Battle of Signus Prime
The Battle of Signus Prime was a major battle of the Horus Heresy which saw the Blood Angels besieged by the Daemonic hordes of the Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha.[1]
The Blooding of Signus
In an effort to divide the loyalist forces, Horus had dispatched those Legions who could not be swayed to his cause to the furthest reaches of Imperial Space, setting traps for them in the hopes that they would either be destroyed or too bogged down to assist the Emperor until it was too late. To this end, the Blood Angels had been tasked with the cleansing of the Signus Cluster, which Horus claimed to be under the control of xenos tyrants. Sanguinius had no reason to doubt his brother Primarch, and so it was that he and his walked blindly into the snare set for them.[1a]
Upon arrival in Signus, the Blood Angels were immediately beset by daemonic forces and the raw power of the warp. Many of the non-space marine crew went mad from exposure, and the Blood Angels were forced to detain them. In the midst of this, Kyriss the Perverse sent an image of itself directly into the chamber of Sanguinius, daring the Primarch to attack. The Lord of the Blood Angels rose to the challenge, and unleashed the fury of his Legion upon Signus Prime, personally leading his elite companies in an assault on Kyriss's palace. It was there that noble Sanguinius face Ka'Bandha, Bloodthirster of Khorne.[1b]
As Sanguinius and his forces neared the palace of Kyriss the Perverse, a massive daemon the colour of dried blood rose to meet him. Its name was Ka'Bandha, Greater Daemon of Khorne. Ka'Bandha attemped to coerce Sanguinius to the cause of Khorne, but the Lord of the Blood Angels could not be swayed, and attacked the Bloodthirster. He dealt the daemon a vicious wound, but was in turn cast to the ground, his legs crushed by the coils of the beast's whip. As he watched, helpless, Ka'Bandha slaughtered his way through the Blood Angels, killing over 500 of them. The massive psychic trauma knocked Sanguinius into unconsciousness, and unlocked something dark within the members of his Legion.[1b]
Angel's Fury
With the fall of their Lord and the butchering of their brethren, the Blood Angels were consumed by a dark rage that drove them into the daemonic horde with a berserker's fury. Signus Prime was utterly purged, with even the mighty Kyriss being banished back to the Immaterium. It was only after every daemon and cultist had been slain that the Blood Angels regained their senses. Their immutable wrath had left a shadow across the minds of the survivors, and Signus Prime became forever a place of darkness in their memories.[3]
Sources
- 1: Horus Heresy: Collected Visions: Volume II: Visions of Darkness
- 2: Fear to Tread (Novel) (Cover)
- 3: Horus Heresy: Collected Visions: Volume IV: Visions of Death: Pages 340-1
