Iron Hand

Ferris Gorga - the Iron Hand

Ferris Gorga was born on the industrialized war torn planet of Medusa. The once highly industrialized world had fallen into chaos through a number of technological disasters followed by wars. On this harsh world, gangs of survivors geeked out a meager existence digging for scraps amidst  the wastes. Though still technologically advanced, the world was also impoverished and war torn, a terrible place for any child to grow to adulthood.

Ferris Gorga was the son a of technological scavenger, part of a band that roamed the ruined cities and looted for high-tech equipment to either sell to merchants from off world or to utilize themselves. These bands fought with each other for territory or for old grudges. Ferris learned to fight from a young age as well as learning how to recognize valuable merchandise and even repair and modify some devices that he found. Ferris was a ruthless warrior that became feared even as a young boy for his lethality in battle as well as his cunning. He also had a knack for machinery that surpassed almost any other. Gorda was large and powerful, towering over most normal men, with a stern demeanor leathery tanned skin, short cropped black hair and black eyes. 

As a young man Ferris Gorga had grown to be the leader of his band and commanded absolute authority from his underlings. He eliminated or assimilated other gangs and eventually built up a bit of an empire amidst the ruins. He was able to understand much of the ruined technology within his domain, to restore it or modify it. With his technological knowledge, he was soon able to reopen old abandoned factories and manufacture goods to sell off world, eventually being his own trading vessels and building a fortune for himself - much of which would go to buying additional weapons for his men to retake the planet.

Ferris Gorga ultimately longed for order above all else, not the chaos that had claimed the lives of so many of his family and friends during his childhood. He learned that he could only create this order through utterly crushing his enemies and forcing lesser men adwomen to comply. For humanity are capricious and selfish creatures and they will act out destructively unless their spirits crushed and their wills broken and so Ferris Gorga must become the make to break humanity to save it form itself. 

Ferris Gorga managed to carve out a massive nation for himself on Medusa, one that he ruled with absolute authority. His soldiers bore absolute obedience to him and would kill at his slightest whim. As he built great factories and refineries (as it turned out, precious substances still lay beneath the surface of Medusa) he enslaved surrounding gangs and communities - forcing men women and children to work themselves to death. Even the slightest disobedience was met with harsh punishment.

During the height of his rule, Medusa was invaded by a vicious and technologically advanced alien race. Ferris Gorga, tyrant and warrior both, met them in open battle and through his ferocious leadership and braver, the human forces were able to defeat the aliens. During one battle Gorga lost a hand to a massive alien war machine, though he kept fighting on despite his terrible wound, enhancing his reputation on the planet even further. Ferris Gorga had his hand replaced with a cybernetic one and so a nickname arose for him - the Iron Hand, not only for his literal cybernetic hand, but for his method of ruling his nation.

Not long after the Emperor sought out Ferris Gorga and offered him a place among the great generals of mankind. Gorda could not pass up this opportunity and joined with the Emperor, swearing undying reality to him. 

Gorga made a highly effective general and leader in the young Imperium. He relished the opportunity to have access to greater Imperium technology and to utilize it to its fullest extent. He had his soldiers heavily modified with cybernetic, increasing their efficiency in combat at the expense of their humanity. On conquer worlds he set up massive factories as he did on his own world, utilized the Adeptus Mechanicus’ advanced technology and adding his own ideas. While the worlds he conquered produced more than those worlds conquered by any other of the Primarchs, there were great costs. 

Ferris Gorga would turn entire planets of billions into slaves, working them 15 hours a day or longer without a break until they died from exhaustion, stripping every ounce of precious material from the soils, tearing up mountains and poisoning ocean and sky with pollution. Within a a brief number of years, a planet’s material goods were extracted and contributed to the Great Crusade and the planet was left in ruin. Those populations that resisted were purged, with mass murders that sometimes numbered into the billions, with survivors sometimes lobotomized and turned into servitors, forced to work themselves to death with their humanity stripped away. 

