PART 10

THE ISTVAAN SYSTEM

Despite the volume of material now available on the virus bombing of Istvaan III and dropsite massacres of Istvaan V, nobody has ever asked why two entire Legions were sent to restore Compliance in the Istvaan System, and then why the Legions of the reprisal force would even deploy on the surface of Istvaan V at all. According to the claims concerning the Astartes, one Legion should have been more than enough to deal with the rebels at large in the Istvaan System.

The reasoning was, initially, that the Warmaster sent two Legions to make an example. It was an overwhelming force to deliver a message of shock and awe, a warning to every other world that was part of the Imperium about the fate of traitors. We know now that the real motive was to purge the loyalists from the ranks of the Legions involved – the Emperor’s Children and Death Guard, as well as the World Eaters and Sons of Horus. But what followed made no sense.

A heat of a million stars wreathed their primarch, and no matter that he was one of twenty towering pinnacles of gene-wrought superhuman warriors, even he could not survive such an attack. The Horus Heresy, volume XII, A Thousand Sons, p144

Istvaan V was a dead world of ancient ruins that, from all accounts, were xenos in origin. While the civilisation on the worlds of Istvaan seemed to have been built on the ruins – and heavily influenced by – the Eldar, this did not appear to be the source of the ruins on Istvaan V. In fact, the descriptions sound disturbingly similar to those of Necronty sites. The history of the Eldar speaks of conflict between their own culture and the Necrons before their empire collapsed and the Emperor sought to fill the void with his own empire, so this makes sense.

Vengeful Spirit, 2014, by Graham McNeill

But Istvaan V was a barren, inhospitable wasteland, and the fortress there little more than ruins. The ruins were so decrepit that Horus had to order Fulgrim to oversee the Dark Mechanicum’s efforts to augment them, but – by that stage – Fulgrim’s faculties and abilities were no longer reliable. But it made no sense for the traitor’s to choose this site for their stand, of the loyalists to prepare for a ground war when they had more than enough firepower to destroy an entire planet from orbit, and that was an attack not even a Primarch could survive.

Nothing living had survived the brutal bombardment outside the shimmering dome. Those inhabitants of Forty-seven Sixteen that had been exposed to the full brunt of the barrage had been obliterated, flesh, muscle and bone instantly consumed in roaring flames, leaving only circles of ash where they had stood as evidence to their ever having existed at all.  The Horus Heresy, volume X, Tales of Heresy, p168

Unless there was something on the surface that had to be reclaimed, and the traitors were protected by a shield of some kind that protected them from orbital bombardment or any other attack from those outside. The brutal and cowardly genocide of the population of Forty-seven Sixteen conducted by the Word Bearers, in what they claimed was justified under the terms of Compliance, may provide part of the answer. It seems likely the Dark Mechanicum forces serving Lorgar and the Warmaster may have repurposed the shield technology captured on Forty-seven Sixteen to protect the fortress on Istvaan V. 

Assuming the was the case, there was still no reason the reprisal force could not have simply blasted the planet apart, Konrad Curze and his renegade Night Lords were able to do so with the few vessels they had when they exploited a weakness in the crust of their home world, Nostramo. The vessels of the elements of seven Legions sent to Istvaan V to eradicate the traitors were more than capable of destroying the planet, yet legionnaires were deployed on the surface, in the Urgall Depression, a massive crater that became a kill zone.

Again, it makes no sense unless they were ordered to reclaim something in addition to destroying the traitors, and even less if they were supposed to fight their way through shield technology like that found on Forty-seven Sixteen. There is mention of caves in some of the official records detailing the Urgall Depression, and that the surrounding hills were open areas with little cover, so it would make sense the loyalists deployed in the crater near the fortress if these caves provided access to the fortress.

Thousands were dying every minute, the slaughter terrible to behold. Blood ran in rivers down the slopes of the Urgall Depression, carving thick, sticky runnels in the dark sand. Such destruction had never yet been concentrated in such a horrifically confined space, enough martial power to conquer an entire planetary system having been unleashed in a line less than twenty kilometres wide.  The Horus Heresy, volume V, Fulgrim, p466

The very idea that any Primarch would be stupid enough to send their troops into a relatively narrow gully under heavy fire with little, if any, hope of breaching enemy defences is ludicrous. There had to be something more to the incident. Indeed, according to the official account in Fulgrim, the death toll would have meant the actual fighting would have been over inside just six minutes. 

Its creators had selfishly sought to keep it for themselves, little realising their time as masters of the galaxy was over. Even with their empire in decline, they kept their secret jealousy close to their hearts. Magnus sensed one of their hidden pathways nearby and opened his inner eye, seeing the glittering fabric of the Great Ocean in all its revealed glory. The hidden capillaries of the alien network were visible as radient lines of molten gold, and Magnus angled his course towards the nearest.   The Horus Heresy, volume XII, A Thousand Sons, p438

According to the account in Fulgrim, the six Primarchs involved in the actual fighting in the Urgall Depression were killing scores of legionnaires with each blow while the Titans killed scores with every shot. Between them, the Primarchs and Titans were killing thousands every minute on their own, and that doesn’t even take into account the tallies of the sixty-thousand legionnaires fighting in the conflict during the first wave, or the other fighting machines that were involved.

