Chapter 27: Gray Marrow

A new recruit, upon entering a Chapter, must not only undergo modification and training but also study vast amounts of Imperial history—though much of this history is lost or distorted, it is far deeper and darker than anything a mortal could access.

It is well known that eighteen Legions were active during the Great Crusade, yet deep within the Imperial Palace, there are twenty-one pedestals commemorating Primarchs. (The Alpha Legion consisted of twin Primarchs.)

According to the historical records Soshian had encountered, there were two Legions whose records had been erased long ago; all mentions of them, their history, and even the names of their Primarchs had become a mystery.

The Second and Eleventh Legions had become the Lost Legions.

It wasn't that Soshian hadn't privately asked his instructors what crimes they had committed to warrant the erasure of even the slightest trace of their existence.

At the time, the instructor told Soshian that this question had troubled him for many years as well; he had asked his own mentor, and the answer had been the same.

But regardless, there was no doubt that they had once existed.

So, where had they gone?

Were they all destroyed? Exiled? Or did they still exist within the Imperium today, albeit under a different guise?

Thus, when the banner of the Eleventh Legion appeared before Soshian, he understood why the Chapter's history lacked the era and dates of its founding. Beneath the heavy veil of vague history lay a bloody and cruel past.

The Astral Knights Chapter was a remnant descendant of the Eleventh Legion.

But if that were the case, more questions arose.

"Why did we become a successor Chapter of the Imperial Fists? Do they not have records of this history?"

Brother-Sergeant Cede did not answer Soshian immediately. Instead, he thrust his arm back into the granite, retracting the war banner into the ground.

"Because of this very matter, they do not know either."

"What? Not even Rogal Dorn knows?"

"He knows, but he has forgotten."

"Forgotten?"

Soshian's eyes widened. The answer seemed dismissive, yet Cede's tone was dead serious.

"That is correct. Everyone has forgotten. It was not merely selective forgetting, but a complete erasure of the memory from their minds."

"The Primarch? Everyone? Their memories were erased from their minds?"

"Yes, including us."

It sounded like a myth. Soshian could not imagine what kind of power could achieve such a feat, unless...

"Was it the Emperor?"

"Strictly speaking, it was the Emperor and Malcador the Sigillite together."

Malcador the Sigillite, Malcador the Hero, had served the Emperor since before the era of the Great Crusade. Most of the current framework of the Imperium was built by his hand; he was the only mortal hero in Imperial history capable of rivaling a Primarch.

"Then, Brother-Sergeant Cede, you..."

Soshian did not finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear. Immediately, a low sigh drifted from the cold iron sarcophagus.

"I happened to be heavily wounded at the time and was undergoing Dreadnought transformation. By chance, I became the only one in the Legion who was not brainwashed. Since then, I have carefully hidden my thoughts, remaining in slumber until I awoke five thousand years ago. By then, the Eleventh Legion was gone; there were only the Astral Knights."

Looking at Cede's body, which was etched with the marks of history, Soshian felt a complex swirl of emotions.

The erasure of the Eleventh Legion must have been due to the commission of unpardonable crimes. Those accusations might not have been cleared even after ten thousand years. As a descendant of sinners, his identity had suddenly become extremely awkward.

After a long silence, Soshian asked in a low voice

"What... were we called in the past?"

"The Undying Legion."

"Our Primarch..."

"His name was Artaxerxes, a great ruler and a master commander."

"Have you seen him?"

"Yes."

Soshian raised his hand, pointing toward the parchments in the shrine.

"Are these all records of that erased history?"

"A portion of it. I have slept for too long, and many things have been forgotten. I could only record what I could remember to prevent further omissions. Assisting me in this task was the thirty-first Chapter Master of the Astral Knights."

Soshian walked to the wall and pulled a scroll from the shrine. But when he opened it, he found it written in a script he did not recognize at all—something similar to cuneiform, but far more complex.

"This is the script of the Legion's destroyed homeworld."

"Why?"

Soshian put the parchment away and tucked it back into the shrine.

"What crime did the Legion actually commit to deserve such treatment?"

Even with such a sensitive question, Cede's voice remained as calm as a still pool.

"In a sense... our Primarch did indeed commit a most terrible crime."

"What was it?"

"Collusion with Xenos."

Soshian's eyes widened. He found it hard to believe a Primarch would collude with Xenos; even though he had never met the man, even a traitor as great as Horus had never cooperated with Xenos.

