TRAITOR PRIMARCHS – Ruinous Monarchs | Warhammer 40k Lore

The Primarchs of His Imperium would be crafted to  shepherd Humanity into a new era of prosperity.  Warlords and Generals all, though each Primarch  of the Imperium would lead armies of purging   flame during the Great Crusade as noble  leaders many would twist the Imperium’s  

Destiny for their own terrible designs. For with the corruption of nine of the   Emperor’s once stalwart sons, the galaxy would  hurtle into the deepest depths of treachery,   bloodshed and violence to which no soul  within would ever escape it’s fallout. 

For today we shall Elucidate the sons of  the Emperor who would betray every virtue   of what it is to be Human and be forever  tainted by Heresy: the Traitor Primarchs.  The Primarchs of His Imperium were each crafted  to exemplify the Emperor’s and by extension  

Humanity’s greatest virtues and traits. Statesmen, Generals and Orators, these   individuals would unite the disparate fragments  of Humanity by using their unique god-like power.  Yet many of the Primarchs would fall from  grace, with few more unfortunate than that of   one of the most promising of His children. The Primarch of the 3rd Legion: Fulgrim. 

With the scattering of the Primarchs  prior to the dawn of the Great Crusade,   the gestation pod of the  Primarch of the 3rd Legion   would land on the mining world of Chemos. A bleak and pitiless world surrounded by   a nebula of thick dust and soot, Chemos  would be a harsh taskmaster of it’s people. 

Settled during the Dark Age of Technology, the  planet would be isolated by Warp Storms from   the wider civilisations across the stars. Illuminated in perpetual twilight, Chemos’   citizenry would labour day and night without pause  to create enough resources for their survival.  Thick with harmful vapours, the  fortress-factories of the world would  

Demand ceaseless toil from it’s people should  they all wish to prevent a global starvation.  With trade almost impossible between neighbouring  planets, the Chemosian would accept their dour   fate of doomed rationing and endless hard labour. Yet with the arrival of the Primarch to the planet  

A renewal of it’s fortunes would commence. Discovering the beautiful child,   the policing force known as the Caretakes  would beg Chemos’ leaders of Callax:   The Executives to spare the child’s life. Orphans of Chemos were routinely culled to   prevent further strain on the planet’s  dwindling resources yet fortunately for  

The young Primarch the Executives would allow  a member of the Caretakes to raise the child.  Naming the boy Fulgrim, after the Chemosian  legend it would not be long before the young   Primarch would be tasked to labour  within the mines of his new homeworld. 

Maturing quickly, Fulgrim would be sent to  work within the labour mines of the planet.  Quickly understanding the faltering and  obsolete equipment of the factory, Fulgrim   would modify and improve upon their designs. Dramatically increasing the machines yield,  

It would not take long for the executives of  the factory to take notice of the genius child   diligently improving the lot of his people. For 15 years Fulgrim would tinker with the   machinery and be promoted to the rank of an  Executive of the fortress factory of Callax. 

Observing the plight of the  factory workers in a new light,   Fulgrim would train and organise engineers to  travel with him to each neighbouring factory.  Under his guidance, the engineer would  repair and improve the factories machinery.  Salvaging long dormant machines from the Age of   Strife the mining production of the  planet would exponentially improve. 

Allowing for free time to construct new machines  to further improve efficiency to the factories,   Fulgrim would overhaul the entire planet’s  infrastructure and living standards.  Creating surpluses and reducing pollution,  Chemos’ trade routes would begin to   burgeon and within a few years Fulgrim has  ascended to become the ruler of the planet. 

The only Primarch to rule his  homeworld with peaceful means,   Fulgrim would prove to be a compassionate, kind  and dependable boon to the people of Chemos.  Yet with the arrival of the  Emperor of Mankind to the planet,   Fulgrim would resign his mantle of rulership. Falling to his knees once in audience of the  

Master of Mankind, Fulgrim would pledge himself  and his homeworld in service to the Imperium.  Swearing to serve the needs of His  Imperium with all his heart, Fulgrim   would accompany his father to Holy Terra. Learning of the slow decline of the 3rd   Legion in his absence Fulgrim would  address his remaining 200 Astartes. 

So inspiring was his speech, the Emperor would  give the title of ‘Emperor’s Children’ to the   3rd Legion and gift them the right to bear  his own Imperial Aquila on their armour.  Wearing the double-headed eagle with pride,  the Emperor’s Children now under the command  

Of Fulgrim would venture forth to prove  their worth in the eyes of the Imperium…  Burdened with the responsibility to prove  themselves worthy of the Emperor’s favour,   Fulgrim and his Legion would strive  to become paragons of Humanity.  Seeking perfection in not only battle  but also culture, the Emperor’s Children  

Would champion artistry and aesthetic  splendour in their dealing as a Legion.  Embodying the traits of beauty, poise and elegance   Fulgrim would demand a high standard  of regal bearing within his Legion.  Strengthening their resolve and bolstering  their dwindled numbers, the Emperor’s Children   would serve as aristocratic negotiators and  public embodiments of the Imperium’s will. 

Mentored closely by the Primarch of the Luna  Wolves: Horus Lupercal, the Emperor’s foremost   seanior general would teach Fulgrim and his  slowly rebuilding Legion on the arts of war.  With his teachings complete and the  3rd Legion now at fighting strength,   Fulgrim would anxiously embark to  bring glory to his Emperor’s Children. 

Forming an unlikely yet cherished friendship  with the Primarch of the 10th Legion:   Ferrus Manus during the Great Crusade, the  Emperor’s most starkly contrasting brothers   would work together on many campaigns  to bring compliance to the galaxy.  Both masters of craftsmanship, alchemy and  scientific genius the Primarchs would further  

Strengthen their bond with a contest of skill. Crafting weapons fit for a god of war, the   Phoenician and his affectionately named ‘Gorgon’  would create weapons of legendary splendour.  Ferrus Manus would craft the sword known  as Fireblade, wreathed in flame alike to   the Emperor; whilst Fulgrim would construct  Forgebreaker, a Warhammer capable of sundering  

Mountains in hands strong enough to wield it. Deferring each other as the winner of the contest,   as a sign of respect the two Primarchs would  gift one-another their mastercrafted weapons.  Carrying them into battle, legends would  be sung of the two like-minded Brothers  

Charging into battle with their weapons  aloft and Legions at their vanguard.  Yet unfortunately such a bond would be tested and  fractured with the Betrayal of the Imperium by the   Primarch of the 16th Legion: Horus Lupercal… As the Warmaster of the Imperium began his slow  

Descend into the thrall of Chaos, Fulgrim  would begin his own corrupting pilgrimage.  Leading the 28th Expeditionary Fleet  during the conquest of the Laeran species,   Fulgrim would begin to be enticed by  the influence of the Ruinous Powers.  Known to the Imperium as the planet:  Twenty-Eight-Three, the Laer xenos would guard  

The resource-rich planet from Imperial advances. Dispatching his Astartes, Fulgrim would descend   upon the planet and begin the slow month-long  extermination of the serpentine Laeran Xenos.  Discovering a strange temple within  the coral nexus of the ocean planet,   Fulgrim would investigate the structure. Unknowingly stepping in to a temple devoted  

To the Chaos entity known as Slaanesh,  Fulgrim would find within the heart of   the Temple a peculiar artefact. The Daemonblade known as the   Blade of the Laer would call to Fulgrim. Whispering subtle treacheries into Fulgrim’s   very soul, the Primarch of the Emperor’s  Children would claim the blade as his own. 

Relegating Fireblade, his most prized symbol  of his most cherished Brother and favouring the   Laer Blade in battle, the influence of the Greater  Daemon within the sword would grow exponentially.  Wrongly interpreting the intrusive thoughts  of the Daemon as his own subconscious,  

Fulgrim’s descent into madness would be assured. With Horus Lupercal’s corruption by the Ruinous   Powers complete, the Warmaster of Chaos would call   to his likewise damned brother to  join his betrayal of the Imperium.  Heeding the call of his brother and  once-mentor, Fulgrim would begin  

His ever worsening descent into madness  with the Persecution of the Diasporex…  The Iron Hands, led by their Primarch:  Ferrus Manus would be tasked with achieving   compliance with the Human elements of the  Xenos-Human coalition known as the Diasporex.  With the Diasporex declining the  invitation to join the Imperium,  

The Iron Tenth would begin the  purge of their civilisation.  Competent in naval warfare, the Diasporex  would prove a difficult foe to destroy.  Calling to his most stalwart allies, Ferrus  would petition aid from Fulgrim and the 3rd   Legion to add their blades to the fight. Together, the Iron Hands and Emperor’s  

Children would crush the Diasporex  but not without Fulgrim’s ego being   damaged due to his own reckless actions. The malevolent influence of the Laer Blade   would feed Fulgrim’s resentment of his Brother’s  selfless and heroic actions to aid his forces. 

With the Diasporex slain, Fulgrim would travel  to the ancient Eldar Craftworld of Uthwe and be   confronted by the Asurvani Farseer: Eldrad Uthwe. Warning Fulgrim of the Warmaster’s impending   betrayal, Fulgrim would with the influence of  the Laer Blade unleash his outrage at the Eldar’s  

Accusations of his cherished Brother. With the aid of his Pheonix Guard,   Fulgrim would slaughter Eldrad’s Eldar  retinue and cause the Farseer to retreat.  Ordering his fleet to virus-bomb several Aeldari  worlds, Fulgrim’s rage would not be sated.  Seeking answers from Horus in-person, Fulgrim  would despite his objection to Eldrad’s  

Assertions succumb to the charisma and charm of  the Warmaster and join in his plot for rebellion.  His respect for his second closest brother  enough to turn his back on the Emperor.  Promised true perfection should  he submit to the powers of Chaos,   Fulgrim would meet once more  with his most adored brother:  

Ferrus Manus in an attempt to sway the  Iron Tenth to join the Traitor cause…  Upon the world of Callinedes IV,  the Iron Hands wrestled control   of the planet from the Ork menace. Meeting with Ferrus Manus, Fulgrim   would naively declare his allegiance  to the plot to destroy the Imperium. 

Enraged, the stalwart hero of Humanity:  Ferrus Manus would attack Fulgrim.  His duty to the Imperium and loyalty  to the Emperor as unshakeable as Iron,   Ferrus would destroy his once bond of kinship:  Fireblade from Fulgrim’s grasp with his own hands.  With the sword’s destruction, Ferrus would be  incapacitated with Fulgrim taking his own craft:  

Forgebreaker in his hands. Unable to slay his Brother,   Fulgrim would settle for slaughtering  the Gorgon’s Morlock Honour Guard.  The Emperor’s Children would submit to the  thrall of the being known as Slaanesh and   with their mutated bodies and souls reinforce the  Warmaster’s staging ground of the Istvaan system. 

With Horus’ betrayal laid bare for all to see,   the Emperor would dispatch his remaining  loyal sons to bring the Traitors to justice.  Spoiling for revenge, Ferrus Manus  would lead the charge to Istvaan 5.  Alongside the Salamanders and Raven Guard Legions,  the Loyalists would face the Traitors in battle. 

Against the World Eaters, Death Guard,  Sons of Horus and their now most hated foe:   the Emperor’s Children, the Iron Hands would  seek to destroy the Phoenician and his ilk.  Yet as the second wave of  reinforcements to the battle arrived,   the Legions sent to purge the Traitors  to the throne would instead join them. 

The Iron Warriors, Night Lords, Word  Bearers and Alpha Legion would turn   on the Loyalists and outnumber their  forces with overwhelming firepower.  Ferrus Manus betrayed once more would face  his once beloved Brother: Fulgrim in battle.  Armed with the reforged Fireblade Ferrus  Manus would make a desperate final act  

To avenge his Honour Guard, lost friendship  and the memory of his once virtuous brother.  Upon the Urgall Depression, Fulgrim and Ferrus  would clash yet armed with the Daemonically imbued   Daemonblade, Fulgrim would cleave Ferrus’ head  from his body with a slice of the Laer Blade. 

As if awakening from a deep slumber,  Fulgrim would look upon his slain   Brother and grieve at his heinous actions. Stricken with grief, Fulgrim would submit   to the whispers of the Laer Blade which  promised to absolve him from his sorrows.  Freed from it’s prison, the Greater  Daemon would possess Fulgrim’s  

Body and imprison the Phoenician’s soul… Now replaced by the Daemon of the Laer Blade,   ‘Fulgrim’ would exponentially hasten the  corruption of the Emperor’s Children.  Revealing itself to the Warmaster, Horus and  the Daemon would reach an understanding that it  

Shall remain in control of the Phoenician’s body  should it continue to aid the Traitor war effort.  Gifting the severed head of the first  Primarch to fall during the Heresy:   Ferrus Manus, the Daemonically possessed Fulgrim  would join the remaining 7 Primarchs of the   Traitor cause at the conclave aboard  Horus’ Flagship: The Vengeful Spirit. 

Lorgar Aurelian: Primarch of the  Word Bearers Legion would observe   the presence within Fulgrim and attempt  to exorcise it from the Phoenician’s body.  Failing to dominate the being, Lorgar would  weaken the being’s hold on it’s prey yet   withdraw from the conclave unsuccessful  in his attempt to free his Brother. 

Upon the Emperor’s Children Flagship: Pride of  the Emperor, the senior members of the 3rd Legion   would continue efforts to exorcise their Primarch. Under the supervision of the Chief Apothecary:   Fabius Bile, Captains Lucius, Julias Kaesoron and  Marius Vairosean would begin their ministrations.  Freeing their gene-father  from the Daemon’s clutches,  

Fulgrim would reveal himself to be biding his  time and understanding the creature from within.  Spurred to take the Daemon  unawares, Fulgrim would dominate   the entity and resume control of his body. Now armed with an intimate understanding of   the foul inner-working of the daemonology, Fulgrim  would petition aid from the 4th Legion Primarch:  

Perturabo to accompany him on a journey  to explore his newfound understanding.  A journey to the Crone World of Hydra Cordatus… Alongside the Iron Warriors, the Emperor’s   Children would venture into  the heart of the Eye of Terror.  Promising the Lord of Iron a wondrous power  of immense value within the Ocularis Terribus,  

Fulgrim would not divulge the true  intention behind their voyage.  Despite enduring an ambush perpetrated by  the Shattered Legion Astartes of the vessel:   Sisypheum, the Primarchs would continue  their traversal to the Crone World.  Upon the world of Iydris Fulgrim would discover  tomb of the so-called ‘Angel Exterminatus’  

Within the Sepulchre of Isha’s Doom. The distilled essence of the countless   perished souls rent from the birth of She  Who Thirsts, the orb of jade light would   shine ablaze alike to a miniature sun. Draining strength from his Brother:   Perturabo, Fulgrim would harvest the  power of the hollow world and the  

Lord of Iron to achieve his Apotheosis. Reborn as a Daemon Prince of Slaanesh,   Fulgrim’s skin would mutate into  a four-armed, serpentine creature.  Departing from the planet  with his Emperor’s Children,   Fulgrim’s ascension would be bought at the cost  of the ever-dwindling loyalty of his Brothers. 

Further influencing his Legion to become ever  more debased and mutated, Fulgrim would wage   war for the remainder of the Horus Heresy  as a distracted, stimuli-obsessed monster.  For even during the final battle  of the war: The Siege of Terra,  

Fulgrim and his Legion would busy themselves not  with direction, discipline or focus; but with the   torture and mutilation of the civilian populace. The Traitor War effort would fail, in part due to   the 3rd Legion’s wanton indulgencies  and force Fulgrim and the Emperor’s  

Children to retreat into the Eye of Terror. Abusing and depleting their captured slaves,   the Emperor’s Children would seek  new prey to enact their perversions….  Fulgrim would lead his fragmented and wayward sons  to ever more heretical pursuits of indulgences.  The Traitors would turn one-another, as  all duplicitous betrayers unbound from  

Honour and discipline are want to do. With the Legion Wars incurring a heavy   toll on ever Traitor Legion the Emperor’s  Children would not be spared such losses.  Devolving into small warbands, Fulgrim’s  lack of leadership or grand objective   would divide his once proud Legion. For whilst the 3rd Legion may be divided  

And without direction, the Daemon Primarch’s  influence still brings ruination to the galaxy.  Confronted by the Primarch of the Ultramarines:  Roboute Guilliman during the Scouring of the   Traitors following their failed coup,  Fulgrim would prove to be a dangerous foe.  During 121.M31, the 13th Legion would  seek retribution from the Emperor’s  

Children at the Battle of Thessala. Duelling the Ultrmarines Primarch in   single-combat, Fulgrim would prove to be a  deadly opponent and with his Chaos-infused   form slice the throat of Roboute  Guilliman with a poison infused blade.  Damning Guilliman to a 10,000 year stasis-fuelled  slumber within Macragge’s Temple of Correction,  

The Phoenician’s actions would deal the Imperium  a fatal blow which would be felt for Millennia.  Yet with the return of the  Avenging Son during 999.M41,   Roboute Guilliman’s resurgent wrath  demands vengeance against the Phoenician.  And despite his long seclusion within  the Eye of Terror, rumour persist that  

The chosen Daemon Primarch of Slaanesh  once more untied his Legion for war.  His never-ending quest for his debased  pleasures once more unleashed upon the galaxy…  Among the Primarchs of His Imperium, pride  would be the downfall of many of their legacies. 

Imbued with power alike to gods, each Primarch  would be capable of conquering, sundering and   building empires with their innate talents. Yet with such power it is easy to fall to the   temptations of ego, bitterness  and self-aggrandisement.  For today, we shall Elucidate  a Primarch cursed with great  

Knowledge and an endless hunger to prove his  intelligence, capabilities and superiority.  The Lord of Iron of the 4th Legion: Perturabo.  With the scattering of the Primarchs  across the disparate stars of the Galaxy,   the young Primarch of the 4th Legion  would be spirited to the world of Olympia. 

A civilised world abounding with culture,  art and technologies the planet would   despite it’s trapping be laced with  political deception and duplicity.  The young Primarch had been sighted  wandering the outskirts of the   settlements and outcast clusters of the planet. Gifted with inhuman strength and an artisan  

Craftsmanship, the Primarch had offered his skills  to the peoples of Olympia as a means of trade.  Nomadic in his dealings, the Primarch  would evade the notice of the courts   of Olympia yet eventually be discovered  by the servants of the Tyrant of Lochos. 

Found climbing the walls of the City  of Lochos, the guards would bring the   boy before Lochos’ ruler: Dammekos. Referring to himself as Perturabo,   the child had an innate understanding of his  own being and the mechanisms of technology.  Ordered by Dammekos to prove his martial  and artisanal aptitude, Perturabo would  

Best any warrior brought to fight him  and solve any puzzle or intellectual   quandary devised by Lochos’ most capable scholars.  Intrigued with the boy’s unparalleled skills,  Dammekos would offer Perturabo a bargain.  Serve him as a member of his court as a loyal  adopted son and he would be given protection,  

Patronage and free access to Lochos’  scholarships and military training.  Accepting the Tyrant’s offer, Perturabo would  prove to be a diligent prodigy of many talents.  Perturabo would consume information, lore  and study with a ravenous hunger and swiftly   become the foremost accomplished  and intelligent being of Olympia. 

Though accounts of some Imperial Scholars  refer to the child’s demeanour as a devious   and antisocial individual, the accomplishments of  the lost sons of the Emperor are beyond question…  Slow to trust anyone, Perturabo would deny  the affections of his adoptive father.  Plagued with ennui and the  ever-disturbing leer of the  

Maelstrom within view of the planet’s  surface, Perturabo would be the only   soul of Olympia capable of seeing the  looming threat from Olympia’s surface.  Unable to shrug the sensation of ceaseless  judgement born the Maelstroms’ gaze,   the scrutiny of the stars would further mould  the young Primarch into a cold, brooding figure. 

Naming the great tear in realspace as ‘The Eye  of Terror’, the aloof Primarch would be unaware   of the future portents of the malevolent  forces deep within it’s mercurial heart.  Mastering the arts of Siege Warfare influenced in  part by his homeworld’s mountainous landscapes,   the warring city-states of Olympia would  give ample opportunity for Perturabo  

To test his stratagems of war. Beset on all sides by treachery   and vendettas, Lochos would be locked in  an endless game of power and deception.  Quickly rising through the ranks of Locho’s  military, Perturabo would draft mercenaries   and war artisans into his armies ranks. His victories unchallenged, it would not  

Be long before Perturabo’s reputations would  cause soldiers of fortune to flock to his banner.  Inventing deadly contraptions of war and  outfitting his armies with the finest weapons   and armour, Perturabo’s innovations  would be revolutionary to his people.  Mastering astronomy, medicinal breakthroughs,  automation, production and architecture;  

It would not be long before Perturabo would  become infamous in regard to his enemies…  Dubbed ‘The Hammer of Olympia’ due to  his forces overwhelming firepower and   destructive strength, the Warlord of  Lochos would soon dominate the planet. 

Culling the duplicitous betrayer within the court  of Lochos, the now ‘Lord of Iron’ would if not for   his aloof nature be poised to rule Olympia. Hardened by the planet’s insidious and   treacherous nature, Perturabo would grow  to become a merciless, indomitable force;   Perturabo’s Iron Will would encompass  the Kaveathos heraldry of his banner. 

A Steel Executioner’s Mask would  prove to be an omen for any whom   would choose to stand in defiance of  it’s promise of bloodshed and punishment.  Though capable of usurping his  adoptive father, Perturabo would   honour the Tyrant of Lochos’ bargain. With no cause to slay Dammekos,  

The Tyrant of Lochos would seemingly come  to rule Olympia as it’s unopposed ruler.  Yet with the arrival of the Master of Mankind  to the planet, such ambitions would be dashed.  Meeting with Perturabo, the Emperor  would observe his gene-son to be a   capable and loyal subject of his homeworld. Acknowledging Perturabo’s disposition to reject  

The mantle of rulership, the Emperor  would be quick to install the Lord of   Iron as a General of the Great Crusade. Brought to Holy Terra to sate his need   for knowledge, Perturabo would  study the history of Humanity.  Alongside his Scholarly Brother; Magnus the  Red, the Lord of Iron would spent months  

Together reading of the past glories, secrets  and hard-won mysteries of the Age of Strife.  The philosophies of Humanity’s ancient history  would be rich insight for the two Primarchs and   together they would form a bond of respect for  their shared love of learning and discovery. 

