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Got my own post on this but simply put,

The 2nd legion under the Primarch Cicero, human version of the Harlequins basically but with a mash between a Jester and a devilish Rogue. A unique ability to irritate the other primarchs to no end.

Basically they were loyal but didn't kill some Eldar and the story behind that got them expunged from record, but there's a very good chance they escaped into the webway with the harlequins. They may have also assisted the Emperor's forces when Magnus broke into the webway/ continue to assist with the breaches in the webway.

I think it fits a bit as they could of been called the lost on a double meaning. Physically lost in the webway since Magnus broke stuff and/or Morally lost for consorting with "Xenos"

I rather like the Orky Primarch idea, except there were not 1 but 2 Orky Primarchs. Their names were Mork and Gork, and they were twins. Raised on an all out feral Ork world, the easily became the gods of ork worship.

When the Emporer found them, he thought them to be tainted, and called for immediate extermination and records removed. It was to be the first time, but not the last time he would have to enact such a verdict. Mork and Gork then became martyrs for the Ork religion.

2nd Primarch was called Ha-Rambe and 11th Timmy.
Timmy was a hyperactive primarch and Ha-Rambe was a bit simplier, but muscular one.

Once Timmy ran around his place, lost balance and fell of the balcony down onto the street. Ha-Rambe was just walking around and as he seen falling Timmy, he decided to help.
People tought that Ha-Rambe is going to hurt him. Timmy survived, but Emperor shot Ha-Rambe in fear of his son. Later the Emperor found out that Ha-Rambe was also one of his lost son.

So the 2nd was purged and 11th declared lost, because of the shame emperor had to face because he wasn't able to take care of his offspring. In fact, 11th primarch is held as captive somewhere in Emperor's palace, as a punishment.


EDIT: Rewritten

 Hawky wrote:
2nd Primarch was called Ha-Rambe....

I stopped reading. Still too soon

After going through this I wholeheartedly support the naval Primarch. However, I reckon he/his legion should be the royal British navy style. I really want 18th century navy in my 40k.
Got no idea about a legion name though.

Also, with regards to what got their records wiped, I'm pretty Sanguinius mentions hiding the red thirst from the emperor for this reason, so a genetic flaw is still possible. It would have to be pretty severe though, given that the thousand sons and emperors children also had severe flaws. Maybe they over mutated or experienced gene-seed failure or such, and that was why they were the 'lost'.

Each of the primarchs was an aspect of the Emperor in some way, we lack a scientist and diplomat aspect so far, as we have

Honour: lion
Secrecy: alpharius
Hope: lorgar
Curiosity: magnus
Charisma: Horus
Loyalty: russ
Self improvement: fulgrim
Intelligence: peturabo
Need for justice: konrad
Temper: ferrus
Order: guiliman
Exploration, wanderlust: Khan
Need to build: dorn
Leadership: sanguinius
Fortitude: mortarion
Self reflection: corax
Humanity: vulkan

The only one that can't be known is angron, but the fluff heavily implies brotherhood, also, a lot of the primarchs were either corrupted by chaos or didn't end up where they were supposed to (Khan was suposed to go to chemos and fulgrim to chondax), so the possible original ideals they were supposed to represent didn't turn out as planned, the only aspects missing are the Emperors diplomacy and scientific acumen.

Angron would likely be righteous fury, as the Butcher's Nails amplify rage and aggression, two traits which seem natural to Angron.

I don't see the Lion as being associated with honor - that sounds more like guilliman. The Lion reminds me more of survivalism, as he'll do whatever it takes (including possibly contemplating siding with the Traitors if Terra was defeated in the final battle).

 Retrogamer0001 wrote:
Angron would likely be righteous fury, as the Butcher's Nails amplify rage and aggression, two traits which seem natural to Angron.

I don't see the Lion as being associated with honor - that sounds more like guilliman. The Lion reminds me more of survivalism, as he'll do whatever it takes (including possibly contemplating siding with the Traitors if Terra was defeated in the final battle).