As his technological abilities increased, Ferris Gorga saw the value in replacing flesh with steel and wire, turning more of his workers into servitors and his warriors into cyborgs. He even had parts of his warriors’ brains removed, replaced with electronic components that would feel no fear of the enemy nor compassion for the conquered.

The Iron Hand’s name became notorious within the Imperium and he became a man highly feared by rogue planets, some of which sought out other Primarchs to surrender to in order to avoid the fate that awaited them his the Iron Hand claimed their world. Even the Emperor himself began to grow wary of the name Ferris Gorga was making for himself and the ruin that he was leaving in his wake. Though the Emperor held his tongue and did not chastise Ferris Gorga, for he knew the time was fast approaching when he would need the Iron Hand’s ruthlessness. That time would come sooner than he expected as Horus started his rebellion.

Horus, knowing Ferris Gorga’s cruelty and avarice, thought he could bribe him to join the traitor forces. A mistake that almost cost the Warmaster his life, as Ferris Gorga was fanatically loyal to his Emperor and the Imperium. Ultimately, while Gorga committed many terrible acts, his ultimate dream was to bring order to the galaxy and thought that no sacrifice is too great, so joining with Chaos was antithetical to Ferris Gorga. Even Roboute Guilliman, who considered Gorga a monster, was forced to remark that Ferris Gorga was one of the “Dauntless Few”  - the 4 most loyal Primarchs to the Emperor. 

The Iron Hand turned out to be as ferocious in his war against Chaos as with any other conflict. At any sign of Chaos corrupt, he would lay waste to entire worlds and turn their surfaces to slag and their atmospheres to ash. 

In the early days of the Horus’ treason, Ferris Gorga joined his fleet with that of the Primarch Konrad Curze. Curse betrayed the Iron Hand, slaying him by surprise and launching an attack against the Iron Hand’s legions which inflicted terrible casualties. It was with that act that Konrad Curze declared his treason to the Emperor and the Imperium, sending out a message to all that no being was above justice - not The Iron Hand and not the Emperor. It is said that the head of Ferris Gorga, along with his cybernetic hand, were taken as trophies and that somewhere the forces of Chaos still have both.

Lionis Sylvanus

Lionis Sylvanus

Lionis was born on the planet Caliban. A medieval world in a region of space where the barrier between real space and the Warp was quite, Caliban was plagued by constant daemonic attacks as well as wild psychics - often called witches. Caliban was covered with vast dark forests where the power of Chaos was particularly strong. These forests teemed with terrifying monsters, daemons, and witches - even the trees themselves seemed to take on a twisted and evil aspect. In the nation into which Lionis was born, only the Order, a society of knights sworn to protect the realms of men, kept humanity safe. 

Lionis grew up a peasant boy in one of the villages that border one of the dark forests. In such a place, every young boy dreams of one day growing up to join the Order, for it is those brave men who stand between them and utter destruction or worse. As a young boy, Lionis had the ability to sense danger and the approach of daemons and monsters, an ability that some considered witchcraft. Though ultimately his power allowed him to save the lives of his fellow villagers, warning them of the approach of monsters of the forest. On hat dark night, Lionis, a boy of only ten, not only warned his village of the daemon’s approach, but picked up an axe and fought those monsters to protect his family. Lionis’ ability to sense the presence of evil creatures, his courage, and his prowess in battle all attracted the attention of the knights of the Order. 

Lionis was accepted as a page into the Order and soon advanced to squire and then to full knight, being one of the youngest ever to become a full knight of the Order at the age of 17. Young and hansom, Lionis and tall and strong, with beautiful features, long and flowing sandy blond hair, and piercing green eyes. At his knighting ceremony, Lionis was given the name of Lionis Sylvanus - Lion of the Forest - for his bravery and willingness to venture forth into the dark woods to do battle with creatures of evil. It was in the Order that Lionis would meet an older knight by the name of Luther would become the most important person in Lionis’ life. 

