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- "No sacrifice is too great to rid the Koronus Expanse of the Rak'gol who plague it!"
- — Captain Serifilius of the Second Knighthood 'Knights Invicta
The Sanguine Chalice are a Loyalist Successor Chapter of the vaunted and heroic Blood Angels. Created during an unknown Founding, despite being unable to pinpoint exactly when they were created, it is well known that they possess a long and glorious history, having been pivotal in many victories against the Chaotic horrors that have emerged from the infamous warp rift known as the Eye of Terror. This Chapter has battled and vanquished foes far and wide from marauding Orks and Drukhari raiders to Heretic Astartes of various Chaos Warbands and even the ancient Traitor Legions. They always uphold the honour of their Chapter and founding Legion.
During the Devastation of Baal campaign in 999.M41, the Sanguine Chalice and their fellow Chapters of The Blood, answered the call from Lord Commander Dante to come to Baal and help protect their Primarch's ancient birthworld from the encroaching menace of the ravenous Hive Fleet Leviathan. Like many Blood Angels Successor Chapters, the Sanguine Chalice fought bravely and heroically, standing fast in the face of overwhelming odds. But despite their best efforts, they eventually faced their ultimate demise and were wiped out by the Great Devourer. However, not all was lost, for following this gruelling campaign, the Chapter was re-constituted with newly revealed Primaris Space Marines. This new generation of advanced warriors proudly bear the livery and Chapter relics of their forebear's and continue to maintain the honour of the formerly fallen Sanguine Chalice.
History[]
Chapter Banner of the Sanguine Chalice.
The Sanguine Chalice was one of many Blood Angels Successor Chapters founded during a unknown founding, based out of the Koronus Expanse in the Segmentum Obscurus to battle the rising threat of Chaos in the region. Their gene-seed was taken directly from the Blood Angels' rather than a Successor Chapter allowing them fairly pure gene-stock. Claiming the world of Asristol-IV as their own due to the discovery of a chalice supposedly used by Sanguinius himself during the Great Crusade. During their founding the Sanguine Chalice would diverge from the accepted imperial dogma of the time resulting in the founding of the Sanguine Cult in the chapter. This cult practiced the veneration of Sanguinus as the Savior of the Imperium, placing less of an emphisis on the Emperor. While the Emperor is still venerated, he is not worshipped by the chapter, unlike Sanguinius.
Due to the nature of their enemies usually being chaos cultists and the occasional heretic Astartes Warband they adopted a policy of Shock and Awe as well as overwhelming fire power to cull the heard of chaos. Their preferred weapons being Stalker bolters, lascannons, heavy bolters, Cawl Pattern Bolt Rifles, and Plasma Eradicators. Deployed in their shield companies via drop pod and thunderhawk right on top of enemy defenses.
During the chapter's founding the Halo Stars where in a particularly dire situation with one of the infamous Black Crusades in progress. The desperate need for Astartes left the Sanguine Chalice with little time to create colour schemes and regalia, often sending their men to fight in unpainted and unmarked armor. Clad in stormcloud grey and often drenched in the crimson blood of their foes the warriors of the Sanguine Chalice fought without fear and with the brutality expected from a chapter of The Blood. Though they fought valiantly they took grievous losses with the most common statistic being one in five astartes dying in a engagement. By the end of the Black Crusade they where left with a two Brotherhoods (Companies), their survivors choosing to keep their unpainted armor with the exception of their left shoulder and left knee being painted crimson in honour of those who gave their lives during the Black Crusade.
During the last few centuries the Sanguine Chalice had been working on suppressing the rise of a extremely violent and potent xenos known as the Rak'gol. This would end up being a task too large for them to handle on their own, fighting a intense void war with the xenos and losing all but their first Knighthood. Their home world was glassed, it's hives and shrines to Sanguinius reduced to rubble. The survivors of The Battle of Asristol-IV swore a crusade of extermination of the Rak'gol but where pulled away when Abaddon launched the 13th Black Crusade. With less than a company they battled against the Forces of Chaos, only hanging on by a little. During this time they returned to the tried and true tradition of not painting their battle plate due to the fact they had no time to do so. During this time they where able to build up some strength rebuilding the second Brotherhood.
A Sanguine Chalice Firstborn Battle-Brother of the 2nd Company, 5th Battleline Squad, during the Devastation of Baal.
There was not rest for the Brothers of the Sanguine Chalice, being summoned to Baal to aid in it's defense. With only two Knighthoods the chapter brought all that remained of the chapter to bare in the face of the Tyranid threat. During the void war the chapter would mount a final stand aboard their last remaining vessel 'The Wings Invicta' within the reliquary. The last remaining members of the first Knighthood, the "Knights Chalice", stood defiant in the face of overwhelming force, fighting back-to-back and shoulder-to-shoulder. The Sanguine Chalice was wiped out to a man and decalred extinct once the Devastation of Baal had concluded.
