Warhammer [500-502] (Patreon)

Chapter 500: Imperial Heir Apparent, Future Master of Humanity

The next day, Rhodes's colossal flagship finally arrived at Holy Terra. This time, the massive crusade fleet did not return with him.

Only the commander—Rhodes—came back. The Unyielding Crusade finishing its first phase did not mean the campaign was over.

In the second phase of the Unyielding Crusade, besides striking at the Imperium's Dark Side, they would continue expanding humanity's dominion—locating some as-yet undiscovered worlds on the galactic rim and purging various xenos powers within the Sanctum of the Human Imperium.

As Rhodes's flagship reached Holy Terra, it was immediately greeted by the cheers of all Terra's people. Blossoms whirled through Terra's sky; melodious music filled the streets.

Countless Custodians in golden armor lined the roads to welcome Rhodes's return; among them stood several enlarged Custodians.

Over a decade had passed, and the number of gigantified Custodians had reached several hundred—each one a Custodian warrior who had undergone Super-Beast augmentation.

"Welcome home, Warmaster of the Imperium!"

"Welcome, Ice Queen! Welcome, High Princess!"

"Welcome back—welcome home—young Primarchs?"

"Glory to the Imperium!"

"Blessings upon you—the greatest family in the Imperium."

The people on both sides of the streets cheered without stopping, waving to Rhodes and his family. Rhodes, Elena, and their two children—Stark and Sterne—smiled and waved back, returning the greetings.

They had enjoyed such scenes on many Imperial worlds before. Now their family was the Imperium's model household: four in total, all of them Primarchs—and Elena was hailed as the Mother of Primarchs, the Mother of the New Age's Primarchs.

With the Adepta Sororitas' propaganda, Elena's renown now even outshone Rhodes's. She was called the strongest woman in the Imperium—a title she met with some helplessness.

To be honest, among women, she really was the strongest; other strongest females would be her genetic progeny—the Battle Sisters.

Some female Imperial Inquisitors had even applied to join Elena's retinue to become Sisters of Battle.

The Sisters' gene-mod surgeries had been revised; now their strength was hardly inferior to that of the original-forged Astartes.

Their weapons and equipment were personally crafted by Salome, the Great Sage of the Martian Mechanicum.

That beautiful scientist under his command had now achieved unimaginable status within the Mechanicum, and had even fused with a cosmic phantom-beast—truly becoming a super lifeform.

Over the past decade, she and Belisarius Cawl had practically seized control of the Mechanicum, cleansing the old, decaying Martian priesthood utterly.

They erased those parasites of the old era into cosmic dust and began researching anew: technology no longer meant archaeology and excavation.

All Astartes power armor had basically been replaced with the latest Terminator-model variants; the old modular power armor had been retired!

Amid the cheers, Rhodes's family passed through Terra's sea of humanity. Rhodes felt a pang of emotion: not even twenty years ago—

Holy Terra had just suffered a Chaos invasion; aside from the Imperial Palace, almost every district had fallen.

Back then, he even used the opportunity to purge most High Lords and Imperial nobles. Yet in less than twenty years—

Crowds from across the Imperium again flocked here, turning Holy Terra back into a sea of people—into the Imperium's brightest jewel.

"The people are the Imperium's currency." 

Not a single word of that was wrong!

"Father, you seem preoccupied?" Stark asked, looking at Rhodes.

"Just a bit sentimental. Two years before you were born, this place was invaded by Chaos. Back then, almost all ordinary people on Holy Terra died.

"Guilliman and I came here and waged war on Chaos, and drove them out," Rhodes said.

"That must have been a brutal war! I wish I'd been there by your side, to fight with you," Stark said.

"Hahaha! There will be chances. The Imperium's wars against xenos, and expansion along the galactic rim, have only just begun.

"Soon, you'll lead your gene-son to win glory on the field. I'll grant you a Padan mothership then," Rhodes said.

Padan motherships still required Rhodes to redeem them, but once redeemed they could be sent to the Martian Mechanicum for refit—

At least doubling their size, adding a void-array, Warp travel, a Geller Field generator, and various Imperial weapons.

