Ancient Venerable Dreadnought
Thousand Sons Battleship wandering the galaxy...
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"My father sacrificed everything for a future of truth and enlightenment. Now you would have us destroy that future with a witch-hunt? No! If you desire a witch-hunt, then that is what you will have! You are hereby banished from the Imperium of Man, on pain of death!"
The Second Emperor, Horus the Lupercal, to Malcador the Sigillite prior to the latter's exile, from Historia Imperialis Vol. XVI, by Tadashi Okazaki, Imperial Order of Remembrancers
The Glory of Ullanor
It was at Ullanor that the greatest triumph of the Great Crusade took place. The Blood Angels, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, World Eaters, White Scars, Iron Warriors, Imperial Fists, Luna Wolves, and the Emperor's Children, led by their respective Primarchs, crushed the largest Ork Waaagh!!! in galactic history. Thanks his decisive leadership during the campaign, and perhaps guided by a sense of foreboding, the Emperor declared Horus the Lupercal as Warmaster - the Supreme Commander of the Imperium's Armies and Fleets - and renaming his legion as the Sons of Horus. With this the Emperor announced his decision to return to Ancient Terra, effectively giving Horus command of the Great Crusade.
The Council of Nikaea
Just before his return to Ancient Terra, the Emperor convened a great council on the world of Nikaea to answer allegations brought forth by the Primarchs Russ, Dorn, and Mortarion against Magnus, accusing the Crimson King of malign practices. At Nikaea, with Malcador the Sigillite acting as arbitrator and the Emperor sitting in judgment, the accusers presented their case to the Emperor demanding that Magnus be commanded to cease the practice of sorcery on pain of death. Magnus then issued his defense, asking the Emperor to sanction and tolerate sorcery and psychic research, believing that with superior knowledge, nothing was beyond the Imperium. Despite interference (later discovered to be caused by a sentient void-predator or 'daemon' of the Warp) by external forces, the Emperor ruled in Magnus' favor, on the condition that Magnus and his Sorcerers cease the use of tutelaries, and re-opening Magnus' eye, in the process stabilizing all the Thousand Sons' gene-seed and freeing them from the flesh-change. Henceforth, all legions were commanded to make use of Sorcerers and to adopt the Thousand Sons cult system. In anger, Russ and Dorn sought to storm out of the chamber, but were stopped by the Legio Custodes. Ultimately, they bent their knees to the Emperor and accepted his decision, but in their hearts considered it a terrible mistake which they later vowed to correct...and in so doing began their journey to insanity. As it was, this was the last time the Wolf King and the Praetorian would meet the Emperor.
The Lupercal and the King
Shortly after the events on Ullanor and Nikaea, the Warmaster would encounter a technologically-advanced Human civilization known as the Interex; despite hostility due to the Interex' tolerance of alien civilizations, the Warmaster opened up lines of communication, but negotiations were sabotaged by the work of Erebus, of the Word Bearers Legion. As a result, war erupted between the Imperium and the Interex, with the latter being destroyed in the process. Immediately afterwards, the Warmaster sought to suppress an uprising led by Imperial Army units on Davin, who had apparently gone insane after being influenced by one of the Four Intelligences of the Immaterium. Although the insane Army units were destroyed, the Warmaster himself was incapacitated beyond his legion Apothecaries' ability to cope. Erebus then suggested the Warmaster be inducted into a lodge on Davin, the consequences of which could have been catastrophic, had the Crimson King and the First Fellowship of the Thousand Sons Legion not arrived, supposedly to reinforce the Sons of Horus on the field. Magnus labored greatly to heal his brother, and ultimately succeeded, uncovering Erebus' treachery in the process and the truth behind the Four Intelligences of the Warp. Fleeing the Warmaster's wrath, Erebus nearly escaped but was cornered on Davin by elements of the Sons of Horus and the Thousand Sons. In desperation, he summoned the void-predators of the Warp, only to be unwittingly used as a sacrifice to bring forth a greater void-predator. Ultimately, the void-predators were banished by the efforts of the two legions' Sorcerers, after which Davin was destroyed on the Warmaster's orders according to Magnus' advise, fearing that reality and the Warp had overlapped over Davin. Before Magnus departed, the Warmaster promised the Crimson King he would never forget his debt, and that he would seek to repay it in time. Immediately afterwards, the Warmaster ordered an investigation be launched on the Word Bearers Legion.
