Thousand Sons
The Thousand Sons are a group that features in Warhammer 40,000.
Contents |
History
[[File:CodexThousandSons8thEdTextless.jpg|thumb|left|200px| The XV Legion were a legion of Space Marines that were created by the Imperium of Man. They were originally formed on Terra where their gene-seed was created and implanted in the first legionnaires in a time when there was a brief resurgence of warp-storms within the Sol system. The warp-storms generated psychic flashpoints all across Terra resulting in outbreaks of madness, suicide and random violence. The initial crop of legionnaires that were referred to as student-aspirants were found amongst the population of the Achaemenid Empire. By this point, the Emperor of Mankind had ruled for a century following the Wars of Unification. Alongside the Emperor, a retinue of scientists visited the regions under his rule to test every family for their compatibility with the Legion XV's gene-seed. Those found suitable were taken to the gene-laboratories underneath the Himalayas to begin their transformation into Astartes. Among those present were Ahzek Ahriman and his twin brother Ohrmuzd. Once completed, the fifteenth legion was deployed to quell the few pockets of resistance that opposed the Emperor's rule on Terra. They then came to be renamed as the Thousand Sons that were then deployed into the wider galaxy as part of the Great Crusade.
The world of Prospero was, as records report, originally a place of pure desolation. It was a desolate, dark planet and was chosen by its original inhabitants because of its sheer distance from Terra. Mutants and psykers lived in reclusion and study on the world, safe from the prejudice and hatred of their fellow Humans. In the end, the only good thing about Prospero was its galactic position as a backwater and the reality that it was an easy world to hide on. It had one major city, Tizca, the City of Light, a gleaming metropolis of white marble, with spires reaching into the sky. Tizca was situated on the most central of the many mountains of the planet and it was nourished by underground hydroponics and techno-psychic collectible arrays that provided sustainable energy. All of its towers were gleaming works of architectural grace defined by soaring obelisks and towering pyramids.
Overview
In appearance, the Thousand Sons were a legion of genetically engineered supersoldiers of the Adeptus Astartes.
For the Thousand Sons, knowledge is power, and the most knowledgable the most powerful. Arising from the origins of their first recruits and being driven by the early legion's need to discover a cure for the flesh-change and gain deeper understanding and control of their psychic abilities, these linked beliefs resulted in two major cultural factors developing in the Thousand Sons; veneration of the text and veneration of their Primarch.
The legion's desire to learn how to control their powers developed into a hunger for any and all knowledge. Driven from an origin of self-interest, their desire to know as much as possible and master every discipline available to learn caused them to seek shortcuts or explore morally perilous paths, especially once Magnus and his own insatiable hunger for knowledge encouraged them to progress from simple scholarship into the practice of sorcerous techniques. As a result, they have long held every record of information as a valuable item in itself, as well as a resources to be drained. Ahriman in particular has, since the Heresy, dedicated himself to this desire seemingly above loyalty to his primarch and even to Chaos itself.
Every legion venerated their primarch in some regard, but to the Thousand Sons Magnus was their literal saviour. With his arrival they were not only saved from the horrors of physical degradation but also presented with the person who could teach them how to master their developing psychic abilities. Drawing from his experiences on Prospero, Magnus instituted his Cult system within his legion, five teaching institutions that would allow his warrior-scholars to expand their knowledge, principally from him, at his position as master of all the cults; the rank of Magus. From this position atop a pyramidal teaching structure, Magnus was able to direct and control his legion's psychic and philosophical development; as the most knowledgeable, powerful and as their genetic forefather and saviour, all Thousand Sons looked to him for example and guidance.
Magnus placed great emphasis on ensuring that legion officers could operate independently from him, going to lengths to ensure they were taught all that he believed they would need to succeed at command, including otherworldly skills. Before the Heresy the individual Thousand Sons squads were led not by established veteran warriors, but by those who showed the most psychic potential. These junior officers were also effectively apprenticed to more experienced officers for cult training. As a result of the emphasis on leaders having strong psychic ability, senior officers of the legion typically became considerably experienced in both typical battlefield combat and in the use of their powers.
Troops fielded by the Thousand Sons included:
- Tzaangor :
- Tutelary :
- Thrall Wizard :
- Exalted Sorcerer :
- Scarab Occult Sorcerer :
- Infernal Master :
- Rubric Marine :
- Scarab Occult :
Formations of the Thousand Sons included:
- Warpcovens : Kill Team Units formed by their Sorcerers when the Traitor Legion's esoteric plans need a more focused touch.
- Court of the Crimson King : a battleforce led by their Daemon Primarch consisting of three Exalted Sorcerers and twenty Rubric Marines.
Equipment and relics used by the Thousand Sons armed themselves with:
- Astral Grimoire :
- Athenaean Scrolls :
- Book of Magnus :
- Warpweave Mantle :
- Prosperine Khopesh :
- Stave Abominus :
- Inferno Weapons : a weapon that came in a variety of forms where Sorcerers wielded them and imbued their weapons with magical energies with additional power that can melt flesh and ceramite.
Among the vehicles used by the Thousand Sons included:
- Helbrute :
- Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought :
- Ferrum Infernus Dreadnought :
- Rhino :
- Predator :
- Land Raider :
- Vindicator :
- Defiler :
- Forgefiend :
- Maulerfiend :
- Heldrake :
- Silver Tower of Tzeentch :
- Fire Lord :
- Doom Wing :
Originally, the Thousand Sons were formed on mankind's homeworld of Terra. After encountering their Primarch, they came to relocate to the world of Prospero where they participated in the Great Crusade. This was until the Horus Heresy when they were declared traitors and their homeworld was left as a Dead World. During that time, the legion was magically transported to a world within the Eye of Terror that was Sortiarius that also came to be known as the Planet of the Sorcerers.
Members
- Magnus the Red :
- Ahzek Ahriman :
- Phosis T'Kar :
- Hathor Maat :
- Menes Kalliston :
- Baleq Uthizza :
Notes
- The Thousand Sons was created by Games Workshop and featured in the setting of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
In other media
Video games
- In Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, the Thousand Sons appeared as an army skin colour for the Chaos Space Marines in the setting of the real-time strategy video game.
Appearances
- Warhammer 40,000:
External Links
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