deathwing. The Lion Guard is comprised solely of Black Knights veterans who only take to the field of battle in sable and deep red-coloured Terminator Armour. The Lion Guard is tasked with the mission of continuing the Hunt for the Fallen, which takes precedence over all other missions for the Chapter, even though they may be called upon to fight a wide range of foes. The bulk of the 1st Company is composed of Terminator Squads, indefatigable warriors who blast apart their enemies with Storm Bolters whilst advancing into melee assault range. Lion Guard Terminators feature a mix of weaponry, for both long-ranged and close combat-oriented roles.
Iconography of the Ravenclaws, the Black Knights' elite 2nd Company.
Ravenclaws - The Black Knights' 2nd Company is called the Ravenclaws. They are the equivalent of the Dark Angels' Ravenwing. The members of the Ravenclaws are chosen not only for their skill at fast assaults using bikes and Land Speeders but also for their resilience to the heretical rantings of members of the Fallen Angels. All but the highest members of the Chapter's Inner Circle are oblivious to the true purpose of the Ravenclaws, which is to hunt down and capture every last member of the Fallen. Like the Palatines, the Ravenclaws does not conform to the ideal of Space Marine Chapter organisation as laid out in the Codex Astartes, though the other Bkack Knights' companies are considered to be Codex-compliant. The Ravenclaws Company is mostly composed of Bike Squads and squadrons of assault Land Speeders. These vehicles are then divided into two groups; one serves as an attack squadron and the other as a fire support squadron.
Specialist Formations[]
Black Knights Lion Guard Knights Preceptor-Sergeant, Kerubael Heraclon, Avenging Crusader of the Sanctified Cabal, assigned to the elite 1st Company ("Lion Guard").
Lion Guard Knights (Deathwing Knights Equivalent) - A Lion Guard Knight is a fell-handed warrior of the Black Knights, a member of the elite 1st Company whose glorious deeds on the field of battle are matched only by his unflinching devotion to the Chapter. Lion Guard Knights are a truly imposing sight, for within them, lives some semblance of the Lion himself. Only the most veteran Lion Guard is given the title Knight, the uppermost level of the order before being named a Master. They become the ultimate upholders of ancient Chapter traditions and the most skilled fighting unit of the Black Knights. In the stratified Chapter organisation of the Black Knights, the Lion Guard Knights represent the elite -- only the Masters of each Battle Company rank higher -- and they are only chosen from among the company of the Lion Guard Knights, who are also members of the Chapter's Inner Circle.
Talon Knights (Ravenwing Black Knights Equivalent) - Mounted on powerful, heavily customised Mark IV Assault Bikes, the Ravenclaws Talon Knights of the Chapter's 2nd Company, are heavily armed shock cavalry. Those who survive in the Ravenclaws long enough learn to take the doctrines of mobile warfare to the next level of mastery. If they pass the Seven Rites of the Raven, they will be inducted into the Talon Knights, the Inner Circle of the 2nd Company. There, they will learn the real reason behind their hunt for heretics and the truth about their Chapter's history. To signify their exalted status, Talon Knights carry Corvus Hammers, which are patterned after an ancient Calibanite weapon used to hunt the Great Beasts. The Talon Knights' riding skills are supreme, and they can drive at top speed through almost any impediments to close on their foes.
Iconography of the Naufragia, the Black Knights' elite heavy fire support unit. This symbol is comprised of the ancient hourglass and skulls icon of the Order of the Dreadwing and the star of the Hexagrammaton centered behind it.
Naufragia - The Naufragia are a holdover of the Dreadwing formation of the ancient Ist Legion. They were perhaps the most feared of all the branches of the Hexagrammaton, garnering a reputation that far outweighed the wing's influence within the Legion, composed of those whose role was the utter annihilation of the enemy, the salting of the earth and the breaking of worlds.
Naufragia Eskaton (Veteran Fire Support Sergeant) Samiel Zaharor, Unforgiving Seraph of the Hallowed Cloister, wielding a foreboding relic Phosphex Incinerator Cannon. He is assigned to the ranks of the Chapter's elite Naufragia Terminator heavy fire support squads of the 9th Company.
When called upon, the initiates of the Dreadwing were experts in the brutal tactics of massacre, purge, and the deployment of Exterminatus-class weaponry, though many also specialised in the use of terror as a weapon. Far from dim brutes, the Dreadwing also saw to the duty of caretaking some of the most dangerous technologies that existed anywhere within the Imperium. Amongst the ranks of this dour brotherhood stood the ranks of the terminator-armoured elite known as the Naufragia.
This bygone formation was incorporated into the battlefield role of the Black Knights specialist formations. Arrayed in formidable relic suits of Cataphractii Terminator plate and armed with deadly plasma or phosphex weapons, they are wholly dedicated to the singular purpose of the utter annihilation of the enemy. Armed with ancient and forbidden weaponry, when the Naufragia walk the battlefield they bring absolute devastation to their enemies, leaving nothing but ash and destruction in their wake. Thus, the Naufragia Terminator heavy-fire support squads of the Black Knights are the Grand Master's final sanction, the ultimate curse for those foolish enough to stand against the wrathful sons of the Lion.
Order of Battle[]
The current Chapter order of battle as of 999.M41, is as follows:
Chapter Command[]
Headquarters
Grand Master Vandriel Althalos,
Chapter Master of the Black Knights Chapter
Paladin Apollyon Caradoc, Chapter Champion
Lion Guard Warders
Command Squad: (Chapter Standard Bearer, Tormentor-Chaplain, Lexicanium, Apothecary & Techmarine)
Grand Master Athalos leads a council of officers drawn from the senior-most members of the Inner Circle. This council's composition changes depending upon the wishes of each Grand Master.