Sorry, but both of those are false, angron was corrupted as soon as the chaos gods took him, the nails just amplified that corruption, he shows in betrayer that he is happy to move around his legion showing no favouritism, his sons, lesser versions of himself, prior to the nails and after having had the nails, still hold brotherhood above all, had there been no nails, I can see angron as the pin that unites his brothers.

Lion was never going to side with the Warmaster, he was never waiting to see who won, that plot thread was put to bed about 3 years ago in savage weapons, good short story, worth a read, lion has also shown in all novels he hold honor above all, however due to chaos corruption (something that affects all primarchs to an extent) he has a very dark side, this comes through as his pride and Temper.

Angels of Caliban cements this.

as women whose gene seed destabilized and therefore were purged. like samguinius should have been

You know, I don't think Angron's thing was actually rage or anger or whatever.

I think Angron's thing was loyalty. Loyal as a hound.

The Emperor broke Angron himself when he forced Angron to betray the core of his being (that being his loyalty to his friends/followers in the slave revolt). Angron wasn't well, what with the nails and slavery and abuse, but he wasn't broken until the Emperor ripped him away.

IMO, the breaking of Angron led to loss of the absolute loyalty that was engineered within the primarchs (and therefore the astartes).

jbuck wrote:
You know, I don't think Angron's thing was actually rage or anger or whatever.

I think Angron's thing was loyalty. Loyal as a hound.

The Emperor broke Angron himself when he forced Angron to betray the core of his being (that being his loyalty to his friends/followers in the slave revolt). Angron wasn't well, what with the nails and slavery and abuse, but he wasn't broken until the Emperor ripped him away.

IMO, the breaking of Angron led to loss of the absolute loyalty that was engineered within the primarchs (and therefore the astartes).

I agree completely, except I called it brotherhood, you can see in almost every story that he features that little glimpses of his true personality come through, letting Khan live, his attempts at comradeship with lorgar, how he treats his sons when the nails abate (rare), he died at deshelica ridge, he was broken, as you say, his speech when he returns shows this.

 SpinCycleDreadnought wrote:
The XI legion has a Lions's head facing to the right as the legion symbol, if this Nemean blackshield thing is to believed

Huh? The Nemean as a Dark Angel.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Formosa wrote:

 Retrogamer0001 wrote:
Angron would likely be righteous fury, as the Butcher's Nails amplify rage and aggression, two traits which seem natural to Angron.

I don't see the Lion as being associated with honor - that sounds more like guilliman. The Lion reminds me more of survivalism, as he'll do whatever it takes (including possibly contemplating siding with the Traitors if Terra was defeated in the final battle).

Sorry, but both of those are false, angron was corrupted as soon as the chaos gods took him, the nails just amplified that corruption, he shows in betrayer that he is happy to move around his legion showing no favouritism, his sons, lesser versions of himself, prior to the nails and after having had the nails, still hold brotherhood above all, had there been no nails, I can see angron as the pin that unites his brothers.

Lion was never going to side with the Warmaster, he was never waiting to see who won, that plot thread was put to bed about 3 years ago in savage weapons, good short story, worth a read, lion has also shown in all novels he hold honor above all, however due to chaos corruption (something that affects all primarchs to an extent) he has a very dark side, this comes through as his pride and Temper.

Angels of Caliban cements this.

Yeah, Angels of Caliban makes it very clear that the Lion was only ever loyal. He even put his life on the line to deliver the message to the Ultramarines, and Blood Angels, that Terra still stood and needed their aid.

My idea for one of the missing Primarchs is that the Big E approached him to make his offer and his reply was more or less; "Nah, I'm completely against your plan. Tyranny can't build up humanity. Tyranny can only destroy. People should be free."

So he and his people (he's actually an elected leader rather than a self appointed ruler) fight against the Big E's forces, even though they know they can't win.

