TRAITOR LEGIONS – Slaves to Darkness | Warhammer 40k Lore

The Legionnes Astartes would embody  the Emperor’s wroth in their methods   of purging the galaxy clean of both  Xenos and Heretical corruptions. The single most deadly force ever to be unleashed  upon the stars, the blades and bolters of the   Space Marine Legions would burn the enemies of  Humanity to ash during their righteous Crusades.

Yet with the corruption of  the Warmaster of the Imperium:   Horus Lupercal and the dawn of his Civil War  to usurp the mantle of the ruler of Humanity,   many Legions would follow his descend into  madness in exchange for the foul gifts of Chaos.

For today we shall bring light to  the dark deeds of the followers of   the Ruinous Powers who once trod the  path of the Emperor’s divine will. The treacherous turncoats and slaves to  darkness: the Traitor Space Marine Legions… Each founding of the Adeptus  Astartes Legions exemplify a   singular virtue demonstrated by their Primarchs.

Some legions are renowned for  their applications of strategy,   others their use of technology  or even their mastery of Warp. All striving to reach the optimal potential  demonstrated by their many heroes and veterans. Yet one Legion would strive for  a goal unattainable within the   bounds of the mortal universe: Perfection.

And their fall would be one of the  most storied within the Imperium. The 3rd legion of the Adeptus  Astartes: The Emperor’s Children. Recruiting it’s initial soldiers from the  courts of Europa during the later stages   of the Unification Wars of Tera, the 3rd  Legion would consist of the royal sons of  

The Nobles whom had defied the Emperor and  suffered the wroth of his Thunder Warriors.  Drawn from each of the noble houses,   the fathers and mothers of the tributes  would invariably ascribe to two mentalities.  That their sons were hostages now used in  the blood-drenched wars of The Emperor,  

Or the brightest and most zealous of his new  warriors to uphold His newly founding Imperium.  With some noble houses such as Loculus of Komarg  willing sending every son of it’s bloodline   to join the 3rd legion and subsequently sending  it’s firstborn of each new generation thereafter. 

Over time drawing more aristocratic bloodlines  into the fold, the 3rd Legion would lay it’s   foundation with the pride of it’s  bloodlines and ancestries of war.  Serving as a beacon for the Imperial Army efforts  during the Unification Wars, the 3rd Legion would  

Command and support the Army’s battles as regal  and noble-bearings of The Imperium’s might.  A symbol of the Astartes’ providence, unlike  many legions the 3rd Legion would be deployed   in smaller battalions, the aristocratic  Astartes would have a keen eye for both the   strengths and weaknesses inherent in the  Imperial Army’s structure and deployments. 

Leading successful and glorious campaigns in  the name of The Emperor, the 3rd legion would   bask in it’s adoration of the common-soldiery  and citizens of Humanity as the brilliant,   handsome and indomitable will of The Emperor. Their favour to The Emperor  

Cemented with their heraldry bearing His heraldry  in the form of the Palatine Aquila. A symbol   of their peerless devotion to His will, the 3rd  legion would bear His sigil with boundless pride.  Earned at the cost of the 3rd legion’s 16th  Cohort’s annihilation whilst fighting alongside  

The Emperor and his Custodes during the  Proxima Betreyal of the Great Crusade.  Saving His life by sacrificing  their own and never giving ground   to the treachery of the insurrectionists. Given the duty of enacting Exterminatus on the   plane of Proxima, the 3rd legion would claim their  due vengeance they would be re-named, though not  

Ratified officially, as The Emperor’s Children. Assigned as envoys , equerries and honour guards,   the Emperor’s Children would  relish their favour as they   carried out diplomatic missions in His name. Though with time, the 3rd legion’s misfortunes   would grow, and it would not be the last  to befall the Emperor’s favoured sons…

Within a solar year of their triumph of Promixa,  the legion’s gene-seed reserve would be destroyed   during it’s transportation to the Moon of Luna. Hampering their development of new recruits,   a viral outbreak would also ruin the 3rd legion’s  stores of gene-seed within the gene-labs of Terra. 

The 3rd legion would slowly wither  as casualties of war would further   diminish their now nigh un-replenishable numbers. Their strength dwindling, the legion would appear   to be doomed to extinction, yet narrowly the  legion would escape it’s fate with the discovery   of their long-lost Primarch: Fulgrim. Dubbed ‘The Phoenician’ or Pheonix by  

His gene-sons, Fulgrim would be raised  on the bleak mining world of Chemos.  Shrouded in perpetual twilight, the dull  world’s populace would struggle with the   planet’s diminishing resources and be required  to tirelessly work to produce food to survive.  Despite strict food rationing, the  planet would be buffeted by Warp Storms  

Making trade with passing vessels difficult. Culling Orphans to prevent the over-consumption   of rations, the planet’s police force: the  Caretakers would nonetheless beseech the   planet’s rulers: The Exectuives to spare the  life of the newly discovered child: Fulgrim.  Raised by one of the Caretakers, Fulgrim  would be named after the deity of Chemos  

The young Primarch would become a labourer and  utilise the planet’s myriad mining technologies.  Rising to the rank of Executive at the age of  15 and govern the fortress factory of Callax   and with time repair and re-organise  the mining technologies of the planet   to improve their productivity. Creating surpluses of materials,  

Trade would blossom and Fulgrim  would ascend to govern the planet.  Allowing for free-time to pursue culture and  the arts, Chemos would flourish and with the   re-union of the Emperor and Fulgrim, the  Emperor’s Children would soon be salvaged… Addressing the last surviving 200 Astartes  of his Legion, Fulgrim would remark:

On hearing these words, the Emperor  would officially ratify the 3rd   Legion as The Emperor’s Children. Re-painting their armour in the   lacquer of Imperial purple, and bearing the  Emperor’s Palatine Aquila, the Emperor’s   own chosen Astartes would swell with pride and  consider themselves above their cousin legions. 

With Fulgrim now driven to uphold the  standards and iconography of his legion,   his legion would epitomise Perfection  as their defining characteristic.  Paragons of Imperial culture, civility  and nobility Fulgrim would demand only the   finest craftsmanship for his legion’s armour. Garbing themselves in increasingly intricate  

Finery, The Primarch and his legionaries would  embroider their cloaks and gild their armour.  With so few Astartes in number, The Emperor  would assign the Emperor’s Children to serve   alongside his favoured son: Horus Lupercal  and the 16th legion: The Luna Wolves.  For a solar decade, the Luna  Wolves would mentor the 3rd legion. 

Forging a bonds of immense strength, The  Primarchs and their sons would grow to   compliment their strengths until the legion’s  numbers had grown to a size able to stand alone.  It’s recruits comprised of Terran and Chemos-born  Astartes, the Emperor’s Children would establish  

Their Fortress Monastery on Chemos within the old  Mining Factor wherein Fulgrim had worked: Callax.  Given command of the 28th Expeditionary Fleet,   the Emperor’s Children would now forge their  path anew, yet further hastening their fall… Filled with an intense need to prove  themselves in the eyes of The Emperor,  

The 3rd Legion would bring several worlds  into compliance during the Great Crusade.  Fighting alongside the 10th Legion: The  Iron Hands, the two Primarchs and their   gene-sons would form a great bond of respect. Though seen by many Legions as pompous and   gaudy, the iron 10th would recognise the  Emperor’s Children’s dedication to serve  

The Imperium and strive for greatness. Yet during the purging of the Xenos on   the world of Laeran, Primarch Fulgrim  would be ensnared by the lure of Chaos.  The Laer xenos under the thrall of the Daemonic  being known as Slaanesh, the genetically enhanced  

Being would pique the interest of the  legion’s Chief Apothecary Fabius Bile.  And with the discovery of the corrupting  daemonblade: The Laer Blade, Fulgrim’s   descend into madness would begin. Claiming the blade as his own, the   Greater Daemon inside would whisper forbidden and  twisted thoughts into the mind of the Phoenician. 

Offering Fulgrim the Perfection he so  desperately sought, Fulgrim would seal   his legion’s fate with the intervention  of the now-corrupted Warmaster: Horus.  Allying with the Traitorous Astartes of the  World Eaters, Death Guard and Sons of Horus,   the Emperor’s Children would cull  the loyalists within their ranks. 

Succumbing to the gifts of the Ruinous  Powers, the Emperor’s Children would   in their vain attempt to achieve perfection  mutilate their bodies to achieve their goal.  Fulgrim further damning the legion, his  daemon-gifted influence would oversee the   orgy of bloodletting, pleasure  and mutilations wrought by the  

Composer Bequa Kynska aboard the Emperor’s  Children flagship: Pride of the Emperor.  Corrupted by Chaos, Kynska would orchestrate  an Orchestral piece of such debauchery that   it would drive the already tainted  legionnaires to new heights of excess.  Birthing the Emperor-damned ‘Noise  Marines’ and further degenerating the  

Legionaries’ chaos-born mutations all hope  of the legion’s redemptions would cease.  Believing the Imperium to stand in the way  of Humanity’s ascension, the now horrifically   transformed legion would attack their loyalist  brethren on the world of Istvaan 5 and murder the   Primarch of the Iron Hands: Ferrus Manus. Despite Fulgrim’s regret in slaying his  

Once-brother, his body would be possessed  by the Daemon of the Laer Blade… Though Fulgrim would eventually  be freed from his prison of flesh,   and in time ascend to the favour of the  Ruinous Powers to become a Demon Prince,   the 3rd legion would follow  their Primarch with revel. 

With the traitors victory at Istvaan 5 and their  many atrocities culminating at the Siege of Terra,   the Emperor’s Children would however not  attack the defences of the Imperial Palace.  With no trace of decency or honour left within  their wretched hides, the 3rd legion would  

Attack the civilian populace of Terra. Pursuing their depraved hedonism upon   the innocents, the Emperor’s Children would  capture billions of humans to use in their   grotesque experiments and torturous heresies. Yet with the defeat of the Warmaster by the   Emperor of Mankind and the traitor forces  driven from Terra, the Emperor’s Children  

Lay waste to many loyal outposts and world in  the wake of their journey to the Eye of Terror.  Lacking all concepts of brotherhood, the Emperor’s  Children would raid other traitor legions for   fresh slaves to enact their depraved pleasures. Fragmented by their enraged former-allies during  

The Slave Wars, the Emperor’s Children  would regroup on the world of Harmony,   yet be outright decimated by Abaddon the  Despoiler and his newly formed Black Legion.  Sundered into small warbands, the  Emperor’s Children now roam the galaxy   seemingly without the guidance of their Primarch. Their homeworld of Chemos declared Exterminatus  

And destroyed by the Imperium, rumours  persist that the long-disorganised 3rd   legion shall soon return with their  Primarch Fulgrim at their vanguard.  Though for the sake of humanity, such  rumours are best left as such. For   there are truly fewer foes worse to be felled  by, than the wretched servants of Slaanesh…

The Geneseed of the Third Legion would  craft warriors of incredibly noble bearing,   beautiful features and goal-driven nature. Consistently reproducing the legion’s   characteristic Albinism and  violet eyes within their ranks,   the legion would nonetheless maintain a desirable  aesthetic envied by the citizenry of the Imperium  

And jealously of many cousin Brother Legion. Yet the legion’s founding would be blighted by   a viral contagion, threatening to destroy  all traces of the 3rd legion’s geneseed.  With the legion’s Apothecaries exemplifying an  intense attention-to-detail and laborious effort,   their labours would ensure  the survival of the legion.  Laying the foundations for  the Emperor’s Children’s  

Obsession with the pursuit for perfection. Their geneseed so painstakingly maintained,   the 3rd legion would possess likely the most pure  and stable geneseed of all 20 founding legions.  With a mutations-rate practically  at 0, the Emperor’s Children would   implant only the finest of aspirants. As a result allowing almost zero Psykers  

Within their ranks due to the nature of psyker  mutations being screened from their selections.  Their geneseed adaptations operating  at peak-functions, the 3d legion would   outperform all legions with regards to  their adaptations to their procedures.  A trait which would unfortunately  be wasted in it’s entirety with the  

Legion’s corrupting by the Ruinous Powers. Their numbers difficult to replenish due   to the necessity of repurposing the  stolen gene-seed of loyalist Astartes. During their service as a loyal legion  of the Astartes, The Emperor’s Children   would be the only legion to adorn The  Emperor’s Aquila across their chest-plate. 

The sign of favour from the master  of mankind further bolstering the   legion’s Ego and delusion as  the greatest of all Astartes.  Further embellishing their armour with  filigree, battle-honours, oaths of moments   and rank signifiers, the Emperor’s Children would  be regarded as ‘Peacocks’ by their fellow legions. 

With their fall to chaos, the 3rd  legion would cover their gold and   imperial purple with more garish colours to  honour the fell power known as ‘Slaanesh’.  Patterns of pastel pink and black, piercings and  tattered shards of gold jutting from their flesh,   the Emperor’s Children now bear  no marks of disciplined marking. 

With no two Astartes decorated the same,  the Emperor’s Children now seek to stand   apart from one-another in their efforts  to express their own individual decadence.  Often exhibiting facial scars and bindings  which twist their faces into twisted smiles.  The golden talon and eagle-winged  badge of the 3rd legion now covered  

In the heretical markings of the  Prince of Pleasure: Slaanesh. Before their downfall, the Emperor’s  Children would be structured by their   Primarch Fulgrim’s own stringent requirements. Disciplined, formal and conforming to strict   protocol, assignment of equipment and  promotions within the legion would   undergo intense consideration and scrutiny. Understanding their exact value in the eyes of  

The Primarch and the legion’s command-staff,  each Astartes would remain committed to his   legion’s goals and values in order to  gain favour and rise through the ranks.  Each squad of the legion organised  to specialise with a purpose in mind,   unit cohesion would be paramount. Utilising all squad variations present within  

Every Astartes Legion, the Emperor’s Children  would be prepared for any variation of warfare.  The legion would like all however have personal  favourite strategies, and alike to the White   Scars regard speed and manoeuvrability  as preferable to endurance of firepower.  Deployment a preponderance of Jump-Packs  and Land Speeders to meet such demands,  

The 3rd legion would re-capture the  tales of knights riding into battle   with armour gleaming and banners held aloft. Comprised of over 110,000 Astartes prior to the   Horus Heresy, the legion would be divided into  approximately 30 Chapters called ‘Millenials’.  Primarch Fulgrim would command the  Legion overall but assign ten Lord  

Commanders to lead the first ten Millenials. Quipped by Primarch Sanguinius of the Blood   Angels as Fulgrim’s ‘princes of War’,  the Lord Commanders would foster command   alike to a cult-of-personality within the legion. Passing down their orders to lower-ranked officers   in order of Commanders, Lietenant Commanders,  Masters, Sub-commanders, Tribunes Palatine,  

Captains, Ancients and eventually Sergeants. With records of sub-divisions lost to history,   there do still exist accounts of some elite  forces within the ranks of the legion:  The ‘Sun-Killers’, equipped with Lascannons  would perform heavy-ordinance duties.  The ‘Wings of the Phoenician’, commanded by their  ‘Eagle King’ commander would land into battle via  

Jump-packs and assist in close-quarters combat. The Pheonix Guard would act as the 200-strong   ceremonial honour guard to  their Primarch: Fulgrim.  The Brotherhoods of the Palatine Blades would  form the greatest swordsmen of the legion in   loose formations to combat the greatest  foes of the Imperium in single-combat. 

The finest of the 3rd legion’s imperial  Army soldiers would be named the Righteous   Blades and would win glory for the Imperium  during the Great Crusade. Yet with the fall   of their patron legion, the Roaring Blades  would be re-named ‘The Roaring Blades’ with  

Their damned service to the Ruinous Powers. And finally, with the transformation of a   select number of the legion’s Astartes in  the so-called ‘Noise Marines’, a division   would be created to unleash their potential in  all it’s ear-splitting force: The ‘Kakophoni’. Severely depleted in number  during the Istvaan 3 Atrocity,  

The Emperor’s Children would diminish from  over 110,000 Astartes, to an estimate of   50,000. More than half it’s original strength. Further depleting their battle-capable vehicles   during the Istvaan 5 dropsite massacre, the  legion would devote more of it’s resources   into transforming their bodies under the  knife of their Chief Apothecary: Fabius Bile. 

With no restraint or censure, Bile  would construct horrors of flesh and   ceramite to fulfil the needs of both his  Primarch, and his own demented curiosity.  Gleaning corrupting knowledge from the influence  of the legion’s warrior lodge: The Brotherhood of   the Pheonix, the Emperors Children’s descent  into madness and depravity would be swift. 

With all previous formations and structures  torn asunder, the Emperor’s Children have now   fragmented into small warbands of varying sizes. Each led by their own Commander,   the warbands answer to no higher authority. Even their allegiance to serve the whims   of the Primarch is unfounded, with no actions  perpetrated as an organised legion taking place  

Since the Scouring of the Heretics. Driven by their base instincts,   the Emperor’s Children serve their Patron  God Slaanesh with pathological fervour.  Pursuing new sensations and fixations alongside  their Battle-Brothers, not out of loyalty, but a   simple feral need to rely on one-another to engage  in battle and the enslavement of their charges.

The 3rd legion’s pursuit of perfection  would garner them a reputation as   incredibly skilled warriors prior to  their corruption during the Horus Heresy.  Training during every opportunity at their  assigned duty, the Astartes of the Emperor’s   Children would resolve to never be satisfied  with their ever increasing skill-at-arms. 

Often duelling amongst the ranks of the Astartes,  they would learn from the range of martial   techniques championed by each Astarte Legion. Recovering the strange and artisanal weapons   of their enemies, the Emperor’s Children  would relinquish their own master-crafted   weapons for those of greater quality. Mastering their spoils of war and wielding  

Them in battle, the Legion would be equipped with  many strange xenos axes, glaives, swords and more.  Further nurturing each individual Astartes’ self  reliance in battle and combined force of arms.  Analysing every battle, deployment, strategy,  victory, unforeseen trial and battle-loss the  

Emperor’s Children would apply their experience  to endure any and all conditions of warfare.  Demanding the same degree of conviction from  their Brother-legions and Imperial Army, the   3rd Legion would lead their forces by example and  expect zero hesitation or flaws from their allies.  Thriving in their use of  rigorously-practised battle tactics,  

They would relish any chance to dominate the  battlefield with negligible flaws or losses.  Idolising The Emperor with  near-fanatical devotion,   they would seek to emulate his  peerless strength and glory.  Following a strict hierarchy of example, from the  Primarchs to the lowliest of humans, the seeds  

For the legion’s elitism would grow with their  continual improvement and self-aggrandisement.  Envisioning The Emperor’s total  rule of the galaxy, the sons of   Fulgrim would revere culture, music and art. Believing that once their days of fighting   were over, they would pursue perfection in the  appreciation and participation of such diversity  

Of artforms as spoils of a galaxy at-peace. A facet of their downfall a direct result   of their passion for the senses combined  with their burgeoning arrogance, it is no   wonder as to how the legion would be consumed by  carnal pleasure and ever-degenerating stimuli. 

Now roaming within the roiling tides of the Warp,  the Emperor’s Children partake in never-ending   pleasure and excess, the 3rd legion revel  in their twisted purgatory of indulgence.  Their boundless appetites impossible to  sate no matter how many millennia they live,   nor countless mortals they delight  in causing inconceivable tortures. 

Perpetrating unspeakable amounts and degrees  of cruelty, their suffering-laced ecstasy   shall not end so long as the Ruinous  Powers hold dominion of the Immaterium.  Their cackling laughter at each  and every atrocity only emboldening   their patron God and it’s foul desires… The Legionnes Astartes are among the most   dangerous and battle-tested  warriors of His Imperium. 

Bedecked in heavy ceramite plate and  armed with the most deadly of weaponry,   any whom should stand against His Angels shall  be outmatched by the hulking giants of war.  Yet among all the founding legions, there is  one legion above all that prior to their fall,  

Encompass the Imperium’s relentless strength,  cold logic and unbreakable constitution.  The 4th Legion of the Legionnes  Astartes: the Iron Warriors. During the Wars of Unification,  each Legion would be crafted by   the Emperor to serve a unique purpose. Some would master the arts of infiltration,   others the methods of assassination  or even unmatched barbaric slaughter. 

Yet for every engagement won with quick guerrilla  warfare, or waged against a foe with exploitable   weaknesses, there would exist foes which would  prove to be stalwart and capable combatants.  For these enemies of His Imperium, the  4th Legion would be dispatched to wear   down their fortresses and impregnable bastions. 

Punishing in their relentless wearing away of  their enemies, the 4th Legion would act as the   harsh crashing tide of the Imperium. Slowly  eroding the walls of their enemies defences.  Drawn from the gun-tribes of the  Auro Plateau fortress of Sek-Amrak,  

The 4th Legion’s early years of service would  prove their worth in the field of battle.  Rapidly increasing in size due to the Legion’s  low gene-seed implantation rejection rates,   the 4th Legion would be among the  first to be of capable size to   persecute the enemies of The Emperor  alongside the 1st and 5th Legions. 

Charging into battle under the personal  command of the Emperor Himself, the 4th   Legion would destroy the War Witches  and Litho-Gholem armies of Venusia.  Rewarded for their service with  ever-more sophisticated weaponry,   war machines and supply points with the aid  of the Adepts of Mars, the 4th Legion would  

Further burgeon with recruits re-allocated to  their number once intended for the 3rd Legion.  Among the largest of the initial Legions,   the 4th would be split efficiently into the  Expeditionary Fleets of the Great Crusade.  Conquering hundreds of worlds under their  banner, the 4th Legion would prove to be  

Invaluable in bringing compliance  to the Segmentum Solar and beyond.  Adorning their armour with the Winged Bolt by  The Emperor, the 4th would continue to prove   their worth for hundreds of Terran Standard Years. Yet with the Legion’s union with their Primarch:   Perturabo during 840.M30 the Legion’s ties  to Holy Terra would begin to diminish…

The rigidity in the Legion’s organisation,  battle doctrines and command structure   would bear resemblance to their Primarch’s own  reliance on determined overwhelming firepower   rather than the use of guile or subterfuge. Labelled as mechanistic, dull and unchanging   the 4th Legion would be regarded with  ill repute by it’s Brother Legions. 

Dispatched as a reliable yet predictable  force, the 4th Legion would be deployed   among the most vital yet drawn-out of warzones. Their pedigree as a workhorse of the Legionnes   Astartes, with the instalment of their Primarch  as their leader, the now ‘Iron Warriors’ would be  

Gifted a bitter, thankless and beleaguered Legion. Yet if the 4th Legion hoped to reunite   with a genefather known for his mercy or  compassion, they would be sorely disappointed.  The Lord of Iron would be raised on the world  of Olympia under the shadow of a Tyrant. 

Distrust and melancholy soaked deep within  his being, Perturabo would grow to be a genius   with a nonetheless aloof and cold demeanour. Though swift in his adoption of his Legion,   Perturabo would have a ravenous mind for deeds  and technologies outside of the field of battle. 

A student of science and craftsmanship,  the Lord of Iron would prove to be starved   for his hunger for knowledge. Accepting his duty as a General   of the Imperium, Perturabo would prove  a mastermind if not stubborn commander.  Every battle was a puzzle to be solved, a  trial to be disassembled, observed and bested. 

Briefly fighting alongside the  Emperor during the Great Crusade,   Perturabo would observe his father’s great  deeds and return to his Legion found wanting.  His glory-starved warriors would be further driven  to meet their gene-father’s exacting standards.  Given absolute authority to command his newly  gifted 35,000 Astartes into his own image,  

The Lord of Iron would begin to mould  his Legion into the warriors he required… Comparing his Legion’s deeds to their  counterparts such as the 1st and 7th   Legions, Perturabo would find his sons wanting. Punishing them for their failure, the Lord of Iron  

Would conduct a lottery amongst his men. One in ten of the Astartes who drew the   mark of failure would be killed by his  battle-brothers with their own bare hands.  Decried as a madman by the Imperial Court and  Primarch of the Ultramarines: Roboute Guilliman,  

All criticisms of the Lord of Iron would  regardless be silenced by the Emperor.  The decimation of the Iron Warriors  would reinforce their beleaguered nature.  There would be no favour nor  preferential treatment of Perurabo’s men.  No matter their rank, deeds or valour. Should an Iron Warrior fail as an  

Individual, all shall be punished. They lose an engagement or fail in their   implementation to secure objectives they shall be  culled to weed out the weakness within the Legion.  Death was now the price for failure, with  the only course of atonement for the Legion  

To ascend and reach their full potential. Re-organising his Legion into a machine of war,   Perturabo would lead his army during their  first campaign against the Meratara Cluster.  Purging the so-called ‘Black Judges’ and bring the  system into compliance, the Iron Warriors would be  

Shamed into exceeding their Primarch’s standards. Continuing his gruelling tests of his Legion,   Perturabo would mould the Iron Warriors into  an indomitable force; working closely with the   Mechanicum the 4th Legion would further expand his  Legion’s fleet, armaments and recruitment tithes.  The battering-ram of the Imperium’s war effort,  the Iron Warriors would quickly become regarded  

As the single-most determined and unflinching  blunt instrument of the Legionnes Astartes.  Further embittered towards their Brother-Legions,  the Iron Warriors would nurture their resentment   of their more graceful and storied brethren. Their weakness of spirit would be fortified   with iron and slowly corrode their esteem. Their bitterness further exasperated with  

The appointment of Primarch of the Luna  Wolves: Horus Lupercal as Warmaster… With the appointment of the  Warmaster giving him full   control of the Legions of the Adeptus Astartes,   the Iron Warriors would be further tasked  with ever-more mundane and ignoble campaigns.  Typecast as the garrison specialists of  the Legions, the Iron Warriors would not  

Be given rest for their ceaseless endeavour. Perturabo would grow ever-more bitter at his   Father and the Warmaster’s mistreatment  of his Legion and his own capabilities.  Their disregard for the Great Crusade  further emboldened with their jaded nature,   the 4th Legion would nevertheless grasp at  the slightest means to attain retribution. 