Inner Circle "The Enlightened"
Librarius
Logisticiam
Grand Master Vandriel Althalos,
Lord Marshal Brom Aetius, Commander of the Lion Guard, Equerry to the Grand Master
Huntmaster Ramos Themistocles, Commander of the Ravenclaws
Hierarch Mordred Fellbane, Master of Sanctity
Chief Librarian Bran Vortimer, Master of Secrets
Seneschal Lucan Peredor, Master of the Apothecarion
Seneschal Timon Caractacus, Master of the Fleet
8 Masters (Captain Equivalent) of the 8 remaining companies
All Lion Guard Knights (Deathwing Knights Equivalent)
All Talon Knights (Ravenwing Black Knights equivalent)
Chief Librarian Bran Vortimer,
Master of Secrets
Librarians
Lexicaniums
Codiciers
Epistolaries
Acolytum
Paladin Turel Alisander,
Warden of the Wrath of Caliban
920 Servitors
Administrative Support Staff
Support Personnel (Lay Servants)
Other Departments
Armourium
Fleet Command "Void Wing"
Apothecarion
Reclusiarchy
Brother Llyr Breunor,
Master of The Wrath of Caliban
The Master of The Wrath of Caliban serves as the Chapter's Master of the Forge; he is NOT a member of the Inner Circle because of his shared allegiance to the Adeptus Mechanicus.
20 Techmarines
110 Servitors
16 Predators
6 Vindicators
12 Whirlwinds
20 Land Raiders
Seneschal Cassiel Dumah,
Master of the Void Wing (Master of the Fleet equivalent)
1 Chapter Barque
6 Battle Barges
12 Strike Cruisers
20 Rapid Strike Vessels
24 Thunderhawk Gunships
Unknown Number Land Speeder Vengeances
Unknown Number Ravenwclaw Darkshrouds
Unknown Number Nephilim Jetfighters
Unknown Number Ravenclaw Dark Talons
Seneschal Lucan Peredor (Chief Apothecary)
Master of the Apothecarion
12 Apothecaries
Hierarch Mordred Fellbane,
Master of Sanctity
Interrogator-Chaplains
Vicars (Chaplains)
Companies []
Veteran Companies
Battle Companies
1st Company "Lion Guard"
2nd Company "Ravenclaws"
3rd Company
4th Company
5th Company
Lord Marshal Brom Aetius,
Commander of the Lion Guard, Equerry to the Grand Master
2 Consuls
Company Champion
Command Squad: (Company Standard Bearer, Interrogator-Chaplain, Apothecary & Lexicanium)
Lion Guard Knights (Deathwing Knights equivalent)
Paladins (20 Terminator Squads)
6 Venerable Dreadnoughts
Land Raiders
Huntmaster Ramos Themistocles,
Commander of the Ravenclaws, Master of the Hunt
2 Consuls
Company Champion
Command Squad: (Company Standard Bearer, Interrogator-Chaplain, Apothecary & Lexicanium)
Undisclosed number of Talon Knights (Ravenwing Black Knights equivalent)
Ravenclaws Astartes (6 Bike Attack Squadrons, 4 Bike Support Squadrons)
Land Speeders
Thunderhawk Gunships
Marshal Azrael Drakarus,
Master of the Arsenal
2 Consuls
Company Champion
Command Squad: (Company Standard Bearer, Interrogator-Chaplain, Apothecary & Epistolary)
Paladin Squads (Veteran Marines)
2 Battleline Squads
2 Close Support Squads
2 Fire Support Squads
2 Dreadnoughts
Rhinos
Seneschal Cassiel Doumah,
Master of the Void Wing (Master of the Fleet equivalent)
2 Consuls
Company Champion
Command Squad: (Company Standard Bearer, Interrogator-Chaplain, Apothecary & Epistolary)
Undisclosed Number of Paladins (Veteran Marines)
6 Battleline Squads
2 Close Support Squads
2 Fire Support Squads
3 Dreadnoughts
Rhinos
Master Nakir Zepholos,
Master of the Marches
2 Consuls
Company Champion
Command Squad: (Company Standard Bearer, Interrogator-Chaplain, Apothecary & Epistolary)
Paladin Squads (Veteran Marines)
6 Battleline Squads
2 Close Support Squads
2 Fire Support Squads
2 Dreadnoughts
Rhinos
Reserve Companies
Scout Company
6th Company
7th Company
8th Company Close Support Company
9th Company Fire Support Company
10th Company
Master Remiel Elyan,
Master of the Rites
2 Consuls
Company Champion
Command Squad: (Company Standard Bearer, Interrogator-Chaplain, Apothecary & Epistolary)
Paladin Squads (Veteran Squads)
10 Battleline Squads
1 Dreadnought
Rhinos
Master Eremiel Blackthorn,
Master of the Marches
2 Consuls
Company Champion
Command Squad: (Company Standard Bearer, Interrogator-Chaplain, Apothecary & Epistolary)
Paladin Squads (Veteran Marines)
10 Battleline Squads
2 Dreadnoughts
Rhinos
Master Maalik Leonheart,
Master of Blades(Lord Executioner)
1 Consul
1 Master of Signal
Company Champion
Command Squad: (Company Standard Bearer, Interrogator-Chaplain, Apothecary & Epistolary)
Paladin Squads (Veteran Marines)
10 Close Support Squads
2 Dreadnoughts
Rhinos
Lord Castellan Zachariel Mabon,
Master of Sieges
2 Consuls
Company Champion
Command Squad: (Company Standard Bearer, Interrogator-Chaplain, Apothecary & Epistolary)
Paladin Squads (Veteran Marines)
5 Naufragia Terminator Heavy Fire Support Squads
5 Fire Support Squads
3 Dreadnoughts
Rhinos
Master Vortigern Accalon,
Master of Squires(Master of Recruits)
1 Consul
1 Master of Reconnaissance
Company Champion
Command Squad: (Company Standard Bearer, Interrogator-Chaplain, Apothecary & Epistolary)
4 Squire (Scout) Squads
6 Vanguard Squads
100 Unassigned Pages (Initiates)
Combat Doctrine[]
An Armiger-Brother (Sergeant) slaying a Chaos Space Marine.