Though difficult to trust, once the Lord of  Iron’s friendship was achieved it would become   unbreakable, or at least such would seem to be  the case for the promising upstart Primarch.  Yet with time, Perturabo’s heart would  continue to harden with his involvement  

In the Great Crusade to restore Humanity… Devoting himself to the burgeoning Imperium,   Perturabo would be given command of his Legion,  newly named in his image as: The Iron Warriors.  Given rulership of Olympia and drafting  recruits from it’s populace to bolster his   Legion, Perturabo would in all but  title depose the Tyrant of Lochos. 

The seed of Anti-Imperial unrest would be planted,   to which Dammekos would tend to  it’s slow yet ceaseless momentum.  Accompanying the Emperor to observe the  standard to which wars must be waged, Perturabo   would mould his Legion with an iron fist. Finding his Legion’s deeds to be lacking  

In comparison to their brother-Legions  Perturabo would enact a harsh reprisal.  Ordering his Legion into squads of 10, each  member of the Iron Warriors would draw lots.  One member of each squad would draw  a mark of death, their execution to   be conducted by the remaining 9 members  of their squad with their bare hands. 

Despite the protestation of the Imperial  Court and the Ultramarines Primarch:   Roboute Gulliman, the Emperor would not  reprimand Perturabo for his actions.  Allowing for the Lord of Iron to dictate his  Legion’s future by methods he deemed fit,   the Emperor’s sanction of such  drastic measures would be final. 

Perurabo would demand total obedience from  his men and give no mercy for failure.  A living machine of war, the Iron Warriors would  become a mirthless, brutal and yet efficient army.  Bringing scores of worlds into compliance, their  trials and punishments would be relentless.  Experimenting methods to harness  brutal efficiency from his Legion,  

Perturabo would not allow for  any weaknesses in his ranks.  Gaining a reputation as a Legion capable of  breaching any fortress no matter it’s scale   or splendour, the Iron Warriors under the command  of their reunited Primarch would prove to be among  

The most deadly of the Legionnes Astartes. A reputation which would prove crucial to   the ambitions of the soon-to-be corrupted  Warmaster of the Imperium: Horus Lupercal…  With the fall of the Primarch of the 16th  Legion: Horus Lupercal to the thrall of Chaos,   his opening gambit of the civil war for  Humanity would require reinforcements. 

Slaughtering the loyalist forces within the  Legions of the Emperor’s Children, World Eaters,   Death Guard and his own Legion: the Sons of  Horus; The Warmaster would require allies in   order to survive the reprisal of the Emperor. Observing the resentment in his Brother  

Caused by the Master of Mankind’s continual  mistreatment of the Lord of Iron and his men,   the Warmaster would concoct an additional  barb to sweeten his offer of betrayal.  The Tyrant of Lochos: Dammekos had died and  left a power-vacuum on the world of Olympia. 

Political uprising and violence would erupt across  the Lord of Iron’s homeworld and require his   intervention to stem the tide of bloodshed. Yet with the Hammer of Olympia’s arrival to   his home-system, the spectre of his  namesake’s legacy would loom large.  Already harried by their recent  conflict with the Hrud Xenos,  

The Iron Warriors would return to a world of  spite and ungrateful resentment of their masters.  Purging the cities of Olympia, Perturabo and the   Iron Warriors would massacre 5 million  souls in the attempt to restore order.  Only once the skies darkened with the smoke  wrought by the piles of charred bodies and  

Burning cityscapes did the Lord of  Iron achieve a moment of clarity.  The Iron Warriors were not saviours,  nor paragons of the Imperium’s virtue,   but cold-hearted genocidal killers. Slaying his own step-sister:   Calliphone, Perturabo would resign his fate to  never be redeemed by the light of the Emperor. 

Joining the Traitor’s to the Throne in their  quest to destroy the Imperium, the Iron   Warriors would make their first open display  of intent known upon the world of Istvaan 5…  Informed of the betrayal of the Warmaster,  the Master of Mankind would dispatch 7  

Legions to bring the Traitors to justice. Lead by the first wave of the Salamanders,   Raven Guard and Iron Hands commanded by  Primarch of the Iron Tenth: Ferrus Manus;   the remaining four Legions would join the  second assault wave to crush the Traitors.  Yet unknown to the Loyalists, the  reinforcements of the Night Lords,  

Word Bearers, Alpha Legion and Iron Warriors  had pledged their service to the Warmaster.  Upon the scarred vistas of Istvaan 5, the  Iron Warriors would bear their Bolters,   armaments and siegecraft to bear. Forever known thereafter as ‘The   Betrayers of Istvaan’, the Iron Warriors  would gun-down their loyalist kin during  

The now infamous Dropsite Massacre. Their deeds enabling the death of Primarchs:   Ferrus Manus, Vulkan and retreat of Corvus  Corax, the 3 Loyalist Legions would be shattered;   their surviving fragments  scattered to the corners of galaxy.  Gifted the Warhammer: Forgebreaker by the  Warmaster, the once personal weapon carried  

Into battle by the Iron Hands Primarch: Ferrus  Manus would be a worthy prize for the Hammer of   Olympia’s involvement in the massacre. Yet such a crippling blow would not   be enough for the Lord of Iron. Seeking to once more humble the  

Loyalist of the Imperium, Perturabo would seek to  destroy his most hated rivals: the Imperial Fists.  Experts alike to the Iron Warriors  in fortification and siege-craft,   Perturabo would harbour a deep resentment for  the favour the Emperor would show to the 7th   Legion and their Primarch: Rogal Dorn. Cleansing the planet of Hydra Cordatus  

Garrisoned by the Imperial Fists, Perturabo’s  hunger for vengeance would not be satisfied.  Tasked by the Warmaster to ambush the 7th Legion’s  Retribution Fleet Perturabo would personally   engage the Imperial Fists within the Phaal System. Crippling the Retribution Fleet but repelled by  

The Fleet Commander Captain Alexis Polux, the  Lord of Iron would deal a devastating blow   to a third of the 7th Legion’s combined might. His thirst for battle temporarily quenched,   Perturabo would be petitioned by  the Emperor’s Children Primarch:  

Fulgrim to accompany him to acquire an artefact of  great power hidden deep within the Eye of Terror…  Perturabo’s life had been influenced greatly  by the malevolent glare of the Eye of Terror   from the days he first walked upon Olympia. Despite his reservations at his Brother’s  

Flagrant two-faced and insidious nature,  the Lord of Iron would not deny the   chance to discover the nature and secrets  hidden within his primordial tormentor.  Joining with the Emperor’s Children, the Primarch  would venture to the Crone World of Iydris.  Despite their disgust at the disorganised  and gaudy rabble of the 3rd Legion,  

The Iron Warriors would regardless join their  gene-father in their venture into the Maelstrom.  Harried by the Shattered Legion warband:  The Orphans of War aboard their warship:   the Sisypheum, the Iron Warriors would prove  capable in staving off the Loyalist attacks.  For the Emperor’s Children’s continued disregard  for authority and discipline, Perturabo would  

Humble Fulgrim and assume total command of  both Legions during their months of voyage.  Upon their arrival to the planet of Iydris,   Perturabo would accompany Fulgrim to  the heart of the long-dead planet.  Once the seat of power of the Aeldari, the  Primarchs now stood upon the epicentre of  

The birth of the being known  as She Who Thirsts: Slaanesh.  The birth-scream of the foul being  would rend the fabric of the galaxy,   birthing the Eye of Terror and leaving a portion  of it’s power within the Sepulchre of Isha’s Doom.  Seizing the power for himself,  Fulgrim would turn on the Lord  

Of Iron and draw strength from his body. Defiant in the face of his own betrayal,   Perturabo would strike Fulgrim with the  weapon of his own devising: Forgebreaker.  Destroying his mortal form, Perturabo’s  strike from the now Chaos-tainted weapon   in combination to the power Fulgrim  has drawn allow for his Ascension. 

Reborn as a Daemon Prince of  Slaanesh, Fulgrim would transform,   and with his newfound power withdraw himself  and his Legion from the now crumbling planet.  Enraged at his manipulation by the Phoenician,   Perturabo would seek to vindicate his  Legion for such a foolhardy blunder.  Re-committing his legion’s  might to the Traitor war effort,  

It would not be long until the durability of  the 4th Legion would be tested one final time…  The Warmaster’s slow yet inexorable march to  Holy Terra would be close to it’s fruition.  The Iron Warriors efforts for the remainder of the  

Years leading to the final assault of the  Throneworld would remain a thankless task.  Embittered once more at  his mistreatment, Perturabo   would demand satisfaction for his warrior’s  peerless capabilities to be put to the test.  The Lord of Iron would prove that he was the  greatest strategist Humanity had ever seen and  

Set his eyes on the bastion of the Imperial  Palace as the canvas of his greatest victory.  Joining the Traitor Legions  en-mass, the Iron Warriors would   be the backbone of the Siege of Terra. Their mastery of Siege-craft would be   tested and after many gruelling months  of toil, the 4th Legion would begin to  

Break the defences of the Loyalist Legions. Despite the Lord of Iron’s best laid plans,   his brother Primarchs and their Legions would  prove unreliable in following his orders.  Whilst he would derive immense pleasure in tearing  down the bastions crafted by Primarch Rogal Dorn,  

Perturabo would lose faith in the Traitor assault. Withdrawing his Legion from the conflict,   Perturabo would not be present  to witness the death of the   Warmaster at the hands of The Emperor. Yet such matters were now no longer of  

Import to the Hammer of Olympia, for he would  set a final trap to end his rival: Rogal Dorn.  Constructing an immense fortress upon the  world of Sebastus IV known as ‘The Iron   Cage’, Perturabo would ensnare the  Praetorians of Terra into his trap. 

The Imperial Fists lead by their Primarch: Rogal  Dorn now incensed with the crippling of the   Emperor and devastation of the Throneworld would  charge into the clutches of the Lord of Iron.  If it was the intend of Rogal Dorn to battle with  honour, such an expectation would be misplaced. 

Using every act of cunning, division  and entrapment, the Lord of Iron would   attempt to destroy the Imperial Fists  peace-meal with overwhelming firepower.  For three weeks, the ever-eroding 7th  Legion would fight a desperate battle   to achieve their vengeance  against their hated foe.  Yet with the intervention of the  Ultramarines and their Primarch:  

Roboute Guilliman, the annihilation of  the Imperial Fists would be prevented.  Denied his final great victory against the  7th Legion, Perturabo would withdraw from the   battle with the salvaged gene-seed  of 400 Imperial Fist Astartes.  Offering his spoils of war to the  Ruinous Powers within the Immaterium,  

Perturabo would be elevated and transformed  into a Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided.  Not seen for ten Millenia, the  Lord of Iron would scheme upon   the Daemon world of Medrengard within his  labyrinthine citadel of Stone and Iron.  His reluctance to delve into Imperial  Space now wavering with rumour that  

The Hammer of Olympia shall once again  strike a catastrophic blow to Humanity.  For though Iron can be broken, it’s sharp  edges can still be used to cause untold harm.  And with time and diligence, such  fragments can be reforged into   something far stronger than once imagined…

The sons of the Emperor would all shoulder a burden during the years of their infancy. Raised on feral, feudal and even death worlds, each Primarch would be moulded by the  environment to which he would grow.  Yet it cannot be denied that the lot of some  Primarchs would be starkly worse than others. 

For not all of the Emperor’s offspring would  be fostered by kind or benevolent fathers.  For today we shall Elucidate the  creature born of crime, murder and spite.  The Night Haunter of Nostramo: Konrad Curze… Of all the Primarchs of His Imperium,  

The child of the 8th Legion would be raised  on the most inhospitable and wretched worlds.  The world of Nostramo would  be coated in endless night,   it’s lullabies of the screaming of the murdered  the only solace for the inhabitants of the world. 

Safe in the knowledge that another  had died in their place that night,   the Nostramons would live in an existence  steeped in violence, depravity and lawlessness.  The Primarch of the 8th Legion would  descend upon the planet, his gestation   pod cashing through it’s polluted hide of  the planet’s largest city: Nostramo Quintus. 

Burrowing through the urban architecture,   the gestation pod dive into the planet’s crust  and halt near the liquid molten core of Nostramo.  Born into a world of darkness, the infant  Primarch would claw his way to the surface   through the scar carved through the  adamantium and mineral rich earth. 

Reaching the surface, the child would be  confronted by a crazed inhabitant of the planet.  Seeking to consume the child for his ripe,  fresh meat the first act of the child   would be to defend himself from the murderous  intent of his first contact with the populace. 

Slaying the would-be cannibal,  the child would swiftly come to   realise the twisted morality of his planet. Nostramo was a world drenched in despair,   with no authority or power capable of culling the  malevolent and desperate criminals of the planet.  Poverty would be rife within the planet’s  society, with it’s main productivity derived  

From the world’s mining industry allowing the  tormented populace to eke out a humble existence.  The minority of the society would grow  bloated with wealth and exploit the lawless   under-hives and their overpopulated peoples. With no soul on the planet willing nor capable   of adopting the young Primarch,  the child would survive alone. 

His wits and instincts allowing the  Primarch to survive off the vermin and   carrion of the planet within the darkness. Plagued by visions of a future he did not   comprehend, the Primarch would begin to  forge an identity befitting his dour and   nihilistic existence. The Night Haunter… 

The feral scavenger of Nostramo would begin to  form a reputation among the hives of Nostramo.  Sighting of an uncanny presence atop the roofs  and slums of Nostramo Quintus would abound,   with tales of a monster preying on  the most dangerous of the populace. 

The screams of the Night Haunters victims a balm  to his anxieties and dreams of countless dead upon   unknown worlds shaping the Primarch’s personality. Isolation and nightmares would be his only allies   within the shadows of the abandoned derelicts  to which the Night Haunter would rest. 

Yet with time, the Primarch of the 8th  would grow in both stature and infamy   until the entire planet knew of his deeds. Disgusted at the criminality of his homeworld,   the Night Haunter would hunt the  delinquents and felons of the Hives. 

Consuming the brain matter of his victims, the  Night Haunter would digest the populaces language,   memories and sins due to his Omophagea organ;  the Primarch would experience first-hand   the depravity and weakness of his people. Sickened at the deed of his homeworld’s people,  

The Night Haunter would enact his own dark  crusade to purge all crime from the planet.  Merciless and savage in his dealings,  the Night Haunter would purge the world   of swathes of the populaces’ most  revered and notorious criminals.  The avenging spectre of the planet would be  hushed by the civilians within the Hives it  

Would not be long until the gangs of Nostramo  would band together to hunt the creature down.  Slaying any whom would attempt to end  his crusade, the Night Haunter would   leave a sole survivor of each failed battle. Severing their hands and gouging their eyes,  

The survivors of his wroth would return  to their masters bearing a simple message:   I am Coming For You. Instilling terror within Nostramo,   the Night Haunter would slowly erode and  silence the corruption of the ruling elite.  Leaving their hanged bodies atop the  Hive’s highest windows often maimed  

And flayed in horrific displays within a  year of his reprisal crime would cease.  Confronting the rulers of the planet, the  Night Haunter would make a simple demand:  Obey the law of the Night Haunter, or be judged. Cowed by fear, the Nostramons would relent and  

Allow for the ascension of the so-called  ‘Dark King’ to rule their world.  The first Monarch of Nostramo would  diligently work to re-structure his fiefdom.  Consuming the planet’s historical archival  knowledge with ravenous hunger and murdering   the last remaining criminal elements within  the hives it would not be long until the Night  

Haunter would dominate the populace completely. Ruling with temperance unheard of by Nostramon   standards, the civilians would share  their wealth equally among themselves.  For should they own too much they would  fear reprisal from their Dark King.  Within months the planet’s fortunes  would abound, the fear instilled within  

Them progressively allowing for years  of prosperity and industrious toil.  Broadcasting the screams of his final victims  across every home of the world as a reminder   that none would escape his justice, the Dark  King had achieved his goal of total obedience. 

For decades the Night Haunter would  have no need to hunt prey for none   would dare to defy the will of the Dark King. Yet with the arrival of the Emperor of Mankind to   the planet, Nostramo’s future would be sealed by  it’s own prophesies as the cause of it’s downfall. 

Foreseeing his father’s eventual  reunion, the Night Haunter would prepare.  Upon the Emperor’s arrival, the inhabitants  of Nostramo would be unable to look in the   direction of the being of gleaming light. The so-called ‘Delegation of Light’ would   see the populace weep at the arrival of the  father of their ‘benevolent dictator’ and  

Blind any whom looked directly upon his visage. Met by the Primarchs Rogal Dorn, Lorgar Aurelian,   Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim, the Night Haunter would  envision dark portents of each of their futures.  Meeting the Emperor of Mankind, the Night  Haunter would be overwhelmed by a vision so  

Terrible he would sink to his knees attempt  to claw his own eyes from their sockets.  Ending his torment with a touch of  his hand, the Emperor would utter:  “Be at peace, Konrad Curze. I have  arrived, and I intend to take you home.”  Submitting to the Emperor of Mankind,  

The Night Haunter would refuse to adopt  his supposed name given by his father.  Brought to Holy Terra to study the doctrines of  the Legiones Astartes under the tutelage of the   Phoenician: Fulgrim, Konrad Curze would with  time be installed as the leader of his Legion. 

Naming them ‘The Night Lords’, the  8th Legion would quickly become   synonymous with brutal and decisive victories. A humourless yet efficient army, the Night Lords   would employ torture, terror-tactics and merciless  persecution of any dissenting opposition.  Yet with the absence of the Night Haunter,  his homeworld of Nostramo would descend once  

More into rampant criminality with his absence. Claiming the Night Lords to be nothing more than   murderers gifted with the strength of god-like  beings, the rabble of Nostramo would rebel.  Konrad Curze would regard his sons in a  similar manner, seeing them as unworthy  

Yet necessary tools to bring compliance  to the lawlessness of the galaxy.  Believing peace could only be achieved  through methods of instilling terror within   non-compliant worlds; the Night Haunter would  slay his own Legionnaires should they delight   in the acts of mutilation and slaughter  for their own personal gratification. 

Instilling within his Legion that such methods  were merely tools to achieve peace, Curze would   be disgusted at his son’s flagrant degeneracy. Brining worlds into compliance through many   atrocities, though his Brother  Primarchs would decry his methods;   Curze would maintain that his actions though harsh  would allow for the least amount of bloodletting. 

Hypocritical of his own enjoyment  of inflicting pain unto his victims,   the Night Lords would only disguise their  enjoyment of their craft from their gene-father.  Their sinister nature left  unaddressed by their Primarch   due to the constant harassment  of his visions of the future.  The Nostramon recruits to the Night  Lords would further exacerbate their  

Legion’s downfall as each Legion would encompass  their homeworld descent back into delinquency.  The rot had been set within the 8th Legion, and  with the preponderance of the Legion now born   of Nostramo and it’s culture, the downfall  of the Night Haunter would be inevitable… 

Tormented by visions of betrayal and  fratricide, the Night Haunter would delve   further into the clutches of madness. Confiding in his mentor: Fulgrim,   the Primarch of the 3rd Legion would  relay the Night Haunter’s mad raving to   the Primarch of the Imperial Fists: Rogal Dorn. Incensed at the slight made against his brethren  

And the Emperor, Dorn would confront Konrad Curze. Found unconscious with deep gouges left in his   torso, the Primarch of the 7th Legion  would lay at the side of Konrad Curze.  Weeping and wracked with guilt Curze would  be imprisoned for his assault of his Brother. 

As the Primarchs discussed the means of how  to deal with their Brother, the Night Haunter   would escape his bonds and slay the Imperial  Fists Huscarls stationed to guard his chambers.  Escaping with his Legion, the Night Haunter  would travel to his homeworld to seek solace. 

Yet upon arrival to his homeworld, Konrad  Curze’s remaining sanity would break.  During 984.M30, the Night Haunter  would discover the fate of Nostramo.  Once more corrupted by ceaseless crime,   the vengeance of the Primarch of the 8th  Legion would be unequivocally merciless.  Firing laser-bombardments into  the rend in the planet’s surface  

Originally made by the Primarch’s gestation  pod, Nostramo’s molten core would detonate.  With Imperial pursuit crafts sent in the  wake of Rogal Dorn’s injuries witnessing   Nostramo’s destruction, the depravity of the Night  Haunter would soon be relayed to the Emperor.  Recalled to Holy Terra, Konrd  Curze would answer for his crimes. 

Explaining to the Emperor that his actions were  justified, Curze would accuse the Imperium of   hypocrisy in their own dealings of brining worlds  into compliance and utilising Exterminatus to any   whom would deny the Imperial Truth. His excuses would not satisfy the  

Judgement of the Imperium and as a result  the Night Lords would deny the 8th Legions   supplies to their dominions and banish them  from the forefront of the Great Crusade.  Yet despite his punishment, Curze  would seek vindication for his actions.  And soon, an opportunity for  revenge would present itself… 

The Horus Heresy perpetrated by the Warmaster of  the Imperium: Horus Lupercal would coincide with   the prophesied visions of the Night Haunter. Believing his visions to be unchangeable,   the Primarch of the 8th Legion would  surrender all responsibility for his   actions and side with the Traitor war effort. Choosing to enact his vengeance against the  

Emperor, Konrad Curze would lead  his men to the battle of Istvaan 5.  Aiding the Traitorous Betrayal of the Loyalist  forces of the Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven   Guard the Night Lords would revel in their  slaughter of the Imperium’s noble sons.  As the Night Lords butchered the  loyalist Astartes, Lorgar Aurelian:  

Primarch of the Word Bearers would  battle the Ravenlord of the 19th Legion.  Besting the Bearer of the Word in combat,  The Urizen’s life would be spared by   Konrad Curze who would duel his rival in  darkness: Corvus Corax in Lorgar’s place. 

