THE EMPERORS CHAMPION - BLACK TEMPLARS!

the emperor's champion story continued from crusader squads and thaddeus antarconos playlist i am his sword i am his honor i am his revenge on the dawn before our battle i awoke but stayed in a dream-like state for my very soul was a fire my mind the receptacle of his might his vision he has chosen me to be his vessel he shows me the images of the deeds i must perform the foes he has chosen for me to bring low my eyes dart from one vision to the next the dizzying kaleidoscopic vista of futures all is in flames all is sin and degradation and so he sends me but he points the way he shines his light into the darkness and the depths of the souls of these riches he shows me who i must defeat in his name for on this day i am his sword i am his honor i am his revenge i am the emperor's champion launched from the depths of our ship our cathedral of the void our battle barge we hurtle through the skies ten of us locked into the walls of a cylindrical missile a drop pod each an astartes a space marine our power armour black anointed holy a gift from our grandfather a second skin of ceramide we can feel as well as the first of black therapist permits this many wear power armor not all even human but it is only we his angels of death that feel it like it is our own body we who harness his full power our ship fires down a spread of shot to soften the area is how they will feel or construe it if they have but one tactically gifted mind amongst them this may be true of other chapters other sons of other lineages not so for the sons of sigismund the never-ending crusade for us the fire is to drive the foe toward our landing site our drop pods will destroy more in our arrival but it also means that they will be herded in around us there will not need to be a headlong initial charge against the ward of guns many times the bodies we have no time for them to bring up their heavier weaponry no distance for them to take aim and swallow their fear and pull a trigger no delay we will be amongst them from the instant our doors come down and when we are amongst them they cannot use their firepower hence we will thresh them mow them down before the dual fire of our faith and our hatred our chain swords are chained to our arms for the neophytes and initiates the sword brother in here has his power sword thus locked all are stood stuck still while we plow through the skies downward ever downward i am the odd man out i am not in their crusade squad compromising two drop pods full of astartes but this is the only place open and it is right and proper that i will be the first out of the door the first to engage the enemy fire starts to whip past us but little my stomach slams into my throat as the thrusters fire the very last second sending massive plumes of fire and thrust to the ground it makes our impact slightly less jarring but it would still shatter every bone in the body of any normal mortal after two swiss successor chimes the doors are blown off leaving us five doorways to exit i'm the first to disengage their holding anchors the first to the door the first leap out the other benefit of the thrust of fire is that there is a blast zone around us of some tim pacers scores of burning and blasted forms lay there a cull of the foes from our advent alone my mind does not even register the charred stench so akin to swine on a spit i'm amongst them before the first has even drawn his weapon fully out they're packed around us as was intended and i begin my charge through them my paces are swift but measured my stance perfected over a hundred battles i see all before me to the side of me and snatch glimpses while performing my dance instinctively without conscious thought my mind maps the next three strikes encounters the man i will kill the way his body will fall how it will open me to the highest stance attack of the next but how i can block and then run him through and onto another that is directly behind him the foe are rabble slime only human they are malnourished but insane poorly armed with makeshift melee weapons but filled with the power of their dark masters the cores of chaos dug into their souls as much as their clearly corrupted bodies they will not break easily i continue my march of doom saying all who come before me my brothers are behind me but not with me i'm not in their squad i am the emperor's champion my role is separate i lead by example my targets require i arrange the field as i wish as the emperor commands it where he leads but for now i see the initiates leading their neophytes into the encircling cultures just behind my wake the other pod landed a split second behind hours more landing all over the drop zone as per the plan of attack the crusader squad started with 19 members each a pair of master and squire and the sword brethren who leads them of course not that the men need leading we know what we must do the two score of us clear the enemy in less than two minutes never stopping never seek sing never showing mercy never showing doubt even the near fights take at least two score each before we are done and they finally stop rushing our lines the last of them turning and charging back to the central ham block no doubt telling themselves that they go to warn their masters instead of that they run from justice they run from the ire of the emperor the landing ground is secure ahead of schedule as i wait for the stormraven to come down i note that we have lost three neophytes two slain in melee the last i see beheaded by sneering cold-eyed initiate the near fight had frozen he had then whimpered sometimes we get one i'm never sure how but sometimes we do nonetheless he is gone i hear sounds of battle all around me streaks of missiles and darts of laser light flash across the skies from building to building the stormraven comes in it swoops down and then hovers for half a minute only before it is gone out of the ramp drops the two inquisitors and their entourages saurod brackets and his force are first sarat is tiny entirely covered by his men sloth the toweling ogrim with slab shield his crusader knight stands to his other side shield held high as his sloths behind them a saratas and a minister and priest with his chainsaw already revving or the hereticus we have fought alongside them many times he has a good nose for the heretic