The Storm Angels are a 26th Founding Chapter hailing from the prestigious genome of Primarch Sanguinius, by way of their progenitors the Wings of Salvaxes. Like their predecessors, they stand aloof from the rest of the scions of Sanguinius and even from the Chapter from which they were spawned. Ritually cannibalistic and especially savage in their wars, this Chapter has recently undergone the rigorous process of becomign Rubicon Primaris in full force, willing to risk annihilation to better fight against the enemies of the Imperium, without sacrificing the lineage they are highly proud of.
History
Founding
Why the ill-reputed Wings of Salvaxes were chosen to sire a new Chapter over Chapters of far more ancient and vaunted lineages remains unknown, shrouded in the wisdom of the High Lords of Terra and over them the God-Emperor Himself. What is know, however, is that a cadre of those Battle-Brothers were chosen to lead a brand new Chapter, an immense honor which was obviously accepted earnestly by the aloof Astartes of Barbaris. Unlike some Chapters, which had a world immediately assigned to them, the newly Founded Chapter was to have to reach the 1,000 Marines before departing to seek their destiny.
Once their newly crafted Battle-barge, Wrath of Sanguinius, reached the barren world of the Wings of Salvaxes, with all the gene-seeds, recruits and equipment necessary to man a whole Chapter, the still unnamed Chapter departed without a look back. For almost ten years, the wandering Astartes descended on worlds upon worlds as they moved from the Halo Stars to the distant Ghoul Stars, until they reached the tropical Ocean World of Ionnacaira, where they finally found recruits they deemed worthy of their gene-seed. The arrival on this distant world was made complicated by its climate and the distance from the nearest Forge-World. However, the erection of Storm's Cradle, their Fortress-Monastery was the pinnacle of this era and the start of the Chapter's true History.
Early Years
As befitting sons of Sanguinius, the first years of the Storm Angels were spent fighting on all front. The Ghoul Stars have always been a deadly and unforgiving quarter of space, where the light of the Astronomicon is so weak that any travel in its depths is particularly hazardous. And yet, the Angels brought the Emperor's fury on world after world, allowing themselves full-licence to prosecute their campaigns as they so wished, being so removed from the prying eyes of the Imperium.
The recruits which had been granted to the Chapter at its inception had already been entirely transformed into Astartes when the as yet unnamed Storm Angels had reached Ionnacaira, and losses, both to war, the Red Thirst and the Black Rage were already mounting at that time. Because of its bellicose nature and love for close-quarter combat, the casualties were already numerous, with over two hundred Astartes missing. When the Adeptus Mechanicus traveled to the Oceanic planet, they felt that they were erecting a tomb for an already dying Chapter more than a Fortress-Monastery for a young and thriving one.
However, the natives proved to be extremely compatible to the gene-seeds of the Chapter, and while some feared -or hoped- that it would only enhance their berserk tendencies, they were proven wrong. The Ionnacairan fury and proficiency for war doesn't equate with a love for it, quite the contrary, it is seen as a necessity, something ineluctable but which must not be seen as positive. Wrongs have to be corrected in war, but none should glorify it, for fear of the dark and twisted Gods of the Under Sea.
As more and more recruits came in, the behavior of the Chapter shifted from unbridled fury to a more methodical carnage. The tactics of the Wings of Salvaxes, with their heavy use of mounted assault left place to the assault of infantry troops, chansword in bolt pistol in hand, in wave after wave of bloody handed warriors. The casualties started to drop as the Chapter focused on killing its enemies and surviving, to kill more even. Finally, when Koratao rose to the rank of Captain and then Chapter Master, merely seventy years after the 26th Founding, he was able to enact deep change into the nature of his Chapter.
The Storm Angels before the Thirteenth Black Crusade
Over the two centuries of Koratoa's rule, the Storm Angels garnered a reputation as ferocious and bloodthirsty killers, truly the Angels of Death of the Imperium, descending upon worlds to unleash the fury of the God-Emperor, without remorse nor mercy. Nonetheless, where their first decades had seen them more and more shunned for their sheer barbarity, bordering on madness, the Storm Angels had managed to find balance before the creation of the Great Rift.
The Chapter didn't suffer from the Black Rage in high amount, rarely more than a dozen Brothers at any given time, strapped in specially crafted armors and equipped with the best weapons and jet-pack the Chapter had to offer, to ensure that those maddened killers could be unleashed quick enough to shatter their foes. Because of their tactics, which amounted mostly to a frontal assault by almost the whole Chapter, preceded by heavy fire from orbit, few enemies could pretend to hold their ground against those Astartes in the Ghoul Stars.
Still, some complains were levied about the Storm Angels, especially talk of cannibalistic feasts before and after the battle, of Brothers stopping in their track to gorge on their fallen's foes and friends' flesh and blood, instead of pursuing their enemies. Excessive force was never a term of those complains, for all knew that so far from the light of the Astronomican, no such things exist. However, the reputation of the Angels was marred by such behavior and an Inquisitor may have been dispatched to their distant world, had not the whole Galaxy been sundered by the Cicatrix Maledictum.
The Return of Roboute Guilliman and the Indomitus Crusade
For the Storm Angels, the century which followed the apparition of the Great Rift was a second Long Night. Gone was the light of the Astronomican, no matter how fickle it already was in the Ghoul Stars they had vowed to protect for the Imperium. Countless threats arose in those darkness, Orks surging from their brutal Empires, brutes of never-seen before size and aggression, Necrons, especially insane ones, flaying their victims and wearing their skins, and even Tyranids Hive Fleets attacking from the North of the galactic borders. And that's discounting hundreds of less-known species attacking Mankind ceaselessly in those desolate portions of space.
Even worse for the Angels, was the wildfire of secession which engulfed the few worlds belonging to the Imperium in this region. Governor after Governor declared Terra lost when the Astronomican died, and thus attempted to secure their system, and often neighboring ones, to carve out petty realms for themselves. In the end, all felt the wrath of the Storm Angels washing over their pathetic defenses like the mythical tempests of their homeworld, unwavering and all-devastating. Even as the Chapter's resources started to dwindle, they fought on, hoping and praying that their actions would be enough to preserve the Imperium.
Finally, after almost a hundred years had come and gone, news of the Indomitus Crusade reached Ionnacaira and the Storm Angels decided to take a risk and divided their dwindling forces. 300 Marines left the Ghoul Stars and, either thanks to luck or the will of the Emperor, they reached the Indomitus Crusade and joined force with it, battling during the last years of this massive campaign, witnessing first hand the might and feats of the Primaris. When offered such warriors by the reborn Primarch Roboute Guilliman, the Storm Angels politely -as possible for them, that is- declined, explaining that they were proud of their lineage and didn't want to bring dishonor to their predecessor's gene-seeds.
Guilliman then offered the knowledge to create Primaris from the existing Astartes, even if he frowned at the idea of risking ancient flaws to enter the design of this new brand of transhumans. Still, he foresaw the need for such warriors in the Ghoul Stars, and heard the pride the Storm Angels had in their voice when talking about their lineage and how it reached to Sanguinius to so many Chapters. When the Rubicon Primaris was brought to the Chapter, Koratao ordered that all but the most skilled warriors of the Chapter and the Scouts underwent it. Almost a half of the Angels died, but the 400 Marines who transitioned to Primaris more than compensated those losses.
