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Lucius the Eternal is the most gifted swordsman of the Emperor's Children. Slaanesh has cursed and blessed him so that whoever slays him and feels even a flicker of satisfaction becomes Lucius reborn. His armour is studded with the screaming faces of those he has claimed.
He fights with the Blade of the Laer, taken from an alien temple, and with the Lash of Torment, a living whip of daemonic flesh. He is Slaanesh's favoured duellist, and the god will not let him die. Every victory feeds his vanity, and every defeat simply feeds the curse that brings him back. Lucius was once an accomplished swordsman of the Emperor's Children who fell to Slaanesh during the Heresy, chasing perfection and sensation. He is the "Soulthief" and "Fulgrim's Champion". Slaanesh has blessed him with a terrible immortality. Whoever kills him and feels even a moment of pride slowly becomes him, and the faces of those killers scream forever in his armour. He wields his sabre and his sentient whip in endless duels across the galaxy.
Origins
He grew up on the grim world of Chemos as a jewel among its people. He joined the Emperor's Children and rose to captain, notorious for his arrogance.
During the Great Crusade he served in the Emperor's Children under Fulgrim, whose Legion prized perfection above all. The Laer campaign introduced the Legion to the corrupting influence of Slaanesh, and Lucius was among the first to embrace the sensations it offered. When the Heresy came, he chose his Legion's side without hesitation.
Before the fall he was a celebrated duellist with a long list of victories. In the dark battles under Olchite Mount, after storming out of an argument with the lord commanders, he hunted down and impaled the xenos Ragged Fiends one by one over a single day. His blade turned the Fausch Revolution, and at Siegebreak he took the head of the 'False Dorn'. The background gives different reasons for his self-inflicted scars, from piety to a wish not to look like a boy. In fact the scars began after he met Serena d'Angelus, a remembrancer and painter with the 28th Expeditionary Fleet who had been corrupted by Slaanesh.
Key events
- Was one of the Emperor's Children's finest swordsmen during the Great Crusade. His pride was wounded when the Luna Wolves captain Garviel Loken bested him in a practice bout.
- Was one of the Emperor's Children's finest swordsmen during the Great Crusade, though his pride suffered when Garviel Loken of the Luna Wolves broke his nose in a sparring duel. The humiliation helped drive him to scar his own face.
- Fell to Slaanesh during the Heresy, mutilating his own flesh in pursuit of sensation.
- Fought loyalists during the Isstvan III atrocity and the Drop Site Massacre.
- Was slain and reborn many times through Slaanesh's curse.
- Continues to wander the galaxy seeking worthy duellists.
On Isstvan III he was among the Loyalists and came to resent Saul Tarvitz, who was respected by the defenders in a way he was not. He offered Lord Commander Eidolon a deal: he would hand over Tarvitz and break the line in return for being taken back into the Legion. He tricked Captain Solomon Demeter, another Loyalist, into helping him and killed thirty Astartes holding the line to open the way for the final assault. Demeter realised too late what he had been used for. After Isstvan V, Lucius alone seemed to sense that something was wrong with Fulgrim, who had been possessed by a Slaaneshi daemon after killing Ferrus Manus, but he said nothing. Ordered to Mars, Fulgrim instead attacked the crystal mining world Prismatica V.
Battles & campaigns
- Horus Heresy: He fought as a swordsman of the Emperor's Children.
- Countless duels: Champions and kings across the galaxy have died on his blades.
- Return through his killer: Lord Commander Cyrius was transformed into Lucius after killing him.
Personality
Vain, arrogant and obsessed with perfection, always seeking a duel worthy of him.
Lucius hungers above all for a worthy opponent, someone who can test him. He despises warriors he considers beneath him, and he treats duels as art. His scarred face and screaming armour are trophies of a life spent chasing perfection that, in the eyes of the god he serves, can never truly be reached.
Weapons & Vehicles
The cursed silver-and-amethyst alien sword taken from the Temple of the Laer that corrupted Primarch Fulgrim to Slaanesh, later bestowe…
A master-crafted blade sheathed in a crackling molecular disruption field that parts ceramite, bone and steel with effortless lethality…
The psycho-acoustic sonic weapons of the Emperor's Children Noise Marines, firing screaming waves of warp-charged sound that Liquefy or…
Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.
Connections
Characters (6)
Abaddon the Despoiler Black Crusade · Black LegionLucius led Emperor's Children against Belisar during the 13th Black Crusade.
Ahzek Ahriman rival · Thousand SonsAhriman once halted Lucius's killing blow with telekinesis; Lucius later spent time among Ahriman's cabal.
Fulgrim commander · Emperor's ChildrenLucius was one of the Emperor's Children's finest swordsmen under Fulgrim.
Kairos Fateweaver manipulated · Chaos DaemonsLucius fell under Kairos Fateweaver's sway while among Ahriman's cabal.
Slaanesh patron · Chaos DaemonsLucius is Slaanesh's favoured champion. Anyone who kills him and takes pleasure in it is drawn into his armour.
Factions
- Emperor's Children primary faction
Some links are thematic parallels (marked "parallel") rather than recorded meetings. See the connections web.
Legacy
Lucius is Slaanesh's eternal champion, cursed to be reborn in the body of whoever kills him and takes pleasure in it. His endless pursuit of a worthy duel makes him a nightmare to every great swordsman of the Imperium. Lucius is a lesson in Slaaneshi cruelty: victory over him is the trap.
Appearances & sources
- Codex: Chaos Space Marines background
- Fulgrim and Angel Exterminatus (Graham McNeill)
- Lucius: The Faultless Blade (Ian St. Martin)