Yeah, we'd both have to alter the story of how our primarchs acted during the heresy and decided to leave the imperium.
After all, Laesa's exodus from the Imperium wasn't set in stone until the death of Sanguinius came in spite of her presence, and the Emperor was no longer there to compel her compliance, whereas Ascalom severely misunderstood what was going on and left thinking he had been betrayed.
Yeah your right it would great to write the interaction between the two, but he was betrayed. Hrafknel is canonically Russ's flagship and I mentioned during his thoughts on the Primarch's that either Russ was going pull something and claim the righteous position or the Emperor was going to outright order. The only saving grace is that he chose the high road. By the time of M41 he's hated by the Imperium and chaos, because his republic, while smaller, is making forward progress, inciting the Imperium to call them a hoard of heretics and chaos to seethe as they don't have the structural unity to want to progress. If I'm allowed to, my end goal is to write up that Ascalom's final goal is to have his people leave the milky way galaxy all together and use the Upharos system as early warning detection sign.
I mean, if you were to simply remove the mention of another primarch being purged, we could just say Laesa sat out of the war because she scryed Russ attacking the 2nd legion (which here becomes Ascalom) for no reason in it's early days, then left after it ended.
Unless, of course, the locations where they're founding their empires are the same, and I don't think the Segmentum Ultima = Segmentum Halo, so I doubt the Republic is in the Eastern Fringes.
I mean, if you were to simply remove the mention of another primarch being purged, we could just say Laesa sat out of the war because she scryed Russ attacking the 2nd legion (which here becomes Ascalom) for no reason in it's early days, then left after it ended.
Unless, of course, the locations where they're founding their empires are the same, and I don't think the Segmentum Ultima = Segmentum Halo, so I doubt the Republic is in the Eastern Fringes.
That could work, I'll have to find the specific section again. Would you mind if I did so? Also Segmentum Halo north of Segmentum Sol and West of the Ghoul Stars.
I'm cool with it.
The Fateless Empire (so named for the fact that the lack of any visible warp presence (despite their unifying psykery) on the part of the Vestal Knights and Empress Laesa the Unseen makes anything one learns by scrying the area near them mostly useless for predicting the future) and the Republic would make interesting forces for one galaxy.
I'm cool with it.
The Fateless Empire (so named for the fact that the lack of any visible warp presence on the part of the Vestal Knights and Empress Laesa the Unseen makes anything one learns by scrying the area near them mostly useless for predicting the future, in spite of their psychic power) and the Republic would make interesting forces for one galaxy.
Awesome.
Two utilitarian renegade primarchs, one underhanded and the other academic. One who stepped down from power to let his realm lead itself, and another who rules alongside her legion because (according to them) only their actions can confound the eyes of chaos and the destiny it favors - thus ironically leading them to end up 'just as planned'ing almost as much as Tzeentch, what with letting the Tau rise to their canon glory just to conquer them for tech.
Awesome.
Two utilitarian renegade primarchs, one underhanded and the other academic. One who stepped down from power to let his realm lead itself, and another who rules alongside her legion because (according to them) only their actions can confound the eyes of chaos and the destiny it favors - thus ironically leading them to end up 'just as planned'ing almost as much as Tzeentch, what with letting the Tau rise to their canon glory just to conquer them for tech.
Oh now that sounds like a combo alright, here you go, this will be as much as i can write for now. The biggest enemies of the heresy for the republic will World Eaters, Death Guard, (Anti-Psyker's) and Word Bearers (That Grudge is getting Settled somehow)
From The Personal Journals of our founder, Former Primarch of 2nd Legion, Former Lord of the Kingdom Of the Unbound Tide, Provisional, King of the Republic, Quinten Ascalom, dated 005 M31.
"I was awoken over vox news this morning. I was being forcefully reinstated to my former position as King. I tried asking why, but the shock and terror in my Captain's voice told me more than enough, something had gone terribly wrong. When I arrived at the capital. I was told that the situation was not within the Republic, 'thank all that is righteous' was what I first thought. I was quickly dissuaded from this relief. Apparently in the past several years of our Republic's growth, many of my brothers fell to the Ruinous Powers. My people were equipped to handle the situation, our removal of the taboo's put in the place by the Mechanicus and the circulation of information on what Chaos was had yielded good growth, even better with Trafalgin in charge. However, they asked for me because they wanted to make sure that any chances that chaos would have would be stamped out immeditaely. I wholeheartedly approved. As I write this, our current news is that the fighting is taking place on Istaran IV. I've ordered our forces to remain in our borders and I can only hope that the Imperium is useful and bleeds Chaos as much as possible for this ..."
"We received our first attacks today. Ship to ship battles mostly with some boarding action crossfire. The ships were in obvious disrepair but there was some bitter irony in it for us. The ships bore the symbol of XIV legion. I actually laughed when I heard that. I asked for proof, and was given it. The fact that Mortarion, stalwart, stubborn, and short-minded as he was fell to chaos was... The universe is quite the comedian. However, I will break him and his 'sons' all the same."