Notable Campaigns
The Quest for a World (748-758.M41)
Immediately after their inception during the 26th Founding, the as yet-unnamed Storm Angels depart Barbaris, seeking a world to call their own. Those ten years saw the Chapter descending on plethora of foes, from secessionists to upstart aliens, following the traditions of the Astartes who sired them. Mounted assaults were used at every opportunity and without care about the lives lost, both among the Brothers and their allies. Many an Imperial Commander came to regret the presence of those young and untested Scions of the Blood, for they were particularly distant and bellicose, quick to judge and quicker to act on their newly formed opinion. During that time, they traveled ever Eastward, following the border of the Halo Stars, until they reached Ionnacaira, in the Ghoul Stars, where they decided that the stormy planet would do for their homeworld.
The Bloodtide War (777-783.M41)
In 777.M41, abominations made of living metal and clad in the rotting corpses of their victims began to emerge from deep within the Ghoul Stars. Six backwater worlds were ravaged, their entire populations slaughtered in the most horrific fashion. When the foul beings finally descended upon the Storm Angels' Chapter Homeworld of Ionnacaira, they were met with the entire might of the Chapter. The Storm Angels fought with greater rage and fury than ever before, still led by their first Chapter Master, whose name has been lost to history. However, before the unrelenting horde of xenos, they were forced to retreat from the outer border of their system to their homeworld, mounting a desperate defence.
For six years, the unrelenting Bloodtide almost overpower the Chapter. However, the aliens are finally destroyed and repelled, as their inability to slaughter the primitives inhabitants of the Oceanic World seems to drive them to near suicidal behavior and infighting, as those whose rotting parts have utterly succumbed to age assault those who are still clad in relatively fresh gore. Finally, the last of the abominations are repelled, after having slaughtered a great number of the natives. The Feast of Victory which follows lead thousands more to their death as the Astartes gorge on the flesh of their human kin to celebrate the end of those dark times.
The Heart of Fire (835-836.M41)
When Waypoint Omega, a small but vital relay-station between the wider Imperium and the Ghoul Stars, situated in the otherwise depopulated Baphomet System, cease to convey messages, the Storm Angels sent the 8th Company to investigate. Under the command of Akodu, the hundred Astartes reach the station in the closing days of the 835.M41. Without any answers to their messages, their Captain chose to act as if the station was held in hostile hands. The boarding operation allow all the Battle-Brothers to reach inside their target. There, they were greeted by visions of madness like none of them had seen before.
Where the divine machinery of the Machine-God once stood, fiery mechanism, operated by imps and small devils made of charcoal and fire, now unleashed novice fumes and burning flames. Akodu realize that vile wizardry, of the foulest nature, has been conducted there and decided to extract his forces, so that they may bombard the station with the Strike Cruiser Lament of Sanguinius. Alas, as soon as the order to retreat is given, the denizens of this foul place assaulted the Angels. Several brothers were killed in mere minutes and the orderly retreat turned into ferocious battle. For days on end, the abominations inhabiting Waypoint Omega managed to prevent the Astartes from leaving.
Finally, Akodu led a desperate cadre of his elite warriors deep into the fiery heart of the station. There, he discovered an abomination never seen before, a snake-like monster, whispering in the native tongue of each warrior present. Faces appeared and disappeared on each of his scales, some screaming, praying, laughing or crying. Akodu refused to listen to the blasphemous lies of the daemon and brutally charged him. Consumed by the fury of the Great Angel, the Captain managed to kill it, earning the nickname of 'Blood Serpent'. As 836.M41 finally dawned, the station was destroyed by the Lament of Sanguinius, its debris sent into the nearby star by controlled explosions.
The Carrion Feast (889-891.M41)
Belehuera, the Storm Angels' Master of the Faith, led a force of his Chapter against the world of Corwinus Secundus, where distress calls for help had reached the Astartes from Ionnacaira. Deep in the Ghoul Stars, the Grim Angel faced off against a perverted vision of his Chapter's traditions. Millions of cultists pretending to honour the Great Angel feast on the living bodies of hapless victims and supplicants. Primitive and lacking even the mastery of iron, the degenerate cultists had risen to consume all those who rejected their teachings and clung to the Corpse Emperor. A dark fury fell over the Astartes and they descended into a maddening slaughter on the inhabitants.
Only the Grim Angel managed to keep his head clear. Realizing that foul sorcery was afoot, he used his charisma and imposing presence to gather back his Brothers and leave the world behind. Many Angels refused to retreat in shame, but after six days, Belehuera managed to leave the cursed world beyond. Months later, he returned, with the full might of his Chapter's Librarians. The Master Archivist Caïri gather his psyker brothers and together, they broke the dark shroud of madness surrounding Corwinus Secundus. The Grim Angel then led an extermination campaign, slaughtering the cultists with extreme relish. After more than two years, the last inhabitant of this planet was killed and calls were sent for colonists to be sent, so that the world's resources wouldn't be left to rot.
The Purge of Hokji Prime (997-999.M41)
Hokji Prime was a world at the extreme limit of the Astronomican, so far into the Ghoul Stars that the rule of the Imperium was more myth than reality. Still, the inhabitants were supposed to pay tithes to ensure the survival of Mankind. But when legates from the Administratum finally graced the main hub of a very populated system, the rulers of the Hive-Cities have them beheaded, stating that after six hundreds and forty eight years without any contact, they considered their oaths of loyalty to the Imperium nulls and voids. The Administratum fleet was destroyed but a lone cry for help reached Ionnacaira.
The Storm Angels mobilized in full and in mere weeks, their entire fleet entered the Hokji system, only to be met with fire by the ramshackle forces of the rebels. Incensed beyond reason, the Astartes tore through the pathetic orbital defenses of Hokji Prime and unleashed their unbridled fury on those traitors. No mercy, no compassion, was allowed, for those peoples had had the luxury of standing aloof from the Imperium's needs for centuries and still refused to grant what was needed for the survival of Mankind.
During two whole years, the Storm Angels slaughtered almost the entire population of Hokji, over fourteen billions peoples dying at their hands, in blood-soaked corridors, underhives or even the radioactive plains, when millions of civilians tried to flee the wrath of the Angels of Death, gunned down by their fleet. The Lost Captain of this campaign earned a dark renown for bringing a tally of fourteen-thousands, three hundreds and twelve confirmed kills alone, before succumbing to exhaustion, after having slaughtered his way into a whole Hive-City for over two months without respite or rest.
When the Storm Angels finally depart Hokji Prime, the whole world has been turned into a slaughterhouse, filled with corpses, riddled with diseases and the tales of cannibalistic Angels, bringing with them the Emperor's own fury. Not even the Administratum dispute the methods of the Storm Angels, considering that the rest of the Hokji System paid in full their tithes and agreed to compensate those of Hokji Prime for the foreseeable future.
The Long Dark (001-099.M42)
In the Ghoul Star, the light of the Astronomican was always weak, almost always flickering on the brink of extinction. Humans there had to learn to travel in the most hazardous of ways, each and every Warp Jump into the region was a dangerous wager. Still, as weak as it had been for ten thousand years, it had been a constant, a reminder that beyond the dreadful borders of the Ghoul Stars, the Imperium stood strong and enduring, against all odds, insuring that Mankind could live free from the domination of the Alien and the Neverborn. Then came the Noctis Aeterna and the whole region was thrown into disarray.
Dozens of fleets were lost when the Great Rift opened, and all communication with the Throne World was cut. The Storm Angels had barely returned from Hokji Prime when the reassuring light of the Astronomican disappeared, never to return. Even the mighty Astartes felt terror grasp their hearts. More than one Brother feared that some terrible event had destroyed Holy Terra and the Golden Throne. Many called for a suicidal Crusade, deep into the heart of the Imperium, to confront those who had destroyed it. But Koratao prevailed and the decision to preserve the region surrounding Ionnacaira, has dangerous as it would be, was the Chapter's priority.
