Friday, March 20, 2009

What is Alpharius (and/or) Omegon up to?

From the great response to the post on Fulgrim, I thought I'd try a different speculative bit of writing today. Spoiler alert, though: if you've not read the Horus Heresy book, "Legion", and intend to, then you may wish to stop reading now. You have been warned.
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Still reading? Okay. Here's my next thought on the primarchs - this time concerning Alpharius and Omegon (and wasn't the twin thing a big reveal in and of itself alone!). Of all the primarchs these guys strike me as being amongst the most cunning, independent and intelligent. Having said that, they did get manipulated by an external agency into supporting Horus. But in doing so, they did so willingly on the basis that their motives always have been and always will be for the Emperor. Moreover, the manipulation may not have even been a lie either. Had Horus have won, perhaps chaos could have been defeated all the more quickly.

So that brings me to my next point: Horus lost. What did the Alpha legion and Alpharius plus Omegon do next? Their plans were laid to waste. Surely they wouldn't have taken that lightly and would have re-evaluated? There's a number of options that I see. Firstly, they carry on fighting the imperium of man on the basis that their overall goal can still be rescued. Presumably that is the option that they appear to have chosen(?) Alternatively, perhaps they now fight for other purposes and simply utilize chaos for their own ends much as a mechanic might utilize a wrench.

At some point, their machinations brought them in to conflict with the Ultramarines. Alpharius, or Omegon, or perhaps neither of them(!) died at the hands of Guilliman. This probably didn't have much of an affect on the legion really. I personally suspect that both of the twins are still alive - if either fought Guilliman, I would like to have thought that Guilliman would have also sustained heavy wounds - something that is not stated or noted. Indeed, Guilliman was probably still at his peak (undiminished from his bout with the Alpha's) when he met his match in the Fulgrim-daemon later.

Next, I'd note that the Alpha legion show very little mutation. Coupled with that, Alpharius or Omegon (whichever was not killed ... or both) would have ascended to daemonhood if they had fully given themselves over to chaos. It wouldn't take 10,000 years for a primarch like Alpharius / Omegon to ascend, surely? (okay - that's a bit anthropic, but no worse than suggesting that if Fulgrim could have got rid of the daemon in 10,000 years, he would have done so already!). Or, perhaps he (or they) have a reason for not seeking daemonhood? I suspect that they're just not that chaotic (for lack of a better word).

All of that places the Alpha legion and their primarch(s) in a curious and unique position. They're neither fully loyal (in the sense that the Ultramarines or Iron Hands are), nor fully traitor (such as the World Eaters and Black Legion are). Given this unique situation, what could they be up to? What long term plans have they got? They're up to something; plotting for the long term; I'm certain of it!! :)

7 comments:

Sasha Klebnikov said...

you are talking like they are illuminati or souldrinkers: supporting the imperium, outside of the administratum....interesting idea.

Where is the fiction about the alpharius guilliman fight?

jabberjabber said...

Hi Mate, I found some fiction notes on the lexicanum:
http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Alpharius

If you google for "Alpharius", there's more to be found that suggests the same story arc.

The Horus Heresy Book, Legion, certainly painted the Alphas in a new light for me. :)

sovietspace said...

I've always thought that if GW was to radically advance the fluff (which they wont!), there would be two main protagonists. There are two legions that stick out as having some form of sub-plot that effects the Imperium as a whole (as opposed to just their legion).

And the winners are.... The Alpha Legion and the Dark Angels (surprise surprise).

Its the Alpha’s for the reasons you've talked about - they are up to something. I’m still not convinced that they are all loyalists in disguise, but I'm also not convinced they are Chaos fan boys. Either way, they have the potential to be one of the main plot twists in any 'end of the Imperium' scenario.

As for the Angels, well it’s the Cypher who makes them the more interesting. I am convinced that he the bad guy turned good, working his way towards the golden throne to test out the Star Child Theory (that old chestnut!). Which oddly makes the Dark Angels themselves, the bad guys. I could go on, buts that would warrant a new post!

Good job Jabber – I love your fluff discussions!

jabberjabber said...

Hi Sovietspace,
Thanks for the comment! Yes - I agree with you (on all points!).

Although I did hear somewhere that the star-child theory was alledgedly meant to be a Tzeentchian scheme. I just can't recall where I read that snippet though.

suneokun said...

Alpharius and Omegon are monozygotic twins (same egg splits into two) - this explains the simularity between the brothers. As a twin myself, I find it an interesting concept...

The Alpha Legion embraced the vision of the cabal and attack the imperium, as only through the destruction of mankind itself could Chaos be destroyed.

So their objective was to thwart Chaos in the long term while aiding its growth. The Alpha legion were fairly contemptuous of Chaos in the book - using (foolishly) the Falq's of the chaotic enemy as a weapon. Additionally, Alpha legion were a brilliant Spy organisation.

The chance that the Ultramarines (even Gulliman) could 'ambush' the ambushers is laughable. Gulliman is far too indoctrinated for that. My guess is that Omegon and Alpharius saw their failure and split their forces.

Alpharius 'faked' his death and retreated to the Eye to keep an eye on the Traitorous legions... subsequently working against Chaos from the inside. Remember that one of the 'Lost' Eldar Craftworld has recently reappeared from the Eye and other, Inquisitor Jaq for one, have travelled in and battled in the Eye of Terror.

So one Alpharius group is praying on the 'weak' chaos forces in the eye. Appearing strong and uniteing but effectively controlling their impact on the Imperium (whether to destroy or to save: its for the good of the imperium).

Meanwhile Omegon has done a bunk with the other half of the legion. Either implanting themselves within the Imperial heirachy or alternatively targetting the Cabal to find out the next chance of defeating Chaos.

For me, the Alpha legion are the coolest Legion going and are more about the 'greater good of the Empire' than any bunch of dogmatic blue space cowboys...

Ben said...

He's planning a Sexy Party!

eriochrome said...

I am trying to get through my back log of books so I skipped the post. Thanks for the spoiler alert. I still have Fulgrim, Descent of Angels, and Legion to go. Ofcourse it is usually a choice of build and paint or read so normal I build and paint.

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