Big space battle, lost Primarch's forces get completely destroyed, Big E offers him one last chance to join. Instead, he makes a suicidal run with his ship and blows it up.

And that's what happens to uncompromising idealists in the grimdarkity-dark.

It fits well with the idea of one of the lost Primarch's being an expert in naval combat too.

I've got it.

One of them turned into a Zombie. I don't think any of the Primarchs have the aspect of corpse-emperor ... right?!

Or maybe seeing as there are many "pairs" in the types of Primarchs maybe one of them was another hugely powerful Psyker like Magnus and got corrupted/twisted/convinced of being right.

Or maybe one had too many aspects of The Emperor and ended up almost like him and therefore too powerful to be a competitor.

I've always had it in my mind that one was like Omega level blank, so he may have been killed by his own legion, who didn't inherit this. In the end, he was torn apart by his own sons, who collectively sent insane due to his suffocating presence

So, sorry to Necro a thread, but as I was reading this I really wanted to throw in my two cents...so please indulge me.

As far as the 11th legion, I imagine them as being the "purged"

The primarch was a well meaning, but suffered from mutation do to his exposure to the warp (Horus rising when his capsule was cracked by a punch)

due to his mutation, his geneseed also suffered incredible amount of degradation, to the point to where only 1 out of 100 recruits would actually be viable enough to be called a true Space marine. While mutations were rife, warp abilities were often off the charts, making Magnus's sons powers look pale in comparison

This Primarch created a strong friendship with Magus due to their obvious similarities and worked together to cure the mutations that plagued their respective legions. Magus focusing his solutions on the mystic, and the 11th focusing their efforts on purely scientific means.

Eventually the primarch started encroaching on the blueprints of the emperors work and through his meddling, created what he thought were superior space marines and presented his solution to the emperor.

The emperor, while impressed was enraged by his son's alterations of his work and worried about other legions doing the same. This violation, combined with the fact that the 11th legion was almost unable to recruit new soldiers, left the emperor to his only logical solution, to dissolve the 11th legion and terminate the primarch.

The 11th primarch, being loyal to a fault, was willing to submit himself to the emperor's judgment under one condition, that he would spare his sons that were not mutated. (Hence the growth of the ultramarines)

The emperor agreed and subsequently had Leman Russ execute his son, to his extreme sadness. After the deed was complete he warned his sons that if any of them tampered with his work without his consent, they would face the same fate.

Little did the emperor know, that during his friendship with Magnus, the 11th primarch sent some of his most gifted sons to learn from the thousand sons as de-facto members of his legion.

Magnus, upon learning of his brothers approach to Prospero to render judgment, sent his fallen brothers sons away with his forces in orbit. He knew that is his father ever found out that he was hiding these gifted marines, he would never be forgiven by the emperor.

Boom....11th legion.

Whoever they were, Rogal Dorn deeply regretted their deaths- perhaps he felt both were redeemable.

All things told, anyone that Dorn's dumb ass likes is probably not worth knowing about. Good riddence to them!

Sturdy Lass' with the finest boob-plate that C30 artificiers could provide...

Reash at it's best

 EmpNortonII wrote:
Whoever they were, Rogal Dorn deeply regretted their deaths- perhaps he felt both were redeemable.

Would make the exploration of these Primarchs and their Legions better if this was the case.

 EmpNortonII wrote:
All things told, anyone that Dorn's dumb ass likes is probably not worth knowing about. Good riddence to them!

What have you got against Dorn?

Considering the effort it took to make primarchs there must have been a fantastic reason they were purged. The emperor put up with a lot from his primarchs, but the one thing he would never abide is split loyalties. A primarch that was too close with the eldar for instance might trigger a purge, or one that decided to strike out on his own rather than joining the family business.

