Alpharius

[Karhedron]

Same story, different versions. And all are true!

[Doghouse]

I think it's quite an interesting idea that plays well into the nature of the Legion as a whole. For me personally where I might see Dorn and his Fists as two entities of leader and subordinates I tend to see the Alpha Legion as an entity as a whole rather than Astartes led by two Primarchs.

 

Again for my personal tastes I do like the idea of their deception but I think that in all likelihood this is intended to be taken as written, that this is a true account of how he came to be. I think it would be quite clever if this was the intention.

 

But I also like the idea that this could be read as an account given by someone that if you took to extremes may not even be Alpharius. As the story is being recounted to no one in particular like I say I personally think it's probably intended to be truthful and does add some interesting twists to how things occurred and his relationship with the Emperor.

 

I like how he is now the first to be discovered and the motives behind telling no one. I also like how Omegon's discovery is much earlier than we first thought and how they manipulate events to give us the history as it has always been known. I'm not a huge fan of the Heresy series of books but do find details of how things were in the lead up to Horus' betrayal quite interesting. 

[RedFurioso]

Excellent book, but I have doubts about the importance of 'revelations'...

Does it really matter who was found first and who switched places? What does it change in the grand scheme of things?
If anything, it makes Emperor's choice of Warmaster more mysterious, because clearly Horus wasn't the first. He was second and, therefore, not so unique as it was stated in earlier HH lore.

[b1soul]

Horus was

the first officially found, so that alone is a rather convenient basis to appoint him as Warrmaster

 

I actually think treating Alpharius as the simple truth would run counter to the theme of the Alpha Legion. I think it makes more sense to treat this as truths seeded with many lies or vice versa. 

 

Alpharius says in the book

the best way to lie is to couch the lies in truth. Personally, I do like the idea of one of the twins being the first discovered (and even on Terra itself) and being kept as the Emperor's secret blade, at least until a number of other primarchs were found.

 

EDIT: ...and the idea the Blood Games originated with him is compelling as well!

 

 

I used to say no one does the Alpha Legion justice except Dan Abnett (even John French falls just a tad bit short), but I think Brooks is up there. This right up there with Legion, perhaps even more enjoyable because it actually gets into Alpharius' headspace. 

Edited April 22, 2021 by b1soul

[DarkChaplain]

Excellent book, but I have doubts about the importance of 'revelations'...

Does it really matter who was found first and who switched places? What does it change in the grand scheme of things?

If anything, it makes Emperor's choice of Warmaster more mysterious, because clearly Horus wasn't the first. He was second and, therefore, not so unique as it was stated in earlier HH lore.

 

Horus getting the short end of the stick in the latest Primarchs anthology makes even less sense as a result, too.

 

As for "doing the AL justice" thing, isn't it strange to say that the only author who supposedly did is the one who initially rewrote them for his novel, then only touched them again once iirc in a brief antagonist role where they were acting like they were Ultramarines to the degree that even the UM Primarch was caught off-guard?

 

I mean, that's not really doing an established faction justice, it's rewriting the rules to make them suit the novel you wanted to write based on them, then leaving the subject matter behind for others to play around with.

Edited April 22, 2021 by DarkChaplain

[b1soul]

How did Dan rewrite the legion?

 

To me, Legion is just a really enjoyable book which presents a compelling concept for an unconventional legion.

 

I guess if Dan created the concept, he created a good one. I don't think he indulged in any over-the-top meme-worthy shenanigans back in Legion.

[Scribe]

Nah, as far as what the book did for the Alpha Legion specifically, even I have few issues with it.

[mawhis]

Does anyone think we'll get a separate Omegon Primarchs Book?

[mc warhammer]

i doubt it, but a short story detailing a bit if his pre alpharius life would be welcome.

[Doghouse]

We will but it'll be a reprint of Alpharius: Head of the Hydra with every mention of Alpharius crossed out with a marker pen and changed to Omegon. :D

 

All joking aside, I would actually like to see how he gets to where he is when he is discovered.