"I can't wait, Father!" Stark said.

He would finally have his own flagship—and his own gene-son!

"Remember to see if there's any woman you like—say, a Navy officer or a noblewoman," Elena said.

As a mother, she cared about such things. Her son had come of age and should find a partner.

Unlike the old-era Primarchs, who lacked such desires and needs, her son was naturally born and would need a companion.

"Hahaha! Mother, that's early. Let me think about it at my own pace—we're never in a hurry.

"Barring surprises, your future daughters-in-law will number at least several. In one respect, I won't fall behind Father by much," Stark said with a grin.

With eternal life, his partners wouldn't be few, and there was no rush. Father had promised that once cosmic phantom-beasts were plentiful, he could provide one to his partners too—at least granting them equal longevity.

Rhodes was a bit speechless at that. It seemed his harem-building skills paled beside his son's. He only had a few Eldar women and a single human partner—Elena.

Mostly because he wasn't impressed by other human Imperials. Elena's beauty was already top-tier in the Imperium; after fusing with a cosmic phantom-beast, she became even more stunning—no less than the Aeldari maidens.

As for Astra Militarum women and Sisters, their looks were merely decent. The prettiest were the noble Sisters!

But those noble Sisters were perfect socialites—exactly the type Rhodes didn't fancy.

"Humans are fine, but don't you dare touch the Eldar. That's my line," Elena said.

Her son must absolutely not go for those pointy ears.

"Hahaha! Mother, I really do think Eldar women are quite beautiful," Sterne chimed in.

By human aesthetics, Eldar looked better anyway! No wonder Father took so many Eldar partners!

"Outrageous! I said no, and that's final!

"Anyone not human—if they're your partners—I won't let your father bestow a cosmic phantom-beast on them," Elena said.

Rhodes could only smile wryly. Elena had been so gentle at first, like a meek little lamb!

When had she become like this?

Women truly are changeable!

At the Imperial Palace on Holy Terra, Guilliman warmly welcomed Rhodes and ushered him in. The massive Avatar of the Emperor stood at the fore.

"Welcome back, Warmaster of the Imperium!"

As the Palace's golden doors opened slowly, the Emperor's Avatar shed golden light across Rhodes's pauldrons. Guilliman stepped forward and nodded to Rhodes, his Fate armor gleaming cobalt-blue in Terra's sun.

"You brought back more than victory," Guilliman said, pressing his power gauntlet to Rhodes's shoulder; the ring of metal echoed through the silent throne hall.

 "You brought safety to the entire Sanctum Sector." He pointed to the hovering hololith—hundreds of newly discovered habitable worlds marked, and records of over a hundred xenos civilizations eradicated.

All were Rhodes's merits—worlds reclaimed and newly found. The decade-plus crusade rivaled the Great Crusade's campaigns.

The number of Astartes involved had reached Great Crusade scale. This was the Imperium's holy war—and a holy victory.

The Emperor's Avatar spoke: "The second phase must accelerate. The Imperium's Dark Side awaits your salvation, my Warmaster."

Over a decade, the first phase of the Unyielding Crusade had been near perfect. Several Primarchs struck on all fronts, claiming vast territories.

They reclaimed countless lost and unknown Imperial worlds, exterminated innumerable xenos, and even defeated the Tyranids.

Before Rhodes appeared, the Imperium's war against the Tyranids had always been grueling. Apart from the first invasion repelled at Macragge,

From the Third Tyrannic War onward, the Imperium mostly lost; no one could hold back the endless swarms.

But when Rhodes burst onto the scene, he became the Tyranids' nemesis.

As if wherever he was, even massive Tyranid fleets were no matter—he would ultimately drive them off.

Rhodes and Elena bowed to the Emperor and Guilliman.

"This victory owes much to logistics. I only commanded soldiers at the front," Rhodes said.

He wasn't being modest. The Unyielding Crusade had been practically devoid of tactical nuance.

It was mostly steamrolling. When he met the strong—he was stronger. The most dangerous battle had been over a decade ago against the Tyranid Great Devourer's avatar.

