Thousand Sons
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Thousand Sons | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Primarch | Magnus the Red |
| Battlecry | All is Dust! |
| Colours | Blue and Yellow/Gold |
The Thousand Sons is one of the legions of Chaos Space Marines in the game Warhammer 40,000. The main features that distinguish them from other legions is the number of sorcerers at the Legion's disposal, and their worship of the Chaos god Tzeentch.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Magnus the Red
When the infant Primarchs were scattered across the galaxy, the child that came to be known as Magnus the Red landed on the world of Prospero. He was fortunate, as normally a grotesque cyclopean being would have been slain at once by superstitious locals. As it was, Prospero was home to an exiled commune of human psykers who saw Magnus as one of their own.
Magnus became a ward to the community. He quickly exhibited the psychic traits common to the commune, and by the time he reached physical maturity, his power had grown so much that he surpassed every single person on the planet, possibly the greatest that ever existed other than the Emperor. He believed his intellect could master any discipline and his maxim, above all others, was 'Knowledge is power'. One day, Magnus used his single eye to look into the Immaterium, and changed the course of his life forever.
[edit] The Great Crusade
The Emperor of Man was attracted to the world of Prospero by the psychic beacon that was one of his lost sons. The actual meeting of the two was said to be a mere formality; the bond between father and son was believed to have been established via psychic communication.
Magnus was granted command of the 15th Space Marine Legion, the naming of the Legion as the Thousand Sons was a recognition that only a thousand original Marines were created from Magnus' genetic material. It was a reunion that could not have come at a better time for the Legion. Formed from Magnus's gene-seed, the Legion contained a high number of Marines who had undergone psychic mutation. Very few survived the mutation, of the few who did, many became the greatest psykers of the era. At this time, factions within the Imperium were calling for the extermination of all mutants and psykers.
Taking on the challenge of saving his Legion from destruction, Magnus bent his intellect towards training the Thousand Sons Legion in the way of the psyker. Many believe it was during this time that the Legion began to fall to Chaos. It is unknown when the Thousand Sons crossed the threshold, but at some stage during the Great Crusade, they passed the point of scholarly pursuit and began to dabble in sorcery.
Many had not noticed when Magnus began its practice but at least two of Magnus's brothers had their concerns; Mortarion who knew of the cost of sorcery at first hand, and Leman Russ who thought Magnus's ways were dishonourable. Eventually, it came to the point where the Emperor himself held a council on the planet Nikaea, bidding that both sides present their view. Both sides argued each other to a standstill, and it was only the intervention of a contingent of Space Marine Librarians from other legions that presented a compromise.
The proposal was made that while the education of psykers to best serve humanity should be made a priority, the conduct of arcane sorcery would be outlawed as an unforgivable heresy. This compromise was made law without a provision for rebuttal, and the Edicts of Nikaea have stood for ten thousand years as official Imperial policy. Magnus disagreed with the decision, but was forced by the Emperor to swear that his Legion would cease all research relating to the sorcerous arts.
The Horus Heresy series by the Black Library tells a different story. In these, Magnus is crucial in incepting Space Marine Librarians. Some Primarchs accepted his program into their own legions, while others refused to deal with what they saw as sorcery by another name. Primarchs from both sides convened with the Emperor at Nikaea, and the Emperor ordered all Librarius programs to be dismantled permanently. Malcador the Sigilite, having noted the example set by the Word Bearers, made the Chaplain Edict - to each company a warrior would be chosen to watch their charges for dangerous powers, and keep their charges properly motivated. These marines were the first Space Marine Chaplains.
[edit] The Horus Heresy
The result of the Council of Nikaea served to mask other, darker betrayals, as Warmaster Horus fell to the machinations of Chaos. While meditating on Prospero, Magnus foresaw Horus being corrupted by Chaos and the future events of the Horus Heresy, the betrayal of half the Space Marine Legions, and the sundering of the Imperium. The only fate the vision did not mention was Magnus's own. Burdened with the information by this precognitive vision, Magnus used the power of his Legion's greatest sorcerers to convey the news of the impending civil war to the Emperor himself via daemonic sorcery, rather than use the slower means of Astropathy.
Upon receiving the message, the Emperor was furious to see Magnus's oath-breaking. The Emperor saw the hidden traitor to be Magnus, not his beloved Horus. Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves Legion, who had always been averse to witchcraft, was swiftly ordered to bring Magnus to Terra to account for his actions. During his voyage to Prospero, Leman Russ was convinced by Horus to destroy Magnus's legion rather than simply bring them to account. Accompanying the Space Wolves were a full contingent of Adeptus Custodes, and the elite anti-psyker (pariah gene-bearing) units, the Sisters of Silence.