The Black Knights follow the standard combat doctrine of the Codex Astartes, and like their Progenitors, their dogged resistance against overwhelming odds is legendary. Holding little to no regard for strategies by other ally forces, the Black Knights will relentlessly pursue their own battle plans regardless of other schemes others might have set in motion. On numerous occasions, this behaviour has led to battles being won at the expense of an entire campaign, for the Black Knights care little for their allies' goals, only that their own immediate objectives are achieved, regardless of the overall picture.
The Chapter's attitude might long ago have led to it being entirely ostracised by any of the Imperium's armies besides which it might take to the field. This is not the case, however, for the Chapter's total devotion has on numerous occasions led to it achieving stunning victories and achieving objectives others have written off as unobtainable. The Chapter's all-consuming dedication to its mission translates into a total rejection of the notion of failure. The Black Knights are so relentless and stubborn in their approach to warfare that they are known to stubbornly stand their ground in battle, refusing to yield ground to the enemy, even if it is tactically beneficial to do so.
A Black Knights Preceptor-Sergeant faces off against a Fallen Angel.
The primary driving force of the Black Knights is the Hunt for the Fallen. Only by forcing every single one to repent do the Black Knights believe they can restore the honour of the Scions of the Lion. If a member of the Fallen or someone who may know of the location of one, is present on the battlefield, the Black Knights will ignore their objective and do all in their power to capture this individual. Everything else is secondary to the capture of a Fallen Angel, including any other human life. It is not unknown for Black Knights to fire upon friendly targets in order to prevent them from discovering the secret of the Fallen. Those friendly units that survive are often taken to The Rock to be turned into Servitors, to silence them forever.
The Black Knights are also notoriously intolerant of non-humans and mutants, even Abhumans such as Squats, Ogryns, or Ratlings who are considered benevolent by the Imperium of Man. They are also highly mistrustful of the Imperial Inquisition and will refuse to fight alongside any force that incorporates members of the Inquisition, or non-human soldiers, except in the direst of circumstances.
Chapter Beliefs[]
Hierarch Mordred Fellbane, Master of Sancity and current Reclusiarch of the Black Knights Chapter.
The Black Knights are very close to their progenitor Chapter in both doctrine and temperament. The Black Knights are known for their stoic and intractable manner, unflinching against even the mightiest of foes. The Black Knights are paragons of stoicism, unwilling to take even a single step away from the enemy when the battle is joined, their prowess honed across countless battlefields that they can weather any attack. Like their fellow Unforgiven, Black Knights Battle-Brothers are constantly warned against the words of the heretic and their Chapter dogma extols the virtues of the eternal hunt for those who would forswear the most powerful of oaths. The Company Chaplains preach sermons that tell of legendary figures betrayed by their own, often having fought in battles far from home. Numerous such tales exist, and each is revealed as part of a slow, deliberate pattern, the brethren monitored all the while for their reaction. Only upon his ascension to the Inner Circle is a Battle-Brother told anything approaching the truth, and even then, there are some secrets known only at the very highest tiers. The Black Knights fear spiritual damnation from the inter-Legion war known as the Fall, feeling responsible for meting out the punishment upon the Fallen who turned from the Emperor and the Lion as an act of repentance.
Chapter Gene-Seed[]
As descendants of the Dark Angels, the Black Knights boast one of the purest and non-mutated gene-seed of all the Loyalist Primarchs, they are however, prone to the same stubbornness and resolve as their brother Unforgiven Chapters. The Black Knights are also notably more aggressive than other Unforgiven, and have at times shown a disturbing and callous disregard for the lives of the civilians of the Imperium as long as their mission objectives are obtained.
Primarch's Curse: The Strong are Strongest Alone[]
The Battle-Brothers of the Adeptus Astartes are the champions of Mankind, but in becoming so they have surrendered much of what makes them human. When extremes of stress and trauma stretch even the prodigious mental and spiritual strength of a Space Marine, those qualities that make him a glorious exemplar of Humanity may turn him into the very opposite. When the Chapter's genetic curse manifests in a Battle-Brother, it comes in three stages:
Stage 1 (Contemptuous of Lesser Men): The Battle-Brother comes to regard all outside of the Adeptus Astartes as thankless curs, undeserving of the sacrifices he and his brethren have made in the name of Humanity.
Stage 2 (Distrustful of his Brothers): Continued spiritual trauma causes the Battle-Brother to resent even other Space Marines, who he comes to believe are belittling of the deeds of his own Chapter. The Battle-Brother even comes to resent those drawn from his Progenitor Chapter, perceiving slights in all they say and do.
Stage 3 (The Champion Stands Alone): Eventually, the Battle-Brother comes to believe that he alone can bear the weight of responsibility vested in the Adeptus Astartes by the Emperor of Mankind. He withdraws even from his own squad and his temper flares at the slightest provocation. If his counsel is not heeded, he might fly into a rage, and if he is not appointed command of a mission, he considers his skill and his honour gravely insulted.
Deathwatch Service[]
A Black Knights Paladin assigned to the Deathwatch in the role of an Assault Marine.
The Black Knights are so utterly dedicated to their duty, that other Imperial forces often shun their presence and eschew their aid, for they are cowed by these Battle-Brothers' cold-blooded determination and icy single-mindedness. They are driven to perform their duty to the point of all-consuming obsession. The Black Knights are so relentless and stubborn in their approach to battle they refuse to flee in the face of overwhelming odds, and instead chose to fight on, regardless of the high cost in lives, but often emerge bloodied but victorious. Though other Chapters often regard the Black Knights as tactically inflexible and stubborn, none can gainsay their roll of battle honours they have earned over the millennia of their existence.
