Primarch
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In the fictional universe of Warhammer 40,000, the Primarchs were engineered superhumans created on the orders of the Emperor to command his future Legions of Space Marines. Originally twenty in number, they were said to have been created using the Emperor's own DNA. Their genetic material was also used to form the basis of the legions they would command.
All were created in genetic laboratories hidden on Terra, and were almost complete before they were scattered across the galaxy. The cause of this is unknown; the forces of Chaos, the Emperor and the Primarchs themselves are claimed in varying tales to be responsible for snatching the infant Primarchs' incubation cradles from Earth and dispersing them through the Warp. As the Great Crusade progressed, the Emperor was reunited with each of them as his armies recontacted the worlds on which the Primarchs had come to rest. Most had, in the intervening time, risen to positions of power or infamy as a result of their remarkable physiology and abilities. At least two had been subject to mutation; Sanguinius, who had wings and was reported to be psychic; and Magnus, who possessed a single cyclopean eye and bright red skin and was widely known to have formidable psychic talent.
Following the Great Crusade, Warmaster Horus fell to Chaos, dragging eight of his fellow Primarchs down with him. Nine Legions, along with many other traitorous forces, were incited to rebel against the Emperor during the time known as the Horus Heresy
[edit] The Fate of the Primarchs
Today, all the Primarchs are either damned, lost or dead. Below is a table documenting each Primarch's name, the Legion he led, and his status as of the 41st millennium.
| Name | Legion | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Lion El'Jonson | Dark Angels | Disappeared during Luther's betrayal. El'Jonson is believed to have been taken by the 'Watchers in the Dark' to be healed, although it is stated in the 2nd edition rulebook Codex: Angels of Death (Priestley and Johnson, 1996) that he resides within an unreachable chamber within 'The Rock', the Dark Angels home fortress. |
| UNKNOWN | UNKNOWN | Deleted from Imperial records. |
| Fulgrim | Emperor's Children | Ascended to Daemonhood. Location unknown, believed to have laid claim to a planet within the Eye of Terror |
| Perturabo | Iron Warriors | Ascended to Daemonhood. Ruling over a fortress-world, Medrengard, within the Eye of Terror. |
| Jaghatai Khan | White Scars | Disappeared 70 years after the end of the Horus Heresy. Believed to be seen following a Dark Eldar Lord through a warp portal into Commorragh, the realm of the Dark Eldar. |
| Leman Russ | Space Wolves | Disappeared 197 years after the end of the Horus Heresy. Promised the Space Wolves that he would return "for the Wolftime". |
| Rogal Dorn | Imperial Fists | Only Dorn's hand was recovered after he boarded a Chaos Battleship during a Black Crusade.[1] |
| Konrad Curze/Night Haunter | Night Lords | A Callidus Temple assassin, M'Shen, is thought to have killed him, though it is believed that he let himself be slain. |
| Sanguinius | Blood Angels | Killed by Horus during the Battle of Terra. |
| Ferrus Manus | Iron Hands | Disappeared during the Drop Site Massacre. Believed to have been killed by Fulgrim, his head presented to Horus as sign of faith. |
| UNKNOWN | UNKNOWN | Deleted from Imperial records. |
| Angron | World Eaters | Ascended to Daemonhood. Led Chaos in the First War for Armageddon. Was defeated and banished back into the Warp by the Grey Knights |
| Roboute Guilliman | Ultramarines | Fatally wounded by Fulgrim. He is alive, but preserved in stasis. Some speculate that he is slowly healing, although this is thought to be impossible within a stasis pod. |
| Mortarion | Death Guard | Ascended to Daemonhood. Ruling over the Plague Planet within the Eye of Terror. |
| Magnus the Red | Thousand Sons | Ascended to Daemonhood although his physical body was shattered by Leman Russ. Ruling over the Planet of Sorcerors within the Eye of Terror. |
| Horus | Luna Wolves / Sons of Horus | Beaten by the Emperor on his Flagship during the Siege of Terra, his soul was obliterated. His corpse was later utterly destroyed by Abaddon the Despoiler |
| Lorgar | Word Bearers | Ascended to Daemonhood. Overseeing his Legion's actions from the Daemon-world Sicarus within the Eye of Terror. |
| Vulkan | Salamanders | Disappeared during the Drop Site Massacre. Known to have survived the Heresy (opposed Guilliman's plans to disband the Legions). Ultimate fate unknown. |
| Corax | Raven Guard | Being unable to forgive himself for what he did to his legion to ensure its survival, he left in a ship to the Eye of Terror a year after the defeat of Horus, leaving a single word of valediction, "Nevermore.....". |
| Alpharius | Alpha Legion | Killed in single combat by Roboute Guilliman during a war between the Alpha Legion and Ultramarines post-Horus Heresy. The source of the account of this 'war' is considered suspect, even by Ultramarines. |
[edit] The Missing Primarchs
In some literature the missing Primarchs and their Legions are listed as being "Deleted from Imperial records".[2][3] Games Workshop has never released any material about them, but fan speculation is rife and many theories exist. The only other canonical literature is one passage in which Horus apparently goes back in time and breaks open the incubation capsule of Primarch XI.[4] (the effect this has on the primarch is inconclusive). A short story featuring the Iron Hearts Chapter,[5] specifically mentions a Primarch "Rubinek", and another Primarch is referred to as leading the White Consuls chapter[6], though both instances are in direct contradiction with the majority of canon regarding Primarchs II and XI.
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ There is contradictory material on Rogal Dorn's fate; see Imperial Fists for more details.
- ^ Chambers, Andy (1998). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Space Marines. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-869893-28-X.
- ^ 2nd edition Codex Imperialis
- ^ McNeill, Graham (2006). False Gods. Nottingham: Black Library. ISBN 1-84416-370-9.
- ^ Jowett, Simon (2003). “Hell in a Bottle”, Gascoigne, Marc and Jones, Andy (editors) Into the Maelstrom. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-78386-6.
- ^ Abnett, Dan (2001b). Malleus. Nottingham:Black Library. ISBN 1-84154-204-0.
- Chambers, Andy (2004). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Space Marines, 4th Edition, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-526-0.
- Chambers, Andy, and McNeill, Graham. Index Astartes. Nottingham: Games Workshop.
- Chambers, Andy, and McNeill, Graham (2003). Index Astartes – Volume II. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-345-4.
- McNeill, Graham, and Chambers, Andy (2003). Index Astartes – Volume III. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-443-4.
- Priestley, Rick, and Johnson, Jervis (1996). Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Angels of Death. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-872372-96-1.
- Watson, Ian (1993). Space Marine. London: Boxtree. ISBN 1-85283-840-X.
- Index Astartes – Volume IV. Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-580-5.
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