A friend of mine passed this on to me. As seeing I don't have any of
my old
WD's around, it was a much welcomed article. I hope you enjoy it.
Keith
>>Given the poor narration and detail of this event in the Chaos Codex I
>>thought many of the newcomers would like to know what truly happened.
>>
>>Even through the shields, the impact makes the imperial palace
>>shake. With a screech of tortured stone, an angel topples from its
>>alcove high on the throne room walland crashes to the marble
>>floor a kilometer below. It shatters into a million pieces.
>>Splinters of stone flash across the hall like shrapnel.
>>
>>>From his throne the Emperor watches his warriors mill around
>>in confusion. This hall holds ten thousand men, seasoned
>>veterans, and all are now panicking. He knows they are more
>>frightened by his silence than by the enemy. They look to him
>>for leadership, and he can give them none.
>>
>>For the first time in his millenia long life, the Emperor knows
>>despair. The magnitude of his defeat stuns him. The lunar bases
>>have fallen. Most of Earth is under the Warmaster's heel.
>>Rebel Titans surround the palace and are held at bay only by the
>>desperate efforts of a few loyalists. It is only a matter of time
>>before the palace's defences fail and the last bastions of
>>resistance fall.
>>
>>"Sire, what are your orders?" asks Rogal Dorn, massive dark-
>>haired Primarch of the Imperial Fists. His golden armour has
>>lost its lustre, is dented in a dozen places by bolter shells. The
>>Emperor doesn't answer. He is lost within himself seeking
>>answers to his own questions.
>>
>>He has come at last to the dark place, the time of testing, the era
>>hidden from his precognitive vision and beyond which he
>>cannot see. The moment he has always dreaded has arrived. Is
>>my time over, he wonders ? Is this where it all ends ? Is this why
>>I have reached the limits of my prophetic powers. Is this where I
>>die ?
>>
>>He feels bewildered. Even now, with the Traitor Warmaster's
>>forces battering at the gate, he finds it difficult to believe that he
>>has been betrayed.
>>
>>Horus was more than a trusted comrade, more like a favoured
>>son. Of all the Primarchs, the Emperor relied on him the most. Not
>>for a second had the Emperor doubted him, not even when word
>>had come from the Savage worlds that the Warmaster was
>>gathering forces. He had deluded himself that Horus must have
>>good reason to do so without consulting him. I should have been
>>warned by the failure of my precognition, he thinks.
>>
>>"Sire, what are your orders?" asks Kane, acting Fabricator-
>>General of the Adeptus Mechanicus. He stares at the Emperor, a
>>trick of the light turning the glass slits of his brass mask into
>>accusing eyes. Once more, the Emperor does not reply. Kane's
>>presence reminds him that not even the head of the Adeptus is to
>>be trusted. His superior, the former Fabricator-General, has
>>chosen to side with Horus.
>>
>>On Mars civil war rages between factions of Tech-priests.
>>Ancient forbidden weapons are being deployed. Viral plagues
>>kill millions. Fusion bombs scar the earth.
>>
>>So much will be lost. He thinks of the slow piecing together of
>>the old science. The librarium technologicusis in flame now,
>>ancient core data systems in meltdown. The time of re-building
>>is over. The Great Crusade, as much a quest for knowledge
>>as a war to reclaim the human worlds, is ended. The
>>Warmaster's treachery has seen to that.
>>
>>"Sire what are your orders ?" asks Saguinius, angel winged
>>Primarch of the Blood Angels. He gazes at the Emperor with
>>blazing eyes, his face a mask of terrible beauty.
>>
>>The Emperor knows they rely on him for guidance. They still
>>believe in him. They think he can lead them from this trap. They
>>are wrong.
>>
>>Horus is the greatest the galaxy has ever known. Who
>>should know better than his creator ? He is schooled by a century
>>of warfare. There will be no way out, no loopholes, no flaws in
>>the plan. The Warmaster would have to be mad to leave one.
>>
>>The Emperor looks down on the faces of his followers, sees the
>>trust written there, feels the weight of responsibility it brings.
>>
>>He knows that for their sake, he must try, even if it is hopeless.
>>
>>He casts forth his clairvoyant sight, lets his mind drift beyond
>>the ruined gardens of the palace, over fields where colossal
>>Titans battle by the twisted light of the sculpted moon. He sees the
>>whole war spread out beneath him, his pitifully outnumbered
>>legions being mowed down by the traitor hordes. He reaches up
>>to the sky, where senses the fleet of battlebarges that rain
>>orbittal doom upon the tortured earth. Amid those thousand
>>glittering points, he finds the Warmaster.
>>
>>Hope flickers within him. The shields of Horus' ship are down.
>>Briefly, he wonders why. Is the traitor's confidence so
>>overwhelming? Does he wish to witness the battle himself. Or is
>>it a trap ? The Emperor touches the ship and recoils from what
>>he senses within. How could Horus have done this, made a pact
>>with the ultimate abomination?
>>
>>The Emperor comes to a decision. Trap or not, this is the only
>>oppurtunity he will get. He has no option but to seize it; the
>>position is so desperate. Even as his spirit returns to his body,
>>the ominous thought strikes him that the Warmaster must know
>>this.