If the efforts of their sixty-thousand legionnaires and other fighting machines matched or doubled that of the Primarchs and Titans, then approximately ten-thousand legionnaires were being killed every minute. The whole first wave conflict would have accounted for all of the fighting forces involved in six minutes. It is hard enough to reconcile the absolute stupidity of the tactics involved without having to deal with the extreme exaggerations of the author. The record is unreliable, and suggests such poetic licence as to appear a complete fabrication.

He pushes the knife harder, deepens the cut. He makes the slit vertical, the height of a man. He makes a slit in the air, so that reality parts. The daemon sounds come closer.  Oll draws back the edge of the cut like a curtain. They gasp as they see what’s on the other side. It isn’t here. It isn’t Calth. It isn’t broken, pitch-black beach.  The Horus Heresy, volume XIX, Know No Fear, p408

Worse, Deliverance claims the Raven Guard survivors on Istvaan V managed to evade the traitors who sought to destroy them for ninety-eight days. The extreme carnage and then ineptitude combined with so many glaring contradictions is unforgivable and evokes feelings of complicity and obfuscation. The official accounts of what happened on Istvaan V are only based on the incidents that occurred rather than the absolute facts.

The Emperor returned to Terra to fight a war to claim the Eldar Webway using an access portal located deep within the dungeons of the Imperial Palace. There are believed to be access points to this network all over the galaxy, although many were infiltrated and corrupted by the entities of the warp when Magnus tried to deliver a warning to the Emperor that Horus planned to betray the Imperium. Given the Eldar may have once inhabited the Istvaan System, and could have created the Webway using Necrontyr teleportation technology, there seems to be a very good chance that there was a Webway access on Istvaan V.

If there was an access to the Webway on Istvaan V, then Horus and his traitors could travel to any other world with another access point, including Terra. The traitors could travel to worlds like Calth, for example, within a few days rather than relying upon warp-capable ships that would arrive years after leaving Istvaan. This could explain how Lorgar and other Word Bearers could have participated in the Istvaan V incident and then arrived at Calth so quickly rather than arriving years after the Istvaan V dropsite massacres.

Whether Istvaan was located close to Terra or was Isstvaan in the northern fringes, a journey through the warp to Calth in the eastern fringes would mean the travel arrived years after they left in real time. Access to Necrontyr teleportation technology or the Webway would allow movement around the galaxy in far less time. If theory is accurate, the portal on Istvaan V may have been large enough to accommodate even the largest traitor vessels, because there is no way they could have travelled across the galaxy so quickly through the warp.

Far beneath the birthrock of the race that currently bestrode the galaxy as its would be masters, a pulsing chamber throbbed with activity. Hundreds of meters high and many more hundreds wide, it hummed with machinery and reeked of blistering ozone. Once it had served as the Imperial Dungeon, but that purpose had long been subverted to another. Great machines of incredible potency and complexity were spread throughout the chamber, vast stockpiles and uniquely fabricated items that would defy the understanding of even the most gifted adept of the Mech-anicum. It had the feel of a laboratory belonging to the most brilliant scientist the world had ever seen. It had the look of great things, of potential yet untapped, and of dreams on the verge of being dragged into reality. Mighty golden doors, like the entrance to the most magnificent fortress, filled one end of the chamber. Great carvings were worked into the mechanised doors: entwined siblings, dreadful sagittary, a rearing lion, the scales of justice and many more.   The Horus Heresy, volume XII, A Thousand Sons, p439-40

There is also another possibility. The traitor vessels that appeared in an engagement on one edge of the galaxy may not have been the same ones as those on the other edge of the galaxy. They may simply have had the same names in order to sow confusion while individuals that served aboard them journeyed through the Webway or by means of Necrontyr teleportation technology.

The men of Tzenvar Kaul approach, carrying other offerings from the Istvaan system. In procession, they bear along portable stasis flasks like censers in some Catheric worship. The fluid in the stasis flasks is murky with blood.  Harvested progenitor glands. Harvested gene-seed. The lost life of betrayed souls now offered for the final blasphemy.  There is Salamanders gene-seed here, Iron Hands, Raven Guard. Erebus knows that the Ruinous Powers make no distinctions, so there is other gene-seed here besides: Emperor’s Children, Death Guard, Night Lords, Iron Warriors, Word Bearers, Alpha Legion, even Lunar Wolf. Any that fell during the secret abominations of Istvaan III or V are suitable. The Horus Heresy, volume XIX, Know No Fear, pp99-100

One of the key examples used as evidence to claim the Calth incident occurred after the Istvaan V dropsite massacres is the ritual enacted by Erebus. While communication between distant worlds was disrupted by the warp storms that began as the Horus Heresy took hold, the traitor fleets were not afflicted by the isolation that prevented loyalist forces from moving out of the Systems where they had been ordered to muster by Horus.

The manipulation behind the Warmaster’s orders, combined with the warp storms, provides an explanation as to why the Ultramarines were unaware of traitor activities in the Istvaan System, but these factors could not be relied upon to maintain the ignorance of the loyalists. The betrayal would, therefore, have to occur close to the timing of the treachery in the Istvaan System.