Their claws struck and despite Corax’s speed the  Night Haunter would grab his Brother by the wrist.  Escaping Curze’s grasp with the use of his  Jump-packs, the Primarch of the Raven Guard   would not risk duelling the Dark King of Nostramo. With the death of the Gorgon and flight of the  

Ravenlord, Curze would find a new subject  for his depraved tortures and mutilations,   the Primarch of the 18th Legion: Vulkan. Aboard his flagship: Nightfall,   Curze would attempt to break the will  of the Primarch of the Salamanders.  Finding the Primarch of the 18th  to bear the gift of a perpetual,  

Vulkan’s body no matter how many it would  perish would rebuild itself and bring new life.  Seeing an opportunity to torment his  noble brother forever-more the Night   Haunter would delight in slaying his  defenceless brother time and again.  For months the Night Haunter would  devise the means for the mutilation  

And execution of his Brother. Sating his sadism with increasingly   extravagant displays of torture until  growing weary of his relentless returns.  Tearing him limb-from limb, riddling his body  with Bolter shells and even disintegrating his   with the ship’s engine shafts no matter the  cause of death Vulkan would be resurrected. 

Unable to break the willpower of the Lord of  Drakes, his attempts to break Vulkan with a   variety of methods would always fail. Devising a final trial to end the   Perpetual Primarch’s resolve, Curze would  beseech the Primarch of the Iron Warriors:   Perturabo to construct a labyrinth  to finally destroy Vulkan’s resolve. 

Teasing at the centre of the Labyrinth  Vulkan’s personal Warhammer: Dawnbringer,   Curze would not expect the Primarch  of the Salamanders to reach his prize.  Yet with tireless, unrelenting drive  Vulkan would reclaim Dawnbringer.  The Warhammer had been fitted with a secret  teleporter within it’s construction and  

After attempting to prevent Vulkan’s escape  Curze would be struck by Dawnbrigner before   Vulkan would activate it’s teleporter  and escape to the Ultramar system.  In the wake of the Night Haunter’s ever increasing  distractions of the Taitor war effort, Warmaster  

Horus Lupercal would dispatch the Night Lords  at the forefront of their push to Holy Terra.  Sending a message across the stars that any whom  did not kneel would be gifted untold miseries,   the Night Lords would enact the  Warmaster’s remorseless will. 

Harbinger of the Traitor’s bloodlust and cruelty,  the Night Lords would for months be unopposed   in their campaign of defilement. Yet within the Thramas Sector,   the Night Lords would be halted by  the 1st Legion: the Dark Angels.  For three Terran-Standard Years, the 1st  and 8th Legions would wage a bitter war. 

Nobility and Discipline would  face Opprobrium and Barbarity.  Leading his men during the Thramas Crusade,  Konrad Curze would delay the Dark Angels from   interfering with the plots of the Warmaster. Under the command of their Primarch:   Lion El’Jonson the 1st Legion would prove  to be more than a match for the Night Lord’s  

Underhanded tactics and cunning. Attempting to sway the Lion to   join the Warmaster’s cause, Curze  would parlay with Lord of the 1st.  On the planet of Tsagualsa, the  Primarchs would face each other.  The Lion would reject the Night Haunter’s  offer and attempt to slay Curze. 

The Lion Sword would clash against Curze’s  lightning claws: Mercy and Forgiveness.  Two of the greatest Duellists of the  Primarchs would descend into brawling   as they disarmed and wounded one-another. Yet eventually Curze would gain the upper-hand.  Denied the killing blow against the Lion, the  Dark Angels Seneschal: Corswain would bury  

His sword in the back of the Night Haunter. Both Legions would reinforce the Primarch’s   positions and drag their wounded  liege-lords from the skirmish.  Yet when the Legions would clash again, the Dark  Angels would prove to be the greater strategists.  Ambushing the Night Lords fleet,  the Primarchs would once again duel. 

Slaying the Night Lords elite Atramentar  and destroying the 8th Legion’s fleet,   the Dark Angels would prove  to be an indomitable foe.  Yet the Night Haunter would not be so easily  slain and escape the Lion within his own Flagship…  For months Konrad Curze would  skulk the dark corner of the  

Dark Angels Flagship: Invincible Reason.  Cut off from the wider Imperium  with the birth of the Ruinstorm,   the 1st Legion would relocate their might to  the burgeoning Imperium Secundus of Ultramar.  The home-system of the Ultramarines Primarch:  Roboute Guilliman, Macragge would be the  

Seat of power for the contingent new Imperium  should the Emperor be slain by the Warmaster.  Yet upon the 1st Legion’s arrival to Macragge,   Curze would escape from the  bowels of the Invincible Reason.  Wreaking havoc among the populace of  the Ultramarines Homeworld, the combined  

Might of the Primarchs of the 1st, 13th and newly  arrived 9th Legions would hunt the Night Haunter.  Primarch Roboute Guilliman of the Ultramarines  would elect the Primarch of the Blood Angels:   Sanguinius as the Imperator Regis  of their new contingent Empire.  With Lion El’Jonson appointed as Lord  Protector of the Imperium Secundus,  

It would be his duty to enforce the  campaign to apprehend the Night Haunter.  Despite the Dark Angels attempts to thwart  the rampage of Konrad Curze, the Night Haunter   would come close to crippling the Loyalist  research of the Sotha Devise ministered by   the Imperial Fist Captain Alexis Polux. Confronted by Roboute Guilliman and the  

Lion within the Fortress of Hera, Curze would  detonate explosives concealed within the temple.  Before dealing the killing blow, the loyalist  Primarchs would be rescued by the ministrations of   the loyalist Warmsith: Barabas Dantioch and Alexis  Polux by once more utilising the Sotha Device. 

Unaware of their survival, Curze would  turn his attentions to add one final   wound to the Ultramarines Primarch. Within the capitol of Macragge,   the Night Haunter would attempt to slay Roboute  Guilliman’s adoptive mother: Tarasha Euten.  Hindered by the Space Wolves appointed  to monitor the Ultramarines Primarch,  

Curze would seemingly be unopposed in  slaying the mother of the Lord of Ultramar.  Yet against the odds, the reborn Primarch  of the Salamanders: Vulkan would face Curze.  Despite the intervention of the Perpetual: John  Grammaticus and his banishment into the Warp,  

The Night Haunter would not be denied so easily. Infiltrating the Throne Room of Macragge,   the Night Haunter would confront his  vision-attuned Brother: Sanguinius.  Seeking answers for why the Great Angel still  remained loyal despite the vision that he endured,   Curze would never understand the  loyalty he had shown to the Emperor. 

Offering Sanguinius the chance to end his  misery, the Great Angel would abstain from   slaying his brother Curze would escape once  more into the dark corners of Macragge.  With the return of Lion  El’Jonson and Roboute Guilliman,   Curze would finally be brought to justice. Captured and brought before trial to judge  

Him for his crimes, Curze would be judged by  the Emperor of Imperium Secundus: Sanguinius.  Admitting to his actions, Curze would  not accept any guilt for his misdeeds.  Turning the Lion and Guilliman against  one-another due to the methods the Lord of  

The 1st had used to root out the Night Haunter,  the Lords of Imperium Secundus would fracture.  Dissolving Imperium Secundus, Guilliman  and Sanguinius would in private decide   to execute the Night Haunter, yet with the  intervention of Lion El’Jonson stay their hand. 

Repeating Curze’s claim to observe his own  death at the hands of an agent of the Emperor,   the Lion would surmise that the  Emperor still ruled Holy Terra.  Hope burgeoned in the hearts of the Primarchs,   and with Sanguinius’ own vision of his  death at the hands of the Warmaster the  

Loyalists with Curze in their custody  would venture to breach the Ruinstorm…  Chaining the Night Haunter within the bowels  of the Invincible Reason, the Lion would endure   the taunts of his degenerate brother. Upon the world of Davin, the Primarchs   would drag Curze to the temple wherein  the Warmaster had first been corrupted. 

With the eruption of Daemons from a portal  within the temple, Curze would once more   be shackled within the Dark Angels Flagship as  the Loyalists countered the Daemonic incursion.  Finding a means to breach the storm, the  Dark Angels and Ultramarines would buy   time for Sanguinius and his Blood  Angels to venture to Holy Terra. 

Taking custody of the Night Hauter, Sanguinius  would bring to him the Emperor’s Justice.  Yet once aboard the Red Tear, Curze would  be confined within a stasis coffin and   jettisoned into space by the Great Angel. Sanguinius would tell the Night Haunter   that alike to himself, he must  follow his own envisioned path. 

Adrift for many years, Curze would  survive into the following Millenia.  The Heresy would end, with the Emperor  slaying the Warmaster and the traitors   scattering across the stars. Discovered by the salvage ship:   Sheldron, the stasis pod would unknowingly  release the Night Haunter among their crew. 

Assuming control of the vessel, Curze would  journey for four years once more to Tsagualsa   and reunite with his disparate genesons. Reuniting his Legion, Curze would   enshrine the Night Lords base of  operations upon the Carrion World.  Accepting his prophesised fate, the  Night Haunter would guide his Legion  

On a path of self-sufficiency without  his presence and await his killer.  The Callidus Assassin: M’Shen would discover  the Dark King upon his Carrion Throne.  Unguarded and with no obstacles preventing  the assassins’ path, the Godslayer would act.  Slicing the Night Haunter’s head from his body,  the torment of Konrd Curze had finally ended. 

Yet whispers across the galaxy persist  that the spectre of death shall one day   return against all odds and records of his demise. For the shadow of the Night Haunter still stalks   the galaxy with the Night Lords continued  defilement of the Imperium in his name… 

The Primarchs of His Imperium would  shoulder many burdens with their service.  Created to lead Humanity’s greatest armies  to purge the galaxy of heresy and malevolent   influence, each Primarch would wrestle control  of their inner nature to best lead their Legions  

As exemplars of the Emperor’s vision. Yet many of the sons of the Master of   Mankind would be afflicted with inner  turmoil and prove to be unsalvageable.  For today we shall Elucidate one such Primarch  who’se homeworld influence would forever damn him  

To a life of pain, fury and bloodlust. The Lord of the Red Sands: Angron.  With the scattering of the Primarchs across  the stars, the Primarch of the 12th Legion   would land upon the world of Nuceria within  close proximity to the Ultima Segmentum.  A ‘civilised’ world ruled by aristocratic  tyrants, the technologically advanced  

Civilisation would though self-sufficient bear  a deeply troubling fascination with violence.  The impoverished civilians under the  ruling the elite of the planet hunger   to vent their frustrations by observing  the misery and suffering of others.  Organising gladiatorial spectacles to distract  the populace, the Oligarchic nobles would  

Cybernetically enhance their chosen pawns to  enact brutal rampages within the gladiator pits.  The young Primarch would be discovered by a slaver  of the pits, finding the injured boy surrounded by   xenos corpses high in the Desh’elika Mountains. Scholars would theorise the assailants to be the  

Aeldari, armed with the forewarning of the scourge  that the young boy would bring to the galaxy.  Their assassination failed, the corpses  of the Xenos would aid in encouraging   the slaver to sell his fondling for a  high price to the rulers of Nuceria.  Brought to the palace of Praxica  with the city of Desh’ea,  

The slaver would sell the young  warrior to the House of Thal’kr.  Thrust into battle barely of the age  of a toddler, the child Primarch would   alongside 100 slaves battle an acid spewing  creature upon the gladiator pit ziggurat. 

As acid filled the arena, the Primarch would  by necessity kill any who took up space on   the ever dwindling space of the platform. Surviving his first battle within the pit,   the child would shed a tear for those he  had slain to endure his barbaric trial. 

His promise as a gladiator would see the  child ascend to fight within the largest   arena of the land and be given the name:  Angronius Thal’kyr, Child of the Mountain.  Recovering from his wounds, Angron would  rapidly grow in size due to his enhanced   genetics and within months become the  foremost acclaimed gladiator of Nuceria… 

The populace of Nuceria would come  to cherish the champion of the Arena.  Dubbing the Primarch as ‘The Lord  of the Red Sands’ after his deeds   on the blood-soaked earth of gladiator pits,   Angron whilst physically strong would also  display a profound sense of honour and mercy. 

Sparing the lives of Gladiators whom  had proven their merit in battle,   Angron would slay hundreds of warriors  yet never succumb to his base instincts.  The ‘Unbeaten’ gladiator of Desh’ea would  despite his circumstance enjoy the thrill   of battle and adulation of his people. Yet in secret, Angron would plot to escape  

His bonds of slavery and on many occasions  attempt and fail to escape his captors.  Mentored by the veteran gladiator of the pits:  Oenomaus, the old warriors would act as a foster   father to the young and impressionable Primarch. Side-by-side, Angron and Oenomaus would  

Slay scores of opponents within the pit. An especially acclaimed victory gained against   a pair of Ogryn Berserkers, implanted with a  deadly contraption known as: The Butchers Nails.  Their ample strength further amplified with  the cortical implants, the opponents of the   Lord of Red Sands would bound into  the fray with feral rage and fury. 

Yet such a victory would sour the efforts of  the so-called ‘High Riders’ of the aristocrats   of Nuceria, and soon-after Angron would  be pitted against his mentor in combat.  Facing one-another in a duel to the death,  Angron would refuse to fight his father-figure. 

The Primarchs insolence would see him  restrained by the guards of the arena and   as punishment the High Riders would implant  the Butchers Nails within Angron’s skull.  A relic from the Dark Age of Technology,  historical records are unclear as to how  

The Nucerians came to own such dangerous  implants but what can be gleaned is   that their actions would damn countless  billions to death across the millennia.  Imbued with increased adrenal function, strength,   aggression and overwhelming blood-lust,  Angron’s path to damnation would begin. 

Blinding all sense of reason or morality within  the Primarch’s mind, the Nails would dig deep   until all that would end their inflicted suffering  would be the release of blood and viscera.  Rewarding violence with spasms of pleasure,  Angron would become a living embodiment of rage. 

The High Riders would test their new  feral beast’s abilities by releasing   Oenomaus to face him in combat. Tearing him limb-from-limb,   Angron’s hunger for violence would not  be sated in his frenzied, berserk state.  Regaining clarity after the  maiming of his foster father,   Angron would quickly wallow  in despair at his actions. 

Howling alike to a feral beast, Angron’s wails  of sorrow would not end for several days.  Angron would swear that one day, he  shall escape the shackles of the High   Riders and achieve vengeance for his  manipulation and his father’s death…  For several years, Angron would  train and organise the gladiators  

Of the arena into a brotherhood of warriors.  Dominating any challengers chosen to face  them, the Desh’ean gladiators would respect   their leader with utter devotion and  aid in his plot to escape the arena.  Upon the grandest spectacle of the death  games the gladiators would make their escape. 

Assembling the entirety of his men,  Angron and his gladiators would   enter the arena en-masse to rapturous applause. Turning on the Arena Guards, the gladiators would   butcher their wardens and escape the arena among  the panicked stampede of the civilian onlookers. 

Armed with firearms, the remaining arena guards  would put down a swathe of the gladiators armed   with swords and scant armour. Yet despite the resistance,   2,000 Desh’ean Gladiators would escape  to the mountains of Angron’s origin.  For years the rulers would hunt down the  gladiators and slowly erode their numbers. 

Naming themselves ‘The Eaters of Cities’  the Desh’ean Gladiators under Angron’s   command would halt any incursion to  capture or slay their band of warriors.  However attrition would slowly see to the  dwindling of the Eaters of Cities until   their numbers declined to 1,000 men and women. 

Upon the mountain of Fedan Mhor Angron’s band  of gladiators would make their final stand.  At the Desj’elika Ridge the Eaters of Cities  would be surrounded by seven armies of Nuceria.  Angron and his warriors would  be doomed to die in combat,   for even a Primarch would be unable  to best such an overwhelming force. 

Yet Angron would not die this day, and with  the intervention of the Emperor of Mankind   the Primarch of the 12th Legion would be saved. Observing the Primarch’s struggles in secret,   the Master of Mankind would watch  his son’s rebellion from afar. 

Descending to the battle with a cadre of his  Custodians, the Emperor would offer his aid in   the battle should his son assume the mantle of  leadership of the 12th legion: The War Hounds.  Refusing the Emperor’s offer, Angron would  demand that he remain on Nuceria with his  

Gladiator kin and not withdraw from the planet  until his enslavers had been brought to justice.  Reluctantly, the Emperor would  teleport Angron to his flagship,   shocked at the sheer refusal of his son to  adopt the responsibility ordained by his word.  Finding his son wanting in strategical  acumen, the Master of Mankind would not  

Let his irreplaceable son die to  the rabble of a backwater planet.  The Eaters of Cities would be massacred  without the leadership of Angron to   which the Lord of Red Sands would watch  their annihilation helplessly from orbit.  Lashing out at the Custodian Guard, Angron  would slay one of the Emperor’s guardians  

Until the Master of Mankind would use  his psychic might to subdue the Primarch.  Hoping in time that Angron would  understand the realities of why   the Emperor had abandoned his band  of warriors, the Master of Mankind   would seek to salvage the potential of  his much beleaguered and scarred son. 

Angron was a ghost of the Emperor’s former  plans, yet a Primarch he would remain.  For every Primarch would serve the Imperium  in the campaigns of the Great Crusade…  Embittered to his father’s  dismissal of his plight,   Angron would come to resent the Emperor for his  disregard for his honour to die with his men. 

Nurturing the deep wound in his psyche,   the Lord of Red Sands would regardless assume  command of his Legion: the War Hounds in an   attempt to sate the ever-worsening  cravings of the Butcher’s Nails.  Murdering the Captains of his Legion and the 12th  Legion Master: Ibram Ghreer in a fit of rage,  

Angron’s hatred for his stranger-sons  would be calmed with the intervention   of the Legion’s 8th Captain: Kharn. Volunteering to sooth his Primarch’s   torment, Kharn would be beaten  to near-death by his Gene-father.  Yet Kharn’s resolve to never accept defeat would  resonate with his Primarch and for his efforts  

A bond between Kharn and Angron would form. Convincing his Primarch that the Legion was worthy   to honour the legacy of the gladiators of Desh’ea  Kharn would offer a change in the 12’s title.  No longer would they be the Emperor’s War  hounds, from then-on they would become  

The Eaters of World for the Lord of Red Sands. Now known throughout the Imperium as ‘The World   Eaters’ Angron would lead his men to bring many  compliant worlds into the fold of the Imperium.  Incorporating the Nucerian gladiatorial  cultural trapping into their Legion,  

The World Eaters would become synonymous  for their efficient yet bloody deeds…  Experts in neurological surgery and cortical  implant technologies would study the   Primarch’s affliction of the Butcher’s Nails. Realising that the implants combined with the   Primarch’s enhanced biological functions had  integrated beyond and hope of removal, Angron’s  

Brain had been re-mapped to incorporate it’s  influence above all other stimuli of his body.  Reducing his serotonin neurotransmitters and  deadening all emotions besides aggression,   Angron’s capabilities of  reason would be continually   lost as the influence of the Nails progressed. Removal of the Butcher’s Nails would definitely  

Kill the Primarch, yet their continual presence  would regardless slowly kill the Primarch.  The 12th Legion’s burdens would be  many, as not only was their Primarch   slowly dying from his affliction, but his  reputation as the only Primarch to fail in   conquering his homeworld would worsen the  World Eater’s already infamous reputation. 

Morale was low within the 12th Legion yet  their purpose as the serrated edge of the   Great Crusade would at least give them purpose. Conflict was the only measure of the worth of   the World Eaters for they would earn no glory or  plaudits, only satisfaction in battle as warriors. 

Seeking to emulate their Primarch and become  closer to his solitary struggle, the Legionnaires   of the World Eaters would volunteer themselves  to undergo the procedure to be implanted with   Bucther’s Nails of their won devising. Ordering his Apothecaries to construct   the nails and begin implanting them within  his Legion, Angron would seek to transform  

His Legion into warriors befitting  the heritage of Nuceria’s gladiators.  Initially yielding a 100% failure rate, the nails  would cause any implanted to die a painful death,   yet Angron would not relent in his demands  for the Nails to be refined and trialled. 

Abandoning his Legion for their weakness to  follow in the steps of the gladiators of Desh’ea,   it would take two years for his Equerry: Kharn  to reunite the Lord of Red Sands with his Legion.  Shedding their weakness, Kharn would be the first  to survive the Bucther’s Nails surgery, and by  

His example the Legion would completely integrate  the Nails into their bodies or die in the attempt…  Observing the rapid devolution of the World  Eater’s discipline in favour of frenzied rage,   detractors of the 12th Legion would  let their criticisms be known.  Roboute Guilliman: Primarch of the  Ultramarines Legion would be disgusted  

During his joint-campaign alongside  Angron during the Cleansing of Arigatta.  Nicknamed ‘The Red Angel’, Angron’s reputation for   committing atrocities would become  of great concern for the Imperium.  The World Eaters had in their frenzied  state hurled themselves into the most  

Unwinnable of odds and enacted a heavy toll  of losses for their lack of self preservation.  Ordering his men to bring world’s into compliance  within 31 Nucerian Standard Hours, the Red Angel   would execute one tenth of his men in order  to root-out the weakness within the Legion. 

Learning of the Butcher’s Nails  implantation within the Legion,   the Emperor of Mankind would dispatch  the Primarch of the 6th Legion:   Leman Russ to order Angron to  end his heretical surgeries.  Known by Imperial Records as ‘The Night of the  Wolf’, The Emperor’s Executioner with his Legion  

Of the Space Wolves would confront the World  Eaters after the massacre of the planet of Genna.  Refusing the orders of the Wolf  King, Angron and battle Leman Russ.  The Fenrisian chainsword Krakenmaw would  clash against Angron’s Chainaxe: Widowmaker. 

