Shower-thought/headcanon about the Emperor and the primarchs
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Revelation had lived a long life, nearly thirty-nine thousand years. He witnessed many, many major events in human history, sometimes influencing them, sometimes standing by. He met many people, forged many relationships, even if they were fleeting.
But no event and no person could compare to the Heresy and His primarchs.
They were to be tools. Tools He had painstakingly crafted, only to have the Ruinous Powers steal them away and cast them across the galaxy. And when He had found them and taken them under His wing, had He been too cruel? After all, they were indeed meant to be used, much like the Thunder Warriors had been.
Revelation pondered this. It took barely a fraction of his will.
Did a carpenter care for his tools? Did he not make sure that they were properly kept and stored and maintained? He would obviously favor one tool over another, but each had to be used at some point.
Revelation was the carpenter, the primarchs were the tools, and the Imperium was His great work, greater than the Webway Project. Of course Revelation cared for the primarchs. But a small part of His psyche whispered, "But did you care for them as a father?"
And that was what He regretted.
An ancient memory resurfaced and He recalled how long, long ago, back in the second millennium, millennia before the Dark Age of Technology, He had walked through a park and saw a father and son playing with a ball. It was a simple exercise. The father would throw the ball to the boy, the boy would either catch the ball or miss it. Regardless of what the outcome was, the father still smiled and complimented the boy. The boy would excitedly hold up the ball for his father to see and would smile back at his father.
Revelation was not a father to His sons.
Granted, it was hard for Him to do so. The Great Crusade, maintaining the Astronomicon, and myriad other tasks constantly demanded His attention. The closest He got to being a father was naming Horus as Warmaster. And even then it was still in regards to the Crusade.
A father does not treat his children as tools, Revelation mused. He treats them as what they are. Children.
Perhaps Revelation had made some mistake in crafting the primarchs. They were forced to become adults within a few short months of escaping their gestation pods. Maybe He should have taken an approach similar to that of the Custodes or Astartes: intensely train a young child over a long period of time. Or perhaps His mistake laid elsewhere. Despite caring for the primarchs as tools, He did not truly care for them as His sons. Maybe that was what caused them to turn their backs.
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A father trusts his son in any circumstance. Revelation did not trust Horus enough to tell him of the Webway Project.
A father teaches his son of dangers. Revelation did not teach Magnus of the perils of the Warp.
A father lets his son conquer his own challenges. Revelation did not let Mortarion defeat the man that dared call Mortarion "son".
A father aids his son in his own battles. Revelation did not aid Angron on Nuceria.
A father teaches his son to keep his pride in check. Revelation did not show Fulgrim how to do so.
A father helps his son with his sorrows. Revelation did not help Konrad make sense of his visions.
A father praises what his son had done. Revelation did not praise Perturabo for his victories.
A father gently reprimands his son when a mistake is made. Revelation did not simple reprimand Lorgar.
A father explains his goals to his son. Revelation did not tell Alpharius and Omegon of his future plans.
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There was so much Revelation could and should have done. And now the Imperium, his one chance to truly unify humanity under one banner, was fractured beyond repair. There was nothing to be done. And yet... there was one thing. He recalled how Horus' soul, moments before his death, had been laid bare before the Master of Mankind. Horus had been horrified at what he had done. At how he had damned the Imperium to millennia of stagnation and ruin, never again to be truly unified. There had been regret in the Warmaster's soul. Regret that may yet reside in His son's souls. Regret that shimmered in His soul.
Revelation sent out a psychic message into the warp to each of His traitorous sons, those that still lived. A message that simply said "I'm sorry."
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The Emperor canonically cared about the primarchs, even creating lavish apartments in the Imperial Palace for them once the Great Crusade was done. And the bit about Horus' soul is canon too. But a big question I see a lot of is "did the Emperor truly care for the primarchs?" Yes. He did.
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