On the world of Colchis, a great war raged. The planetary governor sought to crush a large and powerful religious institution known as the Covenant. For many the years the Covenant had been gaining power on Colchis, converting new following, and influencing the political landscape. The secular Authority, the planetary parliament and high councilor, saw the Covenant as a growing potential threat and sought to irradiate them once and for all. While there were many members of the Covenant, the authorities had the force of arms and organized armies on their side and were gaining ground against the church. Many brave men and women of great faith were to become martyrs in the struggle to protect their church from destruction.
The Covenant believed that there is a single deity who created and guided the universe, one god with four faces, the Warrior, the Sage, the Maiden, and the Crone. Each of these faces of God represented a divine aspect of the almighty deity, the wisdom of the Sage, of compassion of the Crone, the bravery of the Warrior, and the maiden's Vivacity. The religion itself was ancient, extending back beyond Colchis' recorded history and always being a part of the planet's culture and tradition, though only in the past few generations was the organized central church, called the Covenant, with its own hierarchy and doctrines, becoming a major political power on Colchis, which ultimately lead to the Authority's aggression against them.
It was during this terrible war that a priest of the Covenant witnessed a miracle that would change not only the future of Colchis, but would shift the fates for all of mankind. The priest was named Kor Phaeron and the miracle was performed by a little orphan girl known only as Aurelia. Kor Phaeron had heard of the little girl, no older than six, from some of his parishioners. They had told stories of a girl at once of the church's orphanages who claimed to have visions of the future, who claimed to hear the voice of God. The priest was always skeptical of such claims, though he had seen a few things in his life which might be classified as miracles or perhaps witchcraft, and so he decided to investigate.
When Kor Phaeron first met the little girl, he could feel that there was something special about her, something more than merely a mortal. Phaeron himself was a psychic, having a few minor abilities that he used intuitively without really understanding them, and this psychic potential allowed him to feel something similar in others. What he felt from Aurelia was nothing like anything he had experienced before, an aura of pure power and holiness that surrounded her, a palpable force that exhilarated and frightened him. As they two met, she immediately spoke his name, though they had never met before, and her face filled with a look of terror. "You must flee from the cathedral!" She exclaimed in a voice that many others around could hear. "The soldiers are coming for you." Kor Phaeron had faith in the words of this mysterious child and fled with some of the Covenant's holy books along with the other priests and monks of the cathedral. This exodus was just in time, for the following day authority soldiers raided the cathedral and found it empty. News of this miracle spread among the faithful followers of the Covenant and their enemies alike and within weeks, many were speaking of the little girl who was a messenger of God.
This filled the members of the Covenent with greater zeal and dedication to their cause. Kor Phaeron took the young girl under his wing, teaching her in the theology of the Covenant and even learning from her insightful observations, as she was wise beyond her young years. More than this, she made further predictions and Covenant soldiers would come to her for advice. She said that she could hear the voice of God telling her of things to come, that she even saw visions of this sometimes. Those leaders who heeded her council were invariably successful and more and more came to see her, to touch her, to receive the young saint's blessing. Many people from around the planet sought out Aurelia, even those who had no faith before. The tide of the war had begun to turn, many soldiers of the authority began to disobey their superiors or even joined with the Covenant. Even high ranking members of the authority started to wonder if this girl was truly blessed and that they were perhaps on the wrong side of a holy war.
There were numerous assassination attempts against Aurelia, though they all failed, sometimes publicly and or even miraculously. A would-be killer might fire point blank at Aurelia and miss, some explosions would leave her clothing scorched but body unharmed. With each attempt on her life, Aurelia's legend grew and the Authority became more and more despised. By the time of Aurelia's 10th birthday, the planet's parliament officially surrendered to Covenant forces, turning the planet into a theocracy under the rule of the high priest of the Covenant - who by this point was Kor Phaeron, who had gained fame and respect for his close relationship with Aurelia.
In the following years, religious fervor swept the planet as Aurelia made a number of public prophesies which came to past, predicting natural disasters and other events. The planet became more and more devout and Aurelia's power grew stronger. She began to have have more powerful visions, to see further into the future, to hear the different aspects of God speaking to her. When Aurelia foresaw a physical manifestation of God coming from the sky to rule over the planet, she couldn't help but tell the people, who went into throws of religious ecstasy at the thought. The world began to build up for the arrival of God on earth, great cathedrals were built, people dedicated themselves to religious lives of being monks or nuns.
