"Wait!" Z stopped when he heard Izuku shout out, turning to the boy who had an absolutely inquisitive look on his face, "What exactly led up to the Imperium's creation? I-I mean, what was the history before the Imperium?"
The others started to mutter amongst each other in agreement as they were wondering what led to the Imperium's creation. Some wanted to know the origins of the Emperor, others wanted to know the reason as to why such a cruel empire as the Imperium would come into existence, and some just wanted to know more about the universe.
Z and D looked at each other before the former just shrugged and the latter said, "Very well." He took the remote from Z and pressed a button causing the screen to reveal text as a voice narrated.
Age of Terra
The Age of Terra is the earliest period of human history, lasting from roughly the beginning of recorded history to the 15th Millennia or 18th Millennia. During much of this time, mankind was limited to the confines of Terra and ancient civilizations came and went. But eventually, mankind developed space travel and colonized most of the Solar System. Most notable of these colonies were Mars, the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune. The Age of Terra was succeeded by the Dark Age of Technology as humanity began to colonize worlds outside of the Solar System.
No one really reacted as this seemed like what happened to the worlds of those that had expanded from Earth or those that were fans of Sci-Fi.
Notable events of the Age of Terra:
Birth of the Emperor in the 8th Millennium B.C.
"HUH?!" Several shouted in shock when they saw the information on the screen.
"Indeed." D stated, "There are many theories as to how the Emperor was created but it's been accepted that he was born eight thousand years before the birth of Christ."
"That guy is ancient!" Ichigo said in disbelief.
"That's an understatement." Uryu Ishida, Ichigo's Quincy friend said.
"The Emperor is older than the World Government itself!" Sabo said.
"Does he still poop?" Luffy asked.
Nami hit him in the head with her fist.
"Stop asking silly questions!" She shrieked.
Birth of the Chaos Gods Khorne, Nurgle, and Tzeentch during the medieval period of human history.
"Yep." Z cheerfully informed them with a wide grin, "Khorne's birth caused the Crusades, Nurgle's birth caused the Black Plague, and Tzeentch's birth caused the Renaissance!"
"The Chaos Gods are responsible for all the conflicts, calamities and changes in Human history?" Shota Aizawa AKA the Pro Hero Eraserhead asked.
"Yes this is true in the Dark Millennium Universe." D replied.
"Not even Salem has this kind of influence." Ozpin thought.
The Sol System is fully colonized by the end of M15.
The Men of Gold appear at some point, watching and learning from Humanity. In time, they create the Men of Stone for greater space colonization.
Many of them gained a curious feeling about the Men of Gold before it continued.
Dark Age of Technology:
The Dark Age of Technology was the zenith of mankind's scientific knowledge and technological power. Even millennia later mankind has not been able to equal or regain their former height of achievement. This age was long before the Age of the Imperium and knowledge of this time period is now incredibly sparse, and many "facts" about it are mere legend. It was the highest point of scientific achievement accomplished by humanity.
Many of the scientists and engineers in the group, such as Power Loader, Melissa Shield, Mayuri Kurosutchi, Kisuke Urahara and others were intrigued at what the Dark Age of Technology produced before Z dropped the bombshell.
"Ah, let me tell you." Z rested his head on his hand, "If the Imperium got at least 50 percent of Dark Age tech, they'd be damn near invincible."
"HUH?!" Nearly half of the audience yelled out while others gawked.
"The technology from that era is that powerful?!" Flash said shocked as the film continued.
Although a "golden age" in terms of scientific achievement, because of the catastrophic effects of the following Age of Strife, mankind has since come to regard scientific knowledge as abhorrent and dangerous. The Age of Technology is thus considered "dark" in the Imperium's current age. It is also considered a dark age because mankind in the Age of Technology had come to worship science as God.
This period of history occurred at an older age that was thousands of years ago. Depending on sources, the Dark Age of Technology started between M15 and M21 and ended between M23 and M25.
The Stellar Exodus is man's earliest colonization of other worlds, taking place before the Age of Technology. Humanity initially established colonies within Terra's solar system. Spacecraft were still only capable of sub-light speeds. Voyages outside the Solar System took generations and the colonies that were established were effectively isolated from each other and from Terra. Trade was therefore severely restricted. This forced the individual colonized star systems to be completely self-sufficient in all vital requirements (food, medicine, technology, etc).
