IA: Angels Vitae

[dusara217]

I have been working on this Index Astartes for quite some time, now, and it has gotten quite long. In order to avoid a frackin huge wall of text, I'm going to break it up into several different installments that I will be modifying as time goes on. Any feedback will be much appreciated.

 

I will be starting with the Chapter History and an overview, so here goes: 

 

Warcry: "For the Angel!" or "By the Emperor, FACE DAMNATION!!!”
Chapter name: Angels Vitae
Founding: Twentieth
Successors of: Blood Drinkers
Primarch: Sanguinius
Chapter Master: n/a
Chapter World: n/a
Fortress Monastery: n/a
Allegiance: Imperium of Man

Early Years
The Niche

We are the Adeptus Astartes, the defenders of man, but we can’t defend man if we don’t have the equipment to do so, eh? - Chapter Master Blactalel, 4 years after the Twentieth Founding

 

At the time of the Twentieth Founding, the Angels Vitae were a fleet-based Blood Angels Successor Chapter who followed the Codex-dictated numbers of Astartes. The Angels Vitae quickly became known amongst their fellow Sons of Sanguinius as tactful warriors that brought about swift victories through "cutting off the head of the snake" so to speak; in the early days, they were known for making excessive use of Teleportariums to teleport Battleforces almost on top of the leaders of the enemy forces whilst they were in safe havens they had thought were impenetrable. These risky tactics would sometimes lead to great casualties among the Astartes, but always yielded swift and decisive victories, and inevitably saved the lives of many soldiers and civilians - making the ironic name of the Angels Vitae all the more fitting. It is currently unknown as to precisely how the Astartes of the Angels Vitae got their hands on enough Terminator Armor to outfit so many Battle-Brothers with it - although, around the same time as the Twentieth Founding, a recently re-discovered Forge World sent a ship's worth of the precious armour to Mars that suspiciously disappeared somewhere near San Guisiga...

 

Their first notable campaign saw the defeat of WAAAGH!!! Skullmasha through the use of their First Company's Terminator teleportation devices to quickly kill the Warlord while his force was completely unprepared to deal with them. Soon after, they distinguished themselves against the Orks further with the defeat of the Ork Empire of Warboss Bawlcrusha, and went out of their way to bring down any Ork Empires they came across afterwards to hone their skills against the Greenskin tide. It seemed as if the Angels Vitae had found their specialty.

 

Their efforts were largely unrecognized by the Imperium at large, however, as they most often made preemptive strikes against gathering WAAAGHS!!! before they could reach their climax and begin rampaging across the Imperium. Despite the use of such risky technology as teleportation, the Angels Vitae "only" lost fifteen Marines to the Warp prior to the Catastrophe at Hulkania; acceptable losses in the face of so many glorious victories. As time went on, the Techmarines of the Chapter became more and more adroit in the use of Teleportariums, until not a single Angel Vitae had been lost to a Teleporter malfunction for over half a century.

Daemonic Threat

Never has our Chapter been brought as low as it was at the Catastrophe. May we never relive the dark days of scrounging that followed - Epistolary Elictiel in Ruminations on the early years of the Angels of Life

 

During the latter days of the Reign of Blood, The Angels Vitae were in the process of decapitating a massive Ork Empire (known as Hulkania) when a terrible accident occurred in the Teleportarium of the Battle Barge Wrath of Sanguinius - The Chapter Master and over five squads of Tactical Dreadnoughts disappeared into the Warp; presumed to be torn apart by the energies of the Warp. As this occurred, hordes of Daemons of unknown origin began pouring onto the Battle Barge and slaughtering the crew as a pitched battle occurred between the remaining Astartes and the Daemons. Cries for help sounded over the vox as the endless sea of Daemons brought down the brave Space Marines one by one, until none remained. As one Veteran Sergeant fell, he voxed," We are lost! Destroy the Wrath and these bastards along with it!"

