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Blood Drinkers

Blood Drinkers
 Blood Drinker Insignia (GW).jpg
BloodDrinkersPrimaris.jpg Blood Drinkers mini.jpg
Founding Chapter: Blood Angels[17b]
Founding: Second Founding[Conflicting sources]
Chapter Master: Orloc[4]
Homeworld: San Guisaga[4]
Colours: Red[5b][10]
Colour of pauldron trim indicates company[5b]
Specialty: Close Combat[9x]

The Blood Drinkers are a successor chapter of the Blood Angels Legion.[17b]

Background

 
A Space Marine of the Blood Drinkers, 2nd Company, 4th Squad.[11a]
 
A Rogue Trader-era Blood Drinkers Marine[8]

Strict followers of the Codex Astartes, the Blood Drinkers have blood-drinking rituals and suffer a literal blood-lust, due to a mutation of the chapter's Omophagea gene seed.[2]

While they seem to have overcome the worst aspects of the flaw of the Blood Angels successors, with low incidence of Black Rage and a small Death Company, the truth is that instead of denying or controlling the Red Thirst, they surrender to it.[7]

The truth behind the Blood Drinkers is far more insidious, however. By M37 the Blood Drinkers were a dying chapter, brothers succumbed to the Black Rage as soon as they were fully initiated. A battle-brother named Holos, against the orders of the Chapter Council, followed a dream that told him to ascend to the top of Mount Calicium. At the peak he supposedly met an angel, which some claim to be Sanguinius, who told him how to save his dying Chapter. The Rite of Holos, as it came to be known, is a gathering of marines (rank is suspended in these meetings apart from Chaplains and Sanguinary Priests) where they drink blood from serfs who provide it freely and sacrifice an unwilling victim. "Blood given, blood taken." This balances the ritual and calms the Thirst.[9x]

However, the truth behind the Rite was that Holos was visited not by an angel but by a daemon, heavily implied to be Kairos Fateweaver, who made a deal with the battle-brother. In exchange for the blood-drinking Rite that would save thousands of brothers from the Death Company, Kairos would gain the ability to change the visions of a select few Death Company marines from the normal visions of Sanguinius's death to those of Holos and the daemon itself. As of M39, eighteen brothers had witnessed it, and Kairos had spoken through the memories to each battle-brother, tempting them with the power of Chaos. If one even so much as thinks of accepting Kairos's offer the entire Chapter will be damned and fall to Chaos. Thus far, all have refused Kairos, but the Daemon cares not as only a single "Yes" or even "Maybe" is necessary for the Blood Drinkers to be damned forever. Only the Reclusiarchs know the truth behind the Rite, though it is unknown if they wish the Chapter to fall.[9x]

Blood Drinkers practice some mysterious and suspicious rituals, such as the Sanguis Excrucio and the Red Tears.[13] Their controversial bloody practices may have given them a unique level of control over the Black Rage, which is less likely to occur within the Chapter than other Blood Angels successors.[20]

Gene-seed

Their Gene-seed gives each member unnaturally dry skin.[14b] Members of the Chapter are described as having a perpetual air of aridity, likely due to the same mutation that sees their bloodlust and tendency towards the Red Thirst even more extreme than many other Blood Angels successors, though instances of the Black Rage are rarer.[4][7]

Notable engagements

  • 266.M37: Battle of Hell's Hollow[11b]
  • 373.M39: Massacre of Delta 9[15][18]
  • 670.M39: Freeing the Hive World Vaust from the Dark Eldar plotting.[3][19]
  • 887.M39: The cleansing of the Genestealer-infested Space Hulk codenamed Death of Integrity, along with the Novamarines chapter. Terminators of the First Company of both chapters led the assault. A 53:1 kill ratio was achieved. Total annihilation of the infestation was confirmed, and the Hulk was later examined for STC materials.[1]
  • 816.M41: Achilus Crusade — In 816.M41 two companies of Space Marines of the Blood Drinker chapter were drawn to Castobel, seemingly by the scent of blood, months before the tendrils of the Hive Fleet Dagon invaded. Fortifying the largest spire of Hive Ibellus. There are some appearances of blood-drained corpses throughout the Hive City, though the citizens blame xenos stalkers.[7]
  • 989.M41: Reclaiming Rynn's World from Ork menace.[12]
  • M41: Took part in Blood Angels Successor Chapter Summit and agreed to donate a portion of its Initiates to help rebuild the depleted Blood Angels Chapter following the Arkio Insurrection.[4x]
  • M42: The Devastation of Baal - Forces under Quaeston sent to aid the Blood Angels against Hive Fleet Leviathan.[14a]
  • Date Unknown: A squad of ten Blood Drinker Marines in a damaged cruiser landed on the apparently loyal Imperial world Karkason only to find that the Planetary Governor Fulgor Sagramoso had declared independence from Imperial rule. The squad, led by Lieutenant Kroff Tezla, were pitted against a force of Titans that Sagramoso had hidden on his world. One by one the Marines were killed by the Titans for the sport of the locals until only their leader remained. A Titan then scooped up Tezla and offered him to Sagramoso as a trophy. Sagramoso had the Lieutenant mutilated and then imprisoned. Unable to flee, Tezla entered a dormant Sus-an Membrane state, only to be roused years later when the Imperial Fists found him by accident, when the Chapter invaded the world. Tezla was then able to warn the Imperial Fists about the Titans,[6a] avoiding disaster and allowing for Sagramoso's forces to be defeated. Afterwards, Tezla was recovered by the Imperial Fists and had his wounds treated. However they were too severe for augmetic replacement, so instead the Chapter equipped the Lieutenant with a mobile chair and two Servitors to care for him[6b] until Tezla was finally reunited with the Blood Drinkers.[6c]

Assets

Images

Trivia

 

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

Conflicting sources

See also

Sources

 

This article includes as a source one the three Black Library novels reissued under the now-defunct Heretic Tomes banner (Farseer, Pawns of Chaos, Space Marine) which, per the Publication Disclaimer, contained material considered outdated or inconsistent with established background lore. The banner has not appeared since 2016, leaving the status of these works uncertain – except for Space Marine whose description now labels it a “curiosity.”

Uncited

 

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