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Ezekyle Abaddon

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Targetdrone.gif This article is about the Chaos Space Marine. For other uses of Abaddon, see Abaddon (disambiguation).

I am the Arch-fiend, the Despoiler of Worlds, and by my hands shall the false Emperor fall.[6]

Abaddon, Warmaster of Chaos[6]

Ezekyle Abaddon, more commonly known as Abaddon the Despoiler, is the Warmaster of Chaos, the former First Captain of the Sons of Horus Legion and now absolute Master of the Black Legion, and rumoured to be the clone-progeny of Warmaster Horus[23a]. He is the most powerful Warmaster of all, successor to Horus, and blessed by all four of the Gods of Chaos. Despite being the Warmaster of Chaos, Abaddon has refused giving himself fully over to the Ruinous Powers as the Daemon Primarchs have, as this would limit his existence beyond the Eye of Terror and push his ultimate vengeance against the Imperium beyond his grasp.[8a]

Pre-Heresy

Abaddon at the time of the Great Crusade

Abaddon was the firstborn son of Tarkeraddon, one of the most mighty of Cthonia’s gang warlords. As he reached adulthood, his father expected him to complete a Cthonian coming of age ritual that involved executing his closest comrades. Abaddon refused and expressed his disdain for kingship, instead slaying his father and his bodyguards.[16a] Though he lived in exile after that point, his massive build and natural ferocity saw him grow to be a legend amongst his people. Before long the vicious young warrior came to the attention of the Luna Wolves[9]. Saved from death after a ambush from a rival gang, Abaddon was confronted by Hastur Sejanus and Syrakul. Abaddon expressed that he never had any desire to be a king, and was subsequently accepted into the Luna Wolves and converted into a Space Marine on Luna. After his completion as an Astartes, he was confronted by Horus and pledged service, being given a coin by the Primarch.[16a]

During the Great Crusade, Ezekyle Abaddon rose to the prestigious post of First Captain.[1a] He loved and worshiped Horus as a father, and it was rumoured that Abaddon was one of the few "Sons of Horus," those Space Marines who were created directly from Horus's geneseed.[1a] Extremely proud and quick to anger, Abaddon's martial record was unsurpassed by that of any other Luna Wolf.[3c] Bellicose by temperament, Abaddon was usually the most hawkish of the Warmaster's advisors. During the final years of the Crusade, Abaddon disagreed, sometimes violently, with Horus's decision to parley with the Interex, a human civilization that allowed an alien species to co-exist with them.[3d]

During the Ullanor Crusade, Abaddon accompanied Horus and a detachment of Terminators from the First Company in a daring strike on the headquarters of the Ork Warboss Urlakk Urg. While the majority of the detachment held the entrance to the Warboss's tower against hordes of greenskins, Horus confronted and slew the Warboss. As the greenskin hordes fled in terror, Horus found every one of the terminators had fallen except for Abaddon, barely alive and buried under a mountain of Ork bodies.[4]

In addition to his position as First Captain, Abaddon was also one of the four members of the Mournival, a special advisory council to the Warmaster, since its inception. He took his position extremely seriously, but did enjoy sharing his sense of humour with his Mournival brothers.[3b] Abaddon eventually grew frustrated and angry at the Emperor's supposed abandonment of the Space Marine Legions, feelings which swelled to the surface when Horus lay near to death on Davin. A member of the warrior-lodge within the Sons of Horus, he went along with Erebus's plan to take the Warmaster to the Serpent Lodge for healing, beginning Abaddon's road to damnation.[4]

The Horus Heresy

Abaddon battles Garviel Loken during the Battle of Isstvan III

Betrayal

After Horus's recovery, Abaddon grew ever more protective of his Primarch and his Legion's reputation, to the point where he saw remembrancer criticism and Imperial investigation into Legion activities as threats and insults that could not be borne. He therefore sanctioned the murder of Ignace Karkasy and the blaming of Legion-caused civilian casualties upon Garviel Loken.[4] This course of action was frustrated by the refusal of Tarik Torgaddon to accede to the plan, and the Mournival brotherhood was effectively broken as a result.[Needs Citation]