 

After that, there was no more noise from the great Battle Barge, and the gathered Chapter Fleet turned its guns on the Flagship of the Angels Vitae - turning it into so much Molten Slag and burning Daemon. Unfortunately for the Astartes, a Daemon had activated the Warp Drive of the Wrath moments before it had been destroyed. With its destruction, a ragged hole was torn into the Immaterium that daemons poured out of.

 

Monolithic creatures the size of small skyscrapers emerged from the Warp Gate, and a pitched battle occurred between the Astartes and the Daemons. Daemonic creatures latched onto the hulls of ships and burrowed through the meters of armour plating to strike at the vulnerable crews. Six Strike Cruisers and dozens of Frigates and Destroyers were lost in the massive Naval battle. At the end, the Battle Barge Emperor’s Grace, seconds from utter destruction, detonated its Warp Core inside of the Gate; closing it. Over seven hundred Astartes died in the tumultuous battle.

 

Sensing weakness, the surviving Ork fleet launched a devastating counter-attack that caused catastrophic damage to the Chapter's fleet; causing the losses of 2 more Strike Cruisers and multiple frigates as well as the deaths of almost a hundred Marines. By the end of this disastrous conflict, less than thirty Space Marines of the original 800 survived, and a single Strike Cruiser and four escorts were the only remnants of the mighty fleet that had once attended to the Chapter. The Angels Vitae were forced to withdraw and lick their wounds as they re-consolidated their Fleet and held a summit to decide their next course of action.

The Road to Recovery

We were prideful and overconfident; convinced of our own invincibility. Pride is a weakness, and we were punished severely it - attributed to Brother-Sergeant Ilactiel, sole survivor of the Ninth Company, after the Catastrophe at Hulkania

 

Three full Companies had been entirely annihilated at the Catastrophe at Hulkania, while the rest were reduced to only a few squads, and even those squads were under strength, with only a few survivors of the original Marines who had repelled the Daemon boarders. The only exceptions were the Second and Eighth Companies (as well as the Sanguinary Guard), who were participating in the Terran Crusade at the time of the Catastrophe. Less than one tenth of the Chapter’s Gene-seed survived.

 

No longer were the days when every Company had two squads of Terminators for every Copmany; for only thirty of the precious suits had survived the Reign of Blood. No longer were the days when there was such a thing as “acceptable losses”; for no replacements could be made. No longer were the days when the Chapter recklessly abused its technology; for it had lost it. No longer could the Angels Vitae fight as the great Chapter Master Azazel himself had dictated; for pride had wrought them low and left them bereft of the strength necessary to do so.

 

With the only other force of Angels Vitae still besieging Terra alongside the Adeptus Mechanicus and the spearhead that consisted of the bulk of several Chapters, the surviving Strike Cruiser set course for Terra. When they reached it, the Reign of Blood had been ended and they met with the Captains of the First and Second companies, whose numbers were depleted as well.

 

It was decided that the three companies that had been destroyed would left that way, while the five leaderless companies had Captains given them. The remaining Astartes were spread across the Companies so that each Company had 24 Marines. The Captains could not decide on a Chapter Master, and thus they went without one as they sold their services to Rogue Traders and Mechanicus fleets. There were but three surviving Techmarines to administer to the seven Companies, and as such it became required for every Marine to learn the art of Smithing in order to maintain his weaponry; or, at least until more techmarines could be acquired. Since then, it has become a tradition for every warrior to take special care for his wargear, and it is not uncommon for a Paladin Ultima to have forged his own blade.

 

In honor of the champions they had become, the Captains were renamed “Paladins”. The Paladins operated independently of each other and each tried to strengthen their Chapters. Every ten Standard years, a summit would be declared and the Paladins would gather to share what they had accomplished. Resources would be pooled, and recruits and ships would be evenly distributed among the Chapter. Due to this isolation from the rest of the Chapter, the Companies became fiercely independent of each other. When enough strength had been gathered that they no longer needed continue in this manner, they continued anyway in order to retain their autonomy and equality; no Chapter Master had been elected, and none was needed, as thought the Paladins.

