Line #64 Literature/BloodAngels


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/blood-angels-omni_8122.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:For the Emperor and Sanguinius! Death! DEATH!]]
3
4	->''"You are armoured by the Emperor himself. Righteousness is your shield, Faith your armour and Hatred your weapon. So fear not and be proud, for we are the sons of the Sanguinius, the Protectors of Mankind. Aye, we are indeed the Angels of Death."''
5	-->-- '''Blood Angels Chapter Master Dante'''
6
7	''The Blood Angels'' is a series of novels and short stories by author Creator/JamesSwallow. The Blood Angels are a ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' chapter of {{Space Marine}}s, and the novels cover the early history of the Chapter and more specifically, the stories of Battle-Brothers Arkio and Rafen as Arkio declares himself to be a reincarnation of the Chapter Primarch, Sanguinus. Later novels ''Black Tide'' and ''Red Fury'' deal more with the Chapters ongoing struggles with its own flaws, the Red Thirst and the Black Fury, which at times threaten the purity of Battle-Brothers and could bring about the collapse of the Chapter as a whole; either through an inability to sustain the losses suffered due to the latter or through the former being perceived as [[TheCorruption the Taint of Chaos]] on them and their successor Chapters.
8
9
10	!!Novels released to date:
11	* ''Deus Encarmine'' (December 2004)
12	* ''Deus Sanguinius'' (April 2005)
13	* ''Red Fury'' (September 2008)
14	* ''Black Tide'' (February 2010)
15	* ''Heart of Rage'' (novella - also released in audio version) (July 2009)
16	* ''Bloodline'' (novella) (September 2010)
17	* ''Blood Debt'' (short story)
18	* ''Redeemed'' (short story)
19
20	Please resist the urge to put examples on this page or link to this page on tropes unless you are citing from 40K '''novels''' in which the Blood Angels feature. Examples which are specific to rulebooks or other in-universe fluff should go on either the [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} 40K]] page or in the Blood Angels section of the [[Characters/Warhammer40000AstartesChapters Astartes chapters]] page.
21
22	----
23	!!Tropes included in these works:
24	* AlasPoorVillain: Rafen has this reaction to [[spoiler: Sachiel]].[[invoked]]
25	* AncestralWeapon: The Spear of Telesto.
26	* AntiAir: In the ActionPrologue of ''Deus Encarmine'' the Blood Angels one-shot a Word Bearers battleship with a surface-to-orbit missile launcher.
27	* AttackAttackAttack: Typical Blood Angels combat doctrine. Justified by their berserker tendencies, which could ruin any more sophisticated plan by surfacing at the worst possible moment.
28	* AxeCrazy: Death Company Battle Brothers and those affected by the Red Thirst.
29	* {{BFS}}:
30	** Malfallax's warpblade is explicitly said to be ten metres long. He is a giant EldritchAbomination though.
31	** Astorath's Executioner Axe; Gabriel Seth's Blood Reaver, a giant chainsword that can cut Land Raiders apart.
32	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Played straight with Sanguinius. Subverted with [[spoiler: Arkio, where it's a sign of Chaos corruption.]]
33	* TheBerserker: Every Blood Angel Space Marine is susceptible to this (excluding Mephiston [[spoiler: or is it?]]), providing much bait for excessive Wangst. Fortunately the author sidestepped it.
34	* BerserkButton: Well, actually, most of the time they are not sure what do it, but it happens.
35	* BewareTheNiceOnes: The Blood Angels are one of the nicest chapters of Space Marines, but if they hit the Black Rage or Red Thirst, then Emperor have mercy on you, because the Blood Angels won't.
36	* BittersweetEnding: ''Deus Sanguinius'': [[spoiler: The Blood Angels lose dozens to the Arkio Insurrection and the subsequent Black Rage Malfallax causes, and Rafen is forced to slay Arkio, but the Blood Angels alive who followed Arkio are restored to the Chapter, the planned Civil War within the Blood Angels is averted, and Arkio is implied to have gained the Emperor's forgiveness.]]
37	* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Fabius's lieutenant Cheyne in ''Black Tide'' has two bone blades that emerge from his wrists in combat.
38	* BlessedWithSuck: YMMV, since the Flaw is exactly what is destroying the Chapter, it's what makes it so strong.
39	* BlingOfWar: Like all Space Marines, but given that Sanguinius took it a little further than the other Primarchs, it's only fitting that the Blood Angels take it a bit further than most Astartes, as they dress their Captains and Sanguinary Guard in gold armour. Arkio causes a bit of a buzz when he says he wants gold armour as well.
40	* BloodMagic: Blood Boil, The Blood Lance and The Sanguine Sword Psyker Powers.
