Sangunius Heresy[warhammer40k alternative history]

he Sanguinian Heresy: A Warhammer 40K Alternate History

June 9, 2012 ~*~ Chapter One: Ullanor BLOOD SAMPLE: Match. PASSCODE: ******* WELCOME TO THE CUSTODIAL ARCHIVE, CAPTAIN-GENERAL Taken From The Great Crusade: A History (Remembrancer Stefana Castellucio) "Ullanor. That was where Father made his greatest mistake." - Horus Lupercal The Ullanor Campaign was the greatest of the Emperor's campaigns in the Great Crusade, His finest hour. What a pity that it came so soon before the Heresy began, for it was an hour of unparalleled courage and skill of arms from all 18 Space Marine Legions, save for the Sons of Horus, whose fleet was becalmed in the Warp for the duration of the Ullanor Campaign[1]. The Ork Empire of Ullanor was the terror of the Segmentum, led by an exceptionally strong and cunning Warlord who was possessed of impossible might. The Emperor delegated Sanguinius to the position of leading the assault on the main planet, together with his Blood Angels Legion. Leman Russ was to aid in the main attack, while Constantin Valdor, Magnus the Red, and Alpharius commanded the reserve groups. Ten million troops of the Imperial Army - Byzant Janizars, Merican Stormtroopers and many other regiments - were also allotted to Ullanor proper, along with elements of the Mechanicum. The Battle of Ullanor swiftly became a meatgrinder. Hills, mountains of Ork dead rose swiftly, but yet more and more greenskins rose from foul warrens underneath the planet's surface. The strategies of Magnus and Alpharius proved to be a capable multiplier of force, but the Blood Angels' tactic of throwing themselves forward even in the face of impossible odds, led by their 'Angel' (as he was known then) Sanguinius brought them severe losses. Then, the Emperor descended. How to describe His descent? The grey skies opened up and rained fire upon the Ork hordes like a God's wrath, turning mountains crawling with the vermin into glass plains. Then He unleashed his power, aided by Primarch Magnus. Millions of Orks died in moments, as white fire consumed them from within. The Ork Warlord then rose, a vast specimen, his skin so dark green it was almost black. The monstrosity was the size of a Dreadnought, and massacred the Custodes squads sent forth. The Emperor Himself arose and did battle with the abomination. The Ork, in a moment of power, tried to crush the Emperor's neck with his power-claw, but then Sanguinius descended. Against Sanguinius and the Emperor both, the Ork could not stand, and was rended limb from limb. That marked the end of the Ork Empire upon Ullanor. The green vermin were scattered, laid low and ultimately wiped out from the planet. The Mechanicum's geoformers then descended, turning the planet's main continent into a glassed plain, fitting for the Triumph that followed. Mysteriously, the Emperor announced during the height of the ceremony that He was leaving for Terra to continue his researches. However, to continue the Great Crusade He delegated command over the Imperial armies involved in the Great Crusade to Primarch, now Warmaster, Sanguinius[2]. Why he did so is unknown, considering Sanguinius' betrayal and the long shadow it has left on the Imperium. Perhaps He saw a mirror of Himself in the angelic being. As Horus thrice-Praised himself said, Sanguinius had all the measure of the Emperor. Yet even now, as we struggle to both drive the Fallen Legions from the ordered areas of our galaxy[3] and fend off the traitorous Supremacy of Ultramar[4], it can only be seen as a disastrous mistake. Perhaps Horus would have fared better[5], yet it is not the time to discuss what-ifs, could-have-beens and never-weres. What we are left with is the world we made, and we must all dwell within. ~*~ Taken from the Chronica Prospero, Timestamp 013.M31 ...Great slaughter. Russ' and Jaghatai's sons have made the Silver Lake red and black with blood and ink. Magnus is on Terra, with the Emperor, but I can sense his presence with me. The Warp-spawn assault us daily, but we are holding. Our fortress stands yet. But what concerns me is the howling outside, and a terrifying presence at the corners of my psychic perception, like the Warp-spawn but far worse. The Space Wolves are degrading into beasts like the savages they are. They cannot breach our defences as of yet. But what will happen, once Russ himself joins the fray?... - Ahzek Ahriman, 1st Fellowship Captain[6] Chapter Two: Crucior From the Codex Sanguis (proscribed by order of the Ordo Maleficus, in His name) Oh, let us sing, with the voice of the great Muse, let us sing of the glories of the Dark Gods, of Kor Phaeron the martyr who brought the Word to the Fools of Colchis and was struck down by Lorgar the Sevenfold-Hated. Let us sing of Ferrus Manus, who slew the wretch Vulkan on Mars' soil. Let us sing of Dorn the Rider of Death, that Brought the Plagues of Nurgleth to Terra, and Hell following with him. Let us sing of Russ the Rider of War that assailed cursed Prospero. Let us sing of Jaghatai, the Rider of Change and bringer of the fire of Tzeentch. Let us sing of Curze, who brought the Terror of Chaos with him. Let us sing of Caliban's Lion. And let us sing of Great Sanguinius the Rider of Conquest, whose blood flows in our very veins. Let us sing of Blessed Crucior, on whose soil the Great Sanguinius was recieved the Revelation...

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he Sanguinian Heresy: A Warhammer 40K Alternate History

June 9, 2012 ~*~ 'This world would burn, if it wasn't ash already.' - Sanguinius Thrice-Cursed, on Crucior Primus. ~*~ From A History of Heresy (Alexian Davandrios) ...The Crucior System is famous for two things. The most notable is the great massacre on the charnel-world of Crucior Tertius, where Angron, Corax and Fulgrim were betrayed and fell in battle. Ten thousand years later, the monument to the battle fought there, and the martyrdom of these three Primarchs, still stands high above the blasted fields. The second is more esoteric, and only known to those that have researched the most secret parts of the Sanguinian Heresy. It is the asteroid field where Crucior Primus once stood, before it was razed by the Ordo Maleficus to avoid creating a pilgrimage site for heretics. Crucior Primus was in the time of the Great Crusade a volcanic, highly active world, first from its young, newly-born star. The Compliance Action fought upon Crucior Primus in the last days of the Great Crusade was led by Sanguinius himself. The Angel, as he was known then, smote the armies of the native humans wherever they stood. But where he was not, things got worse. Thousands of Imperial Army soldiers were massacred by psychic powers, fire devouring whole regiments. Madness struck even Astartes down, as the natives unleashed diabolical rituals and summoned unholy abominations to aid them. Crucior was aptly named. At the siege of the greatest fortress of the natives, Sanguinius himself led the assault. But then, he was struck down. An artefact of Tzeentch himself, the Maleficum Tesseract, struck him down, trapped him in a death-like slumber from which nobody was sure he would awake... ~*~ Extract of Vox-Record, Crucior Massacres (stored in the Archives of the World Eaters Legion) Angron: We fight on! Blood! BLOOD! (Sounds of bolters firing, chain-weapons whirring, intermixed with bestial cries, continue for several minutes.) Kharn: Angron is cut off! We must(Sound of large explosion, fitting with multiple Heresy-era lance cannons. Static.) Kharn: The Primarch is fallen. Back to the dropships. Fall back, fall back! ~*~ +++FOLLOWING INFORMATION FOR LORGAR'S EYES ONLY+++ ...Colchis burns. The heresy of Kor Phaeron has taken deep root. The Word Bearers, my proud Legion, are tearing themselves apart. Kor Phaeron has taken the Cathedral, Warp-Spawn stalk its corridors. The Old Religion was wrong, there is no God but the Emperor, but how can this be when He denies His divinity? Terra holds firmly, but Mars and the rest of the system have fallen to Sanguinius' heretics. We must be strong - we can be, that is certain. The assault on the Cathedral begins in an hour. Kor Phaeron and his 'Apostles' will die. Time to tear the heart out of this apostasy... - Primarch Lorgar, the Forbidden Gospel Chapter Three: Revelations and Plans After Action Report, filed 997.M41 aboard the Battle-Barge Eternal Divinity +++THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The thoughts of elders are the beginning of wisdom+++ ...Battle was joined. The crimson-armoured heretics advanced, screaming blasphemies upon Lorgar and the Emperor. Veteran Sergeant Draigo showed remarkable cool under fire, and I have personally marked him for possible initiation into the Seventh Mystery and promotion to the now-vacant position of my Coryphaeus. In honour of the memory of fair Colchis, the men fought, chanting hymns of wrath and revenge to fill them with that boundless joy which can only be found in the destruction of our enemies. Frothing maniacs devoted to the Blood God's worship fell around us. When the perimeter was secured, I led the advance. We had to destroy this heretic, an ancient war-leader from the secret time of Colchis' scourging. With boundless courage, Draigo mowed down the foul heretics with his heavy bolter while in an exposed position. Coryphaeus Malachai charged the heretics' leader, and with his power-blade wounded him greatly. But the heretic lord merely laughed, and with his blood summoned daemons of the Blood God that ripped the Coryphaeus apart. Bravely, I charged in, wielding the Crozius-staff that symbolises my office as Master-Chaplain. The daemons were struck down, and I duelled the

