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I got into Warhammer 40K in 1992, before the Second Edition. Back then, the Genestealer Cult was an important part of the lore. With the second edition, the Genestealers were more closely connected to the Tyrannids and the Genestealer Cults faded out of significance. These days the Genestealer Cult is not a playable army.
I feel saddened by the fading of this element of the lore. I think it was one of the most creative and interesting ideas in Warhammer 40K.
Genestealers and Warhammer 40,000 are the intellectual property of Games Workshop.
The Brood Mass Wedding
In a vast cavern below the surface of Istareus, hundreds of initiates into the Church of Love were assembled.
Having been received into the Church of Love with the Seed-Kiss administered by the Sacred Children, they were all to be married. There was no place for celibates in the Church of Love. All were expected to bear offspring; not human offspring of course, but Sacred Children.
Each of the initiates had been paired up with a member of the opposite sex. The dank air of the cavern was filled with excitement; not at the thought of marriage, but being part of the Great Brood that would come to populate the cosmos.
Before the mass of initiates stood their high priest, Theodore. Like them, he was human, but was the first to be initiated into the Church and the first parent of the first generation of Sacred Children. He was dressed in dark blue robes decorated with sinister angular symbols.
"My brethren, you are most welcome in our Church," said Theodore. "None should join our Church alone, for we are the Church of Love. All must mate and bear Sacred Children."
There were cheers from the gathering of initiates.
"All of you shall bear Sacred Children, yet there may be a couple among you who shall be especially privileged. From their loins shall come our deliverer."
The crowd could not contain their excitement.
Theodore continued. "From the loins of the brood shall come the messiah, the Magus, the one who shall lead our Church against those who would hate and despise the Sacred Children. The Magus that shall come will lead the Brood to victory!"
The crowd whooped with excitement.
"Now you are gathered here to the sacred ceremony of matrimony. Do you swear that you shall give your lives totally to the service of the Church of the Love and live only for the triumph of the Great Brood?" asked Theodore solemnly.
"We swear!" cried the congregation.
Theodore was flanked by a looming and monstrous figure. It was the Patriarch, the father of the Sacred Children on Istareus. It was he that had initiated Theodore and made him father children for the Great Brood. The Patriarch could barely be seen by human eyes in the darkness of the cavern. He was massive, his body covered by a thick carapace of dark blue chitin. He had six armoured limbs, the upper ones ending in vicious talons. His hairless head was bulbous and a sickly pink. His long, sharp tongue drooled.
"Do you swear that you shall revere our great Patriarch and die in his service?"
"We swear!" they shouted.
"Do you swear to cherish the sacred offspring you bear and give your lives to protect them?"
"We swear!" screamed the initiates.
"Then be fruitful and multiply, my brethren!" declared Theodore.
As soon as the oaths were completed, the newly-wed initiates began tearing off their clothes. They leaped upon the bodies of their spouses and began copulating without reservation. They let go of all dignity, all modesty and all ceremony. Their lovemaking was frenzied and animalistic.
The ceremony was watched by the Sacred Children, who lurked in the corners of the cavern. Some of them looked almost human, though all were hairless with oddly large heads. Most had at least one extra limb, with sharp claws. Some were bare-chested displaying insect-like carapaces. Most had a long, drooling tongue.
As Theodore watched the orgy with a kindly smile, his wife Penelope approached him. He might have taken her then, but she was already pregnant. There was no need for that now. She had born him many Sacred Children and she would bear more, no doubt. He gently caressed his wife, as they both watched the orgy with adoration and awe.
"Our brood shall increase abundantly," he whispered to Penelope.
"Will the time of our triumph be soon?" she asked him eagerly.
"Very soon. Perhaps the Magus will be born to one of these women," he replied.
The initiates had not received the Seed-Kiss from the Patriarch. Instead, they had been initiated by the Sacred Children. The children born to them would look more human than the previous generation. Perhaps they would be able to bear children of their own. Not hybrids like the ones they knew, but true and pure offspring of the Great Brood. The hour of the Great Brood was drawing close.
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