>>
>>"What are your orders, Sire ?" Sanguinius asks again. The
>>Emperor's eyes snap open. His voice full of authority.
>>
>>"Prepare to teleport. We will take the battle to the enemy."
>>
>>The men smile confidently. They now have a purpose. While he
>>reels of the teleport co-ordinates they move, without question, to
>>obey.
>>
>>A flash of light, a feeling of coldness. They have teleported into
>>the Warmaster's ship. The Emperor takes an instant to reorientate
>>himself and realises that something has gone wrong.
>>He stands in a vast, warped chamber with only a few marines in
>>attendance. The terminators and the Primarchs are not present.
>>How is this possible he wonders. Could Horus have disrupted
>>the teleportation beam ? Is he so powerful ?
>>
>>Insane voices gibber madly inside his skull. There are figures
>>trapped in the stone walls of the vast room. Hands reach out for
>>him, graps at him with rock like strength. He shrugs them off
>>easily. His comrades are not so lucky. Bolters chatter and flash
>>as the marines attempt to fight off their daemonic assailants.
>>
>>A man screams as he is drawn into the dark and slimy walls. As
>>he vanishes, ripples spread from the point of his disappearance. The
>>Emperor's sword lashes out, severing limbs, freeing trapped
>>marines. He summons his psychic energies. A nimbus flickers
>>around his head as he unleashes his power. A tidal wave of
>>destruction rips through the daemons, leaving his own men
>>unscathed.
>>
>>He scans about him, seeking the Primarchs but the walls of
>>the Warmaster's battle barge are resistant to his mindsight. He
>>gestures for the surviving marines to follow him.
>>
>>They wander through a ship distorted beyond all recognition by
>>the warping power of Chaos. Great sphincter doors distend from
>>walls of flesh-like stone. Transparent veins bear rivers of blood
>>along the conduits in the floor. Carpets of mucous cover a road of
>>tongues.
>>
>>Winged and distorted things that might once have been human
>>flit through archways of bone and perch on ledges of rib. The
>>marines gasp in horror. He exerts himself to calm them,
>>psychically soothing their fear of this dreadful place. All the
>>while he scans the area looking for the spoor of Horus. He
>>knows now the nature of the pact the Warmaster has made and
>>the dreadful consequences of his victory.
>>
>>They pass pits that gape like glistenning gullets in the floor and
>>echo the beats of a distant giant heart. They are showered by
>>waterfalls of stinking yellowish liquid that cascades down cliffs
>>of carved cartilage. Sometimes they hear weapons fire but when
>>they arrive at the source, they find nothing.
>>
>>Mists of Rainbow vapour drift accross their field of vision,
>>obscuring corridors of carnivorous stone. Clouds of insects
>>swarm over their faceplates and choke the extractors of their
>>airpipes. They switch over to internal oxygen supply.
>>
>>They are ambushed by scuttling skull-faced things in the armour
>>of marines. They fight off hordes of mutated beasts. One by one
>>they die. In the end the emperor stands alone. Then and only
>>then is he allowed to enter the presence of Horus.
>>
>>The Warmaster bestrides the body of a broken angel. Behind
>>him, the tortured earth fills the viewport, a bauble for Horus to
>>seize with one clawed hand. Corpses of massacred marines lie
>>everywhere.
>>
>>Face glowing with internal bloodlight, Horus speaks. "Poor
>>Sanguinius. I offered him a position of power in the new order.
>>He could have sat at the right hand of a god. Alas, he chose to
>>align himself with the losing side."
>>
>>The Emperor stands transfixed, trying to force frozen words
>>from his tongue. In the end, he can only whisper "Why?"
>>
>>Mad laughter rings out. "Why? You ask me why ? Have all those
>>millenia taught you nothing ? Weak fool, your timidity
>>prevented you from binding the forces of Chaos. You shoed
>>away from ultimate power. I have bound it to my will and
>>will lead humanity into the new age. I, Horus, Master Of
>>Chaos !"
>>
>>The Emperor looks at his former friend and shakes his head. He
>>sees the trap that has ensnared Horus. "No man can master
>>Chaos." he says quietly. "You have deluded yourself. You are
>>the servant, not the master."
>>
>>A look of rage transfigures the Warmaster. He stretches out a
>>hand and a bolt of force leaps forth. The Emperor screams as
>>agony wracks his body. "Feel the true nature of my power then
>>tell me I am deluded," roars Horus, in the voice of an angry god.
>>
>>Beads of sweatstand out on the Emperor's forehead, he steels
>>himself against the pain. "You are deluded," he says.
>>
>>Once again Horus gestures and lances of pure poison sear
>>through the Emperor's veins. "I let you come here, old friend, so
>>that you could witness my triumph. Kneel before me and I will
>>spare you. Acknowledge the new master of mankind."
>>
>>Desperately, the Emperor summons his power and lashes out.
>>Lightening flickers between the combatants. The stench of ozone
>>fills the air. The Emperor leaps forward, sword raised. Weapons
>>clash as battle is joined on every level: physical, spiritual
>>and psychic.
