The origins of the man who would one day be known as the Emperor are shrouded in mystery. Some say that thousands of shamans feared that our race and planet would fall prey to the psychic entities that dwell in the warp. Therefore, in their thousands they swallowed poison, and in their thousands they died so that they would be reincarnated into a single body. Others say...
That he is just the most powerful of a group known as the Perpetuals. They are the next stage of human evolution, a homo superior gifted with supernatural powers and immortality, able to regenerate from almost any wound. We do know that he was already ancient, before mankind even took to the stars.
Certainly, other Perpetuals did exist, and one by one he found them. Some opposed him, some simply wanted nothing to do with him, but some joined him, and so he set to his task, shepherding mankind towards a brighter future. If you look closely at the pages of history, you can still see his influence.
Occasionally, he was a ruler or a warlord or a warrior, but mostly, humanity needed gentler guidance from the shadows. But he was always there, always working towards his goal. the salvation of our race and humanity thrived we stepped into the stars with increasing confidence and skill we bounded forward colonizing mars the solar system and then we spread outwards into the rest of the galaxy We struck accords with alien races where possible, but defended ourselves where necessary. This interstellar empire was only attainable by the development of warp travel, a dimension of pure energy, the warp lurks beneath the skin of our reality.
It is known as the Imperium, the Immaterium, the Sea of Souls, and by many other names. It is both humanity's deliverance and damnation. There, all of the thoughts, emotions, ambitions, and fears of sentient lifeforms find physical manifestation.
They gather like rivulets of water, and so our dreams and nightmares formed creatures that eventually gained a rudimentary consciousness. Numbered amongst the most powerful of these beings are those referred to as the Chaos Gods. They weren't all created at once, and yet they have always existed.
the warp is unbound by the laws of time and space. There is Khorne, the god of warfare and rage. Nurgle, the god of disease and despair.
Tzeentch, the god of change and sorcery. And Slaanesh, the god of pleasure and excess. They war with each other in a great game of supremacy. Rarely do they put their differences aside and work together.
Whether they are actually gods is up to you to decide. but they wield unimaginable power and can exert some of it to create what is typically referred to as a demon. Despite the evils that lie within the Immaterium, it presented a great opportunity. Faster than light travel, we developed engines that can pierce the veil separating reality and Gela fields to protect us from the hostilities within the warp. Navigators are also essential.
Humans with the navigator gene are genetic mutants with a third warp eye which gives them the unique ability to steer through warp space. Humanity was able to essentially enter this dimension in one place and exit in another. This time of expansion was the zenith of mankind's scientific knowledge.
Human scientists, engineers and inventors were our new gods. They created wonders and worked even with alien technologies. The standard template construct machines, or STCs, allowed human colonists to rapidly fashion everything that they needed to dominate new worlds from whatever natural resources were available.
Our tools to create and weapons to destroy were at a new height. Just as with the Navigators, the human species was even genetically enhanced in some instances. Vast armies of gene-tailored troops now fought our wars. We of course dabbled in matters we should have left alone. The Men of Iron were created.
Sentient humanoid machines. that served mankind's every need, be it administration or war. When they turned on their creators, their armies of mechanical soldiers rampaged and slaughtered billions. The cybernetic revolt, as it became known, was eventually won by an alliance of galactic powers, some of whom were the ones who were the most powerful. may not have even been human.
We only have scraps of information on this conflict. However, Artificial Intelligence or Abominable Intelligence as it is known remains outlawed to this day. It is thought that this conflict weakened humanity and was a great step on the road to our downfall.
We also have information suggesting that human psyches started to appear in larger numbers during this time. Psyches may appear to you as witches or wizards from ancient myth or the very shamans mentioned in this tale. A psyche can touch upon the warp with their mind, channeling its energies to reshape reality.
