The greatest of the Primarchs was Horus. He was the Emperor's very first creation and his most beloved. There were no equals to Horus on the battlefield and other Primarchs bowed to his strength and will. But the poison of Chaos was strong in Horus and thousands of voices whispered to him in every possible way about his strength, will and that he was more worthy than his creator to become the ruler of humanity. For a long time Horus resisted this whisper, but could not stand it, and his pride surpassed his loyalty to the Emperor. After the completion of the crusade, Horus rebelled and went to war against his creator. The greatest of humanity's warriors, the Space Marines, are divided into two warring camps. Of the twenty Legions of the Emperor, only nine remained loyal to their master, another nine sided with Horus, and two Legions were lost in the fire of war. Like the biblical wheels of fire, war rolled across the expanses of the newly created human empire. Not only did the Marines fight each other, but also the Imperial Guard and the Titan Legions participated in this war on both sides. The war lasted long and with varying success, but, in the end, Horus overcame the resistance of loyal troops, and his ships rushed to Earth, the heart of the Imperium, the abode of the Emperor. The bloodiest and most stubborn battle took place around the Imperial Palace. A radiant force of loyal Space Marines defended it and the most fanatical of the followers of Chaos rushed to its walls. In the end, seeing that he was losing, the Emperor made the only possible decision. Together with two loyal Primarchs and a squad of heavily armored Terminators, he took to Horus' battle barge to crush the heart of the rebellion. A titanic battle took place on the barge. In it, the angel-winged Sanguinius, Primarch of the Blood Angels, fell from the hand of Horus, covering his master, the Emperor. Another Primarch, Primarch of the Imperial Fists Rogal Dorn, defeated two Chaos princes from Horus's retinue in personal combat and thus covered himself with unfading glory. The duel between the Emperor and Horus ended tragically for both sides. Horus fell, struck down by the hand of the Emperor, and his last thought was the unbearable awareness of the depth and blackness of his fall. The Emperor received a mortal wound and would certainly have died if Rogal Dorn had not saved him. He carried his master's body back to the ruined Palace, where the remaining seven loyal Primarchs had gathered after driving out the demoralized and scattered Chaos forces. They bitterly mourned the inevitable death of their master. Of all the Primarchs, only Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, did not cry. His blade-sharp thought pierced the darkness of despair and brought a solution. He turned to his followers, the Iron Priests of the Space Wolves, and they, calling on the tech-priests of Mars for help, created the Golden Throne, a sarcophagus in which a stasis field supported physical life in the Emperor's body. As a powerful psyker, the Emperor could mentally communicate with his followers while in stasis. Thus the light of the Imperium was saved. From this moment on, the Golden Throne of Earth is the center of the Imperium of Man in every sense. The Emperor is the source of the power of the Astromicon, a warp beacon that allows travel through the warp without fear of daemonic traps. The Emperor, through the power of his thoughts, communicates with the current rulers of the Earth, the High Lords, who rule in the name of the Emperor and according to his word.
Imperial Cult
Thanks to Imperial Cult , millions of people across the Imperium are familiar with the name Emperor. Children glorify him in their songs and voraciously listen to legends about his life. This is the Emperor that humanity knows - the Emperor of the Imperial Cult. Such is the power of the Cult that no one even thinks of challenging the power and strength of the Emperor. The Ruler himself has not spoken or moved for ten thousand years. The truth about the life of the Emperor before he became a prisoner of the Golden Throne has already been completely redrawn by the Ecclesiarchy.
The emperor was born in Turkey in the eighth century BC. In a place surrounded by cold streams and mountains. With the awakening of the warp, humanity was completely defenseless against its energies. The Warp is an alternate universe consisting of psi energy created by the thoughts, emotions and mental activity of all living beings. Sometimes the warp is called the Sea of Souls or the Realm of Chaos.
When the universe was young, the warp was filled with the energies of primitive animals, and this energy was harmless. However, evolution developed the brains of living beings, and new thoughts generated powerful and sometimes dangerous energies. The natural energy of the warp was harmonious, but human thoughts were sometimes envious, filled with hatred and meanness. Such negative energies accumulated together in the warp, attracting each other. These energies subsequently became the Forces of Chaos that the Imperium now faces. They were created from the fears, hatred and anger of intelligent beings.
When the Emperor was young, these forces were not yet as powerful as they would be many thousands of years later. Since the emergence of primitive people, humanity has established contact with the warp. In primitive tribes, shamans and sorcerers were able to communicate with him.
As humanity evolved and grew, the malevolent energies created by humans began to dominate the warp. If the forces of nature were harmonious and kind, then human forces were unpredictable and dangerous. Power, ambition, greed, lust, and a thousand other human emotions took root in the warp and began to bear terrible fruit. Thousands of people became stronger, and the warp became less and less subservient to the shamans.
The Emperor was born in a time when the warp still flowed through all living things. The old shamans influenced the warp and led their people. But the shamans knew that in a few thousand years their knowledge would be lost and the warp would spin out of control. In addition, shamans lost the ability to reincarnate. When a shaman died, his spirit remained in the warp, looking for a suitable body for rebirth. However, now, the evil forces of the warp devoured the souls of the shamans and they could no longer be reborn.
Frightened by what was threatening the human race, all the shamans of the world gathered in one place and killed themselves, releasing their energy and then directing it into the body of the baby, who became the New Man - the Emperor.
The Emperor and the history of mankind
U Emperor there were many gifts. He could read people's thoughts. He was immortal and could not die of old age. For thirty-five thousand years the Emperor wandered the Earth, appearing in one country or another. At first he only observed people, but then he began to use his power to help humanity. He always helped people carefully, without revealing the truth about himself.
The Emperor traveled around the planet, helping people. He became either a leader or adviser, then a warrior or messiah, and sometimes even a magician or a pioneering scientist. He always stood guard over humanity, constantly helping it survive.
The Emperor and the forces of Chaos
The forces of Chaos felt the presence New Man and his efforts to reduce their powers. Even before the Chaos Gods became conscious, they recognized the Emperor as their main enemy. Khorne became the first Chaos God. His birth was marked by many wars and conflicts throughout the Earth. Tzeentch was next, and the politicians of various states began an era of deceit and duplicity. Nurgle was born third, and many diseases and infections fell upon people, claiming their lives and souls. By the end of the Middle Ages, the three Chaos Gods were fully born. The fourth force, Slaanesh, was still developing and came to life only during the Fall of the Eldar.
The New Man understood that as long as humanity is tied to the solar system, it is doomed. So the Emperor began his own research and development into interstellar warp travel.
Several hundred years before the birth of Slaanesh, the Emperor decided to take control of humanity into his own hands. He begins to create his own powerful and loyal army in order to reconquer the galaxy after the cessation of psi-storms in the warp.