Ironically, the Burning of Prospero took the Thousand Sons by total surprise. Landing in a surprise assault on Prospero, the Space Wolves destroyed the capital city and, with it, much of the Thousand Sons' hard-won knowledge. In the bloody battle that ensued, Magnus and Russ met in single combat. Magnus shattered Russ's breastplate and hoisted him into the air. As he did Russ kicked Magnus in his single eye and gained the advantage. Russ lifted Magnus and broke his back over his knee. To save himself, his legion, his world, and all the knowledge he had accumulated, Magnus pledged himself to the Chaos God Tzeentch. His new patron's response was immediate. The City of Light was transported into the Eye of Terror. While Prospero was destroyed that day, Magnus and his Legion survived. By the time the the Thousand Sons were seen next, they were allied to Horus, and Magnus had become the most powerful of all Tzeentch's daemonic servants.
After the Emperor defeated Horus, the Thousand Sons claimed a planet for themselves within the Eye of Terror. Now, Magnus's ever-changing form resides on the Planet of Sorcerers. Here, Magnus stands atop his tallest of towers, The Tower Of The Cyclops, and his vast sorcerous eye surveys the entire planet. The world and its buildings are places where dimensions exist beyond the norm.
[edit] The Rubric of Ahriman
Mutation had been a curse borne by the Thousand Sons since their inception, as they had an abnormally large amount of Psykers. Once the Legion had settled on the Planet of Sorcerers, Tzeentch began bestowing his 'blessings', random physical mutations, on members of the Thousand Sons. Although many embraced the favour of their new god, the veterans of the Legion began to feel that all their efforts to save their Legion had been for nothing.
A cabal of the legion's strongest sorcerers attempted to counter the warping corruption. They secretly laid the foundations of a mighty spell, afraid that their Primarch would disapprove of their risky actions. Led by Ahriman, their chief Librarian, the cabal hoped to dispel the violent mutations that were slowly destroying the Legion, also hoping that their battle-brothers would prove immune to later corruptions.
The Rubric was both a total success and a total failure. The Thousand Sons were no longer susceptible to mutation, because there was nothing left to mutate. The flesh of the Space Marines was turned to dust, their souls trapped within armour that had become completely sealed. The majority of the Legion had been reduced to little more than automata. Magnus was enraged, as the Legion he had sacrificed so much for had been destroyed. Striding to the top of his tower, he swore that he would see the galaxy burn and summoned Ahriman to account for his actions.
Magnus had the intention of destroying the errant sorcerer, for despite the Chief Librarian's considerable powers he could not match the Primarch. The fallen Primarch's fury knew no bounds. As he raised his fist to deliver the single killing blow, a distant, sibilant, declarative voice reverberated with the knowledge of thousands and the machinations of something altogether beyond his understanding; "Magnusss ... You would sssmash my pawns too readily."
Realising the Architect of Fate, Tzeentch itself, had orchestrated the entire event, Magnus spared Ahriman, realising there were yet still things beyond even his elevated understanding. The Thousand Sons' Chief Librarian was banished on an eternal quest for perfect understanding -- leading him to take up such dangerous and enticing quests as the hunt for the Eldar Black Library.
[edit] Organisation
Magnus placed great faith in his subordinates, believing that he had trained them well enough to operate autonomously. Squads were led by the greatest psyker in the unit, each psyker apprenticed to the lead Sorcerer of the detachment. As such, all psykers within the Legion have considerable combat and leadership experience.
[edit] Combat Doctrine
The Thousand Sons were well known for their avoidance of close combat, instead relying on their mastery of the psychic arts to win battles. On many occasions, the Thousand Sons would accomplish by guile and trickery what other Legions would pay dearly for in blood.
Since the Rubric of Ahriman, little has changed. The Sorcerer-Lords of the Legion utilise their ghost-brethren as bulwarks of fire support, while they establish elaborate plans, dependent on the use of magic, to win the day.
Unlike other legions that serve a single Chaos God, the Thousand Sons divide into two categories:
[edit] Sorcerer Marines
The once-loyal psykers of Prospero now turn their awesome powers on the Imperium of Man they once protected. Anyone in the Thousand Sons that held a status other than a marine was considered a powerful psyker in his own right. With the Chaos God Tzeentch now smiling down upon them these once peaceful librarians are now vengeful Sorcerers, directing their unholy fires upon the Imperium. Nearly all members of the Thousand Sons are Sorcerers and, with Tzeentch having augmented their powers, are all living weapons in their own right.