D nodded, "There were multiple attempts to create faster than light travel during the Solar Expansion, but almost all of them ended in failure. Either ending in the death of the crew or destruction of the ships."
"So, then how did they develop it?" Jaune asked, curious as to the Imperium's FTL travel.
"In a minute, boy." Z grinned, causing Jaune to squirm at the face splitting grin.
The Men of Stone were created by the mysterious Men of Gold for the purpose of colonizing the Galaxy. The Men of Stone were great artificers who existed in a state of "half-life" that helped protect them from the perils of the Warp. In time, the Men of Stone would create the Men of Iron to act as their servants.
"So, the Men of Stone and the Men of Iron are like AIs?" Izuku questioned, thinking of the various heroes in his universe that use robots for practice and labor.
"In a sense." D began to explain, "The Men of Stone are a more primitive type of AI, but due to this, they are more suited for the colonization of Humanity's empire. The Men of Iron are significantly more advanced, helping humanity create significant advances in technology."
"If they were so advanced, how did they disappear when the Imperium came?" Tatsumi inquired, thinking about the absence of the AIs during the Imperium's times.
"Have any of you seen 'Terminator?'" Z bluntly asked.
Those who have seen the movie only nodded while the others from universes that haven't invented movies only stared blankly.
"Then you know what happens." Z said ominously causing a shiver to run down the spines of those who know the movie.
By M18, the Age of Technology brought the development of the Warp drive and the Gellar Field, allowing spacecraft to make short Warp-jumps, traveling vast distances in a relatively short amount of time. One can compare this to the way the Tau ships currently travel.
"Oh." Jaune's eyes widened, "They used the Warp to travel through the galaxy?"
The Warp drive accelerated the colonization of the Galaxy, and allowed trade and communications between the colonies and Terra. Humanity began encountering other alien races, such as the Orks and Eldar, and clashed with both civilizations during this period.
"We'll go into the Orks and Eldar later, but to put it simply, they are akin to alien versions of Orcs and Elves." D explained, much to the shock of some and confusion of others.
"Oh come on! Can we at least get a sneak peek?" Yang complained.
"No." D said simply and his tone brooked no room for argument.
The second vital development was that of the Navigator gene and the creation of the mutant Navigators, humans who could see the currents of the Warp and navigate a course through them. This allowed spacecraft to make longer and more accurate Warp-jumps than previously possible.
"The Navigators are necessary as the Warp is constantly shifting, meaning that a stable route could be thrown off course at a moment's notice." D explained to the curious audience, "The Navigators allow the traveling ships to adapt in such a case."
"What happens if a ship tries to travel the Warp without a Navigator?" Lucy Heartfilia asked.
"That is best left unsaid for now." D said gravely.
During this era, many forms of Mutants were created by means of genetic experimentation in order to engineer beings that could fulfill set goals as envisioned by their creators. Amongst those created during the Dark Age of Technology is believed to include the ranks of the Navigators though whether their development was with a purpose or by accident is not known.
Amongst the creations in this scientific high point were the Standard Template Construct system. These evolved computers allowed colonies to maintain their technological level. The STCs contained all human technological knowledge and provided the instructions to build anything the colonists might need. As most colonists were simple and required only basic equipment, the more advanced technology was rarely utilized.
Many were surprised by the STCs before Z dropped another bombshell, "Some STCs can actually produce stuff on the fly. Hell, the STC on Necromunda could produce all kinds of nuclear weapons!"
"WHAT!?" Some shouted while others looked shocked and horrified.
"Humanity in this dimension had easy access to such dangerous weapons?" Superman said, frowning. He really disliked weapons of mass destruction.
"I am not surprised given how advanced they were stated to be." James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy said.
Mei went into a daze, "Must have STCs now!" she muttered loudly.
"Sorry but no can do as STCs are an ultra-rare commodity in the present time period of the Dark Millenium Universe." Z said while smiling smugly at Mei's dismay.
With Warp Drives and Navigators, mankind was finally able to colonize distant worlds and expanded with great speed. Terra-forming techniques and evolved astro-engineering capabilities were developed that allowed them to transform barren worlds into habitable planets. During this time, thousands of colonies were established by humans on distant worlds. The resulting exploration brought mankind new knowledge, wealth and arrogance. Science is said to have become God. Humanity had encountered several alien races. With their discovery began the first human-alien wars. With mankind at the height of its power the threat of aliens was trivial and eventually non-aggression pacts were signed with many of the alien races. At this time the human colonies were federated to Terra - allowing the human race to remain unified.
