What exactly is it that makes a mythic hero, more educated men than I have asked this question time and again. In my mind there are 3 things that make a mythic hero, a decent story, some kind of a fatal flaw, and a goal. The first thing a mythic hero needs is a decent story, based somewhat in reality, for example, where all the Spartans unstoppable “by law we fight to the last man shouting obscenities like a drunken trucker in a lumberjack convention” fighting machines? No, only most of them were but it does make for a good story. The second major thing a mythic hero needs is a fatal flaw, Odyessus had his pride, Sigfried had his love, the Spartans had the Phanlanx, and so on and so forth. This fatal flaw usually leads to their downfall. For example in the Warhammer 40k books the Arch-Traitor Horus (The Emperor’s favorite son) turns away from Imperial Creed and looks into the forbidden secrets of the Ruinous Powers of Chaos, taking 12 of the 24 Adeptus Astartes legions, the other 12 remained loyal to The Emperor, and igniting the spark of civil unrest that later became known as the Horus Heresy. The Emperor and the remaining Loyalist’s legions go forth on the Great Crusade killing, or at the very least significantly damaging, the Traitor Legions driving them back into the Immaterium. The crusade ended on Horus’s flagship Vengeful Spirit with Horus mortally wounded and the Emperor all but dead. This is the Emperor’s fatal flaw, namely the fact that he couldn’t bring himself to kill Horus, slaughtering all of Norway, he was just FINE with, his fatal flaw having been that Horus was alive, even if seriously wounded. At such point the Emperor failed in his goal (or rather, succeeds and then fails.) His goal being to unite all of humanity, in which he succeeded, during the Great Crusades and then failed during the Horus Heresy. The entire reason Horus wished to bring down his father’s Imperium was because of Lorgar (one of his brothers), who went forth to find real gods (The Emperor had long opposed the spread of organised religion and was determined to use the creation of the new Imperium of Man to enshrine reason and science, not religion, as the true guiding light of a new interstellar human civilisation. The Emperor was particularly troubled by any notion that he should be worshipped as a god and the actions of the Word Bearers Legion, Lorgar’s legion, in slaughtering those who refused to accept the Emperor's divinity stank of the religious excesses that had so often poisoned human history.) The end goal having been completed, the Legions set forth to their own. Lorgar led the World Bearers in search of “the True Gods” and found the Ruinius Powers of Chaos: Khorne, is the Chaos God of Blood, War and Murder. His domain covers the most basic and brutal of sentient emotions and actions, such as hate, anger, rage, war and killing. Every act of killing or murder in the material universe gives Khorne power; the more senseless and destructive, the better. However, though Khorne is the God of bloody slaughter, he is also the God of martial pride and honour, of those who set themselves against the most dangerous foes and earn victory against the odds. Nurgle, is the Chaos God of Disease, Decay, and Destruction. In particular, the emotion of despair in mortals empowers him. He is known also as Grandfather Nurgle, the Lord of Pestilence and the Lord of Decay. He is the oldest of the four Chaos Gods and is the most directly involved with the plights of mortals, particularly humans who suffer so acutely from a fear of death, perhaps the oldest fear of that species. While Nurgle is the God of death and decay, to be certain, he is also the God of rebirth. After all, decay is simply one part of the cycle of life, without which no new life could grow. Slaanesh, Slaanesh is the Lord of Pleasure, the Dark God dedicated to the pursuit of earthly gratification and the overthrow of all decent behaviour, as well as hedonism and pleasure for its own sake. He is the God of Obsession, the Master of Excess in All Things, from gluttony to lust to megalomania. Wherever mortals are ruled by their own unquenchable desires, the Dark Prince of Chaos is there in the shadows, whispering, tempting, and feasting on a banquet of

souls. But this is true in all things, not just carnal pleasures. Those who desire to indulge in the finest culinary delights, the most beautiful artworks, even the most sensual clothing, could all be amongst Slaanesh’s disciples. Just as importantly, Slaanesh is also the god of perfection. The singer striving for the most beautiful song or the warrior who seeks the perfect fighting techniques, both could be devotees of Slaanesh and Tzeentch, is the Chaos God of Change, Evolution, Intrigue and Sorcery, he who weaves the threads that connect every action, plot and subtle intrigue in a galaxy-wide game of manipulation and subterfuge. At the end of each of these threads lies the ensnared soul of a human puppet; those of his servants and agents who believe they serve the Lord of Sorcery in mutually beneficial pacts. The truth is that Tzeentch's every action is planned with its ultimate goal as his own establishment as the pre-eminent Chaos power in the Warp. Of course, the very nature of the Lord of Entropy is such that, were he to attain this triumph, he would still strive for turmoil and change. In many ways, Tzeentch is both the best and least understood of the Dark Gods. He is the God of Fate, plots, and schemes, as well as the God that exemplifies the ever-changing nature of the Warp. However, Tzeentch does not plot towards some end (at least none that can be comprehended); he schemes simply to scheme. He is constantly building, even as his devices unravel under their own complexity. At the same time, he is the God of knowledge and comprehension, and his devotees may be those who seek a deeper understanding of an often enigmatic universe. So in conclusion this is why Warhammer 40k is an exemplar of a Neo-mythological heroic archetype

By: Geoffrey Hankey pd.8