Nobledark Erebus

Out of all the mortal followers of the Dark Gods, Erebus is one of the most mysterious, as well as the most disturbing. Just about the only thing that is known about him for sure is that “Erebus” isn’t his real name. Despite being well known during the Great Crusade as a chaplain of the Word Bearers, there is no record of anyone matching Erebus’ description ever joining the legion, though people aren’t sure if this is because a “recruit Erebus” never really existed or if he simply did a good job at covering his tracks.

According to Erebus himself, he was once little more than humble cardinal living in the Yndonesian Bloc. When he was first born, the priests who interpreted the omens of his birth said that it was foretold that he would have a great destiny, saying that Erebus was fated to be a great leader, one who would command an army of the pious that would revolutionize history and spread the faith to all corners of the galaxy. Erebus spent his formative years in the clergy of the Yndonesian Bloc, his career rather unnotable save for his virtuosity. Indeed, Erebus was considered so pious and moral that some whispered that the omens were true, and Erebus was a veritable living saint.

At the young age of 17, Erebus was put on the throne by the people of one of the petty kingdoms that had formed in the wake of the fall of Cardinal Tang, who interpreted the defeat of the old cardinal to be a sign that it was Erebus’ time to take power and lead the people of Yndonsia into the light. Erebus tried to rule fairly, as he believed his destiny dictated. However, as time went on, fewer and fewer people flocked to his congregation, being increasingly attracted to the new creed spreading throughout Yndonesia at the behest of the Chaplain-General Lorgar. Erebus had a crisis of faith, he was supposed to be a great leader of men, and yet how could he lead if no one would follow him? He begged for God to give him a sign, to show him that his doubts were unfounded and that he was truly meant to be a prophet as the prophecies had foretold.

His prayers were answered, but not by the deities he expected.

Erebus first came to the attention of the greater Imperium when he was caught spreading the worship of Chaos among the Word Bearers by the primarch Lorgar. Lorgar was not an idiot, and he recognized the worship of the Dark Gods when he saw it. Lorgar saw Erebus as a headstrong young man who had not realized what he had almost gotten himself into, and believed he could still be brought back to the light. Erebus was given two chances to repent. The first following the discovery of his actions and subsequent fall from grace, seeing as he had been caught early and had not done anything mortally unforgivable as of yet. The other opportunity would be a deathbed confession and repentance. Should Erebus still be in good health then poor health and deathbed could be arranged. To Erebus’ credit, he refused both times, even managing to escape from the critical care ward after being beaten bloody for spitting in Lorgar’s face.

Although Erebus was well known as a ruinosus abominamentum maleficus among the Word Bearers, this information was not widely known among the other legions. The Word Bearers remained on the lookout for Erebus to stick his head out of whatever rock he had crawled under, but he was only one Space Marine and at that time there were much bigger problems at hand. So when many companies in other legions were approached by a simple Space Marine claiming to be an emissary from the Word Bearers, nobody thought twice. Indeed, the fact that Erebus claimed to be a Word Bearer, who at that time were widely seen as weak or pacifistic, probably led people to less suspicious than they should have, despite the fact that a lone Space Marine acting without orders or comrades should have raised some alarm bells. It was a mistake that many would regret making.

Erebus would convert many small chunks of each legion to Chaos, most famously subverting Luther of the Dark Angels. Other times, the warbands caught on to what Erebus was trying to do, and the Dark Prophet was lucky to escape with his life. And yet, no matter how many times Erebus was beaten to the brink of death, he would always show up once more, an eager salesman for anyone willing to sell their soul to the Ruinous Powers.

Compared to the other major mortal followers of Chaos, Erebus is a relatively simple man. He is not a human supremacist like Luther, he does not have the appetite for anarchy and destruction of Lady Malys, and he has no desire for power like Be’lakor. His only desire seems to be the spread of Chaos for Chaos’ sake. As a result, he is one of the few beings that can act as messenger between the major followers of the Dark Gods, as he is the only one who is acceptable to all of them. He is human enough for Luther’s taste, is fanatical enough in his devotion to the Chaos Gods to please Lady Malys, and grovels enough to be tolerated by Be’lakor.

Something something travels around in his pimp-ship the Chariot of the Gods/Planet Killer. It’s a retrofitted Blackstone Fortress.