41	* BottledHeroicResolve In the second book it's revealed what those syringes on Mephiston's armour are for.
42	* CainAndAbel:
43	** Only InSpace, [[spoiler:sort of reversed, its still fratricide only the killer is upholding God's will (sort of) and the dead brother was literally turning into a [[BodyHorror Demon]]]] and both of them are unbelievably awesome badasses.
44	** [[spoiler:Horus and Sanguinius were described as being closer than any of the other Primarchs, enough that both tried to sway each other from their own side of the Horus Heresy. In the end, Horus (the elder, in a sense) slew Sanguinius, fitting this trope to a tee.]]
45	* ChemicallyInducedInsanity: In the novel ''Deus Encarmine'', the traitorous Inquisitor Stele drugs a Blood Angel who stumbled onto his plot to trigger the Black Rage in him.
46	%%* TheChessmaster: Stele plays a mean game.
47	* TheChosenOne: [[spoiler:Subverted. Still The Chosen One, just by a different [[EldritchAbomination divine patron]] than he was expecting.]]
48	* CombatMedic: Sanguinary Priests are this.
49	* ContinuityNod: The series gets one in ''Manflayer'', the final book of the Fabius Bile trilogy, where [[spoiler: two of Fabius's subordinates mention in passing that the Blood Angels and their Successor Chapters ''all'' put a price on Fabius's head in retaliation for what he did here]].
50	-->'''Skalagrim''': [[spoiler: I also heard Sanguinus' whelps put a price on his head. He seems to have offended them quite badly]].
51	-->'''Saqqara''': [[spoiler: A discontinued experiment. Though, apparently, some good did come of it. At least, to hear him tell it]].
52	* TheCorruption: The Chapter's Curse and the vampire-esque behaviour it can bring about are frequently viewed as signs of Chaotic taint by more...upright Chapters.
53	* CulturedBadass: The Blood Angels inherited Sanginius' refined aesthetic senses, amongst other things, and have both an arboretum and art galleries within their fortress-monastery.
54	* DeadlyDoctor: Sanguinary Priests. They can carry power weapons and have a better Weapon Skill then regular marines.
55	* DeathFromAbove: The Blood Angels are masters of using Jump Packs and DeathFromAbove attacks, it helps that Sanguinius had wings and was a master of flight.
56	* DeathSeeker:
57	** Once you fall into the Black Rage, you can never climb back out barring a miracle. Those that succumb are put into a separate unit and unleashed in suicide attacks.
58	** On Shenlong, people begin actively seeking the "murdergift" of being killed by the Blood Angels. [[spoiler: They probably didn't even object when Mephiston ordered the planet subjected to Exterminatus.]]
59	* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler: Rafen tosses Fabius Bile off the tallest tower of his research facility on Dynikas V. However, it's not the fall that kills Fabius, but the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Tyranid swarm]] [[DevouredByTheHorde that tears him apart]] once he hits the ground]].
60	* DyingRace: The Flesh Tearers due to their recklessness in combat and higher than normal black rage fall rates, they can barely recruit enough replacements, even after Seth's work they can only maintain four companies.
61	* DeathWorld: Baal is not a nice planet.
62	** Also Dynikas V. Most of the planet has been ravaged by the Tyranids, and the parts that aren't are under the control of Fabius Bile and his New Men.
63	* DropShip:
64	** Storm Ravens, one of the chapter's most powerful vehicles. works like a Land Raider and is quite resilient because of it's speed.
65	** Thunder Hawk gunships and transports, the larger and more ubiquitous cousin to the Storm Raven.
66	* DuelToTheDeath: Rafen takes one of his men's place in one.
67	* EarthShatteringKaboom: Befalls Orilan and [[spoiler:Shenlong]].
68	* EmotionalBruiser: The average Blood Angel not only inherits the rage and literal blood of Sangunius, but his pure and sensitive heart as well.
69	* EvilCounterpart: During the Heresy, the World Eaters were the Blood Angels greatest rival in melee superiority.
70	%%* EvilIsNotAToy: [[spoiler:Stele]] finds this out the hard way.
71	* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Of various eras of Italy for the most part. Many characters have either Roman or modern Italian-sounding names, a penchant for renaissance-style finery and their armor is often decorated with Gino-esque gold chains. They also have some Romanian/stereotypical Vampire influences.
72	* FearlessFool: [[spoiler:Actually subverted on Cybele, where the Blood Angels admit that after seeing so many of their comrades fall to the black rage, they are afraid.]]
73	* FeelNoPain: Part of the army uniqueness. The Sanguinary Priests brings Furious Charge and Feel No Pain to those close to them.