With such an attitude, it is perhaps surprising to some that several Battle-Brothers bearing ebon and red heraldry appear at the gates of Watch Fortress Erioch unbidden, requesting the honour to stand a Long Watch in the Jericho Reach. Their drive to succeed, no matter the odds, and their utter refusal to concede defeat often earn them great honour for their Chapter and all the Unforgiven. Often, a Black Knights Battle-Brother willingly undertakes the most arduous of missions with a solemn dedication.
Despite possessing a well-earned reputation for resolute devotion to duty, it is whispered by their detractors that the Black Knights are not always wholly altruistic in seconding Battle-Brothers to the Deathwatch, and it is undeniable that doing so greatly aids the Unforgiven's ongoing hunt for the Fallen. Most Deathwatch Kill-teams are made up of but a handful of Battle-Brothers, sent alone into the far reaches of the void to pursue objectives unknown to even the highest tiers of the Imperium's government. With the net cast so wide, it is believed that several Fallen has been captured by the Inner Circle following reports passed on by a Black Knight serving in the Deathwatch. Yet, the Black Knights must ensure that they observe the Apocryphon Oath or risk bringing dishonour to their Chapter and earning the wrath of the Deathwatch and the Inquisition.
Notable Black Knights[]
Grand Master Uriah Marbas - First Grand Master, he is the patriarch and founder of the Black Knights Chapter.
Grand Master Vandriel Althalos - Twentieth Grand Master and current Chapter Master of the Black Knights.
Chief Librarian Bran Vortimer - Current Chief Librarian who also serves as the Chapter's Master of Secrets.
Seneschal Lucan Peredor - Current Chief Apothecary who also serves as the Master of the Apothecarion.
Paladin Turel Alisander Current Warden of the Wrath of Caliban.
Brother Lyr Breunor - Current Master of the Wrath of Caliban who also serves as the Chapter's Master of the Forge.
Hierarch Mordred Fellbane - Current Master of Sanctity and Reclusiarch of the Black Knights.
Lord Marshal Brom Aetius - Current Commander of the elite 1st Company (Lion Guard) and also serves as Equerry to the Grand Master.
Huntmaster Ramos Themistocles - Current Commander of the elite 2nd Company (Ravenclaws) who also serves as the Master of the Hunt.
Marshal Azrael Drakarus - Master of the 3rd Company who also serves as the Chapter's Master of the Arsenal.
Seneschal Cassiel Doumah - Master of the 4th Company who also serves as the Chapter's Master of the Void Wing (Master of the Fleet equivalent).
Master Nakir Zepholos - Current Master of the 5th Company who also serves as the Chapter's Master of Rites.
Master Remiel Elyan - Current Master of the 6th Company who also serves as the Chapter's Master of Relics.
Master Eremiel Blackthorn - Current Master of the 7th Company who also serves as the Chapter's Master of Marches.
Master Maalik Leonheart - Current Master of the 8th Company who also serves as the Chapter's Master of Blades.
Lord Castellan Zachariel Mabon - Current Master of the 9th Company who also serves as the Chapter's Master of Sieges.
Master Vortigern Accalon - Current Master of the 10th Company who also serves as the Chapter's Master of Squires.
Hierarch Modred Fellbane - Current Reclusiarch who serves as the Chapter's Master of Sanctity.
Paladin Apollyon Caradoc - A bellicose and ferocious warrior, this robust Astartes serves as the current Chapter Champion and personal bodyguard to the Grand Master himself.
Preceptor-Sergeant Dumah Zahariel - Preceptor-Sergeant Dumah Zahariel, Grim Crusader of the Blessed Spearhead, of the 7th Company, 3rd Battleline Squad (Squad Zahariel). Brother Dumah formerly served in the Unnumbered Sons as a 'Greyshield', upon his assignment to his parent Chapter, Dumah's willingness to learn his Chapter's traditions and secret rituals set him apart from his fellow Primaris. His skill and tactical acumen were such that he was believed by the Veterans of the Lion Guard to be worthy of joining their ranks, which would mean that he would be the first of the former Greyshields to be welcomed into the Inner Circle, 'The Enlightened', to the Chapter. Debate raged amongst the senior masters and veteran brothers about whether or not a Primaris Marine should be allowed to be initiated into their greatest secrets - the true history of their genetic forebears and their secret shame.
Lord Marshal Brom Aetius, the Master of the Lion Guard, persuaded his fellow masters to consider allowing Dumah to be tested. He had every bit of confidence in the Preceptor-Sergeant's fortitude and indomitable spirit to pass the trials, hear the truth, and succeed as any true Son of the Lion would. Assuaging any fears his fellow commanders had, they consented to Brom's wishes. The Lord Marshal personally oversaw Dumah's trials, which the Primaris passed. Brother Dumah's performance put to rest any opposition to the first generation of Primaris Marines being promoted to the highest ranks of the Black Knights. It is only a matter of time before he is fully initiated into the ranks of the elite Lion Guard.
Venerable-Seneschal Baraquiel - Venerable-Seneschal Baraquiel, 'Tormented Seraph of the Bleak Host', is the oldest of the Black Knights' Battle-Brothers, having served in the ancient Ist Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. Baraquiel had risen to the rank of Seneschal before he "died" during the disastrous Canis-Balor campaign. Despite suffering horrendous wounds, his mortal remains still clung to life, and he was attended upon by the Legion's finest Apothecaries and Techmarines. Through their ministrations Baraquiel was resurrected, honoured for his service and became one of the Ist Legion's earliest Dreadnoughts.
Barquiel's mortal remains were interred within an ancient Furibundus pattern Dreadnought before the techniques for the creation of these cybernetic veterans had been perfected. The design of this proto-dreadnought hailed from the technologically advanced Terrawatt Clans of Terra and was capable of being piloted not only by mortal human pilots but was later adapted to accommodate the bulk of a hard-wired, near-dead transhuman Astartes. With its successful use during the early years of the Great Crusade, the Furibundus dreadnought was officially sanctioned by the Martian Mechanicum becoming one of the Legiones Astartes' earliest recognised dreadnought patterns.
