*[[Penitent Blades]],{{Fn|53b}} [[Penumbra's Talons]],{{Fn|71}} [[Persecutors of Darkness]], [[Prime Absolvers]]{{Fn|53b}}

The '''Dark Angels''' , known in [[High Gothic]] as '''Angelis Tenebraium''',{{Fn|69}} were the '''I Legion''' of the twenty original [[Space Marine Legion]]s. Their [[Primarch]] is [[Lion El'Jonson]]. After remaining loyal to the [[Emperor]] during the [[Horus Heresy]], this legion was later re-organized and divided into several [[Chapters]] during the [[Second Founding]]. One of these chapters would keep the original legion's name and assets, though all of the Dark Angels descendants continue to work together to hunt [[The Fallen]] as the [[Unforgiven]].{{Fn|19}}

The Dark Angels themselves are known to speak amongst one another in Calibanite, a collection of dozens of languages carried on from their origin world of Caliban. These are officially Codified as '''[[Lingua-Mortis]]''' by Imperial Census-takers.{{Fn|66}} The written version of at least one Calibanite tongue was described as being inscribed with a neat, rounded script.{{Fn|33d}} A dedicated Battle-Cant is also known to be made use of by the Lion’s sons. Where it is sometimes spoken between brother’s in a more casual manner outside of the field of Battle.{{Fn|66}}