Luther was a knight of great renown, 15 years Lionis’ senior, and quickly moving up within the ranks of the Order. It was thought by many familiar with Luther’s exceptional abilities that he would eventually become Grand Master of the Order. Luther and Lionis immediately became fast friend when they met and Luther became a mentor to his young protege Lionis. By Luther’s side, Lionis learned many things - fighting, recognizing witches and the dark magics, the history of the order, and even courtly politics. Side by side, the two brave knight lead their brethren against countless creatures of the night and were always victorious. Their friendship as well as their valor became the stuff of legends. 

As the two knights became closer and closer with the passage of time, their friendship blossomed into something more than the relationship between two battle brothers or mentor and student. The knight became lovers. On Caliban and especially within the Order, homosexuality was seen as something vile and shameful, a vice that no true man would suffer from much less a knight of the Order. If the truth of their relationship were to come known, the two secret lovers would find themselves cast out of the Order and possibly killed for the shame they brought their brother knights. Despite the dangers, the two men’s love and passion was too great to resist. They continued their relationship with none the wiser, continuing to fight together and rise within the ranks of the order. 

It was evident that Lionis surpassed the martial prowess of Luther at a relatively young age, but Lionis still looked towards the leadership of Luther and respected his seniority. At the age of 45, Luther was elevated to Grand Master of the Order and Lionis was his right hand. As Lionis grew older, his latent psychic powers grew stronger and more than merely being able to detect the presence of monsters of the forest, he could repel them or even destroy them with his mind. He found that even the most potent witches were unable to affect him with their spells and with the force of his will he could strike them powerless. Lionis only told Luther about these abilities and the two agreed that these were gifts from God and must be used for good, but that others who could not understand must not learn of these abilities either because they wouldn’t understand - just as they could not understand there love for each other. As it turned out, Luther possesses similar abilities and with the help of Lionis he unlocked the ability to sense creatures of evil as well as read other’s emotions and even share his thoughts with Lionis over great distances. 

For years the two knights enjoyed great happiness and containment together. Luther as Grand Master of the Order and Lionis as his might right hand. Luther was the masterful leader and Lionis the great warrior, together they were unstoppable and were able to purge many dark forests of all daemonic taint and with Lionis’ psychic abilities, he could even close off gateways from which daemons could escape - saving the lives of thousands and ensuring the safety of thousands more. None suspected the dark secrets which the two lovers kept hidden.

This relative time of happiness was interrupted by the arrival of the God Emperor of Mankind. The God Emperor told the people of Caliban that they are but one planet of millions in the vast galaxy of which he ruled, that he had come for Lionis and was going to raise hi up to be a great general in a battle for he survival of humanity. Lionis and Luther were both amazed by this, but were hesitant to leave because they had a duty to Caliban and would never leave each others’ sides. The Emperor dispatched his armies across Caliban and with their advanced weapons combined with the Emperor’s psychic might, they were able to purge Caliban of virtually all daemonic influence in a matter of months. After this amazing display of power, the two knights knew that they must go and seek a higher destiny. Luther left another senior knight to command the Orer in his stead and took a few hundred of the most elite knights to accompany them on the Emperor’s ship.

As a great general under the Emperor, the roles they had each occupied for so many years were reversed. It was Lionis who commanded and Luther who was to serve. The Emperor made this very clear that Luther may advise, he was not to lead. Luther, always a proud man, much disliked being forced to become subordinate to his student. But he knew that this was or a greater cause and he bore it with silent dignity. Lions quickly learned modern combat and became an even more accomplished warrior and even a tactician now that leadership was open to him. He designed his own legion of soldiers, incorporating close combat techniques of the Order with advanced power armor and high tech weaponry. Luther, on the other hand, had trouble adapting to this new new and strange technologies. His martial prowess had waned with age and his ability to learn to use technology seems limited. What was worth, his once great leadership skills seemed useless in battles where millions must be commanded across great gulfs of space via technology and his battle plans and advice were next to useless. 