the traitor the witch he leads us to them the other group seem less comedic automalius the demon hunters an older man jumps out their inquisitor he is special some say one of an elect group within their orders but i ignore rumor and thus have no real knowledge of them nor do i care as long as they are here to destroy the enemies of the emperor i am content he has an older marine with him i can see it in his reactions but what he says his black painted armor covers the white that was clearly once on his shoulder the chain from his sword to his arm this inquisitor has a black templar with him or a pretender i know not which a younger bald man eyes bright darting from one place to another in quick succession he looks handy for a human he stands with his lord like a wolf about to be unleashed mechanicus priest is with him and what looks very much like an assassin bodysuit intricate and rare weaponry it can be none other the boy with the eyes is slapped over his bald paint by his lord like a child being cuffed to get out of her parents way it is the sneer that covers the face that makes me think that this is not an evocular gesture inquisitor seems peevish but don't listen his armor is old power armor though it may be old another design i've never seen before the benefit of a status as a special or elect inquisitor of some sort no matter as soon as they land our crusader squads form around them and we push forward before us is a tangled web of hab blocks with walkways betwixt them every smash window and eye socket from which occultists could lurk literally hundreds of vantage points from which to shoot down it may prove to be a trial to get to our central area where we need to be where we need to strike land speeders cross the sky laying waste to concentrations of defenders bringing down entire levels of blocks with fire the bouncing forms of the assault marines and our new primaris inceptors moved our flanks heading off heavier resistance to clear our way we set off the bounding leap of the marine is not possible while we have these inquisitorial gangs in our number tedious but necessary the crusader squad takes up a perimeter around them as we move forward occasional knots of cultists spring out at us from alleyways first floor walkways doors windows we hack our way forward these scum are not even a speed bump to the sons of sigismund and vogel dawn our heavy armor is impossible to bring into the confines of this conurbation but that would make it too easy anyway we approach the main square and then my sight becomes a thing of two worlds i can see the real world as it is but also there are lights and shimmering hazes the emperor shows me the way he indicates my target and there at the base of the stairs to their main building the real threat shows itself for the base of the wide stairs leading up to this palace there are ranks of orderly organized and disciplined troops our first real resistance armoured and with power weapons they must form some elite for this rabble they're uniformed but twisted their shields docked together if i did not know better i would say that their attire and weaponry was akin to that of a crusader with soured but their genesis is unimportant the lying troops are not my concern it is their lord he is standing at the top of the stairs his armor blazing with flames twisted lava forms rooms around him that drop liquid fire like promethium on the ground he has a plethora of them around him buzzing like bees he is bright enough already but to my side he shines like a star but one i can look directly into without discomfort or wincing he is one of my targets this day initiates charge forward they're near fights in tow but we have done this before i've been a part of what we call in our crusade the stairway to the throne i see that they are prepared as three initiates run in a line some pieces separated sheasing their swords for a second to indicate compliance with my intent i bellow to let them know i am coming i run forward then launch myself up stepping on one then another of my brothers as i hunch down and rise with my foot elevating me further the last one turns and stops trading his mighty hands together as i bound towards them my foot lands in the cradle and he pushes up and out so i am launched clear of the line of guards i land on the stairs the three paces below their leader when i hear the crusader squad made contact with the wall of shields the chaos warrior smiles at me a toothy grin with too many teeth that then slips as the lava rooms around him are simply blown away literally a wind that comes from the second inquisitorial group they tore down his defenses so i can do the rest his axe comes down at me as he tries to retain the high ground i easily move aside angling the black blade in my hand so that his strike is deflected but its momentum is not stopped his axe goes into the marble stairs and he is over balanced it is charles play for me to twist and sew his head from his shoulders a scream of a thousand voices echoes around the square as we are all blown sideways backwards down by the explosion of his body i am caught in the fireball but nothing of this evil will pass through my armor for this is no normal power armor i wear today as the emperor's champion i am honored to wear the armor of faith ancient powerful thrice blessed by the god emperor and while i wear it i shall fear no evil penetrating my guard not unless they be the mightiest of adversaries and this lackluster lord is hardly that the explosion in the effort of my brethren has cut down many of the enemy at the base of the stairs but many get to their feet near as fast as my brethren so they form up swiftly sault brachus points and cheer ups out his order to sloth the huge ogrin barrels into the line and brings it down the interlocked shields previously seeing of strength now they greet his weakness as the initial three he strikes drag down a half dozen the young trainee if the other inquisitor is way ahead of the others and darts to a gap in the line he moves amongst the rear of the enemies and stabs into the legs or back of any armored men still standing he may not be large but he is swift and intelligent the slightest assault from the rear is all that is required for my brothers to take them from the front their formation broken a second time the heretics are torn to