Colchis lay on the fringe of the Ultima Segmentum — a dry, austere world scarred by ancient ruins and the skeletal remains of forgotten starships. Once a thriving human colony during the Dark Age of Technology, it had regressed into a feudal, theocratic society during Old Night.
Its dominant power was the Covenant, a rigid religious hierarchy built upon ancient scripture, prophecy, and the worship of unseen powers.
To the uninitiated, it was faith.
To those who could truly see, it was something far older — and far darker.
Outside Covenant control, nomadic tribes wandered the deserts, following older traditions tied to nature, survival, and ancestral spirits rather than dogma.
It was among one such tribe that the Primarch was found.
They named him Lorgar Aurelian.
The First Cataclysm
If fate had followed a gentler path, Lorgar might have grown among the tribes, united Colchis, and brought balance between faith and survival.
Instead, destiny arrived in the form of an exile.
Kor Phaeron, a disgraced priest of the Covenant, arrived with followers, seeking power, influence — and redemption.
When he saw the child, he understood immediately.
This boy was a weapon.
A symbol.
A ladder back to power.
Kor Phaeron ordered the tribe slaughtered.
Lorgar watched.
He did not resist.
He did not cry.
He did not react.
He simply watched.
The Making of a Prophet
Kor Phaeron raised Lorgar harshly.
He forced him to call him master.
He beat him for perceived disobedience.
He made him eat and sleep among slaves.
He broke him.
Then reshaped him.
Yet Lorgar never resisted.
Never rebelled.
Never hated him.
Kor Phaeron mistook submission for weakness.
He did not understand devotion.
At one point, Kor Phaeron's followers, drawn by Lorgar's unnatural charisma, nearly killed the priest for mistreating the boy.
Lorgar killed them instead.
He saved Kor Phaeron.
Kor Phaeron never forgot that moment.
Love, twisted and possessive, began there.
The Seed of a New Faith
Years later, Lorgar approached Kor Phaeron.
"We follow shadows," he said softly.
"We should worship the one true god."
Kor Phaeron stared.
"What nonsense is this?"
Lorgar had dreamt of a radiant golden being descending from the heavens.
A god of light.
A savior.
He believed utterly.
Kor Phaeron beat him.
Punished him.
Humiliated him.
Lorgar did not waver.
Kor Phaeron eventually relented — not from belief, but from calculation.
If Lorgar's faith drew followers…
power would follow.
The Holy War of Colchis
The new faith spread.
The Golden One replaced the Covenant's Four Powers.
Temples fell.
Scriptures burned.
Cities revolted.
Colchis burned in holy war.
And then—
the god came.
The Coming of the Emperor
The golden warship descended through Colchis's dust-choked sky.
Light spilled from its hull like dawn.
The hatch opened.
A radiant figure stepped forth.
The masses collapsed in worship.
The Golden One had come.
Magnus frowned.
"…Sister, something feels wrong."
He stared at statues and murals in the distance.
All bore the Emperor's likeness.
Yuki remained calm.
"We'll know once we go down."
You Are Erebus
But you are not.
Once, you were a street urchin who amused himself by tearing legs from desert scorpions and watching them writhe.
The real Erebus had been a model priest.
Wise.
Disciplined.
Admired.
Your parents pointed at him.
"You should be like him."
You chose a simpler solution.
You killed him.
Took his name.
Carved ritual runes into your skin.
Became him.
Who you had been no longer mattered.
Only Erebus remained.
You studied Covenant doctrine.
Obsessed over prophecy.
Became convinced the Four Powers watched you.
Chose you.
When Lorgar unified Colchis, the Covenant collapsed.
Others were moved by his charisma.
You were not.
To you, he was another scorpion.
One day, you would pull off his legs.
When the golden giant descended from the sky, the masses wept in adoration.
To you, he was merely a larger insect.
Then a gaze struck you.
Cold.
Piercing.
Ancient.
Run.
You dropped to your knees with the crowd, hiding your face.
Sweat ran down your spine.
The last thing you saw was a pair of violet eyes.
Not Lorgar's.
Something colder.
A Scorpion in the Sand
"Sister, what are you looking at?" Magnus asked.
Yuki smiled faintly.
"A scorpion."
"In the desert?"
"A poisonous one."
Father and Son
Nearby, Lorgar praised the Emperor with breathless devotion.
The Emperor finally raised a hand.
"I am your father. You will join the Great Crusade and serve humanity."
Lorgar's eyes shone.
"A god who saves mankind… must be worshipped."
The Emperor pinched the bridge of his nose.
Yuki stared.
"Father… are you pretending not to hear him?"
"I do not have time to correct him," the Emperor replied. "He will learn."
Yuki rolled her eyes.
"Your sons inherited your stubbornness. This will not correct itself."
"Even if I deny divinity, he will still believe."
"At least state your position."
Silence.
At last, the Emperor spoke with Lorgar.
He returned shortly.
"He says only a true god denies his own divinity."
The Emperor looked faintly irritated.
Truthfully, he felt the psychic pressure of worship across the galaxy — belief gathering like distant thunder.
He ignored it.
The Crusade mattered more.
As long as Lorgar did not spread worship openly…
it could wait.
"I'll handle the rest," Yuki sighed.
This was worse than simple faith.
Lorgar did not worship out of ignorance.
He worshipped out of need.
Power.
Protection.
Meaning.
It was ironic that such motivations could exist within a Primarch.
Yet they did.
Magnus pushed the door open.
"I failed."
He looked offended.
"He argued in circles. Sophistry, paradoxes, rhetorical traps. I could not pin him down logically."
Yuki sipped tea.
"I didn't expect you to."
Magnus frowned.
"He called you Father's chief divine messenger."
Yuki choked.
"I said nothing to him!"
The Emperor glanced sideways.
There might have been the faintest hint of amusement in his eyes.
Yuki narrowed hers.
"Father, are you mocking me?"
"You are mistaken."
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