But in that fight, the Imperium suffered almost no losses. The Dark Cosmos High Emperor he summoned shouldered everything alone and annihilated the Tyranids.

"Rhodes, you've won unimaginable victories and brought glory to the Imperium. You should be rewarded," the Emperor's Avatar intoned, the voice ringing across all Holy Terra.

It was psychic amplification—the Emperor deliberately projecting his voice planetwide so all citizens would hear, because what came next was shocking.

What reward would the Emperor grant the Warmaster? His rank could hardly be elevated further.

The Warmaster was the Emperor's first under heaven—higher even, in some respects, than the Lord Regent or High Chancellor.

Perhaps the Emperor would grant material rewards—expand his dominion, grant tax exemptions.

Standing beside the Emperor, Guilliman looked at Rhodes with a complex expression. This was less reward than burden, Rhodes.

"I fight for humanity. I need no reward," Rhodes said.

"Punishment must fit crimes, and merit must be rewarded. Since your appearance, you've given unimaginable service to humanity and the Imperium.

"Without you, humanity would still be teetering at the brink of extinction. You brought back all the Primarchs. You rebuilt the Legions. You saved Macragge.

"You saved the Baal system, the home of Sanguinius. You then fought your way to Holy Terra, lifted Terra's siege, and crushed the traitors' plots.

"You united with the Eldar, opened the Imperium's Dark Side, and saved the First Primarch, the Lion El'Jonson.

"You forged new Warlord Titan bridges and new Knight armors for the Imperium, then saved Primarch Rogal Dorn.

"You launched a Great Crusade anew, led all Primarchs to reclaim the Imperium's lost glory, purged vile xenos, and defeated the Tyranids.

"After careful deliberation and consultation with the Primarchs, I have decided to name you the Imperium's Heir Apparent.

"You shall be my successor—the Imperium's second Emperor. In the near future, you will complete your coronation." The Emperor's Avatar's voice swept Terra, plunging the world into a deathly silence.

An unbelievable proclamation!

The Emperor had declared a second Emperor—an Heir Apparent for the Imperium. Did an immortal need an heir?

But the Emperor had sat upon the Golden Throne for years; it was said that the one speaking now was but a powerful avatar.

By Rhodes the Warmaster's deeds, he indeed deserved to be the second Emperor.

Rhodes, meanwhile, was a bit stunned. 

What are you playing at? I'm becoming the Imperium's second Emperor?!

The Emperor had mentioned this before; Rhodes had thought it a joke. Now the sly fox had sprung a big one.

Still, under Guilliman's signaling gaze, Rhodes accepted the burden of Heir Apparent.

Chapter 501: The State Church, Rhodes's Status, New Scripture

The crowd erupted into a tidal roar. The Emperor had appointed the Second Primarch as Heir Apparent; the Imperium had an heir.

At the same time, all telepaths on Holy Terra transmitted the message via astrotelepathy to every world in the Sanctum of the Imperium.

This news spread to all: the Emperor had an heir; the Imperium had an Heir Apparent.

"Glory to the Emperor! Glory to the great Heir Apparent, Lord Rhodes!"

"Rejoice, citizens of the Imperium—this moment belongs to all humanity." 

The Emperor's Avatar raised his golden sword high, projecting a lance of light into the sky.

The golden light illuminated all Holy Terra and then fell as golden rain. Those touched by the drops felt stronger; minor ailments faded.

It was a form of psychic use—healing minor injuries among the populace and making them feel more comfortable.

"By the Emperor—this is His blessing."

"Thank you for Your grace!" Countless Imperials knelt and began to pray.

The most bewildered were the Ecclesiarchy—the State Church—for they worshiped the One True God: the Emperor Himself. Even the Omnissiah, god of the Mechanicum, in their doctrine had been reduced to one of the Emperor's avatars.

Now the Emperor had named an Heir Apparent. What rank did this heir hold? And it was awkward: other Primarchs were the Emperor's biological sons—His divine offspring.

But Rhodes was not the Emperor's son. He had never called the Emperor "Father."

