Title: The Perpetuals & The Emperor: The Untold Tales of Warhammer 40,000
In the annals of Warhammer 40,000 lore, few tales are as intriguing as that of the Perpetuals – individuals of astounding longevity, capable of natural regeneration, and possessing knowledge reaching back to the dawn of the Great Crusade. They are beings who have walked the stars alongside the Emperor himself, and their stories intertwine with the very fabric of the 40K universe.
One such story begins on the planet Trais, personally liberated by the Emperor from the clutches of chaos cultists and sorcerers during the Great Crusade in the 30th Millennium. In the aftermath, the planet birthed a mineral infused with the Emperor’s power. This mineral became a thing of legend, with the unique ability to halt the natural regeneration of the Perpetuals.
Amongst these timeless beings, Jonathan, a child of the Great Crusade, knew only two Perpetuals personally – the Emperor and Primarch Vulkan. Yet, whispers of others reached his ears, painting a vivid picture of a group as diverse as they were ancient.
One of the oldest of the Perpetuals was Erda, a woman who had served the Emperor when he was but a warlord king named Noth. Her love for the Emperor was profound, and she was among the many Perpetuals who aided him in his cosmic endeavours. But over time, the Emperor’s arrogance and reckless haste to advance humanity’s development led to a schism among the Perpetuals. Many left him, but a few, including Erda and a Perpetual known as Sigite, remained steadfastly by his side.
This exodus of Perpetuals spurred the Emperor into action. He began to artificially create loyal Perpetuals, a move that eventually led to the inception of the Primarch project. Erda and a Perpetual named Amara Sta stood by his side during these early stages, their combined knowledge and skills invaluable to the Emperor.
Erda’s role in the Primarch project was twofold. Her skills as a geneticist were vital to the success of the project, but so too were her rare genes. The birth of the Primarchs was a result of the fusion of Erda’s genetic material with that of the Emperor’s. She was their mother, the Emperor their father, in the most literal sense.
Yet, the Emperor kept her from actively participating in the lives of their progeny. As he prepared the Primarchs for the Great Crusade, a sense of desperation began to gnaw at Erda. She could see the bitter future the Emperor had planned for their children – leading humanity to conquer the galaxy. In a desperate attempt to save her sons, she summoned a warp vortex that scattered the Primarchs across the galaxy.
After her desperate act, Erda went into hiding. According to the Perpetual known as Arabus, she had unwittingly become a pawn of the chaos Gods who manipulated her to fulfill their insidious plans. Despite her betrayal, the Emperor chose not to seek vengeance against her, even though he knew her whereabouts.
By the time of the Siege of Terra, Erda was living in exile in Gelb, an ancient city in Morania, near her birthplace. It was here where she engaged in a psychic battle with Arabus and four great demons, revealing her true nature as a Triune being, before succumbing to her wounds.
Interwoven with this tale is the story of another original Perpetual, Olivia Surka. Initially unaware of her abilities, Olivia’s path crossed with the Emperor’s during an expedition to Molech in the Dark Age of Technology. There, she witnessed the Emperor gaining new powers that would later aid him in creating the Primarchs. The Emperor left Olivia on Molech to guard its gates and prevent others from using them, a mission she dutifully carried out until the planet was conquered by the Imperium during the Great Crusade.
These stories of the Perpetuals, their struggles, and their interplay with the Emperor form an intricate tapestry of Warhammer 40,000 lore. They reveal the complexity and depth of the universe that continues to fascinate and captivate fans across the globe.
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