"Could there have been a mistake? Do you have any proof? Or is this just something you heard from others?" Regent Malcador asked as he rose to his feet. He knew full well the relationship between the Emperor and Horus. Of all the primarchs, Horus was the son the Emperor loved most.
The arrival of Axis and Kasha's child, his grandson, had slightly shifted the Emperor's focus, but Horus had always been his most trusted son.
"You heard correctly. Horus has begun a rebellion," Axis said, "We have proof. On the planet of Isstvan III, they conducted a great purge of the Space Marines loyal to the Imperium under their own command. However, a number of these loyalists managed to escape, and they brought with them the proof of Horus's rebellion."
The trials those loyalist Space Marines had endured were immense.
"Bring these loyalist Space Marines to me at once. I will see them myself," the Emperor commanded.
Axis nodded and gestured behind him. Over a hundred Space Marines from the Death Guard, the Emperor's Children, and the Sons of Horus marched into the hall.
"We greet you, Great Master of Mankind," the lead Space Marine said, kneeling before the Emperor, "We are finally in your presence, your grace. We are sorry to bring you such dire news. Our father... he has betrayed us, and he has betrayed you." It was Captain Garro.
"Show me the proof of Horus's betrayal," the Emperor said.
Captain Garro nodded and respectfully produced the data-slate containing the evidence. He handed it to a Custodian, who then carried it up the steps of the Golden Throne and presented it to the Emperor himself.
The Emperor's hands trembled ever so slightly as he took it, perhaps from the constant torment of the Golden Throne, or perhaps because the news of Horus's betrayal was simply too much to bear.
In the recording, he saw Horus delivering a rousing speech, declaring the Emperor a tyrant, a false god.
Then, Horus gathered the entire Legion's Librarius, along with a great number of Chaos Sorcerers, and launched an attack on the Webway.
At last, the Emperor understood why his Webway Project had been shattered. He had previously assumed it was the work of the Chaos Gods alone.
He clutched his head in anguish and let out another heavy sigh.
It was not only Horus who had rebelled. Fulgrim, Mortarion, and even the primarch of the Eleventh Legion had turned against him.
The betrayal of Mortarion and the Eleventh Primarch was not entirely surprising.
Both had harbored dissatisfaction with some of his policies. For a time, the Emperor had even considered eliminating the Eleventh Primarch. But the betrayal of Horus and Fulgrim was a blow he found difficult to accept.
Besides Axis, there were two primarchs the Emperor had believed would never betray him. They were the Sixteenth Primarch, Horus, and the Third Primarch, Fulgrim.
One was the first of his sons to be returned to him, a son with whom he had spent thirty years in near solitude, showering him with all the fatherly love he possessed.
The other had made a magnificent impression upon their very first meeting; Fulgrim's impassioned speeches had moved the Emperor himself. It had moved him so much that he had granted the Third Legion the title of the "Emperor's Children" and the unique honor of bearing the Palatine Aquila.
The Emperor had been certain these two sons would be paragons of loyalty, beacons guiding humanity's future.
He never imagined they would be among the first to turn against him. He wracked his mind, unable to comprehend why these two children, especially Fulgrim, would betray him. Had he not given him enough grace, enough honor? In some ways, he had trusted Fulgrim more than any other primarch.
"Great Emperor, you must steel yourself," Regent Malcador said, standing beside him. He knew how deeply this news wounded his oldest friend. To be honest, he, too found the treason of Fulgrim and Horus to be utterly unbelievable.
The Emperor sighed and looked down at the loyalist Space Marines kneeling before him. "You have endured much, my loyal Astartes. I thank you for bringing me this vital intelligence. That you remained loyal even after your fathers turned traitor is a testament to your honor. You will continue to serve the Imperium, and you will have my unconditional trust."
"Great Emperor, I am filled with shame," Captain Garro replied, "I feel nothing but disgust for my brothers and my father."
"Do not blame yourselves. This is not your fault. Your journey must have been exhausting. I will arrange for you to rest," the Emperor said.
He waved his hand, "Later, I will have Rogal Dorn debrief you in detail. All you need to do is cooperate and tell him everything you know." Several Custodian Guards then escorted the loyalist Space Marines out of the throne room.
"Axis, Magnus, humanity's darkest hour is upon us," the Emperor said, "But that you two were able to return to my side at this critical moment brings me immense relief."
"Father, I will always be loyal to you," Magnus declared.
"Tell me in detail what happened after Axis was rescued," the Emperor asked, "I do not see Leman Russ. Where has he gone?"
He had dispatched the Wolf King, Leman Russ, to bring Axis and Magnus back, yet now he did not see his son.
Axis proceeded to recount the entire series of events. "In the end, we decided to split our forces. The Lion is leading his First Legion and Magnus's Thousand Sons to reinforce Russ against the Rangda xenos."
"Of all the times for them to stir," the Emperor grunted, "Those creatures are not easily dealt with." While he had always intended to tear up the peace treaty with them, he planned to wait until Axis returned or a counter to their weapons.
With Axis's return, the Emperor had intended to give him command of the campaign to completely eradicate the Rangda from the galaxy.
But this sudden, violent rebellion had shattered his plans. There was no time to deal with the Rangda now. They had to quell Horus's insurrection as quickly as possible.
"The Lion has already gone to reinforce them. We shouldn't need to worry for the time being," Axis said.