Primarchs
The Emperor never underestimated the power of Chaos, so the best scientists on Earth began to work. Weapons and equipment produced in Martian factories were supposed to help people recapture their Imperium. However, the Emperor also decides to create the Primarchs: genetically engineered superhumans, like gods. The Emperor was going to create a whole race of supermen who were not subject to the influence of Chaos.
The Primarchs were supposed to become a shining example of human perfection and resistance to Chaos. The energy of uncorrupted Chaos was supposed to flow through the Primarchs, as through the Emperor himself. However, the Chaos gods learned about the Primarchs and, despite all attempts to protect them, Chaos scattered the Primarchs throughout the galaxy.
Space Marines
The Emperor lost the Primarchs and could not recreate them. The birth of Slaanesh was accompanied by powerful psionic cries, and it was approaching. The Emperor developed another plan. Using the genetic material left over from the Primarchs, the Emperor creates many advanced organs. By implanting these organs into young human bodies, it was possible to provide them with some of the abilities of the Primarchs. This is how the first ones were founded Space Marine Legions . Each Legion had genetic material inherited from its Primarch.
Great Crusade
By the time the warp storms around the solar system ended, the Space Marines, allied with the rest of the human armed forces, were ready to retake the galaxy. The forces of Chaos were also strong, and many human worlds were captured by Chaos cults or aliens. It was a terrible war, but with each conquered world the Imperium grew and received new warriors into its ranks.
During the Great Crusade, the Emperor found all of his Primarchs and they joined him. The Imperium became stronger than ever, and the forces of Chaos retreated into the Eye of Terror.
Horus Heresy
In this article we will not delve into the details of the Horus Heresy. However, let's say that at the end of this betrayal, the Emperor was almost killed. It was Horus who fought the Emperor in a hand-to-hand duel, after which he could no longer speak or move.
Golden Throne
Duel with Horus took place both in the physical and immaterial world at the same time: the souls of those who fought fought among themselves in the warp. The Emperor's body was almost destroyed, but his soul was also damaged. The forces of Chaos retreated again. Many of those who were briefly at the mercy of the Dark Gods realized their mistake and quickly returned to the side of the Imperium. The Emperor's body was brought to Earth and placed in a giant life support machine. The machine was called the Golden Throne. The Emperor's body was destroyed, but his spirit survived, and for some time he still communicated with his subjects. However, then he fell silent forever.
The Emperor's soul went into the Sea of Souls and to this day wanders there, waiting for the moment of rebirth. The forces of Chaos are unable to find His soul in order to destroy it, since the warp is huge.
Child of the Stars
Bye soul Emperor but alive in the warp, all is not lost for humanity. Just as the New Man was born many tens of thousands of years ago through the efforts of shamans, the Emperor can be reborn again. But this will not happen soon, only when the cries for salvation reach the energy of the Savior. At the same time, the Emperor's soul awaits the birth of a child into whom it could inhabit - the Star Child. Most people in the Imperium do not know the whole truth about what really happened to the Emperor. And the fact that he can be born again is unknown to most of humanity. For the rulers of the Imperium, the Emperor lives, although not in our understanding of the word.
Only a small secret sect of initiates knows the whole truth about the Emperor's rebirth; they call themselves the Illuminati. The Illuminati await the birth of the Star Child and the second coming of the Emperor. They know that throughout the Imperium they are heretics and therefore hide their actions and beliefs. They remain a hidden force in the Imperium, which, bypassing the state machine and the Inquisition, is preparing the second coming of the New Man.
Emperor
EmperorEarly history
Humanity has long known about the warp and coexisted with it. There were gifted individuals who were able to communicate with the warp and use it for various purposes - tribal healers, shamans, soothsayers and other spiritual leaders of early humanity. The spirits of these people could even float through the warp after death and be reborn in new human bodies.
However, as humanity gained knowledge, their secret desires for power and pleasure grew, and decay began. Moreover, extensive warp storms preserved entire systems from the Empire of people, many xenos took advantage of the weakening of the Empire and began to attack worlds, people could not resist this, they were torn apart by interreligious and civil wars (therefore, the Emperor would ban religion under the death penalty and, with the help of the tech-priests of Mars, gave people technology). Spiritual leaders noticed a change as their psychic gifts began to weaken and reincarnation into new bodies became more difficult. They convened a great council, at which it was decided that none of them could solve the problem alone - but perhaps together they could do it. They decided that they would give their lives to be reborn as a god of unimaginable power.
Almost a year after this advice and the subsequent suicides, a child was born - a boy who was destined to become the Immortal God Emperor of Mankind. His real name is unknown, but there are references in Warhammer 40,000 canon that he was born in the 8th millennium BC in central Anatolia.
Over the years, as the Emperor's experience and wisdom grew, he intuitively recognized the spiritual corruption caused by human behavior and set himself the goal of correcting it. He has always remained in the shadows, overseeing and directing the most significant changes in Human history and protecting the species as a whole. He bore different names at different periods of human history, sometimes taking the role of a person who became a great historical figure who guided Humanity on the true path. At other times, he remained unrecognized, continuing to lead people along the path of enlightenment and universal happiness, as far as it was in his power.
The first mention of the Emperor in the Imperial Chronicles occurs when he unites Holy Terra after the Age of Struggle (somewhere in the 29th millennium). The Emperor's use of genetically altered soldiers - proto-Astartes, prototypes of future Space Marines - allowed him to unite the people of Earth and turn his gaze to the distant stars. With the help of the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars, the Emperor equipped his Space Marines and fleets of interstellar ships to carry his armies to the far reaches of the galaxy and expand the Imperium of Man.
The Emperor created the superhuman Primarchs from his own genetic samples, and from their templates the Space Marine Legions were subsequently created. But Chaos stole the Primarchs, and they were scattered across human-inhabited worlds - throughout the Imperium - from the laboratory beneath the Himalayan Mountains where the Emperor had created them.
Emperor
Emperor Great Crusade
The Emperor developed a plan to save humanity: to unite the scattered planets of people scattered throughout the galaxy and isolated from each other in the Age of Struggle. During the early years of the Great Crusade, the Emperor was at the forefront of battle, leading his genetically enhanced soldiers into battle. With the rediscovery of the worlds and their incorporation into the Imperium, the Emperor found the lost Primarchs, whose genetic samples were used to stabilize the process of creating the Space Marines.
After the Triumph on Ullanor, the Emperor returned to the underground laboratories on Earth to continue working on secret projects, including mapping the Webway, the entrance to which he found in his palace in Tibet. He left his loyal "sons", the primarchs, to continue the Crusade, giving the best of them, Horus, the title of Warmaster. He deliberately did not explain to anyone, not even Horus, what he planned to do after returning to Terra; this sowed the first seeds of misunderstanding that would later lead to the Horus Heresy.
