Cypher

Overview

Cypher is a hooded Fallen Angel who wanders the galaxy on errands nobody understands. Of all the Fallen he is the one the Dark Angels hate and fear most. He turns up again and again at turning points in Imperial history, sometimes fighting Imperial forces and sometimes saving them.

He carries a plasma pistol and a bolt pistol, but also a sheathed sword that he never draws. The Dark Angels believe this is the blade that struck down the Lion. He has been rumoured to stir up revolts on planets and to appear at critical moments in history, but his true motives remain unknown. Cypher, the Lord of the Fallen, is a mysterious figure who has eluded the Dark Angels for almost ten thousand years. He takes his name from an ancient title of the Order of Caliban. His deeds are contradictory, and he has killed both evil and loyal targets. His goals, perhaps connected to the Emperor and the Golden Throne, remain unknown, and he plays a central role in the Fallen's story in the new era.

Origins

"Lord Cypher" was originally a title within the Order of Caliban, held by a secretly chosen keeper of the order's traditions. At least three individuals have held it. The current Cypher was one of the Fallen cast through the Warp when Caliban broke apart, and his true identity is unknown.

The name itself has a history. Accounts of Caliban's last days mention a young Lord Cypher among Luther's advisers. He was a mortal of the Order who became a Dark Angel when the Legion recruited on Caliban. Some suggested he was the last surviving Knight of Lupus, but the background argues against it. This Lord Cypher was an ally of the Watchers in the Dark and an enemy of Chaos, while the Knights of Lupus had sought to preserve Caliban's tainted Great Beasts, and Zahariel recognised him when his helm came off. Whether the wanderer of M41 is the same man is unknown. Dark Angels records list his confirmed kills as planetary governors, Chaos warlords, Chapter Masters, sorcerous covens, cult leaders and high-ranking Inquisitors.

Key events

1. Has been sighted on many battlefields across ten millennia, always slipping away before the Dark Angels can capture him.
2. Surrendered himself to Azrael and revealed the threat of the Tuchulcha engines, then helped open a rift over the remains of Caliban.
3. Helped free Guilliman's expedition from Kairos Fateweaver's trap in the Maelstrom during the Terran Crusade.
4. Is widely believed to be heading for Terra and the Golden Throne for reasons he has never explained.
5. During the Forgotten Wars on Cocytus inside the Eye of Terror, he eluded the Unforgiven and warned them they were walking into a trap; afterwards he left the Sword of Secrets and the Lion Helm for Dark Angels hunters to find in an abandoned cathedral.

Sometimes he helps the Dark Angels directly. When Supreme Grand Master Alloken fell to Warboss Zogax, a plasma bolt took off the Ork's hand as he reached for the Lion's Helm, and bolt pistol rounds went through both his eyes. Cypher has also guided the Silver Skulls against the Red Heresy, a cult he seems to have first aided and then betrayed, and on Monarch Prime a Cadian sergeant named Grunhelm described a stranger with twin pistols taking command after the Commissar fell. On the shrine world Darkmor, companies of the Angels of Vengeance, Consecrators and Guardians of the Covenant followed their Librarians' visions in search of him and found that they were the ones being hunted. Since his escape from the Palace, Shield-Captain Daryth has pursued him across the Great Rift with the frigate Sol's Arrow, his Shield Company and a cadre of Sisters of Silence.

Battles & campaigns

• The Fall of Caliban: He was among the Fallen scattered through time and space when Caliban was destroyed.
• Overfiend Tyrannex: He killed the Scourge of the Drakeburn Sector and left a Dark Angels homing beacon at the body.
• Era Indomitus: He reappeared during the Fallen's movements around Luther's escape.

Personality

Enigmatic, mocking and theatrical. He is a wanderer with a purpose only he knows, carrying a pistol and sword said to be relics of the past.

He is mysterious and theatrical, delighting in his enigmatic role. He seems to have a purpose, but whether it is redemption, vengeance or something else is unknown. His actions have helped the Imperium as often as harmed it.

Weapons & Vehicles

Plasma Gun & Plasma IncineratorRanged Weapon

A volatile directed-energy rifle that hurls bolts of miniature sun-hot plasma capable of vaporising Terminator plate and tank armour—at…

Bolter & Bolt RifleRanged Weapon

The signature .75-calibre rocket-propelled mass-reactive firearm of the Adeptus Astartes, firing self-propelled explosive bolts that de…

Power SwordMelee Weapon

A master-crafted blade sheathed in a crackling molecular disruption field that parts ceramite, bone and steel with effortless lethality…

The Black SwordRelic Weapon

The sacred two-handed obsidian greatsword of Sigismund and the Black Templars' Emperor's Champions, forged to slay the greatest champio…

Deathwing TerminatorsElites · Unit

The Dark Angels 1st Company, which fights in bone-white Terminator armour and guards the first layer of the Chapter's darkest secret.

RavenwingFast Attack · Unit

The Dark Angels 2nd Company of bikers, speeders and gunships, the Chapter's hunting arm, whose elite Black Knights run down the Fallen.

Explore all 48 entries in the Weapons & Vehicles armoury.

Connections

Characters (4)

• 
  Azrael hunter · Dark Angels

  Azrael pursues Cypher and the Fallen.

• 
  Lion El'Jonson hunted · Dark Angels

  Cypher is one of the Fallen, the traitor Dark Angels the Lion's sons have hunted for ten millennia.

• 
  Roboute Guilliman ally · Ultramarines

  Cypher and his Fallen helped free Guilliman during the Terran Crusade.

• 
  Huron Blackheart enemy · Red Corsairs

  Cypher helped Guilliman and his fellow captives escape from Huron's Blackstone Fortress.

Factions

• The Fallen primary faction

Related units (2)

Deathwing TerminatorsRavenwing

Some links are thematic parallels (marked "parallel") rather than recorded meetings. See the connections web.

Legacy

Cypher is the Fallen Angel whose goals no one can explain, a man hunted by the Dark Angels yet seen fighting for the Imperium. His role in freeing Guilliman and his elusive presence across the galaxy keep the mystery of the Fallen alive. Every Dark Angel is taught to pursue Cypher, but no one knows whether capturing him would save the Chapter or ruin it.

Appearances & sources

• Codex: Dark Angels and Codex: Chaos Space Marines (Fallen background)
• The Legacy of Caliban trilogy (Gav Thorpe)
• Era Indomitus campaign books