It is also an assumption to believe the ‘secret abominations of Istvaan III or V’ referred to the purge during the virus bombing and dropsite massacres. It is entirely possible that the Word Bearers had been conducting vile rituals on those worlds in the years leading up to those acts of treachery, and the gene-seed was collected from loyalist legionnaires that had been abducted or otherwise betrayed long before the full-scale purge. The use of the word ‘abominations’ also hints at a connection to what occurred during the Contagion of Ganymede and the fate of the unrecorded Legions, both of which include references using the word ‘abominations’.

In the dusty Terran legends that survived from the histories of nation states like Merica, Old Ursh and Oceania there was a myth of a walker in the darkness who came to claim the freshly dead, a skeletal individual, an incarnation that threshed souls from flesh as keenly as wheat in the fields. They were just stories though, the speculations of the superstitious and fearful, and yet, here and now, a billion light-years from the birthplace of that folklore, the very mirror of that figure rose into the half-light aboard Endurance, tall and gaunt beneath a cloak as grey as sea-ice.  The Horus Heresy, volume IV, The Flight of the Eisenstein, p29

Evidence that the Legions sometimes encountered anomalies or artefacts that transported them great distances in far less time than they would expend in the warp does sometimes appear. There is a curious entry recorded in The Flight of The Eisenstein that claims elements of the XIV ‘Death Guard’ Legion were located ‘a billion light years’ from Terra – an amazing feat given the galaxy was only one-hundred-and-twenty thousand light years from edge to edge. And then there is the ability of Tuchulcha as detailed in The Primarchs – a device that can relocate objects of almost any size, instantaneously, within the galaxy.

“We are adjoined to the place you call Perditus, Lion.” The Primarch turned to Iaxis, brow furrowed. “Adjoined? We are in the warp. How is this possible? We were far too close to the world, to the star, for a translation.” “Tuchulcha does not have to worry about that sort of thing, Lion,” the tech-priest said with a toothless grin, “it is able to burrow directly from real space to warp space, without any backlash of graviometric displacement.” The Horus Heresy, volume XX, The Primarchs, p311

PART 9

PART 11

PART 9

THE DISBANDED

Although the two unrecorded Primarchs and their Legions were no longer around at the time the Emperor found Corax, elements of their Legions appear to have continued their service to the Imperium. Rumours about these legionnaires appear in some official accounts and appear to suggest at least some were reassigned to serve within the XIII ‘Ultramarines’ Legion, but there is also another very interesting possibility.

Legion of One, 2011, by James Swallow

There was a curious incidence in the Lunar Wolves Legion of Astartes bearing a facial resemblance to their Primarch. This had been put down to conformities in the gene-seed, but still, those who echoed Horus in their features were considered especially lucky, and were known by all the men as ‘the Sons of Horus’. It was a mark of honour, and it often seemed the case that ‘Sons’ rose faster and found better favour that the rest. Certainly, Loken knew for a fact, all the previous members of the Mournival had been ‘Sons of Horus’. In this respect, he was unique. Loken owed his looks to an inheritance of the pale, craggy bloodline of Cthonia.  He was the first non-‘Son’ to be elected to this elite inner circle. The Horus Heresy, volume I, Horus Rising, pp77-8

When the Emperor recovered Horus, he located the Primarch on Cthonia, a subterranean hive world with young men who proved to be ideal candidates for recruitment into the ranks of the Legions, and not only the ranks of the Lunar Wolves. Cthonian recruits, like Terrans, were assigned to several Legions, Torghun Khan of the White Scars – originally Haren Svensellen - was a good example. But those bearing the gene-seed of Horus often took on the facial resemblance of their Primarch. Those who did were known as ‘the sons of Horus’.

“You will make the transfer to Lunar in two weeks. Onward transport will be arranged there. You will complete your remaining programme with your new Legion. They have been given a full record of your progress with us. You will be welcomed. Our stock is highly prized.” The Horus Heresy, volume XXVIII, Scars, page 34

Gavriel Loken, however, was one of those who did not. He was a Cthonian, but references to him always seem to suggest something at odds to the usual Sons of Horus mindset. There is a very real possibility that Loken was not originally a member of the Lunar Wolves Legion, but one of the disbanded loyalists of the two disbanded Legions. Given the edict concerning discussions on the topic, there is no evidence to support this theory, but it is also possible reassigned legionnaires would not know – they may have been mind-wiped or subjected to the process of hypno-indoctrination to alter their memories.

Those who dispute this cite False Gods, where Loken reminisces of his time with the Lunar Wolves on Davin around 940M30. If he had been part of unrecorded Legion A, then he would have been under the command of his own Primarch from around 830M30. However, if he was part of unrecorded Legion B, then there is a window of at least six years before that Primarch was reunited with the Emperor. Many of the Legions served under the Emperor and Horus until they were placed under the command of their own Primarch.

It had been six decades since Loken had set foot on Davin, though back then it had been known as Sixty-Three Eight, being the eighth world brought into compliance by the 63rd Expeditionary force. The Horus Heresy, volume II, False Gods, p36

It is also possible that only a select few in the command and medicae ranks knew of the reassignment to ensure there was no cross contamination of gene-seed. This could also explain why Loken was more resistant to lodge activities and was sent to the surface of Istvaan III to be purged. As a loyalist from one of the two unrecorded Legions, his distrust of anything even hinting at a violation of the Emperor’s orders, and loyalty to the Emperor, could never be in doubt.  