"We met in battle today...Mortarion...and I. It was sickening. Whatever remained of my brother was long gone, only a putrid shell calling out to his 'Papa' as I shattered his arm remained. Nurgle's blessings may include many things but ceramite plating being super heated by warp energy and then used to infuse that super heated metal directly into diseased flesh... His screams resonated across the battlefield. We bombed his sons into the proverbial mire that they chose to wallow in before they could assist him any further. I was close to relenting, to making his death quick and painless, but he spoke to me. He told me that Ferrus had been slain... by Fulgrim of all people! By the time my men pulled me from his body, all that remained was a bloody smear and a ash shadow... I going to sleep now. Tomorrow, I will mourn the deaths of two of my brothers, but I will not aid the Imperium, They brought this on themselves."
"World Eaters attacked this day. They shored up as best they could the Death Guard legionnaires. We could have fought the deranged fools on the ground and some of my men commanded troops that did but... I have no love for honorable battle... We tried to use our psyker capabilities against them but something about the World Eaters had changed. Psyker spells washed off of them like water. Perhaps to another legion this would have been intimidating, but my legion was unbound, broken and reforged into a fighting force that experienced the worst that humanity had to offer...Fire bombing and aerial attack cut them down to a man, the Death Guard escaped. No sign of Angron or his lieutenants though... that worries me."
"Our intelligence reports state that Mortarion wasn't supposed to be here in the Halo Segmentum. That all Primarchs were to be under the direct orders of Horus himself and assault Terra directly. Perhaps some warp storm sidetracked Mortarion to my doorstep? I... Word has come in. A force of mixed Astartes is making a push to take Solarii, one of our key agri worlds. That will not happen."
"The Word Bearers attack was the closest we came to losing, I do not mean a simple battle, I mean an entire planet. I didn't think it would be possible for a legion to have the powers of all four of their gods but here they were doing just that. They matched us at nearly every point. Some days we would take several cities and others they would take them. When in doubt though... we tried bombing them and they used the warp to project shields... over their men, not their supplies. The errant bombs made short work at destroying their tainted stock and while they did scavenge supplies from the cities and production plants, it wasn't enough to keep them from starving, to keep their twisted engines running, or their bolters firing. Their last ditch effort reminded me too much of what occurred on my home. They summoned hoards of daemons that tore them apart before turning their blades on us. We fought them, bitterly. At the end of it was the deamon, the same daemon I had fought in the hive city, the one I ordered returned to the sea's embrace. It sneered at me, called my plans foolish and that they were nothing. I laughed and merely told it that's claims were admission enough to the fallacy of their own plans. It didn't like it, not one bit. We fought and with the training I had forced upon myself during my time on Terra, I drove it back, banished it to the unholy womb from whence it came. I will be signing off for the night... Tomorrow I will release this entry over the vox, give the people some more hope, let them know that even daemons can weep with agony."
(71) Homeworld Terrain
Wasteland: So basically pockets of Semi-advanced Civilization, with the rest of the world being a Nuclear Wasteland. So Fallout in the Southwest.
(98)Mutations
Other: I'm going to say this means the Primarch is Female.
(3)Adopted Parents
Rulers or Noble Class
(10)How did they conquer their homeworld?
Fought off unknown creatures that nearly destroyed her Homeworld, the only time the Primarch has been afraid. So not a daemon but something that is scary enough to terrify a Primarch. Hmmm
(3)Relationship with Legion
Old/New Divide: Terran Marines Don't get along with the rest of the Legion
(1) Legion Tactics
Close Combat
(5)Universe
Divergent
(16, 55) Friends and Rivals
Friend: Perturabo Rival: Ferrus Manus
(1) Loyalty
Loyalist
(13)Boon
Rare tech
(20) Fate
At what seems the Imperium's darkest hour, the Primarch has returned. Either healed from near Fatal wounds or escaped from whatever had caused them to vanish so long ago.
Primarch Name: High Queen Mordred
Legion: Knights Eternal, The 1st Legion.
Planet: Caerleon
So this is what I had originally wrote for this on the other thread
Caerleon is a harsh world, most of little more than blackened, radioactive wasteland. Human survives in various shielded Fortress Cities and Underground Empires ruled over by Neo-Feudal Lords and Kings. It was into this where Mordred, Primarch of the Second Legion landed. Found by High King Tristan on an expedition out into the blasted wastes. Surviving in a zone where even a human outside their power armor would quickly fall to radiation poisoning. She was taken in and raised by the High King and his wife, along with their three other kids. Mordred grew rapidly, and soon her marital prowess became obvious. By Thirteen she was the strongest and most skilled warrior in her father's kingdom, fighting off all manner of raider and Rad-beast in a custom suit of heavy power armor. The High King never intended for her to Rule, that duty belonged to his son and heir, but he believed she could be the greatest general the Fortress Kingdom had ever known.
Then things went terribly wrong. It started subtly, patrols vanishing, expeditions to ruins never returning. But soon it escalated, entire Underground nations vanishing without warning. Then they appeared at one of the Kingdom's outposts, one manned by Mordred. They were Machines that resembled black skeletons, with weapons that glowed sickly green and could reduce a man to nothing but ash in moments. Mordred fought as hard as she could, rallying nearby allies, mustering the largest force the kingdom had ever raised, and developing new weapons and tactics as fast as she could. But it wasn't enough, for the first time in her life. Mordred was losing.
