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I always imagined Daer'dd sort knew the Emperor was coming, like he met the Big E in his dreams, maybe Daer'dd is a little bit of a latent psycher like Russ or Sanguinus. But I think it would have been warm with open arms, Daer'dd would at least recognize his father and the most powerful being in the galaxy. He would welcome what the Emperor signifys.

Alexandros stepped off the ramp with the precision of a veteran officer. Wearing magnificent purple armor, the Primarch's luxurious red cap billowed behind him as he walked on the newest world the Imperium had rediscovered. He cut an imposing figure as he moved towards the world's delegation. 

 

Or, he would, were it not for the fact that he walked by the Emperor's side. The ruler of Mankind not only wore his finest, golden armor, he exuded tangible brilliance. Any mortal who glimpsed at him could never doubt his magnificence or his right to guide Humanity's path through the seas of the future. 

 

Keeping his eyes forward, Alexandros reached out to the individual on the other side of the Emperor, telepathically. Father is indulging himself today.

 

Icarion's answer was, as always, measured and respectful. The occassion certainly calls for it. It is a rare event to discover another lost brother. 

 

It's a pity Leman couldn't be here, Alexandros said with a hint of mischief. He certainly would liven up the upcoming festivities.

 

That he would, Icarion agreed. Although, he might have met his match with this one.

 

Were it not diplomatically rude, Alexandros would've nodded in agreement as he studied their newest brother in person. His visions hadn't truly captured Daer'dd Niimkiika's sheer physical presence. The olive-skinned Primarch was easily bigger than Leman and had the muscles to match his size. As of this moment, Daer'dd's attention was locked onto the Emperor, while sporting one of the largest grins Alex had ever seen. The Seer sensed pride and happiness sitting on top of a foundation of pure relief. Curious, the Alex looked a little deeper as the Imperial party came to a halt. The relief seemed to pour out from a deep sense of lonelines.

 

There are few like us, Icarion commented.

 

True, true. And every brother returned to us is a gift to both us and the Imperium. 

 

Daer'dd bowed before the Emperor of Mankind, greeting him in his world's tradition. 

 

The Emperor lifted a hand. "Rise, my son. My heart is gladdened to have found you and to welcome you to your rightful place in my Imperium." 

 

The pride swelled, until Alex thought Daer'dd would burst from it. Yet, there was no sense of surprise. He knew? I don't detect much power from him, Alex observed.

 

Nor do I, Icarion seconded. Just a faint whisper.

 

The Emperor twitched a finger. The signal given, Icarion and Alexandros stepped forward and bowed to their newest sibling. "These are two of your brothers, Icarion the Stormborn and Alexandros Darshan VonSalim."

 

Only now did the orange-and-black eyes of Daer'dd see through the Emperor's presence and see them. Alexandros did not know how, but Daer'dd's grin grew even wider. "Brothers!" He repeatedly excitedly, stepping up to Icarion first. "I am honored to meet both of you!" Perhaps sensing Icarion's wishes of not being touched, he bowed toward him, which Icarion reciprocated. 

 

"We are as honored to meet you," Icarion replied with a small smile. 

 

Daer'dd uttered a laugh before greeting Alexandros. Looking downward with an amused chuckle, the words slipped out, "Such a little brother!" He caught himself and added, "No offense meant."

 

Alexandros couldn't help but grin back, Daer'dd's mood was infectious. "Worry not," Alex replied, throwing an amused sideways glance at the Emperor. "I have grown accustomed to being the smallest of giants."

 

"Excellent! I wish to hear everything about all of you! Tonight, we will celebrate with a feast fit for kings with all of the Huronian mead you could possible drink!" Daer'dd declared as he slapped an oversized hand against Alexandros' shoulder. 

 

"Well, I'm certainly looking forward to it," Alex answered.

 

Again, Alex?

 

Come now, Icarion, it can't be possibly be any worse than mjod.