[Roomsky]

Alpharius: Head of the Hydra – Mike Brooks

 

In the beginning, there was Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter. And it was mediocre – a collection of barely connected vignettes that, while entertaining, only really served to undermine the book’s namesake. Then there was Luther: First of the Fallen, and it was better. While still too impressed with its own knowledge of lore, it semi-coherently elevated a character in dire need of such development; if only it had a better grasp of how to balance all that character with the filler. But now we have Alpharius: Head of the Hydra, and it is great, for it succeeds in all the ways its predecessors have failed.

 

(Just use your imagination to fit Vulkan Lives in there too because this is a book written in the first person that doesn’t inadvertently :cuss all over the subject matter.)

 

Seriously, this book is great.

 

In some ways it’s the lore-bible style book I’m not huge on, but it’s not at the expense of an actual story being told. The book is (allegedly) about the years from Alpharius’ discovery up to the meeting of his brother, Omegon (this may be a lie.) This works because, from the book’s very beginning, Alpharius is looking for his ultimate equal - first in Valdor, then his brother primarchs, but he’s never satisfied until he’s face to face with his soul-twin. It is a story first. The reason Luther and Curze fail in this regard is because those books, in an attempt not to enter narrative territories already covered, skip the impetus for why those characters’ arcs were happening in the first place. Head of the Hydra is nearly all fresh ground, and thus doesn’t end up hollowed out narratively like those two were. The important parts of the story are actually in the book, instead of being danced around.

The lore bible stuff is still fun, btw. It’s all generally pretty cheeky, very in keeping with the title character.

 

Alpharius himself, ostensibly telling this story, is handled superbly. It’s written very much as “from his mouth” rather than “in his head,” which is an important distinction; it reads as if he’s talking to one of his followers, a behavior he demonstrates in the narrative itself more than once. We get all the benefits of his perspective without noticing that non-superhuman writers tend to struggle when tackling the thoughts of superhuman characters.

 

Alpharius is pragmatic, intelligent, and obsessively reasonable. He’s also obviously arrogant, and that shines through in myriad subtle ways, my favourite of which being the absolute confidence he exudes while mis-reading nearly all of his brothers. Alpharius, for all his smarts, borders on shallow and can’t help but attribute that same flaw to his kin. The book is genius in advertising Alpharius’ complexity addiction as a virtue, all the while poking little holes in his entire schtick.

But, and this is the best part, it’s just ambiguous enough that this isn’t some concrete thing. There’s an entire other reading (and beyond!) of what I just described as Alpharius cutting through the bull:cuss and seeing the core of who they really are as people. And Alpharius’ observations are like this through the whole thing – it’s left to the reader whether or not to take him at face value.

 

As a writer, I think I’d describe Brooks as “Thorpe +1.” The book is full of neat tidbits and fascinating conversations, as are Thorpe’s strengths, with the difference being everything in between isn’t dull as dishwater. Combine that with his deft delivery of “book of primarch trivia” and “book about the Great Crusade” all in one and he really flexes his plotting muscles as well.

 

Oh, and this book has

Slaugth

in it. That makes it a 10/10 no matter what. (That was a lie.)

 

I wouldn’t hesitate to call this the best in The Primarchs series. Go read it.

 

(My favourites under the lable are all written by Heresy irregulars, curious.)

 

Why, it’s almost good enough to make me forgive them for relegating the Guilliman incident to a short story.

[Urauloth]

Oh, and this book has

Slaugth

in it.

 

 

Whoa, seriously? I was going to read a couple other things before getting to this one, but in light of this information it's going straight to the top of the queue.

[Lucerne]

Sadly their section is where the wheels come off the bus a little and what feels like an editorial mandate for "wrap it up" kicked in, re: pacing.

