Chapter 53
The End of an Era
Now
The simple word swirled throughout the entire structure of the Imperial Palace, the entire city that surrounded it and the underground slums below. The psychic message was sent to every one of the Emperors Custodians and the Adeptus Astartes on planet.
Brother-Captain Arkan Lathorise of the Custodians stood up from his place within the main cathedral and turned around to leave, his magnetic boots echoed through the ancient interior of the cathedral as he walked and pushed open the massive solid oak doors to the corridors of the palace proper.
As he continued marching down the magnificent corridors of the palace he found himself joined by his fellow Custodes, like him wearing engraved gold and black armour with long billowing dark red cloaks, holding 2 meter long bolter equipped spears, or Guardian Spears in golden engraved gauntlets.
"You heard brother?" Brother-Sergeant Lucius Nekos asked as he appeared to the Captains right, his Guardian Spear held firmly in his hands as he kept pace with his superior.
"Aye brother" Lathorise replied, not breaking his stride for a moment "What we have waited for countless millennia has arrived"
By know over fifty Custodians had arrived, assembling themselves into two columns of twenty five men each and still growing in numbers as they continued their march down the millennia old halls of the palace. Fifty quickly became a hundred, then two hundred, then a thousand and ever growing even when they entered the clear concrete floor which separated the main palace from the Emperors interior fortress.
As they approached the fortress they found their way blocked by the armoured forms of three hundred of their fellow Custodes. The elites of the Custodian Guards, the Companions stood proudly at attention with their guardian spears held proudly in their right hands. Arkan stopped a hundred meters away from the elite columns, the thousand plus behind him quickly stopped and formed into disciplined ranks with incredibly precise speed and professionalism. The Brother-Captain smiled behind his war helmet, the Adeptus Custodes may not be as proficient in the arts of war as their Adeptus Astartes cousins but they were still a force to be reckoned with.
No words were exchanged between the two factions, in unison the companions turned a full hundred and eighty degrees and started marching towards the battlements of the fortress. They ignored the crouched stone gargoyles starring down at them from the fortress precipices high above, the black pits of their eyes and maws hiding stubber machine guns which could tear through their power armour with a single spray. The companions didn't pay them any attention and continued to march proudly towards the fortresses great kilometre high stone gates, the eternity gates. The recently arrived Custodes fell into formation behind them, swelling their numbers to exactly ten thousand legionnaires.
The great stone doors of the eternity gate opened for the first time with a great thundering creak, causing cascades of grey dust to fall from the top. The dust fell like snow as the near endless column of Custodes marched through the gates ten abreast, the echoes of their steel boots and the taps of the butts of Guardian Spears almost deafening in the cavernous chamber.
They marched through the hall of Primarchs to see the twenty statues of the Primarchs, both traitor and loyalist alike. The Custodes continued marching by these statues, their heads inclined in a show of respect to the Primarchs who stood with and died in the Emperors service during the Great Crusade and those who showed their loyalty to him during the Heresy. Many also offered prayers of forgiveness and pity to those Primarchs who had fallen to the false promises of the Chaos Gods.
As they left the hall of Primarchs and into the last chamber which led to the Golden Throne they found the twelve Warhound Titans who had stood guard over the Emperor for over ten thousand millennia. Standing in two lines of six each on opposite sides of the chamber like massive monolithic statues, their armour was a shinning gold, gleaming in the light of the chamber.
Finally they entered the Sanctum Imperialis, where the Golden Throne was situated. It was no longer there. The life support machine which had kept the Emperor of Man alive for ten millennia was gone. In its place stood a magnificent throne made of solid gold with markings and insignias engraved on its surface. Sitting on this throne was a man who would dwarf any in attendance.
This was impressive for a Custode was the same height as a Space Marine, standing a full head taller than a normal human, a Primarch was larger still, standing a head higher than a normal marine. The Emperor stood taller than any known Primarch, a true giant among men dressed in gold and silver armour with a long bladed power-sword and a storm-bolter leaning against the gleaming throne.
