The Gulliman Heresy

[Lord Insanity]

An Ultramarine.

T

he Gulliman Heresy properly began in the Macragge Massacres, though events leading to it began on the accursed world of Macragge. Gulliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines, became temporarily insane as a result of the death of his adopted father, Macragge's king. He began a 'grand purge' of the rebels, a terrible event in which billions died. At it's end, bodies lay in vast piles and entire cities had been exterminated, and Gulliman's mind blanked out that terrible year, that was known on Macragge before its destruction as the 'time of woe'.

The Emperor picked Gulliman up from Macragge, not bothering to investigate the year's events. In hindsight, this proved to be his greatest mistake. Gulliman was given command of the Ultramarines Legion and set off to the Eastern Fringe of the galaxy. Impressed by his courage and leadership ability, the Emperor quickly declared Gulliman Warmaster and left for Terra. In his conquests, Gulliman fought with the Grand Dominator, a xenos psyker that had puppeted three whole sectors. In the battle, the Dominator gave Gulliman visions of what he had done, but he was unshaken.

Immediately after decapitating the Dominator, Gulliman fell into a coma for three days, during which the gods of Chaos sent daemons to corrupt him. He was shown the full, terrible horror of what he had done, the terrible slaughters he had committed, and told this was what he truly was - the destroyer of the Imperium. Gulliman soon believed this.

Immediately after this, shaken to the core, he sent his heralds to all of the 18 Legions. They were to go to Macragge and pledge themselves to his dark crusade. The traitors sent their message - they were to join Gulliman, based on their loyalty to the Warmaster, which he had been careful to encourage. The loyalists sent theirs - the heads of Gulliman's messengers. Both sent their full complements to Macragge, all except the Dark Angels and Thousand Sons, who were busy with internal matters.

A Word Bearer.

T

he Macragge Massacres were the true start of the Heresy, resulting in massive damage caused to the loyalist Legions. They began when the loyalists drop-podded down to the location of the Fortress of Hera, expecting easy victory, only to discover that Gulliman and his Legion had long left.

To make matters worse, they were surrounded by the Traitors, who used their knowledge of the terrain to trap the loyalists. So began a frantic retreat to the dropships, ambushed and besieged at every corner, with little they could trust and no knowledge of where the enemy might be. Thousands of Space Marines died at Macragge, the most heavy losses sustained by the Alpha Legion, who fought in the final defence of the landing zones and lost their Primarch along with a quarter of their Legion.

Angered by this, the Marines sent fusion bombs down on the landing site, annihilating the Fortress of Hera in a torrent of plasma flames. Alpharius and a good quarter of the Alpha Legion were caught in the devastation however, and the damage was done.

A Thousands Sons Marine overtaken by the Shining Light.

The Betrayal of Prospero

The Betrayal of Prospero happened during the events of the Macragge Massacres. Ahriman betrayed his Legion and sought access to the sorceries of Tzeentch, leading half of his Legion with him into damnation. Magnus tried to stop it, but the heresy's root had gone in too deep and it could not be expunged. The devastation wrought during their psychic duel was immense, and Prospero was sent screaming into the Warp, along with Ahriman and all his servants.

The entire planet was destroyed, leaving only the Shining Tower and the immediate area untouched by the cataclysm. Magnus was aghast at the loss of so much knowledge, and vowed vengeance against Chaos for eternity, an oath the Thousand Sons and their Successor Legions have rededicated themselves to many times.

However, Magnus and those loyal to him surivived the cataclysm, arriving at the Siege of Terra to finally turn the tide.

W

orlds quickly began falling before Gulliman's juggernaut, and as he marched to Terra, nothing could be done to stop him. In days, thousands of worlds pledged themselves for Gulliman, and the Imperium was forever divided in half. The entirety of Ultima Segmentum fell in months as Gulliman continued his march to glory.

The Legions desperately had an idea - to fall back to Terra and guard the Emperor while defending the system against the threat of Gulliman's conquests. This resulted in the division of their forces, while worries began to formulate about the defense of Terra.

It emerged that Rogal Dorn had taken to Nurgle's worship, renaming his Chapter the Plague Fists, while Sanguinius had fallen to Slaanesh and Leman Russ to Khorne. The Dark Angels became the priests of Chaos Undivided, while Corax served Tzeentch and the Salamanders became 'the Hammer of Chaos', siege-breakers whose skill in destruction knew no bounds. The Ultramarines became the core of this Black Imperium, an empire of evil that survives to this very day, while the Iron Hands fused themselves to daemon-machines.

Eventually, the Traitors broke the blockade on Terra and began the assault...

An Alpha Legion Space Marine.