 

As weakened as the Chapter had become, it became necessary to acquire more Naval vessels. In order to acquire these valuable assets, the Angels Vitae began accompanying Explorator and Rogue Trader fleets in exchange for ships - from Cruisers to landing craft - capable of being retrofitted for combat. These explorator fleets often ventured into alien-controlled territory, and the Chapter acquired Xenos tech from many of them. This tech was promptly passed on to the Ordo Xenos, and helped the Angels Vitae acquire many allies within the Inquisition with these gifts.

A New Gene Pool

We must acquire more Aspirants! Without a steady supply of fresh recruits, we will be lost. I submit that we must find a homeworld, or Oblivion is what shall greet our once-great Chapter - Master of the Forge Hicatel Iron Arm at the Fifth Summit of the Angels Vitae (c. 425. M36)

 

For decades after the Catastrophe, the Angels Vitae had a severely limited number of Chapter Serfs. The few thousand that remained barely had sufficient numbers to maintain a steady gene pool, and more were needed. The name “Angels Vitae” took on new meaning as many Phalanxes went out of their way to save civilians in order to offer them a place as Serfs of the Chapter. The only means of recruitment for centuries was from random worlds that the Angels vitae operated on, and numbers peaked at 600 Marines at the time of the 5th Black Crusade.

 

During the 5th Black Crusade, several Companies of Angels Vitae were tasked with holding the vital Forge World Julkin from the oncoming Black Crusaders alongside several other Chapters, Titan Legions, and Knight Houses. The first world struck was an outlying Hive World with a population of billions. Unwilling to allow so many to be slaughtered, the Angels Vitae evacuated as many civilians as they possibly could; saving millions before being forced to withdraw.

 

During the war for Julkin, the Angels Vitae fought with a burning passion that they had not experienced for centuries; for they held their Chapter’s salvation within the bellies of their starships. Their fury was unparallelled by any among the defenders, and this earned them special recognition by the Forge World’s defenders. After successfully defeating the invading Chaos Marine Warbands, the Angels Vitae called a Summit and the new Serfs were distributed among the fleet like slaves. The new Chapter Serfs saw the Angels Vitae as their saviors; the Angels of the Emperor come to rescue them. They pledged their lives to their saviors and gladly accepted the training necessary to crew the ships and serve the Astartes.

 

Roguish Ties

The Xenos we were forced to fight with were ungodly abominations; they had six limbs, and no heads. And yet, after battling alongside them for twelve long years and killing several myself, I can say that I can count them amongst the less unholy creatures of this Galaxy - Acolytum Sandalphon

 

When the Angels Vitae were trying to rebuild their fleet, they would often work for Rogue Traders in exchange for any Void-capable vessel - from ancient Stormbirds to new-built Cruisers. These contracts usually involved Space Marines working as bodyguards for powerful rogue traders for a number of years or for the duration of an expedition in exchange for a lander or two, though the occasional Armed Freighter or Rogue Trader Cruiser might have been the thanks of a particularly grateful Rogue Trader whose life had been saved on multiple occasions by the Marines.

 

Despite their primary services as bodyguards, many times, an entire Company would work for a particularly influential Rogue Trader in exchange for even two space-worthy vessels. These expeditions would lead deep into unexplored or Xenos-held space. The Astartes gained much experience in fending off raiders and pirates here, though this experience proved to be of little use when the expeditions ended. These years-long expeditions contributed to much of the Angels Vitae Fleets. 

 

Ofttimes, the Astartes would be forced to work with Xenos in order to acquire the ships they so desperately needed. This was done begrudgingly, and it was not uncommon for there to “accidental” friendly fire incidents during combat. As time went on, however, the Angels Vitae eventually became more tolerant of the Xenos as they worked with them. Since then, the Angels Vitae have become far less zealous in their pursuit of Xenos foes. 

