Being a thread on Lord Commander Eidolon

[LSM]

Having done a similar thread on Julius Kaesoron, and having recently finished Eidolon: The Auric Hammer, I have decided to do a quick re-read rundown of our Lord Commander Primus, Eidolon.

 

(As before, I'm likely to miss - or misinterpret - certain things, so corrections and additions are most welcome.)

 

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Index Astartes: Children of the Emperor (White Dwarf 255, 2001)

• I believe this is Eidolon's first mention, in a sidebar of the article that was pretty foundational to our lore in general (introducing the insane-"perfectionists" bent). Here, Eidolon is mentioned as having been the first individual to be given the title of Lord Commander (at the time, just the EC version of a Company Captain, and not some sort of super-Captain rank). He is noted as being considered the most proficient of all the Legion's Lord Commanders, a master of all aspects of warfare: sieges, holding actions, rapid strikes, and gruelling campaigns.
• It's noted that Eidolon literally considered Fulgrim his father, due to the implanted gene-seed (which at the time of writing may have been unique, but since then has become the common way that Space Marines are written...). He is also noted to have spent every waking moment not in battle or training in the study of everything that Fulgrim did, in an effort to approach his perfection.
• Post-Heresy, it's unconfirmed whether or not he survived Terra. Rumours suggest he's served as a lieutenant to Abaddon, consort to a "Queen Sylelle", and champion of N'Kari. (As well as potentially being responsible for hundreds of raids on the Imperium.)

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The early books in the Horus Heresy series feature him on the regular, generally to get dunked on and be hate-able.

 

Horus Rising (2006)

• Eidolon (having been skipped over in the 2002 Codex, in favour of then-Lord Commander Lucius) gets a bit of a scene-stealing minor starring role in the first book of the Horus Heresy series, as a right prat. Responding to a distressed Blood Angels force, when he is told that the Warmaster's crusade will be there soon he decides to drop into a bad situation rather than wait (in order to keep the glory for the Emperor's Children). Things go poorly, and he's a blunt, stuck-up ingrate about it.
• I will note that on re-read, Eidolon is credited with being the one who pushed the Luna Wolves to keep the pedal down and press the Imperium's advantage, when Horus was just going to pull back and assess the situation. So the subsequent mostly successful xenocide can be credited to him (somewhat). He chastises Lucius for using a bit of Xenos as a weapon and, of course, is extremely against Horus' peaceful approach to the Interex - calling for war instead, alongside Abaddon.
• It's also said that he regularly chose Lucius as a sparring partner. (Not in a friendly way; just business. He is elsewhere noted to not accept any familiarity with others - demanding strict protocol at all times - and is never portrayed as having any fondness or comradery for the now-Captain Lucius.)
• There's no real mention of his appearance, beyond the usual sort of "grand" "tall" etc.

False Gods (2006)

• Eidolon gets mentioned once or twice by characters (usually as a disparagement-in-comparison to a person or situation). He comes with Fulgrim et al to talk with Horus, and then he leaves with them.

Galaxy In Flames (2006)

• While attacking Isstvan Extremis (alongside the Death Guard) Saul Tarvitz observes Eidolon out-scream the enemy Warsinger. Eidolon approaches Tarvitz for possible recruitment into Fabius Bile's "improvements" to the Legion hierarchy, and belittles him when Tarvitz is horrified. (Honestly - it's a little weird in the narrative that Tarvitz doesn't do more as a result of this reveal.)
• In the cleanup of Isstvan III, Eidolon leads the Emperor's Children ground forces and accepts Lucius' betrayal of the Loyalists. Discipline is already starting to break down amongst the Third, and Eidolon is not particularly successful - he's framed as blundering the situation (again).
• Eidolon has his armour described for the first time (AFAIK), and it's stated to be so heavily gilded that the Legion's usual purple is barely visible. (To the point where it's later described as "the golden armour of Eidolon".) He's also stated to be wielding a hammer for the first time, I think.