And with the fall of the Warmaster to  the thrall of Chaos, the Iron Warriors   would be a willing accessory to betrayal. Perturabo’s homeworld: Olympia had fallen   to open rebellion with the death of the Tyrant  of Lochos and enabled an insurrection to occur. 

As the only Legion to have it’s homeworld in  opposition to it’s reign, Horus Lupercal would   bid his brother to return to his homeworld  and gift him the hammer: Forgebreaker.  The weapon crafted by the Phoenician: Fulgrim  and once wielded by the Iron Hands Primarch:  

Ferrus Manus, the now corrupted Warhammer  would purportedly act as a means for the   corruption of the Ruinous Powers to  further embitter the Lord of Iron.  Unleashing his fury upon his homeworld,  Perturabo would burn his cities to the   ground and slay his own step-sister: Persephone. Knowing his genocide of his people would never be  

Forgiven by the Emperor, Perturabo would barely be  capable of comprehending the depths of depravity.  Simultaneously learning of Horus’ Betrayal  of Istvaan 3 and receiving orders from the   Emperor to join the Loyalist counter-attack of  Istvaan 5 Perturabo’s path would become clear.  Allying with the Traitors to  the Throne, the Iron Warriors  

Would thereon march into battle with  solemn resignation and stoic despair… Joining the loyalist counterattack  as the second wave of reinforcements,   the Iron Warriors would meet the Legions of the  Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard as kin. 

Yet with their descent to the surface of Istvaan  5, the Iron Warriors would turn their Bolters on   the Loyalist Primarchs and their Astartes. Known thereafter as ‘The Betrayers of   Istvaan’ by the wider Imperium, the Iron  Warriors would continue to follow their  

Primarch’s descend into madness and malevolence. Following the Dropsite Massacre the Iron Warriors   would venture to the planet of Hydra Cordatus  and slay it’s defenders: The Imperial Fists.  Emboldened, seeing themselves  as superior to the 7th Legion,   the Iron Warriors would slaughter the remaining  13,000 human defenders of the Cadmean Citadel. 

Their hands coated in the blood of men, women  and children, the Iron Warriors under the   command of their Primarch would return to their  homeworld with pride at their accomplishments.  Fortifying their home-system into  an Empire of Iron, each planet would   instate a Warmsith to lead it’s people. Further bleeding their nemeses of the 7th  

Legion during the Battle of Phall, the  Iron Warriors would further prove their   metal against the Imperial Fists. Accompanying the Emperor’s Children   and their Primarch: Fulgrim to  unknowingly achieve his Apotheosis.  Observing his brother and his legion to  be debauchery, disfigured and horrific   monsters Perturabo would show disgust  for his brother’s flagrant corruption. 

Tempting the Lord of Iron with promises of  a weapon of untold power hidden deep within   the Eye of Terror, the Iron Warriors would join  their gaudy and horrific allies in their quest.  Harryed by the Orphans of War aboard the  Sisypheum, despite the Blackshield attempts  

To slay Fulgrim, the Iron Warriors would  punish the loyalist for their interference.  Achieving their goal of traversing to the Crone  World of Iydris, the planet of Eldar legend would   once be known as the seat of the Aeldari Empire. Within the heart of the Eye of Terror,  

The Iron Warriors would assist the Emperor’s  Children in their assault of the guarded   prison tomb of the Angel Exterminatus. Their prize: The Sepulchre of Isha’s Doom,   the powers of Slaanesh would  call to Fulgrim within it’s core.  Betrayed by Fulgrim, Perturabo would unknowingly  cause the ascension of Fulgrim into the form of  

A Daemon Prince of Slaanesh with the  strike of his Warhammer: Forgebreaker.  Destroying Fulgrim’s mortal shell, Perturabo  would watch in horror as the now transformed   Primarch and his Emperor’s Children  retreated into a flare of arcane energy.  As Iydris tore itself apart, Perturabo  would resolve to despite this setback  

Lead his men to the final assault of Holy Terra.  His deeds would not be overshadowed by  Fulgrim, nor his Legion be found wanting… Carving a path to Holy Terra, the Iron Warriors   would begin their crusade to end the  Imperium within the Tallarn System. 

Now witnessing the power of Chaos  and it’s true potential first-hand,   Perturabo would learn of a relic: The Cursus of  Alganar hidden deep within the planet of Tallarn.  Virus Bombing the planet, the now Desert-World’s  defenders would resist as best they could. 

One million armoured vehicles would stand against  the 4th Legion and with blood and steel prevent   the Iron Warriors from acquiring their prize. Humbled by the largest armour fielded battle   in the Imperium’s history, Perturabo would  relent in his conquest of Tallarn and with  

Orders from the Warmaster defend the supply  lines of the Yarant and Vanahelm systems.  Spread thin and under-supplied the Iron Warriors  would take heavy losses during such engagements.  Mustered to join the Traitors in  their final assault of Holy Terra,   alongside the World Eaters the Iron Warriors  would assemble at the planet of Ullanor. 

The Vanguard of the Siege of  Terra, the Iron Warriors would   attempt to corral their more feral allies. Despite their Primarch’s skill at strategy,   the Iron Warriors would be unable to break through  the defences of the Imperial Fists and with the   continual disregard for Perturabo’s command  the Primarch would order his Legion to retreat. 

The Siege of Terra would fail, with the  Warmaster slain by the Emperor signifying   a bitter-sweet victory for the Loyalists. Yet despite their failure, the Iron   Warriors would lure their nemesis:  the 7th Legion into one final trap.  The Iron Cage, constructed by Perturabo  would serve as a final test to prove  

Which Legion would be known as superior. Upon the world of Sebastus IV, the Iron   Cage would be designed to test Primarch Rogal  Dorn’s resilience and mastery of siege warfare.  The Eternal Fortress would encompass  20 square miles of bunkers, minefields,   traps and trenches designed to bleed  the Imperial Fists slowly and painfully. 

Accepting the open challenge to his Legion,  Rogal Dorn would lead his men into the trap.  Both Legions would nearly be annihilated during  the stubborn grudge-war, and were it not for   the intervention of the Ultramarines under the  command of Roboute Guilliman, it is debatable as  

To which Legion would narrowly be victorious. Once more denied the sating of his Ego,   Perturabo would turn to the Ruinous  Powers to achieve his own Apotheosis.  Offering the salvaged gene-seed of his enemies  to the Ruinous Powers, Perturabo would ascend   to become a Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided. Detonating nucleonic stockpiles across Olympia,  

The Iron Warriors would deny the Ultramarines  and Imperial Fists the satisfaction of victory.  Now untethered from the Imperium’s legacy,  the Iron Warriors to this day still skulk   the dark corners of the galaxy. Willing to kill the subjects and   warriors of his Imperium should it bring  even the slightest glint of satisfaction…

A caustic and remorseless Legion, the Iron  Warriors would continually be embittered by   the view that their Legion would be treated  with less favour than their counterparts.  Growing jealous and paranoid even prior to the  reunion with their Primarch, it cannot be said  

Even by detractors of the Legion that the 4th  Legion had not been burdened by some of the   Imperium’s most difficult and dangerous campaigns. Yet the Iron Warriors are not beyond reproach with   their refusal to vary their doctrines  of war or variance of their stratagems. 

Convinced that the Primarch Rogal Dorn had sown  the seeds for uprisal upon their homeworld of   Olympia, the Iron Warriors rivalry with their most  akin Legion would in their own minds be validated.  Believing themselves to be the misused, abused and  yet revered titans alike to ancient Terran legend,  

The Iron Warriors pillage and massacre those  unfortunate enough to stand in their path.  Though not zealous in their  devotion to the Ruinous Powers,   the Iron Warriors nonetheless bend  the knee to such malevolent beings.  Venerating their Primarch despite  his cruel treatment of their ranks  

And opposing the Emperor for his own treatment of  the Legion, the 4th Legion are beyond redemption.  Conducting battle with heavy bombardments  of artillery and heavy weapons,   the Iron warriors target high value  targets with surprising complexity.  Working well with Traitor Titan Legions,  the close-ties of the Iron Warriors with the  

Dark Mechanicum accentuate their proclivity for  armoured vehicle deployments and siege warfare.  Optimising maximum firepower with minimal troop  deployments, the Iron Warriors excel at keep   their units well rested and ready to deploy  in able to allow superior firepower and focus.  Initiating wars with nuclear, viral and  chemical warfare, the Iron Warriors attempt  

To force surrenders of their opposition  before even deploying their ground forces.  Piloting gunships, bomber craft and fighters the  Iron Warriors dominate with aerial superiority   before raiding enemy emplacements. Experts at demoralising their enemies,   the Iron Warriors attempts to overwhelm  their adversaries do not always succeed. 

In such instances, the 4th Legion conduct  covert operations to ascertain intel and launch   surprise assaults to cripple enemy strongholds. Fortifying their assaults with bulk freighters,   heavy vehicles, pre-fabricated fortifications  construction personal, the Iron Warriors construct   miniature fortresses and battle-lines  to support their initial assaults. 

Once defensive positions are build the  Iron Warriors deploy via Drop-Pods to   lay waste to any opposition still  entrenched upon the battlefield. Within the ranks of the 4th Legion there  exist titles for the most venerated and   specialised of the sons of Perturabo. Prior to the Horus Heresy, the Primarch  

Of the Iron Warriors would create The Trident. An assemblage of his so-called ‘Triarchs’,   these singular warriors within his Legion  would act as The Lord of Iron’s advisors   and embodiment of the Legion’s character. As the single-most powerful Astartes of   the Legion, the Triarchs would carry out  the will and commands of their Primarch. 

Gifted with great charisma and physical  strength, these examples of the Legion   would be given no margin of error to  carry out the will of their Primarch.  For those who failed in their duties would be  readily and regularly replaced by those within  

The Legion proven more worthy of the title. Each Senior Captain of the Legion would be   referred to as Warsmith and  lead the Grand Battalions   of the legion during the 31st Millenium. With the Legion’s downfall to the thrall of Chaos,  

Subsequent to the Horus Heresy the title  of Warsmith would be given only to those of   the Traitor Legion whom had ascended to become a  Chaos Lord of one of the many Warbands of the 4th.  For the fortress-breakers of the Legion they  would be named ‘Tyrant Siege Terminators’. 

Clad in Cataphractii Terminator Armour plating  and armed with deadly Cyclone Missile Launchers,   these most battle-toughened warriors would brave   the deadliest of engagements with no  expectation to preserve their own lives.  The Iron Havoc Support Squads would be formed of  the Legion’s elite heavy-ordinance specialists. 

Targeting heavy armour vehicles, the Iron  Havoc Support Squads would be peerless marksmen   capable of striking the most vulnerable of  armour weakpoints with pin-point accuracy.  The Iron Circle would be formed after  the treacherous Battle of Phall.  Comprised of six Colossus-class Battle Automata,  the Iron Circle would act as the personal  

Bodyguards and honour guard of the Lord of Iron. Unthinking and of unyielding loyalty,   the Iron Circle would prevent the enemies of  the Iron Warriors from harming their master.  And finally, the Stor-Bezashk would be the  title given to the Siege Masters of the Legion. 

Artillery and heavy-ordinance specialists, the  Stor-Bezashk would craft the potent breach-charges   utilised by the Legion’s siege-works and  breach their enemies most vulnerable defences.  Yet as the Millennia have waxed and  waned with the fall of the Legion,   these titles are rare within the disparate  and un-co ordinated warbands of the Legion. 

Once comprised of 1,000 Astartes, the remnants  of the Grand Companies vary greatly in number.  With 12 twelve Grand Battalions collated  by historians during the Horus Heresy,   each containing several Grand  Companies, it is unknowable   how many remain during the Era Indomitas. Lead by the Chaos Lords and Champions of the  

Legion, the warbands of the Iron Warriors roam the  galaxy to pursue their own glories and campaigns. The Iron Warriors though followers of  Chaos Undivided are disgusted by the   appearance of any mutations within their ranks. Replacing their disfigured limbs with cybernetic   prosthetics, the extensive combinations  of their synthetic augmentations further  

Remove the Legion from their Humanity. Often clad in the Mark 3 ‘Iron’ and Mark 4   ‘Maximus’ designs of Power Armour, the Legion’s  preference for heavy plating remains evident.  Whilst not as mobile or flexible as  other armour designs, the Iron Warriors   eschew these qualities in favour of their  tactics of attritional, grinding warfare. 

Wired directly into their  Power Armour and weapons,   the Iron Warriors are literal living weapons.  Merging with their twisted Machine Spirits,  the 4th Legion Astartes are further changed   by the rampant Techno-viruses and transformations  wrought by their assimilation with the machine.  Enslaving powerful warp entities into Daemon  Engines, the Iron Warriors further prey on the  

Minds of their foes by adorning their armour  with spikes, chains, horns and gory trappings.  Their once silvered armour trimmed with gold now   replaced with deep metallic hues marked  with yellow and black industrial stripes.  Caring little for individual honours or  embellishments, the Iron Warriors are  

Uniform in their devotion to the  simple barbarism of their creed.  Their once proud icon of their Legion: the  iron mask of a machine skull now updated   with the iconography of their legion now  adorned the Eight Pointed Star of Chaos.  The yellow and black construction chevrons  often the only clear identifier to all of  

The subjects of the Imperium  of the presence of the 4th… Recruitment within the Legion has undergone  many changes since the origins of the 4th.  Once drafted of Terran and Olympian Astartes,   the Lord of Iron would see no  difference between his Astartes. 

For they were his Iron Warriors and they  would all serve the same purpose in his name.  Their homeworld during the Great Crusade: Olympia  the primary recruitment ground for the legion,   it’s vast mountain ranges and  rugged terrain would further   influence the Legion’s adoption of Siege Warfare. Yet with Olympia’s destruction at their own hands  

By command of their Primarch, the Iron Warriors  would seek a new world to claim as their own.  Within the Eye of Terra, the Iron Warriors  would seize the planet of Medrengard.  Orbiting a vast black sun, the forests of  the planet’s surface would be the base of  

A vast arrangement of towers. The core of the planet mined   and transformed into dungeons. Alike to a vast jail, Medrengard   would house countless slave labourers  under the watchful eye of their Jailors   high upon the fortress towers of the planet. This Daemon World comprised of labyrinths and  

Oubliettes would prove impossible to  escape for it’s unfortunate prisoners.  The seat of power for the now ascended Daemon  Prince: Perturabo, the insane architecture of the   world mirrors the Lord of Iron’s own madness. Acting as a base of operations for the Iron  

Warriors, the 4th Legion draw recruits from the  planet whom survive their many gruelling ordeals.  Transplanted with stolen and corrupted  Gene-seed of various Loyalist Chapters,   the mutations of the warriors whom undergo  the procedure would be permissible for the   increase to the subjects problem-solving  mental acuity and increased strength. 

Known as ‘Half-breeds’, these newly created  Iron Warriors are treated with disdain and   hatred by their Battle-Brothers as  a necessary blemish on their honour.  The veterans of the Legion, now tens of  thousands of years old use these young Astartes   as fodder for the front lines whenever possible. Their loyalty to their Primarch beyond reproach,  

The Iron Warriors seek to one day rise once more  to destroy the Imperium’s most prized bastions.  And with the end of Abaddon the  Despoiler’s cursed 13th Black Crusade,   and the destruction of Cadia, the  Iron Warriors once again march to war. 

Aided by the Dark Mechanicum, the 4th Legion  continues to construct deadly weapons of war   made for the sole purpose of destroying  Humanity’s most venerated seats of power.  Lead once more by the Lord of Iron, His  Imperium braces itself for the wars to come.  For there are few foes more durable, relentless  

And imbued with sheer destructive  force, than the Iron Warriors…  Of the founding Legions of the Adeptus  Astartes many have cited the relative ease   that some were corrupted by the lure of Chaos. For whilst there are Legions whose resolve   and loyalty are without question… There are those who have always  

Been regarded by their peers as unstable,  or some cases even inherently malevolent.  As such, today we shall Elucidate the history  of one such Legion who arguably had fallen   well before the betrayal of the Horus Heresy. The brutal killers of Nostramo: The Night Lords…

Formed on Holy Terra from the dregs of  humanity from within the linked Prison sinks,   the condemned of the underground ruins  of Terra would live in unending darkness.  Starved of food, gutting one-another and delving  into the pit of madness, these depraved survivors  

Of the worst of Terra’s circumstance would  hone their skills of murder and backstabbing.  Children would be born from the madness, cradled  in bloodshed, fear and the ever-present embrace   of death, these ‘Night’s Children’ would grow to  be more savage than even the adult population. 

Their ashen, light deprived features  striking a clear contrast with the   more noble Astartes of their contemporaries. Used to supress revolt and rebellion amongst   the Terran populace, the 8th would be  tasked with only the most cruel of tactics   to enforce compliance to the Imperium. For those who sinned in their efforts to  

Devolve back into the habits of Old Night, the  8th Legion would bring merciless retribution.  Culling the March of Ten Million, the Psy-Breeding  of the Court of Antius and the atrocities caused   by the Saragorn Enclave; the 8th Legion  would enact their obsession to purge the  

Sinful with which the Night’s Children had  been raised to endure since their birth.  There would be no innocents, no  excuses, only rivers of blood.  No grey areas, only black & white judgement.  Disgusted by their own existence, the fledgling  8th Legion would seek to slay every monster of the  

Galaxy as absolution for their own degeneracy. Yet the Legion would soon be reunited with   their Primarch, and their quest for  exculpation would be further tested… The Emperor of Mankind would never  see the potential of his gene-son:   Konrad Cruze fulfilled with his providence  squandered upon the world of Nostramo. 

The sunless Hive World would be characterised  by it’s rampant crime, suffering and corruption.  Rich in adamantium ore deposits, the wealthy  would lord over the populace whilst growing   fat as pollution spewed from the  mines and factories of the planet. 

Under the watchful eyes of the planet’s Iron  Overseers, Sons of Toil and Hands of Coregado;   the gangs of Nostramo would give fealty  to the Barons, Counts and other noble   lords of the planet in exchange for the  authority to enact their twisted ‘justice’.  With Konrad Curze gestation capsule  landing on Nostramo Quintus,  

The capsule would burrow into the heart of the  planet and stop near the planet’s unstable core.  Destroying the adamantium deposits during  the descent, the Primarch would be sealed   within the scarred rend of surface. Though it is unclear as to how the  

Infant Primarch would escape his tomb, Curze  would survive his journey to the surface.  Surviving amongst the sprawling spires of  Nostramo Quintus, the being whom would be   known as ‘The Night Haunter’ would skulk  the darkness until growing in stature.  Committing many atrocities amongst the populace,  

Martial law would be enacted on Nostramo’s  Hive Cities to protect its citizenry.  Yet the Night Haunter would diminish the  crime-rate of the planet to nothing within a year.  The Nostramons would not dare to leave their  homes after the self-imposed curfew with  

Even mothers of their children warning their  progeny of the being that skulked the streets…  Poised to rule the Planet by sheer surrender  of their rights in exchange for safety,   the new dictator of Nostramo would oversee  the planet’s new order to burgeon prosperity,   fairness and honesty. Yet with the arrival of  

The Emperor of Mankind during 896.M30,  Nostramo’s fortunes would turn sour… Submitting to the Emperor, Curze would  accept his duty to lead the 8th Legion.  Studying the tactics and doctrines of the  Adeptus Astartes under the tutelage of his   brother Primarch: Fulgrim; Curze would lead  his newly re-named legion: The Night Lords. 

Akin to the Witch Hunters of Ancient  Terra, the Night Lords would purge the   galaxy of enemy foolish enough to  stand against the Imperial Creed.  Highly effective in their methods of waging war,  their drastic and cruel tactics whilst decried   by the other legions would see to the rapid  compliance of worlds with minimal casualties. 

Brining rebellious planets into-line with the mere  mention of the 8th’s deployment, no other Legion   would come close to instilling such boundless fear  within the minds of the enemies of the Imperium.  With Curze’s departure from Nostramo, his  recruits from the world would soon be tainted  

With the dissolution of the planet’s laws. For with no Night Haunter to hound them,   the Notramons would devolve back into  cruelty and lawlessness to which the new   Astartes recruits would be derived  from little more than gutter-rats.  With such recruits adoption into the Legion,  

It’s turn to more noble prospects  would be distorted and corrupted.  Despising his own gene-sons,  Curze would be discontent   with his new life seemingly doomed to fail. No matter his struggle or intent, the Night Lords   would never be alike to his brother’s legions. They were murderers, first, last and always. 

And for Curze more than any, he  would see portents of the future.  Visions of endless darkness,  suffering and madness… Revered as the most petty of all the Legions, the  Night Lords would willingly soak their hands in   the blood of entire planets without qualm. Enacting Exterminatus on many worlds,  

The atrocities enacted in the  name of the 8th would continue   to cement their downward spiral of betrayal. Returning to their homeworld during 984.M30,   the Night Lords would observe Nostramo to  have once more become a pit of criminality.  Firing the Night Lords fleet’s Lance  batteries into the core of the planet,  

Nostramo would torn apart and in doing so untether  the 8th Legion from their ties to the Imperium.  An act of defiance so grave the Emperor  would recall the Night Lords to Holy Terra   and their Primarch to answer for their crime. Believing his actions to fall in line with the  

Emperor’s own methods of waging war, the  embittered Primarch would be castigated   for the destruction of his homeworld. The Imperium would punish the Night   Lords by refusing to ship supplies to  sectors held by the 8th Legion and banish   them to the vanguard of the Great Crusade. And though their penance would be complete  

With the dawn of the 31st Millenium,  the Night Lords memory would be found   resentful of their treatment and align them  with a new power growing within the galaxy.  For with the rise of the corrupted Warmaster:  Horus Lupercal and the betrayal of the legions  

Of the Emperor’s Children, World  Eaters, Death Guard and Luna Wolves;   the Night Lords would see an opportunity. A chance to seek retribution against the   Imperium, the Emperor and all whom had  slighted and repressed their nature.  The beginning of the Civil War,  known as: The Horus Heresy…

Already at-odds with the Imperium, the Night  Lords would need little encouragement to rebel.  Joining the traitorous betrayal of  the Istvaan 5 Dropsite Massacre,   Curze and his Night Lords would slaughter  their loyalist brethren with glee as the might   of the Warmaster’s rebellion would swiftly  destroy the first challenge to their wrath. 

With the ever-increasing madness  of their Primarch, the 8th Legion   would begin to doubt their actions yet  stand unified against their hated foes.  Enacting the Thramas Crusade  without the supervision of Curze,   the Night Lords would seek to challenge the  Dark Angels legion to test their legion’s pride. 

Yet within the legion, the fate  of their Primarch would be split.  Some wished him to regain the splendour of his   past whilst others plotted to see  him descend further into madness.  Unable to match the Dark Angels due to  their inability to match their discipline,  

The Night Lords would begin to fragment  as the Thramas Crusade waged on.  Retreating from the Thramas Sector, the Night  Lords would lose contact with their Primarch   and split into warbands of varying sizes. Though some warbands aided the Warmaster   during the Siege of Terra, it would  not be sufficient enough to conquer  

The Indomitable defenders of the Imperial Palace. Retreating to the Eastern Fringes of the Galaxy,   the Night Lords would turn on themselves in a  power struggle to replace their absent Primarch.  Unwilling to accept or acknowledge the  flaws within themselves as the cause of  

Their misfortune, the Night Lords would  continue to lay their path to damnation… With the Night Haunter discovered within a  jettisoned Sarcophagus by the salvage ship:   The Sheldroon, Curze would manage to  return to the planet that had decided   the fate of the Thramas Crusade: Tsagualsa. Re-joining his Legion, Konrad Curze would  

Not live long enough to reform his broken Legion. For a Callidus Assassin: M’Shen would infiltrate   the Night Lords fortress housing the Primarch  and with his blessing, slay the Night Haunter.  For Curze had been tormented with visions  of the future for centuries and had seen  

His death many times by the Assassin’s hand. As a defiant martyrdom against the Emperor,   Curze would relish his death  and accept it without qualm.  Demanding that his sons would not  seek reprisal from the Assassin,   his last wishes would be ignored. For soon-after, M’Shen would also be slain. 