We know the Primarchs are in part shaped by their experiences from the world they landed on, The Lion was a knight, Russ was a viking, Khan was a horse nomad, etc. What if a primarch had landed on an exodite world, and was raised among the eldar, learning their ways (and perhaps even their ways of war) before being found by the emperor. Unlike the other primarchs his ways are not human, he is cold, distant, and tends to wait and watch where others are called to action. Suspicion runs hot from the start, and When he lets a force of eldar get away rather than wiping them out to the man he is accused of being a traitor. He defends himself when he is attacked which is taken as further evidence of his guilt, and the space wolves are sent to exterminate him and his legion.

 IllumiNini wrote:

 EmpNortonII wrote:
Whoever they were, Rogal Dorn deeply regretted their deaths- perhaps he felt both were redeemable.

Would make the exploration of these Primarchs and their Legions better if this was the case.

He makes it pretty clear he thinks so in that one short story that's him talking to Malcadore the Sigilite.

I like the idea of the Admiral and the Biomancer/Apothecary. I also love the idea that one of the Primarchs was raised by xenos.

I can also see that if the Admiral Primarch disagreed with the Emperor about the core goals of the Great Crusade (or at least the methods by which they were reached), and took his fleet and seceded. I can see how the Emperor would want that purged from the Imperial records, especially if it was a successful secession.

In jbuck's 'facets of the Imperium' theory, he would represent diplomacy and/or exploration. Perhaps innocence/naivety.

As for the Biomancer, it could be that he was raised by a xeno race (or could be humans, difficult to tell at this point) whose culture was heavily based on genetic engineering. When he was found by the Emperor he was barely recognisable as human. Still, he was the Emperor's son and was inducted into the IoM at the head of his Legion. During the crusade, he constantly tinkered and modified his Astartes' implants and genetics, and each world he conquered also felt his touch. It began with simple modifications to allow new Imperial citizens to subsist on toxic plants, or increased resistance to solar radiation. By the end, the conquered populations were barely recognisable as human. Tactics such as viral bombs that rapidly rewrote the genetic structure of the world's population were commonplace.

This came to a head when the XIth Legion heard reports of one of their worlds was under attack. Upon arrival, they found a company of Dark Angels was besieging their planet, having mistaken them for a xeno race. The battle was short and bloody. The Dark Angels' battle barges, expecting reinforcement from the newly arrived XIth Legion, were instead caught off guard and annihilated. Their stranded ground forces were assaulted by marines sporting terrible biological enhancements. Their last act was to transmit a distress call to the nearest inhabited world.

When the message reached the Emperor about a foul xeno perversion of marines annihilating a Dark Angels force, only he worked out the terrible truth. Fearing discord during the early stages of the great Crusade, and furious at the attack upon the glorious first Legion, he dispatched the Space Wolves to annihilate the XIth Legion and cleanse the worlds conquered by them.

Only the Wolves knew the reality of their mission. The battles were marked down in the history of the Imperium as great victories against terrible xeno adversaries.

Those marines captured who were not altered beyond recognition were mind-wiped and disseminated among the other legions. It is known that a few went to bolster the numbers of the Emperor's Children*, while others were fed into the meat grinder of the Iron Warriors**.

In jbuck's 'facets of the Imperium' theory, he would represent innovation/betterment and/or hope. Something that is sorely lacking from the Imperium's roster.

*Ever wondered why Fabius Bile is so different to the rest of the Emperor's Children?

**Obliterator virus?

Ynneadwraith wrote:


I can also see that if the Admiral Primarch disagreed with the Emperor about the core goals of the Great Crusade (or at least the methods by which they were reached), and took his fleet and seceded. I can see how the Emperor would want that purged from the Imperial records, especially if it was a successful secession.

In jbuck's 'facets of the Imperium' theory, he would represent diplomacy and/or exploration. Perhaps innocence/naivety.

