Primarch redemption

[Saint_Bepis]

Lorgar Redemption Story



Inspired by this song: https://youtu.be/VBJ7moeC770?si=PeB3g8WpW1H1_FhH
I recommend to listen to it while reading
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Enuncia is a subject of great fascination to most who knew of its existence. If one were to peruse the Imperial Archives, they would only be able to find a few instances of it. It was employed during the Heresy to great effect, by both loyalists and traitors. Yet only a few words are used at a time if multiple are used at all. Enuncia has both the power to create and destroy, and some theorize its purpose to be in the creation of the universe. Kasper Ansbach Hawser, used a word against a Daemon of the Lying God and came close to crippling his throat. I will be better than him as my plan demands it. I reached for another sheet of parchment, not one made of skin like I had used so many times but real parchment. I dipped my quill into an inkwell and began to write.

All I ever wanted was the truth. Remember those words as you read the ones that follow. My brother Corax taught me something when we fought last. I will admit that I never believed he could teach me anything about my faith, but when I laid my eyes on him that day I was struck with a terrible realization. All the power I now hold was granted to me by my idols. I truly believed that what I was given was from my own hard work finally being acknowledged in some way. I believed that there had to be a God somewhere in the Universe that must be served. When my Creator landed on Colchis, I felt him before he entered the system. I believed in him both as a God and as a Son, but I was betrayed by him, and he burned my greatest achievement. He was not a God worthy of worship. My new Gods seemed like they were the true gods. They whispered truths into my ears and while they were true, they were laced with lies. My Creator's Kingdom was rife with lies and hypocrisy, but when I stand back now with a clear mind away from the emotions of the moments that drove me away, I can now see through his eyes. I started with the ending of this latest one of my gospels, and now I pen the beginning. I will now tell you my conclusion. Faith is the soul of any person, be it vested in primitive religion or enlightened truth. It is by this faith that a person becomes more than flesh and blood. They become a story; one forged by their deeds serving a purpose to lead by example. They believe not only in some higher power but also in themselves. That is what I have been missing in my writing. For over 10,000 years I have left behind a trail of ruin and misery as I have been missing a fundamental truth about both the universe and myself. One that was not only hidden from me by Kor Pharon but also by the Gods I had sworn myself to. I am Lorgar, the Aurelian, I have found my spine, my mettle, and my truth. No Man, God, or Daemon will ever control me again.

I set my quill down and sealed the parchment into the beginning of my book. My latest work and my most important one. I placed it in an empty reliquary retrieved from the ashes of Monarchia and sealed it. Only one final puzzle piece needs to be in play. I summoned the dark council to my chambers. They followed my orders but I spoke nothing to them. I hid behind them and once the door was closed I attacked. Two members were slain before they knew what happened. Illuminarum crushed the heads of Sor Talgron and Sarabdal in one swing. The others turned but I was upon them and before they could react Marduk had joined the dead. The others rushed me. I dodged between two strikes and brought my maul down on Belagosa. The blood landed in the eyes of Ankh-Heloth blinding him. Erebus and Kor Pharon attacked as one but a blow to the gut knocked my adoptive father down while I knocked Erebus into the far wall with a fist to the face. Mothac came in close and Pharon attempted to grapple me but with a small knife taken from a Callidus Assassin, I stabbed through the Daemon armor and pierced Mothac's brain. He slumped to the ground as Erebus returned a blow to my face. I turned the blow into a knee strike at Kor Pharon who fell on his back; blood pouring from his nose. Erebus wound up for another strike, but Illuminarum rose up to meet his face, breaking it and casting him into the ceiling. Kor-Pharon attempted to scramble away, but my boot planted itself firmly on his chest. I raised my mace high above my head and looked directly into his eyes. He spoke to me "Do you have anything to say to the man who raised you as his son before you kill him?" I did not answer, instead bringing the mace crashing down, turning his face into liquid. Only after did I answer: "No." I said flatly to myself and I collected their blood with the gifts Khorne gave me sending them about the room painting the walls ceiling and floor in chaos symbols. Only one spot remained; the floor underneath me.

Enuncia is a way to enforce truth. I never even realized something like this was even possible. In my quest to find the truth after my fight with Corvus I learned of Enuncia. It had been hidden from me at every opportunity on my journey by a myriad of opponents but now it was mine to command and I carved the symbol into the floor with the spikes of my maul each line destroyed another spike until none remained on Illuminarium and I began my ritual. The vast energies of the Immaterium swirled about me in their hues of red, green, purple, and blue. I drew on more power than I ever thought possible and the walls broke away around me as they rearranged themselves. The single word of Enuncia beneath me was the only platform remaining. I raised Illuminarum above my horned head and spoke aloud one sentence that I drilled into my memory crafted after centuries of preparation. The Warp bulged around me as the transformation took hold ripping the taint of Chaos from my soul and I felt a burning from within my chest. 4 Arms ripped their way through the maelstrom of power surrounding the ruins of my tower speaking their poisoned words and now that I was getting free I could feel the slime dripping from every letter. I faced them all as they drew closer and spoke directly to my former jailors. "You are Idols of Falsehood, rotting from within, wretched lords of ruin and architects of sin. But I have seen truth in the eyes of the free. Not in the Warp, but in Humanity." They drew closer and my heart began to race at the impending danger, but I continued, the words rushing from my lips. Thoughts I had been holding on for too long sharpened my tongue. "Strike me down, but I will not kneel. I serve no Throne forged in the unreal. Idols of Falsehood! Your Dominion Ends! I AM LORGAR AND I DO NOT BEND!" My voice rose louder over them as I made my declaration known. The red hand reached me and attempted to grab me but before it could touch me a thin film flowed over me and I felt a warm caress. "Continue." A familiar deep voice commanded as a word of Enuncia spilled unbidden from my mouth. The force of it blew apart the arm sending fragments into the roaring currents of the warp around me.

