The Alternate Heresy - IA: Word Bearers

[Aurelius Rex]

OK, slight change of plan... The Alternate Ultramarines IA is not ready yet, but the Word Bearers article is hot off the presses. That, and the appeal of alternating traitors and loyalist where possible means that Lorgar's boys get the limelight today. For the confused, it is all series set in a parallel universe where the Heresy happened just a little differently. Check out the links in my signature for the overview article and the previous three articles for the World Eaters, Emperor's Children and the Raven Guard.

 

+++

 

Index Astartes: Word Bearers

 

An Alternate Heresy

 

The Word Bearers are tireless in their crusade to have the galaxy worship The Emperor as divine. It is a duty they carry out with both impassioned, fiery rhetoric and the cleansing purity of the bolt gun. They were one of the first legions to comprehend the existence and threat of Chaos, and that faith in the God-Emperor was soul-armour against its wiles. They used this knowledge to save Warmaster Horus from possession on Davin, but to their regret were unable to prevent the Dornian Heresy, which crippled their living deity. As Guardians of the Faith, they founded the galaxy-spanning Ecclesiarchy, and after witnessing how it nearly plunged the Imperium into another civil war, now act as its moral compass to ensure that such a powerful body can never again be corrupted.

 

Origins

U

niquely among The Emperor’s Primarchs, Lorgar’s formative years were spent not on the battlefield, but within the cloistered halls of the seminary, struggling with concepts of faith and the nature of divinity. The planet of Colchis had been settled early in the first wave of human expansion into the galaxy, but had become isolated and fallen into feudalism during the Age of Strife. Through the long millennia an order known as the Covenant remained a spark of hope against the darkness. Though much of the meaning behind their belief had been lost to superstition, they kept alive the knowledge of a humanity that had colonised distant stars, and the promise that one day they would be reunited.

 

The tale of how Lorgar came to the Covenant is recounted by Carpinius in his Speculum Historiale. It posits that Lorgar was subconsciously aware that The Emperor was searching for him, and this was the reason the Covenant’s tenets resonated so strongly. Once initiated into the Covenant, he absorbed every aspect of the vast and complex creed, and as would be expected of a Primarch, excelled in its practice. Driven by the knowledge that re-unification was at hand, and urged on by his friend and mentor, Kor Phaeron, Lorgar undertook a pilgrimage across Colchis, preaching to whoever would listen. His speeches were electrifying, and soon drew crowds in their tens of thousands, but gave his political enemies a chance to eliminate what they saw as a powerful rival.

 

It was only with an army approaching that Lorgar’s innate skills in warfare came to the fore. Over the course of eighteen months, his small entourage of clerics and civilians was transformed into a battle-hardened army numbering in the hundreds of thousands that swept away all who opposed them. Lorgar had not started the fight, but he was determined to finish it. Whenever he wearied of the slaughter, Kor Phaeron was there to assure him of the righteousness of their cause, and by the time the final enemy stronghold was razed to the ground and peace restored, the death-toll was truly monumental. His actions were vindicated, though, when shortly after The Emperor, accompanied by Magnus of the Thousand Sons, did indeed land on Colchis. Unafraid, Lorgar knelt before the Master of Mankind, and pledged the planet to His worship.

 

Lorgar was instructed by Magnus on the marvels of The Emperor’s Imperium, and given command of the legion of Astartes based upon his genetic pattern. He named them the Word Bearers, and inducted his most devout followers into their ranks. Kor Phaeron was of course amongst the first members of the Covenant chosen to join the legion, but in a tragic twist of fate, suffered catastrophic side-effects during the gene-seed implantation process. Though the death of his closest friend since childhood was a source of great pain to Lorgar, he bore the loss stoically, as an event pre-destined by fate.

 

Despite such views being regarded as laughable superstition on all but the most primitive Imperial worlds, Lorgar was unashamed by his beliefs. He saw to it that the Word Bearers and the Covenant embraced the worship of The Emperor with unrivalled devotion. They made it their duty to bring enlightenment to the galaxy.

 

The Great Crusade

L

orgar and his legion of Astartes were charged with reclaiming the scattered worlds settled by humanity under the rightful dominion of The Emperor, and they took to the task with zeal. Each world they liberated required a lengthy period in which they built great cathedrals to The Emperor, and won the people over to the cause. They would not continue on to the next planet until the previous one’s devotion was unquestioned. Although their progress was much slower than that of other legions, the planets converted by the Word Bearers, such as Yara and Fortrea Quintus, stand among the most devout in the Imperium, unwavering in even the darkest days of the Heresy. However, with a million worlds to claim, The Emperor grew concerned.

 

Lorgar disappeared behind the great armoured doors of the throne room. Outside, Horus stood stiffly to attention amongst the Custodes, unable to relax. He had witnessed events that had moulded the fate of the Imperium, and the meeting going on beyond that armoured wall had the feel of another pivotal moment.

 

He had only met his Lorgar once before today, and that briefly. His brother had struck him as intense and earnest, even brittle, but Magnus classed him as a friend, and Horus had learned to value his judgement. That was why he had been so ardent in trying to change The Emperor’s mind. Certainly the Word Bearer expeditions had been slow, but it was borne from the best of intentions. Horus knew The Emperor was uneasy that some of His subjects had taken to deifying him as a living god, preferring a form of empirical rationalism to such errant superstition, but perhaps such beliefs could be harnessed for the good of the Crusade.

 

Horus’s concern was that there was something fragile about Lorgar; as though he was a fine blade that had not yet been tempered. He sensed a great potential within his brother, but that at this stage too brutal a chastisement from the object of his worship would cripple him. That had been the reason Horus had pushed his father so hard to take a more measured approach.

 

Something about that conversation puzzled him even now. When he had asked where the harm was with some of his subjects worshipping him as a god, his father's face had darkened, and He had muttered ’Better they pray to me than to... others...’ before pausing. It was as though he was on the verge of revealing some great secret that had been welling up inside him, but then the moment passed as fast as it had arisen.