And even in the usually deadly Ghoul Stars, threats arose like never before. Orks invasions rushed from their brutish Empires from beyond the reach of the lost Astronomican. Necrons emerged, slaughtering worlds after worlds, without caring for the species of the natives. Dozens of other alien threats started to depopulate the worlds of the Imperium. And even on those which possessed strong defenses, secession and Chaos cults arose, destroying any semblance of Imperial rule. Until the Storm Angels burst onto each and every battlefield, bringing their indomitable wrath to the fore.
Led by Koratao, the whole Chapter, without any reserve left on their own world, dared to make jump after jump in the deadly currents of the Warp. The overwhelming firepower and ferocity of the Astartes allowed them to preserve the borders of the Imperium early one. However, things changed after Haktis, where Koratao was seemingly killed by an Heretic Astartes from the Alpha Legion. Thankfully, mere days later, the Chapter Master returned to battle, but his mind had changed and his fury knew no bound. Dozens of battlefields endured unnecessary casualties among the forces of the Imperium, all to achieve blood-drenched victories.
Dozens of Brothers died on world after world, but the grace of Sanguinius and the Emperor was on the Storm Angels, for while they may have been lost, while they may have reached their destinations far too late to save the loyal citizens who had chosen to scream into the cold darkness of the galaxy, praying for help, the Storm Angels always prevailed, endured and returned to fight, again and again, refusing to give even one inch of terrain, assaulting all foes, and earning victory in the blood and gore.
At the end of this era, Koratao seemingly fell once more, brutally wounded by a colossal green skin, the likes of which had never been seen before by the Imperium, save perhaps during the glorious era of the Great Crusade. But once more, the Chapter Master returned, his blinding rage apparently abated. The ill-reputation of the Storm Angels was quickly forgotten, as it had been endured sternly for the duration of this century of madness, for each and every servant of the Imperium in the Ghoul Stars was happy to know that the Scions of Sanguinius were out there, waging war eternal like never before to protect them.
The Long Dark came to an end not with an appeasement of the wars fought in this lost region of space, but with a distant call to arm, a rallying cry from beyond the Cicatrix Maledictum. New of the Indomitus Crusade and the fate of the sundered Imperium reached the ears of the Storm Angels, and a dangerous gambit was decided. Forces from the 2nd, 5th and 7th Companies were sent to help Guilliman, bringing to them the wrath of the Angel's Storm, igniting a new hope for all the inhabitants of the Ghoul Stars.
The Angel's Storm (100-115.M42)
Led by Akodu, the three Company manages to reach the Indomitus Crusade ten years before its end. The coming of the Storm Angels, from so far away, is heralded as a good omen, for to see warriors of the Imperium emerge from the darkness, from as far away as the Ghoul Stars, bolster the moral of the troops. Akodu and his warriors are themselves owed by the Primaris Astartes and their abilities. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with them, the three Company suffer far fewer losses then they ever expected.
The behavior of the Storm Angels is quickly considered as distasteful by their allies, for they refuse to change their ways. However, even Guilliman admits that their prowess more than make up for their shortcomings and that their love for the Imperial citizenry is real. During those fifteen years, the Angels fought valiantly, used mostly as support troops to the Innumerable Sons, unleashed on foes already weakened so that their fury may achieve the higher results. Many a Battle Brother was incensed by such use of their forces, but their officers managed to calm them down.
At the end of this era, Guilliman offered to reinforce the Storm Angels with Primaris displaying the same kind of behavior, hailing from the lineage of Sanguinius. To his surprise, the Astartes from Ionnacaira refused politely, explaining that they took great pride in being so removed from the Blood Angels Legion of old, a fourth generation Chapter. Surprised by this belief, Guilliman reluctantly offered them the knowledge to create Primaris from existing Astartes, giving this secret to the few Sanguinary Priests present with the Storm Angels. As the Strom Angels leave the Indomitus Crusade after the Battle of Raukos, they bring with them the future of their Chapter with them.
The Rubicon (115-125.M42)
Death and Rebirth came to the Storm Angels after the end of the Indomitus Crusade. Self-inflicted losses numbered in the hundreds, but out of the 700 or so brothers who crossed the Rubicon, 400 rose as Primaris, adding their newfound strength of the Chapter, allowing it to change and evolve as it should, to better protect the Imperium. The fury of the Storm Angels was not abated by such weakening; and the five hundred Brothers who survived have acted as one to purge the Ghoul Stars from any threat they could find.
The Rubicon campaigns have seen them fight the same monsters who cursed them during the Long Dark, but the might of the Primaris more than compensated their diminished numbers, and for the first time in more than a century, the Storm Angels were on the offensive, not only defending but reconquering world after world, driving back the insidious threats of the aliens, the traitors and the heretics. As of now, the Chapter is slowly growing back its manpower, and preparing for whatever new danger may arise in those darkened times.
Chapter Homeworld
Departmento Cartographicae pict-file of Ionnacaira, Chapter Homeworld of the Storm Angels.
Ionnacaira, the world upon which the Storm Angels have chosen to settle in 758.M41 is classified as a Feral Ocean World by the Adeptus Administratum. 80% of its surface is comprised of water, the 20% remaining being the millions of islands, none larger than 1128 km² (436 sq miles). Most of those islands are comprised in the large tropical zone of this world, only a few archipelagos doting the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Because of this, the population of those two zones are extremely isolated and the Storm Angels have chosen to not make use of them as potential recruit, instead focusing on the tribes populating the millions of jungle islands of this world.
Those populations appears to be descendants, or to have evolved to look like, of the indigenous populations of the ancient South Merica of Terra. In fact, the name of the planet itself, Ionnacaira, is purported to be from the long lost Island Aa'wa or Ara'ak, an almost dead language by the end of M2, which signifies "Island/World of Iguana". Any visitor would find the name well earned, since iguana-like reptiles can be found on every islands, even the coldest ones in the Northern and Southern oceans. However, the natives did not name their planet from those inoffensive creatures, instead using periphrases to not speak the name of the greatest predators of this planet, know by the Imperium as the Sea Abomination, and as the Iawanaria, the Serpent, by the natives.
Those creatures, which can reach up to 25 meters long (82 feet) and are large enough to swallow a man whole, and their bodies are able to slither extremely fast on the ground, once they emerge from the sea. Most atrocious perhaps is the fact that thousands of small appendages allows it to climb over all obstacles the islands and natives can throw at it. Nothing but armed men fighting in unison and accepting than most of them will die can repel an hungry Sea Abomination. Scholars from the Imperium speculate that the beast could be a remnant of an aborted Tyranid infestation millennia ago, since it displays chitinous protection on its head and back, and those appendages not unlike vestigial limbs.
But as monstrous as the Serpent is, the greatest danger in the tropical zone remains the battering storms which ravages the islands every year. Ionnacaira's rotation around its sun means that the tropical regions endure four local months of relative drought, with sparse raining, and sixteen of rainy season. During those long months, the natives come to fear the few days of blue sky, for during those, temperatures rose absurdly and dense black clouds quickly gather to birth storms able to engulf thousands of islands in its fury. The inhabitants are then forced to flee their coastal settlements to seek refuge inland, where the dense jungle can partially shelter them, at the cost of many lives as poisonous beasts and diseases ravages them.
Once the dry season returns, the humans of Ionnacaira starts their ferocious wars, the ravaged islands either seen as price worth taking now that their population are depleted or as a starting ground for the lucky survivors to start a campaign of subjugation against those who didn't share their plights. Tribal confederations rise and fall during four months of blood, the male captives ceremonially consumed by the victorious tribes to absorb their strengths and appease gods of the oceanic world.
