Rogal Dorn

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Targetdrone.gif Dorn redirects here. For other uses of the term "Dorn", see Dorn (disambiguation).

"There is no enemy. The foe on the battlefield is merely the manifestation of that which we must overcome. He is doubt, and fear, and despair. Every battle is fought within. Conquer the battlefield that lies inside you, and the enemy disappears like the illusion he is."[26]


Rogal Dorn
RogalDornArt.jpg

Dorn during the Great Crusade

Title(s) Praetorian of Terra[15]
The Soldier[13]
Homeworld Inwit, Inwit Cluster
Born c. Late M30,

Terra, Sol System

Active Period M30 — M31/32
Species Human
Type Primarch
Gender Male
Relatives
Occupation(s)
Affiliation(s)
Succeeded by Roboute Guilliman
(Lord Commander of the Imperium, Horus Heresy)

Rogal Dorn, also known as the Praetorian of Terra[15], was the Primarch of the Imperial Fists Space Marine Legion created from Dorn's genome. He was one of the twenty Primarchs created by the Emperor in the earliest days of the Imperium, just after the end of the Age of Strife. Dorn, like his brothers, was randomly transported across the galaxy by the Gods of Chaos and placed on a far-away world in an attempt to prevent the coming of the Age of the Imperium. During the Horus Heresy Rogal Dorn oversaw most of the loyalist war effort and ultimately orchestrated the defense of the Throneworld during the Siege of Terra.[20a] He was the first known Lord Commander of the Imperium, ultimately ceding the title to Roboute Guilliman.[24] The Chaos emissary to Lorgar called him the Soldier.[13]

Biography

A younger Rogal Dorn[19a]

Youth

Very little is known about Rogal Dorn's youth. It is believed that that he was raised on the planet of Inwit in the system of the same name by an ice-caste native to the Ice Hives of the world. The patriarch of the clan, the House of Dorn, soon became as a grandfather to him, and taught him much of tactics and survival. Even after he discovered he was not blood-related to his 'grandfather' Dorn held his memory in high value; he kept a fur-edged robe that had belonged to the man and slept with it on his bed every night. Eventually Rogal Dorn became the leader not only of his caste but of the whole world and then the surrounding region of space, ruling the Inwit Cluster as Emperor of the House of Dorn.[2a] Intrigued by the enormous station known as The Phalanx orbiting Inwit, Dorn spent many years reactivating the vessel.[22]

40 years after his grandfather's death, the Great Crusade reached the Ice Hives of Inwit. Dorn greeted the Emperor at the helm of his enormous Phalanx, the seventh Primarch to be found.[1] The Emperor welcomed Dorn, and returned the Phalanx to his care, transforming it into the mobile the Fortress Monastery of the Imperial Fists, which was also turned over by the Emperor to be led by Dorn, since all of its Astartes were primarch's gene-forged sons.[2a]

Commonly dressed in armour of burnished copper and gold, Dorn also wore a red velvet cloak and unfurled eagle-wing motif. It was heavily present on most parts of his gear, most notably on a decorative section of his armour that rose above his shoulders. He had a stern and naturally unsmiling face, topped with an unruly shock of short, bone-white hair.[3]

Great Crusade

Dorn himself was fiercely loyal to the Emperor, and never once sought any favour from him. He exemplified the truth, and could never tell a lie, even if it would have aided his cause. Because of this, Dorn's statue stands as one of four on Macragge, next to that of Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines.[2a]

Dorn commanded his Legion and Expeditionary Fleets with peerless devotion and military genius. It was said that he possessed perhaps the finest military mind of the Primarchs, as ordered and disciplined as Roboute Guilliman's and as courageous as Lion El'Jonson's, but still inclined to the flashes of zeal and inspiration which marked the successes of Leman Russ and Jaghatai Khan. Indeed, the Warmaster had said that he esteemed Dorn and the Imperial Fists so highly that he reckoned if the Fists, noted masters of defence, were to hold a fortress against him and his Luna Wolves, the resultant conflict would result in a never-ending stalemate.[2a] Despite his fierce reputation as a general, Dorn had compassion for civilian populations as demonstrated during his clash with Curze in the Chernaut War and with Ferrus Manus in the Astranii Campaign.[30] Further evidence of his compassion may be found on Necromunda, a planet which he liberated from Orks sometime in M30. The local holiday of Imperial Fistmas commemorates this liberation and, according to legend, Rogal Dorn felt compassion for the populace devastated by the Orks and charged a defeated mythical mutant foe and its descendants with forever aiding them in rebuilding. Though the events of the legend are disputed by Imperial scholars, Rogal Dorn's presence had inspired a universal time of goodwill and cheer in an otherwise brutal and violent Hive World [38]

