Magnus the Red, Primarch of the Thousand Sons, was the greatest psyker among the Emperor's sons. He shattered his father's secret Webway project trying to warn him of Horus's betrayal, saw his homeworld Prospero burned for it, and became the Crimson King, Daemon Prince of Tzeentch.
Magnus the Red at a glance
| Primarch of | the XV Legion |
| Legion | XV: Thousand Sons |
| Homeworld | Prospero, with its city of Tizca |
| Flagship | The Photep |
| Wargear | The Blade of Magnus, the Book of Magnus, vast psychic power |
| Allegiance | Traitor (Tzeentch) |
| Status | Daemon Prince of Tzeentch, ruler of the Planet of the Sorcerers |
Who was Magnus?
Magnus is the scholar of the Primarchs: a red-skinned, one-eyed giant with a mind closer to the Emperor's than any of his brothers. He did not set out to betray anyone. He was proud, curious and certain that knowledge could always be controlled. That certainty doomed him. Of all the traitor Primarchs, Magnus is the one who fell while trying to do the right thing.
Origins on Prospero
Magnus landed on Prospero, a remote world settled by human psykers who had fled persecution. Its people built the beautiful city of Tizca, full of libraries and pyramids, and devoted their lives to study. They welcomed the strange child and taught him everything they knew. Magnus grew into a master of every branch of psychic power, and Prospero became the place where he felt most at home.
The Emperor and the bond of minds
Magnus and the Emperor had a special connection. Magnus is said to have reached out to his father through the Warp before they ever met in person, and the Emperor taught him as a student as well as a son. The Emperor also warned him, again and again, about the dangers of the Warp and the gods that live in it. Magnus listened, but believed his own skill would keep him safe.
The Thousand Sons and the flesh-change
Magnus took command of the XV Legion, the Thousand Sons, warriors who were almost all psykers. The Legion suffered from a terrible curse called the flesh-change, in which warriors mutated into monsters. To save his sons, Magnus made a deal with a power in the Warp. The mutations stopped. What he did not understand was that he had bargained with Tzeentch, the Chaos god of change and fate, and that the price would come later.
The Legion was organised into scholarly cults, each with its own psychic discipline: the Corvidae read the future, the Pyrae commanded fire, the Raptora moved objects and shielded allies, the Pavoni changed the body, and the Athanaeans read minds. Its most famous sorcerer was Ahzek Ahriman, Magnus's Chief Librarian and most gifted student.
The Council of Nikaea
Many in the Imperium feared psykers. Leman Russ and Mortarion spoke loudly against them. At the Council of Nikaea the Emperor ruled that the Legions must stop using psychic powers. Magnus agreed, but kept studying in secret on Prospero, sure that he knew better than his father.
The warning and the shattered Webway
Using his powers, Magnus saw Horus's fall before anyone else. He tried to warn the Emperor, but instead of a simple message he hurled his mind across the galaxy with a huge sorcerous ritual and burst into the Imperial Palace on Terra. Beneath the Palace, the Emperor was secretly building a path through the Webway so humanity would no longer need the dangerous Warp. Magnus's arrival smashed the wards protecting it. Daemons poured into the tunnels, the project collapsed and the Emperor had to take his place on the Golden Throne to hold them back. Magnus had tried to save his father and instead ruined his greatest dream.
The Burning of Prospero
The Emperor ordered Leman Russ to bring Magnus to Terra to answer for his sorcery. Horus, already a traitor, secretly changed the order: Russ was to destroy Prospero. The Space Wolves, with the Sisters of Silence and the Custodes, attacked the planet in the Burning of Prospero. Tizca fell and the Thousand Sons were slaughtered. Magnus, crushed by guilt, did not truly fight until the end. Russ broke his back in a final duel, and in that moment Magnus accepted Tzeentch fully. He tore the survivors of his Legion and his city out of reality and into the Eye of Terror.
Daemon Prince of Tzeentch
In the Eye, Magnus became a Daemon Prince of Tzeentch, the Crimson King, and the Thousand Sons settled on the Planet of the Sorcerers. They joined the Heresy late and fought at the Siege of Terra. Later, Ahriman tried to cure the returning flesh-change with a great spell, the Rubric of Ahriman. It turned most of the Legion's warriors into dust trapped inside sealed armour: the Rubric Marines. Magnus exiled Ahriman for it. The few sorcerers who survived the Rubric became even stronger, and they still lead the Legion today, commanding silent ranks of Rubric Marines that obey only their will.
The Wolf and the Crimson King today
The hatred between Magnus and the Space Wolves is one of the oldest feuds in 40K. In the current era, Magnus led a huge assault on Fenris, the Space Wolves' home world, to take his revenge. He remains one of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy, a sorcerer-god leading his dust-filled Legion in search of forbidden knowledge.
Personality and brothers
Magnus was warm, curious and gentle by nature, but also arrogant. He loved knowledge more than obedience. He was close to Fulgrim and Lorgar, at odds with Russ and Mortarion, and loyal to the Emperor right up to the moment his father's armies came for him. Many fans think he is the most wronged of all the Primarchs.
Magnus the Red FAQ
Was Magnus a traitor?
Not at first. He was loyal and tried to warn the Emperor about Horus, but the Burning of Prospero drove him fully to Tzeentch.
Why does Magnus have one eye?
He was born with a single eye. The reason is one of the mysteries of his creation.
Who broke Magnus's back?
Leman Russ, during the Burning of Prospero.
What are Rubric Marines?
Thousand Sons turned into dust inside sealed armour by Ahriman's spell, the Rubric.
What did Magnus break on Terra?
The wards around the Emperor's secret Webway project, letting daemons flood into it.
Books to read
- A Thousand Sons (Graham McNeill)
- Prospero Burns (Dan Abnett)
- The Crimson King (Graham McNeill)
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