Welcome back, reader! As we continue to delve into the chaotic and compelling narrative of Warhammer 40,000, we find ourselves under the stormy skies of Prospero, bearing witness to a cataclysmic event that would forever alter the Thousand Sons Legion… the Rubric.
Imagine this: snaking tendrils of multicolored lightning crackling down from above, turning darkness to light and light to darkness. In the midst of this tumultuous storm, the Rubric, a sorcerous ritual of unfathomable power, touched the warriors of the Thousand Sons. As if by magic, the mutations that had tormented the legion vanished in a flash of sorcerous flame.
Yet, the aftermath was far from expected. Those with feeble psychic powers or none at all found themselves transformed into spirits trapped within rune-inscribed armor. Their souls, mere fragments of their former selves, howled and wailed in ghostly voices, trapped within these metallic shells; thus, the Rubricae were born.
On the other hand, those who possessed great psychic power not only survived but found their might amplified manifold. Among these survivors was Ahriman, the architect of the Rubric. Observing the aftermath, Ahriman faced the bitter realization that his attempt to save the legion had simultaneously been a staggering success and a dreadful failure.
The echoes of the Rubric still vibrating in the air, Magnus the Red, the Primarch of the Thousand Sons, emerged from his tower. Bursting into the gathering of the cabal, all members immediately knelt submissively, respecting the fury of the Primarch. Only Ahriman remained standing, expressing satisfaction with the outcome, a sentiment that would have ignited a confrontation if not for the intervention of other forces.
However, the truth of that event remains shrouded in the realm of lies that is Warhammer 40,000. What we do know is the result – Ahriman and his supporters were exiled from the Planet of the Sorcerers, in the Eye of Terror.
In the Eye of Terror, a realm of paradoxes, time becomes a mutable concept, and loyalty and truth vanish amidst the screams of embodied fallacies. Here, legions perish and are reborn, great lords become slaves, and mortals are elevated to the dark grace of the Chaos Gods. It’s in this realm that Ahriman, cut off from the brothers he sought to save, was doomed to exist on the brink of sanity.
It is said that during this time, Ahriman lived through 9,000 mortal lifetimes, tricked demons into revealing truths, and got lost on the paths of visions. Yet, he rose from the ashes of the Rubric’s disgrace with renewed purpose. The Rubric was a failure, but its goal was noble. In the pursuit of pure understanding and perfect knowledge, Ahriman sought the keys to save what he had destroyed.
His search for knowledge and his insatiable hunger for power have made Ahriman a pariah, his name a curse on the lips of both humans and aliens. To the Eldari, he is a scavenger reaper consuming the souls of their dying race for secrets. To the Inquisitors of the Ordo Malleus, he is akin to a lightning rod summoning hellish storms. And to the servants of Chaos, Ahriman embodies a flame of power and cunning that can either enlighten or incinerate the unwary.
A master of subtle manipulations, Ahriman has created cults on hundreds of worlds and bent the desires of great men to his schemes. When subtlety fails, he goes to war, bringing armies to their knees with terrible visions, crushing war machines with unseen force, and wrenching the souls from great heroes. By the will of Ahriman, worlds have burned, billions have been consumed by the ravenous warp, and his fury has made reality itself bleed.
Take for instance, the world of Kopi, a world wholly dedicated to the collection of records about the Imperium. From hunters destroying parasites in the depths of the libraries to scribes attempting to organize hundreds of conflicting records, all submitted to the ecology of the archives. This timeless existence was disrupted, its fate forever altered.
The tale of Ahriman is one of power, knowledge, manipulation, and ruthlessness. A tale that continues to unfold in the vast, chaotic galaxy of Warhammer 40,000. Stay tuned, reader, as we delve deeper into the complexities and intrigues of this epic narrative in our next entry. Until then, may the Emperor protect us!
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