Leonatos
Leonatos was a Captain of the Blood Angels Chapter, sent on a Bloodquest to atone for a failure.[1b]
Contents
Biography
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The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: | Bloodquest (Graphic Novel Series) |
Origins
A native of Baal, Leonatos went against other would-be aspirants in the Ritual of Challenge and earned a place among the "Sky Warriors". In less than half a century, he was chosen to command a Company of Astartes.[1a]
The Blade Encarmine
Over a century after his induction, Leonatos was sent by Commander Dante to defend a warp-station of the Adeptus Astronomica from an Ork assault.[1a] To aid him in this task, the Captain was entrusted with the Blade Encarmine, a Power sword gifted by Primarch Sanguinius to Belarius ten millennia earlier. After five days and nights of fierce fighting, with hardly 30 Astartes still alive out of the 100 who made planetfall, Leonatos challenged the Warboss, killing him but losing the sword to the raiders in the process.[1b]
The Destroyer
In the ensuing trial, Leonatos was condemned to exile until he came back with the sword. Accompanied by several battle-brothers and their company's blood thralls aboard the ship Exile. The Blood Angels followed the trail of the Ork warband[1c], facing Daemons[1d], traitor Astartes pirates[1e], and mutants[1f] on the way. Their quest led them to the world of Leptis, under attack by Waaagh! Gharshûl, whose leader was said to be in possession of the Blade Encarmine. The Exiles boarded the warlord's flagship, hoping to behead the Ork force and recover their prize. However, they found out that Garshûl was actually possessed by a daemon intent on finding a new vessel in Leonatos. The Blood Angels vanquished the Daemonhost, which revealed the sword was in its master's possession in the Eye of Terror.[1g]
Eidolon
As the Exile was wrecked by the Warp, the Astartes find themselves on the Daemon World of Eidolon.[2a][2b] After being guided by one of The Fallen named Haeroth the Damned, they set out to overcome the servants of Chaos that stood in the way of their quest.[2c] Across the realms of Eidolon, their numbers grew fewer as brother after brother was lost to the powers of Khorne[2d][2e], Nurgle[2f][2g], and Slaanesh.[2h][2i] In the Labyrinth of Tzeentch, Leonatos and his two remaining compatriots faced Haeroth and his master, which had promised its servant freedom if he brought the Blood Angels captain to serve as a daemonhost.[2j][2k] They overcame the Fallen and gained possession of the Blade, but the former master unleashed legions of daemons and Leonatos hurled the sword to his comrades before being swarmed by the warp creatures.[2l]
Lost
After bringing the Blade back to Baal, the two surviving Exiles endeavored the look for their captain.[3a][3b] Journeying across the galaxy and pretending to join a band of traitor Astartes[3c][3d], they discovered that Leonatos had become a daemonhost at the head of a new Black Crusade[3e]. Using the captain's martial acumen, the daemon planned to lay waste to undefended worlds of the Imperium.[3f] Leonatos then watched with cruel delight as he forced the captured Exiles to duel each other to death, promising an agonizing corruption by Chaos to the survivor.[3g] Relying on his erstwhile comrades' abilities[3h], Leonatos managed to briefly regain control of his body and direct the Chaos fleet towards an Imperial ambush before the daemon took over again.[3i] Anticipating the Exiles' moves, the daemonhost faced one of them as he attempted to sabotage the flagship's war field generators.[3j] When the Exile gained the upper hand, Leonatos managed to regain control one last time to explain the trick he played on his tormentor. Declaring himself to be free, he let his subordinate go as he was destroyed along with the Chaos fleet.[3k]
Trivia
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Special Issue: Hammer Time!
- Warhammer Monthly 63 included stories of its Warhammer 40,000 characters in Warhammer Fantasy settings (and vice versa), including Leonatos, Blood Dragon Vampire Knight and one-time commander of Knights Panther in holy service to the Empire who along with exiled companions Lysander, a former Bretonnian Grail Knight, and Cloten, a former Knight of the White Wolf and servant of the god Ulric, travel north to the Realm of Chaos where they may find the battle without end and fight forever.[4]
Sources
- 1: Bloodquest
- 2: Bloodquest II: Into the Eye of Terror
- 3: Bloodquest III: The Daemon's Mark
- 4: Warhammer Monthly 63 – Hammer Time: Bloodquest