Abaddon's thinking would prove to be in tune with that of his commander, who would eventually order not only the death of Karkasy but also that of Loken. Seemingly destined to be in lockstep with the Warmaster, when Horus came to the warrior-lodge of his Legion to sway them into following him onto what would prove to be the path of heresy, Abaddon was amongst the first to swear his unquestioning loyalty.[Needs Citation]

Abaddon was present at several of the major actions of the Horus Heresy. During the purging of the loyalist Legionaries at Isstvan III, Abaddon notably took to the field to attend the final meeting of what had once been the Mournival, at which he dueled with Garviel Loken. Though slightly wounded in the combat, Abaddon emerged the victor.[5] Abaddon again dueled Loken on the Vengeful Spirit in the aftermath of the Battle of Molech after the Knights-Errant attempted to assassinate Horus.[10] During the Battle of Trisolian Abaddon relished the massacre of his former comrade Bror Tyrfingr and expressed shock when Horus, cleansed of some corruption by the Spear of Russ, expressed regret for how much blood had been spilled in his war.[13] Subsequently, Abaddon was charged with hunting down and finish off the Wolves at the Battle of Yarant. However the Wolves ultimately escaped thanks to the aid of Corax, and Abaddon returned to Horus' side during the muster at Ullanor.[14] During the subsequent Solar War, Abaddon was given the important duty of capturing Luna from loyalist forces. Commanding a fleet of Sons of Horus, Word Bearers under Zardu Layak, and Thousand Sons under Ahzek Ahriman, Abaddon's forces initially clashed with the White Scars fleet under Jubal Khan. During the boarding of the White Scars Battleship Lance of Heaven alongside Layak, Abaddon dueled and slew Jubal. He next directed the Battle Barge War Oath in a kamikaze attack on the defensive ring around Luna, devastating the loyalist defenses as he teleported onto the moons surface with his Justaerin elite. During the fighting inside Luna's gene-labs, he convinced the Selenar Matriarch Heliosa-78 to join Horus instead of following through with Rogal Dorn's orders to destroy her precious gene-tech in order to prevent it from falling into traitor hands.[16b]

Terra

Abaddon during the Heresy[24]

Abaddon was at Horus' side during the Siege of the Imperial Palace.[1a] By this time Horus was literally swelling with the power of the Chaos Gods and spent much of his time comatose inside Lupercal's Court scanning the Warp. By this point Abaddon began to grow openly resentful of his gene-father, viewing him as displaying weakness and becoming a slave to the Chaos Gods. He resisted the urge to kneel before Horus but when in the moments that the Warmaster's old charisma returned so did the First Captains admiration. He blamed much of Horus' state on Zardu Layak, but was forbidden from killing the Dark Apostle.[17a] With Horus' increasingly absent from command of the battle, holding the traitor war effort together in the face of the rebellious traitor Primarch's increasingly fell to Abaddon.[17b] Abaddon later learned from Layak that Horus' very soul was being consumed by the Chaos Gods as they poured their power into him, and that the Warmaster's remaining time was limited. Abaddon asked what would happen if Horus died before he slew the Emperor, to which Layak replied that the Gods would simply find a new champion.[17c]

In the battle for the Lion's Gate Spaceport Abaddon led 3,000 Sons of Horus in an attack on the complex's highest levels alongside Zardu Layak, Kharn, and Kroeger.[18] During the battle Kharn became stranded behind Imperial lines as Rogal Dorn closed in, and rather than abandon his ally Abaddon led an attack to rescue the World Eater. Needing to protect the future champion of the Gods, Zardu Layak scarified himself to hold off the Primarch and allow Abaddon and Kharn to escape. By this point in the battle, Abaddon had become frustrated with Horus for not taking to the field of battle himself.[18a] After the fall of Lion's Gate, Abaddon observed the same flaw in the Saturnine Gate that Perturabo had also discovered. Wishing to end the war as quickly as possible in order to save the quickly-decaying Horus, Abaddon proposed exploiting the breach in Saturnine to end the siege in a matter of weeks as opposed to months. Perturabo was hesitant, thinking Dorn also knew of the flaw and that the attack was a trap. Abaddon convinced Perturabo to allow him to lead the assault, freeing the Lord of Iron from humiliation and his own Legion's blood should it fail.[19] For the operation, Abaddon assembled the whole of the Emperor's Children by convincing Eidolon to the attack the Saturnine walls on the surface while he led the Justaerin, Reaver Attack Squad, 18th Company, and 19th Companies in a subterranean assault.[19a] However just as Perturabo suspected, the attack was a trap set by the loyalists and many of the Sons of Horus Dark Mechanicum-provided burrowing vehicles broke down. In the ensuing ambush led by Garviel Loken and Nathaniel Garro, Abaddon managed to slay Bel Sepatus but barely escaped with his life. He vowed to one day kill Perturabo and his Dark Mechanicum allies for allowing the disaster to develop as it had. He also found that he had loved the heat of desperate battle to the point where leaving it made him weep.[19b]