Rogal Dorn

When the Emperor returned to Terra for his own secret work, Dorn went as well[2a]. Always having excelled in the construction of fortresses, he was tasked with designing the defences for the Imperial Palace. These would prove to be magnificent, and would be well tested in the following years. Fulgrim once asked if Rogal Dorn thought it could withstand the Iron Warriors legion, and Dorn's truthful answer infuriated Perturabo to such a degree they would almost destroy each other in battle years later.[2a] Later, upon reflection, Dorn considered his overly competitive relationship with Perturabo to have demonstrated personal weakness, presumably including the exchange which resulted in Perturabo's outburst.[6] Dorn also clashed with his brother Konrad Curze for his many atrocities. Having been informed by Fulgrim of Curze's vision of what would eventually become the Horus Heresy, Dorn kept this secret from his brother until they were on a joint mission on Cheraut. Curze was so enraged by this revelation that he attacked his brother and slashed his face with his Lightning Claws. Dorn would have died if not for his endurance as a Primarch.[10]

In the aftermath of the Ullanor Crusade Dorn and the entire Imperial Fists Legion were recalled to Terra to take up guard stations there as the Emperor worked on his new project.[3]

Horus Heresy

Rogal Dorn during the Horus Heresy[27]

Before the Imperial Fists could arrive at Terra in full complement, the events of the Horus Heresy overtook them. Stranded for some considerable time by severe Warp storms, the Imperial Fist fleet eventually discovered the badly damaged Death Guard frigate Eisenstein, and so learned of Horus' betrayal. At first unwilling to believe it, Rogal Dorn was eventually convinced by several members of the Eisenstein survivors, notably Captain Nathaniel Garro and remembrancer Mersadie Oliton, that his brother Horus was staging a full-scale rebellion. Dorn therefore despatched the bulk of his Legion to the Isstvan III system on a war-footing. He himself returned to Terra with his veteran companies to bring word of the events personally.[4]

Declared Lord Commander of the Imperium until the arrival of Roboute Guilliman[24], Dorn was subsequently charged with bolstering the defences of the Imperial Palace even further, and oversaw the construction himself. He felt he was marring the perfection and beauty of the existing structure in doing this, and regretted it, even though it was necessary.[1] As the Emperor was held up with the War Within the Webway, Dorn effectively managed the loyalist war effort while Malcador the Sigillite handled the political spectrum.[12] Dorn divided the Sol System into several spheres of defense, attempting to contain the traitor advance in the subsequent Solar War. During the Battle of Pluto, Dorn seemingly killed Alpharius, Primarch of the Alpha Legion, but lost his trusted Huscarls commander Archamus in the process.[15] Later, Dorn appeared to greet Vulkan when the Salamanders Primarch emerged from the Webway. Vulkan sensed that Dorn was mentally and physically exhausted from his duties and the constant bad news, and embraced his brother.[16] Dorn next held a war council with Leman Russ, Jaghatai Khan, Sanguinius, and Malcador the Sigillite during which he revealed that the Ruinstorm was weakening, and intended to exploit this by mustering his forces at the Beta-Garmon System until Guilliman and Lion El'Jonson could arrive to crush Horus from the rear. The Khan and Russ both disagreed with Dorn's actions, and as Russ left Terra with his Legion to confront Horus directly Rogal pleaded with him to stay.[17]

Dorn battles Alpharius during the Battle of Pluto[15]
Rogal Dorn battles Samus aboard the Phalanx

