Seal of the Emperor of Mankind
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The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: | Space Hulk: Tactics |
The Seals of the Emperor of Mankind are holy relics created before the Horus Heresy.[1a]
One such Seal was personally used by the Emperor[1a], causing it to become psychically-charged[1b], and was gene-coded with his DNA[1a]. The Seal acted as a fragment of the Emperor's living will[1k], as it contained the most important sacred edicts of the Imperium: including its laws, decrees, orders and everything that He gave to Humanity. However this Seal was lost during the Horus Heresy, and was eventually drawn into the Space Hulk, Forsaken Doom[1a]. Alongside it, was a Heresy-era reliquary monitor Servo-Skull, that had been used by the Adeptus Custodes and which acted as a guide to the Seal's location. In M41[1c] the Servo-skull was discovered by a party of Space Wolves and their Wolf Lord[1d], who were taking part in a Great Hunt. They had originally boarded the Forsaken Doom to investigate a Vox signal emanating from the Space Hulk[1c], but the Wolf Lord abandoned this quest when the Servo-skull led them to the Seal[1d]. By then they had become attacked by hordes of Genestealers and fully aware of the value of his discovery, and that they would be killed if they stood and fought, the Wolf Lord ordered an immediate withdrawal from the Space Hulk. However time was against them and as the Space Wolves tried to teleport from the Forsaken Doom, they were overrun. As his Space Wolves died around him, the Wolf Lord ensured the Seal was secured from the Genestealers. Once this was done, he was content and spent his final moments recording a message so that other Space Marines could find the relic. If it was recovered, then Space Wolves' deaths would not be in vain.[1e]
This would occur in M42[1f], when the Forsaken Doom threatened to collide with the Forge World Gorgonum and the Blood Angels Captain Ubaldo came to its aid[1g]. His battered force aboard the Blood Crusader had just completed a successful campaign and could only send a single Terminator Squad into the Space Hulk, which was led by Sergeant Tahariel[1h]. Their mission was to destroy the Space Hulk, by placing a series of Melta-bombs near its energy cores[1i], however while doing so they came across the corpses of the slain Space Wolves. One had a recording, stating they had found a Seal of the Emperor of Mankind aboard the Forsaken Doom, but had been overrun by Genestealers before they could evacuate with it. After the message was finished, Captain Ubaldo stated that it must be the Emperor's will that brought them to the Forsaken Doom. He then informed Tahariel's squad, that the holy relic's recovery was now the first priority for the Terminators, even over saving the threatened Forge World[1j]. The Lexicanum Hagios was part of Tahariel's squad, and due to the Seal being psychically-charged by the Emperor, the Lexicanum was able to sense the relic and led the Terminators to the Seal's location. Once they found the relic, Captain Ubaldo told them that it would be a day long remembered by the Imperium for the squad's recovery of the Seal. He went on to say, the slain Space Wolves would be honored for their sacrifice and that the squad's deed would be written in the great hall of Baal and across the galaxy.[1k]
After the Forsaken Doom was successfully destroyed by Sergeant Tahariel's squadron[1l], the Blood Angels returned the holy Seal to Terra. The Chapter would then ceremonially present the relic before the Emperor as He sat in the Golden Throne. The Seal's recovery is said to have brought a moment of hope to the Imperium and a small measure of illumination to the shadow of despair that now shrouds the galaxy. As its return became known, some Imperials remarked that the Seal's discovery, was an omen of great wonders to come. Others, however, worried it was a harbinger that the Imperium's end was nigh.[1m]
Sources
- 1: Space Hulk: Tactics
- 1a: Blood Angels Campaign - Mission Six
- 1b: Blood Angels Campaign - Mission Eight
- 1c: Genestealer Campaign - Mission Seven
- 1d: Genestealer Campaign - Mission Eight
- 1e: Genestealer Campaign - Mission Nine
- 1f: Opening Cut Scene
- 1g: Blood Angels Campaign - Mission One
- 1h: Blood Angels Campaign - Mission Intro
- 1i: Blood Angels Campaign - Mission Two
- 1j: Blood Angels Campaign - Mission Five
- 1k: Blood Angels Campaign - Mission A Relic for the Emperor
- 1l: Blood Angels Campaign - Mission Thirteen
- 1m: Blood Angels Campaign - Relic Ending