Abaddon next appeared at the head of a massive traitor assault on the final bastions of the Sanctum Imperialis, but by this point he had grown disgusted by the madness and horror that his own forces had unleashed, the use of Daemons by his allies, and the breakdown of the chain of command in his own Sons of Horus. After learning that Horus had dropped the Void Shields of the Vengeful Spirit, Abaddon was committed to rush to his fathers side to aid him. To that end, he summoned the remaining Captains he felt were sane enough to follow him such as Hellas Sycar, Lycas Fyton, and Azelas Baraxa. Many more Captains however ignored his summons, further adding to his agitation. After Abaddon announced to those warriors who did arrive that he intended to abandon the Terran warzone for the Vengeful Spirit, he was openly insulted by Captain Fyton, who stated he no longer recognized his authority. Despite urgings by Baraxa to not kill Fyton, the First Captain slew Fyton dead as he turned to walk away.[23]

Abaddon and the last vestiges of the sane Legion attempted to board the Vengeful Spirit, but immediately found themselves aboard the vessel after taking off.[26a] Fighting through the Warp madness he found aboard the vessel, Abaddon was shaken to find that even Kenor Argonis had been driven to a state of insanity after witnessing what Horus had become.[26b] Abaddon became determined to find his father and return him to reason, but were confronted by a group of frenzied Word Bearers and forced to combat.[26c] Abaddon was saved from an extended battle by Erebus, who despite Abaddon's threats to kill him managed to somehow calm the Word Bearers.[26d] Later, Abaddon and his forces encountered Constantin Valdor and his Custodes aboard the vessel.[26e]

Realizing he could not best Valdor in a conventional fight, Abaddon temporarily allowed Erebus to use the powers of Warp to aid him and his Justaerin. Together, Erebus, Abaddon, and the Justaerin were able to badly wound Valdor. During the struggle, Valdor pierced Abaddon with the Apollonian Spear and gleamed the dark truth of the next 10,000 years, dubbing Abaddon "Despoiler".[27a] However by the time Abaddon finally reached his father he had already been struck down by the Emperor. Discovering Garviel Loken watching over Horus' corpse, Abaddon allowed his former brother to live, believing too much blood had been spilt already. Loken stated that if Abaddon surrendered now, he would see to it Dorn spared their lives. Abaddon rejected this notion and stated their cause of rebellion to still be just, but suddenly Erebus appeared behind Loken and stabbed him through the back. Abaddon expressed horror and fury at Loken's sudden murder, but Erebus explained that his death is a necessary event to create the Daemon Samus in the first place.[27b] Erebus states Abaddon could learn to control the Warp better than his father, who had been rendered a slave to darkness. Abaddon lets Erebus live and reestablishes command over the Vengeful Spirit and orders a retreat from the Sol System.[27c]

The traitors eventually flee into the Eye of Terror.[1a]

