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For The Uninitiated

Please turn over on both sides

A good question though, it's a tricky one. Maybe the incantation one, I think some are as likely as the other.

Orders to flush the Emperor's golden toilet. The backlog of sitting upon a throne like that for 10,000 years is going to be so strong even a Great Unclean One wouldn't be able to handle it.

Voted for: An Incantation To Sever The Universe From The Warp.
Probably a final order when things get to an end game state for the Imperium VS Chaos.

Cant really see it having to do with anything outside of the GKs remit, which is to fight and defeat Chaos, hence info on the Primarchs or an order to kill the Emperor seem too far fetched for me.

 Ratius wrote:
Voted for: An Incantation To Sever The Universe From The Warp.
Probably a final order when things get to an end game state for the Imperium VS Chaos.

Cant really see it having to do with anything outside of the GKs remit, which is to fight and defeat Chaos, hence info on the Primarchs or an order to kill the Emperor seem too far fetched for me.

Unless Leman Russ is secretly hiding under the skull throne with over 9,000 vortex grenades, and knowledge of the his location includes a detonator.

Seriously, though, it's instructions to sever the universe from the Warp.

I'm one of those who believes it to be a kill switch for the Golden Throne. The fact it will "Save and doom mankind" or some such implies that the Astronomicon would go dark and that the Emperor would be reborn.

logically it should be the first one. i've read the Inquisitor series, I know what happens if the emperor finally kicks the bucket.

GW will probably make it the second one when they decide to send the imperium the way of the warhammer world!

Severing the universe from the warp makes sense.

All of mankind, and every other race, will lose the ability for FTL travel but the warp will be gone.

The grey knights havin the capability of sealing off the warp is to ridiculous, if they did have this "save the day" button, you'd figure they would of cut off the eye of terror by now (besides, this would be the cron territory)
Wiping out the imperiums goernment during their darkest hour, therfore getting rid of the one thing that the IoM clings to, would simply hand humanity over to their enimies
The last three are all equally possible, but I vote for emps getting a halberd to the face

I totally agree, I doubt even the emperor has the power to sever the connection between real space and the warp and all it's ways of working.

If it were possible, it would have been done so (unless the shattering not only robs the emperor of his powers, but his life), anyway, it wouldn't rob the imperium of light speed travel as firstly, it is theoretically possible in our world, let alone in the 40k universe, and in universe the tau have done it, so the dark age AdMech, the clever guys would also surely know that it is possible and probably worked on it.

You can't sever the warp, you can only attempt to control/maintain it.

I voted for kill the emperor. It is the last resort against chaos because if humanity is screwed to the extend that it would be opened, the death of the emperor and the shattering of the imperium is already a foregone conclusion. If the reborn theories are correct the emperor will save mankind. If they are wrong humanity is dead anyway, it wouldn't hurt much.

Of the ones listed, a Kill the Emperor order makes the most sense.

The warp-severing incantation is too much of a "History Eraser Button", I don't believe that's possible within the context of the settings. But it might be some sort of lesser incantation (e.g., turns the emperor into a proper chaos god, or causes an enslaver plague, or kills almost every psyker in the galaxy).

The other three are a little ho-hum. Small-scale purges of the government of happened before. I'm not sure what dark secret about the lost primarchs would actually be earth-shattering (given how so many of the actual known primarchs turned into The Ultimate Evil). But the Terminus Decree fluff does mention that it reveals some dark secret, so it would probably involve the skeletons in the Emperor's closet (but which would potentially be useful to save mankind). My vote is that it has something to do with allying with/controlling the Void Dragon, and is probably directly related to the Golden Throne's true purpose.

I'm sure GW doesn't know what it is yet.

Wouldn't severing the universe from the Warp kill the Emperor?
Besides it's not "Orders to kill the Emperor", It's literally the Golden Throne's off switch, And it has matching decorations to the Golden Throne.
Add those in because those are really important details.

 Khonsu wrote:
Wouldn't severing the universe from the Warp kill the Emperor?

I mean....probably. But since that's patently impossible without also destroying the universe, we'll chalk that up to the silly answer.

