Hypothetical Horus Heresy Series

[Knockagh]

I would have preferred if instead of having one Horus Heresy series, we had a collection of short series. Like Horus Heresy: Road to Istvaan (or whatever they would name that series) for a few books establishing a few of the Traitor Legions and getting them ready to rebel. Then Horus Heresy: Prospero's Doom or whatever for stories about the Thousand Sons leading up to and following the burning of Prospero. Preferably these short series would be released concurrently with each other but it would make reading it a lot easier - to read Road to Istvaan book 5 you would know which books are directly necessary. I found it really hard to keep reading the HH series after they got somewhere into the twenties because some of the narrative threads were just not enjoyable to me so I didn't follow through on them, but then they randomly were critical to understanding what happened in apparently unrelated books. Under this structure I would expect that specific plot points would be fully resolved within the particular series to avoid anything like the confusion we have now. Major characters could appear in multiple series (i.e. the Primarchs, first captains and other legion leadership, what have you) but this would hopefully be limited so not every series that involves the Thousand Sons has the same list of characters but new characters would be introduced more.

.

I quite like this idea. The way it grew out of very little because of unexpected sales this could never have happened but in a perfectly planned world, this could have been a great approach.

 

Reading this thread has been great. I can’t say I’ve anything startling to add to the great ideas here. I’ve tried looking at the series to hack and slash out books but the whole thing is so messy. Fixing one area leaves another bleeding out in its wake. I always found throughout the heresy series, particularly the dark days of drudgery, forge worlds black books were my guide through the madness and kept my interest going and excited about the whole project. The books cut out alot of the BS, and I think when we all look back on this time they will be the references for the heresy and not the novels.

If Alan Blythe had been the man in charge of coordinating the novel series in terms of general story direction and not Laurie I believe the books would have felt much more like a cohesive story arc from multiple angles. His experience in world creation could have been a steady hand in the whole project. But then again we probably would never have had the black books.

[bluntblade]

Sticking to my good improv advocate's guns, I think there should've been a few ground rules laid (setting what each Primarch and Legion's deal really was) and then the series be allowed to grow from there, but with some books serving as the Big Event stories we see in superhero comics. Those need to be built up to and then have a big effect - which in my view is somewhere the MCU has often stumbled (Endgame was the first time I felt a lingering sense of change from the previous biggun).

 

It seemed to me that Molech and Beta-Garmon both came out of nowhere, and indeed the lack of real focus on Horus after Isstvan V meant that the Traitors' goal seemed a bit aimless. We needed a bit more periodic scene-setting like Rogal Dorn gives in Scars and Horus delivers in Path of Heaven.

Edited May 1, 2020 by bluntblade

[b1soul]

I like the idea of specific mini-arcs with reasonably linear storytelling within them and between them (covering mainline novels with supporting novellas, anthologies, and Primarch novels under a separate imprint, perhaps simply "Warhammer 30K")

 

I pretty much tried to do that with my approach but I think specific sub-labels would be even better and they would build a sense of hype for the next arc

 

Don't necessarily have to use the road styling but...

 

Road to Treachery

Road to Prospero

Road to Istvaan

Road to Signus

 

(these don't necessarily have to released in separate blocks one following another)

Age of Darkness: Ghosts of Istvaan (dealing with the hunt for Loyalist survivors of the initial ambush, escape of Corax, Vulkan, and Meduson, consolidation of Shattered Legion forces...I am dropping Kyme's whole Vulkan/Curze/Nocturne/Terra arc)

Age of Darkness: Shadow of Ultramar

Age of Darkness: The Thramas Crusade

Age of Darkness: Blood and Lightning

Age of Darkness: Warriors of Istvaan (Shattered Legions send-off including a major Shattered Legions enagement like Dwell...can move Dwell closer to the start of the Siege)

Road to Terra (This could include, among other things, Wolfcull as the end-result is the the Lion saving Russ and two setting off for Terra)

The Siege of Terra

 

Also, switched Book 4 and Book 5 around in my order:

Book 1: Monarchia/Lorgar (legion and primarch building, Horus is teased but not centre stage)

Book 2: Ullanor/Horus (we get Horus in his full glory, legion and primarch building)

Book 3: Nikaea (the stage is broadened, certain lines are drawn, and Prospero is set up)

 

Book 4: The corruption of Horus and the traitor alliance is formed

 

*Primarch anthology covering Russ and Magnus (character exploration)*

Book 5 (maybe split into two parts): Prospero

 

*Traitor Primarch anthology to build up to Istvaan III, covering Fulgrim, Mortarion, and Angron being the more obvious choices*

Book 6: Istvaan III

*A second Traitor Primarch anthology exploring Perturabo, Curze, and Alpharius (the Traitor Primarch anthologies would explore their characters and justify why they would side with Horus against the Emperor)*

*The first Loyalist Primarch anthology covering Corax, Manus, and Vulkan*

Book 7: Istvaan V (this should be properly epic)

Book 8: Signus Prime (kinda running parallel with the events surrounding Istvaan V)

 

Novels set during the Age of Darkness

- need to give this more thought but tentatively...

 

*Second Loyalist Primarch anthology covering Guilliman, the Lion, the Khan*

Book 9: Shadow Crusade

Book 10: Thramas Crusade

Book 11: White Scars survive Traitor attempts to envelope and break for Terra

 

*Primarchs anthology covering Horus, Sanguinius, and Dorn*

 

Siege of Terra miniseries

 

*Lorgar novella covering his days on Colchis and his first meeting with the Emperor, bringing the series full circle (I think this respects the character as even though it's called the Horus Heresy, it's just as much the Aurelian Heresy)

 

Note: I'm thinking the Primarch anthologies could be a separately labeled, interspersed Primarch novel series. Novellas probably wouldn't be sufficient in some cases.

 

So some possible changes to the Age of Darkness...

 

Ultramarines

• Imperium Secundus involves a badly mauled Ultramar trying to survive WE, WB and their Daemonic allies, and splinter elements of other Traitor Legions or traitors of Loyalist Legions to spice things up.
• There is no Lion and no Sanguinius. No Night Lords or Curze.
• The Ruinstorm makes egress very difficult but not impossible. The dilemma is whether Guilliman should (a) risk it all and make a break for Terra with the surviving UM fleet, abandoning his beloved Ultramar or ( b ) turtle down and commit all his resources to Ultramar's survival first. He chooses ( b ) and rationalises it by surmising that the Emperor might already be dead and believing the risk of losing all hands in the Ruinstorm to be shockingly high. The Pharos plotline is dropped.

Dark Angels

• Thramas is a rather drawn-out affair before the First decisively defeats the Eighth a la Prince of Crows but without any Tchulcha shenanigans. The NL are simply beaten by superior coordination and a sane primarch.
• The DA lose a fifth of their fleet and the NL lose over half of theirs in the decisive fleet engagement.
• Shortly after victory, the Lion (not Corax) receives an urgent request from a beleaguered force of SW and DA (more on that later).