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he Sanguinian Heresy: A Warhammer 40K Alternate History

June 9, 2012 heretic leader personally. The apostate uttered multiple blasphemies during the battle (it is fortunate the men did not hear them, or mind-scrubbing would have been enforced to preserve the Secret), but I was triumphant. I took a gene-sample to confirm that this was in fact the Inheritor, then ordered all the bodies burned to cinders and the power-armour smashed. The Secret must never be discovered. The men duly complied, accomplishing the task with flamer, plasma gun and multi-melta. Once we had left the site, it was duly levelled by the guns of the Lorgar's Fist in orbit, so thoroughly that I doubt an atom of dust remained. His Will be Done. - Chapter Master Aureon, Word Bearers Legion ~*~ Taken from the Archives of the Space Hulk Event Horizon (Dated 013.M31) ...Lies. The Emperor has lied to us, about the Warp, about everything. In my conversations with [NAME EXPUNGED BY THE WILL OF LORGAR], I have grown steadily more convinced that the Emperor is a threat to mankind. He speaks to me clearly, passionately. The thing in the Maleficum Tesseract showed me so many things. The scattering of my...Brothers was no accident. I cannot believe that he would lie to me, so much...[DATA CORRUPT]...the powers of the Immaterium are truly worthy of reverence. And if they will his destruction, so be it! [DATA CORRUPT] I will gather my Brothers, the ones I believe will listen. And then, we will drown the galaxy in blood. - Warmaster Sanguinius ~*~ From the Archives of the Fortress of Light, Prospero My divinations are troubled. I sense the gravest of treacheries, against Father himself. But how to warn him? Ever since Ullanor and Nikaea, he has been troubled...distant. I feel in it my mind, the familiar tingle of his presence, known from my childhood onwards, darkened. He suspects the worst from me, I know it. Psychic communication is an impossibility with Father so suspicious. So it seems I must arrive in person. Brother-Captain Ahriman, I leave for Terra with my best warriors and fastest ships. Father must be warned of the impending betrayal before the knife finds his heart. - Primarch Magnus. ~*~ From the Archives of the Ordo Maleficus [PICTFILE: A mysterious Marine in stone-grey Power Armour [ref/666/Nameless Heretic], conversing with the Warmaster Sanguinius. All Legion symbols on the Marine have been removed. The room is lit in a baleful glow: source unknown]

Interlude One: Fragments of War Volume III of the Roll of Honour of the Legion of the Emperor's Children This volume of the Roll of Honour is devoted to those who fought in the Crucior Massacres, the darkest day that ever befell our Legion. Yet in the darkness, the light of our courage, cruelly betrayed as we were, shone all the brighter. The courage of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, whose feats of arms and skill will shine forever more, is remembered in this roll. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Primarch Fulgrim of Terra For countless feats of arms, for being our blessed Father, Primarch and Battle-Brother even in the face of the greatest odds, for courage against the foulest minions of Chaos, and for valiant self-sacrifice. May your tomb, your crypt underneath Terra's soil, lie forever undefiled, Father. Brother-Captain Alejandro, 36th Company For the sacrifice of the Battle-Barge Germanotta, allowing our fleet to escape and for striking a blow against Dorn's accursed flagship Phalanx, you will be remembered, Brother-Captain. Let the void be your grave, and the survival of the Imperium your

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June 9, 2012 memorial. Brother-Captain Lucius, 13th Company For your rescue of the mortally wounded Fulgrim, at the cost of mortal injuries, for which you were placed in the adamantine sarcophagus of a Dreadnought, so that you may continue to fight for all eternity, in His name. Apothecary Fabius For tending to the injured, and going great lengths to save Primarch Fulgrim from the fate that claimed him. You may have endured Crucior, but you are still counted amongst its many heroes. The list of names continues for 610 pages... ~*~ Vox-Records, taken from the Hidden Archives, Word Bearers Legion Lorgar: He is not the devil. He is not a prophet. He is not a trickster. He is an Astartes like any other, and he can, he will be, killed! (Astartes cheering) Lorgar: On this day, in this place, Kor Phaeron will fall! For he has blasphemed against our blessed Emperor. He has corrupted our Cathedral, corrupted our relics, corrupted our brothers with his devious lies! He has made Astartes fight Astartes, made them worship devils that mislead and trick the faithful. We begin the attack now. His Apostles will be put to the sword. His books will be burnt. His daemons shall be banished! In the name of the Emperor, advance! (Astartes cheering wildly) ~*~ Put Colchis to the fire. Expunge this heresy root and branch. The Emperor will recognise His own. - Primarch Lorgar ~*~ They will not surrender? Unleash the daemon-cant! Their very machines will destroy them. - Arch-Heretic Sanguinius, on the valour of the Martians ~*~ We are not Imperial Fists, not anymore. We are...(gurgle)...Death Knights... - Rogal Dorn ~*~ I defy you! - Last words of Brother-Captain Varren of the World Eaters, Siege of Terra Chapter Four: Prospero Holds

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June 9, 2012

Phosis T'Kar of the Thousand Sons ~*~ Archive of the Wings of Sanguinius Sanguinius: You know why you have been called to this conclave. All of you, I demand answers. What are you doing? Erebus: Kor Phaeron sent me to inform you that his conversion of Colchis to the True Gods is going smoothly. The trap for Lorgar is set. He won't know what hit him. Ferrus Manus: The Mechanicum is rejecting my overtures. But I trust that they will see reason in time. Sanguinius: Dorn, how goes the plan for Crucior and the loyalists? Dorn: They are heading there, my Astropaths have confirmed it. The trap will be sprung soon enough. Sanguinius: Very well. Mysterious Voice: Magnus has left Prospero for Terra. He seeks to warn his Father. Sanguinius: Who are you? Leman Russ: Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, your servant. Sanguinius: And what do you suggest to deal with Magnus and his sorcerous swine? Leman Russ: Let me raze their cities, burn their libraries, tear them apart. Their sorceries will fail, I am certain. Sanguinius: Very well. I dispatch the Space Wolves and a contingent of the White Scars to Prospero. Burn that wretched planet to the ground. Leman Russ: Your Will be done. ~*~ From the History of Prospero

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June 9, 2012

Prospero and the Thousand Sons, before the Siege The Siege of Prospero was one of the greatest battles of the early Heresy, comparable with the Crucior Massacres (in which the World Eaters Legion took 75-percent casualties and the Emperor's Children lost half their number, among various other disasters), which took place at the same time. For months prior to the attack, Chief Librarian Ahzek Ahriman had been recieving precognitive visions of great destruction. It was for this reason, that as soon as Magnus left for Terra, he evacuated the majority of Prospero's citizenry to the fortress of the Thousand Sons, and gave a recall order, forcing all Thousand Sons to return to their Primarch's home-world. When the Space Wolves and White Scars burst from the Warp, Ahriman had prepared. Orbital defences took their toll, but were defeated by sheer numbers. Leman Russ led the massacre at the scholar's retreat of Hyperiopolis near Tizca, making the Silver Lake, renowned for its serenity, red with blood of scholars and black with the ink of books he had cast into the water. The Thousand Sons were greatly enraged by this, so much that Ahriman famously said, 'If they fear us, show them why', relating to holding back with their powers. But it was the least of the atrocities Russ would commit as he fell deeper and deeper into the worship of the Blood God as he sent his Legion hurtling into damnation. The Thousand Sons unleashed their power. Psionic storms tore Stormbird gunships apart, as telepaths shredded the minds of enemy commanders. Phosis T'Kar led the Raptora, the telekine-cult of the Legion, in creating a telekinetic shield around the entire city of Tizca, but he knew that the city could not hold without aid. The cult of the Pyrae, renowned for their pyrokinetic powers, unleashed flame-blasts powerful enough to slay Terminators, but it was not enough. Desperate, Russ sent attack after attack, each led personally, amusing Khorne enough that the Lord of Slaughter breached the veil of sanity, unleashing a tide of daemons to assail the Sons. The situation turned disastrous, as the daemons breached the shield around Tizca, slaughtering all in their path. The city burned, blood running through its streets as the Sons fought against the abominations. The Warlord Titan Canis Vertex was assailed by Bloodthirsters and fell after slaying seven out of the eight Greater Daemons Khorne had sent to massacre the Sons. Soon, their fortress was surrounded. But help came from an unseen quarter. Constantin Valdor appeared out of nowhere, aided by a full squad of Custodes. Valdor fought his way through innumerable Warp-spawn and corrupted Astartes, to face Leman Russ, now possessed of the Mark of Khorne and immeasurable might. After a duel lasting seven days, Russ retreated from the field, wounded. The remainder of the Thousand Sons arrived three days later, regaining control of orbit. The daemons were caught between orbital bombardment and the fury of the Thousand Sons, and were all banished. Russ for his part, slaughtered all in his path between Prospero and Sanguinius, solely to assauge his anger at his failure there. For this, and his actions upon Terra, Khorne would make him a Daemon Prince... __________________ German victory in WW1?

Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Somewhere, Europe Posts: 1000 or more Chapter Five: Treachery Most Foul

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he Sanguinian Heresy: A Warhammer 40K Alternate History

June 9, 2012

Equerry Kharn at Crucior Tertius ~*~ Brother, you have gone mad! Stop now! - Fulgrim to Ferrus Manus, Crucior Massacres ~*~ From The Blackest Hour of the Astartes ...The Alpha Legion, Emperor's Children, World Eaters and Raven Guard responded in full to Sanguinius' false distress signal and swiftly deployed on the surface of Crucior Tertius. They arrived to find absolutely no trace of the enemy they were supposed to fight. Then, they were bombarded from orbit, in desperation they took cover. That was when the Iron Hands, Imperial Fists, Blood Angels and Night Lords Legions attacked them. The result was a massacre. The World Eaters fought on through the whole day, taking heavy casualties until Primarch Angron fell to an orbital bombardment, his Equerry Kharn - the voice of reason within the World Eaters - ordering the retreat. The result was 75-percent casualties, primarily among the Berzerkers and assault forces of the Legion. With the casualties on Terra also taken into account, by the Heresy's end roughly 90-percent of the Legion's fighting forces had been slain. The Emperor's Children showed their courage too, making a fighting retreat that bled the pursuing Iron Hands greatly. Fulgrim and his Phoenix Guard fought against their Primarch, Fulgrim duelling Ferrus Manus and wounding him so greatly the traitor was driven from the field, although Fulgrim took on mortal wounds in the process. Brother-Captain Lucius personally rescued the dying Primarch via jetbike in a daring action that wounded him mortally. The courage of Lucius has ensured that his broken body was placed in the chassis of a Dreadnought, where it remains still.

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June 9, 2012 Fulgrim fighting Ferrus Manus Corax also fell, ripped apart by the Night Haunter, though in his final moments he detonated explosives that sent a mountain's worth of rock falling down on them both, slaying Curze. The Night Lords continued their horrific assault, but were disheartened at the loss of Curze. The battle continued in space, where the loyalist ships were massively outgunned by the Phalanx, Rogal Dorn's ancient flagship from the Dark Age of Technology. It looked like they were doomed, but then BrotherCaptain Alejandro of the Emperor's Children sacrificed his Battle-Barge, the Germanotta (named after an ancient Terran composer), ramming it into the Phalanx and deliberately overloading the Warp Drive, crippling its engines and shattering its void shields. The loyalists used the opportunity to flee for Terra, in the course of which Fulgrim succumbed to his wounds. When they reached Terra, he was buried with all due honour. The Emperor is said to have wept for his fallen son, and for the knowledge that Sanguinius had betrayed him... ~*~ Burn it down. - Ferrus Manus, performing Exterminatus on Chemos, former home-world of the Emperor's Children. ~*~

Colchis, seconds before detonation ~*~ Is this not glorious? Is this not wondrous, in its magnificence? Flesh and metal, one and the same! - Gabriel Santar of the Iron Hands, Prince of Obliterators, at the gates of the Emperor's Palace __________________ Chapter Six: Colchis Torn Asunder

Kor Phaeron, self-proclaimed Prophet of the True Gods ~*~ Vox-Record, Hidden Library of the Word Bearers Legion

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Kor Phaeron: Who dares defile this blessed sanctuary?! Lorgar: The name does not matter, heretic! What matters is that you die this day. Kor Phaeron: Come to serve, wretch? Come to worship the True Gods? (The sound of leaden footsteps, the ground cracking) Lorgar: Never. (The sound of a figure being lifted by the neck, followed by choking and desperate attempts to breathe) Kor Phaeron: Lor...gar...Lor...ga...aa...I...re...main...your.. .ser...vant... (Sound of choking continues for several minutes, followed by the thud of a Power-Armoured body falling several metres) Lorgar: I rise, you fall. ~*~ From The Forbidden Gospel, Book IV, Chapter VI 25. And the Heretics were struck down in the fields of Colchis, and in the cities and the cathedrals. 26. And they fled to the world that is called Cadia, and did not return. 27. But the taint had spread into the very ground of Colchis, and thus did the prophet Lorgar speak: 28. Cleanse the planet, and put all to the blessed fire of Exterminatus. 29. And this was done, and Lorgar spoke once more: 30. Let us wander across the heavens, seeking no rest until the very last heretic has been executed and our sins expiated in blood and fire. 31. And so the Great Work of Repentance was begun. ~*~ All our God demands is that we hate. - Tactical Sergeant Eliphas, Scourging of Colchis ~*~

Heretic Word Bearers defiling the Emperor's Cathedral on Colchis ~*~ I...impossible! - Last Words of former First Chaplain Erebus, the storming of the Diabolicum, 999 M.41 ~*~ Colchis, our home, turned against us...an abomination...

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June 9, 2012 - Veteran Sergeant Sor TalgronChapter Seven: Gods' Prizes The metal lives the metal lives the metal lives the metal lives the metal lives the metal lives the metal lives the metal lives the metal lives... - Astropath Quixios, on the Iron Hands' flagship ~*~

Iron Hands Obliterators at Terra ~*~ From the Liber Hereticus ...The thrice-damned Gabriel Santar, the Prince of Obliterators, was the first of the Astartes to contract the Obliterator virus, and the only one to retain some measure of sanity. He led an entire thousand-strong army of those consumed by the virus up to and during the Siege of Terra, killing the Imperator Titan Dies Irae on Mars before breaking the very walls of the Imperial Palace with massed fire. But these feats, great as they are, do not compare to his systematic levelling of the city of Nova Yourk in Merica upon Terra, so thoroughly, it is said, that of the 250-mile wide city, not a single stone stood on another. Now, he has absorbed so much technology that he is the size of a Dreadnought, having enough firepower, by himself, to destroy a Warhound Titan, as he has done on the worlds Rega and Byzanthis. It is also said that he has denied himself the gift of daemonhood, in order to wreak more havoc and destruction in the Materium. Threat rating: Extremis Maxima... ~*~ From the Codicium Bubonicum (Proscribed by the Ordo Maleficus) ...And Nurgle sent his manifold Blessings unto the Phalanx, and the Astartes screamed in pain and tried to end their own lives, but they could not die, for Nurgle was not finished with them. And at the last, Dorn the Plaguebringer begged for death, and Nurgle was pleased. And Dorn was made into the Plaguebringer, and his Marines, that had been Fists of the Emperor, into Knights of Death, and when they were vomited forth from the Gods' realm they were dead in body, but they had survived in Father Nurgle, whose love extends even unto the smallest things, and they had His blessings, and they were adored by Him... ~*~ From the Tome of Blessed Massacre 012.M31 ...Leman Russ earns the Mark of Khorne with his slaughter of the Rune Priests of the Legion and his great massacre of Thousand Sons sorcerers upon cursed Prospero. Great offerings are made unto the Blood God of the surrounding systems, but they are paltry compared to what awaits War Given Form upon Terra... ~*~ From the Tome of the Shifting Eagle ...And so was Great Jaghatai delivered unto the service of the Changer of Ways, the Master of Mutation who holds us all in thrall. Weep, oh Imperium, for the servants of the Khan of Khans stand against you!... ~*~ From the Iron Book

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...Ferrus Manus earned the Mark of Chaos Undivided with his slaughter of the Emperor's Children recruiting world of Chemos, his reducing of the world to so much ash and dust. And in doing so he proved the eternal strength of metal over the weak flesh, even though the 'Children' were given Terra to recruit from after the Time of Iron... __________________ Chapter Eight: The Galaxy Aflame We do not fight for your Emperor. We fight against Sanguinius. - Eldrad Ulthran to Primarch Perturabo, during the Battle of Frozen Blood. ~*~

An Eldar Avatar of Khaine, at the Battle of Frozen Blood ~*~ From The Perfidy of the Eldar ...The Eldar intervened rarely during the Heresy. They seemed content to watch Sanguinius set the galaxy aflame, save for some rare instances, and even then they were just as likely to attack loyalist forces as traitors. At the Battle of Frozen Blood on the ice-world Glacius, they massacred a White Scars force that was sent to assassinate Primarch Perturabo as he made his way to Terra, only then to turn their guns on the Primarch. However, this led to their defeat, as Perturabo defeated the Avatar of their war-god with the firepower of Devastator squads, masses of artillery, and his very own Thunder Hammer. The Iron Warriors have hated the Eldar of Craftworld Ulthwe ever since, and the feeling is most definitely mutual, as has been marked by Eldar attacks on Iron Warrior recruiting worlds... ~*~ Orkz is made for fightin' and winnin'! - Anonymous Ork ~*~