His sole connection to the Emperor was through his wife—and even she was not truly of the Emperor's blood, but His adopted daughter, like the Sisters of Battle.

Still, Elena held great weight among the Sororitas and even among Imperial women at large. In recent years, in Ecclesiarchy propaganda,

Elena's identity had been revised into the Emperor's lost daughter, no longer a commoner.

Of course, only the Church's upper echelons knew the truth; they even actively downplayed it.

But now the Emperor had declared an heir—how should Lord Rhodes be arranged within the Church? What was his identity in doctrine?

A Son of God? Then would he be a second god? A second deity of the Imperium?

This was complex. Mishandled, it could shake the Church's foundations. The One-God concept underpinned the Ecclesiarchy; the Emperor was the One True God.

If that truth were shaken, all scripture would need to be torn down and rewritten.

Had anyone else said such a thing—or if Rhodes had sought the Heir Apparent— the Church would have denounced him heretic without hesitation!

But this was the Emperor's own proclamation—His edict, the Emperor's will—unalterable.

Thus a thorny problem arose: they had to amend doctrine. And the Ecclesiarchy's classics—well, the upper echelons knew where those had come from.

With the Emperor and many Primarchs returned, they had confirmed the leadership's suspicions: the scriptures they had studied were indeed written by that traitor.

"Your Grace, perhaps we should revise the doctrine. After all, what we study now was written by that heretic," a priest suggested.

Watching the jubilant crowds, he knew the news would soon sweep the Imperium like a storm. If the Church could not provide a reasonable explanation, immense problems would ensue.

"I'm aware. Remember, we serve the Emperor. The Emperor has issued His decree; we need only affirm it.

"We are not altering the classics—save where the One God Himself has said they are flawed. We simply amend that section.

"From today, Lord Rhodes is the Emperor's offspring and the Imperium's heir. We need only proclaim that," the Archbishop decided after a moment.

This Lord Rhodes had decent relations with the Church—because of his wife, and because he had curbed the Mechanicum. Elevating him as a Son of God posed little difficulty and even benefited the Church.

"Understood, Your Grace. I'll convene the High Deacons when I return and have them draft the scriptures," the accompanying priest said.

"That won't be necessary. You're only a priest; the bishops will handle it. After the investiture, I will meet Lord Rhodes personally," the Archbishop said.

If necessary, Rhodes's two sons were also excellent targets to fold into the Church's messaging.

Outside the Church, nobles and some military powers had opinions—but with the Emperor returned and the Primarchs back, even if they were unwilling, they could raise no waves.

Amid the people's cheers, Rhodes waved and then entered the Palace with his wife and two sons.

Inside, he instructed attendants to take his sons to the banquet hall while he and Guilliman went to see the Emperor.

"Did you need to be this dramatic? No heads-up—and suddenly I'm the Heir Apparent and second Emperor. Do the other Primarchs agree?" Rhodes asked.

Though the Emperor had mentioned it—several times—Rhodes had little interest in the second Emperor's seat.

Rather than be Emperor, he'd prefer to develop his own power, transcend this universe, and become a truly multiversal lifeform—that was the priority.

"This was decided by Father, me, and the others. You're the most suitable—because you have heirs," Guilliman said.

Though Rhodes had offered to grant their wives cosmic phantom-beasts or Super-Beast augmentation so they could bear true offspring—

Among all Primarchs, who was qualified to be the second Emperor? Without Rhodes, Sanguinius would have been most suitable, followed by Guilliman.

Now the mantle had fallen on him—would the others accept it?

"Rest assured, Rhodes, they all agree. You're the Imperium's most fitting successor. The Imperium stands where it is thanks to you.

"Without you, humanity might already be extinct.

"And I would have been forced to rise from the Golden Throne; the entire human race would have perished," the Emperor's voice came from afar.

On the Golden Throne, He remained emaciated; Magnus stood at His side.

If Rhodes hadn't brought back the Primarchs one by one—without the FTL drive he provided—without the new gear—without that last defense of Holy Terra—the Palace might have fallen!

By any measure, Rhodes's importance was beyond words. Nearly every Primarch had been saved by him.

