The world of Warhammer 40,000 is full of intrigues and complex, branching plots that have been developing for decades. In this story, however, there is one man who surpasses many others – even the famous Horus. For he is the reason why the greatest traitor of mankind became a traitor in the first place.
Erebus is a name that even some fans of Warhammer may not know or not know very well. And those who do know him mostly hate him, because Erebus is indirectly or directly responsible for most of the bad things in the recent history of the universe.
Although he is considered a traitor, he is strictly speaking not one, because: he never really believed in the Emperor, but has always been a follower of the dark gods – even if he only realized this later.
His first act of betrayal was committed as a child when he strangled the roughly same-aged but much kinder Erebus and assumed his identity. From then on, his path only went deeper into darkness.
A manipulative intriguer without equal
The greatest tragedy in the history of the Empire is the Great Brother War, or the ‘Horus Heresy.’ Two men are mainly responsible for this: Horus, whom you also see in the cover image, and Lorgar, the Primarch of the Luna Wolves (later Sons of Horus) and of the Word Bearers.
However, it is Erebus who is responsible for the whole affair even starting. The short version: Lorgar and his Word Bearers wanted to worship the Emperor as a god, which he categorically rejects.
Since the Emperor expects his sons, the Primarchs, and the Space Marines to be role models, he punishes the Word Bearers. Erebus eventually turns to the humiliated Legion and introduces them to “other gods” that they can worship instead.
Erebus has already become a Space Marine by this time. Since he was born on the home world of the Word Bearers, he naturally found his way to the Legion, where he quickly rose due to his charisma.
As a Primarch who is actually loyal to the Empire, he had to deceive Lorgar, but eventually manages to convert him to Chaos. Through a later intrigue, he accomplishes the same with Horus by wounding him with a special sword and then offering the only cure.
Erebus is the man who split the Empire
The perhaps greatest crime that Erebus actually committed directly is the summoning of the Ruinstorm. This storm was so immense that part of the Empire was cut off from Terra.
As a result, the Primarch of the Ultramarines, Roboute Guilliman, out of panic created a second Empire. Since the two parts of the Empire were cut off from each other and could not communicate, weakened armies had to defend themselves against Chaos. This was only achieved with great difficulty.
Today, the Empire is once again divided.
Further misdeeds of Erebus include:
- the killing of Erda, an Eternal, meaning a member of the same species as the Emperor (though Erebus had previously summoned four Greater Daemons)
- the murder of Garviel Loken, a former loyalist of Horus, through which, as Erebus claims, Samus is created – a daemon that torments the Empire for years
- the betrayal on Isstvan III, where numerous loyal Space Marines were killed by a man-eating supervirus
“One must admire his determination”
In the community, Erebus is only somewhat popular, at least among loyalist fans, but despite his wickedness, many respect his focused thinking. In a thread on Reddit, users discuss exactly that.
Even before he had met the Emperor for the first time, Erebus already knew that he wanted to overthrow the ruler of mankind. After the meeting, he was pretty much the only one who was not taken in by the divine aura.
Fans love Erebus for being a “resolute, incorrigible asshole in a setting full of morally ambiguous characters.” A true villain among people who are neither really good nor really evil.
Although Erebus is the driving force behind most events of the Great Brother War, the root of it all lies elsewhere – and Warhammer fans keep searching for connections between all the disasters: A fan believes a hot-headed leader almost destroyed the Empire in Warhammer 40,000 – the community explains: a god is to blame