"I am no Beast; I build with my verse and not my blade. Your war is endless and your pride is a chain. I will not speak your name." I rebuked. The blue arm coiled around itself reached but was stopped again and I spoke another word of Enuncia. The force uncoiled the arm, sending it spinning away into the tides of the twilight sea. Another rebuke tore itself from my throat "Knowledge combined with damnation is no gift. Your conceit knows no bounds and your plans are worth ash. I will not speak your name." The purple arm clothed in ink and fine silk reached me but could not force its way past the barrier. Yet another word pulled itself from my mouth, scorching my teeth as it did so. The force stripped the ink from the arm and cast it upwards sailing beyond all sight. My third rebuke came tumbling forth "I have seen that which makes you cheer and all it does it make me sick. Your excess is bloat covered in the skin of excellence, yet there is nothing good in you. I will not speak your name." The last arm green and festering with bugs and fumes made no attempt to grab me but began waiting. The last word of Enuncia tumbled forth, ripping the maggots and fleas from the wounds in the arm. The arm was cut into more pieces than one could count and fell into the abyss below me. My last rebuke came forth in a horse voice. "A short life with purpose is far greater than a long life without it. Your idea of being a kind tree has its roots in the swap of laziness. I will not speak your name." With my words finished the glow around me fades in accordance with my appearance returning to normal. The warp currents around me began to fluctuate as I no longer could control them. Sicarius around me had been ripped apart and I closed my eyes hoping my work would keep me safe as the warp around me detonated.

I awoke in a forest to a bright light in the sky. The Great Rift was glowing a bright golden color. It shone like a sun and as I looked I felt my hands grow warm. I looked down at them as they glowed the same color. I looked back up as the Rift slowly stopped glowing and disappeared from sight. My hand gripped Illuminarium and I stood up with a small smile on my face and set out to teach the Truth to the people of this world. First though I grabbed my relinquary from where it lay next to me and using a spike on it scratched the symbols from my pauldrons and put one foot in front of the other on my new path.

 

[Saint_Bepis]

Fulgrim
Inspired by this song: https://youtu.be/PEdHSas5ipU?si=fQIhP7IAX5AWIbZb​

The stasis field withdrew from my eyes as a deep rumble cast the floor in multiple directions and I stumbled forth landing on my hands and knees. The floor was cold under my hands and an unnatural black color. My mind raced before I recalled the figures who put me here: Fabius and the Necron. My eyes darted around me taking in my surroundings as I rose to my feet. Scattered on the ground were pieces of purple armor, my armor. The golden wing of my left pauldron glimmered in the flashing green lights. Memories assaulted my mind of crimes I had not committed and of horrors I had not unleashed. I wrestled myself to focus and began to take stock of my situation in earnest. While I was not my brother, I had learned some things from Guilliman in regard to organizing my thoughts.

Problem: I have no allies and am stuck in unfamiliar territory. Solution: Escape at all costs. Problem: I cannot return to the Imperium without some form of proof of my loyalty. Solution: I Acquire proof.

Problem: My other self killed Ferrus. Solution: Vengeance As I mulled over these thoughts I set about the task of donning my plate. In but a few moments I was covered in the ceramite's embrace. There were no weapons in the room that a quick glance could spot and so I ventured from the room into what seems like endless hallways.

I came to what I could only presume to be a hanger bay and as I turned the corner saw a Thunderhawk among many other Xenos and Imperium vessels. It looked newer than the ones I remember but there was a clear path leading from it and upwards towards the sun. Idly my mind recognized that it was daytime. I made my way down to the ship passing by nothing but aircraft. It was both surreal and uncanny to be surrounded by enough airpower to destroy a small city and yet there was no fueling or maintenance being done. Not a single robot or living soul encountered me along my path. The doors to the Thunderhawk were unlocked and while a little small the pilot seat still fit me well enough that I was able to keep my legs from hugging the rest of my body. The fuel tank was full when I checked the dial and there were no issues when I started the engines. I smiled to myself as I pulled the plane forwards and then up flying straight towards the sun.

The surface of the planet was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Looking down on it from the sky was like looking at a black mirror. Countless constructs littered the surface in such numbers that they seemed to blend together almost reminding him in some way of a Hive. One of them; however, caught his eye. It was an Imperial Dry Dock and one with a small ship situated there. While I did not trust it, I was curious and brought the Thunderhawk closer. There were no people or Xenos nearby it and I saw a landing pad not far from the Ship and brought the Thunderhawk down.

Upon walking up to the ship, I noticed it was a scouting ship named The Emperor's Light. The name brought a small smile to my face, but the engines were worth an even bigger smile. This ship was Warp-Capable. I made my way inside it before a thought struck me. I have no navigator, no crew, and no idea where I am in the galaxy. The pilot's area was empty, but when I walked in the Ship hummed to life and the navigation system appeared on the computer pointing out his position. He was in the Ultima Segmentum near the Eastern Fringe. Not all that far from his home and his destination: Chemos. Seeing no other option to leave and not willing to wait around for the Xeno to return I inputted my destination and hoped that I would emerge unscathed in a decent amount of time. The Ship rose up from its dock and flew away as I manned the controls to get us out of the planet's orbit to safely leave.

The Warp was calm as we jumped, the navigation system worked perfectly even without a navigator and the Gellar Fields did not fluctuate once. I was incredibly suspicious, but I dared not chance anything. As long as the machine worked to perfection that was all I asked. I was alone with my thoughts for what felt like months and explored the ship. I found several explosives: Krak and Melta covered in a film of dust. Everywhere on the ship seemed to be coated in a layer of dust. It must have been sitting on that planet for a while. I began processing what I knew. The demon fulgrim is arrogant his pride will not allow a slight to go unpunished. I need to use that to lure him into a place where I hold the advantage. The explosives I found will prove useful, but I need something that will put him down for good. Until then I will make do with what I have and I must mourn the loss of the sons that had a father they did not deserve. Phoenicia will make a fitting place for such a memorial assuming Chemos remains abandoned in however long has passed since I was captured by that Necron. I also ran basic maintenance on my weapons and armor in the time that passed. I took great care to make certain the paint was perfect, I must drive Fulgrim into a state where his mind is compromised. I was once him and thus still remember how he thinks and while he may have changed when has a Demon ever changed. It is more likely that he will operate as I remember and I must use that to win our fight.

