Bazak Vhar, Shepherd of the Lost

The Whispered Confession is somewhat unique amongst the chapters of

the Word Bearers Legion. Where most sects of the XVIIth are

commanded by a Dark Apostle The Whispered Confession fights at the

beck and call of a Master of Possession. An outside observer might

surmise that this is because of the large number of Possessed and

Daemon Engines that serve among their number, this is hardly

uncommon for the sons of Lorgar. In actual fact, Bazak Vhar rules in

no small part because of the holy task he has set for himself. With the

Cicatrix Maledictum torn wide open and the power of the Immaterium

flooding into realspace, the Shepherd of the Lost seeks to resurrect the

ancient and forgotten arts that created the Gal Vorbak.

The greatest known union of transhuman and Daemon, these warriors

were a terror to behold at the height of the Horus Heresy. With the last

of their number destroyed or banished, none in the millennia since have

managed to come close to reproducing that foul unison. As Lorgar

Aurelion marches from the Eye of Terror at the head of a great new

pilgrimage, Barak Vhar has made for Vigilus in order to tap into its

hidden caches of Blackstone. Attuned in the right way, the warp-

properties of this arcane mineral can be made to enhance and amplify

the energies of the empyrean. The Master of Possession is certain that

this holds the key to unlocking the potential of the Gal Vorbak.

His confidence is well founded. Whilst Abbadon has thus far refused to

share any of his Noctilith for the Shepherd’s research, that hasn’t

stopped Barak Vhar from ‘obtaining’ a small piece from the Despoiler’s

supply. It took many thousands of sacrifices, of mortal and transhuman

alike, but Vhar has succeeded in his ambition; he has witnessed the
genesis of the Gal Vorbak. The ritual utterly consumed the Blackstone

he has stolen, and would have likely failed were it not for the offering

of a score of pure Blood Angel souls to the Gods, but Kor Shalim was

born. Now the Shepherd of the Lost has grand visions of leading a vast

horde of these holiest of warriors, and his designs on Vigilus are

fulfilled, his victory may be inevitable.

Kor Eris, Chaplain of ‘The Whispered Confession’

Born on Colchis in the days during Lorgar’s Schism War on his

homeworld, Kor Eris was always a gifted student. Whilst his physical

prowess garnered the attention of the Astartes recruiters on Colchis, his

swift rise through the ranks of the Word Bearers Legion was due in no

small part to his dedication to study. Whether tactical doctrine or the

enlightened canon of the Lectitio Divinitatus, Kor Eris consumed

knowledge like a wild beast devours its prey. By the time the Emperor

chastised Lorgar and the Legion at Monarchia he was already a junior

chaplain, and felt as keenly as any other the rejection of their God. It

was a simple matter for Kor Phaeron and Erebus to convert his

devotion to being worthy of such dedication: the Dark Pantheon of

Chaos.

Seconded to the Emperor’s Children to aid in the setup of the Davinite

Warrior lodges there, Kor Eris fought in many of the key battle of the

late Great Crusade and the Heresy itself. Present at the Dropsite

Massacre to reunite with his Legion, he became a Dark Apostle and

carved a swathe of destruction with his brothers across the Ultima

Segmentum. At the close of the galaxy-spanning civil war, he retreated

with his Primarch to the Eye of Terror. In the times since he has found
himself aligned with the First Chaplain Erebus in his struggles for

power on the Dark Council.

As the war for Vigilus approached, Erebus bid Kor Eris to join with the

Warmaster’s forces. Lord Abbadon petitioned the Word Bearers for aid

in erecting a fell network of Noctilith Crowns along ley-lines in the

surface of the planet, and Kor Eris’ vast and detailed knowledge of the

profane working of the immaterium could prove vital. In secret though,

he was given a second task: to track an artefact of great power thought

lost for centuries but now rumoured to be in the possession of one of the

Black Legion Chaos Lords present of Vigilus. Whilst not authorised to

take steps to retrieve it, should the opportunity arrive, who is Kor Eris

to deny the Gods their prize?

