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Two unknown legions

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Precious little is known about two of the twenty Space Marine Legions, numbered II and XI, and their respective Primarchs, as their records are simply noted as having been "expunged" or "destroyed" in Imperial listings of the 20 Legions.

It seems likely the Unknown Legions were Traitors4, and were deliberately erased from memory following their destruction. (In Ancient Rome, Emperors could condemn traitors or those that brought shame to Rome to damnatio memoriae, removing every trace that the person ever existed. Their statues were destroyed and their names obliterated from all public records.)

However, nothing is known for sure about the names of the legions, their Primarchs, homeworlds, which side they took during the Horus Heresy and their ultimate fate.

Contents

Overview

Currently, all that is stated about this issue is:

  • The Emperor created 20 Primarchs, who were snatched from Terra by a Chaos vortex and scattered around the galaxy.1
  • The 20 incubation capsules drifted through the warp for decades or even centuries, until finally coming to rest on human-inhabited worlds throughout the galaxy,2 "where they were variously adopted by human parents."3
    • The only exception to this is the Primarch Konrad Curze, who survived utterly alone (and whose background, in any case, was only described in later material).
  • In the listings of the 20 Legions in Imperial records, Legions II and XI are stated as having "all records expunged from the library". Earlier background (Codex Imperialis and second edition's Ultramarines codex) less ambivalently states that the records for these two Legions were deleted following the Heresy. Considering that the Traitor Legions are simply listed as excommunicate traitoris but still included in these same lists would mean that the records were deleted deliberately and for a reason only known by those who perpetrated the action. Additionally, the fact that the known Traitor Legions are still listed could mean the Unknown Legions were destroyed during or following the Heresy, allowing for their complete removal from historic records.
  • Of the various abilities possessed by the Primarchs, one was "invisibility".3
    • If this is taken literally, this presumably refers to one of the missing Primarchs, as invisibility is not a power possessed by those known. It could also mean this Primarch was a blank as such individuals are said to be invisible to psykers.
  • The Emperor met each Primarch in turn, and each Primarch had risen to a position of authority within the cultures they had found themselves in.1
  • 20 Legions took part in the Great Crusade, each led by their own Primarch.4
  • Alpharius was known to be the last Primarch to be found, a fact which even earned him the nickname "The Last". This suggests that all the other Primarchs had been found already.
  • 20 statues of the Primarchs were erected in the Imperial Palace on Terra. By the time of the Horus Heresy, plinths II and XI "...had been vacant for a long time. No-one ever spoke of those two absent brothers [and] their separate tragedies."7
    • This suggests that the two unknown Primarchs had been found previously and that something tragic had happened. The two Primarchs were "absent" but not referred as "dead".
  • All Primarchs were tempted by Chaos predations, and "fully half" of them failed that test.5
    • This suggests that possibly 10 Primarchs were, in some way, corrupted by Chaos influences. The known traitors are nine (Fulgrim, Perturabo, Konrad Curze, Angron, Mortarion, Magnus, Horus, Lorgar, and Alpharius). Whether an additional Primarch was corrupted or not is unclear.
    • Prior to sending Sigismund and his Imperial Fists to Mars during the Heresy, Dorn muses to Malcador the Sigillite on the loyalist support of two legions, possibly the two unknown legions, during the Heresy. Malcador quells the Primarch's thoughts, stating that "They are lost to us forever."15
  • Horus convinced "no less than 9" Space Marine Legions to side with him at the onset of the Heresy,8 a number also referred to as "fully half" of the legions.9 When he assaulted Terra, this number was given as 9.10
    • This also implies, but does not categorically states, that the 9 known traitor legions are all of the legions that followed him into rebellion and that 18 legions were the total number of legions active at the time. A passage detailing Horus' plans for the various legions at the outset of the Heresy mentions by name all 18 known legions11.
  • "Of the original 20 Primarchs only 9 survived the Horus Heresy. The remainder were either killed in the fighting (like Horus) or fled with their [Legions] into the Eye of Terror. The survivors helped [to rebuild] the Imperium."3
    • It is currently accepted that 3 Primarchs died during the Heresy (Ferrus Manus, Sanguinius, and Horus) and 6 are known to have fled into the Eye of Terror (Fulgrim, Perturabo, Angron, Mortarion, Magnus, and Lorgar). The fates of the other 11 are open to multiple interpretations.
    • Two traitors, Konrad Curze and Alpharius, did not flee into the Eye of Terror and were killed later on. 7 loyal Primarchs seem to have survived. It is possible that Kurze and Alpharius were counted as part of the 9 survivors.

Other Information

Ultramarines Codex

Second edition's Ultramarines codex states that it seems likely that Legions II and XI fought for Horus at least during the beginning of the Heresy. It also refers to the records as being destroyed following the Heresy.4

Rubinek

The short-story Hell in a Bottle by Simon Jowet mentions a Primarch Rubinek of the Iron Hearts chapter.12 Primarch Rubineck is not mentioned anywhere else. Some authors seem to occasionally confuse the Chapter Masters with the Primarchs and Rubinek was most likely such a case.13

Horus' vision

As Horus lay in coma inside the Davinite temple after being wounded by Eugen Temba, Erebus gave him visions that showed him events from various points in time. In one of these experiences, Horus found himself in the geno-vault where he was created, and looked down upon the genetor-tanks containing the infant Primarchs. At one point he stops before tank XI and reflects upon the "untapped glories that lay within, knowing they would never come to pass". This refers to one of the unknown Primarchs. Later on, Horus' anger takes control and he smashes his fist upon tank XI, damaging it. Shortly after, a vortex swoops up all the genetor-tanks and scatters them across the galaxy.

The truth of this vision is unclear; it should be noted that the whole experience was orchestrated by the Chaos powers, in other words Horus saw what the chaos gods wanted him to see.14

Sources

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