During the Rangdan Xenocides, Baraquiel served under the command of his Chapter's founder, Uriah Marbas, who was then a lieutenant of the 27th Company. Following his commander's elevation to the esteemed rank of Chapter Master and given command of the newly re-constituted 15th Chapter, Baraquiel would continue to serve under Marbas' command for the remainder of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.
Following the dissolution of the Legiones Astartes and the subsequent Second Founding, Baraquiel was one of the original Dreadnoughts from the old Ist Legion that became a part of the initial cadre of the newly incepted Black Knights Chapter. For over ten millennia, Venerable-Seneschal Baraquiel has continued to faithfully serve the Emperor. He has fought every kind of enemy known to Mankind across the width and breadth of the galaxy. However, the passage of time has slowly taken a toll on this venerable warrior and Baraquiel is only awakened at the dawn of each millennium or when his Chapter has need of his skills and wisdom. He represents a link to the ancient Ist Legion and his Chapter's past and is revered by the Black Knights as a hero almost as great as Uriah Marbas.
Venerable-Praefectus Ramiel - Venerable-Praefectus Ramiel, Archon of Wrath, relic Contemptor Dreadnought of the Black Knights' 4th Company. Venerable Ramiel wields ancient and extremely potent archeotech weaponry of a bygone age, rare even during the times of the Great Crusade. However, such weapons were commonplace amongst the ranks of the ancient I Legion, utilised to overwhelm terrible foes. Many of these ancient relics were passed down to the Dark Angels Successor Chapters, who continue to preserve such profound gifts lovingly, bearing them down the ages against the foes of the Lion.
Chapter Fleet[]
The Black Knights maintain a substantial Crusading Chapter Fleet consisting of 20 Rapid Strike Vessels, 24 Thunderhawk gunships, and the following notable vessels listed below:
Wrath of Caliban (Chapter Barque) - Ancient relic vessel and flagship of the Black Knights, this formidable vessel was gifted to the Black Knights by their progenitors sometime in the early centuries, following their inception.
Angels Redemption (Goliath-class Battle Barge)
Angel's Shadow (Infernus-class Battle Barge)
Dark Contrition (Warpspite-class Battle Barge)
Intolerable (Legate-class Battle Barge)
Iron Will (Mortis Rex-class Battle Barge)
The Lion's Fire (Olympic-class Battle Barge)
Angelic Crusader (Lunar-class Strike Cruiser)
Dark Vengeance (Bellerophon Heavy Assault Cruiser)
Herald of Woe (Hades-class Strike Cruiser)
Lion's Rage (Vanguard Light Cruiser)
Lion's Will (Vanguard Light Cruiser)
Seraphic Vengeance (Gladius-class Frigate)
Sword of Vehemence (Gladius-class Frigate)
Wrath of Caliban (Nova-class Frigate)
Wrath of the Lion (Hunter-class Destroyer)
Undying Fury (Hunter-class Destroyer)
Unmerciful Will (Hunter-class Destroyer
Unrelenting Faith (Hunter-class Destroyer)
Chapter Relics[]
Thanatos, the Sword of Death, relic greatsword of the Black Knights first Grand Master, Uriah Marbas.
Thanatos - Thanatos, known also as the 'Sword of Death' or 'Crownbreaker', is the Black Knights most revered artefact. This Advax-Mors Greatsword was a unique pattern of the iconic Terranic Greatswords utilised by the Dark Angels Legion's elite Knights Cenobium. It was created by the Cenobites of the Order of the Broken Claws in the wake of the Rangdan Xenocides, using the valuable experience earned by the sacrifice of their brothers in the wars against the xenos bio-monstrosities. It was gifted to Uriah Marbas for his actions in saving the life of a Broken Claws Praetor during the Third Rangdan Xenocide. In recognition of his adeptness and hard-won wisdom he earned by combating the monstrous bio-forms of the Rangdan, Uriah was also inducted into the mysteries and secrets of the Order of the Broken Claws.
This particular weapon takes the form of a large double-handed flammbard, which possesses a blade formed into a distinctive wave-shape that a master swordsman can use to parry their opponent's blows in such a way as to fatally disrupt their swordplay by causing unpleasant vibrations while parrying. An advantage over standard straight bladed weapons is that the undulating waved blade can better distribute the force of impact and is less likely to break.
This greatsword is perfectly balanced, having been made of micro-folded Adamantium, etched at a molecular level with thrice-blessed liturgies of harm and destruction. But what makes Thanatos so special is its disruption field generator, a relic archaeotech from the Dark Age of Technology, which is far more powerful than that found on a standard power weapon and which gives the blade its devastating strength. In skilled hands, the sword can bisect even the thick battle-plate of a Terminator-armoured Legionary in a single blow or shatter granite without so much as marring the blade's mirror-like finish. Uriah wielded this masterfully wrought greatsword against countless xenos foes throughout the rest of his service during the Great Crusade, and, tragically, spilled the blood of thousands more Traitor Legionaries during the Horus Heresy. This relic weapon has been wielded by each successive Grand Master since their patriarch and founder, Uriah Marbas, wielded it ten millennia ago. It is currently wielded by Grand Master Althalos.
Kratos War Plate - Crafted by the Master-Artificers on The Rock, this relic battle-plate was crafted shortly before the end of the Great Crusade and gifted to the first Grand Master of the Black Knights. This master-crafted set of void-hardened, artificer power armour was forged by the master armourers of Caliban and is held by some to contain elements of a far older variant suit of power armour, possibly pre-dating the rise of the Imperium by many millennia. This relic battle-plate was gifted to the newly created Chapter's first Grand Master, Uriah Marbas, who proudly bore it in honour of his Progenitors. This finely wrought suit of power armour has been faithfully maintained by the Chapter's master craftsmen over the long millennia, and is said to provide even more protection and durability than the usual protection of a standard set of power armour, and is notable for its exceptional ability to shrug off the most lethal of blows.