At this point, Tristan snapped. His mind cracking from intense fear and stress. He summoned a cabal of Sorcerers And Witches, rare on Caerleon but not unheard of, and beseeched them to find someway, anyway to win the war. The Cabal had sacrificed two of her adopted siblings before Mordred discovered what happened. Mordred dealt with the Cabal, and her insane foster-father, in one single bloody night. The incident would leave her with a lasting distrust of pyskers.
Normally Kinslaying was the worst crime one could commit on Caerleon, but Tristan had given two of his own kids to the witches, Mordred's actions were more than understandable. Her surviving sister yielded the crown to Mordred. With renewed zeal, Mordred was able to rally the surviving Kingdoms of Caerleon into a grand alliance against the invaders. Still, the battle was bloody, millions dying in a matter of hours. The invaders were defeated though, disappearing after Mordred drove her sword through the skull of the enemy leader.
Victory brought little comfort for Mordred, many had been lost, her family was all but gone. And she could still hear the words of the cyclopean monster she had fought echoing inside her head. She very much doubted these machines had truly been dealt with.
Five years later, the Emperor arrived. Mordred, now High King of all Caerleon, at first greeted him warmly. In private, talk soon turned to the invaders from below, Mordred Explained in great detail what had happened. The Emperor quickly ended the meeting without explanation, leaving her Palace and marching his Custodes into one of the abandoned bunker empires. They emerged Two week later, the Custodes numbers reduced by a quarter and the Emperor looking considerably worse for wear.
The Emperor, much to Mordred's Shock and Anger, quickly swore her to never discuss what had happened or what she had fought to anyone, not her brothers, not her Legion. And Caerleon itself was put under quarantine, the only ones allowed off planet were those recruited into the Legion and they all had their minds scrubbed of any knowledge of the Machines during indoctrination.
Mordred agreed to Serve the Emperor, but she never forgave him. Her resentment towards him seeping those of the legion born on Caerleon, even if they no longer remember what had happened.
Mordred Favors close combat tactics, as those had shockingly proved far more effective against the Machines then ranged. On the battlefield she fights in a massive suit of power armor, a combination of Adeptus Mechanius and Ancient Caerleon Tech, while wielding a pale sword that glows sickly green. A war trophy recovered from her final Battle against the Machines.
And it relatively fits. I figure she replaces the Lion because of similar tactics and pretty different. The Lion was profoundly loyal but this was not widely known, and their actions during the Heresy are largely not known to most. Meanwhile Mordred was deeply disloyal towards the Emperor but stayed on the Imperial side. Lion grew up on a world touched heavily by chaos, Mordred grew up on a Tomb World.
"You ask me why I stay loyal to the Imperium and the Emperor. It's certainly not out of loyalty to the man, Perturabo, you of all people know that how I feel about that man. And it is not because my warriors beg me to remain at the Emperor's side, no I suspect many will despair over my decision. It is because I looked into the eyes of the Chaplain that Lorgar sent us, I looked into his eyes and I saw the same madness that infected my true father. I've seen where that madness leaves, And I would rather give my life defending the Emperor than head down that path. Whatever Horus intends, where he thinks it will accomplish, it will only bring ruin in the end. That, I will have no part in."
Journals Entries from Preserved Archives in Republic Libraries; The journals you are about to access are from of Founding Leader, Quinten Ascalom, formerly Primarch Ascalom of the II Legion, The Astral Tides.
"We took back Solarii... Finally. As of yesterday the last of the Word Bearers legion present was discovered and destroyed. Half-mad slaves that toiled in the depths of treatment plants muttering to themselves. According to the ground forces, the only difficult part of the operation was finding them. However, it maybe a pyrrhic victory at best. Lorgar's bastards sons and their pet daemons did more damage than we thought. We been receiving multiple reports of diseases foreign to our segmentum breaking out in the major cities. Crops that should have yielded base fruits and vegetable goods are showing signs of naturally occurring narcotics present in their makeup. This mutation extends to even the roots of the plants they came from. Speaking of which, there has been a breakout of mutations among the people here. I am and never will be opposed to those whose are born with mutations but these... they were meant to inflict the most emotional damage on the immediate and extended families as possible. Reports indicate most die within minutes of birth. Those that do not, are highly erratic and suffer from multiple mutations that hinder their growth and health. Most if not all these cases have died before they are even of five years. And because of this, there has been a noticeable spike of aggression among the people here. I am tentatively quarantining the planet. All food, persons, and armaments, are to remain planet side. Any breaches of this order with be returned to their planet and the ships confiscated, checked for corruption and utilized by our forces if proven clean."
"I cannot believe what I am writing and yet I am, after several years of fighting skirmishes on our borders and watching as the Imperium tears itself into pieces, it's over...Horus is dead and so is the Emperor...I am elated and strangely saddened. I never truly cared for Horus Lupercal. Yes he was my brother and yes we were both meant for greater things but where cared for the glory, I cared for the greater picture. If the catalyst for his fall was pride or some other notion than he is more the fool than I could have believed and He would have made Leeman seem the paragon of reason. The Emperor's internment on this Golden Throne. An existence of decay and stagnation, a fitting end for one such as he. I do not love the Emperor like the sycophants that surround him. My father... my true father was Uthryn Ascalom, a ratling as the Imperials would say who was the acting foreman of the plant we loved by. By the time I was a young boy he came up to my chest, by adulthood my knee. He was firm handed and harsh parent but I loved him and the world he showed me far more than anything the God Emperor could have shown me. They're calling him that now...when one attempts to end something before it begins it tends to happen anyway. I will be relinquishing my power soon, but before I do that, I have a gift to leave my former brothers..."
