# The imperial heralds?



## GrimzagGorwazza (Aug 5, 2010)

Okay i was checking over Lexicanum in my lunch break and whilst breezing through the information in the word bearers entry i discovered that at some time pre heresy they were named the imperial heralds and had a different colour scheme. I've not read "the first heretic" so this may well be covered in that novel. 

What i wanted to know is at what point did they switch colours and name? Why did they switch their colours and name? What is going on here? Who are all these people? WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?!?!?!


----------



## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

The Death Guard were once known as the Dusk Raiders. The Wold Eaters were the War Hounds. The Dark Angels were "the First" (as in, the first Legion). All these names were used before the Emperor found their Legions' Primarchs. The Word Bearers were simply called something different before Lorgar was found, that's all.


----------



## GrimzagGorwazza (Aug 5, 2010)

Ah ok. I was aware that they used different names before they were found but it was the first time i had noticed a completely different colour scheme being given for the period of time pre primarch. I know several of the others had schemes which changed after the heresy but hadn't realised that the WB had their own one even before that.


----------



## Akatsuki13 (May 9, 2010)

The WB were the second known Legion to change their colors, the first being the Luna Wolves when they became the Sons of Horus. During the events of _Battle for the Abyss_, set after the Drop Site Massacre, they cast out their old dark gray armor for the crimson armor they wear now.


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

GrimzagGorwazza said:


> Ah ok. I was aware that they used different names before they were found but it was the first time i had noticed a completely different colour scheme being given for the period of time pre primarch. I know several of the others had schemes which changed after the heresy but hadn't realised that the WB had their own one even before that.





Akatsuki13 said:


> The WB were the second known Legion to change their colors, the first being the Luna Wolves when they became the Sons of Horus. During the events of _Battle for the Abyss_, set after the Drop Site Massacre, they cast out their old dark gray armor for the crimson armor they wear now.


Actually the Dusk Raiders/Death Guard were the first known Legion to change their livery from it's original colours.

The Dusk Raiders had mainly unpainted armour like the Death Guard they'd become except for a crimson right arm and shoulder (to show they were the bloody right hand of the Emperor), once they discovered Mortarion the armour was left unpainted (including the right arm/shoulder) except for it's trim which was painted green.


----------



## MEQinc (Dec 12, 2010)

GrimzagGorwazza said:


> Ah ok. I was aware that they used different names before they were found but it was the first time i had noticed a completely different colour scheme being given for the period of time pre primarch. I know several of the others had schemes which changed after the heresy but hadn't realised that the WB had their own one even before that.


What was the Word Bearers colour scheme pre-primarch? And do we know why it changed?


----------



## GrimzagGorwazza (Aug 5, 2010)

MEQinc said:


> What was the Word Bearers colour scheme pre-primarch? And do we know why it changed?



That's more or less the origional question i asked.
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Word_Bearers


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

GrimzagGorwazza said:


> That's more or less the origional question i asked.
> http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Word_Bearers


As far as I'm aware they didn't have a colour scheme pre-Primarch that was changed with the discovery of Lorgar.

They changed their Granite Grey livery to Crimson during the Heresy but that's the only change I know of regarding the Sons of Lorgar.

Edit: (I'm not 100% confident of this, I'd have to check _The First Heretic_ thoroughly for that, but I really don't think there was a change)


----------



## Karak The Unfaithful (Feb 13, 2011)

I'm pretty sure all the legions had different names and colours before their primarch's came along, they changed because their primarchs wanted to feel a "bit more at home" i guess.


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

Karak The Unfaithful said:


> I'm pretty sure all the legions had different names and colours before their primarch's came along, they changed because their primarchs wanted to feel a "bit more at home" i guess.


Well we know the World Eaters and Dark Angels only changed their names not their colours so I presume most of the other Legions were the same.


----------



## GrimzagGorwazza (Aug 5, 2010)

Baron Spikey said:


> Well we know the World Eaters and Dark Angels only changed their names not their colours so I presume most of the other Legions were the same.


That was my presumption but reading the article it clearly says that the grey colours were the uniform of the Imperial Heralds. Obviously it's a wiki so can't be taken as gospel which is why i wanted some clarification on wether they had actually changed colour when they met their primarch or wether they changed colour after the heresy. 

I know for example that the world eaters were white pre heresy and changed it to rep their new devotion but i don't remember having read that this was the case with Lorgars lads.


