Chapter 9: Lost Brothers
The smell of fresh food was overwhelming. A fully developed Space Marine could go weeks, or even a few months without eating. A Primarch could easily go 6 months. However, as Leeman Russ showed many times, the joy of a good meal is shared by both humans and superhumans.
"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium" Grover said reading off the sign. The storm had gotten worse since Sanguinius had landed.
"Jeez man, what did you do to make Zeus so mad?" Percy asked.
"I failed to die" Sanguinius answered.
Vulkan was enraged, what kind of god would try to kill someone simply for flying? What frustrated Vulkan the most was what Percy had said, that if he ever flew, Zeus would make sure he never landed. What was Percy's crime? Being the son of Poseidon, and being blamed for stealing the Master Bolt. One crime Percy had no choice in the matter, and the other Zeus had no evidence for. In this respect, Vulkan saw the vengeful god of the sky as like the Inquisition, the organization that and ruined the Imperium his father had built.
There were statues placed around the Emporium, each of them had exquisite craftsmanship and realism. They would have been right at home at an Imperial exhibition if it weren't for their faces. Each face had an expression of pure terror and pain upon it. Grover was fixated on one statue in particular, of a Satyr. He chuckled, "Hey, this one looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!"
They approached the entrance to the emporium and a woman greeted them at the door. Her outfit was strange, she was covered from head to toe in a veil, not unlike the women of Tallarn.
"Oh my, what are you doing out in this weather?" She asked concerned.
"Our bus crashed on the highway" Annabeth explained, "We're looking for shelter. Can we please come inside?"
"Why of course you can." The women said, "I'll even get you a meal, on the house."
Something about the woman struck him as odd, Vulkan swore he could hear a faint hissing. Magnus whispered to Vulkan, "I can't read her…"
"What?" Vulkan asked,
"I can't read her surface thoughts," Magnus explained, "I could not read the Furies either."
"Stay on your guard, but don't intervene yet. We need to be sure she isn't human." Vulkan said, "Make sure you alert the others."
The Primarchs were presented with a strange meal, a short cylinder of meat in between two grain supplements. To the average Imperial citizen, it would have been a feast. Even to the Primarchs the dish tasted rather well.
Annabeth looked at the Primarchs concern, "You said she was a monster, and you're still eating the burger." She sharply whispered.
"The dish is fine, I assure you." Magnus explained, "Us Primarchs were created with several supplementary organs, one of which allows us to detect the chemical composition of anything we consume."
The group was nervous, they had no idea what this woman could be. "Annabeth, do you know of any monster that would have reason to hid her appearance in such a way?" Vulkan asked.
"No, most monsters are able to hide their appearance in such a way that it can even fool most demigods, there's no reason for a monster to hide their entire face…" Annabeth trailed off, "Oh no…"
The woman seemed to realization that had covered Annabeth's face. "Oh, what a shame," she said, "I had hoped to take such a wonderful picture but I guess this will have to do." The Primarchs began to stand as Auntie Em began to lift her veil.
"CLOSE YOUR EYES!" Annabeth warned.
The Primarchs heeded her warning, as the hissing of serpents filled the room.
Vulkan's world was plunged into darkness, Annabeth had demonstrated knowledge of these monsters before, so he obeyed her warning to shut his eyes. "Who are you foul daemon." Vulkan demanded.
"Daemon! That's not very flattering." The beast said, her voice sounding like the daemons of Slaanesh.
A strained voice rose above the cacophony of hissing, "You're Medusa, one of the Gorgons." Annabeth said, "Don't look at her face, you'll turn to stone." Vulkan realized the gravity of the situation, if not for her warning the Primarchs may have perished. Vulkan then realized the familiarity with those names.
"Oh yes, young daughter of Athena, you're very smart" Medusa said, "And you know who I have to thank for this curse don't you!" She said with rage.
"She said that you're a Gorgon, is that correct" Vulkan asked.
Medusa was intrigued, most mortals were usually paralyzed with fear once they realized who she was. "Oh yes… strange, most mortals are at least familiar with my tale." Medusa said
"And your name is Medusa,"
"Why of course, I was called Aunty M, wasn't I."