"My sons" he said, his voice holding such power that all in attendance couldn't help but look at him "We have much work to do"
High above the congregation, sitting on a ceiling rafter a kilometre above was the Healer and the Master. The Twi'lek was so exhausted from her healing exertions that she was fast asleep, leaning against her much older brother's shoulder. The Master sat there, watching the Emperor speak and finding himself entranced by the much older immortal.
"Sasha" he whispered, nudging her to awaken her "Do you hear this?"
She groaned in response and tiredly creaked open her eyes to look at him, then at the scene taking place below before closing them again. He nudged her again and she groaned in slight annoyance.
"Bro. Stop it" she said, her voice coming as a soft whine "I just want to sleep for a little while"
He chuckled before turning his attention back to the Emperor and his ten thousand Custodian Guards below, allowing his younger sister of the force to enter a blissful slumber. After a few moments he heard her soft rhythmic breathing, indicating that she had finally fallen asleep. His attention was caught as three squads of ten Custodians each stepped forward, kneeled before the emperor and turned to exit. He probed minds to see where they were going and found a smile creep across his face. This was going to be very interesting.
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Primarch Rouboute Guilliman of the Ultramarines put on his last piece of power armour before turning to leave the chamber which he had spent countless millennia within. He pushed open the stone doors which separated him from the rest of the fortress to find the Ultramarines finest waiting for him.
The terminator armour gleamed in the light of the surrounding corridors, their weapons were polished to a shine and they stood tall and proud in a column of twenty by five. These immortal warriors were further surrounded by Ultramarine Honour Guard. These warriors were armed with a bolter holstered to their waists, the dreaded power-weapons known as the axes of Ultramar held in their hands. Their armour was blue with gold embroidering across their chest plates, helmets and waists, a long blue cape fluttered around them like shrouds of sapphire cloud.
At the head of this column of Ultramarine elites stood the proud forms of the present Chapter Master and Chief Librarian. Chapter Master Marneus Calgar stood out from all the others, a mammoth of a man wearing bulky power armour with cords and wires attached to his neck and the sides of his head, an eye implant covered his empty left eye socket. Chief Librarian Tigurius was a slightly smaller individual, but no less intimidating, a veteran of the Tyrannids he was specially trained to deal with the shadows the monsters caste which drove regular psykers insane.
As Guilliman strolled out into the chambers he inspected the present leaders of his chapter and the elites at their back. They returned his stare for a moment before they all came down to a knee and bowed their heads in respect.
"Hail Rouboute Guilliman" they shouted in reverence, their voices echoing throughout the fortress "Father and Primarch of the Ultramarines Legion!!!"
Besides himself the Primarch smiled at the reverence of his marines, even after so many millennia and so many past generations they still showed him more reverence then he thought himself worthy. He strolled forward towards the kneeling form of Calgar and placed a hand on the chapter masters shoulder.
"Rise Marneus Calgar, chapter master of the Ultramarines" he said proudly before turning his gaze to everyone else "All of you rise. Chief Librarian, 1st company, honour guards, all of you rise!"
"My brothers" he said as they slowly rose to their feet "Gather the Ultramarines, every company, every descendent chapter, every fleet to Macragge. My father, the emperor has ordered us to Terra to help usher in the beginning of a new age. Go my brothers and spread the word, the emperor has returned!!!"
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While the Ultramarines began gathering their forces from across their section of the empire the Dark Angels had already assembled. In orbit above the founding chapters home world of The Rock a massive fleet of hundreds of vessels had gathered, each one bearing the crests and marking of either the Dark Angels or their successor chapters.
All of the successors had arrived with their own fleets of Picket vessels, strike cruisers and even battlebarges. The Angels of Absolution, Angels of Redemption, Consecrators, Disciples of Caliban and the Angels of Vengeance were just a few of the descendants that had gathered at the beckoning call of the Dark Angels recently awakened Primarch, Lion El'jonson.
Chapter Master Azrael gazed out of the bridge of the Dark Angels own lead battlebarge, surveying the clusters of warships from the many diverse descendents of the Dark Angels. He couldn't help but smile at the show of power, in his long life he had been a part of many conflicts for the Imperium and the Dark Angels. Some conquests and wars that he had fought were successful, others were not but in that time he had never seen the forces of the Dark Angels and their younger counterparts amassed to such a number. It was a sight that he had never seen before, and one which he may never see again.
