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Believing in the dark gods is pure common sense when you live in the Eye of Terror, and bargaining with them for power is also very sensible.

But I don't think as many black legionnaires really worship them the way the Word Bearers do.

The Gods don't care about scripture and temples though. The Word Bearers worship the Pantheon through the lense they understand and fully believe they're doing it right because Lorgar wrote a book that said they were right.

The Black Legion sacrificed an entire sub-sector so that Abaddon could gain the favour of Tzeentch, and destroyed two whole Astartes Chapters for Khorne. Abaddon and his Legion provide more sustenance for the Dark Gods than any other Legion, and they love him for it while also hating him for not playing the game the way they want him to play it.

Lorgar was just some chump they used to get to Horus.

Lorgar won the Heresy and the Imperium is built on his writings.

Lorgar got his butt kicked for trying to overthrow Horus and went into hiding for millenia because shadow demon Corax was hunting him.

That the Lecticio Divinitatus became the basis of the Imperial Cult doesn't make him the winner because he didn't benefit from it at all.

Lorgar wasn't right, the Imperium used his ideas as a way of mass control of the population. There isn't enlightenment alongside the advances the Crusade Imperium made, it was twisted as a way to keep the masses cowed and not having new ideas.

And I’m not sure anyone truly won the Heresy.

Horus was destroyed. The Emperor horribly mangled but seemingly still more or less alive. Crucially? However twisted. The Imperium stands. And it’s ultimately kind of doubtful Chaos has the numbers or sufficient cohesion to destroy it now.

When the Heresy reached Terra, it had Mars on Horus’ side, and the benefit of around half the Imperium’s armed forces to boot.

Yes, the old Legions still have the most powerful ships, such as the odd Gloriana Class. But they’ve fractured, and just don’t have the same supply lines as they did during the Heresy.

It’s not a “no chance, tosser” thing at all, don’t get me wrong. But the next concerted assault on Terra is highly likely to be the last. Because your biggest and best toys, like those of The Imperium are now irreplaceable, and in strictly limited numbers as it is. If you try and fail? That might very well be it.

Even if you are able to withdraw from an abortive attempt in relatively good order? How much of your forces did it cost you to get to that point? If you’ve overly denuded your forces, are you still able to bleed the wider Imperium as you have over the past 10,000 years? Because if you can’t, it will replace and rearm far quicker than you, because it’s The Imperium, and that’s what it does.

If you’re sent packing again? There’s the chance your foe will then be able to better focus on other antagonists. Like gutting the Tau homeworlds, relieving yet more pressure. And so on and so forth.

So ultimate victory, whilst far from impossible? Carries a lot of risk.

And more than ever, thanks to Cawl’s fiddling? I’ve a suspicion there are secret forces held in reserve. Even if it’s just Astartes Infantry? How well might your plans stand up if there are several thousand more Astartes held on ice than you accounted for?

Erebus won. He got everything he wanted. He is one of the most influential characters in the setting's history, satisfying his vainglory, and the gods feast on the decay of the Imperium, satisfying his zeal.

He stabbed back after back and got away with it. At this point he's just chilling.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Well, Abaddon considerably precedes our modern understanding of the Heresy, and the events and acts that lead to it.

Indeed, outside of the god aligned former Legions? The other traitor legions didn’t really get fleshed out in 2nd edition 40K, when Abaddon and Chaos as we now know it took shape.

I couldn’t tell you exactly when the fleshing out really began. Likely the Index Astartes series, but could’ve been the 3.5 Codex.

Every Legion got a touch of their modern treatment in the 2nd edition book. The Word Bearers and Lorgar are already said to be more focused on spreading the Imperial Cult and monument building, and the Emperor reprimanding them for wasting time on faith rather than fighting. It's mentioned that Lorgar falls to Chaos before Horus does, the chapters members are known for their fanatical zeal, create cult followings to the Chaos Gods on conquered planets, and post Heresy are the only traitor legion to still have Chaplains, who enforce a regimen of rituals, sacrifice, occult study, etc. "slaying the enemy for failing to follow the true path of righteousness!" Chaos Codex, pg 13. It's only half a page, but the core of their modern identity is laid out in the 2nd ed book.