Lion's Roar - The exact origins of this relic weapon are unknown, but this ancient master-crafted plasma pistol is said to contain the power of its heavy weapon counterpart in a small casing. When this weapon is fired, the weapon's discharge produces a unique sound reminiscent of a predatory feline from which Lion's Roar derives its name.
The Lion Spear - The Lion Spear is one of the greatest of the weapons forged by the Black Knights to hunt their traitorous kin. This ancient power spear possesses a well-honed blade empowered by a force generator of magnificent strength, able to strike down the greatest of foes. This formidable weapon is said to be able to pierce even the thick ceramite plates of Terminator Armour. As an ancient Chapter relic that possesses a long and honourable heritage, only the Chapter Champion, having performed heroic and faultless duty, earns the right to wield this unique power spear in battle.
Chapter Appearance[]
Chapter Colours[]
Black Knights Company markings, displayed on their left poleyn (knee guard).
The Black Knights primarily wear black coloured power armour. The exhaust ports on the backpack, shoulder pad trim, and lower leg armour are red in colour. The Aquila or Imperialis on the chest guard is also red in colour. A white coloured squad specialty symbol (Battleline, Fire Support, Close Support, and Veteran) stenciled on the right armorial indicates a battle-brother's assigned specialty.
A white-coloured gothic numeral is stenciled either above or below the squad specialty symbol or on the armorial's inset. This number designates a battle-brother's assigned squad. The heraldry on the left poleyn (knee guard) indicates company assignment. For the most part, the Black Knights utilise nearly identical heraldry for their battle companies as their Progenitors, with the exception of their 1st and 2nd Companies, which maintain their own unique heraldry.
Veteran Black Knights are commonly found wearing black coloured hooded cloaks and tabards; this symbolises their shame over what the Fallen Angels had done near the end of the Great Crusade. Cloaks and hoods are worn by the Veteran Black Knights and the Chapter's Inner Circle because they have learned enough about the Dark Angels' history, and thus their shame, prior to obtaining their rank within the Chapter.
Chapter Badge[]
A Black Knights armorial with variant Chapter iconography, utilised exclusively by the Chapter's veterans and members of the Inner Circle.
The Black Knights Chapter badge consists of a red-coloured stylised, open-faced circlet. A stylised representation of a flaming sword centered within, pointing upwards and surrounded by purifying flames on either side running up the length of the blade. Veterans and members of the Chapter's Inner Circle often wear a variant symbol, which consists of a large stylised, winged open-faced circlet with the flaming sword icon centered within. However, the Black Knights primary symbol has several notable subtle variations worn by the various ranks within the Chapter. These variations include:
The sword pointing upwards with two small flames on either side.
The sword pointing downwards with four larger flames on either side.
Pointing downwards with three flames on either side.
Pointing downwards with four flames on either side. The flames end about two-thirds of the way down.
The Dark Angels' Successor Chapters collectively call themselves the Unforgiven, for their own Inner Circles are fully aware of the ancient I Legion's chequered history, and they, too, seek to absolve themselves of their ancient failure. As noted, each of the Unforgiven Chapters follows the Dark Angels tactical organisation almost exactly. The Unforgiven coordinate their actions, and it is not unknown for the Supreme Grand Masters of all the Chapters to gather for regular summit meetings on The Rock, often to discuss their progress in the hunt for the Fallen. The Black Knights zealously follow their progenitor's lead whenever they are granted the opportunity to hunt the Fallen, and will go to any lengths, no matter how abhorrent, to ensure they are successful in capturing their prey alive and bringing them back to the Rock for interrogation. They are praised by their genetic forebears for their absolute dedication to the Hunt, however, their fanatical zeal gives even other Unforgiven Chapters pause. Despite drawing the ire of both some of their fellow Unforgiven and the Inquisition, this has not dissuaded the Black Knights from conducting unnecessarily brutal and heavy-handed tactics.
The Lions Malevolent are a 5th Founding Successor Chapter from the lineage of the Lion. Like their genetic forebears, this Chapter displays a particular zeal in prosecuting their quest to hunt down the Fallen. Nothing can dissuade them from this most sacred of quests and right the ancient wrongs done to their ancestors of the I Legion. Even though the Chapter has proven itself in battle, its help is sometimes refused due to its reputation for acting against orders and on occasion withdrawing from a campaign in order to pursue their own, undisclosed ends. The Black Knights admire their fellow Unforgiven brethren for their dedication to the Hunt and their zealous prosecution of their duties. As both Chapters are cut from the same cloth, they have found themselves allied with one another down the long millennia of their existence and have conducted several joint-campaigns. However, the zealous nature in which they conduct planetary purgation operations has often left severe collateral damage to both a planet's infrastructure and its population, for both Chapters believe that once a planet has been declared heretical, all are guilty by association, and therefore must be purged. These campaigns have writ a bloody legacy within the annals of Imperial history. But despite such cruel displays of castigation, neither Chapter has been censured for their conduct.
The Manticores are a Successor Chapter created as a part of the ill-omened 21st Founding, the so-called 'Cursed Founding', which resulted in most of these Chapters suffering unforeseen genetic idiosyncrasies and mutations that strained the tolerance of the Inquisition, or aberrant behavior or conduct that resulted in their having to be expunged from existence. During a notable campaign while pursuing the infamous Fallen known as Cypher, the Chapter came into conflict with the Inquisition. However, their dedication to the Hunt saw the Manticores refusing to reveal their progenitor's dark secret of the Fallen - resulting in their being declared traitors. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Despite their official standing as renegades, the Chapter continued to secretly serve the Imperium despite the persecution of their fellow Adeptus Astartes Chapters, with only their fellow Chapters of the Unforgiven knowing the truth. The Manticores not only continued to protect the Imperium but did so while continuing their neverending hunt for the Fallen. After the return of Primarch Roboute Guilliman, the acting Lord Commander of the Imperium cleared the Chapter of all charges and permitted their return to the Imperial fold. During their time as renegades, the Black Knights willingly worked alongside the Manticores on at least a half dozen occasions, despite their unfortunate status as supposed traitors. The two Chapters were even able to work together in order to capture a particularly infamous Fallen and defeat the Forces of Chaos. The Black Knights admired their younger brethren for their stalwart dedication and zeal in the prosecution of their duties, despite being universally reviled and treated harshly by those outside the Unforgiven. As fellow Unforgiven, both Chapters continue to retain a respectful relationship with one another. The Black Knights especially hold the Manticores in high esteem, as they were willing to be condemned as traitors in order to hide the truth of their secret shame. They praised the Manticores for being 'True Sons of the Lion', a gesture which has not been forgotten by the younger Chapter. Since their recent redemption, the Manticores have sworn to aid the Black Knights whenever they are called upon - a debt that has yet to be repaid.
