The King and the Khan

The plains of Chogoris were beautiful to Jaghatai. It had been millennia since he'd truly stepped back to appreciate them. Since his return to Chogoris, he'd done nothing but speak with the leaders of the tribes, gone to the various tithe worlds of the White Scars, and handled various Chaos Warbands encroaching upon their borders. For 10,000 years he had seen nothing but the miserable sights of Commorragh and the endless shifting sights of the Warp. It was nice to see something that was static and had not changed aside from the new cities. The people respected the land and it showed.

Moreover he was proud of his sons, White Scars and their Successors all. He had visited their homeworlds and had given them his blessings. While some, like the Dark Hunters, eschewed the White Scars love of speed, they still held the love of the fight and the Hunt. They were his sons and he was home. The only thing he truly missed were the jetbikes. He had appealed to The Lion for access to the one remaining jetbike in his possession and had been stonewalled. It frustrated him, but he would get that bike if it killed him, short of a civil war between the White Scars and the Dark Angels.

"I remember when you showed this to me during the Great Crusade," a voice behind him said. He turned to see the specter of a one-eyed crimson skinned giant in bronze armor floating in the air, smiling at him. "It's good that most of it has been preserved, Jaghatai. I know that change is not one of your favorite things in this galaxy."

"Magnus." Jaghatai's hand moved to the hilt of his Talwar Power Sword as he glared at the vision of his long lost brother. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you, Brother. And don't worry, my tainted footsteps will not touch your home and we are all alone. The Ordo Malleus will not burn Chogoris. I promise."

"Pardon me if that promise means little to me now. I ask you again: What are you doing here?"

"I just want to talk. Of our brothers that remained loyal, you and Sanguinius were closest to me. And since he is gone... I came to you."

"I'm touched."

Magnus smiled that familiar grin of his that he used whenever he had something amazing to tell Jaghatai. "You should be. Were you Russ, I would have torn you apart limb from limb. As of now, I simply want to speak to my brother."

"Speak then."

The specter floated next to his brother and sighed. "I want you to join me, Jaghatai. I know Mortarion offered you this before, but I mean what I say when this is for the best. Jaghatai... the Galaxy is falling apart. I have seen many visions of what is to come. Many of our brothers are returning, the fallen and the faithful alike, and what Abaddon has done to the Galaxy is just the beginning. Roboute may have halted the progress of the Rift, but it will grow until this Galaxy is more or less a new incarnation of the Warp itself. When that happens, the war you are fighting will have all been for nothing. As it has been from the beginning. Terra itself will soon come under attack and it will not survive this time. The Throne is failing so even if the coming attack is propelled, Terra will fall. Many will die, but I can save you. I failed to save Sanguinius, but I can save you and your sons. I mean it."

"You certainly have a grim view on things, Magnus."

Magnus laughed. "We live in a galaxy of continuous war and destruction, Jaghatai. Grim is the reality of life."

"And you say you've seen an attack on Terra coming. By who?"

Magnus shook his head. "I cannot say."

"Cannot or won't."

"Both and... neither. Because I do not want it to be stopped."

Jaghatai glared at Magnus and began to draw his sword. "You will tell me. Now."

Magnus' laugh reverberated across the plains, as if it was an echo chamber. "Or what? You will strike me down? I am a projection, not a Warp Entity. It would be a waste of energy." He chuckled for a bit longer before calming down. "Jaghatai... do you know what father made me for? He wanted me to take his place on the Throne. I was to be the guide for those who traveled through the Warp. Perhaps a more suitable punishment than the one he ordered Russ to enact on Prospero."

"He only did that because Horus ordered him to in the Emperor's name. You know Russ, he was always The Emperor's most loyal dog."

"And who's to say that wouldn't have happened to us without the Heresy? I saw into his mind. We were never meant to last forever. We were expendable. Meant to be contained in special apartments in the palace, kept away from our homes while our sons were hunted down and wiped out as reward for their service. And you can bet that Rogal would have done so with a smile on his bootlicking face."

"That is not true! Rogal loves his sons as much as any of us!"

