Horus Heresy · atlas

Legion I · loyalists

Dark Angels

Primarch: Lion El’Jonson

Homeworld: Caliban · Segmentum Obscurus

The I Legion, the oldest and one of the most secretive, spent almost the whole Heresy far from Terra. Their armour in that era was not dark green, as with the Chapter of M41, but jet black with red markings (green was adopted later in honour of the forests of Caliban). Lion El’Jonson fought the gruelling Thramas Crusade against Curze’s Night Lords, then ruled the Imperium Secundus together with Guilliman and Sanguinius. When he led the Legion through the Ruinstorm to Terra, he arrived too late for the decisive Siege — yet the Legion remained one of the least damaged loyalist forces.

Side in the Heresy: loyalists Remained loyal. Before the open revolt Horus sent the Lion and the main body of the Legion away to the Eastern Fringe, to isolate them from Terra.

Number
I (1)
Side
Loyalists
Events in the chronicle
27 events
Strength
Roughly 180,000–200,000 warriors (by some sources up to a quarter of a million from Caliban alone); one of the largest and oldest Legions. Forge World gives no exact figures — the estimate is disputed.

Fate

Survived the Heresy almost unscathed — the Legion was never at Isstvan. The Lion took no part in the final duel and did not reach the Siege of Terra through the Ruinstorm in time. Soon after the Heresy, Luther’s revolt split Caliban apart, giving rise to the “Fallen”, and the Lion vanished.

Speciality

The oldest and most experienced Legion, masters of all trades: excelling in every sphere of war rather than in one. A disproportionately rich arsenal of plasma and archaic weaponry; six specialised “Wings” of the Hexagrammaton, one for each kind of combat.

Tactics

Dispersed deployment in small elite detachments that reshape themselves flexibly for the task at hand; reliance on the power of their weapons and on personal skill rather than on numbers. They arrive without warning and speak in the Calibanite tongue and in dense ciphers, deliberately bewildering even their allies.

What the Legion is known for

The First Legion and the knightly Orders of Caliban, secrecy and the Inner Circle; the black (not green) armour of the Heresy era; later — the sundering of Caliban, the Fallen, and a ten-thousand-year secret.

Wargear

Plasma weapons in abundance, Terran two-handed swords, Calibanite blades, exotic archeotech from the sealed armouries of Caliban and Gramarye; six Wings — the Deathwing, Ravenwing, Dreadwing, Firewing, Ironwing and Stormwing.

Notable warriors

  • LutherSupreme Grand Master of the Order

    The Lion’s right hand and Supreme Grand Master of the knightly Order, left to govern Caliban. His envy and resentment later erupted into a revolt that split the planet and gave rise to the Fallen.

    Events: Destruction of Caliban
  • Corswainpaladin-captain, Seneschal of the Lion

    Champion of the Legion and Seneschal of the Lion, who passed through the brutal Thramas Crusade; his reputation was rated on a par with that of Sevatar and Abaddon.

    Events: Thramas Crusade, Battle of Perditus
  • Farith RedlossTerror-Bringer of the Dreadwing

    A Calibanite, commander of the Dreadwing of the Hexagrammaton; led the Lion’s honour guard and the hunt for Curze, and after the Heresy became the first Supreme Grand Master of the Chapter.

    Events: Imperium Secundus Proclaimed, Battle of Zepath
  • Holguin“elected lieutenant” of the Deathwing

    Master of the Terminators of the Deathwing and one of the Lion’s closest warriors in the Thramas Crusade.

    Events: Thramas Crusade
  • AstelanFirst Master of the Caliban garrison

    A Terran veteran, First Master on Caliban; later joined Luther’s revolt and became one of the Fallen.

    Events: Destruction of Caliban

Events involving the Legion

Eve of the Storm

The Fall

The Isstvan Massacre

Shadow of War

The Road to Terra

The Siege of Terra

Epilogue — The Great Scouring

Characters of the Legion

Sources

  1. FW Black Book I: Betrayal
  2. Lexicanum: Dark Angels
  3. WH40k Fandom: Lion El’Jonson
  4. Lexicanum: Thramas Crusade
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