History Literature / WordBearers

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/WordBearers_2736.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''Their walls will fall.\\

* CoolHelmet: Kol Badar had one, which was wrought with the visage of a snarling daemon.

* AssKickingEqualsAuthority: This is how Marduk got his job. With a healthy dosage of ColdBloodedTorture and MindRape to make sure he was quite up to Dark Apostle standards ''after'' he had already established his copious asskicking credentials.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Par for the course in a TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} series.

* KillEmAll: By the first book's end, of all named characters, we see only Kol Badar, Marduk, Darioq, Burias and the Warmonger survive.

Please resist the urge to put examples on this page or link to this page on tropes unless you are citing from 40K '''novels''' in which the Word Bearers feature. Examples which are specific to rulebooks and other in-universe fluff should go on either the [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} 40K]] page or in the Word Bearers section of the Characters/Warhammer40000ChaosMarines page.

The ''Word Bearers'' trilogy of books by Anthony Reynolds consists of ''Dark Apostle'', ''Dark Disciple'' and ''Dark Creed'', set in the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' universe. There are also a couple of short stories in the Horus Heresy novel series that act as backstory for several of the characters. The series focuses on the titular legion of [[EvilCounterpart Chaos]] SpaceMarines, rather than 40K's "good guys" like the Space Marines or the Tau. The books also go into more detail about the traditions and beliefs of the Word Bearers, expanding upon the threadbare picture of one of the [[TheDreaded most infamous legions in 40k canon]][[labelnote:*]]A brief history of the Word Bearers Legion, assuming you know the story behind the Literature/HorusHeresy: Their Primarch, Lorgar, was particularly devout and fanatical during the Great Crusade that united humanity, and encouraged the building of great cathedrals dedicated to the Emperor. The Emperor, [[OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions trying to dispel silly superstition,]] rebuked him for it - while the Chaos gods offered Lorgar an alternative faith, swaying him to their worship. He corrupted the rest of the Legion through their Chaplains, which is why they were the only Traitor Legion to retain the majority of their Chaplains - or Dark Apostles, as they were now known - while those belonging to the other Traitor Legions had tended to be killed by their traitorous brethren, being more likely to remain loyal to the Emperor. Worse than all of this, however: the Word Bearers, through Chaplain Erebus, were responsible for the corruption of Horus, directly leading to the GRIMDARK *deep breath*[[/labelnote]].

* EvilDetectingDog: The Skyllan Interdiction’s guard dogs start barking when they catch the scent of a Dark Eldar Mandrake hidden in the shadows, though their handlers dismiss the warnings. It does not end well for them.
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The Gehemehnet, with added emphasis on “Evil”. Its bricks are mortared with the liquefied bodies of countless dead slaves, its mere presence thins the veil between the real world and the Warp, it’s so tall that it breaks the laws of physics, empowering it drains a Dark Apostle of their life force, and it is both [[GeniusLoci sentient and evil]]. The Word Bearers use them to turn ordinary planets into [[EldritchLocation Daemon Worlds]], and this one has been modified to [[spoiler:crack open Tanakreg so Jarulek can get at the Necron ruins beneath the surface]].

* FaceFullOfAlienWingWong: The Chaos Marine Rhamas gets bitten by a Genestealer, infecting him with its genetic code. His superhuman biology can’t fight off the infection, forcing Rhamas’s brothers to MercyKill him before he turns.

* GreaterScopeVillain: In ''Dark Disciple'', BigBad Drazjaer is a vassal of Asdrubael Vect. While Vect never appears in the book, his “extortionate” demands for tribute drive Drazjaer to attack Perdus Skylla and kidnap thousands of people in order to meet his quota, and later to capture several of the Word Bearers in order to impress Vect and to cover shortfalls in slave captures caused by the Tyranids.

* [[HumbleHero Humble]] HeroAntagonist: Aquilius of the White Consuls in ''Dark Creed''.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the first book. Nice job breaking it, Word Bearers. Now [[spoiler:you've awakened the Necrons!]]

* BigDamnVillains: [[spoiler:In the end, what foils Marduk's plan to take the Boros Gate and secure a large scale path out of the Eye of Terror is the Necrons turning up to reclaim the artifact he stole in the first book. He is forced to destroy the artifact to get them to leave, which removes the warp barrier that was the only thing preventing a Loyalist Astartes fleet from relieving the siege. After the Imperial relief force arrived, the Word Bearers had no choice but to fall back or be overwhelmed.]]

* TinTyrant: How do you show that you're a big, badass evil overlord in a setting where all your minions have PoweredArmour? Simple. Don a suit of [[UpToEleven even larger Terminator Armour!]]. Not enough? The Warmonger, a former Dark Apostle himself, is one insane(ly badass) Dreadnought.

Please resist the urge to put examples on this page or link to this page on tropes unless you are citing from 40K '''novels''' in which the Word Bearers feature. Examples which are specific to rulebooks and other in-universe fluff should go on either the [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} 40K]] page or in the Space Marines section of the Characters/Warhammer40000ForcesOfChaos page.