Emperor
Emperor Horus Heresy
The Great Crusade ended with the events of the Horus Heresy, when Horus rebelled against the Emperor. Under Horus, nine Space Marine Legions and many Imperial Guard regiments turned to the service of Chaos and unleashed a galactic civil war.
Even as Horus's armies laid siege to Terra, the Emperor still believed that Horus could redeem himself, and he maintained this belief when he faced Horus one-on-one aboard his battle barge. Due to his reluctance to use his full power against his own son, the Emperor suffered horrific injuries at the hands of Horus. As Horus stood over the Emperor's mangled body, a Custodian entered the control room. Horus tore him apart with one blow. The death of the Custodes sobered the Emperor. He saw how far Horus had fallen and that there was only one way to end Chaos - to kill his pawn, his beloved son. The Emperor summoned a psychic spear of unimaginable power and launched it at Horus. As the Chaos gods abandoned their dying puppet, the Emperor felt Horus's sanity return. He knew that Chaos would try to get Horus again, and he might not be there to prevent it. Having banished all compassion from his mind, the Emperor called upon his inner reserves and destroyed the Warmaster.
Emperor
Emperor Present tense
The Emperor's mangled body was found by Rogal Dorn, who, following the Emperor's instructions, supervised the Emperor's connection to the Golden Throne, a technical device to sustain his spirit. The Emperor has remained imprisoned in the Golden Throne since that day, neither fully alive nor fully dead. Originally intended by the Emperor to be the central hub of the webway's colonization project, the Golden Throne can also function as a gigantic life-sustaining device. The Golden Throne itself lies within the Sanctum Imperialis, guarded by the Emperor's Custodian Guard, also known as the Adeptus Custodes. The Emperor's physical body is preserved and his vital functions are supported by the intricate machinery of the Throne.
The Golden Throne is also connected to a powerful psychic warp beacon known as the Astronomicon, which generates signals that enable FTL travel within the Imperium, as it serves as a psychic beacon that navigators and astropaths can navigate to. The Emperor himself controls the signal, dubbed the Ray of Hope and the Golden Path, but the bulk of its power is provided by a chorus of ten thousand human psykers. The life force of such psykers runs out in a matter of months, meaning that replacements must be constantly sought out and transported to Terra aboard the famous Black Ships of the Inquisition.
According to the latest edition of the rules of the board game, in 986.999.M41, according to the Imperial calculation, the Adeptus Mechanicus discovered problems in the operation of the Golden Throne, which they could not fix.
After the Fall of the Eldar, for nearly 5,000 years the galaxy was shaken by the mighty tides of the Warp. Human colonies fought with demons, eldar, orcs, gene stealers and other evil spirits, defending their right to exist. Earth, isolated from the rest of space by warp storms, existed on its own, without influence on other human worlds. Technology was in decline, and the only guardians of the knowledge of the Golden Age remained the tech-priests of Mars, who worshiped the Machine God. It was at this time that a man was born on Earth who was to change the face of the galaxy for the next 10,000 years. No one now remembers his real name, everyone knows him under the name Emperor. His childhood, youth and even maturity are also shrouded in the darkness of the unknown. For the first time, he became something more than just a man when he came with his supporters to the capital of one of the many states of the Earth and conquered the entire state in one night, crushing an army of thousands with the strength of just less than a hundred soldiers. Having become a ruler, he began to systematically conquer the earth until he became the sole ruler of the cradle of humanity. The Emperor's backbone and the main strength of his army were the first Space Marines, genetically enhanced human warriors. The space marines created by the Emperor were inhumanly strong, agile, tenacious and fast, by an order of magnitude, surpassing the capabilities of a common man and fighting on equal terms even with demons. But in addition to the talent of a scientist and geneticist, the Emperor was also a psyker, the strongest that the human race has ever produced. By the time the Emperor conquered Earth, warp storms in the galaxy had begun to subside and eventually ceased altogether, making interstellar travel possible again. Who knows, maybe the will of the Emperor did this. Having conquered the Earth, the Emperor began preparing for the Great Crusade into the galaxy with the goal of uniting humanity again, and together confronting the threat of chaos and aliens. For this, the Emperor created twenty superhumans, the Primarchs, who were destined for the role of leaders and commanders in the future crusade. The Emperor's actions could not fail to attract the attention of humanity's greatest enemy, Chaos. The Chaos Gods sent their faithful servants to the earth, the winds of the warp, and they, swirling the Earth in a wild storm, stole incubators with unborn Primarchs and scattered them throughout the galaxy. The touch of the will of the Chaos gods poisoned the Primarchs and confused the Emperor's plans to create ideal people. Primarchs were born in different parts of the galaxy, and each of them had a flaw. One of them was born one-eyed like a Cyclops, the other received the wings of an angel, and some, without physical disabilities, carried the poison of Chaos, which sharpened their will and strength from the inside. However, the Emperor, having started the Great Crusade, eventually returned all the Primarchs to himself, and they, recognizing the Emperor as creator and master, faithfully served him in the field of the great war.
The greatest of the Primarchs was Horus. He was the Emperor's very first creation and his most beloved. There were no equals to Horus on the battlefield and other Primarchs bowed to his strength and will. But the poison of Chaos was strong in Horus and thousands of voices whispered to him in every possible way about his strength, will and that he was more worthy than his creator to become the ruler of humanity. For a long time Horus resisted this whisper, but could not stand it, and his pride surpassed his loyalty to the Emperor. After the completion of the crusade, Horus rebelled and went to war against his creator. The greatest of humanity's warriors, the Space Marines, are divided into two warring camps. Of the twenty Legions of the Emperor, only nine remained loyal to their master, another nine sided with Horus, and two Legions were lost in the fire of war. Like the biblical wheels of fire, war rolled across the expanses of the newly created human empire. Not only did the Marines fight each other, but also the Imperial Guard and the Titan Legions participated in this war on both sides. The war lasted long and with varying success, but, in the end, Horus overcame the resistance of loyal troops, and his ships rushed to Earth, the heart of the Imperium, the abode of the Emperor. The bloodiest and most stubborn battle took place around the Imperial Palace. A radiant force of loyal Space Marines defended it and the most fanatical of the followers of Chaos rushed to its walls. In the end, seeing that he was losing, the Emperor made the only possible decision. Together with two loyal Primarchs and a squad of heavily armored Terminators, he took to Horus' battle barge to crush the heart of the rebellion. A titanic battle took place on the barge. In it, the angel-winged Sanguinius, Primarch of the Blood Angels, fell from the hand of Horus, covering his master, the Emperor. Another Primarch, Primarch of the Imperial Fists Rogal Dorn, defeated two Chaos princes from Horus's retinue in personal combat and thus covered himself with unfading glory. The duel between the Emperor and Horus ended tragically for both sides. Horus fell, struck down by the hand of the Emperor, and his last thought was the unbearable awareness of the depth and blackness of his fall. The Emperor received a mortal wound and would certainly have died if Rogal Dorn had not saved him. He carried his master's body back to the ruined Palace, where the remaining seven loyal Primarchs had gathered after driving out the demoralized and scattered Chaos forces. They bitterly mourned the inevitable death of their master. Of all the Primarchs, only Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, did not cry. His blade-sharp thought pierced the darkness of despair and brought a solution. He turned to his followers, the Iron Priests of the Space Wolves, and they, calling on the tech-priests of Mars for help, created the Golden Throne, a sarcophagus in which a stasis field supported physical life in the Emperor's body. As a powerful psyker, the Emperor could mentally communicate with his followers while in stasis. Thus the light of the Imperium was saved. From this moment on, the Golden Throne of Earth is the center of the Imperium of Man in every sense. The Emperor is the source of the power of the Astromicon, a warp beacon that allows travel through the warp without fear of daemonic traps. The Emperor, through the power of his thoughts, communicates with the current rulers of the Earth, the High Lords, who rule in the name of the Emperor and according to his word.