pieces by the astartes oh what is this as the inquisitors and their warriors make directly for the same walkway as me sault's men his slam shield ogrin and his crusader knight forming up at the front just behind me the rest in their shadow i hear them thaddeus do we have time no the ritual is nearing its conclusion it's got to be now or we face the wrath of the warp keep up but master the glyphs on the walls we're walking into a fulcrum we should be more cautious oh really you think you know better than i holy son i question my decision every day but you are proving even more dim-witted than i feared we have no time for dalliance boy keep your eyes on the prize and keep up sloth sebastian double time i hear this and can see the coroners of power my targets are before me i run they will keep up or they won't i cannot my calling is too great i pick up more speed when i come to the last corridor and see the large doors so obviously barred the emperor's own glamour shines from the edges of the doors it hinges its tops its bottoms wherever there is about a millimeter open i am invited to my destiny i draw out multiple crack grenades and lob them at the doors dead center the explosion smashes them apart and tears them off their hinges backward out of the smoke and falling masonry i come making straight for the ritual i can hear the ogre and the crusader behind me as they are slowed by the debris but not stopped before me is a scene from a fresco a huge slab of antiquated design lending their pantomime drama gravitas i suppose on it are three bodies ready to be slain none are held down none tethered they simply lay there transfixed with glazed eyes and frothing mouth muttering heresies as the most debauched vileness around them is a circle of figures in robes so akin to the garb of our own priesthood twisted mockeries of the shepherds of the emperor they will pay [Music] but they are not my primary concern for the light of the emperor guides my way he shows me my target again above them on an upper walkway a viewing gallery there is a being he looks human at the present but the light from him is greater than any star it is he i must face it is he i must best half of the cultists now break from the ceremony leaving a minimum crew one might say they turn and begin to chant a different account walls of fire and force and wind and masonry are thrown up by them cutting them off from the attentions of the inquisitors and their followers i stamp my gaze around and find the stairs up to this gallery it is too high to jump the walls and fixtures too flimsy for a powered arm a man to use with certainty so ahead for these stairs the ritual is not the center point it is to feed this being he is the danger not they why where are you going boy i can't do anything about those wards but i might be able to help the champion no boy this is a duel you cannot intervene come back i'll have your head for this the young man heads off after me i dash the stairs as fast as i can and remain able to turn at their summit i crashed through the locked door with one hack of the holy black sword and there he is he steps out of the darkness to meet me i waste no time and salute him in the name of the emperor i challenge him and it is accepted he's a larger man as well but still i dwarf him he almost languidly draws his own blade no armor no power armor only delicate silken robes yet his stance is not defensive he is preparing to meet me to fight me head on head good ass this is when he sweeps his sword in the air and a wave of power comes out of me but i am the emperor's champion i am his holy warrior and the emperor protects i recall the litany of divine protection and the emperor intervenes the wave of power is broken and whips around me without harm my enemy shifts his stance as i bound towards him and unleash my fury his surprise is palpable writ across his countenance we clash my first 10 strikes are designed to push him back my size and strength test to see how he fares i will not underestimate this one his blade cars light and sound through the air making it difficult to make him out perfectly with my normal vision but the light of the emperor shines from him clearly marks his outline his position my strokes will parrot with ease he has far more strength than he should he is definitely not a baseline human anymore below me the fray continues between the inquisitors my brethren crusaders and the cultists flashes of shields being penetrated by bots from the assassin as if they were not even there the crusader attempting to cut his way through the shields the ogre doing the same bludgeoning wildly afflicted eye shows me the cultists are reducing in number but still their ritual continues the boy may be behind me but that is his choice i cannot and will not divide my attention my target is all i see now he pads around shifting his feet for better control preparing to unleash his speed it seems his blade wells to create what he believes is an impenetrable barrier to my sight the fool does not know who sends me i slam my sword directly toward where he believes his torso is obscured it passes through his effect with ease and he is forced to somersault backwards like an eldar arthur zenos deviant the blessings of his gods have magnified him but he is no match for the wrath of the emperor a bald round punches into the wall behind him and the boy has attempted to distract him it has changed his path taken him from the trap i had laid standing back as i was in mock confusion at his lights he bounds left instead of right and i am dragged after him instead of seeing him impaled on the holy black sword i wield damn his interference i sweep my sword backwards and catch a small piece of debris sending it back at the boy to let him know his intervention is not needed or desired the beast and i now circle each other the chanting blow raises to a crescendo i can see energies infusing it now like worms of power crackling up its lids and proceeding up its body the power grows as we spar our blades clashing again and again sparks of differing hues and shades flash between our swords as his unnatural effect changes them i suppose some might call it mesmerizing or even beautiful but to me it is only a sign of delay he is stalling holding me off while his power grows i force the issue i use the next 20 strikes to maneuver