Warhammer 40k Fluff Thread VIII: "Khorne's Most Favourite Thread EVER"

[Cheesegear]

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It feels a bit as though he's found the first way that equals victory - details be damned - and resigned himself to it.

You sure? Towards the end He's kind of banking on the Webway. Why? What's in there (hint; It's Eldar, surprise!)? Although, his other plan is the Golden Throne. So, maybe it's a case of hoping for the best, expecting the worst. But, given his prognosticative powers, he evidently saw his own shadow and felt six more weeks of winter coming on.

The other issue is that Horus, Alpharius, Lorgar, Curze and Magnus were all given visions of basically the same thing. It's likely that it simply was the 'most probable outcome', and events that conspired to make it happen (naming Horus Warmaster, for one), had already happened.


I'm just waiting for the Eternals to say "There's only one thing we say to death. Not today!"

[Jotunheim]

So! Would this also be the place to discuss the fluffiness of one's army and how it relates to the wider fluff, or is this just for the canon fluffitude?

[Cheesegear]

So! Would this also be the place to discuss the fluffiness of one's army and how it relates to the wider fluff, or is this just for the canon fluffitude?

Yes. More words.

[Jotunheim]

Most excellent! So! My army is a Word Bearers host, which is largely due to the fact that I wub me some ADB books and also because Word Bearers are just a cool way to work the religious gothic feeling in with chaos units (Also, I like their color scheme). The work-title for the army is "The host of the broken throne", and it is a slightly Slaanesh-leaning Word Bearers force. Not that they do not venerate the other gods, or the concept of chaos undivided, they just happen to be slightly more "Blessed" by Slaanesh.
Now, the basic story structure I have for them is that the main Dark Apostle (Rules wise he is a lord because the dark apostle rules do not permit termy armor) of the force took his host out on a good ol'fashioned purge of some imperial loyalist worlds. Upon one of these, he and his host would've come across an ancient ruined temple devoted to She who thirsts. He would've sensed that there was much power to be found there, and a massive depraved ritual would have been carried out to unleash that power upon the unsuspecting sector.
This power, once released, would turn out to be a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh, using the following model:

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She would once have been bound into the stones of the temple by enemies of chaos along with her handmaidens, and it pleased Slaanesh to see her freed so that she could once more resume her depraved subjugation of the material plane. So much so that the Dark Apostle/Lord of the host was granted a boon of power, and mutation, causing him to take on a size towering above his fellow word bearers. This presented some problems, namely that none of the standardized suits of power armor would fit him, but through the works of dark hereteks and the blessings of the greater daemon, a massive suit of Indomitus plate would be forged (This is partially to explain the size of my Lord's model, as he is a big'un:

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The dark apostle, thus imbued with the power of the dark gods, would form a sort of partnership with the Greater Daemon, embarking on a great and utterly depraved crusade, to bring the words of She who thirsts and his/her fellow dark gods to the unenlightened masses of the human emperium, and the rest of the galaxy.

Anyway, that's about what I've got so far. It's stilll a tad shaky on the specifics, and still subject to a lot of change. The reason it ended up being Slaanesh leaning is that I just kinda prefer the Slaanesh minis, and I'd like some kind of theme to the army. Add to that that I have a project in mind of converting some forge world kakaphoni into word bearers noise marines and it's a match made in non-heaven :p H'anyway! Thoughts and input? Once I have more of a feel for the army and their story I might do a bit of writing bout them, and most likely also some drawing/painting.

[Wraith]

You sure? Towards the end He's kind of banking on the Webway. Why? What's in there (hint; It's Eldar, surprise!)? Although, his other plan is the Golden Throne. So, maybe it's a case of hoping for the best, expecting the worst. But, given his prognosticative powers, he evidently saw his own shadow and felt six more weeks of winter coming on.

I didn't think the Emperor was especially interested in the Eldar - I thought he just wanted the Webway in and of itself, for the massive technological advantage it would grant a hulking beast the size of the Imperium. That the Eldar already make use of it seems more like a nuisance than a reason to go find them.

Still, good point. I suppose it depends on how MUCH of his own fate he knows.
He knows that in order to have a chance at victory, both he and Sanguinius are going to die - his conversation with Kai Zuleng tell us this. I don't think it's clear whether he knows that this will assure victory, or if it's just a shot in the dark, nor does he know what else it would entail.
For example, the Golden Throne was originally intended for Magnus, whose betrayal the Emperor didn't see coming, so it'd be hard to argue that he also deliberately set it up as his own personal life support machine from the beginning.

