Zephon (Heresy)
Zephon, the Bringer of Sorrow, was a a Dominion of the Blood Angels Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.[1]
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Biography
Before becoming a Legionary, he was a member of a tribe and learned to play the harp. Like other Blood Angels, he was both a warrior and an artist. He eventually rose to become a Destroyer and Exarch of the High Host, gaining a ruthless reputation as the Bringer of Sorrow.[5a] However, the attack that removed his ability to fight also stole his ability to play music. Both his arms were severed below the elbow and both his legs were mutilated by an alien blade. Both arms were replaced by augmetics and his left thigh and knee, as well as his right foot with a four taloned claw. Nine surgeries were unable to replace his ability due to his body rejecting augmentations. He still attempted to play music and to fight, but he could only fire a boltgun every fifth time he attempted due to his nerves not responding, and his aim was limited due to his nerves misfiring and causing him to tremble. Essentially crippled, Zephon refused offers by his brothers and even Sanguinius to take up support roles such as those on warships, instead bitterly going into a de facto exile in the Crusader Host on Terra. He was embittered by the experience, and wallowed in barely concealed rage.[1][5a]
After the Horus Heresy began and the Crusader Host was disbanded, Zephon was allowed some freedom to continue his duty marking the names of the dead. When the Blood Angels disappeared, he pleaded with Malcador the Sigillite to be allowed to search for them, but he was denied on 13 different occasions. During the War Within the Webway, as the Emperor's forces were pushed back to the Impossible City, the Custodian Diocletian Coros recruited him for their plan of reinforcement on recommendation by the Sigillite. Although Zephon tried to demonstrate that he was unfit to fight, he was required to attend with the Custodian anyway.[1]
Following the Webway War, Zephon began spending much time in the Imperial Palace with fellow veteran Arkhan Land. When the Blood Angels under Sanguinius arrived on Terra, Zephon wept and Land agreed to help repair Zephon's bionic limbs. Land discovered that the limbs would always be rejected by Zephon's body. To bypass this, he implanted fragments of an acquired Dark Age of Technology-era Artificial Intelligence into his arm and head. He used the limited AI to trick Zephon's body into accepting the new limbs, and in exchange Zephon agreed to take Land before Sanguinius.[2]
During the Siege of Terra Zephon returned to frontline service, taking part in the defense of Gorgon Bar.[3c] He was wounded in the battle when he instinctively protected the Imperial historian Ceris Gonn from an incoming shell.[3a] He was placed in a stasis pod to be delivered to Arkhan Land for healing.[3b] Tended to by Land and his three Bloodthralls Shafia, Shenkai, and Eristes, Zephon eventually made a full recovery and had to make a quick escape as their underground laboratory was besieged by the forces of Chaos.[5b]
Zephon went on to take part in the defense of the Eternity Gate, reuniting with Arkhan Land and comforting him on their impending doom. When Land displayed a high degree of cowardice, Zephon briefly reverted back to his more ruthless persona by ordering Land to protect his Thralls in the coming battle. If Land fled, Zephon would find him and beat him to death regardless of the outcome. During the subsequent battle at the Eternity Gate, Land fulfilled his duties and Zephon protected both him and his last surviving Thrall, escorting them back inside the Sanctum Imperialis as the traitors closed in.[5c]
After the fall of Bhab Bastion, Zephon rallied with remaining loyalist officers such as Fafnir Rann, Namahi, Azkaellon, Maximus Thane, Satel Aimery in the final defense of the Inner Palace under the command of Archamus. During the battle, Zephon succumbed to his rage and tore apart the bodies of Traitors.[7] Rann and Zephon then led a desperate defense deep within the Sanctum Imperialis, which traitors were able to pour into as the Emperor, Dorn, and Sanguinius boarded the Vengeful Spirit.[8]
Upon sensing the death of Sanguinius at the hands of Horus, the Blood Angels Legion fell into the madness of the Black Rage. Zephon was wracked by visions of the death of his Primarch, but was able to keep most of his sanity. Why is not entirely clear, but Zephon speculates it is because his condition left him more numb to the pain and despair. Zephon then aided Fafnir Rann and other Imperials against both traitors and his own berserk brothers.[9a] After the Imperial victory at Terra, he is seen taking part in a funeral service for Sanguinius alongside Raldoron, Azkaellon, and perhaps 500 other surviving Blood Angels.[9b]
After the Heresy, Zephon went on to become the first Chapter Master of the Charnel Guard.[5e] In his elder days as the Heresy went from fact to myth, he would listen to the tales of the final struggle on Terra and only interject if they claimed that Sanguinius waited during the Battle for the Sanctum Imperialis. He would correct them by saying that Sanguinius did not stand with his back to the Gate and watch as the Bane of the Ninth Bloodline attacked the Royal Ascension. Zephon's correction would often make the listeners interested in hearing his first-hand account of the event but he would defer to others set the record straight.[5d]
Wargear
Images
Sources
- 1: Master of Mankind (Novel), Chapter 5
- 2: Bringer of Sorrow (Short Story)
- 3: Saturnine (Novel)
- 4: Warhammer Community: Revealed – New Models Straight From the Pages of the Siege of Terra (posted 11/12/2021) (last accessed 11/12/2021)
- 5: Echoes of Eternity (Novel)
- 6: Siege of Terra.com (last accessed 15/2/2023)
- 7: The End and the Death (Novel) - 3:vi
- 7a: Part 4, Chapter V
- 8: The End and the Death: Volume II (Novel) - 6:xvi
- 9: The End and the Death: Volume III (Novel)
