The Overlords of Barbarus were a sapient humanoid species that lorded over the destitute Human populace of the toxin-laden planet Barbarus. While said to be alien by the populace, the Overlords' true origin may have been much closer to that of those they ruled over, and much more sinister.
Biology[]
The Overlords were tall, pale, corpse-like humanoids, standing taller than the houses of Barbarus' villages. Their bodies were very gaunt, their somewhat misshapen legs appearing almost too thin to hold up their bodies, with drooping facial skin and eyes lacking pupils. Their exact height is unknown, but their fingers alone were longer than the arms of a young Human child. Despite their physically very weak bodies, Overlords possessed some sort of magic abilities, presumably Warp-based.
Indeed, the Overlords are most likely the descendants of Humans who gave in to the corruption of the Chaos God Nurgle, with hints to their origins still circulating in myths among their slaves, even if they were officially registered as xenos. However, another hint towards their Human origin comes from the fact that they are still compatible with Humans- one Overlord was able to sire a son with a Human woman, and said son was perfectly Human, save for manifesting psychic abilities, even able to survive the Astartes conversion process. This implies that like Navigators, the biology of Overlords is a recessive trait, where breeding with baseline Humans will simply produce a baseline Human, thus requiring two Overlord parents to create an Overlord offspring.
Culture and society[]
Overlords were the absolute rulers of Barbarus, each operating as a monarch, but did not have a single unified state, as Overlords would sometimes war with each other. However, they did have ranks amongst themselves, with the most supreme Overlord known as the High Overlord. Overlords ruled with an iron fist and had Human slaves toil in various forms of labor, and utilized artificially-created golems as their soldiers and enforcers.
Appearances[]
- The Horus Heresy Book One - Betrayal by Alan Bligh (2012)
- Lantern's Light by James Swallow (2019)
- The Buried Dagger by James Swallow (2019)