| “ | Look upon me and know that I can slay you at will. You have no defence save one: to look into the darkness at the back of your own mind. There, you will find Father Nurgle waiting to offer you life in return for your submission. Deny him, and you are mine. | „ |
| ~ Typhus, Herald of Nurgle |
Lord Typhus (born Calas Typhon), also known as Typhus the Traveller, the Host of the Destroyer Hive, and the Herald of Nurgle, is a major antagonist in the grimdark science fantasy franchise Warhammer 40,000.
Typhus was the Herald of the Plague God Nurgle and a Chaos Lord and psyker of the Death Guard Heretic Astartes Legion. He bore the blood of the overlords who once ruled tyrannically over the original Death Guard homeworld of Barbarus. One of the most beloved and powerful followers of Nurgle, Typhus's body hosted the deadliest of the Plague God's manufactured diseases: the "Destroyer Hive."
History[]
Typhus' original name was Calas Typhon, and he hailed from the Death Guard's eventual homeworld of Barbarus. Typhon possessed the blood of the warlords that had ruled the planet before being defeated by Mortarion, the Death Guard Primarch.
He also possessed formidable psychic powers and had already sold his soul to the Dark Gods of Chaos. With their aid, Typhon became the First Captain of the Death Guard and commander of the battleship Terminus Est.
When Mortarion joined Horus in his rebellion, Typhon killed the Navigators who remained loyal to the Emperor and assured his Primarch that he could lead them to Terra.
Instead, he led them into a trap - becalming the Death Guard fleet in the warp, adrift, helpless and at the mercy of Chaos. Then came the Destroyer Plague and the Death Guard were struck down, but Typhon received his reward from Grandfather Nurgle and he absorbed the full power of the plague from former battle-brother turned Daemon Prince Ignatius Grulgor, while the rest of the Death Guard were transformed into Plague Marines.
His body became home to the daemonic flies of Nurgle, his armor a hive of pestilence. He then became Typhus, Herald of Nurgle and the Host of the Destroyer Hive.
Weapons and Abilities[]
Typhus is a formidable psyker favored by Nurgle, able to call forth both Nurgle's Rot and the Wind of Chaos psychic powers. In addition to his Manreaper Daemon weapon, his body is host to the Destroyer Hive; a horrific plague that manifests as a swarm of insects that continuously pour from the cracks and vents in his Terminator armor. As one of the greatest champions of the Plague God he possesses the Mark of Nurgle which fills his body with pestilence and demonic diseases, his rotting flesh becomes virtually immune to pain and renders him extremely difficult to kill, even compared to other space marines. Only potent anti-tank weaponry or heavy artillery bombardments have any real chance of reliably damaging him.
- Catapharactii Pattern Terminator Armor: Typhus wears an ancient suit of catapharactii terminator armor which fully encloses his corpulent, Nurgle-blessed body and enhances his already impressive durability, but at the cost of reduced movement speed. It is capable of absorbing anti-tank missiles and high-powered energy weapons with relative ease and is all but immune to small-arms fire. It also incorporates an in-built personal teleporter device which allows him to teleport across the battlefield or anywhere on a planet's surface from a ship in low-orbit, which somewhat makes up for the suit's slow speed.
- Manreaper Lakrimae: An ancient power scythe that is plague-ridden with daemonic filth/toxins and the blade itself is sheathed in a field of energy which is able to disrupt molecular bonds and cut through virtually any armor plate with ease. Though Typhus has never confirmed the rumours that he dipped his weapon in Nurgle's own brew of filth, any mortal being that is touched by its blade quickly collapses into a pile of festering bone.
- Destroyer Hive: Typhus' mighty Terminator Armour has become as much a part of him as the daemonic insects that thrive inside. Fused chimneys of bone sprout from his torso, and in the thick of battle, these tubes will belch out great clouds of daemonic flies. Each one buzzes into the cracks and gaps they find in the armour of Typhus' opponents, stinging their victims with daemon-poison until there is nothing left but a pile of plague-riddled corpses. The victims' abdomens also become bloated until they finally burst since the flies are known to lay eggs inside their targets, unleashing another wave of plague flies to spread the contagion even further.
- Daemon Flies: The grotesque daemonic flies that infest the Destroyer Hive are truly disgusting creatures, though in the eyes of Typhus, and of Father Nurgle himself, each is a diminutive angel of decay just waiting to pass on the blessings of rot and entropy to all they touch.
- Blight Grenades: A highly effective improvised grenade and chemical weapon used by devout followers of Nurgle. Blight grenades expose those who are injured by the corrupted pieces of plague-ridden shrapnel to the most deadly of toxins. These contain virulent toxins that eat away at any armour and fill the air with thick clouds of blinding, pathogenic spores. The grenades are normally made from the decapitated heads of fallen enemies, including rotting skulls.