Blood Angels/White Scars/Imperial Fists

• Sanguinius does his thing at Signus but his fleet has a very rough time navigating the Warp. Two options:
• Option 1: After time displacement due to the potent Warp sorcery around Signus (and an epics Warp Odyssey), the BA ultimately limp back to Terra (much earlier than the White Scars). The BA initially help Dorn with fortifying the Palace. Later, Sanguinius and the Blood Angels support the Custodes in the Webway as Dorn fends off the Alpha Legion shadow campaign. The Webway incursions and AL destabilisation efforts are coordinated by the Traitors to hit fever pitch simultaneously.
• Option 2: After time displacement due to the potent Warp sorcery around Signus, the BA fleet manages to link up with a battered White Scars fleet (around two years after the Second Battle of Prospero). The Khan must transcend his solitary ways and luckily for him, Sanguinius is a brother primarch he generally gets along with. The two wounded legions are hounded by elements of the SoH, EC, DG, IW, and surviving NL fleet. The Swordstorm is lost in a savage engagement but the Khan survives. The Khan and Sanguinius combine their damaged fleets into a single unit led from the Red Tear. This fleet of red and white manages to escape through the Catallus Rift to Terra, where they finally link up with the IF.

Space Wolves

• The SW go through the Alaxxes ordeal and are severely depleted.
• They are saved by a DA star-fortress but the DA forces are not hardcore Luther-sympathisers. These DA are not completely trusted by either Luther or the Lion.
• Luther had relegated these unfortunates to garrison duty aboard the Chimaera and tried to spin it as an honour (but really just wanted these suspected Lion-sympathisers away from Caliban).
• After helping Russ, a large portion of them join the surviving SW and find a degree of purpose.
• They launch a campaign to harry the Traitors while trying to find a way to break for Terra.
• They are ultimately holed up at Yarant, but the Lion finally manages to reach Yarant and the combined forces manage to stave off annihilation.
• A wounded Russ now owes the Lion a weregeld as they struggle to reach Terra.

Shattered Legions

• Vulkan is never captured and never makes it back to Terra. Neither does Corax.
• They engage in protracted guerrilla warfare alongside attached IH survivors under Shadrak Meduson.
• They face annihilation more than once after Istvaan V and are hard-pressed simply to survive.
• The RG, Sallies, and IH barely total 10,000 survivors with a rag-tag, barely functional fleet. They are the Ten Thousand of Istvaan, and determine they can do more good as a hit-and-run force behind Traitor lines, rather than risking it all to break for Terra.
• If they can link up with other Loyalists, they will, but this does not come to fruit until encountering WS Sagyar Mazan seeking honourable death.

[bluntblade]

I think we should've had Marr, Aximand and Abaddon anchor a novel around Dwell and some other battles, building from what Alan Bligh had them doing. I'd like the relationship between Horus and his new patrons to be explored in the lead-up to Molech, with clear differences among the Sons of Horus and their allies about them. Basically giving them a second trilogy, taking in a more coherent Vengeful Spirit and having Slaves to Darkness largely as it was before.

 

Oh, and I'd try and get further into the Mechanicum stuff. Have stuff on the Loyalist Mechanicum and the nascent Dark Mech, as both are without their leadership in a very impactful way.

Edited May 2, 2020 by bluntblade

[Bobss]

The Master of Mankind is a better Mechanicum novel than Mechanicum funnily enough. We see on full display, albeit water down, in Kane and the Giant Robot Lady the thinking that led to the Schism in the first place. The Void Dragon will never be not-cool, but that and some of the wackier elements being shoehorned into the book suffocated the perfectly normal and perfectly reasonable reasons for the civil war - that had been building for years. Although we can see the Martian Civil War through the eyes of the Imperial Fists' relief force, I feel like a deeper exploration would be needed

[bluntblade]

I think there is plenty of potential, and hope it'll be acted on in a later book. The civil war on Anvillus, the stuff with Xana, the Hereteks who fought for Horus.

[Roomsky]

Night Lords – ADB

POV Marine: Sevatar

 

The Arc: Konrad Curze can't be convinced destiny is mutable. Death ensues.

 

1. The Night Lords are on crusade, with flashbacks to Nostramo. Curze is full of himself, but genuinely believes his flay-way is the best way to ensure compliance. During a campaign with the Emperor’s Children, Curze is surprised to find that Fulgrim appreciates some of his methods, and that he often conquers worlds with enviably minimal casualties. They become friends, and Curze reveals that he has visions of his own death, and often fights a feeling of satisfaction at the cruelty he is forced to use. Fulgrim, concerned, informs Rogal Dorn and other primarchs. Dorn confronts Curze, who after failing to convince Dorn that he remains stable and effective, attacks him. Curze and his legion flee, the Fists are unsure how to respond beyond reporting this to Terra. Curze is deeply unsettled, this is the first time his "Night Haunter" persona has acted beyond his control. When he hears of Nostramo’s rebellion, he wipes out the population in a fit of rage. Rather than confront the reality of his ineffective fear-tactics and his brothers’ genuine concern, Curze instead believes it is destiny that is sabotaging his success. His visions of death become ever clearer. He places Sevatar in acting command for fear of further outbursts, with a mission of seeking Imperial worlds that have rebelled from other primarchs' compliances, and applying Curze's fear tactics to return them to the fold. This is successful for a time, but when Curze hears they are re-pacifying a world they have visited before, he orders the planet scoured. During the height of his fury, Curze's visions resolve clearly for the first time, and he sees his death at the hands of M'Shen. Night Haunter apparently subsumes Curze's personality for a time, and when Argonis arrives as envoy and explains Horus' intentions, the Night Lords are sworn to the traitor banner. Night Haunter gleefully exhorts that this act was destined.

 

2. The Night Lords arrive at Isstvan V after the majority of fighting is done, destroying the remaining orbital resistance with some reluctance. They are tasked to burn several worlds to spread fear of the Warmaster. Curze's personality reasserts itself, and it takes some convincing that this, like his signature tactics, are a necessary cruelty for a greater good. Curze is fatalistic about this task, and his legions' future, but becomes Night Haunter whenever the killing begins. Horus orders them to intercept the Dark Angels at Thramas, and keep them from his strike on Terra. After several inconclusive void engagements, Curze and The Lion meet on Tsagualsa. The Lion offers Curze one chance to spare himself and his legion, but Curze immediately attacks. The Lion renders Curze unconscious and apparently mortally wounded before the Dark Angels are driven back into orbit. Sevatar again takes command of the fleet. To his horror, he finds some of his brothers are beginning to celebrate the killing of their cousins.

 

3. The Night Lords are losing Thramas badly; Sevatar is no match for a primarch’s strategic ability. On the brink of the fleet’s destruction, Curze recovers, apparently lucid. He outlines a plan that would lead to his death and the Nightfall’s destruction, but would guarantee most of his legions’ escape. Curze quickly devolves into rambling, ordering that this not be carried out, that he cannot defy destiny. He instead orders a direct assault on the Dark Angels, knowing that he will survive at the cost of thousands of Night Lords. Sevatar commandeers much of the fleet, and puts Curze’s initial plan into action, with himself in his master’s place. While much of the fleet escapes to safety, or to Terra, a livid Curze destroys Sevatar’s flagship before fleeing himself. In an epilogue, Curze feels no sorrow. As his legion returns to him on recaptured Tsagualsa, he reflects that destiny, as always, runs its course.

 

 

As I've mentioned before, I don't believe all legions are equal, though I do believe each is better at something than its peers. The Night Lords are not a strong matchup against their fellow marines, but in the context of the Great Crusade that hardly matters. I can believe a Night Lord, given the time, can bring a world to compliance by himself. No Dark Angel gonna do that. 