The Emperor's Children Begin To Fall
Even as Magnus and the Warmaster were preoccupied by the events on Davin, the Emperor's Children encountered a technologically-advanced alien civilization known as the Laer. Their technology was such that representatives of the Imperial Administration considered making the Laer an Imperial Protectorate, something that Fulgrim, Primarch of the Emperor's Children, adamantly refused to accept, and launched a bloody campaign that culminated in the destruction of the Laer...but also placing the Emperor's Children under the influence of one of the Four Intelligences of the Warp. Fulgrim began to grow increasingly unstable, under the influence of a void-predator imprisoned in his sword - which was taken from a temple on the Laer homeworld. Encountering the Eldar Maiden Worlds at the edge of the galaxy, Fulgrim sought to negotiate with forces from Craftworld Biel-Tan...only for both sides to turn on each other. The Eldar were ultimately defeated, and Fulgrim - now completely insane - embarked on a campaign of genocide on the Eldar, and when the Iterators and Remembrancers among his forces balked at the carnage and increasing depravity of Fulgrim and his legion, on those who refused to partake of the 'perfection' Fulgrim was bringing about. As word spread, the Warmaster now ordered the Emperor's Children be brought to heel, only for Fulgrim to take his legion and disappear into the darkness of space...to the waiting side of Lorgar the Aurelian.
The Aurelian Assembles His Armies
With the Warmaster hot on his heels, Lorgar assembled his forces. In addition to his own Word Bearers, he now had the support of the Emperor's Children and the World Eaters, as well as significant Imperial Army and Mechanicum support. He then proceeded on his first open act of rebellion - the Battle of Calth.
The Battle of Calth
Falsifying the Warmaster's orders, Lorgar contrived (later believed to be with the assistance of Alpharius Omegon) to assemble the entire Ultramarines Legion on Calth, supposedly for war games meant to dispel the allegations of conspiracy and treason brought against the Word Bearers for the events on Davin. Guilliman would fall into Lorgar's trap, with a large part of the Ultramarines Fleet destroyed in the opening stages. Lorgar withdrew with the bulk of his legion after completing rituals that summoned large numbers of void-predators, which combined with the element of surprise and the significant numbers of Word Bearers and traitor Imperial Army units ultimately led to the loss of half of the Ultramarines Legion. Before withdrawing, Lorgar mocked Guilliman, confirming that he had fallen for Lorgar's false message from the Emperor, and that he, the Emperor, and the other Primarchs knew nothing of the true power of what they called the Four Intelligences of the Warp but were really the Gods of Chaos, and Chaos was the true nature of things. Although the Ultramarines were victorious, Calth was destroyed just like the Davin, the legion's Sorcerers warning that reality and the Warp had overlapped over Calth. Guilliman swore vengeance on Lorgar, and ordered that messages be sent to the Warmaster and the Emperor, and for the Ultramarines to regroup and to prepare for pursuit.
The Burning of Prospero
Even as the Word Bearers confronted the Ultramarines at Calth, Russ and Dorn led their legions against Prospero, seeking to forestall what they believed an inevitable betrayal by the Thousand Sons just like what had happened to the Word Bearers and the Emperor's Children. Prospero's orbital defenses were swept away by sheer weight of numbers, and with only his Third Fellowship present on Prospero, Captain Hathor Maat issued a desperate call for help. The Wolves and the Fists' orbital bombardment left Prospero an ash waste, and once the Wolf King and the Praetorian descended to the surface with their legions, it was over. Captain Maat and Fellowship fought bravely, but in vain, with Captain Maat falling before the Pyramid of Photep at the hands of Rogal Dorn. What was left of Tizca was then destroyed from orbit - all the returning Sons found on their return was an ashen waste. But when Russ and Dorn presented their actions to the Warmaster and the Emperor as a victory in forestalling a potential rebellion, they received a different answer: both the Warmaster and the Emperor condemned them as traitors and kinslayers, with Magnus swearing a blood oath to kill Russ himself - an act which, once learned of by Russ, stunned the Wolf King, unwilling to believe that Magnus could do such a thing. Harried and attacked by the Sons of Horus, Imperial Army, and the Thousand Sons themselves, the two legions fled into space. There, their self-loathing for their actions consumed them, until they fell into the trap - believing that they had eliminated a future threat, they condemned what they saw as the Emperor and the Warmaster's blindness, eventually joining the forces of Lorgar the Aurelian.
The Betrayal at Colchis
Lorgar assembled his forces and dug-in at his homeworld of Colchis. With his legion and that of Magnus now in swift pursuit of the Space Wolves and the Imperial Fists, the Warmaster ordered Ferrus Manus to assemble seven legions: the Iron Hands, the Salamanders, the Raven Guard, the Night Lords, the Iron Warriors, the Death Guard, and the Alpha Legion, all with their respective Primarchs, and to launch an assault on Colchis. Their objective was the complete and utter destruction of the Emperor's Children, Word Bearers, and World Eater Legions, and the capture (if possible) of Fulgrim, Lorgar, and Angron. Unknown to the Warmaster, Alpharius Omegon - who served as second-in-command to Ferrus Manus - was already on Lorgar's side. The initial attack, composed of the Iron Hands, the Salamanders, and the Raven Guard, quickly bogged down. Falling back, they expected to be reinforced, only to have their cousins turn on them. Having taken serious losses already, the betrayal would decimate the ranks of the Iron Hands, the Salamanders, and the Raven Guard. In the confusion, Ferrus Manus would find himself confronting Fulgrim, who slew him and brought his head to Lorgar, now acclaimed High Priest and Chosen of Chaos - the Natural Truth. Vulkan and Corax led the fighting retreat back to orbit, were their decimated fleets ferried them back to their homeworlds and sent messages to the Emperor and the Warmaster. It was a black day for the Imperium.