These things all damaged his pride, but Luther could endure these these, knowing that to some extent it was the curse of age, if he could stand by Lionis’ side. Unfortunately, the two dear friends and lovers soon began to grow apart. Lionis never seemed to have time for Luther’s affections, even though they had greater opportunity for privacy now than ever before. Lionis increasingly sought to spend time with other advisers who were more useful as well as the Emperor himself. As Luther felt increasingly useless, Lionis increasingly treated him that way too. In time Lionis treated Luther as no more than an acquaintance and a subservient one at that. At one planning meeting in which both men as well as many other soldiers and leaders were in attendance, Lionis openly made disparaging jokes about Luther’s age and technological incompetence. Such an outrage was too great to bear and he stormed away to his room, tears streaming from his eyes. He returned to his quarters and hoped that Lionis would come soon to apologize. He waited all through the night and Lionis never came. What did come was a message from an intermediary, commanding Luther to return to Caliban with a small retinue of men and to protect the planet from possible daemonic incursions. Luther had been humiliated and now he was utterly crushed. He did as he was commanded and returned to Caliban. 

With Luther gone, Lionis seemed to forget about him. He became an increasingly skilled warrior and tactician, and became known as a great warrior who commanded not thousands of knights, but armies of millions. Lionis continued to have an intense hatred of witchcraft as he had on the planet Caliban and a distrust of psychics even though he was one. He was particularly mistrustful of Magnus and Leyna, whom he suspected were no better than witches themselves. It was Luther who eloquently argued against the use of Warp sorcery against Magnus and convinced the Emperor that it was too dangerous.

As Lionis made a name for himself as a champion of the God Emperor, Luther brooded in relative isolation on Caliban. The monstrous incursions were occupationally rare and much of the planet had become technological developed. He didn’t even recognize his own home anymore. Farmers n longer used oxen to plow their field, but had mechanical tractors, the knights of the Order carried rifles. Luther felt abandoned by the universe. Luther had been abandoned by Lionis, cast out like garbage. His despair turned to anger and thoughts of anger to revenge. As he brooded began to hear whispers at the edge of his consciousness, almost imperceptible suggestions as to how to avenge himself on those who had taken Lionis from him. Luther began to listen more closely, realizing that it was daemons who were making contact with him, daemons whose voices could still pierce the veil between the Warp and Caliban. Luther began to consider their words.

They told him of ancient demonic rituals and spells locked away in the vaults beneath the Order’s great castle headquarters. Rituals practiced by the witched of ancient Caliban and could release great power and unlock Luther’s psychic potential. making him a warlock of immense power, strong enough to strike down the Emperor and to command Lionis’s respect and reignite his love. Nearly mad with grief, Luther agreed to the daemons’ requests and went beneath the castle to gather the forbidden scrolls. Deep within the dark woods, Luther a ritual among ancient standing stones where countless sacrifices had been committed through the ages. As he completed the ritual, the power of the Warp was unleashed upon Caliban as numerous gateways opened and daemons poured through. Luther accepted the daemonic power into him, in fact a greater daemon who had been speaking to Luther entered his body, its essence becoming one with Luther, making Luther into a being of immense power - unleashing all of his long suppressed psychic potential and combining it with the immeasurable power of the daemon. Luther had gone from being a man, to being a god. 

Luther used his new powers to corrupt the people of Caliban, forcing them to serve the powers of Chaos. Even the bold knights of the Order could not stand before him. Those who could resist were killed, those who could not were commanded to allow lesser daemons into their bodies to become beings such as Luther. Caliban had become a world of daemons and Luther was its ruler.

Across the vast expanses of space, Lionis felt what had happened to Caliban and immediately commanded that his flag ship go there so that he could right the terrible wrong that had occurred there. As Lionis and his soldiers landed on the planet, they were confronted by Luther and the knights of the Order, now possessed by daemons, their mortal forms twisted and deformed, though more powerful than could be imagined. With a thought, Luther sent terror into the minds of Lionis’ legions and many ran or collapsed into quivering heaps. Lionis stood firm, his power protecting his and his closest men from Luther’s dark powers.

