We’ve got a spicy one today, there seems to be some rumors out there saying that the Silent King made the Tyranids in 40k. Oh my…
Alright, so. There have been some rumors making some serious waves across the web that the Silent King is the mastermind behind making the Tyranids. Well, if this is true, then GW left some critical plot holes in their story that will take years of filling and retconning to recover from.
With that said, the Silent King has definitely made something according to a recent White Dwarf article. Let’s break it all down CSI Robbie B style!
Wait Are You Saying The Silent King Made The Tyranids?
Let’s tackle the rumor first. So where did the rumor saying the Silent King made the Necrons come from?
This was taken somewhat out of context in White Dwarf 450, which, if you can believe it, had Inquisitor Draxus involved in the story. She met with some kind of Xenos (most likely the Shadowseer from the first Psychic Awakening Video) that gave her a heads up about lets say a lord…
Here’s the full story for your reading enjoyment from January’s White Dwarf 450:
This excerpt taken entirely from context seems to have spread like wildfire that the Silent King created the Tyranids. Which honestly, when you ONLY look at that small snippet and don’t know anything about the lore, you could say that Tyranids would fit the bill 100%
But looking flipping back just one page in that same White Dwarf, and considering the background information of the characters involved, there may be another explanation.
So while Szarekh seems to have respected and noted the Tyranids voracious appetite, he still considers them a threat to the biomass he needs for the apotheosis of the Necrons.
Why The Silent King Didn’t Make the Tyranids
A pretty big pillar in the 40k lore dates back to the origins of the Tyranids. Who made them and why? There are a bunch of sources out there, but it’s pretty much assumed (not confirmed) that the Old Ones made the Tyranids to act as a delete button for the other races in the universe (Necrons, Orks, etc.) as well as acting as a DNA bank if they needed to create something again.
But regardless if the Old Ones made the Tyranids or not, if the Nids were around back while Necrons were roaming the planets, then why would the Silent King make them to kill the very thing he needs: biomass.
Next, we know that the Necrons teamed up with Blood Angels in the past to help get the Tyranids off their back. Way back in the day, Dante and the Silent Kind actually had a truce of sorts during the Gehenna campaign so that they could kill off the bugs that showed up trying to crash the party.
Again, these Tyranids were ready to eat Blood Angels and the Necrons- So why would the Silent King make something that could even threaten him?
He’s Trying To Stop The Nids From Eating His People
On top of these two bits of lore, it is interesting to note that the Silent King returned at the same time a Tyranid Hive Fleet was spotted. Although he was bent on stopping the Tyranids and protecting his kingdom:
However, in the late 41st Millennium, the Necrons began their Great Awakening and Szarekh returned to the galaxy after discovering the approaching Tyranid Hive Fleets during his sojourn in the intergalactic void.
The Silent King recognised them as a major threat to his people’s chances of reconquering the galaxy and regaining their organic forms. It was Szarekh’s dream that the Necrons might find an organic species whose bodies would prove to be suitable vessels for Necron minds, thus finally ending the curse of biotransference.
However, if the Tyranids were allowed to consume all life in the Milky Way Galaxy, there would be no species left to serve as Necron vessels, and so the Silent King now travels across the galaxy, seeking to awaken and unite his people against this terrible extragalactic foe.
But if that is true, then what does he plan on unleashing on “kingdom after kingdom” as Inquisitor Draxus was told above?
So What Did the Silent King Make?
The key point of the story in the White Dwarf is that the Silent King DID make something. So what’s that “something” that fits the bill better than the Tyranids?
First, we have to know the backstory of the Silent King. He had some pretty big feels badsies when he turned 99% of his kingdom into mindless robots. Because of what he did, he went on a penance voyage sailing into the voids of space. He traveled the vastness of space where nobody would find him.
Remember back when the Necrons killed the C’tan Llandu’gor the Flayer? This brought about the disease that corrupts Necrons and drives them into insanity, wanting to kill anything that breathes. This description from the 40k fandom matches pretty well with the “horrors of infinite hunger” description from the White Dwarf above.
Flayed Ones are twisted and ghoulish Necron terrors afflicted by an ancient infection that breeds a hunger for organic flesh in them.
Flayed Ones kill in order to sate an unnatural hunger for flesh and blood; they kill so that they might feast.
Did the Silent King Perfect The “Disease”?
One key attribute about the Flayed Ones is that they teleport in and out of existence. Nobody really knows where they go other than some sort of pocket dimension (similar to Dark Eldar Mandrakes). On top of that, we know that the Flayer disease can be spread to other Necrons.
So it’s even possible that this is where the Silent King disappeared to their pocket dimension and perhaps, just perhaps addressed the disease and made some kind of new Flayed One-type of warrior that we haven’t seen yet.
Why would they even answer the door if Szarekh cam knocking you ask? It turns out the Silent King and the Flayed Ones are homies already!
Legendary even before the War in Heaven for their savagery and malice, the Maynarkh Dynasty were bloody, ruthless agents of the Silent King. So it is said that, on the order of the Silent King, their hands were the ones to utterly annihilate the C’tan called Llandu’gor the Flayer.
Then he showed his new (or old) creations the shining light of the world as he returned back to the galaxy proper. Knowing what we know about these new “lesser races” of humans etc- it’s possible that these kingdoms that are being destroyed are not ones of the biomass he craves, but kingdoms in the old sense… kingdoms of Necrons who refuse to bend knee to their king.
A battle may be brewing, and ultimately, we’re not sure what the Silent King created or if it will have anything to do with the Flayed Ones at the end of the day.
What we do know is that there are rumors of Flayed Ones getting new kits, and after looking at so many angles throughout the lore, it’s probably safe to say that the Silent King Szarekh is NOT behind the Tyranids’ creation.
What do you think this creation is that the Silent King Szarekh is behind- was it the Tyranids, or something to do with the Flayed Ones?
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About the Author: Rob Baer