Republic Records on Operation: Promise
In 014M31 our Lord Ascalom enacted his last military campaign in his emergency position of King. Operation Promise was enacted shortly after the news that Horus had fallen. The Battle Barge class ship Coral Breaker was moved from a neighboring system into the general spacial area of Eye of Terror to lay in wait. During the exodus from Ikaron, the barge was heavily damaged and was never properly repaired. Due to the needs of our new Republic restoring the barge became a secondary priority and later when even greater structural damages were made known it was ultimately decided by the Administration of military affairs that the ship would scrapped of as parts as possible. By the time of Heresy, the Coral Breaker was skeleton of its former self, only capable of holding light armament and defense. Due to the terran sabotage, the warp drives were considered inoperable and thus deactivated. Operation: Promise had two purposes, to deliver a message to the traitors themselves and to cripple the chaos fleets.
As the time in which our spy ships monitored the chaos fleet approaching the Eye, thrusters on the barge were remotely activated to push the barge towards their path. There was no question that the Coral Breaker would never directly be in their path but I did not need. When the distance between it and the Spirit of Vengeance was halved a single escaped was jettisoned from the Coral Breaker. It was picked up by one of the associated corvettes. At a quarter distance, the Spirit of Vengeance fired on the Coral Breaker. The Coral Breaker had packed to the brim with recovered and obsolete ordinances from the our previous iterations. The explosion turned the Coral Breaker into giant bomb. Despite the Void Shields, the Spirit of Vengeance suffered further damages and crippled resulting in some of the surviving sister ships carrying i into the Eye of Terror. Its unknown how many Traitors died in this operation but our Lord's message was delivered.
Would you like to Learn more... [Message] [Coral Breaker] [Spirit of Vengeance] [Abaddon the Despoiler]
The Message as recorded by Lord Ascalom; dated 014M31 [play] [stop] [rewind]
"To those that I loathe to call brothers... Look at you running from your supposed victory like the oath breakers you are. Before you call out that I am the same, let me make this clear, we will never be the same. I did not fight against the Emperor because I cared for my men's sake above the need for vengeance. One Primarch with a depleted legion against Nineteen others with full strength and the Emperor and his Custodes. Madness, a madness greater than the horrors you inflicted on yourselves and your people. I write this message to relay a promise to you and sons. Abaddon... you will never be Horus, you lack everything that made him great in our eyes. Peturabo and Konrad, you shamed us, what we stood for, what we fought for with your slaughter of your own people! May their cries haunt you till the end of your days. Magnus... you should have come to me after Nikaea, yes I know what happened that day, I kept the dealings of Imperium in my mind at all times. There would have been a place for you and sons here with us... Apharion Omegon... why, jut why? Lorgrar, you and your sons will be hunted down and wiped from the face of this galaxy till not even dust remains. Angron, there will be no honorable death waiting for you at your journey;s end, no throne of skulls to seat just death, and Fulgrim... I will kill you." [/stop]
Nice.
Edit: a concept I'm kicking around for Laesa - the Fateless Empire DOES have a process akin to the throne-binding/soulbinding Imperial astropaths undergo.
It involves being soulbound to Laesa, which brings the new astropath under the aegis of her spiritual invisibility, because their soul is now contained/closely connected to her invisible soul.
...
All mortal psykers in the Fateless empire are required to undergo this process, because it makes them safe to have around. They just have to put up with the lack of mundane eyesight.
Because astropaths generally don't target a specific person so much as a location, they'd still serviceable as astropaths if they didn't have any way to message each-other, but the mutual soulbinding actually lets them detect one-another's souls even though they've become invisible.
Edit: Another edit, another Primarch
Rolling multiple mutation dice again
35 - Death World
90 - Volcanic
(5 mutations): 55, 33, 58, 72, 98 - Imminent Death, Grand Psyker, Perpetual, Visions of the Future, Other
4 - Rulers or Noble Class
4 - Came to Power Violently
1 - Known
15, 9, 16 - Charismatic, Atheist, Bitter
5 - Loathed
4 - Stealth
No Roll - Canon
No Roll - Renegade
9 - Large Recruiting Pool
17 - Were able to create a small but heavily fortified emperor around their home. Despite repeated attempts the Imperium has yet to defeat it or them.
The primarch Kitovo of the second legion could never have been loyal to the emperor or to his 'sons' as they wished. He was always bitter about the lengths he had to go to in order to hide his true family from the eyes of the emperor, and so treated his legion poorly - such that they were not even given a new name until the second founding, which they remained in the Imperium for. Under Kitovo's leadership, they were always merely the II Legion.
For who could steal a man's loyalty from his beloved wife and children?
Name: Kitovo
Other Mutation: Neither sterile nor celibate.
Legion: II Legion
Legion Colors: He assumes they still use some vaguely stealthy armor
Legion Standard: It was a bush, he thinks?