Some can conjure fire, glean instances of the future, or any number of abilities. Though not all are malevolent, rogue psykers have been known to claim godhood over entire worlds. Additionally, whereas all souls burn like candles amidst the tides of the warp, a psyker burns like a lantern. Demonic entities are drawn to them.
They circle like predators looking for a weakness, and can even possess unprotected psyches Unchecked these beings presented a massive danger to entire systems we were reeling from the cybernetic revolt dealing with anarchy caused by rising psychonumbers and perilous warp storms rose to block off travel and trade hunger and starvation Followed terrible Wars broke out as warlords tried to carve out their piece of the galaxy so Some worlds were entirely isolated and over the millennia devolved into primitive societies. This period is often referred to as the Dark Age of Technology, but not necessarily because of its brutality or wickedness, but because so little in terms of its technology or records has survived. Much of our economic strength and political unity was gone.
The aptly named Age of Strife of war as techno-barbarians battled with gene-enhanced soldiers, our full destructive capabilities were unleashed, billions died and even the last of the oceans boiled away. And then, in humanity's darkest hour, a shining figure emerged. After millennia of lying in the shadows, he had seen the vulnerability of humanity and the threats that are trying or will one day come to extinguish our light. We needed to be unified into one imperium of man. An iron fist was needed to put humanity back on the necessary path.
He stepped into the... the light and took the name the Emperor of Mankind. Over the millennia, disaffection had grown amongst the perpetuals allied to the Emperor.
Their most accomplished struggled to keep pace with his mind, but they noticed he was cutting corners, ruthless in his demand for results. But what could they do? Even together, en masse, the perpetuals were no match for his power. So Over the millennia, most of them left or even betrayed the emperor.
Amongst his plans was to build an Imperium of man based on truth his truth the Imperial truth this removed the religion faith and Superstition that had defined much of human history The Emperor had learned all too well that these were easy doors from which the powers of Chaos can enter in mind First the Emperor needed the cradle of humanity a seat from which his influence Imperium would be ruled. He created the Legio Custodes, his personal golden bodyguard, each one a unique work of genetic science never to be replicated. But he needed other elite soldiers that could be mass produced to spearhead his armies.
Twenty legions of gene-enhanced super soldiers, the Thunder Warriors, were created. The armies of the Warlords of Terror were no match, the Emperor's mastery of science and The warrior ship was peerless. Yet still, the Thunder Warriors were flawed.
Mentally unstable, they suffered catastrophic biological and metabolic failure unpredictably after a span of... standard years, another solution was needed. By this point, the emperor had few of his ancient friends left, yet Malkidor the Sigillite and the perpetual Erda remained. They were both incredibly powerful psyches, and Erda was also a genius geneticist. So once most of the natural perpetuals had left his side, he decided to build some more.
Working with their biotechnical division, the Primarch project began. Though not technically perpetuals, the Primarchs were designed to live long enough to see his plan through to the end. They were to be born from his blood, his power, his vigour. They would be the generals to lead his vast armies, and through them, their genetic lines, the Space Marine Legions would be made.
20 Primarchs, 20 Sons of the Emperor, 20 Legion. The basis of the Primarchs was not wholly genetic science, for the Emperor had not been idle over the ages. During the Age of Technology, along with other perpetuals, he travelled to the planet Molech. There they found it, a gateway to the realm of chaos.
The Emperor entered and made a bargain with the chaos gods. The Emperor's servants of these powers, who know of such things, were not only the things, will tell you that he stole some of their fire. For when he emerged back through the gateway, his power had grown even more, and he'd gained the knowledge of how to create the Primarchs.
He was henceforth known to them as the Anathema. Furthermore, this was not the only secret that the Emperor kept. For few know, as the Emperor is the father of the Primarchs, the perpetual Urda is also a biological soul.
source. She is their mother. She had stood by the Emperor all this time. She believed in their mission. Even the roles of her sons, incredible warriors and generals though they would become, it was necessary to combat the forces that worked against humanity.