Imperial Cult
Thanks to the Imperial Cult, millions of people across the Imperium are familiar with the name Emperor. Children glorify him in their songs and voraciously listen to legends about his life. This is the Emperor that humanity knows - the Emperor of the Imperial Cult. Such is the power of the Cult that no one even thinks of challenging the power and strength of the Emperor. The Ruler himself has not spoken or moved for ten thousand years. The truth about the life of the Emperor before he became a prisoner of the Golden Throne has already been completely redrawn by the Ecclesiarchy.
The emperor was born in Turkey in the eighth century BC. In a place surrounded by cold streams and mountains. With the awakening of the warp, humanity was completely defenseless against its energies. The Warp is an alternate universe consisting of psi energy created by the thoughts, emotions and mental activity of all living beings. Sometimes the warp is called the Sea of Souls or the Realm of Chaos.
When the universe was young, the warp was filled with the energies of primitive animals, and this energy was harmless. However, evolution developed the brains of living beings, and new thoughts generated powerful and sometimes dangerous energies. The natural energy of the warp was harmonious, but human thoughts were sometimes envious, filled with hatred and meanness. Such negative energies accumulated together in the warp, attracting each other. These energies subsequently became the Forces of Chaos that the Imperium now faces. They were created from the fears, hatred and anger of intelligent beings.
When the Emperor was young, these forces were not yet as powerful as they would be many thousands of years later. Since the emergence of primitive people, humanity has established contact with the warp. In primitive tribes, shamans and sorcerers were able to communicate with him.
As humanity evolved and grew, the malevolent energies created by humans began to dominate the warp. If the forces of nature were harmonious and kind, then human forces were unpredictable and dangerous. Power, ambition, greed, lust, and a thousand other human emotions took root in the warp and began to bear terrible fruit. Thousands of people became stronger, and the warp became less and less subservient to the shamans.
The Emperor was born in a time when the warp still flowed through all living things. The old shamans influenced the warp and led their people. But the shamans knew that in a few thousand years their knowledge would be lost and the warp would spin out of control. In addition, shamans lost the ability to reincarnate. When a shaman died, his spirit remained in the warp, looking for a suitable body for rebirth. However, now, the evil forces of the warp devoured the souls of the shamans and they could no longer be reborn.
Frightened by what was threatening the human race, all the shamans of the world gathered in one place and killed themselves, releasing their energy and then directing it into the body of the baby, who became the New Man - the Emperor.
The Emperor and the history of mankind
The Emperor had many gifts. He could read people's thoughts. He was immortal and could not die of old age. For thirty-five thousand years the Emperor wandered the Earth, appearing in one country or another. At first he only observed people, but then he began to use his power to help humanity. He always helped people carefully, without revealing the truth about himself.
The Emperor traveled around the planet, helping people. He became either a leader or adviser, then a warrior or messiah, and sometimes even a magician or a pioneering scientist. He always stood guard over humanity, constantly helping it survive.
The Emperor and the forces of Chaos
The Forces of Chaos sensed the presence of the New Man and his efforts to reduce their powers. Even before the Chaos Gods became conscious, they recognized the Emperor as their main enemy. Khorne became the first Chaos God. His birth was marked by many wars and conflicts throughout the Earth. Tzeentch was next, and the politicians of various states began an era of deceit and duplicity. Nurgle was born third, and many diseases and infections fell upon people, claiming their lives and souls. By the end of the Middle Ages, the three Chaos Gods were fully born. The fourth force, Slaanesh, was still developing and came to life only during the Fall of the Eldar.
The New Man understood that as long as humanity is tied to the solar system, it is doomed. So the Emperor began his own research and development into interstellar warp travel.
Several hundred years before the birth of Slaanesh, the Emperor decided to take control of humanity into his own hands. He begins to create his own powerful and loyal army in order to reconquer the galaxy after the cessation of psi-storms in the warp.
Primarchs
The Emperor never underestimated the power of Chaos, so the best scientists on Earth began to work. Weapons and equipment produced in Martian factories were supposed to help people recapture their Imperium. However, the Emperor also decides to create the Primarchs: genetically engineered superhumans, like gods. The Emperor was going to create a whole race of supermen who were not subject to the influence of Chaos.
The Primarchs were supposed to become a shining example of human perfection and resistance to Chaos. The energy of uncorrupted Chaos was supposed to flow through the Primarchs, as through the Emperor himself. However, the Chaos gods learned about the Primarchs and, despite all attempts to protect them, Chaos scattered the Primarchs throughout the galaxy.
Space Marines
The Emperor lost the Primarchs and could not recreate them. The birth of Slaanesh was accompanied by powerful psionic cries, and it was approaching. The Emperor developed another plan. Using the genetic material left over from the Primarchs, the Emperor creates many advanced organs. By implanting these organs into young human bodies, it was possible to provide them with some of the abilities of the Primarchs. Thus the first Space Marine Legions were founded. Each Legion had genetic material inherited from its Primarch.
Great Crusade
By the time the warp storms around the solar system ended, the Space Marines, allied with the rest of the human armed forces, were ready to retake the galaxy. The forces of Chaos were also strong, and many human worlds were captured by Chaos cults or aliens. It was a terrible war, but with each conquered world the Imperium grew and received new warriors into its ranks.
During the Great Crusade, the Emperor found all of his Primarchs and they joined him. The Imperium became stronger than ever, and the forces of Chaos retreated into the Eye of Terror.