“The eleventh primarch sleeps within this pod – still innocent, still pure. I ache to end this now,” he confessed. Malnor chuckled from behind the Chaplain. “It would save us all a lot of effort, wouldn’t it?” And it would spare Aurelian from heartbreak.” Xaphen traced his fingertips over the designating numeral. “I remember the devastation that wracked him after losing his second and eleventh brothers.” Argel Tal still hadn’t left Guilliman’s pod. “We do not know for certain if our actions here would change the future.” “Are some chances not worth the taking?” asked the Chaplain. “Some are. This one is not.” “But the Eleventh Legion - ” “Is expunged from Imperial records for good reason. As is the Second. I’m not saying I don’t feel temptation creeping over me, brother. A single sword thrust piercing that pod, and we’d unwrite a shameful future.” Dagotal cleared his throat. “And deny the Ultramarines a significant boost in recruitment numbers.” Xaphen regarded him with emotionless eyes, seeming to weigh the merit of such a thing. “What?” Dagotal asked the others. “You were thinking it too. It’s no secret.” “Those are just rumours,” Torgal grunted. The assault sergeant didn’t sound particularly certain. “Perhaps, perhaps not. The Thirteenth definitely swelled to eclipse all the other Legions around the time the Second and Eleventh were “forgotten” by Imperial archives.” The Horus Heresy, volume XIV, The First Heretic, pp295-6

The references in official records that indicate two Legions had been completely destroyed during the Istvaan V dropsite massacres could be explained by the last of the disbanded and reassigned legionnaires being killed in the conflict. While Loken was later found alive, if somewhat bereft of his senses for a time, for all intents and purposes the two Legions were effectively destroyed. There is also circumstantial evidence to explain how the disbanded legionnaires could have participated in this incident.

“The Emperor may not stand beside us, but he has given us the means to fight this war and win it. Horus has three of his brother legions with him, you have your Fists and thirteen others.” “Would that it were fifteen,” mused Dorn. “Do not even think it, my friend, they are lost to us forever.” The Horus Heresy, volume IX, Mechanicum, page 329

Captain Cestus of the Ultramarines appears to have spent time with the VIII Legion, and it is assumed that this would have been during the period following the desertion of their Primarch and other renegade elements of the Night Lords. It is plausible to assume Dorn requested, or the Emperor ordered, the disbanded and reassigned legionnaires of the unrecorded Legions be reassigned to the Night Lords during their period of investigation and retraining, suggesting a new approach to dealing with the Legions of treacherous Primarchs.

If the loyalist elements of the restructured Night Lords were part of the first wave, rather than the Raven Guard, then they would have been wiped out during the dropsite massacres, just like the veteran elements of the Iron Hands that deployed on the surface. With the last of the disbanded and reassigned loyalists of the unrecorded Legions lying dead on the black sands of Istvaan V, two Legions had – indeed – been completely wiped out but for whatever gene-seed the five first wave loyalist survivors managed to carry with them when they escaped.

If there was ever going to be another founding of the two unrecorded Legions, it could only have been with the gene-seed recovered by those survivors. The disbanded and reassigned loyalists of those Legions were dead and could play no further role in the Horus Heresy, with the exception of one legionnaire. Assuming Gavriel Loken was one of the disbanded and reassigned members of one of those Legions, he was the last survivor, his demise revealed as false thanks to the efforts of the former Death Guard Captain Garro.

Loken himself seems to have predicted the future in False Gods. The responses of those he spoke with could be interpreted in a number of ways. The other members of the Mournival may have been genuine confused by the very idea of Astartes fighting one another. Alternatively, they may have been unsure as to whether Loken was remembering something he should have forgotten. The notion that his suggestion was unthinkable could indicate that none of them remembered this ever occurring, or that the Emperor’s response the last time it happened – and subsequent edicts on the matter – made this (as far as they were concerned) an impossibility.

“Come on, Gavri,” said Torgaddon. “You’re worrying about nothing.” “Am I? What do we do if it happens again?” The other members of the Mournival looked at one another in puzzlement. “If what happens again?” asked Aximand finally. “What if another world rebels in our wake, and another and another after that? This is Army, but what happens if Astartes rebel? Would we still take the fight to them?” The three of them laughed after that, but Torgaddon answered. “You have a fine sense of humour, my brother. You know that could never happen. It’s unthinkable.” “And unseemly,” said Aximand, his face solemn. “What you suggest might be considered treason.”  The Horus Heresy, volume II, False Gods, p91

Possibly one of the most astonishing revelations to come from the early stages of the Horus Heresy concerns the visions experienced by Horus and Argel Tal regarding the creation and scattering of the Primarchs. Clearly, nothing they were shown could be trusted because warp entities are notorious for using deceit and manipulation to get what they want. The evidence to support this can be observed in the contradictions in the two accounts, the subtle differences that also reveal something many have overlooked.

According to the account in False Gods, Horus saw what is assumed to be himself as an infant in the first of the incubation tanks. But the Lion would have been the infant Primarch within the first tank. According to his vision the tanks lay in rows of ten on either side of a raised central walkway that ran the length of the chamber. If these were numbered one-to-ten on one side, and eleven-to-twenty the other, or even numbers one side and odd the other, then the first tank on either side at either end could only have ever been I, II, X, XI, XIX, or XX.