Siege of Terra

In 014.M31, Horus finally struck at the Sol System and brought about the final phase of the Solar War. Dorn by this point had conceived a five-tiered defensive layer based around buying as much time as possible in order to stall for Guilliman's arrival. Commanding from the Bhab Bastion with his primarily Human staff during the initial phase of the battle, as Luna and Mars came under direct attack Dorn finally decided to unleash the Phalanx into the battle and moved aboard the Battlestation. However as they were departing Terra's orbit for the battle Garviel Loken brought Remembrancer Mersadie Oliton aboard the station with urgent news. Dorn, having been given the initial news of Horus' treachery from Oliton years prior, trusted her judgement when Loken informed him that Oliton had to speak with the Primarch. However this was a trap by Chaos, and Oliton was revealed to have been unknowingly corrupted by Maloghurst years prior. The Daemon Samus manifested directly aboard the Phalanx, bringing with him hordes of Daemonic creatures. Dorn and the Imperial Fists aboard the Phalanx fought a desperate battle, with the Primarch even engaging Samus in direct combat and slaying the creature. However Samus was continually reborn by possessing the bodies of the fallen, and Dorn was ready to order the self-destruction of the Phalanx until Oliton committed suicide, closing the portal from which the Daemons manifested. With the Sol System falling around him due to Horus' attacks, Dorn ordered that Admiral Niora Su-Kassen take the Phalanx to the outer reaches of the System while he returned to Terra to command the defenses of the world for Horus' coming attack.[19]

During the final battle on Terra's surface, Dorn was charged with the overall command of the defenses of the Imperial Palace, personally commanding the effort from the Bhab Bastion and later the Sky Fortress. During the early stages of the battle he attempted to maintain a sense of normalcy by allowing the Council of Terra to meet within the Great Chamber of the Senatorum Imperialis, but in truth he was completely occupied by the traitor siege. He forbid his brother Primarch's, Sanguinius and Jaghatai Khan, from leaving the Palace Walls and planned to instead bleed Horus' forces in a protracted siege to buy time for Roboute Guilliman's expected arrival.[20a] However he later relented on his plan to not allow the deployment of his best troops outside the Palace, opening the Helios Gate of the Palace and allowing Sanguinius to lead a counterattack by the Blood Angels, Imperial Fists, and Legio Solaria to rescue the Imperial Army conscripts being overrun outside.[20b]

During the battle for Terra's Lion's Gate Spaceport Dorn put Fafnir Rann in charge of the defenses, but was later forced to send in Sigismund to lead in reinforcements.[16] During this period Dorn confronted Euphrati Keeler over her proto-Imperial Cult, but the future Saint refused to back down and insisted she would aid the defense of Terra through faith. She desired to send Sigismund on a crusade to slay Abaddon, something which infuriated Dorn.[16a] Later as Sigismund faced death at the hands of Kharn and traitors were overrunning the Spaceport, Dorn took to the field himself to allow time for the loyalists to withdraw. He easily bested Kharn, swatting away the chosen of Khorne like an insect. It was then that Perturabo set down on the field from the Iron Blood, and Dorn attempted to goad the Lord of Iron into a personal duel in order to buy time. However Perturabo refused to be baited by Dorn's taunts, promising to only slay his brother after Terra's defenses had been subdued. Dorn responded that Perturabo had spent an immense amount of lives to merely take the first wall, and many more awaited. Despite the fall of the Spaceport Dorn was not distraught, as he had held it longer than he expected and knew all that mattered was to hold out until Guilliman's arrival.[16b]

After the fall of the Lion's Gate, the strategic situation for the loyalists worsened and four key areas were now threatened: the Colossi Gate, Saturnine Gate, Gorgon Bar, and Eternity Wall Spaceport. However the loyalists only had enough resources to defend three of these sites. Dorn was thus faced with the difficult decision of abandoning one and its defenders with it, eventually choosing the Spaceport. While stopping Kyril Sindermann from a possible suicide attempt, the Remembrancer's words made Dorn realize that he had overlooked the flaw in the Saturnine Gate that Perturabo could possibly exploit. Dorn thus set a trap for the traitors at Saturnine as he prepared to abandon the Eternity Wall Spaceport.[25a] At the height of the battle for Saturnine, Dorn saved Sigismund from his fallen brother Fulgrim, the two Primarchs coming to battle. With Fulgrim in his human state, Dorn was able to resist his constant goading, match his swordsmanship, and land mortal blows. However Fulgrim quickly regenerated and laughed off the damage. Dorn then informed Fulgrim of his trap and that Abaddon's subterranean assault had failed. Fulgrim became fed up with his allies and quit the battle, though not before summoning his elite guard led by Eidolon to assassinate the Primarch. With the help of Sigismund, his father was able to survive the battle.[25b] He next took direct command of the Shard Bastion along the Mercury-Exultant Killzone, organising defenses against a massive Legio Mortis assault alongside 400 Imperial Fists.[28]