The Ship and I exited the Warp 3 Hours away from Chemos and even from that distance I could tell that my homeworld had been abandoned. Yet even abandoned I recognized and remembered every part of my home. From the mines I grew up working in to the city I built, it all came back to me as I closed in on Phoenicia. The ruins of my city rose up to greet me as I came close looking for a place to land. I felt tears form in my eyes as I gazed upon the desolation of my once great home. The cityscape had not changed much aside from the several black towers that now dotted the exterior plain of the city. Thanks to that I was able to find my old house and the landing pad nearby that was fortunately clear of debris. The ship was landed without issue and I exited into the ruins.

The walk to my old house was uneventful and at every corner, memories jumped at me like ghosts. I saw my old subjects talking and laughing, my friends calling out to me and my sons staring off in the distance. My house was worse than all the others in the area, what once was a grand home made with the greatest precision and decorating in the finest livery, now only a cracked foundation stood as a mirror to my sin. I knelt down and began clearing the rubble from the foundations. Once the rockcrete was exposed, I retrieved a chisel and hammer I had made on the Emperor's Light during the travel and began carving names into the stone. It took much longer than I had expected and I had to resharpen the chisel but in the end I had carved into the stone the names of the sons I had failed and the people I had killed they numbered almost a billion and I came very close to running out of room. "Vengeance will be mine." I spoke my voice raspy from lack of use. "I swear to all of you who I failed, In the name of my father the Emperor I will work to avenge your deaths."

" Aww How touching." A voice spoke from behind me oily, sickeningly sweet, and full of mocking mirth. The words came from my Serpentine Daemon self and I stood and turned to face the Snake. "You made quite a stir, but leaving that Necron planet was a terrible idea. Still it doesn't have to be all bad. I wouldn't mind having another one of me. Mmmm just imagine of all the things we could do to and with each other." The sweet voice made me feel ill as responded with the only thing that came to mind.

"All I see is excess where pride should be." I said disgust dripping with every syllable

"Pity." The snake seemed truly saddened for a moment before he struck. All three swords were unsheathed and screaming towards me. My own blade was in my hands in a flash of silvery metal as I parried one blade dodged my head to the left and stepped over Fireblade as it passed by my right leg. "Well at least you won't be a total disappointment like the rest of my sons." I retreated back over a pile of rubble as the Daemon continued his relentless push against me. I dodged past his blades as fast as I was able but it was clear to both of us that my double was toying with me. It was exactly what I had wanted him to do as I began falling back further until I had reached the landing pad. We both knew that I could not escape in it, but as I parried Fireblade into the engines I pressed a button on a detonator I had hidden next to the ship and ran as fast as could avoiding the next two strikes as the Daemon ripped Fireblade free.

The ground shook and I felt the heat against my neck from the explosion of the melta bombs detonating, pushing me down with the force of the blast. The Daemon emerged from the fireball one of his swords had shattered from the blast, but he was regenerating before my very eyes. In mere seconds his form was unblemished, but he had a big smile on his face and began laughing.

"That was your plan? All that just so you could lose lying in the dirt? You are pathetic." As fireblade raced towards me I smelled sulfur and a shadow fell in front of me. A Headless Giant holding a hammer blocked fireblade with its haft. For a moment both I and the Snake stood still and I could tell he recognized the hammer. How could the two of us ever forget it. It's name was Forgebreaker and its last wielder was Ferrus Manus my friend that I betrayed. The giant, no, Ferrus charged and I followed our strikes pushed the Daemon back but he rallied himself and two new swords were summoned into each one of his four hands. The two of use were pushed back again but the loud roaring of and assault cannon reached my ears as a Dreadnought wreathed in flame and colored in my chapter's livery fired over our heads punching holes into Fulgrim and forcing him back on the defensive. A smaller marine ran between us his sword flashing and cutting deep into the exposed snake flesh of fulgrim's lower half. A sword chased him but only severed a few hairs on his Captain's plume. The man underneath which I knew well by his sword and skill as he harassed the two lower arms of the Daemon at once. My son Tarvitz made Pride blossom in my chest as Ferrus and I exploited the holes in Fulgrim's defense as our onslaught continued.

Each strike healed in moments and eventually the snake had enough and we felt him draw heavily on the warp. I braced for some manner of psykery, but before anything happened a sharp blast of eldritch lightning hit the Daemon in the back. A librarian with the headdress of Magnus's legion was visible just past the Daemon's tail. Ferrus wasted no time and with a mighty swing and crashing sound of Forgebreaker all of Fulgrim's swords were shattered. His arms visibly braking in the process. Tarvitz and I wasted no time and plunged our swords into his chest where his hearts would be and the Traitor screamed out in pain. The Dreadnought stomped forwards and with a terrible roar his Assault cannon bored so many holes through the Daemon's chest it was impossible to see anything beyond the black and red ichor leaking from our quarry. In the assault I ripped Fireblade from the Daemon's hands and the blade ignited in my hands instantly, Golden flames blossomed around me as I aimed my sword for his neck.

Then the world froze. All the ghosts of the past vanished and with them the smell of fire and brimstone faded out. The Daemon and I were frozen and unable to move.

"Well done Fulgrim. I must admit I did not expect you to preform as well as you did. Although perhaps you should have gone to secure allies before you fought but it all worked out in the end." The voice had a robotic tone making facsimile of human speech, but still spoke perfect High Gothic. "Had you not been able to uphold your end of the bargain I would have had to resort to my contingency plan, but since you didn't need it I'll remove the pylons. I don't need the Imperium snooping around my technology anymore than they already do." With a green flash the snake was gone and a black skeleton came into view. The same one that had imprisoned him after Fabius sold him like cattle. "Don't worry he'll be kept in place at my museum under heavy security. Daemon primarchs are a rare commodity even more so now than before. As for you, I'll return your memories and honor our agreement. It was a pleasure doing business with you. Don't forget to visit some time." Another flash of green and everything returned to normal. I felt a dam break in my mind as memories flushed over me and I fell blacking out before I hit the ground.

 

[Saint_Bepis]

Konrad Curze Redemption

Inspired by this Song: https://youtu.be/YrEAN63NFgQ?si=LUUZuJ2UJFb7s61a
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The inner sanctum of my ship was home to many horrors and those who entered often left scared even if they were prepared for the sights within. Today was one of the different days when screams did not ring out from behind the sealed door, nor was flesh stripped from still living flesh. If one could look inside all they would see was the tired form of a Primarch slumped in his chair looking more tired than he usually did. The viewport behind him held the view of the stars as the ship slowly moved towards a glittering planet off in the distance. I opened a drawer in his desk and retrieved a small sketch from inside. It held 3 people: an older man, a middle-aged woman and what was very obviously a much younger Konrad. A single tear fell from one of my eyes and a clawed finger reached up to wipe it as the memories surged.