M

ars fell to the Traitors almost at the beginning of the Heresy, its leaders swayed by Gulliman's charisma, and when the Traitors broke the blockade they used it as their staging point for the Seige of Terra. Thousands upon thousands of Land Raiders and Leman Russes were built in days by billions of slaves, while immense Titans clambered into their drop-ships and the betraying Skitarii joined the Traitor hordes.

The Siege began with a devastating bombardment, teratons of firepower boiling the oceans and annihilating billions in seconds. Then the Traitors landed, and began a week-long rampage of slaughter until there was nothing left to kill. But they could not breach the Imperial Palace.

Gulliman himself teleported down, and as he watched the Titan Legions finally break through the walls, ordered the charge. Hundreds of thousands were mowed down in the first few seconds, but Gulliman had billions to spare, and could afford the loss of his cannon fodder, while the defenders had lost contact with the wider Imperium and thus could not call for reinforcements.

Drawn by the slaughter, thousands of daemons poured in through breaches in reality, massacring the defenders and slaughtering thousands. Finally, at the Gate of the Palace proper, Horus finally arrived, teleporting in and charging the four greater daemons responsible for the incursion. He was last seen fighting them to the last, but his body was never found. However, the daemons were defeated, but Gulliman's marines poured in and the loyalists were forced to retreat.

It took them approximately 60 days to breach the palace gates, during which the Sons of Horus, Night Lords and Thousand Sons Legions arrived to bolster the loyalists. Every step the Traitors took as they advanced was payed in blood, the blood of those sworn to Chaos predominantly, as Perturabo's masterful defence slowed the juggernaut of Gulliman down, as the orbital clash began in earnest, the Death Guard joining the fray. Gulliman knew that he did not have much time, and thus advanced himself, slaughtering the defenders en masse and hacking through thousands at a time.

At the final gate, when all seemed lost, Magnus appeared, and fought the traitorous hordes with all his might. However, when Gulliman himself appeared and charged, Magnus was badly, mortally wounded. Gulliman taunted him, sending embers of his psychic power deep into Magnus' mind, trying to force him to break. Magnus resisted, and in his rage unleashed more power than any other could unleash, actually wounding the previously untouchable Gulliman and cracking his seemingly invulnerable armour. However, the psychic energies were too much for any mortal to wield, and Magnus died from his wounds and the power that had burst within him. Since that day, the Thousand Sons and their successors have been cursed with the Shining Light, which enhances their powers for a brief time but eventually destroys them in a burst of psychic energy.

At the last, Gulliman entered the Emperor's throneroom. So began the confrontation between father and son as Gulliman threw the broken body of Magnus to the floor. The Emperor was too stunned to act as Gulliman walked in, but as he tried to obliterate the Emperor with his gaze, a humble soldier called Ollanius Pius threw himself in front of the beam and was instantly blasted apart.

With a single blast, brighter than a supernova, the Emperor obliterated Gulliman body and soul, the Chaos Gods fleeing from their mortal pawn.

As a last, contemptuous, gesture, the fleeing Traitors dropped bombs on the Astronomican, forcing the Emperor to tie the Golden Throne's systems to it and forego the task of ruling the Imperium to projecting the Astronomican, from which he has never moved since.

A Plague Fists Marine. Unlike the other Traitor Legions, the Plague Fists use scavenged Imperial Armour, and occasionally use this to disguise themselves as loyalists.

A

fter the failure of the assault on Terra, the Imperium slowly began to recover. An Eclessiarchy was set up, headed by Lorgar, which revered the Emperor as a god. There was a need for more Legions after the Heresy, and without the knowledge to make new Primarchs, a system of Successor Legions was established, in which great Legions would be periodically established from the Legions of the First Founding, which diminished in size to make the first Successors.

The greatest legacy of the Heresy, however, has been the Dark Reaches, a massive region of space in the Ultima, Obscurus and Pacificus Segmentae in which lies the Black Imperium, a twisted parody of the Imperium dedicated solely to the worship of Chaos and ruled over by the Chaos Space Marines, in which the life of citizens is nothing but unending drudgery and toil. It is constantly at war with the True Imperium, a conflict which has stalemated and has led to unending war in most parts of the galaxy. The Tyranids were at first viewed as a divine punishment for the Black Imperium, but after they began to attack the True Imperium this line of thought has been quietly dropped.

The Black Imperium

The Black Imperium is the exact opposite of the True Imperium, and is engaged in constant war with it, for both seek to dominate the galaxy alone. In it, the Chaos Space Marines rule, and the rest of the population are nought but slaves. Its capital is Macragge, although the daemon-worlds of the Traitor Primarchs are also great influences. It is divided into individual worlds, each ruled by a Chaos Warlord who rules by might alone. It is quite anarchic, and member worlds are free to make their own decisions in any respects they choose, even attacking and conquering other members!