"Magnificent" he mumbled to himself.
"Indeed it is chapter master"
Azrael turned to see the massive armoured form of his superior, towering over him by nearly a head. He instinctively fell down to one knee and bowed his head in admiration for his Primarch. Lion El'Jonson looked even more intimidating and powerful in real life than he did in the stories and legends told of him. He was a monster of a man, just like any other Primarch with armour of emerald green, engraved in gold and silver, a dark red cape hanged from his armoured shoulders. His helmet stood out, emerald green and gold like the rest of his armour but with a set of unfolding golden wings on either side, the same golden wings crafted to his chest plate. Sheathed to his scabbard was a massive power-sword, its blade shone green and was a meter and a half in length, the guard was crafted to look like outstretched wings with a red gem at its centre.
El'Jonson placed a hand on his kneeling subordinates shoulder and beckoned him to rise. The two men then looked out of the main view port, inspecting the grand vessels which made up the biggest fleet the Dark Angels had assembled in millennia.
"You gather this army for more than just welcoming back the emperor, don't you my lord?" Azrael asked after nearly an eternity of silence.
"Yes" the Primarch replied, his blood red eye visors shinning with power "An old foe of the galaxy is stirring. That is the main reason why my father is calling us to him"
"And you mean for us to fight this foe?"
"Yes"
"Then let them come. With the combined armadas of the Dark Angels, Ultramarines, Imperial Fists, Custodians and the vast defence armies and fleets of the Segmentum Solar, we will crush them in a flurry of bolter shells and lance beams!"
"I only wish that it were that easy" the Lion replied wistfully "But I feel that we do not fight such an easily beaten foe. One of the C'Tan is coming Chapter Master, and he brings with him the full firepower of the Necron menace"
"Necron"
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The Emperor stood up from his throne. Eyes that radiated pure power scanned the chamber which just a few hours ago held the entire Legion of his own Custodes, now was empty and silent. Slowly he descended the stone steps which separated his golden throne from the rest of the hall, looking up to the rafters high above.
A slight sound of weight hitting the stone floor brought his attention to the Master, his fellow immortal. He had changed clothes, this time wearing a black pair of robes with long sleeves which encompassed his hands, the robe was tied by a white sash around his waist and over the robes was a white sleeveless tunic with a black symbol of two lightsabres crossed together on the back. His sheathed sword and a lightsabre hilt he had just built were on his hip.
"My thanks to you Master" the Emperor said as he turned to face the man "And to your sister for speeding up my recovery"
"It was our pleasure" the immortal replied with a slightly extravagant bow "It would be better for both galaxies with you to take on the mantle of emperor of the Imperium"
"Your galaxy will have to wait I'm afraid" the emperor replied "That C'Tan you fought is gathering his forces for a direct attack on Terra herself. I am gathering forces from across the galaxy to try and put a good enough defence together"
"I can have Revan gather his forces to stand by you" the Master stated "He has been defending Imperium fringe worlds for nearly three thousand years"
"No" the emperor said with a wave of his hand "Revan's forces are set for something grander, another showdown. They must remain hidden, they must return to the Eastern fringe" he walked up to the Master, towering over him by at least a meter "Take your sister and the group she came with. Hide yourselves in the fringe, just like before"
"We can stay my lord" Master retorted calmly "We can fight, a few immortals by your side may tip the scales"
"That it may" the older immortal conceded "But consider this me looking after those younger than me. Powerful you are. Your sister also has power. But you are no match for the Dragon, you learned that first hand and as the Imperium stands your alien members would be as much at risk from my own armies as from theirs"
The master inclined his head in defeat, knowing the older immortals words spoke true "As you wish. I shall take Revan's forces back to the fringe"
"Very good" the Emperor said with a nod "I shall summon the rest of them and have the Custodes transport you to your fleet at the systems edge. It will have to be done quickly though"
"Because you're summoning the High Lords" the Master finished for him "You're going to strip them of their power until you can stabilise the Imperium"
"There is too much corruption in the Imperium" The Emperor agreed "The Inquisition is full of greedy and corrupt Inquisitors, the Adeptus Mechanicus are slowly drifting away from the rest of the empire, rebellions are rife throughout the outer territories and, even with all of this the High Lords are still making preparations for one of the biggest wars since the Horus Heresy"
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Floodlights lit up the chamber of the high lords meeting halls, bathing the circular kilometre long and kilometre high chamber in pure light. The great oak doors of the senate hall opened with a great creak and the twelve High Lords of the Imperium filed into the chamber, their honour guards flanking their respective masters.
