Blood Angels : Blood for the Golden God – Part 13

Title: “The Great Angel, Sanguinius: A Beacon of Martial Excellence”

In the tumultuous era of the Great Crusade, a multitude of worlds were united under the sacred banner of the Imperium. Countless billions of soldiers fought in the Emperor’s name, their stories interweaving to create enduring legends that would echo through the millennia. Among these legends, the Legiones Astartes stood as towering beacons of martial excellence. Yet, some legions embodied the spirit of the Great Crusade more than others. One such esteemed group was Sanguinius’ Blood Angels.

Their dynamic advances, the spectacle of their assaults, and the awe they inspired made them favored subjects of the Remembrancers who chronicled the Crusade. The Blood Angels fought noble campaigns against the vilest creatures lurking in the void, liberating those oppressed by alien forces. To those they freed, they appeared as true angels descending from the heavens.

The Blood Angels’ reputation extended beyond their kin, partly due to their past exploits, their skill in battle, and the magnanimous nature of their warriors. However, the cornerstone of their goodwill stemmed from the noble demeanor of the Great Angel himself, Sanguinius. Among all the Emperor’s sons, he was the most beloved, the most admired.

Sanguinius saw none of his brothers as lesser, met each with an open warmth that calmed even the rage of his grim brother, Angron. He held a unique position of respect and admiration across the galaxy, from the exotic thrones of distant colonies to the baroque chambers of the Mechanicum’s far-flung realms.

Only Horus held a higher regard, though his colder demeanor made Sanguinius the more approachable. The Great Angel embodied the optimism and pride of the golden years, a time when it seemed nothing could stand against the Emperor’s armies, and the galaxy awaited their conquest.

The Anor Crusade was a grand campaign to shatter humanity’s greatest rival, the Orkish Empire of Ullanor. Horus led the largest battle of the Great Crusade, securing a grand victory. Yet even after this triumph, many expected Sanguinius, who had not been present, to receive the laurels of the new rank of Warmaster.

Such was the reputation of the Great Angel and his warriors, revered as peerless scholars and warriors, that few doubted Sanguinius’ worthiness to act as the Emperor’s proxy. Some succumbed to petty jealousy, but this was the pinnacle of glory for the Blood Angels.

However, as the Emperor’s dream neared fulfillment, the Great Crusade met a horrific end. Horus, the Emperor’s greatest son, succumbed to the temptations of the Chaos Gods. He sought to convert his brothers, yet knew Sanguinius would never willingly betray their father.

Horus devised a plan to either convert the Blood Angels or destroy them. He had discovered a carefully guarded secret of the Blood Angels, a genetic flaw known as the Red Thirst. Sanguinius had been aware of this flaw, keeping the truth from the Emperor and his brothers. Only a select few within his Legion knew the truth, and the revelation would shake the very foundations of the Imperium. This was the precipice upon which the Blood Angels and their Great Angel stood, teetering on the brink of a fall that would send shockwaves through the galaxy.

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