him into a corner he cannot see my planet first cannot avoid it as the truth dawns on him he is fast i am faster he is strong i am stronger he thinks he is blessed by his lords so takes my invitation and we test the theory i strike down on him with all of my might knowing he has no choice he locks his sword to mine and we grind we lean in and i see his shifting features properly for the first time like a broken liquid mirror his face has an ever shifting parody of all that is pure and human glimpses of his future form arise and sink back again as horns and teeth extend on the elongate and then revert back again within a second i must prevail i slam my head into his my helmet crashing into where i know should be i feel the impact but see his eyes shift to the edges of his head his nose flying up to his forehead before the impact yet i impact he stack us back and i push him with all of my strength his eyes are wide on his head his stance unbalanced he wells on the spot and i can see the eyes spin out from his head like small globes on string that is ever extending i've used his twisted powers against him he is now dizzy and i see him lurch i place myself in a crouch and put all of my force and weight my skill faith and zeal all until one strike the black sword shudders as it pierces his torso dead center through his heart i am certain the word any blade but this holy sword it would have shattered on his robes but this blade is the emperor's blade as much as i am his champion and it slides between his ribs and through him punching out of the other side he stomps blood spills from his mouth and flows over my pauldron his eyes wide his raised sword arm slowly sags the chanting blower stops his sword slowly falls beside me as he ruins flash on it as i see it all in slow motion my hands are my sword the weight of the man on it i cannot move fast enough for some reason i am aware that if that blade hits the ground it will unleash the power built up it is only now that i see that the light is coming from the sword not really the man i have slain the emperor wishes me to destroy not only the wielder but the blade itself the longest second of my life flashes before my eyes as i cannot stop what is about to happen it is at the last second that a shadow falls over me a hand darts out and grabs the hilt of the cursed blade the boy he darted in and yanks it up his arms burst into flames and he screams he cannot hold it for long he has prevented it hitting the ground but it is not deactivated power still flows from it and the runes on its blade flash ever more powerfully the boy locks eyes with my visor looks upwards as through clenched teeth he then takes the last of his strength and hurls a blade into the air i follow it due to his cue and push him far back he lands hard of this i can hear but he is now away from what i must do the blade comes down tip first desperately wanting to make contact with the platform to be connected to the ground in any way it can to then discharge its foul effect but i am ready i bring up the black sword with all of my might every ounce of my strength i shatter it the black sword breaks the cursed blade but a torrent of power is unleashed i'm carried off my feet and backwards far i heard something hard my eyes darken as i lose consciousness welcome gentle listener i am voldemort your faithful servant and i wish to introduce you to the forces factions and important units of the warhammer 40k universe the grim darkness of the far future where there is no time for peace there is only time for war as a note gentle listener please do always remember that my little tales at the start and throughout many of an entry are merely flavor pieces written by myself to help ease you into the imagery and fun of warhammer they are merely fan fiction and by no means canon or ever intended to be so for that you will read or hear the official works of the black library the writing wing of games workshop itself and i can assure you if you like my own ham-fisted attempts at tales you're in for an almost limitless treat for their books and audio dramas are expansive and often exquisite now that all said let us continue for today as promised we should be looking at one of the most interesting of the special units that are unique to the space marine chapter the black templars although some other chapters now imitate the black templars in their use of this very special position it is truly a black templar that personifies the title best for it harkens all of the way back to the man who formed the black templars that redoubtable warrior whose name still strikes fear into the hearts of traitor estartis the legendary sigismund himself and thus we shall be discussing the emperor's champion and so as usual for the very basics let us lean on existing wisdom to quote almost all chapters of the space rings have had an emperor's champion of their own at one time or another especially during the period following the horus heresy known as the great scouring the practice is much less common in the 41st or 42nd millennium however the position of emperor's champion has played an important role within the ranks of the zealous black templars chapter since the chapter's inception as a successor of the imperial fist and has been maintained with reverence and high esteem throughout nearly 10 000 years or more of endless crusades and ceaseless conflict in battle it is the duty of designated emperor's champion to seek out and challenge the commander of the enemy force fighting him or her in single combat for the glory of the emperor many great battles and wars have been turned in favor of the imperium by the slaying of enemy leaders or other key figures in a foe's chain of command by an emperor's champion always at the forefront of the back templar's battle line strides a single figure his gleaming blade carving a path of ruin through the foe this warrior will challenge any enemy no matter how mighty for he is the emperor's champion and divinity rests upon his shoulders as both mantle and shroud on the eve of battle as the black templars kneel before their chaplains and pray for the emperor's favor one amongst them may be granted a vision in his mind's eye angelic hosts wielding blades of fire bestride the stars driving back the rising shadows with their righteous fury glorious battles of both