[mc warhammer]

 

Is there still some ambiguity left or is it definitive fact? (Or as close as it can get to from an in-universe point of view)

 

 

apparently it starts and ends by saying

"this is a lie"

 

so...maybe?

 

That's not really wholly accurate. 

 

The whole book apart from the Prologue and Epilogue is told in the first person by Alpharius. The Prologue and Epilogue are told in the first person by Omegon. The Prologue starts "I am Alpharius. This is a lie." The Epilogue ends with "I am Alpharius. This was a lie." 

 

So it depends what the narrator is lying about, the account or his correct name. The change from is to was is also interesting although the context in which each are said can also explain this. And this is also all Alpha Legion so you can of course choose not to believe the story.

 

so i've finally gotten around to this and i have to say, my instinctive read on the

"this is/was a lie"

quotes was indeed that

omegon was lying about being his twin alpharius

it's obviously written to be open to multiple interpretations but that was my gut read

 

[DarkChaplain]

Had the same impression. Looking back at the Heresy books, it actually fits strangely well.

 

In Legion, Omegon is established as the understated double, but in a lot of stories, it is him doing the "important" tasks like infiltrating the Raven Guard to steal the gene-tech, or enabling the loyalists like in The Serpent Beneath. By Praetorian of Dorn, he's still in the shadows, unrevealed to the wider galaxy / his brothers.

 

Considering that the idea with assaulting the Vengeful Spirit was that the newly found brother would do the job, for the sake of holding up the deception of being a new foundling, rather than "Alpharius" doing it when he's been around these brothers for decades or even a century, we can infer that at least one big switcheroo happens right there, and they may have kept that up for a while.

 

If "Alpharius" really does stick close to Horus after that, which was the case in old fluff, it'd also make sense that "Alpharius" would end up championing the Traitor side in the Heresy-scheme, while "Omegon", who was originally raised by the Emperor and Malcador, growing up on Terra and serving the Imperium from the very start - with no misgivings! - would act as his foil and help out the White Scars, or keep the untainted gene-tech from Horus and Fabius.

It'd then also make sense that, upon reassuming the mantle of Alpharius, the Terran brother would quit the Warmaster's campaign in a resigned fashion.

 

Another interesting tidbit is that "Alpharius" as found last already wore the iconic scaled blueish-green armor before he was found by the first-found. Meanwhile, the first still kept himself hidden, assuming the role of a simple legionary, didn't adopt any sort of personal heraldry like the serpent helmet that we've seen a lot of in ForgeWorld's material, for example. But that scaled armor is precisely the way "Alpharius" appears on the Vengeful Spirit, and how he confronts Dorn. Even the Pale Spear is used against Dorn - and while the first Alpharius DOES have an affinity with spears from early on, he did not go into battle with an unusual, decorated one.

 

From the prologue/epilogue chapters set during the Vengeful Spirit infiltration mission, we can clearly tell that it's the last-found Primarch doing the narration. He's the one acting there. But the nature of the main chapters demands that the rest is told by the first-found instead. They cannot both be Alpharius at the same time, so one of them is lying about his name. Considering that during the time between his own recovery and meeting his other half, he already used the Alpharius name/title, like when meeting the Lion as a legionary, and the later found half introduces himself as Omegon, it's safe to say that the "lie" is about his assumed identity as Alpharius, rather than the bulk of the narrative being false.

 

It opens up a really interesting dynamic that plays on a lot of the Heresy story as a whole. That there was a philosophical divide going hand in hand with the convoluted two-pronged approach to the Cabal's acuity was evident for years, but the role of Omegon in a lot of stories, including The Serpent Beneath, would fit the first-found, secret Alpharius much better when you think of him as the first Primarch, privy to basically all the relevant secrets surrounding the Great Crusade and being in the know about his brothers. He'd be the "serpent beneath, hidden and waiting to strike". He might never have stopped filling that role after Omegon>Alpharius  presented himself to Horus. And since that second Alpharius has missed out on centuries of experience with the Imperium, the Emperor and his brothers, not needing to fit in the covert role, it'd make sense why he'd end up more sympathetic to Horus, more ambivalent about the Emperor and the Imperium.