It is because of all those dangers and wars that the Storm Angels settled on this world, and chose to uplift the savage natives to the ranks of Astartes, killing and dying for the Emperor and Sanguinius.
Recruitment
The Storm Angels recruitment method is as direct and brutal as the Astartes themselves. During the rainy season, the Chaplains are sent to investigate the tribes suffering under the worst storms, spying on them and stealing the children which display the greatest endurance and ability to survive in the deadly island jungles of Ionnacaira. During the dry season, it's the children showcasing the ferocious behavior in battle, those who kill and kill until they die on the battlefield which are spirited away to the Fortress-Monastery.
All those recruits are gathered at the Storm Cradle, where they receive the opportunity to become a Astartes -and more recently Primaris. The potential initiates are then brought to the Chapel of the Lost, where they'll have to endure for a whole day and the following night without sitting or falling asleep, while atrocious cries echoes from below and over them. Many aspiring youth will fail during this trial, and they'll be quietly taken away to be turned into the human servants of the Chapter, who will be hypno-conditioned to be willing to give their flesh and blood to their Masters when their dark needs arise.
Those young men who succeeded in this trial are then given a stone blade and separated in groups of two or three, depending of their total number. They then have to fight to the death, so as to insure that the strongest and deadliest recruits will be inducted into the Chapter. After this final trial, the recruits are brought to the Chamber of Sanguinius, where they are put into sarcophagus where the gene-seed of Sanguinius will be implanted into their bodies over several months and sometimes years, turning them into Primaris, since the Storm Angels have decided to slowly rebuild their forces with only this superior breed of transhumans.
Fortress-Monastery
The Storm Cradle is one of the mightiest bastion of the Imperium, a veritable fortress spanning thousands of kilometers of walls, tunnels, hidden traps and narrow passages were one Astartes can stop an army. This gigantic Fortress-Monastery was carved into and built over a whole island of Ionnacaira, one were storms are so frequent that no native ever managed to survive. Only the talents of the Storm Angel's pilots allow the Chapter to connect their fleet in geostationary orbit with their home.
At the heart of this immense demesne rest the Chapel of the Lost, the most sacred and secretive part of the Chapter's home. It is here that potential initiates are brought to endure their first true trial. But, unbeknownst to them, the terribly cries they can hear there are those of the brothers too afflicted by the Red Thirst to be allowed to leave their cells, but kept as a last measure, should Ionnacaira ever be invaded, to be let loose on their foes. The Sanguinary priests tolls day and night to try and find a way to calm the craving of those Brothers, to no avail.
Two levels over them is the Chamber of the Angel, where the ten members of the Sanguinary Guard stand in eternal vigil over the Chapter Master private quarters. Those legendary warriors, clad in gold and red Terminator Armors, equipped with jump-pack powerful enough to lift their hulking frames in the air, are ever ready to strike at anyone foolish enough to threaten their liege. In this gleaming chamber, where depictions of Sanguinius in his peaceful guise are watching over the pleaders, remaining all that the Great Angel wasn't only an Incarnation of War, but also a compassionate man.
Another important element of the Chapter's Monastery is its Great Hall, a large chamber, situated deep below the surface of the island, one of its walls allows to see the depth of the Ocean at peaceful time, only to be closed off by several meters of adamantium, ceramite and plasbeton if any danger is signaled near the Ionnacaira System. This beautiful room, large enough to accommodate twice the number of Astartes a Chapter is allowed, is littered with great status of ancient heroes from the Blood Legion of old and new champions of the Storm Angels, who died heroically serving the Emperor and Sanguinius.
Chapter Organization
The Primaris
Unlike many Chapters, especially those so isolated, the Storm Angels chose to eschew the reinforcements of Primaris from the vaults of Belisarius Cawl. Indeed, when approached with the idea that those warriors were closer to Sanguinius' genome than any other in the Imperium, the Astartes from Ionnacaira explained that being so removed from the original Blood Angel Legion was a marker of pride, not shame, among them, for it proved that each of the Chapters which had come before their own deserved to have a Successor and that by accepting into their ranks warriors not from this lineage, they wouldn't be able to call themselves a Chapter of the Blood.
Reluctantly, Guilliman granted them the knowledge to elevate normal Astartes into Primaris through the Rubicon Primaris process. While he was afraid of the Flaws which could affect the superior breed of transhumans in so doing, he wisely decided that the Imperium needed all the warriors it could afford. When the Brothers sent to the Indomitus Crusade returned home, Koratoa took a very controversial decision concerning the Primaris Rubicon. He decided that the 100 most skilled Battle-Brothers wouldn't undergo this transformation, nor the Scout Marines on the verge of receiving their Power Armor.
Many were outraged by this decision, which they saw as demeaning the greatest warriors of the Chapter. In a rare rebuke, even Sidar Uimin, the leader of the Sanguinary Guard, voiced his opposition. It seemed for a time that civil war could erupt, but the Chapter Master managed to calm the spirits of his Brothers. He explained that the transformation of an Astartes into a Primaris was a dangerous one and that the Chapter could ill afford to lose its best away from the battlefield.
Furthermore, no one knew how the Twin Flaws would react to the elevation of the Storm Angels to the nature of Primaris. The leader of the Chapter wouldn't undergo such transformation, nor the Librarians, Chaplains or Sanguinary Priests. Captains who so wished could attempt to cross the Rubicon. All of them chose to do so. In the course of a year, the roughly 700 Brothers designed to become Primaris underwent their transformation. Only 400 of them survived the ordeal, but they are so far displaying no greater weakness toward the Red Thirst or Black Rage, and while Koratao still refuses to allow those he excluded from undergoing this process, it may only be a matter of years until all the Storm Angels are turned into Primaris.
Specialist Formations
- Sanguinary Guard - Like their Progenitors and their fellow Chapters of the Blood, the most elite warriors within the Chapter make up the ranks of the Sanguinary Guard. Selected for their ardor and unwavering devotion, those individual warriors inducted into the elite ranks of this inner order are tasked to stand eternal vigil over the Chapter Master. On rare occasions, they are also assigned as guards for other commanders as a sign of the Chapter Master's favor. Upon their induction, a chosen warrior gives up their former identity and assumes a new name - usually one of the Chapter's heroes of ages past - and forevermore bear the title of Seraph. By forsaking their former lives, they become subsumed of all sense of self, leaving them with a singular purpose in the performance of their assigned duties in their new role. The Sanguinary Guard are the Great Angel's rage made manifest, tasked with seeking out the deadliest foes on the battlefield, and unleashing their unfettered wrath in a hail of bolter fire and slashing blades.
- Sanguinary Priest - Like all Successors of the Blood Angels, the Storm Angels posses Sanguinary Priests. Far from being simple Apothecary, they are tasked with a mystic and religious role. They both monitor the health of their Battle-Brothers and help them endure the mental strain that the Flaws add to their souls. The Sanguinary Priests of the Storm Angels, not unlike their predecessors among the Wings of Salvaxes, notably takes note of whom gene-seed was used to enhance an Aspirant into a full-fledged Astartes, so as to retrace its history, and particularly the number of warriors created with those genes who have succumbed to the Black Rage. Unlike their counterparts among the Blood Angels and other Successors Chapters, the Storm Angels' Sanguinary Priests do not posses some measure of Sanguinius in their vein. Instead, those precious few drops are conserved in a unique relic, the Red Chalice, guarded at the heart of Storm's Cradle, were novitiate of this august order are tasked with its protection for a year and a day when they are deemed worthy to join the Sanguinary Priests proper.
