There are no Wolves on Fenris

[ZAChos]

In preparation of my 30k army, based around the assault on prospero, I've been re-reading A Thousand Sons, and Prospero Burns. In doing so I've been thinking a lot about the phrase "there are no Wolves on Fenris", and considering what it could mean.

 

First mention is from Ahriman when thinking about the wolves who arrive with Skarssi bringing the summons to Magnus. He mentions it to Wyrdmake, who tells him it can't be true, because the wolves are obviously there with them.

 

The second thing that made me think was at one point, a thousand son (I think its Ahriman again) sees a fenrisian wolf, and is shocked, having a flash of recognition. My initial thought reading this was that the wolves are similar in some way to the tutelaries, psychically linked to the SW.

 

Then thinking about Prospero Burns, we hear the phrase again. This time it is the non spacewolf that brings the attention to the wolf he has just seen, but he is told that there were no wolves before the VIth legion arrived. He is also told that the wolf he saw protecting him in the vision was someone he had met before: Brom, one of the two Ascommanii who had protected him when he first arrived. We know that Fith was turned into an Astartes, but are told that Brom didn't make it, and is now a wight. At first we assume this is due to his wounds: He is dead. I propose a different reading.

 

For this we go back to A Thousand Sons. We see the Wulfen being unleashed on Prospero (the Custodes don't appear to have a problem with this as an aside), which reminds us that the Wolves suffer from a flesh change as well. What if the Wulfen is not the final state of the Flesh Change? What if the Wulfen are the first stage in a stable flesh change of astartes into Fenrisian Wolf? This would explain why there were no wolves before the VI legion arrived, and why the Thousand Sons have a flash of recognition about the wolves.

 

What about wild wolves? As part of their Marine Training an initiate is thrown out into the winter of Fenris. His body is wracked with changes as he struggles to survive. Not all come back. Maybe Brom survived his injuries, but his change into a Marine did not work as planned. Out on the ice, his body changed far more than Fith's. His DNA was rewritten into that of a wolf, and he never made it back to the fang. This would work with Fith's assertion that Brom was now a wight, as I'm sure by AscommanniI understanding any remaking, whether to Astartes or Wolf shows the death of man, and the forming of a wight.

 

I hope the large amount of text isn't putting people off, and hopefully I've presented a new theory here.

 

Zac

[Smirnov]

After reading the books I got the idea that the phrase means that there are no endemic wolves on Fenris. They were either brought with the humans who settled on Fenris, or were created for the Space Wolves (and from the Space Wolves as it seems).

[Noctis]

I also got the impression that they were brought to Fenris by the first human settlers.

 

Its been a while since i read the books but I think in A Thousand Sons there is a line that implies that the first humans brought geneticaly engineered wolves as hunting beasts or guard dogs. I can't quite remember who said it to who or when but I think it was part of the Recognition of Ahriman looking into the wolfs eyes and seeing familiar genetic tampering. Rather than them being "Familiers" to the wolves.

 

With this explenation at least there is less to no conflict with older fluff that tells us Russ was brought up by wolves. If the Space Wolves came first and indeed the final stage of becoming Wulfen is becoming a fully fledged wolf then there would have been no wolves till after the Emperor found Russ...

 

That is how I read it anyway. :D

[DarthMarko]

...mutated Fenrisians

[Watch Commander Danek]

I also got the impression that they were brought to Fenris by the first human settlers.

 

Its been a while since i read the books but I think in A Thousand Sons there is a line that implies that the first humans brought geneticaly engineered wolves as hunting beasts or guard dogs. I can't quite remember who said it to who or when but I think it was part of the Recognition of Ahriman looking into the wolfs eyes and seeing familiar genetic tampering. Rather than them being "Familiers" to the wolves.

 

With this explenation at least there is less to no conflict with older fluff that tells us Russ was brought up by wolves. If the Space Wolves came first and indeed the final stage of becoming Wulfen is becoming a fully fledged wolf then there would have been no wolves till after the Emperor found Russ...

 

That is how I read it anyway. :tu:

 

 

And that would make sense. However I'm fairly sure that the phrase is eluding to all Fenrisian wolves being Space Wolves that have fully wolfed out. Just like I'm fairly sure both A Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns are absolute rubbish in general.

[jc1138]

What if the Wulfen is not the final state of the Flesh Change? What if the Wulfen are the first stage in a stable flesh change of astartes into Fenrisian Wolf?

 

I felt like this was implied, perhaps a little heavy-handedly, from Prospero Burns and TS (I read them in that order). I'm not crazy about the idea, especially if there are no other wolves on Fenris (how was Russ raised by wolves, which to me is a foundational part of his history, if the only ones on Fenris are mutated Astartes from his own geneseed?).

[Apothecary Vaddon]

The short story Kraken sheds some light on this, too, in support of the 'mutated Space Wolves' argument.

[Jarl Kjaran Coldheart]

my stance on this:

 

the original human settlers on Fenris all perish, due to the world hating life.

 

the next batch of human settlers arrive on Fenris, and genetically modify themselves (or are modified before their arrival) to survival. so are the basic animals needed for survival, providing Fenris's basic life forms. (wolves, beas, deer and the like.)