The only reason it has not conquered the True Imperium, is that it is not unified. Occasionally warlords unite to face common threats, but for the most part they constantly fight and squabble amongst themselves, declaring war on each other for the most petty reasons, and an attack on the True Imperium might represent a single Warlord's attempt to gain reknown as much as a unified effort among several warlords.

The closest thing it has to a unified body is the Dark Mechanicus, a heretical organisation that supplies the weaponry and fleets for the warlords. They are mercenaries, selling their services to the highest bidder, including the space-pirates that roam the Dark Reaches.

Dreaded among the Imperium are the Black Crusades, that only occasionally come when a sufficiently strong warlord briefly unifies the Black Imperium into a resemblance of a war footing. Thousands upon thousands flock to the banners of the warlord as he prepares to attack. The neverending war inside the Black Imperium ceases briefly. Then, they strike. The Lost and the Damned march in the billions. The traitorous tide is seemingly never-ending. Daemons walk the mortal earth where they will. Then, the tide is driven back, but not after having carved a swathe of destruction through the Imperium of Man.

[Lord Insanity]

Any comments?

[randian]

Typos:

 

You misspelled Guilliman's name.

The entire Imperium only has a million worlds. Millions could not

have pledged themselves to Guilliman.

[Night Dragon]

It's very interesting. It's pretty well written, and it seems like you put a lot of thought into it. However, I don't think it makes a lot of sense.

 

One of the reasons that Horus was able to bring about the turning of so many legions is because he was Warmaster. He was able to manipulate their deployment and missions to instill and grow resentment. Roboute Guilliman did not have this kind of influence during the canonical Heresy. It is not established what kind of relationship he has with the main Legions that turned with him. As far as I can tell, he just sends them a message and they decided to drop everything and turn to Chaos. There is no reason for it; even if all the Primarchs were real great buddies, they would not be so quick to turn. To make your version of the Heresy more believable, the other Legions need some motivation. That was the main thing that I noticed.

 

Also, Roboute Guilliman seems to somehow be able to convince people to his side really easily (not just the Legions). I could see the Ultramar system following him, because he is pretty much in charge (but I don't know how much of the Ultramar as we know it existed during the Heresy). His Legion is a sure thing, he is the Primarch after all. But all these other worlds? Why would they follow him? There is no motivation for them, either. If I recall correctly, Horus did not have the support of a large number of regular planets. He didn't need them, so he didn't bother with anything besides the Legion and requisite support. I know lots of Guardsmen turned, but they do that a lot.

 

Third thing, and last because I have to finish up for the night. There is very little influence of Chaos in the decisions of Roboute Guilliman. He apparently decides to grow a mohawk and stick it to the man after a xenos psyker screws with his head. But no influence from the Chaos gods. The other Legions turn to Chaos gods (but again, with little to no motivation). Horus, however, was turned after a long time of subtle mindf**king, not a single experience. They played upon his pride, whereas here Guilliman's anger? desire for vengeance? is exploited, but it is very unclear.

 

I'm impressed with the work you've done, and I realize that GW has a whole heck of a lot more time to develop the story.

 

 

 

PS I just noticed a time discrepancy. If Guilliman was given command of the Ultramarines and sent to the Eastern Fringe, where he fought the Grand Dominator and turned, wouldn't Horus, who was also campaigning in the Eastern Fringe, be a problem? If they are in the same general area of space and then Guilliman up and leaves for home, Horus might notice. If Horus started to return to the central region of the galaxy to find out what the heck was going on, Guilliman would not have a very large head start.

[Lord Insanity]

I'll try and edit it so it makes more sense.

[Lord Insanity]

Edited it.

[Night Dragon]

I can only skim it right now, but I like some of the changes. Making Guilliman Warmaster explains some of his influence on the other Legions (there is a lot of implicit influence, as you seem to be switching Traitor Legions with Loyalist Legions [Thousand Suns = Dark Angels]).

 

 

Another thing I like is the creation of the Black Imperium, as opposed to the Eye of Terror. If you played this up more, then it would definitely seem more different from the Horus Heresy. As it is now, you are pretty much just switching names and Legions, admittedly done in a creative and engaging manner.

 

Couple of minor things: consider switching the Imperial Fists and the Salamanders, as the Fists already have a history of siege warfare.

 

I am glad that you thought it through enough to have the Blood Angels and Sanguinius turn to Slaanesh, not Khorne. Well, I'm not glad they turned, but at least you knew that the Black Rage and Red Thirst are a result of the Heresy.

 

 

 

 

PS I like the Thousand Suns / Dark Angels switch, it is pretty cool.

[Lord Insanity]

Added pictures of loyalist Legions. IAs should come at the weekend.

[Lord Insanity]

A Thousand Sons Marine.

T

he Thousand Sons Legion of the Space Marines are steeped in mystery, although one thing is never in doubt - they hate Chaos with a passionate hatred that goes back to the days of the Gulliman Heresy, and fight on the battlefield with determination and courage.