* AFatherToHisMen:
** Marduk is this in the manner that only Chaos can create. Of course, he's more or less a stern, irritable, psychopathic, and mildly abusive father. Who will tear apart anyone who messes with those under his command.
** General Havorn is this too, in a much more genuine example.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In ''Dark Disciple'', Ikorus Baranov receives a brief one from his Dark Eldar “clients” right before they enslave him:
-->'''Baranov:''' ''(noticing that Dark Eldar warriors have begun to surround him)'' Ah, I think we should part ways now, honoured lord. I won’t press you for the payment for this last group. Consider it a gift, a gift to honour the friendship between us.\\

* BadassGrandpa: The Warmonger, who was one of the Word Bearers that stormed the Emperor's Palace on Terra when he was still in one piece.

* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The Gehemehnet, with added emphasis on “Evil”. Its bricks are mortared with the liquefied bodies of countless dead slaves, its mere presence thins the veil between the real world and the Warp, it’s so tall that it breaks the laws of physics, empowering it drains a Dark Apostle of their life force, and it is both [[GeniusLoci sentient and evil]]. The Word Bearers use them to turn ordinary planets in [[PlanetHeck Daemon Worlds]], and this one has been modified to [[spoiler:crack open Tanakreg so Jarulek can get at the Necron ruins beneath the surface]].

* BigDamnVillains: [[spoiler:In the end, what foils Marduk's plan to take the Boros Gate and secure a large scale path out of the Eye of Terror is the Necrons turning up to reclaim the artifact he stole in the first book. He is forced to destroy the artifact to get them to leave, which removes the warp barrier that was the only thing preventing a Loyalist Astartes fleet from relieving the siege. After the Imperial relief force arrived, the Word Bearers had no choice but to fall back or be overwhelmed.

** Marduk is this in the manner that only Chaos can create. Of course, he's more or less a stern, irritable, psychopathic, mildly abusive father. Who will tear apart anyone who messes with those under his command.
** General Havorn is this too.
* AssKickingEqualsAuthority: This is how Marduk got his job. With a healthy dosage of ColdBloodedTorture and MindRape to make sure he was quite up to standards ''after'' he had already established his copious asskicking credentials.

* BadassGrandpa: The Warmonger.
* {{BFS}}: Marduk has a [[EvilWeapon daemon sword]] known as Bohrg'ash. It's huge, can kill with the merest blow, and drinks blood. Possibly implying it is inhabited by a daemon of Khorne.

* {{Bizarrchitecture}}: The inside of the Necron Monolith at the end of the first book. Even Marduk, a freaking Chaos Space Marine, is confused.

* CoolOldGuy: While an outsider would view the Warmonger as horrific, the Word Bearers view him as a Cool Old Guy. Partly because he ''is'' Nightmare Fuel.

* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The Gehemehnet, with added emphasis on “Evil”. Its bricks are mortared with the liquefied bodies of countless dead slaves, its mere presence thins the veil between the real world and the Warp, it’s so tall that it breaks the laws of physics, and it is both [[GeniusLoci sentient and evil]]. The Word Bearers use them to turn ordinary planets in [[PlanetHeck Daemon Worlds]], and this one has been modified to [[spoiler:crack open Tanakreg so Jarulek can get at the Necron ruins beneath the surface]].

* GreaterScopeVillain: In ''Dark Disciple'', BigBad Drazjaer is a vassal of Asdrubael Vect. While Vect never appears in the book, his “extortionate” demands for tribute drive Drazjaer to attack Perdus Skylla and kidnap thousands of people in order to meet his quota, and later to capture several of the Word Bearers in order to impress Vect.

* InformedAbility: The mercenaries of the Skyllan Interdiction are stated to be better trained and equipped than most Imperial Guard regiments, but you wouldn’t know it from how easily the Word Bearers and Dark Eldar slaughter them in droves.

* MadScientist: Darioq-Gren'dhal

* OhCrap: Marduk's reaction at Calth when the station he is one is boarded by Guilliman's squad of Ultramarines. Seeing as it includes Guilliman himself and a BFS armed Aeonid Thiel, it's quite justified.

** Kol Badar, who is noted to have been around since the Horus Heresy.
* OneManArmy: All the Chaos Marines, but Marduk gets bonus points for going to the [[SpiritWorld warp]] and fighting off an army of daemons to prove his strength as a follower of the Dark Gods.
* PetTheDog: Marduk is by no means a nice person, but when you add a certain amount of FridgeBrilliance, then a lot of his interactions with the Warmonger could be viewed as someone talking to a relative in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease. When put in this light it makes [[spoiler: the Warmonger's death at the hands of the Undying One and Marduk's subsequent reaction to it]] in Dark Creed all that much more of a TearJerker.

