A Reunion of Brothers

I would not have returned to Terra, leaving the Indomitus Crusade to its own devices if it wasn't for the Emperor's message to me.

"Your brothers are coming home."

I didn't know what that meant exactly. Who was it? Perturabo? Fulgrim? Lorgar? Angron? Who was it? And he had said brothers in my dream. more than one. I had to get back to Terra as soon as possible. Captain Uriel Ventris of Fourth Company had volunteered to come with me and I accepted his and the Unnumbered Sons Companies help. By the time we made it back to Terra, the word had been sent. The planet was on high alert and scanning every ship for signs of intrusion. No Chaos Legion would come within lightyears of Terra.

Then we got the message. The message that would signal the beginning of a new era for the Imperium.

"I am Vulkan, Primarch of the Salamanders! I have returned to Terra. I demand to speak to Primarch Roboute Guilliman immediately!"

I did not think it was possible. It could have been a trick. After three hours, I finally decided to answer. I felt tears in my eyes, but I did not care. "Brother... is it really you?"

It was several days later when I was allowed to see them in person. On Luna. I was furious. Not only was I being kept away from the Crusade, but I was being prevented from seeing my own brothers. Corvus, Leman, Jaghatai, and Vulkan had returned and they were being examined by Librarians for possible sign of Warp Entities. The Sisters of Silence were in the hallways in case the worst came to light. I looked in on them through the one way glass, though I could guess that they could hear us talking. Primarchs are advanced like that. The last time I had seen Vulkan like this, he had first been a raving lunatic, his mind broken by months if not years of torture by Konrad Curze. Then he had sacrificed himself in battle to protect the woman who had been as a mother to me. Then his body had been taken back to Nocturne to be made one with the ashes of his Home World. Then he had miraculously returned to Terra to stand vigil before disappearing again. For him to be here was... nothing short of a miracle.

They were all so changed. Jaghatai's hair had become long and disheveled, bereft of his usual topknot. It was... interesting to see him like that. Russ looked older. He looked tired, his beard reaching down to his chest as he sat on his bed, staring at his hands. Corax looked about the same, except for the small scruff of facial hair. He lay on his bed, his eyes closed, his hands folded across his chest. Vulkan was the most unchanged, except for the infant he held in one hand. He looked as if he was... singing to it.

Xeros Darsway, Chief Librarian of the Imperial Fists, was on hand with me to keep guard in case the worse came to light. After the examinations were complete, he came to me to give me the results of their tests. "My Lord, as far as I can tell, they are what they claim. But it just seems..."

"Too good to be true. I know. But I have to see them. I know this could be a trick of the Warp. This could be a lie by the Ruinous Powers to destroy the Imperium at its core. But I have to be sure." I made my way to the door, my hand outstretched to press the rune to open the door. I paused and looked back. "Librarian, I'm not a psyker, but I can tell that you are... disappointed Rogal is not among them."

"My Lord, I-"

"It is alright. I wish he was there too. We did not see eye to eye. We almost went to war over differing ideals. But he was my brother. And I wish the others were there as well. I understand your inner grief."

Xeros bowed his head. "Thank you, Lord Guilliman." As I was about to press the rune, he spoke up again. "I must warn you... The child in there is... unruly."

I shrugged and pressed the rune. The door opened and I heard the cries. It may have been the acoustics, but the cries of the infant Vulkan was holding one of the loudest noises I had ever heard. I have had a bolter shell explode inches from my head. I have had an Ork roar in my face. I have faced against Fulgrim's Noise Marines and that infant was the loudest I had ever heard in my life. Vulkan looked up at me and smiled.

"My apologies, Brother. She has an erratic sleeping schedule. I also think she's hungry. I have asked for milk to be brought to us, but it has been a while. Do you think you could have some brought to us?" All I could say nothing to that. I turned back to a serf and did just that. The milk was brought quite quickly. The cries ceased as the girl-infant began to drink. I heard a sigh of relief from Corvus.