The rage that had been building up within Vulkan threated to burst. Medusa, The Gorgon, these two names are sacred to his brother, Ferrus Manus. Medusa was home and The Gorgon his title, a symbol of his steadfastness and uncompromising views. He and Vulkan trained together in the art of smiting upon the sacred ground of Mars. Then the heresy came, and with it Istvaan, where his brother slain and their legions massacred.
"Then you are an insult!" Vulkan exclaimed, turning the device on his wrist. He could feel the weight of his armor upon his shoulders and the magnitude of Dawnbringer in his hands.
"What in Tartarus!" Medusa shouted
To many, fighting blind is suicide, but to a Primarch it is manageable. Deprived of sight, Vulkan used the Lyman's ear to enhance the sound of hissing emanating from the monster, giving him a mental map of the room.
"YOU DARE USE HIS TITLE AS YOUR OWN!" Vulkan shouted, rising Dawnbringer high above his head.
"TAKE COVER!" Magnus shouted before the familiar crack of a Thunder Hammer hit the room.
"YOU ARE WEAK! BUT YOU TAKE THE NAME OF HIS HOME AS YOUR OWN!" Vulkan was enraged, the sound of serpents had stopped after the first blow but Vulkan continued his assault upon Medusa.
"HE WAS MY BROTHER! HE WAS STEADFAST, LOYAL, AND UNCOMPROMISING! AND YOU DARE INSULT HIS HONOR!" Vulkan raised his hammer for one final blow, bellowing the words of the brother he had lost, "THE FLESH IS WEAK!"
Vulkan opened his eyes. Where Medusa once stood, there was now a crater. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover fled behind cover, shocked but unharmed. "The beast is dead..." Vulkan said, "You may open your eyes."
Annabeth was perplexed, all accounts of demigod encounters with Medusa stated that the head would remain after death. But there was simply nothing left of the gorgon. For the first time, Annabeth came realized how powerful these Primarchs actually were, and this realization terrified her.
Vulkan had turned to his brothers, "I could not allow an insult to his memory. I am sorry." Vulkan said, ashamed.
"Are you kidding me!" Grover exclaimed, "That was amazing!"
"No." Vulkan said, "I allowed myself to be overcome by rage, I put myself, my brothers, and all of you in danger."
"Vulkan… who were you talking about? Who is the Gorgon?" Percy asked.
Vulkan looked at Percy, "Perhaps, we should tell you of the future we came from."
The three heroes had taken seats in the remains of the Emporium, preparing to listen to the story of the Primarchs.
"To tell you of our origins we must first tell you of our father," Magnus began, "The Emperor of Mankind."
Magnus, had his staff in his hand. Suddenly the scene shifted, the heroes were no longer in Auntie Em's Emporium, but were on a mountain top. At the summit, they say a massive figure armored in gold and wielding a flaming sword
"Even we do not know much of his origins, but we do know is that he was born ten-thousand years ago."
"How is that possible," Annabeth asked, "You said you were born in 30,000 years from now, but what you just said implies that your father was over 40,000 years old!"
"That is exactly what we are implying Mrs. Chase, the Emperor was immortal" Magnus answered.
The scene shifted once again, massive ships departed from Earth. New planets were colonized, some fell into ruin while other prospered. The Demigods were witnessing the rise of humanity as they colonized the galaxy. "Humanity spread itself among the stars. Our species reached the peak of technological progress, a Golden Age of Technology was upon us." Suddenly a massive explosion, entire worlds were consumed by some sort of storm. "Then, the fall…"
"Humanity utilized the warp, the very same realm psykers draw power from, to travel the stars. But, the warp breached into reality, creating the Eye of Terror. Ships could no longer safely navigate the warp, every human world was isolated for millennia. Thus began the Age of Strife" Magnus explained. Annabeth, Percy, and Grover watched in horror as many colonies died a slow death due to starvation. Even more became splintered, fighting wars that made World War II look like playground fight. Even Earth was not safe, as they were shown barbaric tribes raiding and looting the once great cities of Earth. "Then, The Emperor revealed himself, he united the factions that plagued Earth during the Age of Strife and declared the Great Crusade, he would unite humanity under a new banner. That of the Imperium of Man."