 

It was alright, though. Perhaps it was Lorgar’s infectious faith rubbing off on him, but Horus felt certain that his father would tell him what he needed to know when the time was right.

[/clearfloat]

When the summons came to attend to The Master of Mankind, the Word Bearers took it as a pilgrimage, and the entire fleet set aside their plans of conquest to attend to their lord. Lorgar took his audience with The Emperor as a great honour, and hung on every word his father said. He emerged transformed; his eyes opened to how he might even better serve the great work. By making such slow progress, they were denying so many other worlds The Emperor’s Truth. In the words of Lorgar: “Let the reclamation of worlds in the Great Crusade be the way we praise Him”.

 

By the time the Word Bearers reached their next world, the expedition had transformed its practice beyond all recognition. The task of converting newly compliant worlds to the worship of The Emperor was instead given over to men and women from outside the legion. These preachers and missionaries were given the task of guiding the worlds in worship after the Word Bearers had gone. Beyond the ad-hoc army of zealots that gravitated to their banner, a new, highly trained and well resourced military formation was created, called the Frateris Militaris. Nominally independent of the Imperial Army and Navy, they would ensure the preachers’ voices were heard.

 

Chaplains of the Word Bearers

Even amongst a legion of the devout, Word Bearer chaplains stand out as paragons of The Emperor’s Truth. Charged with ensuring the spiritual health of the legion, those chosen to enter the Reclusiam are trained and tested extensively before they are allowed to bear the Crozius Arcanum and Rosarius of their office. As befits their dedication to The Emperor, the imagery of His ancient thunderbolt and lightning icon is prominently displayed. This device predates the Aquila, and goes back to the wars to unify Terra. Lorgar selected it over the double eagle, honouring his father’s decree that Fulgrim’s legion would be the only Astartes to bear the later image. Just as their souls are sanctified and annealed by their training, so too is their armour. The process darkens the slate grey ceramite plates to midnight black. This, and the distinct death head skull mask they wear, makes them a fearsome sight to behold.

These changes greatly accelerated their progress in the Great Crusade, but not content with spreading the word to their one small corner of the galaxy, Lorgar went further. He approached his brother Primarchs to incorporate chaplains into their own legions, and while many rebuffed the idea as outside interference, the Thousand Sons, Dark Angels and Lunar Wolves were the first to embrace the concept. Lorgar sent his personal confessor, Chaplain Erebus, to Horus's legion, and he became a frequent visitor and confidant to the man who would eventually become Warmaster.

 

As Lorgar’s tenets for the worship of The Emperor as divine spread through the Imperium, it incorporated other nascent cults dedicated to the Master of Mankind. One of the most influential sects they absorbed was that of Lectitio Divinitatus, a faith prevalent amongst the artists, poets, iterators and even military forces that accompanied the Great Crusade’s expeditions. The co-opting of this group strengthened a religion already in the ascendant, and brought with it a group of people adept at catching the imagination and stirring the passions.

 

At Ullanor, The Emperor announced that he was going to return to Terra, and that Horus would command the Great Crusade as Warmaster in his stead. His last act before leaving was to call a conclave at Nikaea to rule upon the allegations of sorcery surrounding the Thousand Sons, and indeed that of all psykers within the Legionnes Astartes. The brother-Primarchs were sharply divided in their opinions, and not even Lorgar’s impassioned defence of his friend could sway Russ and Mortarion from their stance. The Emperor eventually ruled that there would be tighter restrictions on Astartes Librarians, and in addition the Thousand Sons would be ‘soul-bound’, and merge their essence with Him to grant them greater protection from the dangers of the warp.

 

Lorgar saw this as a great honour for his friend, and when he spoke with Magnus even referred to it as a “communion with the divine”. It was then that Magnus revealed the dark truth that had been haunting him; that the words of Corax, Russ and Mortarion held more to fear than even they realised. On that night, Magnus explained the nature of the Empyrean, the existence of the Chaos gods, and the vulnerability of psykers too weak, or weak-willed, to resist. It was, he said, a truth so devastating that The Emperor would rather it not be known, even to most of His sons, for the fear it would bring. Magnus, however, believed that Lorgar must know, and that widespread belief in The Emperor would be vital to shield them from the Sinister Powers.

 

The vigilance of the Word Bearers and the Thousand Sons paid off sooner than they could possibly have expected. On the primitive world of Davin, Warmaster Horus was laid low, and while the baffled apothecaries misdiagnosed the malady as the effects of poison, Chaplain Erebus recognised the signs of daemonic possession. Together with the psychic presence of the Thousand Son’s Primarch, Erebus carried out an exorcism which banished the entity and brought the Warmaster back from the brink.

 

From that point onwards, the Sons of Horus joined the covert war against Chaos.

 

Ultramar Segmentum

T

he barely averted possession of the Warmaster had brought home to Lorgar the dire threat posed by the Ruinous Powers, and that not even the Primarchs were immune to the danger. The Imperium was not yet ready to accept the full horror of what they faced, but Lorgar, along with Horus and Magnus, remained alert to the machinations of Chaos. Unfortunately, in a bitter twist of fate, this very caution was used by the Arch-Betrayer to further his own schemes, and is a salutary lesson into the wiles of the Great Enemy.

 

For some time there had been disquiet voiced over Roboute Guilliman’s ever-expanding realm in the galactic east. During the Great Crusade his quest for power and control had driven him to claim vast areas of the galaxy, and his legion had swollen correspondingly. Even with the Eastern Fringe brought into compliance, Guilliman’s domain had continued to grow as Imperial worlds bordering it petitioned to join his so-called ‘Ultramar Segmentum’. When Rogal Dorn approached Lorgar with evidence that the Ultramarines were set to secede from the Imperium and challenge the rightful rule of The Emperor, Lorgar was instantly concerned that the Ruinous Powers had found a new champion.