The Heresy of Gulliman

Alas, Prospero, thou art no more. Thy shining towers shattered, thy Legion divided, thy wondrous works destroyed.

Alas, for thou are gone to thee, forever, for eternity.
What heresy spawned Traitor's flight?
What dark evil accursed ye?
- from Remembrancer Leksion's epic poem, the Heresy of Gulliman.

P

rospero was a civilised world in the Segmentum Solar, renowned for one thing - the population was made up entirely of psykers. So, when Magnus the Red fell down on that world, the locals took him in. After all, he was a psyker and thus one of their own, so they were obliged to give care to him. The planet's ruler adopted him, claiming him as his heir, and Magnus was tutored extensively in the psychic arts by the best teachers available. They claimed that he had a great understanding, almost instinctive, of the psychic art, and the time came when he could best the greatest tutors easily in his sparring lessons. Magnus grew quickly, and soon rose to a great position of power, as the ruler of Prospero itself.

When the Emperor arrived, with the Legion taken from Magnus' geneseed, at that time numbering only a thousand, Magnus eagerly took charge, and set about recruiting. Soon, the Legion's numbers reached 10,000 and higher, but Magnus would always call them his Thousand Sons.

The Thousand Sons fought heavily in the Great Crusade, taking Colchis and regaining the Primarch Lorgar among but a few of their conquests, meeting the xeno threat with bolter and chainsword and psychic might. Rebels fell before them with pathetic ease, and the banner of the Thousand Sons soon flew on thousands of worlds.

Alas, those days were not to last.

The Shining Light

Sometimes, on the eve of battle, some members of the Thousand Sons and their Successor Legions have dream-visions of Magnus fighting the arch-heretic Gulliman. This is the first sign of the Shining Light. Thus, they are formed into special assault squads, as their bloodthirst and hatred toward the foe reach critical levels, and their psychic powers increase dangerously. Their eyes glow with blinding power, and their psychic abilities increase tremendously. The Ad-Mech is at a loss at how to prevent this from occurring, and only one Marine so far has managed to purify himself of the Shining Light.

Their eventual fate is to explode in a burst of Warp-energies, annihilating the foe with the 'shining light' of Magnus himself. This is held as an honour, for it is felt that in their glorious deaths, they slew many of the floe, and thus they have a place at the right hand of the Emperor himself.

A

t the time of the Macragge Massacres, Ahriman, greatest Librarian of the Thousand Sons, fell to the snares of Tzeentch. He began reading the forbidden works of sorcery extensively, converting others to the worship of Tzeentch, and other such things. When the time was right, he struck. Half of the Marines of the Thousand Sons rebelled, slaughtering the populace of Prospero's capital in minutes. The valiant efforts of the Planetary Defence Force were to no avail, and the loyalists were blockaded in the Shining Tower, Ahriman mentally duelling with Magnus.

The devastation caused during the duel was incredible. Ahriman's power had been boosted by Tzeentch, but Magnus was naturally the stronger, and was more experienced. The sky burned with lightning, molten rock reaching up from the earth and hell-wrought flames annihilating buildings. More importantly, the fabric of reality itself began to rip apart, and at the climax of the duel, Prospero was destroyed. The ground, the atmosphere and everything surrounding the Shining Tower was sent screaming into the rift, utterly destroyed by the Power of Chaos. The loyalists were safe in the Shining Tower, but the traitors were utterly destroyed by the rift, sent screaming into the Warp to die a terrible death.

Ahriman's body was not found. He was assumed dead, but could he have somehow survived the vagaries of the Warp? None know. Anyway, Magnus, aghast at the loss of what he considered his home, made for Terra to protect the Emperor from the Traitors he suspected planned to attack it.

He arrived as Gulliman came to the final gate, the one gate between him and the Emperor. He fell in battle against the traitor Primarch, but in his dying moments unleashed a psychic blast of such tremendous fury that it knocked Gulliman backwards, cracked his armour, and actually wounded him.

Gulliman's armour was damaged, thus giving the Emperor the chance to destroy him forevermore. Thus, the Imperium owes its continued survival to Magnus the Red.

The Thousand Sons believe in dictating exactly the terms and conditions of the battle, and thus use ambushes and misdirection heavily. They are cunning strategists and tacticians, and due to the fact that every Marine is a low-level psyker, have unparalleled coordination and skill. Orders and battle plans are dictated telepathically by the Legion's Librarian-Captains, and are passed on unneringly to each member of every squad.