The love that Luther once felt for Lionis melted away, replaced by rage, in no small part because Luther’s mind was no longer truly his own. Luther struck out and Lionis with both his mystical power and his supernaturally enhanced body. The two former lovers fought then, a mighty battle with both sword and mind, tearing apart the landscape as they did so. The battle raged for hours until at last, Lionis focused all of his psychic might at Luther, stunning the daemonic aspect of the abomination he had become and allowing him to strike a fatal blow. As Lionis’ sword pierced Luther’s heart, the greater daemon faded back into the Warp from whence it had come, leaving Luther’s mortal by to die. 

As luther lay dying, he resumed his once mortal form. Lionis saw this and ran to his old mentors side and picked him up in his arms. 

“Forgive me Lionis” gasped Luther. “Forgive me my love, I was mad with grief, I should have taken my life rather than unleash such evils upon our world. I could not live without your love.”

As Luther breathed his last breaths, Lionis came to realize how despicable his behavior had been in abandoning his friend, mentor, and lover. In mocking him in front of others. In sending him away without even a word of farewell.

“No, it is I who am sorry. It is all my fault.” Said Lionis as his eyes met Luther’s, both men feeling once again that love that once so closely bound them together. Links leaned down and gave Luther a kiss upon the lips just before Luther’s life force finally ebbed away entirely. Lionis moaned with grief as Luther died in his arms. 

Just at that moment, some even more terrible occurred. With his psychic powers, Lionis felt Luther soul leaving his body, being drawn out into the Warp within the psychic talons of the daemon who had made the pact with Luther - payment for giving him so much power. Lionis screamed this time and rage and terror and his lover’s soul was ripped away, damned forever. Lionis vowed that he would not let this happen, he fought with al of his might but he was not strong enough to hold onto Luther soul. He was able, however, to allow himself to be dragged  along with it, the force of the struggle tearing another hole in the fabric of reality, already perilously thin on Caliban. As he entered the Warp, Luther vowed the he would not return to the mortal realms without rescuing Luther soul.

With this final and greatest gateway into the Warp opened, the entire planet of Caliban began to shake and warp and the warp energies broke down the very laws of physics which held the planet together. Thzplanet seems to collapse in upon itself, massive parts of it getting sucked into the Warp and other parts remained. The legions of Lionis were just able to escape in time. In ten thousand years none has seen Lionis and most assume that he is dead, claimed by the same daemons which have the soul of Luther. Some say though, that on occasion, a positive force from the Warp protects them from daemonic influence. Some say that this positive force is Lionis Sylvanus. 

Roboute Guilliman

Roboute Guilliman

Roboute Guilliman

Was born on the world of Maccrage, a technologically advanced planet that was in many ways in decline. There were struggles between the great nations of Maccrage and with the surrounding planets of the system. Even worse was widespread corruption, extremes of poverty, and exploitation of division for the betterment of the planet's elites.

Guilliman was the son of a high ranking bureaucrat within the government, Konor Guilliman, and was given access to the best education that money could buy. Even as a small child, Guilliman was brilliant and excelled in all of his studies, graduating from the equivalent of a university at the age of 12 and mastering advanced degrees in law and political science. Even more than having intelligence, Roboute had a deep and abiding moral character, a concern for the well being of others and for the advancement of society. Even as a child he became as well known for his kindest as for his intellect, protecting children from bullies, helping people in need, and joining causes to improve the lives of others.

Even more useful to Roboute in his persist of virtue was his charisma. He had no trouble making friends and advicating his convictions to others. Even as a young boy, he could put and end to bullying not merely by protecting the victims physically, but by convincing the bullies of the wrongness of their actions. With any task that Roboute set his mind towards, he soon had dozens of supporters. By the time he had become a young man, everyone was convinced that the young Roboute would some day become a great leader.