Nostramo was a hellhole and one that Konrad would never forget. How could I? When I remembered everything from the time I emerged from my pod into a pool of lava and was forced to crawl through it to escape a certain demise. The visions started not long after. Always showing terrible predictions. The deaths of others as well as his own. It did not matter where or when they always changed but the actions taken by either himself were always either insane or horrific. I killed dogs and ate rats for several years before I was found by two people Dracul and Maria. They visited me for days and no matter how many times I moved away from them or avoided them they kept finding me. The two eventually brought me food that wasn't rotten and water that wasn't stagnant and I went with them. That night I was plagued by visions of their deaths sometimes at my hand and sometimes at others. I awoke crying and they sat over me asking what was wrong and I told them everything. Dracul took me in his arms and told me a story about a man who believed in a prophecy told to him. It was vague in wording and could be interpreted in a couple ways. The man trusting one interpretation killed many before he himself was killed despite the wording of the prophecy implying otherwise. I stayed awake through the whole story and took the lessons to heart, not putting stock in the visions that changed with every passing day.

I lived a few years with the couple, and our life was peaceful as much as it could be on Nostramo. We laughed, loved, and celebrated every day with each other while scraping by enough money to survive and enough weapons to ward off others who would attack us. One day I had another vision. This one was much worse than all the others. I stood in a room with no exits facing a wall with two windows. Through one I saw destruction, death, and chaos at an untold scale the galaxy burned, and humanity died with it as a contemptuous laughter bellowed from every corner of existence. In the other humanity till lived and fought against everything the universe could throw at it slowly stepping backwards towards a glowing golden light but when a man died he took with him scores of enemies as he was mauled, dismembered, eaten, and burned in black flames. I woke in a cold sweat and tried to push the vision from my mind. It returned the next day and the day after that. I spoke to my parents after that and told them everything. It was a harrowing conversation and the story my father told me came back to me in full force. The words were the same and the vision was not vague. Dracul cautioned me against deciding anything and Maria told me to sleep on it. That night the vision returned but even more vivid. I saw everything. Brothers I had never met, a father distant and glowing, a millennia of human suffering, an empire of humanity and its downfall, and a betrayal so great it boiled the stars. At the end I saw an Angel killed by 4 Demons in one body and the dying scream threw me out of the vision. I came to in my bed, face soaked in tears and my mother and father sitting nearby.

I told them everything. In one I remained Dracula, a terrifying but noble man, in the other I became Konrad Curze, a deranged killer and monster. Maria hugged me as I choked out what I saw through sobs and Dracul sat in front of me. I will never forget the words he spoke to me then. "Son." He said slowly. "I don't believe in fate, but it seems like you have a destiny and while your visions often show you horrible things they also predict the truth very often. Your prophecy is not one made by soothsayers and witches, but the galaxy itself needs you to make a choice. Whatever you choose to become, always know that Maria and I will love you. Until we die you will always be our son." We all cried in each other's arms that night and I chose to become a monster to save mankind. A knock sounded at the door and a sneer ripped itself onto my face as I shoved the picture into a pouch on my armor.

"My Lord." Sevetar shouted from the other side. "We are almost in range of Tsagualsa." The personality of the demon Curze surrounded me as I prepared myself, adding a sealed letter from my desk into the pouch as well. I made sure it was secured to my armor and proceeded onwards towards my final destination. My sons had made me a new pair of lightning claws to replace the ones that the Lion had stolen from me. I stayed in my fortress awaiting my execution, she would come tonight and I must be prepared.

A woman had broken into the fortress through the rear gate that was left unlocked and I had turned off all the alarms. I waited in my chambers in which I cleared all the furniture from it and sat looking out the window at the rising moon. My hair had been washed and combed for the first time in centuries. The greasiness on my skin had been removed, and I had forgone all my armor save the gauntlets that housed my lightning claws. A sabre had been crafted for me and sat sheathed on my hip and sitting next to my chair was a spear. I heard the floor creak under the weight of someone opening my door. M'Shen had arrived and my performance must begin. As I donned the mask of Konrad Curze for one last time; I stood, turned and assumed my role.

"Your presence does not surprise me, Assassin." I spoke, my voice oily and sinister in the manner I had perfected after so many years. "I have known of you ever since your craft entered the Eastern Fringes. Why did I not have you killed? Because your mission and the act you are about to commit proves the truth of all I have ever said or done. I merely punished those who had wronged, just as your false Emperor now seeks to punish me. Death is nothing compared to vindication."

Following my declaration, she lunged and I too sprang forwards faster than anything she had anticipated and while her phase blade passed me by inches a lightning claw sprang up demolishing the servo skull recording the fight in one blow and grabbing her by the neck in the other hand. I wrested her weapon from her grasp with my free hand and tossed it onto the chair. I gripped the helm she wore and felt the body I was clutch go limp as I ripped it up and off her body. The field surrounding the now exposed space marine failed as I looked into the terrified eyes of a brother I knew very well and yet not at all. The snarl of a madman slipped away from my face and was replaced by the hard look of a man who had once conquered a planet through fear alone. Devoid of the madness of Curze I stopped slumping and straightened myself to my full height and placed the hat that had fallen back on my head.

"Hello brother, now that we have finally met without our disguises, allow me to introduce myself." My real voice came forth, one that my father once said sounded like a blanket pulled over you during a cold night and one that was just as soft. "My name is Dracula, son of Dracul and Maria, King of Nostramo. Might you introduce your real name to me, Alpharius?"

"My name is Alpharius, what games are you playing Konrad?" The words were short and clipped by coughs. Clearly, he hadn't understood the message, but this is my confession: My final act and the only repentance I am allowed to make.

"I did not ask what title and face you hide behind Omegon. I asked for your name. One loyal honest man is worth 1,000 dishonest men. Prove to me you are better than the people you try so hard that you pretend you are." My voice grew hard but never raised in volume.

