Abaddon

Ezekyle Abaddon was born on Cthonia and became one of the most formidable warriors ever recruited into the Luna Wolves. After becoming an Astartes he rose to command the Legion’s First Company and its elite Justaerin Terminators. Horus Lupercal eventually made him a member of the Mournival. Abaddon revered his Primarch and supported Horus when he turned against the Emperor. During the Horus Heresy he fought throughout the rebellion and took part in the Siege of Terra. The destruction of Horus broke the Sons of Horus and drove Abaddon into isolation within the Eye of Terror. He eventually returned after learning that Fabius Bile had created a clone of Horus. Abaddon destroyed the clone with the Talon of Horus and rejected the idea that the Legion should remain chained to its dead Primarch.

Abaddon gathered the surviving Sons of Horus and warriors from other Traitor Legions around himself. He remade them as the Black Legion and declared that their war against the Imperium had never ended. Unlike Horus he refused to surrender himself completely to the Ruinous Powers. He accepted their blessings and bargained for their support while insisting that his war remained his own. During his First Black Crusade he fought and mortally wounded Sigismund before recovering the daemon sword Drach’nyen beneath Uralan. Across the millennia that followed he launched twelve further Black Crusades. Many of those campaigns targeted ancient structures that restrained the power of the Warp and gradually weakened the defenses surrounding the Eye of Terror.

The Thirteenth Black Crusade became Abaddon’s greatest offensive. He struck Cadia with the Black Legion and vast allied forces before bringing the crippled Blackstone Fortress Will of Eternity down upon the world. Cadia broke and the destruction of its pylons helped unleash the Great Rift across the galaxy. Abaddon continued the Long War afterward and fought Imperial forces around Vigilus as he sought control of routes through the divided Imperium. He later entered an alliance with Vashtorr the Arkifane and unleashed the Arks of Omen in search of artifacts needed for a greater weapon. Ten thousand years after Horus failed before Terra the Despoiler continues pursuing the destruction of the Emperor’s realm under his own banner.

Appearance: Abaddon the Despoiler has pale weathered skin and an enormous heavily muscular build encased in massive black power armor. His eyes are dark. He is bald with a severe scarred scalp and deep lines across his face. A long red topknot streams from the back of his head.

His armor is predominantly black with extensive gold trim and oversized pauldrons. One shoulder is covered by a thick layer of pale fur. The chest is packed with black ribbed plating and gold mechanical fittings with thick hoses running across it. A large red and gold Chaos emblem dominates the abdomen. Chains skulls spikes and trophy icons hang throughout the armor.

His left arm ends in the enormous Talon of Horus with several long black metal claws and integrated gun mechanisms beneath them. Ammunition belts hang from the weapon assembly. His right hand grips a massive sword with a jagged blue blade and red corrupted growth around the hilt and upper edge.

A dark red cape hangs behind him in torn sections. Above his backpack rises a large trophy rack made from black metal and gold supports with impaled skulls helmets and spearheads mounted across it. Heavy armored boots cover his lower legs with gold edging and additional skull ornaments.

Personality: Abaddon is proud and violently determined but he is not merely a berserker. He has spent millennia learning from the failures of Horus and the other Traitor Legions. He understands that the servants of Chaos are divided by hatred and competing ambitions so he rules through fear and personal authority while giving powerful warlords reasons to remain beneath his banner. His hatred of the Imperium is absolute. His relationship with Chaos is more guarded. Abaddon accepts gifts from all four Ruinous Powers but refuses daemonhood because he will not surrender his independence or become permanently bound to the Warp. He considers himself the master of his own Long War rather than a servant carrying out another being’s design.

Horus was once the center of Abaddon’s loyalty and the warrior he regarded as both Primarch and father. Horus’s defeat changed that devotion into contempt for what Abaddon saw as weakness and enslavement to the gods. He built the Black Legion specifically to escape the failure of the Sons of Horus and demanded loyalty to the new brotherhood rather than bloodline alone. The Ezekarion became his closest circle during the Legion’s rise. Warriors such as Iskandar Khayon and Falkus Kibre helped him establish his power even though Abaddon never allowed friendship to outrank his purpose. Sigismund earned his respect as an enemy through their brutal duel. Vashtorr is a useful ally rather than a master and Abaddon cooperates with him only while their ambitions remain aligned.

Abaddon possesses the enhanced physiology of an ancient Space Marine and was exceptionally large and powerful even by Astartes standards before the Heresy. Thousands of years of warfare have made him one of the most accomplished close-combat warriors among the Traitor Legions. He has fought elite Space Marines and Imperial champions personally while surviving wounds that would cripple lesser warriors. The blessings of all four Chaos Gods further enhance his already formidable strength and resilience without transforming him into a Daemon Prince. His greatest weapon beyond physical combat is his ability to command. Abaddon has repeatedly united forces belonging to mutually hostile Traitor Legions and Chaos warbands before directing them through campaigns spanning entire sectors.

Abaddon carries the Talon of Horus that once belonged to his Primarch. The weapon combines a massive lightning claw with an integrated storm bolter and can tear through heavily armored opponents at close range. His other signature weapon is Drach’nyen. The ancient daemon blade contains an entity of extraordinary power and can cut through armor and flesh with devastating ease. Abaddon fights in heavily reinforced Terminator armour that bears the symbols of the Black Legion and the favor of the Ruinous Powers. He also commands the Vengeful Spirit. The former flagship of Horus now serves as the heart of Abaddon’s war against the Imperium.