Dorn trapped within the endless desert[34a]

Three months into the Siege, Rogal Dorn had not slept or even rested for a single moment. The strain finally caught up with even his superhuman biology, and he began to slow. Admitting the war effort was lost, he nonetheless continued his work and did not oppose when Jaghatai Khan launched a counterattack to retake the Lion's Gate Spaceport.[3a] While admiring the Khan's ultimate achievement and seeming sacrifice, he did not think the recapture of the Port would change the battle's outcome.[3b] With loyalist positions collapsing across the Inner Palace, Dorn soon found his own Bhab Bastion under siege by Traitor forces and fought alongside Sigismund and Fafnir Rann.[32]

Mere hours after Sanguinius' stand at the Eternity Gate, the Bhab Bastion fell to a massive assault led by the Sons of Horus. Dorn was forced to conducted a chaotic retreat back to the Sanctum Imperialis, while many of his staff and sons were slain.[33a] He subsequently took part in the last-ditch teleportation assault aboard the Vengeful Spirit, but upon arrival aboard the blighted vessel became trapped in an endless sweltering desert. For what seemed to him to be centuries, Dorn endured the desert, completely alone save for the corpses of his sons all around him. Slowly he began to lose his memories, eventually only remembering his own name as Khorne attempted to corrupt his soul.[33b] Dorn remained trapped within the desert for untold mortal lifetimes, continually being tempted by a voice baiting him to give into Khorne.[34a] Dorn, though forgetful of much of his identity and history, was nonetheless able to maintain his sanity by reciting old historical passages and scratching battle plans into the black wall of the desert. Such was his stubbornness that even the voice of Khorne grew frustrated but his inability to corrupt the Primarch.[34b] However Dorn was able to finally escape when the Emperor gave up the power he had built up as the proto-Dark King, purifying the madness sweeping across both Terra and the Vengeful Spirit. As Dorn found himself within the Inevitable City, his full memories were restored and he discovered Actae trapped beneath rubble.[34c]

Rogal Dorn during the Great Crusade[31]

Despite being free from the desert, the endless centuries within Horus' trap had rendered Dorn prone to worrying, pessimistic thoughts and a tendency to reflect upon the past.[35a] After leaving Actae, Dorn continued through the Inevitable City and eventually found himself back aboard the Vengeful Spirit as Valdor and his Custodes fought against a counterattack by Abaddon. Dorn was able to break the gridlock and allowed Valdor and himself to escape to Lupercal's Court, where they discovered Garviel Loken and Leetu as the only ones standing. Horus lay dead and the Emperor was grievously wounded.[35b]

Dorn and the furious Valdor argued over what to do next. Dorn agreed with Leetu, who had found a tarot card of The Throne near the Emperor's body and interpreted it as a sign that the Emperor must be placed back on the Golden Throne. Dorn, Valdor, and the other survivors teleported back into the Palace and the Emperor took his seat for the next 10,000 years.[35b]

Shortly afterwards, as he led a vicious counterattack to drive the remaining Traitors off Terra, Dorn met with the newly arrived Roboute Guilliman and co-created the Grand Council of Reconstruction.[46a] While Dorn, Leman Russ and The Lion wished to immediately launch a full crusade of vengeance against the fleeing traitors, Guilliman preferred a strategy of consolidation and securing vital assets such as Luna and Mars. Thanks to the support of the newly empowered High Lords of Terra, Guilliman's strategy prevailed and the first acts of the Great Scouring were the Retaking of Luna and Siege of Mars.[46b] However Dorn was still suspicious that the Traitors could reorganise and attempt a new plan, and once Archamus II discovered Iron Warriors activity at Neptune's moon of Laomedeia he sought to circumvent the Council and launched an offensive towards them.[46c]