Abaddon after the fall of Maleum

Post-Heresy

Forming the Black Legion

Shortly after the Heresy, Abaddon abandoned the Legion; broken by the death of Horus and sick of war, he wandered alone into the Eye of Terror.[8a] Meanwhile, within the Eye itself, civil war soon broke out amongst the traitor Legions. Becoming embroiled in a war against the Emperor's Children, the Sons of Horus's fortress of Lupercalios on Maeleum was destroyed and the Emperor's Children stole the corpse of Warmaster Horus himself. Eventually with the help of Fabius Bile, a number of clones of Horus were created, an act which disgusted the Sons of Horus. With the Sons of Horus in a desperate situation, warband leaders Falkus Kibre, Iskandar Khayon, and Lheorvine Ukris decided to seek out the Vengeful Spirit and Abaddon with it. With the help of the Word Bearers Sargon, they eventually found the Vengeful Spirit buried on the former Eldar world of Aas'ciaral in the Eleusinian Veil deep within the Eye of Terror. Inside they found Abaddon, who revealed he had dispatched Sargon to bring them to him. Abaddon had become reinvigorated at the news of the cloning of Horus, and was assembling forces to end the abomination.[6]

Gathering allies around himself, Abaddon moved on the Canticle City on the Daemon World of Harmony. During the vicious battle that followed, Abaddon took up the Talon of Horus and boarded the Emperor's Children Cruiser Fleshmarket which was commanded by Fabius Bile. Inside, they found horribly deformed mutated adolescent clones of all twenty Primarchs. After putting an end to these monstrosities, Abaddon and his forces next met the clone of Horus himself. After shattering Worldbreaker with the Talon of Horus, Abaddon impaled the clone of his gene-father. With his dying breath, Horus remembered Abaddon as his son, to which Abaddon replied he was not his son any longer.[6]

Abaddon's forces subsequently purged the Emperor's Children from Harmony and proclaimed himself as the successor of Horus. He would begin a new war - a Long War. After his victory, Abaddon proceeded to purge the Black Legion of traitorous and self-serving elements, such as the Word Bearers champion Rynax the Unspoken, the Nurgle Chaos Lord Purgor the Putrescent, and the Slaaneshi Sorcerer Hexagalimere. Making bloody examples of these Renegades, Abaddon was able to cement his hold on power over the Legion.[8a]

Black Crusades

Now the unquestioned leader of the Sons of Horus, Abaddon eventually renamed them the Black Legion to expunge the name of Horus, who failed in his attempt to take over the Imperium. Studying what his predecessor had done, Abaddon realized that while he needed to court the Ruinous Powers as allies, he became determined to never become a thrall to their will as had been the case with Horus in the end.[8c] Abaddon slowly forged the Black Legion into a formidable fighting force with the help of his Ezekarion and fought against his primary rival, Death Guard Lord Thagus Daravek.[12] While simultaneously dealing with Daravek with the help of Iskandar Khayon, Abaddon eventually returned at the head of a diabolic horde which ravaged entire systems around the Eye of Terror before the Imperium could muster the strength to halt it. During this first Black Crusade, Abaddon managed to slay his longtime enemy Sigismund in a duel after failing to sway him to his cause.[12] Though badly wounded in the fight with Sigismund, Abaddon survived and made many bloody pacts with the infernal powers. At the end of the Crusade in the crypts below the Tower of Silence on Uralan, Abaddon recovered the Daemon Sword Drach'nyen.[2] With the howling daemon blade in his fist Abaddon became nigh unstoppable. Whole cities were burned in sacrifice to the ever-hungry daemons of Chaos, and entire armies were torn apart by gibbering Warp entities. Abaddon's power swelled to inhuman proportions as the gods of Chaos rewarded him lavishly and he undertook acts of fiendish bravery which horrified those who stood against him. Abaddon continued to forcibly absorb old warbands of the Sons of Horus into his forces, most notably the Sons of the Eye. Many other exiled and damned members of the nine Traitor Legions were also allowed to join his ranks.[8a]

During the Gothic War Abaddon almost brought an entire sector to its knees. His fleets were augmented with a newly constructed flagship, known for good reason as the Planet Killer. Alongside this he somehow activated and gained control of the Blackstone Fortresses, mysterious constructions allegedly рre-dating the Imperium itself that combined to generate prodigious destructive firepower. Abaddon attacked while the sector was cut off from reinforcements by Warp storms and caused huge damage to the Imperial battlefleet, destroyed a number of planets and devastated many more. Only the intervention of the Eldar enabled Imperial forces to stop the Chaos fleet.[Needs Citation]
Abaddon the Despoiler