- Chaplain - Like in all Chapters, the Chaplains of the Storm Angels are warrior-priests, leading their Battle-Brothers into the fray with litanies of hatred and intolerance. Armed with their Crozius Arcanum, wearing their Rosarius as a token of their link with the Ecclesiarchy, no matter how tenuous the relation, they are the rocks upon which the faltering devotion of their Chapter can cling and endure. But among the Storm Angels, like most of the successors of the Blood Angels, they are also tasked with shepherding the Death Company, those warriors who have succumbed to the Black Rage. Clad in full-black armor, their faces hidden by skull-like helms, they are so imposing that even the raving warriors are willing to follow their orders.
- Death Company - Those are the Cursed Ones, the Ravening, the Lost. Those are the Storm Angels afflicted by the Black Rage, the most terrifying of the Twin Flaws in Sanguinius's genetic legacy. Like their forefathers, the Storm Angels disdain those among them failing to this affliction, going as far as to screen the lineage of each set of gene-seed, to try and determine if some are more prone to production this madness than others, so they can be removed from the Chapter's pool, by being sent to Mars or even destroyed entirely. The dozen or so of Marines who are still afflicted are gathered into the Death Company and unleashed at the heart of the Angels' preys, their unfastened fury allowing them to break all their foes in a bloody carnage. Once the battle is over, those Astartes who survived are chained, and then unleashed again, and again, until they succumb to their wounds and finally earn peace.
Order of Battle
Headquarters
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| Armoury | Reclusiam | Apothecarion | Librarius | Fleet Command |
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Companies
| Veteran Company | Battle Companies | Reserve Company | ||
| 1st Company | 2nd Company | 3rd Company | 4th Company | 5th Company |
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| Reserve Companies | Scout Company | |||
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7th Company |
8th Company |
9th Company |
10th Company |
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| Death Company | |||||
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 All Storm Angels Space Marines who have succumbed to the madness of the Black Rage serve in the Death Company, including Dreadnoughts. |
Chapter Culture
The Storm Angels are the proud sons of the Wings of Salvaxes in many way, but perhaps one of the most obvious ways is the way they see the flaws plaguing the gene-seed of Sanguinius. Where other Chapters of the Blood lament those elements of their genetic legacy, the Storm Angels see them has inevitable elements of their life. None can predict when the Red Thirst will consume one's mind, nor when one will break under the unrelenting tide of the Black Rage. Therefore, trying to suppress them is an exercice in futility. Instead, each of the Twin Flaws must be harnessed in its proper way.
For the Storm Angels, the Red Thirst must be accepted as one more weapon in their arsenal, an urge which sharpens their senses, propel them beyond what other Astartes can endure, while also anchoring them in the constant reminder that no matter their graciousness, their prowess and might, they can and will fail to contain their urges and devour innocent victims if their Thirst is not quenched in the correct way. This constant knowledge helps the Storm Angels achieving a slightly less barbaric reputation than their forefathers, instead looking like aloof but noble warriors, always willing to admit their faults and uplift their allies.
To achieve such control over the Red Thirst, the Astartes from Ionnacaira have preserved the rituals of their fathers from Barbaris, albeit slightly modified by the cannibalistic practices of their homeworld, achieving their own balance with this curse. Like the Wings of Salvaxes, the Festum Sacrificium and the Festum Mortuis. The former is an epic banquet, were servants and slaves specifically trained and indoctrinated to play their part as willing sacrifices for their masters. Eaten alive, sprinkled with hormones which will heighten the aggression of the Battle-Brothers as the Chaplains and Sanguinary Priests of the Chapter preach to the assembled warriors, preparing their minds to wage war without remorse nor respite.
The latter is a far more somber affaire, were the corpses of the dead brothers and of brave allies who fell near the Storm Angels are consumed in silence, their strength taken into the surviving Brothers, their souls sent to the Emperor and Sanguinius. It is those feasts which have led to many a call of inquiry into the Storm Angels' behavior and practices, for many do not understand why the Brothers consume human flesh and how it play an important part in their beliefs, a sacred way to pay their homage to the valorous dead. Nonetheless, the Angels know that the Red Thirst is a curse, and that some of them will be entirely consumed, reduced to raving lunatics incarcerated in the cells of the Chapel of the Lost.
Contrary to the Red Thirst, the Black Rage is seen as nothing but a proof of weakness, an impracticable weapon which can't be taken into account when devising a larger strategy. Therefore, the Storm Angels loath those among them who prove too weak of mind to endure the echos of their Primarch's death. Some even whisper than those who succumb are in fact craving for this connection with Sanguinius, slowly drifting away from the rigorous training and fortitude expected of all Angels, to pursue a fleeting connection with the Great Angel. The members of the Death Company are kept in stasis between battle, unleashed only to kill their foes or die trying.
Because of the pride they take in their gene-seed and lineage, the Storm Angels keep extensive records of every original set, noting who received which set, the percentage of Battle Brothers losing themselves to the Red Thirst and the dreaded Black rage. Those gene-seed which seems to have the higher percentage of losses to any of the Flaws are removed from the sets implanted into new Aspirants, instead being sent to Terra and Mars, or even outright destroyed for those deemed utterly corrupted.
The use of the Rubicon Primaris procedure did not change this stringent tradition, and the gene-seed which didn't seem to support the transition were quietly put into the stasis vaults of the Chapter, which explains why the strength of the Storm Angels is only slowly being rebuilt. Still, such practices may explain why the number of members of the Death Company has never been over twelve Brothers, and why even the Red Thirst remains slightly more in check than among the Wings of Salvaxes.
Chapter Battle Doctrine
Like all the Chapters hailing from the gene-seed of the Great Angel, the Storm Angels favor close combat over any other form of tactic. It doesn't mean however that they act like either their forefathers from the Wings of Salvaxes or the usual Scions of Sanguinius. While mounted assault allows for some lightning strike into enemy ranks, the Storm Angels favor a more unrelenting approach. Even harassed by such incredible warriors as the Astartes, most foes will be able to regroup and possibly mount a counter-attack if the assault falters.
Jump-packs are also seen as great weapons, allowing to reach foes who believed themselves safe atop their walls, or too far away from the Angels to be reached by their weapons. But they make one predictable. All who knows of the Sons of Sanguinius expect them to make use of jump-packs in large numbers and prepare accordingly -at best they could but only a fool would allow such an opportunity to be ready for their coming. Therefore, the Storm Angels have chosen to craft a new way to do battle, one uniquely suited to their needs in the Ghoul Stars.
Until the discovery of the Rubicon Primaris, the Angels favored massed assault, deploying Companies three by three, two deployed directly into the fray, ordered to advance at all cost, their soldiers carving a bloody path into the heart of the enemies' defenses, allowing the third to surge, either by using bikes or jump-packs, washing over already tired and disorganized by the presence of the savage Storm Angels into their midst, while a few squad using heavy weapon offered support fire to their Brothers. This tactic costed a lot of lives, but to those ferocious warriors, it was but a way to separate weaklings from the true killer of the Emperor.
The transformation of almost all the Chapter's Battle Brothers into Primaris and the loss of half of them during this gambit forced the Astartes from Ionnacaira to change their modus operandi. Their assaults are now heralded by wave after wave of ferocious Intercessors, supported by Inceptors and Vanguard Suppressor, breaking the enemy's line, allowing the most ferocious members of the Chapter, the Death Company, the Sanguinary Guard and the remaining Astartes among the Storm Angels, equipped with their best sword-chains, power-fists and other close combat weapons, unleashing their fury with jet-bikes, jump-pack and Rhinos modified to bulldoze over the enemies to unleash the killers it protect right into the heart of the enemy's formations.
Many of the Battle-Brothers, even the newly ascended Primaris dislike those changes, feeling that it is a cowardly way, that their Chapter deserve better. However, the current successes of the Storm Angels, with far lesser casualties in their rank, has proven itself and even its most vocal opponents have admitted that it allows their severely weakened forces to still fight for the Imperium.