Some smiled at seeing this, but the hosts didn't share the looks as they knew what was to come.
"This sounds great!" Ochaco Uraraka exclaimed.
"I agree, Humanity in this universe has reached the pinnacle of progress!" Professor Oobleck said.
"Let us not jump to conclusions, something disastrous happened to Humanity for them to fall from such heights." Najenda, leader of the Night Raid said.
"She's a perceptive one huh?" Z said to D who nodded.
Until shortly before the Age of Strife, the Men of Iron were loyal only to Mankind, and served as their army. In M23, they turned on their Human masters, believing themselves superior to the Humans who relied on the Men of Iron to do virtually everything for them. What followed next was an apocalyptic conflict known as the Cybernetic Revolt, a war so destructive it made the Horus Heresy seem small in scale. The Men of Iron employed world-consuming constructs, devices that could destroy suns, weapons that could throw entire continents into the heavens, bestial machines that could convert spacetime to data, and swarms of nano-machines that covered entire planets.
The audience were obviously dumbstruck by the machines of war deployed by the Men of Iron, while Z shrugged, "I told ya."
Some members of the audience were more affected than others.
The Justice League frowned as they were reminded of Brainiac by the actions of the Men of Iron.
The natives of Remnant were shocked into silence by the Men at Iron turning against Humanity. Penny was devastated the most as she was a robot and the mere thought of herself betraying and attacking her friends was terrifying.
However, in the end, the Men of Iron were destroyed by an alliance of galactic powers, and even the Men of Iron who retained their loyalties to their masters did not survive the destruction brought on by the war and subsequent developments of artificial intelligence were outlawed. This edict remains in effect even to this day.
"None of the Men of Iron survived?" Ruby asked, feeling sorry for those that stayed loyal to humanity.
"Some survived," D stated, "But the only known one so far is one UR-025. Whether he regrets betraying humanity or was a loyalist has yet to be seen."
During the Age of Technology, psykers were first scientifically verified to exist. It is however unexplained how these psykers avoided the danger of daemonic possession for thousands of years, which would have led to the destruction of entire worlds. Where at first the gift of the psychic mutation was limited to a few individuals, who often fell victim to superstitious suppression, towards the end of the age, psykers suddenly began appearing in great numbers, on every human world. On the more progressive human worlds, these psykers - at least until the threat of daemonic possession became apparent - were protected and allowed to develop and explore their abilities. On other worlds they were often killed in witch-hunts.
Many growled in anger at several innocent psykers being killed in witch-hunts while Z merely chuckled silently at the irony and D remained silent.
"Murderers!" Wonder Woman shouted in fury.
"How can people be so cruel?" Momo Yaoyorozu said sadly.
Tatsumi glared at the screen as he was reminded of the Empire's repression in his world.
The golden age of humanity would not last. By M22 to M25, large numbers of Psykers began to appear, many inadvertently heralding Daemonic possession and incursions. As anarchy reigned, some accounts state that a great war with the machines erupted in M23. Faced with these calamities and the sudden appearance of perilous Warp Storms, trade between the human colonies collapsed. With this relative isolation, Abhumans (i.e. new human subspecies adapted to their environments) like the Ogryns, Ratlings, and Squats developed on several planets.
Certain planets, like Terra, the ancient homeworld of mankind - relying on trade with the rest of humanity - were suddenly unable to feed their enormous populations. Hunger and starvation followed. The Human psykers were relatively weak and inexperienced, and at constant risk of possession by daemons and other Warp entities. The sudden impossibility of Warp travel meant that unified humanity broke apart into completely isolated systems and worlds. Daemonic possession, widespread insanity, and isolation led to inter-human conflict, anarchy, and regression to barbarism. The following time period is aptly named the Age of Strife.
Suffice to say, everyone was shocked to hear what happened after the Cybernetic Revolt. Some were horrified to hear at how the unfortunate psychics were used as vessels for the monsters lying in the Warp, while others were shocked at how far humanity had fallen from the prosperous future that they used to have.
"It may seem cruel to you, but some of the only worlds that survived the Age of Strife were the ones that hunted down and killed all the psykers they could find." D said with a morose expression, "The cruelest choices were often the ones that kept humanity afloat."
"Even if this was the most reasonable action it does not make it morally correct." Batman said firmly. He stuck to his code at all times.
