Realm of Chaos: Lost and the Damned (1990) Slaanesh / Heresy Lore

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THE REALM OF CHAOS

The Chaos Powers are immortal creatures with unimaginable abilities and resources. There are many Lesser Powers but only four Great ones: Khorne, Slaanesh, Nurgle and Tzeentch. In order to understand the true natures of these beings, it is beneficial to understand a little of what they are and how they draw their power. The material world is not the only plane of existence. There is an immaterial world which co-exists with our own and forms a parallel dimension or alternative reality. This is the Realm of Chaos. In the Realm of Chaos there are no planets or stars, no lands, sky or features that we would recognise. Instead it consists of an endless soup, or sea, which is not formed of physical matter but pure energy. This energy is important, for it is the raw matter of the Chaos Powers and of all magic. The relationship between the Realm of Chaos and the material world is very important, for neither can exist without the other. Every flesh-and-blood creature has a simultaneous existence in both dimensions. The physical aspect lives in the material universe, but its existence creates a shadow-self in Chaos. It is from this shadow-self formed from pure energy that humans draw their mental powers such as resolve, vigour and determination. Wizards and Psykers draw their magical energy directly from this shadow-self. Some people call this shadow self the soul.


The Mark of Slaanesh

The new Champion of Slaanesh becomes more self-assured and determined. His will power is increased by +1 to show this. The Champion also receives a single random Chaos Attribute.

MONOLITHS TO SLAANESH

Monoliths to Slaanesh are often carved from exotic crystalline rocks with pink or purple streaks and glittering veins of quartz. Legendary monoliths carved from huge gemstones are reported but rarely seen. The borders are carved with entwined bodies or human figures engaged in debauched feasting or heedless dance. These carvings conjure up seductive images of pleasure and power, entrancing music, beguiling dreams, and other temptations to the Path of Chaos. It is said that a weak man who reads the monolith may remain there dreaming forever.

THE CHAOS LANGUAGE

The Dark Tongue is rich in words and phrases which express The mystical, arcane and complex cosmology of Chaos. Although it is convenient to attach basic meanings to these words, they are imbued with far greater and deeper significance. Each word really encompasses a myriad of associated meanings and concepts. For this reason the Dark Tongue, in its pure and archaic form, has become the most powerful language of sorcery and ritual. Debased versions of the language have far less power to evoke the mysteries of Chaos.

The core of the Dark Tongue is a collection of root words, heavily endowed with meaning. The root word is altered by the addition of prefixes and suffixes to bring out the various potential meanings held within the root. Yet more meanings are yielded from the root by mutation of the root itself.

Although there are relatively few root words compared to other languages, such as High Elven for example, there are innumerable potential root mutations in the Dark Tongue. Few human cultists will ever learn all of them and so be able to unlock all the secrets held within the language. It is this characteristic of the Dark Tongue which makes it such an effective and potent means of expression for arcane and occult lore and lends it the haunting quality which gives power and eloquence to ritual incantations.


The following root words demonstrate how the Dark Tongue works in its crudest form including the principle elements of the names of the four great Chaos Powers. In the most ancient and purest texts of the Dark Tongue, used in Chaos rituals, they are named as Kharneth, Slaaneth, Nurgleth and Tzeeneth. From these are derived the names by which they have become commonly known: Khorne, Slaanesh, Nurgle and Tzeentch.

Root Word Simplified Basic Meaning

Khaos Chaos, the sea of souls, magic power Phaos Psychic essence, soul, will, psychic entity, spirit, daemon, Power
Phaos
Dhaos

Tzeen Change - the will to change

Nurgh Decay - the will to live/defy decay

Slaa Ecstasy - the will tc feel and sense

Khar Rage - the will to dominate

Leth, neth - Lord of, Master of, Ruler of


Thus: Tzeeneth - Tzeentch - Changer of the Way
Nurgleth - Nurgle - Lord of Decay
Slaaneth - Slaanesh - Lord-of Pleasure
Kharneth- Khorne - Lord of Blood

 

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THE LESSER POWERS OF CHAOS

As we have seen, the great powers of Khorne, Slaanesh, Nurgle and Tzeentch are manifestations in the Realm of Chaos, or warp, of collective character traits. To be more precise, they are formed from common beliefs and emotions associated with particular states of mind. When a man, or other intelligent creature dies, his shadow-self drifts in the warp. There it meets and coalesces with other shadow-selves with which it has an affinity. These appear as whirlpools of energy within the warp, whirlpools made up of shadow-selves which share a common residual belief or emotion. As only the most deeply rooted emotional states survive death, the shadow-self is not a proper reflection of a human or other sentient personality, but only of its core beliefs and most strongly felt emotions.