In game terms, Thousand Son Sorcerers are able to summon their powers without the risk inherent to those who dabble in the warp, the Thousand Son Sorcerers are able to use the most powerful of Chaos Spells without fear of dreaded daemons. Since nearly all Sons inherited this ability, the Thousand Sons are a fearsome sight for naturals and psykers alike.
[edit] Rubric Marines
Those of the legion that proved they had little or no psychic powers were turned to dust when Ahriman executed his Rubric Sign. Their armour has been sealed shut, their bodies reduced to dust, and their souls trapped for all eternity. Since that fateful day these poor, mindless souls have been wandering the warp, following their masters into battle without a second thought.
In game these warriors are the most resilient troops. They cost the most of all troop units of Chaos and are harder to kill than even Horrors. They can lay down a hail of fire and are quite capable of standing up after taking a hit from a plasma gun. The down side to them is that they are the slowest troops in the game.
[edit] Special Weapons
Tzeentchian Sorcerers use their psychic powers to augment their already-formidable strength. In doing so they sacrifice the special weapons of other traitorous legions. However, because of this Sorcerers of Tzeentch are priviledged to more psychic powers than any other legion (especially Khorne). They do, however, include certain Daemon weapons, including:
- The Warp Blade: a daemon-powered weapon that disrupts psychic energy used nearby. This attracts daemonic essences to disrupt the power and to prey upon its user, and:
- The Bedlam Staff: an ancient staff charged with telepathic energy from ten thousand years of use as a psychic focus. One touch brings confusion.
[edit] Battlecry
A ghostly whisper of "All is Dust!"
[edit] Appearance
According to both the Horus Heresy artbooks and White Dwarf Index Astartes - Thousand Sons, The Thousand Sons Legion wore red powered armour in the days of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, trimmed in grey or gold.
The original symbol of the legion was a hollow ring with eight wavy radiating points, the four cardinal points slightly larger than the other. The symbol is often rendered in red or pink on a white field, or reversed as white on a red field (or shoulder pad, in this case). The symbol may represent a star or a sun, but has strong similarities to the eight-pointed star of Chaos that is very prominent in the Warhammer universe(s). Variations of this hollow star symbol include a red eye in the center of the symbol, possibly representing Magnus' cyclopean eye.
The Horus Heresy artbooks shows that the legion also made heavy use of the Scarab as both a drawn symbol and sculpted relief on marine armor, spacecraft and vehicles. The scarab is often shown painted or sculpted in a golden color, or black. One painting shows a scarab sculpted onto the chestplate of a Marine that has an additional red eye.
(Games Workshop had another marine chapter called Brotherhood of a Thousand which uses a black letter M - the Roman numeral for a thousand - on a solid white disc as its symbol. The How to Paint Space Marines lists the Brotherhood of a Thousand as a loyalist Chapter, with no apparent links to the Thousand Sons.)
At some point after the Heresy, the armour of the Thousand Sons became predominantly blue, with yellow or gold decoration. The helmets of the Marines affected by the Rubric are built up in elaborate structures, while their armour is covered in dedication markings to Tzeentch.
The Legion's symbol was changed to that of an ouroboros, often flaming. Realms of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned shows the icon as a flaming ring similar to a flaming ouroboros but with an avian head instead of a snake.
[edit] Inspiration
Many elements of the Thousand Sons' design, along with descriptions of the commune on Prospero, draw heavily on both Gnostic and Egyptian history and myth. The post-Heresy colour scheme of the Legion, along with the design of the helmets worn by many of the ghost-Marines, was inspired by the burial mask of Tutankhamun.
It should also be noted that Angra Mainyu, the god from whom Ahriman's name is derived, is actually Persian in origin. Other influences may include the naming of the primarch, who seems to be named after Simon Magnus. The council of Nikaea is slightly more obvious, drawing from the Christian First Council of Nicaea, whilst use of the Ouroboros is another link to gnostic symbolism.
[edit] References
- (March 2002) "Index Astartes – The Thousand Sons". White Dwarf: Australian Edition (267). ISSN 0265-8712.
- Priestley, Rick; and Ansell, Bryan (1990). Realms of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-869893-52-2.
- Merrett, Alan (2004). The Horus Heresy Vol. 1: Visions of War. Nottingham: Black Library.
- Chambers, Andy; and McNeill, Graham (2003). Index Astartes – Volume II. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-345-4.
- McNeill, Graham; and Chambers, Andy (2003). Index Astartes – Volume III. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-443-4.
- Index Astartes – Volume IV. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-580-5.