 

On top of that, the Omega-chapter of The Serpent Beneath presents us with "Omegon" entering his private chamber, presented with two suits of armor: One the default Alpha Legion suit, but the important one is a completely unadorned one covered up. That suit is clearly his, not "Alpharius"', and it'd not be strange for that being the original suit he wore in his pre-reveal time as a covert agent.

 

What I'm even more excited to see now is a book dealing with Eskrador. I still want Eskrador to solve the problem of the missing gene-tech, and it could still very much lead into the Primaris project, even though Graham sabotaged that with Sons of the Selenar in a way.

Nothing has happened with the material since Deliverance Lost, and it'd still fit into the timeline for "Alpharius" to hand the tech to Guilliman and through him to Cawl, who was hired for the job around that time anyway.

 

But really, I just want "Alpharius" and Guilliman to meet. If the theories hold up, that could lead to an extremely interesting conversation.

Edited June 3, 2021 by DarkChaplain

[mc warhammer]

100% on board with everything you've written DC. i think what makes it exciting is that it's obvious brooks wrote this book having read every bit of lore about the twins prior and is  connecting it all in this book. that implies an actual framework and plan for the alpha legion (rather than what has seemed completely random to readers over the years), which further implies that plan could lead up to and beyond eskrador.

 

now, whether this was a BL plan all along or one they've pulled together now through retcon, i don't really care...so long as there does seem to be some sort of driving force of logic behind their story.

 

random thoughts on the book itself:

 

*  one of the few books from BL i have read in almost one sitting. which is great, it's what i want but even so...some phrases get repetitive. the constant referring to "dad made me" "i am one of a rare breed of beings" and a few other things got slightly irksome, but that's more a nitpick and personal bugbear of mine. and yes, it does fit with alpharius' strange brand of arrogance that he is constantly finding himself reminded of his superiority at every turn i would have just liked more variance in the wordage.

 

* not being bored by the action scenes is always a bonus, mainly because i felt there was point to them in this book: there was always something to be discovered about alpharius in the midst of action.

 

*horus being second found but still closest to the emperor, while alpharius was first but closer to malcador... works. not only because it preserves horus' legacy but because...well, it just makes sense that alpharius was closest to malcador.  i mean, brooks must have broke out in a heavy sweat of delight when he joined those dots retroactively.

 

* on brooks seeming to have read every bit of lore on the twins: having alpharius be the inspiration of blood games is a another perfect retroactive fit. it ties together PoD amongst other stories.

 

* oh look, now the guys who used o swear that valdor beat a primarch in a duel get to have a valdor vs primarch scene, albeit one with a still young and developing primarch. i'm sure it'll add fuel to the fire of alpahrius being the weakest of primarchs though, because people are gonna be people.

 

* enjoyed hearing his thoughts on all his brothers ( and we almost got to hear what he thought of XI. kinda). seriously, i could just read a series of primarchs "dear diary" entries.

 

* i know another poster here didn't enjoy the idea that a primarch would decide to use the refugee couple rather than kill them outright to preserve his cover, but i enjoyed the fake out and subversion of expectation and i found that it works, one because it seems very in character for alpharius to use every possible asset and two it deepens his motives. in his own way he's as humane or possibly moreso than his brothers. yes, despite killing a custode or two. it's an interesting contradiction rather than a confusing one.

 

* that perturabo comment made me lol. it also made me think on it for a while. in a good way.

 

easily one of my top primarch books. renewed my faith in BL after a series of disappointments.