Each of these whirlpools of energy represents a particular aspect of humanity or of those other sentient races whose thoughts and feelings have contributed towards them. Thus the largest or most extensive are those associated with the most common or AN D THEIR deep rooted emotions and beliefs. These are the four great Chaos Powers as we understand them: Nurgle, Tzeentch, Slaanesh and Khorne.

NASCENT POWERS AND THEIR DAEMONS

The shadow-self of a dead creature does not as a mule retain the personality or mind that characterised it when alive. When shadow-selves coalesce in the warp, they begin to achieve a consciousness of their own. The larger they become, the more closely do these entities approach full consciousness. The four Chaos Powers of Khorne, Slaanesh, Nurgle and Tzeentch have long since achieved full consciousness. There are also other powers which, although far smaller and less potent, are in the process of creation. They might be described as waking, or drifting in and out of consciousness, or in a dream state in which they dimly perceive the material world. These are all nascent powers, powers in the process of becoming. One day they will achieve full consciousness.

Nascent powers may also create daemons. These daemons are given birth during moments of relative coherence, or sometimes as an off-shoot of the dreaming mind of the unbom power. The daemons have energy only whilst their power is coherent or active, although they are not destroyed as their master slumbers, rather they become inactive until he wakes once more. Such daemons may interrupt in the lives of mortals just as other daemons do, furthering the interests of their patron and promoting the very traits, emotions, and beliefs that feed him.

DAEMONIC STEED

A daemonic steed is a creature than can be ridden into battle and gifted to a Champion by his patron. Khorne has his Juggers, Slaanesh the Mounts of Slaanesh and Tzeentch the Discs. Nurgle doesn’t really have a steed, although he has the Nurglings instead.

DAEMONIC BEAST

A daemonic beast is a pack-creature rather like a daemonic wolf or pack-hound. Beasts can be gifted to a Champion instead of Chaos Hounds. Khome’s beasts are his Fleshhounds, Slaanesh has the Fiends, Tzeentch the Flamers and Nurgle the Beasts of Nurgle. A beast can be crcated in the same way as a steed. Take any creature randomly generated from the Universal Creature Table. Then proceed as follows.

 

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THE SHAMANS

If a Champion’s warband does not include a Shaman then one will often join him as his fame and reputation grows. However, a warband only ever has one Shaman. A new one can only join the wand if its existing shaman has been killed. It is important that a warband includes a Shaman because these Beastmen are more than just spellcasters. A Shaman can spirit walk in the Realm of Chaos and there he can contact and hold conversations with the daemons of the Chaos Powers or even with the Chaos Powers themselves. He can seek advice of portent of future events, and he can relay messages from the Chaos Powers to their Champions, or vice versa. As the intermediaries between the Beastmen and the Chaos Powers, Shamans are treated with the utmost respect even by powerful Champions. This is on the whole very sensible, as Shamans have tremendous magical powers and can easily blast or burn anyone who challenges their wisdom.

Spirit-walking is achieved through dreams or a comatose trance induced by excessive drinking. During a Brayherd, all the Shamans present drink themselves into a trance so that they can visit the Chaos Powers and ask for more power to destroy their enemies. By means of spirit-walking the Beastmen have always known that they are not only part of Chaos but the Children of Chaos itself. As a result Beastmen understand much more about the true nature of Chaos than most humans. They know that mankind’s hatred and fear of Chaos stem from his ignorance of it. Beastmen believe that humans are unable to stomach the truth about Chaos, and hide their fears by inventing comforting lies about its real nature. Shamans wear elaborate loose gowns or decorated hoods and carry staffs or banners decorated with scalps and bones. However, the sole indisputable mark of the Shaman is that his eyes are different colours. Often one eye is red and one blue, or one yellow and the other green. The actual colours are supposed to signify the favour in which the Shaman is held by a particular Chaos Power; blue or yellow for Tzeentch, green or brown for Nurgle, pink or purple for Slaanesh, and bright red for Khome. The Beastmen say of a Shaman whose eyes are very bright that the light of Nurgle, Tzeentch, or some other Power shines through his eyes. A Shaman sometimes chooses to repeat the colours of his eyes in his robes, and if he has horns he might paint them so that they too proclaim the favour of the Chaos Powers.