"You aren't normally like this Konrad. Which one of the Night Lords are you?" Omegan spat out suspicion still held in his voice.

"Konrad Curze is dead. Or rather he never really existed. He was a mask just like the ones you wear. I played the role masterfully with only you to ever witness the truth of the matter. This is my confession. I never betrayed the Emperor, and I know that you never did either. I have always had visions of the future, and you know this. What you didn't know was that all those visions only showed the worst possible options available to me. Yet they remained reliable enough to form plans around." I finally used the voice that the Emperor but in us, the one that dominated the minds of lesser men. Against a foe who had never seen me use mine seriously before nor prepared for its full force the effects were stellar.

"I don't understand. You faked being a traitor. You faked madness. You faked all those horrible things you did all for what so you could plan things better?" Omegon was instantly confused but was now finally listening.

"No, I faked being a traitor because it needed to be done. I faked madness because it was the only path forward and I really did do many of those horrible things that you had heard and seen. I really did torture a Governess's daughter I really did skin a woman alive for attempting suicide and I really did torture Vulkan." Omegon's horror-stricken face only grew worse, and I couldn't help but let out a little laugh. "I did all the things I did because the alternative was worse. Had I conquered Nostramo a different way, joined the Imperium as Dracula, and stayed loyal. Humanity would no longer exist in 10,000 years." My voice never wavered and I

"Many years ago, in my youth, I had a recurring vision. In that vision I was forced to choose. In both I died and in both the galaxy burned. In one humanity continued the fight resisting against the coming darkness even after the Emperor fell to Horus and in the other mankind were the playthings of laughing hungry gods. I made my choice and I have endured the pain of my actions ever since. That is why I must be killed here. Dracula and Konrad both cannot exist in this future. Konrad for the things he did and I for my repentance." I spoke with conviction

"I don't know what to say." His voice was small, almost scared.

"Then say nothing. Perform your duty as it is required of you, but you must take this pouch and letter." I handed him the pouch I took from my ship. "My spear is to be given to Talos Valcoran. He will understand as he too was cursed with the burden of foresight. My sword must be taken and given to Dark Angels in secret. They will lock it away until it must be used. My claws, you will keep as a trophy and as a bargaining chip which you will use when the time is right. The letter has a location and a date written on it. It must be opened only at that location and at that date." I took a shaky breath and knelt exposing the nape of my neck by pulling my hair frontwards so that it hung in front of my face. "I am ready." My words were solemn and I braced myself mentally as anxiety crept in my veins turning them cold.

"We can change things brother." Omegon spoke quietly, almost afraid. I without looking, raised my voice for the first and last time thundering the words at him.

"I will not let you ruin the future for sentimentality or simple hypotheticals. You will carry out your duty to our Lord-Father and you will do it now or I will do it myself and you will receive credit for it anyways. Now draw the blade and end me." I felt Omegon jolt in action out of fear and I smiled sadly. My lips moved unbidden singing an ancient song Dracul sang to me on the day of my ascension to the throne of Nostramo. "Marching on, weapons drawn. Come the dawn. Assail them, impale them. Bring them to their knees. Dragon's son, see it done. Overrun. Decapitation, annihilation. Will bring them down in flames." I heard the blade whistling towards my neck and saw for a brief moment my mother and father smiling at me from beyond the grave before everything ceased.

 

[Saint_Bepis]

Perturabo Redemption

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Inspired by this song: https://youtu.be/y_UhKp27J84?si=exPGK-gsU9JZxa71

For 10,000 years I have served the enemies of the Imperium, but not by choice. When I betrayed my vows to the imperium and joined Horus in his rebellion. It was to finally break free from the Emperor's unending war. My troops and I were never thanked or praised and our reward for a job well done was more work. I have come to the realization that I have traded 1 Emperor for another. Every time I meet another entity, they always promise me greatness and then squander my genius for pettiness. This is the last straw. I was made to create wonders and have people recognize my works. I am still in command of my mind unlike the others who betrayed the Imperium. While Magnus wastes his time with puzzles and parlor tricks and Mortarion finds new ways to poison himself, I have never lost sight of my direction. I have been working ceaselessly upon my greatest achievement yet. A machine to strip the soul from someone and purify it. I will use it first on the sons that are worthy enough to follow me and then on myself. Lorgar has already prepared the way with his moronic suicide weakening the Four. I will be able to break free in only a few years.

-Perturabo project log Reclamation: entry 1,402,678

Project Reclamation has been going smoothly. Around 37,000 sons were found worthy of my gift and have been through the reclamation machine with no issues. This was expected. Forgebreaker currently sits in the machine the Daemonic energies escaping it have attempted to breach containment multiple times and it appears to have begun consolidation. The Machine spirit has been unharmed by the procedure, as expected. Will continue to monitor the situation as it progresses. Currently valves c-f need readjusting due to prolonged usage, power source is inadequate for large scale and term storage of daemonic essence. A volkite reactor will need to be sourced. Dead reactor on the world of Avarax, while heavily defended, is a prime target for salvage. My corrupted sons should be competent enough to steal the machine for salvage. The uncorrupted have remained resistant to warp will continue to keep them secret from the greater legion. No mistakes can be made.

-Perturabo Project log Reclamation: entry 1,549,861

The final preparations on project Reclamation have been made, checks have been performed and the safety mechanisms have been engaged. The final procedure will commence shortly as soon as I have prepared myself mentally. All who have passed through the machine have expressed visions of a strange nature. This is likely due to the warp energies being removed. Warp energies always cause more problems than they are worth when interacting with normal technology. Scrap-code, viruses, and data corruption are the most common problems with eventual possession by a daemonic machine spirit not being worth the hassle of installing one as most of the required code is harmed in the making of the spirit. I wonder what made so many of my sons so closed off about the experience.

-Perturabo Project log Reclamation entry 1,549,872

I ended the recording device in my armor and took a breath. A mental command to the Reclamtation's machine spirit began its start up sequence. The large machine whirred to life as the salvaged and repaired volkite reactor flared to life at the far end of the room casting walls in its blue light. As I approached the doors of the machine, I felt a terrible foreboding that increased as I moved closer. I ignored it and closed myself in the chamber. The second part of the process would close the doors, activate the gellar field and cut me off from the outside. It went smoothly and I was bathed in complete darkness. I felt the machine enter the next phase and begin the extraction process. I had no idea what was happening. The chamber required complete sensory deprivation and I was required to sever my connection to my machine spirits for the extraction to work properly and extract from them the warp as well. The sensation was unpleasant. I could not tell how much time had passed. I felt a pulling sensation and saw mist pulling its way out of my body. It was tinged with a myriad of colors with some more prominent than others and the most prominent one was the color grey. A whisper sounded from all around me as the mist formed a solid copy of myself.