Fulgrim (2007)

• The book begins after Horus Rising but before False Gods. Eidolon continues to be a presence, though he goes largely unmentioned during the Cleansing of Laeran. He's often with Lord Commander Vespasian flanking Fulgrim, getting to wear some togas, some feather cloaks, and ceremonially holding a brazier staff during the meetings of the Brotherhood of the Phoenix (ie. hierarchy hangouts, like a Warrior Lodge but more exclusive... defeating the stated purpose of the Warrior Lodges...). He continues to be portrayed as a self-aggrandising blowhard, and is thought poorly of by most of the book's protagonists.
• We get the scenes of Eidolon being worked on by Fabius, post-Laeran. Fabius is doing his research on a ship under Eidolon's command, and it is at Eidolon's leave that he's been able to gather his esoteric equipment. Eidolon tells Fabius that he doesn't approve, and is only allowing it on Fulgrim's express orders. However - as he's mad about being tasked with an inglorious mission, he demands that the fruits of Fabius' labours go personally to him first. When it comes time to do the surgeries, Eidolon is shocked and horrified to learn that some of the things that are about to be added to him are Xenos-adjacent (but at that point it's too late, and he succumbs to the anaesthetic). 
• In a fight with the Eldar, the Emperor's Children are faced with Howling Banshees. At one point a character turns, having heard more screaming, only to see Eidolon. The officers under his command (including Marius Vairosean and eventually Lucius) are ordered to undergo these surgical augmentations. It's noted that with the orders flowing through Eidolon (and the Emperor's Children's strict adherence to hierarchy) that the "rot" is quickly spreading throughout the Legion.
• Eidolon is the one who hands Fulgrim the Blade of Laer, when Fulgrim was considering killing Horus (having been warned of his impending betrayal by Eldrad Ulthran); the blade dissipates the urge. (At this point, Fulgrim chronologically intersects with False Gods.)
• While Fulgrim is trying to woo Ferrus Manus to Horus' side, Eidolon is in charge of the events at Isstvan III, and the book chronologically intersects with the events of Galaxy in Flames. Once again, the narrative portrays Eidolon as screwing up and being out-tactics'd by Saul Tarvitz.
• At the performance of the Maraviglia, Eidolon and Marius Vairosean are noted to be pinned to their seats in rapture, their jaws locked open, mouths distended like snakes in silent screams. (Or, as I like to imagine, a Tex Avery cartoon.) At Isstvan V, Eidolon and Lucius are said to be at the forefront of the Legion forces, killing with "wondrous bladework and howling shrieks of raw sonic power".

Flight of the Eisenstein (2007)

• Introduces me to a new word, "braggadocio", as description for Eidolon. Largely overlaps the events of Galaxy in Flames, but there are some scenes where Eidolon stands in for Fulgrim amongst Horus, Mortarion, and Angron. (And everyone hates him, and thinks he's a dumb dandy chump.)

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Once the initial phase is over, Eidolon dies and is reborn. His portrayal starts to round the corner, and while still generally disliked by others in-universe, he isn't portrayed as such an incompetent anymore.

 

The Reflection, Crack'd (2012)

• Eidolon is already described as having stretched, waxy and pale skin, distended eyes, pronounced neck tendons, and a lower jaw with the "liquid detachment of a serpent" (bones which have to come together before he can speak). His armour has been repainted in garish striping of vivid purple and electric blue (the sort of thing which is noted to already be commonplace amongst the Third).
• Interestingly, Lucius threatens to cut off Eidolon's head, except "he thinks he'd enjoy it". And indeed, when Lucius has his blades at Eidolon's throat the latter becomes flush with excitement. Eidolon is described as Fulgrim's "most zealous devotee", and states: "We should not honour what we were before our ascension." Unfortunately, Eidolon is confused by Fulgrim's plans to go to Prismatica V (when he knows that Horus ordered the Third to Mars to support the New Mechanicum) and voices that confusion... which Fulgrim does not take kindly to. In a fit of paranoid delusion, the Primarch cuts off Eidolon's head with the anathema. 