 

Aware of Lorgar’s suspicions, Dorn laid subtle hints to reinforce the impression that the Ultramarines had been corrupted. Claiming it was the will of The Emperor, Dorn had marshalled fully half of the Legionnes Astartes to assault the Ultramar Segmentum. While the bulk of the forces arrayed against Guilliman moved to strike at him on his newly conquered world of Istvaan V, the Word Bearers and the Alpha Legion were tasked with attacking Ultramar Segmentum from within. As was his favoured tactic, Alpharius scattered his legion far and wide to destabilise the rebellious Segmentum, while Lorgar’s fleet set course for the core worlds on the assumption that with Guilliman captured or dead, the rebels would look to Macragge for leadership. This plan was stymied because of the ever-increasing numbers of enemy vessels that shadowed them through the warp. This was seen as yet more evidence the Ultramarines were in league with the daemonic, and only much later did it become clear that their course had been given away by Dorn, the Arch-Betrayer. Forced to break out of the warp far short of Macragge in an area of space known only as ‘the Abyss’, the Word Bearers tore into the shadowing Ultramar fleet with a ferocity borne of the righteous denied.

 

Despite their triumph, it was clear from Astropathic scans and readings of The Emperor’s Tarot that overwhelming forces had been massed for the defence of Macragge. Knowing the Word Bearer’s dogmatic approach, the Ultramarines had expected that nothing would deflect Lorgar from a frontal attack, and so had drawn their armies and fleets back to the expected, well defended battleground of their capital world. Although not possessing the tactical genius of Horus or Alpharius, Lorgar’s decision to split the fleet and attack the neighbouring systems to draw the Ultramarines away from Macragge caught the defenders off-guard.

 

+++ People of Quintarn, you have turned your eyes from The Emperor’s Light, and for this heinous crime you must face the consequences. Our fleet will arrive in <crackle> sixty... nine... hours and... twenty... one minutes, <crackle> and unless every single eye has been plucked out before that time, your entire world will be reduced to ash. <crackle> People of Quintarn, you have turned your eyes from The Emperor’s Light... +++

Fragment of automated recording broadcast by the Word Bearers fleet

Displaying a degree of brutal inventiveness not previously associated with the Word Bearers, the lightly defended Ultramar worlds were devastated. Iax and Talassar were invaded and their cities sacked, Masali was bombarded from orbit, and Calth’s star was put to death by the Battle-Barge, Kor Phaeron. Even that paled compared to Quintarn, which they turned into the World of the Blind without having to fire a single shot. The campaign proved successful in drawing the Ultramarines away from Macragge, and in the early stages it seemed that it was only a matter of time before the planet would be weak enough to attack directly. All-too soon, though, reinforcements started to flow into the area, and not just from neighbouring sub-sectors, but Ultramarine forces fresh from their shocking victory at Istvaan.

 

Communication so far back to the Imperium through hostile territory was problematic, but eventually it became clear that Istvaan had been a ruse. Rogal Dorn had been in league with Guilliman, and that the Praetorian had plunged the Imperium into a civil war. Many of Lorgar’s captains pleaded with him that they should return to Terra with all haste, but they were over-ruled. Lorgar said that no force could stand against The Emperor, and that as a god, He would inevitably destroy the traitors. Their duty remained the same; they must destroy Dorn’s ally and prevent them from marching on Terra. Historians have debated Lorgar’s motives for not returning to Terra. Most attribute it to his stubborn dogmatism and faith in the divinity of The Emperor, although a few cite practical considerations; that they were so far away and so deeply mired in combat that they would never have been able to return in time to make a difference. Lorgar had already shown greater tactical skill than he was generally given credit for, and this has been viewed as further evidence of a growing tactical maturity.

 

As the war went on, Guilliman himself returned to coordinate the defences, and the scouring of the core worlds degenerated into a bloody stalemate. Although the legion was gratified that the threat they posed at the heart of their realm prevented the Ultramarines from moving to reinforce Dorn’s insurrection, the prospect of the Word Bearers ever setting foot on Macragge seemed to diminish with every passing day. That was until the arrival of envoys from the Alpha Legion.

 

Working together at last, a plan was devised to break the impasse. With Alpharius’s tactical genius and the Word Bearer’s stubborn determination and indomitable will, Macragge was to be brought to its knees. Using Alpharius himself as bait, the Alpha Legion drew Guilliman and a large proportion of his forces to the planet of Eskrador. The Ultramarines could not pass up this rare chance to strike back at the Alpha Legion in open battle, and took advantage of the seemingly collapsing Word Bearer threat to strike with overwhelming force.

 

The grand assault upon Macragge never came, though. Just as the Word Bearers were withdrawing from their scattered battlefields to assemble for a massed planetary assault, their plans were torn apart by catastrophic news; The Emperor had been grievously wounded by Dorn and lay dying. Lorgar couldn’t have stopped his legion leaving for Terra even if he had wanted to, and they threw caution to the wind in their flight. In their grief their allies were forgotten. Withdrawal turned to rout, and many brothers died during the return to their ships. Many more lost their lives as their ships were destroyed by the pursuing Ultramar fleet.

 

A feeling of desolation settled over the legion on the endless journey back to Terra. Despite Lorgar’s calming presence, the thought that their God-Emperor could be proved to be vulnerable, and therefore fallible, gnawed at them. For some wounded brothers it was all too much; brethren in the ship’s Apothecaria who should have returned rapidly to their squads died in their droves. Even proud veterans who had passed unscathed through the bloodiest battles of Calth and Iax succumbed to the soul-sickness, laying down their heads to rest, but never awaking.