In addition, the Dark Angels are known to have access to a disproportionate amount of [[Plasma Weaponry]].{{Fn|4b}} During the time of the [[Great Crusade]], complementing the concentration of skill and hard-won knowledge of the Dark Angels [[Hexagrammaton]]. Was one of the most deadly arsenals in the entire Imperium. Much of the technology routinely deployed by the Dark Angels was of an order of complexity beyond that available to the younger Legions and on par with those of the [[Adeptus Custodes|Legio Custodes]], produced in dedicated manufactoria on [[Terra]] and elsewhere such as the Legion Fiefdoms of [[Gramarye]], and [[Caliban]]{{Fn|50c}}{{Fn|50d}} to the specifications of the Dark Angels learned forge masters to designs dating back millennia. Exotic plasma weaponry, munitions of archaic and unstable design as well as variants of armoured vehicles and void craft based on unique technologies, all were the sole province of the First Legion. {{Fn|50d}} Indeed, it is noted that the Legion holds in its armoured reserves war machines rarely fielded since the earliest days of the Unification Wars, and others which, much to the chagrin of the Mechanicum, are of entirely unknown provenance.{{Fn|68}} This proved a potent force multiplier on the battlefield, amplifying the superior skills of the Dark Angels and allowing them to prevail against foes that lesser technology could not defeat. As well as those advanced weapons and designs they used openly, the Dark Angels also maintained large stocks of weapons of a darker renown. Within the sealed vaults of Caliban and Gramarye, as well as a number of secret caches scattered across the Imperium and guarded by dedicated Orders, were vast stores of weaponry long since proscribed to the other military arms of the Imperium. [[Gene-phage|Gene-phages]] capable of annihilating all life upon a planetary body in mere hours, core-breaching [[Magna-Torpedo|magna munitions]] that could tear a planet apart from within, stockpiles of ancient [[Silica-virae]] - the dreaded scourge of the nanite pronounced the ultimate heresy by the adepts of Mars--all could be found within the armouries of the Dark Angels. Such weapons could not be unleashed lightly, for they served only a single purpose - the utter destruction of life. They were of no use to conquerors, only to destroyers, and they served as the ultimate sanction for those enemies deserving of only annihilation.{{Fn|50d}} By the last years of the Great Crusade, shortly before the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, the Dark Angels claimed a strength of approximately 180,000 to 200,000{{Fn|50e}} warriors, while other accounts claimed they had raised as many as a quarter of a million from the world of Caliban alone.{{Fn|33e}} In terms of sheer size this placed them in the upper tier of the Legiones Astartes, alongside such Legions as the Ultramarines and Sons of Horus, and despite the rise of the younger Legions to rival their glory, they still remained one of the single most powerful military forces in the Imperium. Additional records from the period have noted a much lower field strength for the Dark Angels, sometimes as low as 50,000. These reports are likely due to the confusion that the Dark Angels' organisational procedures and heraldry caused for most unfamiliar observers.{{Fn|50d}} The dense nature of the ciphers they used and the secretive nature of many of its sub-formations often led to some amount of bewilderment for outsiders, especially when combined with the fluid and shifting nature of authority and command within the Legion, sometimes even to the degree that it led to military setbacks when working alongside other Imperium forces. Surprisingly, the Dark Angels have made little attempt to remedy this situation, indeed some of their commanders, especially the older veterans of the Great Crusade, seem to take a quiet pride in the confusion it occasions among the least disciplined of their allies. In particular, a common practise by some Dark Angels forces is to arrive without announcing to their allies who commands the First Legion contingent, leaving their counterparts to determine whom to greet as warlord by the heraldry they display. Those few who make the correct choice, or who are wary enough to make no judgement, are treated with respect and those who choose poorly watched carefully for further lapses in judgement. Such tests of worth are commonplace among the Dark Angels, both for their own initiates and for those that would fight alongside them, for the sons of the Lion judge the worth of no warrior on rumour and hearsay alone.{{Fn|50d}} Such actions are most often encountered among the more veteran formations of the Legion. Those forces whose tallies of victories and vanquished foes were so impressive that some among the newly-recruited regiments of the Imperium's armies thought them fabrications and even those who had served in the Great Crusade long enough to have heard of the valour of the First Legion rarely knew the full scope of their victories and sacrifices. Indeed, the Dark Angels remained one of the most experienced bodies of warriors within the Legiones Astartes. Despite the many dire battles they had faced, they had always retained a core of veterans to pass on the hard-won skills and knowledge of their struggles, indeed much of the structure of the Wings and Orders was dedicated to exactly this task. As such they had maintained a level of skill and proficiency in every sphere of warfare that, while sometimes less specialised than the younger Legion, could rarely be equalled among the Legiones Astartes. Given these material and organisational preferences the Dark Angels tended to a sparse pattern of deployment, scattering their numbers widely in relatively small detachments, relying more on the potency of their weaponry and the individual prowess of their warriors than on sheer numbers. Capitalising on the diverse nature of the warriors that made up each Chapter and Company, individual battle forces of the Dark Angels were most often little more than a handful of Chapters operating in close support, often a force as small as a few thousand warriors. Where other fleets relied more on the numbers they could bring to bear, the Dark Angels emphasised the fluid nature of their units which were able to quickly and efficiently reform as needed within a local theatre of war in order to meet the challenges of a given engagement. It was a rare sight to see large numbers of the First Legion gathered in any one place, and such a sight was considered a portent of the worst kind, for the grim, black-armoured ranks of the Dark Angels were only amassed to face the most dire of threats. Indeed, many among the ranks of the Imperial Army considered it a grave misfortune to be tasked with serving as support to the Dark Angels, not due to any mistreatment at the hands of the Legiones Astartes, but rather because the battlefields upon which they walked were inimical to the lives of merely mortal warriors and only the most skilled or fortunate soldiers survived such a tour of duty. Despite this long-held superstition, those few regiments that had served alongside the Dark Angels and survived held the battle honours granted them by the Lion with pride, despite the bloody price paid for their acquisition.{{Fn|50d}}  