BEASTMEN AND CHAOS POWERS

Beastmen revere the four Great Chaos Powers Khore, Nurgle, Slaanesh and Tzeentch, as well as many of the lesser Powers which slumber in the Realm of Chaos. A Beastman Champion will often dedicate himself not to a specific Power, but to the unfettered glory of Chaos as a whole. Chaos Powers look upon Beastmen with special favour, and rewards are granted to successful Champions even though they may serve no specific Chaos Power. Champions who do follow Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh or Tzeentch often benefit from the relationship more readily than human or other Champions, because they are closer to the true nature of Chaos. A warband which follows one of the Chaos Powers will naturally acquire mutations and powers appropriate to that Power. As the Champion and his warband are granted fresh rewards by the Champion's Patron, they gradually mutale into the form of Beastmen of Khome, Nurgle, Slaanesh or Tzeentch, When a warband breaks up following the death of its Champion, these Beastmen join up with other Champions of that Power. In this way there are always Beastmen of the Great Powers available to join the warband of an up and coming Champion.

BEASTMEN OF SLAANESH

Slaangors Beastmen of the Chaos Power Slaanesh have white or near white fur and pale or pastel skins. Their eyes are green and are sometimes saucer-like in a similar way to those of the Daemonettes. The rune of Slaanesh appears somewhere on them, painted onto their hides or carved into armour, a bracelet or neck collar. Many of Slaanesh’s Beastmen have the head or hams of a hull (they are Rovigors in fact) just like the Greater Daemons of their master. A Beastman Shaman of Slaanesh always has the spells of Slaanesh appropriate to his level. Remaining spells are generated randomly as normal. For example, a Feralflux with a magic level of 2 has the level 1 and 2 Slaanesh spells Acquiescence and Pavane of Slaanesh. Beastmen of Slaanesh hate all enemies who are mortal followers of Khorne including Beastmen who follow that Patron.

 

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THE EMPEROR AND THE POWERS OF CHAOS

As the human race prospered the warp became increasingly disturbed so that its flow could no longer sustain the planet as it once had. The New Man was aware of how the extreme sides of the human character were feeding the Chaos Powers. Despite his best efforts to promote peace and harmony, the instinctive values of martial honour, ambition, defiance, and selfsatisfaction could never be eradicated. Some of the New Man’s plans were less than successful: seeds of wisdom often failed to flourish or grew into uncontrollable monstrosities leading to persecution and war. The Chaos Powers sensed the presence of the New Man and his efforts to curb their own power and growth. Even before they became fully conscious the Chaos Powers recognised the Emperor as their greatest enemy. Khorne was the first of the Great Powers to wake fully, and an era of wars and conflict taged across the globe. Tzeentch was the next, and nations and politics grew to adulthood with all of their implicit intrigues and double-dealings. Nurgle was the third to awake and plagues swept across continents claiming many souls for the Lord of Decay. By the end of the Middle Ages all three of these Chaos Powers had awoken to full consciousness. The fourth Power, Slaanesh, still slumbered.

SLAANESH

So far we have talked about the Chaos Powers from a purely human point of view. However, they are not uniquely formed from human failings. The warp which flows through the entire galaxy touches upon many worlds and many races, its energies comes from all kinds of life no matter how alien or remote. Some of these life-forms are intelligent in a similar way to humans, and nurture similar hopes and dreams. Others are bizarre and incomprehensible creatures, but they may be still liable to conflict and unhappiness for all their unfamiliarity. Thus, while the aggressive and unstable race of man must he largely blamed for the growth of disharmonious forces in the warp, they are not alone its causality. Of all the alien races, the case of the Eldar is most relevant, for the Eldar were instrumental in creating the fourth Great Chaos Power Slaanesh.

The Eldar were already an ancient race when the Emperor was born. Just as the thoughts and emotions of humans tainted the energies their lives generate in the warp, so the character of the Eldar created its own unique disharmonies. However, the Eldar character is radically different from the human character in many ways. The senses and thoughts of an Eldar are heightened to a degree no human could understand, so his emotions and imagination are keener. An Eldar can know joy ten thousand times more potent than that experienced by any human, but he can also experience despair to the same degree. While no more disposed to good or evil than the average human, the typical Eldar can still conceive of the darkest evil and can aspire w the most perfect goodness. The Eldar themselves recognised the dangers posed by their own Dark Nature as they termed these destructive extremes. With such a vivid imagination and finely honed senses, the universe presents the Eldar with a potentially endless source of pleasure and intellectual gratification. Even if they do not yield to that pleasure the temptation is still there, a constant source of disquiet to their waking mind. Slaanesh grew almost entirely from the unrealised pleasures of the Eldar. The living strove to deny their own secret desires, but when they died their shadow selves melted back into Chaos, and their long- guarded temptations were released to feed the Chaos Power Slaanesh. As Slaanesh swelled with energy his desperation to achieve consciousness was still restrained by the determination of all Eldar that he should remain unborn. His temperamental screams and self-tormenting nightmares echoed through the warp, disturbing its fabric, and causing madness throughout the entire galaxy. As the millennia passed, the birthing pangs of Slaanesh grew stronger and stronger, so that Eldar, humanity and other races began to be dangerously affected.