"This must be the visions that my sons claimed to have seen. I am not impressed." My voice was curt and without emotion.

"I am more than what those copies saw. I am better than them in every way. Not even you could match me. After all I am you but better. After all, who could have possibly dreamed up something like this machine? Vulkan? Dorn? Tzeentch? No I am better." The voice was Slimy like old oil being drained from a machine, but it reminded me of my own voice. The cadence and inflections matched the recording I had heard of my own.

"True but false, You are a falsehood formed from excess warp energy that I was infested with during my coerced transition into a Daemon Prince. You are an amalgam of emotions given direction and a form." I rebuked the manifestation with truth but I could not help the malice and hatred leaking forth from my lips.

"Even you look down on me. Am I not more than your so called sons? I am from your mind after all. I just know more than you do and you can't stand that." The voice was trying to bait him. That much was obvious but into what trap had it made?

"I have no need for you and I never did." My response was twofold a denial of assertation and a probing for more information. Daemons do love to gloat.

"Nobody ever had any need of us, but you realize that don't you. Olympia, to Terra and now to this workshop you were never needed." My breath hitched as the thing said to me words that I had said to others. Daemons love to deceive just as much as the Emperor did, but if my words are a being told here then did someone care about my dreams?

"Perhaps not, but I was wanted and that is more than can be said for you. Now begone Daemon you have no place in the materium or the immaterium and I consign you to Oblivion." Regardless of whether or not my suspicions are true I cannot trust this creature.

"You fool I am of the Immaterium, you cannot kill me. I will return; and when I do I will take back what is rightfully mine." What a greedy creature trying to steal from me my body.

"No. You will not." The Reclamation Machine will see to that.

The machine whirred again and the apparition was torn to pieces by the disposal system. After several experiments against the denizens of the warp and consultation with a fragment of data found on an old research vessel from the Golden Age of Technology, A way to permanently slay warp entities was found. Or at least spread their essence so thin that they would never be able to form again in a timely manner. By layering Gellar fields together and pushing the warp daemons through them you could either compress or rip apart their essence depending on the configuration of the fields. The area around me exploded into a kaleidoscope of colors as the Gellar fields came down and I was pushed back into my body. In that brief moment I was exposed to the warp in a way that I never had before where my soul uncorrupted by anything touched the immaterium. I saw the Eye of Terror but standing in front of it was a man. He was too far away to see clearly and surrounded by darkness but the darkness did not touch him only falling over him and shrouding him. He raised a hand waved at me and pointed behind me. Perplexed, I turned and was blinded by a massive burning sun in the shape of a man. I knew him immediately. This was the Emperor.

I felt my anger and resentment surge as I confronted the man who ignored my dreams and forced me to break everything. He raised a hand and I froze in place. Then he did something I never expected and wrapped his arms around me. I heard a voice quietly speaking as if it was made by the roaring flames around the two of us and I listened. "I am sorry my son had I known you were so unhappy I would have done something, but you never spoke and you built a cage around yourself. Look now with clear eyes at that which you have built and think. I gave you a mind to match mine now use it."

The walls of the machine swirled back into existence and for the first time in forever I felt another burning behind my eyes and I felt it even all the way deep within Chaos territory. The light of the Astronomicon I could see it now the golden lighthouse on Terra just as clearly if not more than that of the Eye of Terror. I do not remember how long I stood there for just looking at those two points constantly reaching out both trying to reach out and consume the galaxy. One to feed on and one to protect. A sharp tapping on the outside of the machine brought me back to my senses and I began the reboot of my armor. It whirred to life in a matter of moments, the machine spirit must be very pleased with something and I instructed it to open the doors. I walked out of my machine to see the concerned face of one of my sons. I cut off the words he tried to speak with a wave of my hand and began to plan my escape. Thousands of calculations ran through my mind as I planned. With every plan discarded a new one took its place until I had finally settled on one that would work.

"Captain, call the Chosen. We must fight our way out from this tower and back to the Materium. Make no mistake this is a Civil war. 30,000 of us against 68,000 enemies. I am authorizing the usage of all experimental weapons and items that you have manufactured. Gather the men at the southernmost exit, where the testing field is I must prepare the final trap."

Said Captain saluted and walked away. I took a deep breath and began a catalogue of all the weapon systems and various other devices that surrounded me. In total 70% were some form of tool half of which were easily replaced and so were left behind. The other half were specialty tools or were made using exotic materials. Of these I gathered the ones using exotic materials but discarded the ones that held the warp in them. The rest were machines or weapons and the machines would be destroyed but the designs were saved to my armor's internal cogitator. The weapons numbered 151 and they ranged from handheld weapons to much larger mounted weapons. My armor was designed to be modular and incorporate as many of these weapons as possible but allowing some to be swapped should the need arise. That was why I had built my armor so large. The hunchback appearance was actually a storage compartment and one that used very ancient technology from Humanity's Golden age to function. By storing the equipment in a pocket universe it could remain with me and be summoned at anytime. That being said I began my choice for my armaments. First were the twin wrist mounted Melta pistols, with a streamlined design stripping the weight for a single powerful shot that would be recharged by the armor's power pack which itself had been overhauled with a Zero Point Power generator taken from a Golden Age Space Hulk discovered 8,000 years ago. It's main usage was to power the retractable Hellgun cannon hidden on my right arm. Which could be swapped out with a guided or unguided missile at any point. On the left arm was an upscaled plasma incinerator that could be swapped for a storm bolter or melta gun. The back had mounting silos for missiles and rockets. As well as functionality for a jump pack. Lastly the legs concealed two very easy to access depositories for various explosives and one compartment held a bolt pistol. Satisfied I turned to leave activating the magnetic system in my gauntlet. Forgebreaker flew across the room, its half slamming home into my hand. I marched my way down the steps of my tower ready for the coming battle.