 

That said, every legion is a band of highly effective warriors. The Heresy series portrays them as semi-incompetent, but often in unexplained advantage over their foes. I would prefer to see a very effective legion hamstrung by Curze being prodigiously self destructive. Yes, their standards do fall and they do grow to be monsters, it is Heart of Darkness in space, but it's a bit quick in the Heresy proper. Have them hit their nadir in the Scouring, when all pretense of nobility has been abandoned. As with the other traitors, I'd like to avoid the idea that their betrayal was some foregone conclusion. Both the Fists and Night Lords are confused but cooperative when Curze attacks Dorn, all assume it must be some terrible mistake, and that even disagreeing legions would never even consider coming to blows.

 

Poor Curze has not fared well in the Heresy series, IMO. This isn't about victories or defeats, this is about character, and how anyone not named Dembski-Bowden or Spurrier should have been kept far away from the character. Less is more for Curze, and reading ADB's work and Lord of the Night only paint a much more interesting legion and primarch than does any addition from Haley, Abnett, Thorpe, or Kyme's flailing attempts at whatever it is they were doing. Give the superman a concise negative character arc and call it a day, make space Macbeth, not space Joker. My only goal for him here, besides clear story beats, was to show a damaged primarch that was once believably glorious. Curze doesn't want to let go of his methods for genuinely humanitarian reasons. He sees the possibility of taking a world with so few deaths, and despite the flaying, in the grim darkness of the 31st millennium it remains too good to be true. 

 

I'm leaning away from a legion wholly composed of :cusss, so I'd imagine Sevatar would be a bit uncharacteristically smarmy. I couldn't really think of what he would have done in this order of events to earn his red gauntlets, so we skip from intent to Curze actually murdering him. Sev tries to hold things together but realizes too late how much his primarch's visions have begun to control him. And of course, for all of Sevatar's efforts to support his gene-father and curb the dangerous Night Haunter personality, it's ironic that Curze himself does him in the end. Sevatar here is a reflection of his legion, including a growing sense of sadism. Unlike those doomed to survive however, he dies with some integrity rather than giving in to his new found urges.

[Tyriks]

Night Lords – ADB

POV Marine: Sevatar

 

The Arc: Konrad Curze can't be convinced destiny is mutable. Death ensues.

 

1. The Night Lords are on crusade, with flashbacks to Nostramo. Curze is full of himself, but genuinely believes his flay-way is the best way to ensure compliance. During a campaign with the Emperor’s Children, Curze is surprised to find that Fulgrim appreciates some of his methods, and that he often conquers worlds with enviably minimal casualties. They become friends, and Curze reveals that he has visions of his own death, and often fights a feeling of satisfaction at the cruelty he is forced to use. Fulgrim, concerned, informs Rogal Dorn and other primarchs. Dorn confronts Curze, who after failing to convince Dorn that he remains stable and effective, attacks him. Curze and his legion flee, the Fists are unsure how to respond beyond reporting this to Terra. Curze is deeply unsettled, this is the first time his "Night Haunter" persona has acted beyond his control. When he hears of Nostramo’s rebellion, he wipes out the population in a fit of rage. Rather than confront the reality of his ineffective fear-tactics and his brothers’ genuine concern, Curze instead believes it is destiny that is sabotaging his success. His visions of death become ever clearer. He places Sevatar in acting command for fear of further outbursts, with a mission of seeking Imperial worlds that have rebelled from other primarchs' compliances, and applying Curze's fear tactics to return them to the fold. This is successful for a time, but when Curze hears they are re-pacifying a world they have visited before, he orders the planet scoured. During the height of his fury, Curze's visions resolve clearly for the first time, and he sees his death at the hands of M'Shen. Night Haunter apparently subsumes Curze's personality for a time, and when Argonis arrives as envoy and explains Horus' intentions, the Night Lords are sworn to the traitor banner. Night Haunter gleefully exhorts that this act was destined.

 

2. The Night Lords arrive at Isstvan V after the majority of fighting is done, destroying the remaining orbital resistance with some reluctance. They are tasked to burn several worlds to spread fear of the Warmaster. Curze's personality reasserts itself, and it takes some convincing that this, like his signature tactics, are a necessary cruelty for a greater good. Curze is fatalistic about this task, and his legions' future, but becomes Night Haunter whenever the killing begins. Horus orders them to intercept the Dark Angels at Thramas, and keep them from his strike on Terra. After several inconclusive void engagements, Curze and The Lion meet on Tsagualsa. The Lion offers Curze one chance to spare himself and his legion, but Curze immediately attacks. The Lion renders Curze unconscious and apparently mortally wounded before the Dark Angels are driven back into orbit. Sevatar again takes command of the fleet. To his horror, he finds some of his brothers are beginning to celebrate the killing of their cousins.

 

3. The Night Lords are losing Thramas badly; Sevatar is no match for a primarch’s strategic ability. On the brink of the fleet’s destruction, Curze recovers, apparently lucid. He outlines a plan that would lead to his death and the Nightfall’s destruction, but would guarantee most of his legions’ escape. Curze quickly devolves into rambling, ordering that this not be carried out, that he cannot defy destiny. He instead orders a direct assault on the Dark Angels, knowing that he will survive at the cost of thousands of Night Lords. Sevatar commandeers much of the fleet, and puts Curze’s initial plan into action, with himself in his master’s place. While much of the fleet escapes to safety, or to Terra, a livid Curze destroys Sevatar’s flagship before fleeing himself. In an epilogue, Curze feels no sorrow. As his legion returns to him on recaptured Tsagualsa, he reflects that destiny, as always, runs its course.

 

 

As I've mentioned before, I don't believe all legions are equal, though I do believe each is better at something than its peers. The Night Lords are not a strong matchup against their fellow marines, but in the context of the Great Crusade that hardly matters. I can believe a Night Lord, given the time, can bring a world to compliance by himself. No Dark Angel gonna do that. 

 

That said, every legion is a band of highly effective warriors. The Heresy series portrays them as semi-incompetent, but often in unexplained advantage over their foes. I would prefer to see a very effective legion hamstrung by Curze being prodigiously self destructive. Yes, their standards do fall and they do grow to be monsters, it is Heart of Darkness in space, but it's a bit quick in the Heresy proper. Have them hit their nadir in the Scouring, when all pretense of nobility has been abandoned. As with the other traitors, I'd like to avoid the idea that their betrayal was some foregone conclusion. Both the Fists and Night Lords are confused but cooperative when Curze attacks Dorn, all assume it must be some terrible mistake, and that even disagreeing legions would never even consider coming to blows.

 

Poor Curze has not fared well in the Heresy series, IMO. This isn't about victories or defeats, this is about character, and how anyone not named Dembski-Bowden or Spurrier should have been kept far away from the character. Less is more for Curze, and reading ADB's work and Lord of the Night only paint a much more interesting legion and primarch than does any addition from Haley, Abnett, Thorpe, or Kyme's flailing attempts at whatever it is they were doing. Give the superman a concise negative character arc and call it a day, make space Macbeth, not space Joker. My only goal for him here, besides clear story beats, was to show a damaged primarch that was once believably glorious. Curze doesn't want to let go of his methods for genuinely humanitarian reasons. He sees the possibility of taking a world with so few deaths, and despite the flaying, in the grim darkness of the 31st millennium it remains too good to be true. 

 

I'm leaning away from a legion wholly composed of :cusss, so I'd imagine Sevatar would be a bit uncharacteristically smarmy. I couldn't really think of what he would have done in this order of events to earn his red gauntlets, so we skip from intent to Curze actually murdering him. Sev tries to hold things together but realizes too late how much his primarch's visions have begun to control him. And of course, for all of Sevatar's efforts to support his gene-father and curb the dangerous Night Haunter personality, it's ironic that Curze himself does him in the end. Sevatar here is a reflection of his legion, including a growing sense of sadism. Unlike those doomed to survive however, he dies with some integrity rather than giving in to his new found urges.

