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'''Merir Astelan''' is a notable member of the [[Fallen]], and as such is considered a renegade [[Dark Angel]] [[Space Marine]]. Once a [[Chapter Master]] of the Dark Angels [[Legion]]{{Fn|1a1}}, his name appears at the top of the secret list kept by the [[Grand Master]] of [[Chaplains]] of the Dark Angels [[Chapter]], the list of the names of the one hundred and thirty-six [[Space Marines]] who first swore allegiance to [[Luther]] when he rebelled against the Dark Angels [[Primarch]], [[Lion El'Jonson]].{{Fn|5c}} As a result, he is currently hunted by the Dark Angels as a notorious traitor.{{Fn|2}}

A [[Terran]] native from the plains of the '''Sibran region''', Astelan was a child when his land was conquered by the [[Emperor]]'s [[Thunder Warriors]], and he retained vivid memories of the massacres he saw for the rest of his life.{{Fn|4}} Astelan claimed that his people were then among the first to fight alongside the Emperor during the [[Wars of Unification]] and that it was from them that the Emperor took the first recruits for the [[Legiones Astartes]]{{Fn|5b}}; Astelan was inducted into the [[First Legion]] - then the ''only'' legion - as one of the first ever 5,000 [[Space Marines]].{{Fn|4}} He next comes to prominence in Imperial record as a Dark Angels Legion Chapter Master, or '''Chapter Commander'''. Little is known of his previous career, though it is believed that his advancement from [[Sergeant]] to Chapter Commander took only fourteen years, and that he achieved his Chapter command before the Imperial discovery of his [[Primarch]], [[Lion El'Jonson]]. Indeed, he on occasion referred to being given his power and honours by the Emperor himself.{{Fn|1a1}},{{Fn|4}} However, other information about Astelan states that, as a recognised veteran, he was in fact appointed Chapter Master by Lion El'Jonson in the years following Jonson's assumption of command of the First Legion.{{Fn|3a}}

His role in the prosecution of the [[Great Crusade]] came to end in the aftermath of the compliance action carried out on the world of [[Byzanthis]]. Previous to this, his [[Expeditionary Fleet]] (something less than eighteen vessels, led by Astelan's command ship, the ''Spear of Truth'') had spent five years on exploration duties in largely uncharted areas of space, going without refit or resupply from the Legion for four of those, and indeed not even finding any habitable planets worth absorbing into the [[Imperium]] for three. {{Fn|1a1}}

At the end of this five year period however, fate would bring both reinforcement and, two weeks later, a world to examine. Chapter Commander [[Belath]] and his fleet rendezvoused with that of Astelan, informing the Expedition leader that the Lion had ordered him to Astelan as reinforcement. Astelan had never heard of Belath before, but was unperturbed by this due to the rapid influx of [[Caliban|Calibanite]] Astartes into the Legion. He was surprised however, by the fact his fleet, which had apparently been assigned to an uneventful area of space, received reinforcement at all; Calibanite in men and material or otherwise.{{Fn|1a1}}

At last however, a radio signature was detected from the [[DX-619]] system and Astelan diverted his fleet to investigate. Shortly thereafter, the world named Byzanthis by its inhabitants was discovered. Relatively technologically advanced, but not unified under a single world government, the Byzanthians seemed a likely candidate for peaceful compliance, at least to Astelan. Chapter Commander Belath, however, believed that conquering them militarily was the better option. Heated debate ensued, with Astelan espousing a philosophy that war is bloody and costly and to be avoided if possible, and that a world brought to heel will be resentful and slow to achieve the brotherhood that diplomatic compliance can achieve. Belath for his part, stressed that the [[Legiones Astartes]] had been created to fight and that the Lion - who had appointed him to Chapter command personally - had given him orders emphasising the annihilation and punishment of enemies. Eventually, the two commanders agreed on a reconnaissance mission to help them decide on a further course of action.{{Fn|1a1}}

Unfortunately, this reconnaissance mission (led by Astelan in person) swiftly went wrong when it was discovered the urban area they had planned to investigate was actually a large military base, with the result that the Legion forces were detected and attacked before they could attempt peaceful contact. Denying Belath's planned retaliation with [[Orbital Strike|orbital bombardment]] Astelan had his troops withdraw in fighting order.{{Fn|1a1}}

In the aftermath Belath again urged open invasion, preferring a plan to attack all six world powers at once. Astelan however, upon detecting the existence of Committee of Nations, a diplomatic body made up of representatives from all the powers, decided to attempt negotiation once more. Making contact with the Committee, he arranged for himself and Belath to appear before them and parley. While initially going well under Astelan's direction, the negotiations were fatally disrupted when one of the world powers detected that the Dark Angels had positioned vessels in orbit above all the capital cities of the planet. This move, under Belath's order, precipitated a threat response in which the Byzanthians attempted to seize the two Legionnaires. Summoning his [[Terminator]] bodyguard, Belath ended the negotiation with the execution of the world's Committee of Nations. Angrily, Astelan had no choice but to follow through on this act and finally order a full-scale planetary invasion. Dismayed at the outbreak of violence, he remarked that he could not allow Belath's actions go unpunished. Unperturbed by the threat, Belath responded that ''he'' would not be the one to be punished; he had already sent [[astropathic]] messages concerning Astelan's 'cowardly' actions to [[Caliban]].{{Fn|1a1}}

Merir Astelan, as commander of Caliban's planetary defence forces, issued the order - codeword "Starfire" - to open fire upon the fleet of the Lion.{{Fn|2a2}}

*{{Endn|1}}: [[Tales of Heresy (Anthology)]]**{{Endn|1a}}: ''[[Call of the Lion (Short Story)]] '' by [[Gav Thorpe]]*{{Endn|2}}: [[The Unforgiven (Novel)]] by Gav Thorpe**{{Endn|2a}}: , ''Repercussions''*{{Endn|3}}: [[Fallen Angels (Novel)]] by [[Mike Lee]]