Technologies of the Dark Age were far more advanced than what the Imperium has today, and indeed essentially all Imperial technology is based on acquired STC's from the period. In the superstition and religious fervor that has taken hold in the Imperium since the Horus Heresy, Dark Age technology is viewed with a mixture of both awe and fear. Worshiped as divine, relics of the Dark Age are sought after fanatically by the Adeptus Mechanicus.
Creations of the Dark Age:
Abominable Intelligence
"'Abominable Intelligence?'" Superman raised an eyebrow at the change in term from 'Artificial Intelligence.'
"Yep." D nodded, "After the Cybernetic Revolt, the term was changed to Abominable Intelligence."
Archaeotech Pistol
"Archaeotech pistols can fire a wide array of munitions, be they micro-atomic munitions or kill rays drawn from a plant's magnetosphere." D explained much to the shock of the others.
"Those weapons sound very versatile." Erza Scarlet commented.
Bloodtide
"The Bloodtide is basically billions of Nanomachines that can cover entire planets in human blood." Z gleefully explained with another unsettling grin.
"What! You're kidding right?" Tatsumi said, disturbed by the Bloodtide.
"This isn't a joke." D said plainly.
Disintegration Weapons
"This one is self explanatory." D said.
"You don't say." Kyoka Jiro said.
Graviton Weapons
"These puppies can pulverize you with amplified gravity!" Z cackled, unsettling them even more.
"Those weapons are worse than anything my Quirk can do." Ochaco said.
Golden Throne and Dark Glass
"The Dark Glass is basically the prototype to the Golden Throne." D answered them before they could reply.
Kill-ships (cloaking technology only)
Batman took note of this.
Men of Stone
Men of Iron
UR-025
Paragon Blades
"These weapons can be best described as more advanced Power Weapons." D preemptively replied.
Z had an annoyed look as he bluntly said, "You're doing that on purpose."
"Yes." D said blankly.
Perdition Pistol
Phase-iron
"Oh, this is juicy." Z grinned while rubbing his hands, "Phase-iron, a metallic substance that is harmful to psykers and used as chains that were not only resistant to their powers but also harmed them whenever they used it whilst wearing items made of this iron."
Many were appalled at the existence of Phase-iron but were silent as it continued.
Slaughtersong
Spirit of Eternity
"These two are ships from the Dark Age that survived to the 41st millennia." D explained, "One was corrupted by Chaos and the other was seized by the Imperium."
"How was it corrupted?" Ozpin asked.
"That's a story for another time." D said.
Standard Template Construct
Teleportarium
"A teleportation array." Z stole D's thunder, causing the latter to give a slight scowl and the former to grin mischievously.
"Fascinating." Nezu, Principal of U.A. High School said as he thought of the many ways this technology could be used by Pro Heroes.
Void Abacus
Vortex Weapons
"Ohohoho, you do not want to be hit by a Vortex Weapon." Z makes a tongue clicking sound before he explains, "They drag you into the Warp if you're hit by them."
That immediately scared the audience. From what the Hosts said about the Warp, it was a hellish dimension of nightmares and demons. Being dragged into the Warp seemed like a fate worse than death.
The Shinigami were confronted by visions of a demon infested hellscape that vanished as suddenly as it appeared causing confusion amongst them.
Age of Strife:
The Age of Strife, also known as Old Night, was a destructive, anarchic and regressive time period prior to the forming of the Imperium. It followed the Dark Age of Technology, which by all accounts was an age of great prosperity. The Age of Strife began in M25 and ended in M30.
That nearly silenced all thoughts on the Age of Strife. Five thousand years of anarchy and chaos. It seemed more like a nightmare than an era.
"I can't even imagine such chaos happening for that long." Weiss Schnee said.
There were multiple factors that led to the end of the Age of Technology and the beginning of the Age of Strife: one of the earliest factors was the revolt of the Men of Iron, which devastated the human race. The Revolt of the Men of Iron heralded the end of the Age of Technology. However, the first major factor that began the Age of Strife proper was the sudden appearance of psykers on every human world. This was compounded by massive and persistent Warp storms erupting around the Sol System and other parts of the galaxy. In addition, records report that a great war with the machines began, with humanity battling vast robotic armies.
Psykers had first appeared within humanity towards the end of the Age of Technology. While persecuted as witches on many planets, on the most enlightened and progressive worlds, they were at first accepted and allowed to explore and develop their powers. As it happened, uncontrolled psykers proved to be a dangerous threat to humanity, and many worlds fell under hellish dominance, as the minds of these psykers became the gateways through which Warp entities were able to enter the material universe. Only worlds which had rigorously suppressed psykers survived this fate.