Scientific advances of the third and subsequent millennia AD brought some knowledge of the warp to ordinary humans. Although no-one imagined its true source of power, mankind learned. how to travel through the warp and soon the stars were populated with human colonies. The New Man himself was instrumental in these scientific advances. He knew that while humanity remained bound within its own solar system the entire trace remained vulnerable to extinction. His appearances during pivotal moments in world history enabled him to direct the course of human progress to some extent. Soon there were human colonies throughout the galaxy.

The birth pangs of Slaanesh made it all the more necessary that humanity progress as quickly as possible. Warp travel became increasingly difficult as the horror-torn dreams of Slaanesh became more intense. Even the other Powers of Chaos were weakened as the whole fabric of the warp writhed and twisted with tempestuous warp storms. As a result, space travel became almost impossible, and many worlds were isolated for long periods of time. Human society broke apart and Earth was cut off from the rest of the galaxy altogether. This was the Age of Strife in human history - an age of anarchy and madness which even the New Man was powerless to prevent. The Age of Strife was only ended with the birth of Slaanesh, an event which was to bring new problems and fresh dangers.

 

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THE BIRTH OF SLAANESH

The Eldar race was trapped by its Dark Nature which continued to assert itself more and more as Slaanesh’s energies grew. The more their Dark Nature drove them into moral, artistic and social decadence, the more the Eldar fought against it. But it was hopeless. Slaanesh was like an expanding balloon straining outwards as pressure was building up inside. It was only a question of time betore it burst. Slaanesh sprung into the warp with a terrible howling scream, and a massive psychic shock-wave spread throughout the warp so that the shadow-self of every living creature was dealt a numbing blow. For the hyper-sensitive Eldar it was too much. The shadow-selves of the living were absorbed into Slaanesh, their bodies evaporated as Chaos boiled through their minds.

Very few Eldar survived, and those that did were tragically affected by the fall of their race. The psychic shock of Slaanesh’s birth had two immediate effects. The catharsis effectively blew away the warp storms created by Slaanesh’s torment, thus ending Earth’s long isolation. However, the numbing psychic shock was so great that it could not be wholly contained within the warp. Where the populations of Eldar were greatest, the warp literally spilled through their minds and mixed with material space. This created the scattered zones of warp overlap in the material universe, the largest and most significant of which is the Eye of Terror.

THE EMPEROR PREPARES

The whole structure of the warp was affected by the growth of the Chaos Powers, so that everywhere in the galaxy the psychic energies embodied by the Chaos Powers began to corrupt the natural energies of living things. While Earth was cut off by warp storms it was also protected from the malefic influences of Chaos which were already corrupting much of the human population of the galaxy - both in mind and in body. It was, as che New Man knew, only a temporary respite. Once Slaanesh awoke, the incredible disturbance to the warp would disrupt its already enfeebled flow. After almost forty thousand years it was time for the New Man to take a direct hand in the future of humanity. It was time for him to become the Emperor. On Earth the well ordered civilisations of the past were gone. Government had degenerated into global anarchy. From that anarchy the Emperor emerged - a saviour in the time of ultimate crisis. He led armies from the Antartic to Greenland, from the deserts of Amazonia to the mountains of Africa, his followers evergrowing in number and strength. His message was clear and vital: unite humanity and bring order to the galaxy.

It was a popular message, a long dormant dream of union which the human voice took up with unstoppable enthusiasm. Over a hundred years before the waking of Slaanesh, the Emperor sought to establish his rule over the Earth and began to mould its people into a loyal army. He started to plan the re-conquest of the galaxy in anticipation of the dispersal of the warp storms around the planet.

THE PRIMARCHS

The Emperor never made the mistake of underestimating the threat of Chaos, and in order to meet that threat he put the best scientific brains on Earth to work. Weapons and spacecraft poured out of the Martian factories to bolster beleaguered forces throughout the galaxy. ‘The Emperor’s most long-sighted plan to counter the insidious influences of the Chaos Powers was the creation of the Primarchs: genetically engineered super-humans with god-like powers. The Emperor’s intention was to create a whole race of super-humans from the genetic blueprint of the Primarchs. By making them loyal and strong he hoped that they would prove immune to the malign psychic influences of Chaos. The Primarchs were to be shining examples of humans free from the taint of corruption. The energy of the uncorrupted warp would flow through them as it flowed through the Emperor himself, invigorating them and conferring special powers such as were possessed by the shamans of old. Unfortunately, things did not go quite according to plan. Despite the Emperor’s best attempts to shield the project from the penetrating eyes of the Chaos Powers they still managed to learn of it. The Primarchs were still in their foetal stage, growing in special amniotic tanks, when the Chaos Powers combined their energies to spirit them away in an unexpectedly bold move.