 

In the depths of the gloom Lorgar addressed them. Every brother on every ship heard his proclamation. The Emperor was not dead, he said. His heart still beat and His soul still blazed like a nova within the Astronomicon. Had He not destroyed the Arch-Betrayer and banished the Traitor Legions from His sight? He explained that this was an act of transcendence, pre-ordained, and that just like the fate of his friend, Kor Phaeron, it was not their place to question or doubt the divine actions of The Emperor. The events they had endured were a test of faith; some had been found wanting and been judged accordingly. Those that remained had proved themselves, and were all the stronger for it.

 

When Lorgar stepped down from the command-pulpit, there was a silence so deep it drowned out the noise of the fleet’s warp engines. Then, as one, every brother raised a cry of devotion to The Emperor and to their Primarch. With that one speech Lorgar healed the spiritual wounds that had threatened to cripple the Word Bearers, and by the time they reached Terra they stood ready to take their place as paragons of faith in The God-Emperor of Mankind.

 

The Rise of the Ecclesiarchy

T

he Dornian Heresy had revealed the true, horrifying nature of the Ruinous Powers, and despite, or even because of The Emperor’s sacrifice, Imperial citizens turned to worship Him in their trillions. Lorgar’s talk of faith in The Master of Mankind being soul-armour against Chaos resonated with a fearful populace, and within decades it had become the official religion of the Imperium. The monumental task of coordinating the worship of the God-Emperor across the galaxy was given to a new body called the Adeptus Ministorum, or the Ecclesiarchy. It was only natural that Lorgar, author of most of their tenets of faith and son of The Divine Emperor should lead this new body. As Ecclesiarch, he became one of the High Lords of Terra, the group that ruled in The Emperor’s stead.

 

Cathedrals, basilicas and monasteries dedicated to the faith sprang up across the Imperium, especially on planets where The Emperor Himself had walked during the Great Crusade. No true Imperial citizen was without a devotional medallion bearing the thunderbolt and lightning sigil, and shrines in workplaces and homes became commonplace. Preachers and missionaries accompanied the fleets that brought worlds back into the Imperial fold, with even the most backward feudal world taught a suitably simplified version of the creed.

 

Lorgar used his growing influence to heal the rift between Terra and the Adepts of Mars. There was much bitterness at the Mechanicus’s relative silence during the Heresy, but after much discussion, an understanding was reached whereby the tech-priests and magos accepted the Omnissiah as an aspect of The Emperor’s divinity. He also bartered the Word Bearer’s support for Abaddon’s Crusades in return for his own Wars of Faith. In the main these were directed against the Traitor Legions that most closely aligned themselves with the Gods of Chaos, but on occasion it became necessary to fight against human worlds that had perverted the Imperial creed for their own ends.

 

The Age of Apostasy

A

lthough Lorgar was the Ecclesiarch, he was also a Primarch of the Adeptus Astartes and continued to lead his legion into battle. In M36, warp-storms swept across the whole of the Imperium, disrupting travel and weakening the boundaries between the physical plane and the realm of the Ruinous Powers. This led to widespread unrest as planets were periodically isolated and the whispers of Chaos grew stronger. It was the start of what later came to be called 'The Age of Apostasy'. To combat this, Lorgar personally voyaged across the Imperium, re-igniting the faith of those who had faltered, and rooting out the Chaos cults that sprang up in unprecedented numbers.

 

On the planet of Dimmamar, Lorgar led a force of Word Bearers and Frater Militaris against an outbreak of the Plague of Unbelief. The scale of the infection ran far deeper than had been anticipated, though; most of the population had degenerated into hollow-eyed walking dead and daemons of Nurgle stalked the streets. Despite Lorgar’s inspiring presence, his small force was cut off and surrounded by enemies numbering in the billions. When their last bolt round had been expended and the last flask of sanctified promethium had run dry, Lorgar threw open the great doors of the cathedral they had garrisoned. In the shadow of his father’s house of worship, he and his battle-brothers strode out, unafraid, into the press of plague-infected wretches. In a strong, steady voice, Lorgar recited from the Scriptures of the Dead, his sacred warhammer in one hand, a metre-long adamantium spike of the cathedral’s damaged altar in the other.

 

For days the slaughter went on, and Lorgar wearied, not of battle, but of the waste of his Emperor’s humanity. Though he could have fought on until the end of time, Lorgar dropped to his knees in prayer to his father. As his retinue formed a protective circle around their Primarch, the battlefield was enveloped by a golden glow and a feeling of peace which gave even the pestilent hordes pause. When it faded away, the Primarch of the Word Bearers’ soul had returned to The Emperor. Despite the many wounds he had suffered, his face was peaceful and at rest. This final sacrifice infused the world with The Emperor’s Grace, and in doing so every daemon was banished and the Plague of Unbelief driven from every human on the planet. It is said that there is no zealot like a convert, and the survivors of Dimmamar set out to prove the truth of this. As living proof of the power of The Emperor to save their bodies and souls from the Fell Powers, they returned to the worship of Holy Terra with a passion. The planet became a shrine world, and such was their piety that the Word Bearers even took to recruiting from the planet.

 

For the Word Bearers, the loss of Lorgar was a tragedy second only to The Emperor’s grievous wounding at the climax of the Dornian Heresy. Without their Primarch the Word Bearers were bereft, going through the motions as before, but pale shadows of their former selves. Into the yawning chasm left by Lorgar stepped an ambitious and greedy marine by the name of Goge Vandire. He excelled in organisation rather than in piety, and his guiding principle proved to be the accrual of personal power. Such a person should never have been allowed to become a Word Bearer, but once inside, his manipulative, scheming nature saw him rise inexorably through the ranks. While the legion grieved, Vandire smoothly assumed command of the Word Bearers, and so doing became the Imperium’s new Ecclesiarch.