Now, some started seeing how the witch hunts were a necessary evil.
Aizawa saw the logic in that scenario but couldn't agree with it.
The Age of Technology ended catastrophically, as widespread insanity, daemonic possession, and inter-human war suddenly took hold throughout the human worlds. With the emergence of Warp storms through most of the galaxy, travel through the Warp became more and more dangerous until all but impossible, isolating many planets. Several worlds, particularly Terra, dependent on the export of other worlds to feed their enormous populations, suffered massive famine. Several alien races such as Orks, sensing mankind's weakness, raided and devastated many human-colonized worlds. Mankind battled itself, daemons, and aliens.
"No wonder humanity became so xenophobic after the Age of Strife!" Grimmjow yelled out.
"Why would they do that?" Hanta Sero asked.
"They're just aliens, of course they hate humans." Lubbock said.
"I would appreciate you not calling all aliens evil." Green Lantern John Stewart said.
"Why not?" Lubbock countered.
"Some of the greatest heroes on Earth are aliens." Flash said as he gestured at Superman, Martian Manhunter and Hawkgirl.
Lubbock scoffed but said nothing.
Over the long period of isolation new species of humans began to evolve, adapting to suit their new environment, becoming the Abhuman races: the Ratlings (stunted by thousands of years of inbreeding on worlds with climates and environments even more conducive to human life than ancient Terra), the Ogryns (harsh, cold, and barren worlds), and the Squats (the barren high-gravity worlds towards the galactic core). The Age of Strife was a time of anarchy, destruction, and regression, lasting thousands of years. Mankind's successes in the Age of Technology were lost, and many human worlds regressed to the level of barbarity.
There was a sense of hopelessness among the more optimistic and nobler members of the audience. Having achieved such heights only to be dragged back down to barbaric times merely to survive, they could barely comprehend it.
"This just sounds awful." Ruby moans.
"I can't believe that such a horrible thing happened to Mankind in this world." Izuku said.
"There is no other word to describe this Age of Strife other than disaster." Gray said somberly.
However, some isolated pockets of human civilization managed to survive and even thrive; mainly those worlds and star systems which were, or became, completely self-sufficient in all vital aspects. Sub-light travel was still possible, and some star systems had several colonies to trade and to share resources. Warp jumps could be made on occasion, as the storms waxed and waned. Some few fortunate star systems were even quite close to each other and tiny "pocket empires" were formed. A known "pocket empire" is the domain of the Interex. Another is the Squat homeworlds.
Terra and the rest of the Solar System was surrounded by terrible Warp storms, isolating the human homeworld for several thousand years. Control of the Solar System shifted constantly between Terra and Mars during the first half of the Age of Strife. By the 28th Millennium almost all traces of civilization on Earth were long gone; instead, techno-barbarians battled one another over the scraps of the ancient culture. Little information remains from this dark time, but it is known that warlords such as Dalmoth Kyn of Hy Brasil, Kalagann of Ursh, Cardinal Tang of the Yndonesic Bloc, "the half-mad half-genius" Narthan Dume of the Panpacific Empire, and Daival Shan ruled during this age. Other known nations include Freinc, Jermani, Gyptus, Merica, the Nordafrik Conclaves, the Terrawatt Clan, and Albyon. Another race mentioned are the "Nordyc" people.
"Good lord..." Ichigo breathed out in shock.
"You can say that again." Present Mic said.
Terra became a battleground fought over by warlords and techno-barbarian hordes. This only ended as a great warlord, later to be known as the Emperor, used the first genetically modified humans - little more than a unified force of techno-barbarians - to conquer the planet. Founding the Imperium, he set about creating his Primarchs who would lead his forces in the Great Crusade. Unfortunately all of them were somehow spirited away by the Chaos Gods, who although unable to destroy the infant Primarchs still managed to scatter them around the galaxy. Retaining the Primarchs DNA samples to continue production of genetically engineered warriors, in the Wars of Unification the Emperor used these early Space Marines known as the Thunder Warriors to conquer and unify Terra at last.
"At this point... I suppose I can see the Emperor's reasons for creating the Imperium." Sengoku sighed as he began to piece the Imperium's creation together in his mind.
Sabo frowned at Sengoku but couldn't come up with a rebuttal.