By Initially during the [[Unification Wars]] and Early [[Great Crusade]] the Dark Angels Legion was divided into a number of [[Hosts of the First Legion|Hosts]] and [[Orders of the First Legion|Orders of Battle]]. Most of these Hosts were later reorganized by [[Lion El'Jonson]] into the [[Hexagrammaton]], although the time [[Orders of the Hekatonystika]] endured all the way into the [[Great Crusade]] and [[Horus Heresy]] .{{Fn|50}} Members of the Heresy-era Dark Angels often had allegiance to three different bodies: That of their Order, that of their Hexagrammaton host, and that of their Chapter and Company. It was only through superb skill, familiarity, and long-term indoctrination that the Dark Angels were able to avoid chaos with such a system and indeed used it to their full potential.{{Fn|50d}} Those formations which followed the [[Principia Bellicosa]] within the Dark Angels were known as the '''Corpus Nobilis'''.{{Fn|50d}} By the time of the [[HexagrammatonHorus Heresy]] the '''Hexagrammaton''' or '''Corpus Dextera'''{{Fn|50d}} consisted of six specialized "Wings": the [[Deathwing]], [[Ravenwing]], [[Dreadwing]], [[Ironwing]], [[Firewing]], and [[Stormwing]].{{Fn|25c}} These formations were a legacy of the [[Unification Wars]].{{Fn|50d}} The '''Hekatonystika''' or '''Corpus Sinister'''{{Fn|50d}} served as the hidden counterpart of the Hexagrammaton and was charged with keeping its most dangerous secrets safe.{{Fn|50b}} Publicly, the Dark Angels maintained traditional Chapters and Companies, but each of their Commanders secretly held allegiance to one of the Dark Angels Orders. There were hundreds of Dark Angels orders, which varied in size; some only had a dozen or so members. Though some encompassed entire [[Chapters]] of [[Brother|Knights]].{{Fn|33e}} Each Order had its own strict hierarchy, and unlike the Hosts they were far more secretive. Members of the Orders communicated with one another via ciphers and cryptic signals.{{Fn|50d}} Supreme authority of the Legion rested with its Primarch, Lion El'Jonson. Before this, a [[Legion Master|Grandmaster]] ruled but, after two successive deaths of these figures during the [[Great Crusade]], the '''Council of Masters''' (consisting of the six heads of the [[Hexagrammaton]]) took over strategic operations of the Legion. Even after Lion El'Jonson's arrival, the Council of Masters continued to play an important role. Below these were the '''Conclave of Preceptors''' from the various Orders. The Preceptors took on a strategic leadership role only when their specialist skills were demanded by the conflict at hand. This created a flexible chain of command that allowed for a multitude of simultaneous deployments rather than massing in a single warzone. It played to the strengths of The Lion, who had little interest in micro-managing his Legion's strategies and instead excelled in direct battlefield command.{{Fn|50d}}

Members During the earlier years of the Great Crusade the First legion possessed a war fleet numbering several hundred warships.{{Fn|66c}} However, by the time of the Horus Heresy-era In order to support the widely spread web of independent Companies and Chapters the Dark Angels often had allegiance maintained perhaps the greatest fleet of all the Legiones Astartes, both in terms of sheer number of capital class vessels and in the impressive firepower of those craft. With the third of the legion placed with the Lion{{Fn|50e}} being able to three different bodies: That muster at least 900 warships, 300 capital and 600 smaller ships, during the [[Thramas Crusade]].{{Fn|50f}} The First Legion were also granted the honour of their Order, that a tithe of those few remaining [[Terra|Terran]] vessels found by the Emperor. These ancient craft almost all dated back to the [[Dark Age of their Technology|years before]] [[HexagrammatonAge of Strife|Old Night]] host, relics of forgotten technologies and that lost aspirations of their Chapter and Companygrandeur. It was only through superb skillAmong these were to be found fleets of massive [[Gloriana Class Battleship|Gloriana Class Battleships]], familiarity[[Promethean Class Cruiser|Promethean Class Cruisers]], and [[Tiamat Class Destroyer|Tiamat Class Destroyers]], all far surpassing more modern designs in potency and long-term indoctrination that made available to few other than the Dark Angels [[Adeptus Custodes|Emperor's own guards]].{{Fn|50c}} Among these relic ships were able to avoid chaos with unique and murderous killing engines such a system and indeed used it to their full potentialas the [[Dark Sovereign]].{{Fn|50d67}}