 

Many Rogue Trader families now have permanent bodyguards of Angels Vitae due to the extensive history they share with the recovered Chapter. A single squad of Astartes is assigned to each family, and it is approximated that there are currently twelve squads currently in service to Rogue Traders in order to honor ancient bonds of loyalty and oath. Every ten years, new squads are selected to protect the Rogue Traders.

 

The Chapter Fleets of the Angels Vitae have large numbers of repurposed Freighters and other Rogue Trader vessels. These Void Ships can be Armed Freighters, Landing craft, Corvettes, or even a ship built by a Rogue Trader family.

[Olis]

Wow, even as only a chunk, that was quite a lengthy read. There are a couple of instances where you use rather... erm... informal language that could be a touch more clinical (like the 'kick in the nuts' statement). 

 

As far as IA's go, this is a very good attempt - you must have been working on this for a while, eh? Granted this is just the first section, so I look forward to seeing more. 

 

However, there are various small niggles that I'd like to address but, at this late juncture, I'll have to leave it until tomorrow after work. For now, I would suggest doing something about those four xenos ships - the Inquisition would certainly not simply clear them for anything. They'd either keep them or destroy them, such is the nature of the Inquisition. And maybe something about those battleships. Stealing them is a very bad idea and one I'm not sure is entirely plausible.

[dusara217]

Wow, even as only a chunk, that was quite a lengthy read. There are a couple of instances where you use rather... erm... informal language that could be a touch more clinical (like the 'kick in the nuts' statement). 

 

As far as IA's go, this is a very good attempt - you must have been working on this for a while, eh? Granted this is just the first section, so I look forward to seeing more. 

 

However, there are various small niggles that I'd like to address but, at this late juncture, I'll have to leave it until tomorrow after work. For now, I would suggest doing something about those four xenos ships - the Inquisition would certainly not simply clear them for anything. They'd either keep them or destroy them, such is the nature of the Inquisition. And maybe something about those battleships. Stealing them is a very bad idea and one I'm not sure is entirely plausible.

Honestly, I'd thought that I'd edited out the kick in the nuts part after the initial rought draft

[dusara217]

This is the second installment in history, and then I'll cover the Chapter overview regarding traditions, beliefs and combat doctrine. Also, I've fixed a lot of mistakes in the OP.

 

 

 

The Archenemy

Chaos besieges our great Imperium at every side, and what did we do? We neglected it. No, worse than that, we IGNORED it. There is not greater sin than that, and we have suffered for it. We shall not neglect our duties again - Sanguinary High Priest Raziel

 

Ever since the Catastrophe at Hulkania, the Angels Vitae swore vengeance against the Ruinous Powers. The seven companies of the Angels Vitae are almost always deployed against the forces of Chaos, and have developed an affinity to battling Daemons and Traitor Marines. Their time with the Rogue Traders, however, has led to a disliking for battling certain Xenos races, and has led to great questioning of some Imperial Doctrine. This has been hidden from the prying eyes of the Inquisition at great cost.

 

 

 

A New Gene Pool

For decades after the Catastrophe, the Angels Vitae had a severely limited number of Chapter Serfs. The few thousand that remained barely had sufficient numbers to maintain a steady gene pool, and more were needed. The name “Angels Vitae” took on new meaning as many Phalanxes went out of their way to save civilians in order to offer them a place as Serfs of the Chapter, or even as Astartes. Due to this desperation, the only means of recruitment for centuries was from random worlds that the Angels vitae operated on, and numbers peaked at 300 Marines at the time of the 5th Black Crusade.

 

During the 5th Black Crusade, several Companies of Angels Vitae were tasked with holding the vital Forge World Julkin from the oncoming Black Crusaders alongside several other Chapters, Titan Legions, and Knight Houses. The first world struck was an outlying Hive World with a population of billions. Unwilling to allow so many to be slaughtered, the Angels Vitae evacuated as many civilians as they possibly could; saving millions before being forced to withdraw.