Their extinction was short lived, when the now-living Primarch Robute Guilliman arrived at Baal with the Primaris Marines created by Belisarius Cawl, the chapter was reinstated as a Primaris Chapter and was brought back to full-strength through the aid of the Archmagos Dominus. The newly reborn Knights would return to the ship where the final stand had taken place and recovered the Sanguine Chalice.
Notable Engagements[]
- The War for Asristol-IV (792.M41) - The Sanguine Chalice fought in the defense of their home world deploying in chapter strength to try and push back the tide of Rak'gol attacking their subsector. They notably lost their home world and most of their chapter in its defense.
- 13th Black Crusade (999.M41) - The Sanguine Chalice played a minor role with in the defense of Segmentum Obscurus, leading the defenses of a handful of minor worlds near The Eye of Terror. Lead by Chapter master Diomat Steroties. They notably engaged with forces from the Iron Warriors Traitor Legion.
- The Devastation of Baal (999.M41) - The Sanguine Chalice fought with the remainder of their chapter loosing every remaining member of the chapter in the void war above Baal. The Chapter's First Knighthood famously made a last stand resulting in their deaths.
- The Humbling of Yuso (260.M42) - The Fifth Brotherhood is deployed in full strength lead by Marshal Michelangelo, considered to be a shameful event by most other members of the chapter the Fifth Brotherhood showed their resolve to victory no matter the cost. Willingly allowing for the death of Imperial Guard and Civillian elements to gain even the slightest of advantages and the liberal use of the Death Company on civillian targets under the control of rebel forces. The humbling only ended when every single trace of the rebels was scrubbed from the planet and a fifth of the planets population was culled.
Chapter Home World[]
The original home world of the Sanguine Chalice is a shine world known as Asristol-IV, located in the Halo Stars in Segmentum Obscurus. Little is known about the world other than it was where the Ebon Chalice was found.
Fortress-Monastery[]
The Battle Barge Silver Wings has serves as the Chapter's fortress monastery since it's revival as a Primaris chapter. It is a newly constructed vessel from the ship yards of Mars.
Chapter Organization[]
The Sanguine Chalice is organized into ten Brotherhood, which is their company equivalent. Each Brotherhood servers a different purpose in the chapter, some serve as autonomous battle groups while others remain with the main fleet.
Officer Ranks[]
- Lord Marshal of the Chalice - Chapter master
- Castellen of the Sanguine Cult - Reclusiarch
- Master of The Librarium - Chief Librarian
- Master of the Grail - Chief Apothecary/Chief Sanguinary Priest
- Master of the Forge
- Guardian of The Damned - Castellen of the Death Company
- Marshal of the Knights - First Brotherhood Captain
- Marshal - Captain
Specialist Ranks[]
- Veteran Paladin - Vet. SGT
- Paladin - SGT
Line Ranks[]
- Brother-Sanguine - Veteran
- Brother-Knight - Battle Brother
- Brother-Squire - Scout
Specialist Units & Formations[]
- The Death Company
- Guardians of the Chalice - The elite keepers of the Sanguine Chalice, made up of only the most elite from the first Knighthood.
Order of Battle[]
Headquarters[]
- First Brotherhood 'Knights Chalice' - The first company and the command company are one in the same for the Sanguine Chalice, Each member of the first Brotherhood has drank from the Sanguine Chalice dignifying them as the chapter's most elite.
Companies[]
- 2nd Brotherhood 'Knights Invicta'
- 3rd Brotherhood 'Knights Odium'
- 4th Brotherhood 'Knights Immortalis'
- 5th Brotherhood 'Knights Victrix'
- 6th Brotherhood 'Knights Sospes'
- 7th Brotherhood 'Knights Exsecutor'
- 8th Brotherhood 'Knights Remembrancer"
- 9th Brotherhood 'Knights Lugere'
- 10th Brotherhood 'Knights Praeventores'
The fifth Brotherhood leads an armored charge against Iron Warrior legionaries.
Chapter Recruitment[]
The Sanguine Chalice's recruitment is done mostly through the Whiteshield Program of the Astra Millitarum. Their best and brightest are often selected by the Chapter's Chaplains. Aspirants are put through similar trials to that of the original Blood Angels but with the internment period in the sarcophagus is extended to two years. Chapter aspirants are expected to serve a decade serfdom under a Brother-Knight, this includes deploying into combat zones alongside their mentors given the circumstances allow it.
Combat Doctrine[]
The Knights Victrix Deployed to face off against Hivefleet Kraken 012.M42
The battle doctrine of the Sanguine Chalice can be described in three words, Shock and Awe. Deployment is usually hard and fast heavily relying on the use of drop pods and rapid insertion via Thunderhawk Gunship. The chapter is also known for using extremely well trained marksmen to take our enemy leaders while their brothers rain hell from whirlwinds and from the brunt of their attack from the ground.