You could have Sevatar earn the gauntlets by trying to reign in Night Haunter at some point when Curze is out of control.  Like they have pacified a world, the leadership surrenders and Night Haunter wants to keep killing them for sport (which would undermine the validity of his approach and possibly keep the world from compliance).  Sevatar, being the only one at this point to distinguish between Night Haunter and Curze, publicly defies him in a bid to snap control back to Curze, which works but since it was public requires some kind of a response.  But since Curze appreciates what Sevatar did, he never really intends to carry out punishment.

[Roomsky]

 

You could have Sevatar earn the gauntlets by trying to reign in Night Haunter at some point when Curze is out of control.  Like they have pacified a world, the leadership surrenders and Night Haunter wants to keep killing them for sport (which would undermine the validity of his approach and possibly keep the world from compliance).  Sevatar, being the only one at this point to distinguish between Night Haunter and Curze, publicly defies him in a bid to snap control back to Curze, which works but since it was public requires some kind of a response.  But since Curze appreciates what Sevatar did, he never really intends to carry out punishment.

 

 

Perfect, great suggestion. 

 

I'll add to my write-up that I find the use of criminals for recruitment in the Night Lords and Iron Warriors a rather convenient excuse for their actions, and it seems to contradict most established lore about how Space Marines are made. That space marines A: have difficulty remembering their previous life and B: have an extremely low success rate as adults doesn't really make sense in the same universe where the ascended marines are :cusss because they used to commit crimes? The Dark Angels in 40k recruit from feral worlds with ritual, lethal combat, but apparently being in a penal colony makes you an evil marine. A few I could buy, but not the legion standard.

 

I tried to pay a bit of homage to this with the implication that something buried is coming to the fore in the more sadistic Night Lords, but even then breaking the law (especially on Nostramo) as a child doesn't really mean anything about ones' personality as they develop, and unstable tendencies should be indoctrinated out of them anyway.

Edited May 3, 2020 by Roomsky

[bluntblade]

I find Sevatar as he's been written too delicious to let go of. I think I'd have a DA book and maybe an NL one lead j to a Thramas novel, concluding with the events of Prince of Crows and an epilogue in which the Lion receives news about the Traitors assaulting Molech.

[Roomsky]

I'm curious what the ideal Molech coverage looks like for my fellow Fraters?

 

My dislike of Vengeful Spirit is well known and I don't think I'd bother with the event.

[Marshal Loss]

Molech was viewed by Alan Bligh as a pivotal turning point in the heresy - the moment the war begins fundamentally changing from one notionally fought for the Imperium to one fought for the cause of darker powers. It isn't (or shouldn't be considered) a disposable event. Vengeful Spirit didn't work for innumerable reasons but the biggest one for me, McNeillisms aside, was one of coverage. In a series where Horus & his Legion were portrayed better & more regularly, where Horus' ambition and idealism were given more attention, an event like Molech would have carried more weight. It's where Horus stops being himself and we start seeing a rapid descent into bald angry daemon man-hood, where we see his Sons sell the souls of their own brothers to create monsters, where the most concrete expression of the Legion's soul (the Mournival) is reformed into a twisted neverborn-tainted reflection of what once was, and where the rebellion gives up any claim it once had to righteousness. I'd also have left what happened to Horus be as a mystery, which would have made the reveal in Slaves to Darkness even better than it already was.

 

tldr event very important, novel bad

[bluntblade]

I'd fundamentally alter the nature of how Horus gains that boost - maybe you've got something like the Vault of Moravec, with a number of daemons imprisoned there instead of tainted tech - but I think I'd retain that turning point with things like the Luperci emerging at that point. 

 

I can say that I'd make Serghar Targhost key to that, possibly building a conflict between him and the "secular" leadership of the Sons of Horus in the form of the Mournival.

[b1soul]

I'd just make sure Davin and Molech don't undercut each other

 

Davin is where Chaos more subtly worms itself into Horus

 

Molech is like a full takeover

[mc warhammer]

a series where horus and co legit rebelled against the imperium for what they thought was in humanity's and their own best interests, believing they were forced to betray the emperor by the emperor was what i thought i was getting.

 

i got horus grinning as he ordered remembrancers murdered for...i'm... not really sure why.

 

actually thinking back to GiF...i'd have liked more done with qruze over the series

 

'You are the half-heard no longer,’ said Euphrati. 'Now your voice will be heard louder than anyother in your Legion. You cling to the old ways and wish them to return with the fond nostalgia of thevenerable. Those days are dying here, Iacton, but with your help we can bring them back again,’

 

and the seeding of conflict between fulgrim and horus

 

For a long, frightening moment, violent potential crackled between Horus and the primarch of the Emperor's Children

[Roomsky]

Blood Angels – ADB

POV Marine: Zephon

The Arc: Sanguinius is terribly hurt by Horus’ betrayal, and struggles to control his blackening outlook on the universe, as it is affecting his legion psychically. At the battle of Terra, he fully embraces his fury, feeling that stability is worth sacrificing if it will secure the future.

 

1. The Blood Angels are visited by Serghar Targost and other Sons of Horus, bringing orders for a campaign at Signus. Flashbacks to the Blood Angel’s previous conquest of the system with the Luna Wolves. Targost accompanies them to ensure Sanguinius is killed, and his legion converted to Chaos, the seeds of which he begins planting at lodge meetings. On arrival at Signus, the system is surrounded by a warp storm, and most of the worlds have been twisted by Chaos, the populations moulded into vast temples. The Angels land on Signus Prime, Targost is left in orbit. The Blood Angels are quickly set upon by daemons, prompting Sanguinius to descend and provide some sympathetic psychic shielding from the corruption. Targost performs a surprise attack on the Blood Angels fleet before disappearing into the warp storm. Sanguinius, confused, is confronted by Ka’Bandha. The daemon pulls a narrow victory, breaking Sanguinius’ legs and crippling his wings. He reveals the full extent of Horus’ treachery, sending Sanguinius into an impotent rage that resonates through his legion. Contrary to Horus’ plan, Ka’Bandha intends to convert Sanguinius to Khorne. He departs, confident the Blood Angels’ fall has begun in earnest. Sanguinius, seeing his legion’s rage amplified by his own, calms just enough to enforce a retreat. Once nominally recovered, Sanguinius leads an attack on the Cathedral of the Mark and kills Kyriss, struggling for control all the while. In the battle, Zephon loses his limbs and is barely saved. The Chaos presence is vastly reduced, but a diminished warp storm remains. Despite his damaged fleet, Sanguinius declares that no amount of sorcery will keep him from his brother, and the fleet prepares to brave the Ruinstorm.

 

2. The Blood Angels fly with difficulty through the Storm, and Zephon is given augmetic limbs that render him unable to fight. Several ships are invaded by daemons of Khorne, which attempt to stir the necessary rage and bloodlust in the legion. Sanguinius, knowing the warp will amplify his already dangerous rage, remains distant from his sons and the battles at large. He confides in Zephon, his only warrior that may understand his frustrations at being idle. Additionally, Sanguinius is plagued by visions of himself as a glorious ruler of Chaos, mighty enough to unify the Imperium and crush the traitor Warmaster. Despite their setbacks, the Blood Angels make progress towards Terra. Typhon and a fleet of Death Guard arrive as a last line of defence, accompanied by Targhost’s small force. The Death Guard are far more effective than the daemons, and between the two forces the Red Tear is nearly overrun. Sanguinius is forced to take to the field and, and by resisting one final temptation, prevents Ka'Band’a from manifesting on the bridge. The Death Guard retreat, and Targost is taken prisoner, interrogated for all details of Horus’ rebellion. An excruciated and one-armed Targost is then offered to Zephon for the kill, but he insists on a “fair” match. Zephon is nearly killed in the ensuing duel, but exploit’s Targost’s asymmetry to decapitate the traitor. The Blood Angels arrive at Terra.