Angel Exterminatus (2012)

• In a dramatic flourish, Fulgrim reveals that he's had Fabius bring Eidolon back to life - stylising him as The Risen One. His armour is said to be in garishly coloured/painted in neon colours, barbs of coiled wire trail scraps of fabric from his pauldrons, and he has a razor-hooked cloak and "stupidly big" (according to Lucius) hammer that hangs from a bandoleer strapped across his chest. He has sutures around his neck, his eyes are described as glossy black ("dead like a doll's"), and though limping and awkward he seems quite pleased - implying to others that he's grown more powerful.
• Later, Fulgrim takes offense to Eidolon's "ugly and foolish" gate, and commands Eidolon stay behind him so that he doesn't have to see him. Eidolon then plays host to some Iron Warriors, and notes that in the madness of La Fenice they "celebrate what we have become, rather than the past or things that might have been, but never will be". He gets them drunk/high and tries to turn them on to Slaanesh but they get away.
• Eidolon is then the one who Fulgrim has put in charge of his apotheosis, overseeing the construction of his "city of mirrors" and being honoured with using the anathema to cut into Fulgrim, tear open gaping wounds, and stuffing him full of spirit stones.

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Around this time, the Horus Heresy game series is kicking off, and it does a lot to define Eidolon's appearance in a lot of people's minds (including GW artists, it seems).

 

The Horus Heresy Book Two: Massacre (2013)

• Eidolon is given rules. He has a Master-Crafted Thunder Hammer (not as yet named), archeotech pistol (new?) and the option to take a jump pack. (I may have missed something in one of the previous books, but I think this is the first time Eidolon is associated with a jump pack?) His titles include The Auric Hammer, The Exemplar, and The Lord Commander Primus. (Somewhat strangely, the sidebar fluff notes that his "perfect bladework" was demonstrated at Isstvan V... despite not really being associated with a blade.) 
• Fluffwise, it's interesting that credit is also given to the Legion's Techmarines (and not just Fabius' Apothecarion) for the implantation of Sonic Shriekers. (Which Eidolon has, along with his special 'Death Scream' shooting attack.)

The Horus Heresy Character Series (2015)

• Model releases, with a lot less gold than Galaxy in Flames implied. While there is a helmet option, there's not a "zombie head" option - this is, I think, intended to be a model for him up-to-Isstvan V, and doesn't include any hint of his Angel Exterminatus description. (I don't know if anyone has commented on the lead time for the model, but I suppose it's possible he was concepted before the release of Angel Exterminatus.) His armour, while mostly fitting the pre-Heresy Legion, has also clearly been modified with additional amplifiers for his scream.

Liber Hereticus (2022)

• A fair amount is unchanged from his previous rules, though now his Thunder Hammer is named (Glory Aeterna) and the jump pack is mandatory. Surgical Augments have also been expanded, and now other Emperor's Children can take the 'Sonic Lance' upgrade (which is like a lesser version of Eidolon's Death Scream).

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The post-Angel Exterminatus short stories and novel appearances really do the heavy lifting (in my opinion) in turning Eidolon into a beloved character. (I'll note these in the timeline's order, rather than year of release.)

 

Amor Fati (2021)

