Gal Vorbak (Colchisian dialect for "the Blessed Sons") is the name later given to the Space Marines of the Serrated Suns Chapter of the Word Bearers Legion who ventured into the Eye of Terror Warp rift and brought back the Primordial Truth of the existence of Chaos to their Primarch Lorgar. They became the first of the Daemonhosts later known as the Possessed amongst the Forces of Chaos. Lorgar had tasked them with venturing into the Eye of Terror in search of definitive proof that true divinities existed in the universe.

This truth made Lorgar realise that the Emperor of Mankind's Imperial Truth was the true lie and ultimately converted him and his entire Legion to the worship of the Ruinous Powers of Chaos. The Word Bearers were the first Astartes Legion to be corrupted by Chaos and were the primary instruments through which the Dark Gods eventually brought on the horrors of the Horus Heresy. The Gal Vorbak became an elite unit of soldiers in the Word Bearers upon their return and later were transformed into Lesser Daemons of Chaos during the Drop Site Massacre of the Loyalist Space Marine Legions on Istvaan V.

History

The Gal Vorbak were originally the 1,000 Space Marines of the Serrated Sun Chapter of the Word Bearers lead by their Chapter Master Argel Tal. Their Power Armour was painted red (later called "Traitor's Red" during the Heresy) as opposed to the standard pre-Heresy Word Bearer colour scheme of grey, which differentiated them from the rest of the Legion but would in time be adopted by the rest of the XVII Legion during the Horus Heresy to display their new allegiance to the Chaos Gods. While they were in the Eye of Terror, the members of the Serrated Sun Chapter were all killed by a daemon, only to awaken some time later alive once more. All of the normal humans on their starship were dead and their vessel had sustained critical damage. During the 7-month-long journey that followed out of the Eye of Terror, many members of the Serrated Sun Chapter killed one another and survived the ordeal by drinking their fallen comrades' blood and eating the flesh of their fallen Legion Serfs. When they returned to real space and their waiting Primarch Lorgar, they were told that they had only been gone for a few moments in subjective time. After Argel Tal told Lorgar all that had transpired in the Eye of Terror, the survivors were honoured and the Serrated Sun Chapter was renamed the Gal Vorbak in the dialect of the Word Bearers' homeworld of Colchis.

The members of the Gal Vorbak later suffered from hearing voices for years after their ordeal in the Warp until they began to metamorphose into daemons not long before the Battle of Istvaan V. During the journey to that fateful contest with the Loyalist Space Marine Legions, their armour fused to their flesh and it became impossible for them to remove their helmets. In order to prevent any of their Battle-Brothers from recognising their condition, they all locked themselves in their rooms to "meditate" until the pain and change was over. Following the mutation, the Gal Vorbak were now faster and stronger than even an already superhuman Astartes.

During the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V when the Traitor Legions betrayed their Loyalist brethren, the Gal Vorbak underwent another change. When Lorgar attacked Corax, the Primarch of the Raven Guard Legion, all of the members of the Gal Vorbak became true daemons. Their flesh and Ceramite fused and warped into a new, bestial form, marking them out as amongst the first of the Possessed Chaos Space Marines. After the battle, the Gal Vorbak resumed the form of normal Astartes again, though the battle had proven costly. Only 5 of their number had survived taking on a Primarch in battle to continue to fight in the service of Chaos throughout the rest of the Horus Heresy. The remaining members of the Gal Vorbak became the most feared unit in the Word Bearers Traitor Legion save for their Daemon Primarch Lorgar himself.

Known Gal Vorbak

• Argel Tal - Known as the Crimson Lord, Argel Tal was the favoured son of Lorgar, and served as the de facto commander of the Gal Vorbak.
• Ajanis - Killed by the Primarch Corax on Istvaan V
• Dagotal - Killed by Raven Guard Astartes on Istvaan V
• Essember Zote
• Malnor - Killed by the Legio Custodes on Istvaan V
• Seltharis - May have survived the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V
• Sicar - Killed by the Legio Custodes on Istvaan V
• Torgal
• Xaphen - Killed by the Legio Custodes on Istvaan V

See Also

• Honour Guard

Sources

• The First Heretic (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
• Aurelian (Novella) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
• Know No Fear (Novel) by Dan Abnett