I think the explorer was a pacifist. The Emperor told him to go feth himself. He left with a ship to the outmost regions of the galaxy and is now "Lost." This is the one Leman Russ went after. Russ refused to kill someone who wouldn't fight, which is why this is now his shame. This Legion fought to the last man defending their Primarch, but lacking the guidance of a Primarch, lost hard.

The one raised by xenos was purged. The Ultramarines inherited their novices and equipment for some role in what happened. Maybe the Marines from Terra.

... or maybe they're backwards. I think a Primarch that refused to fight at all is too good a story not to be true.

I picture them as dead.

I have a rather large write-up on this, done in the style of the old Index Astartes (gads... has it really been 16 years?!) that all started with one thought:

What did these two legions do that was so horrible that they were struck from all records, when those who turned to Chaos were not?

So, pulling a lot of OLD strings together, which included a few mysteries that have since been solved (aw), what I came up with was this:

The Second Primarch was Athena, the lone daughter of the Emperor.

Short form, she had the healer-diplomatic package, plus a brilliant mind, and served as a mediator between the assorted Primarches, helping to keep the peace. Unfortunately, her style of concquest was focused on building societies and a brighter future, which was great at creating long-term peace, but resulted in a SLOW advance. Her legion, the Sons of Athena, were a main thrust in the Pacifica sector, but she was eventually pushed by the Emperor to speed up. An old friend of Fulgrim, and through him Fabius Bile, she worked with Bile to rejigger the geneseed, creating female marines. In one motion, she doubled the number of soldiers that could be used and started to speed up her conquest.

The Emperor noticed the greater speed and came to have a look. He was *horrified* ... the reason he never allowed for any female marines was simple: He was worrie dthat they would breed and eliminate humanity. He ordered them all killed, she refused, and a purge was initiated. Her Legion was wiped out by the work of two or three others, but her body was never found. All records of her existence were then erased, and *especially* her work on female marines, the one sin worse than falling to Chaos. While her body was never found, the primarch of the Salamanders personally turned her helmet in to the Emperor and swore that she was gone for good.

Since then, the "Cult of Athena" remains active in the Pacifica sector, sometimes stirring up trouble with heretical ideas like "Maybe all mutants aren't all bad" and talks of a Star Child, but the Inquisition puts a quick shakedown on that kind of talk. The Salamanders are always keeping an eye out, while the Rainbow Warriors have a terrible habit of showing up just after the Athenites have vanished. (Gosh darn it! We'll get 'em next time!)

It used to use the Sons (and Daughters!) of Athena as a Launchpad for some of the Cursed Founding (Athena's own geneseed was horribly mutated, marking her as a sort of 'mother of monsters' yet another reason why so was so interested in genetics), a possibly origin for the Sons of Medusa (who have since gotten an origin) nd a possible origin for the Black Templars who, at the time, were known to be crusading to cleanse a stain from their history that no one knew about.

The whole file is, like, 10,000 words I think, and I'm sure that it didn't age well (not looked at it in a LONg while), but if anybody wants, I can dig it up and post it here.

Wakshaani wrote:
What did these two legions do that was so horrible that they were struck from all records, when those who turned to Chaos were not?

They were. As were the Soul Drinkers. Only folks like the Inquisition and Space Marine Chapters know about Chaos.

Wakshaani wrote:

Short form, she had the healer-diplomatic package, plus a brilliant mind, and served as a mediator between the assorted Primarches, helping to keep the peace.

While a couple of Primarchs have served as peace-makers, Angron seems like he was actually made to do this but was broken on the world he landed on. Brotherhood and loyalty to his fellows seem to be his things.

Wakshaani wrote:
Unfortunately, her style of concquest was focused on building societies and a brighter future, which was great at creating long-term peace, but resulted in a SLOW advance. Her legion, the Sons of Athena, were a main thrust in the Pacifica sector, but she was eventually pushed by the Emperor to speed up.