 Khonsu wrote:
Wouldn't severing the universe from the Warp kill the Emperor?

The fluff is hazy and contradictory about that, but the implication is that Psykers are partially creatures of the warp. I think it would, and would also kill the Eldar, any living Primarchs, and would kill or at least mentally wound lesser psykers (including the Grey Knights who cast the incantations). The warp also physically influences the materium (warp storms), and so I can't help but think that it's sudden disconnection would have drastic consequences.

Personally, I think it's insensible. It's like saying "I'm going to cast a spell that disconnects hydrogen from the water in the oceans". I mean... yeah, I suppose that is a thing you can theoretically do. But not only is it totally impractical, you wouldn't ever want to actually do that.

This entire Terminus Decree is slowed, Even if it is the turn off button for the Golden Throne.
Badly written.

I think the purpose of that specific piece of fluff was illustrate the Grey Knights are incorruptible enough to be trusted... It was from Matt Ward's tenure as our spiritual liege (really an apt analogy for what his fluff writing did to the game would be what the reign of Goge Vandire did to the imperium)
but its specific language in the latest codex :

Seems to suggest that it is intimately connected to the emperor in an intimate way. Of the listed options, and the wording of the text leads me to believe killing the emperor/ shutting off the golden throne/astronomicon is the only real option. It specifically says instructions are written on the paper, so declaring a new leader or information rewarding the lost primarchs doesn't really fit. Also grey knights wouldn't really need instructions on how to purge the government, and if it was written by the sigilite or the emperor they wouldn't have a clue as to how bad the government would have gotten by M41. That is just my opinion.

The order to go with plan B, but the one no one would ever risk unless a fraction of a second to midnight.

Kill the emperor and test the regeneration or end what will end anyway.

Given the name, Terminus Est, it heavily implies a kill order of a single target, IE the Emperor. Or rather, turning the Golden Throne off and activating reboot.exe for the Emperor.

Well, I've been giving this a little thought, and here's what I think it might be, and my logic for it:

Since the symbol on the box matches the symbol on the Throne, rather than one more specific to the Emperor, I think it is a safe assumption that the Terminus Decree has more to do with the Throne than the man sitting on it. And given that the Throne was originally meant to be associated with the Webway, I think it has something to do with that. Also, since the whole of the Decree is that it is to be read when humanity is right on the brink of destruction, I'd pose that the Terminus Decree is only meant to be followed when the enemy is quite literally at Terra's doorstep.

What I think the decree contains is the method of pulling all of Terra into the Webway. It is a desperation move that probably kills the Emperor, but also preserves a pocket of humanity. The "it can either save the Imperium or kill it" comes from such a drastic event. Yes, Terra and its pocket of humanity is safe, but at the same time, the heart of the Imperium is just gone.

To be honest, orders to kill the Emperor would probably be given to the Custodes, not the Grey Knights. The Custodes are already inside the Emperor's throne room, the Grey Knights might experience a lot of trouble getting in there.
Looking at what the Grey Knights actually do and specialise in, the incantation seems more plausible. Grey Knights specialise in dealing with the Warp, they are not assassins after all.

 Iron_Captain wrote:
To be honest, orders to kill the Emperor would probably be given to the Custodes, not the Grey Knights. The Custodes are already inside the Emperor's throne room, the Grey Knights might experience a lot of trouble getting in there.

You're not wrong. That's why I think we're looking at this the wrong way. I believe it's simply a command or a device that will deactivate the Golden Throne. The reason it's so far away from the Custodians is because they would NEVER harm the Emperor. The absolutely ludicrous idea of some of you thinking that it's an order for the Custodians to lop off Empy's head is not only impossible to follow in the story, but horribly bad story-telling.

I imagine a Staples Easy button that turns off the Throne.

 Shidank wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:
To be honest, orders to kill the Emperor would probably be given to the Custodes, not the Grey Knights. The Custodes are already inside the Emperor's throne room, the Grey Knights might experience a lot of trouble getting in there.

