Quotes / Dawn of War

"Sub-Sector Aurelia. This cluster of worlds stands on the very edge of the Imperium of Man. From this frontier came the Blood Ravens, a chapter of the Emperor's own Space Marines. Now, savage aliens seek to overrun the sector, and break the Blood Ravens once and for all. Captain Davian Thule and a handful of Space Marines lead the raw recruits defending these worlds. Now, another Space Marine joins this desperate battle. A newly promoted Commander, ready to lead in our darkest hour. You are this Space Marine. And you will tip the balance towards victory."'

— Opening narration for the Dawn of War II campaign

"I am Gabriel Angelos, Captain of the Blood Ravens. My chapter is in ruins, the sector is at war. Its worlds under siege. Chaos spreads, consumes us all. Here, we will make our final stand. Here, there will be... Retribution."

— Opening narration for Retribution.

"I fear no evil, for I am fear incarnate."

— Gabriel Angelos' battle-cry, later adopted by his successors Davian Thule and Indrick Boreale.

"Hear my warnings, unbelievers, carried to your minds by the power of the Prince of Excess himself. We have raised altars in this land so that we may sacrifice you to our gods. Veterans of 10 millennia of unholy war wait to grind you beneath the tread of their mighty boots. The chosen of Khorne hunger to add you to their bloody tally. The Blood God Himself has marked this land and will claim your skulls for His throne! There is no hope in opposing the inevitable. Put down your arms, unbelievers, and bow before the forces of Chaos Undivided."

— Eliphas the Inheritor

"Lucky creatures. At long last you have found the tranquility of death. I was like you once, clinging to life and blind to the truth. When I uncovered the truth, I too shuddered and paled with fear. Deep in these catacombs, I was remade. Here, my brethren slumbered for aeons, while the living grew like weeds. My lord knew this day would come. He had plans for us all. We would purge this world, once more. So come, poor victims of life. We will grant you tranquility in these crypts. Kronus will be a tomb world, once more."

— Thomas Macabee

"Blood Ravens, hear me! I am Araghast The Pillager! Master of Hounds, the Lash of the Black Legion! You, and ALL your kind are cowards! Lowly lickspittles! You must be emulating that pile of bones you call an Emperor! You are as dead and as useless as him! I am destroying your worlds, Blood Ravens, yet you do nothing! I see your precious craft, hanging in orbit above Aurelia! I am here! FACE ME, IF YOU DARE!"

— Chaos Lord Araghast the Pillager taunting the Blood Ravens Chapter

"To each of us falls a task. And all the Emperor requires of us Guardsmen is that we stand the line and we die fighting. It is what we do best. We die standing."

— General Sturnn

"Faithful... enlightened... ambitious... brethren.

In but a single decade, a few mere swipes of the pendulum, we have gathered a sacrifice to Khorne that will be made legend. Though it was a simpler, weaker voice that illuminated me during my centuries upon the Judgement of Carrion... it was Khorne's messenger that showed me the true path of freedom from our pathetic corpse-Emperor.

And what is this path? This meaning, this purpose to which we gather the skulls of our foes? It is nothing. There is no meaning, no purpose. We murder. We kill. It is mindless savagery, this UNIVERSE IS MINDLESS!

In mere hours, billions will die. Innocent! Guilty! Strong and weak! Honest and deceitful! ALL of them! They will scream, they will burn, and for no purpose but that mighty Khorne may revel in their bloodshed! And united in this void of purpose, fear, or duty... we shall at long last be free!

BLOOD! FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!! SKULLS! FOR THE SKULL THRONE!!! LET! THE GALAXY!! BUUUURRRRNNN!!!"

— Chapter Master Azariah Kyras, prior to his ascension into a Daemon Prince.

"I am no stranger to the deaths of planets. Cyrene was my home. But when the need was made evident, I did not hesitate to contact the Inquisition. By my hand Cyrene burned.^* The innocents who died to ensure Cyrene's secrets were sealed beneath ash and bone haunt me to this day.

But I have no regret in this. The threats to Mankind are eternal and ever-present; an ocean seeking for a single crack in the dam. Cyrene's secrets now live solely with me... and so shall they die with me.

^* As I travel there now to face the monstrosity that was once our Chapter Master, I am confident by this much: Whether I am victorious or slain... my sins will know retribution.

Such is the final testimony of Gabriel Angelos, Captain of the Blood Ravens 3rd Company. Savior of Tartarus... bane of the Black Legion... servant of the Emperor."

— Brother-Captain Gabriel Angelos

"Commissar, I would like to see this city built up again. I would like to see towers and spires of gleaming white. I would like to see our men on parade routes, not tours of duty! I WOULD LIKE TO SEE EVERY CITY ON THIS PLANET, EVERY COLONY ON THIS BESOTTED, MISERABLE SYSTEM TURNED TO THE SERVICE AND INDUSTRY OF THE IMPERIUM IN THE EMPEROR'S NAME!"

— Governor General Vance Stubbs, during Soulstorm's Imperial Guard Stronghold level.

"COWARDS DIE IN SHAME."

— The message given when trying to quit the first Dawn of War.