But it wasn't until after they were born that she learned the true extent of his ambition. The ruthlessness of it. He sought to supplant the natural flow of life with an artificial version of the perpetuals that trampled ethics, morality, and wise prudence. He would use their sons to bend humanity to his will. Those that would not bend would break.
There are many and conflicting accounts of what happened next. Some say it was the sheer power of the Chaos Gods, furious at the Emperor's betrayal. betrayal.
Some say a causal loop was created by powers working against the Emperor in the future, but according to Erda, it was her. Understand, she loved her sons dearly and sought to spare them from his terrible ambition. She conjured a great warp vortex in the laboratory.
The incubation pods were pulled into the immaterium and scattered onto planets across the galaxy. Thank you. But not all was lost, for he still had their genetic material. The gene seed implants were made, used to grow 19 artificial organs that turn a normal human male into a superhuman space marine. Their strength, speed, resilience and skills are so extreme that they can annihilate enemies without rest or sustenance.
Towering above mere mortals, they have many abilities, surviving underwater, spitting acid, healing at an incredible rate. Even the void of space is not necessarily a death sentence. Recruits are subjected to psycho-indoctrination and conditioning.
Their humanity is sacrificed, but their resolve is strengthened, honing them into dedicated and merciless warriors. The Thunder Warriors, for their part, were purged, their usefulness fulfilled, their worth surpassed. But finally, Terra, as well as its moon Luna, were under the Emperor's rule, and so he set his eyes upon Mars.
The Red Planet had suffered greatly through the Age of Strife, and terrible breaches had formed between Mars and Terra. A religion of survival rose up. The cult Mechanicus was dedicated to the Machine God.
When the Emperor came, he demonstrated his power by repairing a colossal war engine with but a single touch. Henceforth, he was commonly seen as the Omnissiah, the earthly representative of the Machine God. The Treaty of Olympus was signed, unifying Mars with the fledgling Imperium.
The Emperor agreed not to interfere in the Mechanicum and allowed them to continue their beliefs. In exchange, they and their forge worlds would produce and manufacture the wide amount of weapons, ships, and other tools for the Imperium. The Eldar, or Eldari, are an ancient race.
Their empire spanned 60 million years. Such was their mastery of technology that their lives were spent indulging in decadence and pleasure, their every whim satisfied. They are exceptionally psychic beings, and so amidst the swirling energies of the Immaterium, the depravity of the Eldar formed a consciousness.
The Chaos God Slaanesh was born, and born violently. The cataclysmic explosion in the heart of the Eldar realm annihilated billions. Only a small number of Eldar survived, those who were in places the apocalypse could not reach. The Eldar civilization was nearly all destroyed, the spirits of the slain devoured by Slaanesh. It left a wound in real space, a massive warp rift called the Eye of Terror.
In that dreadful place, the warp coexists with real space, and demon worlds lurk within. The colossal shockwave from this event blasted across the immaterium, clearing the warp storms that had plunged humanity into darkness. This meant that travelling across the galaxy was feasible once again.
In this way, the death of the Eldar Empire heralded the birth of the Imperium, and mankind inherited the stars. The Emperor's Great Crusade, now fully underway, aimed to reunite the worlds of humanity, but under his banner. The Xenos races would also be purged, for he wanted to ensure that the tragedies of the past be prevented from occurring again. The Astronomicon was constructed on Terra, a psychic beacon powered by the Emperor's own might. Navigators can use the Astronomicon to pilot their ships through the otherwise unnavigable chaos of warp space.
As the Great Crusade pushed out across the stars and worlds were claimed by the Imperium, eventually the Emperor found that which he coveted most, his own son. The 16th Primarch, Horus Lupercal, was found on the planet Chthonia, proof that many of these incredible beings could still be reunited with their father. For many years, it was just Horus and the Emperor, conquering worlds together, but over time, all of the Primarchs were found.
They were not all as the Imperium expected. They had grown to maturity on their homeworlds, the land of the Primarchs. landscapes and people molding them.