Aurelia herself was filled with the same sense of faith and anticipation as the people of Colchis. From her earliest memories, she could feel the presence of God in her life. She grew up basking in the unconditional love that only a divine being could provide. She prayed every day for wisdom, for strength, for piety and faith and her prayers were answered, as she grew up to personify the virtues she held most dear and still retained the humility to continue praying to be better. When the planetary Authority was defeated, she stepped forth and asked for clemency for those who had tried to kill her. She prayed together with them and their hearts turned from fear and hatred to faith and love. At least some of them, as Aurelia could look into the hearts of men and see their sins and their virtues, though even those who harbored hatred in their hearts were forgiven despite it.
When the Covenant forces finally took control of Colchis, it was a bittersweet moment for Aurelia, for so countless innocent people had died, many with her help, and she prayed that the death and suffering on both sides might have been justified. As Aurelia began to been seen as a living saint, she knew that such adulation was misplaced and she prayed for humility while she urged the people to look not at her but to God as the source of miracles.
When Aurelia prayed she felt open to the infinite, the the many voices of God. She heard the four aspects of God speaking to her: the Warrior, the Sage, the Crone, and the Maiden. She also heard countless other voices, a great multitude. She knew that this mystery was the result of a mere mortal trying to understand the will of the infinite and she clung to her faith. As time passed, the many voices seemed to blend into one, the infinite faces of the omnipotent deity becoming one in her mind's eye. She saws formless possibilities taking shape, a man clad in shining gold, God made flesh, she saw him coming from the sky to Colchis to uplift the people of Colchis. When Aurelia realized that this event would come to pass, she profusely thanked God for his goodness and set about to prepare the world for his coming.
On the very day which Aurelia had predicted, the God Emperor of Mankind's ship arrived above Colchis and the Emperor stepped foot on the planet's surface. The Emperor was greeted as a god, with millions of the faithful lavishing praises upon him, falling to their knees weeping in worship of God made flesh. The Emperor paid little heed to what he saw as the primitive superstitions of locals, he ignored them all and immediately sought out Aurelia in the cathedral where she awaited him, a giant cathedral that had been constructed in honor of his coming.
The God Emperor told Aurelia of what she was, a superior being created to be one of his generals, created to conquer the galaxy in the name of humanity. He also said that he was no god, merely a great man, a ruler of humanity. This statement and the Emperor's intentions perplexed Aurelia, though she knew in her heart and with her psychic senses that this was indeed God made manifest, so she did not doubt, she obeyed the will of the Almighty and left her home planet of Colchis, swearing loyalty to the Emperor and resolving to become the great general that the Emperor desired. To aid her in this, she took some of the most dedicated warriors of Colchis with her, those who she believed had earned the right to join in this holy crusade. First among them was a warrior named Erebus, who had shown his bravery and skill in battle time and time again.
Aurelia was slow to take to command over armies, though she prayed for strength and wisdom, that she may fulfill the role for which she was created. Her brothers and sisters among the Primarchs regarded Aurelia as strange and eccentric. The major exception was Magnus. Feared, looked down upon, or misunderstood by the other Primarchs, Magnus only felt comfortable around the Emperor himself and Aurelia, who better understood the burden of Magnus' psychic abilities and looked beyond Magnus's stunted body to the strength of his soul and character. With the aid of Magnus, Aurelia was better able to understand and master her abilities, growing to understand that others had these powers as well and that they were a gift from God rather than true miracles, that they could be improved and expanded with practice.
In the following years, Aurelia lead the forces of the Imperium against many alien or defiant human worlds. With the relative autonomy that she had been given by the Emperor and his Warmaster Horus, she was able to conquer these human planets in her own way. She used this discretion to not only conquer these worlds in the name of the Imperium, but for the God Emperor of Mankind. It was, in fact, during this time that the term "God Emperor of Mankind" was first used by Aurelia herself and was spread through the many worlds she took for the Imperium. While other Primarchs conquered worlds, Aurelia would convert them to the worship of the Emperor, would help them to rebuild their infrastructure, heal the sick and dying, and would also study their culture and history.