It's a mish-mash. He has to die in order to win, but does he know that he really will win? If that's not the case, what else doesn't he know that could aid or abet him? And why isn't he spending more time trying to find out - He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to take such a big gamble when a bit of research (ie, killing off a few thousand more Astropathic choir members) would possibly yield a more complete answer.

Either way, he's a jerk - either he's not working hard enough to find a better solution than 'let Sanguinius die and become deified', or He has exhausted all outcomes and continues not to tell anyone about it because 'shut up, that's why'.

[Kris Strife]

Either way, he's a jerk - either he's not working hard enough to find a better solution than 'let Sanguinius die and become deified', or He has exhausted all outcomes and continues not to tell anyone about it because 'shut up, that's why'.

It's not really a 'shut up, that's why' so much as 'telling them will accomplish nothing and may actually cost us the chance of victory.'

[Wraith]

The Emperor: "Sanguinius, if you go to [Place X] and do [Action Y] you're gonna die horribly."
Sanguinius: "...Okay, how about I go there and do [Action Z], would that help?"
The Emperor: "It.... I.... That is, uh.... NO MORE QUESTIONS YOU GO GET YOUR HEAD KICKED IN AND YOU LIKE IT YOUNG MAN!!!"
Sanguinius: "....."
Horus: "Did I mention that we also have free medical? Take your pick, heathen evil temple ritual or Fabius, we got both!"

[Cheesegear]

Horus: "Did I mention that we also have free medical? Take your pick, heathen evil temple ritual or Fabius, we got both!"

You can have Erebus, who will mess you up.
You can have Fabius, who will mess you up.

Heretics are the best.

[Wraith]

Hey, that's unfair. Did Horus, or did Horus not, stop spurting blood out of his shoulder and survive a wound that would have been mortal on any other Primarch? I rest my case

That it's taken Fabius Bile 10,000 years to fail at doing what it took Arik Taranis about a week is mostly irrelevant, I think....

[Cheesegear]

Hey, that's unfair. Did Horus, or did Horus not, stop spurting blood out of his shoulder and survive a wound that would have been mortal on any other Primarch? I rest my case

And then in Fear To Tread, Horus rips Erebus' face off. Not even kidding.

[Wraith]

And then what happens to Erebus? Oh yes, I remember - he gets better and is still alive and well at the end of the 13th Black Crusade, 10,000 years later!

Okay, their methods and ethics might leave something to be desired, but you can't fault the results that he get with Chaos Healthcare.

[Cheesegear]

And then what happens to Erebus? Oh yes, I remember - he gets better and is still alive and well at the end of the 13th Black Crusade, 10,000 years later

Well, the Word Bearers trilogy has him in a Dreadnought. Does that actually even count as 'alive and well'?

[Borgh]

Most excellent! Snipping
also some drawing/painting.

nice story, great minis too! Two things though, I'm fairly sure your apostle would get his head kicked in by his high lords if they knew he was favouring any one god. Refluff it to worshipping Chaos, just this facet right now and you are fine. second: She Who Thirsts is a Eldar name

Well, the Word Bearers trilogy has him in a Dreadnought. Does that actually even count as 'alive and well'?

are you sure? In the Epilogue (page 739 of my onmibus) he is very much alive and kicking.

[Grim Portent]

Well, the Word Bearers trilogy has him in a Dreadnought. Does that actually even count as 'alive and well'?

That's not Erebus, that's the Warmonger. Erebus makes a few cameos and is the guy who performs Marduk's initiation into the ranks of the Dark Apostles.

[Jotunheim]

To be fair Lorgar heals himself from being a burned crisp through chaosy magic, so it's not so weird that Erebus might've done so for his face.

[Cheesegear]

That's not Erebus, that's the Warmonger.

I'll admit, it's been a while since I read it. But, I've always thought that it was Erebus the Warmonger, and, at the time I read it, only the first two Heresy books were out (however long ago that was), and, in those books, Erebus deliberately starts a war...So...Yeah.

Alright, if I'm wrong. That's cool. Except now that I know Erebus and the Warmonger are two different characters...I now know that Erebus gets out of the Heresy totally fine, when I always thought he'd end up as a Dreadnought, and I've been waiting all this time for Erebus to get his comeuppance for nothing.

[13_CBS]

I've been waiting all this time for Erebus to get his comeuppance for nothing.

Honestly, I kind of don't want Erebus to get his comeuppance. Plays into the whole "Grim darkness of the far future" bit more.

[Cheesegear]

Honestly, I kind of don't want Erebus to get his comeuppance. Plays into the whole "Grim darkness of the far future" bit more.