The Night Lords would further  splinter into feuding warbands   and relocate to the Eye of Terror. Deteriorating as the Millenia passed,   the Night Lords are now merely a  shadow of their former strength.  Hired as mercenaries and pirates by more powerful  and prevalent warbands, the Night Lords also aid  

In the prolonged wars waged by the Warmaster:  Abaddon the Despoiler and his Black Crusades.  Renewed with purpose with the expanse of  the Great Rift during the Era Indomitus,   the Night Lord prey on the world of the  Imperium cut-off from the Emperor’s Light.  Raiding Fortress Monasteries,  gene-seed banks and munitions  

Depots; the Night Lords are rebuilding  their Legion piece by arduous piece.  The screams of their victims heralding the  sickening rebirth of the damned 8th Legion. Despite their unassuming and disorganised  origins, the Night Lords in their prime   employed a variety of specialists and  elite squadrons within their ranks. 

The Kyroptera would advise their  Primarch as confidants and counsellors.  Consisting of the Night Haunter’s most  trusted lieutenants, the Kyroptera would   function independent of the Legion’s  wider command structure yet temper the   Legion’s decisions and doctrines. The Atramentar comprise the most   elite members of the Legion into their 1st  Company personally selected by Konrad Curze. 

First led by 1st Captain Jago Sevatarion, the  Atramentar would be decked in Terminator armour   and wreak havoc as a unified force. Noted for their cruelty and ferocity,   with the dissolution of the Legion so  too would the Elite 1st company fragment,  

With its members forming their own warbands or  serving as bodyguards of their patron Chaos Lords.  The Contekar would mete-out shock trooper  deployments against their enemies.  Sowing despair, terror and  panic amongst their enemies.  Formed of the most savage murderers  and butchers of the Legion,  

The Contekar would gain a reputation during  the Great Crusade as the most effective   means of demoralising non-compliant worlds. Burning agriculture, toppling infrastructure and   demolishing the very foundations of societies, the  Contekar would be commanded by only their Primarch   and 1st Captain due to their severe methods. The legion’s Terror Squads would be formed of  

Those willing to brutalise their enemies  using torture, mutilation and flaying.  The dispassionate souls of the Terror Squad would  enact their cruelly imaginative arts upon their   enemies that are now too unspeakable to detail. Unstable and unsubtle, the members of the  

Terror Squads would be outcasts even within  their own Legion often marked for death and   serving as penance for their depraved crimes. And finally, the Night Raptors would specialise   in massacres initiated by aerial assault. So potent would their assaults be, the  

Raptors would serve as the example for all Chaos  Space Marine Raptor assault troops to follow.  Regardless of their gen-origins or lineage. Lead by their Talonmaster, their Lightning   Claws or ‘Unguis Raptus’ would be so efficient  in meting out slaughter during the Great Crusade,   their reputation would be unnerving  yet unparalleled in its efficacy. 

Utilising close-quarters melee weapons and  Jump-Packs, the Raptors would conduct raids   of overwhelming might and speed  in order to decimate their foes… The gangs of Nostromo would heavily  influence the hierarchy of the Legion.  Following the example of Astartes Legions that  had gone before, the Night Lords would field a  

Variety of units for each Squad deployed. Breacher Siege Squads would be rare within   the 8th due to their tactics  being broadly uncharacteristic   for the legion’s preferred tactics. Designated simple as ‘Claws’ which   would contain ‘Talons’, each claw would be  numbered signifier or honorific to denote rank. 

Each Company would comprise of anywhere between  100-1,000 Astartes during the Great Crusade.  Companies monikers would be divined usually by  it’s commanding officer; with some examples being:  The Shattered Skull, the Crimson Judges  and the Scions of the Bloody Claw.  Highly malleable in their command structure,  

The 8th Legion would hold to the outlining  of Chapter and Battalion sizes loosely.  Allowing for Autonomous and highly self-sufficient  formations to function with little oversight.  Overall command would fall to the  Dark King: Konrad Curze yet his   gene-sons loyalty would be continually strained. Resentment would grow within the Legion with the  

Elite Kyroptera dispensing justice and leading  by their Primarch’s example in his absence.  Followed by the Elite 1st Company, the  Atramentar and then the Captains of each   Company, the Night Lords would serve begrudgingly  under the watchful eye of their senor officers.  Disparate ranks would allow arise  due to necessity such as Captains  

Who would command several Companies at once. These stalwarts of the legion would be known   as Commanders, Master Regents  or other such haughty titles.  Yet should any weakness or opportunity  for mutiny present itself, those below   them would scheme to overthrow their masters. With some Master Regents commanding several  

Captains, some would be undermined by Captains  whom served as members of the Kyroptera;   creating power-struggles within the senior ranks. Many Captains would bear monikers regaling their   deeds prior to the Legion, with titles such  as Sightless Revenant, Painted Count and The   Bloodless usually serving as ironic insults that  undermined their senior officer’s authority. 

Numbering in estimates of 90,000 to  120,000 Astartes during the Great Crusade,   their rapid psycho-conditioning, hastened  gene-seed implantation and subjugation of   worlds allowed for quick assimilation  for aspirants to join the legion… Experts in sowing fear into the minds of their  enemies, the Night Lords target communications  

In order to broadcast the screams of their  victims to those who elude their grasp.  Records exist of prolonged transmissions of  screaming aimed to rupture the ear-drums of   enemy opposition allowing for swift slaughter upon  the deafened and distraught enemies of the 8th. 

Unwilling to face their enemies on a  fair-footing, it is uncommon for the   8th to combat enemies which they cannot crush  with overwhelming force or a decisive victory.  Giving no mercy to their enemies, wo-betide  any whom should cross their path with   numbers unable to face their might. The Night Lords only take prisoners  

In order to please their lust for  mutilation and hold no beliefs of   a higher order nor morality to their actions. Absent of honour, ethics or a need to better   themselves, the Night Lords even during  their time serving the Great Crusade would  

Bring compliance with no code for their new  subjects to follow; with exception for the   subjects of each world to escape their wrath. Similar to the Raven Guard in their affinity to   use stealth to ambush their enemies, the Night  Lords bear similarity to stalking predators. 

Shockingly brutal in their strikes, the Night  Lords are masters of nurturing confusion   and chaos amongst their enemies ranks. The flayed bodies of the fallen markers   for their encroachment into enemy lines and  reminders of the fates that should befall any   who dare to survive their initial onslaught. Relatively unchanged by the reunion of their  

Primarch: Konrad Curze, the 8th Legion would  adopt gallows humour and snide remarks against   authority which would see them distances from  the more noble legions of the Adeptus Astartes.  Fatalistic and adapting gang customs from the  legion’s homeworld of Nostramo, Astartes marked  

For death would have their gauntlets painted  red to show them as living on borrowed time.  Punishment would be rife within  the Legion with the introduction   of it’s Nostramon customs and Astartes. The Terran-born Astartes of the Legion   would swiftly integrate with their peers due to  their shared heritage of darkness and struggle. 

Yet despite this, rivalries would  be rife within the Legion as the 8th   would be nothing if not prideful. Titles either from aristocratic or   gang-related pasts would be called in to  question and infighting would be rampant.  Their macabre flayed skins of their  enemies adorning their armour and  

Vehicles a symbol of what would befall  those who would dare stand in their path… Despite their actions, the Gene-seed of the  Night Lords would in its initial stages prove   to be incredibly incorruptible. With their fall to Chaos,   the Night Lords would be the most reliable  in their resisting of warp-mutations and as a  

Majority reject the lure of the Ruinous Powers. Inheriting much of their paranoia and sadism   from the example of their Primarch,  the Night Lords would devolve from   a promisingly pure legion into one of the  most depraved amongst the initial founding.  More Renegades than Chaos-corrupted,  the Night Lords scavenge and scrouge  

For the means to survive. Employing slaves and pilfering   armour and technologies from Loyalist  marines, the Night Lords are aimless in   comparison to their Chaos-aligned brethren. Yet it is almost unsurprising that the 8th   Legion would be poised to fall from grace  with their origins and appearance combined. 

Their pale skin and jet-black pupils  striking fear into any Imperial citizen,   the Night Lords would be adapted to living within  the uncaring darkness of Nostromo and beyond.  Able to see within the most pitch of darkness,  the Night Lords name is not given lightly,  

Due to their uncanny ability see in  infra-red with their so-called ‘Prey Sight’.  Able to emit deafeningly-loud shrieks  to overwhelm their victims, the Night   Lords though disdainful of employing Daemons or  warp-spawned entities to do their bidding can   become almost indistinguishable to such beings  to the eyes and ears of a terrified victim. 

Venerating symbols of death with their inception  to the Imperium, the Night Lords have always   harnessed the raw strength inherent within  the trappings of fear, misery and suffering.  Their armour embellished with fanged  skulls, bat-wings and glowing red eyes,   the murderers of Nostramo would care not for their  reputation and infamy within the wider Imperium. 

In midnight clad, the Legion would employ  lightning-streaks upon their armour and   embolden their sinister image with Human  bones and skull-designs on their faceplates.  Their use of splayed ribcages, femurs,  skulls and bonemeal bearing their sinister   designs bare to the universe, the Night Lords  have never shied away from their origins of  

Cannibalism, murder and ruthless endurance. Believing the victims of their slaughter to   imbue their bones, only the totems of their most  terrified of their victims adorn their armour.  Yet despite their seeming affinity and trappings  bearing similarity to the Ruinous Powers,  

The Night Lords show great disgust and disdain for  the Gods of Chaos and as such in the majority of   cases deny and abhor their gifts and allegiance. Since their fall from grace, their scavenging   has expunged their unified marking and  armour patterns due to the necessity  

To keep their equipment in working order. Mismatched and uncanny compared to Loyalist   or even Chaos-aligned Astartes, the Night Lords  roam the galaxy as nomadic and bitter warbands.  Bereft of their gene-father, Legion ideals  and a cause to rally behind; the 8th Legion  

Survive on the scraps of a carless galaxy with  little more than a primal need to survive.  Regarded as some of the most terrible and feared  traitors roaming the galaxy, the Night Lord prey n   the weak and enact their despicable acts of sadism  to those unfortunate enough to stand in their way. 

Bearing no allegiance to any of the Forces  of Chaos, the Night Lords acts as mercenaries   to any whom will pay for their skill at arms. Motivated by bloodlust, wealth and a need to kill   only the most foolish of men or warp-spawned  beasts would ally with such cut-throats. 

For the sons of Curze have maimed countless  warriors, innocents and machinations   of the Warp for centuries. And when they come for you,   it would be advisable, to hide… There founding Legions of the Adeptus   Astartes served as the first unified examples  of the Emperor’s conquest of the Galaxy. 

Each Legion revered for their  battle-prowess and skill-at-arms.  And whilst there are some legions who are  renowned as duellists, there is only one   regarded not for their finesse but butchery. A damned legion now under the thrall of   the Ruinous Powers, that delights in the  spilling of blood and screams of the dying. 

The 12th Legion of the Adeptus  Astartes: The World Eaters. Formed alike to their brethren on Holy Terra, the  12th Legion of Adeptus Astartes would not recruit   from a specific region of the Throneworld. Speculated to draft it’s members from   only the most aggressive of potential  candidates, all that can be confirmed  

Is that the Legion’s initial victories  would be characterised by their savagery.  Deployed during the Sa’afrik  Liberation during the Unification Wars,   the 12th Legion would shortly after be held in  reserve for the remainder of the Unification   of Terra and conquest of the Sol System. Whether to reduce civilian casualties of war,  

A need to keep reinforcements to support other  legion or to be quickly deployable should the   need to quell disloyal elements  within the Imperium in unknown.  Their hunger for war and dedication to  the Emperor unquestionable, they would be   dubbed The War Hounds by the Emperor. A title which the 12th Legion would  

Bear with pride, adopting the Red  Hound as their sigil in His honour.  With the majority of the Space Marine Legions  deployed within Expedition Fleets during the   early stages of the Great Crusade, the War  Hounds would be sent to quell the insurrection   at the colony rebellion of Cerberus. Sent personally by The Emperor,  

The War Hounds would unleash his wroth and take  no prisoners in their persecution of the colony.  The Imperial Army detachment sent alongside them  would be shocked at their merciless butchery of   the populace and report massive casualties to  be incurred on both sides of the engagement. 

Thereafter split into independent companies  thousand of Astartes strong in number, the War   Hounds would be held in reserve to assist Crusade  forces and assist legions such as the 1st Legion,   Iron Warriors and Space Wolves in their  efforts to bring planets into compliance. 

Garnering a reputation as near-feral shock  troopers whom would turn the tide of the   bloodiest of engagements, with slaughter,  victorious or otherwise the constant outcome… With the War Hounds service  during the Great Crusade,   reports would indicate their  willingness to turn on their allies. 

Culling entire human regiments as a result  of their performance in battle, such reports   would be difficult to verify due to the Legion’s  deliberate distancing from other Astartes Legions.  Consolidated their forces into  the 13th Expeditionary Fleet,   the War Hounds would add additional Imperial  forces to their fleet at the muster-world of Bodt. 

Comprising support elements of the most  questionable of forces, the War Hounds   would incorporate the Legio Audac Titans, Numen  Gun Clans and Abhuman troops of Feral Worlds.  The conduct of such forces making  them distrusted by other fleets,   the War Council would intentionally group  such disparate forces to fight alongside  

The War Hounds with the intention to create a  force content with total annihilation in mind.  Dubbed ‘The Bloody 13th’, the Expeditionary  Fleet would serve with infamy as the single   most remorseless and dispassionate  consignment of the Imperium’s might.  Yet such a reputation would grow only bloodier,  

With the discovery of the 12th  Legion’s Primarch: Angron… The Primarch of the 12th grew on the downtrodden  yet technologically proficient planet of Nuceria.  Ruled by an elite class of Nobles, the  young Primarch would be forced to fight   as a gladiator for the nobles entertainment. Facing cyber-enhanced warriors and winning his  

Many bouts, the Nobles would attempt to surgically  and cybernetically enhance the enslaved Primarch.  All attempts would fail,  with the exception of one.  The psycho-surgical brain implantation  of the accursed ‘Butcher’s Nails’.  Enhancing the Primarch’s aggression  to new heights, Angron would form a  

Fellowship of Gladiators to fight at his  side and revolt against their oppressors,   naming them ‘The Eaters of Cities’. Vastly outnumbered, the Gladiators   would fail in their attempt. His doomed band of warriors   escaping the gladiatorial arena and retreating to  the nearby mountains, they would be surrounded by  

Five armies of the Noble’s forces. Outnumbering them ten-to-one.  Yet fate would intervene, with The Emperor  of Mankind watching his Son’s plights and   intervening in his time of need. Offering Angron the chance to lead   his legion as a General of His Armies,  Angron would refuse the Emperor’s offer. 

Resolving to die at the side of his Gladiators. However the Emperor would deny his son’s wishes,   and teleport him to safety prior to  the assault by the Nobles armies.  Angron’s followers would be massacred,  scarring the Primarch of the 12th forever more.  Resentment to the Emperor now  entrenched within his very being,  

Angron would soon-after be transferred to a  vessel containing his gene-sons: The War Hounds.  Uniquely amongst the Primarchs of  the Imperium, Angron’s unification   with his legion would be marked with violence. Enraged due to the loss of his Nucerian followers,   Angron would murder all officers of the  War Hounds who attempted to speak with him,  

Including the Legion-Master: Gheer. With the Captain of the 8th Company:   Kharn being the only to survive  his interaction with his Primarch.  Forming a tenuous bond with his gene-father,   Angron would assume command of his  legion with Kharn’s introduction: Assuming command of his now re-named 12th Legion,  

Angron would muster his  forces at the planet of Bodt.  Instructing his legion to incorporate  his experiences as a Gladiator into their   battle-doctrines, the Astartes would  undergo duels within fighting pits.  Earning their scars anew, the Terran  traditions of the legion would be erased. 

With any Space Marines unable to pass these  new tests of metal dying in the process,   the legion would re-paint their armour with  the fang-mawed symbol of the Eaters of Worlds.  Campaigning throughout the stars to aid in the  Great Crusade, Angron would give his legion a  

Single Nucerian day to achieve victory in any  engagement he would send them to persecute.  This gruelling 31 hour task a test the  World Eaters would be eager to achieve   in order to gain favour with their Primarch. Ordering his Apothecaries to construct replicas   of his Butchers Nails implant, Angron  would oversee the initial implantations  

Of the devices amongst his Astartes. Proving fatal in their initial designs,   Angron would be disgusted with the weakness of his  gene-sons and flee from his legion for two years   until returned at the behest of Captain Kharn. Unable to meet their Primarch’s deadlines,  

The World Eaters would be punished for  not achieving compliance of their goals.  Ordering each Astartes of the  Legion to form into groups of ten,   one within each group would be killed by the  other nine to purge the weakest of their ranks. 

With Angron often spiralling into frenzied  rages that would cost the lives of his men,   the Legion’s librarians would often  subdue their Primarch from his bloodlusts.  With the perfection of the Butcher’s  Nails design by Apothecary Gahlan Surlak,   divisions within the Legion would be formed. Centurion Mago would lead a revolt  

Against his Primarch, yet be slain. Unified once more, the Implantations   of the Bucthers Nails would begin. With the first successful implantation   endured by Kharn, the Legion would adopt  the nails almost in their entirety… With the legion’s implantation of  the Nails, the demands of their  

Primarch would swiftly be achieved. Marked by the Ghenna Massacre,   the World Eaters would murder the entire  planet’s population within a single night.  Now synonymous with annihilation, the mere  mention of the legion’s deployment would be   enough to bring world’s into compliance. Yet such wanton butchery would bring  

The ire of the other Astartes Legions. With even Primarch of the Ultramarines:   Roboute Guilliman decrying the legion’s  actions during the Cleasing of Ariggata  The Emperor of Mankind upon hearing of such  surgeries would command Primarch of the Space  

Wolves: Leman Russ to confront Angron and demand  the removal of the Nails within the World Eaters.  Resulting in a bloody confrontation between the  6th and 12th Legions, the Stalemate would be   ended with Russ giving the command to retreat from  the engagement against his irredeemable brother. 

The Emperor would intervene personally and command  Angron to travel to the northern fringes of the   galaxy to combat the xenos of the galaxy. Though intended as a punishment, this action   would allow the World Eaters to freely operate  without the scrutiny of Imperial oversight. 

As such, the 12th Legion would not abandon  their bloody practises or remove their implants.  The Emperor would eventually recall the World  Eaters to the Human-lines of the Great Crusade and   order his favoured son: Horus Lupercal to oversee  their conduct and mentor Angron in restraint. 

Yet with the corruption of the  Warmaster by the Ruinous Powers,   such a decision would prove to be a fatal error… Drawing his traitorous brethren to side against  The Emperor, Horus Lupercal would have the   least difficulty in convincing Angron. Already embittered to the Imperium and  

His Genefather, Angron would be amongst  the first to stand with the Warmaster.  Purging the Legion of Loyalist elements  during the Istvaan 3 Atrocity, the World   Eaters would serve as the single-minded  Berserker’s of the Traitor forces.  Fearless in their slaughter of The Imperium,  the World Eaters would further aid the Traitor  

War-effort during the Dropstie Massacre of  Istvaan 5, Shadow Crusade and Siege of Terra.  With each engagement lead by their Primarch,  the World Eaters would instill terror into the   hearts and minds of Humans and Astartes alike. Their relentless charges and savagery only  

Bolstered with Angron’s ascension to a Daemon  Prince of the Ruinous Powers, the World Eaters   would seek to emulate their gene-father as  devoted servants of the Blood God: Khorne.  Instrumental during the Siege of Terra,   the World Eaters would be the first to  breach the defences of the Imperial Palace. 

Yet despite their fury, the Traitors would  be driven from Holy Terra with the defeat   of the Warmaster: Horus Lupercal. Retreating into the Eye of Terror,   Angron would command his remaining forces to  separate into small warbands as they fled.  Lacking in supplies, reliable leadership  and badly scarred from the Siege many  

World Eaters would be driven mad by the  fullest extent of the Butcher’s Nails.  Such Astartes being culled from the legion or  crippled and interred within the chassis of   Dreadnoughts, the command structure  of the World Eaters would collapse.  During the Legion Wars the 12th  Legion would further deteriorate,  

Fragmenting the Legion into smaller warbands  which for Ten Millennia still carve paths   of slaughter across the expanse of space. Yet with the opening of the accursed Great Rift,   the World Eaters have reformed into  formations not seen since the Heresy.  Commanded by both Kharn the Betrayer and  the Daemon Prince: Angron, the World Eaters  

Have lead Blood Crusades and invasions of  Imperial Strongholds throughout the Galaxy.  With Angron last seen during the invasion of   the First War for Armageddon, the  Khornate Hosts strike suddenly and   without relent across Imperial Space. And despite Angorn’s banishment by the  

Grey Knights on the world of Armageddon, reports  suggest his return to real-space to be imminent.  The Red Angel once more harrying the  Imperium, only the most valiant and   steadfast champions of Humanity shall  be able to face such a monolith of rage… The Geneseed of the World Eaters is  now mutated beyond all specifications  

Outlined by the Imperium. Usable only to an extent by   the Chaos Legion’s Berzerker Surgeons. Yet is theorised by scholars of the   Imperium that the World Eaters geneseed had  been corrupted from the legion’s inception.  Though others claim that the War  Hounds were not damned from the start,  

And that their fall is solely the fault of  their Primarch Angron and his Butchers Nails.  All that can be asserted truthfully is that the   12th legion’s genetic makeup resulted in  a primal need for violence and aggression.  Their bloodlust not entirely  dependant on their nail induced rage. 

Collared by strict codified disciplinary  actions and structures, the War Hounds   would restrain their bloodlust with the  tempered chains of their commanding officers.  Ascending the ranks by virtue of their strength,  the Officers of the War Hounds would be relied   upon to mete-out punishments as such require the  capability to best their lower-ranked brethren. 

With no value given to deeds outside of the  battlefield, the 12th Legion would be commanded   by only the mightiest champions of their Legion. Cowards would be slain by their Brothers for their   weakness and worse would befall the Legion’s foes. Surrender of any type would be met with  

Extermination of captured combatants,  yet the legion would make a sport of   sending their Prisoners of War to the  duelling pits to die a warrior’s death.  Settling disagreements within the legion  solely through trial-by-combat, Promotions   would even be achieved by lower-ranked  Astartes by besting their superiors.  Invariably, the loser of  such duels would be slain. 

Masters of every variety of hand-to-hand  weaponry, the Legion would become synonymous   with one weapon above all: The Chain Axe. Following the example of their Primarch,   the World Eaters would delight in their  preferred weapon’s ability to shred their   enemies into fragments and adorn their  armour in spattering patterns of blood. 

Such a reputation would be gained of the Chain  Axe, that it’s use would spread to other legions.  Imbuing their weapons with significance  only in their ability to kill,   once a weapon would break under the  stresses of war it would be discarded. 

Regarded as wasteful by the other legions of  Astartes, the World Eaters would regard broken   weapons as portents of ill-omens and rarely name  their weapons or take steps to maintain them.  With Pit-fights sanctioned within the  Legion by Angron, rituals would form   around the Astartes rules of engagement. Allowing for such challenges to change  

Into blood-rites with the Legion’s  corruption by the Ruinous Powers;   these rituals would easily transition into  blood-sport worships to their patron God: Khorne.  Each opponent slain a pleasing  tribute to the foul being,   the Astartes of the 12th bask in the glory of  their slaughter with unabashed joy and devotion…

Favouring close-quarters combat, the World  Eaters would only grow more bloodthirsty   and savage with their reunion with their  Primarch and eventual descent into Chaos.  Seeing minimal changes in command-structure with  their transition from War Hounds to World Eaters,   the Legion would be comprised of  several Chapters known as Echelons. 