The Thousand Sons prefer infantry warfare, not armoured collumns or parades of jetbikes. No, the most usual battle formation is the Thousand Sons themselves striking from drop-pods or teleporting in. Their scouts are highly used, fighting behind the lines to take out enemy leaders, destroy ammunition depots, layway supply collumns and other such activities. The Devastators are not forgotten, often ambushing tank groups and helping to drive back enemy armour when it threatens the infantry. Assault squads are rarely used, most often to disrupt the enemy and suddenly attack the center of his battleline, most often breaking it. Dreadnoughts and Terminators often form the heart of the attack, assaulting the enemy via drop-pod or teleportation and striking them at the heart of their forces. Bikers are frowned upon, and are often Scouts instead of full Marines.

It is often impossible to trick or double-guess the Thousand Sons, and the best tactic against them is to not care for the lives of their men, using them to break them slowly but surely.

The Thousand Sons' successor Legions include the Blood Ravens, the Sons of Magnus, and the Red Guard. As they are a fleet-based Legion, they recruit from a number of worlds, most often with a high proportion of psykers, although the geneseed of Msgnus gives the recipient psychic powers and enhances already-existing ones.

Their recruitment is simple - a Veteran Marine arrives, takes those who wish to be recruited, and leaves the planet with them. Those not fit for the geneseed become serfs, although this is a position of honour and is not taken as a disgrace by the Thousand Sons. Serfs support the Marines, flying their ships, crewing their tanks, and piloting the Thunderhawks, although the Fellblades, the most honoured vehicles, are always crewed with Marines.

The Thousand Sons are divided into 99 Chapters of a thousand men, each divided into 9 Companies. They are one of the largest Legions, alongside the Emperor's Children and Sons of Horus. As they are fleet-based, they are formed around their venerated Battle-Barges, and thus are scattered throughout the Imperium and largely autonomous. Each Chapter Master has the ultimate authority over his Chapter, while the Legion Master has direct and ultimate authority over all Thousand Sons, even the Chapter Master. The Chapter Masters and the Legion Master meet by astropathic communication every 5 years to discuss events of grave importance, both over the Legion and the Imperium. The Legion Masters of the Successor Legions of the Thousand Sons also meet with this conclave.

The Thousand Sons believe in iron-willed self-control, courage in the face of certain death, and defiance in the face of defeat, as exemplified by Magnus. They revere Magnus the Red as their father, and the Emperor as the perfect man. They are noticeably hard to corrupt to Chaos, and it is said that since Ahriman's Betrayal, not a single member has turned. Every member has an iron will, almost as powerful as the Grey Knights, and this is rumoured to be further strengthened by their mysterious initiation rituals, that they do not allow outsiders to view. They have a dislike of the Word Bearers, perhaps caused by the fact that they do not worship the Emperor as a god, and they rarely ally. They also dislike the Death Guard and World Eaters.

[Aurelius Rex]

You misspelled Guilliman's name.

This has been brought up in the first response post, but hasn't been addressed yet. Mis-spelling the name of your main protagonist severely weakens the credibility of the idea. I know the most recent chaos marine codex also mis-spells it - the authors and proof readers should be ashamed of themselves - but everywhere else it is 'Guilliman'. :angry:

[Legatus]

It's his story, so I guess he can name his characters whatever he wants.

[Lord Insanity]

You misspelled Guilliman's name.

This has been brought up in the first response post, but hasn't been addressed yet. Mis-spelling the name of your main protagonist severely weakens the credibility of the idea. I know the most recent chaos marine codex also mis-spells it - the authors and proof readers should be ashamed of themselves - but everywhere else it is 'Guilliman'. :blink:

 

I've always read it as Gulliman.

[Aurelius Rex]

You misspelled Guilliman's name.

This has been brought up in the first response post, but hasn't been addressed yet. Mis-spelling the name of your main protagonist severely weakens the credibility of the idea. I know the most recent chaos marine codex also mis-spells it - the authors and proof readers should be ashamed of themselves - but everywhere else it is 'Guilliman'. :)

 

I've always read it as Gulliman.

...

 

...

 

:P

 

Ooookay. Your choice. :blink:

[Lord Insanity]

Word Bearers and Death Guard IAs should be up soon.

[atin]

nice read ;)

love the 1K sons IA.

 

looking forward to more

 

cheers atin

[Lord Insanity]

A Plague Fists Marine. Unlike the other Traitor Legions, the Plague Fists use scavenged Imperial Armour, and occasionally use this to disguise themselves as loyalists.

T

he Plague Fists started out as the Imperial Fists, one of the great Legions of the Astartes. They were renowned for their valour and skill at breaking seiges, and their Primarch Rogal Dorn was the Emperor's second choice for Warmaster, after Gulliman. Thus, when Gulliman sent his message, Dorn eagerly joined, ordering the murder of all his astropaths and navigators just minutes after they jumped into the Warp to Macragge, trusting to Chaos to protect them. Just that moment, Grandfather Nurgle, seeing the Fists as a choice prize, sent his most virulent plagues after them as he becalmed them in the Warp.