Horus Heresy
In this article we will not delve into the details of the Horus Heresy. However, let's say that at the end of this betrayal, the Emperor was almost killed. It was Horus who fought the Emperor in a hand-to-hand duel, after which he could no longer speak or move.
Golden Throne
The duel with Horus took place both in the physical and in the immaterial world at the same time: the souls of the combatants fought among themselves in the warp. The Emperor's body was almost destroyed, but his soul was also damaged. The forces of Chaos retreated again. Many of those who were briefly at the mercy of the Dark Gods realized their mistake and quickly returned to the side of the Imperium. The Emperor's body was brought to Earth and placed in a giant life support machine. The machine was called the Golden Throne. The Emperor's body was destroyed, but his spirit survived, and for some time he still communicated with his subjects. However, then he fell silent forever.
The Emperor's soul went into the Sea of Souls and to this day wanders there, waiting for the moment of rebirth. The forces of Chaos are unable to find His soul in order to destroy it, since the warp is huge.
Child of the Stars
As long as the Emperor's soul lives in the warp, all is not lost for humanity. Just as the New Man was born many tens of thousands of years ago through the efforts of shamans, the Emperor can be reborn again. But this will not happen soon, only when the cries for salvation reach the energy of the Savior. At the same time, the Emperor's soul awaits the birth of a child into whom it could inhabit - the Star Child. Most people in the Imperium do not know the whole truth about what really happened to the Emperor. And the fact that he can be born again is unknown to most of humanity. For the rulers of the Imperium, the Emperor lives, although not in our understanding of the word.
Only a small secret sect of initiates knows the whole truth about the Emperor's rebirth; they call themselves the Illuminati. The Illuminati await the birth of the Star Child and the second coming of the Emperor. They know that throughout the Imperium they are heretics and therefore hide their actions and beliefs. They remain a hidden force in the Imperium, which, bypassing the state machine and the Inquisition, is preparing the second coming of the New Man.
Nobody knows his name or exact date of birth. Friends and enemies call him the same - Emperor. Someone is a half-corpse on the throne, but respect and fear are always present when he is mentioned. If we can talk about the supremacy of the role of the individual in history, then this is fully true for the Emperor. To unite Terra, to create the Imperium, to prevent the destruction of civilization at the cost of one's own life before the united forces of Chaos, and even after that to play a major role in the destinies of many sentient beings - all these deeds are worthy of only one thing. Emperor.
Birth of the Emperor, the path to the unification of Terra
Since ancient times, humanity has known about the existence of the reverse side of our reality. Of course, in those days no one gave it the name warp or Ocean of Souls, but many gifted prophets, shamans and oracles could operate with the forces of this seamy world. From generation to generation, for many thousands of years, they passed through in order to be reborn again in a human body and continue their work. However, as the number of sentients increased, the flows of their emotions began to influence the warp more and more seriously.
The divine gift of foresight and the possibility of reincarnation began to weaken, so that soon all gifted people faced a real threat of dying completely. They were not cowards - they were not afraid of Death. And they were not individualists - everyone understood that if a solution could not be found alone, then perhaps by uniting they could find a way out of the current situation. At the Great Council, a unique decision was made - to unite all the souls of the bearers of the Gift in the body of one baby. And all of them, as one, gave their lives so that somewhere on Earth (not even Terra at that time) the Emperor would be born. A future that will lead people to glorious victories and force the Galaxy to reckon with a new young race.
Almost nothing is known about the Emperor's life during the Dark Age of Technology. However, there is an opinion that it was he, in the role of another genius or prophet, who gave humanity another discovery, or with his predictions saved him from imminent death. But in any case, his role in those days was more observational than creative. Everything changed during the Age of Strife - communication with all the colonies was lost, humanity lost the ability to make interstellar flights, and even the dominant role of Terra as the main planet of the solar system was forgotten. The rulers of Mars and the Moon paid less and less attention to the orders that came from their former homeland. And on the planet itself, things were not going well - divided into many states constantly at war with each other, Terra became a world ruled by anarchy and fear. Chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons accumulated over many centuries were used so widely that life on the planet itself became questionable. For 25 long centuries this madness raged, and when the end was near, the Emperor ceased to play the role of observer.
In laboratories hidden deep underground, genetically improved soldiers were created - Thunder Warriors. The distant ancestors of the space marines, it was they who became for the Emperor the force with which he wanted, could, and subsequently united Terra into one state. The emperor did not adhere to a policy of genocide regarding his enemies - many former opponents gladly stood under his banner, not out of fear, but out of conscience. People were tired of living in fear and chaos, they wanted banal order and at least relative stability - and the Emperor gave them this opportunity. Very soon, Terra was united and became the cradle of those who would later be called primarchs...
The formation of the Imperium and the difficult fate of the primarchs
After the unification of Terra, the Emperor turned his attention to Mars, which was already under the complete control of the Cult Mechanicus. The meeting with the tech-priests who worshiped the Machine God ended to the mutual satisfaction of both parties. The Imperial army and Astartes warriors received at their disposal weapons, ground and air combat units, as well as the required number of spaceships. In turn, Mars (and subsequently the other forge worlds) received complete autonomy relative to the unified government of the Human Empire. The first union of the two planets was the first step towards what, many centuries later, would be called the empire of people.
Realizing that, despite the valor of the Astartes soldiers and the latest technology from Mars, he could not cope with the unification of humanity alone, the Emperor took a decisive step. In a genetic laboratory under the Imperial Palace in the Himalayas, he created twenty super-soldiers using his own DNA. In their physical and mental capabilities, they were superior to Astartes warriors as much as they are superior to ordinary people. Primarchs, flesh of the flesh and blood of the Emperor's blood, they bore the names of the Sons for a reason. It was with them that the Emperor of Mankind planned to begin his Great Crusade and unite the young race under one banner. But other forces intervened...
Existence in the Warhammer universe has been known to the Emperor since ancient times. The end of the Dark Age of Technology and the birth of Slaanesh were links in one chain, but the rest of the gods of the Great Four had already finally awakened (realized themselves) at that time. It remains to be seen why appropriate measures were not taken to protect the young primarchs, but what happened happened. During the influence of the forces of Chaos, capsules with young demigods were scattered throughout the Galaxy. And each of them was touched by the hand of the Ocean of Souls, leaving an indelible mark. Subsequently, some will be able to completely overcome it, while for others this test will prove fatal. But all this is a matter of the distant future, and for now the Emperor has an additional goal - not only to unite humanity, but also to find his lost Sons. Thus began the Great Crusade...
