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Lord Erebus, also known as the Hand of Destiny, is one of the two overarching antagonists (alongside Szarekh) of the grimdark science fantasy franchise Warhammer 40,000.
Erebus was the First Chaplain of the Word Bearers Space Marine Legion, and secretly an adherent to the Chaos Gods. He was instrumental in the corruption of Horus Lupercal, making Erebus the chief mortal architect of the Horus Heresy civil war. Following the Heresy, he served as a dark apostle on the Dark Council of the demon world Sicarus and was one of the leading figures in the Word Bearers.
Synopsis[]
Birth of Erebus[]
The boy that would later be named "Erebus" was born on the planet Colchis during the 30th Millennium. Colchis was a large world marked by arid deserts and harsh mountains. It was one of many worlds populated by isolated human societies, left over from when humanity had traversed the stars tens of millennia prior. The bulk of Colchis's population resided in coastline settlements, where water could be found with less scarcity. The planet's civilization was firmly under the control of a religious order named the Covenant of Colchis.
The boy was born to modest parents in a modest town in the desert. Even as a child, he demonstrated himself to be devoid of all feelings of empathy, remorse, or care for anyone other than himself. He detested the unbearable heat of Colchis, and wasted most of his time lazing around inside the relative coolness of his father's home. To keep himself entertained, he'd patiently wait like a predator for scorpions to scurry into his home and catch them. He would then sadistically pluck their limbs off one by one, sometimes getting stung in the process.
On one occasion, a scorpion sting gave him a harsh fever that left him bedridden for a month. The fever could've killed him, but he ultimately recovered and went right back to playing the same game. Though he did not particularly care for his own life, he found the danger of the hunt exhilarating. The boy's parents grew exasperated by his lack of work ethic, wanting him to take up a trade. However, his only desire was to become like the priests of the Covenant of Colchis. Out in the provinces where the boy lived, the Covenant priests were often corrupt.
The so-called priests would gamble, drink, and use the power they had over society to amass more wealth and power. The boy saw their way of life as ideal, as he wanted nothing more than to be surrounded by riches and concubines without having to put in any effort. Though the boy desired to join the Covenant of Colchis, only the well-connected were easily permitted into the ranks of the faith. He was not deterred however, and began studying the ways of the faith by listening into oratories and observing aspirants come and go from their place of worship.
As he grew older, he became bold enough that he eventually stole holy books from the local scriptoria while the elders slept. Though he did not care for the underlying meaning behind the words, the boy was able to memorize great swathes of the sacred texts with no difficulty. He later began to grow jealous of another boy in his town named Erebus, a pious child who routinely shaved his head and inscribed sections of the scripture upon his body using ink. Erebus's noteworthy devotion impressed the otherwise insignificant town, including the lazy boy's own mother.
His mother once complained that he should be more like Erebus, which put an idea in the boy's head. The boy decided that, to truly make progress in his goal, he should kill Erebus and assume his identity. One night, he stalked Erebus into an alleyway and garrotted him to death. The thrill of taking his first human life filled him with unparalleled elation. With Erebus dead, the boy took his belongings and disposed of the body. Knowing his impersonation of the original could never fool the people that knew him, the boy, now known as Erebus, left behind his hometown and old identity for good.
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Space Marine Physiology
- Accelerated Healing
- Corrosive Saliva
- Enhanced Respiration
- Enhanced Senses
- Heat Resistance
- Longevity
- Superhuman Durability
- Superhuman Speed
- Superhuman Strength
- Warp Empowerment
- Dimensional Travel
- Immortality
- Telekinesis
Abilities[]
- Genius Intellect
- Master Combatant: All Space Marines were trained extensively in martial arts, including hand-to-hand, armed, and ranged combat.
Equipment[]
- Iron Halo: Prior to and during the Horus Heresy, Erebus made use of an Iron Halo. Iron Halos were a valuable and rare type of technology given to important Astartes as a Badge of Honor. Made of metal, they were shaped liked haloes and usually positioned, though not always, on top of a Space Marine's backpack, giving the visual affect that the Marine possessed an angel-like halo. An Iron Halo incorporated a powerful conversion field that produced a personal energy shield around the wearer, granting them a layer of protection from harm.
- Power Armour
- Power Maul
Trivia[]
- The name "Erebus" was likely derived from the figure of the same name from Greek mythology. In Greek culture, Erebus (meaning "darkness") was the personification of darkness and a child of Chaos, the primordial void that existed prior to the creation of the universe.
- Erebus was widely considered to be one of, if not, the most detestable characters in Warhammer 40,000 by fans of the franchise. Reasons that contributed to his unlikability were his cruelty, his selfishness, his remorselessness and lack of empathy, his underhandedness, his pettiness, and his general lack of redeeming qualities. Furthermore, his evil actions such as his murder of the original Erebus, the deliberate orchestration of the Horus Heresy, and his murder of Garviel Loken, all further cemented his despicableness.