Bolstering their melee strategies with support  elements such as Terminator Squadrons and Land   Speeders, the 12th Legion heavily rely on drop-pod  assaults aimed at the heart of enemy defences.  Ripping and tearing their enemies from within, the  World Eaters would deploy with seeming disregard  

For their own mortality or self preservation. Relying on their heavily armoured transports,   attrition would be the legion’s most  practical and commonplace strategy.  Though it is unknown what the extent of the  Legion’s might was during the Great Crusade   of Horus Heresy, estimates suggest the legion’s  might to have peaked at 150,000 Astartes prior  

To the commencement of the Atrocity of  Istvaan 3, with their number plummeting to   75,000 following the legion’s  betrayal of it’s loyalist kin.  Offsetting their losses in both lives and  materials with the aid of forge worlds such   as Sarum, most engagements would prevent the  Astartes of the 12th legion from achieving  

Veterancy or battle-forged specialised formations. A notable except being the Devourer bodyguards   of the Primarch Angron, consisting of  12 battle-hardened and tested Astartes.  Acceptance to join such a prestigious  honour-guard earned through ritual combat.  The Butcher’s nails implant deteriorating  the sanity and discipline of the legion,  

The organised formations of the World Eaters  would become impractical and superfluous.  With even the Legion’s Librarious disintegrating  due to the Nail’s incompatibility with the Psykers   of the legion due to overpowering their  surges of power or causing brain embolisms.  Refusing to undergo the fatal procedure,  the remaining Librarians of the Legion  

Would be shunned by the Battle-Brothers would  nonetheless still serve the legion unfettered   by the Emperor’s decree of the Edict of Nikea. The final remnants of the legion’s Librarians   perishing in their attempt to prevent  their Primarch from transforming into   a Daemon Prince of the Ruinous Powers. The remainder of the Legion’s voluntary  

Implantation of the Nails bringing them closer to  their Primarch as an act sharing their Primarch’s   burden, the Astartes would increase their pain  tolerance and aggression in equal measure.  Though each individual Space Marine  would experience the Nails effects to   different degrees, all would nonetheless  share their mutual self-destruction. 

Continuing this trend of continual  decay, the Legion would not survive   the Horus Heresy unscathed. Broken into independent warbands,   the World Eaters operate under the  command of their respective Chaos Lords.  Such notable warbands including the Butcherhorde,  Skulltakers, Gladiatoe Group 138 and Gorehunters.

Due to the legion’s storied history of enormous  fatalities, the World Eaters have always employed   methods to keep recruitment a constant  no-matter their fighting capabilities.  Recruited from huge varieties of worlds,  World Eater Astartes are often drafted   from Feral and Feudal Worlds. With only the Ultramarines Legion  

Comparable in their diversity of warriors  spanning from many worlds of the Galaxy.  Prior to the Horus Heresy, Primarch Angron  would donate his own genetic material to   his legion’s Apothecaries and personally screen  aspirants of the legion in order to streamline   geneseed implantation and grafting of organs. Primarily trained on the muster-world of Bodt,  

Word Eater recruits would undergo live-fire  exercised and training before being dispatched   to the legion’s expedition fleets. Due to recruiting from disparate world,   the legion would devise a derivative  second language of Gothic to facilitate   communication within the Legion: Nagrakali. Combining three dozens native languages  

Within the legion’s ranks, this so called  ‘Bastardised-tongue’ would be widespread   within the World Eaters and prove crucial to aid  in commanding the rag-tag warriors of the 12th.  Collaborating with the Word Bearers  legion to engineer bio-vat grown warriors,   the Apothecaries of the 12th legion would  create abominable warriors at a rapid pace. 

Creatures of pure-rage instilled with  the perception of surviving endless wars,   the surplus of warriors would prove useful with  the legion’s commitment to the traitor war-effort.  However with time and their defeat fighting  the Loyalists of Terra, the World Eaters   would struggle to replenish their numbers. Bodt would be annihilated at the hands of  

Iron Hand Ironfather: Autek Mor, leading to  World Eater Berzerker-Surgeons relying on   transforming captured loyalist Space Marines and  Chaos Warbands Astartes to replenish their losses.  Though not all Warbands of the World Eaters  possess the knowledge or skill to replenish   their casualties… The Legionnes  

Astartes would bear many burdens and struggles  during their yeas of service to the Imperium.  Armed with the deadliest of weapons and clad in  the most durable of armour, the Space Marines   of the Imperium would endure wounds and pains  aplenty in their many wars waged across the stars. 

Yet every sentient being can only bear so  much suffering before succumbing to the   embrace of madness, death or a fate far worse. For today we shall elucidate the relentless,   unfeeling, carrions of disease,  corruption and pestilence.  The 14th Legion of the Traitor  Astartes: The Death Guard.

The Master of Mankind would seek to unite Humanity  under the rule of his own singular vision.  The Age of Strife would leave Humanity’s  tattered fragments strewn across the stars,   leaderless and without the  hope of a brighter Future.  Holy Terra had become a husk of it’s  former glory, as Techno Barbarians  

Pillaged and scavenged a meagre existence  upon the origin of Human endeavour.  Yet with the ascension of the Emperor,  a burgeoning Imperium would be built.  Upon the scarred foundation of Terra, a new breed  of warriors would be born to subjugate and cleanse  

The galaxy to fulfil the Emperor’s vision. The Unification Wars of Terra would see many   aspirant Astartes drafted in the Legions of  the Angels of Death, with one such Legion:   the 14th known then as ‘The Dusk Raiders’. Drawn form the war tribes of Old Albia,  

Neophytes would installed within the  14th as well as 8th and 10th Legions.  Once a true rival to the Emperor’s own armies,  Old Albia had relented to join the Imperium   and would gift it’s most promising sons to  join the armies of the Legionnes Astartes. 

Relentless warriors and science-minded  tacticians would be the hallmark of the   sons of Old Albia as it’s technologies such as  proto-dreadnoughts would be adopted into the fold.  The most zealous supporters of the Emperor’s  vision, the legacy of Old Albia would be   carried forth into the burgeoning  Imperium by their transhuman sons. 

The 14th Legion would be characterized by stoicism  as heavy infantry adept at survival and endurance.  Fervent to their cause and  gifted unshakeable discipline,   the Dusk Raiders of Terra would drown their  opposition in waves of ceramite-clad warriors.  Experts at close-combat engagements,  the inheritors of the Ironsiders of Old  

Albia would paint their right armour plating deep  crimson to signify the dried blood of their foes.  The red right hand of the Emperor, the Dusk  Raiders would strike at night and maximise   the encroaching darkness to conceal  their advance across the battlefield.  Relentless yet honourable combatants,  

The 14th Legion would accept the surrender  of their foes as they cowered before them.  Embarking upon the expanse of  the Imperium across the galaxy,   it would be many years before the orphaned  Legion would be re-united with their gene-father. 

For such an occasion would see to the erosion  of their glory and their inevitable downfall… Mortarion, Lord of the 14th legion would  be spirited to the planet of Barbarus   with the scattering of the Primarchs. A poisonous death-world inhabited by   downtrodden Human settlements would  be ruled by malevolent Necromancers. 

The Xenos overlords would enslave and slaughter  the humans, as the toilers of the nutrient-starved   soil attempted to eke out a humble existence. Upon the battle-scared wastes of two rival   Necromancer Overlords, the child  of the Emperor would be discovered.  Observing the child’s resistance  to the noxious atmosphere as it lay  

Among the corpses of the fallen, the Tyrant of  Barbarus: Necare would adopt the wailing child.  Isolating the young Primarch  within a tower of his fortress   and name him; Mortarion, the Child of Death. Smothered in the poison smog of the Overlord’s  

Fortress, Mortarion would be tested to his limit  to endure the air’s toxins and be mentored Necare.  As Necare sought to train the boy to inherit  the mantle of rulership of Barbarus, Mortarion   would with time escape his confinement and meet  with the human populace of his foster-world. 

Felling a rival Necromancer Overlord during  it’s harrying of a small human settlement,   Mortarion would recognise his duty to preserve  his human charges and begin his great task   of destroying the Necromancers of Barbarus. Forming his so-called ‘Death Guard’, Mortarion and  

His men would fell each and every tyrannical Xenos  of his world, ridding them of their undead armies   and strongholds across the plains of the planet. Yet one final Overlord would remain: Necare. Despite Mortarion’s advancements made in creating  suits to endure the poison fog of the planet,  

None would be capable of enduring the  harsh atmosphere of Necare’s fortress.  However, as their quest to emancipate  Barbarus from oppression would stall   a stranger would appear within  the Death Guard’s settlement….  Offering aid, the hooded Stranger  would offer Mortarion a choice:  End the tyranny of Necare and the  Stranger shall leave Barbarus and  

Allow Mortarion to rule in his stead. Or accept the aid of the Stranger and   with the death of his foster-father’s rule,  Mortarion shall pledge loyalty to the Stranger.  Accepting the bargain, Mortarion would venture  alone to end his foster-father’s reign. 

Bitter at the insinuation that he would require  aid in ending the oppression of his people,   Mortarion would scale Necare’s Fortress  yet succumb to the noxious fumes,   collapsing before entering the stronghold’s gates. Necare would leave the safety of his bastion   and gloat at the failure of his protégé. Seemingly fated to die, Mortarion would  

Watch helplessly as Necare’s killing blow would  be interrupted with the flash of a flaming sword.  The Master of Mankind would in  one motion end the life of Necare   and reveal his true form to his gene-son. Mortarion would fulfil his pledge to serve   the Emperor with his failure  to liberate Barbarus alone. 

Installed as the leader of the 14th  Legion, the age of the Dusk Raiders   would be sundered with the return of their liege. Replacing the iconography of their Terran origins,   the Death Guard Legion would seek to  imitate their imposing gene-father’s   cultural heritage as new aspirants would be  drawn solely from the planet of Barbarus.

With the inclusion of the sons of Barbarus,  tensions would begin to grow within the Legion.  Former senior officers of  Terra would be side-lined   and demoted to be replaced with Barbaran Astartes.  Mortarion’s Barbaran confidant: Calas Typhon would  ascend to the form of an Astartes and be installed  

As the 1st Captain of the Legion and with time the  legacy of the Dusk Raiders would be dismantled.  As the Great Crusade waged the Terran  Astartes of the Legion would diminish,   with the ranks of the Death Guard’s 7 Great  Companies now commanded almost entirely  

And comprised of Barbaran Space Marines. Battle Captain of the 7th Great Company:   Nathaniel Garro would remain as the last  symbol of the Legion’s former glories   and be detested by his upstart brethren. Yet despite such infighting the 14th Legion   would bring countless worlds into compliance  with the continuation of the Great Crusade. 

Moving from one world to the next,  the Death Guard would not rebuild   nor reinforce their conquered world, for they  were harvesters of misery and destruction alone   and their days of toiling the earth were over. Motivated to destroy the oppressors of Humanity,  

The 14th would carve a swathe through  the Imperium’s enemies and leave their   corpses to nourish the earth of  their newly liberated planets.  Disbanding their Librarious and eschewing  their former iconography and battle-honours,   the Death Guard would be remoulded in  every minute detail by the Pale King. 

Yet the resentment of the Death Lord  would continue to grow despite his   Legion’s victories and the Emperor’s disbanding  of the Librarious during the Council of Nikea.  Mortarion would never forget the  denial of his vengeance against   Necare and from the seed of bitterness,  treachery would tend to it’s bloom…

Horus Lupercal, Primarch of  the 16th Legion and Warmaster   of the Imperium would rebel against the Emperor.  Witnessing visions of a dark future conjured  by the machinations of the Ruinous Powers, the   Warmaster of the Imperium would rally his brethren  and their Legions to bring the Emperor to heel. 

Horus had shown kindness to Mortarion  since his reunion with the Imperium   and through many campaigns fought  side-by-side as resolute comrades.  This brotherhood would be tested with the  Warmaster’s decision to betray the Imperium,   yet it would not prove difficult to  form an alliance with the Pale King. 

Among the first to rally at his Brother’s  banner, Mortarion would see an opportunity   to achieve vengeance against his  father and join the Traitor Rebellion.  Upon the world of Istvaan 3, the  Emperor’s Children, World Eaters,   Sons of Horus and Death Guard would bring  compliance to the rebellious populace. 

Deploying their most loyal sons whom would  give their lives for the Emperor, the Traitor   Primarchs would order their disposable sons to  be bombarded with ordinance and virus bombs.  The loyalist Death Guard and their peers would   succumb to the flesh-eating toxin as  it ravaged the landscape of Istvaan 3. 

Survivors of the bombardments would  resist their inevitable demise and   fight valiantly to end the lives of as  many of their treacherous kin as possible.  Battle Captain Nathaniel Garro would  escape to warn the Emperor of the impending   betrayal as the Death Guard and their allies  prepared for the impending counter-attack…

Forewarned of the treachery of Horus  Lupercal, the Emperor would dispatch   three of his most trusted sons to bring  retribution to the Istvaan System.  Ferrus Manus: Primarch of the Iron  10th would lead the charge alongside   his brothers Vulkan and Corvus Corax. The Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven  

Guard Legions would embark upon Istvaan to destroy  the upstart rebellion before it could reorganise.  Followed swiftly by reinforcements from the Iron  Warriors, Night Lords, Word Bearers and Alpha   Legion a loyalist victory would be assured. Yet with the initial stages of the battle   of Istvaan 5 such an overwhelming  assault would prove catastrophic. 

As the 10th, 18th and 19th Legions battled  the prepared yet battle-scarred forces of the   Warmaster’s Legions, the arrival of the  second wave would turn on their allies.  Surrounded by the might of 8 Legions,  the Loyalists would be massacred. 

The Death Guard would watch as the Loyalists fell  to the blades and bolters of their peers yet would   not tarry before venturing forth to bring a new  Legion to the fold of the Traitor rebellion.  Traversing to the Thousand  Sons homeworld of Prospero,  

Mortarion would confront the Primarch of the White  Scars: Jaghatai Khan with an offer to join Horus.  The White Scars had not chosen to side with  either cause of the war in their efforts to   ascertain the reason for Horus’ actions. Deeming the Traitor war effort to be ruled  

By pawns of malevolent forces, the Khagan  of Chogoris would refuse Mortarion’s offer.  Beginning a great feud which  would last between the 5th   and 14th Legions for the remainder of the war… Displeased with the Khan’s reasoning  Mortarion would face the Warhawk in battle. 

The master of speed would duel the champion of  endurance as the honour guards of the Keshig   and Deathshroud fought at their sides. The bout would be unresolved as Mortarion   would flee from the battle, yet be  concluded before the end of the war. 

For the remainder of the years preceding the  final battle to decide the fate of Humanity,   the Death Guard would harry the White Scars until  the call to assemble within the Ullanor system.  En-route to their destination, 1st Captain  Calas Typhon would reveal his true allegiance. 

A follower of Nurgle: the Lord of  Decay, Typhon would allow for the   corrupting influence of the Plague God to  seep into the Death Guard fleet’s vessels.  Transforming the 14th Legion into abominations  of Warp mutation, the Death Guard and their   liege-lord would be subjected to the gifts  of Nurgle’s Rot and the Destroyer Plague. 

Their innate resistance to poison would prove to   synergise with Nurgle’s corruption  preventing the Death Guard to die   from their afflictions and instead mutate  to incorporate it’s pestilent influence.  Surrendering to the Plague God, Mortarion would  damn his Legion to forever serve the whims of  

The so-called ‘Grandfather’ of Chaos. Returning to the side of the Warmaster,   Horus would test the newly reborn  Death Guard during the Siege of Terra.  Deploying the hulking monstrosities to bring  down the Imperium’s most fortified bastions,  

The 14th Legion lead by their Prince of Decay  would once more face the wroth of the White Scars.  Facing Jaghatai Khan once more in  single-combat, the Khagan would be no match   for the now Chaos-empowered Daemon Prince. Yet for Mortarion’s pride in his newfound   strength Jaghatai would exploit  his greatest weakness: arrogance. 

Cleaving the Pale King’s head from his  body, the Khagan would banish Mortarion   into the depths of the warp forcing the  forces of the 14th Legion to retreat.  The Horus Heresy would be won in the  name of the Imperium yet despite such  

A victory fail to cleanse the galaxy of  the corruption of the Plague Marines.  Claiming a Daemon World within the  Eye of Terra, the Death Guard would   transform their new seat of power as the  Plague Planet of the Prince of Decay. 

Destined to spready disease and foul corruption  in their wake, the 14th Legion would continue to   be a scourge across the galaxy in their  attempts to spread the gifts of Nurgle… Moulding the Plague Planet in the image  of Barbarus, Mortarion would in an act  

Of immense hypocrisy rule as a Tyrant  Overlord of his newly found fiefdom.  Re-emerging from the Eye of  Terra throughout the Millennia,   the Pale King leads bands of his former Legion  to spread pestilence during the Era Indomitas.  No longer served by his 1st Captain Calas Typhon,  

The being now known as Typhus leads his own  warband pledged in service to the Plague God.  At odds with their objectives, the  champions of Nurgle nonetheless co-operate   during campaigns of extreme import. With the return of the Avenging Son   of the Imperium: Roboute Guilliman during  the 41st Millenium, the Death Guard would  

Seek to humble the Lords of Ultramar  within the heart of their own Empire.  Enacting the Plague Wars within the Realm of  Ultramar, Mortarion would seek to transform   the dominion of the returned Primarch into  fertile ground of Nurgle’s accursed Garden.  Confronted by Roboute Guilliman with  the conclusion of the Indomitas Crusade,  

Mortarion would face his brother in  single-combat upon the world of Iax.  Slaying his brother, Ultramar would seem to  be doomed to fall to the thrall of Chaos,   yet to Mortarion’s horror Guilliman’s body  would be filled with a bright golden light.  Possessed by the power of the Emperor,  Guilliman would banish Mortarion from  

Real-space once more and fire a beam  of holy light into Nurgle’s Garden.  Setting the garden ablaze with cleansing  fire, the Death Guard and pawns of decay   would retreat from the revivified  Avenging Son and his rallied armies.  Yet the 14th Legion are infamous for their  endurance, and no matter how many times  

They shall be felled more thralls of the  Plague Lord shall stand in their place… Known for their attrition from even their  earliest days as a once Loyal Legion,   the only Legion to surpass their losses incurred   during the Great Crusade would be  the World Eaters and Iron Warriors. 

Once liberated from it’s oppressive  overlords, Barbarus would become   alike to a production line of implanting new  aspirants to join the ranks of the Astartes.  Aspirants would overwhelmingly perish  during the surgeries and procedures to   grow to the stature of a Space Marine  yet be deemed negligible by Mortarion. 

Only allowing aspirants from worlds  other than Barbarus on rare occasions,   the Death Lord would demand a high standard for  all who would join the ranks of the 14th Legion.  Yet with the Legion’s fall to  Chaos the Death Guard would for   a time splinter into warbands  devised into derivations of 7. 

With the resurgence of Mortarion during  the Plague Wars, the 14th would reform to   a structure reminiscent of their former glory. Their numbers now far in excess of any Loyalist   Space marine Chapter, thousand-upon thousands  of Plague Marines comprising their ranks.

Prior to their fall to Chaos the 14th would be  a strictly structured and regimented Legion.  Originally organised by the Officio Militaris  with their service as the Dusk Raiders alike   to their Brother-Legions each and every  Astartes would be equipped with arms and   armaments capable of surviving any campaigns  of war without resupply or reinforcement. 

It’s infantry supplemented with heavy armour and  support squadrons during battle, the Dusk Raiders   of old Terra would be exemplars of sustained  warfare adept at any range or environment.  With the instalment of their Primarch into their  ranks the Legion would be drastically changed,   with it’s formations dissolved and  re-formed with each new campaign to  

Meet the needs of their Primarch’s stratagems. Constantly shifting in battle-field roles,   an Astartes would transition from a Heavy  Weapons specialist, to a Tactical Marine or   other specialist with every new campaign. With only Techmarines, Chaplains and   other specialist roles exempt from the  ever-changing orders of Astartes formations. 

Favouring Meltas, Flamers and Boltgus  as their tools of dealing death,   the Death Guard’s reliance on such weaponry  would eschew the need for regular re-supplies   or extensive training with niche armaments. Engaging in close-combat with trench daggers,   Barbarus ‘Kukrra’ blades and their ionic  Warscythes, the black ceramite of their  

Blades would prove to be a hallmark  of the 14th Legion’s deadly harvest.  Simple yet effective in their use, the Death  Guard’s belief that a Space Marine was innately   strong enough for any engagement regardless of  their armaments would prove to be effective.  Overwhelmingly deploying infantry in their  campaigns, each wounded Astartes brought low  

In the flames of battle would be interred within  Dreadnoughts to serve once more as the spearhead   on the next battle of their campaigns. No cost would be too high nor weakness   tolerated as the dogged sons of Barbarus  ground their enemies beneath their tread. 

Renowned for their ability to cleanse Space Hulks  and destroy enemy fortifications from within,   the Death Guard would be synonymous with  purging the enemies of the Imperium.  Recruitment within the Legion is now shrouded  in much mystery yet the Astartes recruited  

In the years following the Horus Heresy are  regarded as lesser than their veteran peers.  Though perhaps such methods used to  recruit new aspirants into the ranks   of the 14th are best left obscured for the  sanity and decency of Imperial historians…

While the ranks of the 14th would stagnant in  terms of variety during their days as a loyalist   legion specialists within the Death Guard would  enable specific roles of both honour and disgrace.  Chief among all save for the Primarch and the  Legion’s Captain would be the Deathshroud. 

The Elite honour-guard of Mortarion, the  Deathshroud would comprise of the most   battle-honoured, skilled and imposing warriors  of the legion selected personally by their liege.  Swearing oaths of secrecy, each Astartes would be  marked as Killed In Action by the 14th’s records   to prevent their identity from being known. Marching into battle armed with gigantic  

‘Manreaper’ War Scythes, the Deathshroud  shall don masks and hoods to conceal their   features and battle as silent hulking killers. Wearing artificer grade Terminator Armour,   the giant figures of the Honour guard of the Death  Lord shall never stray further than 49 paces from  

Their Primarch and never falter in protecting  their gene-father as silent, stoic sentinels.  The Grave Wardens would serve 1st Captain Calas  Typhon as the 1st company veterans of the Legion.  Armed with alchemical weaponry spewing Vasgotox  fluids and Cullegene gases the Grave Wardens  

Would unleash agonising, flesh eating contagions  across the battlefield to consume their enemies.  The Destroyer Squads unlike their Terminator clad  superiors would wage war with forbidden weaponry   too ignoble to bear for their venerated brethren. Alike to all Destroyer Squads of the Legions,  

The disgraced Astartes of the 14th carry Rad-,  Phosphex and Bio-weapons of untold cruelty.  Their undeniable effectiveness  countering their infamous reputation.  The Mortus Poisoner Squads  specialised in chemical munitions   even by the standards of their Legion peers. Deployed to confined warzones such as Hive cities  

And void-ships, the Mortus Poisoners would spread  contagion to erode and devour their enemies.  Burdening the toll wrought from  such weaponry, the members of the   Mortus Poisoners would suffer withering  degeneration as penance for past failures.  Yet with the legion’s fall to Chaos, their ranks  

Would encompass new and foul additions  of cruel champions to their warbands. Chaos Lords would rule each Warband as proven  champions of destruction and corruption.  Scrutinised intensely by Mortarion, each  Death Guard Lord must facilitate the will   of their Primarch in exchange  for the blessings of Nurgle. 

Forming the Mantles of Corruption, each Lord  is bestowed unique traits for his service.  The Lords of Contagion are  belligerent and direct warriors.  Contained within Cataphractii Armour,  the Lords of Contagion wield two-handed   Plaguereapers and Blade-toothed Axes  in their relentless frontal assaults.  The Lords of Poxes pollute the  air with miasmas of toxins,  

Eroding their enemies defenders  through sickness and sapping illnesses.  The Lords of Virulence bombard  their foes with heavy firepower.  Weakening fortifications with  merciless hammering blows of artillery,   each survivor of their onslaught shall  be ripe victims for plague and disease.  Other mantes exist such as the Lord of  Parasitism, Withering, Flux and Entropy  

Yet no records exist of these foul titles. Blightlord Terminators form the now-elite   of the Traitor Legion and forge  a ceaseless path of destruction.  Armed with Combi weapons, Blight Launchers  and Plague Spewers, the Blightlords shrug   off weapons fire with their Catapharctii ceramite  plate and chaos gifts of blighted constitution. 

Advancing with relentless and remorseless  contempt, only the most deadly and   concentrated firepower is enough to end  the undeath of even a single Blightlord.  The Noxious Blightbringers fight at the Vanguard   of the Legion and herald the  arrival of the Death Guard.  Sowing the battlefield for the coming  corruptions, the Blightbringers nurture  

Fear and weakness in their enemies as their  Chaos-forged Bells toll impending decay.  Each thunderous wave of it’s sounding  spreading sickness among their opponent’s ranks  Death Guard Sorcerers harness the Warp to  spread the blessings of their foul God.  Bones rot from their marrow and splinter into  decaying muscles as the victims of the fell  

Manipulations of the Sorcerers convulse and  spew bile from their sore-covered mouths.  It is truly among the greatest miseries to fall  at the hands of the Sorcerers of the 14th, for   each victim shall endure untold miseries and fetid  mutations at the hands of their malevolent foes. 

Malignant Plaguecasters harbour the  malaise of the Plague God’s realm and   accept the bloating of their bodies now  acting as vessels of abominable toxins.  Spewing forth the contents of their innards, the  Plaguecasters harness the powers of the plague God   to spread disease among those unfortunate  enough to fall victim to their plagues. 