Legion Battlecry: Do you think he knew that?
Indeed, Kitovo became aware at some point that he would be taken from his beloved, ash-blasted home of Sanura to serve in one of the slightly greater wars the galaxy had ever known. By this time, he had taken a beautiful queen and had ten children with her (Deathworlders be tough), and he feared for his children being wielded as 'segundarchs' in this war, as they inherited most of his physical superiority, a sizable portion of his psychic might, and, from his limited (and sorely unwanted) experience, his resurrective immortality.
Thus, he took efforts to conceal their existence, placing a psychic ward upon his homeworld to conceal it, and relocated to an unpopulated jungle world in the same system, claiming he had always lived there when the Emperor came.
He insisted upon the homeworld of the legion being this jungle world, for only from within the system could he obscure his true home and, on occasion, visit it.
Upon foreseeing the Horus heresy, he made preparations for a maddeningly grand feat - teleporting every trace of Space Marine presence or other imperial forces out of the small sector containing his homeworld, and occupying the area as an empire of his own, where he would not need to hide his beloved dynasty.
Even in his new independence, though, he is always bitter - for it is often in the cards that he or his family will suffer death, however temporary it is, and because he missed much of the youth of his eldest ten children, which he felt he could never truly remedy.
The descendants of the II legion revile their rogue primarch, even as those of them who discover and enjoy their own lack of sterility are slain by the Inquisition for heresy.
I should note that Fulgrim in canon had wifes. There's no implication that the Primarchs are incapable of having those sorts of interest. They just normally lack the time.
I should note that Fulgrim in canon had wifes. There's no implication that the Primarchs are incapable of having those sorts of interest. They just normally lack the time.
The Knights Eternal: Of Bitter Loyalty and Misguided Betrayal
Mordred's meeting with the 1st Legion was a strange affair. In a way, they understood more than any other Legion could what their Primarch had been through. They had been the first legion after all, they had fought against horrors barely imaginable in the Unification war. And yet, the legion was one of the most loyal to the Emperor. Even after end of the Quarantine of Caerleon, Mordred's resentment of the Emperor was massive. Few Primarchs in those days loathed the Emperor as much as she did, this resentment seeped into those marines recruited into from Caerleon. Resentment not shared by the Terran born. This created a rift between the two groups, a rift that only expanded as the numbers of Caerleon born Marines grew.
In part to combat the problems this rift caused, and in part because of her own leadership style. Mordred soon reorganized the legion in Eight 'Orders', Each consisting of a number of Great Companies. Seven of them would be lead by a Primus, with one directly under the control of Mordred herself. In effect the Legion was divided into eight smaller legions, though each Order still ultimately answered to Mordred. By the time of the Heresy, Six of these orders would be dominated by Caerleon-born, only two still held considerable Terran numbers.
The Knights were one of the most technologically focused Legions outside of the Iron Hands and Iron Warriors. Though their relationship with Mars was rather...strained. Mordred finding most of the Mechanicus devoid of what "Humanity" seeing them as little better than the nightmares she found underneath her homeworld. This, among other things, drove her and Ferrus Manus into a Bitter Rivalry.
The Knights Eternal fought Valiantly during the Great Crusade, winning numerous campaigns against a myraid of xenos that had threatened humanity. Mordred saw the legion, and herself to an extent, as Humanity's defender. It's champion against the things lurking in the dark corners of the universe. Much of her time was spent in research as well, trying to uncover whatever she could about the enemies that had nearly ruined her homeworld. Sending teams of Astartes on far flung missions across the galaxy.
Even still, Mordred's resentment of the Emperor grew more and more. Convinced that he knew far more about the Necrons than he had told any of her brothers. Resentment that only grew more when Horus was named Warmaster. Mordred, whatever her issues, had been fully committed to the Crusade. Committing her legion to countless conflicts across the Crusade, Personally coming close to death during the Rangdan Xenocides, she felt she and the other Primarchs deserved to have a say in which among them was fit for such a role.
Mordred rarely vented her frustration and disagreements outside of her legion, even still most of the other Primarchs knew what she felt about the Emperor. Rogal Dorn remarking that she behaved like a "Petulant Child who refuses to let go of the past".
So perhaps it was no surprise when Horus thought she could be persuaded to his cause. Perturabo, her closest friend among the Primarchs, even remarked that she would barely even need persuading.
And indeed, Mordred's reaction to Horus's betrayal was remarkable different than any other Loyalist. She did not despair, she did not become enraged, she simply asked Perturabo to persuade her and the rest of the Eternal Knights that Horus would be a better leader than the Emperor
Perturabo spoke in front of a Grand Council consisting of the Primus, Knight-Captains, and other various Legion leaders. The Council was held in orbit above a recently conquered world on the Primarch's Flagship, The Unending Vigil. Many of Mordred's knights shouted in dismay at what Perturabo said and demanded Mordred take his head. Mordred ordered silence and let Perturabo finish.
After a Grand Speech, Mordred refused. Nothing she had heard convinced her Horus would be any better than their father and she had no interest in joining a group that contained Lorgar and the strange cult he had been peddling through the Warrior Lodges.
This refusal came as a shock to many abord the Vigil, perhaps none more so than her First Captain, Gawain.