I guess I was just looking forward to Erebus finally receiving a beatdown. And I'm sitting there thinking "Will it be Dorn? Will it be Lion?" 'Cause we all know that when Dorn, Sanguinius and the Emperor teleport to Horus' ship, Dorn gets lost, and there's some potential there. And Lion seems like the kind of person, who, when confronted with Erebus, would bisect him on the spot. But, Lion gets lobotomised by Luther, so that's out.

The payoff for Argel Tal in Betrayer was super-disappointing. I mean, it makes sense...But I liked Argel Tal, and I just think he deserves better. Then again, the title of the book should just give you a hint about how everything in that entire book plays out.

That's what I like about the Holy Trinity of Lorgar, Kor Phaeron and Erebus. No matter how much I hate them, I secretly love them.

[Jotunheim]

He gets a pretty hard beat down from Kharn in Betrayer, dosn't he?

[Cheesegear]

He gets a pretty hard beat down from Kharn in Betrayer, dosn't he?

Yeah, Kharn beats the poop out of him. And, given Erebus' discussion with Argel Tal, I'm willing to throw in Erebus with Sigismund and Amit into the running of 'Who kills Kharn?' at the Battle of Terra.

[Jotunheim]

Not that it sticks.

[Wraith]

If there's one book that I want to read from Black Library, it's a complete telling of the Unification Wars.

....If there's another book that I'd want to read, it'd be about Khârn finding out that Erebus screwed him over, and he goes on a rampage to exact his revenge.

[Cheesegear]

If there's one book that I want to read from Black Library, it's a complete telling of the Unification Wars.

Nah. Just have another book with Arik Taranis, and have him have PTSD flashbacks about how he's supposed to be dead.

....If there's another book that I'd want to read, it'd be about Khârn finding out that Erebus screwed him over, and he goes on a rampage to exact his revenge.

What I want;
Red Angel vs. Angron
Sanguinius' rematch against Ka'Bandha
More Eternals (Needs more John Grammaticus)
What happened to Arik Taranis?
More Knights-Errant
Any proper novel that features Imperial Fists as the main protagonists
Horus to be like "Hey, Erebus, remember when you convinced me to go down to the moon, and got me stabbed way back in the second book?"
Argel Tal to...Do other stuff.

[LansXero]

Isnt Argel Tal dead by this point now? which sucks, because it was a real neat character. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the stories with loyalist Iron Warriors a lot.

[Cheesegear]

Isnt Argel Tal dead by this point now?

He's a Daemon. He can come back. I can dream.
And then be all like "Yo Erebus! I'm back!" and then proceed from there. Again, I can dream.

[shadowwalker64]

He's a Daemon. He can come back. I can dream.
And then be all like "Yo Erebus! I'm back!" and then proceed from there. Again, I can dream.

100% sure he's possessed rather than being an actual Daemon: he permanently died when he got stabbed (so no epic comeback )

Maybe Raum in the future maybe? Or he gets resurrected like Tarik or Cyrene and fights at Terra like Lorgar's vision of him? We can only hope that he returns.

[13_CBS]

Random question:

Are Psychic Hoods mentioned in the Horus Herey novels? By chance, the HH books I've read don't feature too many Librarians (except for Betrayer, but again I can't recall whether the World Eaters Librarians used Hoods). Or are Psychic Hoods a post-Heresy bit of tech?

[Wraith]

The Thousand Sons all wear "crystalline devices" around their heads to supplement and/or control their powers, as do several other Legions' librarians in the book of the same name.

I don't think that they are ever referred to specifically as a Psychic Hood, but for all intents and purposes thats what they are.

Also, the Ultramarine who joins Garro's Knights-Errants definitely wears a Hood, and it is directly referred to as such (even though I forget his name right now....)

[Jotunheim]

Betrayer and Fear to Tread are full of direct references to Psychic Hoods, so they definitely exist in the heresy era, though most librarians would not have theirs after the whole "No psykers!" edict.

[Cheesegear]

Also, the Ultramarine who joins Garro's Knights-Errants definitely wears a Hood, and it is directly referred to as such (even though I forget his name right now....)

Tylos Rubio.

Conversation from Oath of Moment
Garro: Use your Psychic Powers, bro.
Rubio: Emperor said I'm not allowed.
Garro: Pretty sure we're dead if you don't use your powers.
Rubio: I don't have my Hood, I'll die if I use my powers.
Garro: If you don't use your powers, you die anyway.
Rubio: Fair enough.

The 'Iron Man' sequence in Sword of Truth culminates with Rubio finally putting on his Psychic Hood again for the first time since he had to remove it after Nikea.