The Return of An Old Foe
Relic Designer Philippe Boulle looks back at the Blood Raven's previous clashes with Chaos...
Chaos Rising marks the return of the dreaded Chaos Space Marines to the forefront of the Dawn of War franchise. Although absent from Dawn of War II's initial campaign, these dark reflections of the Space Marines have a long history with the franchise.
A History of Battle
In the original Dawn of War, the Blood Ravens fought across Planet Tartarus against Orks, Eldar and the ultimately, the forces of the Alpha Legion, one of the Space Marine legions fallen to Chaos. Although these traitors were under the command of the Chaos Lord Bale, the true mastermind of the Tartarus campaign was the Chaos Sorcerer Sindri Myr. This dread heretic corrupted the Blood Ravens Librarian Isador Akios and sacrificed Bale himself in a quest to obtain a foul artifact called the Maleficium. At the climax of that campaign, Sindri Myr achieved dark ascension and was briefly reborn as a Daemon Prince -- briefly, because Gabriel Angelos and the Blood Ravens slew the newborn fiend before he could summon his full power.
In Dawn of War: Winter Assault, the Imperial Guard's 412th Cadian Regiment joined elements of the Ultramarines in an attempt to recover the mighty Titan Dominatus from the Chaos and Ork infested planet Lorn V. Chaos Lord Crull of the World Eaters legion led the heretic forces on Lorn V and he dreamed of using the Dominatus to drown whole sectors in blood for his patron, the Blood God Khorne. Crull was ultimately defeated, betrayed and killed by his Ork "ally" Gorgutz.
In Dawn of War: Dark Crusade, seven armies clashed over Planet Kronus. The Blood Ravens, under command of Davian Thule, ultimately prevailed, but the battle was long and hard. Eliphas the Inheritor led the Chaos forces of the Word Bearer legion on Kronus, and they ravaged large sections of the planet. When the Blood Ravens drove into the Chaos stronghold on the Deimos Peninsula, Eliphas was torn asunder by his own daemonic masters.
Now, rumors have surfaced that Eliphas survived Kronus and is hungry for vengeance.
Finally, in Dawn of War: Soulstorm, the Alpha Legion returned to plague the Blood Ravens as part of the massive conflict over the Kaurava System. The Blood Ravens suffered tremendous losses in the Kaurava campaign, many at the hands of Firaeveus Carron, a Champion of Khorne.
Chaos Rising
The Blood Ravens have fought valiantly against many heretical cults and Chaos warbands. The Alpha Legion and Word Bearers have both suffered at their hands. Yet, chapter records reveal several missed opportunities for the Blood Ravens to oppose the Black Legion, perhaps the most fearsome of the Chaos Space Marine legions.
Why the Blood Ravens would pull back from conflicts with the Black Legion is unknown. The truth is sure to come out soon, however -- a Black Legion warband under the command of Araghast the Pillager has its sights set on Aurelia and the Blood Ravens.