• Soon after Fulgrim's ascension (and disappearance) in Angel Exterminatus, Eidolon trains by killing slaves while reflecting on his death. He's frustrated and angry at his ungainly lack of control over his own body, and recalls Fulgrim blaming Fabius's imperfect work for making Eidolon "stupid and ugly". Afterward he eats one slave's brain, so that he can use his omophagea gland to experience killing them from their perspective.
• Fabius suggests that if he had a stock of Emperor's Children gene-seed untouched by Slaanesh's influence he might be able to improve Eidolon's fluidity. He seeks out a Loyalist, and in the fight uses his hammer and archeotech pistol, but notably runs everywhere (even in situations where firing up a jump pack would have been really useful).
• In battle, he surprises himself with the extent of his power, even accidentally killing an Orchestrator. He wonders if Fulgrim felt the same way, and then further compares his new strengths to those of the levels heretofore only demonstrated by Primarchs. Having recovered the gene-seed, he reflects on his imperfect body and comes to the conclusion that for one such as himself it poses a perfect torment - tailor made to torture the rest of his existence. The Dark Prince is wise indeed. He crushes the gene-seed, so that Fabius cannot use it to transform him into a lesser being.
• (Sidenote: this story retcons the end of Angel Exterminatus. In that novel, Fabius doesn't understand how Lucius isn't dead anymore; here, Fabius says that his experience with restoring Eidolon allowed him to reanimate Lucius trivially. It's possible that Fabius is lying to Eidolon, or was previously lying to Lucius, but I assume it's just an incongruity.)

Primacy (2023)

• The story features a grand meeting of the Emperor's Children (after the events of Amor Fati), with the focus being on the three prospective ways that the Emperor's Children can go. Kaesoron advocates for attempting to seek out Fulgrim, and joining with his hedonistic aloofness. Cyrius is for keeping their focus on Terra, and presents a "saner" pre-Heresy-esque (boring) track. Eidolon argues that "slavish devotion" to Fulgrim and becoming Horus' "whipped curs" are both uncalled for, and the best path forward is to carve their own pleasures upon the galaxy.
• It's noted that Eidolon's equerry, Von Kalda, is armoured in the "transfigured colours of the Lord Commander's personal heraldry", and Eidolon once again heads his Kakophoni. He muses that where once he was the exception, he would soon be the rule - and that perfection can only be obtained by letting go of the bindings of petty notions like morality. Physically, while his regular movements are agonising and spastic, in combat he's very fast. Still, every movement is incredibly painful (which he considers a plus).
• This might be the point where Eidolon (narratively) starts calling himself the Lord Commander Primus. (I think the titled originated in the HH game - as far as I can tell, it's not used in the earlier novels.)

The Path of Heaven (2016)

• With Fulgrim having been missing for years (the midpoint of the Heresy), Eidolon has taken command of the bulk of the Emperor's Children. He personally leads the Kakophoni as the Third hounds the White Scars, but... eventually Horus decides that the job requires Mortarion's personal attention (resulting in Eidolon becoming somewhat of a lacky, again). At the end Eidolon is tasked with collecting Typhus and reuniting him with the Death Guard, which as far as I know isn't a story that's ever been told.
• His armour is not described in detail, though there's mention of gold-edged boots, a new silver-chased breastplate, and a helmet that's twice the size it used to be (due to all the sonic modifications that have been made to it). He's also had iridescent jewels set in his eyes (for irises). It is said that he has embraced the mutations of the Sonic Cult more than any other. Personality wise, he's a crazed sensory addict - pining for the experiences of those he observes being maimed and crushed. He opines that the bizarre monsters that the Legion are becoming are not them degrading, but instead them finally realising the perfection they were previously denied.
• The book also (out of universe) introduced Von Kalda, the baby-faced Fleshcrafter (and amateur demonologist) who serves as Eidolon's equerry in various stories. I like that he gets annoyed when a character asks him if he learned something from Fabius, and he gets to be snippy about the legion having plenty of more-than-competent fleshweavers. ("Marcia Marcia Marcia!")

The Soul, Severed (2016)

• On the chem-production world of Horvia, Eidolon meets with (and battles) the Emperor's Children under the command of Lord Commander Archorian (who's not a fan). Eidolon disparages the concept of hierarchy ("that old corpse") and keeping faith (something for "the sick, the timid, the ones who cannot endure the pain of transition"). There's new mention of an "organ grill breastplate", and his armour is definitely back to being Legion purple...
• Until the end, where Horvia's toxic wastes are spilled all over Eidolon's Kakophoni. This causes the purple of their armour to turn a virulent pink, the gold to run, and their Legion iconography to turn into "nightmarish slurs". The cover of the book Echoes of Revelation (an anthology containing The Soul, Severed) depicts the moment as Eidolon's armour begins melting. He (mostly) looks the same as his model (the breastplate being the main difference); ignoring the text of Angel Exterminatus.

