The Emperor of mankind, in his divine wisdom or unknowable oversight, instilled in each of his sons a unique aspect of his personality. These traits – his image, his psychic gift, mercy, ruthlessness, stubbornness, charisma, and many others – became the cornerstone of their personalities, influencing their destinies in ways both grand and tragic. However, the Emperor, enigmatic as he is, has always been a mystery to the ordinary citizens of the Empire.
In this installment of our multi-part series, we delve into the mysteries surrounding one of the Emperor’s most inscrutable sons – Alpharius, the Primarch who embodies the Emperor’s most famous trait – his inscrutability. Alpharius Omegon, the Lord of Serpents, father of the Alpha Legion, is an enigma within an enigma. Was he, as some suggest, equivalent to Omegon, the final and 20th Primarch? Or perhaps, as others speculate, was Omegon a mere copy of Alpharius, a creation not of the Emperor, but of the chaotic Gods themselves?
This tale, like many others in the annals of the Imperium, begins with an incident of cosmic proportions – the scattering of the incubation capsules containing the infant Primarchs across the galaxy. The warp, that realm of inscrutable chaos and latent psychic power, undoubtedly had an effect on the young Primarchs. Sanguinius, for instance, developed wings and the ability to fly. Lorgar displayed mental weaknesses uncharacteristic of an Emperor’s son. Even Roboute Guilliman, the most resilient of the Primarchs, admitted feeling the detrimental echo of that period.
In a theory proposed by Alpharius himself, the Emperor created only one Primarch for the 20th Legion. There were no records of a second infant present in capsule number 20. There were, however, indications of a being with more limbs than a normal human child, but this most likely referred to Sanguinius. If there were indeed two Primarchs in the 20th capsule, it would be impossible to explain when they separated. Alpharius spent his childhood on Terra, while Omegon did not.
According to Alpharius’s theory, the Emperor did not plan to create a second leader for the last Legion. Omegon, it would seem, was merely a jest of the chaos Gods, a copy of an already existing Primarch, created in another body. This could be why Alpharius and Omegon often claimed to have one soul between them.
Alpharius’s discovery remains shrouded in mystery, with several versions of his discovery floating around, none of which can be confirmed or refuted. It’s entirely possible that one of these stories is true and the others are fabrications. Or, each could be designed to confuse the investigator.
What we do know, however, is that Alpharius was the Primarch discovered by the Emperor earlier than the rest of his sons, including Horus. Legend has it that the warp winds did not carry Alpharius away from Terra, leaving him on the plateau of Jaram, near what would later become the Imperial Palace.
The Emperor was said to have killed several mortal witnesses of the capsule’s appearance to keep Alpharius’s existence a secret. The first words addressed to Alpharius suggest that his journey through the warp took more than a year. The Emperor, it seems, had not expected his son to return to him after so much time. When they finally met, Alpharius was already a teenager. He remembered his father, the time spent in the lab, and the warm feeling that arose in him at the sight of the Emperor’s golden radiance. The Emperor, in turn, examined his son closely, peering into his soul to understand if everything was as it should be.
The tale of Alpharius, like his father, is one of inscrutability, mystery, and intrigue. As we continue this series, we hope to shed more light on this enigmatic figure and his place in the grand tapestry of the Emperor’s grand design.
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