"Finally. That was the most irritating thing I have ever heard in my life."

Jaghatai grinned, still standing in his corner. "Let it go, brother. She is but a baby. You can't control that."

Russ looked up at me. "So... are we daemons or not?"

"Do you still think the Codex was a mistake?"

Russ grinned. "I always will, you pompous fool."

"And that's why I know you are who you say you are, you mangy barbarian." I smiled at him. I looked at all four of them. "Are you all alright, brothers?"

Corax looked at me as he sat up. "I spent 10,000 years in the Warp, fighting Daemons while looking for Lorgar. I could be better, but I could be worse. I'm sorry I do not have his head to give to you as a homecoming present, brother."

"He will have his day, Corvus. I will have his head myself."

Jaghatai walked over and held out his hand. I took it and he pulled me into a hug. "You look tired, Roboute." He pulled back and looked me up and down. "What happened to your throat?"

My hand covered the wound where I had been cut. "Fulgrim. I tried to take his head, but he nearly took mine. I crippled his ship though."

Russ laughed at that. "Good. At least the snake was dealt a blow." He stood up and looked me in the eye and said something I didn't expect. "I'm sorry you had to carry Father's mess on your own shoulders." He put his hand on my pauldron to emphasize his point. "I'm sorry."

I narrowed my eyes. "I am not convinced you are Russ anymore. What did you do with him, Daemon?" Russ laughed and punched my arm. Even in ceramite I could feel that.

Vulkan stood up and gently pushed the others aside. With one massive arm, he drew me into an embrace. "I'm glad to see you again with sane eyes, Roboute." He showed me the baby in his hand. She was small. So very small. "This is my daughter, N'Bella." I was about to ask for clarity on that when he followed up. "My adopted daughter, that is." She was asleep, her breathing steady, swaddled in her blanket.

"Where did you find her?"

"On the planet I lived on for centuries. She was the daughter of a woman I had known since she was a child. The settlement she was born in was wiped out by Chaos Cultists. I avenged them and took her with me. She is my responsibility."

Russ chuckled. "She is also extremely loud. And she smells often. It is... how did you stand it while you were alone with her?"

"Patience, brother. Patience is how I stood it. That and she has a beautiful smile."

At that, N'Bella opened her eyes. I braced myself for a cry, but she didn't. Instead, she smiled and held out a tiny hand, grasping at air. On instinct, I held out my finger. She grasped it and smiled. Then she laughed. A very tiny giggle. I found myself smiling at that. She was so small. It was amazing that every one of my sons was once this tiny.

"She is... amazing, Vulkan. And she survived the Warp?"

"She did. She didn't cry. She didn't scream. She was very brave. Even when we were attacked, she didn't cry."

He looked at me, a serious look in his eyes. "Tell me what is happening, Roboute. What has become of Father's dream?"

I told them everything. The Great Rift's formation. My reawakening. The creation of the Primaris Marines. How the Indomitus Crusade had been going on for nearly half a decade in order to reunite the Galaxy.

"I'm stretched thin as it is. The Primaris Marines have been a boon, but things here at Terra have been rough. Members of the Council have already attempted a coup. Those in charge are afraid of losing the power they have clung to for centuries. Their greed nearly ruined everything. I believe mankind should decide its own future, but it needs guidance. I don't know if I can provide that here while I'm out with the Crusade."

"So, you need someone here," Jaghatai asked. "You need a steward. You cannot be a warleader and a regent."

I nodded. "I'm sorry to ask you this. Especially after all you've been through."

Jaghatai shook his head. "I cannot accept it. As I said to Mortarion on Prospero: We were never the Empire Builders. We were the Outriders. I embraced that long ago. I cannot stay here. I need to find my Chapter. I need to return home to Chogoris."

I nodded in understanding. "I see. When you are ready, we will make preparations for your return."

Russ spoke up. "I need to see my newborn sons first. I need to see to Fenris. Besides, you will need someone to stand guard at Terra. Who knows if others will come back? But I will not take regency."