The Dread Knights are another Successor Chapter created during the ill-fated 21st 'Cursed' Founding from the lineage of the Lion. This Chapter quickly garnered a reputation for their excessive zeal and savage mien in the persecution of the Imperium's foes which. While such tactics have given them many victories and much acclaim with those less aware of the almost religious way in which they engage in their brutally torturous wars, it has also managed to garner the Dread Knights a fell reputation. To many fellow scions of the Lion the Dread Knights are considered to be a rabid hunting animal or a blunt instrument, unleashed by Supreme Grand Master Azrael when word of a potential member of the Fallen reaches their ears. Once these Astartes are unleashed upon the trail of their quarry, the brother-templars of the Dread Knights are unrelenting, willing to rampage through entire systems if need be to find and capture even a single Fallen Angel. The Black Knights are one of the few Unforgiven Chapters that are willing to work alongside these zealous Astartes, as both Chapters are single-minded in their prosecution of their sacred quest to seek out and hunt down the Fallen, and will go to any lengths in order to secure their targets, no matter what collateral damage they leave in their wake. Despite the revulsion of their fellow Unforgiven, the Dread Knights care not for the aspersions and recriminations often slung at them by their disgusted cousin Chapters, and continue to persue their own objectives however they see fit. In both Chapters' views, the end (no matter how barbaric) always justifies the means.
The Ebon Knights are an ancient and proud Chapter whose origins are found in the chaotic centuries following the Horus Heresy. They were created during the Second Founding following the reorganisation of the Imperium's armed forces and the dissolution of the Legiones Astartes into dozens of separate Chapters. The Ebon Knights are reviled by the Black Knights for having spat upon their oaths to their progenitors and are treated with the utmost disdain whenever they are in the same warzone as the Ebon Knights. To outsiders, the true reason for the latter Chapter's being shunned by their fellow Unforgiven Chapters is not known, however, many believe this schism formed following a campaign that occurred in mid-M32, when the Ebon Knights refused to obey the orders of the Dark Angels then-Supreme Grand Master to pursue the Fallen, and in doing so, defying their Progenitors openly, causing them to lose face amongst their fellow Imperial allies. This caused the Ebon Knights' dis commendation and eventual ostracisation of the upstart Chapter from the ranks of the Unforgiven. Their name was stricken from the annals of the Unforgiven, and forevermore, they were to be known only as 'The Forgotten'. At the close of the 41st Millennium and the destruction of the fortress world of Cadia and the subsequent formation of the galaxy-wide tear in reality known as the Great Rift, Supreme Grand Master Azrael was forced to convene an emergency counsel of all Chapters descended from the lineage of the Lion - this included the summoning of the 'The Forgotten'. Following their arrival, the resurrected Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman and his Indomitus Crusade fleet arrived unexpectedly and convened with the gathered Unforgiven delegations. The gathered Grand Masters kneeled before the Primarch and pledged their undying loyalty to the Imperium. As the Unforgiven was charged with prosecuting the wars of the Indomitus Crusade, over the course of several decades, the Ebon Knights earned praise from the Lord Commander of the Imperium for the zealous prosecution of their duties, earning the begrudging respect of several of their fellow Unforgiven Chapters in the process. However, the Black Knights are a stubborn breed and do not easily forget the slight the 'The Forgotten' committed against their genetic forebears. It remains to be seen whether or not the icy relationship between these two Chapters will eventually thaw.
The Angels of Solemnity is a Dark Angels Successor Chapter based within the Segmentum Solar. Created during the 5th Founding sometime during M33, they have continued displaying a strong desire to defend humanity, as they see it as the reason the Emperor created them. Most unusual for one of the Chapters of the Unforgiven is that they will often hold their post no matter the cost, even if there are known Fallen in the nearby area, much to the ire of their Progenitors. This has not garnered them many allies within the ranks of the Unforgiven, especially the Black Knights, who look down upon this Chapter with absolute disgust and barely veiled contempt. They believe the Angels of Solemnity are somehow lacking in their dedication to the Hunt and therefore flawed in the eyes of the Lion. Whenever the Black Knights are within the same warzone as this Chapter, they will go out of their way to ignore the upstarts and have refused to serve alongside them during several Imperial campaigns.
Like all Dark Angels Successor Chapters, the Black Knights hate those renegade Space Marine Legionaries who were once members of the Dark Angels Legion that spat upon their oaths to the Lion and followed the Arch-Betrayer Luther into damnation. The Black Knights relentlessly and ruthlessly pursue the Fallen across the breadth and width of the galaxy, determined to capture them and force them to repent in order to achieve forgiveness in the eyes of the Emperor. There is no act too heinous, no atrocity they will not commit, no line they will not cross, in order to achieve their ends. For the Black Knights, their end goal justifies the means, no matter the cost in innocent blood spilled.
"You are a renegade and a traitor. Your actions have damned you in the eyes of the Lion and brought shame upon him and the Unforgiven. You shall suffer unimaginably at the hands of our forebear's Interrogator-Chaplains. Your screams shall echo within the halls of the Rock, a harbinger of your contrition for your fallen kin."
