AN: Hello everyone, as I have been excavating local archives for stuff to translate, work on Imperium Asunder is slow...very slow.
But on a lighter note, look what I have found! Excellent, excellent indeed...
Well, now for the usual. The author does not own the characters, names are property of GW, etc, etc.
Without further ado, the Jonsonian Heresy, presented to you by me, the translator.
The Jonsonian Heresy
It is the grim darkness of the 41st millennium, and the enemies of mankind are everywhere. The bestial Orks, the enigmatic Aeldari and the ancient superpower rising from its slumber – the Necrons. But among the myriad of enemies, the ones most dangerous of all were once human – Chaos Space Marines, they betrayed the Imperium and the people they swore to protect and are damned for eternity, cursed by the God-Emperor and mankind. Their beginnings stem from the great betrayal ten thousand years ago. The very first Legion to turn away from the light of the Emperor and join the Dark Gods was none other than the very first Legion – the Dark Angels, a name they have forsook for the title of the Black Legion.
By authorization of the Senatorum Imperialis, the Holy Orders of the Inquisition and the leadership of the Astartes, I open records of that dark past once more to access dark secrets, to put down in words the forgotten truth of the great betrayal.
Imperial historian Aristotle Herodotus, 999. M41
The story of the Jonsonian Heresy must be told from the beginning.
WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Ancient Terran saying, M3
The Founding of the Astartes
In order to understand the origins of the Astartes, one must first delve into pre-Imperial history, going so far back as before the Unification Wars. In the dark times known as the Age of Strife, massive warp storms, bloody xenos invasions and internal strife tore apart mankind's domains across the galaxy, isolating world from world, rendering each alone to face inevitable disasters, causing significant technological regression. As this age drew to a close, the Emperor rose on Terra, and began His quest for the reunion of all mankind. It was during this period that He led His modified super-soldiers, predecessors of the Astartes. As He conquered all the techno-barbarians of Terra, the savior of mankind turned His gaze to the stars.
When His warriors proved that they were more than capable of dealing with mutant beasts and armies on Terra, the Emperor knew that in order to deal with things lurking in the dark corners of the galaxy, He needed more of them. He began to refine the genetic tech-arcana so as to complete the warrior genes he needed, without which it would be impossible to establish a post-human[sic] army capable of re-conquering the galaxy. The pinnacle of His achievement was the "Primarch Project", in which the Emperor used his own precious genetic code to create 20 Übermenschen, each more than a match for dozens of men in strength, and almost as intelligent as the Emperor. These gods among men are products of wonderous technology, destined to reunite the disparate realms of humanity.
Just as the Emperor achieved ultimate victory, disaster struck. A strange Warp storm swept away the infant Primarchs, and tossed them towards realms far from Terra, each landing on different human worlds. Perhaps it was during these journeys that the dark hands of Chaos first touched the Primarchs, whispering in their dreams, sowing the seeds of future tyranny.
But not all of the Emperor's ambitious work was lost with the Primarchs' scattering. He retrieved priceless knowledge and information through trial and error. From the genetic data of the Primarchs, the Emperor created the famous "gene-seed", and with it, the very first batch of Space Marines.
The Legions of Hope
The Emperor created twenty Legions, each a product of their Primarch(s)' gene-seed. Hundreds and thousands of genetically enhanced warriors, armed with terrifying wargear and given warships capable of delivering them to the most distant battlefields, each of the Astartes Legions was a force capable of claiming worlds on their own. With these soldiers under His command, the Emperor went forth into a turbulent galaxy and put forth His claim to its entirety. This was the beginning of what would be referred to as the Great Crusade.
World after world was brought into the Imperial fold, some rejoicing reunion with their Terran cousins, while others were less willing to kowtow the Emperor. But it was not too much of a problem, for no army could resist the Space Marines for long. When the Great Crusade burst forth from Terra, the Space Marines rediscovered first one Primarch, then another and another until all of them were found. Every Primarch that was reunited with the Emperor rose to become one of the greatest warriors and commanders in the Imperium.
Every one of the Primarchs was a given a Space Marine Legion to command – the one born of his own gene-seed, more specifically. With joyous vitality and unmatched skills of command, the Primarchs along with their gene-sons reached the ends of the galaxy, and took thousands of worlds in the name of the Emperor, relentlessly redrawing the expanding Imperium's boundaries. Every Legion and every Primarch had a tally of uncountable victories, but it could be summed up easily: it was the golden age for the servants and armies of the Imperium.
Alas, as the Emperor's power reached its apex, another group of enemies acted, causing such devastation that His Imperium nearly crumbled. Though no xenos could hope to match the power of the Astartes, the insidious tendrils of Chaos had begun to put events into motion decades before their insurgence destroyed them. Simply put, the greatest threat to the Imperium was never xenos, but turncoats among the Astartes' own ranks.
The Arch-Traitor was none other than the Lord of the First – Primarch of the Dark Angels, Lion El'Jonson.