past and future world through the battle brothers mind accompanied by the certainty that he has been chosen by the emperor as his mortal vessel upon the field of battle as this fugu state passes the space marine knows that he must heed the summons and stand forevermore apart but after his brothers in the searing light of the emperor's gaze the chaplains then lead the chosen battle brother to an isolated contemplation chamber here he is clad in holy raiment donning the armor of faith and surrendering his weapons in favor of one of the chapter's ten sacred black sworns only a handful of emperor's champions arise each century their emergence a miracle worthy of remembrance and at any given time there can be only one in the chapter it is therefore the duty of the chaplains to ensure that a single black sword accompanies each crusade with its inception ready should an emperor's champion arise should this happen the name of the blade's new wielder is inscribed into its obsidian hilt immortalizing a new hero as a part of the blade's own legend when battle is joined divine might throw you through the sinew of the emperor's champion his vision shimmers with golden light that burns bright around the mightiest of enemies in this way the emperor's champion is guided through the press swatting lesser enemies aside as he closes upon his target leaving his brethren to fight the broader battle the impedance champion engages the most deadly foes in single combat the emperor's champion will never concede defeat for his duty does not end until the black sword is pried from his cold dead hands at the conclusion of the horus heresy during the siege of terror first captain sigismund of the imperial fist legion was chosen to serve as the emperor's champion personally singled out by rogel dorne himself sigismund was bestowed with the high honor of serving as the personal champion of the emperor though humbled by the honor he was disturbed by only one thing it seemed wrong to him to obscure the sacred colours of his legion the imperial fist recusiak who bestowed the sacred blessings upon his armor and war gear told sigismund to fear not for dorne himself had ordered it to be so sigismund's heraldry had been changed to black to show that he served the emperor directly as did the reclusiak and his fellow chaplains as such he had been marked out in the sight of the emperor reassured sigismund stowed across the war-torn scenes of carnage of hell on earth challenged any and all champions of chaos to single combat as well as anyone else unfortunate enough to cross his path since that time the black templars chapter has continued to honor sigismund by continuing the practice of naming an emperor's champion ever since sigismund was elevated to a rank of the high martial or chapter master of the black templars there have been others who have risen to follow in his status as the emperor's champion it is written in the holy text of the black templars that when a battle brother is gifted with divine visions guiding him to take up that mantle of the emperor's champion it is the memories of sigismund he sees it is a shifting vista of warring angels and vengeful gods just as the ancient space marine witnessed during their war of fertile and the blasphemy of the horus heresy only those who have become the emperor's champion and survived can hope to understand the time in which sigismund lived and the weight of his duty to smite the enemies of the emperor to become the emperor's champion is no matter of training but rather a sacred calling that most black templars aspire to but few ever achieve for to be chosen to serve as the emperor's champion is to be chosen by the emperor himself becoming the emperor's champion is a single honor and few space marines attain that status more than once in their lives if at all on the eve of battle back templar brethren pray and fast on some extremely rare occasions a battle brother may feel the blessings of righteous certainty upon him and know that he must take up the mantle of the empress champion the battle brother will seek out the chaplains and be declared the emperor's champion unless our champion of the black temples is present and able to take the brother's confession he must assume the mantle alone donning the most sacred relics of his chapter and declaring his mission to his fouls he will seek permission from the master of the armory to bear into battle the most potent of weapons and the most revered of armor few would dare refuse for the battle brothers eyes burned with a zeal of his duty and the weight of his oath is an almost palpable thing having taken up the trappings of the emperor's champion the battle battle remains as such until his vision is fulfilled only by the word of the chaplains is his duty discharged and he resumes his place in the ranks of his chapter once more how and why the emperor's champion manifests within the soul of a black templar remains a mystery even to the chapter itself though the black templars accept it as the divine work of the god emperor and a measure of their faith indeed as far as they are concerned that the emperor's champion is unique to the black templars only goes to prove their profound connection to the master of mankind and strength of their devotion while the accounts of the vision vary from one battle brother to the next many of the symbols and themes remain the same a mighty hero fighting an impossible foe a fading light that must be rekindled and a time of endless enemies crashing upon crumbling fortress walls all are images given by the emperor awaking from his vision trance the battle by the will proclaim the emperor's visitation and the chaplain will take him away so that the true ceremony may begin the most senior black templar chaplain in the crusade is called to listen to the vision and verify its authenticity ever fearful of demonic trickery and false interpretation the chaplain will have the battle brother recount what he saw referencing the libra divinitates of the chapter to see if symbols and images recorded there match those described never in the history of the chapter as a battle baller received a false vision each and every one a true vessel of the god emperor the vision confirmed the battle brother is taken to the chapter shrine sacred ground blessed by the chaplains wherever the company makes