74	* FightingFromTheInside: [[spoiler:Koris]] struggles with the black rage while trying to tell Rafen of [[spoiler: Stele's treachery]].
75	* FireBreathingWeapon: The Spear of Telesto fires a huge stream of flame that will incinerate anything flammable [[FriendlyFireproof except fellow Blood Angels]].
76	* FireForgedFriends: Dante and Gabriel Seth, after the events of ''Red Fury'' - much to their mutual surprise.
77	* FirstBlood: [[spoiler:Goes to Rafen when he manages to cut Arkio's wing when the fight on Sabien. Arkio's followers are ''not'' happy. It's especially jarring to Sanchiel because as a Sanguinary Priest, he ''knows'' blood like few others. ''And he knows its tainted from the smell.'']]
78	* ForbiddenChekhovsGun: The Black Rage is generally a bad idea. However, in order to [[spoiler: use the full power of the Spear of Telesto, Rafen]] embraces it willingly and does not lose his mind.
79	* GeneticMemory: A problem for all Blood Angels and their descendants, leads to TheBerserker
80	* GeniusBruiser:
81	** Commander Dante. He was chosen out of all the Chapter Masters to command the forces of Armageddon.
82	** Mephiston, the Lord of Death. He is the Chief Librarian of the Chapter.
83	* GladiatorGames: How they chose aspirants. (At least they don't watch for amusement)
84	* GoodIsNotNice: They're one of the nobler Chapters, but are absolutely ruthless in combat.
85	* GrimReaper: Astorath, THE GRIM. It's actually part of his work. As a High Chaplain of the Blood Angels he has to kill every Death Company Battle Brother that did not get a DeathEqualsRedemption.
86	%%* HonorBeforeReason: Often, but not always. (The villain doesn't grasp that it's not always, and it's a plot point in his defeat.)
87	* InsubstantialIngredients: Mallafax's sword is part ''solid delusion''.
88	* InvoluntaryBattleToTheDeath: Bile stages them.
89	* ItsRainingMen: Deep Strike. With a Jump Pack, they are actually the best. Commander Dante being the best of all of them; he never misses.
90	%%* KilledOffForReal: Captain Tycho.
91	* TheLastDance: The Death Company allows its inductees to go down fighting rather than AFateWorseThanDeath by being consumed by the black rage.
92	* LightningBruiser: Space Marines are this. The Blood Angels are even more. When not acting as Terminators, their First Company acts as Assault Marines.
93	* LosingTheTeamSpirit: [[spoiler:The deaths of many of the angels at the hands of the black rage. It takes a suicide suggestion to get Turkio to even consider a last stand, let alone an attack. The others refuse to join even this in a NotSoStoic moment.]]
94	* MacrossMissileMassacre: One of the Apocalypse's Formations is this. You need three Stormravens, and they fire all their Blood Strike missiles at once.
95	* MagicKnight:
96	** Mephiston, Chief Librarian of the Blood Angels. His powers serve only to make him faster and hit harder.
97	** Blood Angels Librarians and Dreadnought Librarians.
98	** The whole army can be this. It helps they have an army-wide Feel No Pain rule.
99	* TheMagnificent:
100	** Mephiston, the Lord of Death.
101	** Astorath the Grim.
102	** Lemartes, Guardian of the Lost.
103	* TheManBehindTheMan: Iskavan reports to Garand, who reports to Abaddon. [[spoiler: Stele's]] games are also just a small part of Malfallax's.
104	* MeaningfulRename: Mephiston the Lord of Death used to be Brother Calistarius.
105	* MeleeATrois:
106	** The battle between [[spoiler: those still loyal to the God-Emperor and those now following Arkio]] is complicated by Word Bearers.
107	** Occurs in ''Black Tide'', with Rafen, his Blood Angels/Flesh Tearers kill-team and [[spoiler: the other Space Marines imprisoned in Bile's fortress]] on one side, against both [[MadScientist Fabius Bile]] and the New Men, and [[spoiler: an army of feral Tyranids]].
108	* MercyKill: [[spoiler: In ''Black Tide'', the Blood Angels find Fabius Bile has been using a captured Tyranid Zoanthrope to drive the rest of the swarm away from his facility. The Zoanthrope offers no resistance to the team as they advance on it; realising it wants to die, Rafen grants it its wish]].
109	** [[spoiler: Rafen also gives one to a Tau survivor of Fabius's experiments they find while raiding one of his abandoned labs]].
110	* MindRape: [[spoiler:Stele's interrogation of a Word Bearer Marine is literally referred as MindRape]]
111	* MoralityChain: [[spoiler: Stele]] believes Rafen to be Arkio's last link to his humanity.