 

Once ensconced on Terra as a High Lord, Vandire traded on the deep well of sympathy over the death of Lorgar to further extend his power base. As his confidence and lust for control grew, he used manipulation, bribery and threats of excommunication against High Lords who dared to oppose him. By the time it became clear that Vandire had ordered the assassination of the Master of the Astronomicon and replace him with a more malleable candidate, it was already too late – his grip on power was unassailable.

 

Vandire’s Imperium was in a perilously fragile state, though. Still wracked by warp-storms and beset by the resurgent Traitor Legions, his response was to call for ever-more brutal Wars of Faith. Rather than targeting the true enemy, these pogroms were aimed at persecuting parts of the Imperium that showed even minor doctrinal differences to his own, increasingly idiosyncratic view, or worlds which baulked at the ever-higher tithes demanded by the Ministorum. While Vandire’s radical interpretation of the lore differed wildly from Lorgar’s, the concept of disobeying orders came harder to the Word Bearers than to perhaps any other legion. A sense of deep unease spread through the legion, and they took increasingly creative interpretations of Vandire’s edicts to minimise the harm that they were doing, much to their master’s displeasure.

 

Events came to a head when Vandire moved to oppose the only group able to threaten his schemes: the Legionnes Astartes. Up until that point the other legions had stayed neutral in the power struggle. The Wars of Faith were carefully targeted to avoid systems with marine homeworlds or recruiting bases, and both sides were unwilling to be the first to fire for fear of igniting a second Inter-Legionary War. This uneasy arrangement was broken when Vandire accused the Emperor’s Children, who had never felt the need to have chaplains in their ranks, of impiety. When the Legion Master of the World Eaters spoke in their defence, he and their chaplaincy were branded apostates for defying the will of the Ecclesiarch. With the threat of whole legions being branded Excommunicate Traitoris, it seemed inevitable that brother would once again be pitted against brother, to the ruin of all.

 

The Fall of a Tyrant

The man who eventually rose to epitomise resistance to Goge Vandire’s reign of terror came from within the ranks of the Word Bearers; a young initiate by the name of Sebastian Thor. He was everything that Vandire was not; devoutly pious and selfless. Thor had in fact been born on Dimmamar at the time of Lorgar’s ultimate sacrifice, the symbolism of which was not lost upon his followers. Thor claimed with great passion and eloquence that the actions Vandire had taken spat upon everything that their Primarch had stood for, and called for him to immediately step down. In response, Thor was branded a heretic and sentenced, in his absence, to death. Any forces sent to carry out the Ecclesiarchal decree, be they Frateris Militaris, Imperial Army or detachments of Word Bearers only swelled Thor’s host, as they were won over by his stirring oratory. Recognising a sense of the purpose they had thought lost, the Word Bearers flocked to Thor’s banner. Even marines from other loyalist legions joined the great pilgrimage through the Imperium, which led inexorably towards Holy Terra, and the confrontation with the insane Ecclesiarch.

 

Feeling his control of the Imperium slipping away, Vandire revealed the existence of a previously hidden and fanatically loyal force. He had long been concerned over the way his own legion had responded to his edicts, and knowing the Frateris Militaris were no match for Astartes, Vandire had, though base trickery, groomed a sect called the Brides of The Emperor to become his enforcers. Their faith was subtly corrupted into an unshakeable devotion to Vandire himself, and using his position armed them with potent weaponry and even a crude version of power armour. Thor’s open defiance pushed Vandire to send contingents of his Brides to ensure the compliance of the Word Bearers, but this insult backfired. The resulting bloodshed pushed ever-more Great Companies to side with Thor.

 

By the time the coalition reached Holy Terra, Vandire’s paranoia and desperation had reached fever-pitch. The seriousness of the situation had even penetrated the secluded, armoured throne room of The Emperor Himself, and tragedy struck when a group of Custodes were attacked and killed by the Brides, who claimed that they had tried to sway them from their loyalty to Vandire.

 

After that outrage, what became known as the Second Siege of Terra was bloody and brief. Unwilling to back down, even in the face of The Emperor’s displeasure, the Brides died to a woman, and their order expunged from the pages of history. Dishevelled and raging, Vandire was hauled bodily from his hiding place by Sebastian Thor, his time of misrule at an end. The two Word Bearers were then brought by the Custodes to The Emperor’s throne room to face judgement. While Thor emerged as the new Ecclesiarch, Goge Vandire was never seen again, and none present would ever speak of his fate.

 

It is a testament to the character of Sebastian Thor that he was able to rebuild the reputation of both the Ecclesiarchy and the Word Bearers. Part of the act of contrition was to make radical changes to the organisations of both bodies. While the High Lords on Terra were purged of Vandire’s influence, Thor took advantage of the waning warp storms to tour the Imperium and reorganise the Ministorum. Even though Vandire was gone, his cronies were unwilling to yield their petty fiefdoms without a fight. The Traitor legions had also taken advantage of the confusion to venture forth from the Eye of Terror. By the time the Word Bearers reached the domain of the Apostate Cardinal Bucharis, they found that the entire sub-sector’s population had been culled by the butchers of Leman Russ’s Traitor Legion.

 

At long last the greed, corruption and lust for power that had been so rife under Vandire’s rule were swept away. With the Ministorum returned to its role of guiding the galaxy in the worship of The Divine Emperor, and to protecting the Imperium from the whispers of the Fell Powers, Sebastian Thor announced his final reform: he stepped down as the Ecclesiarch. No longer would any Word Bearer hold the role. Instead, the legion became the Chamber Militant of the Ministorum, acting not only as its strong right arm, but as the body charged with ensuring it never again overstepped its bounds. These decisions returned stability to the galaxy, and marked an end to the Age of Apostasy, and ever since, the Word Bearers have remained diligent guardians of The Emperor’s Truth in the Imperium.

 

Combat Doctrine

We Astartes charge the guns of the arch-enemy clad in ceramite and bearing the most potent weaponry that mankind can devise. They do the same wrapped only in a prayer. The next time you speak ill of our pilgrim brethren, boy, you’ll be doing the same.

