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The deeds of the Angels of Vengeance are less well known than those of the other Unforgiven Chapters, for they shun fame and laurels even more than the other Unforgiven, concentrating on their duties to the exclusion of all else. All of their companies wear armour of jet black. This is a throwback to the original panoply worn by the Dark Angels Legion. The Angels of Vengeance embody one particular aspect of the Dark Angels’ character above others – what might be described as a devotion to their cause bordering on the single-minded. The Chapter is wont to become embroiled in battles other forces would have little hope of winning, and of emerging, bloody and battered, but victorious.

The Angels of Vengeance are known for their unrelenting hatred of any and all enemies of the Imperium, and are thus extremely proactive in seeking out and attacking the alien, the traitor and the servant of Chaos.

The Angels of Vengeance are known to have suffered severe losses on several occasions; the result of their absolute refusal to accept any foe might prove their equal. It is suspected that the Chapter’s very future has been put in jeopardy more than once. In the aftermath of the Siege of San Apolis, losses were so severe that the Chapter was forced to spend almost a century replenishing its ranks and its gene-seed stocks before it could do battle once more.

The Guardians of the Covenant are an Unforgiven Chapter whose adopted home world lies close to the western rim of the Imperium. The Chapter has fought many battles along the marches of Segmentum Pacificus, and has spearheaded a number of crusades into the Halo Stars. The Guardians of the Covenant gained special honours for their deeds during the Lelith Incursion, when they saved an entire sub-sector from the alien Leliths’ particularly appalling brand of subjugation.

The Chapter is known for its exceptionally monastic character, and its brothers very much regard themselves as warrior-monks. They pursue the scholarly arts as much as the martial, and are assiduous in studying the teachings of the Emperor and of their Primarch. Their banners, armour and the flanks of their vehicles are covered in spidery, hand-written and illuminated text extracted from the pages of the Codex Astartes, the Requiem Angelis and many other tomes held sacred by the Space Marines. The Chapter’s Fortress Monastery takes the form of a mighty cathedral, its spire piercing the clouds of their mountainous home world of Mortikah VII.

The founding of the Disciples of Caliban is shrouded not only in mystery but also controversy. It is believed that Dark Angels Chapter Master Anaziel made a strong request of the High Lords of Terra for a Chapter to be raised late in the 37th millennium. Much debate followed, for it was unheard of for a Chapter Master to make such a request, and although no clear reason was given by the Dark Angels the request was eventually granted and the Disciples of Caliban were created.

It is generally acknowledged that Anaziel had the Disciples of Caliban created for a very specific and secretive purpose – rumoured amongst the other Unforgiven to be the pursuit and capture of the renegade known as Cypher, though none outside of the Disciples of Caliban Inner Circle know if this really is their true purpose. The Disciples of Caliban are a very mobile Chapter, and their fortress fleet has been sighted in conflicts the length and breadth of the Imperium, and sometimes far beyond. Speculation exists that many of these conflicts were instigated or fuelled by the presence of Cypher, and the Disciples of Caliban have become expert at detecting even the most subtle tell-tale signs of the Fallen.

Their Founding geneseed was of the highest pedigree held by the Dark Angels at the time, and scrutinised to a standard far beyond even that required by the Adeptus Terra. To this day the purity of the Chapter’s geneseed is constantly monitored for the slightest sign of corruption or degradation, and it has the most exacting standards of recruitment of any of the Unforgiven. The warriors of the Disciples of Caliban are virtuous and noble to the highest degree, utterly unflinching in their sacred duties. The Chapter fleet houses great reliquaries celebrating the successes of their warriors and their forebears, and each Company has several Relic Bearers who carry these artefacts to war to inspire the battle brethren to the greatest feats of valour. The most sacred of these relics is the Lionus Censum, an immense scroll that details the names and deeds of the Chapter’s most decorated Battle Brothers.

The Consecrators are a Chapter almost entirely absent from the histories of the Imperium. Their deeds are largely unrecorded, and no record of their existence is to be found in any known archive prior to the third century of the fortieth millennium. The Chapter’s first appearance is in the works of the Administratum field notary Corwen Quilp, in his widely circulated, epic account of the Second Kuppukin Schism.

