Lorgar Aurelian, Primarch of the XVIIth Legion, the Word Bearers, was the son who worshipped the Emperor as a god. When his father shamed him for it, Lorgar turned to the Chaos Gods instead, and became the true architect of the Horus Heresy.
Lorgar Aurelian at a glance
| Primarch of | the XVII Legion |
| Legion | XVII: Imperial Heralds, later the Word Bearers |
| Homeworld | Colchis, a desert world ruled by a fanatical church |
| Flagship | The Fidelitas Lex |
| Wargear | The Illuminarum, a huge crozius maul |
| Allegiance | Traitor (Chaos Undivided) |
| Status | Daemon Prince, brooding in the Eye of Terror |
Who is Lorgar?
Lorgar is the Primarch of faith. Where his brothers were born to fight, he was born to believe. He was a priest, a scholar and an orator who could move crowds to tears. He was also the weakest warrior among the twenty sons of the Emperor, and he always knew it. His need for something to worship, and his need to be loved by his father, shaped the darkest chapter of Imperial history. Without Lorgar there would have been no fall of Horus, no Calth and no Heresy as we know it.
Origins on Colchis
Lorgar's capsule fell on Colchis, a harsh desert world ruled by a religion called the Covenant. He was found by a band of pilgrims led by Kor Phaeron, a bitter, ambitious priest who raised the boy as his own. Lorgar grew up in the faith, reading every holy text he could find. He also had dreams of a golden figure who would come from the stars. Lorgar preached that this figure was a god returning to his people.
As he grew, Lorgar became a prophet. He broke with the old priesthood and led a holy war that swept across Colchis. When it ended, the whole planet followed him, and Kor Phaeron stood at his side as his chief priest.
Discovery by the Emperor
When the Emperor's fleet finally landed on Colchis, Lorgar believed his visions had come true. He fell to his knees and worshipped his father as a living god. The Emperor gave him command of the XVIIth Legion, then called the Imperial Heralds, and Lorgar renamed them the Word Bearers. Kor Phaeron was made a Space Marine despite his age, becoming First Captain and the Legion's high priest. Another Colchisian, Erebus, rose to be First Chaplain.
The Great Crusade and the Humbling of Monarchia
Lorgar fought the Great Crusade as a holy war. He was slow. Every world had to be converted, and on every world he raised cathedrals and statues to the Emperor. The greatest was Monarchia, the "Perfect City", built as a temple to the Emperor's divinity.
But the Emperor preached the Imperial Truth: there are no gods. He was furious. He sent Roboute Guilliman and the Ultramarines to burn Monarchia to the ground while the Word Bearers watched. Then the Emperor and the Custodes appeared, and the entire Legion was forced to kneel in the ashes in front of the Ultramarines. This was the Humbling of Monarchia. Lorgar never forgave it, and the Word Bearers never forgave Guilliman.
The Pilgrimage into the Eye
Broken, Lorgar went looking for the gods his father denied. Guided by Kor Phaeron and Erebus, he led an expedition to the edge of the Eye of Terror. There he saw the truth: there were gods, and they were the gods of Chaos. They showed him visions of the future and of humanity's ancient past. Lorgar came back convinced that the Emperor had lied to everyone, and that the only way to save mankind was to tear the Imperium down.
Planting the seeds of the Heresy
Lorgar worked in secret for decades. The warrior lodges spread through the Legions, and Erebus spread corruption among them. On Davin it was Erebus who set the trap that wounded Horus and delivered him to the Chaos Gods. Lorgar then visited his brothers one by one, winning several of them to the cause. He also helped push Angron, whom he saw as the most wronged of all the Primarchs, down the path of Khorne.
Isstvan V
At the Drop Site Massacre, the Word Bearers were one of the four Legions that betrayed the loyalists on the landing zone. Lorgar himself fought Corvus Corax and was nearly killed. Only the arrival of Konrad Curze forced Corax to withdraw. The fight reminded everyone that Lorgar was not a match for his brothers in combat.
Calth and the Shadow Crusade
The Word Bearers' greatest strike came at Calth. They had been ordered to meet the Ultramarines there, supposedly as allies. Instead, led by Kor Phaeron, they attacked without warning, poisoned Calth's sun and turned the system into a graveyard. While the Ultramarines fought for survival, Lorgar and Angron led the Shadow Crusade into Ultramar itself, burning world after world. During this campaign, Lorgar helped Angron become a daemon prince of Khorne.
Lorgar also sent his own Gal Vorbak, Word Bearers possessed by daemons, against the Blood Angels in the Signus Cluster, trying to break Sanguinius before the Siege of Terra.
After the Heresy
The Word Bearers fled into the Eye of Terror with the other traitors. Lorgar himself rose to become a daemon prince of Chaos Undivided, honouring all four gods rather than one. He is said to live on in the Eye, writing and brooding, while his Legion carries out his teachings. The Word Bearers have not stopped. Led by Dark Apostles, they spread the worship of Chaos on world after world, and Erebus and Kor Phaeron are still among the most hated names in the Imperium.
Personality and brothers
Lorgar was gentle, brilliant and deeply wounded. He loved Magnus as a fellow scholar, felt real pity for Angron, and admired Horus. He despised Guilliman, who had burned his city. Most of all he wanted his father's love, and the moment he lost it, he gave his faith to something far worse.
Lorgar FAQ
Why did Lorgar turn to Chaos?
The Emperor punished him for worshipping him as a god at Monarchia. Lorgar went looking for real gods and found the Chaos Gods.
Did Lorgar start the Horus Heresy?
In many ways, yes. His Legion corrupted Horus at Davin and spread the warrior lodges that turned the Legions.
Is Lorgar a daemon prince?
Yes. After the Heresy he became a daemon prince of Chaos Undivided.
What happened at Calth?
The Word Bearers betrayed the Ultramarines in a surprise attack, the start of a long war in the Calth system and across Ultramar.
Books to read
- The First Heretic (Aaron Dembski-Bowden)
- Betrayer (Aaron Dembski-Bowden)
- Know No Fear (Dan Abnett)
- Lorgar: Bearer of the Word (Gav Thorpe)
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