Most of the remnants of the 9 Traitor Legions fled, along with the other Traitor Imperial forces that now served Chaos, chased by the Loyalist Astartes Legions into an area of the galaxy where the Warp bled into realspace, creating the permanent Warp Storm known as the Eye of Terror.ĭue to the nature of Chaos, and the temporal instability of the Warp, many of the very same Chaos Space Marines who revolted against the Emperor more than 10 millennia ago continue to fight their Long War against the Imperium today, having effectively been granted a tortured immortality by the will of the Ruinous Powers. They were declared Excommunicate Traitoris. The flesh and power armour of these Heretic Astartes warped and twisted into new, darker and inhuman forms under the influence of the Chaos energies they were exposed to, and came to embody the corrupted Astartes' new allegiance.įollowing their defeat during the final epic confrontation, known as the Siege of Terra, the Emperor pronounced judgement upon the Traitor Legions.
The Traitor Legions are the most powerful component of the forces of Chaos. The Traitor Legions were led by the Warmaster Horus Lupercal, once a primarch of the Imperium and the Emperor's most trusted friend, son, and adviser before he was corrupted by the promises and lies of the Dark Gods and his own inner flaws. The Traitor Legions are comprised of the original 9 Space Marine Legions that betrayed their oaths of loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind during the ancient civil war called the Horus Heresy more than 10,000 standard years ago. The following is a list of all known Traitor Legions, Renegade Space Marine Chapters or warbands of Chaos Space Marines operating in Imperial space. Star of Chaos icon variant used to identify the Chaos Space Marines.