| “ | Let the galaxy burn! | „ |
| ~ Black Legion's warcry. |
| “ | Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne! | „ |
| ~ World Eaters' warcry. |
| “ | Death to the false Emperor! | „ |
| ~ Codex - Chaos Space Marines Page 3. |
Chaos Space Marines, also called the Traitor Marines, the Chaos Marines, the Traitor Legionnaires and the Heretic Astartes, is the term used by the Imperium of Man to describe the many heretical Space Marines that betrayed the Emperor of Mankind and became servants of the Chaos Gods. They are part of what might be considered the more villainous race in the Warhammer 40,000 franchise, alongside the Dark Eldar, Orks, Necrons and Tyranids, and part of the collective Forces of Chaos, which also include daemons and lesser humans. Chaos Space Marines come in many forms and tend to have cults of both human and xenos followers. Depending on the philosophy of the legion, they are deeply devoted to certain chaos deities, either one or all of them, but on rare occasions none of them.
Unlike many other factions within Warhammer 40,000, rather than being united under the umbrella of a higher figure or as loosely affiliated groups, they are fractious, fickle, refractory and prone to infighting amongst themselves. They are only truly unified in their will to survive, hatred of the Emperor Of Man and their desire to help Chaos become the ruling power of creation via acts of unspeakable evil. Only when the Warmaster of Chaos (The current being Abaddon) launches a new temporary Black Crusade will the vast majority of chaos warbands unify, for the sole purpose of wreaking as much havoc and destruction upon the galaxy as possible, the Imperium in particular.
They are a playable army choice in Warhammer 40,000 and also serve in a highly antagonistic role in the related media. Chaos Space Marines are the rough equivalent of Warhammer Fantasy's Hordes of Chaos.
History[]
The Chaos Space Marines can trace their origins back to the 31st millennium. At the Imperium of Man's zenith, eighteen legions of genetically modified super-soldiers, the Space Marines, fought to unify the galaxy in a campaign later known as the Great Crusade. The Emperor of Man Kind claimed that the intention of this crusade was to unite humanity under one banner, wipe out any xeno who threatened their dominion or survival and establish humanity as the galaxies ruling force.
Unbeknownst to his followers, however, the Emperor had a second hidden agenda. Aware about the existence of the Chaos Gods and the dangers these foul entities of the warp posed to the galaxy, the Emperor sought to either contain or eliminate the power of the immaterium. To this end, he sought to install the principal of the Imperial Truth - an atheistic doctrine, which would turn humanity away from the religious ideology the Emperor believed served as the Chaos Gods power source thus eradicating the Dark Gods once and for all.
Perhaps fearing the eventual result, Khorne, Nurgle, Slaneesh and Tzeentch, as well as the lesser gods of chaos stopped their own infighting to interfere with the works of the Emperor of Man. The first step was to scatter his genetically modified children, the Primarchs across the galaxy thus ensuring that the Emperor could not raise or teach them under his own philosophy from an early age. Each of the Emperors sons would face his own trials and tribulations before the Emperor rediscovered them, which in some cases sowed the first seeds of resentment against their father.
Only once the Great Crusade was already underway, however, did the Chaos Gods seize their chance. Starting with the Emperor's disenfranchised son, the pious Lorgar Aurellian, who became disillusioned with his father following an incident in which the Emperor publicly humiliated both him and his legion, the Chaos Gods seduced Lorgar into Chaos-worship. When the Primarch undertook a pilgrimage, they showed him horrifying visions of the future under the Emperor and convinced him that without the aid of Chaos humanity would share the fate of the Eldar. Having won over a powerful leader and orator into their cause, the Chaos Gods' campaign to subvert the Emperor's faithful soldiers had begun.
