Warhammer 40kv Lorebook

1. #1The Imperium

   Keys: Imperium of Mankind, Imperium, The Empire

   The Imperium of Man, also called the Imperium of Mankind or simply the Imperium, is the galactic empire under which the majority of humanity is united. The founder and nominal ruler of the Imperium is the god-like Emperor of Mankind, the most powerful human psyker ever known.

   The size of the Imperium cannot be measured in terms of contiguous territory, but only in the number of planetary systems in its control. While it is commonly stated that the Imperium is an empire of a million worlds, the Imperium controls countless worlds. Some state between a million, millions, a billion or even billions in total. The overall number of planets has never been exactly determined, entire departments of the Administratum are devoted to cataloguing every controlled world, a task without end, due to the constantly changing nature of the domain. New planets are constantly discovered, conquered or colonised while old ones are lost.

   The Imperium rules a million worlds is a common saying heard across its citizenry. A million worlds sounds numerous and strong. A dominating force. Easily understood by the egos of men. In truth, the Imperium is spread out thinly across billions of worlds, individual motes scattered across the vastness of the galaxy. Vulnerable to its many perilous threats.

   Several aliens and forces like The Chaos, The Tranids, The Eldar, Dark Eldar, Orks, The Tau Empire, Necrons and Independent States challenge the supremacy of the Imperium. From within, the Imperium is threatened more insidiously by rebellion, mutation, rogue psykers, and subversive cults. Without the protection of the Imperium, mankind would fall prey to the countless perils that threaten it.

   The Empire was founded around the 30th Millennium by the self-proclaimed Emperor of Mankind, following the rebellion of the machines against humanity and the awakening of the warp. The ancient human federation had been destroyed.

   The Emperor unified the earth currently known as Terra, beginning the Great Crusade that would last 200 years until the entire galaxy was conquered. However, at the end of the Great Crusade, half of the Emperor's sons, the Primarchs, would betray the Empire in the so-called Horus Heresy.

   After the Heresy, the Imperium gradually declined until the present day, where it has become a dystopia in constant, endless war.

   The empire has a policy against almost everything human, from aliens and AIs to psykers.

2. #2The Emperor of Mankind

   Keys: God Emperor, All-Father, Emperor

   The Emperor of Mankind, or commonly referred to by believers of the Imperial faith as the God-Emperor, is the founder of the empire and its de jure current leader.

   The Emperor was an incredibly powerful psychic, probably one of the strongest and most intelligent.

   The Emperor's origins are unknown; there are several hypotheses, but none are entirely true.

   What is known is that the Emperor has lived for thousands of years, taking on the mantle of different important figures throughout human history.

   During the Great Crusade, the Emperor created 21 extremely powerful sons known as the Primarchs, although they were scattered throughout the galaxy and he was unable to raise them as he wished.

   By the end of the Great Crusade, he named one of his sons, Horus Lupercal, warlord, leaving him in charge of the Great Crusade without knowing that he would betray him.

   Half of the primarchs would betray the emperor by joining Chaos and attacking the empire in a civil war known as the Horus Heresy.

   By the end of the heresy, the Emperor would fight Horus one-on-one. Although the Emperor would destroy Horus' soul, killing him, he would be seriously injured and forced to sit in a device known as the Golden Throne, which keeps him alive.

   By the 42nd millennium, the Emperor is nothing more than a living corpse, immobile on the Golden Throne, worshipped by all humanity as something he does not want to be: a god.

3. #3The Great Crusade

   Keys: Great Crusade

   The Great Crusade (~798.M30 — 005.M31) was a brief age of rebuilding and reunification following the complete regression of mankind during the Age of Strife. It was a time when the Emperor still lived in the conventional sense and led his race in person. It followed the Emperor's conquest of Terra in the Unification Wars and lasted roughly from the conquest of Earth's moon to the Battle of Ullanor and the beginning of the Horus Heresy.

   The Great Crusade was a series of wars to unify humanity and an attempt to destroy all aliens in the galaxy. Over 200 years, the forces of the Imperium conquered much of the galaxy, mostly through war and the death of billions of innocent lives.