Deathwatch Service
Only a handful of Storm Angels have been sent to serve in the Chamber Militant of the Ordo Xenos. This aloofness, which seems to some incomprehensible considering the number of alien threats that they face in the Ghoul Stars. However, this refusal mostly stems from the fact that the twin Curses of the Sons of Sanguinius weigh heavily on the Chapter. If the Black Rage is largely kept in check in terms of number of afflicted Astartes, this madness can befall any, from Scout to Dreadnought without warnings. As for the Red Thirst, while the Storm Angels pretends that they have harnessed it as a formidable weapon, the truth is that they are always one step away from unbridled craving for blood, and that sending Brothers who could succumb to this affliction to the Deathwatch could be a death sentence for the Angels.
Notable Storm Angels
Koratao, the White Angel
Koratao, the White Angel, Chapter Master of the Storm Angels.
Clad in his ivory and golden armor, with angelic wings sprouting from his jump-pack, Koratao is a striking figure, leading his Brothers from the front and standing shoulders to shoulders with the finest blades of the Imperium. For hundred of years, he led his Chapter in bloody war across the deadly Ghoul Stars and emerged triumphant, clad in the gore of those who would threaten Mankind's inherent right to rule over the Galaxy. Or so it is believed by outsiders, for the story of Koratao is slightly different, even if he is one if not the oldest member of his Chapter not entombed into a Dreadnought.
Indeed, much like the members of the Sanguinary Guard, several warriors have held the name of the second Chapter Master over the centuries. In doing so, the Storm Angels resuscitated an ancient tradition from the IXth Legion, even if they never realized it. The original Koratao was a great warrior, and a noble soul, able to contain the monster within without losing his ability to fight with great fury and he proved such a charismatic and outspoken leader that he managed to save his young Chapter from its suicidal course.
Alas, he died at the start of the Long Dark era (001-099.M42) and his successor, the former Captain of the Sixth Company, chose to wear his name as he took his armor and weapon for himself. However, he proved to be far less able than his predecessor, his favorite course of action being to unleash uncontrolled fury over any and all who dared to question his vision of the Imperium. Under his rule, several dozens of Storm Angels died fruitlessly in battles which could have been avoided.
Finally, as the Long Dark came to a close, he died killed by Bloodletters of Khorne, and another Brother rose to take his place. The third Koratao was the first Captain, and had been for as long as his Chapter has existed. It was his birth on Barbaris which had allowed the Second Koratao to rose in his place, in spite of the sheer talent. Long the Third thought about what name he would bear under the Guise of Sanguinius. After fasting for three days and three nights, he had a revelation. From beyond the grave, his Primarch gave him his name.
As of today, Koratao has chosen to walk in the footsteps of the first who wore this name. He refused to totally lose the potential that Primaris brought to his Chapter, even if it mean risking to propagate the Flaws into the gene-seed of his Chapter forever. Many believe that Koratao will not die until he has ensured that his Chapter will stand forever against the horrors stalking the Dark Imperium, and for billions of souls, the White Angel has become once more a figure of hope and salvation.
Sidar Uiman, Master of the Sanguinary Guard
Sidar Uiman, Master of the Sanguinary Guard. Note: Unlike their counterparts from other Chapters of the Blood, the Sanguinary Guard of the Storm Angels' golden armour paint their shoulder pauldrons, coutre, vambrace and gauntlet entirely in red, to symbolise the great sacrifice of the Great Angel.
Sidar Uiman was one of the finest blades among the Wings of Salvaxes, and he was designated as the new head of the Sanguinary Guard for the newly created Storm Angels. Prior to his departure, he was inducted into his initial Chapter's Guard, discovering its secrets and practices. He then went to select among the Brothers manning the would-be Storm Angels - the nine warriors who would stand shoulder to shoulder with him - preserving the Chapter Master and the most important leaders when dispatched by the lord of Ionnacaira.
When he fell, a new Brother was inducted into the Sanguinary Guard and took his name. And as expected, he quickly rose to the rank of Master of the Sanguinary Guard. The legacy of Sidar Uiman was thus preserved and during the course of centuries of war, four more times did Sidar fall, only to rise again on golden wings. Clad in his mighty Terminator Armor, with extremely powerful jump-pack. Armed with the Angel's Blade, the men who have worn this vaunted name were all strong of body and mind, and none succumbed to the Twin Flaws.
The current Master of the Sanguinary Guard was elevated to this rank barely a year before the start of the Rubicon Primaris program, and for the first time in the Chapter's history, he voiced his opposition to Koratao's wish to order that the finest blades of the Storm Angels, their superior warriors, wouldn't undergo this change, not until the survival of the Chapter was assured. As of today, tensions still simmer between the Chapter Master and the leader of the Sanguinary Guard, but the latter still carry his duties without hesitation.
Master Archivist Caïri
Even on the small island which saw him live his childhood, Caïri was held in high esteem but also feared. It was said that he was a Child of the Storm, for the day he was birthed, his eyes were alight with the pure lightning of the magical powers. That the babe managed to protect himself from the predators of the Warp is nothing but a sheer miracle. It was said that Caïri had visions of a golden seraph coming down to bring him to the stars, where he would fight to protect the All-Islands from the Sky.
And indeed, when aged eight, Caïri was selected by a Chaplain of the Storm Angels to become one of their third generation recruit on Ionnacaira. The young tribesman proved himself for he was as strong of body as he was of mind, and the purity of his soul surprised even the Librarians of the Chapter. Among those Angels of Death, the psyker endured not only the trials of all Aspirants, but also had to learn how to channel his powers in the ways of the Chapter. In both endeavor, he proved a superb student and in mere weeks, he was deemed worthy of becoming a Novitiate of the Librarius.
There, Caïri's star grew ever more, as his humble nature endured. Soft-spoken and noble of soul, the Archivist's meteoric rise was due both to his raw potential and his wonderful personality, which managed to earn the respect of any and all who talked with him. That his powers were among the strongest of the Storm Angels psykers obviously helped his case, for only the most seniors psykers in the Chapter could boast a greater ability to bolster their Brothers while tearing their foes in half or unleashing on them psychic storms filled with witch-lightning.
As of today, Caïri has been the Master Archivist for centuries, cultivating both the talents of his psyker Brothers, preserving the story and traditions of his Chapter through all the trials and tribulations. It was he who foresaw the coming of the Long Dark, he who insisted that the young epistolary Accaiou be sent with Akodu to seek out the Indomitus Crusade, and he who urged Koratao to remain careful when using the Rubicon Primaris, and helping soothe the tensions mounting among his Battle-Brothers. As of today, Caïri remains a normal Astartes but has started the training of the newly inducted Primaris Librarians, preserving the future of the Storm Angels.
Belehuera the Grim Angel
Shrouded in black robes, dark wings seeming to sprout from his back, a massive power-axe in his hands and the rotten face of Sanguinius on his own, the Grim Angel is a terrifying presence, the lone Brother able to impose his absolute will on even the warriors of the Death Company. Belehuera serves in this capacity for far longer than any in his Chapter cares to remember and not even Koratao would question his actions and his character, so important are his tasks for the Storm Angels' survival.
As the Master of the Faith, the Grim Angel leads many a devotion cantique, when his Chapter is gathered, and his supreme task is to ensure that the hatred for the innumerable foes of Mankind never weaken among the Angels, that their wrath is ever ready to be unsheathed and released on any and all who would desecrate the borders of the Imperium or attempt to carve out pitiful realms out of its expanse. But perhaps the most sacred of his duties, the one which makes all Storm Angels shiver when he walks among them is his hunt for the Red Thirst.