You're not wrong. That's why I think we're looking at this the wrong way. I believe it's simply a command or a device that will deactivate the Golden Throne. The reason it's so far away from the Custodians is because they would NEVER harm the Emperor. The absolutely ludicrous idea of some of you thinking that it's an order for the Custodians to lop off Empy's head is not only impossible to follow in the story, but horribly bad story-telling.

I imagine a Staples Easy button that turns off the Throne.

Unless the decree involves the grey knights having to pull some sort of 'coup' to initiate it, knowing that many factions would be against it, the customs most likely being one of them. That is also a reason it has not been enacted, as it would rip the imperium apart. Even if the big E was reborn, how many people would believe it? How many years would it take for him to mature also? In that time the whole of the imperium could have tore itself down in civil war, including the grey knights being most likely wiped out due to initiating the task.

endlesswaltz123 wrote:

 Shidank wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:
To be honest, orders to kill the Emperor would probably be given to the Custodes, not the Grey Knights. The Custodes are already inside the Emperor's throne room, the Grey Knights might experience a lot of trouble getting in there.

You're not wrong. That's why I think we're looking at this the wrong way. I believe it's simply a command or a device that will deactivate the Golden Throne. The reason it's so far away from the Custodians is because they would NEVER harm the Emperor. The absolutely ludicrous idea of some of you thinking that it's an order for the Custodians to lop off Empy's head is not only impossible to follow in the story, but horribly bad story-telling.

I imagine a Staples Easy button that turns off the Throne.

Unless the decree involves the grey knights having to pull some sort of 'coup' to initiate it, knowing that many factions would be against it, the customs most likely being one of them. That is also a reason it has not been enacted, as it would rip the imperium apart. Even if the big E was reborn, how many people would believe it? How many years would it take for him to mature also? In that time the whole of the imperium could have tore itself down in civil war, including the grey knights being most likely wiped out due to initiating the task.

Valid points. Let's look at this with what we have. It's a box with a symbol that matched that on the Golden Throne. It was given over by Malcador(presumably since he set up their fortress) and is not recorded in any library. It is known to the Grand Master of the Grey Knights, the most secretive of all organizations in the Imperium. It is kept on a fortress that, according to records, does not exist and yet is as well defended as a rock in space can be. It is said that it is to be opened in humanity's darkest hour and that it will doom and save us.

There's a clear tie to the Golden Throne and no indication that the Custodians have any knowledge of it. That it's on Titan and is a contingency for when all things go straight to hell means it can likely be used on Titan.

If our several examples of perpetuals are anything to go by, he will reconstitute much as he is now. Since he is immeasurably more powerful than any other perpetual, we can only speculate if that means it will take him longer or if it will be instantaneous after death.

endlesswaltz123 wrote:

 Shidank wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:
To be honest, orders to kill the Emperor would probably be given to the Custodes, not the Grey Knights. The Custodes are already inside the Emperor's throne room, the Grey Knights might experience a lot of trouble getting in there.

You're not wrong. That's why I think we're looking at this the wrong way. I believe it's simply a command or a device that will deactivate the Golden Throne. The reason it's so far away from the Custodians is because they would NEVER harm the Emperor. The absolutely ludicrous idea of some of you thinking that it's an order for the Custodians to lop off Empy's head is not only impossible to follow in the story, but horribly bad story-telling.

I imagine a Staples Easy button that turns off the Throne.

Unless the decree involves the grey knights having to pull some sort of 'coup' to initiate it, knowing that many factions would be against it, the customs most likely being one of them. That is also a reason it has not been enacted, as it would rip the imperium apart. Even if the big E was reborn, how many people would believe it? How many years would it take for him to mature also? In that time the whole of the imperium could have tore itself down in civil war, including the grey knights being most likely wiped out due to initiating the task.

If it is indeed an order to kill the Emperor, that could be quite interesting. It would inevitably put the Custodes into conflict with the Grey Knights. That would be very dramatic even if the Grey Knights end up convincing the Custodes.

I have no doubt that such an important moment would end up very badly written indeed.

 Ashiraya wrote:

endlesswaltz123 wrote:

 Shidank wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:
To be honest, orders to kill the Emperor would probably be given to the Custodes, not the Grey Knights. The Custodes are already inside the Emperor's throne room, the Grey Knights might experience a lot of trouble getting in there.