Great Crusade and Horus Heresy
Failures stop only the weak, and in those days few would have dared to call the Emperor a weakling. The Great Crusade was launched by him alone and gradually, planet after planet joined the Imperium. Almost immediately, the first primarch was found - Horus. He became the Emperor's right hand, his most loyal and devoted follower and an outstanding military leader. The last of the primarchs, Alpharius, was found many decades later. It cannot be said that all the Lost Sons happily accepted their reappearing father, but the purpose he showed them was captivating and they truly understood the need for the Crusade. For two hundred years, the Imperium grew, but gradually the military component began to interest the Emperor less and less. The Luna Wolves' victory at Ullanor led to him granting Horus the title of Warmaster and appointing him as the new leader of the campaign. The decision was made by the primarchs in a completely ambiguous manner. Some rejoiced at the appointment of the most worthy, others openly expressed dissatisfaction or envy - it is one thing to follow the orders of your father and quite another thing to follow your brother, who is your equal in almost everything. Thus the first seed of discord was sown, which many years later would bear its dark fruits.
It must be said that Horus, like himself, coped superbly with the role of leader of the Great Crusade. However, the comparison with his father was not in vain - he sought to surpass the Emperor in glory and opened his soul to envy. Too honest, straightforward and vain - he became an easy prey for the forces of Chaos. And the rebellion against the will of the Emperor did not take long to happen. Following the primarch, almost his entire Legion went over to the side of Chaos, and soon almost half of all Space Marine Legions joined the apostates. The Great Crusade reversed its direction and now Terra was its new goal. Attempts to stop the renegades failed one after another, the decisive battle took place in the orbit of Terra. One of the strongest primarchs, tried to reason with Horus, but fell, so the Emperor himself had to join the battle. In a fierce duel, Horus was defeated, and the troops of Chaos, having lost centralized control, retreated to the Eye of Terror. But the price of victory turned out to be too high - the Emperor received injuries that were incompatible with life, and only a unique life support system, called the Golden Throne, made it possible to keep the ruler of the Imperium on the border of two worlds. And today he continues to dictate his will, being between life and death, and loyal guards from among the Custodians protect his peace...
Current state of affairs in the Galaxy
Initially, no one considered the Emperor a god, and he himself repeatedly spoke out about his purpose in general and religion in particular. Perhaps by this the Emperor wanted to neutralize the power of the Chaos Gods, who even during the Great Crusade posed a serious threat. This idea seemed very tempting - to deprive the Dark Four of power at the cost of refusing to recognize their own divine essence. Perhaps, if the Emperor had been in good health, his plan would have been successful to the end, but many of his plans were disrupted. And people gradually began to turn in prayer to the one who sits on the Golden Throne. Years will pass and the prayer for the fallen - “May your soul be covered with light, may the Emperor receive you” - will become known to every person in the Imperium. So the Emperor became God Emperor, which gave many strength and new hope.
When talking about the God Emperor and the Golden Throne, one cannot fail to mention the Astronomicon. The greatest beacon that allows humanity to travel safely through the warp, the Ray of Hope or the Golden Path - it has many names. Direct control of the lighthouse is carried out by the Emperor, but even he is unable to maintain the work of the Astronomicon alone. Several tens of thousands of psykers, sentenced to death for heresy or treason, create a chorus of voices that is heard by every Navigator in the Ocean of Souls. Part of their energy also supports the Emperor himself. A mere mortal shell does not last long - the average lifespan of an ordinary psyker is measured in several months. So from all over the Imperium, the black ships of the Inquisition bring new doomed ones - at the cost of their lives they support the Ray of Hope.
We should also not forget that the Golden Throne is essentially not so much a classical life support system as an ancient artifact. And in the last year of the 987th century of the M41 era, malfunctions were discovered in his work, which to this day cannot be resolved by the smartest of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Will the cessation of the Golden Throne be the final death of the God Emperor, or will he incarnate as a new deity for humanity? No one can answer this question, but many think that the wait is not so long...
The greatest of warriors, the founder of the Imperium and the creator of the primarchs, the leader under whose banner all of humanity united. A lot can be said about the role that the Emperor played in history. About the current state of affairs - no less. Emperor Warhammer- these two words cannot exist without each other and, pronouncing one, we certainly imagine the other. Leading the civilization of people through the stars, he was not able to appreciate the full power of Chaos until the very end, but at the cost of his life he managed to give humanity another chance. We will hear his will more than once, which will spread from the Golden Throne throughout the Galaxy...
For faith!
Religions Warhammer 40000
Civilization can only flourish when the last stone of the last temple falls on the head of the last priest.
Attributed to the Emperor
Warhammer 40,000 holds a special place among fantasy worlds. Few fictional universes are so eclectic, with so many borrowings from so many different sources and such a pervasive mix of eras. And, perhaps, nowhere else is it possible to imagine global battles that engulf entire systems in fire, and thousand-year-old sacred campaigns. And, despite the fact that the action takes place in the 41st century, religion remains one of the pillars of the “Hammer of War” universe, playing a role here that is unprecedentedly important for the fantasy world. And we are not just talking about exotic cults of alien races - an intricate system of beliefs covers almost every intelligent being in the known universe. Let's understand the religious intricacies of Warhammer 40,000.
God Emperor
The history of the divine patron of humanity begins in the eighth millennium BC. In those primitive times, when our ancestors were just learning to cultivate the land and build houses, shamans were already guarding their spiritual interests. They knew about the existence of the Warp, or Immaterium - a subspace where the forces of Chaos reigned supreme. Worried about the strengthening of this destructive element, the shamans performed a suicide ritual, merging together all the power available to them. A year later, this power was embodied in the future Emperor - a boy born into the most ordinary Anatolian family.
For many millennia, the Emperor, remaining behind the scenes, with light movements directed the history of mankind in the right direction. Epochs succeeded eras, people mastered new technologies and settled throughout space - until two events, a rebellion of machines and a severe storm in the warp, brought the human race to the brink of extinction. The Age of Strife began: many colonized planets became depopulated, Terra slipped into the abyss of technobarbarism, and the remnants of the former civilization remained only on Mars. Around the 30th millennium, the Emperor emerged from the shadows, unified Terra with an iron fist and began the Great Crusade, designed to bring all human colonies under his rule. To this end, he created genetically improved space marines, and placed powerful primarchs at their head.
It must be said that the Emperor was a convinced atheist and had an extremely negative attitude towards manifestations of religiosity. Instead of sacred texts, he gave humanity Imperial Truths, which were based on scientific knowledge and logic - a kind of enlightened absolutism. Moreover, the Emperor generally denied the existence of gods, despite the fact that he knew for sure about the patrons of Chaos and other cosmic races. He made the only exception for the Martian cult of the Machine God, and as a reciprocal gesture, the tech-priests proclaimed the Emperor an avatar of their supreme deity.