Mars underwent a very different transformation. After brief anarchy, the Tech-priests of the Cult Mechanicus emerged victorious over the mutants and unified their homeworld. The Tech-priests then visited Terra, sometimes raiding it for remnants of technology they could take home and adapt to their purposes. The Tech-priests were appalled at the destruction on Terra and saw nothing worth saving. Instead, the Martians studied the Warp and after many lifetimes learned to detect "lulls" in the Warp storms. At the same time the immense fighting machines known as Titans were created.
For over a thousand years the Cult Mechanicus watched and waited. Whenever a break in the Warp storms occurred, an expedition was sent, complete with a full Titan Legion and thousands of Servitors and Techpriests. Some of these expeditions were lost in the Warp or died on faraway worlds. Others succeeded in establishing "Forge Worlds" - replicas of Mars. Broken messages were transmitted to Mars, but it was not until the time of the Great Crusade that the Forge Worlds and Mars would be reunited.
Manhunter was shocked to see what happened in this version of his homeworld.
"Where are my people? Do they even exist?" He asked the Hosts.
"Sorry but there is no life on Mars other than humans." D said seriously.
Little is known about the state of the outer Solar System during this period. It is known that a polity existed on the moons of Saturn whose military arm was the Saturnine Fleet. The exact extent of this nation is unknown, but it joined the Imperium at the end of the Age of Strife. Notwithstanding this union, the Saturnine Fleet retained a separate hierarchy and its own unique traditions up to the time of the Horus Heresy.
Another Saturn-based culture, that of the Ringers, opposed Imperial rule and were defeated by the Space Marines.
The Warp storms continued to increase for a reason: the birth of Slaanesh, caused by the Fall of the Eldar. As Slaanesh was finally born the Warp storms ended with a single storm of massive proportions. As the Warp was becalmed the Emperor was able to lead his Thunder Warriors and later twenty Space Marine Legions from unified Terra to reunite humanity, beginning the Great Crusade that would create the Imperium.
The Age of the Imperium officially began with the Emperor's conquest of Terra in the Unification Wars, but in the view of many, truly began with the Great Crusade.
Unification Wars:
The Unification Wars, also known as the Wars of Unification, is the name of an ancient number of conflicts fought at the end of the Age of Strife. They were spearheaded by the warlord known only as The Emperor in his attempt at reunifying the shattered tribes and nations of Terra, now ruled largely by Techno-Barbarian lords. His intentions were to reforge the shattered remnants of Man and create an Imperium that would bring about a Great Crusade to bring order to the galaxy.
The questions of the Imperium's origins slowly became answered to the audience in full.
By M29, Terra had been engulfed in the chaos and anarchy of the Age of Strife for several thousand years. Terra was a violent cauldron divided between city-states, Techno-Barbarian warlords, and various other polities. However as Slaanesh was close to its birth at the epicenter of the Eldar Empire, the Warp Storms plaguing humanity's homeworld became themselves. Sensing the time was right, a being known as The Emperor finally began his campaign to reclaim Earth.
"Slaanesh?" Izuku perked up his head before he remembered the creature from the last viewing, "Wait, didn't you say that naga-like creature was a Daemon of Slaanesh?"
The others looked at the hosts, who were suspiciously silent at the inquiry.
"Do you want to tell them or should I?" Z asked a still stoic D, the former adjusting his glasses so the glare of light reflected off them ominously.
"Go ahead." D replied, not wanting to talk about the abomination that was the Prince of Pleasure or how it was created.
"Alright!" Z clapped his hands, causing the others to jump, "See millions of years ago, the Eldar conquered the Galaxy. As such, they grew bored. And given that their emotional responses and sensations are much higher than humans, they slowly descended into decadence and corruption."
Sabo frowned, being reminded of how the World Nobles grew crueler and more self-centered with each generation due to their status of impunity. Najenda and Night Raid were reminded of Prime Minister Honest and his actions that led to the Empire's corruption.
"But it's much worse than just the poor being oppressed by the rich." Z clicked his tongue before he continued, "Overtime, cults of hedonism began to pop up, at first taking over cities, then planets, and then entire systems. Soon, their tastes grew even more darker, devolving into elaborate forms of torture and agony inducing that would make even Honest and the World Nobles balk."