In the centre of the chamber was a massive table made of Terran oak. Chairs were set in strategic places, each one furnished to show which High Lord it belonged too. Slowly the twelve lords took their seats, their honour guards taking positions behind them, hands on the pommels and grips of their weapons, ready to draw them at a moments notice. Even in the meetings halls a high lord was not safe, there were many instances when a lord was assassinated by a rival in the senate.
"Gentlemen" the Lord of the Administratum stated as the last lord stood in front of his chair "Please be seated"
The Lord of the Administratum was the representative and leading authority of the Administratum, the administration and bureaucratic division of the Adeptus Terra and the organisation responsible for the everyday workings oft the empire, from the assembling of crusade fleets to the levying of tax's. It wasn't a surprise that the man representing this organisation was considered the lead authority of the twelve. He was a middle aged man, dressed in an extravagant gold and emerald robe.
"Now gentlemen" he started as he took his seat and skipped through several datapads, finally picking one off the table and scrolling through it "Let us begin. We are gaining reports of raiding and piracy near our borders with the Tau Empire. Several convoys have vanished without a trace, and those who survived tell crazed stories about living ships which are fast and deadly"
"Obviously the Tau has made more advancement in their abominable technology" the Lord of the Ecclesiarchy stated confidently. He was an old man, distinguished by his leathery face, hollow eyes and thinning white hair. Besides the advancements in life lengthening drugs and surgery he refused to take them, saying that the Emperor could see the age of any man.
"Open your eyes you old fool" the Master Inquisitor retorted "The honoured lord of the Administratum said living vessels, the Tau have no such technologies"
"None that we know of" the Ecclesiarch returned hotly before breaking into a fit of coughing, two young women wearing red robes approached him but stopped at his raised hand "That doesn't mean that they don't have them!"
"So you are saying that we prepare for another crusade against the Tau" the Fabricator General added "After the last fiasco"
"Enough" the Grand Provost Marshal interjected, drumming his fingers against the oak in a show of impatience "Just triple the military escorts for the convoys!"
"We have larger problems" the Lord of the Astronomicon added angrily "The war in the other galaxy has grown more widespread than we had originally anticipated. As it stands the eighteen hundred plus vessels we have sent aren't enough"
"What do you suggest?"
"I suggest we stop playing nice and send a real crusade through the wormhole" he replied "No less than five thousand ships of war, hundreds of thousands of Imperial Guard and even elites from across the Imperium, Tech-Guard, Storm-troopers, sisters of battle…even a few more Astartes companies"
"Who do you wish to send" the Provost Marshal inquired "The Ultramarines and the Blood Ravens can't afford to send anymore"
"Gentlemen I put this too you, we send a chapter more…zealous than the others. I am declaring we send the Black Templars"
"The Black Templars" the Master Inquisitor repeated "The most fanatical and zealous chapter in the galaxy"
"Precisely" the Ecclesiarch said with a glint of a smile on his face "It will throw back the Chaos armadas and show the Alliance our true military might. I have studied the maps of their galaxy and have found that while their empire is large it is only half the size of our own"
"We are not going to start this argument again" the Fabricator General stated "War with the Alliance would not be in the Imperium's best interests. Smaller they may be, weak and easy to conquer they are not. Have you not read the wars they undertook in the past my lord"
"I have learned that they are resilient" he agreed "That is all. Besides Fabricator why do you defend the Alliance so, is it because you are so blinded by their technological abilities that you fail to see reason?"