"Look, Rhinos! RHIIIIIIINOS! Our enemies hide in METAL BAWKSES, the cowards! Da FEWLS! We... ;;[inhales] ... we should take away their metal bawkses."''

— Lord Firaeveus Carron

"SIIINDRIII!!"

— Lord Bale

"There is no time to be lost! Battle-brothers!

Space Marines, today, the enemy is at our door! We know our duty and we will do it! We fight for our honor, as Blood Ravens, as Space Marines, and we fight in the name of the Emperor!

And if we die this day, we die in glory. We die heroes' deaths! But we shall not die, no! It is the enemy who will taste death and defeat! As you know, most of our battle-brothers are stationed in space, prepared to deep strike!

Our perimeter has been prepared in the event that our enemy should be so bold and so foolish! We have placed numerous beacons, allowing for multiple, simultaneous and devastating defensive deep strikes.

The Codex Astartes names this maneuver "Steel Rain". We will descend upon the foe, we will overwhelm them, we will leave none alive! Meanwhile, our ground forces will ensure the full defense of our headquarters...

We are the Space Marines! We are the Emperor's fury!"

— Brother-Captain Indrick Boreale

"Kaurava was a huge mistake. I will not speak of it again."

— Cyrus, on the failure of the Blood Ravens' Kaurava Campaign (and by extension, summing up the common response to Soulstorm)

"Idivas, evo nos sudoni
Arhan asuvi varro
Ave - ni mach fordena^note Often Misheard as: "For then we march for Terra"
Avis, esu si surro
In avis, in novas, farsoni
Invere, vesu ves ni vox
Ire vas sumeni doni
Est vox menidis, varro"

— Angels of Death (Space Marine theme), Dawn of War II soundtrack

"In truth, Avitus did not fall to Chaos in the way his brothers might have understood it, instead he fell to the truth. He saw the galaxy for what it was once stripped of the comforting veneer of morality and higher purpose ingrained into him as a Space Marine; understood what it meant and could not stomach it.

This makes Avitus a notable example of a 40k character becoming "self-aware". It isn't his love of violence or any lust for power or corruption that turns him traitor, but a sudden awareness of the galaxy in the way we as spectators understand: it is a hopeless meat grinder, and nothing more; the setting exists for violence alone, for our pleasure. Avitus had been grappling with this doubt since the events of Victory Bay in Dark Crusade, and Kyras' cavorting with Eliphas pushes him over the edge. When he betrays the Imperium, it isn't because he suddenly hates it or his brothers or suddenly loves Khorne, but because of his new perspective.

When Avitus betrays the Imperium, it is because he is a proud man with nothing left to ever take pride in again. Where he once held conviction he was only left with a death wish and he sought his demise in the only way he could ever respect it: amidst the heat of battle, in blood and fire, where the raging dead can be drowned out under the roar of bolter fire. In the end, Avitus died staging his last stand not against the alien, heretic, or loyalists, but against the whole cruel, uncaring universe."

— 1d4chan, on Avitus' betrayal

Chaos Rising Traitor Reveal Messages (SPOILERS)

I doubt any of you will listen, but I feel I must explain a few things. The Chapter is my whole existence. I have seen its greatness, and I have seen its follies. More of the latter than the former, I fear. I have lost more brothers than I care to count — each victory has come at a terrible price. This time, I have decided to pay it myself. The Chapter cannot continue in its weakened and misguided state. The ranks are barely half of what they should be, and grow thinner everyday. Raw power is needed to turn the tide — and if the cost is my own damnation, so be it.

— Tarkus

I can almost hear your mewling now. "How could he betray us?!" "Why, Avitus? Why?!" Look at this planet! Look at it! That is why! The entire galaxy is the same — Broken. Shattered. Rotten to the core! Honour, brotherhood, duty — they are no more than delusions and lies. We use them to justify the death and destruction left in our wake. I cannot tolerate it any longer! I have seen the rot that runs through our chapter's honour — and it justifies nothing. My memories are full of the screams of those I have killed. Where others see life, I see only death. We all know how this will end. We have always known. It ends in blood.

— Avitus

For once, be quiet and listen. The chapter expects us to be perfect, obedient instruments of its leaders. Leaders who are barely worthy of life, much less respect. Captain Boreale, who walked three companies into the slaughter of Kaurava. Captain Angelos, who lapped up the credit for our victories against the Tyranids. Even Captain Thule, who chose to sulk on Calderis after the Kronus debacle. These are our leaders? The people we are supposed to obey without question? No, these are cowards and imbeciles, every bit as worthless as Governor Vandis and all the others. These incompetents learned nothing from my teachings. I owe them no loyalty.

— Cyrus

Do not follow me. I am not proud of the choices I made — but I did what was necessary. Kyras knew what I had done, and he let me carry on. He understood. Even if you never will.

— Thaddeus

B-brothers: the betrayal is not mine. At least — at least not completely. The messages to Eliphas and Galan — they came from my lips, I admit. B-but the guiding intelligence was not mine! There is something inside my mind! It has been there — scratching, growing — since the end of the Tyranid war. Now... Now, it draws me to the planet below. I can... no longer... resist!

— Jonah