You're not wrong. That's why I think we're looking at this the wrong way. I believe it's simply a command or a device that will deactivate the Golden Throne. The reason it's so far away from the Custodians is because they would NEVER harm the Emperor. The absolutely ludicrous idea of some of you thinking that it's an order for the Custodians to lop off Empy's head is not only impossible to follow in the story, but horribly bad story-telling.

I imagine a Staples Easy button that turns off the Throne.

Unless the decree involves the grey knights having to pull some sort of 'coup' to initiate it, knowing that many factions would be against it, the customs most likely being one of them. That is also a reason it has not been enacted, as it would rip the imperium apart. Even if the big E was reborn, how many people would believe it? How many years would it take for him to mature also? In that time the whole of the imperium could have tore itself down in civil war, including the grey knights being most likely wiped out due to initiating the task.

If it is indeed an order to kill the Emperor, that could be quite interesting. It would inevitably put the Custodes into conflict with the Grey Knights. That would be very dramatic even if the Grey Knights convince the Custodes.

I can't imagine the conversation happening. It would be more like the GK chapter master opening the box, pushing the magic button, and the Emperor dying on Terra with the hope of being reborn immediately. If his perpetual status is like Vulkans, he may come back so quickly the Custodians never know.

Its a piece of paper that says;

"You're not 666, idiot, you're reading it upside down."

Seriously, though, the Grand Master of the Grey Knights is one of the most powerful weapons the Imperium has. The kind of situation that requires the Terminus Decree to be opens predicates the Grand Master already being dead.

 Furyou Miko wrote:
Its a piece of paper that says;

"You're not 666, idiot, you're reading it upside down."

Seriously, though, the Grand Master of the Grey Knights is one of the most powerful weapons the Imperium has. The kind of situation that requires the Terminus Decree to be opens predicates the Grand Master already being dead.

Actually, the Supreme Grand Master is stuck in the Warp!

"If you can read this, something has gone horribly wrong!"

I have always figured it was an off button for the Throne, either just cutting the power and killing/resurrecting The Emperor or some kind of detonation in realspace and the Warp that basically starts Age Of Strife II: The Second One* and basically resets the current state of play across the galaxy.


*(for bonus points, this also sends the universe back in time, and the Emperor that emerges to reunite Humanity after the AoS is in fact the new incarnation of the one that 'died' when the Terminus Decree was used. Truly, a time loop worthy of Dr Who, and possibly exlpains where the Ordo Chronos went... they knew too much! )

 Ashiraya wrote:

If it is indeed an order to kill the Emperor, that could be quite interesting. It would inevitably put the Custodes into conflict with the Grey Knights. That would be very dramatic even if the Grey Knights end up convincing the Custodes.

I have no doubt that such an important moment would end up very badly written indeed.

Have you read Dark Lord Seanron's "Death of the Emperor" project in Dakka Fiction? Living proof that even stuff that completely rewrites the setting can be well written. Of course, the quality of writing is miles ahead of GW's. but still, it's worth a read for a very unique take on What Comes Next after the setting as we know it is annihilated.

 curran12 wrote:
Well, I've been giving this a little thought, and here's what I think it might be, and my logic for it:

Since the symbol on the box matches the symbol on the Throne, rather than one more specific to the Emperor, I think it is a safe assumption that the Terminus Decree has more to do with the Throne than the man sitting on it. And given that the Throne was originally meant to be associated with the Webway, I think it has something to do with that. Also, since the whole of the Decree is that it is to be read when humanity is right on the brink of destruction, I'd pose that the Terminus Decree is only meant to be followed when the enemy is quite literally at Terra's doorstep.

What I think the decree contains is the method of pulling all of Terra into the Webway. It is a desperation move that probably kills the Emperor, but also preserves a pocket of humanity. The "it can either save the Imperium or kill it" comes from such a drastic event. Yes, Terra and its pocket of humanity is safe, but at the same time, the heart of the Imperium is just gone.

This is a very interesting theory. Kind of like the DE homeworld, but not as messed up. I really like this idea.