112	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone [[spoiler: You've turned on your brothers and become a CosmicPlaything]]
113	** Apothecary Caecus has this reaction [[spoiler: when he realises he's helped Fabius Bile get his hands on one of the Chapter's most prized relics]].
114	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Mephiston, Lord of Death; Astorath, the Grim; Death Company;
115	* NapoleonDelusion: Those who suffer the Black Rage believe that they are Sanguinius at the final battle with Horus during the [[Literature/HorusHeresy Heresy]]. This makes them unable to be reasoned with, but utterly unstoppable on the battlefield unless killed.
116	* NiceGuy: Sanguinius is one of the nicest primarchs during the crusade era. The Chapter as a whole, when they're not succumbing to psychotic rages, also wears this hat.
117	%%* NotAsYouKnowThem: Those who have succumbed to the Black Rage.
118	* NotSoStoic: In the opening of ''Deus Encarmine'', ''Space Marines'' confess to being afraid to face their foes, after the horrific attack on their fellows.
119	* NotUsingTheZWord: "Vampire" has been used by detractors of the Blood Angels since the Great Crusade; as such no Blood Angel will utter the word. [[spoiler:Nevertheless, Rafen immediately makes the connection when he sees Arkio being corrupted by Chaos.]] The term is also brought up [[spoiler: when describing the Bloodfiends in ''Red Fury.'']]
120	* OldSoldier: Commander Dante. Seriously, he is one thousand years old and still fighting.
121	* OrbitalBombardment: Used twice in the ''Deus'' duology. Early in ''Deus Encarmine'' a Word Bearer warship obliterates the Blood Angels' motor pool with an orbital attack. ''Deus Sanguinius'' closes with the Angels' brass mentioning in a regretful tone that [[spoiler:they'll have to call for an Exterminatus against Shenlong]].
122	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: They're SuperSoldier [[KnightTemplar Knight Templars]].
123	* PhlebotinumHandlingRequirements: The Spear of Telesto will refuse to activate for anyone who does not carry the genetic markers of Sanguinius (i.e. just the Blood Angels and presumably their successor chapters).
124	* PowerGivesYouWings: Subverted with the Sanguinary Guard. They don't get real "wings", but Jump Packs decorated with them. They are also the uttermost elite force of the Chapter.
125	* PraetorianGuard: Honour Guard. Also the original purpose of the Sanguinary Guard for Sanguinius.
126	* PrettyBoy: The ''default'' Blood Angel Warrior is an impossibly-handsome paragon; his appearance modified by inheriting the literal genes of their Primarch Sanguinius. It's an important part of the fluff, Baal and it's moons are death worlds devastated from total war, most of it's inhabitants are severally scarred by radiation.
127	* RebelliousRebel: Rafen. Koris and the other [[spoiler:murdered]] veterans, to some extent.
128	* RedEyesTakeWarning: Death Company Marines.
129	* ShoutOut:
130	** We've seriously gone this long without mentioning that the Spear of Telesto was found on planet ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion?!]]''
131	** There's an "Ikari Fortress" that the Blood Angels raid later on the book. That certainly goes a long way towards explaining [[spoiler:the Exterminatus]] even ''later'' in the book.
132	** According to Gabriel Seth, the motto of the Flesh Tearers is, ''"[[Theatre/HenryV he who sheds his blood with me this day shall be my battle brother eternal.]]"''
133	%%* SituationalSword: Spear, really.
134	* TheseHandsHaveKilled: Rafen blames himself for the death of the Blood Angels sent to investigate Arkio.
135	* TheSpartanWay: Considering they're [[SpaceMarine Space Marines]] this is a given.
136	%%* StartOfDarkness: "Blood Debt" is one for [[spoiler:Stele]].
137	* TenderTears: Sanguinius is famed in his living days as a sensitive and warm-hearted warrior, as fearsome in battle as he is pure and kind.
138	%%* UnstoppableRage: The Blood Angels's hat.
139	* WeHaveReserves: Averted with the Chapter, who is slowly dying, losing more and more battle-brothers to the Black Rage.
140	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: In the final chapter of ''Black Tide'', Rafen points out to Sergeant Noxx that, during the FinalBattle with [[MadScientist Fabius Bile]], Gorn could have pushed Rafen off the ledge, defeated the BigBad, and taken the prize and all the glory for himself, and no one would have known. Noxx admits that the idea crossed his mind, but nods to a statute of Sanguinius, and says, ''"he was watching."''
141	* WingedHumanoid: Sanguinius.
142	%%* WoundedGazelleGambit: [[spoiler:Stele]] pulls this, with astropath Horin as his victim.

Context Literature / BloodAngels