 

3. At The Siege of Terra, Sanguinius holds the Eternity gate, while most of his warriors fight on the palace walls. Zephon is given proper augmetics thanks to Terra’s superior resources, and can fight again beside the other Sanguinary guard. After weeks of uninterrupted fighting, Sanguinius must give into his rage to stay alive. Ka’Bandha arrives, taunting him and saying he has chosen death over power. Sanguinius banishes him nevertheless. The Emperor emerges to lead the assault on the Vengeful Spirit, salving Sanguinius’ wounds but unable to provide any meaningful healing. Sanguinius is unfazed, and is teleported to Horus’ throne room. He spits on the Warmaster’s offer of alliance, and is killed with ease. Zephon leaps for Abaddon, but is killed as well. On Terra’ surface, the Blood Angels are consumed with rage at their primarch’s death, slaughtering traitors wholesale.

 

-

 

So this is a rather simplified story for the Blood Angels, I would hope with all the extra room the legion would be appropriately fleshed out; if not for a select few authors I would have assumed they were basically vanilla marines. For all my grievances with Haley, his 40k books with the chapter really demonstrated why the Blood Angels are compelling. In a universe of horror, even the kindest characters are mired in darkness. The Blood Angels though are one of the few groups who choose to rise above. But, of course, the Heresy is not about nobility, it's about conflict and struggle. I wanted to bring the sources of that (Horus and Ka'Bandha) to the fore by rearranging a few ideas present in the Heresy novels.

 

Of all the legions who have a reason to be butting heads with the Sons of Horus, it's the Blood Angels. Targost here is a symbol of everything the Sixteenth have become, and a sort of diet Erebus is the perfect nemesis and catharsis for the beginnings of their journey. 

 

I think embracing any Chaos God can be legitimately tempting, even Khorne. I get the impression many authors equate all manipulation to being underhanded, and avoid Khorne or its minions having anything to offer but power for the sake of violence. Here, Khorne through Ka'Bandha dangles vengeance and order in front of Sanguinius, not in the name of personal gain but in the name of justice. Sanguinius doesn't know if he'll even reach Terra in time, but Khorne can help with that. It can make him faster, stronger, unstoppably just and radiant, and deliver those who have abandoned their honour weeping at his feet. Ka'Bandha itself desires superiority, but is happy to claim it via successful corruption or by simply killing the Great Angel. It doesn't bicker with Kyriss or waste time consorting with traitor marines, it seeks only to dominate the Blood Angels for its god.

 

I don't believe Sanguinius having visions of his death aboard the Vengeful Spirit has done a single positive thing for his character. I don't know why I should care about any of his struggles when I know and he knows that this isn't where he dies. Instead, I wanted to play up that psychic shock that is the beginning of the Black Rage. Sanguinius is an easy conduit for Khorne to get at his legion, if Sanguinius is livid, the Blood Angels are going to be at least a little more pissed off as well. He has to contend with balancing his effectiveness as a military force, and not inadvertently damning his own sons because of a lapse in control. There is still plenty of opportunity to show the sensitive, artful, and kind Sanguinius; but rather than being an easy default, its an attitude he struggles to hold on to in the face of a darkening galaxy. Ultimately, it's not a battle he can win. By the time Sanguinius faces Horus, he's already suffered all manner of temptation for rewards far nobler than mere survival. It is the sheer ignorance of Horus' offer that confirms to the Angel that Horus is no longer anything approaching a brother. 

 

Sanguinius also just gets his neck snapped here, because him spitting in the face of death is, IMO, far more meaningful when he hasn't a snowflake's chance in hell of even wounding his enemy. 

 

I love the Zephon we have so I couldn't resist trying to slot him in here. A marine struggling with an inability to fight is extremely compelling, and in a universe where perseverance often gives characters a moment of awesome, here it nearly gets him killed. Zephon is a reflection of his primarch, but in a less capable body. He gives no thought to jumping into a daemon horde on Signus Prime, but for that he gets no success or reward. He won't let failing augmetics keep him from some small manner of justice, and he nearly dies for it. And even while outmatched and with no chance of success, he still takes that final swing at Abaddon. Zephon is the Blood Angel's endless struggle against a battle they cannot win.

 

I would hope, of course, that the legion at large gets a more distinct approach to its characters. Amit and Azkaellon are fairly easy to make stand out, but lets make an alternate apothecary Meros a little more interesting, make him obsessed with art or something. He could have his own journey with the sequentialist, initially perceiving him as an annoyance but by Terra (if the man survives), they grow close due to enduring unrelenting hardship. And, of course, Raldoron really needs fleshing out, the guy is almost universally a bit of set dressing in the novels. Hell, make him the comically serious, expand his confrontation with Skraivok into a running gag and he'll be a memetic badass in no time.

 

And now, if you'll excuse me a bit of fanfiction:

 

" Sanguinius placed a golden boot on the daemon's chest. The exquisite carvings of his plate ran red with divine blood.

 

Ka'Bandha's volcanic breath came in laboured bursts. It's torn wings slapped feebly on the blood-slick marble. Severed tendons gave unheeded commands to shattered legs. It stared at Sanguinius with one baleful eye, projecting an impotent loathing the primarch knew too well. It spoke through a forest of broken teeth.

 

'How? I laid you low in your prime. You should be dead. I should have your skull.'

 

Sanguinius raised his broken sword, it's still lethal edge shining in the firelight.

 

'Even in defiance, your god would rather me than you, daemon.'

 

He thrust hard into the daemon's heart, and Ka'Bandha's bellow of rage accompanied it back into the hell from which it spawned."

Edited May 4, 2020 by Roomsky

[Roomsky]

Iron Hands: David Guymer

POV Marines: Shadrak Meduson, Jebez Aug

The arc: Meduson and Aug are the exemplars of their respective heritage, both trusted by Manus. While best friends and diplomatic allies, their relationship becomes stained after Manus’ death. Their trajectories diverge, both forced to plot against the other to maintain the legion’s unity.

 

1. Ferrus Manus hears whispers of Ullanor, and plans his own bid for Warmaster. The overarching plot is the Conquest of Gardinaal, but more flattering to Manus. Manus is accompanied by Cyrius of the Emperor’s Children to build fellowship and exchange tactics. Meduson fights on the planet’s surface. In private, Manus confesses to Aug his frustration with the Terran legionaries, as they are dismissive of Medusan custom and intensity. Manus dominates the worlds where the previous expedition fleets could not, and accepts emissaries, though they try to assassinate him. Manus convenes with Aug, Santar and Cyrius for council. While Cyrius recommends against it, the Medusans recommend Gardinaal Prime be made an example of, a Medusan custom writ large. Manus is pleased; it was the council he was hoping for. Cyrius is deployed to disable the orbital platforms, where he discovers the armed nuclear warheads point at the surface. Ferrus manages to retrieve Cyrius in time, and through quick-thinking destroys the platforms before they can fire. Ferrus is horrified he nearly sent so much of his legion to its death to satisfy his own pride, and decides to withdraw his bid for Warmaster. He recalls Cyrius’ dissenting voice, and raises Shadrak Meduson to his command council, the only Terran to occupy the position.