Before the General could muster a retort the great chambers of the senate opened with a thundering creak, causing the twelve lords to jump in surprise. No one ever interrupted a meeting of the High Lords unless it was a matter of life and death. The guards of the twelve armed their weapons and aimed them at the opening double doors, bolter shells were chambered, power-weapons thrummed and hellguns hummed, ready to defend their charges if the need came.
The eyes of all in attendance widened when they saw a column of the emperors own Custodians march through the great doors. Their booted heels echoed through the chamber as they marched in perfect unison, their armour shinned with an almost supernatural brilliance and their guardian spears were always sharp and ready for war.
They came to a sudden halt, the only sound being the feinting echo which still resounded through the chamber. None of the thirty Custodes spoke until that echo finally ended. They then parted, allowing their leader to make his way to the front of the column. Brother-Captain Arkan Lathorise surveyed the High Lords with hollow eyes before speaking.
"The Emperor of Humanity demands the presence of the High Lords immediately" he bellowed.
"How dare you" the ecclesiarch thundered, breaking into a fit of coughs as he did so "How dare you enter this place without permission, how dar-"
Before he could finish the Captains hard eyes settled upon the offending High Lord and he felt a wave of psychic pressure envelope him, making it difficult to move or even breathe. The ecclesiarch began to cough and hack, the fit only subsiding when the two red robed girls ran to his side and put a breath mask to his face, forcing him to take in the oxygen. None of the guards moved, they knew that even if they acted they would be no match for the Custodes.
"I will repeat myself only once more" Arkon growled, his voice leaving no room for discussion "The emperor requests your presence!"
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The twelve lords were escorted into the Sanctum Imperialis in single file with the Custodes sent to gather them taking up positions in lines on either side. Their bodyguards had been left behind in the senate halls until they would be called upon again.
As they entered the last chamber before the Emperors inner sanctum they found the hall full with column upon column of the Emperors Custodian Guard. The emperor's personal guardians stood within the chamber in their thousands. In fact it was possible that the entire legion was in attendance. The massive war Titans stood guard against the walls like massive statues. The twelve lords of the Imperium brought themselves up to their full heights, their heads held high as they were escorted through the chamber into the emperors Sanctum Imperialis.
Within the sanctum there were no Custodians, no titans, no defences of any kind. The only other man was in the centre of the inner chamber, sitting upon a throne of pure gold. He rose from his seat, showing how tall he truly was and descended the stone steps.
The High Lords stood there for a moment, watching the man before them with fear and surprise. The Lord of Assassins moved first, coming down to one knee and lowering his head in a bow, the Fabricator General followed, then the Master Inquisitor. All of the lords came down to a knee by the time the Emperor of Mankind stepped onto the floor before them, his powerful gaze upon each of them before he spoke.
"The Imperium is weakening" he muttered, catching all of the lords by surprise by his sudden words "I created the High Lords of Terra so that you could govern the everyday workings of the Imperium under my guidance. But with the Heresy things drastically changed, I could no longer guide you and over the millennia the High Lords began to get more corrupt and power hungry"
"My lord" the ecclesiarch began but was silenced by one stern gaze from the emperor.
"Corruption is rife on every level of the Imperium" he continued "Rebellions are spreading throughout the fringe worlds of the Imperium, Inquisitors and religious leaders are abusing their powers to the fullest, technological advancements have grinded to a halt, and instead of dealing with the major threats to our empire like the Tyrannids, the Necron, the Orks and the Great Enemy you choose instead to fight senseless wars against the Eldar, the Tau and making preparations for invading an empire who would be better as a friend than an enemy"
"Until the Imperium has been stabilised I am hereby striping you of any major decisions regarding the Imperium as a whole, or any of the military forces" he continued, the look in his eyes muting any retorts on the high lords tongues "You will still have power in your own factions but they can be overridden by either me or any of my Primarchs…understand?"
I was originally planning on releasing this at the beginning of the next episode, but considering that your all really impatient on seeing the Emperor revived I pushed this forward and made some serious changes to my original storyline. Nothing drastic, just overlapping a few story arcs.