There is no configuration of any logical sense that would have involved XVI being the first tank on either side at either end. This problem was avoided by another contradiction in the account concerning the Word Bearers when they had a similar vision. In that version, all the incubation pods were arranged in a circle around a central column ringed by a raised walkway, at odds with what Horus had been shown. Perhaps these visions had been created from the memories, or what the subjects had been told about the creation of the Primarchs, but it seems odd Horus would remember being in an incubation pod designated I, II, X, XI, XIX, or XX.

Horus leaned forward and wiped his gauntlet across the fogged glass of the first tank’s hatch. He squinted against the brightness, straining to see what lay within. The light was blinding, a motion blurred shape within twisting like dark smoke in the wind. Something saw him. Something moved closer. “What do you mean?” asked Horus, fascinated by the strange, formless being that swam through the light of the tank. Its motion slowed, and it became a silhouette as it moved closer to the glass, its form settling into something more solid. The tank hummed with power, as though the metal was barely able to contain the energy generated by the creature contained within it. “These are the Emperor’s most secret geno-vaults beneath the Himalayan peaks,” said Sejanus. “This is where you were created.” Horus wasn’t listening. He was staring through the glass in amazement at a pair of liquid eyes that were the mirror of his own. The Horus Heresy, volume II, False Gods, pp277-8

There is one very real potential answer. Horus was the II Primarch, and the two unrecorded Primarchs were, in reality, the XI and XVI. Horus was the first Primarch reunited with the Emperor. He is often referred to as the first Primarch, and sometimes that word uses a capital, as in First. Rivalry between the Primarchs was supposed to encourage them to strive to outperform one another, but too often led to petty jealousies and tension.

The Word Bearers moved along the rows of tables, their course taking them to the central platform standing above the laboratory. A column of black and silver machinery stood upon the decking there, ringed by a wide walkway. Argel Tal climbed the stairs first, his boots echoing on the metal, going unheard by the dozens of technicians nearby. Several passed him, paying no head to anything beyond the digital streams on their frost-bitten data-slates and sine-wave readings on their handheld auspex readers. Argel Tal walked across the platform, around the amniotic pods coupled to the main column – bound there by dense messes of wires, chains, cables and industrial clamps. The generators built into the column of metal made the same angry thrum as Astartes back-mounted power packs, and that detail bought a smile to the captain’s face. The Horus Heresy, volume XIV, The First Heretic, pp293-4

Horus was referred to as the first Primarch, but only due to being reunited with the Emperor before any of his brothers, and then spent thirty years with the Emperor before the next Primarch was found, Leman Russ. Until this time, Horus was the only Primarch, and favoured by the Emperor. He learned more than any others on what he would need to become the Emperor’s heir. But until the discovery of Lion El’Jonson, the position of first Primarch was used in reference to the order of those reunited with the Emperor. 

This would mean – despite the official timeline for the reunification of the Primarchs – that Horus was the first Primarch for around the first 150 years of the Great Crusade. The Lion was reunited with the Emperor around the year 849M30, although the official timeline claims he was recovered a century earlier. Evidence to support the later date can be found in references to Master Remiel in Fallen Angels. Remiel was responsible for training young Knights before the Emperor and Lion El’Jonson were reunited, but left the Legion to ride the Errant Road at the age of one-hundred-and-twelve. Remiel birth, therefore, was in the year 888M30.

These nine are known to the Imperium as the Traitor Legions. Of Legions numbered 2 and 11 nothing is recorded, but it seems likely these also fought for Horus at least during the beginning of the Heresy.  The history of the Dark Angels during the Heresy is unknown. The Dark Angels do not appear in any battle accounts of the loyal forces. In all, and discounting the role of the Dark Angels, there were therefore between nine and eleven Traitor Legions accounting for more than half of the entire Space Marine force. These were amongst the largest and most battle-hardened armies of the Imperium. Codex: Ultramarines, 1993, p7

To make matters worse, the Lion had not had the same upbringing as Horus. He did not have the training to be the Emperor’s heir. And he had no interest in taking up the role. But still, Horus was jealous of his older brother. Lion El’Jonson was the First Primarch, and no matter what he did, Horus was not. In everything he did, Horus sought to outshine his brothers, to be seen as the greatest, the first among them. The demise of the unrecorded Primarchs provided another opportunity to demonstrate this, and his disregard for his designation.

“Our training cadre has worked diligently for the last half-century, refining our recruiting and training procedures to meet the challenges the Emperor has set for us.”  The Horus Heresy, volume XI, Fallen Angels, p50

While there are no surviving documents about the two unrecorded Primarchs and their Legions, or their fate, it appears they were branded traitors for whatever they ultimately did to end their relationship with the Emperor. But Horus, it seems, may not have been the XVI Primarch after all, but the II. With the reassignment of the loyalists of the unrecorded Legions, Horus may have done what he did best.

“They should be torn down,” said Sigismund. “All of the traitors. They should not stand beside those who keep their oaths.”   The Horus Heresy, volume XXII, Shadows of Treachery, p63

The Lunar Wolves and Ultramarines were foremost amongst the Legions regarding training and ability, excelling in all fields rather than specialising in a particular form of war at the expense of other concerns. The disbanded loyalists appear to have been reassigned to Horus and Guilliman, a situation that presented the image that they were equals, and one Horus would have found unacceptable even as Guilliman had no interest in competing for praise or favour.