I'm amused that K'awil's personality is described as "cranky" :tongue.: I've always seen him as a mix of Angron and Curze. Like Curze he becomes something of a monster on his homeworld, the thing that lives in the darkness. And like Angron he is "broken", unable to fulfill his true role as one of the Emperor's sons.

 

Also I think that he would never have met the emperor in person as I think they would react to one another as matter/antimatter. The ultimate personification of psychic potential meeting a Primarch-level Pariah I doubt would end well. As such K'awil would have been found by one of his brothers. Anyone want to volunteer?

 

Lastly on Legion strength. Initiation into the Grave Stalkers is rigorous and unusual. The geneseed weeds out those who lack any potential as a Pariah. Thus only a very small percentage of those tested are ever permitted to join the Legion's ranks. Another idiosyncrasy is that the geneseed is not harvested from the dead as amongst the other Legions. The only way that they can create new Astartes is for an existing space marine to "sacrifice" himself in a bloody ritual that removes both progenoid glands for use by the apothecarion. This is proof of commitment to the Legion's cause and also the indoctrination rite to join the elite 'Reaper' company. For all these reasons I see the Grave Stalkers as being very small, probably around the size of the Thousand Sons.

Regarding the Pariah meet Emperor bit, I've heard that if a psyker is strong enough, it doesn't matter if they're meeting a Pariah. Apparently, Malcador regularly interacts with the Sisters of Silence without issue. In Fear to Tread, although there's a Pariah in the same room, Kyriss & Ka'Bandha don't suffer much for it. If we go by this, then I don't think the Emperor would be too worried about meeting his Pariah sons. Although, said meetings might not be the most pleasant. 

 

And yes, the Space Wolves will be our Second Legion just because I wanted to make a drinking joke. But for the other, I'd still prefer we had a canon Traitor Legion. I opt for the Thousand Sons. 

 

If we go this route, here's how I would describe their Fall. In this universe, the Wulfen curse is just a little more active than in the prime timeline. More Space Wolves become actual wolves, but it's not enough to stop the legion from thriving to a degree. Magnus, is not as lucky. One of the last Primarchs found, Magnus finds that all of his legion survivors are now in stasis, the rest having already succumbed to the Flesh-Change. At first, Magnus is cautious, bringing out one or two sons at a time to try to find a cure. Each time, the Flesh Change overwhelms them (sometimes, he has hours, at other times, it takes only minutes), and Magnus is forced to destroy them. After a couple thousand repeat cases, Magnus' sanity is strained by his long list of failures and watching his sons die in front of his eyes. At last, he throws caution to the wind and prepares for a massive spell that will, ideally, heal his legion. It's called, you guessed it, the Rubrik. 

 

The Emperor becomes aware of it and sends the Wolves to put an end to the ritual before it starts. Thanks to a series of incredibly coincidental Warp Storms, the Wolves make planetfall right as Magnus completes the ritual. The Thousand Sons are cured, but the Wulfen curse kicks into overtime as thousands of Wolves succumb and go mad from the sorcery. In moments, Magnus, the Thousand Sons, Russ, and the few unaffected Space Wolves are surrounded and are fighting for their lives. Although they fight bravely, the space marines are killed, little by little. When the last Thousand Son dies, Magnus' mind breaks. Unable to cope with his monumental failure as Father and Scholar, Magnus turns himself into a living Warp bomb and detonates. Russ, wounded and unable to get away, dies with him. 

 

The Emperor wishing this event to never see the light of day, declares both legions lost and to never be spoken of, ever again.

That's something I can get behind. It would instill fear in certain legions that similar flaws appear in their geneseed. There the initial gene-tampering would happen, pressing the Emperor to issue our Nikaea-equivalent (for which I propose the name "Lysenko Prosecution" for historical reference). From then, Kozja at least, and perhaps other primarchs, begin to think the decree wasn't made to avoid legions accidentally turning into monsters, but to prevent certain flaws from being cured, just like he did not seek a cure for the ailments that befell the Thunder Warriors. This is the point where the seeds of Revolution are sown, where the primarchs become suspicious of their father's true goals, and of the fate of their sons.