In his most recent assault, the 13th Black Crusade, Abaddon managed to gain a foothold in the Cadian Gate, planning to extend the Eye of Terror to encompass even Terra in a plan known as The Crimson Path.[6] Abaddon's forces were able to gain a foothold on Cadia to the point where only a single Imperial bastion, Kasr Kraf, remained. After the vicious Battle of the Elysion Fields, Kasr Kraf fell and Abaddon moved onto the last stage of his plan: destroying the Cadian Pylons. In the final battle beneath Cadia's surface Abaddon personally clashed with a variety of foes including Saint Celestine, the Geminae Superia, Inquisitor Greyfax, Orven Highfell, and Ursarkar E. Creed for control of the Pylons. Abaddon bested them all and managed to defeat Celestine who had become depowered by the activation of Cadia's pylons. However despite the loss of an arm, Creed distracted Abaddon long enough for Celestine to impale him from behind with her sword. Horribly wounded, Abaddon was forced to teleport back to the Vengeful Spirit.[11]

But despite his wounds Abaddon was able to finish off Cadia by redirecting the debris of the Blackstone Fortress Will of Eternity into its surface. The impact destabilized the Pylons, and Cadia was sucked into the Warp. Despite the final destruction of Cadia, Abaddon became enraged when he learned from Zaraphiston that the Magos Belisarius Cawl had escaped with a relic of profound importance to Kalisus. Abaddon pursued Cawl and the remaining Imperial survivors to the world, but his prize was denied to him by the Eldar, who aided the Imperials and forced him to withdraw.[11]

Vigilus

Abaddon on Vigilus

Abaddon later reemerged at the head of a massive Chaos armada to invade Vigilus. His objective was to destroy the planet's Blackstone deposits and permanently seal the Nachmund Gauntlet, dooming the Imperium Nihilus. After acquiring the ancient weapon known as the Voidclaw to decimate much of Vigilus' surface, Abaddon's victory seemed certain. However, he was goaded by Imperial Commander Marneus Calgar into a duel. Though he bested Calgar in the battle and nearly slew him, the Ultramarines Chapter Master had used the distraction to cripple the Vengeful Spirit with an allied Eldar vessel loaded with Deathstrike Missiles. Faced with slaying Calgar or saving his prized flagship, Abaddon teleported away from Vigilus and left the warzone when the Vengeful Spirit made an emergency transition into the Warp.[15] Abaddon was able to rapidly locate the Vengeful Spirit and launched a boarding operation to reclaim it. Onboard he found hundreds of his own Chaos Space Marines who had lost contact with their Warmaster battling for supremacy. Abaddon then swept across the vessel, restoring order and slaying any who opposed his will. He then took his seat in Lupercal's Court and planned his next move.[20]

Arks of Omen

Months later, as Abaddon oversaw continued repairs to the Vengeful Spirit, he was contacted by the Daemon Vashtorr and entered into an alliance with the creature after learning of an ancient Old Ones device known as The Weapon. Together, the two constructed great Space Hulk weapons known as Arks of Omen, beginning a new war across the galaxy in an effort to find the Key-Fragments to the weapon.[22]

At the conclusion of the campaign aboard Vengeful Spirit, Abaddon directly led the Black Legion against Dark Angels and Unforgiven forces during the Battle of Idolatros. Though Imperial forces emerged largely militarily victorious and the Primarch Lion El'Jonson returned, Vashtorr succeeded in completing The Key and now sought for The Lock, the vault which held The Weapon.[25a][25b]

Appearance, Abilities, and Wargear

Abaddon the Despoiler[21]

Imposing in almost every way, Abaddon possessed a particularly deep voice, was taller, stronger and bulkier than the average Space Marine, and wore his long black hair in a strikingly tall topknot when not using a helmet. He had similar facial features to those of Horus, particularly the widely spaced eyes and long, straight nose. He often wore a large black wolf-pelt over his Power Armour, to which he also attached a cloak upon occasion. Abaddon possessed both a suit of power armour and suit of Terminator Armour, the former being painted in the standard colours of his Legion, while the latter was primarily black in colouration. This marked him out as a member of the 1st Company elite, all of whom wore black armour.[3a]