After purging his Legion of all elements with any loyalties left to the Emperor, Lorgar sent his First Captain Erebus as an ambassador to the other legions. Keeping his Legion's new faith a close secret, Erebus began organizing the Warrior Lodges, secretive fraternal orders within the Space Marine Legions that existed outside of the Legion's regimented and ordered structures. Though these were under the guise of providing brotherhood without rank, they were instrumental in fomenting sympathies and paving the way for the coming betrayal.
Erebus proved instrumental for setting the stage to the Horus Heresy after seeding the Warrior Lodges into a full half of the Legions and successfully engineering the fall of Horus into Chaos by stealing a powerful weapon known as the Anathame and giving it to a rebellious planetary governor who injured Horus with it. Desperate to save their leader Horus' troops were tricked into bringing him to the serpent's lodge, a group of supposed mystical healers who unknown to them were secretly chaos worshippers. Using this opportunity the Chaos Gods managed to convince the injured Horus to turn against the Imperium in exchange for healing him and he quickly rose to power as the leader of the Chaos forces.
Using his position as the Warmaster to his advantage, Horus proceeded to trick, corral or persuade others to join him. Ultimately, the Emperor and the Imperium's once magnificent army was split down the middle. In addition to Horus and Lorgar's legions, seven of the other Primarch's led their gene-sons into heresy and damnation. The resulting conflict stretched across the known galaxy all the way to the throne world of Holy Terra. The Space Marines who once called each other brothers fought savagely amongst themselves, in both inter and intra legion conflict. Billions, if not trillions of lives were lost, countless worlds were ravaged beyond salvation and ultimately the Emperor would be permanently interred upon the life support system known as the Golden Throne.
In the end though Horus' rebellion cost him his life and his fellow traitors were forced to retreat from Terra. Having lost their unity, the Chaos Space Marines and their allies became easy targets for the vengeful loyalists, who launched a devastating counter attack, killing thousand of the heretics. The battered survivors were, for the most part, pushed back into the Warp realm through the dimensional rift known as the Eye of Terror. Contained within the domain of their masters, the Chaos legions fragmented and began fighting amongst themselves. Each legion carved out its own empire within the immaterium, the once mighty armies dividing into various warbands. Never the less a new deadly enemy had been created, from amongst humanities own ranks.
After the Horus Heresy[]
For the next 10,000 years, the fractured chaos legions would periodically emerge from the warp to wage war against the Imperium. Their lives unnaturally prolonged and their bodies and minds twisted thanks to otherworldly energies of the Warp and the daemons that live there. In their most recent endeavor, the 13th black Crusade, the new Warmaster of Chaos Abbadon the Despoiler managed to destroy the Imperial Fortress world of Cadia, an event which allowed the energies of the warp to spill into the material world and quite literally split the Imperium and the galaxy at large in half. Imperial forces have since retaliated by launching a counter-crusade to push back the onrushing forces and seize the two remaining space paths to the other side of the galaxy, all while the chaos forces use the opportunity to harass and harry them as well as devastate any worlds in their path.
Known Chaos Legions[]
| “ | BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! | „ |
| ~ The chant of Khorne's followers |
In the ten millennia that followed the Horus Heresy, hundreds of Space Marine Chapters have forsaken their oaths of loyalty to the Emperor, their Primarch and the Imperium. These new generations of Chaos Space Marines will often corrupt others, in exchange for the power and glory, promised by their new masters. However, thanks to the Codex Astartes, none of these chapters possess the military might of Horus' legions.
Generally however, the term is used to reference the nine First-Founding Legions and their Primarchs who first turned against the Emperor, thus dividing humanity for all of eternity. In the aftermath of the heresy, the majority of these legions were driven from real space into the Eye of Terror. There, the former allies fought endlessly with each other. Such was the devastating impact of this war, that many of these once might legions divided into roaming warbands. Like their loyalist kinsman, who broke into newly formed chapters, some of these traitor warbands adopted new names and philosophies to differentiate from their parent legion.