Aurelia found many different religions across the many worlds, human and alien, though she noticed that many shared similar characteristics. The same veneration of one God or perhaps worshiping many which were likely faces of the one true God such as were worshiped on Colchis. With her growing psychic ability, she was able to feel the spiritual power in these religions and recorded the practices of these various people, helping to fit their religious beliefs into the worship of the true God, the God Emperor of Mankind. The forces that Aurelia commanded became known as the Word Bearers, for they came to bring the message of the God Emperor to all of mankind. While Aurelia converted many worlds to the Imperium, the Warmaster Horus noticed that her progress was relatively slow compared to the more aggressive Primarchs. In their next meeting, Horus harshly chastised Aurelia. Horus said that her strange worship of the Emperor was stupidity, that she was incompetent in her leadership and her progress was shamefully slow. Aurelia's arguments in support of her actions fell upon deaf ears, and Horus stripped her of much of her forces and placed them under his own command.
While Aurelia was saddened by this, she also saw this as an opportunity. She took her remaining forces along with many of the holy books and religious relics that she had taken from the many planets she had visited or conquered and returned to Colchis. Here, Aurelia studied the religions from hundreds of worlds, comparing them to the ancient and sacred texts of the Covenant libraries of Colchis. She used her psychic talents that had naturally revealed themselves to her or that had been strengthened by Magnus’ instruction. The goal of her study was to not only better understand the divine nature of Emperor himself and thus the universe, but to make a well reasoned argument for why others should accept his divinity. While there were some inconsistencies which troubled Aurelia, she felt that she could make a good case for the existence of one true God and that the Emperor was likely him. She articulated the most compelling arguments for the Emperor's divinity into a single tome which would come to be called the Lectio Divinitatus - the holy book which formed the foundation for the Imperial Cult in the millennia to come. When this book was completed, she sent out numerous Covenant priests across the galaxy with copies of the Lectio Divinitatus in order to convert the masses and reveal the truth to them of the one true God.
When the Emperor, long distracted by war and by ruling the growing Imperium, learned that Horus had stripped Aurelia of most of her soldiers and why he had done it, he decided to go to Colchis to speak with her, taking along two of his most trusted Primarchs, Horus and Magnus. As the Emperor neared Colchis, he learned the the book which Aurelia had written and was spreading across the Imperium. This infuriated the Emperor, whose policy was called the Imperial Truth - the rejection of the existence of gods or demons, of the supernatural nature of the Warp, and all magical forces. Aurelia's strange superstitions had always irritated the Emperor but her tolerated it because she seemed so loyal and dedicated, but it the foolishness would end now.
When the Emperor returned to Colchis, for the first time in a decade, he was once again met with the adoration of devoted worshipers who thought him to be God. This time, the Emperor's wrath was palpable for all who stood in his presence, and the masses of Colchis fled from him as he approached. The Emperor walked to the steps of the great cathedral, built to honor his coming to Colchis, where Aurelia stood with a copy of the Lectio Divinitatus, her gift to him, the result of many hard years of study, exploration, and contemplation. As Aurelia saw the anger from the Emperor, the smile faded from her face and was replaced with confusion.
Then the Emperor struck Aurelia, a blow that might have killed a normal human, and knocked her to the ground. He called her a fool, a traitor, that she was a disgrace to him and that his foolishness must be punished. The Emperor seized the book and had cast in into one of the braziers that burned beside the great cathedral. He then ordered his soldiers to destroy the cathedral and burn all of the books there, to destroy the holy relics, and to kill any who resisted. Aurelia lay there on the ground, weeping in grief that her God, if he was indeed God, had rejected her, that she was a disgrace to him. She felt as though her entire life had been wasted, that she was nothing. She sobbed and moaned, Horus then cruelly mocked her, repeating the Emperor's words and adding his own jibes meant to humiliate her. It was then that Magnus, crippled and stunted dwarf that he was, hobbled to Aurelia and placed his hand upon her shoulder. She looked up into his kind eyes and saw that he was crying too. He gently helped Aurelia to her knees and wiped the tears from her eyes, them embraced her, holding her close to him as she cried upon his shoulder.