Naturally, they seemed as demigods to the local populaces and many rose to become great rulers, but some were forced to eke out a life of pain and turmoil. Yet after reuniting with their sons, these ultimate generals brought the word of the Emperor to the corners of the galaxy. Worlds who would not willingly join the Imperium of Man were brought into compliance by Harkin. Tarsier means, far beyond even the Space Marines, their powers and abilities rivaled those of the Emperor himself. Furthermore, no two were alike, each one an embodiment of a different facet of their father's character, and the Legions each developed their own preferences for warfare.
They truly were magnificent. Unfortunately, the history of the Imperium recounts the titles of the Legions, of only 18 legions, yet 20 Primarchs were created. The fates of the 2nd and 11th legions are entirely unknown.
The Emperor had their records and statues destroyed. The Great Crusade swept the stars for two centuries and achieved the great triumph with a victory against a massive Orkua during the Ulanor Crusade. After this victory, the Emperor announced that that he was going to return to Terra.
There was a secret project to undertake. However, the Great Crusade needed to continue. Therefore, one Primarch had to be elevated to a level above his brothers.
He gave Horus the title of Warmaster. To cement his power and demonstrate the honor that the Emperor had bestowed on him, Horus renamed the Lunar Wolves as the Sons of Horus. the primarchs are brothers of a sort and as with any fraternal bond tensions had arisen over the years there was much bitterness and many rivalries magnus the red the primarch of the thousand suns was blessed with much of his father's incredible psychic talent, yet some of his brothers, notably Leman Russ and Mortarion, found Magnus'excessive use of psychic powers to be potentially dangerous.
After a great debate, the Emperor issued the Edict of Nykia, decreeing that all legions beyond the use of navigators and astropaths would no longer employ Psykers. And Magnus was not the only Primarch to have felt slighted by the Emperor. Decades earlier, Lurgar and his wordbearers were rebuked by the Emperor for spreading worship and promoting the divinity of the Master of Mankind against Nykia.
the ideals of the Imperial truth. Humiliated, Lorgar was slowly poisoned against the Emperor by his top advisors and he found new faith, this time in the Chaos Gods, beings worthy of his worship. They plotted the Emperor's downfall and after many years, the time came.
When Horus and his sons went to the Davin system to quash a rebellion, he fought Eugen Temba, previously known as the Emperor of the a friend, the planetary governor had been corrupted by Nurgle and wielded the powerful anatheme blade gifted to him by the word-bearer Erebus. Though Horus defeated his old friend, Temba had managed to inflict a devastating wound on the Primarch. It was resistant to their medicine, so under the advisement of Erebus, the sons of Horus sought help from the priests of Davin's serpent. lodge. They enveloped Horus in a chaos ritual, and Horus'spirit was shown visions by the chaos gods.
He saw lies and half-truths. The Emperor had deceived his sons, utilized the warp to craft the Primarchs, and then banned its usage. He had abandoned the Great Crusade.
He had abandoned the Thunder Warriors. What would happen to Horus and his sons when the Great Crusade was over? Most Most damning of all, perhaps the Emperor was attempting to ascend to Godhood himself. Magnus had foreseen this, and projected his mind into the vision, where he begged his brother not to give in to the temptations of chaos. But it was not enough.
The Chaos Gods offered Horus power, and he grasped it. They healed his wound, and Horus returned, now their champion. None the wiser, through all of this, the Emperor was working on a most important task, the Webway Project.
The Webway, also known as the Labyrinth Dimension, is an extra-dimensional space partitioned off from the Immaterium, created by an ancient and long-gone race known only as the Old Ones. It is used by the Eldar for faster-than-light travel. It is far more efficient than... warp travel, and, most importantly, bypasses the depredations of chaos. Using a powerful device, the Golden Throne, to access the webway, he sought to remove humanity's reliance on warp travel, depriving chaos of its power.
