The Pharos is a pre-Imperial Necron device that could send messages and even teleport ships across the galaxy without touching the Warp. It matters because its destruction during the Horus Heresy accidentally lit a beacon that drew the Tyranids to the Milky Way.
What the Pharos actually does
Built from blackstone, the Pharos is a Necron array that connects two points directly through the material universe using quantum entanglement. It doesn’t route through the Warp at all, so it works even when Warp storms are raging.
It responds to empathy rather than psychic power. A user who focuses on a person or place they want to reach can find it, speak to it, or teleport there. It can also act as a navigational aid for Warp travel, though it works more like a lantern than the Astronomican’s lighthouse.
- Powered by eight C’tan shards, one of which is named Zarhulash
- Can negate the presence and effects of the Warp, like other Necron blackstone tech
- Originally built for fast communication and faster-than-light travel
The Pharos during the Horus Heresy
The only known surviving Pharos in the 41st millennium sat atop a mountain on Sotha. It was rediscovered by Barabas Dantioch, an Iron Warriors warsmith who’d sided with the loyalists, and Roboute Guilliman used it as a beacon to gather scattered loyalist forces to Imperium Secundus.
When the Night Lords attacked Sotha to claim the device, Dantioch overloaded it to stop them. The explosion silenced the Pharos for the first time, but it also sent a psychic scream into the void that the Tyranids heard. That’s the moment the Great Devourer turned its attention toward our galaxy.
- The Night Lords wanted the Pharos to locate their fleet and Konrad Curze
- Dantioch’s sacrifice destroyed the primary chamber but left secondary chambers intact
- Guilliman later used a secondary chamber to contact Sanguinius
Aftermath and the Scythes of the Emperor
Once the Heresy ended, Guilliman ordered the Pharos destroyed. Thousands of tonnes of xenos machinery were hauled out of the mountain and its tunnels were filled with millions of tonnes of ferrocrete.
He appointed Oberdeii as Warden of the Pharos and captain of the Aegida Company, charged with guarding whatever secrets remained buried there. That duty eventually passed to the Scythes of the Emperor, a successor chapter founded during the Third Founding.
| Chamber | Purpose | Status after the Heresy |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Location Alpha | Main communications and teleport hub | Destroyed by Dantioch |
| Primary Location Beta | Secondary, weaker link | Used by Guilliman, then buried |
| Primary Location Ultra | Deepest chamber, unknown function | Sealed and guarded |
Why the Pharos still matters
The Pharos is the reason the Tyranids are here. Without Dantioch’s overload, the Hive Fleets might never have found the Milky Way, so one desperate act during the Heresy set up a threat that’s still consuming worlds ten thousand years later.
It’s also a reminder that the Necrons were building galaxy-spanning infrastructure before humanity even left Terra. The device shows how advanced their technology was, and how dangerous it is when humans try to use it.
Key facts
- The Pharos is a Necron blackstone device that uses empathy, not psychic power, to connect two points in real space.
- It was powered by eight C’tan shards and could negate the Warp.
- Barabas Dantioch destroyed the primary chamber during the Battle of Sotha, accidentally alerting the Tyranids to the galaxy.
- Roboute Guilliman ordered the site buried and appointed Oberdeii as its first Warden.
- The Scythes of the Emperor chapter inherited the duty of guarding the Pharos.
FAQ
What is the Pharos in Warhammer 40k?
It’s a Necron blackstone device that could teleport, communicate, and navigate without the Warp. The last known one was on Sotha during the Horus Heresy.
How did the Pharos attract the Tyranids?
When Barabas Dantioch overloaded it to stop the Night Lords, the device sent a massive psychic signal into deep space. The Tyranids picked it up and began heading toward the galaxy.
Is the Pharos still active?
No. The primary chamber was destroyed, and Guilliman had the rest buried under ferrocrete. The Scythes of the Emperor watch over the site.