- Sergeant Dolchac of the Word Bearers

T

he legion frequently takes to the field of battle leading much larger groups, such as the Frateris Militaris, Imperial Army or even massed mobs of pilgrims. It also places much weight upon divinations and interpretations of the Emperor’s tarot, and for these reasons the Word Bearers have gained a reputation for tactical inflexibility and naivety. While it is true that they cannot match the skill at arms of the World Eaters, or the strategic acumen of the Alpha Legion, it is a foolish commander who underestimates them. Once dedicated to a goal, the Word Bearers are enthused with an unquenchable will to succeed, and the exhortations of their chaplains drive them to incredible feats of strength and endurance that can only end in victory or martyrdom. They inspire the same fervour in those around them, so that once committed, the only way for the battle to end is with the total annihilation of one side or the other.

 

While the Word Bearers are the fatal spear-point in any attack, the psychological effect of an endless tide of wild-eyed zealots closing on the enemy cannot be discounted. These mobs are often little more than local citizens, untrained and armed with nothing but improvised weapons. Individually they are no match for a well-drilled opponent, and yet they give their lives willingly in the service of The Emperor, and are lauded for doing so. Across the Imperium there are vast monuments built to honour the glorious sacrifice of these martyrs, often alongside the mass graves of the fallen.

 

Organisation

The Tower of Blood

The tallest monument to the martyred is the recently completed Tower of Blood, on the world of Tanakreg. Traitors of the Iron Hand legion stormed the capital-hive of Shinar and drove the survivors into the surrounding wilderness. The small contingent of Word Bearers that responded found the enemy numerous and well dug in, but were able to rally the scattered refugees and whipped them into a righteous fury to re-take their city. Even hardened veterans of the Imperial Army would have faltered at the sight of their comrades being flayed to the bone by the weaponry deployed by the traitors, but the citizens of Shinar were resolute. In a long night of bloodshed the hive was liberated, and though it was reduced to an uninhabitable ruin in the process, the mechanical abominations of Ferrus Manus were at last destroyed.

 

In honour of the fallen, a vast tower was constructed where the city had once stood. At the dedication ceremony, Chaplain Veraik, a veteran of the campaign, said that the tower had been built, like the Imperium itself, with the blood of martyrs. The tower extends high into the clouds above, and the pilgrims’ contest that it contains one block for every life that was lost that day, although calculations have shown that if this was truly the case it would reach into low orbit.

F

or nearly five millennia the Word Bearers were commanded by Lorgar, and in their Primarch’s absence, this role has fallen to the Legion Master. Aware that the first person to hold the position came perilously close to destroying the legion, subsequent Masters have been diligent in their attempts to redeem it. Despite the moral authority that chaplains wield amongst the Word Bearers, they do not command. Such a task is far too important to get bogged down in the minutiae of directing the flow of battle. Instead, their role is to provide spiritual guidance, inspire their brethren, and watch over the souls of those under their charge.

 

Librarians are greatly valued by the captains of the Great Companies, and their divinations and predictive abilities through readings of The Emperor’s Tarot are used to inform strategy. It is also common for companies to be drastically reorganised on the eve of battle based on how the cards fall, even if it flies in the face of what is known of the enemy or expected battlefield conditions. Despite disdain for this practice from outside the legion, it has proved to be divinely inspired on countless occasions. Even when it has led to catastrophic defeats, these are borne with stoicism as the Will of The Emperor.

 

Because of the dramatic changes in organisation from battle to battle, squads are not assigned to assault, tactical or devastator specialties. Instead, marines are expected to be proficient each of the roles. Their designation on the battlefield is displayed by coloured votive cloths worn as tabards or draped from shoulder pauldrons, with sergeants proudly displaying their colours on richly embroidered back banners. Such ostentatious displays not only help to identify the squad’s position to their officers, it also acts as a spur to inspire their allies to ever-greater acts of valour.

 

Their role as guardians of the Imperial creed, enforcing and, where necessary, checking the power of the Ministorum, requires the Legion’s strength be distributed thinly across the galaxy. For this reason, Word Bearer Great Companies are composed of less than five hundred brethren each, perhaps half the size of that found in most other legions, the better to cover the vast distances involved. Their fleets are accompanied by ramshackle civilian transports packed with zealots eager to martyr themselves for the cause, as well as regiments of Frateris Militaris. Encased in matt-black carapace armour and wielding powerful hellguns and purging flame weaponry, the grim-faced Frateris endlessly strive to emulate their Astartes superiors.

Beliefs

B

elief in The Emperor as divine is the guiding light of the Word Bearers. They understand better than most the threat from the Ruinous Powers, and that mankind is beset on all sides by malign forces that would seek to destroy or enslave it. Only through a deep understanding and acceptance of The Emperor’s Light can the Imperium hope to survive, and to that end they help to spread His Holy Word to the furthest corners of the galaxy.

 

Though it is routine to carve the words of Lorgar into the ceramite of their power armour, some initiates choose to sear large passages of the holy texts into their flesh so that they will never be without the words of their Primarch. This practice is often taken to extremes by chaplains, with a rare few covering their entire bodies, heads and even their tongues with the sacred script. This is done with a red hot stylus and the sap of the Black Jula bush, a plant native to Colchis. Because of the super-human regenerative capabilities of the Astartes constitution, even this potent scarring will fade over time, and just as faith must constantly be renewed, so too must the devotional script branded into their skin.

 

Homeworld

C

olchis, long-isolated from the wider human galaxy was reborn with the arrival of Lorgar. His presence brought back not only a new era of piety, but drew the attention of the God-Emperor Himself to their world. In the thousands of years since it was embraced by the Imperium, Colchis has become a focal point for the Adeptus Ministorum. The holy places and temples of the Covenant have been expanded, and now there are a multitude of cathedrals, basilicas and shrines to the saints, and through them, the Master of Mankind.