"You don't understand, Axis. You have been gone from the Imperium for ninety-eight years. The Rangda are not what they once were. Their new weapons are incredibly powerful. Even I was surprised they could develop armaments of that caliber," the Emperor explained, "The Lion will need more reinforcements. Three Legions alone will not be enough to hold them back. Tell me, Axis, how did you return to Holy Terra so quickly? By my calculations, you should have arrived no sooner than two and a half months from now, and that would have been at maximum speed." The Emperor was quite curious about this.
"We returned to Holy Terra so swiftly because I used the Webway."
The Custodes already knew of this.
Even if Axis had not mentioned it, Valdor would have eventually told the Emperor.
"You can use the Eldar Webway?" the Emperor asked, his face not showing the surprise he was feeling.
It was a technology he had coveted for ages. The Webway was the safest and fastest means of travel in the entire galaxy.
"Before I disappeared, I did a small favour for the Eldar Harlequins, and they granted me permission to use their Webway in return," Axis explained, "It was through the Webway that we brought back Magnus and these loyalist Space Marines. Otherwise, we never would have made it back to Terra at such speed."
The Emperor nodded in understanding. He knew Cegorach was keeping an eye on Axis from the time they had their fight in the webway. Still it was surprising.
So that was how Axis had returned months ahead of schedule. The truth was, the Eldar had long sought an alliance with him, particularly their Laughing God, who had made overtures to him millennia ago. During his travels across the galaxy, he had spent time in Eldar territory, and back then, the Eldar had regarded humans as little more than monkeys. Even he, a perpetual, had been no exception. As a result, his feelings toward their race were far from warm.
But even he had to admit that the Laughing God was the wisest of all the Eldar deities; otherwise, it would not have survived the cataclysm that destroyed its people.
As for the "small favor" Axis mentioned, the Emperor could guess. The power of ki was highly resistant to the energies of the Warp and could dispel them.
This was another gesture of goodwill from the Eldar. Indeed, aside from the loathsome Drukhari, the Craftworld Eldar, the Exodites, and the Harlequins were manageable enough.
"Father, the most pressing matter is to find a way to crush this rebellion swiftly," Magnus interjected, "We cannot allow this betrayal to threaten the nascent Imperium of Man."
The Emperor nodded and sighed once more.
The betrayal of Horus and Fulgrim had hit him hard. Just as he was sinking into sorrow, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed through the palace.
Rogal Dorn, clad in his golden armor, strode into the throne room. He nodded to Magnus and Axis before kneeling before the Emperor.
"Father," he said, "I have grave news to report."
"Speak freely. At this point, there is no news that could be worse."
"Father, I have received a communique from Ferrus Manus. He reports that Fulgrim, Horus, and others have launched a rebellion. Fulgrim met with him in private and attempted to sway him to their cause.
"Ferrus Manus refused with outrage. A brief skirmish ensued, after which Ferrus Manus withdrew. He has been trying to send an astropathic message to Holy Terra ever since. It only arrived today."
"I am already aware of this," the Emperor replied, "Axis and Magnus have also brought word of Horus's betrayal, along with detailed evidence. In addition, the Rangda have broken our truce and declared war on the Imperium. Leman Russ and Lion El'Jonson are currently holding the line against them. In your judgment, how should we handle these two fronts?"
Among all his sons, Horus was the undisputed master of strategy, but Rogal Dorn was a close second.
It was why he had named him the Praetorian of Terra.
Dorn considered this for a moment before speaking. "Father, my counsel is to immediately muster our armies to crush the rebellion. Simultaneously, we must dispatch at least one full Legion to reinforce the western front. We must end this Heresy first, then deal with the Rangdan."
"Magnus and I will remain on Holy Terra to focus all our efforts on repairing the Webway," the Emperor stated, "We cannot leave, nor can we allow Terra to suffer another psychic catastrophe. I am entrusting you with the command of this war. I wish to hear your strategy."
Axis was a mighty warrior, the sharpest spear to pierce any foe, a champion for the front lines. But for grand strategy, he relied on Rogal Dorn.
"Father, our connections to the wider Imperium have only been partially restored. The Legions we can currently contact are the Iron Hands, the Salamanders, the Raven Guard, the Night Lords, the Word Bearers, the Second Legion, the Iron Warriors, the Alpha Legion, and the White Scars. We cannot reach Guilliman's Ultramarines, Axis's Golden Legion, or Sanguinius's Blood Angels.
"My plan is this," Dorn continued, "First, we broadcast the news of Horus's Heresy to all Legions we can reach. The White Scars are distant; they should be recalled to Holy Terra to take up defensive positions. We then mobilize the nearby Legions: the Iron Hands, Iron Warriors, Word Bearers, Night Lords, Raven Guard, Salamanders, Second Legion, and Alpha Legion. That is eight primarchs and their eight Legions, to be sent to the Isstvan system to crush Horus's rebellion. As for Axis, he should proceed directly to the western front to reinforce our forces there. Only Axis's power can counter the Rangda's Star God-class weaponry."
This was Dorn's strategic arrangement.
Eight Legions against four would be an overwhelming force, while the newly returned Axis would be the perfect blade to break the Rangdan empire. It was, for the moment, the best strategy available.
"I object," Axis said firmly, "Horus's betrayal is connected to Chaos. I must take part in this battle."
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pS?