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Chaos Portal Death Guard

Typhus, Herald of Nurgle

Typhus the Traveller, Herald of Nurgle, is a Chaos Space Marine of the Death Guard legion.

Biography

Spoiler!

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 Primarch¹.

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 Est¹.

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 Chaos³.

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 Hive¹.

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.^1a

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 Primarchs (Anthology) 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

Images

Miniature

Sources

• ¹Codex: Chaos Space Marines (4th Edition)
  • a: p 55
• ²The Flight of the Eisenstein (Novel) by James Swallow:
  • a: Chapter 10, p. 237
  • b: Chapter 9, pp. 219-224
  • c: Chapter 6, pp. 153-154
  • d: Chapter 10, pp. 247-252
• ³Codex: Chaos Space Marines (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex) pg. 53
• ⁴White Dwarf 282 (UK) pg. 78-79
• ⁵The Lion (Novella) by Gav Thorpe - The Primarchs (Anthology)
• Chaos Space Marine miniatures gallery
• GamesWorkshop - Chaos Space Marines: Typhus the Traveller