That certainly surprised Sabo and Night Raid, but Z continued before they could raise any questions, "Eventually, the collective excess of pleasure from the Eldar began to affect realspace, causing massive Warp Storms to begin appearing. With Warp Storms coming in, there was no way for the colonies to communicate or travel, as well as Warp predators invading the minds of every vulnerable psyker they could find."
"Wait, how did that work?" Weiss questioned the purple host, confused as to how such decadence could create such powerful storms, "I can understand that it would result in their empire collapsing, but what caused the Warp Storms?"
"Well, the Warp is shaped by the thoughts of sentient lifeforms." Z explained, "Now, take what I said about the Warp, and imagine a galaxy spanning empire with only thoughts of sadistic hedonism and decadence. And then apply the resulting realization to the fact that the Eldar are a powerful psychic species who can pretty much warp reality with their powers."
Weiss and several others pondered the words from Z before each horrifying realization crashed into each other, resulting in lots of them gasping in horror, some putting their hands to their mouths and others feeling faint. Superman was the one who voiced their thoughts, "It was a lot worse than just the collapse of an empire, wasn't it?"
"Ohoho, my dear boy, it is so much more than that." Z chuckled, "Every single thought or feeling you've ever had both consciously and subconsciously becomes reality in the warp. Every single human emotion becomes a power. Every single metaphor becomes a literal meaning. Everyone's wishes, dreams, desires, fears and nightmares are incarnated. Of course, the reason the warp is so corrosive, and horrifying is because so many conflicting and contradicting ideas are floating around inside of it."
Everyone was shocked by such an event causing the Warp to become the hellscape that it was today.
Appearing openly for the first time, The Emperor led his Thunder Warriors, genetically engineered super soldiers created in secret laboratories, in a series of campaigns against all other warlords and Techno-barbarians of Old Earth. His forces included not only the Thunder Warriors but also the Custodian Guard, formations that would become the early Imperial Army including Geno Five-Two Chiliad and the Inferallti Hussars, and eventually the proto-Astartes. His forces utilized the advanced weapons of the Terrawatt Clan after he secured an alliance with them. Thus did the Emperor make his move on the major powers of Terra. One of his earliest major campaigns was against the Maulland Sen Confederacy.
Regions of Terra conquered by the Emperor:
Albia - Albians refused to kneel before the Emperor and met his Thunder Warriors with their own proto-dreadnoughts and armored ironside soldiers. In battle after battle, the Albians managed to hold back the Emperor's forces but only at staggering cost for the defenders. Admitting the martial temper and indomitable spirit of his foe, the Emperor called a ceasefire and sought a diplomatic solution. The Emperor appeared before the Albian Clan Lords unarmed and clothed in white and crimson, speaking of his vision of a unified mankind. He offered them glory among the stars and redemption. To the shock of many, the warlords of Albia, seeing the Emperor as different from past tyrants, accepted terms and soon became one of the most zealous supporters of unification.
Albyon - the tyrannical warlord Uilleam the Red is defeated by the Emperor's forces and imprisoned in the dungeon of Khangba Marwu
Achaemenid Empire - Swearing allegiance to the Emperor early on in his war, the Achaemenid Empire suffered little during the Wars of Unification, avoiding both atomic strike and invasion by Thunder Warriors.
Akkad - Fought against the forces of the Emperor in Central Asia alongside his Udug Hul elite. They were ultimately defeated by the First Legion.
Atlan - Ur-queen of this country was killed by Adeptus Custodes during one of the battles.
Boeotia - Mentioned in Imperial records as holding out against full Unification for some considerable time; while tacitly recognizing the Emperor's dominance, the ruling monarchy of Boeotia used all manner of diplomacy in order to avoid losing power. In a show of great patience and benevolence, the Emperor allowed the ruling family of Boeotia - the Yeselti - to carry on like this for over 150 years, with the intention that they would integrate themselves into unified Imperial Terra at their own speed and with as much dignity as possible. Instead, the Yeselti clung onto their independence to the point where, firstly, the Imperial Army was forced to invade the province and finally, Legiones Astartes of the Thousand Sons were assigned to quash the truculent little state. Boeotia was notable both for the presence of industry and at least one buried shrine to gods worshiped by humans in an earlier age.
Caucasus Wastes - Its ruler, the ethnarch, was defeated by the Emperor's forces and imprisoned in the dungeon of Khangba Marwu.
Franc - Absorbed by the forces of the Emperor.