Humanity's ascendancy on the galactic stage would then be assured. However, Magnus the Red was about to do something, maybe, perhaps, a little bit wrong. Seeking to warn the Emperor, psychically, he projected himself through the warp into the webway to Terra, right past the wards that the Emperor had constructed to keep the Imperial Palace safe.
Things took a turn for the worse quickly. The initial explosion and the following wars to keep demons from overwhelming terror killed thousands. Henceforth, the Golden Throne would become the Emperor's prison as his immense power was required to prevent demons from flooding into terror.
Not only was Magnus'warning not heeded, but Leman Russ was dispatched to bring him to justice. After Horus manipulated the orders, the space wolves fell upon Prospero with a righteous fury, in a show of irony that still makes the denizens of the warp laugh with glee. The Primarch who tried to warn the Emperor of Horus'betrayal succumbed to chaos, used sorcery to spirit himself and what remained of his sons away.
Now, in service to Xeash, Magnus would eventually come. to serve behind Horus. The Warmaster needed many allies amongst his brothers. Mortarion, Angron, and Fulgrim joined the Warmaster and purged the loyalist elements from their ranks. A ship escaped, however, and brought word of Horus's treachery to the Emperor, who agonized at the betrayal of his sons.
Horus had ensured that some of his brothers would be bogged down in wars across the galaxy and would not be able to respond in time. But still, the Emperor had seven full legions muster and advance on the traitors. On Istvan V, the first wave of Theris Manus, Vulcan and Corvus Corax led their legions against the traitors with a righteous fury.
The second wave dropped in behind them, and then It happened. It was revealed that the entire second wave of Conrad Kurz, Perturabo, Alpharius, and of course, Lorgar, had already thrown in with the Warmaster. The Dropsite Massacre, they called it.
Nine traitor sons were sworn to Horus to match the nine sons loyal to the Emperor, but three of the Emperor's legions were now severely weakened. and the Primarch Therismanus was dead. Horus had the advantage, but he could not defeat the Emperor as things stood.
He possessed but a fraction of his father's power. To even the scales, he too found the gateway at Molech and entered. When he returned, his face looked like centuries had passed for the Warmaster. He had earned the favor.
and blessings of the Pantheon. There were many and varied conflicts throughout the years of the Horus Heresy. Some were small skirmishes as brother turned on brother, but some were colossal battles where both sides deployed the god engines known as Titans, looming war machines that stride across battlefields with their apocalyptic weapons, laying waste to entire battalions.
Even Mars was caught up in civil war, and the Edict of Nikea was thrown to the wind so that the Loyalist legions could use all tools at their disposal. But Horus needed to take humanity's homeworld, to slay his father by his own hand in order to cement his his rule over the Imperium. So with his gigantic traitor fleet, the siege of Terra began.
Only three loyal Primarchs fought with the defenders on Terra, Rogaldorn, Jagatai Khan, and Sanguinius, beloved by all. Horus and Sanguinius had once been considered the closest of brothers. The great angel had the gift of foresight, and had seen visions of his death at the hands of Horus, yet he fought on, trying to preserve his father's dream.
Secretly, however, hidden within the Imperial Palace, Vulcan was also there to defend the master of mankind himself, and he stood ready, with a dead man's switch that would destroy terror should Horus prevail, denying chaos the world. Despite heavy bombardment and even demons manifesting on the palace, Vulcan was still there to defend the master of mankind himself. the homeworld of humanity, the defenders held time and again.
They made the traitors pay for every inch, hoping to delay them long enough so that relief could arrive from the forces of Lionel Johnson and Reboute Guillemin. Throughout all of this, Horus and the Emperor did psychic battle in the warp, and Horus was able to prevent the knowledge of Reboute the defenders to bait his father Horus lowered the shields on his flagship the vengeful spirit the Emperor knew that this was certainly a trap but he needed to end this once Malkador took his place on the Golden Throne, an act he knew would kill him, but he would willingly give his life to prevent the demons from overwhelming terror, and to give his friend time to end this. The Emperor Sanguinius, Dorne, and a host of heroes teleported onto the vengeful spirit.
