Erebus
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Erebus is one of the most prominent members of the Word Bearers Chaos Space Marines and a member of the Dark Council of Sicarus. He was the harbinger of the Horus Heresy, instrumental in converting Horus to Chaos[4a].
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History
At the onset of the Heresy and the end of the Great Crusade, Erebus held the prestigious position of First Chaplain of the Word Bearers Legion. He was a fearsome and intimidating Astartes warrior, sections of the Book of Lorgar tattooed across his shaven scalp to terrify his enemies. Feeling abject humiliation after the Emperor's punishment for their legion's deification of him, Erebus along with his legion and Primarch Lorgar were the first of the Legio Astartes to pledge allegiance to the powers of Chaos[3].
Some time before the time of first contact with the Interex, Erebus began associating with the Luna Wolves legion and with the Warmaster in particular. During negotiations with the Interex, Erebus stole an archaic anathame sword from their closely guarded Hall of Devices, precipitating the war. This was not simply out of greed - it was all part of his carefully managed plan to corrupt the Warmaster and bring him under the influence of his own secret masters, the Warp powers of Chaos[3].
Erebus gave the weapon to the traitor Governor of the planet Davin, Eugen Temba, and played Horus's pride to get him to lead his expedition fleet back to Davin and personally bring it back to compliance. Temba played his part, wounding Horus with the anathame as Erebus intended, and the Luna Wolves' apothecaries couldn't heal his wounds. Erebus suggested to the Mournival that Davin's Serpent Lodge could heal their primarch. The grief-stricken Ezekyle Abaddon and Horus Aximand turned Horus over to their care and Erebus projected himself into Horus's fever visions disguised as the late Hastur Sejanus. Opposed by Magnus the Red, Erebus won over Horus to his cause with visions of a future that deified the Emperor and a select few primarchs, rejected the rest, and had seemingly forgotten Horus's contributions compared to the offer of replacing the Emperor and possessing unimaginable power[4b].
Erebus continued to pour honey into Horus's ear, directing him further from the Great Crusade and pursuing his own ascension. By showing the Warmaster the powers of the Warp and urging him to make pacts with the gods of Chaos, he eventually set Horus on the path to heresy against the Emperor.
Along with Horus, Erebus masterminded the Isstvan III betrayal, ever mindful of the need to eliminate those loyalist elements of the Traitor Legions before the war on Terra could begin. Garviel Loken suspected Erebus as a traitor and conspirator, which only led the corrupt Chaplain to add him to the list of doomed Astartes brethren sent down ahead of the virus bomb assault on the planet. Erebus remained with Horus throughout the Heresy, acting as his dark spiritual adviser and co-conspirator.
After the Battle of Signus Prime, Erebus presented the Red Angel to Horus. Erebus let his arrogance slip in Horus's presence, blaming Horus for disrupting his plans for the Blood Angels and Sanguinius, and Horus punished him by flaying Erebus's heavily-tattooed face from his skull with his own athame[5].
Post-Heresy
Erebus is currently a member of the Dark Council, the ruling body of Sicarus and is often engaging in power struggles for control of the Legion with Kor Phaeron[2]. During the 13th Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler, Erebus would appear leading an army of Word Bearers across the Cadian Sector, sacrificing millions of human captives to summon a vast army of Daemons across the Sector[2].
Inspiration
In Greek mythology, Erebus is the son of the primordial god Chaos.
Sources
- 1: Horus Rising (Novel) by Dan Abnett, [Needs Citation]
- 2: http://web.archive.org/web/20040214195525/http://www.eyeofterror.com/us/newsletter/newsletter8.htm
- 3: The First Heretic (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, [Needs Citation]
- 4: False Gods (Novel) by Graham McNeill
- 5: Fear to Tread (Novel) by James Swallow, Epilogue
Uncited
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- Dark Disciple (Novel) by Anthony Reynolds, [Needs Citation], pg. 403
- Dark Creed (Novel) by Anthony Reynolds, Epilogue