Each Legion would claim that the other fired  the first shot that would begin the melee but   all that bears remembering is that there  would be no clear victor of the skirmish.  Widowmaker would be destroyed at the hands of the  Wolf King, yet Angron would assert his victory in  

Combat against the restrained might of Leman Russ. Withdrawing from the battle, despite their censure   and warning of the Imperium the World Eaters  would continue their Butchers Nails implantation.  Claiming the skulls of their foes from battle,  the World Eaters would not relent in their  

Ever-worsening onslaught of the galaxy. The Imperium would ignore the barbarity   of the 12th Legion’s actions should they  continue to enforce the will of the Emperor.  Yet such oversight would prove to  be devastating to the future of the   Imperium with the dawn of the civil war  for Humanity’s soul: The Horus Heresy… 

Corrupted by the thrall of the Ruinous Power,  Warmaster and Primarch of the 16th Legion:   Horus Lupercal would begin his quest  to end the reign of the Emperor.  Before his duplicity would be known, the Master  of Mankind would send the Warmaster to confront  

Angron for his actions during the Great Crusade. Offering the Lord of Red Sands a chance at   vengeance against his most-hated  father, it would not take much of   Horus’ lauded charisma to convince Angron to  join the rebellion of the Traitor Primarchs.  Culling the Loyalist elements within his  Legion, Angron would once more seek to  

Purge any sign of weakness from within his ranks. Among the first members of the pact of betrayal,   the World Eaters would stand at the forefront  of the opening stages of the war for Humanity.  Joining the Second wave of Traitors  during the Dropsite Massacre of Istvaan 5,  

Angron would relish the chance to  slay the loyalists to the throne.  Proving to be instrumental in the vanguard of the  traitor war effort, Angron’s rampage across the   stars would seemingly be destined to succeed. As the Word Bearers and World Eaters joined  

Forces to engage the Ultramarines within their  home-system of Ultramar, their so-called ‘Shadow   Crusade’ would slow the advance of the Imperium’s  most numerically superior and lauded Legion.  Yet with every battle fuelled by the  sting of the Butcher’s Nails, Angron’s   terminal affliction would worsen. Attempting to heal his Brother,  

The Primarch of the Word Bearers: Lorgar  Aurelian would beseech the Red Angel   to return to his homeworld of Nuceria. Due to it’s close proximity within the   Ultima Segmentum, the Urizen would hope  to confront the High Riders of Nuceria  

And with Angron by his side find a means of  removing the Nails form his afflicted Brother.  At last given an opportunity to  bring his enslavers to justice,   Angron and his World Eaters  would venture to Nuceria…  Upon the arrival of the 12th and 17th Legions to  the planet of Nuceria, Angron would descend once  

More to the Desh’elika Ridge of the mountains. Paying his respects to his fallen   brothers-in-arms, Angron would  collect the skulls of his former   brethren and adorn them across his armour. Confronting the High Riders of Desh’ea,   Angron would be enraged at their disrespect of the  retelling of the deaths of his noble gladiators. 

The populace believed Angron to have fled the  battle and left his men to die in disgrace.  Incensed by the lies of the High Riders,  Angron would order his men to execute   every living soul within the city and once  finished, commit genocide across planet. 

Yet the Lord of Red Sand’s plot to annihilate  his people would be halted by the Ultramarines   commanded by their Primarch: Roboute Guilliman. The Retribution Fleet of Ultramar would battle   the combined might of the World Eaters and Word  Bearers both in orbit and on the planet’s surface. 

The Lord of Ultramar would battle Lorgar Aurelian  in single-combat and after a bitter clash come   close to ending the Urizen’s life. However, Angron would not allow   Guilliman from ending the Bearer of the Word. Unleashing his fury against the Lord of Ultramar,  

Angron would despite his might receive a  glancing blow from Guilliman’s Power Fist.  A skull of Angron’s long-dead  gladiators would fall from his   armour and Guilliman would unwittingly  crush it beneath his mighty ceramite boot.  Surrendering fully to his anguish, Angron  would once more launch himself into the fray. 

Feeling the malevolent power of the  Warp in the wake of Angron’s boundless   grief, Lorgar would draw upon the power emanating  from beyond the veil of the mortal realm.  Chanting heretical litanies and imbuing  Angron with the fury of the Blood God,  

Lorgar would enact the ascension of the Lord  of Red Sands into a Daemon Prince of Khorne.  His torment, rage and despair coalescing into the  form of a daemonic being of unimaginable wroth,   the Red Angel would achieve Apotheosis. Withdrawing from the battle,   the Ultramarines and their Primarch  would retreat in horror at the sight  

Of the being birthed on the planet of Nuceria. Lorgar had saved his Brother from the clutches of   death, yet in doing so damn countless future souls  to suffer at the hands of the reborn Red Angel…  Ordering Kharn to butcher the slaves within the  hold of the World Eaters flagship: Conqueror,  

The Daemon Prince of Khrone would demand a  throne of skulls to be built in his honour.  Rampaging throughout the galaxy  in his now ascended form,   Angron hunger for blood would not be sated by  the lesser mortals and fiefdoms of the stars.  Only the blood of Humanity’s  most cherished bastion and it’s  

Ruler would be fitting for such a horrific being.  Brought to assemble with the Traitor Primarchs  at the world of Ullanor by the Primarch of   the Iron Warriors: Perturabo; the World Eaters  would once more lead the charge to Holy Terra. 

Creating a gigantic Warp Rift above the moon of  Luna, Angron and his World Eaters would be the   initial hammer-blow of the Traitor advance. Perched atop the Conqueror, Angron would   observe the bloodletting of his  Legion with grim satisfaction.  Enslaved to the whims of the Blood  God: Khorne, Angron would assault  

The Imperial Palace during the Siege of  Terra as a terrible, Angel of Vengeance.  Slaying friend and foe alike, Angron’s massacre  of any who stood in his path would be terrible   and uncompromising in it’s savagery. Destroying the defences of the Lion’s Gate  

Spaceport and Eternity Wall, even the bravest of  souls would fall to the fell Black Blade and it’s   malevolent wielder before it’s edge would crash  through the Great Gate of the Imperial Palace.  Yet despite the efforts of the World Eaters,  the Traitors would need to hasten their assault… 

Wary of the ever-closer arrival of  the Dark Angels, Space Wolves and   Ultramarines to Holy Terra, the Warmaster  would confront the Emperor in single-combat.  The Emperor would defeat Horus Lupercal,  and destroy his very being from existence.  The armies of Chaos would fragment and retreat  from the Siege of Terra to which Angron though  

The last to withdraw would be no exception. Seeking refuge within the Eye of Terror,   the World Eaters would over the millennia abandon  their Primarch and fragment into several warbands.  His last great revenge against  the Master of Mankind thwarted,   Angron skulks the Immaterium and bides time for  his seemingly random conquests of distant worlds. 

Prosecuting wars in the name of his  Patron God, Angron would be banished   from the material realm during Dominion of  Fire Campaign and First War for Armageddon.  Yet with the return of the long-dormant  Primarch of the Ultramarines: Roboute Guilliman,  

Rumours stir that the Red Angel shall once again  return to real-space during the Era Indomitas.  Further transformed into a being  of unrelenting fury who’s death   grants only a momentary reprieve  before his inevitable return,   the Lord of Red Sands shall not cease  his campaign of bloodshed and butchery. 

For in the Grim Darkness of the  far-future there is only war,   and the Red Angel shall delight in every death  made in the name of conflict across the stars…  The Primarchs of His Imperium though demi-gods  of Humanity would not be without flaws. 

Brashness, Arrogance and Pride would mark the  fall and disgrace of many of the Emperor’s sons.  For even his most loyal champions they  would lay bare their most exploitable   weaknesses in personality and resolve. For today we shall Elucidate a Primarch   enshrined in bitterness and morose isolation. The Primarch of the 14th Legion: Mortarion. 

During the scattering of the Primarchs,   the 14th child of the Emperor would be  transported to the death-world of Barbarous.  Wreathed in deadly toxins, the  steam-fuelled contraptions of the   planet would heavily influence the demeanour  and temperament of the Primarch’s personality.  The populace would be ruled by Inhuman  Necromancers empowered by the influence  

Of Chaos, whilst Barbarous’ human inhabitants  would attempt to farm the land for a meagre   existence within the small pockets  of the world not sullied with poison.  Constantly wary of the creatures spawned  by the Necromantic Overlords of the planet,   the Humans would toil in ignorance as the  Primarch’s gestation pod would be discovered. 

Among the ceaseless battlefields between the  Overlords of Barbarous, one such Tyrant would   discover a child among the corpses of the warzone. Perplexed at the child’s tolerance to the noxious   air of the land, the Overlord would find  the infant screaming among the dead. 

The High Overlord: Necare would see an  opportunity for his super-human foundling   to become the heir to his legacy. Naming the child: Mortarion,   or ‘Child of Death’ in Barbaran native dialect,  the Primarch of the 14th would be housed within   a small tower enveloped in the planet’s toxic  fumes; the High Overlord of Barbarous would  

Diligently build his own lair within the  most toxic peak of the planet’s mountains.  Mortarion’s super-human resistance to poisons  and disease would be pushed to it’s limit as the   maturing child’s lungs fought desperately  to filter the miasma with every breath. 

Gifted with a voracious hunger for knowledge,  Mortarion would be tutored by his captor in   all manner of battle doctrines and arcane arts. Yet as the child matured, his mind would come to   question the lot of Barbarous’ human populace  and the manner in which they would be treated. 

Questions which would go un-answered should  the young Primarch remain in captivity…  Escaping his tower of isolation,  Mortarion would fell any guards   whom attempted to stand in his path. Venturing to the valleys of Barbarus,   Mortarion’s tolerance for poisons would  allow him to survive the noxious mists. 

Finding the human populace  to be of his own species,   Mortarion would realise his kinship with  the oppressed people of the poisonous world.  Slow to trust the Primarch, the Barbarans  would see the child of the mountains to be   an unnatural interloper into their ranks. Such opinions would be short-lived with  

The Primarch’s defence of the settlement  from the attacks of horrific creature.  Dispatched by a rival Overlord  of the Necromancers, the settlers   would stand little chance of defending  themselves from the monster’s rampage.  Yet with the intervention of Mortarion  armed with a large harvesting scythe,  

The monster would be slain. The Necromancer Overlord would smirk at   the upstart defender of Barbarus as he retreated  back into the poison mists, yet would be shocked   as the Child of Death charged into the noxious  fumes and cleaved him in two with his scythe. 

Championed by the people of Barbarus,  Mortarion would use his knowledge   bequeathed from his foster-father to  reinforce the settlements of the valleys.  Creating strongholds and travelling  from settlement-to-settlement,   Mortarion would transform the disorganised and  vulnerable citizens into a resistance militia.  Recruiting the most durable and bold men  of the settlements into a band of warriors,  

Mortarion would train his lieutenants  capable of leading small battalions.  Incorporating artificers and blacksmiths to  create weapons and armour for his men, Mortarion’s   band would soon be equipped to venture into the  poison wastes of the world and fight at his side.  His so-called ‘Death Guard’ would battle against  

The hordes of the Necromancers and  with each victory hone their martial   prowess and adapt their armour to endure  ever-increasingly deadly environments.  Besting the Overlords of the planet, only  one trial would stand in their way before   the world of Barbarous would be rid of the  malevolent curse of it’s ruling tyrants. 

Mortarion’s foster-father: Necare and his fortress  within the most deadly peak of the mountains…  Assembling his men to assault the  fortress of the High Overlord,   Mortarion would be conflicted in  waging war against his father-figure.  Under the advisement of his most trusted advisor:  Calas Typhon, the Death Guard would call off their  

Assault of the stronghold of the Necromancer. Their armour would not be capable of surviving   the deadly peak of the planet until  further advancements could be made.  As such, Mortarion would withdraw his people  to their village yet on arrival be informed of   the arrival of a peculiar stranger to  their settlement promising salvation. 

Confronting the stranger as he sat in  conference with the elders of the village,   Mortarion would balk at the insinuation that he  was incapable of liberating his people unaided.  Offering Mortarion a challenge, the  Stranger would give the ultimatum that  

He would intervene if the Champion of Barbarus  would be unable to defeat the High Overlord.  Should the Stranger lend his might,  Mortarion would swear fealty to him,   yet should Mortarion free his peoples  unaided the Stranger would leave the planet.  Alone, Mortarion would venture to  the stronghold of his foster-father  

Despite the protestation of his Death Guard. Seeking to prove the Stranger wrong, the Child   of Death would attempt to beach the thick smog of  toxins surrounding the High Overlord’s fortress.  Mortarion’s armour began to rust and  fragment with every step closer to his prize,  

Yet as Mortarion reached the gates of  the Overlord’s Citadel he would collapse.  Necare would stand outside the  gates of his Citadel and mock   the Child of Death for his weakness. Within Mortarion’s mind a whisper of   a being of malicious intent would resound. The being known as Nurgle had delighted in  

Mortarion’s circumstance and begin  his slow influence within his mind.  Necare would attempt to end the Primarch’s life,  yet a moment before delivering the fatal blow,   the Stranger of the village would intervene. Slaying the High Overlord a his sword wreathed   in flame, the Stranger would save  the life of the Child of Death. 

Recovering from the ordeal, Mortarion  would true to his word pledge his   fealty to his revealed true-father: The Emperor. Granting Mortarion command of the 14th Legion:   The Dusk Raiders it would not be long  before the Primarch would incorporate   his Barbaran warriors into the Legion’s  ranks and rename them: The Death Guard. 

Yet despite the Emperor’s salvation  of his homeworld and the death of   it’s tyrannical overlord, Mortarion’s  pride would be irrevocably damaged.  Denied vengeance against his life’s tormentor,  Mortarion would bear a grudge against the Master   of Mankind which would never heal. With time the slight submerged deep  

Within his psyche would be nurtured  and exploited by the Plague God Nurgle.  For Mortarion’s descent into the  thrall of Chaos had already begun…  Rallying his new Legion and restructuring  it’s ranks to reflect his homeworld’s   cultural trappings Mortarion would be a  striking figure to his Terran-born Astartes. 

The manifestation of the ancient Terran figure  of the Grim Reaper, the Lord of Death would utter   a simple axiom to his Legion: “You are my unbroken blades.  You are the Death Guard. By your hand shall justice be delivered…  And doom shall stalk a thousand worlds.” Striking fear into the hearts of the Imperium’s  

Foes, the 14th Legion would trudge a relentless  path of destruction in the Emperor’s name.  Drafting recruits exclusively from  Barbarous, the Terran cultural heritage   within the Legion would erode with time. Creating tension within the Legion,   as the Great Crusade waged on the Terran  Astartes of the 14th would dwindle. 

The Death Guard would bring compliances to  the Imperium with the fervour of liberation.  Never pausing their crusade as each world fell  to their Scythes, the Death Guard would resupply   their might in-transit to their next objective. Never reinforcing or garrisoning the world’s  

Brought into their compliance, the Death Guard  would sow death and reap their harvest of souls.  Fuelled by a desire to cleanse Humanity of  Terror and Oppression, Mortarion’s campaigns   would be waged without mercy or restraint. Often waging joint campaigns with his Brother  

Primarch: Horus Lupercal, the Death  Guard and the Lord of Death would gain   a reputation as a reliable and efficient Legion. Weakening their foes with their sheer fortitude   in battle, the Death Guard would drain their  opposition of firepower until the 16th Legion:   The Luna Wolves would deliver the  hammer-blow to destroy their ranks. 

A close bond would form between Horus and  Mortarion, despite the Lord of Death’s   visage of breathing apparatus and pallid skin  resulting in the majority of his Primarch Brethren   distancing themselves from his favour. Deemed a freakish figure among the sons   of the Emperor with exception given  to the Night Haunter of Nostramo,  

Mortarion would be criticised by his brothers  such as the Primarch of the Ultramarines Legion:   Roboute Guilliman for cherishing his brotherhood  of Horus above even the Emperor’s grace.  For in time, such a criticism of the Lord of  Death’s character would be proven to be true… 

As the Great Crusade began to draw to  a close, the use of Psykers within the   Legionnes Astartes would begin to  cause concern within the Imperium.  The Librarious had proven time-and-again to be  a tool of great power among the Legions, yet  

Their reliance in drawing power from the unstable  depths of the Warp would becalled into question.  Convening the Council of Nikea, Primarchs  and Astartes alike would debate on the   use of Psykers within the Astartes ranks. Magnus the Red: Primarch of the Thousand Sons  

Would champion their inclusion whilst Mortarion  would seek to abolish their continual use.  The Lord of Death’s childhood had been plagued  by the influence of foul and shown Mortarion   first-hand the depths of depravity that  those who wielded psychic powers could stoop.  Convincing the Emperor to disband the Librarious,  

Mortarion would be satisfied with his father’s  decision to outlaw sorcery within the Legion.  Yet such a victory to his ideals and  values would not be enough to absolve   the Emperor of the Lord of Death’s resentment. The Warmaster of the Imperium: Horus Lupercal  

Would begin his descend into the clutches of  Chaos with the intervention of the Plague God.  Wounded by an Anathame blade wounded  by the corrupted Planetary Governor,   the chosen pawn of Nurg’leth would injure  the Primarch of the 16th Legion and allow  

For his corruption by the forces of Chaos. Now poised to overthrow the galaxy with   his rebellion to the Throne, the Warmaster would  turn to his most trusted brother for allegiance.  Mortarion had never been accepted by the Emperor  nor his most lauded sons, save for Horus. 

Horus would reveal to Mortarion that the Emperor  had stolen power from the beings of the Warp   and empowered himself through their means to  become the most power Psyker of the galaxy.  Mortarion’s intolerance of Psykers would  cement his resolve to face the Emperor and  

Alongside the Sons of Horus, the Death  Guard would join in their betrayal…  The Death Guard’s path to damnation had been set,   for even among their ranks the seeds  of corruption had been planted.  1st Captain Calas Typhon had concealed his  surrender to the Ruinous Powers and with the  

Influence of his rank sown the influence  of the Plague God into the14th Legion.  Upon the Istvaan System, the Traitor Legions would  begin their campaign to conquer the Imperium.  Purging the Loyalist remnants within their  Legions, the Sons of Horus, World Eaters,   Emperor’s Children and Death Guard  would slaughter their brethren. 

The lingering glories of the Dusk Raiders would  be expunged from the ranks of the Death Guard and   despite the escape of the Legion’s Battle Captain:  Nathaniel Garro and a detachment of Loyalist Death   Guard the 14ths submission to Chaos would begin. Deploying his men to aid in the betrayal of the  

Loyalist counter-attack during  the Istvaan Dropsite Massacre,   Mortarion would not linger to indulge in the  grudges perpetrated by his traitorous brothers.  Without delay the Lord of Death would  venture to attempt to bring another Legion   into the fold of the Traitor war effort. Horus had been especially close to the  

Primarch of the White Scars: Jaghatai  Khan during the Great Crusade and as   such the Lord of Death would use this bond  to bring the Khan of Khans into the fold.  Absent from the opening  stages of the Horus Heresy,   the 5th Legion had not pledged their  blades to either side of the conflict. 

Refusing to intervene by aiding the Space  Wolves within the Alaxxes Nebula in the wake of   their burning of Prospero, the White Scars would  travel to the world of Prospero to find answers.  Confronting the Warhawk within the ashen  derelicts of Prospero, the Lord of Death  

Would offer the Khan an invitation to  join their rebellion against the Emperor.  Observing Mortarion’s changes gifted by the  Ruinous Powers, Jaghatai would surmise that   the Lord of Death merely sought to expunge  every trace of Psykers from the galaxy.  Having drafted the outlines of the Librarious  alongside his Brothers Magnus and Sanguinius,  

The Khan though not gifted with psychic power   would be sympathetic to those  who were gifted such abilities.  Despite the restraint suggested by the  White Scars and the Emperor’s decision   to outlaw the use of Psykers, the Traitors  had surrendered to the beings of the Warp,  

And for such flagrant hypocrisy the Warhawk  would refuse to side with the Lord of Death.  Warning Mortarion that the Warp shall  claim him shall he continue on his path,   Mortarion had chosen to betray Humanity for the  promise strength and found his rewards wanting. 

The Khagan would state that the Primarchs  were not Empire builders, for only the   Emperor would be capable of leading Humanity. Enraged at the Khan’s refusal to join the Traitor,   Mortarion and his Death Shroud honour Guard  would battle the White Scars and their Primarch. 

The Keshig and Death Shroud would clash as  the sons of the Emperor circled one-another.  The Death Lord and Khagan would clash,   their blows matching one-another in a  battle between speed and constitution.  Yet with the arrival of Death Guard fleet above  Prospero Mortarion would retreat from the fray. 

With the second Battle of Prospero ended and  his attempt to recruit the 5th Legion failed,   Mortarion would command his fleet to purge  the planets of the Prosperine system.  For the Lord of Death sought answers  within the Crimson King’s Empire…  Upon the Mandeville Point during  007.M31 Mortarion would descend  

Upon the world and capture one  of the world’s inhabitants.  Possessed by a daemon of the Warp,  the captive woman now shackled within   the Death Guard flagship: Endurance  would reveal it’s nature to Mortarion.  Having never encountered such a  being, Mortarion would be taunted  

The possessed woman’s insinuation that his  soul had been claimed by the Lord of Decay.  His intolerance of the Warp further stoked,  Jaghatai’s words had been proven true for   Mortarion was now surrounded  by the servants of fell gods. 

Alone in his resolve to stave off the influence  of Chaos among the Traitor ranks, Mortarion would   seek the means to prevent his damnation. Yet the power of Nurgle would not be denied   for Mortarion had not been  chosen, he had been claimed.  Believing himself to be incorruptible,  the possessed woman would mock the  

Primarch’s self delusion and hypocrisy. Transforming into a being of the Immaterium,   the daemon would taunt the Lord  of Death as he struggled and   failed to crush the being his raw strength. Forced to unleash his innate yet repressed   psychic abilities buried deep within,  Mortarion would rend the daemon apart. 