Myrnuk Sul, The Daemon’s Head

Whilst the Librarians of the Adeptus Astates have always been drawn

from those aspirants with a natural warp-sense, the Traitor Legions are

not bound by such petty concerns. Whilst native talent is undoubtedly

an advantage, even the uninitiated can shape the raw power of the

Immaterium if such power is gifted in some wicked pact with the

denizens of the Realm of Chaos. Among those Legions none are more

adept at weaving such bargains as the Word Bearers.

Coaxed from the Warp with promises of sacrifice and purchase in

realspace, these Daemons grant their boons to the summoner providing

they can pay what is often a steep price. So it is with Myrnuk Sul, a

warrior of the XVIIth who was hardly worthy of note amongst his peers

until he killed the High Sorceror of his previous chapter. Peeling the
very skin from his master’s flesh with a simple gesture, his newfound

psychic acumen was as astounding as it was unheralded. He took the

warriors of that sect and folded them into The Whispered Confession in

exchange for protection from the vengeance of those loyal to his old

master. Since that time Sul’s star has waxed within the chapter, until

now his counsel is sought before almost any major campaign. This is

because of the sorcerer’s mastery of using the warp to see into the future

and divine the course of action that will guide The Whispered

Confession to its victory.

This fixation on knowledge out of time serves an ulterior purpose as

well. The price for his psychic power, which sounded insignificant at

first, is coming home to roost. With every spell, every incantation, the

Daemon whose power Myrnuk Sul has borrowed seeps more and more

into his mortal frame. Where daemonic possession is usually a mutual

affair, two souls sharing one body, in Sul’s case his soul is being entirely

subsumed by the Daemon within him. Someday soon, it will envelop

him completely, and Myrnuk Sul will simply cease to exist. Desperate

to avoid this catastrophe, the sorcerer hopes that if he can perfect his

time-magic, perhaps he can send a warning across the Immaterium to

his past self, and prevent the bargain from ever being struck.

The Ones Who Wait

Drawn from the ragged mortal survivors of an adamantium mining

world in the Segmentum Pacificus, this cult was responsible for

bringing the sons of Lorgar to that planet through a profane rite of

summoning, and thus brought about its ultimate annihilation. Led by

their champion and prophet Gharkon the Reborn, these wretches serve
as fodder both for the guns of the enemies of the Legion, and fuel for

their dark rituals.

The Blessed Few

Veterans of a thousand campaigns, this Heretic Astartes line infantry

squad follow in the bloody wake of their Daemonkin brethren, taking

whatever salvage and spoils they can from what remains. They

harbour a particular grudge for the sons of Sanguinius, with whom they

have clashed many times in the millennia since the Horus Heresy. The

Plasma Guns they wield seemingly growl in anticipation of a loyalist

kill, and if their hunger isn’t sated, more than one Word Bearer has felt

the 0sting of their superheated wrath.

The Neverborn

The Word Bearers were the first Legion to blend the power of

transhuman Astartes physiology with the raw potentiality of the

Warp, and they remain the most proficient at it. In contrast to those

earliest examples of possessed Space Marines, the Gal Vorbak, the

modern-day Possessed cannot return to their original mortal forms

between battles and are wracked with mutative spasms every waking

hour of their lives. Whilst the power of these fusions of man and

Daemon cannot be denied, the by-product of their blessed existence is

utter insanity. Still, every member of The Whispered Confession pray

for the day when they shall be the host of a Neverborn from beyond the

veil.

In the heat of battle these savage warriors are a terror to behold.

Wicked claws snap spines as razor talons send entrails scattered across

the ground. Arms sprout from their backs to club at attackers too
cowardly to fight them face-to-face and all the while their horrific

visages sneer in bestial glee. Never does a Word Bearer feel closer to his

Gods than when locked in the rapture of Daemon-fuelled slaughter.