 

During the war for Julkin, the Angels Vitae fought with a burning passion that they had not experienced for centuries; for they held their Chapter’s salvation within the bellies of their warships. Their fury was unparalleled by any among the defenders, and this earned them special recognition by the Forge World’s rulers. After successfully defeating the invading Chaos Marine Warbands, the Angels Vitae called a Summit and the new Serfs were distributed among the fleet like slaves. The new Chapter Serfs saw the Angels Vitae as their saviors - the Angels of the Emperor come to rescue them - and were more than willing to be separated from their lifelong friends to serve the great ones. They pledged their lives to their saviors and gladly accepted the training necessary to crew the ships and serve the Astartes.

 

Organisation

The Angels Vitae are a fleet-based Chapter divided into seven Battle Companies spread throughout the galaxy; at least 5 of which are currently in the Segmentum Obscurus. Each Battle Company is further divided into Phalanxes, which consist of 3 squads to a Phalanx. There are no rules regarding the number of Phalanxes per Company, though most Companies have leveled out and are sustaining current numbers.

 

There are seven Paladin Ultimas, each of whom is in command of a Company. Each Company has varying amounts of Phalanxes, though most have around five Phalanxes, with the largest Company having eight Phalanxes. Each Phalanx is composed of three squads of Space Marines and is commanded by a Paladin. Each squad is made up of precisely eight Space Marines and led by a Sergeant. No Phalanx is ever divided, and each squad in a Phalanx fights in the same engagement or not at all. The Phalanx is the Marine’s family, and the Chapter his home.

 

Each Phalanx has a Sanguinary Priest and a Chaplain attached to it. Whenever a Priest or Chaplain is killed in combat, a Sanguinary Novitiate or Junior Chaplain is selected to be trained by the High Priest or Reclusiarch of the Company, who will personally take over the responsibilities of the former Priest or Chaplain until the Novitiate is ready to take over.

 

Whenever the Paladin Ultima dies, either his protege takes over or the Paladins under his command vote for his successor; depending upon circumstance. Sanguinary High Priests, Masters of the Forge, High Chaplains, and Chief Librarians are selected in a similar manner.

Every ten years, the Angels Vitae meet in a Summit. At the Summit, they share resources, decide their next course of action, and discuss the events that have occurred in the past ten years. After the Summit is convened, several Companies will depart to engagements together from here; forming bonds of brotherhood with warriors of other companies.

 

Each Battle Company has its own corps of Techmarines ruled by a Master of the Forge. These corps usually have around 7 or 8 Techmarines, who are governed by a Master of the Forge. The Masters of the Forge are then governed by the ForgeFather, who is in command of every Techmarine in the Chapter. In a similar manner, every Sanguinary High Priest answers to the Bishop, and every Reclusiarch answers to the High Chaplain. In this manner, it is ensured that no Company is able to become completely autonomous as the vital specialist personnel remain loyal to the Chapter instead of the Company.

[Olis]

Okay, I'm just going to do bits and pieces for now - I haven't quite got the time I'd like to slug through this all in one go. ^_^

 

At the time of the Twentieth Founding, the Angels Vitae were a semi-standard fleet-based Blood Angels Successor Chapter who followed the Codex-dictated numbers of Astartes. The Angels Vitae quickly became known amongst their fellow Sons of Sanguinius as tactful warriors that brought about swift victories through "cutting off the head of the snake" so to speak; in the early days, they were known for making excessive use of Teleportariums to teleport Battleforces almost on top of the leaders of the enemy forces, (even when the leaders were in the fortresses they thought were safe) and thus quickly rout their foes. These risky tactics would sometimes lead to great casualties among the Astartes, but always yielded swift victories and inevitably saved the lives of many soldiers and civilians - making the ironic name of the Angels Vitae all the more fitting. It is currently unknown as to precisely how the Astartes of the Angels Vitae got their hands on enough Terminator Armor to outfit so many Battle-Brothers with it - although, around the same time as the Twentieth Founding, a recently re-discovered Forge World sent a ship's worth of the precious armour to Mars that suspiciously disappeared somewhere near San Guisiga...