Mockingly saluting the Primarch with the phrase:  “Hail, Master of the Plague”, as it’s soul receded   back into the Immaterium it would leave the  Lord of Death in his state of hypocrisy.  Now empowered with the very sorceries he has  always denied, Mortarion would acknowledge his  

Self-loathing nature and attempt to master  the Warp to prevent becoming it’s pawn…  The Death Guard Legion would become fragmented  with the 1st Captain’s continual fascination   and pursuit of the powers of the Chaos Gods. Already tutored in the arts of sorcery by the  

Word Bearers 1st Chaplain: Erebus, Typhon would  not repress nor hide his own psychic abilities.  Mortarion would order his Legion to  aid in the assault of the Siege of   Terra yet Calas Typhon now no-longer  served the whims of his Primarch.  Surrendering his soul, men and vessels to  the clutches of Nurgle within the Immaterium,  

The splintering of the Death Guard  by it’s 1st Captain had begun.  Murdering the Navigators of the fleet,  Typhus would allow the fleet under   Mortarion’s command to be soaked in the  powers of Nurgle within the Immaterium.  Unable to escape the Warp, the  Astartes of the fleet would  

Transform into bloated, puss-coated beings. Their rusted armour and rotten flesh ripe for   the many contagions and virus to grow plump  within their seeping wounds and rotten skin.  Mortarion would not be spared such gifts of  the Plague God, the Lord of Death would not  

Be spared by the Emperor at  the summit of the toxic miasma.  Mortarion would endure untold suffering  transform until the gifts of Nurgle would cease.  Reborn as a Daemon Prince of the  Plague Father, Mortarion would   pledge his soul and the fate of his Legion  as a bargain from the deliverance of pain… 

Returning to real-space as horrific  harbingers of disease and pestilence,   the Death Guard would join the  Traitor assault of the Siege of Terra.  Descending as the first assault wave upon  the Throneworld and slaughtering swathes of   the defenders of the Imperium, Mortarion  and his Death Guard would wreak havoc. 

Conquering the Colossi Gate, the Death Guard  would re-deploy to the Marmax Bastion and again   face the Warhawk and his White Scars in battle. His outcast gene-son: Battle Captain Nathanial   Garro would intervene and alongside his  Knights Errant confront his gene-father. 

Offering Garro the chance to re-join his Legion,  the Hand of the Sigilite would reject the   Corrupted Primarch’s offer and before perishing  wound Mortarion with his broken blade: Libertas.  Capturing the Lion’s Gate Spaceport from  Imperial forces, Jaghatai Khan would   engage Mortarion in the battle to reclaim the  vital lynchpin of the Throneworld’s defence. 

Once again duelling, Jaghatai would be no match  against the now fully-empowered pawn of Chaos,   yet the Khagan knew a weaknesses he could exploit. Scolding Mortarion’s weakness of giving himself to   the entities of the Warp, the Khagan would strike  a crippling blow to the Lord of Death’s ego. 

Taking advantage of Mortarion’s frenzied state,  Jaghatai would injure the Lord of Death before   being impaled by Mortarion’s Scythe: Silence. Pulling himself close to Mortarion, Jaghatai   would endure the pain of the blade as it dug  deep into his flesh and decapitate Mortarion…  Banished into the roiling tides of the  Warp, Mortarion would materialise once  

More into the mortal realm and  claim dominion of a daemon world.  Residing on the plague planet, the  disgraced Lord of Death would not show his   presence within the Imperium for many millennia. His Plague Marines of the 14th had failed during  

The Siege and the Horus Heresy had been thwarted  by the Emperor and the Loyalists to the Throne.  Ruling his world as a tyrant alike to  his foster-father, the hypocrisy of   Mortarion would ascend new heights as he  ruled the world by tyrannical overlord. 

Ascending fully into the form of a Daemon  Prince, Mortarion would rule his kingdom as   the Death Guard splintered into  warbands of varying loyalties.  Yet with the dawn of the 41st Millennia,  the Pale King would return to real-space.  During 901.M41 Mortarion would slay the  Supreme Grand Master of the Grey Knights:  

Kornovin and be banished by  his successor: Kaldor Draigo.  Carving his predecessors name onto Mortarion’s  heart, Mortarion would temporarily be banished   once more to the Immaterium. However, the birth of the   Cicatrix Maledictum across the stars would  herald a new dawn for the Death Guard. 

The Great Rift would demand opposition,  and with the return of the Avenging Son:   Roboute Guilliman, Mortarion would wage  his great Plague War upon Ultramar.  Seeking to corrupt Macragge and it’s subordinate  planets and spread the Garden of Nurgle across   the bones of their ravaged husks,  The Pale King would be confronted  

By the Ultramarines and their Primarch. Battling Guilliman upon the world of Iax in   single combat, the culmination of the Plague Wars  would see Mortarion slay the Primarch of the 13th.  Resurrected by the Emperor, the Master  of Mankind would banish Mortarion once  

More and deal a wound upon the Plague God Nurgle. His garden burning and champion defeated, Nurgle   would show be displeased at his chosen Primarch  as he tends to his wounded pride and ambition.  Yet one day, the Prince of Decay shall return,  to wreak untold miseries upon the galaxy… 

The Primarchs of His Imperium are among  the strongest beings in the galaxy.  Gifted power beyond the comprehension of  mere mortals, the sons of the Emperor would   lead their armies at the vanguard of battle. Yet each Primarch would strive to push the   limits of their strength, whether in martial  prowess, artifice or psychic potential. 

For today we shall Elucidate a Primarch  unequalled in his mastery of the Warp,   blinded by the allure of fell knowledge. The Primarch of the 15th Legion: Magnus the Red.  The young son of the Emperor would be  unique among his brethren in many ways. 

The only Primarch to remember the origin  of his creation, the psychic power of the   crimson child would be potent from the start. Within his gestation pod within the gene-labs of   Terra, the child would utilise his innate psychic  abilities to commune with the Master of Mankind. 

Spirited to the colony world of Prospero  during the Scattering of the Primarchs,   the son of the Emperor would emerge into a  world steeped in the mystical arts of sorcery.  The populace had been shunned by Humanity  for it’s manipulations of the Immaterial  

Realm since the days of the Dark Age of Technology  and in their isolation they would work tirelessly   to understand the nuances of the Warp. Plagued by beings known as the Psychneuein,   the power emanating from the Psykers of the  planet would draw the foul warp-spawned insectoid  

Creatures to prey on the minds of the weak. The sorcerers would band together to stave off   the incursions of the creatures, and within their  bastions study means to hone their psychic might.  Alike to a comet, the Primarch’s gestation  pod would plunge through Prospero’s orbit  

And crash into the central plaza  of the world’s capitol: Tizca.  Among the sorcerers of the planet, a lone man  would step forth to investigate the capsule.  Amon, a senior member of Tizcan Commune  would find a child within and raise the   young boy as both father and tutor. The boy would quickly mature and  

Demonstrate an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. The kind mentor and powerful psyker of Prospero   would teach the son of the Emperor every  art in the arcane within his understanding.  Within years, Amon’s mastery of the Aether would  be surpassed by his adopted child as Magnus read  

Ancient volumes, compendiums and scrap of  text within the City of Light’s Librarium.  No longer the most revered sorcerer  of Prospero, Amon would with pride   relinquish his mentorship of the boy and  assume the mantle of student to his own son. 

None had ever seen a being capable of the wonders  Magnus could conjure and with time the Master   of the Warp would rally the people of Prospero  to eradicate the Psychneuein from their world…  Entire cities of Prospero had been  infested with the creatures of the   warp and claimed untold souls from their harvest. 

With Magnus’ ascension as the ruler  of Prospero by dint of his power,   the Crimson King would lead his unified band of  sorcerers to cleanse their once noble bulwarks.  Purging the beings from Prospero, Magnus would see  to the reconstruction of the city of Tizca with  

Knowledge gleaned from the reclaimed cities’ long  dormant repositories of knowledge and history.  The City of Light would transform into a paradise. Marble and glass Pyramids would jut into the   heavens as the citizenry study arcanum within  the tranquil parks and boulevards of Tizca.  Enraptured with bliss and safety,  

The Prosperans would flourish with the  peace brought by their new Monarch.  Yet the Crimson King would not be  satisfied with the lot of his people.  Seeking to further master and explore  the power of the so-called ‘Great Ocean’,   Magnus would see to the construction of  a vast Great Library within the heart of  

Tizca for the scholars of Prospero to further  probe their understanding of the Immaterium.  Despite his once mentor Amon warning the  Crimson King against delving too deep into   the nadir of the Great Ocean, Magnus would  journey further and further into it’s tides. 

Such acts of Psychic power would emanate through  the galaxy and quickly draw the attention of   the Master of Mankind to it’s origins. During 840.M30 the Emperor of Mankind   would descend unto the precincts of Tizca. The two had conversed for years as the  

Master of Mankind sought to reunite with  his prodigal son and upon the Emperor’s   reunion with his child, he would embrace him. Accompanying his father for solar decades,   Magnus join the Emperor in his  traversal and study of the Warp. 

Yet the Master of Mankind would warn Magnus that  even though they were among the most Psychically   powerful beings in the galaxy, the machinations  of the Warp were not to be over indulged.  For dangers existed with the depths  of the Great Ocean to which no man,  

No matter his strength or wisdom, would  be immune to it’s malevolent influence…  Installed as the leader of the 15th Legion:  The Thousand Sons, Magnus’ sons would follow   in their Primarch’s image as the most  gifted Psykers of the Legionnes Astartes. 

Yet their gifts would not be without cost  as the 15th Legion had been ravaged by a   Warp-born mutation known as ‘The Flesh Change’.  Mutation and organ rejection would  be rampant within the Legion as a   direct result of their Psychic affinity to which  their numbers had dwindled to a Thousand Souls. 

The Emperor had named them to honour those  who had survived the decline of their numbers   and remained resolute and stalwart in  the face of their dire circumstance.  Many within the Imperium would advocate  for the euthanising of it’s remaining   Astartes to prevent further unavoidable mutations,  

Magnus would plead with the Emperor to allow the  Crimson King to seek a cure for their ailment.  Agreeing to his request, the Emperor  would allow the Crimson King several   decades to find the cure for his gene-sons. In secret, Magnus would naively consort with  

The entities within the Great Ocean  and be offered a balm for his men.  Sacrificing his eye in the bargain for his  Legion’s survival, Magnus would be manipulated   by the schemer of the Warp: Tzeentch. Believing himself to have cleansed the  

Flesh Change from his Legion, Magnus had bought  only a temporary reprieve for his Thousand Sons.  His arrogance damning his Legion to endure  future hardships, the Crimson King and the   Thousand Sons would join the Great Crusade 100  years after the Emperor’s arrival to Tizca. 

For the Imperium still treated the army  of sorcerous Astartes with suspicion,   and the Thousand Sons of Magnus would need to  vindicate themselves from their detractors…  Regardless of their small numbers in  comparison to their brother-legions,   the 15th would quickly prove themselves to be more  than capable in bringing worlds into compliance. 

Displaying their mastery of the Warp  in bouts of immense arcane might,   the Thousand Sons would emulate a fragment of  the Emperor’s own power during their campaigns.  Lead by their striking Crimson Lord,  the 15th Legion would be among the   most noble warriors of the Imperium. Akin to scholars more than warriors,  

The warriors of Prospero would delight  in their mastery of the Immaterium.  Enthralling the populations of worlds rather  than expunge them with devastation and fire,   such tactics would earn the ire  of the Primarch of the 6th Legion:   Leman Russ for their flagrantly dishonourable  manipulations of the will of their foes. 

Gathering knowledge from every corner  of the galaxy, the Crimson King would   pen a tome enriched with knowledge and  arcanum of the Warp: The Book of Magnus.  Fastened to Magnus’ armour in heavy  golden chains, the book wrapped in   the hide of a slain Psychneuein would be  for the eyes of the Crimson King alone. 

Breaching the Eldar Webway with his scavenged  knowledge, Magnus would ever-further infringe   upon the boundaries outlined by the Emperor. The Thousand Sons obsession with claiming   knowledge from conquered world would sow  distrust among the Primarchs and their Legions,   for the 15th could not be trusted in indulging  in knowledge in breach of the Imperial Truth. 

Raising their concerns to the Master of  Mankind, the Space Wolves, Death Guard,   Imperial Fists and Raven Guard would demand  reprisal for the Thousand Sons abuse of sorcery.  Convening the Council of Nikea, the Emperor  would decide the fate of the Librarious within  

The Legions and be swayed by the council of both  Primarchs and Astartes invested in it’s cause.  Magnus would champion the use of Psykers  within the Legion and despite a rousing   speech before the assembled conclave,  his opposition would be vicious.  The Primarch of the Death Guard: Mortarion and  representative of the Space Wolves: Ohthere  

Wyrdmake would testify to the fraught dangers  of the Warp and sway the Emperor’s decision.  Outlawing the Librarious, the  Master of Mankind would censure   all use of Psykers among the Legionnes Astartes.  A decision which would cement the  Thousand Sons’ destiny of betrayal…  Infuriated with the Emperor’s  prohibition in the use of Psykers,  

Magnus would seek a means  to circumvent such a ruling.  With the Ork menace routed during the decisive  battle of Ullanor, the Emperor would install   his most cherished son: Horus Lupercal  to lead the Great Crusade in his absence. 

Returning to Holy Terra, the Master of Mankind  would in secret attempt to claim the Eldar Webway   for the Imperium’s use in safe-traversal  of the galaxy in the stead of Warp travel.  Magnus would seek solace upon his homeworld of  Prospero and seek a means to divine a future  

In which his Legion would once again be free  to harness their mastery of the Immaterium.  Within his long meditations, Magnus would foresee  a great ruination poised to sunder The Imperium.  Horus Lupercal would turn against his  father and plunge the galaxy into a  

War which would damn Humanity to a future  of endless war, suffering and ignorance.  Unable to divine his own future, and revealing  that the Warmaster had already begun his   corruption in the service to the Ruinous  Powers; the Crimson King would in an act of  

Desperation bring ruin to the future of Humanity. With the aid of his Legion’s greatest sorcerers,   Magnus would attempt to contact the Emperor  within his psychically fortified palace.  Projecting himself to Holy Terra, Magnus would be  prevented from contacting his father by a barrier  

Constructed to keep out Immaterial incursions. Accepting an offer of aid from an unknown entity   within the Warp to aid in his breach  of the barrier, Magnus would naively   accept the power of the Changer of Ways in the  venture to tear through the psychic barrier. 

Bursting through to the Emperor’s Throne  Room, Magnus’ actions would allow for the   tide of malevolent warp beings to spill  through the tear in the palace’s defences.  Corrupting the Webway beyond all hope of  salvation, the Crimson King had damned   Humanity to forever suffer void-travel  within the malevolent tides of the Warp… 

Furious that his great work had been ruined,   the Emperor would demand that  Magnus face trial for his actions.  Dispatching the 6th Legion: the Space  Wolves under the command of their Primarch:   Leman Russ, the Emperor would order the  Vylka Fenrica to bring Magnus to Terra. 

As Magnus’ spirit returned to his mortal shell,  he would be visited by the Architect of Fate:   Tzeentch. Taunting the Crimson   King that he shall serve as his champion,  Magnus had failed to warn the Emperor of   Horus’ impending betrayal and doomed Humanity to  forever be cursed by the machinations of the Warp. 

As the Space Wolves neared ever-closer to  Prospero, the Warmaster would intercept   their transmission and under the guise of  loyalty to the Emperor give new orders to Rout.  Ordered to destroy the Thousand Sons with  his detachment of Sisters of Silence and   Legio Custodes, The Wolf King would  have no reason to doubt the fealty  

To his trusted Brother and accept his command. The Space Wolves would descend upon Prospero and   burn it’s once beautiful vistas to ash. Magnus now understood that he had been   manipulated by powers of the Warp which he  had time-and-again been warned to abstain. 

Deciding the sacrifice himself and his sons  to deny the Ruinous Powers their prize,   Magnus would no longer be a pawn of Chaos. Allowing his homeworld to be razed to the ground,   Magnus would hide the 6th Legion’s fleet from  his men to hasten the demise of his people. 

Death rained upon Tizca as the Rout  and their allies cut a swathe through   the streets of the once-proud City of Light. Unable to accept responsibility for his actions,   Magnus would not be capable of holding true to his  own resolve and aid in his home-world’s defence. 

Confronting his brother: Leman Russ, Magnus  would battle the Wolf King in single-combat.  Protected with runic armour and the combined  Null-power of the Sisters of Silence,   Leman Russ would face the crimson  king in a duel of steel alone.  Shattering Russ’ armour with a might  punch of his fist. Magnus would further  

Puncture one of the wolf King’s hearts. Yet such a strike had been a ruse, for Leman   would blind Magnus and after lifting the Crimson  King across his knee break Primarch’s spine…  The Crimson King had fallen, his  men had been slaughtered under his  

Protection and now his homeworld burned. Losing all hope of salvation or redemption   Magnus would surrender to the Ruinous Powers. Offering his fealty to the Changer of Ways,   Magnus would pledge his soul  to the being known as Tzeentch.  By the will of the Lord of Change,  the City of Light would be teleported  

To within the Eye of Terror. Upon a Daemon-world of the Architect   of Fate’s choosing, Magnus would accept his  bargain as a servant of the Ruinous Powers.  Transforming into a Daemon Prince of  his patron, Magnus had relinquished   his mortal form which would shatter into  fragments to ascend into a corporeal being. 

As the Shards of Magnus were cast across  the galaxy, each piece of the Crimson King’s   power would as mental projections  to those whom sought his council.  His primary form would remain on the Daemon Planet  of Sorcerers within the Immaterium, yet would  

Deteriorate with the absent shards of his being. The Thousand Sons 1st Captain: Azhek Ahriman would   venture forth to retrieve the shards of Magnus. Obtaining all but one of the missing fragments,   Ahriman would restore much of his gene-father’s  power with the four reclaimed shards of his being. 

Bereft of the final shard characterised by  his humanity and good-nature, Magnus would   return to real-space with his Thousand  Sons to aid in the Traitor War Effort.  Seeking out the final shard of his being  on Holy Terra, the Crimson King would ally   with the Warmaster by necessity alone… Joining the Traitors at the muser-point  

Of Ullanor, Magnus and his remaining  Thousand Sons would journey to Holy Terra.  Absent from the battlefield, Magnus  would orchestrate strategies aboard   Horus’s Flagship: The Vengeful Spirit,  for the Traitors to breach the psychic   barriers surrounding the Imperial Palace. Yet with the fall of the Lion’s Gate Spaceport,  

Magnus would take to the field. Weakening the Emperor’s psychic   might and aiding his Brother Mortarion to better  harness his repressed Psychic might, the Crimson   King would bolster the Traitors assault  before the great culmination of the war.  As Mortarion and his Death Guard resumed  their assault of the Imperial defenders,  

Magnus and his Thousands Sons would  infiltrate the Imperial Dungeons.  Entering the Imperial Palace, Magnus  would be confronted by Malcadore the   Sigilite and be informed that the final  Shard of Mangus was now beyond his reach.  Imbued within the reborn Last Son of Prospero:  Revuel Arvida, Magnus would never be whole again. 

Seemingly slaying the Sigilite,  Magnus’ fury would not be satisfied.  Entering the chamber of the Golden Throne,  the Emperor would sit immobile and vulnerable.  Aiming a psychic projectile to kill the Emperor,  Magnus’ strike would be repelled by the Primarch   of the 18th Legion: Vulkan. Denied his vengeance,  

Magnus and his Thousand Sons would battle  the Salamanders and their gene-father.  However, during the fray the Emperor would  show Magnus a vision of a possible future…  Magnus sat upon the Golden Throne,  blissfully drifting into the tides of the   Warp and it’s mysteries alongside his father. Powering the Imperial Webway, this vision of  

Magnus would guard the Imperium would be the  foundation for it’s dominion of the stars and   long-reigning peace achieved by the Emperor. The Loyal Primarchs now presided over Humanity   in it’s hard-won age of prosperity,  peace and unending grandeur. 

Offering Magnus a chance to re-join the fold of  the Loyalists, the Emperor would claim that such   a perfect future could still be achieved. Magnus had only to turn from the clutches   of Chaos and accept that his Thousand Sons could  never be freed from the curse of the Flesh Change. 

Refusing his father’s offer, Magnus would  continue his attempt to end the Emperor’s life.  Pummelled into submission by the Lord of  Drakes, Magnus would once again surrender   the last shred of his soul to transcend  fully into a being of the Immaterium.  Banished by the Anti-Daemonic wards  of the chamber, the Crimson King  

Would transform into a winged Daemonic entity. Once more-clashing with Vulkan within the Imperial   Webway, Magnus would attempt to sway the loyal  son of the Emperor yet fail in his manipulations.  Slaying the Perpetual Primarch several times  during their duel, Vulkan would not relent and  

Be given new life with each mortal blow. Besting Magnus with sheer brute force and   indomitable attrition, Vulkan would before  disintegrating from final a desperate   blast of psychic energy crush Magnus’  skull with his Warhammer: Urdrakule…  With the Emperor’s victory against  the Traitors to the Throne,   the pawns of Chaos would retreat from Holy Terra. 

Fleeing to the Planet of the Sorcerors,  the surviving Thousand Sons would for   their defeat once more be afflicted  with the curse of the Flesh Change.  1st Captain Ahzek Ahriman would attempt to  conjure a fell incantation to revoke the curse   of his Legion yet further damn the Thousand  Sons by transforming the psychically-lacking  

Members of the 15th into mindless automatons. Those whom proved worthy would be empowered   and assume command of the so-called ‘Rubric  Marines’ and further fracture the 15th Legion.  Magnus, now reformed from his banishment into  the Warp would grieve for the loss of more of his  

Beloved sons by the careless meddling of sorcery. Seeking to punish his wayward sons, Magnus would   confront Ahriman upon the Planet of Sorcerers  and demand blood for his callous actions.  Yet Tzeentch would intervene and  spare the life of the Sorcerer Lord. 