The following list comprises the more infamous Chaos legions, including those from the First Founding: -
The Black Legion[]
| The XVIth Legion | |
|---|---|
| Image to be added | Other names: -
Armor Pattern: -
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| Primarch: Horus Lupercal - Warmaster of the Imperium and later the First Warmaster of Chaos. The arch-traitor.
Primarch Status: - Deceased. Horus was slain by the Emperor of Mankind during the final battle of the Horus Heresy, the Siege of Terra. Temporarily freed from the control of the Chaos Gods, the Primarch pleaded with his father to destroy him so that he would, in turn, not destroy the empire he once cherished. The Emperor reluctantly obliged. In the aftermath, Horus' body was recovered by his sons and taken to the Eye of Terror. The Sons of Horus initially entombed their gene-father within a massive tomb complex but the corpse was later stolen by Fabius Bile as part of his Primarch project. However, Horus' clones (who failed to match up to the original) were eventually found and destroyed by the vengeful Abaddon. Following the battle, the new Warmaster ordered his predecessor's body to be destroyed alongside those of the clones leaving Horus dead on both a physical and spiritual level. | |
| Current leader(s): Abaddon the Despoiler - Horus' successor, the Second Warmaster of Chaos. | |
| Religion: Undivided/pagan.
The Black Legion are very open when it comes to their faith. Most are followers of Chaos Undivided, worshipping all of the Chaos Gods to varying degrees though some astrates, particularly those who originally hailed from monotheistic legions, continue to revere just one God. Their new brothers do not mind this as the Black Legion will strike pacts with various demons and their patron deities. | |
| Battle Cry:
"We are returned!" or "Death to the False Emperor!". | |
| Notable Astrates | |
| Image to be added | Abaddon the Despoiler - The Second Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon is a veteran of both the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy. Originally the First Captain of the Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus, Abaddon followed his Primarch into damnation and heresy. Following Horus' death at the Siege of Terra, Abaddon originally became disillusioned but, after undertaking a pilgrimage within the Eye of Terror, he concluded that the Sons of Horus' only hope for survival lay with him. Returning to the pitiful remnants of the XVIth, Abaddon killed or drove away every man who would not bow to him, took command of his remaining brothers and renamed them Black Legion. Now, the new Warmaster, Abaddon has frequently waged war against the Imperium and traitor forces alike, culminating in the destruction of Cadia at the end of the 13th Black Crusade, thus creating a tear in the fabric of reality and dividing the Imperium of Man into two. With this, Abaddon has taken one step closer to his ultimate goal: reaching Terra and overthrowing the Emperor. |
| Image to be added | Eliphas the Inheritor - A fearsome Chaos Lord/Champion hailing from the Word Bearers legion, Eliphas was resurrected by Abaddon himself, following his failure to conquer the planet Kronus. Joining the Black Legion, Eliphas later travelled the Aurelian sector, the recruitment ground for the Blood Ravens loyalist chapter, with his commander, Araghast the Pillager. The Chaos Lord planned to release the Great Unclean One Ulkair. In a bid to gain power, Eliphas betrayed Araghast, leaving him to die and taking command of the warband himself. He was defeated, however, and personally punished by Abaddon himself. 10 years later, he returned to real space as the leader of a Black Legion Chaos warband, only to be defeated and slain by Captain Apollo Diomedes of the Blood Raven honor guard. |
Additional Notes:
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The Word Bearers[]
| The XVIIth Legion | |
|---|---|
| Image to be added | Other names: -
Armor Pattern: -
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| Primarch: Lorgar Aurelian - First of the traitor Primarchs.
Primarch Status: - Alive. Believed to be meditating deep within the depths of the Word Bearers new home world. Unconfirmed reports indicate possible sightings upon the ruined world of Cadia. | |
| Current Leader(s): The Dark Council - A collection of Dark Apostles and Chaos Champions. | |
| Religion: Undivided/pagan.