No person in their right mind would believe a Warp entity would allow them to leave their service and I am of sound mind. When my troops massed at the field, they were confronted by the enemies immediately, and upon the declaration of our departure opened fire. The fight had been waging for only a handful of minutes by the time I reached the exit. In the spilt second I entered the battlefield, the calculations of battle flowed through my mind once more. The enemies had taken heavy losses as the experimental weapons I had authorized wreaked havoc on the organized ranks of our enemies, but just as many of our own had fallen through the failures of said weapons and the weapons of our enemies. With my entry, the battle stalled and I felt the hellgun on my arm warm up and I aimed at the warehouse that held the vehicles of our legion and fired one shot. The warehouse exploded, jolting the battle into full swing and I lead the charge with Forgebreaker in hand. The hammer crushed scores of men in a single swing. I weaved my other weapons in between my strikes aiming for any who tried to become the leader of the force. As long as the enemies remained leaderless they would fall due to poor cohesion.

Just as I planned.

 

[Saint_Bepis]

Magnus Redemption
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Ahzek Ahriman stood at the foot of a large altar his staff glowed with the powers of the Immaterium as he used it to carve symbols into its base. The Flesh Change was the Greatest Enemy of the Thousand Sons. It was what drove Magnus to become a Daemon Prince and the cause of his own banishment. When the call came to return from Magnus himself, Ahzek was skeptical, but upon hearing the arguments he was swayed and returned to the Thousand Sons. The Primarch tasked him with fixing his mistake and curing the Rubric Marines of their condition even if it resulted in their death. Ahzek had rummaged through all the various Libraries of both Sortiarius and Prospero. When those yielded nothing, he raided the various Libraries of the Eldar, Dark Eldar, and Imperium. Yet even they had nothing to offer. It was only when a Servant had uncovered a partially burned tome that progress had begun to form. The tome was mostly burned and extraordinarily faded; it was yellowed and the ink was faded to near invisibility. The words remained mostly salvageable, and they described a similar ritual to the one that caused the Rubric Marines to become as they are now. Many key parts had to be either reconstructed or recreated through experimentation. Magnus wanted confirmation before the Ritual began and went to attempt to contact his patron or any others who would assist him.

I opened the Doors to the Ritual Area suddenly, my rage was getting better of me, but I cared little. 10,000 years of service and when I enter my time of greatest need, I cannot even get a dismissal. Ahriman stood with my arrival and I spoke to him.

"We will need to proceed on our own." I was short with my words, and my fury grew with every passing moment.

"It was that bad?" Ahzek sounded surprised but he masked it well. Leave it to him to jump at hope.

"Worse. They refused to even answer. I served them to help my sons. I sold my eye to prevent mutation. I was shattered into pieces and now exist only in the Warp. I am forever bound to these 4 now and even my patron is only focused on Perturabo and him killing his own sons. First Lorgar disrupts our research and now this distraction. I cannot bear to give a damn anymore. We will go through with this ritual and suffer the consequences whatever they may be." I steeled myself as I spoke those words. I knew this was my impatience talking, but I was done waiting. We had an opportunity to save my sons and I would take it.

"I don't think this is wise Father; perhaps, we should wait for some confirmation from the others or even collect another shard of yours." I glared at Ahriman but mulled the prospects over in my mind. On one hand waiting would allow us more time to study exactly what would happen, but our experiments already confirmed what we knew from the tome. On the other hand, I am tired of giving more of myself to a patron that has shown through his actions that he does not care. At least the Emperor had the decency to tell me that he hated what I was doing even if the betrayals still hurt. "We will continue the path that is available to us. Carve the final sigil I will prepare for the Ritual." I turned from my sorcerer and began to remove my plate. The ritual demanded that the user not be dressed for war.

Ahzek moved to the top of the altar and began to carve with the edge of his staff. He started with a circle for the border and cut the circle in half with another line. On the middle of the dividing line, he put a half circle with three spokes connecting it to the border. On the bottom from the center of the dividing line, he drew two diagonal lines dividing the bottom area into thirds. Having finished his task Ahriman turned to Magnus who had removed his armor. Now in his robes, and with wings unfurled, Magnus walked forwards. Their iridescent colors cast a dazzling display into the room almost lighting the room with its glow. Upon his hip was his blade. His remaining eye burned with a pale blue fire as he gathered his power.

I felt the room grow cold as I dove deep into the warp. This deep in the warp I could feel all my shards. I knew that they could feel me and I smiled almost like a Predator, like Russ, I shook my head casting the errant thought from one of the shards off. One of the downsides of my shattering I suppose; with the ability to sense my broken pieces I also opened the door for them to influence me as well. They could whisper all they wanted; nothing would change my mind. The shadows around the room lengthened and the glow from my wings intensified as I began to weave the warp into the song I wished it to sing. What very few aside from the Emperor and elderly Astropaths understood is that the Immaterium is a realm where stories, songs, and dreams become true and to fully harness it you must control the songs around you. The currents of the Warp destabilized, descending into howling madness before I pulled them into my song. The Altar began to glow, and I felt eyes upon my back and when I turned a small bird stared at me. I recognized it in a second, and how could I not for this was my Patron: The Many-Headed-Serpent-Liesmith. It jumped to my shoulder and chirped into my ear while I held my focus.

"What are you doing?!" It shrieked at me in a tinny voice. The voice held a strange emotion that I had never heard come out of my Patron.

"You had your chance to answer my questions. You had your time to assist me, and you squandered it. I sold my Eye to you, and you betrayed me. I sold my soul to you, and you betrayed me. I am tired of being dragged around like a dog on a leash. I will heal my sons of their affliction, or I will die in the attempt. I no longer care if you strike me down or not, but I will proceed forwards with or without you." The anger bit into my voice but also a minor amount of concern. It was obvious that my Patron was anxious or perhaps even scared.

"You fool; it is not me you should be afraid of reprisal from. You have no idea what attention you have brought on yourself. You opened a path to something you can never hope to close and drew the attention of something far worse than my rivals." That was fear in Tzeentch's voice and that also caused me concern. What could possibly frighten a Chaos God?