Banishing his 1st Captain and ordering him  to fulfil a quest to understand the Warp to   it’s fullest extent, Ahriman’s actions had torn  asunder the Legion into conflicting warbands.  But despite the Thousand Sons’ continual  burdens, the Crimson King would rally  

Those who would remain loyal to his cause and  seek penance for the loss of his homeworld…  Emerging from the Immaterium during the 32nd  Millennium, Magnus would orchestrate the   devastation of worlds throughout Imperial Space. Hunted by the Great Wolf of the 6th Legion:  

Harek Ironhelm, the Thousand Sons would  evade the Space Wolves persecution and   assault their homeworld of Fenris. Despising the sons of Russ for their   Chapter’s past actions, Magnus would seek to  raze Fenris in the manner of his own homeworld.  Sieging the Space Wolves fortress  known by outsiders as ‘The Fang’,  

The 6th Legion would endure the assault  of the Thousand Sons for 40 days.  Awoken from his long slumber, the ancient  Venerable Dreadnought: Bjorn the Fell-Handed   would lead his Chapter on their survive of the  invasion of the Crimson King whilst the scout  

Marines of the Chapter would be dispatched to  bring word of the assault to Harek Ironhelm.  With the return of the Great Wolf,  the Thousand Sons would be repelled.  Wounding the Primarch of the 15th, Harek would  manage a valiant defiance against the Primarch  

Yet die during their brutal engagement. Yet the Aett would stand and with the   reinforcement of Harek’s men the Thousand  Sons would be driven from Fenris.  Satisfied with destroying the gene-stores of  the Rout, Magnus would continue his plots to   destroy the legacy of Leman Russ. Returning to real-space during the  

41st millennium, Magnus would attempt to retrieve  the holy relic of the Chapter: the Spear of Russ.  The Dionysian Spear would enable  Magnus to revive his fallen sons,   yet with the intervention of Ragnar Blackmane  such heretical rituals would be thwarted.  Obsessed with the destruction  of his most hated nemesis,  

Magnus would return once again during  999.M41 and would enact the Siege of Fenris.  Once more banished by the  Great Wolf: Logan Grimnar,   Magnus’ relentless conquest of the Fenrisians  would bear a heavy toll on the Space Wolves.  Yet despite his greatest efforts, the sons of  Leman Russ endure and stand ever-vigilant to  

Stand against the Crimson King’s campaigns. However with Magnus’ emboldening by humbling   the wolves of Fenris, he would soon  find another foe to bring to heel.  The Primarch of the Ultramarines:  Roboute Guilliman had returned to   the faltering Imperium and begun his  task of avenging the lost glory of   the Imperium. Upon the Avenging Son’s  

Terran crusade to return to the Throneworld,  Magnus would ambush his brother’s fleet.  Trapping Guilliman within the Maelstrom, the  Primarch of the Ultramarines would regardless   manage to escape the clutches of the  Thousand Sons and would confront his   once-brother upon the moon of Luna. Duelling the Lord of Ultramar,  

Magnus would overwhelm the Primarch of the  13th and seem poised to end the resurgence   of the Emperor’s solitary beacon of hope. Though Guilliman would not die this day,   and with the aid of the Sisters of Silence the  Avenging Son would impale the Crimson King with  

The Emperor’s diving blade and banish  Magnus once more into the Immaterium.  Though Magnus remains a tireless  thorn in the Imperium’s side.  Relentless in his quest to one day  crush the Imperium and seek retribution…  The Primarchs of His Imperium would  exemplify the pinnacle of Human creation. 

Demi-gods among mortal men, these  titanic figures of the Imperium   would lay the path for peace, paved with  the bones of the enemies of the Emperor.  Yet while each Primarch would  be legendary in their own right,   one would be chosen as the first among equals  and despite his favour damn Humanity’s future. 

The Primarch of the 16th Legion: Horus Lupercal.  Much of the origins of the being known as  ‘The Lupercal’ would be shrouded in mystery.  Yet what is known, is that the Primarch of  the 16th Legion would be spirited to the   planet of C’thonia during the Scattering  of the Primarchs by the Ruinous Powers. 

A mining world within close  proximity to Holy Terra,   the harsh environment of the young Primarch’s  homeworld would be rich in precious minerals.  Ruled by Tech-Barbarian criminal gangs, the  Primarch of the 16th would quickly adapt to the   now post-industrial Hive Cities and barren mines. Developing a rough C’thonian accent from the  

Inhabitants who influenced his youth, the  Primarch would thrive among the violent   gang wars of the planet until his ascension as a  unifier of the disparate syndicates of the planet.  Recorded by Imperial records as the first  Primarch be found by the Master of Mankind,  

It would not take long for the  Emperor to reunite with his protégé.  Swiftly taken under the wing of the Emperor, the  Primarch known as Horus Lupercal would be mentored   in the methods of waging war and be privy to the  Master of Mankind’s plans to reunify Humanity. 

As the Emperor formed alliances with  the Mechanicum of Mars and began his   conquest of the stars, Horus would  learn from his father’s conquests   and prove a capable leader in his own right. Installed as the commander of the 16th Legion:   The Luna Wolves, Horus would stand by his  father’s side for 30 Terran-standard years  

During the beginning of the conquest  known by history as the Great Crusade…  Drafting recruits from the rabble of C’Thonia,   Horus would mould his Legion into the  sharp claws of the Imperium’s war machine.  Their namesake proclaimed by the Master  Mankind, the Luna Wolves would strike fear  

Into the hearts of the Imperium’s foes. With compliances gained as the momentum   of the Great Crusade continued after 30  years of campaigning reports of another   Primarch’s discovery would soon  reach the notice of the Emperor.  Granting Horus full command  of the Principia Imperialis,  

Horus’ first great test would be to continue  the Great Crusade in the Emperor’s absence.  Proving his capabilities, Horus would  continue to earn the favour of The   Emperor as each of his lost brothers would  be brought into the fold of the Imperium. 

Yet with each of his brothers appointed to  lead their legions in the wake of the Lupercal,   Horus would resolve to remain as  the Emperor’s most favoured son.  For two hundred years the Luna Wolves would  continue to bring worlds into compliance. 

Gaining the respect of each of his Brothers,  the deeds of their legions would not surpass the   grandeur and glories of the vaunted 16th. Given opportunities to fight alongside   his brothers in joint campaigns,  Horus would combine the strengths   of his Brother’s legion in order to synergise  and compliment their specialities in warfare. 

A charismatic leader, Horus’ legendary  charisma would embolden the deeds of   every subject of the Imperium and further  increase Humanity’s dominion across the galaxy.  Engaging newly conquered worlds in diplomacy  enshrined in the cultural traditions of each   unique world, Horus would treat with the  new subjects of the Imperium in the manner  

Befitting a venerable orator and stateman. Gifted an innate mastery of psychology,   Horus would bring worlds in compliance utilising  minimal blood-shed by exploiting the hopes   and fears of non-compliant civilisations. Empowering the most virtuous traits among   his Brother-Primarchs and the subjects  of His Imperium, Horus would facilitate  

The utmost efficiency in deployment of the  Legionnes Astartes and Imperial Army forces.  Spurring the Legions to ever-greater  proficiency and strength, Horus would   sow the seeds of rivalry between rival  Legions in order to hone their potential.  Deeds which would prove fatal in stoking  hatred among the Legions in the years to come. 

Yet despite the ever-nearing culmination  of the Great Crusade and unity thriving   among the Legionnes Astartes, a  singular overwhelming threat loomed…  The Greenskin menace had spread  like a plague among the stars.  The largest Empire of the Ork Xenos ever  recorded had cut a swathe through the Imperium’s  

Strongholds lead by their Overlord: Urrlak Urg. Rallying the Legionnes Astartes, The Emperor   would push back the Greenskin tide with  Horus at his side as each Primarch brought   their might to bear against the Xenos menace. Driving the Orks back to the Ullanor System,  

The Emperor would end the threat of the Xenos  before their numbers could once again burgeon.  Deploying 100,000 Astartes and 8 million  Imperial Army soldiers upon the world of   Ullanor Prime, The Lupercal would lead  the final battle of the Ullanor Crusade. 

Leading his Luna Wolves and Army regiments  under his command to distract the Ork’s   upon the greater-battlefield, Horus would  assault the great Tower of the Ork capitol.  With his Justaerin Elite 1st Company at his side,  Horus would face the Ork Overlord upon the peak of  

The tower; and after besting the creature in  single-combat cast it’s body from the tower.  As it’s great carcass cashed and split  upon the soil of Ullanor the Orks would   panic and be slaughtered by the Luna Wolves. The Lupercal has proven to be the catalyst  

For the culmination of the Ullanor  Crusade and bested it’s champion.  For his great victory, The Emperor  would honour Horus for his deeds.  Given the title of Warmaster by the  Emperor, the new Commander-in-chief   of the great Crusade would be gifted the Power  Mace: Worldbreaker as his new badge of office. 

The 16th Legion would be renamed  as ‘The Sons of Horus’ for their   valour and bear their new insignia with pride. Horus had proven his worth as the first among   equals and as Warmaster of the Imperium lead  the remainder of the Great Crusade with the  

Authority of the Master of Mankind. Departing from the Great Crusade,   the Emperor of Mankind would attend to  his Imperial Webway Project in secret as   his chosen Warmaster continued his quest  to persecute the war to unify Humanity. 

Yet with the absence of the Master of Mankind,  Horus would burden his new mantle of favour and   begin his downfall from the Emperor’s grace… Uneasy with his ascension above the esteem   of his Brothers, Horus would not be blind to  the discontent and jealousy of his Brothers. 

Though demi-gods among men, the Primarchs  were not beyond petty rivalries to which   Horus would attempt to quell the dissent  brewing within the Legionnes Astartes.  Placating his more volatile Brothers,  Horus would continue his father’s   campaign under the scrutiny of the  many generals of the war effort. 

Yet despite his accolades and favour, resentment  would spark in the heart of the Warmaster.  The Emperor had fled the great crusade to  conduct an endeavour of the utmost secrecy   as the Warmaster’s victories would  be attributed to his fathers glory. 

The newly founded Council of Terra would rule on  the Imperium with no council from the Primarchs.  Bitterness and resentment would take root  within the mind of the Warmaster, to which the   malevolent powers of Chaos would exploit. The 1st Chaplain of the Word Bearers:  

Erebus would install himself as  a confidant to the Warmaster and   whisper conflict into his advisements to Horus. Subtle in his twisting of the Lupercal’s morality,   Erebus would enact the plots of his patron  gods with guile and linguistic subterfuge.  Manipulating the loyalties of the fraternity  of the Mournival within the 16th Legion,  

Erebus would tend to their resentment of  the Emperor’s treatment of the Warmaster.  Upon the moon of the planet Davin  such treacheries would unfold.  The once compliant world, Davin had fallen  to the clutches of the Plague God through   the corruption of Horus’ once close  ally: Planetary Governor Eugen Temba. 

Armed with the xenos artefact: the  Kinebrach Anathame, the plot of   Erebus would culminate in the duel  between Temba and the Warmaster.  Horus would be wounded by the  Chaos-empowered form of Eugen Temba,   the corrupted blade of the Anathame would poison  the Warmaster with an otherworldly infection. 

As Horus slew the thrall of Nurgle, he  would collapse and fall into a coma.  Brought to the 16th Legion’s apothecaries by  the Mournival, the ministration of the Sons   of Horus’ medical technologies would prove  insufficient in restoring their Primarch.  The Warmaster worsened with each  passing moment as the virulent curse  

Within him drained his remaining vitality. In an act of desperation the Mournival would   enact the council of 1st Chaplain Erebus and  bring their Primarch’s body to the Temple   of the Serpent Lodge upon Davin’s moon. Warrior Lodges had already been installed   within the Legionnes Astartes by the  Word Bearers in order to further corrupt  

The Astartes of the Legions to which  the Sons of Horus were no exception.  Entrusting Horus’ body to the Davinite Priests,  the Warmaster’s soul would be delivered before   the Gods of Chaos and become corrupted by the  rituals and sorceries of the Chaos Cultists. 

Horus’ soul would be submerged within  the Immaterium and bear witness to   nightmarish visions of Humanity’s future.  The Emperor of the grim-dark future  would be worshipped as a God,   the Warmaster would be ignorant of his own  meddling in this portent of Humanity’s fate. 

Portraying themselves as victims with no  stake in the matters of the Material World,   the beings of the Warp would entice Horus  by fuelling his long-harboured bitterness.  The spectre of Magnus the Red: Primarch  of the Thousand Sons would attempt to   sway Horus from the path of damnation. Explaining that the future he foresaw could  

Be avoided, Magnus would beseech the Warmaster  from listening to the whispers of Chaos.  Yet Horus’ jealousy would not be abated  and with a pact pledged in the name of   the Dark Gods the Warmaster would accept  the bargain offered by the Ruinous Powers: 

Slay the Emperor and the galaxy shall be yours… Reborn as the Champion of Chaos Undivided,   Horus Lupercal would renounce the Emperor  and begin his descent into madness.  Forming alliances with the Primarchs  embittered to the Emperor, Horus would   use his charisma to nurture the resentments  sown deep within his Brother’s hearts. 

Bringing the World Eaters, Death Guard  and Emperor’s Children into the fold,   Horus would begin his great  plot to overthrow the Imperium.  Dispatching orders to the Ultramarines, Dark  Angels and Blood Angels to the far-corners   of the galaxy on crusades to delay their  involvement, the White Scars and Imperial  

Fists would prove too distant to influence  the start of the Great War for Humanity.  Purging the loyalists within the ranks  of his Legion and those of his allies,   the blood of the noble warriors of the  Emperor would salt the earth of Istvaan 3.  Despite his efforts to conceal  his betrayal from the Emperor,  

Fragments of the Loyalists within the Traitor  Legions would escape the Warmaster’s grasp.  Knowing reprisal would be swift,   Horus would enact commands to contain  and convert the Emperor’s Legions.  Magnus the Red would in his attempt to warn the  Emperor of the Warmaster’s impending Betrayal  

Ruin the Master of Mankind’s Imperial Webway  project and bring censure to his own Legion.  Dispatching the Emperor’s Children to attempt  to bring the Iron Hands into the fold and   manipulating the Primarchs Konrad Curze, Perturabo  and Alpharius to join the Traitor War effort,  

The Warmaster’s mastery of planning and  conquest would prove invaluable to his cause.  With the aid of the Word Bearers and persecution  of the Thousand Sons at the hands of the Wolves   of Fenris, the Warmaster’s gambit would unfold. The resolute Loyalist Legions of the Iron Hands,  

Salamanders and Raven Guard would hurl themselves  into the fray and for their fervour be crushed.  Ferrus Manus: Primarch of the  Iron Tenth would be slain,   Vulkan had been captured  and Corvus Corax has fled.  Yet many battles lay ahead for the Warmaster in  his inexorable campaign to defeat the Emperor… 

Convening the Conclave of the Primarchs  aboard his Flagship: the Vengeful Spirit,   Horus would address his brothers. With the exception of the Alpha Legion Primarch:   Alpharius, the Traitor Primarchs would begin to  deliberate their strategy to destroy the Imperium.  Many of their number had already submitted  to the thrall of Chaos and in doing so  

Pledged their allegiance to the Ruinous Powers. Fulgrim: Primarch of the Emperor’s Children had   become possessed with a daemonic entity whilst  Magnus the Red had surrendered to the Changer of   Ways in the wake of the Burning of Prospero. Lorgar Aurelian had unwittingly been their  

Patron from his worship of the Old Faith of his  homeworld and within the ranks of Mortarion’s   Death Guard and Angron’s World Eaters the  presence of Chaos had begun to fester.  An assortment of renegades, pawns of Chaos  and psychotic mad-men would stand against the  

Glory of His Imperium with Horus installed  as the favoured General of the Dark Gods.  The Warmaster would task his Legions with  campaigns to persecute across the stars.  The Imperial Fists Retribution fleet  would be crippled by the Iron Warriors,  

The Death Guard would attempt to bring the  White Scars into the ranks of the rebellion   and the Word Bearers would trap the 1st, 9th  and 13th Legions within a Warp-devised cage.  The Tech Priests of Mars would wage a civil war  whilst the Legio Titanica, Knight Houses and  

Imperial Army regiments would pledge to join  or resist the call-to-arms of the Warmaster.  3 loyalists Legions had already been broken  beyond all hope of restoring their former might,   but the war for Humanity would be fought  and lost at the Throneworld of Holy Terra. 

Yet the Emperor would not stand idle as  His Imperium burned and with the aid of   Malcadore the Sigilite attempt to end the Horus  Heresy before it could gain further momentum…  The Loyalists to the Throne now  stood at the knife’s edge of the war. 

Severely outmanoeuvred with the annihilation of  the Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard the   Loyalists would be put on a defensive footing. The Imperial Fists would fortify the Throneworld   as the Shattered Legions fought a desperate  guerrilla-warfare campaign against the Traitors.  The Ultramarines, Dark Angels, White Scars and  Blood Angels were cut-off from the wider-Imperium  

And the Space Wolves had incurred heavy losses  from their persecution of the Thousand Sons.  Malcadore the Siglite would begin  his Shadow War against the Traitors   whilst the Master of Mankind tended to the  daemonic incursions spawned from Magnus’   destruction of the Imperial Webway Project. The Imperium now faced it’s greatest trial,  

For it would take the toil of every loyal  soul to deny the Traitors their prize.  Though one weakness could be  exploited within the rebellion.  Should the Warmaster perish the  Traitor war effort would collapse,   for only Horus could unify such a  disparate band of duplicitous degenerates.  Dispatching the Assassin Clades,  Malcadore would orchestrate countless  

Missions to slay the Arch-Traitor. Yet with every failed assassination,   Horus would be further emboldened  in his cause to slay the Emperor.  Contacting the Blackshields of the Fangs of  the Emperor and founding the Knights Errant,   comprised of the estranged and betrayed sons of  the Legionnes Astartes; Malcadore would not relent  

In his attempts to kill the Warmaster. Recruiting former Luna Wolves of the   16h Legion into his clandestine order,  individuals such as Sevarion, Iacton Qruze   and Garvel Loken would seek to exploit the  weaknesses known of their estranged Legion…  Alongside the Primarch of the 6th Legion: Leman  Russ, Malcadore would order the Wolf King to  

Attempt one final strike against the Warmaster. A kill-team of the Knights Errant would board   the Vengeful Spirit and with the Luna  Wolves knowledge of the 16th Legion lay   a path within the ship for the Space Wolves  to assault the Warmaster’s Throne-room. 

During the Battle of Molech, the kill-team and  their commander, the outcast Son of Horus: Garviel   Loken would infiltrate the Vengeful Spirit. Captured and brought to the Lupercal Court   Loken would face his gene-father and be given  an offer to re-join the Warmaster’s Legion. 

Defying his once noble father the surviving  Knights Errant would escape from their captors.  For the Knight Errant Bror Tyrfingr had lain  futhark runes for his gene-kin and enabled a   path for the future assault of the 6th Legion. The Wolves would strike during the battle of  

Trisolian and with the aid of Bror, the  Rout would seek to slay the Warmaster.  Boarding the Vengeful spirit, Russ would  lead his men to the heart of the flagship   and strike against Horus. Wielding the Dionysian Spear,   the Wolf King would manage to pierce  the Warmaster’s armour and wound Horus. 

Forged by the Emperor’s own hand, the  so-called ‘Spear of Russ’ would contain   a portion of the Emperor’s power and reveal the  truth to any whom would be cut from it’s edge.  Horus would be cleansed of the corruption of  Chaos and for a moment return to his true self. 

No longer a thrall of the Ruinous Powers,   Horus would despite such revelation  choose to remain opposed to the Imperium.  Rejecting Leman’s offer to return to Holy Terra,  Horus would attempt to slay the Wolf King.  Yet the valour of the Rout would hold true  as hundreds of Astartes swarmed the Warmaster  

And dragged Leman’s body from the battle. The 6th Legion would sacrifice their lives   to save their Primarch but at the cost of the  vast majority of their remaining strength.  Horus had been vulnerable and were it  not for the hesitation of the Wolf King  

Would have died at the hands of Russ. Yet the wound inflicted by the Dionysian   Spear would send the Warmaster into  a coma to which he may never recover…  The Ruinous Powers would fight and  clamour for the soul of their champion. 

Deep within the immaterium, Horus’ very soul would  fight an endless battle to remain in control of   his being yet his Legion would not stand idle. The Warmaster’s Equerry: Maloghurst the Twisted   would attempt a ritual to reunite  his gene-father’s soul with his body. 

Defended by Kalus Ekaddon, the Twisted  Son of Horus would leave his mortal   body and delve into the Immaterium. Finding his father’s fractured soul,   Maloghurst would beseech his liege  to return to the material realm.  Concluding the ritual, Maloghurst would  impale the wound Horus had sustained from  

The Spear of Russ with his own Athame Dagger. Sacrificing his own soul for his father,   Maloghurst would succeed in freeing  Horus’ soul and once more install him   as Warmaster of the Horus Heresy. Resuming control of the Legions,   Horus would rally the Traitor Primarchs for  their final assault of the Throne World. 

Enacting the Battle of Terra, the Traitor  Legions would descend upon the Sol system.  Reaping untold millions of souls as the  defence fleets of Luna were sundered by   the Traitor’s guns, the Traitors would  begin their infamous Siege of Holy Terra. 

Days of bombardments would harken the countless  Drop Pods which rained from the sky as heretics,   butchers, zealots and warmongers  descended upon the Imperial Palace.  Titans unleashed their fury upon the walls of  the Imperium’s dauntless bastions as billions   of soldiers hurled their worthless bodies into  the munitions of the Emperor’s devoted subjects. 

Horus would watch as his merciless harrying of   the Palace bought ground for  his men, inch by bloody inch.  For the Traitors would not be invulnerable  from the reinforcements of the Dark Angels,   Space Wolves and Ultramarines  should their Siege tarry too long… 

The Emperor’s forces were giving ground  as each minute passed yet the Traitor’s   had taken many losses and could not  hope to survive should they be trapped   between the Palace defenders and the impending  retribution of the 1st, 6th and 13th Legions. 

The Siege of Terra had stalled and with  the withdrawal of the Iron Warriors,   banishment of Angron and Mortarion and the  dis-organised Emperor’s Children indulging in   their own debased atrocities the Warmaster would  not be able to breach the Imperial Palace before   the impending assault of the Ultramarines. Challenging the Emperor to face him in  

Single-combat, Horus would lower the shields of  the Vengeful Spirit and the Loyalist Primarchs   Rogal Dorn, Sanguinius and the Emperor  would teleport upon the Warmaster’s flagship   and battle to decide the fate of Humanity. Sanguinius: Primarch of the Blood Angels would   confront his once-cherished brother and would  behold the fell-glory of the Warmaster of Chaos. 