Indeed, while the Astartes from Ionnacaira exalt the Thirst, all of them know that it may come a time when they revel too much in it, when the craving they try to satiate will become an unstoppable killing spree to gorge on the flesh and blood of innocent victims. This knowledge is what allows the Storm Angels to remain somewhat noble figures, and the Grim Angel is the manifestation of such destiny. It is him, and him alone, who decides which Brothers are too far gone even for the secretive cells surround the Chapel of the Lost, those who won't ever be able to be released, should a foe pierce the defenses of Storm's Cradle, for they would assault their Brothers too. Those he slays mercilessly.
In battle, Belehuera is a striking figure, a black angel of death and devastation come to reap the souls of the aliens, the unbelievers and the traitors alike. Almost always deployed alongside the Death Company and a small cadre of younger Chaplains, the Grim Angel is known to open bloody pathways into the fray, allowing his Brothers and their allies to penetrate deep into enemy's formations to lay havoc and slaughter all they can. And all the while, the thundering voice of Belehuera will push the warriors of the Imperium to greater lengths of bravery.
Epistolary Accaiou
Young but calm-headed, Accaiou has demonstrated his talents both as a psyker and a preserver of knowledge and lore. While his youth was unremarkable, he succeeded in being selected as an Aspirant for the Storm Angels and underwent the transformation from a savage kid to a newly formed Astartes. however, the changes in his body unlocked latent psychic powers and he had to face the unwanted attentions of demons, which tried to posses his body to wreak havoc on the Angels.
Only thanks to the Librarians purging the repulsive slaves of the Dark Gods did Accaiou preserved his own self being. From this ordeal, he was granted with a burning hatred of all things Chaotic, making it his life-work to hunt and purge any and all chaotic corruption on the worlds the Chapter operates. During the Long Dark, he requested and was granted multiple squads to track down and destroy minor demons and heretic cults trying to summon the greater abominations from the Warp.
When three Companies were dispatched to the Indomitus Crusade, Accaiou was tasked with counseling and supporting the 2nd Captain Akodu, a task he disliked, for the two men are like water and oil. However, he accepted, for to pass on the opportunity to see a living Primarch and bring this knowledge back to his Chapter was an unacceptable idea for him. He was the one who, through some tense discussions, managed to convince Akodu to request the knowledge of the Rubicon Primaris over refusing outright to add Primaris to the Storm Angels' ranks.
Second Captain Akodu, the Blood Snake
The Blood Snake earned his nickname thanks to both his propensity to let his thunderous temper get the better of him at the slightest provocation, and the speed at which he is able to strike with his twin power-swords. Akodu is the epitome of a great Storm Angel officer, determinate, bloody handed and yet somewhat noble, and always taking into account the well-being of the Imperial populace. Despite those qualities, is propensity to fit of rages on the battlefield which can make him forget for a time the larger objectives, has marred his reputation.
The 2nd Captain is however well-aware of his short-comings and it is a testament to his ability to gather Brothers able to compensate them with ease, coupled with his meticulous planning before any campaign or engagement, as much as the constraints of war allow him to plan ahead, which explains why he achieved the rank of Captain in a Chapter which do not brook respect for hot-headed fools. Many a Storm Angel has demonstrated the same talent with the blade than Akodu, but they tend to then focus narrowly on the bluntest and quickest way to slay their foes, which prevent them from rising in the ranks, after all.
Akodu is one of the three Captains to have survived the Rubicon Primaris process, being one of the most outspoken opponents of Koratao's prudence, having witnessed first-hand the incredible abilities of this new breed of transhumans. His newfound abilities have entranced the Blood Snake, but his added responsibilities, which followed the decrease of Brothers still able to fight for the Imperium in those dark times as tempered his soul. Still fearsome and fierce, still prone to losing his head in the fire of war, Akodu has so far managed to check his worst impulses far better than before his rebirth as a Primaris.
The Lost Captain
Despite his title, the Lost Captain commands but the Lost, those whose minds have been consumed by the Black Rage. This function is devoted to the lone Brother whom, having his mind ruptured by the echo of Sanguinius's last moments aboard the thrice accursed Vengeful Spirit, at the end of the Horus Heresy, are still able to grasp a fraction of the reality around him. Therefore, any and all brother can earn this title when he proves himself too weak to endure the Black Rage burning inside of all Sons of Sanguinius.
Over a dozen warriors have worn the Dread Armor, their names now etched into the plates, a grim reminder both of their deadly skill when possessed by the fury of a Primarch and their failure at channeling it without being consumed by it. An aura of death and terror is said to surround this Captain, and none but the Chaplains and the other Astartes entered into the Death Company are able to stand his presence, especially the burning wrath which seems to exude from the fallen warrior.
When not in battle, the Lost Captain and his Company are kept together in stasis, for only in death on the battlefield can they earn redemption. This practice, pushing the traditions of their forefathers to their logical conclusion, explains why so few have adorned the Dread Armor over the centuries of war. Nameless and faceless, the Lost Captain remains forever a terrible weapon in the Storm Angels arsenal, one which cannot be reasoned with, nor parlayed with. Only the death of all his foes or his own can stop this ferocious killer.
Chapter Appearance
Chapter Livery
The Storm Angels's armor are, as is almost always the case for the scions of Sanguinius, exquisitely crafted, with many decorations, made of emeralds or lapis lazulite. Angelic faces, great wings or intricate patterns laurel can be found on the dark red and grey ceramite they wear. On their left shoulder is displayed the Chapter's icon, two Angel wings encasing a broken mortuary mask of Sanguinius with two turquoise lightning bolts underneath. Those armors are often slightly damaged, but the ferocious brother of the Chapter takes pride in it, often repairing them in a way to commemorate those damages, adding flowery decorations on the spot of a impact, a long laurel on a slash, etc.
The Death Company's livery is quite different. It follows mostly the same pattern as the normal livery of the Battle-Brothers, but with very different color. The turquoise is replaced by a pitch black paint, like their aquilas, while the deep red has been replaced by a sanguinary and vibrant red. Those armors are also far less decorated than the rest of their Brothers's, since the Storm Angels share the contempt that their Wings of Salvaxes predecessors displays against those among them who succumb to the Black Rage.
Chapter Badge
The Badge of the Storm Angels is rather straightforward, like most of the other Chapters : the mortuary mask of their dead Primarch split in two, the right part showing the gracious face of the Great Angels, while the left side is a grim skull with a burning red orbit; a blood red drop rests on the brow and an Iron Halo encases the head. Two grey and dark red angelic wings sprout from the head, and two turquoise lightning bolts are set underneath them, pointing to the ground.
Chapter Fleet
The Storm Angels fleet is impressive for a world-based Chapter. It is centered around two Battle-Barges and four Strike Cruisers :
- The Wrath of Sanguinius is considered the focal point of the whole fleet. Adorned with lavish decorations, it remains a deadly weapon of war, to which the 1st to 4th Companies were assigned prior to the Rubicon Primaris, which greatly reduced the manpower of the Chapter;
- The Flaying Winds is the second Battle-Barge, only slightly less decorated than its sister. It embarked the 5th to 8th Companies. As of today, it mainly protect Ionnacaira, standing as a mobile orbital platform, adding its considerable firepower to the defenses of the Chapter's Fortress-Monastery
- The Angel's Dagger, the Storm of Baal, the Tears of the Great Angel and the Compassion of Sanguinius are the four Strike Cruisers in possession of the Storm Angels. Each is used to bring a Company to its assigned battlefield. Since the Chapter mainly operate as a unique coherent body, ever more so after the losses of lives due to the Rubicon Primaris, they also add considerable fire-power and protection to the two Battle-Barges when deployed together.