After the carnage, the Emperor commanded that Aurelia return with him to Terra. During the journey, Aurelia spent many long hours speaking to Magnus, telling him of her great sadness, how her world seemed to be falling apart. Telling him how she had always felt the presence of some transcendent intelligent force beyond the realm of humanity that had been watching over her and that she was sure it had been the Emperor. Magnus said very little, though his reaction indicated to Aurelia that Magnus had felt something like this as well. Aurelia spent many hours in prayer as well and those prayers left her even more troubled. She still heard the many voice of God speaking to her, seeming to guide her. She felt comfort in that divine presence and she slowly began to accept something that she had long known the deepest recesses of her heart but had never been willing to accept, that the Emperor was not God, that he was a being of incredible spiritual power, but that the voices she heard were beyond even him. In accepting this revelation, her faith was renewed, and her drive to determine the truth stronger than ever before.
Silently and humbly, Aurelia bided her time. She was obedient to the Emperor as he continued to chastise her. She told him that she accepted that he was not truly God, which was true, he was not. All the while, Aurelia continued to pray and in her prayers, her mind grew stronger. She no longer clung to her vision of the Emperor coming as God made flesh, the vision that had dominated her life since she first saw it as a child. Instead, she truly opened herself to God's will, listening to the many voices of God speak to her. In these moments, she heard the four voices of the gods of the Covenant, the Warrior, the Sage, the Crone, and the Maiden. She heard them each telling her secrets of the nature of the universe, each voice guiding her. She heard countless other voices as well, spirits of the dead, voices from the past and future. With each passing day, she understood a little more, could see a bit farther.
Eventually the Emperor trusted Aurelia enough to give her back her legions, commanding her to return to the worlds that she had lead astray and to instruct them in the "Imperial Truth" that there were no gods or supernatural forces. Why the Emperor would enforce such a lie, she did not know, as Aurelia knew that the Emperor did not believe this, that he was in some way connected to God. The Emperor's deceit and his mistreatment of Aurelia angered her, but she resolved to act according to God's will, not to let her anger cloud her vision.
Aurelia returned to Colchis and spoke to her childhood mentor Kor Phaeron of the revelation she had. The old priest was at first shocked, but quickly accepted this. He had lost much in the Emperor's attack against Colchis and had doubted the Emperor’s divinity. Aurelia went into one of the ancient cathedrals that had survived the Emperor's purge, a place of old relics and where the four faces of God had been worshipped for millennia. Her she prayed and fasted for many days seeking God's guidance. She received it.
Aurelia's mind penetrated the veil between the world of men, the Materium, and that of God, the Immaterium, what most now call the Warp. Now she looked upon the face of God unveiled, the infinite possibilities of Chaos itself. Aurelia saw that God and man were one, an infinite being beyond space and time, each human soul created and being created by God. She perceived the divine nature of humanity and the ultimate fate of mankind, the achieve oneness with the infinite source of all thought, life, and creativity. Apotheosis. She heard the true names of the gods of Colchis - Khorne the Warrior, Tzeentch the Sage, Slaanesh the Maiden, and Nurgle the Crone. She saw the countless faces of each of the aspects of the infinite divine and saw that all were ultimately one with each other and countless other mortal and immortal souls. She looked beyond the infinite voices, the infinite faces, the sea of roiling possibilities to see the one true God she had always searched for and that God was Chaos.
As a part of her vision, Aurelia's power was increased dramatically. Chaos had taught her much, whispered into to ear ancient rituals to draw greater power and to better utilize her own potential, revealing to her ancient lost tomes in the ruins of Colchis where she would learn even more. Aurelia used these new rituals channel forth the power of the Immaterium, becoming powerful beyond measure, leading the Covenant priests in a great ritual where they too would be blessed by Chaos. Those faithful priests who participated in the ritual with Aurelia saw visions and well and were blessed with miraculous supernatural powers or magical knowledge. Armed with renewed faith and the power to reveal the truth to others, the Covenant was soon able to introduce this new revelation to the rest of Colchis, showing them the true nature of God and the universe.