** This legion.
** They founded two: [[LightIsNotGood the Cult of the Emperor]] and [[DarkIsEvil Chaos Undivided]].
* [[RealMenLoveJesus Real Men Love The Chaos Gods]]: The Word Bearers never lack for faith in the Dark Gods and are unstoppable killing machines all. This trope is also what has allowed the Warmonger to maintain some modicum of lucidity.

** Narrowly {{subverted}} in ''Dark Apostle'', the Word Bearers spare, but enslave the cult and the conspirators that help them invade the city. Not because that they don't trust them, but because they really [[FantasticRacism don't respect normal humans]], and they treat the ones that serve them [[BadBoss little better]].

* SpiritWorld: This is the way the Warp is depicted for the Word Bearers. Even though Marduk isn't a psyker, he can still use his powers of [[BlackMagic sorcery]] enter [[FunctionalMagic spirit trances]] during which he can spy on and [[BodySurf take control of people]].
* StraightEdgeEvil: Marduk considers drinking [[note]]and consuming any food beyond the bare minimum needed to survive, for that matter[[/note]] a sin, and chastises Burias for helping himself to a bottle from a captive Imperial governor’s wine collection. Being a Chaos Space Marine, this does not detract from his evil in any way.

* SupportingLeader: Since the Word Bearers are a religious institution before a military institution, leadership goes to the Dark Apostle. Kol Badar's position as [[TheDragon Coryphaus]] puts him as the Dark Apostle's militant leader. While he's noted to have some difficulty with thinking laterally and unconventional tactics, Badar is very, very good at this.

* VillainProtagonist: All of them.

* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: Played with, with the kathartes. In their visible form they look like terrifying daemon furies, but in the Warp they appear as angelic, predatory beings made of light. Of course, in order to appreciate something like that you'd have to go into the Warp, which means you have [[AlwaysABiggerFish bigger]] [[GoMadFromTheRevelation things]] [[DemonicPossession to worry]] [[GrandTheftMe about]]. More specifically, Marduk was able to see the immaterial realm when he [[AstralProjection sent his soul into the warp]]. See the SpiritWorld example above.
* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Blood Brother]]: Kol Badr has it in for Marduk for killing his closest blood-brother during the Literature/HorusHeresy.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartWarming: Marduk, of all people, managed to have one. When captured along with another Word Bearer then tortured and cut from his link with the Warp by Dark Eldar, the other Marines start to crack. Marduk, already angered to see one of his brothers in such a situation, comforts (or verbally slaps) him with some inspirational words and promises he will be avenged for what the Dark Eldar have done.

** Marduk is this in the manner that only Chaos can wrought. Of course, he's more or less a stern, irritable, psychopathic, mildly abusive father. Who will tear apart anyone who messes with those under his command.

* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves: Narrowly {{subverted}} in Dark Apostle, the Word Bearers spare, but enslave the cult and the conspirators that help them invade the city. Not because that they don't trust them, but because they really [[FantasticRacism don't respect normal humans]], and they treat the ones that serve them [[BadBoss little better]].

* DueToTheDead: The Elysian Drop Troopers honour their dead by putting funerary tokens on their eyes and cremating their bodies. Magos Darioq finds this an illogical waste of resources, and requests permission to render the corpses down to a nutrient paste for his Skitarii. Upon hearing this, Brigadier-General Havorn tells Darioq to go to hell.

* MeleeATrois: At the climax of Dark Disciple, [[spoiler: the Undying One tries to kill Jarulek and Marduk just as Jarulek betrays Marduk]]. The ensuing fight [[spoiler: left Jarulek dead, Marduk in a position to claim power over the warband, and the Marduk getting away from the Undying One]].
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Darioq.

* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The Gehemehnet.

* AFatherToHisMen: Marduk is this in the manner that only Chaos can wrought. Of course, he's more or less a stern, irritable, psychopathic, mildly abusive father. Who will tear apart anyone who messes with those under his command.

* HumanResources: The Gehemehnet requires massive amounts of human corpses grinded into ''Blood Mortar''.

*** The Mechanicus can also grow more servitors in vats, and it's implied that they may be able to use a similar process as above to "recycle" a servitor instead of feeding one. They didn't make vat-grown servitors, however, since it was too time intensive.

* OldSoldier: The Warmonger, who was present at the Siege of the Emperor's Palace (in fact, he thinks he's still there most of the time) and serves as a pillar of spiritual support for the Host.

* ReligionOfEvil: This legion.

* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: Played with, with the kathartes. In their visible form they look like terrifying daemon furies, but in the Warp they appear as angelic, predatory beings made of light. Of course, in order to appreciate something like that you'd have to go into the Warp, which means you have [[AlwaysABiggerFish bigger]] [[GoMadFromTheRevelation things]] [[DemonicPossession to worry]] [[GrandTheftMe about]].
** More specifically, Marduk was able to see the immaterial realm when he [[AstralProjection sent his soul into the warp]]. See the SpiritWorld example above.