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At a glance
Baal is a barren, sun-blasted world in the Segmentum Ultima, orbited by two moons, Baal Primus and Baal Secundus. Together they form the home system of the Blood Angels, one of the most famous and tragic Space Marine Chapters. It was on Baal Secundus that the infant Primarch Sanguinius was found, and from the tribes of the moons that the Blood Angels have drawn their recruits ever since.
The system was once a prosperous place, but ancient nuclear wars destroyed its civilisation long before the Emperor's Great Crusade. The moons became radioactive deserts populated by scattered tribes of humans and mutants. Baal itself is lifeless. The Blood Angels built their fortress-monastery, the Arx Angelicum, on Baal, a vast and beautiful citadel of marble, gold and crimson that stands in stark contrast to the desolation around it.
Baal is both a place of glory and a place of sorrow. It is the birthplace of a Chapter famed for its nobility, artistry and courage, and also the home of the Red Thirst and the Black Rage, the curses that haunt the sons of Sanguinius. At the end of the 41st millennium, Baal came close to destruction when the Tyranids of Hive Fleet Leviathan descended upon it. The Devastation of Baal remains one of the most desperate battles in the history of the Blood Angels.
Geography & environment
Baal is a desert world. Its surface is covered in sand seas, rocky plateaus and wind-carved canyons, and its atmosphere is thin and harsh. The sun beats down on the dunes, and great storms of dust sweep across the surface. Little lives on Baal itself; it is the moons that once supported life.
Baal Primus is a world of deserts and wastelands, poisoned by radiation and scarred by ancient war. Its tribes are hardened by constant struggle for water and survival. Baal Secundus is similar, a desert moon of red sand, glassy craters left by nuclear weapons and ruined cities half-buried in dunes. Its people live in nomadic bands, constantly moving in search of resources and shelter from the radiation storms that sweep across the moon.
Across the Baal system, the ruins of the ancient civilisation still lie beneath the sand. Broken towers, collapsed domes and the rusting hulks of machines testify to the prosperous society that once lived here. The tribes of the moons tell legends of a golden age, before the fire fell from the sky, when the deserts were green and the people lived in peace.
The Blood Angels themselves take this legend seriously. Some of the Chapter's scholars believe that the ancient people of Baal were a highly advanced civilisation that destroyed itself in a war of unimaginable scale, and that the beauty and tragedy of that lost world shaped the character of Sanguinius and his sons. Sanguinius himself is said to have walked among the ruins as a child, dreaming of the golden age that had been lost, and that longing for a vanished paradise still echoes in the art of his Legion.
Baal Primus and Baal Secundus
The two moons of Baal are the true homes of the Blood Angels' people. Their tribes are descended from the survivors of the ancient wars, and many of them carry the marks of mutation. Some are horribly twisted by radiation, while others are nearly pure. The purest tribes, those who most resemble unmutated humanity, are the ones from which the Blood Angels draw their recruits.
On Baal Secundus, the infant Sanguinius was found by a tribe known as the Blood. According to legend, he fell to the moon in a capsule and was discovered by the tribe, who took him in and raised him as their own. Even as a child, he had white wings, a sign that many tribesmen took as a mark of divinity. Sanguinius grew quickly, becoming a mighty warrior and leader, and he united the tribes of Baal Secundus against the mutant raiders who preyed on them. He was revered as an angel, and when the Emperor came to Baal, Sanguinius knelt before him and accepted command of the IX Legion.
The moons have always been dangerous places. Mutant raiders, radiation storms and the hostile environment take a terrible toll on the tribes. Yet the Blood Angels look upon the people of the moons with great affection, and they have long protected them from outsiders and from the worst dangers of their world.
History
The Angel and his Legion
Sanguinius was one of the most beloved of the Emperor's sons. His Legion, the Blood Angels, fought throughout the Great Crusade with distinction, and they became renowned for their artistry, nobility and martial skill. Sanguinius himself was a warrior of breathtaking power and grace, and he was regarded by many as the most likely heir to the Emperor.