An Ork Waaagh! during the Heresy ~*~ From Meditations Upon the Alien ...Sanguinius', and later Guilliman's rebellions did not avoid the attention of the most numerous xeno breed in the galaxy - the accursed Orks. The hordes gathered in the wake of the traitor fleets as they rampaged around the galaxy, and soon formed a Waaagh! large enough to rival the Ork Empire that had been crushed on Ullanor. Sanguinius for his part, directed the Waaagh!, via various assassinations conducted by the White Scars, right at the Sol System, hoping to damage its outer defences. The immense horde of greenskins soon hit the Sol System like a hammer-blow, and although it had no chance of crossing the orbit of Saturn, let only reaching Mars or Terra, badly bloodied Battlefleet Solar. Sanguinius was content to wait to attack Terra after this, for he waited until Guilliman's rebellion took the largest of the Astartes Legions out of the Emperor's service... ~*~

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June 9, 2012

Guilliman declaring the Supremacy of Ultramar ~*~ The Emperor cannot protect. Fulgrim, Corax and Angron, three of his very sons, lie fallen. Dorn, Curze, Sanguinius, Jaghatai, Russ, Ferrus and the Lion now worship the powers of the Immaterium. The Word Bearers war amongst themselves, if the rumours from Colchis are any indication. Is there not strength in separation from the Imperium? - Roboute Guilliman, Macragge ~*~ Official Proclamation of the Supremacy of Ultramar Rejoice, Citizens! Ultramar is independent from the Imperium. You have no Master now but Guilliman and the Legion of the Ultramarines, not the Emperor on Terra, not the mad Warmaster Sanguinius. The Ultramarines, whose courage knows no bounds, will protect you faithfully and truly against the powers of Imperium and Immaterium both. We who are Legion will govern and defend you against Xenos, against traitor and false Emperor. We who know no fear shall stand against the night with boltgun and chainsword. We who serve Guilliman will preserve the Emperor's vision, his Truth, against all who assail it... ~*~ I hate the irreligious most of all. - Primarch Lorgar, during the Ultramar Wars, M33

Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Somewhere, Europe Posts: 1000 or more Interlude Two: Visions of Heresy This is Terra! - Constantin Valdor to the emissary of Sanguinius sent to the Imperial Palace, before killing him ~*~ I. Am. The. New. God. If you resist, I will bring you to a Hell without exit or end, where you will crawl and beg and DIE! On the contrary, if you surrender without further quarrel, I will let some live as my pets. - Warmaster Sanguinius to the defenders of Terra.

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June 9, 2012 ~*~ Nameless terror...the metal, our technology turned against us...our very boltguns...this place is CURSED! - Last transmission sent by the Iron Hands expeditionary force in the Noctis Labyrinthis, Mars ~*~ From Legends of the Astartes Legions ...The Exemplar is a legendary figure among the Astartes of the Emperor's Children Legion, arriving in their hours of greatest need, only to vanish again, as suddenly as he came. He bears a black blade, and towers over even the greatest Astartes. He first arrived at the Siege of Terra, where he saved First Captain Kaesoron, and Saul Tarvitz, Captain of the 10th, as well as many other Marines, from almost certain death at the hands of a Keeper of Secrets, before proceeding to carve a path of great devastation through a horde of Slaaneshi daemons. Many within the Legion believe him to be the spirit of their Primarch Fulgrim, but little evidence exists for this view... ~*~ Mars will fight to the last! Make them bleed for this heresy! - Fabricator-General Kelbor Hal of Mars, after the unleashing of the Daemon-Cant (crippling 75-percent of the Forge World's defences) __________________ Chapter Nine: Blood and Iron Fotens terribilitas, adjuva me in extremis! - Last words of Word Bearers Fleet-Captain Zadkiel, Commander of the Battle-Barge Thunder Child ~*~

The Vengeful Spirit, Horus Lupercal's flagship, en route to Terra ~*~ BE SAVED IN DEATH, FILTHY AS THOU ART. - Inscription on all Word Bearers bolter shells ~*~ From Heroes of the Word Bearers, the Hidden Library ZADKIEL, FLEET CAPTAIN: Commander of the Battle-Barge Thunder Child, Zadkiel protected those sons and daughters of Colchis who fled the corruption and foul worship of the Chaos Gods introduced by Kor Phaeron - their self-proclaimed prophet - with his life. As the refugee fleet, led by the merchant freighter Galactica, headed to meet with Lorgar's ships, the Thunder Child held them off, ramming through two Heretic ships and destroying a third with its guns, being crippled in the process. As the Heretics boarded the Thunder Child, Zadkiel blew the reactor, destroying a fourth Heretic vessel, reducing the Thunder Child to flaming wreckage, and killing over 1000 Heretics.

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~*~ From the Dictats of Terra IMPERIAL ORDER 4957 All Astartes forces not presently engaged in combat actions are hereby, by the Will of the Emperor, recalled to and ordered to reinforce Terra against possible assault. Refusal to follow this order will be taken as proof of disloyalty. The Emperor of Mankind ~*~ Fight on. We are coming. - Mortarion, astropathic message to the defenders of Terra ~*~ I will show you why you once feared the dark. - Zso Sahaal to the defenders of Nordafrik, Siege of Terra ~*~ ...And the Primarch Lorgar did descend, and behold, he came in glory, like unto his Father the Emperor, and the veterans of many a war came with him. And their faith was like a sharpened sword, and with them came the Death Guard, and the Thousand Sons. And the defenders of the Palace, the Iron Warriors, the Sons of Horus, the Emperor's Children, World Eaters and Raven Guard, they fought with renewed vigour, and Sanguinius had fallen, by the sacrifice of the Emperor and the hand of Horus, and the Heretics, led by the wretched Sainguinar Bloodwing, fled to the Segmentum Obscurus, at the coming of the Primarch Lorgar... ~*~ It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known. - Last transmission of Brother-Captain Alejandro, Emperor's Children __________________ Chapter Ten: Revelations and Fragments of the Aftermath

Word Bearers Heavy Support Squad of the First Chapter, Scourging of Colchis ~*~

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Daemons rampaging on Terra's soil. ~*~ The Proclamation of Lorgar: Creation of the Grey Knights The First Chapter of the Word Bearers Legion, the Chapter of the Blazing Blade, has suffered grievous losses upon Colchis, 986 Marines lost to combat actions, their very gene-seed unrecoverable due to the planet's destruction. They barely exist as a fighting force anymore. It is thus that I reform the Blazing Blade as a new First Chapter - the Grey Knights, in which will be concentrated the psykers of the Legion and what suits of Tactical Dreadnought Armour remain. The old symbol of the Blazing Blade - two swords crossed, superimposed over a flame - is to be retired along with the name, in honour of their sacrifice in Kor Phaeron's black cathedral, his fortress of apostasy that has now been torn down. The Grey Knights will be enemies of all that is corrupt in the universe, especially the dark gods, the Ruinous Powers the wretched heretics serve. They will be initiated into our darkest secrets, and will serve under Librarian-Master Tartaron and my personal direction. Thus has it been written, so will it be done. Transcribed 014.M31, After the Breaking of the Siege of Terra ~*~ Private Letter from Primarch Magnus to Lorgar, Archives of the Thousand Sons I must warn you, Lorgar. My Brother, friend, there are things in the Immaterium. Not mere xenos, no, far worse. 'Daemon' is the best word men can use to describe such things, for they are man's nightmares given flesh. The Emperor says they have no guiding intelligence, no ultimate goal. He is wrong. They serve four Powers, the greatest and most terrible of their kind. I will not write their names here, but they are malice incarnate. Worship the Emperor if you wish, but do not make obeisance to these beings, for they will destroy you body and soul. Lorgar, I warn you further. With my psyker's gift I have seen something foul at your Legion's heart, connected to these powers of the Warp and the old religion of your homeworld. Trust no-one, not your childhood friend, not even your closest Battle-Brother. Do not listen to those who say you must worship these beings, no matter what guise they take. I beg you. Your Friend, Magnus Sent 005.M31 ~*~ No daemon-curse shall stay our blade; Nor traitor-spawn or Renegade; Eternal is our Crusade!