It is a tale that could only be told from the beginning.
AN2: I decided in this case to put up the original too, so that bilingual readers could help me make better translations.
现在是最为黑暗的第四十一千年,人类之敌无处不在。野蛮的欧克兽人,行踪诡秘的灵族,重新复活的远古强权太空死灵。但是最为危险的敌人仍然是人类自己—混沌星际战士,他们为背离了帝国和他们所发誓守卫的人类,他们被神和人所诅咒。混沌星际战士的起源是一万年前那场席卷全银河的大反乱。第一个背离帝皇教诲投入混沌四神的怀抱的阿斯塔特军团不是别人,正是第一支组建的阿斯塔特军团—暗黑天使,现在他们已经抛弃了这个古老而荣耀的名字并自称黑色军团。
我被帝国元老院,审判庭,众阿斯塔特修会赐予权力翻阅那些黑暗的秘密,以便让我写下这本关于那场已经不太为人所知的大反乱的真相。—帝国史学家亚里士多德 希罗多德
999.M41
关于那场大反乱,一切都得从头说起。
无知既是力量,战争便是和平,自由就是奴役—泰拉古语 M3
星际战士的创建
要了解混沌星际战士的起源,首先必须深入钻研帝国的史前史,甚至远达帝皇在地球统一战争中首度掌权之时。时值冲突纪元(Age of Strife),狂乱的亚空间风暴、残酷的异族入侵和绵延的内战撕裂了跨银河系的人类疆域,让许多世界彼此孤立,使得它们易在攻击中受害,并导致了严重的科技倒退。就在时代的终焉,帝皇在地球上崛起,并开始他将全人类重归一统的追寻,此时他率领的就是改造超战士部队—星际战士的前身。随著他成功战胜了地球上的科技野蛮人部落,人类的救世主将目光转向了星辰。
当他的战士们证明自己不只有能力屠杀在地球上游荡的异兽和叛军时,帝皇就知道(要对抗)潜伏在银河黑暗角落的阴影般威胁,还需要更多东西。他开始著手改良基因技术,完善他所需要的战士基因,方可创造出一支能够重新征服银河的新人类(post-human)军队。他成就的顶点就是『基因原体计画』,帝皇用他自己贵重的基因密码创造出20个超级个体,每一个都拥有可抵数十人之力,以及几乎与帝皇自己相等的智能。这些人中之神为不可思议的科技杰作,命中注定要将四分五裂的人类疆域重合为一。
就在帝皇胜利的那一刻,灾难降临了。一阵神秘的亚空间漩涡横扫襁褓中的原体,并将他们抛向远离地球的无形境地*,最后将他们放置在遥远的不同人类世界。也许这次的宇宙航行就是混沌首度碰触到原体们,并在他们的梦境中低语,趁他们熟睡时播下了未来暴政的种子。
并非帝皇所有的野心都随著原体们的失踪而失落了。他从实验中一点一滴找回无价的知识和资料。运用原体的基因结构—之后广为人知的『基因种子』—人类之主创造出了首批的星际战士。
希望的军团
帝皇建立了二十支军团,每一支都运用了其中一位原体的基因种子。数以百计至千计的基因强化战士拥有可怕的武装和能将他们运入战斗的星舰,每支星际战士军团都强大到足以攻克整个世界。当这些战士们归入他的麾下以后,帝皇踏入了动荡的银河,并著手再次主张对它的所有权。这就是日后以伟大圣战而闻名的战役之开端。
一个接著一个的世界被带入帝国的大家庭,有些欣喜於自己被地球的战士们给找到,其他的可就不太乐意屈服在帝皇的威能之前了。但这并不构成问题,因为没有军队能够抵抗星际战士军团太久的时间。当伟大圣战从地球展开时,星际战士发现了第一位失落的原体,随著军团收回更多的世界,所有原体最后都被找到了。与帝皇重聚的原体们成为了人类中至高无上的战士和将军。
每位原体都被给予了一支军团供其指挥—也就是由他自己的基因原料所创造的军团。带著欢喜的精力和无与伦比的军事才能,原体和他们的军团挑战广阔银河的极限,以帝皇之名收回数千个世界,为不断扩张的帝国重新划定空间边际。每一支军团的功业无数,正如每位原体自身一样,对此只要一句话就够了:这是属於人类帝国之仆人与军队的黄金时代。
然而,虽然帝皇的威能已达顶点,仍有一批敌人的崛起将几乎摧毁他扩张中的帝国。即使没有任何外星敌人的力量可比星际战士军团,狡诈的混沌军队却早在那场几乎毁灭他们的事变前数十年就开始蠢动。对帝国最可怕的威胁并非侵扰银河的异形秽种,而是出自星际战士自己的行列。
最大的叛徒不是别人,正是第一支阿斯塔特军团之主—暗黑天使的原体莱昂 庄森。
一切的一切都得从头说起。