Lysander, Herald of Despair

Plaguelord Lysander is the bitterest foe of the Imperium, due to the fact that he has always escaped death so far. Wielding the Manreaper, an antique scythe containing the essence of a Great Unclean One, he has spread plague and pestilence to a thousand worlds. On Desedata IV he slaughtered an entire Imperial Guard garrison, always as silent as death itself.

He has killed millions so far, and yet daemonhood eludes him. His appearance is near skeletal, and his helm is shaped like a skull. He is draped in rotting finery, and the shrunken heads of his defeated enemies lie on his belt. It is whispered in some dark circles that Lysander is doomed to an unending immortality of decay, and cannot be killed by mortal weapons. Since this has not been true of the previous Heralds of Despair, this is but rumour yet.

The entire Legion was infected in minutes, and within hours the very walls of the ships began to decay as reality warped under the hideous load of Nurgle's diseases. Flies buzzed their songs of worship to the Grandfather, and Dorn, his physique broken, finally lay down to die. But he saw a daemon, who told him that the way to salvation was to embrace the plague, as he must embrace death every time he fought in battle. The daemon gave him an offer - serve Nurgle, or die the most agonising death the Grandfather could devise. Dorn, his mouth pouring with phlegm, could only nod his head.

When the Imperial Fists emerged from the Warp near Macragge, they had changed greatly, the once-proud ships rotting and decaying, yet possessing a surprising endurance. They had renamed themselves the Plague Fists, and Dorn was now known as the Lord of the Flies. Their first act as followers of Nurgle was to virus-bomb the resistant world of Prandium, turning its gardens into rotten mulch and its inhabitants into plague zombies. Billions were taken into undeath in moments, and the world was forever cursed.

Since the black day of the Macragge Massacres, the Plague Fists have killed trillions, turning entire worlds into plague-planets just by assaulting them. They serve Nurgle, and delight in corrupting beauty. Entire planets have been wiped out by the plagues they bring, which only the superhuman endurance of a Space Marine can withstand.

The Plague Fists do not make use of havocs nor fast assault. Instead, they march toward the enemy, wading through bolter and lasgun fire and aiming to simply endure the assault until they get into close combat, which their power fists allow them to easily win in.

The simplest way to defeat the Plague Fists is to simply outmaneuver them, and they are poor in urban combat, where their infantry are easily outmaneuvred. Thus they make heavy use of Vindicators to crush enemy buildings into rubble, and a city marked by the Plague Fists is often totally destroyed.

The Plague Fists are divided into Warbands commanded by a Plaguelord, who commands that Warband totally. The Plaguelords are themselves commanded by the Herald of Despair, who is subsevient to Rogal Dorn.

[Lord Kharloth]

Wouldn't it make sense to combine all of these alternate heresy threads into one thread or librarium article?

[Lord Insanity]

A Word Bearer.

Athraxes looked at the Dark Angel before him. Was this, the twisted spawn of El'Johnson, what he could have been, what the Word Bearers, his proud Legion, could have become? The Marine was half-delirious, chanting unholy phrases as the chainsword wound did its work, and for a fleeting moment Athraxes felt a kinship with the Dark Angel, before the words of Lorgar rose to the fore and he fired his bolt-pistol into the traitor's head. Then, for a fleeting moment, he heard the mad laughter of dark gods.

T

he Word Bearers are renowned throughout the Imperium as the bravest defenders of the Imperial Creed, noble defenders whose stubbornness and religious fervour has won many battles.

Eliphas the Inheritor

Eliphas the Inheritor, Liberator of Kronus from the Black Imperium, is one of the most famed Apostles of the Word Bearers. He single-handedly, without the use of Imperial allies, conquered Kronus for the Imperium, crushing the upstarts of the Tau and thwarting the ancient designs of the Necrons as well as beating the Orks and defeating a sizable force of Chaos Space Marines and the Lost and the Damned.

Indeed, Kronus is now a world wholely dedicated to the worship of the God-Emperor, a beacon of light in the darkness of the Black Imperium.

W

hen the Primarch Lorgar landed on the world of Colchis, he was found by a shepherd, and soon ordained as a priest. A great demagogue, he united the world of Colchis and became its ruler, a height he could have never imagined. That night, he recieved a prophetic dream, of giants in armour, led by a cyclops and a great lord in gold armour, descending from the skies. The day after, the Thousand Sons arrived to reclaim Colchis for the Imperium of Man. Lorgar the priest was given command of the Word Bearers Legion, and vowed to serve the Imperium to the last.

For many years Lorgar served the Imperium, converting the populace totally to the Emperor's worship and leaving them far more loyal to their new master than they had been before. A grand cathedral, the headquarters of the Word Bearers, was built upon Colchis, but the Emperor was not pleased by Lorgar's devotion. He had wished for an Imperial Truth, and Lorgar was bearing the word of an Imperial Cult! He was talked down by Horus, who convinced him that alienating one of the Primarchs was not something he wished to do. Instead, he sent Gulliman, his Warmaster, to talk Lorgar down and convince him of the worthlessness of his faith.

