——
In the first of a new series telling
science“ HEROES & VILLAINS
legendary characters, we take a
lek ot Aviman «he omer. OF THE 41ST MILLENNIUM
Sorks to control Chas, AHRIMAN OF THE THOUSAND SONS
‘Aad what ate the achievements of
your fragile Imperium? It is » corpse
rotting slowly from within while
maggots writhe in its belly. It was
built with the toil of heroes and
giants, and now it is inhabited by
frightened weaklings to whom the
glories of those times are half
forgotten legends, I have forgotten
nothing, and my wisdom has expanded
far beyond mere mortal frailties,
‘Abriman of the Thovsind Soss
the Thousand Sons when they set
heir feet upon the long path of
leaming the secrets of magic. Like his
Primarch, Ahriman had become
obsessed with arcane mysteries as he
fought through the galaxy on the Great
Crusade. He had encountered isolated
« cultures where magic had re-emerged
f° as the dominant form of power after the
machines had died. Magnus the Red's
As ‘was among the foremost of
Vy — thirst for knowledge was imprinted into.
Sh all of his sons, and they pursued the
quest with equal fervor. Towards the
send of the Great Crusade, the Primarch
i
compiled a truly monumental tome of
DB, sorcery called The Book of Magnus,
‘sometimes known as The Book of the
Thousand Sons, illed with arcane lore
from across the galaxy. As Chief
Libcarian, Ahriman was keeper of this
book on the Thousand Sons’ home
‘world of Prospero, and he studied its
inner mysteries extensively. His power
gradually grow and expanded as he
grasped the subtle nuances of magic
discovered by wise men across the
galaxy over millennia of study. Like all
of the Thousand Sons, Ahriman came
to believe that the untapped power of
the Warp could be hamessed for the
‘good of Markind, Only weakness of
mind and spirit prevented ordinary men
from controlling the Warp utterly |
Over time, the most powerful and
influential of the Legion's brethren
began to think of themselves as
sorcerers, and they devoted more time
to uncovering the mystical secrets of
the universe than to fighting the
Emperor's wars. But the Emperor could
PSO CLnot tolerate the gradual shit of the
Thousand Sons towards Chaos. He
knew that no man, not even a Primarch,
could master Chaos. The Legion's
warning that his most trusted
Warmaster was ploting against him
seemed to conirm the Emperor's worst
foars thatthe forces of Chaos had
insidiously corupted the whole Legion
and now sought to fragment the
newborn Imperium.
The Emperor unleashed the Space
Wolves Legion on the Thousand Sons!
tranquil home world of Prospero.
Ravening, grey-atmored assault squads
of Blood Claws seized Prospero's
neglected orbital lasers and missile
bateries within hours of ariving
Thereatter, the Thousand Sons were
almost bombarded out of existence.
Delicate towers of vast antiquity were
‘smashed to rubble by energy beams
from above. Vast libraries of incalculably
precious works bumed beneath a rain of
fusion fire. Stunned by the magnitude of
their betrayal, the Thousand Sons
‘saved what they could and fled,
breaking through the Space Wolves’
blockade in their surviving ships to seek
sanctuary with the Warmaster.
‘The Thousand Sons soon dedicated
themselves to Tzeentch, the Power of,
Chaos who is the gfeatest master of
magic. He became their patron God,
and as they fought thelr way through the
Heresy, Magnus and the Thousand
Sons used their dedication to Tzeentch
to avoid the deeper corruption suffered
by the other Traitor Legions. After
Horus's defeat, the Thousand Sons
‘escaped to the Eye of Terror. Only then
did the other aspects of their patron's
nature begin to reveal themselves to the
Thousand Sons,
The first visible signs were the
‘grotesque mutations that began to
manifest themselves among the battle
brethren. Ahriman and the other
sorcerers were even more horified
when some of their own number began
to warp and change. They had falled to
master Chaos - instead Chaos was
mastering them.
‘Anriman was determined that the long
path to knowledge they had trodden
‘would not end in madness and
abomination. He formed a secret
‘conclave consisting of many of the most
powerful sorcerers that had resisted the
insidious spread of mutation, Secretly,
he began to study the Book of Magnus
again, seeking some way to prevent the
Legion devolving any further. In time, he
prepared the Rubric of Ahriman, a spell
‘50 potent that it would unleash forces
far beyond the control of the sorcerers.
Wit worked, the Legion would be
rendered immune to the warping
effects of Chaos.
The Thousand Sons propare o exact vengeance on their enemies - the Space Wolves
‘The cabal of sorcerers refused to help
Abriman at first, but when Magnus was
elevated to the ranks of Tzeentch's
Daemon Princes, It became clear that
the last vestiges of humanity were
being ativen from the Thousand Sons.
‘Soon they would be nothing but
mewling Chaos Spawn robbed of all
their hard-won knowledge and power:
the destruction of their home world and
the Heresy would have all been for,
Nothing. At last, the sorcerers agreed to
join their power together, and a terrible
calaclysm of magic was summoned
‘about the Planet of the Sorcerers
Itis said that even the Daemons fled
before the roaring maelstrom of magic that
‘Anviman and the others sent against their
‘world. Crackling clouds of multicolored
‘energy descended from the skies and
ceniveloped the great siver towers of the
Thousand Sons, Forking bolts of blue and
yellow lightning struck down the corrupted
‘Space Marines one after another. No
‘sorcerous protection or physical defense
‘could keep the powers at bay. The storm
‘of magic raged for an eternal nigh, which
‘could have lasted days or centuries, unt
finally Magnus himself used his unearthly
powers to end it
WHITE DWARF 89Kaowing he had litle time, the Sivant
hhuriedly tapped his 37-digi idestifier into
the anccat cogitstor. He glanced at the
door to ensure that it was locked, and then
turned back to the machine The green light
of its brass-framed pict sate dinced across
his anxious, hooded face.