What follows, none know for sure. But legend tells us that the forces were split up, and it was Sanguinius who found Horus first. Horus attempted to sway the angel to his side, but he held true. Sanguinius stood alone against this terrible foe, but even the mighty Primarch of the Blood Angels was no match for Horus, empowered such that he was.
The angel was brought low. Soon after, the Emperor arrived in the throne room to end this revolt once and for all. They battled with the fury of gods, blow after blow, that would have a night of terror. Violated all others it is said that still the Emperor could not bring himself To kill Horus his beloved first found son however Horus held no such much compunction. With the power of four Chaos Gods, Horus battered the Emperor bloody, breaking his ribs, gouging his left eye, and setting him alight with hellfire.
Horus lifted his father high and brought the master of mankind down over his knee, crushing his spine. Horus howled with triumph over the beaten body of his father. The legends say that a hero then rose.
He put himself between his lord and this champion of Chaos Undivided. In sight of the ruinous powers themselves, he was there the day Horus would slay the Emperor. He stood no chance, but it is believed that this noble sacrifice finally moved the Emperor.
Whatever the cause, the Emperor could see Horus as truly irredeemable. The Blood Angels tell a tale where their Genesire had put a chink in Horus'armor, and through this, the Father sent a psychic blast that obliterated the soul of the Son. The Horus Heresy was over. In the aftermath, the Emperor's body was retrieved by Dorne.
He was rushed back to the Imperial Palace, where the last of Malkador's life was spent. He was disengaged from the throne and his body crumbled to dust. Only one being had the power and will to take that seat now. And so it was that the Emperor of Mankind was interred on the Golden Throne. And there he remains, his physical form broken.
But his spirit endures, neither dead nor truly alive. For the next 10,000 years, every day, hundreds of Psykers are sacrificed both for him and the Astronomican. But this immense suffering is worth it. His power, his will, keeps the demons from overwhelming terror.
And he directs the Astronomican. which guides the ships of mankind through the warp. Without him, and the immense pain that he endures, mankind would be torn apart by the multitude of threats that face us. A great scouring took place after the heresy.
Horus'first captain, Abaddon, took the warmaster's body and the traitors fled into the hellish sanctuary of the Eye of Terror. Many of these marines are now sworn to the Chaos Powers. These Chaos Space Marines are supplemented by their patrons.
The glorious work of the Emperor is defiled. They are abhorrent abominations who utilize their dark gifts in the long war against the Imperium. To prevent another catastrophic rebellion, reforms are implemented.
Military bodies are divided, even the Space Marine Legions are split up into chapters, which, according to the Codex Astartes, should contain no more than 1,000 combat-ready Battle Brothers. These measures make sure that no individual can wield the same vast power that Horus once possessed. As well as having to deal with various Chaos incursions, Xenos races once held at bay during the great crusade resurfaced the drukari are sadistic elder killers they lurk in the dark city of komara that lies within the webway and so they were sheltered from the fall of their race they feed off despair and anguish emerging from webway gates they raid and plunder at will taking many slaves back to comoros for their dark experiments.
Their nobler cousins, the Azuriani, fled the fall on vast space vessels known as craft worlds. Their immense psychic power and technology allows them to minimize their losses, for they cling to survival by a thread. War hosts only engage after the reading of the skeins of fate, and lengthy debates by councils of farseers, warlocks, and senior military leaders. Don't be fooled by their barbaric nature.
The Orcs pose a formidable threat. They thrive on battle and mayhem. The infighting amongst the many competitive and violent warbands, tribes, and clans is thought by some to be the only reason that they have not conquered the galaxy.