Supreme authority Just as with the many disparate Companies of the Legion rested with its Primarch, Lion El'Jonson. Before thisthe fleet was also widely spread, most often operating either as a support flotilla attached to a [[Legion Master|Grandmaster]] ruled but, after two successive deaths Chapter or as one of the rarer deep range patrol squadrons. Support flotilla were comprised of these figures during the [[Great Crusade]]heaviest ships available, with the '''Council core of Masters''' (consisting of the six heads of the many being a [[HexagrammatonGlorianna Class Battleship]]) took over strategic operations or other first-rate warship supported by one or more squadrons of the Legioncruisers. Even after Lion El'Jonson's arrival, the Council of Masters continued Support flotilla were intended to play an important role. Below these were the Conclave of Preceptors from the various Orders. The Preceptors took on a strategic leadership role only when their specialist skills were demanded by the conflict at hand. This created a flexible chain of command that allowed provide transport for a multitude of simultaneous deployments rather than massing in a single warzone. It played to the strengths of The Lionattached Chapters, who had little interest in microallowing them to breach heavily-managing his Legion's strategies defended systems without support and instead excelled in direct battlefield commandassault a specified target without the need for extensive auxiliary forces.{{Fn|50d50e}}

During the earlier years of the Great Crusade the First legion possessed a war fleet numbering several hundred warships.{{Fn|66c}} However, by the time of the Horus Heresy In order to support the widely spread web of independent Companies and Chapters the Dark Angels maintained perhaps the greatest fleet of all the Legiones Astartes, both in terms of sheer number of capital class vessels and in the impressive firepower of those craft. Just as with the many disparate Companies of the Legion, the fleet was also widely spread, most often operating either as a support flotilla attached to a Chapter or as one of the rarer deep range patrol squadrons. Support flotilla were comprised of the heaviest ships available, with the core of many being a [[Glorianna Class Battleship]] or other first-rate warship supported by one or more squadrons of cruisers. Support flotilla were intended to provide transport for the attached Chapters, allowing them to breach heavily-defended systems without support and assault a specified target without the need for extensive auxiliary forces.{{Fn|50e}} They also served to provide orbital fire support to Legiones Astartes forces engaged in battle and a base for Legion interface craft, either to serve as an orbital supply line or to launch airstrikes or interdiction missions. By contrast, the patrol fleets maintained a smaller contingent of Legion warriors, rarely more than Company strength, and fielded more deep range cruisers and sleek escort craft mounting scanning augurs and other equipment unique to the Dark Angels. These squadrons were tasked with seeking out unknown nests of xenos or isolationist and belligerent human enclaves, much in the same manner as the more specialised White Scars fleets. Those Legiones Astartes Companies accompanying the fleet were used solely to assess the threat level of the enemies discovered, mounting spoiling raids or brief hit and run campaigns before withdrawing back to their orbital fortresses. Those deemed dangerous by the veterans of the First Legion were annihilated from orbit and those marked as vulnerable left for the Great Crusade that followed in the fleet's wake.{{Fn|50e}} With assets spread across the galaxy, the First Legion placed little emphasis on maintaining a large number of holdings and fortresses. Indeed, there are only two large outposts held by the Dark Angels, the ancient fortress of [[Gramarye]] which played host to the halls of the Council of Masters and the vast industrial facilities that produced many of the Legion's more esoteric weapons and had long been concealed from the scrutiny of the Mechanicum, and the more recently acquired fortress of the Order on [[Caliban]]. These two worlds saw the largest concentration of the Legion's infrastructure, and were both heavily fortified and defended. Other holdings on Terra, where a significant portion of the Legion's recruitment was still conducted, and the scattered chantry houses of the various Orders Militant, were less well defended, but not intended as frontline combat installations. The standard pattern of operations within the Legion saw these holdings used as bases for resupply for a force that was primarily based within the mobile halls of the fleet. Only on the rarest of occasions did any of the Chapters of the Dark Angels return to their halls for any lengthy period of rest, with garrison duty left to the rawest recruits and those masters and seneschals with Deathwing lifeguard cadres that stood warden over those domains.{{Fn|50e}}

**{{Endn|50e}}: Pgs. 112-113117**{{Endn|50f}}: 57-58