 

2. Years later, Meduson has become an accepted part of the command council, though he remains the least senior voice. The council sans Santar command the fleet in Manus’ absence, as he is away meeting Fulgrim. Their campaign is successful, with Meduson’s contribution to the plan delivering the coup-de-grace. Manus returns in a rage with a wounded Santar, announcing Horus’ betrayal. The Iron Hands return to Terra, and are placed in charge of the retribution fleet. Manus arrives at The Battle of Isstvan V, and against the recommendations of Meduson, Vulkan, and Corax, begins the assault before the remaining legions arrive. However, Manus mobilizes the forces so efficiently that the traitors risk being decimated before their backup arrives. Manus discovers Fulgrim and his Legion command’s location, apparently isolated from the main traitor force. He takes council, finding an even split of vote for and against an in-person assault, with Meduson swaying the vote against. Manus ignores this council, and the Iron Hands deploy to the Urgall Depression. Manus and Fulgrim face off in a confrontation slanted in the Iron Hands’ favour, until the traitor reinforcements arrive. Surrounded and outnumbered, Manus is offered succor if he surrenders to Fulgrim. Manus attacks without hesitation but is killed. Cyrius duels Santar and manages a narrow victory, losing one hand and his handsome face. Meduson, left in orbit, rallies what is left of the X Legion fleet, recovering some forces from the surface including a badly wounded Aug. Aug retains seniority but makes Meduson acting commander of the fleet while he recovers. Meduson manages a daring but largely successful escape with the fleet.

 

3. As Horus makes for Terra, he sends Tybalt Marr and a small fleet to hunt down and exterminate the Iron Hands. Meduson and Aug devise a plan to make the Iron Hands a symbol for the Shattered Legions, and gather some Salamanders and Raven Guard to their cause. Meduson adds their leaders to a new Iron Council, and makes use of their unique tactics to make the fleet unpredictable. An initial fleet action against Marr is indecisive, but the Iron Hands suffer fewer losses. More flock to their banner, praising Meduson, who as acting commander has begun to disregard the Medusan council members, blaming their stubborn outlook for Manus’ death. Aug recovers, but finds the non-Iron Hands remain most loyal to Meduson. The two meet and apparently agree to share command. Marr is joined by Cyrius, their combined fleet outmatching that of the Shattered Legions. Meduson devises a trap for the legions, ignoring the council of the Iron Hands despite his earlier conversation with Aug. Aug conspires with the remaining Iron Fathers to dispatch both the enemy fleet and Meduson, as they believe adhering to the Terran’s plan would be suicide. Meduson leads an attack on Marr’s flagship. Aug, finding his treachery necessary but shameful, leads a suicidal charge on Cyrius’ flagship. Meduson takes Marr’s head, but the Iron Hands wipe out the Sons of Horus fleet without retrieving Meduson or the Shattered Legionaries. Aug’s team briefly takes the bridge of Cyrius’ ship, allowing the remaining Iron Hands a clean escape. He duels Cyrius, but is outmatched. He manages to sever Cyrius’ other hand before death, leaving him with a scarred visage and two iron hands. Cyrius is 99% certain this will be the worst thing to ever happen to him.

 

-

 

I actually quite enjoy the Iron Hands' trajectory in the novel series, it just needs a little more focus. Meduson and Aug's conflict is a compelling one, as is their rivalry with the Sons of Horus and the Emperor's Children. The contemporary Iron Hands are hardly a healthy bunch, so I don't think it's unreasonable to give them a downward spiral during the Heresy.

 

The main balance I wanted to address is that the Medusans in the novels are essentially irredeemable failures. Manus is the first to die, and his council sabotages the Terran who was wildly outdoing them with his newfangled ideas. I wanted to give credence to both sides here by having Manus be a dangerously quick thinker who, with his overwhelming aggression, actually had the traitors on something of a back foot before the Dropsite Massacre. While his temper does get the better of him here, Fulgrim is sitting in a much more vulnerable position, and the outcome of the battle is apparently a foregone conclusion. 

 

Meduson is a bit more flawed here, confirmation bias leading him to believe most Medusan tactics are poorly thought out and unnecessarily insular. He's been sitting on their council for years and despite his contributions, newer members outrank him by default. By the time the final confrontation with Marr and Cyrius rolls around he's dangerously dismissive of the council of others, and while they do betray him out of spite, there is also a genuine concern Meduson's ego is going to get them all killed eventually.

 

Aug is the opposite, while Shadrak is a Terran with Medusan aggression, Aug is a Medusan with a surprising amount of patience. He fights for the good of his legion and is willing to swallow his pride to maintain his failing alliance with Shadrak, he just doesn't have the same drive or ambition that is required to effectively strike back against the traitors. 

 

The writeups above are already overlong, but I'd hope to see an abridged account of Meduson's effectiveness part way through the final book as well. He runs a startlingly dangerous guerilla force, there's a reason the other shattered legions are flocking to his banner as well. I'd also like to see Henricos as a supporting character, eventually venturing out with Hibou Khan to bring the fight to the traitors. 

 

Cyrius is here because he should frankly have a little more setup (read: any at all) before what happens to him post-heresy. I included him in Arkanuada's place at Gardinaal because it's not enough just to simply state that the legions are best friends. Cyrius brings an outsider's perspective that, while not outdoing the Iron Hands, complements their style of warfare. Assemble the two legions, and they'd be nigh unstoppable.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Roomsky

[bluntblade]

I'm quite wedded to Abnett and Wraight's version of Meduson, but this does look like it'd have legs.

[Roomsky]

World Eaters – ADB

POV Marines: Skane, Vorias

 

The Arc: The World Eaters and their primarch are the galaxy's punching bags. Despite joining Horus' rebellion for more agency, they've merely succeeded in finding a different set of masters.

 

1. The prologue is Angron’s retrieval from Nuceria. During the Arigatta Cleansing, Angron's dislike of Guilliman and nominal trust of Horus are established. Skane reflects that increasing amounts of World Eaters are mimicking their father by taking the Butcher’s Nails. Centurion Mago discourages the practice and builds a small power base / warrior lodge intent on stopping the practice all together. Archmagos Vel-Kheredar encourages the Librarians to continue their attempts to take the nails, despite their habit of exploding. Come The Battle of Isstvan III, only Mago and his conspirators are sent to die. Angron is furious that Horus intends to Virus Bomb the surface, saying that they deserve to die like warriors. When it’s revealed some resistance survived, Angron leads his forces to the planet’s surface to prevent further bombings. Skane duels Mago, who insists the legion is doomed if they continue to hold blind faith in their father. Skane is nearly killed, but is saved by Angron, who duels Mago out of respect. Skane, feeling a combination of admiration and inadequacy, opts for nails of his own.

 

2. The prologue is The Night of the Wolf. Angron pursues Corax across the sands of Isstvan V, well past the point of tactical sense. Corax escapes and the battle is concluded, Angron is to join Lorgar’s designs on Ultramar. Angron chafes at Lorgar’s sorcery, but finds he is building something of a friendship with him. While the attack on Calth is happening, the two raze Nuceria. Skane, fighting on the surface, discovers treaties that prevented the Emperor from saving the Eaters of Cities, is encouraged by Argel Tal to keep this to himself. With both worlds burning, Angron demands to stay behind and kill Guilliman himself. Lorgar reveals his visions for the future, and that facing Guilliman will not grant him his only wish: to join his City Eaters in death. Angron agrees to join the Warmaster at Terra, and sends all of his remaining warriors who haven’t taken the nails to their deaths slowing Guilliman. Vorias dies fighting Ultramarines.

