Abaddon the Despoiler

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Abaddon the Despoiler

In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000 and Battlefleet Gothic, Abaddon the Despoiler is Warmaster of Chaos, captain of the Black Legion, and rumoured to be the clone-progeny of Warmaster Horus. He is the most powerful warmaster of all, the chosen of Horus, and blessed by the Chaos gods.

Ezekyle Abaddon (his first name is mentioned in the novel Horus Rising (Abnett, 2006)) was the Captain of the First Company of the Luna Wolves, created from the gene-seed of the Primarch Horus, Warmaster of the Imperial Armed Forces. He looked upon Horus as a leader and a father, holding him above even the Emperor of Mankind, though after the Heresy his view of Horus had transformed into disdain.

When Horus was killed and the Emperor mortally wounded at the end of the Horus Heresy, Abaddon tore the lightning claw (the "Talon of Horus") from Horus's Terminator armour and retreated with the Traitor Legions to the Eye of Terror, and has led constant battles against the Imperium of Man for 10,000 years. Abaddon renamed the Sons of Horus to the Black Legion to expunge the name of Horus, who failed in his attempt to take over the Imperium of Man. He carries the daemon sword Drach'nyen, which flays the souls from those it strikes. No other man has been able to command the loyalty of all nine Traitor Legions.

He has waged 13 Black Crusades from the Eye of Terror; in the most recent assault, Chaos did manage to gain a foothold on the Cadian Gate, but lost this foothold due to a vicious counter attack from the naval forces of Admiral Quarren and elements of several Space Marine chapters.

During the Gothic War, Abaddon's flagship was the Planet Killer, a powerful and near indestructible battleship. Unlike most Chaos craft, it was not a renegade Imperial design, but rather constructed entirely inside the Eye of Terror – indeed, many tech priests suspect its construction may have been impossible outside of the Eye's reality-warping influence. Its most powerful weapon was the Armageddon gun, capable of obliterating entire planets (hence the name), and was backed up by innumerable gun, lance, and torpedo batteries. The Planet Killer's only flaw was its laggard speed. It was believed destroyed by countless torpedo volleys launched from a squadron of Lunar-class Cruisers – too distant to be hit by the flagship's batteries and too widely-spaced to be efficiently obliterated with the Armageddon gun. However, those beliefs were disproven in the 13th Black Crusade, when the Planet Killer resurfaced and destroyed the planets of Macharia and St. Josmane's Hope. Supposedly the Planet Killer was seen tumbling away into space, damaged by chunks of debris from the latter planet.

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