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| “ | I never wanted this. I never wanted to unleash my legions. Together we banished the ignorance of Old Night, but you betrayed me. You betrayed us all. You stole power from the Gods and lied to your sons. Mankind has only one chance to prosper. If you will not seize it, then I WILL! | „ |
| ~ Horus |
| “ | Let the galaxy burn. | „ |
| ~ Horus' most famous quote. |
Horus Lupercal, better known as Warmaster Horus, is the secondary antagonist of the Warhammer 40,000 franchise. He is the titular main antagonist of The Horus Heresy novel series.
He is one of the twenty Primarchs created by the Emperor of Mankind in the earliest days of the Imperium, just after the end of the Age of Strife. Like the other Primarchs, Horus was sucked from Terra by the Chaos Gods and was placed on a faraway world in an attempt to prevent the coming of the Age of the Imperium. He was the Primarch of the Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus, bio-engineered space marines, created from his gene-code, who would go on to become the Black Legion. With his Space Marine sons by his side, Horus waged war against the enemies of the Emperor during the Great Crusade. Fighting alongside his father as Lord of the Luna Wolves, he became his favoured son and beloved by most of his brother Primarchs. As result, Horus eventually rose to become Warmaster of the Great Crusade and was seen as second only to the Emperor himself in power and prestige.
But in spite of all of this, through the manipulations and corruption of the Word Bearers, Horus would be blinded by false prophecies and lies. He would ultimately succumb to the Ruinous Powers and become one of the first heretics, and the usurper of the Heresy itself.
Biography[]
Rediscovery[]
Horus was the first Primarch to be rediscovered by the Emperor during the early Great Crusade. Because of this early discovery, Horus grew to be the most powerful among the Primarchs as he had grown up from a child to an adult at the side of the Emperor. For a long time he was the only Primarch to have been discovered. Friendship between the Emperor and Horus grew rapidly and the Emperor eventually trusted him enough to give him command of the entire force of the Imperium. The Emperor had saved Horus's life at the siege of Reillis as they fought back to back. At another battle, Horus repaid this debt when he hacked the arm off a frenzied Ork as it tried to choke the life out of the Emperor.
The Great Crusade[]
Horus during the Great Crusade
As the Emperor and the Great Crusade marched on, Horus proved himself to be a tactical genius. He knew precisely which force to send and where to send it, showing no mercy to those that opposed the Emperor but sparing the innocent from unnecessary bloodshed. As the Emperor departed to find and meet with rediscovered Primarchs, Horus was left in temporary command of the Legiones Astartes and this helped prepare him for the role of Warmaster.
After the Ullanor Crusade, in which an Ork empire was defeated, the Emperor, considering the crusade to be Horus' greatest victory yet, saw fit to partially transfer control of the Great Crusade to Horus, raising him to the rank of Warmaster, the highest official beneath the Emperor himself, and granting him command over any and all Imperial forces, as well as other rights and honours. This strained Horus' relationship with several Primarch's, most notably Angron, Perturabo, and Konrad Curze, who felt either they deserved the title or simply didn't want to take orders from their brother. Leman Russ and Lion El'Jonson meanwhile openly accepted the decision but were clearly embittered by it, Roboute Guilliman, Jaghatai Khan, and Ferrus Manus supported the decision simply because of duty. But Fulgrim, Mortarion, Sanguinius, Lorgar, and Rogal Dorn all supported Horus' ascension to the point where they bowed their heads and meant it, and Horus grew closest to these brothers.
In these, the last years of the Great Crusade, Horus would encourage the other Primarchs to compete against each other in order to discover the strongest and most able of his companions and to improve their fighting abilities, as well as lead his own personal forces into several notable campaigns. It was after one of these campaigns - the first contact with the Interex — that Horus chose to exercise his right, granted by the Emperor, to rename his personal legion: The Luna Wolves were renamed the Sons of Horus. But despite these accomplishments, the formation of the Council of Terra and his Father's return to Terra created a deeply buried resentment in Horus that, before the Heresy, not even he truly seemed to realize existed.
The Betrayal[]
Horus succumbs to the powers of Chaos
During a mission on the Feral World Davin, Horus was wounded in battle, but the natives of the world helped to heal him. This critical event was orchestrated by Erebus of the Word Bearers legion, who had previously corrupted his own legion and Primarch into worshipping the Ruinous Powers. Entering Horus' wounded mind, Erebus manipulated Horus into believing that the Emperor would one day betray him, then turn the Imperium into a dystopian nightmare and bring ruin to all of mankind. From then on, Horus planned and plotted to overthrow the Emperor in what would become known as the "Horus Heresy". During his illness, he was inducted into a "warrior lodge." Although the ceremony was intended to make him a "brother" rather than an outsider, the lodge was supposedly rife with Chaos taint, and it accelerated his change. He introduced the taint to the Legions under his direct command, and it spread until it had infected a full half of the Space Marine Legions of the Imperium. Horus also introduced the concept of deposing the Emperor and installing himself, a stronger leader willing to take the fight to the enemies of Humanity in his place.