For when enough Orcs unite under a powerful warboss, the resulting war is nearly unstoppable. 1500 years after the heresy, for example, one called the Beast led a huge force that nearly claimed Terra itself. The Emperor's remaining loyalist sons are now long gone. They go missing, some are presumed dead.
Only... one lives and barely. Rabute Gilemon of the Ultramarines had his neck cut by the poisoned blade of his brother Fulgrim after the heresy. He was put in stasis on the edge of death. He sits as static as his father, but a morbid symbol of the age of Primarchs, of the time when the Emperor strode the galaxy.
As for those fallen sons, six traitor Primarchs persist. They have ascended to demonhood, bound to their patron gods in eternal servitude. but wielding almost godlike powers.
Time and again they bring calamity down on the worlds of the Imperium. And so who is left to run the Imperium? The Hutt.
High lords of terror now wield incredible power. Beneath them, bureaucrats, the adeptus terror, organize the Imperium. Systems that call for aid sometimes don't see a response.
for decades, by which time they've already fallen to invaders or turned from the Emperor's light themselves. Worlds are generally permitted to rule as they see fit, so long as they pay their tithes, such as the military manpower for the Astra Militare. The regiments of the Imperial Guard are the flesh and bone shield for the Emperor's realm. They may not have just genetic enhancement or technological superiority, but they do have their overwhelming weight of numbers and enough artillery, mechanized support, and lasguns to fill the air with apocalyptic levels of firepower.
Such immense military might is at the beck and call of the shadowy organization of the Inquisition. Inquisitors are able to requisition the whatever military assets that they require for their mission that mission being the survival of the Imperium inquisitors act with the authority of the Emperor's own hand to deny them is death they will deal it out mercilessly and even unleash the ultimate sanction of exterminatus upon worlds that they consider lost over the millennia many Many times the Imperium expands, shrinks, is split, then stitched back together. Imperial forces, and in particular the Adeptus Mechanicus of Mars, will go to any lengths to recover an STC, lost knowledge from the Dark Age. But humanity stagnates in many ways. Superstition is abound, and the fear of abominable intelligence is still great.
This is one of the reasons that the reclusive leagues of Wotan keep their Wotan ancestor cores secret from outsiders. These ancient thinking machines provide them with wisdom, and other sapient machines, the Ironkin, are even integrated into the species society as equals. The Kin are an abhuman clone race of expert miners, traders, and warriors.
that live amid the extreme worlds of the galactic core. Tough in body, mind and bravery, they use their highly advanced technologies to take what they need and ensure that they do not dishonour their ancestors. Truly, the great irony of the Imperium today is that the Emperor, a man who decreed that there are no gods, is worshipped as one himself by most of humanity.
The imperial cult is pervasive and worships the God Emperor who guides and watches over us all. Defiance of the official state church, the ecclesiarchy, is met with resolute severity and merciless purges. The lessons of the Great Crusade are forgotten for most. Even some of the Space Marine chapters deify the master of mankind. Warriors of faith, such as the Adeptus Sororitas, would gladly martyr themselves for their holy missions.
The Sisters of Battle advance with the holy trinity of Boltgun, Melter, and Flamer, and the ever their prayers ring out for the God Emperor. Crazier still, it works. Time and again, soldiers report miracles on the battlefield.
Devout believers find themselves surviving against overwhelming odds, guided by his golden light. The phrase, the Emperor protects, is given new meaning. More Xenos threats arise to challenge humanity's rule.
Like the Tau, a young but technologically confident race intent on carving out their own empire. They are guided by the ethereals and their philosophy of the greater good, and so their armies of fire warriors and alien allies aim to bring their hope and enlightenment to the darkness of... bleak stars, but they, like most Xenos threats, pale in comparison to the Tyranids and the Necrons. The Tyranids are not from our galaxy, but they invade as apex predators. The Great Devourer's technology is purely biological engineering, and the High Fleets can adapt at a terrifying rate.
