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'''Lion El'Jonson''', also known as '''The Lion''' and '''The First'''{{Fn|15}}, is the [[Primarch]] of the [[Dark Angels]]. He was scattered along with the other Primarchs to the far corners of the galaxy. He finally came to rest on the world [[Caliban]], a beautiful but blighted world tainted by [[Chaos]] due to its proximity to the [[Eye of Terror]]. Lion El'Jonson was renowned for a level of strategic brilliance and martial prowess that was rivaled perhaps only by [[Horus]], but was distrusted by his brother Primarchs for his secretive and taciturn nature.{{Fn|15}}. The Chaos emissary to Lorgar called him ''the Duelist''.{{Fn|19}}

Lion El'Jonson gained notoriety for his leadership and combat capability in the Great Crusade, but was too secretive and stoic to be considered for the honour of [[Warmaster]].{{Fn|15}} Indeed, the Lion himself admitted he had difficulty understanding the emotions of others.{{Fn|4}} [[Horus]] was instead appointed [[Warmaster]] by the [[Emperor]], and the reaction among the other Primarchs was mixed. Some supported the appointment out of affection for Horus, and others opposed it. The Lion and [[Leman Russ (primarch)|Leman Russ]] were, ironically, alike in their attitude, cynically accepting the appointment as the final sign of Horus' status as their father's favorite son.{{Fn|8}}

Fifty years later, and following great success in recruiting, training, and equipping new Dark Angels, Luther and his lieutenants were faced by a widespread rebellion on Caliban. Following investigations on the part of the Librarian [[Zahariel]], it was revealed that Caliban was plagued by a resurgence of monsters; and that the insurgency raised against them included former Knights of the Order who felt that the Lion had betrayed them{{Cite This}}.

Few tales have been recorded regarding the Lion and the conduct of his Legion during the Great Crusade. One of them is that which is now known as the saga of "The Lion and the Wolf".

Sometime during The Great Crusade, the Dark Angels and the [[Space Wolves]] assaulted the planet [[Dulan]] whose ruled the independent [[Faash]] empire. In addition to disrespecting the Emperor, the leader of the rebels had also insulted [[Leman Russ (primarch)|Leman Russ]] personally by naming him "The Emperor's Lapdog". In response, Leman Russ swore that he would cut the rebel leader's head from his shoulders and demanded that he be allowed to make an immediate attack on the rebel's headquarters. This impatient request was refused because The Lion had spent days gathering intelligence on the headquarters' defenses and had planned a detailed assault of his own. The Dark Angel attack went forward with few casualties and Russ could only watch from the grounds as Lion El'Jonson killed the rebel leader high on the walls of the fortress. After the battle, Russ stormed into the halls of the headquarters to find El'Jonson and vent his frustrations. During the confrontation Leman Russ struck Lion El'Jonson a blow to his head and the two proceeded to wrestle for a day and night without victory for either combatant. When the two finally broke apart, Russ began to laugh - humored by the circumstances the two were fighting over. The Lion was not amused however and in what was considered a cowardly act, struck Russ unconscious as he was laughing.

The Space Wolves' Primarch was carried from the chamber by his men, and when he had regained consciousness the Dark Angels had already escaped the planet to embark on another campaign. Russ swore he would avenge the slight to his honor, and to this day the two chapters fight honor duels in remembrance of this event.{{Fn|7}} Some say these duels have brought mutual respect and a closer bond between the chapters.{{Cite This}} On other occasions, however, the rivalry between the two chapters has boiled into open hostility, fueled by mistrust and suspicion{{Fn|9}}.

As part of Horus' campaign to divert many of the remaining loyalist legions from [[Terra]], the [[Night Lords]] were dispatched to the [[Eastern Fringes]], where in the [[Thramas Crusade]] they rampaged across many loyalist worlds. During the genocide, [[Konrad Curze]] would invite the Lion to a meeting on the planet [[Tsagualsa]]. There, the Night Haunter would reveal a prophecy to the Lion, concerning the future of the Dark Angels. Eventually, the talks would degrade to a fight and the Lion would leave with a slashed throat and Curze with a sword in his back.{{Fn|14}} The Lion would then go on to obtain a warp engine of unforeseen power known as [[Tuchulcha]], that would allow him to coordinate entire fleets in a warp jump. During their trip, the Dark Angels ships encountered [[Daemon]]s and Lion El'Jonson reinstituted [[Librarian]]s to fight them in direct violation of the [[Council of Nikea]]. This caused a dispute within the legion that saw The Lion eventually kill [[Nemiel]]. Lion El'Jonson encounters [[Kairos Fateweaver]] at the height of the battle, who attempts to convert him to Chaos but can find nothing in his heart to sway it with, for he was absolutely loyal to the Emperor and viewed loyalty as its own reward. The Lion dismisses the Lord of Change by impaling him through the heart and quipping if the Greater Daemon saw that coming.{{Fn|16}}

At Davin, Sanguinius was trapped within a portal and did battle with the Daemon [[Madail]] while Guilliman and The Lion desperately tried to reach him. [[Second Battle of Davin|a vicious battle]] erupted both on Davin and above it, in which Guilliman's acting flagship ''[[Samothrace]]'' was destroyed in orbit by the [[Daemonship]] ''[[Veritas Ferrum]]''. During the battle at Davin's temple, Guilliman and The Lion managed to finally fight as brothers and together they brought down a massive [[Soul Grinder]]. Eventually, Sanguinius was able to escape and the Space Marine forces evacuated to space. Davin was destroyed by [[Cyclonic Torpedoes]], and with its anchor gone the Daemonic fleet vanished. In the place of where Davin once was, a breach in the Ruinstorm was visible. The path led to Terra, but upon further study it became apparent that somehow Horus had foreseen this route and a large blockade was erected to block them. Guilliman and The Lion agreed to distract the blockade while Sanguinius and the Blood Angels made directly for Terra, for that was their destiny. The Lion expressed his desire to further distract the enemy by attacking worlds Horus had captured along the way to Terra, an act of vengeance he would come to relish.{{Fn|21}}

As of [[M41]], Jonson is the only loyalist primarch, other than [[Roboute Guilliman]], definitely known to be alive.

**{{Endn|4a}}: {{Cite This}}, ppg. 31.**{{Endn|4b}}: {{Cite This}}, pppgs. 411-412411–412.*{{Endn|5}}: [[Fulgrim (Novel)]] by [[Graham McNeill]]: {{Cite This}}, pg. 506

*{{Endn|11}}: [[Collected Visions]], pgs. 357-362357–362

*{{Endn|16}}: [[The Primarchs (Anthology)]] - — ''The Lion''

*{{Endn|22}}: [[Scions of the Emperor (Anthology)]] - — First Legion

[[Category:The Characters (Great Crusade)]][[Category:The Characters (Horus Heresy)]]