The Emperor's blind faith in the triumph of reason played a bad joke on the Great March. Being familiar firsthand with the Immaterium and the demons that inhabited it, the leader of humanity did not make any efforts to protect his associates from the bad influence of Chaos. Faced with the manifestation of frankly supernatural entities, the paratroopers tried to explain them from a materialistic point of view, according to which there were only three forces in the universe - light, gravity and human thought. It didn’t work out very well, as evidenced by the sharply increased losses of personnel. The subsequent story was tragic: the first deputy of the Emperor, primarch Horus (actually Horus, named after the Egyptian god) went over to the side of Chaos, turned his bayonets against yesterday’s comrades and, as a result, almost captured Holy Terra. The Emperor suppressed the rebellion and killed Horus, but at the same time received injuries incompatible with life, after which he fell into a coma and was placed in a special sarcophagus - the Golden Throne. From this moment the story of the Emperor ends - and the story of God begins.
Light from Terra
The first cults deifying the Emperor appeared during his lifetime. Impressed by the indestructible military machine of the Great March, people on the newly annexed planets came up with a variety of ways to worship the new messiah. For approximately two thousand years after the Emperor's imprisonment in the Golden Throne, many such sects existed, but eventually the Church of the Savior-Emperor gathered the majority of followers. Under the name of the Adeptus Ministorum, or Ecclesiarchy, it became the official religion of the Imperium of Man. At first, the importance of the Adeptus Ministorum was so great that its head, the Ecclesiarch, actually played the role of the supreme ruler of humanity, occupying a special place among the High Lords of Terra. In the 36th millennium, this resulted in the Age of Apostasy, when Ecclesiarch Goj Vandire usurped all power in the Imperium. The tyrant was defeated, but after this the church was significantly reformed.
To imagine the Ecclesiarchy, multiply any modern worldwide church by tens of thousands of planets occupied by humanity. Like every organization of the Imperium, it is a huge, unwieldy structure with a clear and at the same time confusing hierarchy. In addition, the church here has closely merged with the state: “on the ground” the Adeptus Ministorum performs both religious and administrative functions. The Ecclesiarchy builds huge cathedrals, has a pantheon of saints, and encourages and organizes pilgrimages. The governing bodies of the church are located on Holy Terra (Holy Synod) and the planet Ophelia VII (Synod of the Minister). In addition, the so-called Church worlds are subordinate to it, where particularly significant relics are located, and the number of temples and priests per unit area goes beyond all reasonable limits.
Of course, the trillions of followers of the God Emperor Cult cannot believe in him equally. Realizing this, the Ecclesiarchy turns a blind eye to the numerous sects that have proliferated throughout the galaxy - until they begin to too decisively fall out of the bosom of the church. Each such sect has its own “fads”: the Lucids revere asceticism, the Calendites believe that the Emperor has always had a divine status, the imperialists are particularly xenophobic, the Thorians believe in the impending resurrection of the Emperor, etc.
The secret society of the Illuminati also expects the “second coming”, but adheres to a slightly different ideology. This sect includes strong-willed individuals who were once possessed by the demons of Chaos, but managed to free themselves from their power. The Illuminati believe that the Emperor’s soul is gradually flowing out of our world into the warp, and when this process ends, it will be possible to repeat what the shamans did in the 8th millennium BC. To do this, the Illuminati are going to sacrifice the so-called sensei, in whom particles of the Emperor’s power are embodied. The Ecclesiarchy and the Inquisition consider the Illuminati to be apostates, but this secret society has supporters in all government agencies of the Imperium.
As for the actual foundations of belief in the God-Emperor, we know much less about them than about the external manifestations of this religion. It is believed that after self-sacrifice in the battle with Horus, the Emperor not only remained alive (albeit only thanks to the support of the Golden Throne), but also acquired the qualities of a god of a monotheistic religion - such as omnipresence or omniscience. Not only does he continue to rule the Imperium through his loyal servants, but he also maintains the Astronomicon, a subspace beacon that gives humans the ability to travel in the warp. This, however, consumes the vital forces of thousands of psychic psykers, who are regularly brought from all the planets of the Imperium by the black ships of the Inquisition.
In the theology of the cult of the God-Emperor, Christian motives can be traced with the naked eye. The Emperor and his self-sacrifice are a reference to Jesus Christ. The primarchs are seen as apostles, and their damage by Chaos is the original sin. Horus can be considered both Lucifer and Judas. The ritual component of the Adeptus Ministorum is modeled after the Catholic Church: masses, litanies, confessions, saints and martyrs, titles of officials, Latin as a sacred language... At the same time, the Imperium itself is more similar to Orthodox Byzantium - both in structure and symbolism (double-headed eagle -aquile).
Chain Fists of Good
The Inquisition is an organization even more venerable than the Adeptus Ministorum. It was founded either by the last will of the Emperor before his imprisonment in the Golden Throne, or even during the Great March. The Inquisitors are not subordinate to the Ecclesiarchy: their representative is among the High Lords of Terra on a par with the head of the church. Unlike its historical namesake, the Inquisition of the 41st millennium is the real secret police of the Imperium: in addition to protecting the faith, it is engaged in intelligence and counterintelligence, scientific research, the fight against corruption and especially dangerous criminal groups. Inquisitors have superior physical and mental training, almost unlimited powers and the right to sentence entire planets to destruction. If necessary, they can demand the help of almost any citizen of the Imperium, including the freedom-loving Space Marines.
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Organizationally, the Inquisition is divided into orders, and ideologically into two main schools, Puritans and Radicals. The first adhere to traditional and straightforward methods; any deviations from the imperial doctrine are unthinkable for them. The latter believe that the end always justifies the means, and it is permissible to fight the creatures of Chaos with their own weapons. Some radicals were even caught practicing witchcraft. Within both schools there are smaller factions, relations between which can also be strained, to put it mildly.
The ranks of the witch hunters include both the Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus and the Sisters of Battle. |
They have gone even further from the historical prototype - the female monastic orders - the Adepta Sororitas unit, otherwise called the Sisters of Battle. After the Age of Apostasy, the church was prohibited from maintaining an army - but the corresponding decree spoke of "armed men" and made no mention of women. Taking advantage of this loophole, the Ecclesiarch transformed the order of the Emperor's Daughters into a kind of "women's battalions". Their ranks began to be filled with orphans whose parents had died in the service of the Imperium. Despite the fact that the Sisters of Battle from military orders are not inferior to Space Marines in combat effectiveness, they have to fight much less often. Their main purpose is to guard the remote missions of the Ecclesiarchy and protect the Church worlds. The Space Amazons are subordinate to both the Adeptus Ministorum and the Ordo Hereticus.