Post Heresy

After the fall of the Emperor, Rogal Dorn entered a dark period of his life; he felt he had failed in his sworn duty to protect the Emperor and Dorn's legion faltered without the guiding light of the Emperor. Dorn led his sons on a crusade of penitence across the Imperium. Forgoing his golden armour, he donned himself in black and fought a merciless campaign dispensing justice to the traitors. Though absent from the high councils held on Terra, Dorn answered Roboute Guilliman's summons when the latter had announced the adoption of the Codex Astartes, turning Legions into smaller Chapters. Dorn was initially outraged at this proposal, feeling that the Imperium blamed him (and rightly so, he thought) for the fall of his brother marines. But realizing what damage another internal conflict could do to the fragile peace of the Imperium, Dorn agreed.[2a]

Some controversy exists about the next event in Rogal Dorn's life. What is clear is that the Imperial Fists could not be as easily divided into chapters as, for example the Ultramarines could. The total commitment to the legion was bred into each marine and many didn't wish to form their own chapters. Dorn found the answer to this problem in meditation through self-inflicted pain, using a device known as the Pain Glove. While under the influence of the device, Dorn had a vision of the Emperor. The pain-induced vision revealed that his legion had to be redeemed, and that the way to salvation was through pain and self-sacrifice.[2a]

Pain is the wine of communion with heroes.

- Teachings of Rhetoricus[2a]


The 'collective pain' needed to cleanse the Chapter was decided by Dorn to be an Iron Warriors' fortress, the Iron Cage. Perturabo had built the massive fortifications to mock the Imperial Fists, and Dorn led his most die-hard followers in a siege that would last for several weeks.[2a] Followers of the Iron Warriors claim that the Imperial Fists suffered a crushing defeat, and that Dorn and his legion would have been wiped out if Perturabo hadn't prolonged Dorn's suffering so long that the Ultramarines managed to intervene.[2a]

Rogal Dorn in full armour

Imperial records indicate otherwise. The Imperial Fists had always been masters of siege craft, and even unprepared and at a disadvantage they fought like lions. Dorn stood as a giant in their midst, his mind clear with purpose after years of doubt and guilt. The Iron Warriors would have had to sacrifice their lives and Primarch to destroy the Imperial Fists, a price they weren't ready to pay.[2a] The arrival of the Ultramarines cut the conflict short and the Iron Warriors fled for the Eye of Terror. The Imperial Fists had suffered staggering losses, but they had proved their loyalty to the Emperor and cleansed themselves of earlier failures.[2a]

What remained of the Legion was divided into three Chapters. The most zealous marines formed the Black Templars; the more rational and newly recruited marines the Crimson Fists and the ones most devoted to their Primarch and Legion remained the Imperial Fists. Rogal Dorn spent the next twenty years rebuilding and reforming his chapter according to the standards of the Index Astartes. (There were other chapters, like the Soul Drinkers for instance, though it is unclear when they came into existence.)[2a]

Current Status

During the War of the Beast, the rediscovered Primarch Vulkan stated to Koorland that he would speak well of the Imperial Fist to Rogal Dorn.[14] The exact meaning of these words has not been stated, such as whether Vulkan was speaking literally or figuratively. Dorn does not appear to have been leading the Imperial Fists at that time.[8]

Rogal Dorn is missing and presumed dead after attacking a Chaos fleet with a vastly outnumbered force.[9a] In the account of Index Astartes II, at some point, during "a Black Crusade" (which one is not stated) a call for aid was sent to the Imperial Fists. Allegedly, the Imperial Navy had failed to discover until too late a Chaos fleet amassing at the Pelenos Belt to launch an attack on the Cadian Gate. With most of the chapter deployed to shadow Craftworld Ulthwé, Rogal Dorn could only muster three companies of Imperial Fists and Marines. He personally lead an attack on the fleet, ramming a ship under his command into the Despoiler Class Battleship the Sword of Sacrilege, where he would make his final stand. Only after his demise did Ulthwé seemingly vanish, freeing the remaining chapter and the Phalanx arrive to fully defeat the Chaos fleet, having discovered that the original message was a ruse, and that the Black Crusade was not attacking Cadia. The Imperial Fists "boarded the Sword of Sacrilege before it could flee and recovered what remained of Rogal Dorn:[2a] a single fist was the only trace found of the primarch.[18][43] His engraved skeletal hand continues to be maintained in stasis, their holiest icon"[2a].