 

I think, to begin with, you can drop the phrase 'semi-standard'. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't really do much and just takes up space.

 

For the use of teleportariums, the strange thing would be that this was a preferred tactic. Teleportariums were (and are) notoriously unreliable and so to speak of them as the go-to transportation to the heart of the enemy means that this chapter must have been quite... unconcerned for their own safety. Which I suppose, in a roundabout way, some Blood Angel descendants are. But the choice of words could do with looking at. When you say 'excessive use' do you simply mean it's a preferred tactic, or that this method of assault is used almost to the exclusion of any others? Because saying it's a preferred tactic sounds more reasonable than saying that they teleport all the time, what with the inherent dangers of using such archaic technology. 

 

Onto 'decapitation strikes': All space marines do this. It's a known and well used strategy. So what makes your chapter notable performing this action? The method of getting there is not truly notable (many chapters have access to teleportariums) and neither is the result (a leaderless enemy). What else is there? How they do the strike itself might be an idea. Perhaps they string up the corpses for the rest of the enemy to find, or maybe they deliberately exsanguinate the commanders. Basically leaving a visual reminder that they were there, whatever the means. Anyone can leave a command centre a bloody ruin. 

 

And lastly the terminator armour. Are you content with your chapter being implicated in the theft of Imperial property? Does your chapter absolutely, positively have to have more than the usual number of terminator suits early in their history? Including this snippet feels like you are trying to have your cake and eat it. It's not a gamebreaker, of course, but it's a rough edge. 

 

Their efforts were largely unrecognized by the Imperium at large, however, as they most often made preemptive strikes against gathering WAAAGHS!!! before they could reach their climax and begin rampaging across the Imperium. Despite the use of such risky technology as teleportation, the Angels Vitae 'only' lost fifteen Marines to the Warp prior to the Catastrophe at Hulkania; acceptable losses in the face of so many glorious victories.

 

I think fifteen marines might be a touch on the small side, brother. How long had the chapter been operating up to that point?

 

 

During the latter days of the Reign of Blood, The Angels Vitae were in the process of decapitating a massive Ork Empire (known as Hulkania) when a terrible accident occurred in the Teleportarium of the Battle Barge Wrath of Sanguinius - The Chapter Master and over five squads of Tactical Dreadnoughts disappeared into the Warp; presumed to be torn apart by the energies of the Warp. As this occurred, hordes of Daemons of unknown origin began pouring onto the Battle Barge and slaughtering the crew as a pitched battle occurred between the remaining Astartes and the Daemons. Cries for help sounded over the vox as the endless sea of Daemons brought down the brave Space Marines one by one, until none remained. As one Veteran Sergeant fell, he voxed," We are lost! Destroy the Wrath and these bastards along with it!"

 

This might seem pedantic, or it might not - instead of 'bastards' I think 'hellspawn' might be more appropriate. Just my personal taste.

 

 

[dusara217]

My idea with it was that the original Chapter Master, Blactalel (who I've barely touched on and plan on adding a few more references to) was a lot more reckless than is standard and, as a result, his Chapter became less respectful and more flippant, and suffered for it in the end.

 

And by "excessive use" I mean that they would use it above just over just about any other tactic. They had stolen Terminator Armour specifically because the original Chapter Master valued Teleporters so much and wanted to be able to have at least one squad of Terminators present at every theater the Angels Vitae were operating at. Plus, he was a bit of flippant, disprespectful douche that rose to his position because he was a suck-up and an mediocre tactician who knew how to manipulate those under his command so that all of his failures would get blamed on his underlings. In other words, Blactalel was a career Officer.