"That is when he created us." Rogal said, "During our creation, foul forces within the warp scattered us across the stars. Each of us landing upon a different world."
"Utilizing what genetic information he had left, The Emperor created the Space Marine Legions, our sons, to fight the Great Crusade and reclaim us Primarchs." Rogal said.
"There were 18 Primarchs." Magnus said. He waved his staff once more conjuring a series of visions. "These are our fellow brothers and their legions." He proclaimed.
"Lion El'Jonson of the 1st legion, the Dark Angels." Upon a forested world, they saw a man armored in black, with flowing blonde hair, leading an army of hooded warriors.
"Fulgrim of the 3rd legion, the Emperors Children." A man with long white hair and ornate purple armor was leading an army of warriors into battle. Each of them bore a symbol of an Aquila's wings.
"Perturabo of the 4th legion, the Iron Warriors." Rogal said with disgust. A large man in gigantic armor was seen besieging a massive fortress.
"Jaghatai Khan of the 5th legion, the White Scars." A horde of warriors upon, each riding a strange hovering vehicle, charged into battle lead by a battle scared warrior.
"Leeman Russ of the 7th legion, the Space Wolves." Magnus said with resentment. They were shown a man wielding a glowing sword charging into battle flanked by two wolves.
"Konrad Curze of the 8th legion, the Night Lords." A man in dark armor and a terrifying face cloaked in darkness stalked what looked like an elf. Shrouded in darkness the man savagely attacked the elf before vision faded.
"Ferrus Manus of the 10th legion, the Iron Hands." A man with metal arms wielding a massive hammer was attacking some of the purple warriors from before.
"Angron of the 12th legion, the World Eaters." A man, consumed by rage on the battlefield, wielding two massive axes charged into a horde of green skinned creatures.
"Roboute Guilliman, of the 13th, the Ultramarines." Annabeth was thankful, this vision was not of a battle, but of a rally. A man in blue armor bearing the Greek Omega, was giving a speech to an army of similarly clad troops.
"Mortarion of the 14th legion, the Death Guard." Unlike the elegant armor of the rest of the Primarchs, this armor seemed like it had been decaying for millennia. The Primarch's face was obscured by a hood, and wielding a scythe, like the grim reaper.
"Lorgar of the 17th legion, the Word Bearers." This vision showed the ruins of a city. Within the ruins knelt a legion of warriors, their heads bowed in shame, each one bore a burning book upon their shoulder, At the head of the army knelt a Primarch, with massive mace at his side he knelt in submission to Roboute Guilliman. There was no glory in this vision, only rage and shame.
"Corvus Corax of the 19th legion, the Raven Guard." The vision was of a man armored in black, with mechanical wings swooping down into the heat of battle.
"Alpharius Omegon of the 20th legion, the Alpha Legion." The vision they were shown was of a massive army of identical soldiers. Each figure indistinguishable from the others.
"And lastly, Horus of the 16th legion. The Arch-Traitor…" Sanguinius finished. No vision accompanied this name, only the Primarchs looks of grief and regret.
Annabeth was confused, something didn't add up. "What about the other two legions? There were only 18 Primarchs but the legions were numbered to 20." She asked
The Primarchs looked fearful, like a great secret had been revealed. "We do not speak of them Annabeth Chase." All four Primarchs responded.
This time Percy asked a question, "Why did you call Horus the 'Arch-Traitor'? What did he do?"
Magnus began to explain, "Horus betrayed the Emperor, he swayed half the Primarchs to his side, and even though I have no memory of it, I was among the traitors."
Vulkan continued, "This was the great civil war known as the Horus Heresy, it truly began upon the world of Istvaan V." The vision showed a barren and empty, armies clashed upon its surface as the ground itself seemed to burn. The heroes bore witness to a duel between two Primarchs.