Accessing archives that fewer than 3 score
of men in the Imperium could pence
the Savant begun his search, pulling together
scraps of information, reports, and logs —
anything linked to the subject of his
inguty: Inquisitor Crevak.
He soon found tht all meaton of Czevak
fad. been purged from every Inerih
dbuabase but he fad vot spent over hull 3
aullenivm huntiog down lasphemers and
‘nitots without learning something of the
oatue of information, The arogunt believe
they can purge the actworks of the tut of
2 name, but the enlightened know thit
information stives 10 be free, a » virus
secks to replicate So itis that + scrap of
dia will lurk in the dstkest corsets of
ancient logic-sticks. Sometimes dita would
Icome physically isolted from the vst
logistaa of the Imperium 38 they were
archived in hard form. only to be retived
by a Servitor of Acolyte many years Inter
sad vakaowingly released once more 10
spread throughout the setworks
"The information is here,” muttered the
Savsot with another nervous glance at the
door. “I know i's here” Lines of text sped
cross the pict slte, the Srvams implanted
cyber-engrams absorbing it all at 2 sate 20
normal human could hope to match. His
hands dinced actos the keys 38 be itolated
cern scraps of information and requested
entry to deeper and deeper levels of the
archives, Soos, he could see 2 picture
merging. Fist came a transcript of
Tnquisitor Cazvak’s address t9 the Conclve
‘of Har in which he chimed t0 have
penetrated the secrets of the legendary Blick
Library. Next, ap oblique reference to The
Stern Codex, 2 body of knowledge Crevak
clearly fad an intrest in. So too, it seemed,
did others, and soon the Saunt sensed 2
‘aio withio the information; like 2 sheea of
cil on the surface of 2 stream, there was an
almost indiscerible hint that something was
rot 38 it appeared
Pausing briefly and cracking his Knuckles
the Savant took 1 deep brenth and gliced
around before comsecting 2 multstanded,
purty-saled cable from the socket at his
temple to the cogitator. Closing his eyes. he
muttered 2 prayer to the Emperor before
diving headlong into the polluted
ogi
The it candles in the chamber flickered,
though vo breeze could penetrate its
sealed eavirons.
Folly immersed i the omascient logis
retwork, the Savant wis almost overwhelmed
by the weight of ten millenia of aw,
vwoprocesed iaformstion The data he sought
‘ame fo him in 2 flood now, events and
ames filling his consciousness: The Beck
Library, the xenos Elda, the Te
Legions. He halted the flow when be
discovered mention of ap incident
fon the outskirts of the Eye
of Teor, described
by the Astropsth who logged the report as
2 “psycho-temporal eveat of unparlleled
smagaitude” The Bhck Legion, The
Guardians of Ulthwe
Diving deeper, he uacovered another vein
that caused him to halt in shock. The
Arct-Tritor, Abaddon the Despoiler. +
beast who had crused the Imperium uatold
ariel sine: he frst led his Blick Crusades
from the Eye of Tetror ten millesnia past
Movements and incidents in the vicinity of
the Eye came into sharp focus: « pattera
was emerging
‘The candles were extinguished, though the
Srvant was too deeply immersed to pay
them any heed
Cuenak was 2 key: he postesed kaowledge
that another caved. One searched for him, 3
schemer,» manipulito, ser of the
Changer of the Ways. With 3 star, the
Sint sow the Eldse Webway through
which the Blick Librry may be entered,
and he srw that someone wis working 10
sia eatry to it This manipulator stood a
the side of Abaddon the Desoile, asising
him in some grit, terrible exdewor, though
he did so purely to further bis ova cads
Tn. 2 moment of cliity, the Savant saw the
ruin of the Imperium in sharp relief. He
unplugged the cord and became suddenly
aware of the cold, dark chill that bad
catered the chimber
“The Gate. The Despoiler. The Fields of
Unbelief. The Traveler. The Hides Way.
The Manipulator. Oh God Emperor,
protect vs.”
Behind him, multihued shimmer appeared
in the air and resolved itself into
massively armored, humanoid form,
‘The Savant turned, met the gize of the
figure, and knew instantly that this man was
the being whose michinstions he bad
alimpsed hehied the tainted dita low.
“Abriensn”
‘The figure rated an archaic pistol, and 2
single shot filled the chamber with its
thuaderous feport. The Savant slamined back
against the cogitator. the bolt round. pasing
straight theough his ful body and
Pidestroying the machine in a shower of
sparks. Every surface of the small room ran
wvith the Savant's lifeblood as his (uiling
tyes took in the sight of the intreder
standing over hin, Before dying, the Ssrant
hestd a distant, echoing whisper as the
figure dissolved and was gone.
The way is indeed hidden old man, bot no
Tooger from ae”