Chapter Relics
- The Red Chalice - It is the most sacred relic of the Chapter, one which never leave the confine of Storm's Cradle, where a constant vigil of young Sanguinary Priests assure its defense at all time. This relatively small - compared to an Astartes- chalice, is made in the black stone from Barbaris, with carvings representing Sanguinius life and death on each of its twelve facets. Small stasis generators have been added to the bottom of the cup, to protect its most sacred content. Contrary to other Chapters of the Blood, the Storm Angels do not use the Insanguination process to change their aspirants into Astartes. Therefore, their Sanguinary Priests do not possess the blood of their long-departed Primarch in their veins. Instead, it is the Red Chalice which contains the sacred genome, passed from the Sanguinary Priests of the Wings of Salvaxes, the Knights of Blood and the Blood Angels to Sanguinius Himself.
- The Dread Armour - Jet black and sanguine red, this Power Armour is the one which entombs the Lost Captain, the lone Brother afflicted by the Black Rage which manages to retain a faint sense of the reality surrounding him. This relic was crafted at the express demand of the yet unnamed first members of the Storm Angels, its plates wearing the names of all those who were clad in it to earn redemption for their weaknesses in the blood and gore of battle in the Emperor's name. An Iron Halo and additional protection were added by the Chapter, making use of the greater strength and aggression of the Astartes lost to the Rage to compensate the partial loss of mobility.
- Bane of the Unnamed - This plasma pistol is used by the Storm Angels' Master of the Faith. Unlike the usual plasma weapon, this one has a golden hue and is finally crafted and extremely powerful. Many an alien has fallen under it's fiery breath. No one seems to know when or how the Chapter came into possession of this relic. Some proclaim that the Sanguinor himself brought them the Bane of the Unnamed so they could better prosecute their wars against the unknown threats of the Ghouls Stars. Others believe that it was but the trophy of a scavenging party on some long-dead world. Whatever the truth, this ancient weapon has seen extensive use since the start of the Long Dark and hasn't rested for long in Storm's Cradle.
- The Angel's Blade - This large power-sword was crafted for the Master of the Sanguinary Guard. Perfectly balanced, and kept exquisitely sharp by its wielder, this sword has tasted the blood of Big Bosses, Tyranid Princes or Aeldari Archons, slaying all manners of foes. Sidar Uiman, in his task has Master of the Sanguinary Guard, is only deployed into the worst portions of the battlefield, where foes are the thickest, the finest blades seeking to carve out the heart of the Imperium. Only the Terminator Armor of the Sanguinary Guard allow Sidar to wield the Angel's Blade one handed. When not used in combat, it remains at the side of the Master of the Guard, waiting for a foe to try and claim the life of Koratao.
- The Guise of Sanguinius - This set of armour is the sacred garment of the Storm Angels' Chapter Master. Made of ivory and gold, etched with finely crafted cherubs and angelic engravings, this artificer power-armor is considered one of the finest found in the Ghoul Stars and even the Northern portion of the Ultima Segmentum. Perhaps the most striking elements of the Guise are the angelic wings attached to its back, hiding a powerful jet-pack, and its face, for it is crafted after the smiling face of the Great Angel himself, his compassion laid bare for all to see. Only the most corrupts of foes can endure to look at Sanguinius' visage, most others feeling their strength drained from them and their will broken, as death comes for them on white wings.
- Stormspear - A finely crafted force-weapon, the Stormspear reaches its full potential in the hand of the Master Archivist. In itself, it remains a deadly blade, able to pierce most material armors, but when Caïri channel his power through it, not even the flesh and bones of the Neverborn can wist-hand his strikes. Unlike most weapons of its kind, Stormspear is also empowering its wielder, conductive crystals being added to the shaft to magnify the prowess of any psyker. Stormspear, like the Master Archivist, enter the fray only at the direst time, when the scions of Chaos take to the battlefield, and that him and his cadre of Archivists needs to banish the abominations back into the Warp.
Relations with the Imperium
Distant and tense, the relations between the Storm Angels and the larger Imperium were always difficult prior to the Noctis Aeterna. Many an Imperial Governor complained against the Angel's heavy-handed approach to war and their sheer brutality, if not outright berserk behavior when prosecuting their campaign. However, their location deep into the Ghoul Stars and their readiness to answer any and all call for help meant that many also believed that the distasteful actions of the Storm Angels could be forgiven, except for the numerous reports of cannibalism and debasing rites with consumption of human fluids.
The fracture of the Imperium in two and the creation of the Dark Imperium preserved the Storm Angels from any action taken against them, for each and every warrior of the Emperor had to be preserved and pointed at the innumerable foes. In this age of isolation, the Storm Angels fought valiantly, trying to carve out borders for a perfectly preserved reproduction of the wider Imperium. When news of the Indomitus Crusade reached them, the Angels did their best to reinforce it without compromising their positions, and when Commander Dante of the Blood Angels was made into the Regent of the Imperium Nihilus, the Storm Angels hesitated but decided to formally pledge loyalty to the Chapter Master of the First Sons of the Great Angel.
In recent decades, as depleted as their forces are, the Primaris from Ionnacaira have done their best to supplement the forces of the Regent, even if their still chafe at the idea of formally being commanded by a foreigner, even the Chapter Master of the Blood Angels. This forced cooperation as however enhanced their standing with the other worlds surviving in the Imperium Nihilus and even their darker tendencies have been more accepted. Feasting on human flesh seems less atrocious when assaulted by aliens, cultists and daemons, after all.
Specific Relations
Allies
Wings of Salvaxes
Armorial of the Wings of Salvaxes
The Storm Angels Primogenitors and parent Chapter, the Wings of Salvaxes pride themselves immensely on the sheer ferocity and martial power displayed by their filial Chapter. While the Storm Angels differed to the Wings in terms of battle strategy and tactics, what is more important to the Wings of Salvaxes is the cultural touchstones carried forward through their lineage to the Storm Angels. Unlike most, the Wings of Salvaxes approve of the Storm Angels cannibalistic and Haematophiliac tendencies and make pains to ensure that such tendencies are not overly questioned by other imperial organizations.
Enemies
Notable Quotes
By the Storm Angels
- "Break them Brothers! Those traitors deserve their fate! We will gorge on their flesh and blood and carve their bones into flutes!"
- —Anonymous Storm Angel Battle Brother during a battle of the Long Dark era.
About the Storm Angels
- "We are proud of our sons, brother, while your sons are wrought with degradation and weakness, ours are strong and pure, their ferocity and determination able to conquer not only our enemies, but the flaws you yourself were too weak to combat."
- — Eulitus Ephrain, Chapter master of the Wings of Salvaxes to an unknown Blood Angels Captain
| Twenty Sixth Founding Space Marine Chapters | |
|---|---|
| Dark Angels Successors | Sable Pride • |
| White Scars Successors | Jade Knives • Maroon Hunters • |
| Space Wolves Successors | N/A |
| Imperial Fists Successors | Gray Hussars • Knights of Thunder • Mourning Wardens • |
| Blood Angels Successors | Knights of the Throne • Storm Angels • |
| Iron Hands Successors | †Iron Gaze • Sons of Iron • |
| Ultramarines Successors | Aasvogels • Blood Reavers • Crystal Skulls • Exercitus Imperialis • Novadracones • Sworn of Guilliman • |
| Salamanders Successors | Thunder Ogres • |
| Raven Guard Successors | Dusk Vultures • |
| Unknown Lineage | Angels of Eternity • Omega Knights • |
| Renegades | • |
Gallery