Horus was a master of psychology, among other things. It seems likely Horus used this ability to win admiration by appearing to humble himself for the benefit of others. The events that led to the disbanding of the unrecorded Legions would have left the reassigned loyalists low on moral, stripped of their honour, and probably a great deal of ill-feeling between them and their cousins who had probably fought them during whatever conflicts had occurred in the events as they unfolded.

“I think he is Warmaster,” Loken said.  His tone was stone hard. “I think he is master of the Lunar Wolves and chosen proxy of the Emperor, praise be his name, in all our undertakings. He is the first and foremost of all primarchs. And I think I take offence when a mortal voices his name without respect of title.”  The Horus Heresy, volume I, Horus Rising, p44

Guilliman and his Ultramarines would have simply taken it in his stride, their dedication to duty even making them oblivious to political necessities concerning tact and humility. Not Horus. He saw opportunity everywhere. It seems likely he asked the Emperor a favour, to redesignate his own Legion the XIV to not only restore lost honour to the reassigned legionnaires, but so that his Legion included the numeral of every other Legion as a symbol of their efforts to help make his own Legion what they were, a demonstration of unity, and in memory of the time all the other Legions had served with the Lunar Wolves until united with their own Primarchs.

This would have earned him the admiration of his brothers, reinforced the fact that he was the first, and shown that he did not care that he was the second Primarch, and that his rank in the order didn’t concern him. It could have also helped reduce the concerns of those in the Imperial Army concerning the authority and behaviour of the Astartes. The truth about his feelings and motives on the matter may have been very different, but if this theory is accurate, then the unrecorded Primarchs were actually the XI and XVI.

Chayne shrugged. “I have not trusted the Astartes Alpha Legion from the start, sir. They do not practice the codes of nobility and honor shown by the other Legion Astartes. I believe their operation and conduct should be reported to the Council of Terra, pending censure and dissolution. It wouldn’t be the first time a Legion Astartes has overstepped the mark, after all. They must be stopped and held accountable before they become too powerful.”   The Horus Heresy, volume VII, Legion, p384

PART 8

PART 10

PART 8

THE UNRECORDED PRIMARCHS

Information even mentioning the two unrecorded Primarchs is limited, and none of it confirms anything about them or their fate. Even the circumstances and timelines for the creation and rediscovery of the Primarchs is not certain because there are several records that provide evidence to contradict the official claims. The rediscovery of Lorgar is listed as 857M30, and yet Argal Tal’s mother was with him when he was recruited into the Word Bearers, on Cholchis, before 005M30… in the first decade of the Great Crusade. 

The Primarchs, 2012, edited by Christian Dunn

He thought, briefly, of his parents – two hundred years dead now.    The Horus Heresy, volume XIV, The First Heretic, p431

Then there is Vulkan and Ferrus Manus. Ferrus stated that he made a weapon for Vulkan around the same time Argal Tal was recruited, 005M30. The comment also suggested Vulkan had led the XVIII ‘Salamanders’ Legion into the Mordant Stars soon after this incident. The official timeline indicates that Ferrus was reunited with the Emperor in 831M30, while Vulkan was recovered two years later.

“I made that for Vulkan two hundred years ago,” said Ferrus, “before he led his Legion into the Mordant Stars.” The Horus Heresy, volume V, Fulgrim, p378

Clearly, the official claims may not be the facts, merely the ‘Imperial Truth’. It is possible that these records are the result of the exaggerations resulting from poetic licence, the inability of mortals to focus and make accurate recordings in the presence of Primarchs, or simply an unplanned and unnoticed error. The entry “slow and clam” on page 297 of Age of Darkness is a good example of such inaccuracies making their way into official records despite rigorous efforts to prevent such mistakes.

A vast tree of myth would sprout from the tiny seed of real experience. There would be different stories and competing legends. All too soon the truth of how it actually happened would be forgotten.  The Horus Heresy, volume VI, Descent of Angels, p274

But there is also a very real possibility that the history of the Primarchs, even the history of the Great Crusade, is comprised of deliberate misinformation and myth. The stories about the arrival of each Primarch, for example, are all very similar, as if the same, rehearsed story were spread on each world. There is also a very real possibility that the claims about Primarchs being the source from which the Astartes were created was wrong, and that the opposite was true.

But some disaster is known to have befallen the Emperor's works on Luna before they were complete. The unborn Primarchs were lost, scattered among the stars. Many stories and legends have risen about the scattering of the Primarchs. Some tell that the Dark Gods foresaw the Emperor's plans and sought to destroy their unborn foes, but only succeeded in dispersing them. Others maintain that it was the Emperor himself who cast the Primarchs adrift on the tides of the galaxy that they might learn to live truly away from the chrome and ceramite of the laboratorium. Other still maintain that it was the nascent Primarchs themselves who chose to depart the Emperor's care, seeking knowledge alone. The Unforgiven: The Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter, Index Astartes I, 2002 The Unforgiven: The Dark Angels Space Marine Chapter, White Dwarf, volume 254

Rogal Dorn himself had clearly indicated that Iacton Qruze had been in service for “centuries” while the Great Crusade itself had only begun two-hundred-and-ten years earlier. The official history of the Thunder Warriors could very well be fabricated based on partial facts - it seems likely they were actually Astartes and the Thunder Warriors detailed in The Outcast Dead may have simply been survivors of a well-deserved cull following some kind of treachery they enacted as Unification on Terra neared completion.