This is literally a complaint made by the Emperor of Lorgar in the 10th HH "novel" (it's a short-story collection)

Lorgar was over in the Pacificus Sector, so it makes sense. (I think it's him and Vulkan in the official grouping; Athena would have made three. Helps explain why that sector is so small compared to the others, but also why it's so rock-steady.)

I went ahead and dug the old files up (and winced at the cascade of typos, gah), Sadly, I don't know how to format well on this board so it won't look pretty, but here's the beginning of the whole thing::

Athena Hereticus

The Cult of Athena has been an ongoing Heretical cult in the Imperium for thousands of years ... the earliest records, in fact, show mention of bands of female warriors dating back to the Horus Heresy. Interestingly, many records relating to the Cult of Athena have been locked down by sources unknown, rendering them unreachable by even high-ranking Inquisitors. While many have named them as followers of Slaanesh or Khorne, such varied results fly both in the face of what has been learned about Chaos since the older days of the Empire as well as glossing over their ongoing battles against a variety of threat to humanity. By no means loyal to the Empire, they nontheless have fought against wayward Xenos in protection of Imperial worlds, even as they have turned their weapons and mantras against planetary governers.

The facts about the Cult of Athena are these: It was first reported around the planet Delphi, in the Sgmentum Pacifica, sometime during the Horus Heresy. The organization allows only women to join, drawing young firebrands from hiveworld gangs, pampered highborn, even some fallen Sisters of Battle. They have a martial tradition, and use a combination of forgotten lores, herbs, and even psychic powers to advance some of their warriors to levels comperable with the Adeptes Astartes. Many attempts to ferret them out have been made, but the way that they can infiltrate and disperse amoung the populations of any Imperial world makes them difficult in the extreme to eradicate.

Cult of Athena members have wormed their way into places that are truly staggering. The vast majority of Athena Cultists are not, in fact, warriors, but simple sympathysers who can actually do more to disrupt society than the small bands of fighters that are more commonly thought of whe the Athena Cult is mentioned. A campaign to eliminate the cult on Saphos III, for example, was hampered by the Cult's ability to produce weapons and resupply as well as their Imperial counterpart. Two years into the war, it was discovered that a supply sergeant's underling was singlehandedly responsible for the transfer of war materials to the Cultists' hands, allocating more and more to them as fresh supplies arrived on world, turning the world's own weapons against it. After the governer's rule was overthrown, the Cult helped establish a new leadership, then vanished, only days before the Salamanders arrived to reinforce the fallen governer. The Salamanders turned their guns on the new government, which surrendered without a fight, re-establishing Imperial rule, but the Cult escaped. Athena Cultists were later discovered amoung the Salamander's own families, one of many Marine bands so infiltrated. Even the Inquisition isn't immune to infiltration in this way, and a handful of Athena Cultists are rooted out every few years.

In truth, the Cult of Athena, while one of the largest Cults in the Imperium, is far from the most dangerous. As mentioned before they leap quickly to defend the Imperium from Xenos, seeming to have a true hatred for the Eldar and their slave-taking ways, and the Daemonhunters have reported that some cultists are ready and willing to take up arms against the hordes of Chaos. Some Sisters of Battle are reformed Athena Cultists, while others eventually join the Imperial Guard as Penal Guard members and have a commendable record. Inquisitor Carmilla of the Order Hereticus, herself, is a reformed Athena Cultist, and now travels from world to world, to root them out, thus proving that the Cult has a weaker grip than others.

The threat of the Cult of Athena comes from a longer view. Worlds overthrown by them often refuse their quotas of manpower and resources, but never release psychers to the Black Ships. Mutants, in general, are coddeled by the Cultists, who have a particular fondness for psychers. Unchecked psychers, as everyone knows, are the greatest threat to the Imperium, as the forces of Chaos try to force their way to our world through them. Worse, when many planets in a region refuse to give up psychers, the Black Ships cannot be filled, and an unfilled Black Ship emperils the Emperor himself! Even on those worlds that they do not control, the Cult remains actice, seeking out and spiriting away young psychers before the Inquisition can track them down. The sudden, unexplained lowering of psycher discoveries is, in fact, the first sign of Athena Cult activity on a world, a red flag which is passed on to Terra when noticed.

