40K Lore: Typhus
It seems that a certain Herald of Nurgle has been spotted near Tarvan recently.
Take heed, Loremasters. We’ve just received word of a terrible battle in the Tarvan system, where the traitor known now as Typhus–formerly the powerful Calas Typhon, before he was corrupted by Chaos–was spotted leading the Plague Marines. And, as we all know, knowledge is dangerous–and anything related to the Ruinous Powers is almost certainly a heresy–we must risk damnation to prepare ourselves to fight this foe, should he appear again.
Just try not to learn too much.
Typhus was born Calas Typhon on the Death Guard’s eventual homeworld of Barbarus. Typhon possessed the blood of the warlords that had ruled the planet before being defeated by Mortarion, the Death Guard’s Primarch. As a child upon the toxic planet of Barbarus, Calas Typhon was troubled by nightly phenomena over which he believed he had no control. Objects would shudder and smash around him whenever he was frightened or angered, and plants would wither and die under his gaze. These phantom powers troubled him greatly, but he resolved to turn them to his advantage. By the time Typhon reached maturity, he had learned to master the psychic energies that resonated within him each night; a feat of will that impressed his elders mightily. With this act, Typhon became stronger in his resolve to succeed than any of his peers. When the Emperor reclaimed his lost son Mortarion from the poisonous mists of Barbarus, and reunited him with the the superhuman warriors born from his gene-seed, Typhon was amongst those chosen to join their ranks. As he joined the legion, his psychic potential was suppressed through training due to the anti-psyker sentiment of his Primarch. Nonetheless through his rugged talent, Typhus was eventually able to rise to the prestigious position of First Captain.
According to Typhon himself, he was secretly converted to worship of the Gods of Chaos by his friend Erebus, First Chaplain of the Word Bearers. In fact, Typhon’s allegiance to Chaos predated that of his own Primarch, or of Horus himself. With the help of his new gods, Typhon became First Captain of the Death Guard and commander of the battleship Terminus Est. Typhus was not particularly loyal to Mortarion, and always wished to travel the Galaxy and forge his own destiny in the name of the Ruinous Powers.
When Mortarion joined Horus in his rebellion, Typhon helped orchestrate the massacre of loyalist Space Marines on Isstvan III, when Horus’s fleet virus-bombed the surface and killed nearly every living thing aboveground. Because Battle-Captain Nathaniel Garro was unable to join his loyalist comrades on the surface, Typhon detailed him to the frigate Eisenstein, along with Commander Ignatius Grulgor, privately ordering Grulgor to deal with Garro and his men when necessary. Typhon was furious when the Eisenstein broke from orbit without joining the virus-bombing. Realizing that Grulgor had failed, he commanded the Terminus Est in pursuit of the frigate, and managed to severely damage the vessel, but was unable to stop it from escaping into the warp. Later during the Heresy, Typhon led half of the Death Guard in a splinter fleet while Mortarion himself took command of the other. During his campaign of misery and misdirection against the Dark Angels, Typhon’s fleet attempted to acquire the Tuchulcha engine in fulfillment of Nurgle‘s designs but was foiled by Lion El’Jonson during the Battle of Perditus. Hounded by a Dark Angels retribution force under the command of Corswain, Typhon’s fleet later reappeared at the Zaramund System. There, the Death Guard forces were welcomed by Luther and his Fallen Angels.
Since the Heresy, Typhus has continued to spread the glory of Nurgle across the galaxy. Leading a contingent of Death Guard of the Plague Fleet from the Terminus Est, Typhus is known to have laid waste to many worlds and waged many battles in Nurgle’s name. He has even traveled to the Garden of Nurgle inside the Warp itself, where he has battled Khornate Daemons. Typhus has also laid waste to the world of Ligeta with a noise-plague where the infected became forced to eternally sing a hymn to the Lord of Decay. In 757.M40, he killed 23 billion people on Hydra Minoris with the Zombie Plague. In the 13th Black Crusade, Typhus’ Plague Fleet was the first Chaos force encountered by the Imperium. In the Crusade, his forces went on to ravage the Agripinaa Sector. He also oversaw the Infestation and desecration of a holy planet Annunciation by himself alone.
Typhus later appeared as part of Mortarion‘s armada during the Death Guard invasion of Ultramar. Typhus led a splinter fleet which terrorized the outer regions of Ultramar.
Wherever he goes, a plague seems to follow–though he may be defeated, be wary, for he will certainly return…