If this was indeed his death, it would match the prophetic vision that Konrad Curze had of Dorn's death, shortly upon their first meeting during the Emperor's arrival on Nostramo[48]:

"I am Rogal Dorn", he said.
The Night Haunter said nothing. In his mind's eye, he saw the giant die, dragged down by a hundred murderers in a dark tunnel, their knives and swords wet with the warrior's blood.[48]


Different sources have stated that Dorn's whole body was recovered, and his skeleton is now kept embedded in clear amber except for his hands,[5] that unstated remains were recovered,[2a] that only one of his fists was found[18][43], and that it could have occured in M32[51] or M36[8][Conflicting Sources] But they all agree that his hand is kept in stasis as the chapter's most holy relic.[2a][5][18][43]

Dorn's skeletal fist is kept within the shrine, the bones intricately engraved with the heraldry of all the Chapter's previous Masters. Only the Chapter Master has the right to engrave his name upon the bones. Each bone corresponds to former commanders. Left hand, the first metacarpal: Lords Bronwin Abermort, Maximus Thane, Kalman Flodensbog, the first phalanx of the thumb, Ambrosian Spactor, etc.[5]

Sometime during the Age of the Dark Imperium the Black Templars Emperor's Champion Johannes Berengar experienced a vision of himself fighting against tides of daemons alongside a resurgent Rogal Dorn. The vision ended with the two about to face Fulgrim, and following this prophecy the Black Templars engaged the Emperor's Children on the world of Crucible.[39]

Personality

Stoic and composed, Rogal Dorn is a paragon of humanity's might and courage and never once throughout the brutal and tragic ordeal that was the Horus Heresy did he question his motives or the cause, and never broke, for there is no greater defender or more unbreakable force than Primarch of the Imperial Fists. Despite this, he is rather socially inept, but not to the extent of his older brother Lion.[2]

Similar to Roboute and Perturabo, Dorn is one of the brightest and most intelligent minds in existence. He takes every opportunity possible to continue learning, continue improving his skills. Unlike the uncompromising and ironlike mentality of Perturabo, or the by the books demeanor of Guilliman, however, Rogal understands that one must be able to adapt to any and all situations and react accordingly. While Rogal is absolutely unshakable in his ideals, he welcomes and encourages his sons to not fall victim to a tunnel vision mindset, as while completing their missions must always be their primary goal, the method in which they do so must be fluid, and if a more efficient course of action presents itself, to always take it. Of all his Primarch siblings, Dorn is perhaps the most pure in his determination, for to him, service is its own reward, and he genuinely wants nothing more than to help humanity prosper. It is because of this that unique amongst the Primarchs, Rogal is completely impervious to the temptations of Chaos, for within his heart there is not a single selfish desire or hunger for power to be found.text-middle[Help]

Wargear

Rogal Dorn's primary weapon was the massive Chainsword known as Storm's Teeth, said to have been constructed on Inwit before the coming of the Emperor. For long range combat, he was equipped with the ornate Bolter Voice of Terra. This firearm was given to him as a gift by the Adeptus Custodes to honour his appointment as defender of Terra. For protection, Dorn wore a massive suit of Power Armour known as The Auric Armour which was constructed from the same auric-adamantium alloy as the Emperor's own armour.[11] After several attempts on his life during the Heresy, Rogal Dorn was often seen being transported in a specialized Thunderhawk known as the Ætos Dios.[11] Another device associated with Dorn is the Soulspear.[37]

Later on in his career, Rogal Dorn took up the Pain Glove as an act of atonement.[2a]

Images

  • Rogal Dorn miniature

  • Joytoy Rogal Dorn[36]

Trivia

TriviaScrollTrans.png

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.