Edited June 3, 2021 by mc warhammer

[DarkChaplain]

Re: the refugee-fakeout

 

I was extremely happy that he took them in. Up until that point, he had always at least tried to justify his bloodshed. He didn't shy away from collateral, like the Custodes during the proto-blood game, but they were necessary evils in service of a greater purpose, while also being pretty much unavoidable - and he still regretted having to make those choices even though he made them willingly.

 

Killing the refugee family would have preserved his cover, but it would also have been a waste of life - civilian life, no less. He would have mind-wiped them - which frankly already shows that he'd have put greater effort into the whole affair than simply snapping their necks. His regret doesn't need to come from ending their lives - instead, it comes from ending their ordinary, civilian lives and replacing it with service.

 

Considering that he's already been shown to recruit civilians and generally a lot of base humans into his ranks, and building good working relations with them, even as they sacrifice their personal lives for the Legion, it seems logical that he wouldn't want to force-recruit a family, two women plus child, as operatives just because he's got to ask them a few questions face to face.

His regret then makes perfect sense if we realize that these parents won't see their child grow up normally - if at all, considering death in service is a thing - and pressing them into strict routines and military work. Alpharius likes willing participants, but this would not have been that from the outset.

 

It also underlines his belief in being a defensive mechanism for the Imperium and its people - he doesn't hesitate to open fire on rioters if they cannot be dissolved otherwise, but his primary purpose is still to pacify and maintain compliance, often in the shadows of the conquering Legions. He seems far more aware of the Imperium being its people, not just the Emperor's backyard, especially compared to most of his brothers.

Ironically, I actually think in that regard, he'd have gotten along pretty well with Roboute.

 

What really excites me is the prospect that the Alpha Legion, post-Heresy, is very much still fractured into mostly independent cells as we've known from 40k, but some of those cells might actually truly be following a loyalist course regardless of their reputation, potentially directed by Omegon himself, while still allowing for the crazy, warped up Alpha Legion to undermine the Imperium. Heck, in The Board is Set, we are actually presented with the Emperor and Malcador having two pieces for the twins, one loyal, one traitor. That schism has been a thing since they thought they could outsmart the Cabal, and it could be used so very well in a narrative sense.

 

[GAZ_AV_NZ]

The Bequin series should clarify Alpha Legions role perhaps moving forward

The appearance of an Alpha Legion astartes calling himself Alpharius and being on Eisenhorns team should hopefully give us more information.

Given the very serious Lore taking place

It will be interesting to see the outcome of this "the Yellow King"

[Mechanicus Tech-Support]

Loved this book, everything I wanted in an Alpha legion novel after Legion..

 

However wishing I didnt read all the spoilers after reading this novel...as I now know the big reveal in the Bequin series...that would have been a nice surprise. Would be nice to keep the spoilers related to the book thread but eh what can you do, my fault for the pile of "to be read" books that I didn't tackle quick enough and has grown.
 
Re: The Perturabo comment

This one made me think when I read it, naturally at first I legit lol'd but after some thought it makes sense from Alpharius' pov. At this point in time during the crusade I don't think Perts reached peak paranoia/thirst for gratitude yet, so in him Alpharius see's a brother who from outside appearances isn't chasing personal glory, quietly goes and puts his legion into some of the worst warzones and actually stations his marines in garrisons holding onto the Imperium's gains.

I mean we know why Perts doing these things but that's because we have all the outside knowledge of where this all goes. 

 

Him thinking Pert humble could also be because he has yet to personally meet the lord of iron, when Alpharius met the lion he had an idea of the guy but didn't quite knew what made him tick until having an in person conversation.

 

[mc warhammer]

Re: the refugee-fakeout

 

I was extremely happy that he took them in. Up until that point, he had always at least tried to justify his bloodshed. He didn't shy away from collateral, like the Custodes during the proto-blood game, but they were necessary evils in service of a greater purpose, while also being pretty much unavoidable - and he still regretted having to make those choices even though he made them willingly.