The Forsaken And the Eternal Oath
First Captain Gawain was the youngest son of Mordred's eldest brother on Caerleon, born three months after his father was used as blood scarfice by the coven of witches implied by the Mad High King. He was in many ways the last of her original family. Despite what many assume, Gawain rose to First Captain on skill and merit, not favoritism from his 'aunt'.
Since rising to the position of First Captain, Mordred had often tasked him with finding out more about the Necrons, how many Tomb Worlds there where, details about their technology, how to fight them, how to kill them. The more he discovered about them, the more horrified he became.
The Necrons had stripped entire worlds barren of life, and it seemed tombs where lurking underneath countless worlds, many of them Imperial. Their tech seemed beyond comprehension, beyond matching.
It was during one of his expeditions when he encountered Erebus, First Captain of the Word Bearers. Erebus convinced him there was a power that could defeat the Necrons, a power beyond any technology, that of the warp.
Even Corrupted, Gawain was a cautious soul who understood his Primarch's past experience with Witches would make it difficult to convince her. He worked slowly, corrupting Knight-Captains, The rank and file of the legion, even a Primus and their entire Order. All the while slowly doing his best to further the Divide between Mordred and the Emperor.
When Perturabo arrived to parley with Mordred, Gawain was sure he had pushed The Eternal Knight enough that she would side with Horus. Her refusal shocked him. He begged, pleaded with her to reconsider the Iron Warrior's offer. But Mordred would have none of it.
In desperation, the normally cautious Gawain launched an ill-prepared coup.
And It's here where things fall got confused. For as Gawain's coup was going on, another coup was launched by a Loyalist Primus who had stormed out of meeting early on, convinced Mordred had turned traitor. This resulted in a confused free for all battle that rocked the entire fleet. Ship fired upon ship, Commanders were turned on by both those above and below them. Perturabo escaped in the chaos.
For a year, no one was sure what had happened to the Eternal Knights. Terra received no less than five major reports declaring her traitor, and seven that said she had remained loyal. Finally She arrived at Sol, at the head of a battered and disorganized fleet. Half of it manned by Blackshields she had recruited in the days since her First Captain's Betrayal.
Mordred was imprisoned by Dorn and brought before Malacdor the Sigilite. While She downplayed just how much she had allowed Perturabo to say before she rejected his offer, she made no attempt to hide what had become of her Legion. Many had died during the fight and nearly half of the survivors had turned Traitor and aligned with Gawain.
Mordred was eventually released by order of the Emperor of himself, much to her own confusion. In private, Mordred met with her surviving Knight-Captains and made them swear a new Oath, the Eternal Oath. This Oath was simple, loyalty to the Imperium above all else.
Mordred fought valiantly during the Siege of Terra, dueling with Lorgar and Perturabo both, wounding the former deeply.
Caerleon itself survived narrowly. Loyalists forces that had become separated from Mordred reached the planet first and prevented Gawain from claiming it.
Mordred would disappear five years after the Siege of Terra, her flagship disappearing during a battle with the Word Bearers. Until she returns the Knights Eternal Chapter is lead by a Regency Council made of various Knight-Captains.
Those that betrayed the Emperor by siding with First Captain Gawain became known as the Forsaken to the Knights and the Imperium at large. Many of the traitors split off and joined with Abaddon's Black Legion. Those that remained loyal to Gawain call themselves the True Sons. Gawain, now a full fledged Champion of Chaos, is determined to prove that he was right. That somehow he could show Mordred and the rest of the Eternal Knights that they were wrong, that his path is the only path to destroying the Necrons.
Gonna do another, with a mix of rolls and fiat choices. Five mutations.
Homeworld: 34 - Deathworld
Homeworld Terrain: 80 - Urban
Mutations (5): (98 +45 +85 +39 +96) - Other (Can reproduce), Pariah, Bestial Appearance (Has the claws and ears of the Graetz, a felinoid ultrapredator that wanders around this world), Grand Psyker, Other (Navigator. But without the whole 'turning into a grotesque frog monster' thing)
Parents: 24 - Abandoned
Method of Conquest: 9 - Technological Uplifting
Contact With Emperor: Fiat: Never met the man. Landed in the eastern fringes.
Personality: (15 +3 +3) - Charismatic and 2x Underhanded
Relationship with Legion (Altered: No legion was ever created for them, they're a warp-spawned extra primarch. This instead reflects the dynasty they founded): 1 - Fanatic
Legion Tactics (2, 1 fiat 1 rolled):10 - Terror + Psychic Warfare
Universe: All 20 original primarchs. (Chosen according to the table's rules) - As stated earlier, this primarch is the 21st or 22nd, depending on whether you consider omegon to just be another 20th primarch. They were unanticipated and no legion was created for them by the emperor.
Primarch Friends and Rivals: Fiat - Never met any of these people
Loyalty: Literally impossible to not be renegade, given that he never rejoined the imperium.
Boon: 10 - Large Recruiting Pool. Turns out breeding your superhumans instead gets you a lot more, though you've gotta avoid diluting the divine blood too much.
Fate: 13 - Forged an empire beyond imperial space, which they rule to this day.
