Primarch Origin story - The Unloved

[Erasus]

Ok, so some context first. This is just a tiny snippet of something that wouldn't leave me alone. The idea that all the Primarchs are taken in by the humans that find them. They fall from the sky and come from somewhere else and they're taken in as blessings and such. So an idea formed . . .

 

 

 

 

Bright.

The child closes his eyes, an instinctual behaviour he has come to realise stops the pain in his eyes. He wanders, feeling the grit beneath his bare feet. He has only recently mastered the art of walking, his small frame toddling along in the wilderness, but he has travelled far. It is something no normal child could achieve, but he does not know that. Instead he continues to walk, searching, yearning. He follows the black shape before him on the ground, the thing that moves as the brightness in the sky circles over him. There is something wrong, he can feel it. He is alone, but he should not be. He searches for that connection, to belong. There must be someone somewhere.

 

Noises come from behind him. Like many things moving at once. The small child turns around, his eyes squinting against the brightness. Shapes appear, big ones. A noise instinctively tries to come from the boy’s throat, but it is a new and untested act, one that hurts his dry throat and cracks his dry lips.

 

‘That must be him.’

 

The boy cannot know the sounds the shapes make are words, he has never heard them before, but a meaning starts to form in his mind, an implication of what it is meant.

 

‘A child? I don’t think a child could’ve come from that pod.’

 

‘But sire, look at how he walks in the wastes, no child would survive a second out here, never mind weeks. We almost lost Barsha just tracking this thing. Look at his skin, it looks like its covered in oil or wax. He is no child.’

 

The shapes coalesce into focus. The boy has never seen himself properly, just what he can see whenever he looks down at himself, but he knows their shape. His mind instinctively feels recognition as the shapes continue to make noises, continue to talk.

They are like him. They are his kind. Finally come to take him away and protect him. He feels that connection begin to bud, a link to another being through virtue of being the same. He belongs. Family, the word echoes in his mind. He toddles towards the shapes, his small legs shaking with the effort. Hands reaching out to the men before him, almost begging to be embraced and comforted.

 

One of the men strides towards him, he is coming to take the child home. The bright hurts the boy’s eyes, he cannot see properly. He desperately reaches out for salvation, for something. He doesn’t want to be alone anymore. The boy is so close to the man now, tears roll down the child’s face. Home.

 

That is when the spear punched through his chest.

 

The boy is savagely rammed onto the ground, the spear tip buried in his small chest. The cold metal stings as it slices through the child’s chest and he finally finds his voice, wailing in agony as he writhes on the ground, pinned in place by the spear skewering him.

 

‘Die, filthy abomination.’

 

The man’s voice is laced with anger, with disgust, concepts the boy doesn’t fully grasp but he understands the intent. He is hated. He does not know why. He only wanted to be loved. To not be alone.

 

The spear twists.

 

The child screams.

 

Then with a savage yank, the spear is ripped free, splashing the child’s skin with the hot sting of his own blood. The shape moves away, leaving the boy behind.

 

‘Are you leaving it alive sire?’

 

‘I have pierced the things heart, it will die soon enough. I do not want to wait in this heat to watch its last breath, it has taken enough of our time already.’

 

The boy cannot see the shapes anymore, his chest hurts too much to move. But he can hear them move away. He can hear them abandon him.

The boy lies there, his heart pumping his blood through the wound. He can feel the warmth of his blood spread over the coldness growing in his chest, it is almost comforting. He does not know of death, but his mind somehow understands this is the end. He will die, he will stop being here. The child struggles, he can’t die. He is alone, he cannot die alone. Where are the ones who love him? Are there any who love him? He is alone. He will die alone. The brightness begins to fade, his eyes closing as a creeping weakness begins to take him. It is an embrace that promises him comfort. He can feel his heart slow, the pumping in his chest is weaker now. The tears still roll down his cheeks. He is hated. He is alone. He is dying. He does not know why.

 

That is when he feels something else begin to pump within his tiny chest, something strong and ready.

 

A second heart.

 

It begins to pump with a strength the boy can feel resonate deep within him. He can feel his blood become sticky as it stops flowing freely. The pain lessens, strength returns. He will not die. He does not know how, but he knows he will not die.

 

He is hated.

 

He is alone.

 

But he will not die.

 

He rises. And the life of the Primarch begins.

