Hello 40k fans! Chris Morgan, Chief Librarian of the Forge the Narrative Podcast, is here again with the next weekly segment of Tomes of the Librarius. Also, check the Tactics Corner for more great articles!
Just as a reminder, in this series we will explore facets of the history and legends of the Grimdark. This is meant to be an easy summary and introduction geared towards new players or people unfamiliar with the setting, but should still be an interesting read or fun refresher for those already familiar. There’s so much detail in this lore that a bare summary seems so inadequate, but for new people this should be the right portion to get a feel for the history of the universe we enjoy our games in.
While my love of Blood Angels is well-documented, a hero is only as good as the villain he fights (I think I read this in a book once). With that in mind, I turned my attention to my age-old nemesis and the premier bad guy of 40k, Abaddon the Despoiler.
Origins
The name ‘Abaddon’ has many meanings and roots. Most of these come from either the Hebrew bible or the New Testament. In the first the name represents a bottomless pit located near Sheol, the realm of the dead. In the New Testament, Abaddon leads an army of locusts and bears the title ‘Angel of Death,’ and in Greek it can also mean ‘Destroyer.’
In 40k, Abbadon’s anger is a bottomless pit dwelling in the Eye of Terror. In the known lore, Abaddon leads an army of rabid murderers and traitors, was once one of the Emperor’s angels of death, and is the destroyer and despoiler of the empire he once swore to protect. His name seems appropriate to me.
The Great Crusade
Abbadon was once a decorated captain in the Luna Wolves legion, fighting alongside the other members of his Primarch’s inner council, the Mournival. Abaddon was famous for many things, including his immense size (and more immense temper), his physical likeness to his Primarch, and for leading the 1st company terminators of his legion, the black-armored Justaerin. In fact, he was so similar to Horus in appearance and size that many openly speculated that he was a clone of his gene-father.
Abaddon served with distinction during the great crusade, bringing many worlds into compliance. He resented the Emperor leaving the crusade, so when the opportunity for rebellion came, he wasn’t slow to follow his father down the heretical path. He didn’t hesitate to shed his brothers’ blood and purge the legion of the remaining loyalists before pursuing his father’s mission and spreading the new ‘dark compliance’ across the stars. He fought all the way up to the walls of Terra itself, plunging further and further into the madness of chaos’ influence.
Post-Siege
When Horus died, Abaddon led the remnants of his legion into the Eye of Terror ahead of the loyalists wrath. Soon afterward he disappeared with their flagship, The Vengeful Spirit, and left his legion alone to vie for supremacy in the Eye of Terror. What his objective was, no one truly understands, but he came back changed. His eyes were gold from staring into the light of the astronomicon and contemplating the death of the galaxy, his manner was still dangerous, but marked with a savage enlightenment.
By the time of his return, the Sons of Horus legion was disparate and lost, their strongholds destroyed and the remains of Horus stolen to be experimented on by the hedonistic Emperor’s Children. Abbadon’s return with the flagship brought the beginning of a new age for the traitors in the Eye. Destroying the Emperor’s Children’s research and personally slaying the clone of Horus they had made, he began to carve out an empire in hell. Casting off the name of his failed father, he began to unite the castaway legions under his banner of the Black Legion. Wielding the Talon of Horus in one hand and Drach’nyen the End of Empire in the other
The Black Crusades
The Black Crusades were Abaddon’s signal to the galaxy that he was back. Over the next 10,000 years he launched 12 crusades, each with a new objective of some sort. Abaddon was favored of Chaos, but never enslaved himself to it or its gods. He took what he wanted from the Gods and the Imperium and made even the primarchs of the traitor legions kneel before him. Soon his power eclipsed anything the Imperium had seen before, and when the 13th crusade ripped out of the Eye of Terror, he broke Cadia asunder and ripped open reality, unleashing the cicatrix maledictum upon the galaxy. The 13th Black Crusade unleashed the greatest destruction the galaxy had seen since the Horus Heresy.
10,000 years of planning came to a head, but not without some upsets. Guilliman returned to lead the Imperium, and his Indomitus Crusade pushed back the nightmare just enough to thwart Abaddon’s return to Terra. Still, he’s patient. He hasn’t lost sight of his goal, and his fleets spread the madness of the rift in the wake of their murderous rampage. He is coming, and in the minds of his servants he will not be stopped.
That’s Enough Heresy for Now
Well, in the spirit of ‘know your enemy’ I’ve done a lot of research into Abaddon and the Black Legion. If you are looking for the juiciest lore on the subject, I recommend the following books from Aaron Dembski-Bowden:
Compelling characters and dynamic storytelling are in store for all the readers. You can expect to see full book reviews of these in upcoming segments, but for now take my word for it and read them.
Who would you like to see a bio about for the next one? Leave a comment and let me know!
Cheers
Captain Morgan
And remember, Frontline Gaming sells gaming products at a discount, every day in their webcart!
If he’d gotten his butt out of the Terminator-armor and onto a bike, he would have won about eight-thousand years ago.
Oooo, do Ollanius Pius!
There’s no reason for Abaddon to be so angry at the Imperium.
Chaos engineered events, fooled Horus into creating the nightmare he tried to prevent, and fostered hatred. Abaddon claims he’s not doing the bidding of Chaos, yet it is Chaos that benefits most from the long war!