Even Vulkan had been rescued because Rhodes prompted the Laughing God to retrieve him.

All the others returned because of Rhodes. Everyone owed him a great debt.

Most importantly, they all knew Rhodes's character: he was no cruel tyrant.

Nor would he sit forever on the Imperial Throne. One day he would pass it to his son. The highest throne of humanity should not be forever occupied by one man.

A dynasty—a family—was more fitting. Moreover, a child of Rhodes and an Eldar goddess would soon be born. How that child would view humanity and the Eldar was a question.

Thus Rhodes had to be firmly anchored to the Imperium—even made its master.

After the Primarchs and the Emperor discussed it, they decided: when the Unyielding Crusade ended,

Rhodes would return to Terra for coronation and officially become the Imperium's second Emperor.

The Emperor Himself could then focus on confronting the Dark King—the greatest threat to all life in the universe.

"In that case—since you've said as much—I won't demur. I accept the post of Heir Apparent," Rhodes said, taking a deep breath and nodding to the Emperor.

"That's more like it. Rhodes, that's the you I know. One more thing: you'll need to discuss new scripture with the Ecclesiarchy," the Emperor said.

It was best for Rhodes, as the party concerned, to handle it. From now on, a portion of humanity's faith would gather upon Rhodes as well.

"I already have the perfect candidate," Rhodes smiled.

For proselytizing and scripture-writing, there was someone more suitable.

Lorgar—who else could fit better?

"Oh? Who?" the Emperor asked.

"Lorgar," Rhodes said.

"???" the Emperor.

"????" Guilliman.

"???" Magnus.

Chapter 502: When Fake Becomes Real—How to Bring Back the Raven Lord

Rhodes uttered the name, and everyone present showed disbelief. That name was taboo in the Imperium—the first Primarch to betray them, the one who led to Horus's corruption.

"Rhodes, I told you—don't bring him up again. I know you want to save those corrupted brothers.

"But Magnus and Horus are enough. The rest aren't worth saving," Guilliman shook his head.

Come on, brother—how do I get this through to you? No one in the Imperium likes him.

"Even so, the Ecclesiarchy is crucial to the Imperium—perhaps more than the Mechanicum. Without their faith, the Emperor wouldn't have His current power nor be able to suppress the Dark King," Rhodes said.

"Lorgar won't return. Even if I agreed, he wouldn't. He's fully pledged to Chaos," the Emperor said.

The Imperium wasn't lacking people to write scripture; no need to bring back that traitor.

And if he were brought back, where would that leave the Emperor's face? He had personally destroyed Monarchia with Guilliman.

"I don't mean Lorgar himself. I mean his clone. You and Guilliman should know—after I defeated that Necron Overlord,

I claimed his spoils. Fabius Bile had once cloned many Primarchs—including a clone of Lorgar," Rhodes said with a smile.

The real Lorgar could not be brought back. Given a Primarch's pride, he would never submit. Rhodes had long foreseen this, which is why he used the clone to compose the Necrons' proselytizing texts.

If he could write scripture for the Necrons, he could certainly revise the Imperium's—he wrote the originals, after all. Tweaking them should be no problem.

"A clone? Rhodes, didn't you tell me you destroyed those clones?" Guilliman asked.

"Lorgar begged for mercy—and my psychic sense told me keeping him would be useful. He could help me in future," Rhodes said.

Rhodes's psychic power now was not much weaker than Magnus's; he could even sit the Golden Throne for a while.

"Rhodes! How could you keep him? You mean to have the clone write scripture? Under what identity?" Guilliman asked.

Rhodes really dared. How much did he like Lorgar? If the Eldar Laughing God manifested, they'd be best friends at this rate!

"We can have Lorgar conceal his identity. He isn't the original anyway. We can give him a new name and place him in the Ecclesiarchy's upper ranks," Rhodes said.

Ordinary citizens didn't even know Chaos existed—and who had seen a Primarch? The traitor Primarchs' visages had been purged from Imperial records.

"The Word Bearers will notice. They won't fail to recognize their Primarch," Guilliman said.

