13th Great Company

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The truth behind what really happened to the Space Wolves 13th Great Company is shrouded in the swirling, multicolored mists of the Eye of Terror. For it is into that malignant maelstrom that the 13th company disappeared more than 10,000 years ago, in pursuit of the last ragged survivors of the Space Wolves purging of Prospero, the home world of the cursed Thousand Sons legion of Fallen Space Marines who were declared Excommunicatus Traitoris for following their evil Primarch Magnus the Red in his worship of the Dark Gods.⁴ The brave battle brethren of the 13th company swore to hunt their foes down until every last one of the cursed marines was slain, no matter how long it took, nor where the traitors fled. It has been said that the 13th Company currently is being led in their mission by none other than the Great Primarch Leman Russ Himself. This is, of course, like most of the information pertaining to the 13th Company, impossible to verify.¹

Somehow, the hardy Sons of Russ survived their journey through the Eye, and have emerged, long after they should have perished, in pursuit of the foul Despoiler Abaddon.¹ The powers of the Warp are said to be able to affect time itself, and such things have been known to happen before, as starships are lost in the warp for centuries, only to reappear with the crew barely aged a day.²

One other thing that sets the warriors of the 13th Company apart from the rest of their Space Wolves brethren is the large percentage of warriors who have succumbed to the animal nature that is part of the genetic legacy of their Primarch: the Mark of the Wulfen. This genetic mutation causes their canine nature to manifest itself more fully and, amongst other things, thick hair to grow over all the body and claws to sprout from the hands. These warriors gather together in units and surrender themselves to their animalistic nature, rushing headlong at their foes, eager to use their sharp claws and teeth in close combat. Whether the increased percentage of 13th Company Marines who have succumbed to the Mark of the Wulfen is a result of their exposure to Eye of Terror, or whether it existed before and their increased percentage in the Company is simply due to the fact that their increased stamina and strength has allowed more of them to survive than their brethren is, of course, unknown. ³

The 13th Company is also distinguished by maintaining the dark gray Pre-Heresy colour scheme of the Space Wolves on what little remains of their original equipment. Much of their armor and weaponry has been replaced with material scavenged from their fallen Chaos foes. Not surprisingly, their Company has almost no heavy equipment such as tanks, terminators or dreadnoughts. ³

Sources

• ¹ Games Workshop Codex: Eye of Terror
• ² Lexicanum: The Warp
• ³ Games Wokshop Online: 13th Company Army List
• ⁴ Black Library: Wolf's Honour by Lee Lightner