Ferrus Manus fought against Fulgrim. Fulgrim was knocked to the ground, Ferrus prepared to deal the killing blow. Fulgrim then unsheathed a strange sword that pierced through Ferrus's armor. Falling to his knees and gasping in agony, Ferrus was defenseless. Fulgrim hesitated for but a moment, before bringing his sword down unto the neck of Ferrus.
"He was called, the Gorgon." Vulkan said, referring to his fallen brother, "A name given to him by his closest friend." Vulkan said, saddened, "I trained with him on Mars… That is why that creature angered me so...".
"The Traitors successfully besieged Terra," said Rogal Dorn, "The Emperor, Sanguinius, and I, teleported aboard Horus's Flagship, but we were placed on different sections of the vessel."
"I was the closest to Horus," Sanguinius began "I.." he hesitated, "I faced him in battle, but he bested me" No vision accompanied this tale, "I was slain by my own brother…" Sanguinius said quietly.
Rogal continued, "I found Sanguinius's body, along with the Emperor and no sign of Horus. He was greatly injured the battle, but assured me that Horus had been defeated." Rogal said somberly, "We returned The Emperor to Terra, where he was placed upon the Golden Throne. A life support device that would keep is psychic essence alive. So, he could continue to guide the Imperium."
"It is during this time that we appeared on your world." Rogal said. "I fell in battle decades later to the remains of Horus's legion." Rogal said, "Magnus was displaced before the heresy, and Vulkan after his own death during the heresy."
Vulkan stepped forward. "Brothers, that's not entirely true… I fell in battle against an Ork warlord on Ullanor, 1500 years after the Heresy."
"No," Rogal said, "That's impossible, Guilliman said you were slain on Macragge! You were stabbed in the heart!" Rogal protested
"Yes… I did die, but before that I died in Curze's captivity! Again and again I was tortured and slain by the Night Haunter!" Vulkan said, "I saw the Imperium after the heresy, I was the last one left, I was the last loyal Son of the Emperor!" Vulkan said his voice filled with anger. "Our Imperium died after the Heresy… a millennium a later, a Theocracy took control of the High Lords of Terra!" Vulkan continued, "They worship the Emperor like a god, they enforce their will through fear and blood…"
Rogal Dorn was shocked, "Then we failed…"
Vulkan calmed down, "I cannot die brothers, I have faced death many times before, but I always return." Vulkan said somberly, "I am Perpetual…"
"By the Emperor," Sanguinius muttered.
Annabeth spoke up, "Wait, couldn't we warn the Emperor about all this! We can stop it all from happening"
Magnus looked at her with pity, "We may try, but who knows what that will bring. The only certainty is decay, rage, change, and pain."
This time Percy spoke up, "What do you mean Perpetual?"
Vulkan looked at him, saddened, "It means young warrior, that I will never die. I will outlive the very universe itself and all that comes after." Vulkan said, his voice laced with dread. "I am truly immortal, a terrible curse."
AN: So, the Primarchs tell their story. I've been asked about bringing more Primarchs into the story, the answer is that If I do they are a long way off. I want to focus on these four because they some of my favorites. And before you ask, no the lost Primarchs will not appear in the story. I may drop some more hints about what I think happened (may), but I think that their fate is best left a mystery. Oh, and I finally broke 2,000 words in one chapter! (The authors note pushes it the 3,000 but that doesn't count.)
I also want to tell my readers about my biggest conflict in regard to writing the story as to provide some context as to where I'm coming from while writing this. I don't want the Primarchs to overshadow Percy or Annabeth (I can't do much about Grover lol). The reason being is that I LOVE the Percy Jackson series, I grew up with it (I refer to it as my Harry Potter). So, I really love these characters. This is why I had Percy and Annabeth kill 2/3 of the Furies, I don't want it to be the Primarchs go on a quest featuring Percy Jackson, nor do I want it to be Percy goes on a quest featuring the Primarchs. I want to keep Percy as the loyal hero and for the Primarchs to influence the story in meaningful ways.
Thank you so much for reading!