I'll start off by saying that while I will attempt to not make this full of Spoilers to A Thousand Sons I cannot promise that there will be none so if you are that bothered you might not want to read this.
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OK then, 'There are no wolves on Fenris 'a phrase uttered by that despicable Sorcerer Magnus but what does it mean? It has certainly caused some debate on the internet community and Mr McNeill if you happen to read this and want to put and end to the debate that would be great but until then I thought I'd share my feelings as a proud Wolf Player.
I have certainly seen some creative interpretations of the phrase the main one being that the wolves are in fact the first human settlers who evolved to survive Long Night into the creatures that our kinsman on Fenris now accept to be wolves however I really don't like this explanation. ITs believed that the canis helix is a part of that but surely that can't be true. The Canis Helix is part of the geneseed of the glorius Primarch Russ so how can they have used something that had been around before the Emperor ever came to power?
Another theory (and a shocking one at that) is that Fenrisian Wolves are actually creatures of the Warp. I personally think this is an attempt by our enemies (probably the Dark Angels) to ruin our good name especially in the light of their heresy.
So whats my take on this? Personally I think that the Fenrisian wolves are a native species to Fenris. When the first colonists arrived on Fenris they saw lupine like animals and named them Wolves. I think that that Evil Scorcerer found a certain irony that such a stoic group as we would use Xenos like this.
Certainly interested in hearing your thoughts on the matter.
I always thought that he may be inferring that they are those aspirants in which the canis-helix runs rampant during their initiation and become wulfen. Perhaps if it happens at such an early stage in the development (before the implant of all the other organs and the changes in the aspirants body) then they may devolve fully into a lupine form.
ReplyDeleteIts an interesting theory however the first members of the legion wouldn't have been from Fenris but from Terra and yet there were already wolves on Fenris when Russ arrived.
ReplyDeleteI assumed that it was implying that they were either humans devolved into a more bestial form or that they were perhaps something darker - creatures from the warp. Although I may have to go back and re-read it. Prospero Burns is out soon so that may shed some light on it. I don't mind it being a bit mysterious though.
ReplyDeleteHopefully so, I have to admit its a long time since I read the book and when I did it was when I was still recovering from surgery and I was on a lot of drugs but I never once got this impression of devolved (although the geneticist in me knows that it would actually be evolution) humans.
ReplyDeleteNot to rain on your parade but I think our mutual friend Magnus was being sarcastic. It struck me as a sort of sheep in wolves clothing moment rather than some creepy, the wolves are all weird aliens moment...
ReplyDeleteCertainly a different way of looking at it, but the references to an alien intelligence behind the fenrisian wolves makes me doubt that he was purely casting aspersions..
ReplyDeleteThe way I read it was a little different. The Space Wolves in the novel essentially hate their brother legion because they are alien, different and slightly dangerous....basically fits with the burn the alien/heretic/daemon persona that the "modern" space marines have.
ReplyDeleteNow I think Magnus was basically highlighting the hipocracy of the Wolves because, even though the creatures may look, smell, sound etc like the wolves of Earth they are in fact a totally alien species that has no direct link to the wolves of old earth nor were they taken there by settlers. So while they go out to rid the galaxy of alien threats they hold one close to their hearts.
As I say, thats just my own interpretation of something I don't expect will ever be explained.