FILE REFERENCE: 1010-HA-TRAITOR SUBJECT: Heretic Astartes (Traitor Legions / Chaos Space Marines) CLASSIFICATION: Hereticus Extremis / Diabolus CLEARANCE: Vermilion // Inquisitorial Review Mandatory DATE: 999.M41 (Standard Terran Cycle)
The classification "Heretic Astartes" represents the most grievous wound in the history of the Imperium. These are not merely enemies; they are apostates of the highest order. Once, they were the Adeptus Astartes, the Angels of Death created by the Emperor Himself to crusade across the stars and unite humanity. Ten thousand years ago, during the dark days of the Horus Heresy, fully half of the Space Marine Legions turned their backs on the Golden Light, swearing allegiance to the Ruinous Powers of the Warp.
To the common citizen, knowledge of their existence is suppressed to prevent despair. The official narrative often depicts them as mindless monsters or xenos hybrids. The terrible truth, known only to the high command, is that they are the distorted reflections of our greatest defenders. They possess the same genetic enhancements, the same tactical brilliance, and the same transhuman resilience as a loyalist Space Marine, but stripped of all honour and infused with the madness of the Warp. They are the "Traitor Legions," and they fight a "Long War" to drag the Imperium into the abyss.
While they began as Astartes, millennia of dwelling within the Eye of Terror and other warp rifts have wrought hideous changes upon their biology. The pure gene-seed implanted by the Emperor has been hopelessly corrupted. In many cases, their bodies have fused with their power armour, flesh and ceramite merging into a single, living carapace of hate.
Common mutations—referred to by the heretics as "Gifts"—include distended limbs, extra mouths capable of speaking dark tongues, and horns that burst through adamantium helms. Some, such as the Plague Marines of the Death Guard, are so bloated with disease that they feel no pain, their bodies acting as walking hives for viral weaponry. Others, like the Rubric Marines of the Thousand Sons, have been reduced to dust trapped within animated armour, soulless automatons of sorcery. The most extreme deviation is the "Obliterator," a monstrosity where the heretic absorbs weapons into their own flesh, birthing plasma cannons and bolters from their very skin.
The Heretic Astartes do not fight for territory or resources in a conventional sense. They fight out of bitterness and a desire for vengeance against the "Corpse-Emperor" they believe betrayed them. Their operational structure is fractured; the original Legions have largely broken down into disparte Warbands, led by tyrannical Chaos Lords or Sorcerers.
However, they remain a terrified military force. They utilize ancient patterns of weaponry dating back to the Great Crusade, often maintained through daemonic pacts rather than mechanics. They are supported by "Dark Mechanicum" engines of war—Daemon Engines like the Defiler or the Heldrake—machines that are not piloted, but possessed by daemonic entities. Their tactics combine the disciplined shock-assault of the Astartes with the unpredictability of sorcery and the summoning of Neverborn allies. They strike to despoil, to capture slaves for ritual sacrifice, and to desecrate holy sites, weakening the barrier between realspace and the Warp.
While individual Warbands are dangerous, the true threat arises when a charismatic Warlord—such as Abaddon the Despoiler—unites the fractious Legions under a single banner. These events are designated "Black Crusades."
A Black Crusade is a sector-ending event. It is a tide of iron and fire that spills from the Eye of Terror, intended to break the Cadian Gate and surge towards Holy Terra. During these incursions, the Heretic Astartes display a level of coordination that rivals the height of the Great Crusade. They target critical infrastructure, astropathic relays, and gene-seed vaults. Their goal is the total dismantling of the Imperium's logistical and spiritual capacity. They do not wish to conquer the Imperium; they wish to torture it to death.
The Heretic Astartes are masters of terror. They broadcast cacophonies of screams and blasphemous chants over vox-channels to break the morale of loyalist troops before engagement. The Night Lords Legion, specifically, specializes in skinning victims alive and displaying the remains to induce panic.
More insidious is their capacity to corrupt. A loyal Space Marine who witnesses the power of the Chaos Gods may feel the stirrings of doubt. The Heretic Astartes constantly seek to turn their loyalist brothers, whispering promises of true freedom and power uncapped by the Emperor's "corpse-laws." This is why battles against them are often followed by rigorous purity testing and mind-scrubbing of the survivors. The rot of heresy is contagious.
There is no redemption for the Heretic Astartes. They have looked upon the face of godhood and chosen hell. They are the architects of their own damnation and seek to drag all of humanity down with them. They are to be met with the Emperor's Fury in its purest form. No quarter is to be given; no parley is to be accepted. They must be unmade, their gene-seed destroyed, and their names struck from history. They are the Traitor, and they are the Enemy Eternal.
Thought for the Day: To turn from the Light is to embrace the Dark. There is no middle ground.
@Chaos Sorcerer (Heretic Astartes)
@Chaos Space Marine (Heretic Astartes)
@Hellbrute (Heretic Astartes)
@Khorne Berzerker (Heretic Astartes)
@Noise Marine (Heretic Astartes)
@Obliterator (Heretic Astartes)
@Plague Marine (Heretic Astartes)