The Tallymen preach the doctrine of  their Patron’s chosen number: Seven.  These demagogues of the Legion  scribe and tally the blessings   of Nurgle as the battles in  his name wage around them.  Counting diseases, wounds and signs of  corruption, the Tallymen enhance the blights  

Made in the name of the Lord of Pestilence  to invoke further miseries in his name.  The Biologus Putrifiers nurture the  spread of disease across their campaigns.  Armed with Blight Grenades filled with terrible  concoctions, the milky gaze of the Putrifiers   analyse every infection even through the  armour of ceramite or heavy vehicles. 

And finally the Plague surgeons act  as living nurseries for insects and   parasites within their bloated bodies. Once the legion’s Apothecaries,   the Plague Surgeons now offer their flesh  and blood to nurture their fell offspring.  Exuding infection with only the merest touch, the  Plague Surgeons surgical instruments no longer  

Serve to save the lives of their kin but in a  cruel twist of irony see to the spread of undeath… The Legion organisation would be fragmented into  7 Great Plague Companies with their fall to Chaos.  The 1st Plague Company: the Harbingers  are ruled by 1st Captain Typhus. 

Afflicted with Shambelrot, Biter’s Pox, the  Groaning and Zombie Plagues; these shambling   yet durable champions of the Legion lay waste  to the Imperium with few opponents able to   stall their overwhelming onslaught. The 2nd Plague Company: the Ferric   Blight favour vehicle deployment and  large formations of heavy armaments. 

Encased in thick layers of rust, the Ferric  Blight to which they are named corrodes their   enemies armour contingents causing malfunctions  and degeneration with their mere presence.  The 3rd Plague Company: Mortarion’s  Anvil are experts of fortification.  Carrying the Gloaming Bloat within their skin,  

Mortarion’s Anvil are lead by Gothax the  Morose and unleash Noxious Blightbringers   to hasten their enemies demise as they  hurl themselves into doomed sieges.  The 4th Plague Company: the Wretched are ruled  by the Daemon known as the Eater of Lives.  Afflicted with the Eater Plague, known  within it’s ranks as ‘The Drizzleflesh’,  

‘Pockchewer’ or ‘Endless Gift’, the 4th Plague  Company champion the use of Sorcerers in order   to summon endless hordes of Nurglings  and Daemonic servants of the Plague God.  The 5th Plague Company; The Poxmongers  bear the gift of the Sanguos flux.  Leaving trails of half-clotted blood in  trails where they march, the Poxmongers  

Make use of Daemon Engines as their primary  means of rending their enemies limb from limb.  The 6th Plague Company: the Ferrymen garrison   the Plague Fleets of the Legion and  bring new void-ships into the fold.  Infected with ‘The Droning’, the so-called  ‘Brethren of the Fly’ boast a vast amount  

Of Blightlord terminators into their  Company as they board Naval vessels to   capture for their own despicable needs. And last of all the 7th Plague Company:   Mortarion’s Chosen Sons serve as  alchemists and brewers of the Legion.  Concocting the most virulent and deviant poisons,  the bearers of the Crawling Pustulance or  

‘Boilblight’ enact the will of the Plague God  through spreading his gifts across the stars.  Further divided into Seven ‘Sepsis Cohorts’  comprised of 100 Astartes a piece, each of   these demi-companies contain a further two  ‘Maladictums’ consisting of Seven ‘Colonies’.  Each Colony contains Seven squads  of Seven Plague Marines and is  

Lead in turn by Lesser Chaos Champions. Death Guard Lords and Daemon Princes act   as Lord Commanders of each Plague Company  with each 1st Colony of the Maladictums   comprised entirely of Blightlord terminators. Despite their seeming Legion-wide command   structure, in reality each Warband is autonomous  in regard to the overall command of the Legion. 

Known as ‘Vectoriums’, these Warbands  differentiate themselves with unique   heraldry markings and unique Colony squads. Typically including Plague Colonies,   Alchemical Destroyer Colonies and Armoured  Vehicle Reaper Colonies within their organisation;   the Vectoriums are armies capable of threatening  even the most durable of the Imperium’s forces. The heraldry of the Death Guard while now  

Obscured in filth and decay once bore  proud sigils of their former glory.  The symbol of the black skull cleaved in  half imposed with a setting black sun on   a deep field of crimson replaced by  a Green Skull atop a sunburst icon. 

From their painted grey of their  origins as the Dusk Raiders of Terra,   ivory grey would be flanked with jade trim  to honour the legion’s homeworld of Barbarus.  Vertical helmet stripes would denote seniority  among the Legion with even damage incurred to   the Astartes Ceramite remaining upon their  armour as honour marks of their deeds. 

Yet with their fall to Chaos,  the Death Guard would turn a   sickly green to reflect their disgusting nature.  Typically wearing Mark 3 Iron Pattern Power  Armour, it’s former purity of design now   bears spikes, tentacles and horns sprouted  from the bodies of their corpulent hosts. 

Open wounds spill organs from cracks in their  armour as boils and sores populate their skin.  Ever-closer to their Primarch’s visage of  a Grim Reaper of men, the Plague Marines of   the 14th follow in their liege-lord’s image  as undead servants of hellish benefactors. 

Adopting the tri-lobed symbol of the Plague  Fly upon their pauldrons, only those within   the ranks of the Death Guard can discern the  veterancy and rank of their peers by dint of   the prolonged decay of their armour. The Mark of Nurgle varies among the  

Many warbands of the Legion as each shows  their patronage in their own unique way… The Gene-Seed of the 14th would further spread the   gaunt features and shadowy  eyes of it’s gene-lineage.  Initially reflecting the stoic temperament of  the Death Lord, with the legion’s drafting of  

It’s Barbaran recruits the gene-seed of the legion  would bolster their innate resistance to toxins.  Yet with their fall to the Ruinous Powers their  gene-strength would prove to be their undoing.  With the gifts of Nurgle ravaging  their bodies, their genetic aptitude   to endure poison and corruption would  continually increase their tolerance. 

As the mutations ravaged their bodies,  their gene-seed would overcompensate   leading to magnitudes of great afflictions  as their bodies exponentially rejected   and absorbed the gifts of Nurgle. Now stationed on the Plague Planet,   the new homeworld of the Death Guard heightens  their mutations to nightmarish proportions. 

Shackling their plague fleets using  chained biomechanical platforms while idle,   shrines are made to give praise to the Plague God.  The world’s populace cower from  their tyrannical overlords as they   act as thralls to the 14th Legion. The Seven Mountaintop Keeps of the  

Planet are inhabited by each Plague Company with  the mightiest of these known as ‘The Black Manse’.  Mortarion’s personal fortress replete  with dungeons and horrors of the warp,   the Pale King presides over his homeworld  as a hypocrite to his past ideals. Revering their Primarch above all,  the Death Guard would marvel at their  

Master’s example as a liberator of  the oppressed and divine saviour.  The Barbaran stock of the Legion would be  unquestioning in their loyalty to their   liege during the betrayal of the Imperium and in  their nativity follow in his path to damnation. 

For each battle won by the Legion during  the Great Crusade, the Pale King would   drink a draft of poison with one of his  Astartes to commemorate their victory.  No toxin would be so strong as to best the  Death Guard and so it would be that the  

Ritual toast signified their loyalty to their  Primarch and defiance to submit to failure.  Concoctions would contain strains of Sword  Beetle Venom, Nerve Bane and other compounds,   the ornate Cups would strengthen the bonds of  loyalty between the Death Lord and his men. 

Driven by a need to free Humanity from the  oppression of it’s enemies, the Death Guard   would be a resolute and unshakeable force. Yet this ideal of emancipation would   become fertile ground for the  corrupting influence of Chaos.  Pride and arrogance would begin to fester within  the Legion and with their Primarch’s defection the  

14th would be all too willing to follow his lead. Consumed with self-hatred with their submission   to the Ruinous powers, such contempt for  their weakness would give way to a new ideal.  The heralds of pestilence would free humanity from  the rule of the Imperium with rot, ruin and decay. 

Gifting their patron’s foul gifts  to the victims of their campaigns,   the Death Guard’s twisted vision of a universe  ruled by the Grandfather of Chaos rescinds the   remaining ounce of their remnant humanity. Worshiping the number Seven as the favoured  

Number of Nurgle, the Death Guard seek to burgeon  each of their Plague Companies to 70,000 Astartes.  Though the 14th Legion shall  never reach such lofty goals,   their continual campaigns across the  galaxy such as their resurgence during   the Plague Wars of Ultramar prove  their ambitions to be resurgent. 

And for every war made in the name of the  Plague God, humanity shall suffer untold   miseries as pestilence, rot and decay lay  low the stalwart defenders of the Imperium…  The Legionnes Astartes   would bear unique burdens for the gifts  they would inherit from their gene-sires. 

Empowered beyond the comprehension of mortal  men, each Legion would cultivate a speciality   for warfare and philosophical  foundation befitting their power.  Yet among all the Space Marine Legions, there  exists one above all who’s fall from grace   would be heralded by their insatiable hunger  for knowledge and mastery of the ethereal. 

The Magisters of Prospero: The Thousand Sons… Founded during the Wars of Unification  the Legionnes Astartes would encompass   a fragment of their gene-father’s might,  who in turn would contain a fragment of   the Master of Mankind’s god-like traits. The most powerful Psyker to ever grace the  

Stars, the Emperor would create a son  moulded in his image of warp-mastery.  From his creation’s genetic materials a new breed  of warriors would be born, gifted as the most   powerful Psykers among the Space Marine Legions. The 15th Legion would be drawn from the most  

Psychically gifted neophytes of the  Achaemenid Emprie of Holy Terra.  1,000 Astartes would undergo the surgeries  within the gene-laboratories of the moon of   Luna as Warp Storms waged across the Sol System. Creating psychic convergences across Terra and   it’s orbiting moon, psychotic outbursts would  spontaneously break-out across the Throneworld,  

The Psychic-spawned madness would  prove to be an ill omen for the 15th.  With the Legion’s inaugural aspirants now  raised to the stature of the Astartes,   the Emperor would test his promising new Legion  by deploying them to bring compliance to the   remaining techno-barbarian hordes of Terra. Victorious of their first campaign in the  

Name of the burgeoning Imperium the Emperor  would personally name the Legion as ‘The   Thousand Sons’ and gift unto them an  expeditionary fleet for assimilation   into the Great Crusade across the stars. For while the Thousand Sons had proven   their worth in battle, it would not be long  until their reunion with their Primarch…

Preceded by only Horus Lupercal and Leman Russ  in his reunion with the Master of Mankind,   the Crimson King of Prospero would study the  Immaterium to better the lot of his homeworld.  Emancipating the civilisation from the tyranny  of Warp-spawned creatures that once roamed  

Prospero’s desolate cities, Magnus the Red would  bring order, prosperity and peace to his people.  Prospero’s Captiol: Tizca would  be known as the City of Light as   it’s white marble metropolis housed  bountiful tomes of arcanum read by   a populace poised to understand  the intricacies of the universe. 

Obelisks of glass towered over the self-sufficient  paradise made real by it’s benevolent ruler,   as the Crimson King busied himself  with his endless journeys into the   so-called ‘Great Ocean’ of the Immaterium. Foreseeing the arrival of the Emperor to Prospero,   Magnus would grow to adulthood  before his gene-father’s reunion. 

Having communicated for years through means of  the Warp, the Master of Mankind would arrive   upon the utopian City of Light and induct  his long-lost progeny into the Imperium.  Given command of the 15th Legion, Magnus  would look upon his gene-sons with pride   as they demonstrated their affinity  for sorcery and psychic abilities. 

The Thousand Sons had waged war for  5 Terran-standard years and through   their use of the immaterium sought to  emulate a fraction of the Emperor’s power.  Though wary of Psychic power, the Master  of Mankind had allowed the 15th Legion   to hone their sorceries as a means to  bring swift compliance to the galaxy,  

Much to the chagrin of his stalwart  gene-son Leman Russ of the 6th Legion.  Proclaimed as cowards by the Wolf King, the 15th  Legion had been met with scrutiny and distrust by   the wider Imperium, yet with their Primarch now  installed as the master of the Thousand Sons, a  

Glorious future would be promised for the Legion. Yet fate would not be so kind to sons of Magnus,   for only suffering would be destined  for the acolytes of the Immaterium… The lack of restraint demonstrated by the  Thousand Sons would bear a fatal cost. 

Throughout the ranks of the 15th, a Warp-born  mutation would ravage their numbers as the   so called ‘Flesh Change’ would transform  it’s Astartes into feral spawns of Chaos.  Interred within stasis pods in  hopes of administering a future   cure to their affliction, Magnus the Red  would toil for years in hopes of saving  

His gene-sons from their degenerate affliction.  Already at a pandemic scale during  their reunion with their Primarch,   the Crimson King would watch in horror as the  Flesh Change spiralled into greater numbers   with the departure of the Emperor from Prospero. Obtaining a means to stall the Flesh Change from  

Spreading further, Magnus would consort with  duplicitous entities within the Great Ocean.  Naïve in his assumption that his Legion’s  curse had been absolved, Magnus would   resume command of the remaining 1,000 Astartes  left untouched by the mutations of the Warp.  Once more literal in their reflection of their  Legion’s namesake, the Thousand Sons would seek  

To draw new recruits to bolster their numbers as  they ventured forth to re-join the Great Crusade.  With the Crimson King in command,  the 15th Legion would bring untold   worlds into compliance through means of  diplomacy, trickery and psychic manipulation.  As more sons of the Emperor would be  brought into the fold of the Imperium,  

Dissent would grow among the Primarchs as  they observed the methods of the Red Cyclops.  Scavenging knowledge from their  sundered foes, the Thousand Sons’   unquenchable thirst for knowledge would rouse  further suspicion from their rival Legions.  Co-operating with 6th Legion: the Space  Wolves during the Ark Reach Cluster campaign,  

Magnus would despise the Rout’s  use of violence and destruction   inflicted upon the Avenian populace of Heliosa.  Blood would be split as the Space Wolves and  Thousand Sons would clash as the 15th Legion slew   several Fenrisian Wolves and incapacitated members  of the Vylka Fenrica with psychic manipulation. 

Hastur of the Pavoni cult would submit to  the Flesh Change during battle and cause   several more mutations within the Legion. Leman Russ would intervene, slaying Hastur   with a blast of his Boltgun and would seemingly  commit his wolves to battle the Thousand Sons. 

With the intervention of the Primarch  of the 17th Legion: Lorgar Aurelian,   further casualties would be prevented. Yet the Wolf King would never forget his   Brother’s flagrant abuse of his powers and would  swear a blood oath against the Crimson King.  Promising that one day, he would enact  a reckoning upon the Thousand Sons…

Rumours would spread of the corruptions of the   15th Legion across the Imperium in  the wake of the battle of Heliosa.  Giving credence to the misgivings of Primarchs  Rogal Dorn, Mortarion and Corvus Corax in their   mistrust of Psykers within the Legions, a  call for censure would reach the Emperor. 

The most fervent detractors of the Thousand  Sons would demand the Legions expulsion from   Imperial History alike to the 2nd and  11th Legion, yet the Master of Mankind   would defer to a council to decide the fate  of the Psykers of the Legionnes Astartes. 

Convening the Council of Nikea the Emperor  would invite representatives each Legion   with a vested interest in the outcome  to state their case in his presence.  Magnus the Red would champion his Legion’s  use of the Warp, stating it’s effectiveness   in bringing compliance to the stars and  future deeds their potential could fulfil. 

The Primarch of the Death Guard: Mortarion,  a survivor of an upbringing subsumed in the   abusive excesses of the arcane  would oppose the Crimson King.  Librarian representatives of the White Scars and  Space Wolves: Targutei Yesugei and Othere Wyrdmake   would fight for their respective allegiances  yet the Emperor’s decision would be final. 

Wary of the unfettered abuse inherent  in the manipulations of the Warp,   the Master of Mankind would draft the  Decree of Nikea and outlaw all use of   Psykers within the Legionnes Astartes henceforth.  Sanctioned psykers such as Astropaths  and Navigators would be exempt from the  

Decree yet the Librarious of the  Space Marines would be disbanded.  Magnus would return to his homeworld  enraged at the misfortune of his Legion.  Their quest for knowledge had cost them dearly,  yet they had always been loyal to the cause of the  

Emperor and never strayed from his commands. Yet the woes of the Sons of Magnus would   only begin, with the dawn of the  dark days of the Horus Heresy… Horus Lupercal: Warmaster of the Imperium  would be wounded on the planet of Davin.  Ensnared by the malevolent Ruinous  Powers of the Warp, Horus would  

Languish within the tides of the Great Ocean. Observing the plight of his Brother, Magnus   would intervene within the Immaterium and attempt  to steer the Warmaster from the path to damnation.  Heedless of his council, Horus would  learn of the dystopian future of Humanity,   wherein the Emperor would be  praised as a living deity. 

Rejecting the Imperial Truth and assuming  the mantle of Champion of the Ruinous Powers,   Horus would take his first steps towards  his final battle to destroy the Emperor.  Magnus would reel from the intervention desperate   to warn the Master of Mankindofr the  impending betrayal of the Lupercal. 

Projecting his psychic form to the  Imperial Palace, the Crimson King   breach the protective wards of the Emperor’s  Webway Project in order to contact his father.  Ruining all hope of Humanity’s use of the  ancient Webway for their own means, Magnus  

Would damn the Imperium to forever voyage across  the stars within the malevolent tides of the Warp.  Furious at his sons’ heinous actions, the Emperor  would dispatch Leman Russ and his Space Wolves to   bring the Thousand Sons to Terra for judgement. Assembling a force of Custodians and Sisters  

Of Silence to facilitate their mission,  the Wolf King would revel for the chance   to fulfil his blood oath. Yet en-route to Prospero,   Horus Lupercal would intercept the Emperor’s  orders and make changes to their intent.  The Wolf King would be ignorant of his  Warmaster’s betrayal of the Imperium  

And accept his new orders without objection. The Rout were no longer tasked with the arrest   of the Crimson King, their orders now demanding  that the Thousand Sons were to be: exterminated… Magnus the Red would foresee the impending doom of   Prospero yet take no action  to prevent it’s passing. 

The Crimson King now understood his naïve  manipulations by the Changer of Ways:   Tzeentch and would not allow his  Legion to become the tools of Chaos.  Seeking repentance for his actions,  Magnus would hide the arrival of the   6th Legion fleet and watch Prospero burn as  the Vylka Fenrica burned it’s marble pyramids  

And ornate structures to the ground. His people would be slaughtered as the   Thousand Sons fought a desperate battle of  survival without the aid of their Primarch.  Overwhelmed, the 1st Captain of  the 15th Legion: Ahzek Ahriman   would beseech his Primarch to intervene. Reluctantly, the Crimson King would join  

The battle as the Thousand Sons fell back to the  final bastion of their once proud City of Light.  Leman Russ would confront Magnus and  charge into a bloody and infamous duel.  The Wolf Kings armour would be inscribed with  wards against Psychic powers leading to a battle  

Of blades and fists between the Primarchs. As the superior brawler and Executioner of   the Emperor, Leman Russ would best Magnus in  combat and break his spine across his knee.  Broken in physical form, Magnus would call  upon the powers of the Warp for salvation.  Surrendering to the rule of Tzeentch, Magnus would  

Be empowered by the Changer of Ways and  transform into a Daemon Prince of Chaos.  Teleporting the remnants of Tizca unto  a Daemon World, the Thousand Sons would   establish their new home of the Planet  of Sorcerers within the Eye of Terror. 

The Sundered King of Prospero would be  shattered into shards of former might to   which his loyal sons would gather his  remnant power to reinstate his lord.  Yet one final piece of the Crimson King remained  prior to the final battle for Humanity’s soul. 

A shard which Magnus would attempt to retrieve  from the Throneworld during the Siege of Terra. The Thousand Sons numbers would be  greatly diminished to approximately   9,000 Astartes during the opening  salvos of the Siege of Terra.  Acting as support contingents to their larger and  more direct Traitor Legion brethren, Magnus would  

Orchestrate arcane stratagems to coincide with  the deployments of the Lord of Iron: Perturabo.  Scheming behind the backs of his Primarch  brethren, magnus would use them as a means to   an end in obtaining the final shard of his being. For should he achieve his objective, Magnus would  

Plot to slay the Warmaster following  his duel with the Emperor and assume   the mantle of Master of Mankind in his place. Yet such ambitions would be thwarted with the   Crimson King’s infiltration  of the Imperial Palace.  Confronted by Malcadore the Sigilite, Magnus  would learn that the final fragment of his being  

Had been claimed by his loyalist son: Revuel  Arvida now reborn as the being known as Janus.  Incapacitating Malcadore, Magnus would  confront the Emperor upon the Golden   Throne only to be halted by the Perpetual  Primarch of the Salamanders: Vulkan. 

Banished from the material realm by the relentless  tenacity of the Lord of Drakes, Magnus would   submit the last shred of his material body to  assume the form of a true Immaterial Daemon.  The Warmaster’s rebellion would  fail and with the death of Horus  

Lupercal the Thousand Sons and their Traitor  brethren would retreat to the Eye of Terror. As punishment for their failure, the Thousand Sons  would once more be tormented by the Flesh Change   through the influence of the Changer of Ways. Yet Chief Librarian Ahzek Ahriman would attempt  

To abolish their curse one and for all. Casting the so-called ‘Rubric of Ahriman’   the Thousand Sons would be saved from  their curse yet pay a terrible price.  The least psychically gifted sons of Magnus  would be disintegrated from the vast tendrils  

Of lightning that spewed forth from the Rubric,  their bodies turned to ash inside their ceramite.  Yet the armour of these unfortunate Astartes  would not collapse, for the inert souls of the   dead would allow the spectral Astartes  to continue to serve their Legion. 

The Rubric Marines would serve their now further  empowered masters as mindless automatons,   much to the horror of the Crimson King. Magnus would attempt to slay Ahriman and would   succeed if not for the intervention of Tzeentch. The Cabal of Ahriman would be banished from the  

Thousand Sons with their leader tasked with  a quest to uncover the true meaning of Chaos.  Fractured into several warbands of contrasting  allegiances, the 15th Legion now stalks the stars   in search of the mysteries and  artefacts of the Immaterium.  Invading the Eldar’s Black Library and other  repositories of knowledge for powerful spells and  

Arcanum, the Thousand Sons now serve the whims of  their curiosity unfettered by Imperial oversight. Recruitment into the 15th Legion  has always been a difficult task.  Accepting only the most prodigious and promising  psykers into their aspirants ranks, the Thousand   Sons continual harrying of the Flesh Change would  see constant need to replenish their number. 

By far the most susceptible to  mutations of all the Astartes Legions,   the geneseed of the Thousand Sons would  prove to be both a blessing and a curse.  Further exacerbated by their allegiance to  the Changer of Ways, there are few Astartes  

Within the Legion who retain the geneseed  of their Primarch due to the annihilation of   swathes of their number by the Rubric of Ahriman. It is a source of immense pride within the Legion   to have survived the countless abominable  mutations and toils of battle unscathed,  

For the majority of the 15th now march into  battle as soulless spectres of their former glory.  Once drawing recruits from their homeworld  of Prospero, with it’s destruction the   Thousand Sons seem incapable of replenishing  their numbers through traditional means.  Reports suggest that through fell rituals,  the 15th Legion would resurrect their fallen  

Battle-Brothers to inhabit living hosts. Damned to never reach their former might   of the days of the Great Crusade, the Thousand  Sons number in the mere Thousands to this day,   with only a select few retaining  bodies of flesh and blood… Bearing the colours of the Immortal  Regiments of Old Earth’s Achaemendi  

Empire during the wars of Unification, the  15th Legion’s pride for their Terran heritage.  Their Pauldrons bearing the colouration of the  Achaemenid Emprie and Noe’hion Witch-Mark of Old   Terra centred with the symbol ‘M’, the Romanii  numeral of 1,000 symbolises their legion’s   chosen Astartes hand-picked by the Emperor. Supplanted with their reunion of their Primarch,  

The Thousand Sons would coat their  armour with Crimson alike to their liege.  Changing their Legion iconography  with their relocation to Prospero,   the 15th Legion would adopt a solar glyph  in honour of their expanse into the stars.  Bearing their loyalty to their gene-father  with immense pride, the Thousand Sons would  

Regardless once more renew their iconography  with their ruinous descent into chaos.  Adopting the blue and yellow livery  in deference to their patron god:   Tzeentch, their once disciplined uniform ranking  strictures and conventions would be abandoned.  Varying the designs of their heraldry with  elements of golden trim and azure blue,  

Each warband of the 15th Legion would  bear personal heraldry whilst maintaining   uniformity to the colours of Lord of Change. Bearing crowns and ornate crests upon their   ceramite alike to the pharaohs of  Ancient Earth, such ornamentation   marks the Astartes of the Thousand Sons  not claimed by the Rubric of Ahriman. 