 

Pilgrims flock to Colchis in their millions, but the holiest site, the place where The Emperor first set foot on the world, is forbidden, because on that spot was built the Legion’s Fortress-Monastery. From there, protected by adamantium walls as strong as their faith, the Word Bearers ensure that their compact with the Imperium is kept. Engraved upon those walls, just as it is engraved upon their souls, is the credo that Lorgar adopted on returning back to Colchis after seeing The Emperor entombed within the Golden Throne: “The Emperor protects, but we must also protect The Emperor.”

 

Gene-seed and Recruitment

L

ike their faith, the gene-seed of the Word Bearers is pure, with all implants working as efficiently as when Lorgar commanded the legion. Their apothecaries treat the gene-seed as sacred; a palpable connection to their beloved Primarch, and regard it with the same reverence the chaplains hold the word of Lorgar.

 

The Word Bearers draw their recruits not just from Colchis, but from across The Emperor’s Imperium. Strength of faith is as important a factor as skill at arms, and as such Cardinal-worlds and the Ministorum-run Schola Progenium orphanages are prime recruiting grounds. Word Bearers are expected to be thoroughly conversant with Lorgar’s writings, which teach the importance of sacrifice, and the willingness to suffer pain and death in the face of the unrighteous. Such lessons are an excellent preparation for the life of an Astartes.

 

Just as the gene-seed implantation procedure strengthens the body, their lessons in theology strengthen their souls. Despite the skill of the Legion’s apothecaries, there are cases where the Primarch’s gene-flesh finds the neophyte wanting. Just as happened with Lorgar’s friend, Kor Phaeron, this is stoically accepted as the Will of The Emperor. Most of those who are rejected are granted The Emperor’s Mercy, but some are spared, and find another way to serve doing menial tasks for the Ministorum. Because of this, it is not uncommon to see these pitifully misshapen, hunched figures in the shadows of cathedrals, acting as choral page-turners during masses or ringing the bells to call the faithful to worship.

 

Despite all their interventions, his body was tearing itself apart. He called out to the Pantheon of Chaos to save him; his great work was not yet complete. Lorgar had been blooded, pushed to take the lives of innocents. He had been primed for blind, credulous belief. Having passed inspection by the hated Emperor, and in possession of a whole legion of Astartes, he was ripe for disillusionment and enlightenment to the true powers of the divine. All the intricate plans, all those years of work... All ruined by the incompetence of an apothecarion implantation servitor.

 

Through the agony, and eyes clouded with rheum he dimly made out a presence; Lorgar. He tried to speak, to convince him of the majesty of the Chaos Gods, but his trachea had swollen closed against the breathing tube. He tried to reach out to the tray of chirurgical equipment to slash open the fool’s throat, but he had been firmly restrained to prevent his violent muscle spasms. As the Larraman’s cells began to curdle the blood in his veins, he heard the final, unknowing insult.

 

“I am sorry, my brother, but fear not. No one will ever be allowed to forget your loyalty and service to the creed. You will forever be remembered as Master of the Imperial Faith.”

 

Trapped inside his meat prison, begging for release, Kor Phaeron howled.

[clearfloat]

Battle Cry

T

he Word Bearers do not have a single fixed battle cry. Instead, an appropriate passage is chosen by the chaplain from amongst the Books of Lorgar. He then leads the assembled marines in a recitation of the faith, before blessing them for the coming battle.

[Octavulg]

At 7500 words, this is about 2000 words longer than a standard IA.

 

Philistinic though this makes me sound, cutting it back'd make it a lot more readable. I mean, it's really long for an IA.

[kil78]

freaking awsome, we should set this up as an "official" alternate for the bolter-verse. All of these articles have been of very good quality, I cannot wait for the Ultramarines I.A.

[Gree]

I think it's find, their is no such thing as a long IA.

 

Also I really like the part about Kor Phaeron at the end.

[Lord Insanity]

I really like the irony of Kor Phaeron's death.

 

And the rest of the article is just briliant.

[gil galed]

At 7500 words, this is about 2000 words longer than a standard IA.

 

Philistinic though this makes me sound, cutting it back'd make it a lot more readable. I mean, it's really long for an IA.

 

shush, big is beautiful

 

... ok having read it it is quite big, just have to read it in chunks is all :)

[Aurelius Rex]

I will certainly admit that the word-count caused some concern during the writing of this article. I put it down to the format of this being a little different to the previous articles - it has the standard heresy information and organisation, homeworld sections, but the additional Age of Apostasy section grew out of nowhere to quite a size. (It started with Lorgar dying as before, and then the whole Vandire / Sebastian Thor / Brides of The Emperor just grew from there!)

 

Despite my best efforts, the detailed proofread and edit only chopped out about 70 words as redundant... I nearly cut the Tower of Blood sidebar and thought that no one would get what it references... So a cookie to anyone - especially to true literary Word Bearers - who knows where it comes from. C'mon... don't let the section be included in vain. :)

 

I missed this in the post at the top, but many thanks to Ferrata and Sigismund himself for all the feedback and ideas during the writing process. Invaluable, guys, you deserve a lot of credit for this article. :(

[Octavulg]

Tower of London?

 

Also, I just noticed...you don't say what happened to Lorgar. Is he still around? Gone?

[Ferrata]

On the planet of Dimmamar, Lorgar led a force of Word Bearers and Frater Militaris against an outbreak of the Plague of Unbelief. The scale of the infection ran far deeper than had been anticipated, though; most of the population had degenerated into hollow-eyed walking dead and daemons of Nurgle stalked the streets. Despite Lorgar’s inspiring presence, his small force was cut off and surrounded by enemies numbering in the billions. When their last bolt round had been expended and the last flask of sanctified promethium had run dry, Lorgar threw open the great doors of the cathedral they had garrisoned. In the shadow of his father’s house of worship, he and his battle-brothers strode out, unafraid, into the press of plague-infected wretches. In a strong, steady voice, Lorgar recited from the Scriptures of the Dead, his sacred warhammer in one hand, a metre-long adamantium spike of the cathedral’s damaged altar in the other.

