Games - Emperor of Mankind

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	Games - Emperor of Mankind

The Emperor of Mankind is a fictional character from the Warhammer 40,000
universe. In that universe, he is the leader of the Imperium, the largest human organisation of the time.

Early history

The origins, and original name, of the Emperor are not known, although there are some references in older canon that he was born approximately 8000 BC in central Anatolia. (Priestley & Ansell, 1990) He grew up in an isolated and meagre area, and it was rumoured that he had the power to stop his own aging and numerous other psychic abilities. After many years, as the Emperor became more wise and focused, he intuitively knew of the corruption of mankind's behaviour and set out to correct it. He always remained in the background, facilitating some of mankind’s most important changes and generally guiding and protecting humanity through its evolution.

The first mention of the Emperor in Imperial records is when he conquered Terra after the Age of Strife (sometime in the 29th Millennium). The Emperor's use of genetically engineered warriors enabled him to reunite the people of Earth and to set his sights on the stars. With the assistance of the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars the Emperor created the first Space Marines and fleets of interstellar ships to carry his armies to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. The Emperor also created the Primarchs from whom the Space Marines' gene-seed was developed, but the Chaos gods scattered the Primarchs across the galaxy.

The Great Crusade

The Emperor had a grand vision: to reunite the elements of humanity who had been scattered across the galaxy and isolated from each other during the Age of Strife. In the initial years of the Great Crusade, the Emperor was at the forefront of the fighting, leading his genetically-engineered soldiers into battle. As more worlds came under the control of the fledgling Imperium of Mankind, the Emperor rediscovered the lost Primarchs, whose genetic template was used to stabilise the creation process of the Space Marines.

As time passed, the Emperor was called away to attend to the running of his vast Empire, leaving his trusted 'sons', the Primarchs, in control of the Crusade. The foremost of these, and the Warmaster of the Imperium, was Horus, the first to be rediscovered by the Emperor.

The Horus Heresy

The Great Crusade came to an end with the events of the Horus Heresy, when Horus turned on the Emperor. Under Horus's leadership, nine Space Marine Legions and innumerable Imperial Army regiments turned to Chaos and started a galactic civil war.

Even as Horus's armies laid siege to Earth, the Emperor still believed that Horus could be redeemed, and he maintained this belief even as he faced Horus in single combat. However, The Emperor had underestimated the power that Horus had gained from the Chaos gods. This, coupled with his unwillingess to hurt the man who had once been his closest son, meant that The Emperor suffered grevious injuries in the battle. As Horus stood over the Emperor's shattered body, the Emperor finally accepted that Horus could not be redeemed, and launched a psychic attack of unparalled power. This attack obliterated Horus's very soul, destroying him in entirety.

For more information on the clash between the Emperor and Horus see Horus's perspective article

Present day

The Emperor's broken body was discovered by Rogal Dorn who, following The Emperor's instructions, oversaw the building of the Golden Throne, an arcane device of technomagic, to sustain his spirit. The Emperor has remained in the Golden Throne since his 'ascension' to this day, neither fully living nor dead. The Golden Throne is a complex life support device located in the Imperial Palace, an immense complex in the Himalayan mountains. The Golden Throne itself lies in the Sanctum Imperialis, which is guarded by the Emperor's Custodian Guard, also known as the Adeptus Custodes. The Emperor's physical form is preserved and his life functions are carried out by carefully maintained machinery.

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