Tellos

Tellos was an Assault Marine sergeant in the Space Marine Chapter known as the Soul Drinkers. He and many of the Assault Marines under his command were corrupted by the Blood God Khorne and become Khornate Berserkers in the service of the Forces of Chaos. Tellos and his men died on the world of Entymion IV when the Soul Drinkers unleashed an Exterminatus orbital strike on the world to prevent it from being overrun by daemons and Heretics.

History

Sergeant Tellos led his Assault Squad during the Soul Drinkers' attack on the Van Skorvold Star Fort of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Under Librarian Sarpedon's command, he fought through the starfort to retrieve the artefact of the Chapter known as the Soulspear, but it was stolen right in front of Sarpedon by the Tech-Guard of the Mechanicus, which wanted the artefact for itself for study. When the Soul Drinkers attacked the Mechanicus platform to reclaim the aretefact from the duplicitous Mechanicus Adepts, Tellos was seriously wounded after both hands were wrenched off at the wrist by an Adeptus Mechanicus Electro-priest. His life was saved by the Soul Drinkers' Apothecary Pallas who dragged him to safety. Whilst recovering on the Soul Drinkers starship Gundog, Tellos was found to be jamming metal shafts into his amputated stubs and destroying Servitors at random in the ship's Librarium. This marked the end of Tellos' sanity as a Space Marine and the beginning of his pronounced mutations as he fell to the Chaotic corruption of the Blood God.

Tellos had the most obvious Chaotic mutations in the Chapter, second only to those of the Chapter Master Sarpedon. Refusing to accept any other fate, he always wanted to fight on no matter the odds; he had Chainblades grafted into each end of his arms whilst his accelerated healing mutation held them in place and allowed him to regenerate almost any damage he took instantaneously. His second mutation was a grossly enhanced muscular system and semi-translucent skin.

During the time Sarpedon was looking for a cure to halt the Soul Drinkers' rampant Chaos-induced mutations, Tellos disobeyed Sarpedon on numerous occasions. When the cure was finally located, the Soul Drinkers were forced to abandon Tellos and forty Assault Marines on Stratix Luminae. They were last seen taking on tens of thousands of mutants and undead creatures from Teturact's heretical army.

A few years later Sarpedon received word that Tellos and his Assault Marines had wiped Stratix Luminae clean of life, and had pledged loyalty to Khorne, the Chaos God of blood and war. Tellos was eventually tracked to Entymion IV where he and Sarpedon engaged in a final duel over a bridge. Sarpedon was barely victorious, but during the battle the bridge collapsed, burying him in rubble. As the remaining Soul Drinkers Astartes evacuated Entymion IV, an Exterminatus of the planet was ordered by the Inquisition because the world was being over-run by daemons and Heretics. Tellos survived Sarpedon's assault and sat amidst the ruins of the bridge where he had fought the Soul Drinkers' Chapter Master, as Cyclonic Torpedoes intended to carry out the Exterminatus bored into the surface of Entymion IV and ignited the world's core. His final thought was "More blood for the Blood God," as the planet broke apart beneath his feet.

Sources

• Soul Drinker (Novel) by Ben Counter