Even for the Chaos Powers this kidnapping represented a colossal expenditure of energy. The Primarchs were sucked through the warp and scattered on separate human worlds in distant parts of the galaxy. The Chaos Powers did not have the resources to destroy the Primarchs, but they did the next best thing which was to hide them from the Emperor. They were to remain hidden until after the waking of Slaanesh.

THE SPACE MARINES

The Emperor had lost the Primarchs and the first action of his renewed war against the Chaos Powers. The Primarchs could not be recreated and even if this were possible there was not time to do it. The birth pangs of Slaanesh grew louder and louder as the time of his waking grew near. The Emperor evolved another plan. Using genetic material which had been imprinted from the Primarchs into laboratory gholems, some of their qualities could be reproduced as discrete biological organs. By implanting these organs into a young growing body a person with some of the qualities of the Primarchs could be created. In this way the first Space Marine Chapters were founded. Each Chapter utilised genetic material derived from one of the Primarchs.

 

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THE GREAT CRUSADE

By the time that the warp storms were ended, the Space Marines and other Imperial forces were ready to begin their reconquest of the galaxy. The forces of Chaos were already strong, and many human worlds had been taken over by Chaos Cultists or other aliens. It was a long hard struggle, but with every victory the Imperium grew stronger as new warriors joined the Great Crusade. The initial conquests concentrated in areas where the Primarchs had been hidden. Using his psychic powers the Emperor gradually located and found each of his original creations and united them with the Space Marine Chapters created from their genetic imprints. They seemed none the worse for their brush with Chaos, having grown up to be-great leaders and warriors among the local human populations. In fact this appearance of normality was to prove deceptive, for some of the Primarchs had become tainted by their early contact with Chaos. With the help of the Primarchs the Great Crusade swept across the galaxy. Humanity rose to the task of rebuilding its ancient heritage, and everywhere the alien oppressor was.defeated and driven out. Chaos retreated to its own realms, to the zones of warp-real space overlap such as the Eye of Terror.

THE HORUS HERESY

The forces of Chaos were not quite so easily beaten. They whispered to the Primarchs from the warp, disturbing their dreams with promises of power, appealing to their pride, their martial prowess, and their courage. No single Primarch was wholly resistant to these unspoken temptations. The character of each was sorely tested, and fully half of them failed that test. So subtle was their temptation that they never even suspected how their own loyalties were changing. For example, Mortarion Primarch of the Death Guard Chapter fully believed that he was the herald of a new age of justice. Angron of the World Eaters genuinely thought that he alone could save humanity from destruction. Horus too, the greatest Primarch of all, was convinced of the virtue of the martial ideals for which he fought. By appealing to their virtue and courage, they were tempted to lead their Space Marine Chapters against the Emperor. Initially, even the Primarchs had little idea that they had fallen to Chaos, but when they rebelled their good intentions gradually fell away as Chaos saturated their souls. By the same token the Marine Chapters that they led also turned slowly but inevitably to Chaos. The leader of the rebellion was the Warmaster Horus, the greatest and most trusted Primarch of all. He had stood by the Emperor’s side throughout the long years of the Great Crusade. They had fought back-to-back at the seige of Reillis when the Emperor saved Horus’s life. On the battlefield of Gorro, Horus had repaid the debt by hacking the arm from a frenzied Ork as it struggled to choke the Emperor’s life out of him. Horus’s fall came as a great shock to the Emperor. For a vital month the Emperor hesitated, stunned by the extent of Horus's treachery, unable to believe that his friend and general was really gathering forces against him. When the war finally broke out it was savage and bloody. Marine fought Marine as the rival factions battled for supremacy.

