“And for those who
shed mans blood,
by your hands, shall their blood be shed...”
- The Emperor of Man
ORIGINS OF THE
GUARDIAN ANGELS
Holographic representation of the Chapters ancient
historical documents.
Ten
thousand years ago, the Emperor walked the Galaxy,
and in his infinite wisdom he created the Adeptus
Astartes, the Space Marines, and with them he conquered
the Galaxy.
But
he was betrayed, for when victory was near at hand
and the entire Galaxy was within his grasp, fully
half of his beloved warriors turned on him and became
his most loathed enemy.
During this time, Terra was attacked and brought to
its knees. During this time, the Emperor of man was
mortally wounded and went to a place beyond death
and yet far removed from life.
It was during this
time that humanity saw its darkest hour.
Still in his divine wisdom, the Emperor had
foreseen that this may come to pass, and he had prepared
for it in many ways. – Before the fall, the
Emperor had met with Rogal Dorn, Primarch and Legion
master of the Imperial fists. He had met with the
Guardians of Holy Terra and with his own, personal
Praetorians.
With them, the Emperor had discussed the defense of
the inner Segmentum, the safekeeping of Terra and
the human race. – This discussion was about
more than upholding the body of the race; it was also
about upholding its dreams, hopes and emotions, in
fact its very soul…
So
it was that the Emperor gathered onto him a collage
of scientists, poets, historians and dreamers. He
had a Space Monastery built, Fort Barachiel; the Great
Protector; the Ark of Terra. This fort was to function
as a safe haven, a way for the greatest minds of Terra
to be evacuated should the need arise.
The
fort was equipped with super computers that held all
the information humanity had ever gathered or made.
All its history, science, and culture. Even the genetic
makeup of every race on Terra was stored onboard the
Ark.
To
escort the great fort, the Emperor had a multitude
of ships made, and to safeguard the future of humanity,
he hand-picked seventy of his finest warriors.
These warriors where to be the praetorians of the
human mind, body, heart and soul, they would be healers,
philosophers and poets as much as they would be warriors,
and so they where trained in all these fields.
They would hold the ability to heal as well as to
kill. They would have the power to protect and the
authority to forgive.
Upon Rogal Dorn and Chief Custodian; Containtin Valdors
question as to if this was to be a new force or part
of its progenitor legion, the Emperor did not answer.
He only said:
“They
shall be known as the Guardian Angels,
and
their number shall be greater than the stars.”
At later times this
has brought to life many a discussion on what the
Emperor really meant;
Some say he meant for the Guardian Angels to be an
unknown part of its progenitor legion, others that
he meant they should be a Legion in their own right,
but that they would not be given a number, their number
would be greater than the stars, others again have
claimed that what the Emperor meant was for the force
to multiply until they had more warriors than there
are stars, for in that way be ensured the safekeeping
of the human soul...
When
Terra was attacked by the Chaos legions ten thousand
years ago, the Chosen gathered in fort Barachiel;
the Ark of Terra, and escorted by a fleet of ships,
the great Space Monastery folded time and space and
disappeared into the annals of history.
Thousands
of light-years away, the monastery reappeared with
its escort and precious cargo.
Here, as planned by the immortal Emperor, the Angels
found a multitude of resources, and better yet, they
found an uninhabited paradise planet.
On this beautiful sphere, the Guardian Angels established
their new base. – A magnificent monastery within
a great mountain – The Hand of the Guardian.
Their fleet was hidden deep within the system, and
as planned by the Emperor, they settled into a deep
slumber of stasis, awaiting the time that they would
be returned into the fold of humanity once more; and
so they disappeared from Imperial history for eons…
+ + + + +
Little
did the Angels know that their master himself; The
Emperor had gone into an endless slumber.
The Emperor was no longer around to lead the expedition
of their reawakening, and so, much knowledge and much
of humanity’s soul was lost in time.
Thousands
upon thousands of years passed and the paradise planet
of the Guardian Angels was rediscovered by the Imperium.
It was given the name of Icar V, and was inhabited
with Imperial colonists.
The Colony of Icar V grew as the millennia passed
by, and soon it was a sprawling planet filled with
human life.
Another
millennia passed, before the ancient Space Hulk; “Vigilo
Sodalitas” was discovered in wild space by one
of the fleets of the Black Templars.
Led by Ordo Malleus, the Black Templars boarded the
ancient ship, and rediscovered vital information leading
to the rediscovery of “the Treasure of Terra”,
and the reawakening of the Guardian Angels.
After
the awakening, the Angels where taken in, as a secret
of the Inquisition, but such a secret could not be
fully kept from the local public for long.
The Guardian Angels became a monastic order to the
residents of Icar V. Mostly known for their wisdom,
knowledge and protection.
The local residents became fond of the ancient monastic
order that had suddenly arrived on their planet, and
around the mountain of “the Hand of the Guardian”
grew a magnificent capital; Rubicon, the city of Angels.
The
new order drew the interest of the Machine Cult, and
eventually a fraction of Adeptus Mechanicus came to
open conflict with the order.
This broke the Inquisitorial secret, revealing the
Guardian Angels as the Space Marines they are.
The Guardian Angels found themselves in constant skirmishes
with fractions of the Machine Cult. While the Machine
Cult itself constantly found dead ends when trying
to report them in the bureaucratic system of the Imperium.
– To them it was like fighting Ghosts. –
Officially the Guardian Angels did not exist, and
several high-ranking individuals within the Inquisition
made sure that it stayed this way.
Finally, after more
than a millennia of non-existence, the order was officially
put under Inquisitorial supervision, and the Venor
Crusade brought to an end, on Inquisitorial demand.
No more than six years passed from this time, until
the Guardian Angels, by order of the Lords of Terra,
where ordained to be a Chapter in their own right.
However,
upon being given Chapter status, it was harshly noted
that the Guardian Angels had an un-Codex like philosophy
and organization, that they may even be looked upon
as being close to heretical in many aspects.
The Inquisition opted for rights to become the ruling
head of the Chapter, but this was denied by the Lords
of Terra. Yet the Inquisition put the Chapter under
their wing for observation and protection.
This Inquisitorial supervision lasted for more than
250 years, but finally ended shortly after the second
Tyranid war.
Even
after the Guardian Angels where ordained to be a Chapter
of their own right, it was not given a number, instead
they where given a Lemniscate to signify the Emperors
words; “And their
number shall be greater than the Stars.”
+ + + + +
As
time has passed, the Chapter has been in numerous
conflicts, they have fought Heretics, security systems
on board ships, Orcs, Chaos, Eldar, Dark Eldar, the
young Tau, and the ancient Necrons. But lately the
greatest effort has been put into the Tyranid wars
along the borders of Ultima Segmentum.
Due
to the Emperors enigmatic answers and the chapters
own beliefs, the Guardian Angels do not fully follow
Codex Astartes, and they have more than 1000 warriors
spread out across the Galaxy.
Today,
a contingent of Guardian Angels can be found near
the Maelstrom, one contingent is in reserve, training
in and guarding the Icar V system, and one contingent
of the angels fight alongside the Ultramarines and
many other forces gathered in the Tyranid wars of
the Galactic East.