The Horus Heresy
When Horus rebelled, the Blood Angels were lured into a trap at Signus Prime, a world infested by daemons. The Battle of Signus Prime was a terrible ordeal that left the Legion scarred, and it was there that the Red Thirst began to take hold. The Blood Angels later fought at the Siege of Terra, where Sanguinius died at the hands of Horus aboard the Warmaster's battle-barge. His death created a psychic shock that is still felt by his sons, and the Black Rage, a madness that causes Blood Angels to relive their father's last moments, was born.
The long Imperium
After the Heresy, the Blood Angels were split into Successor Chapters during the Second Founding, including the Flesh Tearers, the Angels Encarmine and the Angels Vermillion. The Blood Angels themselves returned to Baal and rebuilt their fortress-monastery. Over the next ten thousand years, they fought across the galaxy, earning glory and suffering losses. Their greatest leaders, such as Commander Dante, became legends in their own right.
The Devastation of Baal
At the end of the 41st millennium, Hive Fleet Leviathan advanced on the Baal system. The Tyranids sought to devour the system's biomass, and the Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters gathered to defend their homeworld. The battle was ferocious. The Tyranids consumed Baal's moons, stripping them of life and much of their atmosphere, and then assaulted Baal itself. The Blood Angels fought from the walls of the Arx Angelicum and the deserts of Baal, and many Successor Chapters were nearly wiped out. Just when it seemed that all was lost, the warp storms of the Great Rift and the arrival of Roboute Guilliman's fleet turned the tide. The Tyranids were driven off, but Baal was devastated.
After the Devastation
In the aftermath of the battle, the Blood Angels were reinforced by Primaris Marines from the Indomitus Crusade. Mephiston, the Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels, was reborn as a Primaris Marine after being buried in the ruins, and he emerged with greater powers than ever. Dante was appointed Regent of the Imperium Nihilus, the half of the galaxy cut off by the Great Rift. Baal and its moons remain scarred, but the Blood Angels continue to fight on.
The Blood Angels on Baal
The Arx Angelicum, the fortress-monastery of the Blood Angels, is one of the most magnificent structures in the Imperium. Its halls are filled with statues, frescoes and relics of Sanguinius and his Legion. The Chapter's Sanguinary Priests guard the Red Grail, a chalice said to contain the blood of the Primarch, and the Chapter's armourers and artisans create works of breathtaking beauty.
The Blood Angels are a Chapter of contradictions. They are noble and refined, devoted to art and beauty, yet they carry within them a terrible hunger for blood, the Red Thirst, which they must struggle to control. Those who fall to the Black Rage are gathered into the Death Company, black-armoured warriors who are sent into battle to die gloriously. The Chapter's elite, the Sanguinary Guard, wear golden armour and serve as the bodyguard of the Chapter Master.
The Blood Angels choose their recruits through trials known as the Angel's Proving. Aspirants from the tribes of the moons gather at sacred sites, where they must endure tests of endurance, strength and courage. Many die in the attempt. The survivors are taken to Baal, where they undergo the process of becoming Space Marines. The transformation includes drinking from the Red Grail, and many aspirants die as their bodies reject the gene-seed.
The Red Thirst and the Black Rage
The gene-seed of Sanguinius carries two curses. The first, the Red Thirst, is a hunger for blood that every Blood Angel feels. In the heat of battle it can overwhelm a warrior, driving him to tear at his foes with his teeth and drink their blood. Most Blood Angels learn to control the Thirst through discipline, prayer and the rites of their Chapter, but it never truly leaves them, and it grows stronger with age and with every battle.