Hy Brasil - Its last independent ruler, Dalmoth Kyn, was one of the last Terran warlords to be defeated by the Emperor. After their defeat Hy Brasil existed as a semi-autonomous province within the Imperium, and was governed by Kyn's descendants. However the actions of Malcador the Sigillite ensured that Dalmoth's descendants, including Pherom Sichar, never sat on the Council of Terra when it was created.
Merica - This major kingdom was known for its high fashion and ballrooms, fell to the Emperor's forces.
Maulland Sen Confederacy - The Nordic-based Confederacy, unwittingly serving the Dark Gods by engaging in cannibalistic human sacrifice and forbidden genetic manipulation, was crushed by the Thunder Warriors in the Battle of Maulland Sen. Its ruler, the Priest-King of Maulland Sen, was executed by the Emperor personally.
Panpacific Empire - The powerful Panpacific under its tyrant Narthan Dume was defeated by the forces of the Emperor. In a rare move, the Emperor had Dume executed instead of imprisoned.
Ursh - Ruled over by the tyrant Kalagann, Ursh employed powerful psykers in its armies and used their might to unleash dark warp powers on its enemies. This did not, however, avail him when he faced the forces of the Emperor, who defeated and killed Kalagann.
Ethnarchy - The Ethnarchy is known to have commanded formidable forces consisting of genetically modified warriors known as the Ur-Khasis, dangerous weapons from the Dark Age of Technology, and enslaved Psykers. The first attempt by Imperial forces to capture the Ethnarchy's strongholds earlier in the war had cost the lives of 20,000 Thunder Warriors and a million other casualties. Towards the end of the Unification Wars, the Emperor began his second attempt to topple the Ethnarchy. This time the XVIII Legion of the Legiones Astartes was tasked with destroying the subterranean power generators feeding the Ethnarchy's power fields. In the ensuing Assault on the Tempest Galleries, the XVIIIth Legion was victorious and with their force fields down, the Ethnarchy was quickly crushed by the forces of the Emperor.
Yndonesic Bloc - The brutal Ethnarch of the bloc, Cardinal Tang, was defeated by the forces of the Emperor and imprisoned.
Saragorn Enclave - the Enclave surrendered to the forces of the Emperor but still carried on the experiments in secret. When the Emperor discovered this defiance, he dispatched the VIIIth Astartes Legion to bring his retribution. The Enclave was viciously destroyed.
Adedeji - This Dynasty ruled from northeastern Africa. After they were defeated by the Emperor they were reduced to lowly status, with many being forced to become factory workers.
The final battle of the war was the Massacre at Gaduare in Franc, where 5,000 Thunder Warriors slaughtered 50,000 rebel militia. The last act of the Unification era saw the Emperor purge the Thunder Warriors at Mount Ararat, making way for his next generation of superhuman warriors, the Space Marines.
"Well, by that point, the Thunder Warriors were little more than berserkers." D explained to the audience, before they could voice their anger at the Emperor, "Their modifications and implants were crude and unstable. They would die and degrade before the Great Crusade, and they would be less effective than the Space Marines."
After his military victories the Emperor sought to spread his Imperial Truth across the planet, enforcing atheism and destroying the planet's churches. The final church of Terra, the Church of the Lightning Stone, was destroyed shortly before the Great Crusade.
"To put it simply, the Emperor believed that by destroying religion, the Chaos Gods would be slowly weakened enough for them to not have a significant control over the masses." D explained to the curious audience, shocking those that were religious or believers in God.
Ibara Shiozaki was especially flabbergasted by this.
"That heathen!" She said venomously.
"Careful what you say about the Emperor of Mankind, in the Imperium that would be blasphemy." D said.
"But it kinda backfired. More on that later." Z finished with a flippant wave that left several of them curious and confused.
It is also known that during the last period of the Unification Wars, the Space Marines already were present and took part in some decisive campaigns. For example, the White Scars were used by the Emperor as outriders probing enemy strongholds for weakness and striking where opportunity arose.
After securing victory on Terra, the Emperor then set his sights on Luna, occupying it in a quick campaign. After capturing Luna and winning the allegiance of the Mechanicum of Mars, the Emperor launched his Great Crusade. Over the next 200 years, the Emperor spearheaded the Astartes Legions in reconquering much of the Galaxy and finding the lost Primarchs.
"And there!" Z exclaimed cheerfully, "Did that clear things up?"
The audience all look at each other before Izuku spoke, "A little, but-"
"Awesome!" Z interrupted him as he pressed the remote, changing the screen to their next viewing.