Arx Angelicum
Arx Angelicum is the Fortress-Monastery of the Blood Angels Space Marine Chapter. It is located on the Blood Angels' homeworld of Baal.[1]
History
The Arx Angelicum was built during the Great Crusade and was capable of housing the entire Blood Angels Legion. When the Blood Angels Legion was reformed as a Chapter and reduced in size following the Second Founding, large portions of the fortress-monastery became disused or abandoned despite it still being inhabited by tens of thousands of Blood Thralls.[4]
Over time, these outlying areas of the Arx were buried by the dust storms of Baal until they were ordered unearthed by Dante at the end of M41, both to reinforce the Arx against the imminent invasion of Baal by the tyranids of Hive Fleet Leviathan and to house its defenders - an assembly of the Blood Angels' Successor Chapters.[2a] During the Devastation of Baal the Arx Angelicum was almost entirely overrun by the Tyranids and it was here that Dante and the surviving sons of Sanguinius made their final stand in the battle.[2e]
After the battle, much of the Arx Angelicum was left a devastated ruin. Utilizing the resources granted to him as Regent of Imperium Nihilus, Dante has overseen a massive reconstruction effort that seeks to not only rebuild the fortress but to expand it. The plan has been described as not rebuilding a Fortress-Monastery but instead creating a miniaturized Imperial Palace to act as a capital for half of the Imperium.[5]
Features
The Arx is built in and around an ancient, extinct volcano with two peaks which lies in the Endless Desert. The caldera of the largest peak was remade into a great wall known as the Arx Murus, which circles the Dome of Angels.[2a]
- Arx Murus - outer wall which circles the Dome of Angels.[2a] Many of the Chapter's key buildings are built upon this outer layer.[4]
- Well of Angels - Deep crevasse behind the main wall.
- Archangelian - Needle-thin tower upon the Arx Murus that holds the chambers of the Chapter Master.[2b]
- Basilica Sanguinarum[4]
- Heavenward Redoubt - the fortress's keep.[2a]
- Walk of Angels - Open statue-lined path leading to the Dome of Angels.[2d]
- Dome of Angels - Retractable armour-glass that covers the whole interior of the Fortress.[4]
- Verdis Elysia - farming area where the Blood Angels grow their food.[2a]
- Sanguis Corpusculum - Apothecarion and base of the Sanguinary Priests.[2a]
- Maxillary Gate: New bastion constructed since the Devastation of Baal. Statues of the twelve Chapter Masters lost in the battle against the Tyranids line the road leading to the gate.[5]
- Unknown location:
- Carceri Arcanum - Seat of the Librarius,[2c] powered by the psychically bound star Idalia.[5]
- Citadel Reclusiam - location of the Chapter's Chaplaincy.[2a]
- Tower of Amareo[2a]
Sources
- 1: Dante (Novel), Chapter One
- 2: The Devastation of Baal (Novel):
- 3: Warhammer Community Instagram (posted 26/04/2023) (last accessed 29 April 2023)
- 4: First Founding (Background Book), pgs. 172-173
- 5: Dante: Darkness of the Blood (Novel), Chapter 19
- 6: Warhammer Monthly 17 - Bloodquest II