>>
>>Bolts of force flicker as mortal gods clash, balancing the fate of
>>the galaxy on every blow. Runesword and lightening claw ring
>>against each other with a sound like thunder. Energies potent
>>enough to level planets are unleashed.
>>
>>A backhand buffet from Horus knocks the Emperor through a
>>stone bulkhead. The counter stroke tears a supporting column
>>out of the ceiling as the Warmaster ducks.
>>
>>In the warp the Emperor hears the Chaos powers howl as they
>>feed their pawn more power. The Lord of Humanity stands
>>alone against their massed might and knows that he is losing.
>>Somehow he cannot bring his full force to bear on the
>>Warmaster. Horus shows no such restraint.
>>
>>A lightening claw cuts the Emperor's armour as if it were cloth,
>>sheers through flesh and bone. The Emperor ripostes with a
>>psychic stroke intended to disrupt the Warmaster's nervous
>>system. Horus laughs as he deflects it.
>>
>>His claw takes the Emperor across the throat, opening windpipe
>>and jugular. Another blow severs the tendons from his wrist,
>>causing the sword to drop from nerveless fingers.
>>
>>Insane laughter echoes round the chamber. Horus breaks several
>>ribs with an almost playful punch. A surge of energy seers the
>>Emperor's face, melting the flesh till it runs, bursts an eyeball,
>>sets the hair alight. The Emperor stifles a whimper, wonders
>>how he can be losing. Blackness threatens to engulf him.
>>
>>Horus graps his wrist, splintering bones. Blood pumps from the
>>Emperor's throat. Horus lifts his foe high above his head and
>>brings him down accross his knee, breaking his spine.
>>
>>For a second, the Emperor knows only darkness, then a flare of
>>agony brings him back to consciousness as Horus rips his arm
>>from its socket. The Warmaster howls with bestial triumph.
>>
>>Suddenly, the battering stops. Through his good eye the Emperor
>>sees a solitary Terminator has entered the room. The marine
>>charges towards the Warmaster, stormbolter blazing. Horus looks
>>at him and laughs. For a moment he stands triumphant, allowing
>>the marine to see what he has done to his Emperor.
>>
>>The Emperor knows what is going to happen next, sees the
>>gloating triumph on Horus' face. There is no trace of his friend
>>left there. There is only a daemon driven by insane destructive
>>fury.
>>
>>Horus turns his burning gaze on the Terminator and the marine's
>>flesh flakes away to reaveal his skeleton, then even that is gone,
>>reduced to dust.
>>
>>The Emperor sees the trap that has been set for him. He has
>>been restraining himself, trying not to hurt one who had been as
>>a son to him. Now he sees that there is no trace of his trusted
>>comrade left. He knows that he must stop this semblance of his
>>former friend and avenge the fallen Terminator. He [would] strike
>>one deadly blow. He will get no other chance.
>>
>>He gathers every particle of his power, focuses it into a mighty
>>bolt of pure force, more coherent than a laser, more destructive
>>than an exploding sun. He aims it at Horus, a lance of power
>>destined for the madman's heart. Horus senses the upsurge of
>>energy and turns to face the Emperor, a look of horror on his
>>face.
>>
>>The Emperor lets fly. It strikes the Warmaster. Horus screams as
>>destruction rains down on him, twisting and writhing in titanic
>>agony. He strives frantically to counter the Emperor's deathblow
>>but his struggles become ever more feeble as the lethal energies
>>play over him.
>>
>>Driven by all the force of his rage and pain and hatred the
>>Emperor wills Horus's death. He sense the forces of Chaos
>>retreat, disengaging themselves from their pawn. As they do so
>>sanity returns to the Warmaster. The Emperor sees realisation of
>>the atrocities he has commited flicker across Horus' face. Tears
>>glisten there.
>>
>>Horus is free, but the Emperor knows he himself is dieing amd
>>that the powers of Chaos may once again possess the
>>Warmaster, and he will not be there to stop them. He cannot take
>>that risk. Horus must die. Yet, for a second, looking into his old
>>friend's face, he hesitates, unable to do the deed. Then he thinks
>>of the slaughter that still goes on outside, may go on forever.
>>Resolve hardens within him.
>>
>>He forces all mercy and compassion from his mind, empties
>>it of all knowledge of friendship, camaraderie and love. His
>>eyes lock with Horus and see understanding there. Then with
>>full cold knowledge of what he is doing, the Emperor destroys
>>the Warmaster.
>>
>>Rogal Dorn enters the chamber. Horror fills him as he sees the
>>mutilated form of the emperor and the shrivelled husk inside the
>>Warmaster's armor. He curses himself for taking so long to
>>fight through the Chaotic hordes. He knows now why their attacks
>>ceased and why the ship is reverting to normal.
>>
>>He rushes to the Emperor's side, detecting the faint pulse of life.
>>Perhaps there is yet hope. Perhaps the ruler of the Imperium
>>may live. Dorn will do his best to ensure it.
>>
>>- William King 1990
>>( Taken from WhiteDwarf # 131 )
Received on Fri Feb 14 1997 - 05:32:26 UTC
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