Primarch Name: Idirrikad (One Rejected, One Father)
Dynasty Name: Idirrvoslad (One Rejected, Thousand Born)
Empire Name: Voskaribad (Thousand Stars, One Rule)
Coat of Arms: A planet connected by towers to eight stars.
Motto: A tower to pierce the Soul-Star!
Idirrikad was once merely Idirr, in his early days within the dead hive which had been named Grand Redoubt by the settlers of the planet once known as the Hiveworld of Amiroi. A foundling child within the underhive of a place where even the upper spire is akin to an underhive, mutated with three eyes and the features of a hated and feared predator...of course he would be abandoned. That he should then have survived, become socialized and technologically learned, brought the dead hive back to life, and united the world through charismatic trickery and the strength of arms of his own children is the true surprise. That he and his brood then used their superhuman intellect and keen perception of a spiritworld which was, ironically, blind to them to discover and conquer a great many stars is merely a baffling cherry atop the pile of errors that is his life.
When Idirr first tricked his way into the beds of his native world's women and became Idirrikad, the resultant children (of both sexes, though 3/4 were born male, a pattern which does not disappear from his line until his superhuman blood ceases to express itself) were akin to the Custodes of the imperium in physical perfection, and to alpha level psykers in raw prowess. Their children with mortals, then, were roughly equivalent to the yet-nonexistent primaris space marines, and to beta psykers. One generation further, standard space marines and gamma psykers. A step further, somewhat posthuman and Delta Psykers. Past that, a sharp decline to base mortality. As a compromise between maintaining the power of his offspring and avoiding outright inbreeding, Idirrikad dictated that the daughters of his line may not lay with those outside of it, but should not lay with any more closely related than a second cousin. This has allowed the ranks of those resembling the third, astartes like generation to swell greatly, even as their lesser kin continued to be spawned by the dalliances of the men.
In the 41st millenia, the number of Idirrvoslad with third-generation characteristics numbers over a million. Voskaribad seeks to 'connect' all stars to the hives of their homeworld through surreptitious conquest, as they have done over a thousand times already. The greatest prize they covet is the Soul-Star, a great shining light Idirrikad alone has seen through his warp eye. He knows not that the light is cast by a father who never sired him, in an Imperium that never knew him.
Homeworld - Death World
Terrain - Wasteland (72)
Mutations - None (11)
Adopted Parents - Village Raised (27)
How Did The Conquer Their Homeworld - Violently
Contact With The Emperor - Friendly (5)
Personality:
Compassionate
Stubborn
Blood Lust
Relationship With Legion - Loyal (2)
Legion Tactics - Lightning Strike (5)
Universe - Canon (1)
Best Brother - Magnus The Red
Not Brother - Angron
Loyalty - Renegade (10)
Boon - Powerful Flagship (20)
Fate - Forged an Empire where they rule to this day. (12)
"I'll be the blade which pierces the veil between Heaven and Earth!" -Primarch Sol Gurren of the Ground Breakers Legion
=][= Early History =][=
The early history of Sol Gurren is a simple one, yet a brutal tale. Before he was Sol Gurren, he was the Eleventh Primarch being thrown through the Warp to wherever the winds of fate would take him. His pod crashed onto a wasted world where titanic predators dwelled on the surface, with the only humans living in cavernous cities. By fate he landed directly in the center of one of these cities, being named 'Sol Gurren' by the city elders.
During his early years, Sol had grown up with a passionate outlook on life, even if his hot-blooded personality put people off. He also had one memory, a vision of the moons above him as he was taken from the pod that had served as his temporary home. Sol used this vision to fuel his ambitions, and soon he decided to pierce the rocky shield that had protected the city for so long. Historians on his homeworld wrote down what he said, and it has been a curiosity to this day.
"I don't fear what lies above, I only seek to witness it with my own eyes."
=][= First Enemy =][=
His first enemy upon the surface was none other than the titanic Rock Lizard, which he slayed with a single punch to the skull. With his strength and ingenuity, Sol led a brutal campaign against the monsters that dwelled on the surface. Many people who knew him said he was bombastic, yet cared for everyone despite his brutality against his enemies.
Years after his conquest of the surface, Sol spent every day trying to make the world better. Despite his failures, he was met with great success in some areas. He managed to make the environment safer for humans, and was able to cut the monster population down to a more manageable level.
In fact, there still stands a statue of him within the planet's capitol building.
=][= Imperial Contact =][=
One night while Sol was staring at the stars, he noticed a ship coming forth and landing somewhere nearby. Curious, he followed this strange ship before finding a group of golden clad warriors following a golden titan. Sol welcomed this giant with open yet cautious arms, sharing a drink with him as they debated the stars and what they mean.
The Golden Titan said that they were humanity's birthright, that it was their right to claim the stars. While Sol retorted that the stars represent a goal, a goal that all can strive for no matter who the serve or what they fight for. Despite their disagreements, Sol and the Titan became close before the reveal that the Titan was his father.
=][= The Ground Breakers Legion =][=
After finding out the Golden Titan was his father, Sol Gurren finally ascended past the veil that had kept him on his homeworld, now named 'Hearth'.