The Crimson Lions have gene seed of slightly higher than average stability and while they had a quite strenuous recruitment system at first, as the Crusade expanded they began to relax their recruitment criteria in order to take in more recruits. They also began recruiting from worlds other than Mycenae. Because of this, by the time of the insurection they're at the large end of average with around 130.000 astartes.

I'm working on a more comprehensive history of the Fire Keepers.

 

One thing of note for meeting of brothers, and the E, is that Niklaas led a war against a coven of witches. So psykers will take some warming up to.

 

Also I have a scene in mind to write where Niklaas gives gifts to whomever is made Warmaster as well as others that are at the event. So who wins the vote will show me which way to go with that idea.

Well, I unexpectedly fell asleep early. Back to business, Skal, I like the name. Now, all we have to do is '40k' it. 

 

And, it looks like the votes are in. So, have a story..

 

 

~~~~

 

Alexandros suspected, that after millennia of guiding Humanity from the shadows, the Emperor relished these moments were he could indulge in grandiose splendor. Today, the Emperor had gone all out. Fifteen legions, Tens of thousands Imperial Army Regiments, and a hundred Titan Maniples had been summoned to this new Trophy World to bask in the Imperium's glory. To enjoy the event, Alexandros had neglected the future and lived in the moment. He, along with eight of his brothers, stood behind the Emperor as he regaled their audience with one of his finest speeches. 

 

As was custom, and as it should be, Icarion stood at the head of his brothers. The first to be reunited, Icarion had earned more battlefield glories than the rest of them and had known their Father the longest, serving alone by the Emperor's side for thirty years until Alexandros' discovery. While certain brothers complained that Icarion's glory was due to chance, none could deny that the Emperor consulted more with Icarion than with anyone else. Alexandros and a few of his brothers were aware of a simple truth: only Icarion enjoyed the Emperor's complete trust. 

 

While this grated on a few, Alexandros was at peace with it. His own liberal interpretation of the Emperor's commands and the mandate of the Great Crusade had its own costs, but he was a loyal son who loved his Father and knew he was loved in turn. Besides, Alexandros was more comfortable with someone else serving in the spotlight, while he worked from behind the seat of power. 

 

Alexandros blinked when he sensed a change in the Emperor's tone as he came towards to an end. No longer speaking of past glory, the Emperor was speaking of a bright future. One without him in it. Discipline kept the confusion off his face as he listened. 

 

The Emperor was leaving the Great Crusade.

 

Through his ability to see auras, Alexandros could see a wave of shock pass through the entire assembly as a tidal wave of orange. He cursed himself for not giving himself a small warning through his foresight. Then, he felt another shock as he realized that Icarion was also surprised. 

 

Before Alexandros could digest that one, the Emperor turned around to face his sons. "Alexandros Darshan VonSalim, step forward."

 

His body obeyed the command as his mind reeled. 

 

"You will lead the Great Crusade and minister to the Imperium in my stead," The Emperor continued as he removed the golden laurels on his head. "My authority will be your authority. For this singular honor and responsibility, I dub thee 'Warmaster'."

 

Alexandros had to stop himself from yelling 'NO! This is not my place! Icarion should be here!' Instead, duty spoke for him as the Emperor placed the laurels on his head. For who could deny the Emperor? "I accept this title, my Emperor, and will do all I can to honor its office."

 

The Emperor stepped back as he gestured to take a step toward the assembly. Then, the Emperor saluted him. "My Imperium! I give you your Warmaster! Hail Warmaster Alexandros!"

 

A deafening cacophony engulfed the world as the armies of Man saluted. 

 

But Alexandros knew the truth.

 

Only half of them put their hearts into it.

 

 

~~~

 

Frater, we have our Warmaster. 

Edited by simison
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