The Traitors Revealed
The betrayal at Colchis was the trigger for a wave of revolts across the Imperium, with treacherous elements of the Imperial Army and the Mechanicum fighting loyalist ones. Lorgar assembled seven legions: the Emperor's Children, the Word Bearers, the World Eaters, the Space Wolves, the Imperial Fists, the Iron Warriors, and the Death Guard for an assault on Terra. The Night Lords and Alpha Legions were ordered to stop or at least delay the Ultramarines from reaching Terra. The Warmatser and the Crimson King now raced back to Terra, from where Sanguinius had issued a communication ordering all loyal legions back to Terra. Apart from the Blood Angels, the White Scars and Jaghatai Khan were already on Terra. Both the Warmaster and the Crimson King would arrive in time to join the defense even as the traitors entered the Sol System. Lorgar immediately dispatched Mortarion and the Death Guard to Mars, while with six legions the Aurelian launched his assault on Ancient Terra.
The Siege of Terra
Leaving a third of his fleet to blockade Luna, Lorgar launched his assault on Ancient Terra. The defense systems cost the traitors dearly during the landings, but their numerical advantage was clear, bolstered not just by traitor Imperial Army and Mechanicum forces, but also by Warp void-predators. But the traitor advance (and by extension, victory) was stalled by three things. First: Khan and his legion had spread out over Terra, forcing the traitors to weaken their main thrust to deal with his flank attacks. Second: rather than concentrate on fighting the loyalists, Fulgrim and the Emperor's Children spent their time with terrorizing and taking advantage off of Terra's helpless populace. And finally: upon reaching the walls and fortifications of the Warmaster at the Imperial Palace, Dorn and Perturabo and their respective legions hampered one another's efforts in breaching the defenses of the Imperial Palace. Meanwhile, in the depths of the Imperial Palace, Magnus and the Emperor worked furiously, struggling to breach the Webway and bring Lion and the waiting Dark Angels to Terra in an instant.
The Eternity Gate Falls - Victory at the Moment of Defeat
Despite the Warmaster and Sanguinius' efforts, the fortifications of the Imperial Palace proved insufficient against the combined efforts of Perturabo and Rogal Dorn. Led by traitor Titans, the defenses leading to the Eternity Gate were overwhelmed, though not without heavy losses for the traitors, with only one Warlord Titan making it to the gate, which was ultimately destroyed. But even as the field seemed lost, the Titan was destroyed, the resulting explosion blasted back and devastating the front of the traitor forces by a kine shield of unimaginable strength. As the smoke cleared, Magnus the Red was seen standing amid the ruins of the Eternity Gate. And he was not alone. In gleaming ivory-white armor with a cape of purest black, the Warmaster, Horus the Lupercal, and in black armor emblazoned with rampant lions of red gold, the Lion of Caliban, Lion el'Johnson stood surrounded by their sons. As the traitors fell back in shock and horror, the Warmaster raised his gauntlet, and signaled the counter-attack.
Traitor Blood Is Spilled
The traitor forces fell back in retreat even as Sanguinius and his Blood Angels sallied forth from over the walls of the Imperial Palace. The retreat crumbled as the traitor leaders fell, one by one. Angron was the first, slain by Sanguinius. Russ was next, at the hands of Magnus. Ironically, his own treachery was his undoing - his previous refusal to acknowledge the powers of the Warp could have shielded him from Magnus' power, but his own acceptance and use of warp power led to his demise before the Crimson King. Rogal Dorn was next, his unseeing and gaping head hanging from the Lion of Caliban's left hand. The field was lost, but with their leaders dead, only Perturabo and the Iron Warriors retreated in good order and escaped to orbit. En route to the extraction site, Fulgrim would be slain by Jaghatai Khan. But the Khan had been injured by Fulgrim's tainted blade, which now worked its power on him. Rather than fall and betray his father and brothers, the Khan destroyed the blade before committing suicide, and asking his sons to entomb him atop the highest mountain on their world, where he could sleep under the stars in honor.