Homeworld - Death World
Terrain - Wasteland (72)
Mutations - None (11)
Adopted Parents - Village Raised (27)
How Did The Conquer Their Homeworld - Violently
Contact With The Emperor - Friendly (5)
Personality:
Compassionate
Stubborn
Blood Lust
Relationship With Legion - Loyal (2)
Legion Tactics - Lightning Strike (5)
Universe - Canon (1)
Best Brother - Magnus The Red
Not Brother - Angron
Loyalty - Renegade (10)
Boon - Powerful Flagship (20)
Fate - Forged an Empire where they rule to this day. (12)
"I'll be the blade which pierces the veil between Heaven and Earth!" -Primarch Sol Gurren of the Ground Breakers Legion
=][= Early History =][=
The early history of Sol Gurren is a simple one, yet a brutal tale. Before he was Sol Gurren, he was the Eleventh Primarch being thrown through the Warp to wherever the winds of fate would take him. His pod crashed onto a wasted world where titanic predators dwelled on the surface, with the only humans living in cavernous cities. By fate he landed directly in the center of one of these cities, being named 'Sol Gurren' by the city elders.
During his early years, Sol had grown up with a passionate outlook on life, even if his hot-blooded personality put people off. He also had one memory, a vision of the moons above him as he was taken from the pod that had served as his temporary home. Sol used this vision to fuel his ambitions, and soon he decided to pierce the rocky shield that had protected the city for so long. Historians on his homeworld wrote down what he said, and it has been a curiosity to this day.
"I don't fear what lies above, I only seek to witness it with my own eyes."
=][= First Enemy =][=
His first enemy upon the surface was none other than the titanic Rock Lizard, which he slayed with a single punch to the skull. With his strength and ingenuity, Sol led a brutal campaign against the monsters that dwelled on the surface. Many people who knew him said he was bombastic, yet cared for everyone despite his brutality against his enemies.
Years after his conquest of the surface, Sol spent every day trying to make the world better. Despite his failures, he was met with great success in some areas. He managed to make the environment safer for humans, and was able to cut the monster population down to a more manageable level.
In fact, there still stands a statue of him within the planet's capitol building.
=][= Imperial Contact =][=
One night while Sol was staring at the stars, he noticed a ship coming forth and landing somewhere nearby. Curious, he followed this strange ship before finding a group of golden clad warriors following a golden titan. Sol welcomed this giant with open yet cautious arms, sharing a drink with him as they debated the stars and what they mean.
The Golden Titan said that they were humanity's birthright, that it was their right to claim the stars. While Sol retorted that the stars represent a goal, a goal that all can strive for no matter who the serve or what they fight for. Despite their disagreements, Sol and the Titan became close before the reveal that the Titan was his father.
=][= The Ground Breakers Legion =][=
After finding out the Golden Titan was his father, Sol Gurren finally ascended past the veil that had kept him on his homeworld, now named 'Hearth'.
The Gurren Lagann reference is pretty fun.
Also, given the long section of discourse about what the stars are, I find the idea of him and Idirrikad meeting (given the symbolism of Idirrikad's nation and their joint renegade nature.) in one universe interesting.
The Gurren Lagann reference is pretty fun.
Also, given the long section of discourse about what the stars are, I find the idea of him and Idirrikad meeting (given the symbolism of Idirrikad's nation and their joint renegade nature.) in one universe interesting.
Homeworld: Xenos World (72)
Terrain: Jungle (22)
Mutation: Pariah (45)
Parents: Scientists (8)
Conquest of Homeworld: Fought off unknown creatures that nearly destroyed his Homeworld, the only time the Primarch has been afraid (11)
Contact with Emperor: Agressive (10)
Personality: Paranoid (8), Nihilistic (4), Perfectionist (19)
Legion Relationship: Emperor Above All (4)
Legion Tactics: Lightning Strike (5)
Universe: Divergent (Roboutian Heresy) (7)
Friend: Roll Twice (100): Corvus Corax (93) and Vulkan (86)
Rival: Lorgar Aurelian (84)
Loyalty: Loyalist (1)
Boon: Modified Weapons (15)
Fate: Died During the First Black Crusade, But not before crippling the Traitor's efforts severely (13)
I am very curious as to how he stayed loyal considering everything else I rolled, especially considering who he is friends with. Hopefully this should breath some life back into this thread.
@plotvitalnpc Just looked back on this thread and realized how long its been. Would it be cool if I were to write the meeting between the two primarchs in the next few days and if so how would you like it done?
@plotvitalnpc Just looked back on this thread and realized how long its been. Would it be cool if I were to write the meeting between the two primarchs in the next few days and if so how would you like it done?
The Fateless Empire (so named for the fact that the lack of any visible warp presence (despite their unifying psykery) on the part of the Vestal Knights and Empress Laesa the Unseen makes anything one learns by scrying the area near them mostly useless for predicting the future) and the Republic would make interesting forces for one galaxy.
Yeah, it's cool with me if you write that.
I think Quiten and Laesa would get along, given that they're both psykers and essentially good people - up to you if you want it to be their first meeting, when they're both part of Imperial forces, or them meeting up again after their nations are both founded (That might be a bit odd, though, if the segmentum halo is the segmentum pacificus, since the fateless empire is in the furthest part of the segmentum obscurus), or what.
Though I'm left wondering what the dynamic of 'Quiten's legion hates him, Laesa's legion is unconditionally loyal to her' would be.