Now bearing the symbol of Ouroboros upon their  left pauldron, the Thousand Sons depiction of the   serpent wreathed in flame eating it’s own tail  espoused the fallen Legion’s adherence to the   eternal cyclical nature of change and renewal. Their right pauldron displays their membership  

To the numerous sects of the Legion,  whether they bear resemblance to the   Changer of Ways, Magnus’ cyclopean visage or  the forgotten legacies of Prosperine culture.  Utilising runes of varying combinations to  identify their membership of the disparate   warbands of the 15th, the framing of their  heraldry also identifies which squad each  

Member of the Thousand Sons inhabits. Inscribed with magically potent inks   crafted from rare materials, Astartes of the  15th also employ tabards of varying colours   to denote their thrallband or squad. Though only the most devoted scholars   of Tzeentch can truly comprehend the  meaning of the enchanted markings of Chaos…

Prior to their reunion with their  Primarch, the Thousand Sons would   organise their Legion in similar manner  to their Legionnes Astartes counterparts.  With Magnus installed as their leader, the  Crimson King would organise Fellowships of   1,000 Astartes into the Legion with  Ten Fellowships being active during   their peak numerical strength of  approximately 10,000 Astartes. 

With the catastrophic losses of the Kamenka Troika  Campaign, an entire Fellowship would be lost,   resulting in 9 Fellowships to become  the standard known as the ‘Pesedjet’.  The commanders of the legion would  form the ‘Rehati’ or ‘Coven of Magnus’,   and Captains of each Fellowship  would pilgrimage to their cousin  

Legions to broaden their understanding of their  brethren’s favoured tactics and compliances.  With revered Captains such as Phosis T’kar  seconded to the Luna Wolves, the Thousand   Sons would promote bonds of inter-legion  co-operation above and beyond their peers.  With select individuals such as Hathor  Maat rewarded an Oath of Moment from the  

Primarch of the 3rd Legion: Fulgrim during his  co-operation with the Emperor’s Children Legion.  Highly independent due to their nature  as a small Legion, the most Psychically   gifted individuals would be installed  to lead each squad as ‘Thrall-Wizards’.  Commanding Imperial Army regiments to bolster  their numbers, the Thousand Sons would employ many  

Specialised human regiments such as the Prosperine  Guard, Prosperine Spireguard, Zhao-Arkhad Tagmata,   Skyguard Air Command, Palatine Guards and  personal Titan Legion: the Legio Xestobiax. Forming specialised organisations within  the 15th Legion, Magnus would champion elite   cadres to enhance the effectiveness  of his Legion’s psychic prowess. 

The Rehati, the inner coven of the Legion would  encompass the greatest sorcerers of the Legion.  Similar to the position of Mournival  within the Luna Wolves Legion,   the Rehati would be guarded by the elite Scarab  Occult Terminators known as the ‘Sekhmet’.  Veterans of countless wars, Magnus’ 1st  company Veterans would fight not only  

With immense psychic might but also the brutal  fury of the Emperor’s finest weapons and armour.  Unquestioning in their devotion to the Rehati,  the Great Khan of the White Scars and Gorgon   of the Iron Hands would remark that the  Sekhmet were little more than automatons. 

The Hidden Ones would serve as  the Scout Auxilia of the legion.  Master of infiltration and espionage,   operatives of the Hidden Ones would  gather intelligence for their Legion   whilst imprinting psychically re-programmed  sleeper cells within their enemies ranks.  Yet with the Thousand Sons fall to Chaos the  organisation of the Legion now falls squarely  

In the palm of it’s Exalted Sorcerers. The malevolent Archanists of the Thousand   Sons that lord over their kin with  little to no compassion or shame.  Driven to accrue mastery and  control of the Immaterium,   the Exalted Sorcerers would become empowered  by the deaths of their less fortunate kin. 

Commanding the hollowed-husks of the  Scarab Occult to serve their whims,   the lords of dust and ashes lead their  phantom kin in campaigns across the stars.  Dreadnoughts of the Legion now skulk the material  realm as Helbrutes of the Ruinous Powers. 

Intensely hated by the 15th Legion the Helbrutes  of the Legion hunger for pain and suffering,   emotions anathema to the vast  battalions of Rubric Marines.  Recruiting naïve Chaos Space  Marines into the fold of the15th,   such pilgrims shall be promised the vast  powers of the Warp for their service. 

Bound to the malevolent soul of the Helbrutes,  these souls are sacrificed to the abominable   ancients of the 15th to sate their need for  eternal agony to fuel their machines of war.  Requiring surplus forces to meet  the needs of their deployments,   the Thousand Sons also employ Daemon  Engines such as Heldrakes, Defilers,  

Forgefiends and Maulerfiends  to bolster their ranks.  Enslaving minor warp being into their Daemon  Engines, the Sorcerers of the 15th delight in   their dominion over such terrifying creatures and  fuel their ego by deploying them as cannon fodder…

During the years of the Great Crusade the Thousand  Sons would incorporate Five Cults of the Arcana in   order to facilitate the will of their Primarch. Formed by the original members of the Crimson   King’s Inner Circle, each of the five Cult  would master a discipline of the Great Ocean. 

Maintaining headquarters within the grand  pyramids of Tizca, each vanguard of the   Cults would contain repositories of knowledge  adorned with the golden icon of their order.  All save for the Pyrae Cult who’s pyramid  would bear an endlessly burning flame   guarded by the Warlord Titan of  the Legio Astorum: Canis Vertex. 

The Athanaean would specialise  in telepathy and communications.  Able to read the thoughts of others and  communicate en-mass across their Legion,   the Athanaean would prove crucial during  the Legion’s compliances of worlds.  Understanding their oppositions strategies as  intimately as-if written on a page of parchment,  

The Athanaean would undermine their enemies’  deployments before they had even begun.  The Corvidae would delve into the Great Ocean  to gain precognition and portents of the future.  Seeing all possible futures outlined before  them, the Corvidae would advise their counterpart   brethren in the optimal progress of campaigns  and skirmishes outlined by their divinations. 

The most pre-eminent of all the Cults of  the Thousand Sons, their pedigree would   nonetheless wane as the twisting nature  of the warp diminished their foresight.  The Pavoni would master the arts of  physiokinesis allowing them to manipulate   the biological chemistry and physiology  of both their kin and their enemies. 

Manipulating the physical characteristics  of their visage and diminishing their   physical need for hydration and other bodily  ailments, the Pavoni would prove valuable in   enhancing their Legion’s already superior health. Capable of generating lightning born from their   innate bioelectrical nervous system, the impact of  such energies would overwhelm the organs of their  

Foes, causing their hearts to explode and raise  the temperature of their blood to boiling point.  Further aiding their Legion’s  apothecaries as arcane healers,   the Pavoni would accelerate the cellular growth   of wounded Battle-Brothers and allow for  hastened re-deployment of injured Astartes.  The Pyrae harnessed pyrokinetic powers  enabling them to control warp-born hellfire. 

Lethal when deployed among their Legion,  the Pyrae would also bear the capability   of transforming their bodies to better unleash  their torrents and projectiles of purging flame.  Engulfing their enemies in flame, the Pyrae  would also be proficient in manipulating and   tapering with mechanical automata such as  Titan Legio’s and the Legio Cybernetica. 

Known as ‘Technopathy’, the Pyrae would  undermine battle-lines of war machines   whilst laying a burning path for their  battle-brothers to thwart their enemies.  Finally, the Raptora would practise the  art of telekinesis by hurling objects and   ripping enemies with their manipulation of matter. 

Capable of creating ‘Kine-Shields’ to protect  their Battle Brothers and tearing war machines   and soldiers to pieces with their abilities,  the Raptora would prove crucial during the   Legion’s defence of Prospero by collectively  conjuring a Kine Shield to protect their capitol   city of Tizca from orbital bombardment. Though outside of the Five Cults Arcana,  

Two more mysterious sects also  existed within the Thousand Sons.  The Ammitara Occult Intercession Cabal, or  ‘Ammitara Occult’, would be shrouded in mystery.  Acting in the name of the Order of  the Blind, the Ammitara would act as   the masters of espionage and assassination. Their psychic might would be harnessed solely  

To mete-out death to their enemies. Firing long-range weaponry knowing   the precise moment wherein their targets  would inhabit the space of their shots.  Accelerating the flow of blood from their victim’s  wounds or speed of their projectiles, the Ammitara   would hasten the demise of their targets and  dub their technique as ‘The Mind Killer’. 

Also of note, the Khenetai Occult Blade Cabal  would serve as guardians of the Prosperine Cults.  Sworn by both verbal and psychic  oaths to defend the Cults,   the most venerated members of the Khenetai  would form Cabals known as ‘Blades’.  Swordsmen of otherworldly mastery, these scions  of swordcraft would be extensions of their weapons  

And wield psycho-crystalline-infused  Force Swords inscribed with their   wielder’s secret name and deeds. Bearing armour forged by the blind   master artificers of the Legion, the Blades would  defend the Cults with unified and deadly skill… In the wake of their fall  to the clutches of Chaos,   the Thousand Sons would propagate  their remaining sorcerous endeavours  

Through the implementation of Nine  Greater Cults within the Legion.  Each lead by an Exalted Sorceror or Daemon  Prince bearing the rank of Magister Templi,   their lieutenants shall carry out the will of  each Great Cults in the name of their master. 

United in purpose, these bands of miscreant  magisters enable the schemes of their Patron   God and corrupt the very fabric  of real-space with their deeds.  The Cult of Change would unravel and  harness the rejection of order and   be tasked with bringing compliance to  anarchic and rebellious civilisations. 

The Cult of Duplicity employ deceit as  an unknowable and Machiavellian force.  The Cult of Knowledge seek to claim all  tomes of eldritch teachings across the   stars and identify the weaknesses in their  foes through harnessing their secrets.  The Cult of Magic unleash their full might  in sorcery with no restriction of it’s might. 

Obtaining arcane objects in the position  of any foe, the Cult of Magic seek the   purest devastation by means of the Warp. The Cult of Manipulation enthral their   enemies and sow both mortal and daemonic  spies into the ranks of their opposition.  Wreaking havoc from within, the Cult of  Manipulation orchestrate complex plots  

Brought to fruition through means of  assassination and daemonic possession.  The Cult of Mutation transform  their bodies and space around   themselves by embracing the cursed Flesh Change.  Transmuting entire planets into Daemon Worlds,  the souls of these unfortunate civilisations   are turned into grotesque abominations  twisted by the manifestation of the Warp. 

The Cult of Prophecy pursue the threads of fate  whispered from the fabric of the Immaterium.  Divining the destiny most befitting their  ambitions, the Cult of Prophecy twist   their own destiny for their own selfish whims. The Cult of Scheming concoct intricate  

Campaigns as a form of perverse worship. Revelling in their scheming, the Cult orchestrate   grand plans of tactical manoeuvres and faints  in order to achieve grand and complex conquests.  The Cult of Time view the flow of the past,  present and future as a resource to be harnessed. 

Engaging their enemies in both the past and  present simultaneously, the Cult of Time sow   the seeds of defeat into their foes actions  long before they even draw their weapons… As masters of arcanum despite their small number   each Astartes of the Thousand Sons is  a powerful warrior in his own right. 

Unwilling to battle in close-combat when  able to cast their Warp-spawned sorceries   the Thousand Sons would fight with guile and  deceit in order to gain advantage in battle.  Instilled with an independent nature  by the teachings of their Primarch,   each Sorceror of the 15th Legion lead  detachment of Rubric automatons into battle. 

Prior to their fall during the Horus  Heresy, the less psychically gifted   members of the Legion would march into  battle wielding Aether Fire Cannons, toxin   infused Asphyx Shells and conventional Bolters. Now empowered by the manipulations of Tzeentch,   the Thousand Sons employ a variety  of disciplines in battle including: 

The Disciplines of Chance, Sinistrum,  Geomortis, Heretech, Ectomancy,   Dark Hereticus and Discipline of Tzeetch. Arming their Rubric Marines with fell   weapons such as the Inferno Bolters, Soul Reaper  Canons, Hellfire Missile Packs and Warpflamers,   the armies of the 15th Legion incinerate  their foes with otherworldly, purging flame. 

Further bolstered with Icon of the  Ruinous Powers such as the Icon of Flame,   each Thrallband and Greater Cult bolsters  their potent sorceries by employing nine   lieutenants among their ranks to gain the favour  of their Patron through his favoured number..

Fractured with the failure of the Warmaster to  destroy the Imperium, the Thousand Sons roam   the Galaxy as largely autonomous warbands. Thrallbands led by minor Chaos Sorcerors   and Lesser Chaos Champions of the Magister Templi  hound the Imperium such as the Blades of Magnus,  

Tizcan Host, Brothers of Retaliation, Warband  of Sektoth, Prism of Fate and Sectai Prosperine.  Estranged sons of Magnus also voyage  as shards of the Legion’s former glory.  Bearing sigils of their former  glory, the Brotherhood of Dust,   Crimson Sons, Prodigal Sons, Silver Sons, Red Echo, Warp  

Gheists and Grand Order of Hermetic Blades  seek penance for their past transgression.  The more notable of these remnants of the 15th  gain glories befitting their superior strength   as warbands recognised by their gene-father’s. The Rehati War Sect comprise the assembled might   of Magnus’ chosen sons inhabiting  the Planet of the Sorcerors. 

Supremely powerful in their mastery  of the Warp, the Rehati War Sect are   named after the once bodyguards of Magnus the Red.  Commanded by Magnus personally, the various Daemon  Princes of Tzeentch and veteran Astartes of the   Legion carry out the will of their Primarch  as his among most powerful and loyal subjects. 

The War Covens harness the primal element  of battle into spells of prodigious potency.  Remoulding the very fabric of reality  to their whims, the War Covens are a   deadly threat to all life among the stars in  their pursuit of forbidden arcane secrets.  The War Cabals are the shadow  of the Legion’s former glory. 

Conquering the civilisations  once under their own protection,   the weapons of the War Cabals sunder their  former dependencies as an act of vengeful scorn.  The Sekhmet Conclave amass great  power lead by ancient warriors of   the 15th commanding the thralls of the  once noble Scarab Occult Terminators. 

Imbuing the hulking bodyguards with warp  energies and sorcerous wards, the overlords of   the Sekhmet Conclave unleash the fury of their  Terminators to bring their enemies to heel.  The Tzaangor Warherd deploy mutated Beastmen  into battle under the control of it’s masters.  Resurrecting the carrion spoils of  battle, the Necromantic sorcerer’s  

Delight in re-animating the  corpses of their fallen foes.  Making trophies from the dead, the  avaricious Beastmen and their patrons   tear their foes limb from limb in order to  sate their hunger for trophies and trinkets.  And last but by no means least of  these Warbands are Ahriman’s Exiles. 

Lead by the 1st Captain of the Thousand  Sons: Ahzek Ahriman; the banished Astartes   under the command of Magnus’ former Equerry seek  knowledge of the Warp to earn their redemption.  Rallying disparate and disgraced  commanders of his Legion,   Ahriman calls upon the diminished brotherhood  of his kin in order to destroy their enemies. 

Shrouded in bitter, vengeful zeal; the Exiles  of the 15th Legion shall not relent in their   quest to master the powers of the Warp and  renew their patronage of their gene-father.  Yet the tides of the Warp are vast and unknowable,  

And many believe the toil of the Exiles  shall be mired in blood and ashes.  Forever damned to hunger for  knowledge that can never be sated…  The Legionnes Astartes would wage  war across the galaxy to unite   Humanity into the compliance of the Imperium. The single greatest warriors ever to grace the  

Stars, each Legion would accrue glories for their  deeds and become venerated for their service.  Yet among all the Legionnes Astartes, one  would be favoured as the first among equals   and legends of the Great Crusade until  their downfall to the thrall of Chaos. 

The deadly instruments of the betrayer  of the Emperor: The Sons of Horus… Drawn initially from the populace of  Terra, the Astartes of the 16th Legion   would be raised to quell the dissident  rebels of the Techno-Barbarian hordes.  Volunteering to undergo the surgeries required of  a Space Marine, the subjugated aspirants of the  

Emperor’s conquered foes would be transformed  into valiant enforcers of the Imperium’s will.  High proportions of the 16th would be  recruited from the hunter clans of the   Jutigran Bowl and Samsatian slums  of Terra and instil the hardships   and toil of conflict within  the attitude of the Legion. 

Intensely aggressive in nature, the 16th Legion  would with the implantation of their Primarch’s   geneseed favour sudden overwhelming methods of  war befitting their rugged and abrasive nature.  Equally deployed as the first and  last deadly blow to their opposition,   the 16th would earn a reputation as warriors  capable of inflicting utter devastation. 

Their glories initially chronicled for their  service in the First Pacification of Luna,   the 16th would regardless bear deep scars within  their collective psyche with further campaigns   such as the destruction of the Coriolis Enclaves. Cementing legends which persist to this day   within Terran culture, the so-called  ‘Counting of the Wolf’ would instil  

Superstitious fear into the hearts of men  at the sight of the Legion’s numerals.  The opening salvo and crushing  termination of a hundred wars,   the humourless and relentless Astartes of the  16th would in the wake of the pacification of   Terra’s moon embrace the title born  of their reputation: The Luna Wolves. 

Adorning their armour with a Wolf’s head  emblazoned across the moon of Luna, the Astartes   of the Luna Wolves would also wear pelts across  their ceramite to represent their predatory image.  As the first Legion to draw recruits  from worlds outside of Terra,  

The Luna Wolves would travel to the nearby  mining colony of C’thonia during 800.M30.  Within sublight velocity, the Luna  Wolves would re-unite with the first   Primarch of the Imperium to be  discovered: their gene-father.  Though to call such an event  fortuitous would be a grave error…

Horus Lupercal would be found at a young  age upon C’thonia with much of his deeds   redacted and obscured from Imperial scholars. What is known, is that the son of the Emperor   would thrive upon the derelict world and rise to  become the leader of the colony’s criminal gangs. 

Mentored by the Master of Mankind, the  Lupercal would be the first of his sons   to be moulded into a leader of the Imperium. A protege of many talents, Horus would be   swift in his assimilation of teachings of state,  politics, empire building and military doctrine. 

Given command of the 16th Legion, Horus would lead  his army of 10,000 Astartes for 3 Terran decades   as the singular Primarch of the Great Crusade. The C’thonian warriors inducted into the Luna   Wolves would be fitting killers to unleash  the fury of the Imperium across the galaxy. 

Traversing beyond the Sol system, the  first Expeditionary fleets comprised of   the 16th Legion now abounding with tens  of thousands of C’thonian Astartes, the   tenacious Space Marines would hunger for battle. Instilling C’thonian traditions and customs   into the Legion, the demeanour of the 16th  would slowly supplant it’s Terran culture. 

Topknot and mohawks common among the head-hunter  gangs of their homeworld would mark the Astartes   of the burgeoning Legion as the killing blows  of campaigns would be referred to as ‘Aebathan’,   or the throat cutting of their enemies. Intensely loyal to their Primarch, the Luna Wolves  

Would follow in his footsteps as the charismatic  and indomitable champions of the Imperium.  For soon their legacy would be cemented  in legend, with the dawn of the Crusade   which would mark their gene-father as  the most cherished son of the Emperor… The Ork xenos had spread across the  stars alike to a virulent plague. 

The Primarchs of the Emperor had been restored  unto the Imperium and every Legion had taken   arms to bring compliance to the void. The Ork Warlord: Urrlak Urg would amass a   tide of Orks so vast that the entire  assembled Imperial military would be  

The only sufficient response to it’s might. Assembling every one of the Legionnes Astartes,   countless Imperial Army regiments and the might  of the Omnissiah’s Titan Legio’s the Master of   Mankind would enact the Ullanor Crusade. The Luna Wolves has been lauded above all  

For their glory and with their Primarch  at the head of their campaigns annihilated   every foe in their path with inelegant yet  effective force for over two centuries.  The Imperium had grown to become the  single-largest star-spanning Empire   ever seen, yet it would take every able-bodied  warrior of Humanity to defeat the Greenskins. 

Surrounding the perimeter of the Ork expanse, the  Imperium’s vast armies would drive back the tide.  Cornering the Stellar Empire  upon the world of Ullanor Prime,   the Emperor would deploy 100,000 Astartes,  8 million Imperial Army soldiers and the   might thousands of void-crafts in  order to invade the Ork homeworld. 

Alongside Horus Lupercal and his Luna Wolves, the  Emperor would lead the charge in slaying Urrlak   Urg and ending the blight of the Greenskins. Horus Lupercal would slay the Ork warlord and   cast it’s corpse from the tower  of the Ork’s abominable citadel. 

The Orks would be routed with the Luna  Wolves proving crucial to dealing the   death-blow to the upstart Greenskin Empire. And the Master of Mankind would recognise   his most cherished son and his Legion for  their unimpeachable service to Humanity. Bestowing Horus with the title of Warmaster,  the Lupercal would be tasked with leading the  

Remainder of the Great Crusade as  the Emperor returned to Holy Terra   to conduct his secretive Webway Project. The Luna Wolves would be honoured alike to   their gene-father and be renamed The Sons of Horus  as a mark of respect for their venerated Primarch. 

Now endorsed as the preeminent Astartes  Legion, the Sons of Horus would continue   to bring worlds into compliance for  the remainder of the Great Crusade.  Respected by their peers above  all, doubt would nonetheless   take hold within the Legion’s gene-father. Initially resistant to change the moniker of  

His Legion, Horus would relent to his father’s  gesture much to the chagrin of his Brothers.  Resentment would grow among the most ambitious  Primarchs and divisions would begin to divide   the familial bonds of the Emperor’s sons. The Warmaster would be burdened with the single  

Greatest duty in Humanity’s history to complete  the Emperor’s campaign to rule the galaxy.  Fearful of falling short of his father’s  deeds, Horus would become susceptible to   the guile and manipulations of the  servants of the Ruinous Powers.  Lorgar Aurelain: Primarch of the17th Legion: the  Word Bearers had already been ensnared by chaos  

And would dispatch his 1st Chaplain: Erebus to  whisper falsities into the Warmaster’s thoughts.  Denied clarity by the Emperor in his dealings  of the Webway Project upon Terra and anxious   of failing the burgeoning Imperium as  it’s newly appointed Commander in chief,   Horus’ fall from grace would be swift. Bitterness, frustration and paranoia would  

Burrow deep within Horus’ soul and upon the moon  of Davin, the Warmaster would be fatally wounded.  The once friend of Horus: Planetary Governor Eugen   Temba had been corrupted by  the fell Plague God: Nurgle.  Commanding hordes of undead soldiers, Temba would  wield the malevolent Kinebrach Anathame stolen by  

Erebus and with it’s edge  pierce the Warmaster’s armour.  Digging into the flesh of the Lupercal, it’s  corrupting influence would corrode Horus’ body.  Festering wounds upon his very soul,  the most trusted Astartes of the 16th:   the Mournival would bring the comatose body  of the Warmaster to the Legion’s apothecaries. 

Unable to rouse their gene-father from  slumber as his condition ever-worsened,   in an act of desperation the Sons of  Horus would endorse the council of Erebus… Taking Horus’ body to the Temple of  the Serpent Lodge upon Davin’s moon,   the Davinite shamans of the lodge would  begin their ritual to revive the Lupercal. 

Their dark arts would transfer Horus’  spirit to the Immaterium wherein the   Warmaster would observe a vision of  the Imperium of Man’s dystopian future.  Humanity worshipped the Emperor and his  Primarchs as Gods whilst toiling within a   regime so terrible that it stood in opposition  of every teaching of the Imperial Truth. 

The Gods of Chaos would reveal the  Emperor’s theft of knowledge from   the Immaterium to create the Primarchs and  grant him power beyond any mortal being.  Accepting a pact with the Ruinous Powers,  Horus would be promised the Galaxy should   he slay the Emperor and sunder the Imperium. Awakening from his nightmare, Horus would be  

Reborn as the fell-champion of Chaos. Ignorant of his intervention in the   portrayal of the grim future he would create, the  Warmaster would rally every Primarch embittered   to their treatment by the Emperor and begin  his damned civil war against the Imperium.  Purging the loyalist elements within the  16th Legion, Horus’ most trusted officers  

Would enact fratricide against their once  battle-brothers upon the world of Istvaan 3.  The Horus Heresy had begun, and the fate  of Humanity now hung in the balance… The Emperor would soon learn of  Horus’ betrayal and dispatch his   vast armies to combat the Traitors to the Throne. 

The Legionnes Astartes would wage war  among one-another in countless bloody   wars and battles as the galaxy burned. For years the Warmaster would lead   his army of psychopaths, despots  and heretics towards Holy Terra.  The Loyal heroes of the Imperium would stall the  Warmaster’s advance as countless souls of every  

Creed of the Imperial war machine blunted their  blades and fired every last bolter, las-gun and   void-cannon in their desperate defiance of the  Traitor assault for 7 Terran-Standard years.  The champion of the Ruinous Powers  would not be slain by any mere mortal,  

For the fate of Humanity would be decided  by the final battle of The Emperor.  The Sons of Horus would lead the  charge into the heat of the Imperium’s   might as the Siege of Terra wrought untold  casualties between the Legionnes Astartes. 

