Editing Word Bearers (section)

==History==
[[File:WBPreHeresy.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Their pre-heresy colors bring a whole new meaning to the term Grey Tide.]]
There is a phenomenon of psychology: some people are prone to zealotry. It does not matter what they believe in, when they come to believe in something they believe in it with all their heart. This type of individual who is likely to end up becoming a fanatical member to a certain ideology will, if they somehow become disillusioned with it, often find it easier to adopt an opposing or opposite ideology and be just as fanatical to said new cause rather than simply moderating their commitment to their first ideology as needed and making caveats and exceptions to its general principles. The Word Bearers and Lorgar in particular are this phenomenon at its most extreme.

===Early History===
The Emperor used the genetic templates of the Primarchs to create the Legiones Astartes after the powers of Chaos stole the gestating Primarchs. Those who received gene-seed from template XVII stood apart from their brother Astartes in duty and outlook. They fought with utter devotion and a fanatical zeal. Their original recruits were drawn from the sons of defeated enemies, raised to know the crimes of their fathers and the price of the Emperor's forgiveness. Thus while the other Legions went to war with righteousness, the XVIIth fought with the cold fury that only the condemned and redeemed could know. While other Legions took some time to acquire formal names, the XVIIth was named the '''Imperial Heralds''' right from the start. This wasn't due to any favouritism, but because the Emperor had their role already figured out: to deliver the His ultimatum of submission or destruction, especially against enemies that opposed E-Money for ideological reasons.
Upon defeating an enemy, the Imperial Heralds would empty their libraries and records of any contents deemed heretical or sorcerous. Condemned works, individuals, and buildings would be destroyed in the name of the [[Imperial Truth]] (though they also tended to exterminate the entire population of the places they conquered; see Antarctica). The Imperial Heralds repeated this process again and again all across Terra during the Unification Wars, and during the early [[Great Crusade]]. This earned the Imperial Heralds a nickname among the greater Imperium: '''the Iconoclasts'''.

===Great Crusade===
[[File:WBHeresy.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Looks like Lorgar finally put some paint on his models.]]
The planet [[Colchis]] was full of people that worshiped a watered down version of chaos. Primarch XVII was adopted by [[Kor Phaeron]], one of the chief priests, and given the name Lorgar. Lorgar received a vision of the Emperor and formed a religion around him, leading to a six-year religious civil war that Lorgar's faction eventually won, shortly before the Emperor came to Colchis. During the Great Crusade, they bore the word of the Emperor to new worlds, wiping out any traces of dissenting faiths as they assimilated cultures into the Imperial way of life, including enforcing the worship of the God-Emperor. Seriously though these guys were like the [[Black Templars]] on super-steroids, as they were at Legion strength, lacked the moderation of the Inquisition, and had their Primarch to guide them.

Their thorough attention to this kept them far behind the pace of other expeditionary fleets and drew the ire of the Emperor. He repeatedly made it clear that he did not consider himself a god and wanted Lorgar to knock it off and catch up with the other fleets. Lorgar responded by penning the original [[Lectitio Divinitatus]], which would much later form the core of the beliefs of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor. Finally, the Emperor had enough and ordered the Ultramarines to make an example of him. They torched the city of Monarchia, capital of the planet Khur and custom designed by Lorgar, and called the entire Word Bearers legion to kneel in its ashes before Guilliman, Malcador, and the Emperor.

To say Lorgar was devastated would be an understatement. He spent an entire month in seclusion, taking only the advice of Kor Phaeron and First Chaplain [[Erebus]]. They revealed to him that they had kept the old faith alive and that many worlds appeared to have religions that aligned with it, suggesting a more primal truth than worship of the God-Emperor. They convinced Lorgar that the primordial truth was truer than the Imperial Truth and he took his legion on a pilgrimage to the Eye of Terror to learn more about Chaos.

Whereas the Word Bearers were the slowest to conquer planets before Monarchia, they became the fastest after. Lorgar would casually order his legion to slaughter every man, woman and child on any planet that refused to bow to Imperial rule.

===Chaos===
[[File:Daemon world by majesticchicken.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Okay, so the Imperial Cult might not exactly be hot chicken wings with thousand island sauce, but worshiping Chaos might not be the best alternative.]]
They were the guys who used to be really, really, really loyal to the [[Emprah]]. Like, these guys used to be the Church of the Emprah. After the [[Horus Heresy]], they became the complete opposite. Now they go around fucking up the Emprah's sepulchre planets, relic worlds, and cardinal worlds, setting up cathedrals to the [[Chaos Gods]] in their places. They are also notable for being the one [[Chaos]] legion to still have [[Chaplain]]s, known as [[Dark Apostle]]s, which is probably because they invented the idea of Space Marine preachers and no other traitor Legions wanted them after the Horus Heresy was over, because there is little sense in having morale officers in a Chaos force. Unlike the other Chaos legions and renegade chapters, [[Red Corsairs]] notwithstanding, these guys actually managed to sort of keep their shit together rather than having everyone with a slightly fancier costume take his ball and go home. They're sorta like [[grimdark]] Chaos Taliban. Except the Word Bearers make the Taliban look like sissies in comparison.

Their hobbies include human sacrifice, prayers to the [[Chaos Gods]], [[daemon]] summoning, and occult study.

[[File:Dark_apostle_by_kunkka.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Well hello there unbeliever. Would you mind a small theological chat?]] 
[[Erebus|First Chaplain Erebus]] [[Matt Ward|(Fucked be his name)]] was actually pretty much the driving force behind Horus turning to Chaos. At the climax of ''Horus Rising'', Erebus steals a weapon from the [[Interex]], which caused them to get all butthurt and blame [[Horus]] and the Luna Wolves for the theft. In the next book, ''False Gods'', Horus and the merry Luna Wolves take a trip to Davin IV on Erebus's advice, during which all hell breaks loose and Horus takes some wounds and comes as close as a [[primarch]] can to a near-death experience (he basically took a nap). [[Abaddon]], having as many daddy issues as Horus, decided it'd be a good idea to follow the advice of Erebus and take Horus to a local temple run by the serpent-worshiping locals, where it was said he could be healed. Erebus sent Horus into a trance and basically whispered sweet nothings about [[Chaos]] into his ear the entire time, planting the very first seed of corruption.