An eternally pious legion, the Word Bearers are staunch pagans of Chaos Undivided. They worship all of the Chaos Gods equally and will never show favor to a particular deity. | |
| Battle Cry: An appropriate passage from their sacred texts or dolorous roars. | |
| Notable Astrates | |
| Image to be added | Erebus - Once a simple peasant boy, Erebus always believed he was destined for greatness and, in a twisted sense, he was right. Manipulative, cruel and ruthless, Erebus learned of the Chaos God's existence hundreds of years before the rise of Lorgar or the coming of the Emperor. Worming his way into Aurelian's inner circle, Erebus bided his time, appearing to be a fierce but devout and loyal warrior. Following the Word Bearer's humiliation at Monarchia, however, the Dark Apostle revealed his true colours. He manipulated his Primarch into discovering the Chaos Gods, setting the stage for what followed. It was Erebus who injured and corrupted Horus, thus plunging the Imperium into civil war and bloodshed. Manipulating both sides of the event through various disguises, Erebus slew many people including fellow Word Bearer Argal Tal, the Primarchs "mother" Erda and the Luna Wolf loyalist Garviel Loken. Following the traitor's defeat, he retreated into the Eye of Terror. Following the Fall of Cadia, Erebus re-emerged, leading an army of Word Bearers on conquest. |
| Image to be added | Kor Phaereon - A disgraced and exiled priest, who preached zealotry and extremism, Kor Phaereon found the infant Primarch Lorgar amongst a group of tribesmen. Sensing great potential (both for the boy and himself), Phaereon slaughtered the locals and adopted the boy as his son. Although their relationship was not healthy, Lorgar still loved his adoptive father and even saved his life at one point, which earned him some affection. Phaereon eventually became Lorgar's arch-decon, helping him overthrow the Covenant of Colchis before the Emperor arrived. Although Phaereon was too old to become a true Space Marine, he received sufficient upgrades to join the XVIIth legion. Secretly, Phaereon did not embrace his legion's faith in the Emperor and following the Fall of Monarchia, he corrupted his son by revealing the existence of the Chaos Gods. When the Heresy broke out, Phaereon served as the right hand of Lorgar, until a failed attempt to corrupt Robute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines, forced him to retreat into the warp. Kor Phaereon and his few surviving followers conquered the planet of Sicarus, which became the new homeworld for the Word Bearers. Phaereon would remain within the warp until the Fall of Cadia when a series of visions inspired him to launch new attacks upon the Imperium of Man. |
Additional Notes: -
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The World Eaters[]
| The XIIth Legion | |
|---|---|
| Image to be added | Other names: -
Armor Pattern: -
|
| Primarch: Angron
Primarch Status: - Alive. Angron has returned to real space, rallying his legion for an attack on the Imperium. | |
| Current Leader(s): Various.
The World Eaters broke into various warbands. Since the fall of Cadia, most have rallied under the leadership of Angron. | |
| Religion: Monotheistic.
Although not especially religious, the World Eaters follow Khorne, the God of Blood and War. They do not build churches or perform religious ceremonies, however, as the battlefield is their altar, with their victims serving as their offerings. | |
| Battle Cry: "Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne!" | |
| Notable Astrates | |
| Image to be added | |
Additional Notes: -
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The Death Guard[]
| The XIVth Legion | |
|---|---|
| Image to be added | Other names: -
Armor Pattern: -
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| Primarch: Mortarion
Primarch Status: - Alive. Mortarion returned to real space to initiate the Plague Wars. He duelled his former brother Roboute Guilliman at the climax of the conflict to a stalemate. | |
| Current leader(s): Various.
The legion divided into various warbands following the Siege of Terra, though most follow either Tyhus or Mortarion. | |
| Religion: Monotheistic.
The Death Guard are the most adherent servants of Nurgle. Blessed by their deity to house plagues and diseases, they have mutated into what Imperial records now refer to as the Plague Marines. | |
| Notable Astrates: | |
| Image to be added | |
Additional notes:
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The Emperors Children[]
| The IIIrd Legion | |
|---|---|
| Image to be added | Other names: -
Armor Pattern: -
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| Primarch: Fulgrim.
