The Great Brotherhood War, or the “Horus Heresy,” is one of the major turning points in Warhammer 40,000 history. While the eponymous Horus is the cause of the tragedy, another man played a significant role – even though he had no intention of doing so. At least that’s what one fan thinks, sparking a big discussion.
Who is the man?
In the role-playing game Rogue Trader you get to know a space wolf:
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader – The trailer for the companions in the role-playing game
More videos
Autoplay
Leman Russ – Too hot-headed leader
What did Russ do? A user on Reddit suspects that Russ is largely responsible for the outbreak of the civil war. During the Civil War, the Primarch Horus betrayed the Emperor and several legions of Space Marines fell into chaos.
As a result, the entire empire was nearly wiped out and the Emperor almost died. You can read more about this in the History of the Empire of Humanity. Russ was already involved in several areas in advance.
The Primarch was supposed to bring his brother, Magnus the Red, back to Terra. Instead, he attacked and didn’t even give his brother a chance to explain himself. The Thousand Sons’ homeworld, Magnus Legion, was destroyed. Magnus later became a traitor himself – probably due to Russ’s attack.
During the later attack on Terra, Russ was supposed to help defend the world. Instead of obeying orders, he prefers to lead an attack against Horus himself. In direct combat, Russ is wounded, his Space Wolves save him, but the entire legion is later captured by a more powerful enemy, Abaddon. The Space Marines are missing from the fight against Chaos.
“If Russ hadn’t been made a fool of, it would have been someone else.”
The Reddit user questions whether Russ could have prevented the whole heresy with a little more common sense. And in fact, many users agree: If Russ had acted smarter, a lot could have been prevented. At the same time, all of this is only partially his fault. The Space Wolves would have been able to do little on Terra anyway.
Russ was deceived during the attack on Magnus. A message was supposed to lead to negotiations, but a Chaos Cultist disguised as a messenger never delivered the message. A Reddit user explains: Magnus has been deceived his entire life by Tzeentch, the god of deception.
Magnus actually only wanted the best and failed because of his positive qualities, not because of his negative ones. Russ was merely the tool to set Magnus’ case in motion: “Russ had more than enough evidence that something was very, very strange. But if Russ hadn’t been fooled, it would have been someone else.”
If Magnus’ warnings and messages had gotten through to their appropriate recipients, even Russ might have been convinced. But in the end, the chaos god Tzeentch’s plan worked, as it often does. His place in the ranking of the strongest chaos gods is therefore not surprising: All chaos gods in Warhammer 40,000 in the ranking – who is the most powerful?