He grew up handsome and strong, a tall fit man with brown hair and eyes, tanned skin, and a friendly demeanor. Roboute did indeed pursue politics and used both his intelligence and social skills to quickly rise to planetary prominence. Roboute had many difficulties though, because he truly sought to bring peace and prosperity to the people of his world and so many of the corrupt and powerful rulers of Maccrage profited from the suffering of others. Roboute found himself the victim of slanderous lies from the press, lawsuits from major corporations that he undermined the influence of, and even assassination attempts.

Despite it all, Roboute gradually rose in power until he had become planetary governor. As leader of his planet, Roboute put into place numerous reforms. He expanded the rights of the citizens, granting them freedom of speech and protecting their rights, he ended persecution if mutants and other unpopular minirities, he helped to end ethnic and national divisions the undermined planetary unity. Furthermore, he was able to reduce corruption and help build up infrastructure to eliminate poverty, to increase medical care, and raise the standards of living of nearly everyone across the planet. While there were a few stumbling blocks along the way, Roboute Gulliman overcame them all to build a prosperous utopia.


Even those corrupt plutocrats of Maccrage who had spent decades oppressing the people of Maccrage and who had fought against Roboute Gulliman in his meteoric climb to prominence soon found that they would do better to join him than to oppose him. All but the the most evil and embittered of his enemies grew to understand Guilliman as a man of great virtue and grew to respect him, becoming better people through his example.

Guilliman was a student of philosophy in school and loved the intersection between politics and philosophy. Drawing on both ancient and contemporary sources, Guilliman wrote in gat depth about the ideal state and its responsibility to the people. His books became best sellers not only on Maccrage but across the system as he became an acclaimed reformer and thinker.

While on Maccrage, Roboute Guilliman could have become a god emperor in his win right with his great popularity, he did not desire such worship nor did he want so much power placed into the hands of a single man. Roboute favored a system with a representative democracy, not a nation where a king could rule with his personality cult. He made additional reforms that allowed for a democratic system on Maccrage where the people could have fair representation without larger groups undermining the rights of smaller groups. Even with this system in place, he accomplished most of his goals not through the authority of his position, but by building coalitions with other elected leaders.

When other planets in the star system and even other nearby systems saw the events of Maccrage, many wanted to emulate Roboute Gulliman and his system of reformed, Many too even wanted to join with them in a larger alliance of planets. Unfortunately, some feared that the growing power of Maccrage and Guilliman would undermine their own power and so went to war with Maccrage.

For the next decade intense wars wracked Maccrage as an alliance of planets sought to kill Guilliman and end his system that threatened their power. During this time, the once peaceful Guilliman was forced to turn his intellect to military matters. As with all things, Guilliman excelled in militar strategy and he inacted a number of reforms to best utilize solders and resources. He made sure that his armies were well equipped and that the lives of his soldiers would not be thrown away needlessly, he crate systems where the most skilled officers would rise to the top based on their ability rather than wealth or nepotism. He also made sure that defeated enemies were treated fairly and compassionately, that civilians or civilian infrastructure wasn't needlessly damaged, and that warfare didn't cause any more suffering than it had to. It was during this time that the precursor of the Ultramarines were invented.

Eventually, Maccrage and its allies had defeated all of their enemies and many other planets were absorbed into a single unified political body that came to be called Ultramar. Entrance into this alliance was completely voluntary and those planets whose populations wished to be excluded were allowed to be without punishment or pressure placed upon them. In time though, virtually all surrounding worlds sought membership as the prosperity of Maccrage, as well as the kindness shown to former enemies, won their hearts and minds.

In time, Roboute Guilliman stepped down from a official position of leadership and became merely a public figure, continuing to write about politics and philosophy as well as lend his intelligence to issues or science and sociology, he remained a beloved and highly influential public figure. It was during this time when the God Emperor of Mankind made his appearance.

