In my opinion one of the greatest things about 40k lore is the sheer scale of the

unknown. From the

origins of the All-Father to the vast loss of technological and cultural
advancement over the millennia
there is no limit to what is unknown and has been forgotten. So much is unknown,
lost, or have
conflicting sources that just about anything is possible� and how the hell do you
lose not just one, but
two legions of super human warriors and their demi-god leaders?!
This however does not stop �us� from attempting to logically define what some of
the most mysterious
and alluring aspects of the universe are. One of my favorite of these is the phrase
�There are no wolves
on Fenris.� I believe, as we know it, the first to utter this phrase was Magnus,
Primarch of the Thousand
Sons and he is surely the best to answer the question of life�s meaning behind the
All-Father himself.
Yet, on the surface, his words are untrue. The Fenrisian wolf is regarded among the
most deadly in the
universe� and they are not the only breed of wolf on the planet. With such a
blatant statement there is
only one solution that I will try to unravel � The wolves on the planet Fenris are
not wolves at all. They
are something else entirely.
So if we trust that Magnus is correct in his statement we must look more critically
as to the definition of
wolf. This singular word is the point of contention within the entire phrase. And
if what looks like a wolf
and acts like a wolf is not a wolf the difference must be something that is not
visible. I believe that
Magnus gives us the biggest clue within the novel �Thousand Sons� when he reminds
us of how
advanced and bold humanity was before the Golden Throne was activated.
The planet Fenris has no value to the Imperium beyond the aspirants of the Space
Wolves. The world
pays no tithe, sponsors no resources, and holds no �real� strategic value. During
humanity�s expansion,
prior to the endless war, the death world of Fenris would have been looked upon as
a challenge to be
conquered rather than a place void of value to the Imperium.
Surviving the hellish world of Fenris, I think, would have been an ultimate test of
human persistence.
The ever changing landscape each year offering no permanent station would be a
challenge in and of
itself, but the planets predators would take the danger to an entirely different
level. Noting the lack of
existence of snow trolls, ice wyrms, and the other unique deadly creatures to
Fenris not present on
Terra means prior to human arrival the planet was likely already claimed. With such
danger humanity
could not survive there without help.
This is where science stepped in. I see a group of humans having been genetically
modified and
supplanted on the planet with the only purpose to see if they could survive.
Keeping with our theme of
wolves I will assume the engineers used some wolf genome to enhance the settlers�
innate abilities. This
makes sense given what we know. Wolves are extremely adaptable both physically and
behaviorally.
Given the other natural threats of the world the ferocity would have been another
added bonus as well.
Not to mention that as a science experiment, if it failed, they could just try
again� and maybe after
multiple attempts this is the test that did finally pass.
Since science is not a perfect process and even Astartes gene-seed has its flaws it
is likely that these
engineers made mistakes. It is possible that in the genetic enhancement of the
first Fenrisians there

were mistakes that were believed to be non-impacting or went unnoticed entirely.

These mistakes could
have evolved over time and manifested in drastic ways. I like to think that after
the engineers reached
this stage in their experiment they believed they had been successful and left the
planet to itself with
the plan of returning to judge the results, which of course is when other pressing
concerns arose and
eventually the warp storms and galactic war that cut off the planet entirely.
Without oversight the new locals lived in destructive harmony with their planet.
And while they
struggled every day for survival within themselves their bodies battled as well.
The changes wrought by
the engineers were at odds with the natural human genome attempting to find their
balance. Those
individuals that were able to keep the enhancements under control spawned the
Fenrisians we know
today. Those that were unable mutated into something else.
With some twisted effect between the energies of the warp storms, mutations in
their new genetics,
and even the effects of xenos (such as the Tyranid) changed the unfortunate souls
more and more until
they were reduced to crawling on four legs and displaying more and more of their
new supplanted
canine genome. Inside their minds they were still partially human, but without a
scientific mind to
examine them they were reduced to wolves. They retreated to the caves of Asaheim
beginning to accept
their new existence. Thus the Fenrisian Wolf was born.
Over time they continued their mutation changing more and more to better conquer
their new home;
growing larger, stronger, and more cunning to match the more deadly species of the
planet such as the
drake and even the dropelgranger. This was the birth of many other species of wolf
on Fenris. From the
ones we know, such as the Blackmane and Thunderwolf, to even the ones that we
don�t, the new
species spread across the planet.
I also feel compelled to point out that these changes would have needed to happen
prior to the
Primarch�s arrival on Fenris. The first to find him was a female Thunderwolf and so
as I hear often, the
Thunderwolves are not mutated Astartes. Given the Astartes project was not even
started until the
Primarchs were sent across the galaxy the wolves would have already needed to
exist.
So from the time that humanity first began its expansion into the galaxy, and
thankfully Fenris is
relatively close so it likely would have been �settled� earlier on, to the point
the Primarchs were stolen
by the Chaos gods all of these changes would have taken place. Given the
manipulation of the genes by
man, xenos, and the warp (and this being a Science Fiction universe!) I deem this
entirely possible.