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June 9, 2012 - Extract from the Six-Hundred and Sixty-Six Secret Incantations of the Word Bearers Legion ~*~ Kill every last psyker-whelp! Please the Blood God with massacre! - Bjorn Fellhand, Space Wolf Champion of Khorne, Razing of the Scholastica Psykana upon Terra ~*~ Bear witness to my ASCENSION! - Leman Russ, Terra ~*~ Adepts of Mars, you have 72 hours to surrender totally and join my forces. If you do not do so, an example will be made of you. - Sanguinius' transmission to Mars ~*~

Painting of Mechanicum forces during the Battle of Mars ~*~ Attack and destroy! Destroy and rejoice! - Battle-cry of the Iron Hands __________________ Chapter Eleven: The Shadow War

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A Vindicare Assassin ~*~ From The Alpha Legion: A Secret History ...The Alpha Legion have never been particularly forthcoming with their records, and so I have often been forced to make do with records of other Imperial organisations. It is a known fact that the Emperor himself ordered Primarch Alpharius to slow down Sanguinius' forces by any means necessary as the defenders of Terra dug in and prepared for a siege. The subterfuge and strategic genius of Alpharius was used to good effect. Sudden ambushes, assassinations and hit-and-fade attacks, as well as raids upon Sanguinius' supply lines, delayed him by an estimated six months, during which time the Sons of Horus and Iron Warriors arrived on Terra, massively boosting the Loyalist numbers. In fact, some believe that the actions of the Alpha Legion saved the Imperium, yet they have never sought recognition for these actions, preferring to stay in the shadows... ~*~

Alpha Legionnaires fighting traitors on an unknown world ~*~ From the Chronicle of the Siege of Terra 13th day. Magnus wept when he heard of what Leman Russ' savages had done at the Scholastica Psykana, but a fury seems to have been awoken in him. Mars still resists, and is drawing off Sanguinius' forces, even after Kelbor Hal's destruction and Vulkan's sacrifice. The Emperor is thinking up a plan, it seems that he intends to draw Sanguinius into a trap. The Iron Hands are running rampant in Merica and the Night Lords are slaughtering Nordafrik and Yndonesia. The bombardment continues. I hope we can survive... ~*~ Witness the Black Pariah and know your doom! - Erebus, aboard the Diabolicum, 999.M41 ~*~ ...Perhaps the most horrific monstrosity the powers of Chaos created during the Heresy was the entity designated 'Spear', also

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June 9, 2012 known as the Black Pariah. He is reported to have massacred three whole Companies of Thousand Sons during the first Storming of theDiabolicum, which took place during the Heresy, and is rumoured to have been intended to be the Emperor's assassin. When the Diabolicum vanished into the Warp during the Heretics' flight from Terra, Spear was assumed killed. This may not have been the case, as when the Diabolicum was stormed successfully in 999.M41, a Culexus-like entity is reported to have slain a number of Word Bearers before Heavy Bolter fire destroyed it. This may have been Spear, but as the Diabolicum was destroyed, no evidence remains.

Chapter Twelve: Ancient Enemies Vox-Record: Battle of Tanakreg, 997.M41 Chapter Master Kaldrion: What manner of beast are you, fiend? I'd like to know before the bolt-round finds your heart. Mysterious Figure: Oh, you holy fool. I am the Temptation, I am the terror in your waking nightmares, the Voice of Chaos, the Prophet of the True Gods. But you may call me Kor Phaeron, if you wish. Kaldrion: Silence, Heretic. Kor Phaeron has been dead for ten thousand years! Kor Phaeron: The Dark Gods have given me new flesh. Oh, and what wondrous flesh! The body of a true Astartes, the soul and mind cast aside before the majesty that is Kor Phaeron! Kaldrion: Then die once more. Kor Phaeron: We'll see about that, wretch! (Vox-Record ends) ~*~ From Weapons of the Legiones Astartes ...The Word Bearers make heavy use of the 'Holocaust' bolt-round. Instead of a standard explosive, the Holocaust-round contains sanctified Promethium that burns the target from inside. Such rounds have been noted to cause extra-ordinary damage to the minions of the Chaos Gods, both mortal and daemonic... ~*~ From the Liber Hereticus: ...Bjorn Fellhand of the Space Wolves is named as such because he lost his right hand at Prospero to a Thousand Sons boltround. However, on a distant world Bjorn found a new augmetic hand, forged of brazen malevolence in the Realm of Chaos itself, perpetually soaked in blood and whispering continuously to him. Since that day, Bjorn grew in instability greatly, even compared to his Legion. The Fellhand, as he is called, single-handedly slaughtered all the novices and instructors of the Scholastica Psykana, earning the eternal enmity of the Thousand Sons. After his Legion's defeat at Terra, Bjorn left in disgust and drove out on his own, appearing through the Warp as an omen of great battle and slaughter, most of it caused by himself. His threat level is rated as Extremis, just short of Extremis Maxima, the highest possible threat... ~*~

World Eaters on Terra

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June 9, 2012 ~*~

First Captain Kaesoron speaking to the Emperor's Children ~*~ The Space Wolves pour at the walls. The Night Lords transmit vid-captures of their atrocities. The Death Knights advance on us with the patience of a terminal disease. Erebus' fanatics invoke daemons. The Blood Angels are led by Sanguinius, the ArchTraitor himself. The Iron Hands pound at our defences. The White Scars unleash Warp-fire. And the Dark Angels assault without relent. And shall we, Children of the Emperor, say that we shall let them pass? Shall we let them slay the Master of Mankind? Or shall we fight? Even if we are all slain, even if the gene-line of Fulgrim is cut short and his body defiled by these traitors, let them remember that we, we Emperor's Children, gave them a battle that they never forgot! And so, prepare weapons. Make ready to kill, Third Legio! - Julius Kaesoron's speech to the Emperor's Children Legion, given on the hundredth day of the Siege. Preserved in gold script in their primary fortress on Terra. ~*~ Victory brought through senseless assault is no true victory. - Legion Master Kharn, Meditations on Victory ~*~

Adeptus Custodes, Battle of the Golden Throne __________________ Chapter Thirteen: Lamentio Martis Vox-Record: The Wormwood, Flagship of Sanguinius Ferrus: Titan is fallen. There is no resistance beyond the Belt. Sanguinius: Then, we make Mars suffer for its defiance. Is the Weapon ready? Ferrus: The Daemoncant, or the Hammer?

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June 9, 2012 Sanguinius: The Daemoncant. Ferrus: Yes, the Daemoncant is ready for transmission. Sanguinius: We attack now, then! ~*~

Iron Warriors tactical squad, Siege of Terra ~*~

Salamanders fighting during the Martian dusk (inaccurate depiction; created M37) ~*~ From Historia Martis ...When Sanguinius unleashed the Daemoncant on Mars, all Hell broke loose on the planet. The Daemoncant was part memeweapon, part logic-virus, and part direct invocation of the Powers of Chaos. The factories turned on their masters, as men tore each other apart in mad rages, tech-priests being consumed by their implants and transformed into ravening machine-monsters that haunt Mars to this day. Riots in the crowded Hives killed many, as everything that could go wrong in the grand system that was the Forge World went wrong. Fail-safes faltered, as seventy-five percent of the population died in the great slaughter. Then the Daemoncant destroyed itself, purging itself from all the systems it had infected. It had been intended as a mere warning shot, but still Kelbor Hal was defiant. All the remaining forces of the Forge World, the Salamanders Legion, the Titan Legions Mortis and Ignatum, the tech-guard, everything that could be mustered, prepared to bleed Sanguinius as much as they could. The Prince of Oblierators, Gabriel Santar of the Iron Hands, made planetfall at Valles Marineris, leading a war-host of 1,000 Obliterators. The Legio Mortis Imperator Dies Irae was destroyed at the canyon, torn between fending off the Iron Hands ships in orbit and defending itself from the Obliterator-host. With it gone, the Iron Hands landed en masse, led by their Primarch, Ferrus Manus. The living metal that had covered his hands was now extruding tendrils through his body, increasing his stamina beyond even his brother Primarchs. But even he was to meet stiff resistance. The Skitarii tech-guard defended the Magma City courageously - at the battle's climax, Adept Koriel Zeth released the magma - destroying the city - rather than see her life's work perverted. The Seventh Company of the Iron Hands, sent into the Noctis Labyrinthis, vanished after reporting the existence of a