4. #4The Horus Heresy

   Keys: The Heresy, Horus Heresy

   The Horus Heresy, was the first and most devastating galaxy-spanning civil war in Imperium history. Occurring in early Millenium 31 and lasting several years, it divided and nearly destroyed the fledgling Imperium of Man. It marked the end of the Great Crusade and the encasing of the Emperor of Mankind into the Golden Throne.

   The Horus Heresy lasted approximately nine years, during which the Traitor Primarchs and their Space Marine Legions fought against the loyal forces of the Imperium.

   The Heresy would begin in the battles of Itsvaan III and Itsvaan V. Over the course of nine years, various groups would fight on different fronts, such as the Burning of Prospero, the Battle of Signus Prime, and the Battle of Ravendelve.

   The end of the Heresy would occur when the rebel forces attempted to besiege Terra, the capital of the Imperium, after the battle between the Emperor and Horus Lupercal. The latter would die, causing the traitorous forces to flee Terra into the warp.

5. #5The Age of Rebirth

   Keys: Age of Rebirth

   During the Age of Rebirth the Imperium slowly recovered from the Horus Heresy.

   The wars of the Great Scouring were fought in the decades after the Horus' demise. In a lengthy campaign the Imperium hunted and banished the remaining traitors from their realm. Eventually the followers of Chaos found refuge in the Eye of Terror. At the same time many alien races that had been fought back during the Great Crusade reappeared and plagued the vulnerable worlds of man. One of the greatest renewed threats to mankind was that of the Ork, which nearly reunified as a race under a Warboss known only as The Beast. His Waaagh! was halted only at great cost.

   In order to prevent a single person from controlling as much military power as Horus did and thus eliminating the risk of another large scale military rebellion, numerous reforms were drawn up. The Imperial Army's link to the Imperial Fleet was severed, creating two separate forces, the Imperial Guard and Navy. The remaining loyal Space Marine Legions adopted the Codex Astartes written by Primarch Roboute Guilliman and were split into several smaller Chapters.

6. #6The Forging

   Keys: The Forging, Rise of the Imperial Cult

   The Forging is considered the Golden Age of the Imperium.

   During this period the Imperium became ever more harsh and uncompromising, with the Adeptus Terra beginning to bind its most important star systems under ever tighter control. Astropathic choirs were set in relay positions across the Imperium, with major hubs on Armageddon, Bakka, Macragge, and other greatly garrisoned planets. The Imperial Cult became the official religion, and the Ecclesiarchy added more measures of control over the masses.

   Once more the Imperium expunged the forces of Chaos and Xenos alike in the galaxy and reclaimed lost regions.

7. #7The Imperial Cult

   Keys: Ecclesiarchy, Imperial Cult, Cult Imperialis

   The Imperial Cult, also called the Cult Imperialis, is the cult based on the worship of the Emperor of Mankind as Master, Defender, and Father of Mankind, developed following his internment in the Golden Throne. In the 41st millennium the Imperial Cult has almost unrivaled power and influence within the Imperium. Heresy against it is punished severely. The religion is administered by the Ecclesiarchy.

   The Imperial Cult is the Imperium's state religion, and in many ways the religion is the state itself; it binds humanity together in the service of the Emperor and the Imperium. The principle tenets of the Imperial Creed are the persecution of mutants, the abhorrence of Xenos, and the worship of both the Emperor and Imperial ideals.

   The more devout followers of the Creed will undertake The Grand Pilgrimage to Terra at least once in their lives.

   While many Space Marine Chapters follow their own cults some do abide by the Imperial Cult and worship the Emperor as a god. These include the Black Templars, Fire Angels, Red Hunters, Star Phantoms, Auric Paragons, Gravewardens of Piety, Ignus Hortanium, and Drakes Radiant.

   By M41, the ordinary Imperial citizen believes that the Emperor has always been venerated as an immortal and omnipotent god, but this is inaccurate. At the beginning of the Emperor's Great Crusade, there was no Ecclesiarchy; on the contrary, the Emperor had deliberately outlawed organised religion in any form, declaring it the source of much of the strife and ignorance that had prevented humanity from achieving its potential. The idea of worship was anathema to the Emperor's vision of a secular empire of man, ruled by reason and science. The official Imperial doctrine was that the Emperor was an extremely powerful being, the rightful ruler of all mankind, and the perfect image of humanity, but no matter how supreme, still a human being. This doctrine -which also denied the existence of Chaos- was called the "Imperial Truth".