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

GrimzagGorwazza said:


> That was my presumption but reading the article it clearly says that the grey colours were the uniform of the Imperial Heralds. Obviously it's a wiki so can't be taken as gospel which is why i wanted some clarification on wether they had actually changed colour when they met their primarch or wether they changed colour after the heresy.
> 
> I know for example that the world eaters were white pre heresy and changed it to rep their new devotion but i don't remember having read that this was the case with Lorgars lads.


Yeah they were Grey as Imperial Heralds and retained that livery when they became the Word Bearers (though as with the Dark Angels alterations were made in the form of religious etchings and knightly trappings respectively).


----------



## Phoebus (Apr 17, 2010)

The Dark Angels showed indications that they were changing their color scheme prior to the Heresy. The original "First Legion" colors were predominately black (with trim color varying from white to red depending on the fluff source). By the time the Heresy began, though, the cultural influence of the Calibanite knighthoods was being felt--the Ravenwing Chapter, for instance, introduced a green shoulder pad with its ancient order's livery painted on it.


----------



## MEQinc (Dec 12, 2010)

GrimzagGorwazza said:


> That's more or less the origional question i asked


The reason I asked was because I thought (and have since confirmed) that you were confuisng the primarch-era name change and the heresy-era scheme change.

The Imperial Heralds and Word Bearers both wore grey armour. The crimson we currently see first appears on the Gal Vorbak (spelling?) in _First Heretic _to mark their new devotion. It was latter abopted legion wide (though I don't know the specifics on when). 

The two changes occured independently and for different reasons. Also does anyone else think it's slightly anal to change Imperial Heralds to Word Bearers? At least until the start bearing a word other than the Imperium.


----------



## Baron Spikey (Mar 26, 2008)

MEQinc said:


> The two changes occured independently and for different reasons. Also does anyone else think it's slightly anal to change Imperial Heralds to Word Bearers? At least until the start bearing a word other than the Imperium.


Maybe the name Word Bearers has some special intonation in Colchisian? A subtlety that is lost when it's translated into standard Gothic?


----------



## ArchCustode (Jul 27, 2016)

The Imperial Heralds were the only Legion to be named by the Emperor during the Unification Wars. The colour was slate grey granite for all the Legions at the time, the Heralds just never changed that scheme even after the discovery of the Primarch. They were created to spread secularism and to cast down religion and all it's idols. Their 'Heralds' would give civilisations or sects an opportunity to renounce or die. Those Heralds would later become Chaplains as they progressively became religious. Lorgar did not change his Legion right away. He left the Heralds to remain secular and would only convert those who were at first willing to listen. Then, as attrition took it's toll, only Colchis born Heralds would be inducted into the faith from the get go. When every last secular Heralds died through war, Lorgar sealed the symbolic transformation by renaming the Legion the 'Word Bearers' who now bore the Emperor's Word.


----------



## ExaltedUrizen (Jul 26, 2013)

Yeah they only changed to red after Lorgar had been corrupted. And I guess the colour change was to try and disassociate their legion with the emperor, as he had lied to them and openly humiliated them.


----------



## Kharn The Complainer (Aug 19, 2015)

Here are some other pre-Primarch legion names.

The Raven Guard were known as the 'Blackbirds'. The Ultramarines were known as the 'Super Smurfs'. The Space Wolves were originally known as 'Jørgen Fløgstad's Magical Band of Merry Rogues'. My favourite pre-Primarch legion name was, of course, the Salamanders, who were simply known as 'Steve'.


----------



## Matcap (Aug 23, 2012)

Baron Spikey said:


> Well we know the World Eaters and Dark Angels only changed their names not their colours so I presume most of the other Legions were the same.


We have several changes:
War Hounds to World Eaters:
















Imperial Heralds to Word Bearers. Name change after they found their primarch, colour scheme after Dropsite massacre









Luna Wolves to Sons of Horus
















Dusk Raiders to Death Guard (other way around in this picuture, left is Death Guard, right is Dusk Raiders)









Everything below didn't change colours but had different names before finding their primarch: 

Dragon Warriors to Salamanders 

Angels of Death to Dark Angels (according to Angels of Caliban book)

Storm Walkers to Iron Hands

Alpha Legion is noted as having 730+ different names before their official one

Iron Warriors unofficial cognomen: Corpse Grinders

Raven Guard unofficial cognomen: Pale Nomands/Dust Clad

Info above comes from the different FW Campaign books (Except the Salamanders and Dark Angels ones who come from Lexicanum and Angels of Caliban).

Edit: well seems the forum screwed a bit with the img sizes, or I derped. Sorry about that!


----------



## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

Funny, but ADB was only asking about the Imperial Heralds on Facebook lately.


----------