"He wanted me to let my sons die, Jaghatai." That stopped the Khan. "He wouldn't save them. Said they were too far gone. Too tainted. That is why I ultimately sided with Horus. No matter the horrible things they have done, and they are guilty of many sins, as am I, I love my sons. So I would let Father die as penance for what he has done to us and what he would have done!"

"And the people of Terra? Would you let them die as well?!"

"Their deaths would be a relief from the Hell this Galaxy is, Jaghatai! Terra is a slumworld of hypocrisy and misery! It deserves no less!"

"That is not for you to decide! For any of us to decide!" Jaghatai drew his sword and made as if to strike the projection before calming down and lowering his blade. "What you say... is true. Father has betrayed us numerous times over. We were lied to about the true nature of the Warp and because of that lie, Horus fell because of his pride and lack of true awareness. If he were here, I would challenge him myself. And I would gladly do it. However, that is where it would end. Your problem, Brother, in fact all of your problems, is that you do not know where to end it. You want the entirety of the universe to burn for what happened to you. Do not tell me that slaughtering humanity is a mercy. Were they on Prospero when your sons were slaughtered? No. They were either dying in the Warmaster's rampage or trying to live their lives in a Galaxy that had gone to Hell. You want revenge? Kill Russ and let it end there! I will not join you, but I do not want to fight you. I still remember the great work we did together before Mortarion and Lorgar destroyed it. We could do it again. I... I want to do it again with you."

Magnus the Red's form changed from the form the Khan had known him for years as into the Daemon he'd become. It towered over Jaghatai with a sad look in its eye. "Look at me, Jaghatai. This is who I am now. I am a Daemon Prince in the service of Tzeentch. It was the price I paid to save my sons. I cannot go back. I have done too much to warrant any kind of forgiveness. Though... it does touch my hearts that you would more or less endorse me killing Russ. You have changed, Jaghatai. I remember our conversation on Prospero the last time you were there. You were all in favor of running and hiding away from the Heresy. Now you have taken a stand and that makes me proud. You have grown up, Brother. But I cannot go back."

He shrank back down to the form Jaghatai remembered. "You will fight for Father then?"

"No. I will fight for humanity. Father's plans for us are no more. We have the right to choose. We can no longer use him as an excuse for our actions. And I choose to fight for the weak. I am not a tyrant. I choose to stand against you."

Magnus considered that for a moment and then nodded. "Then I will see you on the battlefield, Brother." He turned away from Jaghatai, more for dramatic effect than necessity. "Do you remember what you asked me on Prospero?"

"How can I restore you?"

Magnus nodded. "If you could... that would be nice. But it is impossible. My soul is with Tzeentch and I am bound to fight in His and Chaos' name. I will face you in battle and I will have to kill you. But before I go, I must let you know: I do not blame you for not being at Nikaea. The table was always stacked against us. It would have made no difference. Goodbye, brother."

The projection vanished and Jaghatai turned back to look at the plains before getting back on his bike. "The gauntlet has been thrown. It will come here soon. I know it."

Author's Note:

Often times when I think of a story, I'm at work and I often just speak out the dialogue to myself while praying that no one will hear me and think I'm crazy. This was something I thought of on the fly and wanted to do before I moved onto the next story arc. Of all the Primarchs, Magnus' fall is the most tragic as it really could have been avoided had it not been for Horus. Magnus would have been punished, but not as severe as he got from Russ. I know a popular phrase among the fandom is "Magnus did nothing wrong", but what I wanted to show that even if he did nothing wrong, that is no excuse for all the wrongs he has done for 10,000 years, no matter how justified. And who better to play off him than the brother that everyone expected to go rogue than Jaghatai.

I love Jaghatai Khan as a character and I plan to go back to his time in Commorragh to show that. His relationship with Magnus is something I wanted even more of than what we saw in his books. So for them to speak again was something I had to do. And I would hope that they would have a somewhat civilized talk. And it is bull that the Dark Angels are the only ones with a working Jetbike! Seriously, the Scars deserve to have that one more than the Dark Angels do!

I really don't have much else to say except this was something I hope people will like. Next up... Daddy/Daughter trip!