On the origins of the Guardians of the Covenant: Crossed Swords, sigil of the Order of the Shadowed Flame

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TO: Ordo Astartes, Subdivision Maledictum, Sigillite Clearance: Beta-Nadir-4 FROM: Inquisitorial Agent-Nominate Kael Dravyn, Vigilant Primus, 13th Scintillan Archive RE: Investigative Report on Insurgent Astartes Warband "Order of the Shadowed Flame" ATTACHMENT: Codicological Analysis – Symbolic Origin of Crossed Swords Insignia

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Subject: The Crossed Swords Emblem — Historical Reclamation by the Order of the Shadowed Flame

Abstract: This document explores the reappropriation of the Crossed Swords insignia, historically associated with the Deathwing of the I Legion, by the renegade warband known as the Order of the Shadowed Flame. Cross-referenced with compiled transmissions, recovered battlefield data, apocryphal sermon-recordings, and intercepted legion vox-echoes. Particular emphasis is placed on the philosophies of their founding circle: Chaplain-Magus Malachai, Commander Eryan Valedorn, Warden Seraphon, and Artificer Zydron.

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I. ORIGIN OF THE SIGIL IN FIRST LEGION DOCTRINE

The Crossed Swords emblem originates within the pre-Heresy structure of the Dark Angels Legion. Traditionally associated with the Deathwing, the elite inner circle of the Hexagrammaton, the crossed swords were symbolic of martial excellence, loyalty to the Primarch, and the burden of secret knowledge.

Notably, this icon was not exclusive to the Deathwing. Records from the Rangdan Xenocides reference the "Pyric Host," a Terran-formed battalion whose survivors bore crossed blades as a vigil mark for their fallen. Suppressed citations indicate that this symbol once conveyed silent sacrifice and fraternal oath — distinct from the more codified interpretations later enforced by Calibanite hierarchies.

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II. THE FOUNDING CIRCLE AND THEIR PHILOSOPHY

The Order of the Shadowed Flame coalesced during the waning years of the Heresy, formed from scattered and ideologically disillusioned elements of the Dark Angels. Core founders include:

• Malachai – A mystic and orator, formerly of the Dreadwing. Believed to have transcribed the "Dictum of the Ashen Path," wherein he reframed the crossed swords as a covenant between belief and consequence.

• Eryan Valedorn – A Terran-born line officer, veteran of the Pyric Host. Later served under Deathwing command. His final address (see Ref: Alpha-Eidolon-9) contains several rhetorical invocations of the swords as symbols of oath reclaimed.

• Seraphon Ur'felix – Warden of flame and master of the Librarius, believed to have broken from the Ironwing. His armor bears the first known iteration of the flaming sword-cross variant.

• Hercuton Zydron – War-Marshall and Deathwing veteran, originally attached to a Calibanite forge-fane. Repainted and redeployed Deathwing vehicles have been linked to his command cell.

Their unifying motive appears to be the rejection of Legion silence, secrecy, and withdrawal during key conflicts of the Heresy. These Astartes came to see the First Legion’s obsession with hierarchy and secrecy as a betrayal of the Imperium’s needs.

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III. SYMBOLIC RECLAMATION AND REPAINTING PRACTICES

Upon forming the Order, the founders made extensive use of Deathwing-derived wargear. Crossed swords, once badges of rank or oaths to the Lion, were not removed — they were overpainted, burned, or ritualized.

These acts were not merely pragmatic, but symbolic:

• Sword One: Oath to Mankind — a reassertion of the Imperium’s founding ideals.

• Sword Two: Consequence of Betrayal — representing their own perceived betrayal by the Legion, and the violence of their response.

Crossed, the swords form a new meaning: a Covenant — the sacred intersection of belief and action.

Malachai’s surviving sermons refer to the emblem as a “mark of the blade that speaks”, in contrast to the silenced swords of the Deathwing.

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IV. VARIANTS IN THE SHADOWED FLAME

Numerous sub-orders and strike-cells of the Order of the Shadowed Flame exhibit the following variants of the emblem, with its use often tied to the Astartes War Leaders that led them:

• Crossed swords wreathed in crimson flame (Master Valedorn’s colours)

• Blades set within lantern halos (Master Zydron’s iconography)

• Crossed swords behind a cracked Calibanite helm (Master Seraphon’s "broken brotherhood" symbol)

Each variant retains the core form while adding layers of narrative or personal belief.

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V. CURRENT USAGE AND THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

Despite its heretical origin post-Schism, the Guardians of the Covenant continue to use the emblem into M41. Variants have been sighted on armor fragments recovered from Halo Star conflicts, and inscriptions on ancient hulls referencing the Covenant of Flame and other texts held sacred to this Chapter.

It is evident that the Chapter sees the crossed swords not only as a historical legacy, but as a sacred sign of penitence, rebellion, and philosophical war — the core of their martial and metaphysical identity.

“Each sword alone is lost. Crossed, they remember. Crossed, they judge.”
— Malachai, Dictum of the Ashen Path, Fragment III

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