Primarch Status: Alive. Returned to Istvaan III, defeating the Venerable Dreadnaught Rylanor, a loyalist survivor of his legion. Left for areas unknown after being betrayed by his Thousand Son escort. Unconfirmed reports suggest a possible sighting of the Primarch upon Cadia. | |
| Current leader(s): Various.
The Emperor's Childrens unity fell apart following the Horus Heresy and they have not attempted to reunify. | |
| Religion: Monotheistic.
Slaanesh, the Dark Prince of Excess corrupted Fulgrim and through him, his legion. Where once they sought perfection in all things, the Emperor's Children now seek pleasure in all things. | |
| Battle cry: "Children of the Emperor! Death to his foes!" | |
| Notable Astrates | |
| Image to be added | |
Additional Notes:
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The Thousand Sons[]
| The XVth Legion | |
|---|---|
| Image to be added | Other names: -
Armor Pattern: -
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| Primarch: Magnus the Red.
Primarch Status: - Alive. Fought Guilliman on Luna, now heading an invasion force in the Stygius Sector. | |
| Current leader(s): - Various.
The Thousand Sons broke into several warbands, each led by a different sorcerer. Generally, most follow either Magnus or Ahriman. | |
| Religion: Monotheistic.
As proficient magic users, it did not take long for the Thousand Sons to find favour with Tzeentch, the Changer of Ways. | |
| Battle cry: "All is dust ..." | |
| Notable Astrates | |
| Image to be added | |
Additional notes: -
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The Iron Warriors[]
| The IVth Legion | |
|---|---|
| Image to be added | Other names: -
Armor Pattern: -
|
| Primarch: Perturabo.
Primarch Status: - Alive. Current location is unknown. | |
| Current leader(s): Various.
A civil war divided the legion creating various warbands. | |
| Religion: Undivided.
The Imperium classifies the Iron Warriors as pagans of Chaos Undivided. In reality, however, the Iron Warriors are materialists, who favour science and technology, over the gifts of sorcery and magic. Like their Primarch, the IVth legion holds little attachment to anything, including faith. Although the Iron Warriors acknowledge the existence of the Chaos Gods, they do not truly follow or worship them. To them, Chaos is just another tool to be used at their leisure. For this reason, the Iron Warriors are better described as either agnostic or deistic. | |
| Battle Cry: "Iron Within, Iron Without!" | |
| Notable Astrates | |
| Image to be added | |
Additional Notes: -
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The Night Lords[]
| The VIIIth Legion | |
|---|---|
| Image to be added | Other names: -
Armor Pattern: -
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| Primarch: Konrad Curze - The Night Haunter the most feared and mentally unstable of the Primarchs.
Primarch Status: - Deceased. Curze allowed himself to be killed by an Imperial Assassin, shortly after the Heresy. Throughout his life, the Night Haunter had been tormented by frequent visions of his eventual demise. He believed that by not countering his death, he proved that everything he had done was preordained and thus justified his actions/choices. | |
| Current leader(s): - Various.
The Night Lords broke apart following Curze's death. | |
| Religion: Undivided.
Although classified as part of the Undivided Legions by the Imperium, the Night Lords represent a unique case, which makes them an enigma, even amongst the Chaos Space Marines. Unlike the rest of their traitor brethren, the VIIIth legion does not worship the Chaos Gods. Instead, they remain dedicated to Curze's original concepts of fear and terror, with their actions unwittingly benefitting the forces of Chaos. Although they are traitors and Chaos Space Marines, with evidence to the contrary existing all around them, the Night Lords appear, for the most part, to be staunch atheists. | |
| Battle Cry: "We have come for you!" or "Ave Dominus Nox!" | |
| Notable Astrates | |
| Image to be added | |
Additional Notes: -
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The Alpha Legion[]
| The XXth Legion | |
|---|---|
| Image to be added | Other names: -
Armor Pattern: -
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| Primarchs: Alpharius and Omegon.