I then felt something stirring in the currents of the Warp around me and Tzeentch disappeared completely from my sight. I even felt the traces of him within me leave. The presence approached and I felt the worry coming from Ahriman as the currents of the warp destabilized bleeding into reality and engulfing the planet in its energies. I tried to exert my control over the warp, but I could feel the snake's arms stirring the current from afar. The Altar began to glow with an amber light until it consumed my vision entirely and all I could see was the red and yellow light of a rising sun cresting over a green hill many miles beyond a small stream in front of me. Sitting on a rock not too far from me was a man who was almost as tall as the Emperor. His hair was bright yellow, streaked with red towards the tips and didn't fall beyond his shoulders. His skin was golden like finely polished auramite and it glimmered in the morning sunlight. He turned his head to me and with an unreadable expression on his face stood to his full height. He towered over me like only the Emperor could and his gaze was just as imperious.

"Welcome Magnus the Cyclops, Son of Mankind's Protector. I will admit you calling upon me was unexpected, very few know how to reach this far into the Warp in the first place and fewer still can call directly to me without a cabal to empower them. One of the Liesmith's brood would never even think to call one me but this was a very special circumstance, wasn't it?" The man's voice was calm but carried with it a strength that poured through in every word he spoke.

"What do you mean by special circumstance, who are you, and where are we?" The questions abounded in my mind. I was very clearly in the warp, but here it was calm. There was only one story being told and even my own began to fade in tune with the being in front of me. It was an odd feeling but one I had felt countless times before with Tzeentch. For a moment I feared the worst: that I would be enslaved to the will of this being. But he began to speak again.

"I am the Morning Flame Who Endures Through the Night. You are within my realm: Morning's Glory. The circumstances are special insofar that you are one who is now formerly favored by the Liesmith." With every word he spoke I felt his grasp on my soul recede. This was unprecedented even Tzeentch always attempted to take more from me. Who was this entity to refuse taking myself into his service? Yet he continued speaking.

"You did so through your own hubris and a desire to heal your adoptive sons. You rebelled against your father after harming him and his Empire through your pride and panic, but you were deceived and tricked into remaining with your former patron by your Warmaster's actions. You still seek the same goal but believe yourself betrayed but by the wrong person." My mind stalled and came to a halt.

"What?" It was all that I could say. I was stunned into silence as I pondered what was said.

"You have much to think on, it seems, and I will give you a chance to process my words before I declare my offer." It was obvious that this creature could somehow read my thoughts, but they all turned to one important question.

"How did Horus deceive me?" My voice almost broke as my mind reeled from the implications and all the possible ways that it could have happened to cause such a betrayal.

"He was the one who told Russ to kill you. The Emperor's orders were to bring you to Terra for trial. Horus then used that supposed betrayal to trick you into his rebellion. You were betrayed many times over by the Liesmith. Think to yourself just how many times you asked for his help and he gave you poison and not medicine." The voice of the entity was soothing almost as if he was trying to soften the blow of his words, but they were a poor cushion against the emotions in my soul

Emotions swirled within me as I processed what was said. Hatred and anger came first. If what this entity said was true, then almost all I had done was not worth it. All the atrocities I committed in the pursuit of healing my sons. The sacrifices of innocents, theft and destruction of planets worth of resources that doomed many more people and my final goal to destroy the Imperium for stifling me and throwing me away was all wrong. Father wanted to give me a chance to explain myself and Horus took it away from me. I glanced over my body, and it was almost like I was seeing it for the first time. Mutation had spread everywhere: my skin was scaly, my hair felt more like rope. One of my arms ended in a claw that had begun to sprout feathers, and my wings…I could not even bear to look at them.

"I ruined everything." I had to be true. I destroyed the psychic protections around Terra to warn the Emperor of betrayal. Then when the consequences off my actions caught up to me; I did not even attempt to solve the issue with diplomacy and blindly believed the words of one I knew had betrayed my Father.

"Perhaps, but your son still holds out hope for you and the sons you lost. Unfortunately, I have bad news for you. The rubric Marines as you call them will never be made whole again. When you and Ahriman used that ritual and created the Rubric Marines; you bound their souls to yourself in the process forever tying them to you. You can summon them at anytime so long as they have a vessel to control."

"Then everything I have ever done was for nothing." Despair bloomed in me and I felt a sharp pain in my chest as the being grumbled in displeasure.

"No. You have done something that I rarely find in mortals. You gave hope to your sons, and you never stopped hoping. While you have done horrible things you have served my interests as well and for that I will offer you a boon. I will restore to you your body, soul, and what remains of your sons. In return you will grant me three actions that I will demand of you. You will not refuse these, or I will undo my gift. What say you Magnus the Red?" Hope blossomed in my chest and I had a thought. I think though I still need to at least try to do the right thing in the right way at least once. I will return to the Imperium, and I will surrender myself to the judgement of the Emperor. Though he may be dying, I still know he can perform his duties if the situation calls for it. I will need to contact the Imperium first to avoid hostilities though

"I accept your terms." The words felt like ash in my mouth and the sun in the distance grew brighter. Amber light filled my eyes as it burned through me. The pain was excruciating, but I refused to scream. Everything went white for a moment and then I blinked and stood in front of Ahzek.

"My Lord, what happened to you?" I opened my mouth to try and explain but was interrupted with the door being slammed open. My staff was in my hands before my mind caught up to my actions. The warp surging to my will faster than I had ever thought possible, it crackled around my hands before I recognized the Marine and let the energies fade.

"Apologies my Lord but you must see this. I think it may be related to your ritual." The man was panicking but he sent a psychic probe through the warp that I quickly accepted. The Planet of Sorcerers appeared in my mind's eye. The symbol that was carved into the Altar now was burned into the planet itself. The fog of Chaos and the Warp was completely absent from the skies and a single point right where we stood was bathed in the raiment of a rising sun.

"It is, I will explain everything. Gather the Legion in the Old Amphitheater on Prospero and recall everyone. All who refuse to come or arrive on time are to be considered traitors to the Legion. There will be changes coming and we must be prepared for what is to come." My voice held steel within it and for the first time in Millenia I felt the sun on my face as Dawn broke over the planet and I reveled in the sensation. Unseen by all but myself there was a man in the center of the Sunrise who looked right at me and though I could see nothing but his silhouette; I knew a small smile was gracing his face.