THE HORUS HERESY

The forces of Chaos were not quite so easily beaten. They whispered to the Primarchs from the warp, disturbing their dreams with promises of power, appealing to their pride, their martial prowess, and their courage. No single Primarch was wholly resistant to these unspoken temptations. The character of each was sorely tested, and fully half of them failed that test. So subtle was their temptation that they never even suspected how their own loyalties were changing. For example, Mortarion Primarch of the Death Guard Chapter fully believed that he was the herald of a new age of justice. Angron of the World Eaters genuinely thought that he alone could save humanity from destruction. Horus too, the greatest Primarch of all, was convinced of the virtue of the martial ideals for which he fought. By appealing to their virtue and courage, they were tempted to lead their Space Marine Chapters against the Emperor. Initially, even the Primarchs had little idea that they had fallen to Chaos, but when they rebelled their good intentions gradually fell away as Chaos saturated their souls. By the same token the Marine Chapters that they led also turned slowly but inevitably to Chaos. The leader of the rebellion was the Warmaster Horus, the greatest and most trusted Primarch of all. He had stood by the Emperor’s side throughout the long years of the Great Crusade. They had fought back-to-back at the seige of Reillis when the Emperor saved Horus’s life. On the battlefield of Gorro, Horus had repaid the debt by hacking the arm from a frenzied Ork as it struggled to choke the Emperor’s life out of him. Horus’s fall came as a great shock to the Emperor. For a vital month the Emperor hesitated, stunned by the extent of Horus's treachery, unable to believe that his friend and general was really gathering forces against him. When the war finally broke out it was savage and bloody. Marine fought Marine as the rival factions battled for supremacy.

THE BATTLE FOR EARTH

The real tragedy of the Horus Heresy was the ruination of the Emperor’s creations - not only the Primarchs but the Space Marines as well. The rebel forces spread material destruction and sorrow, but worse than that, they spread the corruption of Chaos everywhere they went. Throughout the galaxy the forces of Chaos became stronger as humans were seduced by the values represented by the Chaos Powers and even to their worship. The Emperor’s great spirit was weakened as the better qualities of humanity were perverted and misdirected by the subtle warping influence of Chaos, Such was the position when the forces of Chaos gathered around Earth. The Lunar Bases, the bastion of Earth’s defences, fell to Horus aftcr a hard fight, and the rebel flect moved into Earth orbit. After a brief battle the Terran defence lasers were quashed by heavy bombardment from space. The last squadrons of loyal fighters poured volley after volley into the huge ships but failed to penetrate even their shields. Once their last shots had been fired the pilots steered the fighters directly into the enemy craft. It was a gesture of defiance - no more. Horus’s drop ships fell like rain upon the Imperial palace, disgorging company after company of Traitor Marines. The palace spread over many square miles of corridor, courtyards and administrative buildings, and the fighting was fierce and determined. The Traitor Marines and rebel Imperial Guard units gradually forced back the loyal Marines and Emperor’s Guards. The defenders refused to give way, and the attackers were forced to win their way forward step-by-step over the casualties of both sides. In places the dead lay so thickly that corridors were blocked by the press of bodies.

THE DEATH OF HORUS

As the rebel forces slowly closed the draw-string upon the loyalist troops, the Emperor took up a defensive position with his bodyguard and Primarch Rogal Dom of the Imperial Fists. The last hour of humanity had come and the few gallant defenders prepared themselves for certain death. It was then, when his victory seemed certain, that Horus made his one and only mistake. Some have said that it was no error, but the subconscious humanity of Horus that guided his actions and betrayed him. We will never know for certain. Horus lowered the defence shields on his orbitting Battle Barge. At the time il seemed thal he wished Lo use a psychic probe to witness for himself the final moments of the Emperor. It was his undoing, for as soon as the shields fell the Emperor became aware of his presence. The Emperor did not miss this crucial opportunity. Within a matter of seconds the teleport links were keyed to Horus’s Barge and the Emperor, his immediate entourage and two loyal Primarchs, Rogal Dom of the Imperial Fists and Sanguinius of the Blood Angels, were transported Tight into the nest of Horus itself. Horus was the greatest of all Champions of Chaos, an Arch-Champion and Captain of the Great Powers - a Chaos Lord of the highest rank. As the Emperor and his band of warriors materialised inside Horus’s Battle Barge they saw for the first time the full extent of the Primarch’s treachery. The ship had been transformed into something so horrible that some of the Marines were sent instantly mad. Their minds were completely blasted by the sight, they gargled incoherently as they crawled and twisted on the deck. The faces of men and daemons leered at them from the bulkheads, they had no bodies, their flesh melted into the slimy black walls. With a disgusting sucking sound the creatures heaved themselves into the corridors, clawing and grabbing at the members of the boarding party.

It took only a few minutes to reach the bridge. though many brave men died in those minutes and hordes of no-longerhuman things perished amidst the flames and singing bolt guns. There on the bridge the Emperor confronted his old Warmaster, only to discover Horus poised over the broken body of Sanguinius - the Primarch had found Horus first and had died at his hand. The Emperor launched his attack, as much a struggle between two old friends as it was a struggle for the fate of humanity. Both knew that whichever of them won would inherit the rule of the galaxy and become the undisputed Emperor of Mankind. If Horus won then Chaos would reign supreme and mankind would join the Eldar as a lost race.

