Angron
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Angron (also known as the Red Angel[5]) is the Primarch of the World Eaters. He fell to Chaos during the Horus Heresy, afterwards becoming a Daemon Prince of Khorne.
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Pre-Heresy
During the Scattering, Angron was thrown to a civilized human world far from Terra. He plummeted into the icy mountains of that planet, and not long after a slaver found him, and a scene of carnage[Needs Citation].
Surrounding the wounded young Primarch were the corpses of numerous Xenos. Imperial scholars would later theorise that they were Eldar who had foreseen the great bloodshed that Angron would cause and had tried unsuccessfully to stop him[Needs Citation].
After being enslaved and nursed back to health, Angron was brought to the planet's capital[1] called Desh’ea.[2] There, he was forced into the techno-gladiatorial arenas, where he proved to be undefeatable and a fan-favorite. Several times he tried to lead his fellow gladiators in revolt, and each time failed[Needs Citation].
Yet once, he succeeded and after butchering his way through the crowd he led his rag-tag army into the mountains of the planet, where he lived for several years. The civilized cities sent armies to destroy Angron, but they were all obliterated. Nonetheless, the issue was never in doubt. His forces had little to eat in the barren mountains, and were exhausted from the constant battling[Needs Citation].
His fate seemed sealed when seven well equipped armies surrounded Angron and his starving forces. Just as the battle was about to begin, the Emperor of Mankind's Fleet arrived in orbit over the planet. The Emperor teleported directly to Angron's point of deployment with a few trusted Adeptus Custodes [Needs Citation].
The Emperor promised Angron a legion made in his image, limitless power, and life-times spent perfecting the Art of Conquest. But, to his surprise, Angron refused. He chose instead to die amongst his comrades while fighting his oppressors. Reluctantly, the Emperor returned to his flagship above[Needs Citation].
Yet just as the battle was about to begin, the Emperor teleported Angron against his will back up to the fleet. He could only watch in anguish as those he regarded as his brothers and comrades were quickly annihilated[Needs Citation].
Angron was eventually taken to the fleet of the XII Legion, the War Hounds. Teleported to the War Hounds flagship, Angron initially refused to have anything to do with his Legion, and when several Captains tried to talk to him, he brutally killed them, as they had been ordered by the Emperor to not raise a hand against Angron. Eventually, Captain Khârn of the 8th Assault Company managed to form a rapport with Angron, talking about the rituals of Angron's gladiators and the traditions of the War Hounds. Now convinced of their worthiness, Angron took full control over his legion, which he renamed the World Eaters, saying they would form new traditions together.[2] During the course of the Great Crusade, he reaped many victories, although some criticized the extreme and bloodthirsty tactics he used to ensure the destruction of his opponents[Needs Citation].
Horus Heresy
The Emperor himself criticized Angron for the changes he made to his recruits. Like all other gladiators on his homeworld, Angron had received special nerve-implants which tremendously heightened his aggressiveness, but also had the side effect of uncontrollable rages outside of battle. Angron ordered his Techmarines to duplicate the technology and that all recruits undergo the process that would turn them into aggressive and fearless warriors. Despite the obvious advantages, the Emperor was displeased, and ordered him to stop. Angron paid him no heed and continued the unsavory practice secretly[Needs Citation].
This led to the World Eaters being criticized for their general bloodlust and barbarity by their fellow Legionnaires. They were known for blood rituals when not in combat, and competed with each other for the number of enemy heads they could take in battle[Needs Citation].
The Emperor dispatched Horus to bring Angron back in line - a fatal error, as Horus was already corrupted by the forces of Chaos. A master psychologist, he told Angron exactly what he wanted to hear: that the Emperor was a weakling devoid of honour and that there was a place for him in a new order, along with revenge against the brother Primarchs that had criticized his legion. Angron needed no further convincing, throwing his legion on Horus' side when the Horus Heresy broke out[Needs Citation].
Already savage and brutal, the World Eaters quickly found a new master in the form of the Blood God Khorne, eternally demanding sacrifice and skulls. Angron led his legion into their worship, his form mutated to a twisted red monstrosity wielding a glowing runesword. Following their arrival in the Eye of Terror, Khorne elevated Angron to the role of Daemon Prince and gave him command of a Daemon world. Angron took up his Black Blade, a mighty Daemonic Sword, and left behind his twin chainaxes Gorefather and Gorechild, the latter of which is now wielded by Kharn the Betrayer [Needs Citation].
Post-Heresy
The Dominion of Fire
During the middle of the 38th millennium, Angron and fifty thousand Khorne Berzerkers slaughtered their way through Imperial space for over two centuries. This incident became known as the Dominion of Fire. The wars and rebellions the forces of Khorne sparked ravaged over seventy sectors. In the end it took four Space Marine chapters, two Titan legions and more than thirty Imperial Guard regiments to retake what the Imperium had lost. Ninety percent of the area has since been recovered by the forces of Mankind.[3]
The First War for Armageddon
In 444.M41, Angron invaded the Imperial hive world Armageddon. He led 4 World Eaters companies and a daemonic host against the local defenders and their Space Wolves allies until he was ultimately cast back to the Warp by an elite force of a hundred Grey Knight Terminators. [7]
Physical Prowess
At the time of the Horus Heresy it is said that no other Primarch could have bested Angron in single combat save for Horus and Sanguinius.[4]
Images
| I - Lion El'Jonson · II - Unknown · III - Fulgrim · IV - Perturabo · V - Jaghatai Khan · VI - Leman Russ · VII - Rogal Dorn · VIII - Konrad Curze · IX - Sanguinius · X - Ferrus Manus · XI - Unknown · XII - Angron · XIII - Roboute Guilliman · XIV - Mortarion · XV - Magnus · XVI - Horus · XVII - Lorgar · XVIII - Vulkan · XIX - Corvus Corax · XX - Alpharius Omegon |
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Sources
- 1: Index Astartes III: Chosen of Khorne by Graham McNeill
- 2: After Desh'ea (Short Story) by Matthew Farrer
- 3: Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition), p.36
- 4: Raven's Flight (Audio Book)
- 5: Rules of Engagement (Short Story) by Graham McNeill, p.22
- 6: White Dwarf 150
- 7: White Dwarf 279 (UK), pp.105-114