The second curse is the Black Rage. When a Blood Angel falls to the Rage, his mind is consumed by the memories of Sanguinius's final hours on Horus's battle-barge. He believes he is the Primarch, fighting the Warmaster in a doomed duel, and he sees every enemy as a traitor of the Heresy. Warriors who succumb are painted black, adorned with red saltires and sent to fight in the Death Company. There is no cure. The Chaplains lead them into the most dangerous parts of the battlefield, where they can die gloriously rather than be put down by their brothers.
The Chapter hides the full extent of these flaws from the rest of the Imperium. The Inquisition has suspicions, and some within the Imperium regard the Blood Angels with unease. Yet the Chapter's loyalty has never been in doubt, and their sacrifices at Baal, Armageddon, Terra and countless other worlds have earned them a place among the most honoured defenders of humanity. To the Blood Angels themselves, the curses are a burden to be borne with dignity, a reminder that even angels carry darkness within them.
The Chapter's Sanguinary Priests spend their lives watching their brothers for the first signs of the Rage, and Astorath the Grim travels among the Successor Chapters to grant the Emperor's Peace to those too far gone to fight.
People & culture
The tribes of Baal Primus and Baal Secundus live harsh lives. They scavenge from the ruins of the ancient civilisation, hunt the few creatures that survive in the deserts and fight against mutant raiders. Their culture is shaped by the legends of Sanguinius, whom they revere as a god-like protector. Many tribes see the Blood Angels as angels in the literal sense, servants of the Emperor who descend from the heavens to protect them and to choose the worthiest of their youth.
Recruitment by the Blood Angels is a great honour, and tribes compete to produce the best aspirants. Young warriors who wish to become Space Marines must endure the trials of the Angel's Proving, which involve tests of endurance in the desert, battles with mutants and finally a gruelling climb to the sacred site where the Blood Angels wait to judge them. Those who fail often die; those who succeed leave their tribes forever.
Landmarks
The Arx Angelicum
The fortress-monastery of the Blood Angels rises from the deserts of Baal like a vision of heaven. Its walls are decorated with crimson and gold, and its spires are visible for many kilometres. Within lie the Chapter's armouries, shrines and halls, including the Chapel of the Red Grail, where the Sanguinary Priests keep their holiest relic.
The Tomb of Sanguinius
The Blood Angels keep a great shrine dedicated to their Primarch, where his golden armour and other relics are displayed. Pilgrims come from across the Imperium to pray at the shrine, and the Chapter's warriors visit it before going to war.
The Proving grounds
On the moons, sacred sites serve as gathering places for aspirants during the Angel's Proving. These sites are often ruins of the ancient civilisation, such as the remains of a great city or a fallen monument, and they hold deep significance for the tribes.
Defenders & war-machine
The Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters defend Baal. Their forces include Sanguinary Guard, Death Company, Baal Vanguard Veterans, assault squads and armoured vehicles such as the Baal Predator. Their fleet guards the system, and the Arx Angelicum has formidable defences.
The Chapter's Librarians, led by Mephiston, protect Baal from psychic threats, and the Sanguinary Priests, including Astorath the Redeemer of the Lost, watch over the Chapter's spiritual health. Successor Chapters such as the Flesh Tearers under Gabriel Seth answer the call when Baal is in danger.
Notable battles
- The Battle of Signus Prime (M31): the Blood Angels are lured into a daemonic trap; see Battle of Signus Prime.
- The Siege of Terra (M31): Sanguinius dies defending the Emperor; see Siege of Terra.
- The Devastation of Baal (M41-M42): Hive Fleet Leviathan nearly destroys the Baal system; see Devastation of Baal.
Trivia
- Many Blood Angels have an artistic temperament, and their armour and weapons are often works of art.
- The Red Grail is said to contain the blood of Sanguinius, collected after his death.
- The Blood Angels' Successor Chapters regard Baal as their spiritual home, even if they never set foot there.
- The tribes of Baal Secundus still tell legends of the winged child who united them.
- The Baal Predator, a fast assault variant of the Predator tank, is named after the Blood Angels' homeworld.