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June 9, 2012 'nameless terror' in the region - from that point on, the area was avoided by both sides. At the defence of Olympus Mons, the engine Aquila Ignis of the Legio Mortis single-handedly held off hordes of traitor soldiers and the Obliterator Host of Gabriel Santar, now increased to 2,000 members. But then something happened that had been inevitable from the moment the Daemoncant was transmitted. The seals on the Vaults of Moravec failed. The daemon-engines within had long festered in the darkness, their hatred growing day by lightless day. They burst from the shadows, killing all in their path, rampaging toward the Omnissiah's temple. But far, far worse was to come. The Lord of Change Ghargatuloth, one of Tzeentch's greatest servants, possessed the Aquila Ignis, overpowering both the Princeps and Machine Spirit of the Imperator Titan. The Titan began to spray Warpfire, and turned its guns on its fellow engines, destroying them. The Iron Hands surged forward towards a breach in the walls of Kelbor Hal's fortress, only one figure standing before them. Vulkan. The Primarch slew Iron Hand after Iron Hand, until Ferrus Manus came forth, climbing atop a heap of his Legion's dead. The battle was brief, Ferrus breaking Vulkan over his knee after ten minutes of struggle, then casting the body aside. The Salamanders had lost their Primarch. Then, in the throes of victory, the living metal, empowered by Chaos, consumed Ferrus, transforming him into a Daemon Prince, a monster made entirely out of Warp-power and Empyrean-touched living metal. Ferrus' first words as a Daemon were simple - 'Kill all in your path'. And that the Iron Hands gladly did. The Salamanders retreated to their Battle-Barge, Hammer of Nocturne, but many tech-priests were not so lucky. Kelbor Hal was slain in combat with three daemon-engines, buying time for the populace of Olympus Mons to seek refuge in the Temple of the Omnissiah. When the Iron Hands reached the Temple, they found a silvery barrier that resisted even the mightiest guns of Aquila Ignis, and that none of their number could pass, not even the mightiest daemon engine, without being consumed in white flame. It was a sorcerous ward laid by Magnus on his way to Terra, and it ensured that the Temple, with its stores of STC data, remained undefiled for the remaining duration of the Heresy. The daemon-engines of the mad, long-deceased technomancer Moravec obeyed the will of Ferrus Manus, who kept only a token number of Iron Hands on Mars, for Sanguinius desired a greater prize. Terra. Chapter Fourteen: Dolor Terrae, Dolor Terrae! From Historia Sancta Terra For six days Sanguinius' fleet bombarded Terra. The planet's shielding ameliorated the bombardment, but the greater part of the oceans boiled and the crust was riven by the titanic forces unleashed. However, the Emperor's Palace withstood the bombardment. On the seventh day, Sanguinius' forces descended - plague-ravaged Death Knights, cyber-augmented Iron Hands, terror-bringing Night Lords, blood-maddened Space Wolves, the Dark Angels and Sanguinius' own Legion, the Blood Angels. And they had worse with them - the possessed Imperator Aquila Ignis, the daemon-engines of Moravec, and uncountable numbers of the Lost and the Damned. Mutants gibbered and cackled, as daemons made ready to burst from the Immaterium in search of blood and souls. The initial landings in the continents of Europae and Merica were heavily contested, but the beach-heads were taken and held with pathetic ease. King's Mountain in Jermani fell to the Space Wolves with great slaughter, as the Prince of Obliterators laid waste to the Merican city of Nova Yourk.

A horde of mutants, among many unleashed by the traitor hordes at Terra By the eighth day of the Siege, the traitors had deployed the vast majority of their might. They swept through Europae on their way to the Palace, which was located in the iron peaks of Himalaya. Warsmith Khobotov of the Iron Warriors, assigned to the Byzant region of Terra, stood in their path with a mere hundred Marines. The Dark Angels, though they were led personally by Lion El'Johnson, faced cunning stratagems and great fortresses - as well as Khobotov's tactical genius, which delayed them greatly. At the last, in his dying moments, Khobotov spat in the Lion's face before blowing the reactor of Konstantin hivecomplex, killing 2,000 Dark Angels, collapsing the Hive, and crushing Lion El'Johnson under a mountain of adamantium and plasteel. On the twelfth day, Bjorn Fellhand of the Space Wolves slaughtered the novices and instructors of the Scholastica Psykana, creating an Immaterium-rift from which poured hundreds of daemons to ravage Terra. There was little the common citizens could do but wait for death and hope it would be swift.

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Emperor's Children Terminators fighting in the Siege of Terra

Constantin Valdor rushing into combat The 55th day marked the beginning of the Siege of the Imperial Palace. Perturabo's fortifications held fast, as the Space Wolves threw host after host at the great battlements of adamantium and ferrocrete, taking heavy losses each time. Magnus the Red and the Emperor's chief advisor Malcador had also added to the defences, creating sigilic wards that destroyed all daemons that attempted to breach Perturabo's battlements. On the 57th day, the possessed Titan Aquila Ignis assailed the walls, however Magnus unleashed his full power, ripping the Titan apart and snuffing out the essence of the daemon within with blazing white fire, though the effort wearied him greatly. On the 60th day, the Obliterator Host of Gabriel Santar arrived at the Palace, breaching the walls, and Magnus' wards, with massed fire. Leman Russ led the charge, tossing all attackers aside with his mighty daemon-blade. The Emperor's Children fought like maniacs in the Palace Grounds, the ornamental pools and streams running red with the blood of traitors. The Sons of Horus and Iron Warriors fought with courage too, but all the loyalists were eventually forced to fall back to the Sanctum Imperialis, the very chamber of the Golden Throne.

Emperor's Children fighting in the Palace Grounds For 33 days, the Eternity Gate endured savage bombardment, ceaseless assault, but it would not break. On the hundred-andeighth day of the Siege, Sanguinius deployed the Hammer, a weapon devised by Ferrus Manus of the Iron Hands. The Hammer fired a beam of raw, uncontrolled Warp-energy right at the Gate, destroying itself in the process, even its daemon-infused

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June 9, 2012 structures unable to withstand the power it had unleashed. But the Eternity Gate was breached. Sanguinius was first to advance into the Sanctum Imperialis, followed closely by the Sanguinary Guard. Gone was the gold of his hair, replaced by night-black strands, and the white feathers of his wings were replaced by tendrils of darkness, and the dark light of Chaos shone in his eyes. Gone were all traces of morality or empathy. Malcador channeled the most powerful psychic attack he could muster, sacrificing himself in a desperate attempt to destroy the Fallen Angel, but Sanguinius was totally unharmed. The duel between Sanguinius and the Emperor was epic, the two gods hovering in the air while mere mortals fought below. Sanguinius cast the Emperor's body to the ground, sorely wounded, but before he could strike the killing blow a humble Imperial Army soldier, Ollanius Pius, stood between him and the Emperor. Sanguinius laughed, coldly and cruelly, and vapourised the soldier with but a glance. The Emperor saw now the full measure of his son's corruption, and with a single blow of his sword obliterated him body and soul before unleashing his power on the traitors before him. That was when Lorgar arrived, leading the Legions that had not reached Terra in time. The Blood Angels had felt the death of their Primarch and the displays of power on Terra's surface as the Emperor drove back the traitors, and Lorgar's arrival rendered the situation absolutely untenable. First Captain Sanguinar Bloodwing ordered the retreat, but not before bombing the Hall of the Astronomican, damaging it beyond repair and making that guiding light begin to dim. To avoid the destruction of humanity, the Emperor ascended to the Golden Throne, from where he projects the light of the Astronomican still. The instant he ascended, it is said, the Astronomican blazed brighter than ever before. But such details mean little when compared to the overall result of the Siege. Terra had been saved. The Sanguinian Heresy was over. But the Imperium continued, for nothing ever ends.

Chapter Fifteen: Aftermath The Conclave of the Legions Horus Lupercal: This meeting is called to order by the Emperor's Regent, Horus Lupercal. The first matter: the pursuit of the traitors. Have we ascertained their location and heading? Magnus: They flee to the Eye of Terror. They'll reach it soon - there's no use in attacking that place. Julius Kaesoron: Indeed. Reality itself has no meaning in there. All we would be doing is wasting men. And our numbers are low enough as it is. Lorgar: If I may, LupercalHorus: Speak, Brother. Lorgar: We need some manner of organisation dedicated to rooting out treason, heresy and especially the influence of these Warp-Spawn before the time for military intervention occurs - by then it is often too late. I have seen what happens when these things reach a head, and it is horrific in the extreme. My own Legion, my very homeworld...I will not speak more of what happened. Horus: Very well, Brother. The creation of such an organisation is a certain priority. Horus: I continue. The second matter, the separation of the Imperial Army and the Astartes Legions. It has come to my attention that one reason the traitors managed to reach Terra was that elements of the Navy and Army rebelled along with the Legions. Do we agree that the Navy and Army should be separated from the Legions? All: Aye. Horus: And now onto our third matter. The Astronomican. All the Emperor's power is being involved in projecting it. While it is damaged, we cannot expect his aid. I think it should be rebuilt, so that he can return to our side. Fabricator-General Lukas Chrom: With all due respect, my Lord, the Astronomican - well, the Mechanicum is not sure if it retains the necessary techniques, plans and materials to rebuild the Astronomican. The hall was heavily damaged, so we cannot simply use the old version as a blue-print... ~*~

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Ultramarines loyal to Guilliman fighting pro-Imperial schismatics on an Ice World ~*~

A Perturabo Main Battle Tank in action ~*~ They serve the Dark Gods already? They'll make excellent slaves then! - Dark Apostle Maloq Kartho on the inhabitants of Cadia ~*~

Iron Warriors during the Reclamation Wars

Chapter Sixteen: The Ultramar Schisms

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Ultramarines loyal to Guilliman during the Ultramar Schisms ~*~ From the Liber Historium Ultramar ...By the time of the Siege, half of Ultima Segmentum had accepted protection under the banner of our Primarch Guilliman. The ravages of war had devastated the galaxy, as in the wake of Sanguinius' hosts hordes of Imperial Army soldiers and Navy crews, having betrayed their oaths, ravaged the area. Even as the Legions battled on Terra's soil, doubt was spread amongst the troops of Ultramar, and as Sanguinius was cast down, these erupted into war. Had not the Imperium endured? Was not Guilliman as bad as the arch-traitor Sanguinius? A quarter of the Ultramarines rebelled against the precepts of Guilliman and the Supremacy of Ultramar. On Prandium, they had their headquarters, and on Prandium the fighting began. Brother fought Battle-Brother as the rebels turned away from Guilliman's light, from his wisdom and protection. Retribution was swift, yet the schisms continued. In desperation some of the schismatics invoked dark, forbidden powers. How could they be so foolish?