Indeed, Abaddon's personal unit was the black-armoured Justaerin Terminator Squad, but he normally left command of it to Captain Falkus Kibre. His fellow Captain, Horus Aximand quipped that this was because Abaddon was actually too big to fit inside a Terminator suit.[4] Towards the end of the Great Crusade, Abaddon would only be seen in his black Terminator garb.[Needs Citation]

Since the Heresy, Abaddon has wielded two of the most potent Chaos weapons in the galaxy: the Talon of Horus, a combined storm bolter and Lightning Claw, formerly possessed by Horus himself, and the daemon sword Drach'nyen.[1a] While Abaddon can call upon the powers of Chaos in battle, he is not fully corrupted by them and fiercely maintains his perceived independence from the Ruinous Powers.[8c] After the Heresy but before assuming leadership of the Black Legion Abaddon stared into the depths of the Astronomican for an extended period. The experience permanently turned his eyes gold, a result of the Emperor's power.[5a]

During his centuries of exile, Abaddon visited each of the six Daemon Primarchs, attempting to receive aid from each.[8b]

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Chaos
Gods of Chaos KhorneTzeentchSlaaneshNurgleMalice
Chaos Space Marines Traitor LegionsDaemonkinArmouryWarbands
Daemons Daemon PrinceGreater DaemonLesser DaemonDaemonic BeastsDaemon EnginesDaemonic HeraldChaos Daemon ArmouryDaemon WeaponsDaemonic Gifts
The Lost and the Damneds Chaos CultTraitor GuardMutantsBeastmenRogue PsykerGellerpox InfectedArmoury
The Traitor Primarchs Alpharius/OmegonAngronFulgrimHorusLorgarKonrad CurzeMagnus the RedMortarionPerturabo
Notable Characters AbaddonAhrimanBlue ScribesChangelingEpidemiusFabius BileHorticulous SlimuxKairos FateweaverKu'GathTyphusKhârnLuciusLufgt HuronBe'lakorM'karThe MasqueRotigusShalaxi HelbaneSkarbrandSkulltakerSyll'EsskeVashtorr
Other Traitor Titan LegionsChaos KnightsDark MechanicumChaos Space FleetChaos VehiclesChaos ArtefactsGreat RiftEye of TerrorMaelstromWarp


Chaos Space Marine Forces
Command Chaos LordExalted ChampionSorcerer LordDaemon PrinceDark Commune (Cult DemagogueMindwitchIconrachBlessed Blades)
Specialists Sorcerer (Balefire Acolyte) • WarpsmithDark ApostleMaster of PossessionMaster of ExecutionLord DiscordantWarsmithApothecaryInfernus Abomination
Troops Chaos Space MarinesHavocsChosenChaos TerminatorsPossessed (Greater PossessedAnointed) • Khorne BerzerkersPlague MarinesNoise MarinesRubric MarinesObliterators (Mutilators) • Dark DiscipleShrivetalonButcherCultists (Accursed MutantTorments) • Chaos SpawnFallen
Fast Attack BikersRaptorsWarp Talons
Chaos Dreadnoughts HelbruteFerrum Infernus DreadnoughtContemptor DreadnoughtSonic DreadnoughtBerserker DreadnoughtHellforged Leviathan DreadnoughtDeredeo Dreadnought
Vehicles & Daemon Engines RhinoPredatorInfernal Relic PredatorVindicatorLand RaiderLand Raider ProteusLand Raider AchillesLand Raider Hades DiabolusRelic SicaranSicaran VenatorMaulerfiendForgefiendDefilerBrass ScorpionBlood SlaughtererDecimatorBlight DroneKytanPlague HulkVenomcrawlerWhirlwind Scorpius
Heavy Vehicles SpartanFellbladeTyphonCerberusFalchionMastodonLord of SkullsDeath WheelPlaguereaperPlague Centurion
Aircraft HeldrakeStormbirdThunderhawkStorm EagleFire RaptorHell BladeHell TalonHarbingerDreadclawKharybdis
Summoned Greater DaemonsLesser DaemonsDaemonic Beasts
Special Characters Abaddon the DespoilerKharn the BetrayerTyphusAhrimanHuron BlackheartFabius BileCypherHaarken Worldclaimer