its camp whether it is a scorched earth of an alien world the shadowy creaking hole of an imperial vessel or the rusted dripping ruins of a higher city this is a place holy to the chapter made divine by the grace of the god emperor from a sealed stasis casket the chaplain draws out the black sword and armor of faith the trappings of the emperor's champion with great care the attendant chapter says will then dress the battle brother as blessings are recited over each plate and seal tiny spidery script is edged upon the armor further protecting its wearer from harm each one a benediction to the emperor's might and a promise of his divine protection finally once a visit helmet is placed upon his head the newly anointed emperor's champion will heft the black sword placing both hands on it and lifting it into the air the ritual is done and the emperor's champion is ready to begin his holy work in battle the empress champion fights alone even though he might strive through the ranks of the battle brothers he does not heed the orders of captains nor share their objectives he exists only to vanquish the most powerful foes of the emperor singling them out in personal combat and chewing them apart with felling blows from the black sword no warrior that has seen the emperor's champion in battle can deny that the god emperor is working through his faithful servant haloed by a faint glow of faith manifest enemy bolts and bullets that would tear ordinary men apart seem to have no impact upon the champion the blessed battle brother walks across the field as if the hand of the emperor shields him shells ripping the air and earth to pieces in his wake while he remains untouched even when a powerful blow or blast knocks the emperor's champion to the ground he will haul himself to his feet shaking debris from his armor to continue his charge into the foe the effect of the emperor's champion on a battle is undeniable and many black templars battle brothers believe that it is a blessing merely to fight busani one while the champion does not follow orders from his former commanders he answers to a greater power and the chapter is content to allow him to seek out specific enemies or war zones as guided by his visions this is born out to the belief that the emperor's champion manifests for a reason one that is beyond the cane of the chapter commanders but that is nonetheless important to victory it is the reason that the emperor's champion has been summoned to kill a potent foe or turn the tide of a vital conflict and he alone knows what is required of him the ritual of the black blade it is rare for the emperor's champion to live long beyond donning the armor of faith filled with divine courage he will hurl himself into a thickest fighting or against the greatest enemy warlords selling his life for the glory of his chapter while taking scores of the foe with him it is a doom that both battle brother and chapter except as part of their covenant with the god emperor the knowledge that greater glory is won only with the blood of heroes when an emperor's champion falls the chapter's chaplains will bear his body from the field of battle in a ritual that honors his divine deeds the armor of faith is removed its seals broken and its prayers washed away with holy oils then in an honouring ceremony high marshal helbrecht listens to chapli grimaldo's tale of the deeds of the empress champion while a venerable chapter surf inscribes the battle brothers name onto the blade the ritual complete and the name having taken its place next to its predecessors the blade is placed back into its station's casket until another is chosen by the emperor to claim it end quote i have been baltimore your faithful servant i hope you've enjoyed this introduction to the emperor's champion if so then please do consider liking and subscribing if you do then do consider also pressing the notifications button as i would not want you to miss out now no matter what you do today do try to make some time for fun too blue back to the story the dust is settling around me i am still alive nestled he wills it i fight another day perhaps i can feel my body as mostly broken my mind swims in and out of wakefulness i hear them i think above me i barely recognize the voices as the inquisitor and the young man the one who saved us all despite my victory had he not acted perhaps this world would belong to the enemy now everyone is dead and you drag me up here to see another carcass boy you test my patience mightily today i suppose saving the world by stopping the sword counts for nothing in your tarry hey master you ignored my orders involved yourself in a jewel that had it ended differently would have meant that marine would then behead you so that's a no then fair enough master one more flippant word out of you one and you will be taking another vow of silence a quarter instead of just a month this time you are warned my apologies master it must be my concussion always excuses with you master this marine is special i feel it we should enlist him tarman is dead you have needs of a templar guard request this one why he is broken he was the emperor's champion boy that is the might you witnessed his not this broken thing master you said my only worthwhile skill my only talent was to discern the greatness in others an admittance i wish i had never made nonetheless i see greatness in him he is fundamental to the thaddeus i can feel it what you feel is shame shame at your errors shame at your actions you merely attempt to move my eye from your shortcomings to this marine master you know that is not true deep down you do i will prove it and how pray tell you do that we will take off his helmet and what will that prove that you are right and i am a fool. or that you are right and i can discern greatness when it is in my presence so very cleverly put do it but do not think i am with you replicated by your obsequiousness i am not i feel hands at the latches of my helm no it must be removed ceremonially by my brethren by the chaplains he does so anyway the air is warm flecks of burning ash land on my face it is enough to make me wake more but my eyes will not open you see look at him i was right look i see a broken astartes master you know who he looks like who he may well be the sons of sigismund and dorne are not known for their genesee to produce