  • Rogal is possibly a play on the word Regal, while Dorn means hand and/or fist in numerous Celtic languages, including Breton, Cornish, and Irish (see also Scottish Gaelic dòrn, Welsh dwrn, and Manx doarn). New English-Irish Dictionary: Dorn.
  • Rogal Dorn has eidetic memory.[25b]

Conflicting Sources

What we "know"

  • Rogal Dorn can be presumed to have survived to at least 100 years after the Second Founding in 021.M31[43][42]. While conversing with Chaplain Segas on Sotha, Oberdeii refers to the Second Founding as having occurred at least a hundred years ago (and that Roboute Guilliman was already wounded by Fulgrim by that point). Segas in turn refers to Dorn as alive and in command in the present tense, having already petitioned the High Lords to approve the upcoming Third Founding forty years prior their conversation. Thus (presuming Segas was not misinformed due to delayed information) this puts one of the last dates he is presumed to be alive as of at least 121.M31, approximately 600 years prior to the 1st Black Crusade in 781.M31[41][42].
  • He died on a ship and that his hand was recovered[2a]
  • Dorn's death in the bowels of an enemy ship is supported by Konrad Curze's prophecy: dragged down by a hundred murderers in a dark tunnel, their knives and swords wet with the warrior's blood. This would be reminiscent of one slain in the confines of a ship by enemies during a boarding action. Curze's visions were generally proven true in nearly all cases, including the deaths of Ferrus Manus, Sanguinius[49], and even his own death at the hands of M'Shen, but crucially, this answered only the how, and was entirely lacking the when.[21]
  • He died on a "Black Crusade" which was "bludgeoning its way through the Cadian Gate", however there was no actual attack on Cadia itself.[2a]
    • Presuming this refers to Abaddon's Black Crusades it could not have been the 10th through 12th, as none of those crusades used the gate to enter real space. The 13th Black Crusade is also excluded for obvious reasons.
    • In the Index Astartes II, Dorn's death is said to have taken place "soon after the disappearance of his brother", Corvus Corax into the Eye of Terror, which further guarantees it could not have been the 12th, as Corax had been long gone by that point; more generally, it implies an earlier crusade, as Corax's absence from galactic events before his disappearance is less plausible the longer it is.

Conflicting Details

  • In Index Astartes II Rogal Dorn is stated to have died during a Black Crusade in which Cadia wasn't attacked[49]. This would eliminate Black Crusades 1-4 which did involve attacks on Cadia.
  • Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition) describes his hand being in possession of the Imperial Fists as of M32, inspiring the Imperial Fists from the "Ork Onslaughts"[51] Although it might seem like these Ork Onslaughts may refer to the War of the Beast, the only Black Crusade to occur in M32 was the 2nd Black Crusade in 597.M32[41], 50 years after the end of the War of the Beast in 546.M32.[52]
    • The Second Black Crusade did involve an attack through the Cadian Gate, however it also resulted in an actual attack and besieging of Cadia itself, something the account of Dorn's Death in Index Astartes states did not happen at that time.

Several of these details are not reconcilable (i.e. the hand being discovered in M32 and the ship being built in M36). Thus, depending on which source one goes by, Dorn's death may have occurred at different times.

If Dorn Died during M32

  • This date is supported by Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition), where his hand is found as of M32[51]. M32 is also the planned millennium of Dorn's Death as set by a joint meeting of the Black Library authors sometime during or prior to 2014 (though as of 2026 no Black Library novel has been published giving the account of Dorn's Death)[44]
  • At no point during the War of the Beast is Rogal Dorn spoken of by the Imperial Fists as though he were present and in command of the Imperial Fists, however there is also no mention of his hand being in possession of the Imperial Fists.[8] During that war, Vulkan commended Koorland that his actions honoured Rogal Dorn and that he "will tell him so."[8] If Dorn's Death was indeed the 2nd Black Crusade the Imperial Fists should not yet have had possession of his hand.[41] This may be further corroborated by Koorland not even considering the Hand of Dorn in response to Vulkan's words.
    • It is feasible that Rogal Dorn, like Vulkan himself, vanished from Imperial public sight shortly after Corax and the Great Scouring, remaining in hiding and only surfacing to lead the attack on the unspecified Black Crusade.[8] With the War of the Beast ending in 546.M32[52], the closest Black Crusade (and the only one of Abaddon's to occur in the millennium) to occur after it would be the 2nd Black Crusade in 597.M32, approximately 50 years later.[41] The 2nd Black Crusade was the only one which occurred in M32 and did involve an attack through the Cadian Gate. However, it would conflict with the account of Index Astartes II, it also involved an attack on Cadia.
  • The 2nd Black Crusade does feasibly fit the timeline of the alleged Black Library author meeting of "a couple hundred years after the First Black Crusade"[44] (to be precise, the 2nd Black Crusade occurs 816 years after the first)