 

the galaxy enters a period of chaos, Old Night, and over the many many years the Fenrisian settlers society devolve into what it currently remains at. some animals evolve themselves (ice trolls, yadda yadda)

 

 

The Marine creation process combines the Canis Helix with the already genetically modified settlers of Fenris and creates a Space Wolf. However, sometimes the two dont mix and we get a Wulfen.

 

WLK

[Ezeriel]

Fenrisian wolves are probably a different, more extreme mutation to the canis helix.

 

In A Thousand Sons Magnus suggests that the canis helix predates the space wolves and was used by the first settlers of fenris to adapt and survive the environment, but adapted imperfectly and without thought to the consequences at times. This is probably where the first fenrisian wolves came from.

 

So maybe humans and legion aspirants that are consumed by the canis helix become full wolves while space wolves become wulfen because they have both the canis helix and the rest of the SW geneseed implanted.

[Lepaca]

What if the Wulfen is not the final state of the Flesh Change? What if the Wulfen are the first stage in a stable flesh change of astartes into Fenrisian Wolf?

 

I felt like this was implied, perhaps a little heavy-handedly, from Prospero Burns and TS (I read them in that order). I'm not crazy about the idea, especially if there are no other wolves on Fenris (how was Russ raised by wolves, which to me is a foundational part of his history, if the only ones on Fenris are mutated Astartes from his own geneseed?).

 

I thought the settlers mutate even if they are not turned into astartes and that full-fleged Space Wolves just mutate into bigger wolves?

[Noctis]

Fenrisian wolves are probably a different, more extreme mutation to the canis helix.

 

In A Thousand Sons Magnus suggests that the canis helix predates the space wolves and was used by the first settlers of fenris to adapt and survive the environment, but adapted imperfectly and without thought to the consequences at times. This is probably where the first fenrisian wolves came from.

 

So maybe humans and legion aspirants that are consumed by the canis helix become full wolves while space wolves become wulfen because they have both the canis helix and the rest of the SW geneseed implanted.

 

 

Thats the conversation I was trying to remember. Magnus stating that the Canis Helix predated the Space Wolves.

 

As others have said, this would make the most sense when combined with older Fluff. Human/Wolf genetic VooDoo gives the first Fenrisian Wolves. This way you can have "native" Wolves raising Russ AND have "Wolfen" Wolves that transform because of the Astartes creation process.

 

Edit: typo

[Raven Angel]

This is kind of contradicted in 2 ways first is notion that is a s old as SW fluff the adding the Canis Helix is the first step of the SW implantation process and that it comes from Russ himself. That would not be needed if the Helix where already present in all Fenresians. The second contradiction comes from Deliverance Lost where they say that the Emperor incorporated Wolf DNA in one or more of the Primarchs implying that the Wulfen are a byproduct of Russ' geneseed.

[Arkangilos]

This is kind of contradicted in 2 ways first is notion that is a s old as SW fluff the adding the Canis Helix is the first step of the SW implantation process and that it comes from Russ himself. That would not be needed if the Helix where already present in all Fenresians. The second contradiction comes from Deliverance Lost where they say that the Emperor incorporated Wolf DNA in one or more of the Primarchs implying that the Wulfen are a byproduct of Russ' geneseed.

 

Well, how did the Emperor put it in Russ?

 

If the Emperor could give Russ the Helix, than people before him could have given it to the colonists.

[Lepaca]

Wasn't the Canis Helix also the reason why SW are supposedly incorruptible? (Despite several of them falling to Chaos)

[Daemon2027]

I always thought that line was less about the local fauna of Fenris and more about the nature of Rus and the Space Wolves, e.g. They are not the wild animals everyone thinks they are, a bit like wolves really...

[Veteran Sergeant]

I think it's just a part of Fenrisian/Space Wolf mythology, not an actual truth.

 

A tidbit to screw around with readers and give them something to talk about on the forums. Just like the idea that the Ultramarines absorbed one of the missing legions. :lol:

[Beef]

Wasn't the Canis Helix also the reason why SW are supposedly incorruptible? (Despite several of them falling to Chaos)

 

 

no it does not make them incorruptable, Its a defence meckanism against chaos, the inner beast fights against the chaos influence on a mental level, If it loses then its better to turn into a savage wulfen than a corrupt SM, However some SW do fall to chaos due to pride etc.

[Tamwulf]

"There are no wolves on Fenris!"

 

A wonderful little phrase that exemplifies GW Fluff. On the face of if, it makes no sense. Fenris is the home of the VIth Legion, the Space Wolves. Fenris is known for it's large, ferocious, seemingly indigenous animal, the Fenrisan Wolf. To say there are no Wolves on Fenris is false. Then there are several novels and fluff that imply all kinds of meanings- they are mutated humans. They are failed Space Wolf Aspirants. They are genetically modified Terrain wolves brought by the first settlers.

 

It's more that every army has some kind of catch phrase or moniker that somehow represents that army. In this case, "There are no wolves on Fenris!" seems to point out the foreignness of the Space Wolves on Fenris, or the fact that they are a space army that leaves Fenris all the time to fight battles amongst the stars on foreign planets.

 

Every army has some kind of little catch phrase like it.