Characters / Word Bearers

Characters belonging to the Word Bearers, both on the tabletop, the background, and the novel series.

Word Bearers

Lorgar Aurelian

One of the twenty Primarchs created by the Emperor of Mankind for the Great Crusade, Lorgar and his brothers were scattered to the stars by the Chaos Gods to prevent the coming of the Imperium. Landing on Colchis, Lorgar was taken in by the Covenant, the dominant religious order of Colchis which worshiped the Chaos Gods. Growing up in the temple, Lorgar became an amazing preacher, able to convert thousands with mere words. However, some within the Covenant grew to fear Lorgar's growing power. Suffering visions of the coming of a messiah, Lorgar soon became a threat to the established power of the Covenant. Forming the Brotherhood, Lorgar struck first, removing the rival preachers in a war that lasted six years. Soon after, the Emperor arrived on Colchis, and Lorgar bowed to him as both Emperor and God. After a month of oath swearing, Lorgar was given command of the XVII Legion of the Adeptus Astartes, the Imperial Heralds, which he renamed the Word Bearers.

During the Great Crusade, Lorgar brought about compliance not with conquest but with conversion. Whole worlds were swayed to the Emperor's rule by Lorgar's speeches. However, Lorgar also built vast temples to the Cult of the God-Emperor, and wrote his arguments for the Emperor's divinity in the Lectitio Divinatus, in violation of the Imperial Truth espoused by the Emperor. After a century with the Word Bearers, the Emperor rebuked Lorgar by ordering the Ultramarines to destroy the city of Monarchia, which exemplified the Word Bearers accomplishments, and forced Lorgar and the Word Bearers to kneel before the Emperor, Roboute Guilliman, and Malcador the Sigilite. Now believing that the Emperor's divinity was false, but still believing faith was central to the human spirit, Lorgar was susceptible to the whispers of First Captain Kor Phaeron and First Chaplain Erebus about the Old Faith. Learning of the existence of Warp entities, Lorgar masterminded the corruption of Horus and several other legions, resulting in the Horus Heresy. Following the Heresy, Lorgar's actions in bringing about the Chaos Space Marines resulted in him ascending to the status of Daemon Prince. Currently he waits within his sanctuary on the daemon world of Sicarus, ordering none to disturb his meditations.

• Affably Evil: Even after giving himself to Chaos, Lorgar is polite, charming, and charismatic, and surprisingly approachable...except for one scene in Know No Fear, where he's pretty blatantly trolling Guilliman.
  Lorgar: Have you lost your temper, Roboute?
  Guilliman: I am going to gut you.
  Lorgar: You have lost your temper.
• Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: When the Gods raised him up to daemonhood.

• The Corrupter: Of the Chaos Legions.
• Crisis of Faith: His was so massive after the Emperor's rebuke that he turned to the Chaos Gods.

• Dark Messiah: More so than the Emperor, which is no small feat.

• I Just Want to Be Normal: All he wanted was just to be a priest.
• It Was a Gift: Illuminarium, his crozius arcanum, was a gift from Ferrus Manus.
• Old Shame: His eventual reaction to the Lectitio Divinatus.
• Orcus on His Throne: Has been sitting on his throne on Sicarus for thousands of years, leaving the Dark Council to monitor things in his wake.
• Physical God: As a Daemon Prince.
• Psychic Powers: He displayed psychic powers as a youth but suppressed them as he grew older. Following the Drop Site Massacre he starts using them more.
• Psychopathic Manchild: Roboute Guiliman described him as such.
• Red Baron: The Urizen.
• Religion of Evil: Most would be content with founding one, but this 40K, he went up to eleven and founded two: the Cult of the Emperor and Chaos Undivided.
• Rousing Speech: Lorgar's ability to sermonize is amazing, to the point that he could convert whole worlds. In a speech to the Word Bearers, Iron Warriors, Night Lords, and Alpha Legion prior to the Drop Site Massacre, he was so convincing that the normally stoic Iron Warriors were excited and the normally cynical Night Lords were enthusiastic.
• Tragic Villain: His personal foreword in the Book of Lorgar is... heart wrenching. All he ever wanted was the truth, and had the Emperor not been so virulently intolerant of religion, to the point he would have ordered the destruction of an entire city for merely following the Word Bearer's beliefs that faith was a positive force, so much pain could have been avoided. As Lorgar would not have been forced down his path. All the same however, Lorgar does have the truth now, The Chaos Gods are truly divinities and have rewarded him for his belief. All in all, Lorgar is more tragic than a follower of Chaos has any real right to be sympathetic.

Kor Phaeron

The First Captain of the Word Bearers, and later the Master of Faith. It was Kor Phaeron who was the driving force behind Lorgar's corruption.

• The Corrupter: Of Lorgar.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Deals one out in the climax of Know No Fear. To Roboute Guilliman no less.
• Dragon-in-Chief: Is technically head of the Word Bearers with Lorgar in solitude.
• The Man Behind the Man: Kor Phaeron was this to Lorgar during the Horus Heresy. And he's also the one who is behind the Third Brotherhood, planning to remove Erebus and take total control of the Legion.
• The Neidermeyer: While the Word Bearers honour him as a wise preacher, they also resent him since he is only genehanced between Astartes and humanity, and not a true Space Marine.
• Parental Substitute: To Lorgar. Which makes their relationship after he becomes a Space Marine confusing, as Kor Phaeron was Lorgar's foster father, but Lorgar is Kor Phaeron's gene-father. Confused yet?