Gene-seed came from a Primarch and bore a trace of psychic essence. That essence absorbed Warp energies and corrupted the seed.

It also bound a Primarch and his gene-sons intimately, forging a deep connection.

"But none of the Word Bearers are the gene-son of Lorgar. He's just a clone!

"He has no bond with those Word Bearers," Rhodes said.

Abaddon could raise his daemonblade and cleave his own father's clone—why not the Word Bearers?

And nowadays, the Word Bearers largely served under Abaddon. The Primarch in question basically never left home; he wouldn't dare—Corvus Corax was blocking him.

After awakening to the Warp's essence, the Raven Lord could solo most Chaos Astartes—his combat power was terrifying.

"Rhodes—did you give him a cosmic phantom-beast?" the Emperor asked suddenly from the Golden Throne.

Lorgar was created as a propagandist—meant to be an ambassador—but turned into a zealot.

For such a zealot, the most important thing was a god. If he had a god to worship—and that god favored him—Lorgar would be happiest.

The Emperor knew this son well. If Rhodes became his god and granted him Primarch-level power—

Then the Lorgar clone would be Rhodes's diehard, loyal to the death.

"Yes. I've already given him a cosmic phantom-beast. He's now at Primarch level. He reveres me utterly—sees me as his god," Rhodes said candidly.

They were his spoils; he'd handle them as he pleased. Besides, that Necron campaign also rescued Rogal Dorn.

"I see. Then change his identity and place him within the Ecclesiarchy. I'll invest him as my Living Saint and have him personally draft new canon," the Emperor said.

Since He had decided to hand over power, He wouldn't micromanage Rhodes. So long as it was for humanity, fine.

He could confer the title of Living Saint and let him enter the Ecclesiarchy covertly to write scripture.

"Father! Perhaps this is an opportunity. We can make something of it—maybe bring back Corax, even draw some Chaos forces," Guilliman said, eyes gleaming.

"Guilliman, you want to use this clone?" Rhodes asked.

"Yes. Since the Imperium has accepted Horus and Magnus, why not Lorgar?

"We can release the news—say Lorgar has returned to the Imperium. For whitewashing, we can borrow from Horus and Magnus.

"This will reach Chaos—Lorgar will hear it, and so will Corax," Guilliman said.

He was the only brother whose location they knew. If he heard, Corax would certainly return to the Imperium, to see what was going on!

Even Leman Russ, who had gone into the Eye of Terror, might be lured out again.

"I'm not sure if Corax is now a Daemon Prince or still a Primarch," the Emperor said.

In the Warp, Corax had seemingly fully transformed into a Daemon Prince—albeit aligned with the Imperium, aligned with His will. But a Daemon Prince was a Daemon Prince. After ten thousand years in the Warp, his essence had changed.

"Father! Corax is loyal. He entered the Warp to avenge you—to avenge all those slain by the traitors—chasing Lorgar!

"If Magnus can return, and Horus can return, why not Corax? He never betrayed us," Guilliman said.

"If he wishes to return, I welcome him. I very much welcome this son back," the Emperor said.

"That's easy. The cosmic phantom-beasts can purify Warp corruption. As long as Corax still aligns with the Imperium, even if he's become an undivided Chaos Daemon Prince, we can bring him back," Rhodes said.

"Then do as you say. Let the fake become real and the real become fake. We'll say the Daemon Prince Lorgar is a clone, a counterfeit made by the traitors.

"The true Son of the Emperor has been in stasis on Terra, under repair," the Emperor decided after a pause, spinning out a perfectly plausible story.

This would certainly break the real Lorgar in Chaos. From today, the clone would be the true Lorgar.

The Emperor would also publicize who actually wrote the Ecclesiarchy's scriptures—to build momentum for the clone's return. The only one hurt would be the real Lorgar.

On hearing this, the Raven Lord Corax would hasten back to confirm the truth.

"So be it," Rhodes said.

After further discussion of details, Rhodes took his leave, joined his wife and two sons at the banquet, and received leading Churchmen and nobles.

When the banquet ended, he went to a secret base to meet the Lorgar clone—

And informed him that he would soon replace his original.