In the void the chapter's fleet is nearly unmatched, using its experience from battling the Rak'gol in the void, using the zero gravity environment to their full advantage often dropping onto an enemy from gas clouds and from above or below.
Chapter Beliefs[]
The Sanguine Chalice hold the virtues of Piety, Duty, and Honor to be that which all should strive for. Believing themselves to be Sanguinius's bulwark in the Segmentum Obscurus giving them the courage to stand in the face of death.
The Sanguine Chalice's way of handling the Black Rage and Death Company is very unpopular with their kin, believing that those afflicted by the black rage to be a burden on the rest of the chapter, choosing to slay them in favor of passing on their geneseed to an aspirant, usually of that brother's serfs. This is still seen as a shameful act by the chapter, but one that must be undertaken by the Chaplains to ensure the chapter's survival.
Gene-Seed[]
The Sanguine Chalice was founded by the Blood Angels, using their vaulted gene-stock to get off the ground. The gene-stock would remain in circulation for a unknown amount of time before a majority of it was lost during the war for Asristol-IV and consumed by the Rak'gol Techno-abomination responsible for glassing the world. Using what little gene-seed remained they where able to rebuild their numbers in small amounts.
After the Devastation of Baal, when the chapter was rendered extinct they where able to be revived due to the arrival of Guilliman and the use of the Primaris Gene-stock.
Primarch's Curse[]
Being a chapter of The Blood, the Sanguine Chalice's astartes constantly wage war against themselves to control the Red Thirst and Black Rage. The latter, strikes hard with the knights of the Sanguine Chapter. The Black Rage claims one in five Knights, even after the introduction of the Primaris Gene-seed.
Deatwatch Service[]
Being based out of the Koronus Expanse, a region heavily populated with Watch-fortresses the Sanguine Chalice has a strong history of Deathwatch service. Deathwatch Heraldry is often displayed after service as a symbol of pride, serving the Deathwatch is seen as a great honor and those sent to serve are allowed to drink from the Sanguine Chalice, the highest honor bestowed by the chapter.
An assault marine of the 3rd Knighthood deploying against the Rak'gol in the defense of their fortress monastery.
Notable Members[]
Lord Marshal of the Chalice Diomat - Chapter founder
Lord Marshal of the Chalice Valentinus - Current Chapter Master
Master of Knights Ellinal Titus - Current first Knighthood Captain
Master of Ritual Istrafael The Black - Current Reculsiarch
Marshal Michelangelo 'The Black Prince' - Marshal of the fifth brotherhood.
Chapter Fleet[]
- Battle Barge Silver Wings
- Battle Barge Chalice Defiant
- Strike Cruiser Sanguinius's Vengeance
- Strike Cruiser Avenger of Asristol-IV
Chapter Relics[]
- The Sanguine Chalice - A relic Chalice held as the Chapter's most sacred and beloved relic, which they derived their name from
Chapter Appearance[]
Chapter Colours[]
The Sanguine Chalice's colors are gunmetal grey, or unpainted ceramite with a blood red left shoulder and left knee.
Chapter Badge[]
The Badge of the Sanguine Chalice is that of a Chalice with a single blood drop surrounded by laurels, with the chalice illuminated by a halo of white.
Relations[]
Allies[]
Enemies[]
Notable Quotes[]
By the Sanguine Chalice[]
- "We stand here on the precipice of our demise knowing all is for the Emperor and Sanguinius! May our final stand be one remembered by all! Drink from the Chalice one final time brothers, for we are to join Sanguinius by the Emperor's side!"
- — Chapter Master Diomat, during the Devastation of Baal.
"I shall tear flesh from bone, and bring woe to those who think that they may stand as enemies of the Imperium. There will be no mercy from me nor my knights for we are Sanguinus's sons and his angels of death." - Marshal Michelangelo, during the humbling of Yuso
- "Go tell the Blood Angles, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to the Emperor, we lie."
- — Last words of a dying Sanguine Chalice found scratched into one of the bulkhead walls of The Wings Invicta.
About the Sanguine Chalice[]
- "The Sanguine Chalice fell in honour and glory. Despite facing imminent death, they did not go quietly into that long night. Rather, they fought to the last, dragging as many of the foul xenos with them into the pit of Hell. Never have I heard of such qualities of the Great Angel epitomised like those warriors of the Sanguine Chalice. I shall slaughter many Tyranids in remembrance of their passing."
- — Blood Scorpions Veteran Scourge (Veteran Sergeant) of the 3rd Company ('Tails of the Scorpion') during the Devastation of Baal, upon hearing of the noble sacrifice of the Sanguine Chalice.