Far more interesting than what is known about the Cult of Athena, however, is what secrets they harbour. Many rumors and legends form the basis of the belief, the most intruiging of which are repeated herein. I have personally interviewed the so-called 'Warrior Woman', Diana of Col. Shaffer's Last Chancers, and while she would never betray her sisters, her willingness to speak on certain matters is why she has been placed within the penal legion and offered a chance for redemption in death. It is important to note that her personality, normally known to be terse and seething with hostility, changed completely when matters of her Cult were brought up, and she spoke earnestly and energeticly at length about her beliefs. By the tears of the Emperor, she was in a state of near rapture at times, and I fear for her spirit if she does not accept the Emperor's grace in her heart. Those words which follow are often hers, but are culled from many sources, and are simply their view, annotated here and there with facts or inconsistancies. Recite the Lament of the Emperor's Lost as you read them, lest the heretical words bring doubt to your heart.

THE FOUNDING
To combat the forces of Chaos, the Emperor of Man formed twenty Primarchs, using the dark arts of science and other arts unknown to Man, creating ultimate warriros for his battle. They were stolen away by forces of Chaos who, unable to destroy them, scattered them near and far, often managing to mutate them in body, mind, or spirit. Lion el'Johnson of the Dark Angels was the first Primarch to be found. Athena of Delphi was the second. ** Search result on Athena of Delphi: All records purged by orders unknown. Your request has been flagged. Remain where you are and prepare for Inquisitorial visitation **

Delphi, at the time Athena was discovered, was a feudal world, at the cusp of a black powder age, ruled by lords and swords. Had Athena been found by the nobles, it is likely that the perfect girl would have been raised as a simple handmaiden to royalty, until such time that she would have been married off and forgotten. Instead, she was found by an old with-woman, barren and stooped with age, who had prayed to pagan gods for a child. She raised Athena as her own, always amazed by the youth's rapid growth and brilliance. By the age of ten, Athena was as tall as any nobleman, stronger than the smiths of the nearby villages, as swift as a horse, and brilliant without peer. She had learned all of her mother's potions and chants, as well as pressing on in her own discoveries in herbalism and in her ongoing psychic power. Her touch could heal the sick and wounded, cause plants to bloom, fruit to ripen, and know the thoughts of Man.

When his master was critically wounded while hunting a boar, a simple squire who had heard rumors of the witch-woman and her talents had little choice but to seek her out with all due haste. The ministrations of Athena and her adoptive mother were enough to restore the Prince to life, and, in the days it took him to fully recover his strength, he fell in love with the dark-haird beauty who had kept him alive. He asked for her hand, but was refused, as she wished nothing more than to continue to learn in peace, communing with nature in all it's forms. Despondent, the Prince departed, but never forgot the amazing young woman.

In a year's time, this memory turned to a blazing desire, with no princess brought before him able to meet his dream. Unable to turn from his passion, he formed up a band of his most loyal knights, and returned to the witch's camp, to take by force what he could not take by any other means. He called to her when he arrived, and as before, was refused. He signaled his men to take her, then, and was surprised when she made no effort to refuse him. The animals, in contrast, moved indeed. The horses of the band reared as one, depositing their riders to the ground with great force, even as a swarm of birds fell upon them all, scratching with a great flurry of wings and claw. hunting hounds turned on their masteres, heeding no call to heel, and even the women's goat moved to defend her. When the prince's squire moved from the house with a knife to the Witch's throat, however, Athena gave in, and the animals returned to their natural state. The Prince was more enthralled than ever, despite the injuries his men sustained, and kept the girl well aware that if he ever refused him, her 'mother' would be put to death.