At the height of this terrible war, Army 52 was surrounded by the schismatics and reduced to a meagre twenty depleted regiments, when the entire Consecrators Chapter deployed in their support. Though they did not answer any of Army 52’s transmissions, the Consecrators launched an immediate and devastating attack upon the enemy’s centre of power. Within six hours, the Consecrators had wiped out the schismatics’ entire high command structure, breaking the back of the rebellion, and essentially winning the war.

Their task complete, the Chapter withdrew, not to be seen for another three decades, when its 4th Company fought alongside the Dark Angels at the Arrulas Intervention. Though his descriptions are characteristically vague, Quilp is very specific on one element of the Consecrators’ appearance – he noted that the brethren bore all manner of holy relics, and used the most ancient patterns of armour, weaponry and vehicles. It was as if, the field notary commented, the Consecrators had inherited the most revered arms of the Dark Angels Legion, preserving them lovingly, and bearing them down the ages against the foes of the Lion.

The Angels of Redemption are a Chapter celebrated throughout the Imperium, their deeds almost as famed as those of the Dark Angels themselves. They have fought in many great wars, either alone or as part of a greater force. In common with all of the Unforgiven Chapters however, they are wont to stand apart from their own allies.

The common strand in all such battles is that the Angels of Redemption display a particular zeal to right the ancient wrongs of the Dark Angels. Nothing can dissuade the Chapter from its mission to hunt down the Fallen, and nigh every battle fought is calculated to bring the Chapter that much closer to its ultimate goal. It has been noted that the Dark Angels have on occasion withdrawn from a campaign in order to pursue their own, undisclosed ends. The Angels of Redemption have acted in this manner far more often than their progenitors, often with tragic consequences. It was at the height of the Defence of Gatlinghive that the Angels of Redemption redeployed at the moment of the Orks’ final assault, leaving the seven brigades of the Gatlinghive Militia to face an Orkish horde three million strong. The Angels of Redemption were never called to account for this act, and there were no survivors to press any form of inquiry. The Angels themselves embarked upon a hunt that led them to capture a particularly notorious Fallen Dark Angel, a former company master by the name of Baalakai. To the Unforgiven, such a victory was evidently worth the cost in the lives of the Gatlinghive militia, and the population they fought in vain to protect.

Perhaps due to this incident, and similar events, Imperial forces have on occasion actually declined the aid of the Angels of Redemption, despite the terrible insult implicit in doing so. The consequences of this have yet to emerge, but could range from Inquisitorial censure to outright excommunication, dependent upon the Chapter’s actions in coming years.

The Angels of Absolution are known to have close ties with the Dark Angels Chapter, and have on numerous occasions launched joint operations with their progenitor formation. The Angels of Absolution Chapter’s 2nd Company has worked closely with the Dark Angels’ Ravenwing, pooling the two Chapter’s resources in order to hunt far and wide for the Fallen.

The Ravenwing and Angels of Absolution’s 2nd Company worked together to deadly effect at Archangel VII, for example, where a small band of Fallen Dark Angels and their followers were found to be ensconced at the icy death world’s northern pole, in a region utterly inimical to life.

Having tracked down these Fallen, it fell to a joint strike by the Deathwing and the Angels of Absolutions’ 1st Company to assault their fortress. The enemy proved experienced, well-organised and ferocious, and the assault raged for two full days, costing the lives of a full dozen Terminators before the fortress was breached. In the action that followed, the combined force encountered three of the Fallen, and though one was slain in the battle, the remaining two were both seized and taken to the Rock.

In doctrine and temperament the Angels of Absolution are very close to the Dark Angels. The two Chapters’ teachings are largely consistent – the only noted divergence lies in the emphasis placed on the Chapter’s guilt concerning the Fallen. Though a subtle distinction, it appears the Angels of Absolution consider their own sins expunged by the actions of their forefathers in the Fall of Caliban. Though the Angels of Absolution fear no spiritual damnation from the Fall, they consider themselves responsible for meting out the punishment upon the traitors as an act of temporal contrition.