Standing at the side of their gene-father during  the culmination of the Heresy, the final battle   to claim the soul of Humanity would begin. Bloated with power, Horus would in his duel   with the Emperor wound the Master of Mankind and  be poised to rule the galaxy as it’s Dark King. 

Yet with a final blast of psychic energy, the  Emperor would purge the Warmaster from existence.  Reeling in horror at the demise of their champion,   the remnants of the broken Sons of  Horus would flee into the Eye of Terra.  Pursued by the vengeful Loyalist Legions, the  16th once within the embrace of the Occularis  

Terribus would find safe harbour  upon the Daemon World of Maeleum.  Offering their souls to the Chaos Gods for  scraps of their power, the surviving members   of the Sons of Horus would be vulnerable to  in-fighting among the remnant traitor Legions.  Enduring the Legion War, the Sons of  Horus would once more be shamed with  

The Emperor’s Childrens theft  of their Primarch’s corpse.  Fabius Bile: Chief Apothecary of the  3rd Legion would attempt to clone the   Warmaster in order to once again lead the  Traitor Legions to destroy the Imperium.  Succeeding in his experiments, Bile would  create the Lupercal anew if only for a moment. 

Ezekyle Abaddon: 1st Captain of the 16th would  confront the clone of his genefather and slay   the avatar of his Legion’s failure. The Sons of Horus were extinct,   a dead legion befitted a failed patron. Yet from the corpse of the Sons of Horus,   a new Legion would be cannibalised. Abaddon the Despoiler’s heralds of  

His accursed Crusades to destroy  the Imperium: The Black Legion… The organisation of the 16th  would first be moulded during the   days of the Unification Wars of Terra. Adhering closely to the outlines first   devised by the Officio Militaris prior to the  introduction of the Primarchs to the Imperium,  

The-then Luna Wolves would be divided  into squads of between 10 and 20 Astartes.  Lead by Sergeants, grouping of squads would be  led by Veterans whom would be referred to as   ‘Chieftains’ with the reunion of their Primarch  and the customs of C’thonia’s gang culture. 

Maintaining great armouries and weapon stores,  the 16th Legion would be outfitted with ample   armaments befitting specialised squads  containing Destroyer and Seeker units.  Tithed great numbers of armoured vehicles  from worlds brough into their compliance,   Horus would observe the Legions of  his Brother Primarch and incorporate  

Effective compositions of units into squads  such as the Breacher Squad of the 7th Legion.  Forming ‘Despoiler’ squads trained to overwhelm  weakened enemy emplacements with close-combat   weaponry and concentrated suppressing  fire, these squads would be adopted by   the White Scars and Iron Warriors legions in  their attempt to mimic their effectiveness. 

Companies would be lead by the  Legion’s Captains and incorporate   several squads into the fold of sizes  befitting each individual engagement.  Some companies would comprise as few as 36  Astartes whilst others would eclipse 900,   each lead by commanders specialising  in their own doctrines of war. 

Companies would also include specialists  within their ranks to add versatility in   their methods of waging war; with  the standard averaging two veteran,   three reconnaissance, one heavy support  and several support weapons squads.  Forming Battalions, Chapters, Cohorts and  Regiments from grouping Companies, the Sons  

Of Horus would adhere to strict hierarchical  command if not stringent organisation.  Crafted for individual campaigns by the Warmaster  himself, the 16th Legion would rely heavily on   the leadership of their Captains for each rapid  assault formation referred to as ‘Spear-tips’.  Such pragmatism would not however be evidence  of carelessness, as Horus would allow for  

His Legion to strike with precision and  self-reliance in every theatre of war.  Though among certain squads brotherhoods  of close-knit warriors would form,   with some squads adopting honorific  titles such as ‘The First Sons and Death   Makers’ with some even bearing their  Squad Chieftain’s name as a moniker. 

Customs of C’thonia’s gang-culture would see the  widespread adoption of sigils and kill-markings   across veteran Astartes armour plate to which  junior members of the Legion would imitate.  The transition of their armour’s white  paint to sea-green would further distance   their customs from their origins of Terra. Embracing the dark traditions of blood-pride  

And fiefdoms of C’thonia’s past, the Sons of Horus  would ever slowly turn from the Emperor’s example… Amassing between 130,000 to 170,000 Astartes  prior to the events of the Horus Heresy,   the Sons of Horus would be among the  numerically largest Legions of the Imperium. 

Given command of a vast fleet in excess to any of  their peers save for the Imperial Fists Legion,   the 16th would command over one hundred capitol  ships and three hundred smaller support vessels.  The Crusades of the Warmaster would  be lead by their imposing flagship:  

The Vengeful Spirit and deploy it’s most  deadly warriors to the vanguard of battle.  Horus Lupercal would be the  utmost authority in commanding   his Legion yet facilitate his orders to  be carried out by his closest advisors.  Among his most trusted advisors,  The Mournival would give counsel  

To the Warmaster in his deliberations and  strategies to bring compliance to the galaxy.  Consisting of four chosen Captains,  membership within the Warrior Lodge   would be enshrined in tradition and steer the  destiny of the Legion through their influence.  Embodying the virtues and glories of the  Luna Wolves and subsequently Sons of Horus,  

The Mournival would adorn their pauldrons with  the cycling phases of moonlight to signify the   changing nature of their legion. Prior to the fall of the Legion,   Ezekyle Aabaddon would bear the Full Moon,  Horus Aximand would bear the Half Moon,  

Garviel Loken would bear the New Moons and  Tarik Torgaddon would bear the Gibbous Moon.  The Elite 1st Company: would contain two  elite squads of the Chapter’s finest warriors.  The Justaerin would be commanded by  1st Captain Ezekyle Abaddon whilst   the Catulan Reaver Assault Squad  would be lead by Kalus Ekaddon. 

Clad in black armour in stark contrast to  their Luna Wolves original pearl-white sheen,   the 1st Company would lead the most deadly  of charges into the heart of their enemies.  Favouring Tactical Dreadnought Armour, the  Justaerin and Catulan Reavers would prove to   be an overwhelming force capable of sundering any  defensive positions with overwhelming firepower. 

Yet not all member of the 16th would  be honoured for their deeds in battle,   for those whom brought dishonour to the Sons of  Horus would be relegated to the Destroyer Squads.  Armed with weapons of devastating firepower  such as Rad-weapons and phospex bombs,   the Destroyer Squads would march into  battle in chem-scalded armour plate. 

Considered a necessary evil by  their Legion, the Astartes of the   Destroyers would carry out the dark deeds  necessary to bring their enemies to heel… Prior to their descent into the  clutches of the Ruinous Powers,   the gene-seed of the 16th would be among  the purest of the Astartes Legions. 

Derived from Horus’ genome, the geneseed of  the Lupercal would greatly empower any subject   implanted with the organs to standards above the  majority of Astartes aspirants of their peers.  Yet despite the pedigree of such materials, the  Legion’s corruption by the forces of Chaos would  

Pervert it’s function and lead to rampant  mutations within the ranks of the 16th.  Cherishing their abominable changes with pride by  the degenerates of the Traitorous Space Marines,   the Sons of Horus while unable  to re-implant the geneseed of   their fallen brethren into new initiates would  kill many potential neophytes in the attempt. 

It is for this reason that the longevity  of the Sons of Horus Legion would be   irreparable in the wake of the death  of their Primarch and lead Abaddon   the Despoiler to draft recruits into his  Black Legion of varying disparate warbands. 

The homeworld of the Sons of Horus: C’thonia  would fall to ruin in the years following the   Horus Heresy and fragment into asteroid debris due  to the planet’s unstable geo-structural integrity.  Once rich in valuable ore traded across the stars,   C’thonia’s carcass serves as further  reminder of the downfall of the 16th Legion. 

Though conjecture among Imperial Scholars  point to C’thonia’s destruction at the hands   Loyalist fleet during the Great Scouring of  the Traitors, the gang-world had already shown   signs of degradation and degeneration  during the time of the Great Crusade. Adaptable in their strategies and martial  capabilities, the Sons of Horus would when  

Commanded by their Primarch prove to be a  reliable and exceptional fighting force.  Yet with the fall of the Warmaster at the hands  of the Emperor, the once proud warriors of the   Imperium would fall into disorganised panic. Broken in discipline, morale and numbers,  

The Sons of Horus would dissolve into small  warbands ruled by despotic Chaos Champions.  Their Gene-sire had been proven  false and in the power struggle   left from his passing a new Legion would be born.  1st Captain Ezeklye Abaddon would  abandon his Legion to seek purpose  

And pursue answers from the Dark Gods. The 16th had shed many skins from the   grey storm-cloud sheen of Unification, the  pearlescent splendour of the Luna Wolves,   and pale green honouring the Legion’s triumph  of Ullanor as the venerated Sons of Horus.  Their superiority had been bested, their  pride torn asunder and failure stained the  

Very air where the Astartes of the 16th lurked. They were no longer the wolves of ancient Terra,   and the Eye of Horus once emblazoned  proudly on their armour now served   only as a reminder of their disgrace. Returning to the galaxy with the blood  

Of his reborn Primarch drenching the Lightning  Claw once used to wound the Master of Mankind,   Abaddon the Despoiler would rally the  fragments of the past into a new army.  The Black Legion would be born from the ashes of  the Sons of Horus and under the leadership of the  

New Warmaster of Chaos, they would not rest until  the Imperium’s destruction had been achieved.  Now the single largest Warband of the Ruinous  Powers, the Black Legion stalks the galaxy hungry   for the blood of the Emperor’s loyal subjects. For the Sons of Horus may be extinct, but the  

Bitter fury of it’s legacy shall live eternal… The treachery of the Traitors to the Throne would sink to the lowest depths  of Humanity’s most heinous traits.  Butchery, betrayal and dishonour the forefront  of their crimes against their loyalist brethren.  Yet one Legion above all would  be the fulcrum of the Traitor War  

Effort and the lynchpin for untold heresies. The most zealous, duplicitous and conniving   of all fallen Angels of Death whom would drag  their flawed brethren into the depths of ruin.  The 17th Legion of the Legionnes  Astartes: the Word Bearers…

The Emperor of Mankind would create a vast  army of a new breed of warriors to reclaim the   disparate fragments of Humanity across the stars. Each Legion would be unique in it’s methods of   waging war, accomplishing compliance and  conducting tactics and stratagems of war. 

The 17th Legion, known during the Wars  of Unification as ‘The Imperial Heralds’   would be among the Imperium’s  most staunchly devoted subjects.  A Legion seen by it’s peers as fanatical,  the 17th Legion would draft it’s recruits   from the Emperor’s defeated adversaries. Raised to acknowledge the crimes of their  

Ancestors, the 17th would strive to  attain forgiveness for their sins.  A condemned Legion, the Imperial Heralds would  be a mirthless and dour assemblage of warriors.  Solely driven by penance and shame,   the 17th would seek no glory in battle  and attain no plaudits for their deeds. 

Duty was the unifying bond of the  Legion and ruin would be their trade.  The only Legion to be given a title during  their founding, the path of the Imperial   Heralds would be ordained before the blood  of their foes had even slicked their blades. 

Harbingers of the Imperial Truth, the 17th  would decree a simple message to their foes:   Recant or Perish. A lone warrior of the Legion   would visit each bastion of the warlords of Terra  adorned in the skull-visaged helmet, black armour  

And mace of office that would one day become  synonymous with the Chaplain of the Astartes.  Offering the Emperor’s mercy, these champions  of the Imperial Truth would bear a heavy tally   of losses to any enemy unwilling to  comply with the Imperium’s demands. 

Yet for every Herald whom would be  slain, his Battle-Brother clad in grey   would bear fire and death to his killers. Waging a war not of blood and destruction,   the 17th would fight with the insidious poison  of belief and illuminating flame of truth. 

Scouring each conquered foes repositories of  knowledge, the Imperial Heralds would raid   libraries, archives and data-banks  to purge all tomes of untruth.  Destroying all idols of false worship and  sundering shrines and temples devoted to   pagan deities, the Imperial Heralds would brook  no mercy for the transgression of superstition. 

Burning statues, books and even  heretics on pyres of flame,   the 17th would purge all who defied the  will of the Emperor without hesitation.  Their zealous nature earning them a new title  among their brother legions and the burgeoning   Imperium hushed in secret: The Iconoclasts. Yet their fanaticism would only worsen with  

The Legion’s eventual reunion with  their Primarch: Lorgar Aurelian… The feudal world of Colchis would be  rife with religion and superstition.  A planet once bustling with  technological proficiency now   little more than dust and tradition. War was an inevitable tide for every  

Generation, yet with the end of each  bloodletting a time of peace would arise.  Change would be rare with the populace accepting  their lot, yet with the arrival of a Primarch to   it’s surface Colchis would rapidly transform. The Primarch’s gestation pod would land on the  

Planet at a time when the ruling  priesthood known ‘The Covenant’   would control the civilisation’s populace. Discovered by a band of priests of the Covenant,   the Primarch would be raised  by the scions of the Old Faith.  Unknowingly worshipping the Ruinous Powers under  a benevolent guise, the populace of Colchis would  

Be damned to be pawns of Chaos from the start. The young Primarch: Lorgar would study the tomes   and teachings of the Covenant and with time  become a devout preacher of the Old Faith.  A gifted orator with a kind, charismatic  way of communicating it would not be long  

Before the High Priest of the Covenant: Kor  Phaeron would adopt Lorgar as his mentor.  With time, Lorgar’s prominence within  the Covenant would grow and stoke the   jealousy and spite of it’s senior clerics. Cursed with visions of a mighty being clad in  

Bronze armour accompanied by a cyclopean giant at  his side visiting the planet of Colchis, Lorgar’s   visions would intensify with his maturation. Believing his visions to be the sign of the   true God of Humanity, Lorgar would preach the  impending arrival of his Prophesised figure. 

Creating dissent within the Covenant due to his  beliefs, a new faction known as ‘The Godsworn’   would burgeon under the teachings of Lorgar. Declared a Heretic by the clerics of the Covenant,   the keepers of the Old Faith  would attempt to arrest Lorgar.  Torn apart by Lorgar’s followers, the  clerics would watch as their enforcers  

Would be slain by the zealously rabid crowd. Enacting a Holy War against the upstart Lorgar,   the clerics would cause a planetary  war of two opposing views.  For six years the two factions would  battle until Lorgar would lead his   Godsworn to the Temple of the Covenant  known as ‘The Cathedral of Illumination’. 

Within the heart of the City of Grey  Flowers, Lorgar would kill the monks   within the temple and declare himself  the new Archpriest of the Covenant.  Under the advisements of Kor Phaeron, the  Old Ways would remain a form of worship   alongside the visions of prophesised deity. For soon, Lorgar promised their saviour would  

Visit them within a year of their victory and  they shall know him simply as: ‘The Emperor’… One year after the ascension of  Lorgar, the Emperor of Mankind   would reunite with his long-lost son  and descend upon the planet of Colchis.  Accompanied by his gene-son of the 15th Legion:  

Magnus the Red, the Emperor  would meet with Lorgar.  Lorgar would fall to his knee, weeping  at the feet of his prophesised messiah.  The planet would kneel with their Archpriest and  following the festivities of their reunion, the   Emperor would command Lorgar to induct his finest  warriors to be incorporated into the 17th Legion. 

Despite the Emperor’s admonishment of his own  divinity, He would task Lorgar with leading   his Legion to bring compliance to the galaxy. Not under the banner of the Old Faith nor his   own God-like visage, but with the knowledge  and teachings of the Imperial Truth. 

Lorgar would prove a keen yet  deluded herald of the Emperor’s will,   for despite the Urizen’s devotion to his  new cause his methods would be heretical.  Rituals such as scattering the  ashes of dead world across the   brows of his Astartes before battle  and the utilisation of titles such  

As Apostles among his ranks would raise  suspicion within the Legionnes Astartes.  The Legion would be slow to bring worlds into  compliance in comparison to their brother Legions.  For with every planet conquered, the 17th  would dither with their re-education and   indoctrination of the world’s populace  into the teachings of their creed. 

Spreading the Emperor’s divine image  across the stars, Lorgar would sow the   seeds of future heresies without knowing  the extent of his misguided actions.  Warrior Lodges, fraternal yet  superstitious organisations would   grow within some of the Legionnes Astartes. Civilians of the Imperium would begin to pray  

To the Emperor as a living god, and  Chaplains now brandished skull helms,   blackened armour and Crozius made in  imitation of the Legion’s founding principles.  His now re-named Legion: the ‘Word Bearers’  had fostered worlds which would serve any   order made in the name of the Emperor  and pay High tithes for his favour. 

Yet after a century of waging compliance  in the name of the Great Crusade,   the Emperor would rebuke his most  zealous son on the world of Khur… Lorgar’s example of religious piety and  failure to embrace the Imperial Truth   would continue to frustrate the Emperor. An example had to be made to enable his  

Wayward son to see the error of  his ways and turn to the path of   enlightenment that the Emperor had outlined. Accompanied by his stalwart and capable son,   the Primarch of the Ultramarines: Roboute  Guilliman; the Emperor would shame the   Word Bearers for their transgressions. Confronting Loragr Aurelian at the city  

Of Monarchia, the Emperor would demand  their idolatry in his name to cease.  Monarchia was a parody of the ideals  and values the Emperor most despised,   the so-called ‘Perfect City’ of worship made  in the name of the Emperor would be an affront   to the virtues of the Imperial Truth. The Ultramarines and their Primarchs  

Would bear witness to the shaming of the  17th Legion by the Master of Mankind.  For they were the ideal of the Legionnes  Astartes and alongside their Primarch   displayed the Emperor’s ideals of  honour, wise leadership and loyalty.  Exemplars of the potential of  every one of the Legions to follow,  

The Ultramarines would stand proud above their  peers as the Emperor forced the Word Bearers   to kneel with the use of his Psychic might. Monarchia would be burned to the ground by   the Ultramarines and Legio Custodes as Lorgar  watched in horror at the ashes of his once  

Proud city now coated his Legion’s armour. The Word Bearers had failed, and no other   Legion no matter their methods nor vices had  ever been shamed in such an open display.  The 17th would be scarred deeply and resentment  within their ranks and their Primarch would grow. 

Withdrawing from the Great Crusade, Lorgar  would be wracked with self-pity and loathing.  Returning after a time as a much changed Legion,   the Word Bearers would be  driven with relentless fury.  World burned where they once were  conquered with honeyed words and diatribes.  Possessed of a penitent wroth the  17th would seemingly have heed their  

Rebuke from the Emperor in truth their  future depravity had begun to unfold.  Weak and vulnerable to corruption, Lorgar  Aurelian would be swayed by the advisements   of his Lieutenants: Kor Phaeron and Erebus. Both the 1st Captain and 1st Chaplain retained  

Their devotion to the old Faith and would whisper  dark portents into the mind of the Urizen.  Poisoned by his Adoptive Father’s words,  Lorgar would embark on a Pilgrimage to seek   answers from the Gods that would  accept his praise and adoration.  Upon the fringes of known space,  Lorgar and his Chapter of Word Bearers:  

The Serrated Sun would traverse  under the watchful eye of a   detachment of 5 Custodians assigned by  the Emperor in the wake of Monarchia.  For soon Lorgar Aurelian would find  beings demanding of his devotion… Arriving at the Cadia system, Lorgar would order  his fleet to orbit the planet of Cadia within  

Close proximity of the Eye of Terror. Meeting with the barbaric purple-eyed   tribesmen of the planet, Lorgar would  be met by a women known as Ingethel.  Turning on the Custodian known as Vendatha and  using his body to conduct a ritual, Ingathel  

Would ascend to the form of a Daemon Prince and  reveal the circumstance of the birth of the Eye   of Terror and the Chaos entity known as Slaanesh. Warning Lorgar that Humanity would suffer the   same fate as the Eldar should they reject  their surrender to the Ruinous Powers,  

The Primarch of the Word Bearers would  willingly accept the manipulations of Chaos.  For four decades thereafter,  the Word Bearers would serve   the Imperium under the guise of loyalty. Readying themselves for the day when they   would turn on their allies and the Emperor  with the opening gambit of the Civil War  

For Humanity’s soul: The Horus Heresy. Horus Lupercal: Primarch of the 16th   Legion would be corrupted by the Ruinous Powers  and begin his insane march to the Throneworld.  The World Bearers had quietly culled the  loyalists within their ranks and planted traps  

To be sprung as the Heresy gained momentum. For while Horus would be the Champion of   the Ruinous Powers and Lorgar would be  their unseen architect of destruction.  Assigning his 1st Chaplain: Erebus  to further corrupt the Warmaster and   mustering his Legion’s strength, the 17th  would reveal their treachery openly with a  

Deadly surprise attack. The Battle of Calth… Under the guise of fraternity and brotherhood,   the Word Bearers would meet the 13th Legion:  The Ultramarines within the Calth system.  Seeing as opportunity to renew their bonds of  brotherhood with the Legion they had dutifully   yet reluctantly shamed, the Ultramarines  would accept their kin with open arms. 

For their trust, the knife of betrayal  would be struck in their backs.  Destroying many Starships and murdering the  unarmoured and unawares Lords of Ultramar,   the Word Bearers would enact  their long-harboured vengeance.  Driven to burn Macragge in the same  manner as had been done to Khur,  

The Word Bearers under the command of Kor Phaeron  would encur a heavy toll to the Ultramarines.  Destroying all three of Calth’s  sister-plates, Kor Phaeron   would cause untold destructions  against the innocent populaces.  Poisoning Calth’s Sun with radiation-rich  metals and unstable substances, Calth’s   atmosphere would become volatile  and lifeless and inhospitable husk. 

Despite the Ultramarines rallying and dealing  a crippling blow to Kor Phaeron and his fleet,   the Word Bearers had conducted a fatal blow to  the Loyalist war effort before it had even began.  The most numerically superior Legion had  been severely damaged, with it’s Primarch:  

Roboute Guilliman and several of his  senior officers coming close to perishing.  Summoning a vast Warp Storm in their wake:  the Ruinstorm, the Word Bearers would further   exacerbate travel and manoeuvrability to  the already scattered Loyalist Legions.  Cutting off the Ultramarines from Holy Terra,  the Warmaster’s slow yet un-halting march to  

The Throneworld would be assured. Yet despite their efforts,   the Word Bearers had played a dangerous game  and incurred the wrath of the 13th Legion.  Half their fleet lay in ruins and  many of their Legion has been slain.  Seeing his revenge against the Ultramarines  as unsatisfied, Lorgar Aurelian would broker  

An alliance with the 12th Legion of the  Legionnes Astartes: the World Eaters.  Alongside the Primarch of the  12th: Angron, Lorgar would enact   the Shadow Crusade against the Ultramar system. For while the Ultramarines were a sizeable force,   against the fury of two Legion  their might would be strained…

Emboldened with his victory at Calth, Lorgar  would push further into the Ultramar system.  The five-hundred world would be bled by the  rennetless and savage assaults of the combined   12th and 17th legions; further preventing the  Ultramarines from confronting the vanguard of  

The Traitor war effort: the Sons of Horus. Twenty Six worlds would be destroyed in   quick succession Lorgar would observe the  worsening of his brother Angron’s health   with the continual damage inflicted by  his brain-implant: the Butchers Nails.  Diverting their crusade to the  World Eater homeworld of Nuceria,  

The two Legions would seek a means to delay  or prevent further damage incurred from   the malicious implants from those whom had  originally nailed them into Angron’s skull.  Finding no answers, the Word Bearers and World  Eaters would raze Nuceria to the ground and be   confronted by the Ultramarines retribution  fleet commanded by Roboute Guilliman. 

Attempting to destroy the Word Bearers  flagship: Fidelitas Lex, the Ultramarines would   simultaneously deploy onto the surface of Nuceria  and board the World Eater flagship: Conqueror.  Weakening the Fidelitas Lex in orbit, the  Ultramarines lead by their Primarch would   destroy the Gloriana Class battle-ship. As the shell of the Fidelitas Lex crashed  

Into the oceans of Nuceria, Guilliman and  his Ultramarines would descend onto the   planet and confront the Traitor Primarchs. Duelling Lorgar, the two would strike a   deadly blow with Guilliman achieving an  opportunity to strike the killing blow.  Yet with the intervention of Angron into the fray  Roboute Guilliman would duel a Primarch once more. 

Imbuing his Brother with chants and plights  to the Ruinous Powers, Lorgar would imbue   Angron’s fury and upon the bones of his  former homeworld achieve his Apotheosis.  Reborn as a Daemon Prince of Khorne, Guilliman  would see no choice by to retreat from Nuceria   due to Lorgar’s interference. The Shadow Crusade had ended,  

For now it was time for Lorgar and the World  Bearers to return to the Warmaster’s side… Emboldened with his seeming divine favour of the   Ruinous Powers, Lorgar would see an  opportunity to usurp the Warmaster.  Disgusted at his brother’s futile refusal  to submit fully to the thrall of Chaos,  

Lorgar would believe that without succumbing fully  to their demands the war effort would be lost.  Following the Battle of Beta-Garmon and Horus’  wounding at the hands of the Primarch of the Space   Wolves: Leman Russ, Lorgar would make his move. As the Traitor Primarchs assembled the world of  

Ullanor readying to make their final assault of  Holy Terra, Lorgar would confront the Warmaster.  Allying with the Primarch of  the Emperor’s Children: Fulgrim,   Lorgar would brazenly enact his coup. Betrayed by his close advisor,   Zardu Layak and Fulgrim, the Warmaster  would be warned of Lorgar’s ambitions. 