Bloated with power, should Horus slay the  Emperor he would ascend as the 5th god of   the Ruinous Powers alike to the birth of the  creature born from the downfall of the Aeldari.  Knowing his fate to be destined  to die at the hands of Horus,  

The Great Angel would regardless launch himself  into a battle to the death against his brother.  Damaging the Warmaster’s armour,  Sanguinius would be unable to wound   the champion of Chaos and in the attempt  to slay him fall to the Talon of Horus. 

Finding his fallen noble son at the  feet of the Warmaster, the Master   of Mankind would face the Dark King. Proclaiming that he would spare the   Emperor should he kneel before him,  Horus would bask in his delusion.  Yet the Master of Mankind would declare that  Horus was nothing more than a slave to darkness,  

Of which there would be no hope of redemption.  Bolts of psychic energy would  spill from the Warmaster and he   charged into a duel with the Emperor. Within the Throne Room of the Vengeful   Spirit the two Gods of Humanity would clash  for the fate of the Imperium’s destiny. 

Restraining his immense strength, the Emperor  would be unable to bring his full-might against   his once most beloved son and for his  hesitation be wounded by the Warmaster.  Disarming the Emperor, Horus would gauge his  father’s eye, tear his right arm from it’s socket  

And break the Emperor’s spine over his knee. Gloating at his victory, Horus’ dominion would   be achieved, yet it would be the action of  a mortal man whom would deny the Warmaster.  Standing between the Emperor and the Warmaster,  the stoic soul would stare into the eyes of the  

Warmaster and refuse to be cowed. Ripped apart for his insolence by   the psychic might of Horus, such an act of  defiance would galvanise the Emperor’s resolve.  Summoning his remaining  strength without restraint,   the Emperor would unleash his full psychic  might and rend the Warmaster from existence. 

Realising his folly for a singular moment  before his death, Horus would shed a single   tear before his soul was eradicated… The Traitors would retreat from Terra   and be forever shamed for their hubris in  attempting to usurp the Master of Mankind.  With exception to the 17th Legion, the  Traitors would disband and fragment into  

Warbands bearing no allegiance to a champion  in the place of their slain Warmaster.  The 1st Captain of the Sons of Horus: Ezekyle  Abaddon would abandon his father’s legacy   and seek answers for his purpose within the  tattered carcass of what remained of the galaxy. 

Horus Lupercal’s lifeless body  would be taken to the world of   Maeleum and enshrined upon the Daemon world. Yet the ever-duplicitous Emperor’s Children would   during the dawn of the 31st Millennium enact  the Slave Wars as the scraps of the Traitors  

Fought over the dominion of their tattered ranks. Fabius Bile: Chief Apothecary of the 3rd Legion   would steal the body of the Lupercal and  conduct experiments in order to clone the   Primarch to once again lead the Traitors  in their quest to destroy the Imperium. 

Yet as the Spider conducted his research,  Ezekyle Abaddon would return to the 16th   Legion and proclaim himself to be the  inheritor to his father’s failure.  Installing himself as the new Warmaster of  Chaos, the Despoiler would reforge his men   into the accursed Black Legion and lead them  to assault the Emperor’s Children fortress. 

Overpowering Fabius and released his  cloned experiment from it’s confinement,   Abaddon would look upon the  reborn visage of his father.  Armed with the Talon of Horus, Abaddon  would destroy his father’s seal of office:   Worldbreaker and plunge the blades of his  talon within the chest of the clone of Horus. 

Firing a volley of bolter rounds from the Talon’s  storm-bolter within Horus’ chest cavity, the   reborn Lupercal would be eviscerated by the blast. The time of Horus Lupercal was over, for a new   warrior would assume the mantle of Warmaster and  continue the 16th Legion’s quest for vengeance… 

The Primarchs of His Imperium would instil  Loyalty and fealty within the hearts of mankind.  Paragons of Humanity capable of sundering  Empires and uplifting civilisations,   the charisma, charm and deeds of the sons of the  Emperor would never be exceeded by mortal men.  Yet their exceptional power would not  only hasten His Imperium’s rise but  

Also it’s catastrophic downfall. For today we shall Elucidate the   architect of the Horus Heresy and  devastation of the Imperium of Man.  The Primarch of the 17th Legion: Lorgar Aurelian. With the scattering of the Primarchs across the   stars, the young child of the 17th Legion  would be cast to the planet of Colchis. 

A world rife with superstition and religious  ideology, the subjects of the planet would   bask in the rays of the heat of the sun and  worship fell gods steeped in feudal tradition.  Once a technologically sophisticated world,  Colchis had stooped to the zealous fervour  

Of the Ruinous Powers taught by  it’s people as ‘The Old Faith’.  Disease, war and tyrants would rise  and fall in the ebb and flow of the   planet’s historical record and its people  would learn to accept their lot in life. 

Yet with the arrival of the child of the  Emperor, the planet’s transformation would begin.  Discovered by the peoples known as ‘The Declined’,   their chieftain Fan Morgal would name  the Primarch: Lorgar, the ‘Rain Caller’.  Quickly maturing, within the span of  seventeen days Lorgar had grown to the  

Size of a young child and would meet the first of  his mentor’s to set him on the path of damnation.  Kor Phaeron, an exiled priest of the planet’s  ruling religious sect: The Covenant would   pass through the encampment of The Declined. Seeing the favour of his patron gods within the  

Young boy, Kor Phaeron would convince  the Primarch to become his disciple.  Murdering Fan Morgal and The Declined  peoples, Kor Phaeron would hide the   origins of his now adopted charge and begin  to convert the young Primarch to his beliefs.  Physically and mentally abusive in his  methods of tutoring, Kor Phaeron would  

Mould the boy into a convert of the Old Faith with  a peerless understanding of it’s fell-teachings.  Incorporating his own belief that  there was a being known as ‘The One’,   Lorgar would transform his understanding   of the Old Faith from a polytheistic  doctrine into a monotheistic religion. 

Dismissing the Primarch’s notion of The One, Kor  Phaeron would continue to abuse his foster-son   for his belief and sow deep within Lorgar’s  psyche a perverse dependency to his guardian…  With time Lorgar would grow in stature and be  beyond the physical torments of his father. 

Pathologically loyal to Kor Phaeron,  Lorgar’s prowess as an orator would   garner the Rain Caller many followers. Known as ‘The Godsworn’, Lorgar’s ever   expanding band of zealots would soon  challenge the dominance of the Covenant.  Naming their leader ‘The Bearer of the Word’,  Lorgar’s Godsworn would liberate the downtrodden  

Slaves of the planet across it’s settlements  and march for the capitol city of Vharadesh.  Lorgar’s army would descend upon the City of  Grey Flowers and after conducting a sermon at   the gates of Vharadesh the low-cast priests  within would open the gates to the city. 

Presenting the corpses of the ruling Ecclesiarchs  of the Covenant before Lorgar, the Bearer of the   Word would not stand idle as he commanded his  Godsworn to conquer each neighbouring city.  Converting swathes of Colchis to his cause,  Lorgar would preach his faith to his disciples. 

For years the Godsworn would battle the  heretics to their faith and with time Lorgar   would ascend to become the ruler of Colchis. Proclaiming his foster-father Kor Phaeron as the   new High Priest of the Covenant, Lorgar would look  to the stars for his envisioned The One’s arrival. 

Seeing visions of a being clad in bronze  armour accompanied by a towering cyclops,   Lorgar would see to the proclamation  of his portents of the future.  Members of The Covenant would decry  such teachings and as a schism grew   within it’s ranks it’s leaders would attempt  to arrest Lorgar for his heretical views. 

Yet upon attempting to seize the  Rain Caller, Lorgar’s disciples   would tear his assailants limb-from-limb in  a deranged frenzy to protect their prophet.  A Holy War would erupt upon Colchis and  bathe Colchis in bloods for six years.  Storming the Cathedral of Illumination  and killing the dissident monks within,  

Lorgar and his Godsworn would enact their Great  Purge across the planet and follow their new   Arch Priest in their devotion to The One. Knowing his true name to be ‘The Emperor’,   Lorgar would await the salvation of his people  by his prophesised God safe in the knowledge  

That his arrival would be imminent… The Emperor would descend upon Colchis   during 857.M30 a solar year after  Lorgar’s conquest of his world.  Accompanied by his son: Magnus the Red, the Master  of Mankind would meet with the Bearer of the Word.  Falling to his knees, Lorgar would  praise the being before him as his  

People in unison kneeled before their Messiah. The True God of Mankind had descended from the   heavens and on this momentous day the people  of Colchis would be enraptured by his visage.  Accepting his long-lost son with open arms, the  Emperor would install Lorgar as the leader of  

His 16th Legion: The Imperial Heralds and task  the Rain Caller with joining the Great Crusade.  Accepting his offer with vigour Lorgar  would venture into the stars proclaiming   the divinity and salvation offered by his father. Admonishing Lorgar’s treatment of his stature as  

A God, the Emperor would nonetheless allow the  newly re-named ‘Word Bearers’ and their Primarch   to wage their campaigns across the galaxy. Reorganising the 17th Legion into a force of   relentless scions of the Emperor’s divinity,  Lorgar would allow for his guardian Kor  

Phaeron to undergo surgeries to ascend to the  stature befitting his most trusted counsel.  Putting non-compliant worlds to the sword  should they reject the Emperor’s emancipation,   the Word Bearers would be merciless in their  application of violence to any whom would   object to the Master of Mankind’s divinity. Punishing blasphemy, heresy and idolatry of  

Pagan superstition the 17th Legion would  cleanse the galaxy with purging flame.  The Word Bearers campaigns would  stall by virtue of their ritualistic   sermons and spectacles of worship. And for their willing ignorance of   the demands of the Great Crusade and their  Emperor, the Word Bearers would be punished… 

Unquestionable in their loyalty, the Word  Bearers would nonetheless prove to embody   every one of the greatest flaws at odds  with the Imperial Truth of the Imperium.  Unable to allow their zealous ways  to continue, the Master of Mankind   would summon the Ultramarines Legion and their  Primarch: Roboute Guilliman to censure the 17th. 

Upon the world of Khur the entire might of the  13th Legion alongside the Legio Custodes would   descend upon the planet’s city of Monarchia. The Emperor and his most trusted advisor:   Malcadore the Sigilite would confront the Urizen. A symbol of the Word Bearer’s religious devotion,  

Monarchia epitomised every flaw that  the Imperial Truth espoused to prevent.  Worshiping the Emperor as a God, the so-called  ‘Perfect City’ teeming with cathedrals and   places of worship was an afront to  every ideal the Imperium stood for.  Ordering the Ultramarines to raze the city  to the ground, though reluctant with his  

Orders Primarch Roboute Guilliman would comply. Lorgar and his Legion would be forced to kneel   as they helplessly watched their perfect city  burn at the hands of the Emperor’s enforcers.  Humiliated by the 13th Legion, the Word Bearers  would shamed by the Legion encapsulating the  

Imperial Truth’s teachings to the letter. Lorgar had failed his people, his Legion,   the Imperium and most of all his father. Boundless grief would be sown deep within   Lorgar’s very soul as he watched his  cathedrals of stained glass and marble   fall to the gunfire of the Ultramarines. Lorgar’s devotion to his father would be  

Ripped from his heart and in the wound which took  it’s place a festering resentment would bloom.  For the Golden One would never forget  this slight upon his Legion and would   slowly begin to plot revenge for the  destruction of the paradise he had crafted… 

Withdrawing from the public eye of  the Great Crusade the Word Bearers   would stew in their disgrace. Their devotion to the Emperor   as a living benevolent God had been proven  false and shaken their purpose to the core.  Unable to accept responsibility for  his own failings Lorgar Aurelian  

Would venture into the galaxy to  find answers befitting his ego.  The Ruinous Powers would call to the  Urizen for their influence had always been   rooted within the Primarch’s upbringing  from his adoption into the Old Faith.  Offering atonement for his doubts in the  Emperor the forces of Chaos would speak  

Through the honeyed words of Kor Phaeron and  the 1st Chaplain of the Word Bearers: Erebus.  Resolving to seek out the beings whom had called  to him, Lorgar would pilgrimage alongside his   1301st Expeditionary Fleet to the Cadia system. Watched closely by 5 members of the Legio Custodes  

Appointed by the Emperor, Lorgar would  descend upon the world of Cadia and meet   with the barbaric human tribes upon it’s surface. Met by the purple-eyed inhabitants of the planet,   Lorgar would speak with the leader of the  cultists: a female priestess known as Ingethel.  Conducting a ritual by sacrificing  the Custodian Zendatha, Ingethel  

Would transform into a being of Chaos and  whisper lies into the ears of the Urizen.  Stating that the Aeldari race had  birthed the being known as Slaanesh   into existence and through ignorance and  fear abandoned their new patron’s majesty.  Grieving for their rejection of  it’s divinity, She Who Thirsts  

Would punish the Eldar for their transgression. This deception would fuel Lorgar’s naivety as   Ingethel imparted a warning that should Humanity  wish to survive extinction they must not follow   in the Eldar’s footsteps and submit themselves to  the worship of Chaos and it’s pantheon of Gods. 

The Word Bearers dispatched to the Eye of  Terror within orbit of Cadia would return   to their Primarch, transformed by the Ruinous  Powers and bearing word of their own revelations.  Believing the lies of Ingethel, Lorgar would  order his warships to bombard Cadia in order to  

Conceal the knowledge of the Primordial Truth. He alone would be the herald of the Gods of   Chaos and through their influence, the Urizen  would achieve vengeance against the Emperor…  Unsatisfied with his knowledge of the  primordial beings of the Immaterium Lorgar  

Would venture into the heart of the Eye of Terror. Piloting a stormbird into the heart of the storm,   Lorgar would be accompanied by  Ingethel as his daemonic guide.  Upon the remnants of the Eldar Craftworld:  Zu’lasa, the Rain Caller would observe the carcass  

Left in the wake of the birth of Slaanesh and  be confronted by an Avatar of the Eldar: Khaine.  The ruined being of former divinity stood  before the Urizen and with his Crozius Mace:   Illuminarum, Lorgar would bludgeon  the Avatar to it’s painful end. 

Demanding further insight from Ingethel, Lorgar  would be transported through space and time to the   Eternity Gate of the Emperor’s Imperial Palace. Granted a vision of the Siege of Terra, the Urizen   would watch as thousands of phantasmagoria of  the Legionnes Astartes bled and died around him. 

Rogal Dorn: Primarch of the Imperial  Fists lead his men against a horde   of barbaric Space Marines clad in arterial red. They were his sons, their slate-grey supplanted   with shades of freshly spilled blood. They had cast aside their old beliefs   and re-invigorated with new purpose  sought to bring the Imperium to heel. 

Watching his Astartes transform into  Daemonically possessed warriors,   Lorgar would marvel at their terrible might. At their vanguard, his most blessed son:   Argel Tal would charge against the Great  Angel Sanguinius and perish as they clashed.  This glorious promise of the future  would impress upon the Primarch as his  

Mind began to process what he had seen. Yet another vision would be gifted to   Lorgar of the homeworld of the Crimson King. Prospero burned at the hands of the Rout to   which Lorgar would be horrified that such  a destiny would befall the Thousand Sons. 

Lorgar would enact the war of vengeance  against the Emperor, though he would   never be it’s leader, he would be it’s witness. The Emperor would pay for the treatment of his   deeds and the Word Bearers would lead the charge  to rend the still-beating heart from the Imperium. 

Each Primarch in his place would rule the Imperium  or corrupt it to their own cause but not Lorgar.  Lorgar would destroy it completely  and forge a new future from the ashes…  Returning to the material realm, Lorgar would  begin his slow treachery the against the Imperium. 

Sowing the seeds of betrayal within the hearts  of his Primarch Brethren, the catalyst of the   civil war of humanity: Horus Lupercal would  be the lynch-pin to sunder the Imperium.  Ordering his 1st Chaplain: Erebus to  stand at the side of the Warmaster,  

The plot to corrupt the Champion of the  Emperor would with time be achieved.  40 years after his venture into the Eye  of Terra Lorgar would join Horus in his   betrayal of the Master of Mankind. Aiding in the purge of the Loyalists  

Elements within the Traitor Legions upon the  world of Istvaan 3, the Word Bearers would   relish the chance to sate their blades  in the blood of the Emperor’s subjects.  Achieving further reprisal against the Loyalist  counter-attack of the Emperor on the world of  

Istvaan 5, Lorgar would assemble commanders from  the Iron Warriors, Night Lords and Alpha Legion in   their alliance to join the Warmaster’s rebellion. Employing his skill as an orator, Lorgar would   further embolden the resentments harboured within  the Lord of Iron, Night Haunter and the Hydra. 

Taking to the field during the Dropsite Massacre,  The Urizen would lead his men in their holy war   against the Emperor’s staunch defenders. Turning on their allies, the second wave   of the Legion’s assault would surround the  Loyalists and massacre their amassed strength.  Engaging the Salamanders and Raven Guard,  the Word Bearers would unleash their  

Armoured vehicles against the exposed  ranks of the 18th and 19th Legions.  Seeking to staunch the wound  inflicted to his forces,   the Ravenlord: Corvus Corax would charge  into the skirmish and confront Lorgar.  Carving a path through the Word Bearers,  Corax would duel the Urizen and prove to  

Be more than a match for the Primarch  known for his lack of martial prowess.  Impaled through the stomach by Corax’s talons,  Lorgar through desperation to survive would break   his bother’s nose with a strike of his skull  until the blades within him would be retraced. 

Fated to die, the Urizen would with the  intervention of the Night Haunter be spared,   though for the remainder of his life bear the  wounds to his face clawed by the Ravenlord…  Healing from his grievous wounds, Lorgar would  join the Warmaster aboard the Sons of Horus  

Flagship: The Vengeful Spirit as the deliberations  of the conclave of the Primarchs began.  Nine Primarchs had been mustered  to wage war against the Imperium   yet already signs of change within them had begun.  Fulgrim: Primarch of the Emperor’s Children had  become possessed by a Daemon, whilst Magnus the  

Red now bore power gifted by the Changer of Ways. Disgusted at his Brother Fulgrim’s total   submission to the Ruinous Powers, Lorgar’s  notion of symbiotic co-operation with the   forces of Chaos would be challenged by the  presence of this husk of the Phoenician. 

Storming from the chamber, Lorgar would  return to his own flagship: The Fidelitas Lex.  Conversing with the Crimson King:  Magnus the Red, Lorgar would reveal   his knowledge of the fall of the Aeldari  and the birth of the Prince of Pleasure.  Cautioned by his brother not to indulge  too deeply with his manipulations of the  

Powers of the Warp, Magnus would warn  his brother that such dealings would   invite malicious interlopers from the Immaterium. Ignoring the Crimson Lord’s council, Lorgar would   meet with the Warmaster to discuss their next  objective in their crusade against the Imperium.  The Ultramarines would prove to be  the gravest threat posed to their  

Rebellion and for it succeed, the Lords  of Ultramar must be kept from interfering.  The Treachery of the Word Bearers had been  contained within Istvaan yet it would not   take long for the 17th to show their intent. Traveling to the Calth system under the guise  

Of reconciliation, the Word Bearers  would meet with the Ultramarines…  Fuelled with the memory of their once  proud city of Monarchia, The Word Bearers   would parlay with the Ultramarines until  their time to strike would be ordered.  Lead by Kor Phaeron, the warships of the 17th  would bombard the docked Ultramarine vessels  

And in a surprise attack slaughter  the unaware and vulnerable Astartes.  Annihilating clusters of the fleet of Ultramar,  the Word Bearers revenge would be achieved.  As droves of daemon would be summoned into the  system by rituals and sacrifices, Kor Phaeron’s   men would jettison Roboute Guilliman  into the vacuum of space yet be unable  

To slay the stalwart son of the Emperor. As the 13th legion retaliated, the Word   Bearers would poison the sun of Calth and summon a  gigantic Warp Storm to entrap the Ultramar System.  The Ruinstorm would spread it’s wicked tendrils  across the stars alike to a great wound. 

Yet Lorgar’s hunger for  vengeance would not be sated.  Simultaneously Lorgar’s forces and the  World Eaters Legion would rampage across   the Ultramar system as they harried the  populace to mark their Shadow Crusade.  Further draining the Ultramarines of resources  and able-bodied souls, the barbarism of the Shadow  

Crusade would stall with the worsening state  of the Primarch of the 12th Legion: Angron.  The 500 worlds had been bled, yet upon the  Lord of Red Sand’s homeworld the Urizen would   search for a means to cure his brother  of his affliction: the Butcher’s Nails. 

Finding no balm for his dying brother upon  Nuceria the 12th and 17th Legion would butcher   the High Riders and rabble of the planet. Yet with their haste to cure Angron,   the Ultramarines had regrouped and tracked the  Shadow Crusade’s leaders to the world of Nuceria. 

The Retribution Fleet of the Ultramarines  would destroy Lorgar’s flagship:   The Fidelitas Lex and lead by their  Primarch descend upon Nuceria.  Facing his most hated Brother in combat, Lorgar  would attempt to slay Roboute Guilliman yet prove   no match against the Lord of Ultramar. Before the killing blow could be dealt,  

Angron would launch himself into  the fray and battle Guilliman.  Their clash would enrage the Primarch of the Word  Eaters as a mis-step of Guilliman would crush the   skull of one Angron’s long-dead comrades-in-arms  as it fell from a bandolier of his armour. 

Drawing upon Angron’s rabid grief, the Urizen  would feel the presence of the Gods of Chaos   and enact a ritual to transform his Brother  into the avatar for the Blood God: Khorne.  The ascension of the Red Angel would  force the Ultramarines to retreat,  

And with the 13th once more withdrawn from the  conflict Lorgar would turn his attentions to the   final battle to decide the fate of Humanity… Lorgar had proven to be a worthy conduit   for the will of the Ruinous Powers. A true disciple of the Gods of Chaos,  

Lorgar would resent Horus for his  failure to fully submit to their will.  Foreseeing that only through total surrender  to their patron gods would victory against   the Emperor be achieved, Lorgar would plot  to overthrow Horus to become the Warmaster. 