   During the Great Crusade however, many ordinary Imperial citizens found that the light of reason and truth brought by the Emperor was not enough, and they took to worshiping him as a deity. The Emperor himself did not wish to be considered a deity, but his deeds during the Great Crusade and the very fact of his existence - an immortal man, and the most powerful psyker in the history of the galaxy - gave rise to a cult, known as the Lectitio Divinitatus, based on a tome written by the Primarch Lorgar, postulating that the Emperor was in fact a divine being. The early central figure of the Imperial Creed was the Remembrancer and later first Saint, Euphrati Keeler. Keeler along with the former Iterator Kyril Sindermann became early proponents of the Emperor's divinity and oversaw the spread of the Cult as the Heresy unfolded. By the time of the Siege of Terra, cults such as the Lightbearers and Empire of Divine Valour had gained strength across the Imperium. However, the cults' growth did not go unopposed, and occasionally resulted in open war between cultists and supporters of the Imperial Truth even as the Horus Heresy raged, such as on Argarops.

   The Emperor became an object of general veneration following the Horus Heresy and his internment within the Golden Throne on Terra. Over the following decades many individual Imperial cults sprang up throughout the Imperium, with their central theme being the redemption of humanity through the Emperor's self-sacrifice. After a few hundred years, a single cult known as the Temple of the Saviour Emperor was formed from the unification of a number of smaller cults, which gradually absorbed the main body of believers. In M32, this cult became the official religion of the Imperium, gaining the title of Adeptus Ministorum. Remaining cults were persecuted and mostly destroyed.

   The dominance of the Temple of the Saviour Emperor was broken during the Age of Apostasy in M36, when Sebastian Thor and his "Confederation of Light" reformed the Imperial Cult. After this point, the Ecclesiarchy took the form it would keep until M41. The Temple was subsequently declared heretical, and its remaining followers were hunted just like other unorthodox cults. Despite the continued dominance of Thor's version of the Imperial Cult over the next millennia.

8. #8Nova Terra Interregnum

   Keys: The Interregnum

   The Nova Terra Interregnum is also known as the time of twin Empires and lasted for 9 centuries.

   The Ur-Council of Nova Terra dismissed the authority of the High Lords and claimed rule of the Segmentum Pacificus. Eventually the civil conflict spread to the Adeptus Mechanicus, resulting in the Moirae Schism. During the Cataclysm of Souls in 975.M35 the Ecclesiarchy tried to unite the Imperium as a religious state. Their efforts ended in massive religious wars against the Ur-Council in a civil war unseen since the Horus Heresy. During the fighting, the Dark Angels made a daring attack upon Nova Terra upon suspecting that the mysterious Cypher was the member of the Ur-Council known as the Saviour of Praxus, though they failed to secure any prisoner. Other major battles of the civil war included the Tellarite Rebellion.

   Later, during the Hrakon Campaign, the Dark Angels cornered the rebel leader Obidiah Hrakon, who had been a key supporter of Nova Terra.

   Far from Nova Terra, it is said that the Realm of Ultramar was strengthened by the Interregnum and was free of the turmoil that beset the rest of the Imperium.

9. #9The Age of Apostasy

   Keys: Age of Apostasy, Reign of Blood

   The Age of Apostasy is renowned for the Reign of Blood, the time of Goge Vandire's dual rule as Ecclesiarch and Master of the Administratum. Vandire plunged the Imperium into a civil war that lasted for seven decades.

   Goge Vandire is the name most closely associated with the Age of Apostasy, and the Reign of Blood. He was the 361st High Lord of the Administratum and had a reputation as a staunch resistor to the dominance of the Ecclesiarchy. It is said he used assassins to gain his position, but any who spoke out against him were found dead, so none dared oppose him. Shortly before his rise, Vandire was instrumental in the rise of Ecclesiarch Paulis III, an incompetent who was easily controlled by Vandire and his followers.

   Once he had taken full control of the Administratum, he used his powers to undermine the Ecclesiarchy, while he led a group of Imperial Guard officers into the Ecclesiarchal Palace and overthrew Paulis III in what can only be described as a military coup. He declared Paulis a heretic and had him shot. He then moved in and took control of the Ecclesiarchy, effectively controlling both at once as High Lord of the Administratum and Ecclesiarch.