 

TBH, I've seen almost nothing but Space Marines being used as line troopers for so long, I had almost completely forgotten they were Special Forces. GW needs to get some new fluff writers, or at least Black Library needs to do a thorough purge of its ranks.

 

Also, I've edited out a few portions of the OP so that it isn't quite as long and has less unnecessary bits. I have also added a brief Chapter overview to the OP, similar to what they have in the Wikia inside of the table at the top right of the page.

 

Here is the final installment:

 

Beliefs

The Angels Vitae believe that the when the Emperor was placed upon the Golden Throne, his soul ascended into the Warp and became the God-Emperor. It is also believed that the God-Emperor rescued the souls of the Primarchs that died after he ascended, and that these Primarchs ascended as well. The Legion of the Damned is thought to be the Daemons of the Emperor, and the Angels Vitae see the Legion of the Damned as what the greatest Space Marines become after death. This belief was only adopted after the Catastrophe had occurred and morale was at an all-time low; prompting the Sanguinary Priests to abandon Imperial Truth in favor of the Imperial Creed.

 

 

Some time after the Catastrophe at Hulkania, the Sanguinary Priests began to preach that the weakness of pride had been the cause of the Chapter's devastation, and humility reached an all-time high. Weakness came to be despised by the Chapter, though the Priests taught that there was no such thing as physical weakness, and that weakness was a result of the machinations of the soul and the brain. Since this hatred of weakness, It has become a common belief by many within the Angels Vitae that ignorance is an unconscionable weakness that must be expunged from the Chapter. Because of this, the vast majority of the Chapter’s Battle-Brothers spend much of their time reading books and studying. There have been many great historians and authors among the Angels Vitae. And although the Angels Vitae do not follow the Codex-dictate organisation, they still see the Codex as the ultimate source for tactics and strategies; much like a War Bible.

Combat Doctrine

After the Catastrophe at Hulkania, the Angels Vitae lost almost all of their Drop Pods and teleportation devices - both of which are necessary for the kind of Alpha Strikes they favoured.

 

In lieu of the loss of Drop Pods and teleportation, the Angels Vitae took to acting as a sort of paratrooper; they would fly their craft several thousand kilometers above the target location, and then they would jump out. At approximately twenty meters above the ground, the Space Marines would activate their Jump Packs; slowing their descent seconds before impact and allowing the Space Marines to hit the ground and survive without injury. Eventually, this came to be known as the “falling angels” tactic, which had astonishing affects upon enemy morale as what seemed like Gods of War suddenly smashed into their ranks from the sky and slaughtered them like cattle.

 

The Thirst

Much as their Founders do, the Angels Vitae embrace the Red Thirst as a comrade. However, instead of outright exsanguinating mortals, the Angels Vitae will take small measures of blood from Chapter Serfs. It is not unknown for Battle-Brothers of the Angels Vitae to drink blood like wine; for Chapter Serfs freely give of themselves to their liege lords.

 

This manner of satisfying the Thirst has allowed great control of the Red Thirst, and has allowed it to be used as a tool in combat - much like a combat drug is used to enhance strength and ferocity, so is the Thirst. Thanks to this control over the Flaw, combat drugs have almost completely fallen out of use amongst the Angels Vitae as well.

Burial Rites

Whenever a Battle-Brother of Sergeant rank or higher dies, if at all possible, he will be burned with great ceremony. A measure of his blood will be drained from his body and placed inside of a Grail of Blood. The Grail will be blessed by a Sanguinary Priest, and then each Battle-Brother under his command will drink of the blood. In this manner, it is believed that a portion of the Battle-Brother’s spirit will live on in his former subordinates. After the ceremony is complete, the Astartes’ body will be burned and their ashes scattered in the Void to drift for all eternity.

 

For Paladin Ultimas, the blood is drank by the Paladins under their command. Similarly, Paladins’ blood is drank by the Sergeants under their command, Sanguinary High Priests’ are drank by their subordinary Sanguinary Priests, Masters of the Forge by their Techmarines, etc.