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Malcador the Sigilite


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I know that Malcador was a friend of the Emperor. I also know that he took up the Golden Throne for a time so that the Emperor could confront Horus. Afterwards, Malcador came off the Golden Throne (when the Emperor was put there for all time) and then he took eight space marines and started the Grey Knights. I also know that Malcador's grave is on Titan.

 

But where did Malcador originally come from? Was he there with the Emperor through the ages and during his rise to power? Here did he come from?

 

And what happened after he started the Grey Knights? How did he die? I know he served with the Emperor for at least two hundred years, but did he die of old age? There has to have been a better ending for that guy.

 

So yeah. Any more information (preferably with sources) would be cool.

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Unless it's been changed significantly in the new Grey Knights codex, that's not quite right.

 

Malcador died on the Golden Throne when the Emperor confronted Horus. He was dead, or dying, just when the Emperor was returned. (Source: each iteration of the story I've ever read)

 

The introduction of the individuals who would become the =I= or the Grey Knights must have therefore occured before this point.

 

In the Collected Visions book, it says that the origins of Malcador are unclear, but that it is thought he is a relative of the Emperor, and has been with him since the time the Emperor publicly revealed himself as the Emperor - at least. It's implied he might be immortal, but that is not certain to my knowledge (the ancient painting etc in his room in The Lightning Tower could have been loot taken from someone else for instance).

 

The Emperor certainly appears to have trusted him implicitly. He appears to have played an important role in the unification of Terra, and to have run the day to day administration of the Imperium for the Emperor. He was described as the most powerful psyker in human history besides the Emperor, although it was made clear that the Emperor dwarfed him. I don't know how the psychic potential of Malcador and Magnus compared to each other - I'd say Magnus was more powerful, or able to withstand more power flowing through him, as although Malcador was the only person available who was capable of controlling the Golden Throne when the Emperor had to get up to fight Horus, it killed him within a matter of hours, whereas Magnus was intended by the Emperor to be able to control the Throne indefinitely.

Ive read that Malcadors grave is on Terra and on Titan. The lexicanum entry about the Terminus Decree and im guessing the new GK codex, but in Daeyathos it says the Soul Drinkers fought in the 2nd Seige of Terra and Daenyathos met an Imperial Soldier in the Tomb of Malcador, but later on in the book it says there is no record of the Imperial Soldier ever existing and no records of the Soul Drinkers being on Terra during the Age of Apostasy.

Okay. On page 367 of Collected Visions, the Emperor had just defeated Horus and was teleported back to the palace and carried to the golden throne. Upon seeing the throne. . . oh. You're right. He died as the tech priests disengaged him from the golden throne. My bad.

 

But Malcador did use those eight space marines to start the Grey Knights, right?

Okay. On page 367 of Collected Visions, the Emperor had just defeated Horus and was teleported back to the palace and carried to the golden throne. Upon seeing the throne. . . oh. You're right. He died as the tech priests disengaged him from the golden throne. My bad.

 

But Malcador did use those eight space marines to start the Grey Knights, right?

 

It most certainly seems that way that malcador started the Greyknights/inquisition..

my own belief (read not fact) is that malacador is one of the emperors true children (biologically speaking)..

 

edit: i beleive they are called sensei

Agree. A left over from the Rogue Trader era where they explained the Emperor and his origins. He had kids throughout time, and they were basically a lesser copy of him.

As far as founding the Grey Knights/Inquisition, I believe he starts that before the battle for Terra when Iacton Qruze of the Luna Wolves and Nathaniel Garro of the Death Guard escape from Istvaan III to warn the Emperor of Horus' treachery. Page 404 of The Flight of the Eisenstein says, and I quote;

Malcador inclined his head in a tiny gesture. "There is a matter to which you will be set, not today, perhaps not for many months, but eventually. The Warmaster's disposition has made it clear that the Imperium requires men and women of inquisitive nature, hunters who might seek the witch, the traitor, the mutant, the xenos... Warriors like you, Nathaniel Garro, Iacton Qruze, Amendera Kendel, who could root out the taint of any future treachery; a duty to vigilance".

So I would assume that he either founded the Inquisition, or at the very least set into motion the steps needed to get it going before he took up the Golden Throne and perished.

The forming of the Grey Knights happened during the HH. Without spoiling things, 4 of the Astartes are in the Garro Legion of One Audiobook.

 

Malcador may have assembled them and led them to titan during the HH but not have actually gone with them into the warp. As far as I remember he gave his last ounce of life to keep the Emperor alive long enough to get on the golden throne.

The seige of terra lasted a while. he could have easily sorted all the inquisiton stuff...or set it in motion at least, and then came back.

 

Malcador isn't just a psyker, he uses 'sorcery' aswell...

There may not outwardly seem a big difference, but it is clear throughout the HH novels that the two are certainly viewd differently.