In the following years, Aurelia would travel to those planets she had converted before, not to teach them the Imperial Truth, but to show them the power and glory of Chaos. The worship of Chaos spread across these worlds and the powers of the blessed became obvious to all. The Word Bearers now spread the message of Chaos through the universe, teaching multitudes the secrets of sorcery, showing them visions of what lay beyond the Materium, and opening their minds to the infinite. Sometimes these revelations seemed to drive men mad, though Aurelia would say that they merely experienced to ecstasy of true faith and communion with God.
As Aurelia dedicated herself to Chaos, she began to learn more and more about the Emperor, named the fifth God of Chaos, called Malal in the ancient voices long since dead, the God of Chaos who opposes Chaos. Like an cancer upon the fabric of space and of time, the Emperor's enmity with Chaos would always keep humanity and Chaos separate unless something was done to destroy the Emperor or bring him back into oneness with Chaos. With this thought in mind, Aurelia was able to glean the future, to look upon the strands of fate and see human ascension, becoming one with God, one with Chaos, achieving our true potential - Apotheosis. This ascension would only be possible with the assistance of the most despised of Aurelia's brothers, Horus Lupercal. Horus had a part to play and in doing so, be destroyed, both serving a role in bringing about the Apotheosis and Aurelia's revenge.
As Aurelia had foreseen, Horus was severely injured in a blundered attack on Davin, and Aurelia was already on her way to greet the wounded Warmaster when he recovered. Horus had never respected Aurelia, but she knew that Horus' pride would allow her to manipulate him. Aurelia spoke to Horus with great reverence, as though he were the Emperor himself. She lavished praises upon him for his bravery in battle, for sacrificing himself to save so many others, and then criticized the other Primarchs and even the Emperor himself for not giving Horus the support that would have allowed him to be victorious. Horus, quick to place the blame upon others for his own failing, eagerly listened to Aurelia's words and became receptive to her. She then spoke to him of Horus's competence and the Emperor's jealousy. How much greater Horus would be if the Emperor, fearing Horus, did not constantly undermine him.
Just as planned, Horus now hung upon Aurelia's every word. She then revealed to him the existence of Chaos, of the gods and daemons of the Warp, the great secret that the Emperor hid that gave the Emperor and many other Primarchs psychic abilities. Abilities that Horus lacked. She told him that this was a secret shared with the other Primarchs but not with Horus, that commanding powerful psychic abilities would make Horus superior to the Emperor in every regard. There were gods of the Warp and that Horus was the man who could become their master and rule the galaxy as the true God Emperor of Mankind.
Horus was incredulous, as he considered Aurelia to be simple minded and foolish. She changed his mind as she took his hand in hers and he felt the power of the Warp flow through him. Horus looked at Aurelia, fighting to maintain a calm facade over his shock. She said that these were the gods that gave the Emperor his power, that gave all psykers their power. That they were powerful beyond imagining and they had chosen Horus, greatest of all mortals, to be their chosen one, to be master of the Warp and God Emperor of Mankind. All that Horus need do is accept their power and he could overthrow the Emperor and take the galaxy that was his birthright. Horus did not even hesitate, he gave himself over to the gods of Chaos and became invested with their power.
After winning Horus to her cause, Aurelia visited many other Primarchs, those who had been chosen by Chaos to become its servants. As she had foreseen in her prophesies, each was won to her cause, save with the exception of Magnus. Magnus, ever true and loyal, refused to become a traitor to the Emperor whom he regarded as a father. It wasn't until the Emperor himself betrayed Magnus that Magnus would be willing to embrace his true father, the face of God called on Colchis the Sage, Tzeentch. Aurelia was filled with joy that Magnus, her most beloved brother, joined her and the other servants of Chaos.
Horus and the Emperor eventually destroyed each other, the will of God once revealed to Aurelia finally being fulfilled. The forces of Chaos would not conquer the earth, but now a chain of events had began that Aurelia believed would one day bring about Apotheosis - humanity becoming one with Chaos.