Slaves to Darkness (2018)

• When Fulgrim (forced to return to reality) calls together the Emperor's Children for Horus' great muster at Ullanor (in preparation for the final push to Terra), it is Eidolon who naturally commands the forces of the Third as his Primarch's right hand. (Author John French also repeatedly uses the word "hoots" and "hooting" to described the way Eidolon speaks, which is kind of funny.)

Eidolon: The Auric Hammer (2024)

• On the way to Terra, Eidolon's forces (and some Sons of Horus) get kicked out into real space by some sort of warp-entity. There's a world nearby, so they decide to team up and ravage it for a quick hit of slaves, etc. It turns out to be the world where Fulgrim honoured Eidolon with the first-given title of Lord Commander. 
• Eidolon's characterisation is similar to The Path of Heaven, etc. His three main lieutenants are Plegua (an Orchestrator introduced in Primacy, with a cool half-exposed-scrimshawed-skull face), Malakris (a proto-Raptor lord), and Vocipheron (a Prefector with kintsugi'd armour who is trying to remain uncorrupted but loses it by the end). The warp-entity is revealed to be (spoilers for recency)...
  Spoiler

  ...Eidolon's soul, which I guess Fabius didn't manage to stuff back into his body when he reanimated him. It's been tortured and abused at the hands of daemons, and tries to get Eidolon to except it back into him... but Eidolon thinks its pathetic and fights it off. He then has an interesting conversation with Fulgrim about being his own man.

   

• I just really, really like this bit: "...Shells ricocheted from Eidolon's vibrating armour, turned aside by the sonic aftershocks resonating through his body. Bone and plate were both mere conduits for the glory of the song, for the Kakophonic resonance that pulsed from within him with every movement and every breath. He wore the scream like a mantle, cloaking him in atrocity and wonder..."
• Eidolon is not portrayed as in the book's cover art (below), but is instead congruous with his previous textual appearances. His armour is ruined, melted gold and chem-scarred pink (which he thinks of as "the beautiful legacy of Horvia"). During the course of the novel he also gets it splattered by daemon blood, which stains it with a "riot of non-colours". He is not explicitly said to have a jump pack, but does slam down from above in one scene which I took to be an acknowledgement. (I suppose he could have leapt from a tall building?)

Saturnine (2020)

• In this novel, set during the Siege of Terra, Eidolon isn't accompanied by his Kakophoni but instead a variety of champions. Abaddon notes that their colour schemes hurt the eye, their armours grotesquely ornate. Eidolon's plate is said to be coral/pale pink, and when cut his blood is mercurial silver. Eidolon's equerry, Von Kalda (misspelled throughout as "Von Kaida") is in ivory armour, and is killed in combat with either Rogal Dorn or Sigismund.
• Eidolon's teeth are said to be perfect, but the rest of his face a parody; frilled air-sacs are mentioned either side of his throat, and his voice is inherently modulated. In combat Eidolon's screams fracture Dorn's armour and he manages to stab him twice with his sword (no mention is made of his hammer). Dorn compares his strength to that of a Primarch. In a melee with Sigismund, Eidolon's sword gets wedge in the Imperial Fists' shoulder and torn from his grip, disarming him. Sigismund then kicks him off the Saturnine Wall, where he falls eleven hundred metres down into the burning darkness (no mention is made of him firing up a jump pack).

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Post Heresy, his appearance in one of the Bile books is probably most people's main exposure to him.