Years passed, as Athena served loyally and demurely at her Prince's side, moving from simple peasant girl to the most graceful courtisan in the realm with the same ease that she had mastered the Witch's Arts. She learned to read, a rare skill indeed amoung the nobility, and immersed herself with the knowledge of science and sorcery, but rarely practicing the channeling of otherworldly forces she viewed as dangerous ... truly, the Primarch's natural sense for Chaos showing itself. Her wisdom aided her husband's rule, soon he was the leading force on the world, and stood ready to conquer all. On the eve of final battle, word was sent that Athena's mother was dying, and needed the Primarch by her side. She left her husband's side, returning home with a swiftness without equal. She attended her mother's last hours, her own power to preserve the witch's life refused as it was her time. And when her mother's last breath was spent, her bond with the prince was ended. She gathered up her things, returned her mother's body to the ground from which it came, and returned to her husband's camp, to find a slaughter.

Her husband's foe, pressed to the end of his resources and desperate, had tapped the Black Arts of Sorcery, and had sent a call for aid to the Warp, which responded with a great fury. Damned creatures unlike anything she had ever seen danced through her husband's ranks, slaughtering and scattering the terrified troopers with a contemptous ease, her husband reduced to a mewling and wretched beast-thing at the heel of the foul lord who only hours ago was doomed. She had sworn long ago to not break the cycle of nature, and to bring death to no living thing, but the sight of her husband, loathesome as he sometimes could be, reduced to such a thing filled her with shame and hatred. She took up a bow from a fallen warrior, and, with a short, silent prayer, let fly. The strike killed that thing that was once a man, drawing the attention of the dark lord, who demanded her capture. Knowing she had no skills with which to fight, she fled into the woods, leaving the victorious armies of the dark lord behind her.

Over the next few days, she was able to find and rally small bands of her husband's men, and her words called them to her side. No warrior, her charisma was still enough to reform the army, now a tenth the size as before, and manage a retreat. There, she aided in the defense of her home, a one-woman frenzy of tireless energy, showing the citizens an unflinching face of bravery in the sudden dark times that had befallen them. Indeed, the city came to see her as the true power behind her husband's ascension, and Princess Athena was accepted by all as their new leader in all ways. When the attack of the dark army came, her skilled defense and encouraging presence lead them to victory, but there was not enough force remaining to deal with the threat of the Chaos powers.

The next few years formed a string of battles and raids, either side attempting to get an advantage over the other, matching the raw power of Chaos with the brilliance of the Primarch. Her hands were not idle, either, as she trained in the arts of war with the greatest of knights even as she mastered strategy with her generals. She proved as able here as in her other ways, and, while always loathe to take a life, she truly excelled at driving away the spawn of Chaos, her sword and bow claiming many unlives. Eventually, her forces prevailed, and in defeat, the forces of Chaos retreated to the Warp, leaving the dark lord powerless and fearful, who, rather than face Athena's army, fled himself into the Warp, to suffer the fate of any wretched man who dares sell his soul for power.

Princess Athena became Queen, and began to lead her people into a new golden age, the Athenan Age, a prosperous time of rule by one gentle hand, who always kept her troops in readiness should the dark forces return, but who truly shone in the peaceful art of rule. She built a society, turning away the many suitors who would woo her, saying that the land was her mate, and that she would never marry again. For two generations, the eternally young Queen ruled, her society making great leaps in the healing arts, engineering, and agriculture, until no one went hungry in her lands. Education was paramount, with everyone being schooled and universities for advanced study being formed. Philosophy, the arts, all knowledge save that of sorcery was dear to her, and flourished under her rule. In truth, hers was a golden age, and there was even talk of her people someday touching the stars.

Then came the Emperor.

one went mad and insane, the other left and became a recluse.

I like the one on Blood and chainsword forum
http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/285838-the-lost-and-forgotten-building-the-ii-legion/