It had taken many years for the Emperor to eventually make his way to Ultramar, as it was on the far side of the Galaxy from Terra. So Guilliman had many years to expand Ultramar and to improve the lives of the citizens there. When the Emperor finally made contact with Ultramar, he found one of the largest and most prosperous unified human polities in the galaxy. Ultramar had a thriving infrastructure with advanced technology, advanced medicine and long lifespans for every citizen, as well as a system of rights and protections for the citizens. Certain elements of this made the Emperor a bit wary, such as democratic elections or rights for mutants and practitioners of religions, but over all the Emperor was quite impressed by Roboute Guilliman's many accomplishments.

When the Emperor made contact with Ultramar, he told Roboute Guilliman of his true nature, a son of the Emperor, created by him to be a perfect warrior and general. Roboute was unsure about the idea of leading armies and conquering the galaxy for humanity, but when the Emperor explained to him some of the horrors that threatened humanity and how terrible the lives of some humans were, he was able to convince Roboute Guilliman to join with him and help make the same improvements to other planets in the Imperium as he did to the worlds within Ultramar.

Roboute put his skill and charisma to work for the Emperor, helping him to retake the galaxy for humanity. Guilliman was successful, though he often butted heads with the Emperor. Guilliman didn't like the harsh tactics that the Emperor encouraged, didn't like the persecution of aliens, didn't like stripping people of their rights, and also Roboute Guilliman didn't think that obedience was automatically owed to a ruler just because of the authority. This lead to the Emperor underutilizing Roboute's skills as the Emperor didn't fully trust him. Many of the other Primarchs, though, could see how talented Guilliman was and respected his leadership abilities and were able to coordinate their efforts with him to achieve greater victories.

Roboute's greatest rival among the Primarchs was Horus. Horus utterly despised Roboute for Roboute's competence and the respect he commanded from the other Primarchs. While Horus felt that he was unquestionably the most brilliant and talented military leader, most of the other Primarchs doubted this and many thought that it should have been Guilliman as Warmaster rather than Horus. Horus knew that some, both Primarchs and high ranking officers, believed Guillimanhh to be a better leader than him, and so this created in Horus a burning hatred for Guilliman and a desire to undermine his efforts. In fact, on a number of occasions, Horus did indeed sabotage Roboute Guilliman or his forces, making him fail when he might have otherwise been victorious. The Emperor, heeding the word of Horus above all others, believed that it was Guilliman's compassion and sentimentality which lead to his loses, not Horus' actions. Guilliman himself was soon able to discern that Horus was working against him and so never trusted Horus form that time on. In fact, when Horus finally declared war against the Emperor, Guilliman was better prepared than most and was able to mitigate the damage of several major sneak attacks on loyalist targets.

During the rebellion, Horus and the Emperor's criticism of Guilliman that he was too soft hearted did turn out to have some basis in fact. Horus was able to draw Guilliman into a trap by mass murdering a number of civilian populations, taunting Guilliman with those deaths and forcing him to make strategic errors in order to stop Horus and save innocent lives.

When Roboute Guilliman finally fell into the trap, Horus and the Sons of Horus attacked. Horus arranged was able to get what he had wanted for many years, the opportunity to personally slay Roboute Guilliman. Horus and Roboute entered into personal combat. Each while Roboute Guilliman was a man of superb physical prowess with amazing skill in combat, he was no match for Horus who had been genetically engineered to be physically superior to any human and who had decided far more of his time to close combat than the relatively peaceful Guilliman. Horus toyed with his victim, making Guilliman's death slow and humiliating before finally striking him dead.

The survivors among Roboute's personal bodyguards managed to save his body and take it back to Maccrage where they placed it in a highly advanced stasis field, hoping that one day they could return their leader to life. To this day, his body remains in stasis in the Guilliman Shrine on Maccrage. Many people believe that when the time is right, the stasis field can be lowered and Roboute Guilliman will return to life and will take up the Emperor's mantle as leader of mankind. Until that day, the people of Maccrage venerate Roboute Guilliman and strive to uphold his ideals that have been passed down in his righting so - making the system of Ultramar unique within the Imperium, a region that respects the freedoms and right to self determination of the people.