— Black Knights Vicar Uriel to the notorious Fallen, Balberith the 'Thrice-Cursed', as he is taken into custody by the Dark Angels
"Do not speak of 'The Forgotten' in my presence whelp, lest I cut your wagging tongue from your mouth! We do not speak of those who turned their backs on duty, their kin and the Lion."
— Brother-Sergeant Taraziel chastising a Scout Marine, who had the temerity to inquire about the hated Ebon Knights Chapter
Feel free to add your own
About the Black Knights[]
"Hm? Black Knights? I wouldn't pay them much heed brother, they won't be here long. They are singular in their obsessions, and resolute in their secrecy."
"Greetings Brothers, how can I 'not' be in your way?"
— Brother-Captain Xylian Viestox of the Silver Knights Chapter, after meeting a Black Knights Company in pursuit of a suspected 'Fallen' in his custody.
"However frequent their military re-directs may be, it is not our place to question them or their motives. We are servants of the Emperor, as they are; they are subject to His judgment only, not ours. You will learn this in time, brother. However... pray their 9th Company attachment arrives in time..."
— 5th Captain Uldor of the Ghost Raiders Chapter, in the last days of his Company's involvement in the Demulion Conflict
Grand Master Althalos, Chapter Master of the Black Knights, arrayed in the ancient master-crafted Kratos War Plate and wielding the relic greatsword, Thanatos.
Lord Marshal Brom Aetius, Righteous Castellan of the Twilight Revelations, commander of the elite 1st Company ('Lion Guard'), and Equerry to the Grand Master. Note: Arrayed in ancient Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour and armed with a relic, gauntlet-mounted Plasma-Caster.
Black Knights Lion Guard Knight Depheros Ganymus, Anointed Custodian of the Cryptic Hunt, assigned to the elite 1st Company ('Lion Guard').
Black Knights Lion Guard Knight Kepharael Marbeel, Honourable Blade-Master of the Shrouded Brethren, assigned to the elite 1st ('Lion Guard') Veteran Company.
Black Knights Lion Guard Paladin (Veteran Marine) Zecharius Hadaral, Penitent Champion of the Enduring Altar, assigned to the elite 1st ('Lion Guard') Veteran Company.
Black Knights Paladin (Veteran Marine) Kepharel Redlail, Eskaton Champion of the Twilight Oath, assigned to the Chapter's elite Naufragia Terminator heavy fire support squads of the 9th Company.
Black Knights Interrogator-Chaplain Abathar Sedrata, Avenging Champion of the Holy Sepulchre, arrayed in relic Indomitus pattern Terminator Armour.
Black Knights Paladin-Sergeant Menerael Enkidatis, Honourable Executioner of the Dark Oath, of the Chapter's elite 1st ('Lion Guard') Veteran Company. A member of the Inner Circle, his senior status is indicated by his sable-coloured robes.
Black Knights Preceptor-Sergeant Dumah Zahariel, Grim Crusader of the Blessed Spearhead, of the 7th Company, 3rd Battleline Squad (Squad Zahariel). Brother Dumah formerly served in the ranks of the Unnumbered Sons as a 'Greyshield'. Brother Dumah's performance put to rest any opposition of the first generation of Primaris Marines being promoted to the highest ranks of the Black Knights.
Venerable-Seneschal Baraquiel, Tormented Seraph of the Bleak Host, relic Furibundus pattern Dreadnought of the Black Knights' 4th Company.
Black Knights Squire Morech Griffah of the 10th Scout Company, 5th Scout Squad.
Venerable-Praefectus Ramiel, Archon of Wrath, relic Contemptor Dreadnought of the Black Knights' 4th Company.
Gallery (Vehicles)[]
Black Knights Land Raider Proteus, Angelis Indignatio, assigned to the elite 1st ('Lion Guard') Veteran Company.
Black Knights Spartan Assault Tank, Assiduss Irae, assigned to the 1st ('Lion Guard') Veteran Company.
Black Knights Mastodon Heavy Assault Transport, Storm Lion, assigned to the 1st ('Lion Guard') Veteran Company, specifically the elite cadre known as the Lion Guard Knights (Deathwing Knights equivalent).
Black Knights Rhino Armoured Personnel Carrier, Dira Absolutio, assigned to the 1st ('Lion Guard') Veteran Company.
Black Knights Sabre Strike Tank, Lion's Rage, assigned to the 9th Fire Support Company and operated by members of the Naufragia, the Chapter's elite heavy fire support specialists. Note: This vehicle is arrayed with a rare and ancient Volkite Saker, a modified version of the Volkite Culverin, which is optimised to provide a maximized spread of high energy particle beams while the Sabre manoeuvres at high speed, cutting a deadly swathe through heavy infantry and shredding the hulls of lighter vehicles.
Black Knights Relic Scimitar Jetbike, Lion's Roar, assigned to the 2nd ('Ravenclaws') Veteran Company. This ancient relic jetbike is ridden by the veteran Talon Knight (Ravenwing Black Knight equivalent), Paladin Gawain Asterios.
Black Knights Storm Eagle Heavy Assault Gunship, Raven's Storm, assigned to the elite 2nd ('Ravenclaws') Veteran Company. This is the personal transport of Huntmaster Ramos Themistocles, Master of the Hunt and commander of the Ravenclaws.
Black Knights relic Javelin Attack Speeder, Vehement Wrath, assigned to the 2nd ('Ravenclaws') Veteran Company.
Black Knights Caestus Assault Ram, Blade of Angels, assigned to the 2nd ('Ravenclaws') Veteran Company.
Black Knights relic Land Raider Proteus, Storm of Wrath, assigned to the 6th Company, this vehicle is one of the oldest Land Raiders possessed by the Black Knights, whose proud lineage stretches all the way back to the dark days of the Horus Heresy, when it still served in the ancient I Legion.
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