the effect of the salamanders or the others who mutate to be a likeness of their sire they do not it is a sign perhaps i doubt it but perhaps if he survives i will ask for him by name what is it baba i think i heard that his name is papa i lose consciousness again days pass i am told that i was as is usual taken from the field by my brothers with pomp and circumstance the chaplains removed the holy armor the holy blade and put them back into their places of sanctity ready for the next time one of us is called i spend time in the apothecary i'm interviewed by the chaplains to make certain i have not been corrupted by that which i fought later i was released and presented to the marshall our leader the lord of our crusade i walk and do so stiff-backed despite the discomfort the chamber is well lit candles across every column praises between them there stands my lord and with him the other inquisitor this thaddeus his younger man is the only one of his entourage present i am later defined that they were wiped out my lord nods at me the token of the honor i have won for the chapter the respect he now has for me i step up and kneel and he begins you have done well barbara has struck down the foes of the emperor himself by your actions of the evil destroyed and the world for which we fought is saved but your trials are not yet done i will now that you consider this offer an honor but one you may not wish to perform i cannot order you it must be accepted with good grace looking up i not for him to proceed for years now since the destruction of the arch traitor inherited gold van dire our order has been linked with this inquisitor in his line he indicated the tall willowy man he didn't need to of course i am aware of them i remember their conversation now we owe him a debt it has always been a black templar that is with them in their labors it was a thaddeus that brought us into the inner palace tore down the wards and found secret passages to allow us in without this perhaps those days may not have ended as they did but the debt is one thing the duty is another it is a black temper that is tied to this particular inquisitor because of what they are and what they represent they call themselves the wisdom the thaddeus and ever otherwise unable to move with certainty hence it is a black templar that is their shield their sword and their warlord for when the wisdom finally declares something anathema a foe to be destroyed for the greater imperium then it must be a warrior of unbridled faith certainty and wrath that carries this out it is also our agreement for the wisdom the thaddeus that is known to have strayed before so it is proper that a holy warrior is there to not only protect their person but to safeguard their purity their goal their very soul but before you say i or nay know this an inquisitor carries the seal of the emperor and does many things in his name and in the company of those may repulse you the witch especially and it will be your duty to be his sword but to know that he will have many weapons in his service that may not be in keeping with your oaths your oath to the thaddeus is an oath to malcador the hero is to the god emperor himself it does not negate your previous vows but can put them in abeyance for the greater good of the imperium this duty this honor this debt to the sadist must be paid so it is he or another what say you i think to myself i don't wish to take this out i did not like this thaddeus but when has want or liking ever mattered to a templar but let us see if there is anything i can redeem from this thing the thaddeus i am to be sworn to but what does that mean what is it the inquisitor steps forward it is a rank a station a way of thought investigation a method of hunting down the scum within our realm but it is the rank not the person so when i expire it will pass to another your understudy i indicate the boy [Music] alas so i can understand why you would not want to take this oath he said this with a sneer not of me i'm sure but at the thought of passing his precious torch to the man next to him and i look at them both i cannot find anything to like in this one nor anything to admire if i am honest but the other his successor he is brave intelligent patient and humble but the fire in his eyes the devotion it shines i i can serve him i look to my lord i i will take this task no matter how onerous no matter how it may besmirch my honor it was the will of the emperor that i became his champion it is his will again that i served this stadius i accept the trial my lord nods good i have a few stipulations says the inquisitor this is not all one way i have to accept you too barbar and i give these three eos to let you know them so you can still recant the first you will serve the thaddeus without hesitation second you will never reveal your face before other astartes never born scholars or other inquisitors under any circumstances the third you will train against multiple assailants and will not practice dueling to the exclusion of all else i draw in my breath through my teeth he smiles sardonically this is not against me this is a force me to withdraw to recant so that he can berate and belittle that bravery young man at his side it is a game i will not play it of course i do not understand but i will do it and thus i barbarou the black templars one who has been the emperor's own champion swore these olds my lord left and i rose as i too left i heard them they always forget the hearing of the astartes these inquisitors happy will i get a quarter of silence if i'm honest this once no but do not be trite or flippant or i'll sow your mouth shut myself he is why i believe him to be i know it look at him the resemblance the skill the power the will he should have died he is who he appears to be romantic fairy tales he is a marine you are besotted with nothing more the older inquisitor leaves the boy still mutters away to himself as i depart none can know the emperor sent you back to us not yet for he the god emperor of mankind would not have done so for any mean or meager reason any mean or mega task for you to be returned it can only mean one thing we will have need of your power your courage your example for indeed he tells us that the end times are here that the final battle is to be waged soon and he sends back his greatest grandson his