The Adeptus Astartes, or Space Marine Chapters, are a sort of “state within a state.” Marines obey no one except their military leaders (although they may cooperate with other organizations), they have their own fleets, their own military bases and their own beliefs. Space Marine cults vary from chapter to chapter. Some worship the Emperor as a god, others as an ideal superman. Often the specifics of the religion depend on the conditions in which the landing force was born: for example, the beliefs of the Space Wolves, whose history began on a cold, snowy planet, have much in common with the Scandinavian religions. Paratrooper chaplains are a cross between a regimental priest and a political instructor - in battle they set a living example of courage to the soldiers, and between battles they conduct services and make sure that none of their charges stray from the true path.
Tech-Priest. |
In the early editions of Warhammer 40,000, there was a breakaway race of squats - dwarfs who populated planets with high gravity. Recognizing the Emperor's preeminent place among men, these space gnomes practiced ancestor cult. In order to join the prosperous spirits of their ancestors after death, a squat had to lead an honest life, avoiding serious sins like murder. The Squats were almost completely wiped out by the Tyranid invasion.
The Adeptus Mechanicus, the techno-civilization of Mars, also enjoys broad autonomy within the Imperium. The Martians and the inhabitants of the forge worlds subordinate to them revere the God-Machine - not a person, but a force spread throughout the universe and controlling technology and knowledge. It is believed that in every mechanical device there is a piece of the God-Machine, therefore, for the smooth operation of the equipment, it is necessary to give it due honors. The Mechanicus carefully study devices left over from the time before the Age of Strife, thus accumulating knowledge that brings them closer to the Machine God. The value of a person is determined by the amount of knowledge he has accumulated; the physical body is considered a biomachine, which can be improved with cyber implants. At the head of the multi-level hierarchy of the Mechanicus is the Fabricator General of Mars, who also holds a seat on the high council of the Imperium. The most honorable obedience for followers of the Machine God is to control the giant fighting robots Titans. The Adeptus Mechanicus also has its own sects, which differ, for example, in their attitude towards alien technology.
Human religions of 41 millennia have at least two things in common. Firstly, every cult of the Imperium places a special place on the personality of the Emperor. Secondly, all these religions are totalitarian: they demand absolute submission, rigidly determine the position of each “cog” and provide minimal space for free thought. Only such humanity can withstand endless blows from the outside. Let's see what the aliens can do against him.
Religare Xenos
The original enemy of humanity is Chaos, represented primarily by the inhabitants of the Immaterium. The most powerful entities living here are considered the gods of Chaos. There are four main ones: Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle and Slaanesh. According to one theory, Chaos serves as a kind of reflection of the real world, and the prevailing moods in the galaxy materialize in the form of its gods. For example, the reason for the birth of Slaanesh was the decline of the Eldar civilization, mired in hedonism and perverted pleasures. It is possible that someday the galaxy will change, and the Chaos gods will be associated with such qualities as honor, sacrifice or justice. In the meantime, Khorne is responsible for war and hatred, Tzeentch patronizes deception and change, Nurgle deals with disease and decay, and Slaanesh - excesses and perversions. Some followers of Chaos choose one of these gods, others revere Chaos Indivisible.
There are other Chaos Gods, such as the rogue patron of destruction Malal or the shadow lord Sarr'Kell. Three more minor gods - En'sl, Mu'rkk and Fraz-Etar - are named "in honor" of Warhammer 40,000 co-creator Brian Ansell, science fiction writer Michael Moorcock and artist Frank Frazetta.
The ideology of Chaos is simple - do whatever you want, without constraining yourself by any laws, but at the same time not forgetting your duties to your demonic patrons. Almost anyone can fall under the influence of the dark forces of the Warp, but the most successful in this field are Humans (including Chaos Space Marines) and the Eldar. The Chaos do not have any clear system of worshiping their deities, and the descriptions of their rituals known to us are clearly based on Satanic “black masses”. A kind of hierarchy within the followers of Chaos can be the mutations to which the gods subject their favorites. And the most devoted ones become demon princes - practically immortal, incredibly powerful and completely inhuman creatures.
Chaos not only penetrates the Imperium from the outside, but also corrodes it from the inside. It is the corrupting influence of Chaos that explains the emergence of numerous heretical sects - and, despite the efforts of the Ordo Hereticus, they do not cease to multiply throughout the galaxy. After all, in order to succumb to temptation, you don’t need to fly to the ends of the earth - it’s enough to give free rein to your base desires. Once you take a tiny step along the road of Chaos, it will become almost impossible to get off it.
As a result of the fall of the “space elves” of the Eldar, not only did the new Chaos god Slaanesh appear, but almost all the deities of the considerable pantheon of this race were destroyed. The only survivors were the Laughing God Cegorakh, who hid in subspace, and the patron of war, Khaine the Bloody-Handed, whose essence was contained in the avatar statues. Among the dead Eldar celestials are the head of the pantheon Asurian, the goddess of fertility Isha, the blacksmith god Vaul, the patron of the hunt Kuronus, the ruler of dreams Lileath, the goddess of fate Morai-Heg. Modern Eldar partly went over to the side of Chaos, partly remained loyal to Cegorach (Harlequins), partly accepted a new religious and philosophical teaching about the Paths of life (such as the Path of the Warrior, the Path of the Seer, etc.). If the original religion of the “space elves” was clearly based on earthly polytheistic cults, primarily ancient Greek, then the concept of the Paths is closer to Far Eastern teachings, for example, Taoism or Bushido.
The Orcs, according to the latest data, have two deities: Gork and Mork (in early editions a third one, Bork, was also mentioned). The differences between them are minimal: one is the patron of cruel deceit, the other of insidious cruelty. Orcs constantly argue about which god is responsible for what. Since the greenskins' natural state is war, it can be assumed that their deities are in charge of different aspects of battle, such as attack and defense, or strength and speed. Orc priests can worship one of the gods, or they can receive visions from both. In practice, adherence to Gork or Mork matters for orcs only if it is necessary to find a reason to give a comrade the face. A much larger role is played by belonging to one or another clan, each of which has its own philosophy of life. In general, the religious way of life of the orcs can be compared to primitive totemism.
The young Tau civilization professes the ideas of the Great Good, which they spread throughout the galaxy both with weapons and words, accepting representatives of other races into their ranks. At the head of the Tau social structure are representatives of the ether caste, combining the roles of political and spiritual leaders. If the Tau ideology can be classified as a religion, then only with a very big stretch. Necrons and Tyranids are even less religious. They have no convictions, and therefore no beliefs; they blindly carry out orders: the first - from the Ancients, the second - from the Hive Mind.
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Space is a black abyss in which the lights of the mind flicker dimly. Keeping them together is a difficult task that cannot be solved either by the force of weapons or the speed of starships. An ideological doctrine, a collective mind - or a totalitarian religion - can weld a cosmic civilization together. A faith that truly became the key to the survival of united humanity in the 41st millennium.