We turned to Corax. "Do not even ask me. I want nothing of it. All I want is to defend and rebuild the Imperium."

I nodded and realized what I had to do. I turned to Vulkan. "Vulkan, I have never thought of you as one to take power like this. You are a blacksmiter. A creator and a destroyer. And now a father in more ways than one. I cannot remain here for long. But you? You are a protector in so many ways. Of all of us, humanity means more to you than victory. If I step aside, can you take my place?"

Vulkan looked at little N'Bella. He looked back at me and smiled. "I will need... to talk to father first. I have much to say to him."

I nodded. "Then there is no time like the present."

It was hours later when Jaghatai, Corax, Russ, and I were waiting outside the Eternity Gate. Jaghatai was holding N'Bella and was quite gentle with her. Vulkan had been in there for a long time and it reminded me of when I had returned. I wondered what he was saying to him. When I had seen Father, so much had been shared that had left me changed in how I viewed him. I had felt no love from him. Only a creator that was reunited with his creation that he had allowed to call him "Father" as part of his manipulations. It had hurt. And after all his lies, I knew this: He was not a God, nor was he a man worthy of being called a God.

He had been different to all of us. To Vulkan, he had been a traveling stranger who had nobly sacrificed a chance at victory to save his son. I wondered if Vulkan was feeling that same lack of love from him now. Vulkan was one of the most brutal yet most gentle of all of us. He was capable of great wrath upon his enemies, but he was also the most loving of us. He would give his all for them. He was the best choice to replace me.

Then the doors opened. Vulkan strode out, his stature reduced to a slight slump as he moved. He sighed and smiled at all of us. "Well, let us prepare for the ceremony." I never learned what was said between them. But that was for Vulkan to know.

It was a week later when the ceremony was held. The entirety of the Salamanders Chapter and their successors returned to Terra to kneel before their Primarch after millennia of waiting and searching for him. I stood down as Regent and passed the laurels to Vulkan. He said the oaths. He made his vows. He was regent. Regent Vulkan of Terra. As the world watched, the cheers of the civilians were drowned out by the cries of "VULKAN LIVES!" and the stomps of ceramite boots.

It was another week when I departed back to the lines. Vulkan and I embraced before I returned to my ship. "Protect them, Brother. Do what I could not."

Vulkan nodded. "I have spoken with the members of the Council of Terra. I will be at their meetings. I will hear their words. I will do my best for them. I have also made arrangements to speak with Belisarius Cawl. I want to see the man who helped bring our sons back from the brink."

"Just be careful. Cawl is... a devious bastard. He is different from the other Tech-Priests."

"How so?"

"He... creates."

Vulkan raised an eyebrow. "That is different."

I looked to the infant that was being held by one of the Silent Sisters. I had met her before when I had returned a few years ago. Tanau Aleya. She was one of the best of the Null-Maidens and Vulkan had chosen her as N'Bella's protector. Behind him stood the Custodes lead by Captain-General Valoris. As I turned to the dropship, I felt something that was both wonderful and dangerous. A feeling that had lead people to foolish endeavors and great things. Hope. It was faint. It was foolish. But I had it for Terra.

Belisarius Cawl stood before the Council of Terra as he had before the War Council of Cadia. Towering above him was Regent Vulkan of the Salamanders, two members of his new Pyreguard on either side of him. He bowed to the Primarch. "My Lord Vulkan. How may I serve you?"

"I wanted to thank the man who helped my sons and nephews. And I wanted to ask one last boon of you."

"What can I do for you, Lord Regent."

"Onboard the Phalanx of the Imperial Fists is the last remnant of my brother: The Hand of Rogal Dorn. As far as we are aware, he is dead. I am not. He deserves a second chance at life."

Cawl cocked his head. "My Lord? Are you asking me what I think you are?"

"I want you to bring my brother back. But first... I must ask you to find me a person that I once tried to find a long time ago. Find and capture the monster of the Emperor's Children. Bring Fabius Bile to Luna."