Chapter 218: Family and War
Raven outlined the needs and preferences of each Primarch in meticulous detail.
Vulkan felt as though he had discovered a priceless treasure. Raven's understanding of his brothers was profound; it was the care of a devoted father.
The thought crossed Vulkan's mind unbidden: who was truly their father? Raven, or the Emperor?
The Emperor likely couldn't name half his sons' homeworlds. Every meeting was the same: "Number Seven, you're here. Number Eighteen, attend me."
Without Raven holding this family together, the Primarchs would have torn themselves apart by now. Perhaps one of them would have lost his mind entirely, driven a blade into the old man on the Golden Throne, and watched the Imperium crumble to ash.
Without Raven, the Primarchs would never have achieved this harmony, would never have seen each other as the most trusted of brothers.
"Finally," Raven said, looking at Vulkan with approval, "forge a golden laurel wreath for the gentle Lord of the Salamanders, as reward for the sincere affection he bears his brothers."
The words moved Vulkan deeply.
He resolved then and there to forge gifts not only for the Primarchs, but for Raven as well. The Emperor, too, even the old man, deserved something. And Malcador and Valdor couldn't be forgotten either.
***
"I witnessed the birth of the King of Heaven with my own eyes."
In her twilight years, the legendary chronicler Petronilla Vivar would often begin her tales with this phrase.
Her students and descendants would gather close, sitting in reverent silence, waiting for her to continue—to speak of those divine heroes and the age they forged.
"On that day, He rose from the Golden Throne and stretched out His hand to summon His companion. The supremely noble Lord Raven tore through the veil of reality to His side, letting forth a piercing cry that heralded the beginning of war."
"He raised His sword and called to His generals and sons. The Primarchs, haloed in radiance, answered His summons, gathering their descendants beneath His banner."
"He ordered the fleet to make way, and those standing upon Terra's surface saw billions of suns ignite simultaneously, propelling warships vast as cities—or stars themselves-into the void."
"Loyal armies marched through passages beyond time and space, rushing toward distant battlefields. They vowed to fight for humanity and the Imperium, to guide civilization onto the path of ascension."
"Countless machines roared in a deafening chorus, playing a symphony called 'The End.' The civilizations of a thousand worlds wept to hear it."
"I was only a girl then, relying on my family's legacy—naive, passionate, desperate to accomplish something great and become a legendary chronicler. I stood on Terra and witnessed it all."
***
Raven and Vulkan spoke at length aboard the Salamanders' flagship, Flamewrought.
They discussed humanity's past and future, the state of the galaxy, and the many plans the Imperium was undertaking. They spoke of the other Primarchs, the Emperor, Valdor, and Malcador, giving Vulkan a deeper understanding of his family.
Only when Vulkan was invited by envoys of the Interex Civilization to their capital world to formalize their peaceful integration into the Imperium did Raven finally take his leave.
His next visit would be to the little phoenix, Fulgrim.
When Raven tore through space to reach Fulgrim's side, he found the Primarch engaged with the Laer in the Laeran system.
The Laer were a xenos race of advanced technology, possessing skilled engineers and warriors alongside sophisticated genetic manipulation techniques.
Their homeworld had undergone catastrophic climate warming, submerging entire continents beneath rising seas. Through mastery of anti-gravity technology, they had constructed floating platforms of coral crystal, building sprawling cities across the ocean world.
These cities resembled enormous atolls, their interiors crisscrossed with narrow streets and spiraling spires. At the heart of each atoll rose towering energy pillar clusters that powered the platforms and kept the cities aloft.
The pillar clusters doubled as weapons, capable of unleashing scorching heat and gale-force winds.
The Laer possessed serpentine body structures. They shielded their insectoid abdomens with silver armor and bore two pairs of arms above their torsos. Compound eyes and bulbous, rounded faces completed their alien appearance.
To better ensure survival, they extensively employed genetic technology, modifying the physiology of different castes to suit their functions.
Laer weaponry was formidable. They controlled vehicles through bionic interfaces, fought underwater with equal proficiency as in the air, and moved rapidly through cities and at high altitude using anti-gravity devices.
Most damningly, the Laer collectively worshipped the Chaos God Slaanesh.
Their temples dominated the central districts of the atoll cities, Chaos symbols marking every surface. Regularly, they held unspeakable gatherings to please Slaanesh and seek the Dark Prince's blessings.
When Raven arrived aboard the Pride of the Emperor, Fulgrim was discussing with his senior officers how to conquer the Laeran system.
Fabius Bile was present as well.
In the predetermined timeline, this individual would become notorious, ranked alongside Erebus as one of the Warp's greatest monsters.
Fabius had been born on Terra to a noble bloodline. Most of the Emperor's Children hailed from aristocratic families, which explained the Legion's cultural emphasis on elegance, beauty, and the treatment of war as an art form.
Fabius had learned the art of flesh-crafting in childhood, conducting modification experiments on rats and small animals, creating numerous abominations in the process.
After his recruitment into the Emperor's Children, he survived the Blight. This catastrophic gene-seed failure had nearly destroyed the Third Legion and left it the smallest of all the Legions.
During the Great Crusade, Fabius rose to the rank of Chief Apothecary.
After the defeat of the Laer, he would extract their genetic material for study.