greatest warrior to wage it three hundred years later the present day the two men stood across from each other the ravages of time fully writ on the face of the smaller man despite the many re-use he had taken the other the astartes had not one sign of all of the years between that time and now the march of time touched him only in so much as the multitude of scars he now had i will not serve him my oaths prevented stated barbar there has been a black templar with the thaddeus for over five thousand years since the age of apostasy the reign of blood when we the thaddeus helped the forces of sigismund's eternal crusade into the palace smashing the wars and glitz protecting the outer areas we led you in and for that we were given a right hand a hammer to smash the foes of the emperor when we had sniffed them out the demon and all that cavort with them do you think the demon lesser threat than the witch that summons him are you that small and single-minded after all this time after all you have seen i am an emperor's champion touched by the emperor's light himself given vision and cause and purpose how could you i even you assist of me especially you i will not serve a witch how dare you you will do as you are told astartes you came to be his symbol the very hand of the emperor but you are not that is me me and my brother inquisitors it is we not thee who were mandated by the direct order of the god emperor himself it is our order that are given his seal he's writ his authority to go wherever we need to requisition all that we need from any that we need without restraint who art thou to gain say the will of the emperor who are thou to deny his servants created by malcolm the hero by the order of the very master of mankind who are thou to say me nay how dare you if you so much has mentioned this again so much as think it what will you do i will send you back what i will send you back to your order your chapter the black templars add this sadius now drew himself up to his full height a walk towards barb on snarling i will commandeer a vessel i will stop at every planet on our way i will make it blatant i will be honest i will shout it from every mountain every city every rocks on our way everyone will hear me champion my truth and it will be thus the word of the black templars the oath of the black templars the honor of the black templars is worth nothing it is a shallow basic sail of breath with no more strength no more power than a grux fart word is worth nothing you wouldn't i what what would you do slay me you would stay the thaddeus and make every word i proclaim right are you threatening me astartes no no i am not do not test me again baba you swore in hopes to serve the thaddeus not me not old emailius not an inquisitor the thaddeus a pity perhaps as you have had me as your master but that may not be the case for very much longer you will serve the sadius no matter who it is you've stomped my tenure as pathetic as it may have been but you will then get the honor of serving the greatest thaddeus of all time a psyche he may be but as sadly as he will be you are here barbara because of deos imperator vault the god emperor wills it would you refute your own god dear friend warrior of his own blood his own jeans why will you not trust in him in his mighty design and have you ever considered that his design is for a black temper to be present when the thaddeus is a witch and strays that it was always a black templar that would end the line then it may be my hand that has to separate tarquins head from his shoulders the old man looked stunned took a step back then smiled deeply and warmly his eyes glistening if it is his will it is his will if it has to be done at least it should be someone who knows him well enough to judge so it won't be your fault old friend if it has to be done then deus imperator rot the god emperor wills it will i have the strength yes if it is required yes you will but more importantly in the days that are coming there will be such dire threat so much need for extremes that you will judge with better eyes have faith in the designer in the boy perhaps you will have the greatest strength of all the strength to know when to trust when all others would not and the strength to do the hardest thing of all the strength to not strike you still believe what you said when we met what i heard you as i left the chapel i heard you a moment of silence as thaddeus walked the mindscape of his memory then his face softened still you heard that after all this time my friend only now do you mention it my answer every year every month together has proven that to me more and more i now have no shadow of a doubt then tell me who you think i am and the riddle that has been playing on my mind for over 300 years you know really you see it in the mirror each day you feel it in the regime you know really you just do not want to believe as it would offend your humble bearing and free me of my regime i must be all i can be if the threat is as you foresee if you do that everyone will know who you are everyone but will it matter anymore perhaps it may end up drawing more attention than you and tarquinas can manage but then for him as with you it has never been and never could have been easy all right barbara i free of your regimes you may train as you were always meant to train you must become what you always were meant to become the marine breathed in and seemed to increase in size seemed to tower now in a way he had never done before not since the first time they had met but i do not free you of your second oath to the thaddeus you will keep your face covered amongst others of your kind scholars never born and inquisitors because if you are ever found out in that instant in that very moment you will become a target for all of the forces of hell

Channel: Baldermort's Guide to Warhammer

Views: 188,358

Keywords: THE EMPERORS CHAMPION - BLACK TEMPLARS!, Black Templars Lore, The Emperors Champion Lore, Space Marine Lore, Imperial Fists Lore, Rogal Dorn Lore, Sigismund Lore, Black Space Marines, Crusader Squads Lore, Warhammer 40000 lore, Warhammer 40K lore, Games Workshop, Thaddeus Lore, Barbon Lore, Barbon Backstory, Inquisitor Lore 40K, Chaos Lore, Baldermort Audio drama

Id: mpdkQVeChY0

Length: 62min 18sec (3738 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 23 2021