 

Killing the refugee family would have preserved his cover, but it would also have been a waste of life - civilian life, no less. He would have mind-wiped them - which frankly already shows that he'd have put greater effort into the whole affair than simply snapping their necks. His regret doesn't need to come from ending their lives - instead, it comes from ending their ordinary, civilian lives and replacing it with service.

 

Considering that he's already been shown to recruit civilians and generally a lot of base humans into his ranks, and building good working relations with them, even as they sacrifice their personal lives for the Legion, it seems logical that he wouldn't want to force-recruit a family, two women plus child, as operatives just because he's got to ask them a few questions face to face.

His regret then makes perfect sense if we realize that these parents won't see their child grow up normally - if at all, considering death in service is a thing - and pressing them into strict routines and military work. Alpharius likes willing participants, but this would not have been that from the outset.

 

It also underlines his belief in being a defensive mechanism for the Imperium and its people - he doesn't hesitate to open fire on rioters if they cannot be dissolved otherwise, but his primary purpose is still to pacify and maintain compliance, often in the shadows of the conquering Legions. He seems far more aware of the Imperium being its people, not just the Emperor's backyard, especially compared to most of his brothers.

Ironically, I actually think in that regard, he'd have gotten along pretty well with Roboute.

 

i've actually felt that irony re alpharius and guilliman since "legion". in so many ways, they should feel a stronger kinship. if the emperor or malcador had impressed upon the ultramarine the necessity of the way alpharius operates, he might have been more open to it.

 

adding to what you've said about the refugees and the way the alpha legion uses human operatives, it's obvious that they see potential in base-line humans that other legions simply don't. even legions who are predisposed to normal humanity still likely see humans as only capable of x and y and that's where they're best used away, from astartes business. the alpha legion seem to see the entire alphabet of options for their "assets".

they see potential in a married couple with a child who will grow up in service to the legion.

 

 

Loved this book, everything I wanted in an Alpha legion novel after Legion..

 

Re: The Perturabo comment

This one made me think when I read it, naturally at first I legit lol'd but after some thought it makes sense from Alpharius' pov. At this point in time during the crusade I don't think Perts reached peak paranoia/thirst for gratitude yet, so in him Alpharius see's a brother who from outside appearances isn't chasing personal glory, quietly goes and puts his legion into some of the worst warzones and actually stations his marines in garrisons holding onto the Imperium's gains.

I mean we know why Perts doing these things but that's because we have all the outside knowledge of where this all goes. 

 

Him thinking Pert humble could also be because he has yet to personally meet the lord of iron, when Alpharius met the lion he had an idea of the guy but didn't quite knew what made him tick until having an in person conversation.

 

definitely ways to read that. agreed it also matters when alpharius made that observation. in the early days, perturabo may very well have presented as more humble (closer to his depiction in "angel exterminatus"), as you say. alpharius does note that perturabo has pride, he's just mistaken in how deep it runs.

 

alternatively, alpharius might have a soft spot for him. there could be a brotherly kindness in seeing the good in perturabo. alpharius isn't ferrus manus.

 

there's no real context for us to base it on, but the options are interesting.

Edited June 4, 2021 by mc warhammer

[Bowders]

Loved this book, everything I wanted in an Alpha legion novel after Legion..

 

However wishing I didnt read all the spoilers after reading this novel...as I now know the big reveal in the Bequin series...that would have been a nice surprise. Would be nice to keep the spoilers related to the book thread but eh what can you do, my fault for the pile of "to be read" books that I didn't tackle quick enough and has grown.

 

Funnily enough I spoiled this book while looking at the Penitent thread! When the post stated that their spoiler concerned Penitent and Alpharius I assumed they meant the character rather than the book!  In my defense it wasn't very clear   To be fair though what I found out just spurred me on to read this book even more after the excerpt at the back of the recent Luther book. Although Luther was an ok read I remember thinking the most intriguing part was the excerpt itself!