The Emperor Confronts The Arch-Traitor
Shortly after the death of Russ, Magnus and Horus were recalled back to the Imperial Palace. Magnus was now commanded to control the Golden Throne and smooth the teleportation to Lorgar's flagship, whose shields were down - a direct challenge to the Emperor. Despite Magnus and Horus' urgings, the Emperor was adamant: he would confront Lorgar and end this once and for all. As Magnus held the Golden Throne stable, he simultaneously suppressed Lorgar's sorcery, allowing the Emperor and the Warmaster to appear on the bridge directly. As the Warmaster and his and the Emperor's retinue of Custodes and Terminators held off Lorgar's retinue of Possessed Marines and a pair of greater void-predators, the Emperor confronted the Aurelian. The Emperor quickly asserted his supremacy, and seemingly incapacitated the Aurelian, but this was a trap: using his body as a conduit, Lorgar consumed all the void-predators within the Sol System to gather enough warp energy to shatter the Emperor's defenses and critically damage his body. As his body crumbled to ashes, Lorgar shouted his allegiance to the Four Intelligences of the Immaterium, and spat his defiance to the Emperor. With the void-predators gone, and the traitors now in full retreat, taking his dying father with him, Horus returned to Terra with the survivors.
Horus Ascendant
Returned to the Imperial Palace, the gathered Primarchs assembled around the Emperor and the Warmaster. With barely a few minutes left, the Emperor gave his final decrees. Horus would be Emperor after him. Magnus would continue the great work of the Webway and bring about Mankind's psychic evolution. And above all, the Emperor warned the Primarchs not to act on fear and begin a witch-hunt or to allow themselves or their father to be worshipped as gods - but to uphold the Imperial Truth no matter what. With that, the Emperor left this world.
The Emperor was entombed in a great tomb of gold and adamantium at the heart of the Imperial Capital, surrounded by silver statues of angels.
A New Era Begins
Horus was now the new Emperor, and changes were quickly made. First was his decision to appoint Sanguinius as the new Warmaster. Second was the decision to prioritize the mop-up of traitor forces. In the greater Imperium, the Ultramarines were already mopping up the traitor forces, having broken the Night Lords after he slew Conrad Kurze, with the Alpha Legion retreating once word of the Night Hunter's death became known. Within the Sol System, the newly-arrived Salamanders avenged themselves on the Death Guard, with Vulkan personally slaying Mortarion. Wamaster Sanguinius - who now had a seat on the Council of Terra despite Malcador's insistence that the Warmaster should be under the Council, not part of it - was directed to coordinate the counter-offensive. Another act of importance, but one which would take centuries to complete, was the elimination of the Lectitio Divinitatus, now calling itself the Imperial Cult. Malcador quickly fell from grace, his attempts to establish the Imperial Inquisition stopped by Horus, ending his life as a lonely exile on an island retreat on Terra. The legions were retained, Guilliman's objections withdrawn after hearing of the Emperor's last words not to act out of fear. Around 800.M31, as Magnus completed mapping and gaining full access to the Webway - and bringing about a safe acceleration of Human psychic evolution to 40% by then and expected to be complete by 100.M32 - the last of the traitors was destroyed. Vulkan slew Perturabo, and the twins by Sanguinius and Guilliman.
New Allies and Enemies
However, new enemies arose...and with them allies. As the Imperial Truth prevailed, the Four Intelligences of the Immaterium grew weak and impotent, freeing the Eldar from She Who Thirsts at last. Seeing no point in opposing the Imperium any further, with Mankind's accelerated psychic evolution, and rapidly-advancing technology, majority of the Eldar Craftworlds joined the Imperium by 900.M31, and by 030.M32, the last independent Craftworlds of Biel-Tan and Alaitoc joined the Imperium as well. The joining of Humans and Eldar was rocky at first, but Horus was confident that if they could defeat the Four Intelligences of the Warp, they could overcome this challenge. Indeed, by the time the Alaitoc and the Biel-Tan joined the Imperium, a significant number of Human-Eldar families had been established, as fully-realized Human psykers (by which point consisted over 80% of the Human population) lived as long as Eldar, helped smooth the relations between the races. Joint operations against the Dark Eldar - who expanded quickly and dangerously after She Who Thirsts had faded into impotence - further strengthened the bond between the two races. The final unification of Man and Eldar took place in 100.M32 - Emperor Horus, all the Primarchs, and with representatives from Human and Eldar Worlds - having given up the Paths and the Craftworlds - renamed the Imperium of Man as simply the Imperium.
But not all was well - the Necrons have begun to awaken, as the psychic resonances of Imperium's people begin to draw the jealous attentions of the Phaerons. Even as they awake, war rages in the darker and deeper levels of the Webway between the Imperium and the Lost Ones. The Orks remain a potent force, and Magnus perceives a new threat falling on the galaxy in a few millennia, merely a few generations in the eyes of the Imperium's people...speaking in hushed whispers, he names it the Great Devourer...
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