As if anticipating this reaction, Cede continued calmly

"Artaxerxes was the seventh Primarch to return to the Imperium. His home was a world that worshipped Xenos deities. After the Primarch unified the world, he ordered the destruction of all Xenos temples and led his people back to the Imperium."

"Then..."

"Do you know that besides maintaining life, the Emperor has another purpose for sitting high upon the Golden Throne?"

Soshian shook his head.

"Deep within the Palace, there is a massive project called the 'Webway.' The Emperor has been studying this technology from the ancient Xenos, believing it could allow humanity to break free from the shackles of the Warp. But the project was ultimately sabotaged; a massive influx of Daemons poured into the Webway, forcing the Emperor to personally guard its entrance."

Such secret history dealt a massive shock to Soshian, but he quickly steadied his mind and listened quietly to the Chapter Mentor's narration.

"Long before the Emperor began repairing the Webway, the Primarch knew of this plan. He saw a massive flaw in it—the Webway is by no means a place of peace; Warp energies still find opportunities to breach it. Therefore, he intended to provide the Imperium with a Legion dedicated to guarding the Webway—a Legion that could suppress Warp powers without relying on psychic abilities."

"A Legion dedicated to guarding the Webway..."

"You are the only person in ten thousand years to have successfully undergone the Grey Marrow modification. Do you know what that means?"

"What exactly is the Grey Marrow?"

"It is the solution proposed by the Primarch: the anti-psychic capabilities of the Culexus combined with the powerful constitution of the Adeptus Astartes, further enhancing the Astartes' resistance to the Warp. They were named the Gloom Wardens."

"That sounds very similar to the Sisters of Silence."

"It is different. Their anti-psychic ability is merely suppression, whereas the power granted by the Grey Marrow is offensive—more similar to a Callidus Assassin, but far more powerful, and capable of terminating a Culexus's field at any time."

"An Untouchable who can freely manipulate power?"

Soshian blinked; he wasn't sure he possessed such an ability.

"Yes. The Primarch called it the [Gloom Field]. But you are still very unskilled. The essence of the Grey Marrow is a biological active metal; when it is active, it consumes a massive amount of heat."

Soshian immediately recalled that cold—a cold so intense it had nearly frozen his entire bloodstream.

"You should have felt it."

Cede seemed to sense what Soshian was thinking.

"The longer the active metal is in motion, the greater the heat required. Even the thermal regulation of power armor cannot compensate for it. If it were a warrior from another Legion, they might die of rigor mortis in less than twenty seconds."

"Then why am I—"

"Because our Legion's bloodline is unique. The gene-seed of the Undying Legion grants us immense regenerative capabilities. This regeneration applies not just to flesh and bone, but to bodily fluids, soft tissues, and even the soul. Only the gene-seed of the Undying Legion can sustain the development and use of the Grey Marrow."

"But... many brothers have not exhibited this ability."

"When the remnants of the Legion were absorbed, the organizational structure was completely shattered. We are like sand scattered into the sea, having lost almost all connection to one another. When the Astral Knights were formed, only a tiny fraction of the high command possessed the bloodline of the Undying Legion; the rest were warriors of the Imperial Fists."

As he spoke, Cede's body sank slightly; Soshian thought he could hear a sigh emanating from within the iron sarcophagus.

"When I awoke, very little of the Undying Legion's bloodline remained in the Chapter. Only the Chapter Master and a few others still held the Legion's lineage. In the long years that followed, I carefully maintained the Legion's existence, forming a secret society within the Chapter known as the 'Undying Men.' For a long time, the society's responsibility was to guard the Legion's bloodline. When paying the Tithe, we only submitted the gene-seed of the Imperial Fists while increasing the proportion of Legion warriors during modification."

A secret society existing within the Chapter—such a secret made Soshian feel deeply uneasy.

Could this still be called loyalty?

"By the time of Amurad's generation, the proportion of Legion soldiers had reached half of the Chapter's strength. The thirty-three recruits you see now, including Losa, all possess the bloodline of the Undying Legion."

"I have one more question. The Emperor... why did he destroy us?"

"Because the Grey Marrow technology came from a certain Xenos faction, and the Primarch had privately reached a certain deal with that Xenos faction."

Soshian's breathing suddenly grew heavy; this information exerted an immense pressure upon him.