Horus Heresy[]
Horus moved, along with several other secretly traitor legions, to Isstvan III, seemingly in order to suppress a rebellion and reinstate Imperial control. Once he arrived, however, he sent down specially selected troops from all four of the legions with him, sending down all those he knew would never join him in open rebellion. Once they were on the planet he proceeded to virus bomb the entire world and killed billions of inhabitants in seconds, along with hundreds of space marines, and a ground war eliminated the remainder. The psychic shock wave from this event was said to be louder than the Astronomican. Horus then redeployed his forces to Isstvan V where he was met by seven Space Marine legions sent to bring him to Terra to face an inquest into his actions on Isstvan III. Four of these seven legions proceeded to rebel against the Emperor. It now became obvious that Horus had massive power as he hunted down the three legions that had stayed loyal. Only a few Space Marines managed to escape his forces and make it back to Terra, and among those killed was Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Iron Hands.
Horus during the Heresy
Horus then set a course to fight his way through the Imperium in an attempt to reach Terra and, ultimately, to kill the Emperor and place himself on the throne. After much fighting, death and betrayal, Horus realized he would have to hurry his attacks in order to secure Terra in time for him to set up the defenses sufficiently to prevent the arrival of two loyal Space Marine legions which could potentially turn the balance back in the favor of the Emperor. To this end, Horus ordered the void shields of his flagship dropped to entice the Emperor aboard for one final conflict. Somehow, the loyalist forces arrived scattered throughout the ship, and Sanguinius, Primarch of the Blood Angels, appeared before Horus, who offered him riches and power if he denounced his allegiance to the Emperor. Sanguinius refused and attacked. Horus killed him and was found standing over his broken body when the Emperor entered the chamber.
The Final Battle and Death[]
Horus and the Emperor face off in final battle.
Much to Horus' annoyance, the Emperor spoke past him and instead addressed the Chaos Gods that had arrived to witness the final struggle, defying them. In the ensuing struggle Horus, fully empowered directly by The Four Gods of Chaos, was able to overpower the Emperor after a titanic clash that transcended both space and time and spread across several dimensions. Horus nailed the Emperor's broken but still-living body to a 5th throne he had constructed alongside those for the Chaos Gods, declaring that he was a God and would make the Emperor his puppet-slave as punishment. However Horus was interrupted first by the Custodian Caecaltus Dusk and then Ollanius Persson, contemptuously killing both. Horus was next confronted by Garviel Loken, his former son who made it aboard the Vengeful Spirit. Loken pointed out that the Emperor had rejected to fully drink from the warp to become the Dark King and that Horus was the one being controlled by the Dark Powers. Loken appealed to Horus' pride, convincing him to briefly shed his tremendous Warp powers and finish the Emperor as a mere Primarch. Horus, perhaps in his arrogance, agreed since the battle was over anyway. He briefly cast off the powers of Chaos and crushed in the Emperor's skull with Worldbreaker as the Chaos Gods and Daemons around them angrily shouted and protested, trying to warn him of something. Horus ignored them but was shocked to find that this was simply a ruse by the Emperor. Loken and the Emperor's corpse had both been illusions, and the real Emperor launched a final assault on Horus.
The Emperor used the power of the reactivated Astronomican to shine its light directly into Horus' brain. The Warmaster fell into agony as he desperately tried to cloak himself in Warp power once more. Much to Horus' horror, he discovered that the Chaos Gods were now teaching him a lesson of sorts by deliberately denying him their power. He came to the realisation that he had never been in control, and his Chaos masters were treating him as they would a disobedient slave. This realisation, combined with the brief absence of Warp corruption over his soul, saw the old Horus the Emperor had once loved manifest once more. He pleaded with the Emperor to kill him before the Chaos Gods reasserted control. The Emperor initially hesitated, but granted Horus a mercy and drove the Athame blade Ollanius had given him through His son's chest. The Emperor then channelled all of His might into the blade, obliterating Horus' form and reducing him to a mere skeleton inside his charred armour. His body was watched over by the real Garviel Loken, who was heartbroken at the tragedy.
Horus's body[]
After the battle, the Vengeful Spirit was quickly placed under Abaddon's command. Abaddon found Horus's body and ordered the retreat into the Eye of Terror. The body of Horus is said to have been put on display in a temple, the Sons of Horus revering the Warmaster even in death. The Neverborn, on the other hand, remembered Horus not for his victories but his failures, referring to him as the Sacrificed King.
At the end of a series of inter-traitor wars, the fortress of the Sons on Maeleum was destroyed, and the body of Horus stolen by the Emperor's Children. To the disgust of the Sons, the body was used by Fabius Bile to create at least one clone of Horus.