However, on the way, Gulliman was ambushed by the servants of the Grand Dominator and fell into a coma, during which he betrayed the Imperium to serve the dark gods of Chaos. He sent a message to Lorgar, asking him to serve his dark crusade.

Lorgar's response was this, sent with the head of Gulliman's messenger:

To serve any power other than that of the God-Emperor of Man is heresy and blasphemy of the highest order. I will never serve this 'Chaos', Gulliman, no matter how pleasing your flattery is. This is naught but heresy, consorting with the dread powers of the Warp. I do not know what you mean to say; therefore, I demonstrate my displeasure with the head of your herald, pathetic fool. You are lower than the dirt beneath my boots, heretical scum. Depart from the Imperium and trouble us no more.

Later, Lorgar sent the entirety of his Legion to Macragge, where he fought in the thick of the fighting, hacking and slaying as the enemy threatened to overwhelm them. They managed to reach the thunderhawks just before the Alpha Legion fought their famed rearguard action, slowing the enemy down greatly at the cost of their Primarch and a quarter of their Legion. Lorgar sent a Chapter to Ultramar, where they performed Exterminatus on the world of Calth before retreating to Colchis to safeguard it, as the rest fled to Terra to protect the Emperor.

After the grim Seige of Terra and the death of Gulliman, Lorgar became Eclessiarch, but disappeared in early M.34, the last of the Primarchs to leave, promising to return when his Legion, and the Imperium, needed him. After his disappearance the Eclessiarchy became bloated with corruption, quickly falling into apostasy and hoarding wealth rather than giving to the poor. It used its Frateris Templars to police the Imperium rather than sending them into Crusades, and at the last, when the Eclessiarchy had dominated the Imperium for over two millennia, the Word Bearers and their Successor Legions were the ones to cut off the serpent's head, the Legion Master claiming direct control over the Eclessiarchy, which he has had (at least as a matter of ceremony) ever since.

Unlike other Legions, the Word Bearers recruit en masse, mostly from the children of Colchis. These children are often gangers, as over the millennia, Colchis has become a hive-world. These children are sent on Crusades, supervised by the Word Bearers themselves, to test their skill in battle. The most that survive the high attrition rate often become Serfs, whom the Word Bearers treat with disdain and barely allow to pilot their vehicles and crew their ships. They are given only lasguns and flak armour and are even sometimes used as cannon fodder by the Word Bearers.

Those that become actual Word Bearers become Zealots, who are roughly equivalent to Scouts, and eventually Crusaders, equal to Tactical Marines. They may, if they have the skill with chainswords or heavy weapons, become Seraphim or Ophanim, the Word Bearers' name for Assault and Devastator squads. Veterans are known as Initiates, and Brother-Captains as Apostles, who are an odd mix of Librarian, Apothecary, Chaplain, and Captain. Those that show even greater ability in leadership and religious fervour become Grand Apostles, essentially Chapter Masters, who are ruled over by the Legion Master, known as the Master of Apostles. Tech-Marines are treated as a necessary evil at best. The Legion is organised into 70 Chapters, each with 10 Companies with 10 Squads, not counting support and the Serfs.

The Word Bearers fight with insane stubbornness, and when defending are impossible to shift. When attacking they advance slowly but surely, aided by heavy armour, the Ophanim and the Seraphim, with Serfs as cannon fodder in some Companies. The Apostles vary their force composition according to visions they recieve, and in some cases this has proved to be oddly prescient. They are like a rock - impossible to shift, and hard when it strikes the enemy.

Over the millennia, Colchis has become a full Hive World, although this has not hindered the Word Bearers' recruitment, and the population is still incredibly religious. The original Temple of the Holy Word still stands, an immense structure rising into orbit from the constant additions over the millennia. It is defended by thousands of orbital defense batteries, missile silos and other defnces, as befits a Space Marine Legion's homeworld.

The Word Bearers are incredibly arrogant, treating all others with disdain. They believe that the Emperor is a god, unlike the other Legions, and do not ally with others. They and their Successors prefer to fight alone, and when they are forced to unite with other forces, treat their allies with disdain and disrespect. They have a long-standing rivalry with the Thousand Sons, each side disliking the other for unknown reasons.

[Lord Insanity]

An IA should come today.

[Loken of the 10th]

One thing that confused me is that it said the Iron Warriors were defending the Palace so why/how did they become traitors?

