StrayCatt Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Let me preface this by saying there are going to be spoilers here, and if you haven't read the two DA HH novels stop now ... Still here? I recently re-read the two DA HH novels after having read the DA short story in Primarchs, and had some thoughts. What we know: The Lion's capsule comes to rest on Caliban, and he is discovered by Luther within a few short years. He is taken in by The Order, and eventually becomes their greatest Knight, supplanting Luther, an otherwise great man. Through the oration skills of Luther, the Lion successfully proposes a crusade to eradicate the great beasts from the surface of Caliban. At the end of the crusade, the Lupus Knights are destroyed, and The Lion takes possession of their Library. The Emperor Comes to Caliban, and the Lion is introduced to his Legion. Zahariel defeats a plot to assasinate the Emperor. The Imperials begin the process of transforming Caliban into a useful world. It is also determined the Planet is suitable to become an additional recruiting world for the 1st Legion, re-named the Dark Angels by the Lion. The first batch of recruits depart Caliban as part of an expeditionary fleet, and take part in their first campaign. Luther nearly betrays the Lion, but has a change of heart and saves him with the assistance of Zahariel. The Lion sees firsthand the dangers inherent in a planet in-thrall to Chaos. A large portion of the Calibinite Marines, along with Luther, are sent back to Caliban to oversee the recruitment process. 50 years later The Lion has racked up many campaign victories, second only to Horus, who has been fighting in the crusades for almost 200 years. He is made aware of the rebellion by Horus, and takes measures to stop Horus, and buy Terra time to respond/react. Meanwhile, back on Caliban, Luther has become reclusive, handing off aspects of his duties to Zahariel. The Imperium has established several arcologies across the planet, and has relegated the natives of Caliban to the lower levels. A group of sorceress, masquerading as Terran techs, begins to conduct rituals to see if they can draw the chaos prescience tainting Caliban out. At the same time, two former members of the Order begin to ferment rebellion against the Imperium, afraid that the Imperium is destroying their world. Luther begins to study the Library taken from the Knights of Lupus, and discovers the existence of Ouroboros. Zahariel and Luther, along with veterans of the legion, respond to the northern arcologies to stop the ritual by the aforementioned sorcerers. Luther attempts to enslave Ouroboros, and Zahariel learns its true name. Zahariel also learns that the ritual they stopped would have banished the presence of Ouroboros from Caliban, casting him back into the warp. Did Johnson become aware of the taint at the heart of the planet after the destruction of the Knights of Lupus, assuming he had not already been warned by the Watchers in the Dark? With the coming of the Emperor, did he see an opportunity to save the best of the Planet before its eventual destruction by the Imperials? One thought I had was, Following the completion of his first campaign, and having seen firsthand the dangers of a planet in-thrall to a Chaos Taint, he realizes Caliban's days are numbered, and send some of the veterans, including Luther back to Caliban to accelerate creation of Marines before the loss of the planet. He, however remains secretive about his motives and tells no-one, not realizing Luther's jealousy. Some entity takes it upon themselves to attempt to clear Caliban of its Taint. It is unknown how they became aware of it, but 50yrs after the coming of the Emperor, a ritual is started to try and purge the demonic presence of Ouroboros. Was Johnson behind this? The edict of Nickea is handed down in this period, but is somehow ignored by the Legion members on Caliban. Did Luther dismiss the edict? How did the Imperial representatives not know that the Librarium on Caliban had not been disbanded? Is this an indication that Luther broke from the Lion and the Imperium far sooner than it seemed? Was Luther behind the actions of Master Ramiel? As far as the ritual goes, would it have saved Caliban from eventual destruction, had been successful? Was the ritual an attempt by the Lion to save the planet, or possibly an attempt to accelerate its Death? There are references in Descent of Angels to other worlds that provide recruits to the DA. Ultimately, who was behind the sorcerers that were performing the ritual? Some have posited that when the Lion eventually returns to Caliban, Zahariel will call on Ouroboros, resulting in the destruction of the planet, and casting the Fallen through time and space. It is obvious that Luther no-longer trusts the Lion, but is that mis-trust misplaced? Did the Lion intend for Caliban to be destroyed? It can be surmised that the tale of the Dark Angels is an allegory to the story of the Imperium, much like the story of Zahariel an his cousin is an alternate reselling of the story of the Lion an Luther. With this in mind, it would seem that Luther misread the Lion's intent, and that mistake destroyed Caliban, nearly destroying the Dark Angels in the process. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254149-the-fate-of-caliban/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriscoull7 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Some good musing there Straycatt, Some of which may become more apparent as the Horus Heresy books continue to their eventual end. Some one some where within the halls of BL must now the answers and i can't wait to find out Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254149-the-fate-of-caliban/#findComment-3087904 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legatus Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 The first batch of recruits depart Caliban as part of an expeditionary fleet, and take part in their first campaign. Luther nearly betrays the Lion, but has a change of heart and saves him with the assistance of Zahariel. The Lion sees firsthand the dangers inherent in a planet in-thrall to Chaos. A large portion of the Calibinite Marines, along with Luther, are sent back to Caliban to oversee the recruitment process. 50 years later The Lion has racked up many campaign victories, second only to Horus, who has been fighting in the crusades for almost 200 years. So, wait, do the Horus Heresy novels honestly say that Jonson had lived on Caliban for 150 years before being found by teh Emperor? And that Luther was about 200 years old by the time he was augmented to become a member of the Dark Angels Legion? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254149-the-fate-of-caliban/#findComment-3087941 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grotsmasha Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Due to the inconsistancies of time within the warp, Jonson could have potentially been in the slow tide, and have landed on Caliban as late as 50yrs prior to entering the Crusade. Cheers, Jono Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254149-the-fate-of-caliban/#findComment-3087982 Share on other sites More sharing options...
absolon Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 I think what alot of people miss is how similiar the story of the Lion is to Caliban from the Tempest. Similiar names in the story seem to confirm that someone at GW was at least familiar with it Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254149-the-fate-of-caliban/#findComment-3088876 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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