If Dorn Died during or after M36

  • If the details about the Despoiler Class being built in M36 are correct, this could mean he was alive during the Age of Apostasy[49] though there is no mention of his appearance in those times.
  • The Black Crusades to occur during or after M36 are those of 5-12, with crusades 10-12 being less likely candidates for "shortly after" Corax disappearance.
  • Dorn was convinced the Imperial Navy had failed to see the threat until it was too late; among the crusades 5-9 in which Abbadon's forces were reputably unpredictable are the 7th and 8th; the other three were reasonably focused on planets and sectors not involving Cadia or the Cadian Gate at all.
  • The 8th Black Crusade occurred in M37, and was the one in which Abbadon specifically sought (and acquired) Tzeentch's favor, and it involved the murder of highly specific targets in highly specific ways.[50]
  • The 7th Black Crusade occured in M37 and was specifically about recovering gene-seed, culminating in Abbadon and Bile making new marines from Blood Angels gene-seed. This should be weighed against the notion of whether or not they had the corpse of Rogal Dorn or even the longer dead Ferrus Manus.

Speculatively, then, going by a death post M36 a very plausible Black Crusade in which Dorn died was the 8th Black Crusade, circa 999.M37, if it was one of Abbadon's Black Crusades.

It is feasible Dorn may have died to a hitherto undisclosed Black Crusade which was not any of Abaddon's 13 Black Crusades.

Author Commentary

In a 2014 thread on Bolter & Chainsword by the (supposed)[See Additional Sources] account of Aaron Dembski-Bowden (ADB) regarding the planning of his Black Library novels, he affirms the death of Rogal Dorn aboard the Sword of Sacrilege as per Index Astartes II. According to him, the several Black Library authors came together to plan out the dates when each of the Primarchs died. Dorn's Death per the groups planning was "early M2 ... a couple hundred years after the first Black Crusade", as part of a joint author collaboration meeting to organise when all the primarchs had died.[44] This would corroborate with then already released 6th edition space marine codex description of his hand being found in M32.[51]

He had proposed instead having Abaddon kill Rogal Dorn, merging Dorn's death on the Sword of Sacrilege with the climax of the 1st Black Crusade. Ultimately this story concept was not chosen during the meeting, and thus it was not written.[44]

Per ADB in regards to who was slain by Abaddon during the climax of the First Black Crusade:

I had this whole theme idea of it being the moment the Imperium finally has to accept that the tides have changed, and so on. But we had a bunch of talks about this, and Dorn was off the cards for anything like that. Someone wanted to do something with him elsewhere at some point, so it was vetoed by virtue of them asking first. No biggie, though. Ideas are free. Always more where they came from, and I prefer the resonance and symmetry of it being Sigismund. Someone else can tell Dorn's tale.[44]


The identity of said other author or the outcome of their plans for Rogal Dorn remains unknown.

Later in 2017, Dembski-Bowden would publish Black Legion (Novel). In this story, Abaddon recounted to Iskandar Khayon the death of Sigismund at his hands. Thus, at least as per the Black Library series narrative, Rogal Dorn was not slain by Abaddon at the end of the 1st Black Crusade.[45]

As of 2026, Rogal Dorn's Demise has not yet been written in any definitive, first person POV in a Black Library novel.

Heretical Tomes

In Space Marine (Novel) it is stated that the Imperial Fists have Rogal Dorn's whole skeleton aboard the The Phalanx.[5]text-middleHeretic Tomes However, it should be noted that this source in particular is one of the very few to be given the (now defunct) Heretic Tomes labeling by Games Workshop, and even rarer, its current ebook listing comes with a warning about treating it as canon.[47]

See also

Sources

Heretic Tomes banner.jpg

This article includes background material from a Black Library publication re-released under the Heretic Tomes banner which, per the Heretic Tomes Publication Disclaimer, contain parts which are considered outdated and in contradiction of established background lore.

The Primarchs of the Space Marine Legions
Loyalists Traitors

Lion El'Jonson • Jaghatai Khan • Leman Russ •
Rogal Dorn • Sanguinius • Ferrus Manus •
Roboute Guilliman • Vulkan • Corvus Corax

Fulgrim • Perturabo • Konrad Curze •
Angron • Mortarion • Magnus •
Horus • Lorgar • Alpharius

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