 

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THE GOLDEN THRONE

The fight with Horus was waged both in the material universe and in the warp, their bodies and their spirits battling for survival. The Emperer’s body was all but destroyed, and his psychic powers were also dealt a severe blow. The forces of Chaos melted away. Some of those not too long in the service of Chaos were suddenly free from its illusions and quickly switched sides, fighting with all the more vigour in their attempts to make amends for their treachery. Others whose corruption was more deeply rooted, seeing that all was lost, retreated to their ships and fled into open space. The Emperor’s body was hastily returned to Earth and placed in a life preserving bubble. The life support unit known as the Golden Throne was quickly built to encase the Emperor. His powers survived, but his body was shattered. At first he was able to communicate semi coherently for brief periods, later he lapsed into complete silence. That silence has remained undisturbed now for almost ten thousand years.

 

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THE DEATH OF HORUS

When the battle ended it was Horus who lay dead at the feet of the Emperor. Some might say that the Emperor had no choice, that had he not done this then Horus would have killed him. But this is not the reason why the Emperor renewed the fight in earnest. The Emperor slew his Warmaster because he was forced to realise that there was no hope of rescuing Horus from the grip of Chaos, and that he, the Emperor, had failed his friend and, in doing so, had failed all of mankind.

CHAOS TRIUMPHANT

When the Emperor confronted Horus he was faced with the corruption of Chaos at first hand. It could not have been difficult for him to envisage a future universe where Chaos was triumphant and all humanity had become as corrupt as Horus himself. This vision was as repellent to the Emperor as it would be to any right-minded human being. Yet the victory of Chaos seemed certain, for Chaos wormed its way into the minds of ~ humans by exploiting their natural human emotions: their hope, friendship, independence, and other human characteristics which were not in themselves evil. Even the Emperor was not invulnerable. Just as Horus had been corrupted, he too ran the risk of being perverted by the touch of Chaos. But the Emperor was the embodiment of the uncorrupted warp and for him to be tainted by Chaos would be a catastrophe unparalleled since the fall of the Eldar and birth of Slaanesh.

CHAOS DEFEATED

As the Emperor confronted Horus he drew upon the energies of the warp as he had never done before, his frame grew and swelled with power, discharging crackling bolts of energy like a god of thunder. When the Emperor plunged his sword into Horus, the energy of the warp flowed through the Emperor, down his sword and into Horus, burning the Warmaster’s flesh and sinew and destroying him in a searing flash. But the Emperor had over extended his own powers, for no man of living flesh could act as the vessel for so much power and survive. The charred husk of the Emperor fell to the ground amidst a pall of smoke and darkness.

 

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DAEMONIC FOLLOWERS

The Patron is amused by the Champion’s capering and decides to reward him in a suitable manner. If the Champion has fallen casualty he survives, but is given 1 randomly generated Chaos ' Attribute as a reward. Any of his followers who have fallen casualty survive on the D6 roll of a 6. All followers receive 1 randomly generated Chaos Attribute each. The Champion is rewarded with the special gift of Daemonic Followers. Daemonic Followers: A small contingent of Daemons joins the Champion’s Warband. These Daemons are bound to the Champion and so long as he is unwounded they are not subjected to instability on ordinary battlefields. Once the Champion is wounded the daemons are subject to instability for the remainder of that battle. Daemons which are slain in battle or which disappear due to the effects of instability are returned back to the Realm of Chaos and vanish from the Champion's Warband. Roll a D6 to determine the type and number of Daemons.


The Mark of Slaanesh

The new Champion of Slaanesh becomes more self-assured and determined. His will power is increased by +1 to show this. The Champion also receives a single random Chaos Attribute.

 

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The following excerpts despite their lack of direct mention of the 3rd legion and Slaanesh are included for their further mentions of the nature of the primarchs and the size of ''chapters'' during the Heresy.