Erebus

The First Chaplain of the Word Bearers and head of the Dark Council. He was also responsible for the corruption of Warmaster Horus and First Captain Calas Typhon (AKA Typhon the Traveler) of the Death Guard, and played a lesser role in the corruption of Lorgar.

• Carry a Big Stick: His accursed crozius.
• The Corrupter: Was responsible for the corruption of Horus and Calas Typhon, and partly responsible for the corruption of Lorgar. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the man more or less responsible for the Crapsack Universe that is Warhammer 40,000.
• High Priest: As First Chaplain and head of the Dark Council.
• Sinister Minister
• Take That Us: Thinks Abaddon is an utter failure and that there needs to be a new Warmaster.

Marduk

The First Acolyte of the Word Bearers 34th Host, and apprentice to Jarulek.

• Ancestral Weapon: The Warmonger gives Marduk his old helmet after his was destroyed on Tanakreg, and later gives him his Terminator Armor and combi-weapon for the battle with Necrons on Boros Prime.
• Badass Preacher: As the First Acolyte (and later Dark Apostle) of a Word Bearers host, he is equally skilled at performing unholy religious rites as at slaughtering his foes.
• BFS: His daemon blade, Bohrg'ash. It drinks blood, too.
• Carry a Big Stick: The crozius.
• Chainsaw Good: His primary weapon is a chainsword. And it's possessed by a daemon.
• Determinator: He will not give up on figuring out how to work out the Nexus Arrangement.
• Dragon Ascendant: He eventually succeeds Jarulek as leader of the 34th Host.
• Evil Overlord: As Dark Apostle of the 34th Host.
• The Rival: With Kol Badar.
• Straight Edge Evil: He considers drinking a sin, and chastises Burias for helping himself to a bottle of wine from an Imperial governor’s private collection. He then has said governor horrifically maimed to enact a Borrowed Biometric Bypass.
• Villainous Breakdown: In The Dark Heart during the Battle of Calth Marduk absolutely loses it when Roboute Guilliman overcomes Kor Phaeron and rips out his heart.
• Villain Protagonist: He's the primary character of the Word Bearers novels and as thoroughly evil as any other Chaos Space Marine.

Jarulek

The Dark Apostle of the 34th Host at the time of Dark Apostle, he is seeking something on Tanakreg.

• Big Bad: Of Dark Apostle.
• Body Horror: He has the entire Book of Lorgar tattooed on his body. Every inch of skin, all of his mouth and tongue, even the jelly of his eyes has scripture etched into it.
• The Captain: Formerly a Captain before becoming First Acolyte to the Warmonger.
• Carry a Big Stick: Like most Dark Apostles, his weapon of choice is a mace known as an Accursed Crozius.
• Continuity Nod: Jarulek first appeared in Index Astartes (a feature in White Dwarf magazine) which detailed the history of the original Space Marine Legions. His subordinate Garand plays a major role in the Blood Angels novels.
• Evil Overlord
• Rasputinian Death: He loses an arm, gets sliced in half, and is finally impaled through the skull by the Undying One before getting unceremoniously chucked into a bottomless void.

• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He turns on Marduk once the latter is no longer useful to him.

Kol Badar

The Coryphaus (Senior Captain) of the 34th Host, and the rival of Marduk.

• Clingy Costume: He's locked within his Terminator armor. Being a Chaos Space Marine he has no problem with this.
• The Dragon: As Coryphaus, this is his job.
• Fake Defector: To the Brotherhood.
• Power Fist: Specifically, power talons.
• The Rival: With Marduk.

Burias

A possessed Word Bearer and the Icon Bearer of the 34th Host.

• And I Must Scream: For betraying Marduk to the Brotherhood, he's made into a Dreadnought.

• Carry a Big Stick: The Host's Icon.
• Evil Former Friend: To Marduk.
• Healing Factor: Burias is often described as having no scars or disfigurements on his face, despite being an experienced Word Bearer. His daemonic possession actually heals any wound he receives within seconds, leaving no trace of what just injured him.
• MacGuffin Guardian: Protecting the Icon.
• Man in the Machine: He eventually ends up interred within a dreadnought as punishment for his treachery.
• Superpowered Evil Side: His daemon, Drak'shal, is allowed to come to the fore in combat. This turns Burias into a insanely strong and brutal killer, boosting his host's already prodigious physical abilities.
• Willing Channeler: He's the willing host of a daemon named Drak'shal, whose power allows Burias to transform himself into a monstrous creature at will and heal grievous wounds near-instantly, amongst other things.

Sol Talgron, the Warmonger

The Warmonger is the former Dark Apostle of the 34th Host, currently residing in a Dreadnought. Unlike other Chaos Dreadnoughts, the Warmonger has not fallen into mindless insanity, but often believes that he is back at the Siege of Terra.

• Carry a Big Stick: His crozius, back when he was among the living.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: Kills himself to destroy the Undying One.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Though his real name is revealed in the Horus Heresy short story Scions of the Storm to be Sol Talgron, the Word Bearers address him as the Warmonger.
• Evil Sounds Deep: Described as having an impossibly deep baritone. Of course, this is common to Dreadnoughts.
• The Fundamentalist: Erebus has said that it's his faith that's kept him from total insanity.

• The Mentor: To Kol Badar, Jarulek, and Marduk to a lesser extent.
• Sanity Slippage: Keeps thinking he's back at the Siege of the Emperor's Palace, and will just as frequently cry out "Kill for the Warmaster" as often as he'll cry "For Lorgar".
• Undying Loyalty: To Horus.