A Soul Grinder of Chaos, attacking Ultramarines on Prandium The hosts of the Daemon Forge were unleashed upon Prandium's beauty, destroying city after city, ravaging the planet's great natural beauty. Soul Grinders ravaged all before them, as Bloodletters slaughtered without stopping. In desperation, Guilliman performed Exterminatus on the planet, razing it to the ground, yet the schismatics continued their rebellion against the righteous will of the Primarch...

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The Exterminatus of Prandium ...On storm-wracked Talassar, even on Macragge itself, the schismatics fought the loyalists, until at the last they were defeated and Guilliman's rule over Ultramar confirmed... Chapter Seventeen: The New Imperium From the Chronicle of the Emperor's Children 014.M41 Legion Master Kaesoron has begun a massive recruitment drive amongst those survivors of Terra that will accept the implants, for to survive at all against the traitors they must have shown at least some promise as Astartes. Even so, it will be many years before we reach full strength once more, although our plight is not so severe as that of the World Eaters, of whom only one-inten remain. By decree of Horus Lupercal, after the destruction of Chemos at the hand of Ferrus Manus, we alone amongst the Legiones Astartes are given the great privilege of Terra as our home and recruiting world, for are we not true Children of the Emperor? The fortress is already under construction by the Artisans of the Mechanicum atop the blasted ruins of Nova Yourk, it will be a place of beauty and wonder as well as a great fortress to guard our Legion against all troubles. Thus has Kaesoron decreed, so shall it be. Fulgrim's body, preserved in a stasis-coffin, will be interred at its heart. Purgatory Falls Sepulchre is no fitting place for him, and it is too open to enemy attack. Let the enemy assail us, for we shall hold our fortress and protect Fulgrim's body to the end. ~*~ DECREE OF HORUS LUPERCAL, REGENT By the will of the Emperor, I, Horus Lupercal, Primarch of the Sons of Horus and Regent of the Imperium in the absence of the Emperor, declare a new organisation - the Ordo Maleficus. The Ordo will have as its remit the covert elimination of threats to mankind before the use of military force is warranted. It will be divided into three divisions - the Divisio Traitoris dealing with mere traitors, the Divisio Xenos to deal with alien threats to mankind, and the Divisio Adversarius to deal with the threat the Immaterium presents toward the august rule of the Emperor, and the Imperium of Man. The Primarch Alpharius is designated Supreme Grand Master of the Ordo Maleficus, while remaining supreme commander of the XX Legio. +++His Will Be Done+++ ~*~ THE SEVEN LORDS OF THE IMPERIUM, IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE HERESY IMPERIAL REGENT: Primarch Horus Lupercal of the Sons of Horus MASTER OF THE CHURCH OF TERRA: Primarch Lorgar Aurelian of the Word Bearers FABRICATOR-GENERAL OF MARS: Lukas Chrom of the Mechanicum LADY MILITANT OF THE IMPERIUM: Supreme General Alyxia Belisaria of the Imperial Army SUPREME GRAND MASTER OF THE ORDO MALEFICUS: Primarch Alpharius of the Alpha Legion ENVOY OF THE LEGIONES ASTARTES: Legion Master Julius Kaesoron of the Emperor's Children LORD OF THE ADEPTUS ASTRA TELEPATHICA: Primarch Magnus of the Thousand Sons ~*~

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he Sanguinian Heresy: A Warhammer 40K Alternate History

June 9, 2012 Extract from a letter from Primarch Magnus to Imperial Regent Horus Lupercal ...The masses are devastated, demoralised. They need a symbol...something to worship. The Emperor must be that symbol, lest darker powers take hold. Lorgar's idea has merit, but it must be prevented from going too far... - Written 014.M31 ~*~ From Septem Gloria Imperii ...The Codicium Strategium is one of the finest works on war. Written by the loyalist Primarchs and Legion Masters from 014.M31 to 017.M31, it contains advice on how to deal with almost every situation, from siege warfare to dealing with manifold types of enemy. Following the emergence of new threats in mid and late M41, the Codicium has been amended many times, and remains the foremost book on war for both Astartes and none-Astartes commanders... ~*~ From Wonders of the Legiones Astartes ...the legendary plasma gun Redemption, forged by Lorgar himself after the Heresy and which was used by him as a pistol, is an amazing weapon. It is said to, as a result of advanced cooling systems, fire extremely rapidly and never get hot. It was left behind by Lorgar before he started his crusade into the Eye of Terror, accompanied by the 13th Chapter of the Word Bearers, in M35, in an attempt to bring the Emperor's judgement to the faithless and accursed heretics dwelling within. The Word Bearers retain faith that their Primarch will one day return, aided by recent sightings in worlds around the Eye of a figure in stone-grey armour adorned with countless purity seals who towers over even Astartes and displays incredible martial skill. The First Chapter's Battle-Barge Kerberos is currently en route to investigate these rumours... __________________

Chapter Eighteen: Traitors' Flight From Codicium Planetis Ocularis Terribilis ...Sicarus, how terribly you burn! The heretics serve your black lord in great armour of crimson, your triple moons burn with the fires of Hell! The Inevitable City, the capital of the Empire of Chaos that thrives within that wretched, burning Eye, stands upon your ground. At the heart of the abominable crimson rift you float, unmoving in position, wondrous and monstrous. For the Great Cathedral of Chaos is built upon you, its black bells tolling, its towers rising into the heights of orbit. Built of black stone and mortared with the blood of innocents, the screaming sacrifices go on day after accursed day! Skulls for dread Kharneth, plagues for Nurgleth, unspeakable pleasures for Slaa'neth and black sorceries for Tzeen'neth! Cursed Sicarus burns from within, for at your heart the Warp roars and burns, screams like a thousand mouths crying out in pain!... ...Ghaal, how great is the blood offered upon you. A parody of dead Fenris, with seas of boiling blood from which the Bloodletters rise. Kraken, great warp-spawned abominations, great wolves with red fur and blazing eyes and teeth of iron! The Iron Tribes dwell upon you, all serving Leman Russ. They say he is a daemon, a beast with a face like a wolf and the horns of a ram and teeth of brass and eyes of fire. Blessed were you, devoted to dread Kharneth, for he sits atop a throne of iron skulls in honour of his master. And when he rises, how terrible is his wrath, for when he rises the mighty are terrified, and his eyes are like the blazing rays of dawn in their blood-maddened wrath!... ...Cadia, you are a world of fortresses. The Blood Angels garrison you, and yet you remain in the Materium, the greatest outpost of Chaos inside reality. But I see your doom, at the hands of a silvered host! They know no fear, no pain, no mercy. You are a terrible legion, but the silvered host will destroy you all! I laugh at the coming doom, for not by the hand of the Imperium will you fall, but by the hands of those far, far older, those that lived and fought when Chaos was young and weak... ...Oh, oh Argentia, home of wretched Ferrus. A world covered with seas of molten metal, burning with the hell-light of a thousand Chaos soul-forges the size of great cities that float upon the seas of liquid fire. I see a figure of burning iron with blood like molten metal, and I know that this is Ferrus Manus, daemon-prince of Chaos Undivided. From the molten metal here and the souls of sacrifices are forged daemon-armour and accursed Chaos-weapons, the unholy tools of the Fallen Legions... ...Planus, Planus! A world like a disc, ten thousand miles across, the sun orbiting around you, an impossibility that could only be in the Eye! The White Scars, the chosen of Tzeentch, dwell upon you. They ride across an endless plain of burning glass broken only by mountains and valleys, and the great fortress in the centre of Jaghatai Khan. Oh, oh Khan, how greatly you have fallen! The fires of Tzeentch have stripped you of your flesh, cling to your wretched bones, warp-fires burning inside, around you! I see the wars you permit, for Tzeentch will let the strongest survive, for evolution is the essence of Change... ...Dorn, I see you! A bloated figure, rotten with innumerable corruptions, wearing black armour, the armour of the Death