I believe Malcador set the steps in motion to create the inquisition, but little more than that. It is completely plausible that after Garro collected the guys he needed, the like-mindednes of them were enough to finish what Malcador wanted. I dont believe Garro and the guys he recruits become Grey Knights, I was under the impression that the Ordo Malleus came first and through some sort of requisition, made the Grey knights; probably with the help of Guilliman and his Codex Astartes.

As for where he came from, my favorite theory is this:

It is theorized by some that Malcador The Sigilite is actually one of The Emperor's brothers who survived by his side since their birth in 8000 BC.

 

Sort of like all of the shamans reincarnated into the form of The Emperor.....except THAT guy, who showed up late to the party or something and reincarnated as his brother and inherited an "aftershock" of his brother's powers. With his new brother's help, the shaman who was born into the body of Malcador managed to survive nearly 40,000 years and became in IMMENSELY powerful psyker in the meantime.

 

This logic continues on to postulate that The Emperor was King Arthur, and Malcador was Merlin, and so on and so forth with every lord/hero/leader and his wizard/sage/philosopher/scientist companion.

 

While The Emperor hid his godlike nature and experimented with creating the perfect way to rule mankind, Malcador would've been testing Mankind's approach to the supernatural, and provoking their urge to invent and discover and learn.

Herein would lie the idea that The Emperor would've been Lorenzo de' Medici with Malcador taking the role of Leonardo da Vinci, during the Renaissance.

 

 

As for where he went:

  • Magnus the Red's warning to The Emperor disrupts the protective wards keeping the Human Webway safe from daemonic intrusion. The Emperor is forced to use his own powers to keep daemonic invasion at bay.
  • As the Horus Heresy was nearing the climactic Siege Of Terra, The Emperor ordered Malcador to see to the creation of the Grey Knights.
  • Malcador engineered Titan (Saturn's moon) to be able to slip into the Warp and to be totally invisible and undetectable.
  • He gathered his 12 individuals of "inquisitive nature" and in the midst of the Siege Of Terra he brought them before The Emperor.
  • The 4 humans among them stayed and were instructed to become the founders of the Inquisition. The 8 Space Marines were taken to Titan and left there as Titan slipped into hiding in the Warp until the Second Founding when it reemerged and the full Chapter of Grey Knights joined the Imperium.
  • After taking the 8 initial Grey Knights to Titan and setting them up, Malcador returned to The Emperor's side and stayed with him until the final hours of the Heresy when The Emperor teleported aboard the Vengeful Spirit to face Horus.
  • In order to allow The Emperor to leave the Golden Throne to face Horus, Malcador took his place and used his power to bar the gates to the ruptured Human Webway.
  • When Dorn retrieved The Emperor's broken body from the Vengeful Spirit The Emperor quickly instructed those present how to jury rig the Golden Throne into a life support device that would hopefully keep him alive as he healed. Dorn brought The Emperor's body to the Golden Throne. By the time they were ready to connect The Emperor to the device he was on the verge of death. As they moved to disconnect him from the Throne, Malcador The Sigilite sacrificed the last of his power and transfered it to The Emperor to keep him alive and allow him to speak a final time. Malcador's body turned to dust and blew across the Throne Room's floor. The Emperor lamented "poor Malcador, the hero", and then proclaimed to those present (Dorn, Kahn, his Custodes and some Tech Priests) that his wounds were greater than he had thought, and though his psychic powers would return in time his body would probably never heal. He ordered those present to go forth and finish the forces of Chaos, and then he spoke no more.

According to the new Grey Knight Codex, yes - the Grey Knights started off from eight Space Marines.

 

They were taken to Titan where facilities were awaiting them, as was the geneseed and enough recruits to guarantee 1,000 Battle-Brothers. Then Titan visited the Warp for a stint, re-emerging not much later but as a fully funcational, trained, and equipped Chapter.

 

EDIT - Malcador also recruits four Lords, who are tasked with starting the Inquistion.

and surely all of the Sensei would have been of equal psyker strength?

 

there are no true 'equals' otherwsie we could argue that all primarches are of equal psyker strength, or that all space marines (or humans for that matter) are of equal psyker strength.

Its not how the universe works im afraid

 

Unless Malcador inherited more of the Emperors genes than his many brothers and sisters.

in terms of his being a sensei (just a theory btw) this could be true, all sensei would be half human half whatever the emperor is... its possible to inherit different genes, creating sensei with the different attirbutes of the emperor.. just like primarches i guess

According to the new Grey Knight Codex, yes - the Grey Knights started off from eight Space Marines.

 

They were taken to Titan where facilities were awaiting them, as was the geneseed and enough recruits to guarantee 1,000 Battle-Brothers. Then Titan visited the Warp for a stint, re-emerging not much later but as a fully funcational, trained, and equipped Chapter.

 

Which, happily enough probably means that the original 8 marines didnt add any geneseed to the Grey Knights. They were more likley Leaders/experienced trainers, but not 'blood' members...

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