 

Fabius Bile: Clonelord (2017)

• Taking place in either late M34 or early M35 (a couple centuries after The Shattering of Lugganath), Eidolon has created "The Phoenix Conclave" in an attempt to unify the Third and forces Fabius Bile into retrieving a massive stock of gene-seed (in order to rebuild their strength, under his command). They meet in the ruins of Harmony ("where the Legion died for the third time"), and Eidolon has a great many titles: Lord Commander Primus, Master of the Eternal Song, Auric Hammer, Firstborn of the Kakophoni, First Vizier to the Phoenician, Headless, Reborn.
• Eidolon's armour is described as a chemical-scarred riot of colour, with facets carved into "suggestive shapes", covered in ornate vents and amplifiers. His armour still sports a distorted aquila on the chest. His flesh hangs loose on a skull that seems "no longer structurally sound", his eyes opaque. Power cables spark and twitch in his throat, and he speaks with a reverb buzz. Fabius mentally notes that his voice is capable of punching through the hull of a frigate.
• Eidolon claims to have been given a message from Fulgrim. He talks about how perfection is found in the natural state of the universe (entropy - which all sounds a bit Nurglish to me), and the goal of destroying the imperfect so that the superior thing can be reborn from the ashes. Fabius threatens Eidolon with revealing to the Phoenix Conclave that he has been making arrangements with Abaddon (the Black Legion not being popular amongst the Emperor's Children, after the destruction of Harmony at the culmination of the Legion Wars). Eidolon's words suggest he's of the opinion that the Emperor's Children (commanded by him) are the rightful rulers of the Eye of Terror.
• While Eidolon's appearance is brief, his presence is felt throughout the book via his representatives being frenemy/antagonists for Bile. (Particularly, their plan involves trading Bile to Trazyn the Infinite in exchange for the gene-seed.) Prefect Flavius Alkenex is the primary such character, and is stated to be Eidolon's then-current equerry (he ends up in a Trazyn's museum).
• This series goes to great lengths to separate the Noise Marines from the Emperor's Children. When Alkenex tries to sway Ramos the Bull of the Eighth, Ramos states that his Noise Marines are no longer part of the Legion but something more, with concerns greater than bloodshed, and is utterly dismissive of Eidolon. (Despite... Eidolon being very much a Noise Marine himself, and classic Noise Marine lore stressing that they love the bloodshed of the battlefield...)

The Powers of Chaos: Chaos Fleets in Battlefleet Gothic (2010)

• Throughout the Horus Heresy series, Eidolon's flagship is the Proudheart. However, in Battlefleet Gothic (set early in M41) there includes mention of Eidolon and his ship Wage of Sin. The fluff says that Eidolon is one of the few Emperor's Children commanders who has managed to maintain a warband approaching company strength in the 41st Millenium, while maintaining close ties to the Black Legion and Abaddon. The Wage of Sin itself is filled with Eidolon's large retinue of Noise Marines.

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As to what to do with him as a potential character in 40k.

 

Well, for one I'd just love to see him in general. Especially now that Lucius' Noise-Marine-iness has been heavily downplayed, we really need a new Cult Champion. I would like to see Raptors added to the EC range, but whether they are or not, I'd actually lean away from making him a jump pack character.

 

Instead, I'd have him leading his Noise Marines, with his old jump pack so heavily modified that it's no longer capable of flight. Just a giant jet engine strapped to his back and reworked into a device devoted to the amplification of sound - one hell of a Doom Siren. And keep his armour covered in amps; in fact, add more amps.

 

Glory Aeterna should still be wielded, but honestly he might as well toss the pistol - that's what his scream is for. I like the idea of his iconography being heavily Chaos-ified, but I hope he doesn't look like he's literally melted. A pose kind of like a marionette; or just a sassy/awkward stance. No need for a helmet (especially a bobble-head one), but I'd like a trio of head options - one with a too-wide grin (like a gulper eel with its mouth closed), one with "smelled a fart" haughty disdain, and one with his mouth fully distended, throat sacs puffed out, and lower jaw split and separated wide.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by LSM