 

3. Prologue is Angron reflecting on his hatred of the Imperium, that even his closest brothers seem to view him with disdain or pity. By the Siege, Angron is dying from his Butcher’s Nails, Lorgar uses sorcery to (allegedly) salve his pain, and gift him with enough strength to find his glorious death. Vel-Kheredar, apparently reducing the adverse effects of the nails on both marine and primarch, is actually making their effects more extreme. On the operating table, Skane fights back and kills the Archmagos, and discovers Lorgar was motivating this activity. Angron has his stare down with Sanguinius on the walls, and recklessly pursues his brother primarch throughout The Siege of Terra. Skane reaches Terra’s surface, but is unable to convince his brothers of treachery. He confronts Khârn, making a similar plea to the one made by Mago on Isstvan III. Khârn cuts him down in a frenzy. Angron doesn’t reach Sanguinius, but is blasted apart in an enormous assault by Blood Angels, Mechanicus, and Army forces. The immense slaughter combined with Lorgar’s sorceries ensures Angron’s involuntary ascendancy to daemonhood. His last truly lucid thought is the realization that he’s been damned to an eternity of the pain he tried so desperately to escape.

 

 

This took a lot of thinking. Like the White Scars, I have no issue with the legions' significant appearances in the novels. Unlike the Scars, their meatiest entry hinges on developing the Word Bearers as well, with necessarily shared casts of characters. This doesn't gel with the 3-book self-contained model, so here they have to maintain a bit more distance from their brothers. Lorgar features heavily but, as I'll elaborate on once I get to the Word Bearers, Angron is hardly his main concern. While much of this plot hinges on conspiracy by the Word Bearers to have the XII take their place as Khorne's champions, I'd definitely play Lorgar just as apparently benign as he was at the start of First Heretic. Think book Littlefinger, disarmingly "nonthreatening".

 

Continuing my habit of softening the traitor primarchs a bit, my main inspiration for this Angron is ADB's Lord of the Red Sands (but for the record, I'm more than happy with St. Martin's spite personified in the novels). I've slowed his degeneration to make him a smidge more charismatic, and to give him a chance to demonstrate (beyond heritage) why his warriors would follow him into hell. Additionally, three novels just hammers home that Angron's an unfortunate tool of his unbroken family members. Angron here takes fighting and dying very seriously; it takes little for him to kill you, but he'll do it himself if he can. To Angron, death is almost a reward, and he prefers to see his enemies die with their ideals intact rather than trying to persuade them. When he sends his sons without the nails to their deaths, he sees it as a mercy, allowing them to exit the world without compromise.

 

Skane is a convenient grunt to show how the average World Eater deals with the problem of the nails, he's swept up in a tide that's far beyond him. Khârn and Mago are his literal Id and Superego, and both have a profound effect on his development. His arc, such as it is, is the shifting perspective over which he finds the better man. Vorias allows for a split in POV locations, and is probably the only POV character I'd kill off before the last book. Being Chief Librarian, he has both the freedom and agency Skane lacks, even if it gets him killed more quickly. Of course I'd also have Lotarra present as ship-mistress.

 

Isstvan III is a far bigger turning point for the legion than Isstvan V, their internal division and how it happens is a defining moment for the XII's character. It's easy to just throw the World Eaters into conflicts, but its so normal for them most battlefields don't really have significance for the legion, even after their betrayal. Nuceria is an obvious battlefield to visit, and where we find the first hints that the Word Bearers have something specific in mind for their "comrades." Much as I'm a fan of negative character arcs leading to overblown tragedy, catharsis is important in a story like this. I loved St. Martin's sadist Vel-Kheredar in Slave of Nuceria, and he's a perfect fit for a disposable antagonist to get what's coming before everything goes to :cuss. Considering the amount of damage he did to the legion, I hope we see him again in the novels.

[bluntblade]

I find it striking that we've landed on such different models for the series. It's interesting to compare and contrast the virtues and vices of the two.

[Roomsky]

Ultramarines: Dan Abnett

POV Marine: Aeonid Thiel

The Arc: Guilliman has an exemplary record during the Great Crusade, and encourages his legion to develop their diplomacy with humans as much as their combat ability with xenos. Despite his ability to gain from even the most dire situations, he finds he must make more and more moral compromises in order to do so. By the time he reaches Terra, he is disappointed to find that under pressure, any means justify his ends: the survival of mankind and the Imperium.

 

1. The prologue is Monarchia, from the Ultramarines’ perspective. In the present, the Ultramarines are working to conquer Thoas, the capital of an independent human empire now conquered by orks. Guilliman manages the campaign, as well as negotiating with a beleaguered human holdout in the same system which is resistant to compliance. Guilliman is uneasy with his destroyer companies, and is using the campaign to integrate them with his more diplomatic legion model. This he confides to one of his baseline serfs, to whom he speaks to maintain perspective. His choices throughout are accentuated by flashbacks to his time and lessons with his father, Konor. Thiel fights on the surface, his closest brothers recommending against his habit of developing combat models based on enemy effectiveness, and his using models incorporating traitor marines. This is juxtaposed by flashbacks to the betrayal of Konor. While he could easily conquer the human colony by force, Guilliman succeeds in bringing them to compliance diplomatically. Guilliman is forced to allow the destroyers to wipe out the ork capital before they can launch atomics and taint the rest of the planet. While ostensibly a success, Guilliman wonders how far he will go for victory in more dire circumstances.

 

2. The Battle of Calth plays out largely like Know no Fear. The climax is longer, and includes the plot / ship chase from Macragge’s Honour. Guilliman vows to make for Terra, Erebus’ ruinstorm be damned.

 

3. The Ultramarines experiences several false starts, the storm scattering and damaging large elements of his fleet. Guilliman wrestles with using athame daggers recovered from the Word Bearers against the daemonic hordes. The few systems they manage to break the storm in are annexed by Word Bearers and World Eaters, using the resident populations as hostages / human shields. Between the athames and weighing pragmatism against altruism, Guilliman must decide how ruthless he is willing to be to reach Terra. Guilliman refuses to bombard the planets’ innocent populations, and only barely keeps himself from arming his legionaries with athames, destroying them instead. However, stations and ships using human shields are not spared, to Guilliman these people are already dead. Guilliman feigns indecision to lure an attack from Erebus on the Destiny’s Hand. Erebus almost immediately flees once he finds himself at a disadvantage, leaving much of his fleet to die. The remaining traitors are wiped out completely. Guilliman prepares himself for the necessity of launching cyclonics at Beta-Garmon, killing billions is his only way through due to his fleet size, but he convenes with Russ and the Space Wolves to run the blockade. Guilliman arrives on Terra too late, reflecting that he abandoned his morals for nothing. He decides he cannot allow this to hinder humanity’s forward progress.

 

-

 

The Ultramarines were thankfully a bit more straightforward to plot out. Abnett obviously succeeded massively with Know No Fear, so besides the Macragge’s Honour shenanigans being put in an actual book, there wasn’t much to change. As for the events on either side of it, for all the issues I have with Annandale’s execution, he had some great ideas and a strong framework. It was easy enough to string them together. While I personally like the idea of Imperium Secundus, it doesn’t work in the smaller, solo series format. I have been interested to see how people adapt the idea into their more linear narratives, though.

