120
edits
Changes
From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
touching up grammatically
Horus eventually saw fit to have Loken eliminated during the betrayal at [[Isstvan III]], placing him at the front of the doomed invasion force alongside his friend and fellow marginalized Mournival member [[Tarik Torgaddon]]. When the [[virus bomb]] strike failed to kill all of the loyalist forces on the surface, the entirety of the [[traitor legions]] were eventually deployed to wipe out the survivors, who had fortified their position under Loken's, Torgaddon's, and [[Saul Tarvitz]]'s command.
Loken fought to the last as a loyal servant of the [[Emperor]] and refused to give any quarter to those who had betrayed the Emperor in favour of Horus. After witnessing the death of [[Tarik Torgaddon]] at the hands of [[Horus Aximand]] he was wounded on Isstvan III by his old comrade [[Abaddon|Ezekyle Abaddon]], and is was believed to have perished in the final orbital bombardment of the planet, along with the last surviving loyalists<sup>3</sup>. Loken and Torgaddon's deaths (supposed in the case of former) marked the removal of one of the final obstacles to Horus' great ambitions.
== Aftermath ==
Although it initially appeared that Loken perished in the final bombardment of Isstvan III, many months later a team of Astartes led by [[Nathaniel Garro]] on the orders of [[Malcador the Sigillite]] were sent to the planet to recruit a single warrior.<sup>4</sup>
The the wars of the [[Horus Heresy]] had long since moved onwards, leaving Isstvan III a shattered and desolate graveyard. In these circumstances, the one surviving and abandoned astartes Astartes left upon the world had fallen to a form of madness, believing himself rejected by death and unable to remember his name. He took upon himself the name '''Cerberus''' and believed himself to be the only remaining loyalist ''(a Legion of One)'' until he confronted by Garro and his men.<sup>4</sup>
Initially hostile to a group that he perceived as traitors, the lone astartes forced Nathaniel Garro to engage him in single combat; Garro however, proved unable to overcome him physically. Thus Garro appealed to the warrior's faith and duty and reminded him of his name: '''Garviel Loken'''.<sup>4</sup>