Confiding his plans to his Dark Apostle: Zardu  Layak and the Primarch of the 3rd Legion:   Fulgrim; Lorgar would meet with Horus  Lupercal aboard the Vengeful Spirit.  The Warmaster had fallen during the battle of  Beta Garmon by a wound of the Dionysian Spear. 

Leman Russ: Primarch of the Space  Wolves had delivered the blow and   come close to slaying the Champion of Chaos. In orbit of Ullanor as the Traitor’s mustered   their remaining forces to assault Holy  Terra, the Urizen would attempt his Coupe.  Though with forewarning from the Crimson Apostle,  

Horus would attack Lorgar and prevent  his betrayal from being achieved.  Beaten to within an inch of his life,  the Urizen would be banished from the   Warmaster’s sight and ordered to not interfere  with the remainder of the Horus Heresy.  Retreating from the amassed fleet of the  Warmaster, Lorgar would be slain should he  

Ever return to the presence of the Lupercal. Decrying the war to be lost beyond all hope   of salvation, the Bearer of the Word’s  ravings would with time be proven true.  The Warmaster would fail in his rebellion  to overthrow the Imperium and in the wake  

Of his civil war damn Humanity to  wage an endless struggle of survival.  Lorgar would in the millennia following  ascend to the form of a Daemon Prince of   Chaos Undivided and seek penance for his failure  to conquer Humanity in the name of his patrons. 

His faith had been rewarded yet his pledge  to the Dark Gods still remained unfulfilled.  Isolating himself within the Templum Inficio upon  the Daemon World of Sicarus, the Urizen to this   day has not been interrupted in his meditations. However, rumours stir that the Archpriest of the  

Primordial Truth has been harried by the  Ravenlord of the 19th Legion and after a   bitter duel followed by years of isolation; the  Urizen embarks upon the material realm once more.  Leading his legion to bring his wretched sermons  and litanies to world’s unfortunate enough to  

Stand in his path, and convert any willing to  surrender their souls to his foul benefactors…  The Primarchs of his Imperium are  beyond the comprehension of mortal men.  Gifted great power and mastery of Humanity’s most  venerated traits, the sons of the Emperor would  

Mould the galaxy’s future with their actions. Yet there exists a Primarch who’s very nature   is shrouded in mystery, who’s deeds have spun  a web of deceit so impenetrable that even   his gene-sons fail to understand it’s purpose. The twin serpent of the Hydra: Alpharius Omegon… 

The origins of the Primarch of the 20th  Legion would be shrouded in mystery.  Yet despite such an enigmatic shred of information  records have survived the long millennia.  Accounts vary, with some speculating  that the Lord of Serpents would be   discovered by the 16th Legion: the  Luna Wolves during the Great Crusade. 

Engaging with the 16th Legion’s fleet with  his own armada of vessels, though inferior in   their firepower they would outmanoeuvre their  opposition and employ many devious tricks.  Enraging the Primarch of the Luna Wolves: Horus  Lupercal, the future Warmaster of His Imperium  

Would personally give chase to the Hydra’s fleet. Annihilating the fleet with their superior   warships, the Luna Wolves would be oblivious  to the infiltration of an assassin aboard their   flagship: The Vengeful Spirit whom would slay  the Primarch’s elite Justaerin Honour Guard.  Recognising the assailant to be  his Brother, Horus would accept the  

Last Primarch into the fold of the Imperium. This is a lie, for another account states the   Primarch of the 20th would be found on a desolate  world at the edge of the Mandraoran Stars.  Surviving against the elements of the barren  planet and commandeering a visiting ship crewed  

By a band of miscreant xenos  and half-human mercenaries;   and venture forth to find the Emperor. Another account derives from the tome:   The Transit of the Human Soul Through  Strife, also known as ‘The Codex Hydra’.  The ancient writing would state that the Primarch  would descent upon the world of Bar’Savor. 

It’s skies overcast with the shadows of  gigantic worm-like xenos, ‘The Slaugth’,   the horrific creatures would attempt to sate  their hunger with the flesh of the Primarchs.  Capturing the Primarch, the strange xenos  would keep the Primarch as a curiosity   as they beheld his innate strength and  ability to resist their manipulations. 

Converting Alpharius into a living weapon, the  Slaugth would enslave the young Primarch’s mind   and set him loose upon the stars. Saved by the Emperor, Alpharius’   mistreatment would fuel the Master of  Mankind’s vengeance to crush the Xenos and   for 10 Terran-Standard Years the Emperor  would salvage his son’s fractured mind. 

This is also a lie, for an account of the Primarch  of the 20th remains for those whom delve into the   depths of the Hydra’s origins… Penned by Alpharius’ own hands,   the ‘true’ record of his origins would be decried  as further deception of the Primarch’s origins. 

As the Primarchs of His Imperium would  be scattered across the galaxy by the   manipulations of the Ruinous Powers, the Twin  Primarchs of the 20th Legion would be separated.  Alpharius would never leave Holy Terra and  in contradiction of Imperial Records would  

Be the first of the Emperor’s sons to  be reunited with the Master of Mankind.  Within the shadow of the Imperial  Palace upon the Zharinam Plateau,   a group of scavengers would  set upon the young Primarch.  The Emperor would find His son and slay  the scavengers to prevent knowledge of  

His existence from spreading across Terra. Mentored by the Master of Mankind and his   most trusted advisor: Malcadore the Sigilite, the  young Primarch would learn the value of secrecy,   necessity and the elevation of the vision  of The Imperium above personal glory. 

No mortal soul of the Imperium would know of  Alpharius’ existence and it would not be long   before the Primarch of the 20th would  test his innate talents and abilities.  Disguising himself as a member of  the 1st Legion, Alpharius would   observe the Palace Coup to remove the Custodian  Captain-General: Constantin Valdor from power. 

The conspirators of the Grand Provost Marshal  of the Adeptus Arbites: Uwoma Kandawire, Thunder   Warrior Primarch Ushotan and Scientist Amar  Astarte would demand reprisal for the Custodian’s   massacre of the Emperor’s Thunder Legion  without the consent of the High Lords of Terra. 

With the failure of the coup, Alpharius  would seek flaws within the defences of   the Imperial Palace and exploit it’s weaknesses. Attempting to assassinate the Master OF MANKIND in   order to test the Custodian’s abilities,  Alpharius would come close to assailing  

The Emperor and slay a member of the Legion  Custodes during his infiltration of the Palace.  The Primarch’s ingenuity and resolve to identify  flaws within the Palace would be the first   of the Legio’s vaunted Blood Games to which the  Emperor’s Praetorians would to this day continue. 

Meanwhile, Alpharius’ twin: Omegon would  land upon a nameless world bereft of life.  Among the empty ruins of the planet, the distant  Primarch would discover an ancient relic:   the Pale Spear and study the remnants  of the planet’s former civilisation.  Escaping aboard a vessel piloted by Human  Pirates, Omegon would venture into the expanse  

Of the stars and hear tales of the Emperor,  His Angels and the Primarchs of the Imperium…  In secret, Alpharius would conceal his identity   as several sons of the Emperor  would be brought into the fold.  Disguised as an Asartes during the Emperor’s  reunion with Primarchs Lion El’Jonson and Lorgar  

Aurelian, Alpharius would in secret lead his Ghost  Legion in their covert dealings across the stars.  For years the 20th Legion known as  ‘Alpha’, would hide in plain sight   and leave no evidence of their existence as  they enacted compliances across the stars. 

Yet with the instalment of each Primarch  with their Legion, the 20th would reveal   themselves to their brethren. During the Rangdan Xenocides,   the Alpha Legion would present themselves  to the 1st Legion: The Dark Angels.  Under the guise of a non-descript Astartes,   Alpharius would meet with the  Primarch of the 1st: Lion El’Jonson. 

Offering aid to the 1st Legion  in their war against the Slaugth,   Alpharius would deny his identity as a Primarch  to the lion and succeed in his deception.  For the Alpha Legion though alike  to the 1st in their championing of   secrecy had not offered aid out of trite  notions such as honour or co-operation. 

They sought a being upon the  world of Bar’Savor: Omegon.  Slaying the Slaught in their path,  the Alpha Legionnaries led by   Alpharius would reunite with Omegon. Instantly recognising one-another,   the soul of the Legion would become whole  for the first time since it’s inception. 

The time had come for Alpharius to reveal his  being to the Imperium, yet conceal the existence   of his twin from not only the Imperium  and it’s Primarchs, but also the Emperor.  Alpharius would proffer that the twins shall  interchange their names to sow further confusion  

Within the Imperium should their identities  be discovered and with such obfuscation the   Primarchs of the 20th would become ever-more  mysterious within even their own ranks…  The Alpha Legion would be known to the  Imperium yet the Emperor would seem hasty   to implement the so-called ‘Last Primarch’  and his Legion into the Great Crusade. 

Already veterans of a hundred shadow wars, the  Ghost Legion would increase their proficiency in   waging war with two Primarchs leading their ranks. Despite their secrecy the Emperor would not be   blind to the existence of Omegon and allow the  twin Primarchs to wage war in his name unhindered. 

Alpharius would lead the 20th with  Omegon as his most trusted advisor.  The Primarchs cunning and intelligence would be  without peer even among their Primarch brethren   the 20th would follow in their  example and be renowned for   their discipled unity among their ranks. Co-ordinating intricate and deadly warfare  

Characterised by sabotage, assassination and  disruption the Alpha Legion would not allow   any our their brother Legions to peer too  closely into their arts of war and dealings.  Arrogance and superiority complexes  would begin to fester within the Legion,   for the 20th had always looked down upon it’s  more barbaric and unsophisticated brethren. 

The Legionnes Astartes would bear a great distrust  against the Alpha Legion and their Primarchs,   for even the Primarchs of His Imperium would  forever be wary of their ploys and misdirection.  Despite being the last Legion to openly reveal  itself to the Imperium with many of it’s glories  

And deeds retracted from Imperial Records, the now  visible Legion would quickly prove it’s efficacy.  Among the most efficient Legions to bring worlds  into compliance, it is debatable among Imperial   Scholars if the 20th can be proclaimed among  the most lauded Legions of the Imperium during  

The years of Unification and the Great Crusade. All that can be known for certain is that their   methods combined with a willingness to sacrifice  anything for victory would deem the Alpha Legion   to be a singularly devastating force. Their pedigree would foster infamy among  

The ranks of the Astartes as rivalries  would form against the Ghost Legion.  With even the sons of the Emperor harbouring  grudges and acrimony against Alpharius.  With the Primarchs of the Ultramarines:  Roboute Guilliman and Death Guard:   Mortarion bearing the most spite against  Alpharius for his seemingly dishonourable  

Tactics, the Lord of Serpents would make no  attempt to co-operate with his detractors.  Yet not all would balk at Alpharius’ methods  of waging war, with the chief among his praise:   Warmaster Horus Lupercal valuing his  elaborate strategies and battle doctrines.  An endorsement which would prove fatal  during the era of the Horus Heresy… 

The Lupercal would be the only Primarch to  which Alpharius could be considered familiar,   and with the fall of the Warmaster to the clutches   of Chaos the Alpha Legion would  be called to join his rebellion.  Influencing Horus’ gambit to ambush the Loyalist  counter-attack of Istvaan 5, the Lord of Serpent’s  

Deceptive nature would be the foundation for the  first devastation of the Emperor’s enforcers.  The Alpha Legion would pledge their allegiance  to the Traitors to the Throne, though their   decision to side with the Warmaster is debated by  many chroniclers of the history of the Imperium. 

Records suggest that Alpharius Omegon would be  visited by an agent of the Xenos organisation:   The Cabal in an attempt to steer  Humanity’s future to salvation.  Met by the Human perpetual: John  Grammaticus during the compliance   of Nurth, the Cabal would impart the  Hydra with portents of the future. 

Their visions would show Humanity’s  path split into two possible futures.  Should the Alpha Legion remain loyal the  Traitor’s to the Throne would be defeated,   yet the Emperor would be interred upon  a Golden Throne as a living-dead avatar   of Humanity’s slow decline into extinction. Destined to wage a gruelling war of survival  

Against the malevolent forces of the  galaxy, the Imperium would slowly rot   from within until it’s inevitable defeat  and extinction by the forces of Chaos.  However should the 20th side with the  Traitors, Horus would usurp the Emperor.  Releasing his folly, the Warmaster would cast  off the shackles of Chaos and begin his utter  

Devastation of the forces of the Ruinous Powers. The Imperium would sacrifice itself to persecute   the destruction of Chaos and after 100 years of  slaughter, Humanity would in it’s death-knell   extinguish the malevolent forces of Chaos. Forewarned with the future portents of Humanity,   Alpharius would decide the means  of Humanity’s fated extinction. 

Humanity shall sacrifice itself to allow for  the survival of sentient life across the galaxy,   or wage a gruelling war of attrition for  10,000 years before their painful annihilation.  Resolving to join the Traitor Rebellion to  ensure the destruction of Chaos from within,  

Alpharius’ decision to enact the future proclaimed  by the Cabal would nonetheless be made in vain…  The futures outlined by the Cabal  would with time be proven false,   yet the Alpha Legion would march for war. Persecuting campaigns simultaneously,   Alpharius Omegon would begin their first act  of betrayal during the Massacre of Istvaan 5. 

Aiding the Traitor Legions in culling the  Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard   during their assault of the Warmaster’s forces,  the Alpha Legion would battle their once-allies.  The Primarchs of the 10th  and 18th Legion would fall,   yet the Ravenlord of the 19th: Corvus  Corax would flee from the battle. 

Attempting to ensure a swift  victory for the Warmaster,   Alpharius would operative Astartes within his  Legion to infiltrate the fleeing Raven Guard.  Carving the faces from the dead Raven Guard slain  upon Istvaan 5, the Alpha Legionnaires would graft  

The skin to their faces and consume their brains  of the fallen to glean memories of their service.  Boarding the fleeing vessels of the Massacre,  the Alpha Legion would bide their time during   the Raven Guard’s transit to Holy Terra. The 19th with the guidance of the Emperor  

Would discover the genetic materials of the  Primarchs within the long-dormant gene-labs   of Terra and would attempt to hasten  the replenishment of their numbers.  Omegon would command the infiltrators  to steal a sample of the materials   and inject a virus into the remaining  genome available to the Raven Guard. 

Horrifically mutating the Raven  Guard’s subsequent implanted subjects,   the tainted stock of the Primarch genomes  would prevent the 19th’s resurgence.  Omegon would retrieve the Raven Guard’s  experiment data from their laboratories   and spark a rebellion between the guilds of  Kiavhar in order to cover his exfiltration. 

Handing over the data as well as a viable  and tainted sample of the Primarch’s   genome to his twin, the treachery  of the Alpha Legion would continue.  Delivering the sabotaged data  to the Warmaster, the 20th would   keep a copy of the successful research for  themselves to further bolster their legion. 

For the 20th would look to their own survival  above both their allies and opponents…  Cutting ties with the Cabal, the  Alpha Legion would continue to   sow misinformation and confusion for  the remainder of the Horus Heresy.  Forming a blockade within the Chondax System,  the 20th would be tasked to confront the White  

Scars Legion and hinder their  involvement in the civil war.  Sabotaging astropathic communication  upon the facility of Tenebrae 9-50,   the Alpha Legion under the command of Omegon would  stall the 5th Legion’s assessment of the conflict.  Yet strangely, with the facility’s  destruction communication between  

The Primarch Jaghatai Khan and Rogal Dorn  would be enabled leading to many questioning   the efficacy of the Alpha Legion’s orders. As the 5th Legion attempted to breach the   Alpha Legion blockade, the Hydra would  not deign to respond to their hails.  Attempting to prevent their passage  without the use of firepower,  

The Alpha Legion would despite their best  efforts be forced to engage the White Scars.  The 5th Legion would form into an arrow-head  formation and destroy a large proportion of   the 20th legion’s escort vessels before passing  through the blockade and traversing the warp. 

Their orders to contain and recruit  the White Scars had utterly failed,   with some questioning the loyalties of the Hydra  for their uncharacteristically flawed strategies.  Alphrarius Omegon was no fool and had somehow  managed to bolster the Loyalist war effort.  Mortarion: Primarch of the Death Guard would  raise his suspicion of the Alpha Legion’s  

Allegiance to the Loyalists yet be unsuccessful  in convincing the Warmaster of their deceit.  As a means to test their loyalty,  the Warmaster would command the   Hydra to travel to the Alaxxes Nebula to  destroy the 6th Legion: The Space Wolves. 

Already battle-wearied by the Burning of Prospero,  the Rout had been deceived in their manipulation   to destroy the Thousand Sons Legion and suffered  many casualties for their transgression.  Alpharius Omegon had long been  opposed to the 6th Legion’s Primarch:   Leman Russ for his overt disdain for the  Hydra’s reliance on underhanded tactics. 

Relishing the opportunity to  humble the Vylka Fenrica, Alpharius   Omegon would ambush the Space Wolves fleet. As the Ghost Legion brought the Rout to heel,   Leman Russ would send a distress signal  petitioning for aid from the White Scars.  Still unsatisfied with his assessment of the  conflict and unsure of the Rout’s loyalties,  

Jaghatai Khan would abstain from  lending his might to the 6th Legion.  The Space Wolves would desperately fight  tooth and nail to survive against the   Serpent and despite the resolve of the  Wolf King waning, the Rout would endure. 

With the arrival of the Dark Angels Legion  the Hydra would flee the battle and seek a new   warzone to influence the tide of the heresy… As the Traitors assembled upon the world   of Ullanor, the agents of the Hydra would  facilitate the will of the Lord of Serpents. 

Holy Terra braced itself for the final siege  of the Imperial Palace as fleets stationed   throughout the Sol system prepared  for the first wave of the assault.  Rogal Dorn: Primarch of the Imperial Fists would  fortify the Sol System into a deadly kill-zone. 

Alpharius would see a challenge befitting his  ego and orchestrate his great scheme to not only   defeat the 7th Legion, but humiliate them. Alpha Legion operatives would enact their   micro-managed tasks and objectives  in order to breed disarray within   the ranks of the Praetorians of Terra. Long dormant sleeper-cells would activate  

Across the Sol System and with time gaps within  Dorn’s carefully crafted bastion would form.  Capturing several moons in orbit of Pluto,  Alpharius would challenge the Primarch of the   Imperial Fists to conclude their game of wits. Personally leading his men against Dorn,  

Alpharius would charge into battle armed with  the Pale Spear and duel his erstwhile Brother.  Alpharius would best Dorn in combat  and deliver a final strike to end the   life of the Primarch of the 7th Legion. However, Dorn would anticipate the blow  

And after pivoting to allow the spear to  impale his shoulder, Rogal Dorn would pin   Alpharius in place and sever his brother’s  arms with his chainsword: Storm’s Teeth.  Taking the Pale Spear from Alpharius,  Dorn would plunge the weapon into   Alpharius’ chest. And with a final chop  of Storm’s Teeth crush Alpharius’ skull. 

With the death of their Primarch, the  Alpha Legion would retreat from the battle.  Omegon would feel the bond with his Brother  die and realise that his twin had been slain.  Dispatched to delay the White Scars and  Space Wolves from aiding Terra’s defence, the  

Hydra would for the remainder of the Horus Heresy  conduct stalling tactics and lesser engagements.  Assuming his brother’s name  once more, Omegon would alone   meet with the Warmaster prior to the  final assault of the Siege of Terra.  Handing the Warmaster layouts of the now weakened  defences of the Sol System, the Lord of Serpents  

Would relinquish his fealty to the Traitors. Holding a dagger within his palm, Omegon would   shatter it within his fist and cast the shattered  fragments of it’s edge at the Warmaster’s feet.  Departing from Horus’ sight, despite the  protestation of the 1st Captain of the  

Sons of Horus: Ezekyle Abaddon, the Lupercal  would permit his brother to leave unscathed.  The Alpha Legion would depart from the Traitor  fleet and Omegon would grieve for his fallen twin.  With the demise of the Warmaster  at the hands of the Emperor,  

The Alpha Legion would retreat to  the far eastern region of the galaxy.  Insular in their dealings and seeking no  co-operation from their former allies,   the Alpha Legion under the command of their sole  Primarch would engage covert wars of survival.  During the Scouring of the Traitors, the  Ultramarines Primarch: Roboute Guilliman  

Would confront the Alpha Legion on the remote  world of Eskrador and within their headquarters   face an Astartes regarding himself as Alpharius. Seeking a chance to prove his superiority against   the Lord of Ultramar, the so-called ‘Alpharius’  would duel the Primarch of the 13th Legion. 

Yet for his hubris, Alpharius would be slain  though whether his identity would in truth be   Omegon or simply another imposter  of the 20th Legion remains unknown.  A solar week following, Guilliman’s  forces would be ambushed by the Alpha   Legion in a manner seemingly impossible for  a Legion bereft of their Primarch’s guidance. 

The Ultramarines would be forced to retreat from  the planet after suffering catastrophic losses,   and in the wake of their defeat question  the fate of the Lord of Serpents.  For the Alpha Legion still roam the galaxy  as fractured warbands of varying loyalties. 

Autonomous bands inhabiting asteroid fields,  barren planets and space hulks, the Hydra remains   an unknowable force poised to interfere with the  best laid plans of Loyalists and Traitors alike.  The Imperium claim that the Lord of  Serpents is dead, but this is a lie. 

The head of the hydra remains  unsevered despite the loss of its twin.  And so long as the bisected Primarch remains,   his schemes and plots shall endure  to wreak havoc across the stars…  This has been a tale of the Great Imperium of Man. Read by the Remembrancer. 

The Daemon Primarchs of Ruinous Powers would stand  as among the most terrible beings to existence   within both the Immaterial and Material realms. Relentless harbingers of death, decay and   malevolence; the greatest atrocities made  against Humanity are often heralded and   orchestrated by these fell Princes of Chaos. Reports suggest that some of the arch traitors  

Of the Emperor return once more to  reign terror and havoc across the   stars as the Imperium cries out for salvation and  deliverance from their millennia-long suffering.  For with each Traitor Primarch returned to  real-space, there exist few champions of the  

Imperium who can stand against such towering foes. The only solace to the innocent a simple prayer   to defend their hearts and minds from the  enticements of Chaos: the Emperor Protects…

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