Typhus
"I shall reap a terrible bounty from the death that I sow in your name. Father Nurgle..."[9b]
Typhus the Traveller, Herald of Nurgle, is a Chaos Space Marine of the Death Guard legion.
Contents
Biography
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This page contains spoilers for: | The Flight of the Eisenstein (Novel) |
Typhus was born Calas Typhon on 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's Primarch[3].
According to Typhon himself, he was secretly converted to worship of the Gods of Chaos by his friend Erebus, First Chaplain of the Word Bearers. In fact, Typhon's allegiance to Chaos predated that of his own Primarch, or of Horus himself[2a].
With the help of his new gods, Typhon became First Captain of the Death Guard and commander of the battleship Terminus Est[1].
When Mortarion joined Horus in his rebellion, Typhon helped orchestrate the massacre of loyalist Space Marines on Isstvan III, when Horus's fleet virus-bombed the surface and killed nearly every living thing aboveground[2b]. Because Battle-Captain Nathaniel Garro was unable to join his loyalist comrades on the surface, Typhon detailed him to the frigate Eisenstein, along with Commander Ignatius Grulgor, privately ordering Grulgor to deal with Garro and his men when necessary[2c]. Typhon was furious when the Eisenstein broke from orbit without joining the virus-bombing. Realizing that Grulgor had failed, he commanded the Terminus Est in pursuit of the frigate, and managed to severely damage the vessel, but was unable to stop it from escaping into the warp[2d].
When the Death Guard's fleet embarked for Terra, Typhon killed the Navigators who remained loyal to the Emperor and assured his Primarch that he could lead the fleet to Terra without their help. Instead, he led them into a trap - becalming the Death Guard fleet in the warp, adrift, helpless and at the mercy of Chaos[3]. 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. His body became home to the flies of Nurgle, his armour a hive of pestilence. He then became Typhus, Herald of Nurgle and the Host of the Destroyer Hive[1].
Recent History
Since the Heresy, Typhus has continued to spread the glory of Nurgle across the galaxy. Leading a contingent of Death Guard of the Plague Fleet from the Terminus Est, Typhus is known to have laid waste to the world of Ligeta with a noise-plague where the infected became forced to eternally sing a hymn to the Lord of Decay.[7] In 757.M40, he killed 23 billion people on Hydra Minoris with the Zombie Plague.[9a] In the 13th Black Crusade, Typhus' Plague Fleet was the first Chaos force encountered by the Imperium. In the Crusade, his forces went on to ravage the Agripinaa Sector.[8]
His other batlles
- Infestion and desecration of a holy planet Annunciation by himself alone.[11]
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 armour.[1]
Canon Conflicts
In the original background, Typhon/Typhus was a Librarian of the Death Guard possessing the rank of "Captain-Epistolary". However, the Horus Heresy Series ret-cons his position to that of First Captain and, accordingly, he appears not to have any psychic abilities.[4]
The novella The Lion by Gav Thorpe rectifies this, stating that Typhon/Typhus is a minor psyker and prior to Mortarion's joining with the Dusk Raiders he actively trained his powers. As Mortarion did not like or trust psykers Typhon/Typhus stopped training and using his powers and focused on his duties as First Captain. He resumed using them in secret after the Death Guard's declaration for Horus.[5]
Additionally, Typhon/Typhus was originally said to have been born on Barbarus[3], but The Lion mentions that he had practiced as a Librarian in the Dusk Raiders Legion, before Mortarion assumed control and renamed it the Death Guard.[5] This implies that he was born elsewhere, perhaps on Terra.
Images
Sources
- 1: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 55
- 2: The Flight of the Eisenstein (Novel) by James Swallow:
- 3: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), pg. 53
- 4: White Dwarf 282 (UK), pgs. 78-79
- 5: The Lion (Novella) by Gav Thorpe
- 6: Horus Heresy: Collected Visions, pg. 33
- 7: The Carrion Anthem (Short Story) by David Annandale
- 8: Codex: Eye of Terror (3rd Edition), pgs. 9-14
- 9: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (6th Edition)
- 10: http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Chaos-Space-Marines-Typhus (last accessed 17 April 2015)
- 11: Typhus: Herald of the Plague God (Short Story) by David Annandale
Uncited
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