 

Monarchia weighs heavily on the legion and its primarch throughout; it’s an added layer of responsibility when their morals are already beginning to crumble. Guilliman always strives to build a legion of the finest warriors in the Imperium, but it was never to be held up or recognized as such. Contrast the Lion, Guilliman is content to merely do his job well. Monarchia, however, is widely publicized he balances his moral decision making not just on the immediate situation, but on how it will reflect on other legions as well. What is the Imperium to think when their shining examples stoop so low? On top of that, this is a Guilliman who hasn't needed to resort to ruthless tactics during the Crusade, his enemies have been obvious, and potential allies have been persuaded by his unmatched diplomatic ability. It's not simply a naïve ideal, its an ideal he's been able to live until now.

 

Guilliman here is a foil to Dorn. Dorn believes that any atrocities committed in the name of stopping Horus are temporary, one time measures. As in The Lightning Tower, Dorn hopes to “put everything back” once the Heresy is dealt with. It’s only in defeat that he realizes he was deluding himself. Guilliman takes every compromise in the name of stopping Horus as potentially permanent, and weighs each as such. Disregarding the individual in favour of the many is a necessity he’d hoped never to embrace so cold-heartedly, and it reflects even more harshly on him when he realizes it was for naught. While filled with self-loathing, Guilliman refuses to let the lesson go to waste, and vows to stabilize the Imperium come The Scouring, by himself if he must.

 

Thiel is one of Abnett’s finest creations and I’d be remiss not to have him as the marine protagonist. There’s a cheekiness and think-outside-the-box nature to him that is a fun mirror of his primarch, but we see him triumph thanks to his comparative lack of responsibility. He grows from an insubordinate line trooper to an inspiration for his fellow Ultramarines, and is one of the reasons Guilliman pulls so many decisive victories at ground level. By the end, Thiel is ready to bolster the idealism Guilliman has lost with his own.

 

The Shadow Crusade also doesn’t work terribly well in this format, so I hoped to combine its tone with that of Spear of Ultramar. The Word Bearers and World Eaters are both examples of what the Ultras strive to avoid, and are a constant reminder to Guilliman what can happen to a legion if he lets morality fall by the wayside.

Edited May 6, 2020 by Roomsky

[bluntblade]

I wonder whose perspectives I'd split Isstvan V between, besides the Word Bearers' particular experience. The First Heretic would still come into this phase in my mind.

 

I reckon I'd amp up the base conflict, with multiple Iron Hands perspectives leading to an epilogue as Meduson escapes the trap, and also give the Sons of Horus more of a showing. Essentially lengthen the thing, taking the time to really dig into the scale. I feel like Horus' triumph could be juxtaposed nicely against the Shattered Legions slipping away into the dark.

 

Furthermore, I'd have Ferrus rue the absence of the Wolves and the Imperial Fists under Yonnad.

 

And as a mere personal want, super-heavy tanks fighting Titans. Get some real machine carnage in there.

Edited May 7, 2020 by bluntblade

[bluntblade]

Idea for the Ultramarines' arc: Imperium Secundus or not, have Guilliman reconstituting elements of other Legions for his push to Terra and explore the conflicts this creates.

[b1soul]

That would be great.

 

Unremembered Empire had small numbers of Iron Hands, White Scars, and Space Wolves

 

Would've loved for them to have more of a role in IS.

 

Having additional stragglers show up, drawn by the Pharos, would have been great

[bluntblade]

I find that the period after Isstvan V seems to be the most fertile in my mind. Perhaps because it seems the most aimless in BL writing, while Forge World have a very strong through-line for it. This is the point where the true scale of the horror becomes apparent, and Horus is already moving against the remaining Loyalists. There will be a number of component conflicts to this, but the core one brings the Sons of Horus, Emperor's Children and Death Guard to Molech.

 

To that end, I'd actually open this with the events of Raven's Flight, only longer and with some of the stuff that Alan Bligh added. First off, I'd add Corvus reorganising his Legion, in the process elevating some formerly obscure captains as I'm thinking that would be good for a POV character. Here we're selling the scale of the calamity, rammed home when said captain leads a reconnaissance mission out to the Dropsite and sees most of the enemy embarking while the reclamation and salvage efforts begin. At length and at great cost, the remnants of the XIX^th Legion are evacuated from Legion and make for Kiavahr, there to take stock and plan their next move. Ominously, for the first time in the Legion's history Corvus authorises accelerated implantation protocols, formerly the preserve of the World Eaters and Iron Warriors.

 

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a post-Dropsite book split between the Sons of Horus and the Shattered Legions, the threads converging on Dwell. Call it Dark Empire or somesuch. I'm inclined to integrate Meduson wholesale into this (Grey Talon might slot into a timeskip, but stay separate) and have his strand cover the Shattered Legions adapting and setting new objectives. Over several months, Meduson takes in White Scars (both sagyar mazan deathsquads and far-ranging Brotherhoods) and Imperial Fists dislodged from their garrisons by Horus' assault on the Coronid Deeps, plus Mechanicum, Army and Solar Auxilia troops. Evading Tybalt Marr's pursuit and scoring some small victories along the way, Meduson flirts with the idea of trying to revive the Iron Hands' old way of war but realises it is futile in the face of the XVI^th, and increasingly pulls from the White Scars and Raven Guard's methods.

 

As for the Sons of Horus, I'd start with them where the Black Book Conquest leaves off: Abaddon stalks the governor's palace in the newly conquered capital of Manachea. With the exception of the besieged Forge World Mezoa, the Coronid Deeps belong to the Warmaster, and they are already being put to work. Abaddon observes the denizens of the lower levels being rounded up for conscription both into the labour force and the Traitors' mortal armies. The youths among them, however, are all claimed for the Legion - hundreds of thousands, most of whom will be expended by the factory-line process of implantation which is now being adopted. Abaddon dislikes the idea, remembering how the XVI^th used to pick its recruits, but such are the needs of war and it is, after all, the will of the Warmaster. Horus Aximand, meanwhile, is at Port Maw as Lupercal's forces assume full control, resupplying before their move on Gyrien.

 

With Abaddon away, and Horus' eye on the grand strategic picture, Aximand finds himself managing a growing rift within the Legion with Serghar Targost at the head of an emerging occultist faction. We get some of the Little Horus material - and indeed I'd be integrating most of that stuff here - with the added element that some of the officers are jockeying for position, even questioning Aximand's commitment after what happened on Isstvan III. With the Mournival gone, there's potentially more to gain for the really ambitious officer. I'm not entirely sure what I'd do regarding Luc Sedirae here, seeing as Nemesis removes him in canon and his presence might muck with the pecking order. Possibly he dies at the hands of one of Meduson's faction or even in a clash with Autek Mor, highlighting the danger which the Shattered Legions still pose to the Traitors. Either way, the Sons of Horus and their allies lay Gyrien low and move on to Dwell, opening the systems around Molech to invasion (and that can be handled in books focusing on the Emperor's Children and Death Guard, as well as possibly the Traitor Army and Mechanicum).

 

Tallarn feels to me like it'd be worth handling as a full novel alongside the novellas which John French wrote, with the focus at the highest levels of command on both sides while the novellas deal with the boots on the ground bums in tank seats. I don't know what I make of Angel Exterminatus, but I figure the Iron Warriors can be working through the fallout of their betrayal by the Emperor's Children.

Edited May 8, 2020 by bluntblade