Primarch Status: One or both dead. Rogal Dorn, Primarch of the Imperial Fists, dueled and killed one of the brothers above Pluto, reportedly Alpharius. The surviving brother subsequently took up the name Alpharius Omegon. Roboute Guilliman is believed to have killed the second brother after the Heresy, but the validity of this claim remains uncertain. | |
| Current Leader(s): Unknown.
Various warbands exist, but given their secretive nature it is also possible that the entire legion secretly answers to a hidden overlord. | |
| Religion: Undivided/pagan.
Famed for their use of cultists, the Alpha Legion and their followers worship the various gods of Chaos. | |
| Battle Cry: "Hydra Dominatus". | |
| Notable Astrates | |
| Image to be added | |
Additional Notes: -
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The Fallen[]
| Splinter Faction of the Ist Legion | |
|---|---|
| Image to be added | Other names: -
Armor Pattern: -
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| Primarch: Lion El'Jonson
Primarch status: Alive Having risen from his 10,000-year slumber, The Lion of Calliban is actively hunting the disloyal elements of his legion | |
| Current Leader(s): Unknown. believed to be either Luther or Cypher. | |
| Religion: Varies.
Not all of the Fallen have succumbed to the temptations and having seen the error of their ways, remain loyal servants of both the Lion and the Emperor. Those who have fallen are either monotheistic or pagan. | |
| Battle Cry: Unknown | |
| Notable Astrates | |
| Image to be added | Luther - The adoptive father of Lion El'Jonson and a former knight of Caliban, Luther was once the second in command of the Dark Angels Legion. However, his jealousy over his son's natural talent and glory got the better of him and when Luther almost let an assassination attempt take place, father and son fell out. Luther returned to Caliban, where feeling betrayed and abandoned, he eventually succumbed to the teachings of Chaos. He convinced the planet's garrison to join him and thus The Fallen were born. Although Luther refused to help the traitors during the Heresy, when Jonson and his angels returned home, Luther's renegades fired upon them. Fighting his way to the surface, the Lion engaged his erstwhile father in a climactic battle, which tore the planet asunder. Jonson could have slain Luther but could not bring himself to do it, opening himself up to a fatal strike. As his Primarch collapsed, however, Luther saw what he had done and regretted his choices. Although the Chaos Gods scattered his Fallen brethren, Luther was left behind and captured. Luther was subsequently placed in stasis, where he would remain until he was freed by his Fallen brother, Marbas who took him away to regions unknown. |
| Image to be added | Cypher - Perhaps the most mysterious of all Chaos Lords, this Fallen Angel's true name and purpose are shrouded in mystery. Appearing sporadically throughout history, Cypher has been known to help traitors, loyalists and xeno alike. His intentions and reasons for doing so are not clear. Recently, Cypher aided in the restoration of the Primarch Robute Guilliman. He asked to be allowed to speak to the Emperor in exchange, but upon reaching Terra was arrested instead. Thanks in no small part to a group of Dark Angel assassins, Cypher managed to escape and now seeks to continue his plans (whatever they are). |
Trivia
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The Red Corsairs[]
Gallery[]
Quotes[]
| “ | We fight the long war, not through vain notions of duty and honour, but through a far purer purpose: hatred. At the height of our glory we were betrayed and cast out by our kin. Guilliman, Dorn, Sanguinius - these are the names I curse. Horus, Perturabo, Angron - these are the names I ever, names I would follow to the very end. It is this hatred that has sustained me through the long millennia. I tend it with bitterness. I nurture it with the deaths of my former brothers. For I know that when the end is upon us and Horus is returned, then the false Emperor shall be cast down from his sepulchral golden throne, and we shall take our rightful place at the side of Horus, the true Emperor of Mankind. | „ |
| ~ Ferrous Ironclaw. Warsmith of the Iron Warriors. Chaos Space Marine codex IIIrd edition. |