[Perry T]

I like how you have done this it seems really well thought out and is a good read. it all seems to work well however I have noticed that - in your thousand sons article you say that it is still organised as i legion. i'm fine with that after all it was gulliman who wrote the codex and split the legions up. however you also mention that they have several successor chapters which would indicate that they have split into chapter size armies. could you clear this up for me?

[Lord Insanity]

I like how you have done this it seems really well thought out and is a good read. it all seems to work well however I have noticed that - in your thousand sons article you say that it is still organised as i legion. i'm fine with that after all it was gulliman who wrote the codex and split the legions up. however you also mention that they have several successor chapters which would indicate that they have split into chapter size armies. could you clear this up for me?

[Lord Insanity]

I like how you have done this it seems really well thought out and is a good read. it all seems to work well however I have noticed that - in your thousand sons article you say that it is still organised as i legion. i'm fine with that after all it was gulliman who wrote the codex and split the legions up. however you also mention that they have several successor chapters which would indicate that they have split into chapter size armies. could you clear this up for me?

 

There are successor Legions but not Successor Chapters, the Chapters bit was a typo.

[Lord Insanity]

One thing that confused me is that it said the Iron Warriors were defending the Palace so why/how did they become traitors?

 

The Iron Hands became Traitors in this alt-heresy, not the Iron Warriors.

[Lord Insanity]

Experimenting with a new format now...

A member of the Salamanders in stolen loyalist armour.

The Assault on Skalathrax

The Assault on Skalathrax happened during the Scouring, the defense of the weakened Imperium from the Traitor Legions of the Black Imperium. In it, the Salamanders attacked the civilised world of Skalathrax, razing the cities to the ground and causing immense chaos. Millions died in the beginning of the onslaught, yet by destroying the cities, the Salamanders denied themselves of cover from the unremitting cold, and were soon defeated by a force lead by Legion Masters Eidolon and Khârn, including elements from the Emperor's Children and World Eaters Legions.

T

he Salamanders are one of the most terrible Traitor Legions, fighting for a bleak vision of oblivion rather than the Imperial Truth they once championed. They are dark nihilists that seek only to burn and destroy, and whose only blasphemy is to build. They serve no Chaos God, rather, they raid and destroy worlds at random, razing cities to the ground and reducing fertile fields to crater-covered wastelands.

Their history is long, and it begins on Nocturne, the world on which the Primarch Vulkan originally landed. There was no indication in his childhood of the nihilistic faith that he served as a Traitor. Indeed, he was a champion of Nocturne's people, who defended them against the countless threats that came upon them; Eldar raiders, fire-lizards, and the techno-barbarian pirates that occasionally attacked for Nocturne's rich resources. As a Primarch in the Emperor's service, he was a mighty warrior, honourable, determined and full of bravery.

That all changed at the beginning of the Gulliman Heresy. Vulkan accepted Gulliman's letter and went to Macragge to join him, causing heavy casualties for the loyalists. The Salamanders had changed greatly from what they once were. They began to become more proficient in seige warfare and urban combat, which their nihilism and love of destruction aided them greatly in. This was never shown more greatly than in the Seige of Terra, in which they slaughtered entire Hives worth of innocents and came close to crushing the the defences of the Imperial Palace, although they were driven back and Gulliman was forced to deploy the Legio Mortis and their Imperator-class Dies Irae.

After the Seige of Terra, the Salamanders scattered across the Galaxy, and even as Nocturne was given the sanction of Exterminatus and their Primarch slain on the ice-plains of Skalathrax, they swore vengeance, planning to destroy all civilisation and order in the Imperium to bring about a never-ending age of chaos.

The Salamanders have no heirarchy, no leaders to slay in battle or assassinate. They are divided into self-sufficient warbands, each marauding a specific region of space. Each warband has its own tanks, ships, recruitment methods and strategies. But all agree on one thing: that the ultimate destruction of civilisation and, indeed, life, is a good thing, and will occur because of them.

This belief has led to terrible slaughters - the Assault on Skalathrax and the Vauxhallian Genocides to name but two, resulting in the destruction of cities, the burning of forests, the salting of fields and even the extermination of planets by orbital bombardment. The Salamanders wantonly destroy, burning cities to the ground . Their only belief is one in oblivion, which they almost worship, and a deep, bottomless nihilism that has no limits. They listen not to cries of morality, for they have none, merely a deep and abiding hatred of all life, order, and civilisation, which they believe is the one true truth of Chaos - destruction.

They have no honour, no rules of war. All they care about is killing, and killing on vast scales. So it was at Skalathrax, and so also at Vauxhallia. Even the other Traitor Legions fear them and give them a wide berth, for the Salamanders have been known to fire on their allies after the battle, in yet another of their pursuit of final destruction.

They do not take prisoners, instead preferring to wipe out the enemy. It does not take more than a cursory reading of this document to find out why, for the Salamanders are on a nihilistic mission to purge all life from the universe, and leave it cold and empty once more.