Jugen did not reply at once. Instead, he studied his lord for several long moments. “My lord, you and I have fought together for almost three hundred years now,” he said. The Horus Heresy, volume X, Tales of Heresy, p85

There is no definitive information on the fate of the two unrecorded Primarchs, but what limited information is recorded in official accounts provides enough to form a hypothesis. The Emperor had made it abundantly clear that a number of things would not be tolerated under his reign. The Primarchs and his Legions would abide by the edicts of Compliance. The worship of gods and associated rituals and idolatry, unregulated study and practice of psychic powers and the warp, psycho-surgery, excessive force to supress civilian populations, the use and study of xenos and Dark Age technologies, and unsanctioned affiliation with xenos species were prohibited.

What they did not add, but they all understood, was that they would not make for Terra even if they could. They would return as a smashed Legion, one to be absorbed, its culture forgotten, into the others. The Horus Heresy, volume XXX, The Damnation of Pythos, p43

It makes sense that there was sufficient evidence to suggest the two unrecorded Primarchs violated one or more of these edicts, an act that would result in a fate similar to the one that befell Magnus and the Thousand Sons. There is also sufficient evidence to suggest that not all of the members of the unrecorded Legions were traitors, and loyalists within their ranks were disbanded and reassigned to other Legions. The fate of the tow Primarchs, however, seems very clear.

Guilliman sits back. The seat flexes to support his armoured bulk.  He is shaped like a man, but he is far more than that, far more than even the transhuman giants of his Legion. He is a primarch. There are only seventeen other beings like him left in the universe. The Horus Heresy, volume XIX, p37

If the two unrecorded Primarchs were still alive, they were no longer in the same universe as the Emperor and their brothers, and that left only one other place – a place like the regions inside the Ocularis Malifica, Maelstrom or Perdus Anomaly. The purpose for Fulgrim’s campaign with the Emperor’s Children into the Perdus Anomaly becomes suspect under these circumstances, especially since he was under the influence of Slaanesh at the time, and the surrounding region would one day be dominated by the Tau Empire.

"I will not be responsible for the erasure of the Blood Angels from Imperial history. I will not have a third empty plinth beneath the roof of the Hegemon as my Legion’s only memorial!" The Horus Heresy, volume XXI, p43

The comments made by Sanguinius concerning the genetic failure suffered by members of his Legion, as well as the spontaneous mutation of the flesh change that afflicted the Thousand Sons, suggests a fear of something that had happened before, and had resulted in two empty plinths “beneath the roof of the Hegemon”. The term abomination is applied to those afflicted by the flesh change, but also to the Contagion of Ganymede, so it would seem the two unrecorded Legions met a similar fate.

“We cannot disband a First Founding Chapter!” Orloc was aghast. “We know the history of the Astartes. It has happened before,” insisted Seth, “we can take the men among the Successors, spread equally. As you said, Lord Orloc, we are all kindred beneath the armour…” Blood Angels: the second omnibus, James Swallow, p154

If one of the two unrecorded Primarchs had access to the Emperor’s knowledge concerning genetics, as well as Mechanicum technology or something even darker, it is possible this corruption was a deliberate act of sabotage or desperate act of survival. There are suggestions that ‘daemonic’ possession had occurred before and it seems Fabius Bile’s knowledge of cloning and genetic experimentation began to become and obsession and improve in the wake of the campaign on Laer, when the Legion travelled into the Perdus Anomaly. Fabius Bile may have learned much of what he knew from records gathered on that unrecorded Primarch.

“You were prosecuting a campaign throughout the Perdus Anomaly. Is the region compliant already?” “What worlds we found there are now compliant” The Horus Heresy, volume II, False Gods, p366

The very thought of an obsessed Primarch raised in the culture of the Mechanicum using biological expertise to clone rival legionnaires and unleash ‘abominations’ as needed, or even release a pandemic on populations to create uncontrolled, spontaneous mutation to ‘justify’ and attack on the Squat Leagues is unsettling, but would explain a great deal. Such a Primarch might also go as far as using his abilities to ‘enhance’ his legionnaires by the application of similar methods, especially if his treachery were revealed and the Emperor ordered the Wolves to do as they would do to the Thousand Sons decades later.

“I am Fabius,” he said, stroking Cassander’s scarred chest. “And this is my chamber of wonders.” “Wonders? It is a place of abomination,” hissed Cassander, struggling once again at his bonds. The Horus Heresy, volume XXIII, Angel Exterminatus, p147

Evidence clearly indicates that the Thousand Sons were not alone in violating the Emperor’s edicts, elements of no less than four other Legions clearly ignoring orders on various practices: Emperor’s Children, Night Lords, World Eaters, and Word Bearers. Of the five Legions, the Emperor’s Children lone chose to tamper with their biology in the misguided pursuit of perfection, and quickly escalated from the study and experimentation of the xenos samples they captured to doing the same with humans and Space Marines, and even blending these. 

It is entirely possible that Fabius Bile was simply repeating what had been done before, attempting to replicate research from whatever fragmented records the Emperor’s Children had managed to recover from some conflict with one of the unrecorded Legions. What Fabius created was referred to as ‘abomination’, a word used to refer to whatever fate befell Ganymede, and one that Captain Amit of the Blood Angels would also claim should be replaced with another when referring to refer to a warp entity - daemon.