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he Sanguinian Heresy: A Warhammer 40K Alternate History

June 9, 2012 Knights. The face is a skull, the visage of death, and you bear a great broken black blade weeping with countless poisons and foul diseases, enough to reduce a man to rotting slime in instants. Your Phalanx is an extension of your will, your great planetoid-ship has rotted and corrupted with Nurgle's machine-rots, belching forth scrapcode and daemoncant! Its foulness is an extension of your own wretched soul!... - The Seeress Kassandria, 768.M41 (Executed by the Ordo Maleficus) ~*~

The Eye of Terror, from an Imperial astronomical satellite ~*~ From the Chronica Prospero ...Magnus has disbanded the cult system as superfluous and narrow-minded, replacing it with a generalised system of psyker training. In addition, he has founded three additional Fellowships - the Blood Ravens, the Exorcists, and the Scourge of Magnus - as part of a major recruitment drive. The Blood Ravens are to be a standard Fellowship, the Exorcists are to perform the specific task of daemon-hunting, and the Scourge of Magnus are to both police the Thousand Sons against the worship of dark powers and guard against the inherent mutability of the Magnus gene-line. In addition, the new headquarters of the Adeptus Astra Telepathica are to be placed upon Prospero, as will be the Scholastica Psykana... ~*~ From Wonders of the Legiones Astartes ...30 miles long, the Battle-Barge Kerberos is the largest ship in the Imperium that is not a relic from the Dark Age of Technology. Built by the Mechanicum shortly after the Heresy under the specific instructions of Lorgar Aurelian, the Kerberos is the flagship of the Word Bearers, and contains the entire First Chapter, the dreaded and famed in equal measure Grey Knights. It contains complements from the Quillborn Chapter as well, and has the capability to outgun entire fleets. Its latest engagement was the Battle of Tanakreg in 997.M41, wherein the entire world was put to the fire of Exterminatus for reasons the Word Bearers will not reveal, much to the dislike of the Ordo Maleficus. Right now, the Kerberos is investigating rumours that the Word Bearers' Primarch may possibly have returned from his crusade into the Eye of Terror... Chapter Nineteen: In Nomine Imperator! From Chronicles of the Reclamation Wars The Reclamation Wars, in which the Imperium reclaimed vast swathes of territory, were the brainchild of the Sons of Horus' first Captain, Ezekyle Abaddon. As Horus was heavily focussed on performing his duties as Regent in the Emperor's absence, he delegated Abaddon to the role of leading the Astartes Legions in the wake of the Heresy. From Terra and Prospero and Barbarus and Olympia, the warfleets set sail. The might of the Imperial Army advanced with them, often all that was needed to bring a world back into the Imperium was a reminder of the ancient oaths of fealty it had sworn backed by the orbital presence of the Navy, but sometimes outright sedition and Chaos-worship had taken root and had to be expunged. The Ring of Iron around Mars was continually restless, producing countless battleships and Battle-Barges to see to the needs of the war-fleets. The Word Bearers were among the most zealous Astartes during the Reclamation Wars, focussing heavily on the worlds they themselves had made compliant during the Great Crusade, purging Chaotic corruption wherever it might be found. Void-clans, scavengers and pirates also infested Imperial space, and were systematically destroyed by the might of the Astartes. The destruction of these scavengers, vultures following the wake of devastation left by Sanguinius, was judged to be high priority by Abaddon. It was in Segmentum Obscurus that the crusade to reclaim the Emperor's galaxy bogged down, for the Astartes faced the forces of Chaos. At Caliban the Iron Warriors and Death Guard crushed the Dark Angels' fortresses and levelled the world itself with cyclonic torpedoes. At Monarchia Lorgar hardened his heart and levelled the cities of the Chaos-

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he Sanguinian Heresy: A Warhammer 40K Alternate History

June 9, 2012 worshippers that had taken over, killing every last soul on the planet and leaving it open to recolonisation. On Fenris the Thousand Sons levelled the Fang and used cyclonic torpedoes to disrupt the planet's unstable orbit and send it spiralling into its sun. At Medusa the Emperor's Children broke the Iron Hands as a Legion, fragmenting them forever more into war-bands and avenging Fulgrim's death. Great and numerous were the victories won by the loyalists as they drove the traitors into the Eye, but the fighting in the Segmentum and surrounding areas took fifty bloody years to be finished. ~*~

Sons of Horus reconquering a formerly Imperial world ~*~

Imperial Army soldiers fighting Chaos forces during the Reclamation Wars ~*~

Mortarion standing triumphant on Caliban ~*~

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he Sanguinian Heresy: A Warhammer 40K Alternate History

June 9, 2012 From the Liber Hereticus ...Sigismund of the Death Knights is one of the most terrible foes of the Imperium. Having rotted greatly during Nurgle's corruption of the Imperial Fists, all that remains of his body is dust, yet his soul remains bound to his Terminator Armour. His undead existence is an abomination against all that lives, and his very presence saps the will to live, until the soul drowns in apathetic despair. He leads the Death Knight warband known as the Soul Drinkers, who wear armour of purple instead of the void-black the main force of the Death Knights bear. Her bears a relic of Dorn, the Soulspear, that creates a Warp-vortex wherever it strikes. It is said that Sigismund will not rest until all life is reduced to the undead state he and his fellow Death Knights are trapped in... __________________ Interlude Three: Summaries The Belisarian Crusade Oh, how glorious was the Belisarian Crusade. Conducted in M40 on the very orders of the Master of Mankind, under the command of Legion Master Kaesoron, he who fought on the same ground as the Emperor and Primarch Fulgrim all those millennia ago, and Lord Militant Alyxius Belisaria. Known as Kaesoron the Deathless for still being in his prime when lesser Marines would long have fallen or withered into senescence, Kaesoron deployed the full force of Legio III, about 500,000 battleready Astartes and the greatest of the Legions, to the Crusade, which was to strike a great blow against traitorous Ultramar, now long devolved into a collection of Astartes fiefdoms under the loose command of Macragge. The Ultramar Wars might have petered out in M34, but great was the vengeance-lust against the hosts of Ultramar, the Astartes' recruitments having given them a million Marines in number. And great was the slaughter! Great mountains of the outcast dead of Ultramar swiftly formed on a thousand worlds. At Eskrador the Alpha Legion destroyed an Ultramarines forces five times their number, at Talassar the Ultramarines forces were utterly wiped out. On the dead fortress-world of Prandium a hundred thousand Ultramarines were slain. At the last battle was begun on Macragge. Great was the fighting, Magnus and Perturabo and Mortarion fought like living gods, but the Fortress of Hera had been designed to hold off all attackers. But at the last the siege was so bloody that Guilliman himself, the wretched traitor, came forth. That was when all Perturabo's siege-engines, including several Titans gifted by the Mechanicum, fired all at once at the great fortress and its defenders, at the critical moment that Alpha Legion saboteurs disrupted the void shields. Explosions and plasma-blasts ripped through the Fortress of Hera, tearing it apart, razing it and killing the majority of the Ultramarines, seven hundred thousand, all in one glorious and purifying explosion. The Ultramarines, their great stocks of gene-seed destroyed as well, were greatly weakened. But the prospect of their fleet arriving, with enough firepower to drive off even the Imperial Navy, forced a retreat. The defeat of Ultramar was not completed, but Macragge's grip on its subject worlds was greatly weakened. The retreating fleets tore a swathe of devastation through the Ultramarines' worlds on their way back to Imperial territory, Guilliman for his part swore undying vengeance upon the great Imperium of Man. The Purge of Biel-Tan In M37, the Eldar made a desperate assassination attempt upon the Emperor of Man. It failed disastrously, and it was swiftly discovered that these Eldar were of the Biel-Tan Craftworld, seeking to create a new Eldar Empire in blood and fire. It was judged that no less than a complete purge of the Craftworld was necessary, to deter future attempts. The ten thousand blades of the Adeptus Custodes moved swiftly through the webway, making way to the Craftworld, while in realspace Magnus disrupted the Farseers' efforts to see the coming doom while leading the fleet sent there. An execution force of five Culexus Assassins was also deployed. The slaughter fought upon Biel-Tan was great. In bio-domes and city-scapes they fought, the Custodes slaughtering all before them. The Avatar of Biel-Tan was destroyed by Constantin Valdor, while the Culexus massacred the Farseers and Warlocks en masse. What was left was the slaughter of the remaining Eldar, en masse to avenge the attack on Terra. After a long while, it was done. ~*~ The late 41st Millennium would introduce new horrors and enemies to the Imperium, starting with a full-fledged Xenos assault on Terra itself...

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