 

For days the slaughter went on, and Lorgar wearied, not of battle, but of the waste of his Emperor’s humanity. Though he could have fought on until the end of time, Lorgar dropped to his knees in prayer to his father. As his retinue formed a protective circle around their Primarch, the battlefield was enveloped by a golden glow and a feeling of peace which gave even the pestilent hordes pause. When it faded away, the Primarch of the Word Bearers’ soul had returned to The Emperor. Despite the many wounds he had suffered, his face was peaceful and at rest. This final sacrifice infused the world with The Emperor’s Grace, and in doing so every daemon was banished and the Plague of Unbelief driven from every human on the planet. It is said that there is no zealot like a convert, and the survivors of Dimmamar set out to prove the truth of this. As living proof of the power of The Emperor to save their bodies and souls from the Fell Powers, they returned to the worship of Holy Terra with a passion. The planet became a shrine world, and such was their piety that the Word Bearers even took to recruiting from the planet.

The raise of Vandire was in the wake of Lorgar's death, the vacuum could only be filled by a Primarch and a lesser man took power.

[The 13th Goat]

Finally! Been waiting for this for ages. Got a timescale for the rest? I'm so eger to see the Alpha Legion!

[Alexander Crow]

Well I will admit, I can not wait for the Dark and Angels and Iron Warriors to come out...

[DarKHaZZ13]

I will certainly admit that the word-count caused some concern during the writing of this article. I put it down to the format of this being a little different to the previous articles - it has the standard heresy information and organisation, homeworld sections, but the additional Age of Apostasy section grew out of nowhere to quite a size. (It started with Lorgar dying as before, and then the whole Vandire / Sebastian Thor / Brides of The Emperor just grew from there!)

 

Despite my best efforts, the detailed proofread and edit only chopped out about 70 words as redundant... I nearly cut the Tower of Blood sidebar and thought that no one would get what it references... So a cookie to anyone - especially to true literary Word Bearers - who knows where it comes from. C'mon... don't let the section be included in vain. :P

 

I missed this in the post at the top, but many thanks to Ferrata and Sigismund himself for all the feedback and ideas during the writing process. Invaluable, guys, you deserve a lot of credit for this article. :P

 

the tower from dark apostle??

[Aurelius Rex]

... I nearly cut the Tower of Blood sidebar and thought that no one would get what it references... So a cookie to anyone - especially to true literary Word Bearers - who knows where it comes from. C'mon... don't let the section be included in vain. :P

 

the tower from dark apostle??

 

Huzzah! You win! Perhaps it was overstating it to say it was a 'literary' reference, as it was from a (non-Dan Abnett) Black Library book. :P

[Octavulg]

It would have been overstating it to say it was a reference to toilet paper. :lol: <_<

 

EDIT:

 

If I hadn't made it clear earlier, BTW, the IA is very well done. Well done indeed. Not a big fan of the "secret war against Chaos" thing, but otherwise it's very nice.

[Gree]

It would have been overstating it to say it was a reference to toilet paper. <_< :tu:

 

I thought it was a great novel. It had down the characterization of the word Bearers right down well.

 

I would not worry about the size of the IA, the bigger the better in my opinion.

[Octavulg]

I know you thought it was a great novel. I, however, did not.

 

A good size for an IA is a size where it leaves you satisfied, but wanting a little bit more.

 

This leaves me wanting a little bit less. Not much less. But there were a couple of paragraphs (especially in the Age of Apostasy), where I went "Dammit, get to the point."

 

EDIT: Like I said, I'm a Philistine. :P

[Aurelius Rex]

You can believe that I will be watching the word-count like a hawk for the next IA... which will be about the Khorne cult legion known as the Space Wolves.

 

If nothing else, a shorter article will reduce the turn-around time. :P

[Gree]

What's so bad about a larger article? The pleasure is in the details. I liked the little Tanakreg side-bar.

[kil78]

I think that the size was good, because it had to deal with not only the word bearers and what happened to them but the minisorm as well

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

It may well be a bit long but I have to say I loved the read. With some IA's if they don't grab you and suck you in the long read, or even the moderate read can be a chore. None of your Alternate IA's have been a struggle to read so far, they are more like good books that once you finish one you want the next one! Excellent work without a doubt.

[Aurelius Rex]

Belatedly returning to the subject of the word-count and that of the GW IA's mentioned by Octavulg, I would point out that I could have done with some of them being longer. In particular, the White Scars IA from GW all-but skirts over their actions during the Heresy. Other works have mentioned their heroic actions during the Siege of Terra, but they didn't cover this really pivotal part of their history.

 

So I completely agree with the sentiment and intention to keep the length down unless there is some really pressing reason. I personally thought that the Age of Apostasy sections were all there for a reason, driving the plot forward and so couldn't cut them. Hey, I couldn't wipe the Sisters of Battle out of history without a little preamble. :)

[tomambrosio]

This one was IMO the best yet. Great job!

 

I don't mind reading something a bit longer. When it comes to detail, fully fleshed out is better than just going around the edges.

[Tutteman]

Can I just say this. I was worried that the quality might go downhill as things progressed. It hasn't, if anything this is the BEST YET. Brilliant.

[Dire Wolf]

I have to say, thus far, the behaviour of your characters (or well, you version of them) is probably more believable and satisfying than written by GW. Particularly the Emperor. I mean, with 50000+ years of life experience it didn't occur to him that the way he treated some of his Primarchs, particularly Angron, Lorgar and Magnus could come back to haunt him? Come on.