Warhammer 40K: How The Thousand Sons Maintain & Recruit More Members
If the entire legion got turned to dust (save for a few key sorcerers) then how do the Thousand Sons keep coming back for more?
I’ve often wondered about how Chaos Space Marines maintain their numbers. I typically just chalk it up to the warp causing weird time fluctuations, random renegade marines/chapters turning, and geneseed heists — so just general Chaosary. And while that may explain some of the other older legions and even many of the new traitors, it always kind of made me wonder about the Thousand Sons.
Blame Ahriman …Mostly
Many of you already know about the Rubric of Ahriman. It was the great spell he casts with his conclave in an attempt to stop the flesh-change of chaos. It worked. But kind of like how a wish on a monkey’s paw would “work.” There were unexpected consequences to say the least. While his brothers were spared the flesh-change all their bodies were reduced to dust. Their armor became animated by their spirits and they were doomed to remain that way forever.
So, again, I wonder how do they keep coming back? How do they maintain and recruit more members? Where do all their sorcerers come from?
As for the first question, I do genuinely wonder if they just send out chaos cultists after the battles to try and recover as many fallen Rubric Marine suits of power armor. Lore-wise, we know they can re-animate them with sorcery. So that’s maybe not as complicated. They still have to get those “bodies” back. And you know the Space Marines themselves know to utterly destroy those suits of power armor if they claim the battlefield. Maybe the Thousand Sons Sorcerers whisk away the fallen Rubric Marines in blast of eldritch magic at the end of a fight. I’m really not sure.
Perhaps it is just the same mindless Rubrics fighting in all the battles. I’m not completely satisfied with that. But I can at least understand it. However, that doesn’t explain the Sorcerers. Those gifted individuals have to be psychic and talented in the arcane arts, right? So where do those spell-slingers come from? I turned to the Lexicanum for more details.
Thousand Sons Recruitment Plans
Like all of the Legiones Astartes the Thousand Sons were initially made up of Terran marines. In the aftermath of Magnus’ deal with Tzeentch to save their lives, only around a thousand of them were left. For the rest of the Crusade, the Thousand Sons recruited from Prospero, a planet of only limited population (although many of them were psychically active). As a result the Thousand Sons were never a large legion.
Currently, most of the Thousand Sons Sorcerers arise from the ranks of the Aspiring Sorcerers. These low mages are taken from the ranks of Tzeentchian cult psykers from different planets. They are taken to Tizca, where they conduct the complicated and most dangerous rituals to test their body and mind. Most are torn apart by the sudden influx of empyric energy or are driven mad; others die when their body begins to change, under the influence of ancient technologies and Warp influences. Those few who survive are born anew and become newly made Chaos Space Marines – Aspiring Sorcerers of the Thousand Sons.
How the Thousand Sons currently maintain their numbers is unknown, although they have been observed carrying out an apparent resurrection ritual at least once. On this occasion the spirits of deceased Thousand Sons were summoned from the warp into mortal bodies (whether living or dead making no particular difference), bodies which then transformed themselves into reborn Thousand Sons.
At least one Imperial commentator on the subject believes that the Thousand Sons have a cult network that provides potential recruits for the legion.
So there you have it. The Thousand Sons likely use their chaos cult network to find recruits. Then they ultimately become new Aspiring Sorcerers of the Thousand Sons members. And I have a feeling the “failed” candidates souls probably get repurposed by them for other means.
Chaos Marine Numbers are unknown and untracked. I blame the timey-wimey of the warp.