“Still we speak of ‘abominations’…” The words were a growl, and some of the warriors moved aside to see who had spoken. Captain Amit moved forwards into the middle of the arena to face his primarch. “Why do we not call it what it is, my lord? Can we not say the name?” “Remember your place, Flesh Tearer,” warned Azkaellon, but Amit did not acknowledge him. “I will say it if you will not,” he continued, his eyes never leaving those of the Angel. “Daemon.” The Horus Heresy, volume XXI, Fear to Tread, p338

The meaning of the term ‘abomination’ is, therefore, unclear and dependent upon circumstance. Given Fabius Bile was tampering with the genetic code of the Space Marines, and even incorporating xenos genetic material within individuals, it could be used to refer to hybrids rather than just warp-entities. The experimentation of the Dark Mechanicum seems to have been similar to that of Fabius Bile, once again suggesting a link to a theoretical Primarch raised on a Forge World, and a civil war within the Imperium during the Great Crusade.

At Cavor Sarta, Wayland and Sharrowkyn had capture an Unlingual Cipher host – one of the so-called ‘Kryptos’ – a hybrid abomination creature of the Dark Mechanicum that had previously kept the enemy’s code network a cryptographic impossibility to break. With the Kryptos, loyalist commanders could now access the traitor’s coded communications. The Horus Heresy, volume XXIII, Angel Exterminatus, p156

Aside from the references to ‘abominations’, there are also references that suggest the Thousand Sons were not the first to stray and break faith with the Emperor’s edicts on the matters of Enlightenment and Compliance. It is easy to assume the use of the word ‘others’ refers to Konrad Curze and Magnus in regards to these betrayals, but it seems more likely it implies the two unrecorded Primarchs. The comment made by Redknife about the Crimson King seems to add to this, an addition rather than clarification of who has strayed.

Redknife bowed his head. “My brothers came here to watch you, my lord. On the Wolf King’s orders, in the Sigillite’s name. To report if you were to stray, as others have strayed.” He looked up. “As the Crimson King has strayed.” The Horus Heresy, volume XXI, Fear to Tread, pp340-1

Then there is the incident Perturabo recalls of his meeting with the Emperor the day he took his oaths to do as the Emperor wished and unite humanity under the Imperial Truth during the Great Crusade. It suggests some Primarchs failed whatever assessment of their personalities to which they were subjected by the Emperor. While his memory does not name those who failed, or the consequences of failure, the idea that those who failed may have included – or been – the two unrecorded Primarchs is a very real possibility.  

He thought back to his ascent up that polished marble spire, the night before leaving Terra for a life of war. Each step had required a superhuman effort of will, determination and courage. It was no simple screw-stair, but a challenge to the heart and intellect, a psychic communion with the Emperor himself that tested the very boundaries of a warrior’s endurance. Not all of them had passed the test. The Horus Heresy, volume XXIII, Angel Exterminatus, pp333-4

All of these incidents add to the theory that the two unrecorded Primarchs were somehow involved in the civil war that occurred in the middle of the Great Crusade, an event that was later expunged from official records just as the records of the two unrecorded Primarchs were deleted. It not only appears that both were on opposing sides of the conflict – in defiance of the Emperor’s orders – but that one or both Primarchs and their Legions were somehow corrupted and elements considered abominations.

There is also strong circumstantial evidence to suggest that one of them did, indeed, have unique knowledge of anatomy, some of which was recovered by Perturabo and Fulgrim after whatever conflict resulted involving the two Primarchs and their Legions. The source of the anatomical diagrams of Primarch physiology was probably one of the two unrecorded Primarchs while the individual that compiled the material was the other. The theory that seems to have the most support is therefore founded on these ideas.

The first unrecorded Primarch was located on a world that formed part of the Squat League of Thor. The other came from one of the worlds that formed the Auretian Technocracy. The hostilities between the Mechanicum and Squat Guilds ultimately resulted in open conflict that dragged the Imperium into civil war. The unrecorded Primarchs were instructed to end the conflict by forcing their adopted cultures to cease hostilities and restore their populations to Compliance.

Instead, perhaps both turned against the Emperor to honour oaths to their own adopted cultures. The Mechanicum, under the direction of the second unrecorded Primarch, conducted experimentation on captives to do as Fabius would do during the Horus Heresy and created abominations. These were used to justify their attack on the Squats with claims their enemies were in league with xenos in violation of the Emperor’s edicts. It is also likely they cloned some of their enemies, and managed to capture the Primarch of the Squat Leagues to conduct their anatomical research, either killing him or reducing him – or a clone of him - to an abomination.

The treachery of the second unrecorded Primarch was eventually uncovered, and he used the same techniques to enhance his own troops in a forlorn effort to defend against Imperial forces. It is entirely possible that one or both unrecorded Primarchs somehow escaped and vanished. The Squats may have rescued their own and then retreated into their territories, Imperial forces unwilling to violate the treaties that ended their conflict, while the second may have used his ability to create clones to avoid capture much as Fabius Bile would do since the end of the Horus Heresy – it is entirely possible he even killed and assumed the identity of the real Fabius Bile.

PART 7

PART 9