 

 

 

This Primarch goes on to hate humanity, he knows he is different. He knows he is faster, stronger and smarter than the weak race that once tried to kill him. He has no mercy in his hearts for them. He goes on to kill many of the humans on his homeworld, becoming the ruler of a terrified and subservient peoples. When the Empeoror arrives the Primarch explains his hate for these people, and the Emperor understands. He spirits his son away, leaving behind a force with orders to wipe out the world that nearly cost him one of his precious Primarchs, for while the Emperor expects beasts and nature to test his sons, he did not expect humanity to. The Primarch ends up developing the view that Astartes are superior to mankind, and makes it clear wherever he is that no human may dictate or command him or his Legion. Depending on whether this Primarch exists within the Horus Heresy as a Missing Primarch or another Alternative Universe will dictate how this attitude will affect him and how his story ends.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Erasus

[Warpmiss]

I love it! There are too many cultures/religions/stories in our world with tales of 'evil' entities that come from outside that would disrupt the order. Why would a world lost to humanity be any different. If anything, it always struck me as odd that the Primarchs were adopted in their planets when they arrived (Angron maybe being an exception considering how he was treated).

[Erasus]

Thank you!

Yeah that's the feeling I've gotten too. I've been working in an alternative Heresy style project and seeing all the proposals for Primarchs that have them instantly embraced and taken in became weird and jarring considering how people tend to feel about weird outsiders. Then this idea came about. Maybe I'll flesh it out one day and see how he develops properly as a result of this early interaction.

I'm glad you liked it

[Tarvek Val]

I really enjoyed reading this as well! As has already been noted, it seems a bit odd and stilted that so many of the primarchs were just instantly accepted by the peoples of their homeworlds. Whilst BL does a good job exploring the origins of many of the primarchs and how they came to be regarded in their original societies, I really like this idea of a society that sees the primarchs as monsters, and as a threat to their own humanity. I would really be interested in knowing how the rest of the people on this world would have regarded the primarch; was the common consensus that he was a monster, or was it just a few misguided hunters who had this opinion? 

 

Originally, Warpmiss, I was thinking the same thing as you; now that I recall though, several of the primarchs weren't really accepted into their cultures. Curze was an outcast who restored order by killing people, Angron was a gladiatorial slave, Mortarion was raised by one of the aloof, cold, and cruel tyrants of Barbarus, and I don't think anyone knows how Alpharius / Omegon were raised. 

[Warpmiss]

You are right, but I think I would exclude Mortarion since he was adopted from the very beginning and then accepted by the people of Barbarus. I had forgotten about Curze, though.

[Tarvek Val]

That's true, but I think his relationship with his adoptive father contributed largely to his issues later along the line. He ended up turning against his father figure (who was quite cruel to the few surviving humans on Barbarus) and besieging his fortress. He failed to defeat his father and had to be saved by the Emperor, which planted the seeds of resentment in his heart and helped sway him to Horus's cause later on in the Heresy. 

 

So I mean I guess he found a way into his home culture, but it certainly didn't work out too well for him.

[Erasus]

Thank you Tarvek Val!

I'm actually quite happy this snippet has got people thinking about it all, like it did for me. As I said, maybe one day I'll flesh out the story and have him come face to face with humanity once again, when he is strong. It'd be interesting to see how humanity feels. I mean Primarchs are literally twice the size of a man, to anyone that would surely seem inhumanly big. And they grow to this size incredibly quick, much faster than a human. It's a wonder they were accepted anywhere at all for a period of time.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Erasus

[Pearson73]

Nice writing, it's good to read something from the setting that isn't focussed on the fighting that is so prevalent; the focus on the emotions of a child (post-human, or not) added an extra edge of interest too. I certainly agree with the others regarding the acceptance of Primarchs, especially on more primitive planets where a bright object falling from the sky could most likely be seen as an evil omen. This origin of contempt and hatred of this Primarch for humans is also a little different from the usual scorn for their weakness in comparison to astartes or jealousy (perhaps) of no longer being seen as part of the species they fight for. I hope you do continue this tale, as the themes you have initiated are definitely intersting to explore.

[Erasus]

Thanks Pearson73,

Yeah bolter porn loses its edge after a while, I hope the child came off convincingly it's my first try at writing a character so young, never one that is also not truly human.

I agree it's different, admittedly I never planned on taking this concept further, it was that initial idea that stuck for me. I do think the origin story of being attacked is much more interesting for character development than a superiority complex, so I think you're right in that this could be a good set up for an interesting story of a search for understanding as this Primarch tries to find his place in a world that has rejected him, and then inner conflict as he's found by the Emperor and placed to lead this race that he was so sure despised him. By then it may too late and he has become twisted by his loneliness and conflict with humans, or maybe he'll finally find that family he once so longed for and come to accept his role.

We'll see