As time passed, Aurelia learned more and more, increasing her knowledge of sorcery, entering the Warp with her mind and conversing with the Warp gods there, pushing her spirit beyond the limits of human imagining. Aurelia sought to better understand Chaos, to truly become one with the Warp. For six years Aurelia dedicated herself to experiencing every carnal pleasure, every physical sensation and delight, to tasting every sweet food and listening to the most beautiful music. For those six years, Aurelia came to know Slaanesh. For seven years Aurelia walked among the sick and dying, the elderly and diseased. She saw the dying cling to the lives they knew with their last ounces of strength before entering the life beyond, saw the love of friends and family for the ones they lost. In these seven years, Aurelia came to know Nurgle. For eight years years Aurelia dedicated herself to war and conquest, taking numerous planets in the name of Chaos, entering the fray herself and in a haze of fury and bloodlust, slaying countless foes. In these eight years, Aurelia came to know Khorne. For nine years Aurelia sought out knowledge and honed her psychic abilities, increasing her mastery of sorcery, becoming a scholar of language and history, she explored the deepest recesses of the Immaterium and of her own mind, the future and the past, the real and surreal, seeing beyond the illusions that separate reality from imagination. In these nine years, Aurelia came to know Tzeentch. Finally, in quiet solitude and asceticism, Aurelia contemplated the nature of the God Emperor of Mankind, Malal, the aspect of God that fights against itself. For ten years she dwelt upon the Emperor and his sacrifice and travails, and she grew to know even her enemy.
Khorne, aspect of war and anger, spoke to Aurelia saying that if she gave herself to him that she would be made a god of war and destruction. That all who ever crossed her would be destroyed by her power and that all would bow down to her. Nurgle then spoke, telling her that if she bowed before him, that she could hold tightly to all that she had ever loved, that she would exist forever and nothing she cared for would ever be lost. Slaanesh then told her that should she give herself to Slaanesh, that no pleasure would be denied her, that she would experience bliss beyond what any mortal could imagine and sensations that would make mortal pleasures seem as pale shades. Finally Tzeentch spoke, saying that should she give herself to Tzeentch that she would have all knowledge that she ever sought, would know the greatest mysteries of the universe and have power beyond compare. To all of these offers she declined. Then the Chaos gods as one spoke, offering her all of these gifts for her service to them and yet again she refused. They asked her, what they might give her for her service to Chaos. She said that she desired no gifts, no reward, that she willingly and without reservation gave herself to Chaos Undivided, that they may use her as they will, that her only desire is that she become their willing slave. For this, the gods as one, not merely the four, but the countless lords of Chaos that once existed in antiquity or that would exist in the distant future bestowed their blessing onto Aurelia, high priestess of Chaos, and she became as a god herself, a being of pure Immaturium. With that, Aurelia drew the entire planet of Colchis, shrine world to Chaos, into the Warp where it has remained to this day.
* * *
Khorne, aspect of war and anger, spoke to Aurelia saying that if she gave herself to him that she would be made a god of war and destruction. That all who ever crossed her would be destroyed by her power and that all would bow down to her. Nurgle then spoke, telling her that if she bowed before him, that she could hold tightly to all that she had ever loved, that she would exist forever and nothing she cared for would ever be lost. Slaanesh then told her that should she give herself to Slaanesh, that no pleasure would be denied her, that she would experience bliss beyond what any mortal could imagine and sensations that would make mortal pleasures seem as pale shades. Finally Tzeentch spoke, saying that should she give herself to Tzeentch that she would have all knowledge that she ever sought, would know the greatest mysteries of the universe and have power beyond compare. To all of these offers she declined. Then the Chaos gods as one spoke, offering her all of these gifts for her service to them and yet again she refused. They asked her, what they might give her for her service to Chaos. She said that she desired no gifts, no reward, that she willingly and without reservation gave herself to Chaos Undivided, that they may use her as they will, that her only desire is that she become their willing slave. For this, the gods as one, not merely the four, but the countless lords of Chaos that once existed in antiquity or that would exist in the distant future bestowed their blessing onto Aurelia, high priestess of Chaos, and she became as a god herself, a being of pure Immaturium. With that, Aurelia drew the entire planet of Colchis, shrine world to Chaos, into the Warp where it has remained to this day.
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