In the predetermined timeline, after the Emperor withdrew from the Great Crusade and Horus fell to Chaos, Fabius would persuade Fulgrim to augment the Legion's warriors with Laer genetics, enabling them to emit devastating sonic weaponry.
These gene-enhanced warriors would become the first Noise Marines.
During the Siege of Terra, Fabius would participate in the assault, leading Emperor's Children in horrific massacres and torments of Terran refugees.
After the Heresy ended and the Imperium entered its long decline, Fabius would hide within the Eye of Terror, conducting grotesque genetic experiments. He would clone Primarchs, fully replicating both Fulgrim and Horus.
He would even travel to Commorragh to study under the Haemonculi, seeking ever-crueler techniques in his pursuit of immortality.
"The Laer genetic technology possesses considerable merit," Fabius offered at the meeting. "Perhaps we might learn from it. Knowledge is the most precious resource in this universe. The Emperor's Children should not permit such valuable assets to be lost, we should acquire them."
"Master Raven, what is your opinion?" Fulgrim turned to Raven, who was casually eating fries.
"Fabius is correct. Knowledge is indeed the most precious thing in this universe," Raven said without refutation.
"So we should acquire the Laer's genetic knowledge?" Fulgrim seemed surprised; he had expected Raven to oppose such a suggestion outright.
"Certainly, we should acquire it and analyze it thoroughly to identify its weaknesses. The Imperium's genetic technology is advanced, but far from its apex," Raven said.
"However, the Laer technology should serve only as reference material; it has no practical application. The Imperium already possesses the Black Library left by the Old Ones, which contains the most sophisticated genetic science in this galaxy."
"Don't fixate on Laer genetics. Acquire it if the opportunity presents itself, but if the cost proves excessive, abandon the effort without any hesitation."
Every Primarch possessed great pride; if you forbade them something outright, they would rebel. Better to guide them toward the correct path.
Fulgrim nodded thoughtfully. "Master Raven speaks wisely. Our primary objective is the annihilation of the Laer. As for their genetic technology, acquire it if possible, but it remains a secondary concern."
Fabius appeared displeased, but with Raven present, he dared not voice objection and could only endure in silence.
...
After the war council concluded, the Third Legion launched its offensive against the Laeran system.
The Laer fleet stood no chance against the Imperium's second-generation warships. They collapsed upon first engagement, utterly routed.
Within hours, the void was littered with burning wreckage, all that remained of the Laer armada.
The Imperium had achieved complete victory.
Those Laer vessels attempting to flee were pursued and destroyed by concentrated broadsides.
The orbital defense stations slowly disintegrated under saturation bombardment, wreathed in brilliant nuclear fire.
With void superiority established, the Imperium pressed its advantage, launching ground operations to complete the xenocide.
As Imperial warships entered low orbit, piercing alarms wailed throughout the atoll cities.
The Laer looked skyward and saw brilliant clusters of stars streaking across the heavens—drop pods burning through the atmosphere.
The leader of the Laer stood before their great sacrificial temple, gazing upward.
Tears of despair fell from its compound eyes.
It knew with terrible certainty that the talons of the God of Destruction were descending upon their ancestral home.
The God of Finality and Ruin had sent His instruments of annihilation.
Just as the ancient seers had prophesied, the universe had birthed a God of Destruction. He embodied ultimate termination, bringing war to every world, reducing all to ash.
"Praise the God of Pleasure. Bless us. For our home, we shall fight until the final moment, until our souls return to Your palace."
After speaking these words, the Laer leader turned and walked back into the temple.
Its will spread swiftly to every atoll city across the planet.
The Laer were brave and defiant, employing every available means to resist the Human Imperium's invasion. Even juveniles were armed to defend their home.
Against the Imperium's might, however, their resistance proved futile.
The descending Astartes burned every atoll city, slaughtering every xenos they encountered. Their blades and armor became slicked with blood, transforming them into nightmarish figures of destruction.
Fulgrim joined the battle personally, while Raven perched upon his shoulder, observing the extinction of an entire species.
The Primarch moved like a god of war. Wherever he walked, the Laer met only slaughter and ruin.
With a gesture, he summoned fire from the heavens, incinerating an entire atoll city to ash.
With a snap of his fingers, countless Laer warriors were reduced to crimson mist.
Every stratagem to resist the Primarch failed.
The Laer gathered their finest warriors, most powerful weapons, and greatest shamans, yet still could not halt his advance.
In the end, they all became corpses beneath his boots, stepping stones on the path to victory.
Finally, the Primarch and his Phoenix Guard reached the Laer temple.
The Laer leader had been waiting.
When the Primarch arrived, it led its honor guard in a desperate assault.
The Laer leader wielded a daemon blade, the Laer Blade.
Exquisitely crafted and set with an amethyst gem, it housed a powerful daemon within.
In the predetermined timeline, this daemon would possess Fulgrim's body and incite him to sever the head of Ferrus Manus, Primarch of the Iron Hands, during the Drop Site Massacre on Isstvan V.
The Laer leader intended to wield the blade against the Primarch.
Unfortunately, the disparity in power was absolute.
Fulgrim merely waved his hand, using gravitational force to crush the Laer leader, who had sought to die striking at him, into pulp.
It died without even time to scream, its miserable existence snuffed out in an instant.
[End of Chapter]