Fhulzalak, The Beast of Saint’s Haven

Barak Vhar’s first attempts at recreating the Gal Vorbak involved

summoning forth the most powerful lesser Daemons of the Warp: the

Heralds of Chaos. Though ultimately falling short of his goal, these

Greater Possessed are certainly a marked step up in speed, power and

resilience over their lesser kin.

Fhulzalak is one particularly notable individual of this breed. Whereas

most Greater Possessed are filled with the warp-taint of a Herald of one

particular Dark God, he seemingly has no alignment to one or other of

the Pantheon. Whether a Daemon belonging to one of the lesser Chaos

Gods, or something else entirely, Fhulzalak has managed to stave off

the worst of the effects of possession on his mortal mind. He feasts on

the fear of his enemies, satiating the Daemons appetite in this way, and

keeping it from consuming his sanity.

On Vigilus his name has quickly become a byword for terror as he stalks

Saint’s Haven, the district of the Hyperia Hivesprawl that is home to

the Governor’s Palace. The Adeptus Sororitas there are a particular

sweetmeat, the delicious irony of the Word Bearer feasting on the souls

of the Emperor’s most faithful servants a singular pleasure.

Kor Shalim, Exalted Possessed, Hero of Vigilus

The Alpha, the Genesis, the first of Barak Vhar’s new breed of Gal

Vorbak, Kor Shalim bestrides the battlefields of Vigilus as a nightmare

made real. Rivers of blood flow through the streets at his back, and even
speaking his name is enough to engender shrieks of horror amongst the

citizens of Vigilus’ Hivesprawls.

In the initial invasion Kor Shalim was the tip of the spear, and his pure

brute strength literally tore down the rockcrete walls of the Hives

allowing the Daemonic hordes of The Whispered Confession inside to

feast on the huddled humanity within.

In Hyperia, he met Husian Nithun, Captain of the White Consuls

Chapter at the head of their clashing forces. Though a swordsman of

many centuries experience, Captain Nithun could scarcely land a blow

on his lither opponent. As the fight wore on it became clear that Kor

Shalim was toying his Loyalist foe, and once he grew bored, he simply

wrenched the head off the shoulders of the White Consul, unhinged his

jaw and swallowed it whole.

Woe betide any who hope to stand before Kor Shalim, Exalted Possessed,

Favoured of the Pantheon.

Arshaka’s Reavers

From their earliest days as a Heavy Support Squad of the Legiones

Astartes, the warriors under Sergeant Arshaka’s command have been

a pitiless crew. Armed with Proteus pattern Rotor Cannons, they lay

low the enemies of the Emperor like wheat before the scythe. Orks, Eldar

and non-compliant humans all felt the wrath of these deadly

marksmen, and they in turn felt utter contempt for the pathetic masses

they struck down. Nothing changed when their targets became the

Space Marines of the loyalist forces, the roar of their barrels mixing

with the grating sounds of shredded ceramite in a glorious hymn to the

Primordial Truth.
Their centuries in the warp have done little to dull their cruel

characters, and in many ways their exterior has changed to match.

Their boots end in wicked talons, all the better to find purchase so that

they can fire without fear of recoil. Their stature has grown, and

armour plated have thickened, becoming every bit as hardy as their

victims are weak. Even their weapons have swollen to grotesque

proportions, now the fearsome Reaper Chaincannons. Not even

ammunition is a concern, as their malice distils in their very magazines

into physical rounds. Only total extermination of the enemy is enough

to stay the fury of these madmen.

The Altar of Supplication

The great Land Raider at the heart of The Whispered Confession is at

once battle tank, armoured transport, and religious holy site. Like a

mobile warshrine, it carries the First Acolyte of the Host, Zenya

Warpscream and his copy of the holy Book of Lorgar. From atop its

plinth, he chants great hymns and prayers, extolling the warriors at

his feet to even greater acts of devotion and violence. Of course, should

the need for heavy firepower arise, Warpscream does not hesitate to

turn his attentions to directing the firepower of the Land Raider’s

gunners. After all, nothing proves the purity of the Pantheon’s divine

will like a scything fusillade of lascannon fire ripping the heart out of

the enemy’s armoured columns.