Ultimately, Abaddon returned to destroy the Emperor's Children's fortress and the clone of Horus with it. At the climax of the battle, Abaddon, wielding the Talon of Horus, confronted the clone of Horus who was armed with Worldbreaker. After killing scores of Abaddon's allies, the clone of Horus caught sight of the Talon of Horus being worn by another. Horus' clone lashed out at Abaddon with Worldbreaker, but the First Captain caught it with the Talon. Worldbreaker was crushed and Horus' clone impaled by Abaddon. In its dying moments, the clone of Horus remembered who Abaddon was and acknowledged him as his son.
Powers and Abilities[]
Joytoy Horus
Horus Lupercal was a strategic genius and his charisma was unmatched by none other save perhaps for the Emperor. Due to his position as Warmaster and sheer experience he was seen as the most well-liked of the primarchs before his fall to Chaos, and he was the most favored son of the Emperor himself. In terms of combat ability Horus was exceptional, but he was not the most powerful in of martial prowess, physical strength, or psychic powers. Where he truly excelled however was as a leader and commander. He preferred to overwhelm his enemies with sheer numbers and precision tactics, with an emphasis on wiping out the leadership structures of enemy forces which can be known as a surgical strike.
After his fall to chaos and being blessed by the chaos gods however he had officially become the most powerful among his brothers, only the Emperor or a being of similar caliber had truly any chance of killing him, let alone wiping him from existence so the gods would be unable to resurrect him. He was able to call upon the chaos gods to make use of various supernatural powers and had been blessed with many layers of demonic protection making him extremely resistant to all forms of damage, whether it be from firearms, melee weapons, or psychic.
Wargear[]
- Worldbreaker: In his left hand Horus wielded a massive power mace bigger than any human being, easily capable of smashing armored ceramite to pieces. It's spiked shaft when activated was sheathed in a disruption field which disrupts molecular bonds which allowed it to smash through even the hardiest of armor and materials with relative ease. It also serves as a badge of office as it signifies his rank as Warmaster and was given to him as a gift by the Emperor upon achieving this rank. It is said but not confirmed to be crafted by the Emperor's own hands.
- Warmaster's Talon: On his right hand, Horus wears a unique master-crafted Lightning Claw with a built-in combi-bolter similar to the Storm Bolters currently used by the Imperium. It is a powered gauntlet fitted with five razor-sharp adamantium blades which is also sheathed in a matter disrupting power field, enabling this weapon to carve through flesh, bone and armor with equal ease. It was supposedly recovered from the planet Cthonia and is a relic of the Dark Age of Technology. After Horus turned to Chaos, the Talon was stained with the blood of many, including Sanguinius whom he successfully slayed and the Emperor himself which he mortally wounded. It was inherited and is currently worn by one of his sons Abaddon the Despoiler.
- Combi-bolter: A combi-bolter is a twin-barreled weapon that fires .75 calibre rocket-propelled rounds which are designed to explode after penetration, ensuring full lethality. It is capable of firing in both semi-automatic and fully automatic modes and can also fire in two or four rounds bursts. It was also capable of being loaded with a wide variety of different munition types, both specialized and exotic. From the power armor destroying vengeance rounds to extremely expensive warp shells which can create miniature black holes that sucks anything nearby into the warp.
- Serpent's Scales: Over the years, Horus' unique suit of Terminator armor was improved upon by the forces of the Imperium and the traitorous Dark Mechanicus alike. It proved to be effective at nullifying the damage from all types of attacks, be they esoteric in nature or simply pure brute force. Like many terminator suits it was also integrated with a personal teleporter device which allowed him to teleport across the battlefield or anywhere on a planet's surface from a ship in low-orbit. Finally The armor was also decorated with a pelt from a great wolf Horus slew on the moon Davin.
Relationships[]
Family[]
- Emperor of Mankind - genetic progenitor/creator/"father"
- Erda - genetic progenitor/"mother"
- The Primarchs - fellow creations/genetic "brothers"
- Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus - genetic "sons"
Allies[]
- Chaos Gods
- Chaos Space Marines
- Abaddon the Despoiler - favored son and succesor
- Luna wolves/Sons of Horus
- Emperor of Mankind (formerly)
- Imperium of Man (formerly)
Enemies[]
- Emperor of Mankind - Attempted victim and killer
- Imperium of Man
- Loyalist Forces
Trivia[]
Horus, like other Primarchs, is clearly based upon the Archangels of the Bible and other Abrahamic texts. In his case this archangel is Lucifer/Satan. Both once favoured sons who betrayed their creator/"father".
External Links[]
- Horus Lupercal on the Warhammer 40,000 Wiki.
- Horus Lupercal on the Lexicanum.
- Horus Lupercal on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki.
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