Brought to heel by the Warmaster, Lorgar  would be beaten within an inch of his life.  Banishing Lorgar from his sight, Horus  would assimilate the World Bearers   under the command Zardu Layak into the fold. Lorgar once more disgraced would proclaim that  

The Siege of Terra would fail and for his weakness  never battle at the gates of the Imperial Palace.  Yet Lorgar’s words would be proven true, and  with the death of Horus Lupercal at the hands   of the Emperor of Mankind the Bearer of the  Word would need to find a new crusade to wage. 

Retreating into the Immaterium with the elements  of his Legion still loyal to his call, Lorgar   would not be seen again within the material realm. His weakness forever recording in the annals   of the Imperium’s history for  all to see and his Word Bearers  

Now bereft of a vison or prophecy to follow. Yet with Lorgar’s ascension to a Daemon Prince   of Chaos Undivided within the Immaterium,  it is unknown as to the means the Urizen   would accomplish his Apotheosis. Yet in the eyes of his Legion,  

His stature proves as vindication enough for  their insane and depraved fall from grace… During their service of the Great Crusade  the Word Bearers would alike to most Legions   comprise of a variety of Chapters. Largely unchanged in structure with   the reunion of their Primarch, the 17th’s  squads would consist of 20 Astartes and be  

Painstakingly maintained at full strength. 5 squads would serve each Legion Company   as 100 Astartes and specialise  in a particular combat role.  As few as 5 Companies or as many as 30 would  be grouped together to form each Chapter   ranging from 500 to 3,000 Astartes strong. Each Chapter would bear a sigil based on  

The constellations of Colchis and  be lead by a Captain of the Legion.  Examples of Chapters such as the Serrated Suns,  Weeping Hand, Ebony Serpent and Graven Star   would each earn valour for their Legion  and excel in their own expertise of war. 

Whilst the Chapter of the Osseous Throne would  deploy infantry in vast waves, the Quillborn   Chapter would excel in ship-to-ship  boarding actions and naval battles.  Conducting warfare with a flair for  the dramatic, the Word Bearers would   incorporate elements of storytelling and fables  into their most lauded victories and compliances. 

Specialists such as the Ashen Circle would  descend from the heavens to deliver a decisive   blow to the enemy and for their valour be  selected to ascend to the rank of Chaplain.  Leading bands of fanatical mortal soldiers  into battle, the Word Bearers would pioneer  

The zealous fury that would later be adopted  by the Frateris Militia of the Imperium.  Such mobs of infantry would overwhelm the  Word Bearers foes before the hammer-strike   of the Legion would crush the  remaining fragments of defiance.  Yet following the Legion’s corruption of  the Horus Heresy, the Word Bearers would be  

The only Traitor Legion would retain their  command structure into the Era Indomitas.  Venerating their patron gods collectively, the  Word Bearers worship Chaos Undivided and show   outright contempt for any whom show favour  to a singular deity of the Ruinous Pantheon.  Now employing Daemons to act as  shock-troopers during battle,  

The 17th Legion continue to draft hordes of  Chaos Cultists to further bolster their ranks.  Utilising such pawns as cannon fodder,  the Word Bearers under the command of   their Dark Apostles divine the  best means to achieve victory.  The Legion’s heretical hymns and ritual prayer  before battle bolstering their faith in the  

Powers of Chaos Undivided and calling upon  it’s malignant power to aid their cause… The command hierarchy among  the Word Bearers has remained   a constant throughout it’s tumultuous history.  Still revered by his sons, Lorgar Aurelian  is the highest authority of the Legion. 

Seen to be favoured by the full extent of  the forces of Chaos, Lorgar is a martyr to   the beliefs and cause of the 17th Legion. Ranks within the Word Bearers would seem   to bear similarity to even Loyalist  Legions in it’s initial structure. 

Each Chapter is lead by a Chapter Master, whom in  turn commands the Captains who lead each Company,   who in turn guide the Sergeants of each Squadron. Yet unlike every Legion of the Astartes,   the Word Bearers venerate their  Chaplains as the highest authority.  Attached to each company, with several  chaplains working within each Chapter,  

The spiritual leaders of the Legion would  overrule the commands and decisions of   even the most senior ranking commanders. The High Chaplains of the Legion revered   above all save for the Primarch, under  the tutelage of the 1st High Chaplain:  

Erebus these individuals would see to the Legion’s  subjugation to the whims of their patron gods.  Now regarded as ‘Dark Apostles’, the Chaplains  of the Legion convene their Dark Council of   superiors to decide the fate and course  of the Legion’s actions across the stars. 

Each Dark Apostle mentors a First Acolyte to  ascend to become a members of the Dark Council.  Ascending to the rank of Dark Apostle  only in one of three circumstances.  First, should the First Acolyte’s  mentor perish in battle.  Second should he be selected  by the Dark Council to join  

Their ranks on the Daemon World of Sicarus. Or Third, the First Acolyte must murder his   mentor and await appointment by the Dark Council. The Anointed are sealed within their Terminator   class armour shell and are enclosed  within until he shall die in battle. 

Only 200 in number, these Elite Warriors often  safeguard the First Acoltes in battle and prove   their worth felling the most fearsome of enemies. The Gal Vorbak, or ‘Blesses Sons’ in their native   Colchisian dialect serve as the  Legion’s most deadly warriors. 

Survivors of the Serrated Suns Chapters venture  into the Eye of Terror during the Horus Heresy,   these Daemonically possessed Space Marines would  transform into mutated beasts during combat.  Resuming their human form after battle, the Gal  Vorbak though now small in number are among the  

Most deadly and feared warriors of the Legion. The Anakatis Kul Blade-Slaves would be formed   during the aftermath of the burning of Monarchia. Imbued by the prayers of the Crimson Apostle:   Zardu Layak, the Anakatis Kul’s bodies would  be transformed and imbued with unholy strength. 

Hungry for slaughter and armed with  the Xenos inspired Anakatis blades,   these ravagers of war would carve a swathe  through their enemies with remorseless bloodlust.  The Annunake or in Colchis ‘Judges of  Hell’ would be deemed worthy of being   interred within the chassis of a Dreadnought  and serve their legion even in living-death. 

Their battle-fury and corruption by  the powers of Chaos enabling them   to one day ascend to transform into  a Hellbrute of the Ruinous Powers… During the Legion’s service prior to the Horus  Heresy each member of the Word Bearers would   adorn their armour with Colchisian prayers. The slate grey of their armour uniform with  

Only the Chaplains of the Legion given the  right to adorn their trim with gold filigree.  Following the shaming of the legion at Monarchia,  the Chaplains would repaint their armour black in   remembrance of the ashes of their once proud  city that stained their legion’s ceramite. 

With their continual corruption  by the Ruinous Powers the Word   Bearers would eschew the grey of their  Legion and adopt a deep bloody crimson   etched with heretical runic texts. Known by the Loyalists as the ‘Traitor’s Red’,   the Word Bearers trim their  armour with black and silver. 

Originally adopted by the Serrated Suns  Chapter, the arterial ‘Betrayers Red’   would become infamous during the Battle of Calth  and become widespread following the engagement.  Blasphemous excerpts from their Primarch’s tome:  The Book of Lorgar, these parchments made of   human skin are worn proudly on their armour. The most accomplished warriors of the Legion  

Bear the most scripture inscribed by the hands of  their Dark Apostles and Chaos Sorcerer brethren.  Each champion of the Legion enacts sermons during  battle and whilst bedecked in encyclopaedias of   blasphemy weaken the Immaterium; to enable  Daemons to infiltrate the mortal realm. 

Their once proud emblem of a tome  of knowledge ablaze with the burning   flame of the Imperial Truth now  replaced with the Latros Sacrum.  Upon their left shoulder plate, the  stylises roaring horned daemon’s head   represents their complete submission  to the whims of the Ruinous Powers. 

Wreathed in unholy flame, the Latros Sacrum  displays the Legion’s total submission to the   thrall of Chaos and unwavering loyalty  to the machinations of fell beings.  Veterans of the Legion bind lesser Daemons to   their will with the aid of helmets  adorned with geometric symbols to  

Aid in their subjugation of the neverborn. Yet should a Daemon of great power be bound   to such Veterans they shall submit their souls  to bind with the malevolent and powerful beings.  Proliferating an extensive variety of banners  throughout every battalion of the legion,  

The Word Bearers hold aloft their debased  symbols of their treachery and debased ideology.  The Legion’s armoured vehicles alike  to their armour bear the scriptures and   etchings of the Book of Lorgar and stampede  into battle with unabashed zealous fury…

With the Lorgar’s Ten Millenia seclusion upon the  Daemon World of Sicarus, the Word Bearers as a   Legion have unlike many of its contemporaries  retaining a unified and unbroken structure.  Now commanded by the Word Bearers Dark Council,  an assortment of Dark Apostles of the Legion  

Dictate the objectives and whims of the Legion. Divided in purpose by it’s two most venerated   and infamous leaders: Kor Phaeron and Erebus,  the faith of the Word Bearers though split is   nevertheless enough to give purpose to it’s ranks. Waging ‘Wars of Faith’ against the Imperium, the  

Word Bearers strive to bring human civilisations  into the thrall of the Ruinous Powers.  Whether a million or even a billion souls  should perish, the Word Bearers shall not   relent in their slaughter should it bring  even a single world into the service of Chaos. 

Often competing with the Alpha Legion  in bringing planets into the fold,   the Word Bearers are often comprised of  such large numbers of both Astartes and   Human Cultists that few Imperial forces  can stem the tide of their heresy.  Though among the darkness, the Primarch  of the Raven Guard: Corvus Corax has  

Been reported to harry and harass the Word  Bearers should the occasion present itself.  With even Lorgar Aurelian coming close to  being slain by the claws of the Ravenlord.  Yet the World Bearers shall not relent in  their continued corruption of the hearts and  

Minds of Humanity’s vulnerable citizenry. For should a single idol of the Emperor,   or cathedral made in his name stand  the Word Bearers shall not cease   their purge of His relics and ideals. For it is said that Lorgar Aurelian now  

Stirs from his long meditations with the  birth of the Great Rift across the Galaxy.  And after 10,000 years of bitter reflection,  the Urizen is once more readying for war…  Each legion of the 1st founding of  the Adeptus Astartes specialise in   a strategic aspect of waging war. Some are renowned for their skill  

At siege craft and fortification. Others are revered for their use of   manoeuvrability, savagery or skill at arms. Yet few are known for their cunning,   and only one of their number is infamous for  their use of secrecy, sabotage and espionage.  The 20th legion of the Adeptus  Astartes: The Alpha Legion.

Known as ‘The Ghost Legion’ during their  early deployment during the Great Crusade,   the 20th Legion would be the last to be  crafted of the First Founding according   to conventional records of the Imperium. However as-is the case for most of the   legion’s history, much of it is shrouded in  conspiracy, redacted records and misinformation. 

Other Remembrancers claim their  inception to be prior to any of   the legions in a prototypical form. What is known is that the Emperor of   Mankind would construct the legion in total  secrecy, with even the Legion’s geneseed   information being kept a priority secret. Alike to their kindred ‘Trefoil’ of the  

Salamandes and Space Wolves, the 20th  legion would be formed in separation from   the other First Founding armies to enable their  deployment for specific strategic operations.  Their early service as a legion characterised  by abductions, assassinations, targeted strikes   and espionage missions on Holy Terra, the Legion  would seemingly operate without any command from  

The discovered Primarchs of the Imperium. Their designation known only as: ‘Alpha’.  Though it is believed by the wider Imperium that  the legion’s Primarch known as ‘Alpharius’ would   be the last of the Emperor’s sons to be  discovered, accounts from the Primarch’s  

Own hand elude to his discovery prior to that of  even the vaunted ‘1st’ Primarch: Horus Lupercal.  Commanding his legion from the shadows, if the  records of the Primarch are to be believed,   his existence would be known only to a  select few of the Imperium: The Emperor,  

Malcadore the Sigilite and Commander of  the Adeptus Custodes: Constantin Valdor.  Alpharius claims to have even be involved in the  culling of the ill-fated Thunder Warriors under   the guise of the Dark Angels legion. Should these records be accurate,   the Emperor of Mankind would nonetheless  refuse to expand the ranks of the Alpha Legion. 

Constraining their ranks to an  estimation of two thousand Astartes.  Their geneseed either too valuable  to squander on vast deployments,   or burdened with a potential  flaw in it’s gene-encoding.  Some speculate that the Alpha Legion would undergo  further augmentations by the Emperor’s own hand   unique to their legion alone, though  this speculation cannot be verified. 

Used sparingly and with great specificity  during the remainder of the Great Crusade,   records of the legion would be scarce. Often designated as a legion with no   heraldry or identification markings, or even as  imposters garbed in the colour of other legions. 

Their acts of subterfuge would cause great  resentment and distrust amongst the other legions.  Whilst never leaving witnesses or  tangible evidence of their involvement,   the Alpha Units’ reputation as the Ghost Legion  would spread as a force capable of bleeding   their enemies slowly yet absolutely. Their tactic of overwhelming confusion  

And lightning-quick lethality  designated as ‘The Harrowing’. Apathetic to the praise so cherished by  the other Legions of the Adeptus Astartes   and their Primarchs, the Alpha Legion  would attend to their duties with the   sole purpose of furthering their own gains  and fulfilling their duty to The Emperor. 

Their first joint-operation with their  fellow Astartes Legions beginning with the   Dark Angels during the Rangdan Xenocides. Primarch of the 1st, Lion El’Jonson would   parlay with a representative  of the 20th legion: Alpharius.  Feigning his true identity as the Primarch  of the Alpha Legion, Alpharius would claim  

The legion to be bereft of a Primarch’s command. Willing to offer their blades and bolters to the   Lion to aid in his ascension as the potential  candidate of the Warmaster of the Imperium.  Their goals aligned to the Lion’s practicality to  utilise secrecy during war more suited than the  

Tactics of Roboute Guilliman or Horus Lupercal. Though in truth this offer would be entirely   self-serving to the 20th legion’s needs. Their alliance to the Dark Angels enabling   the recovery of the twin brother of Primarch  Alpharius from the Rangdan warzone: Omegon.  With the Twin-Primarchs of  the 20th legion re-united,  

Their fluidity in weaving shadows and trickery  to achieve their goals would be bolstered.  Embracing their Primarch’s dual-vision  for the future, the Alpha Legion’s use of   misdirection would become peerless amongst  any established army within the Imperium.  Their continued mastery of deception forming  strong rivalries between their more stoic  

Peers such as the Ultramarines,  Imperial Fists and Death Guard.  With Primarch of the Night Lords: Konrad  Curze, commenting on the Alpha Legion   that they were ‘Sinners in a shroud of lies’. With all but the Luna Wolves, Dark Angels and Iron   Hands campaigning successfully in co-operation  with the Alpha Legion without incident. 

Spinning more elaborate webs of cunning,  the Alpha Legion would garner many great   victories throughout the Great Crusade. Despite abandoning many Imperial practises   and efficiencies to achieve their goals. With one such incident on Tesstra Prime   leading to the slow annihilation of  the defender’s forces with casualties  

Of up to 90% in the campaign’s peak. With Primarch Alpharius countering his   criticism’s of thecampaign being winnable with  much more efficiency as ‘too easy’ to achieve.  Shunned by the Primarchs from this moment  on, only Warmaster Horus Lupercal would   defend and praise his brother’s actions. Impressed with his capabilities at ensnaring  

And controlling his enemies with such skill. Yet for the rest of the Great Crusade,   the Alpha Legion would recede back  into the dark corners of the galaxy.  Their prowess in war proven beyond a shadow of a  doubt, despite their fellow legions misgivings.

With the dawn of betrayal at the hands of the  Warmaster, the Alpha Legion’s loyalty to the   Imperium of Man would be called into question. Yet the Alpha Legion would be contacted by the   strange clandestine Xenos organisation: The Cabal;  prior to legion’s involvement in the civil war. 

Presented with two predictions of the future, it  is claimed that this moment would fracture the   Alpha Legion’s path for the millennia to come. Given warning and understanding of the fell   powers of Chaos, the Cabal would show  Alpharius Omegon the first of two futures: 

The Emperor would endure the great Civil  War across the stars, but with his victory   his species would be cursed with ten, perhaps  twenty thousand years of decay and suffering.  Until their inevitable destruction  by the forces of the Ruinous Powers. 

Yet should Horus Lupercal succeed, Humanity would  perish and drag the forces of Chaos into their   oblivion. Salvaging the galaxy in the process. Torn between allegiance to their father and the   survival of the galaxy, it is unclear  as to the intent of the Primarchs. 

All that is of import, is their decision  to side with the Traitor Legions.  With the betrayal of Horus Lupercal relayed  to the Emperor of Mankind, the Alpha Legion   would be sent to crush the traitor forces  stationed at the planet of Istvaan 5. 

Adding their strength to the second wave of  assault, the initial wave of destruction to   bring the Traitors to heel would be fought by the  Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard Legions.  Yet alike to the rest of the assault’s  reinforcements: The Iron Warriors,  

Night Lords and Word Bearers; the Alpha  Legion would turn on their Loyalist brothers.  Though not without  contradictions in their methods… Allowing the Raven Guard and their Primarch Corvux  Corax to escape their blockade of the planet,   the Alpha Legion’s loyalty to their Traitorous  Brothers would be called into question. 

Combatting a World Eaters Battle Barge in the  process of allowing the Raven Guard to escape,   the Alpha Legion would explain to the  Warmaster that they had infiltrated the   ranks of the Loyalist Legion. Using sleeper-cell individuals   within the Raven Guard, the Alpha Legion  would ingest the brains of the fallen and  

Graft their flesh onto their faces. Gleaning knowledge of their phantom   identities and allowing their seamless  integration into the 19th Legion.  Distrustful of their methods of war upon  hearing Alpharius’ explanation to their goals,   The Warmaster would command his own legion to  be screened for imposters within their ranks. 

For the 20th Legion had shown themselves to  be self-serving in the extreme and willing to   defy the orders of the Warmaster  should they see an opportunity.  Distancing themselves from the Traitors to the  Throne, the Alpha Legion would attend to a series   of interferences to delay other Astartes  Legions from engaging the wider-conflict. 

Blockading the White Scars at the Chondax  System, Primarchs Alpharius Omegon would   ignore their orders from the Warmaster to recruit  the White Scars into the fold of the Traitors.  Baiting them into combatting their own forces, it  is unclear if this decision was used to bolster  

The White Scars allegiance to the Throne. With Omegon commanding an assault of his   own forces that occupied a pylon  array preventing communications   between the White Scars and Holy Terra. For this would not be the only time the   Alpha Legion would combat it’s own forces. With Alpharius manipulating the Shattered  

Legion strikeforce under the command of Iron  Hand Shadrak Meduson to attack his own forces.  The Primarchs thinning their own legion  of Astartes, whether to weed out men of   conflicting loyalties or to enable plausible  deniability when scrutinised by the Warmaster,   such machinations cannot be known  outside the working of the Alpha Legion. 

Though for the remainder of the Heresy,  not one Astartes of the Alpha Legion   would attempt to engage the loyalists  on the Throne World of Holy Terra.  Yet it is unknown where  their true allegiances lie.  With each act of aid to the Imperium  countered by betrayal such as the attempted  

Assassination of Primarch Roboute Guilliman. And for each named incidence of Alpharius,   there are conflicting sources of his  presence in systems leagues away.  Reports claim the death of Alpharius during the  Battle of Pluto against Primarch Rogal Dorn,   whilst others claim the death  to be his twin Brother Omegon. 

All that can be said in truth  are aspersions and half-truths.  Even following the Horus Heresy  into the Scouring and beyond… Unlike their Traitor brethren, the  Alpha Legion would not retreat into   the Eye of Terror with the fall of  their Warmaster: Horus Lupercal. 

Re-organising in the Galactic East,  the Alpha Legion would be hounded by   the Ultramarines to the planet of Eskrador. Outmanoeuvred by Primarch Roboute Guilliman,   reports suggest that Alpharius Omegon was  once again slain at the hands of a Primarch.  Yet despite such a seemingly critical blow  to the Alpha Legion, the Ultramarines would  

Nonetheless be driven from the conflict. The Alpha Legion fracturing into smaller   autonomous warbands following the battle  and seeming loss of their second Primarch.  Forming bases on secret Asteroid Field bases,  Space Hulks and dark corners of the galaxy;   the Alpha Legion continues it’s  service by harassing garrisons,  

Ships and settlements across the Imperium. Instigating Chaos Cult uprisings across   many worlds, those whom claim the  benevolent intent of the Alpha Legion   find much to contradict their claims. For with the fracturing of the legion   into Warbands seemingly without the leadership  of the Primarchs, it is unclear as to where  

Any one warband’s allegiance can lie. Whether as double-agents intent on the   survival of the Imperium, failed instigators of  the death of the Emperor and destruction of Chaos,   or pawns in the great game of the Ruinous Powers. Declared exterminated by the High Lords of Terra  

And Inquisition on no less than three  instances, the Alpha Legion continues   to survive as both loyal sons of the Imperium and  duplicitous servants of Chaos in equal measure.  Warring not only against the  galaxy, but their own ranks… The Alpha Legion’s command structure much like   their history is mired in  contradiction and mystery. 

With only their armour colourings  of somewhat reliable consistency.  Incorporating scale-like designs of a serpent  into their armour, the Alpha Legion primarily   mimic the colour scheme of their Primarch  Alpharius: Azure Blue, Silver and Emerald Green.  Further changing the aesthetics of their skin  such as the face with tattoos of the Hydra. 

With those still standing defiant to the lure  of Chaos within the legion wearing their armour   colours as a testament of their loyalty  to their Primarch’s vision and principles.  Their heraldry and livery kept intentionally  sparse to keep their enemies from ascertaining   command structure, high-valued  targets and other useful information. 

Their aims to misdirect their enemies preventing  their Hosts and Cohorts from fracturing with   the loss of an individual Space Marine. Sometimes changing their standard colour   scheme to pale greys, purples,  bronze hues and other disparate   designs to continually confuse their adversaries. Though some signs of subtle command structure can  

Be gleaned from their armour designs on occasion. Such as the ever increasingly delicate   engravings of serpents of the Alpha  Legion’s arm-plating to denote rank.  Yet many speculate that not even the legion’s  Primarch Alpharius knew the full extent of   his legion’s command structure. Crafting an innately unknowable  

Organisation to confound even their  own members whom pried too deep.  Yet there do exist Champions of the legion  donned in cloaks of scales. These badges   of prestige reclaimed from the fallen and  re-used by their fellow battle-brothers.  Whether these ‘Champions’ are  true masters of the blade or  

Merely distractions to further  distract their enemies is unknown. Comprising much alike to other Astartes prior to  the Scouring, the Alpha legion would nonetheless   change the naming conventions of their divisions. Companies would be known as ‘Harrows’, Battalions   as ‘Cohorts’ and Chapters known as ‘Hosts’; though  even these naming conventions would be continually  

Broken down and re-organised over time. Recruitment within the legion determined   not on an individual basis, the operatives of  the Alpha Legion would succeed on a squad-basis.  Eschewing personal glory or heroics, the  Alpha Legion would function as a highly   organised cohesive organisation. Decisions and strategies would be  

Conducted in democratic debate, with  even Non-Astartes operatives allowed   to voice disagreement and insight. A trait unique amongst the 20th being   their tendency to recruit many non-Astartes  operatives to bolster their legion’s ability   to infiltrate and influence all facets  of society and enemy command structures. 

Even re-integrating comprised operatives when  possible to retain their skills and experience.  Employing highly specialised equipment,   the Alpha Legion would be characterised  for their use of specialised Bolter rounds,   cloaking technologies, chameleon shrouds  and specialised armour configurations.  Highly autonomous in nature and adapting to  the assassinations and deaths of command staff,  

The Alpha Legion has an uncanny ability to  adapt and survive from almost any setback.  Giving credence to the Legion’s choice of avatar  as the multi-headed mythical beast: The Hydra.  For should the head of the Hydra be  severed, more shall sprout in it’s place…

This has been a tale of the Great Imperium of Man. Read by the Remembrancer. The Traitor Legions would all revel  in their degeneracies yet inevitably   find their rewards gifted by the  Ruinous Powers bitter to taste. Regret, madness and strife would be the legacy  of the Traitors to the Throne with only the  

Promise of misplaced vindication in the name  of their benefactors enough to sate their egos. For those who turn their backs on the Emperor  shall inherit only shame, ignominy and spite. The light of his being the only salvation from  a galaxy enraptured by slaughter, betrayal   and insanity.

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