Gal Vorbak

Argel Tal, the Crimson Lord of the Gal Vorbak

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 following the 1301st Expeditionary Fleet's Pilgrimage of Lorgar into the Eye of Terror Warp rift and brought back the Primordial Truth of the existence of Chaos to their Primarch Lorgar. Reduced to only three active companies in number, the direct favour of Lorgar was bestowed upon the survivors and resulted in the elevation of their leader, Argel Tal, to the post of Chapter Master of the Serrated Sun Chapter. These "Dark Brethren" 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 use their daemonic strength to destroy the warriors of the Legio Custodes sent to watch over the Word Bearers

The Gal Vorbak were originally the 1,000 Space Marines of the Serrated Sun Chapter of the Word Bearers led 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 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 realspace 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, the "Blessed Sons" 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 their 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.

A Possessed of the Gal Vorbak

As the Horus Heresy unfolded, Lorgar ordered his subordinates Erebus and Kor Phaeron to strike a vital blow against their most hated rivals, the XIII Legion, the Ultramarines. Unknown to Erebus or Kor Phaeron, their Primarch had a secret objective in mind when he had sent his two most zealous sons to launch a surprise assault on the Ultramarines' world of Calth. Lorgar's most trusted servants were more than willing to gain the chance for vengeance upon the Word Bearers' hated foes, pinning the enemy forces down in the Realm of Ultramar while the main forces of the Traitor Legions advanced on Terra under the command of Horus. After their humiliation at Khur, thousands of World Bearers within the XVII Legion detested the Ultramarines. The Urizen ordered a great gathering of his Legion while their fleet was already en route to Calth. The Primarch called for Argel Tal, the leader of the Gal Vorbak, and one other Word Bearer officer. These two loyal sons would eventually become commanders and apostles amongst the elite of the Vakrah Jal. The Primarch wanted their counsel on what to do with those amongst their Legion he no longer trusted.

The Word Bearers had culled their ranks down through the decades, removing such unrepentantly Loyalist elements as the Terran-born warriors of their Legion, but had carried out no purge like the Istvaan III Atrocity that the World Eaters' Primarch Angron was so proud of. Lorgar knew that the loyalty of his own Legion to both him and his vision of Mankind transformed through an embrace of Chaos was never in doubt, but competence was another matter entirely. Lorgar asked what should be done with those warriors of the XVII Legion he felt were no longer reliable; those whose hatred burned brighter than their sense. For tens of thousands of them -- whole companies, whole Chapters -- their rage was no longer pure. It was decided that these suspect elements of the XVII Legion would be gathered into a single host and ordered to undertake the "sacred" mission to Calth to assault the Ultramarines that they had so craved. They were led by Erebus and Kor Phaeron and were expected to martyr themselves in glory. The other Traitor Legions such as the Emperor's Children, Sons of Horus and the World Eaters might have purged their own ranks at Istvaan III, but the Word Bearers proceeded to purge their own during the Battle of Calth.

Thousands of the Gal Vorbak were left to die, alone and unsupported, on the surface of the devastated world of Calth when First Chaplain Erebus fled the conflict that the Word Bearers had fought against the Ultramarines on that benighted world. These Word Bearers had been left to die. They would never be reinforced. They would never be recovered. All those Gal Vorbak who spent months of their lives fasting, praying, scarring their flesh in preparation for a chance to taste the Divine Blood, were lost. Argel Tal was the sole surviving original member of the Gal Vorbak, having been seconded to the World Eaters Legion for temporary duty before the Word Bearers' assault on Calth. Argel Tal forsook his oaths to the annihilated Serrated Suns Chapter and gained permission from his Primarch Lorgar to form a newly constituted formation, known as the Vakrah Jal, the "Chapter of Consecrated Iron," who rose from the ashes of those Word Bearers companies devastated on the killing fields of Istvaan V. Argel Tal gathered hundreds of leaderless Astartes and gave them unity and new purpose.

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
• Apis Merenkar - Apis Merenkar was a Legionary of the Nemarros Tactical Squad of the 7th Assault Company, Serrated Suns Chapter. Legionary Merenkar was amongst the Gal Vorbak deployed into the foothills on the Urgall Depression's right flank during the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V to oppose the Raven Guard's attempts to reach their waiting gunships. This area saw some of the battle's bloodiest fighting as the Primarch Corax scythed a path through the massed ranks of the Word Bearers to clear a path for his sons. Merenkar's unit was last sighted engaging several Raven Guard companies in a headlong charge, well ahead of the nearby Word Bearers Chapters. Evidence was later seized that his abandoned wargear was recovered from the battlefield by an Iron Warriors provender detachment, but no identifiable corpse was found for Merenkar or any member of his squad amongst the mounds of slain Raven Guard rent apart and strewn across the field.
• 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

Wargear

Many of the Gal Vorbak were evidenced to have augmented their wargear with a variety of blades and barbs for use in close combat.

• Power Armour
• Bolt Pistol
• Boltgun
• Chainsword or Combat Blade
• Frag Grenades
• Krak Grenades

Optional Wargear (Dark Brethren)

• Flamer
• Meltagun
• Plasma Gun
• Power Weapon

Optional Wargear (Dark Martyr Only)

• Artificer Armour
• Power Weapon
• Power Fist
• Lightning Claw (Single or Pair)
• Melta Bombs

See Also

• Honour Guard

Sources

• The Horus Heresy - Book Two: Massacre (Imperial Armour), pp. 145, 148-149, 155, 256
• The First Heretic (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
• Aurelian (Novella) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
• Know No Fear (Novel) by Dan Abnett
• Betrayer (Novel) by Aaron Dembski-Bowden

Gallery

A Word Bearers Tactical Marine of the 7th Assault Company, the Serrated Suns Chapter in Mark IV Power Armour; note that this warrior has repainted his armour "Traitor's Red" from grey, inscribed it with passages from the Book of Lorgar in Colchisian runes and defaced the old icon of the XVII Legion, transforming it into the Latros Sacrum

Word Bearers Legion Rhino Armoured Personnel Carrier. Note: Complex geometric designs inscribed on its hull, attached to the Gal Vorbak of the 7th Assault Company of the Serrated Suns Chapter. Applied by the Legion's Chaplains using designs originating with First Chaplain Erebus, these symbols appear to bear some special significance for the Gal Vorbak and seem to be based on the astrological charts of old Colchis.

Word Bearers Legion Predator Tank, the Vengeful Heart, attached to the Serrated Suns Chapter

Word Bearers Legion Scimitar Pattern Jetbike, once assigned to the Gal Vorbak Sergeant Dagotal, this jetbike was recovered undamaged after the battle on Istvaan V, apparently abandoned by its owner during the fighting.

Word Bearers Legion Thunderhawk gunship, the Rising Sun, personal transport of Chapter Master Argel Tal of the Gal Vorbak, Serrated Suns Chapter. The patterns applied to the hull are complex astrological charts used in traditional Colchisian mysticism, but the purpose of these symbols on such a war machine is unknown.