The entire race is directed by a single hive mind. It seeks to consume all forms of genetic and biological material. The tyranids strike us from within also. Genestealers can infiltrate societies.
They infect the mind, body, and soul. Genestealer cults have abhorrent human-genestealer hybrids that wait for the glorious day when they can begin. Their uprising. Millions of years before our time, the Necrontyr were suffering greatly from the solar winds and radiation storms of their planet.
As they spread out across the stars, their unity eroded, until eventually, the ruling council, the Triarch, decided a common enemy was needed. For this, they chose the mighty race, the Old Ones. But the Necron Tia were seriously outmatched during this conflict, which became known as the War in Heaven.
We believe that it was during the reign of Zarek, the Silent King, that the Catan first came to them with aid. These Star Gods shared their hatred of the Old Ones, and so they offered support and immortality. The Silent King accepted, and so the Biotransference began.
Now, technically, the Catan's offer of immortality was true, as the flesh bodies of the Necron tier were no more, and the immortal living metal bodies of the Necrons now stood. Zarek saw the Catan feast on the very life essence of his people, and the depth of his mistake was made clear, so he bid his time. It is believed...
that during the war in heaven, the Old Ones created the younger races for allies, which included the races that would one day become the Eldari, the Orcs, and perhaps even humanity. After the war was won, and the Old Ones were defeated, Zarek led his warriors in revolt. The unimaginable energy weapons of the Necrons sundered the Catan into shards.
With revenge achieved, the Silent King departed our galaxy, but not before commanding his people to enter stasis within their tomb walls. He then destroyed the command protocols that granted him control of the people that he had failed. Most Necrons remain dull-witted creatures with little memory of the individual that they once were, but the Necron Lords and Overlords retain all of the drives, obsessions and personality that they once possessed. For sixty million years they slumbered, but now they rise once more, and the Silent King has returned. They seek to reclaim their lost empire, eradicating all life in their path with technology that does not obey the laws of physics and an inexorable determination.
But make no mistake, the true archenemy of the Imperium of Man remains chaos. Their forces are often in disarray, but one has risen to unite them. Horus's first captain Abaddon has claimed the mantle of Warmaster.
He leads the Black Legion, and since the heresy, they have blighted the Imperium with their Black Crusades. Each one accomplishing some nefarious aim of Abaddon's. They culminated at the end of the 41st millennium with the 13th Black Crusade that obliterated Cadia, a bastion of defense against chaos incursions. It was our darkest hour. And so, after 10,000 years, servants of the Emperor...
Used advanced technologies and even aid from the Eldar to revive the Primarch, Rabute Giliman. Against all odds, they succeeded. He is the avenging sun, a shining beacon reborn with the mantle, nay, the burden of leadership. His Indomitus Crusade pushes back against the forces of chaos, but it seems that Abaddon's planning...
has paid off. A great rift, the Sicatrix Maledictum, has opened. A series of warp storms that have cleaved the Imperium, the Milky Way galaxy, into two. The ensuing catastrophes claimed the lives of countless worlds, fleets, and armies.
Despite everything, still, the two halves of this broken empire fight on. The Emperor Still continues his struggle on the golden throne in immeasurable pain for only in death does duty end some say he has awakened and He calls out for his lost loyal sons and They are coming the other living demigods of humanity Will return the enemies of mankind will meet the Emperor's mightiest servants, as once again they lead their sons and the ferocious forces of the Imperium of Man, and that will not be enough. I'm sorry if I misled you, but this was never a story of humanity's triumph over darkness.
The forces that attack this bloated, rotting carcass of an empire are the ones who will are too great. Whether by technological superiority, weight of numbers, or sheer malice, the Imperium will fall. And that is why we must fight. For humankind refuses to go quietly into another race's history books. We will make them pay for every inch of our galaxy that they claim.
and unleash upon them such fire and fury that the next time a force assembles to take this realm, they will shudder at the scars left upon it by humanity. For in the grim darkness of the far future there is only war.