CHAOS RENEGADES

The most common threat to the Imperium comes from relatively small groups of raiders, invaders and space pirates referred to as Chaos Renegades. A typical force of Chaos Renegades is based around a core of one or more Champions of Chaos plus their attendant warbands. In most cases all the Chaos Renegades in a force come from a single world, and their troops comprise not only mortal Champions and their followers, but also a number of other followers of their Chaos Patron. Chaos Renegades are accustomed to war and death on their homeworld and regard the galaxy as little more than a giant battlefield. The logical extension of their existence is to find new battles to fight, fresh worlds to conquer, and new peoples to enslave on behalf of their chaotic master. The Chaos Renegades are often aided by other forces of Chaos. Among these are the Chapters of Traitor Space Marines which turned to Chaos during the Horus Heresy, and which still exist in the Eye of Terror. These Traitor Marines roam the various worlds over which their Patron Powers have dominion, joining warbands, sometimes becoming Champions and even progressing to become Daemon Princes. One of the most active Chapters of Traitor Marines is the Iron Warriors Chapter. This Chapter is dedicated to Chaos in its Undivided Majesty and is based on the world of the Daemon Prince Perturabo. As they owe allegiance to no Chaos Power in particular, they will often join with Chaos Renegades regardless of the Chaos Power they follow. When Chaos Renegades land on their target worlds they may be joined by allies from among the world’s own population, or by other marauding forces such as Orks or pirates. These allies are all too willing to join with Chaos Renegades and fight with them in return for a share in the spoils of war.

As the Chaos Renegades move out of the Eye of Terror and towards their targets they are joined by other Chaos sympathisers and all manner of freebooters. Renegade leaders use their contacts with Chaos Cultists and treacherous humans to direct their attacks as effectively as possible - appearing trom nowhere to attack a vulnerable space convoy or a defenceless planet. Renegades also lend their weight to the Chaos Cultist risings on human worlds, with the ultimate aim of overthrowing Imperial government and installing the cultists in power. Cultists who join up with Chaos Renegades are sometimes taken back to the Eye of Terror where they enter the service of their master. Orks and human pirates, freebooters, and other nihilistic groups also join Renegades for a share of the loot - they don’t really care which side they support and are quite happy to fight for Chaos against human or other forces. In this way many of the lawless and discontent elements of the galaxy are drawn to the service of Chaos - some make the mistake of returning to the Eye of Terror where they are caught in the endless cycle of battle and damnation.


THE DEATH GUARD

The Death Guard Chapter was one of the original twenty Space Marine. Chapters founded by the Emperor. During the Horus Heresy the Chapter joined the rebel Warmaster Horus and took part in many battles against the Emperor’s forces. Their commander, Mortarion, became an open worshipper of Nurgle when the entire Chapter was trapped inside the warp and ravaged by plague. Subsequently he led his Space Marines in a merry dance of destruction over a score of planets. As disease began to disfigure the Marines, their appearance changed into the disgusting form they still bear today. Now the once tall and erect Space Marines of the Death Guard are the Plague Marines of Nurgle. Their flesh bubbles with corruption, their innards spill through lesions in their putrid skin, and their bodies ooze with sticky slime. Following the death of Horus and the effective end of the Heresy, Mortarion fled with the remnants of his Chapter into the Eye of Terror where he received Nurgle’s ultimate reward and became the Daemon Prince Mortarion. He rules over a Plague Planet where sickness and pestilence are the norm, where miasmic clouds bring contagion and death and where the diseased pray to Nurgle for relief from their constant agony. Some of them are favoured and become Champions, and then fight among themselves for mastery and the chance to become Daemon Princes in their own right. The Plague Marines rarely interfere in battles between rising Champions. In fact they are not commonly seen by the world’s inhabitants except during the time when new Champions are selected to fight with the Chaos Renegades. Most of their time is spent attending on Mortarion or carrying out his wishes, spreading new diseases and travelling to other worlds to carry Nurgle’s plagues to new victims.


THOUSAND SONS

The name Thousand Sons is taken from the initial scries of genetic imprints made from the genetic tissue of their Primarch Magnus the Red. From these imprints a thousand Space Marines were created - the Thousand Sons of Magnus. An entire legion of many thousands of Space Marines was subsequently raised to take part in the Great Crusade, but the Chapter always kept the title of the Thousand Sons. Even before the Heresy the Chapter became involved with arcane lore and the practice of sorcery. The most powerful and influential of the Chapter’s Brethren began to think of themselves as a Sorcerers, and they devoted more time to uncovering the mystical secrets of the universe than to fighting the Emperor’s Wars. However, they remained loyal to both the Emperor and humanity despite their growing preoccupation with magic. When Horus gathered his forces against the Imperium the Thousand Sons at first tried to use their occult powers to warn the Emperor. Mistrustful of anything tinged by Chaos, the Emperor commanded Leman Russ and the Space Wolves to devastate the Thousand Sons’ homeworld of Prospero. As a result the Thousand Sons found themselves involved in a war which they might have wished to avoid. Once committed, however, they were to emerge as one of the most successful Space Marine Chapters to fight for the Warmaster. Really they had little choice other than to ally with Horus, as the Emperor could no longer tolerate the study of magic with all its associations with the warp.