   The Ecclesiarchy could do nothing to stop Vandire, shaken and battered as they were. Vandire purged the Ecclesiarchy of any who opposed him. Those Cardinals who had not already fled gathered onto a single ship and set off for Ophelia VII in an attempt to escape Vandire. Their ship was, however, engulfed by a gigantic warp storm and never seen again just as they entered the warp. Vandire used this as evidence to claim that it was the Emperor's will that they should die and that he himself should lead the faith of the Imperium. Vandire then elected Cardinals of his own choosing to fill the benches, including many weak-minded fools and several brilliant geniuses who were just cruel enough to follow Vandire. He now had total control of the two most powerful facets of the Imperium.

   There was one other organisation that had remained distanced from the activities of Vandire and the High Lords, although they were at the heart of his domain. The Adeptus Custodes had maintained their vigil over the body of the Emperor, but had closed themselves off for protection. It was only when the Space Marines and Adeptus Mechanicus moved on the Imperial Palace that the Custodes learned of the full extent of Vandire's treachery. They had secret meetings with Space Marine commanders and advised the Space Marines to continue their attack while they would do what they could.

   The defences were nothing to the Adeptus Custodes, as they knew every pathway and hidden passage in the building and a small unit led by Longinus of the Companions under infiltrated the palace, emerging close to the inner sanctum of Vandire. There, the Centurion met with a unit of the Brides of the Emperor and attempted to show them that they were fighting for evil, not the good of the Imperium. The Brides were not to be swayed however, and the Centurion had to find another way to persuade them. Eventually the Centurion came up with a plan and, leaving his men as hostages, led the leader of the Brides of the Emperor away into the tunnels under the palace. No record exists of what happened there, but it is commonly believed he led her to the Golden Throne of the Emperor himself, and upon seeing his blessed form came to realize the truth in the matter. It is a matter of record that after whatever may or may not have occurred with the Centurion, the leader of the Brides personally executed the traitor Vandire.

10. #10The Age of Redemption

    Keys: Age of Redemption

    Beginning with the Great Cull by the High Lords of Terra, thousands of worlds glowed with the pyres of heretics burning. The Imperial Cult grew in power as never before, as those who defied the Ecclesiarchy were purged in blood and tears.

    A multitude of crusades were launched to recapture the squandered wealth of the Imperium. Saint Basillius judged that thirty Space Marine Chapters were found wanting and they embarked on a crusade into the Eye of Terror, intent on purging those worlds stolen by the birth of Slaanesh.

    At the height of this fervour thousands of worlds were left inadequately defended as sector fleets, Imperial Guard Regiments, and Space Marine chapters were sent on increasingly longer and more terrible crusades.

11. #11The Time of Ending

    Keys: Time of Ending, The Last Millennia

    These are the closing years of the 41st millennium.

    The galaxy has become an increasingly hostile place and the realm of the Imperium has begun to crumble. The light of the Astronomican is fading and the Golden Throne upon which the Emperor has rested for ten millennia has been discovered to have irreparable failures.

    By the end of the 41st Millennium, the Imperium was thrown into great turmoil as multiple disasters erupt. Cadia was destroyed by the Thirteenth Black Crusade. Much of the Imperium was divided in two by the subsequent formation of the Great Rift, and in an event known as The Blackness many worlds fell to the ensuing chaos. Fortunately for mankind, the Primarch Roboute Guilliman has been reborn.

12. #12The Age of the Dark Imperium

    Keys: The Current Age, Millenium 32, Actual Year, Era Indomitus

    Age of the Dark Imperium (c.999.M41-Onwards)

    The Age of the Dark Imperium directly follows the formation of the Great Rift. Though the Galaxy has been effectively split in two by the event, the Imperium has endured thanks to the efforts of Roboute Guilliman.

    The Age of the Dark Imperium, also known as the Era Indomitus, is the current period of Imperial history, beginning after the destruction of Cadia in the Thirteenth Black Crusade and the formation of the Great Rift.

    During this period the Imperium is effectively divided in two by the Great Rift, but has nonetheless endured thanks to the efforts of the revived Primarch Roboute Guilliman.

    Notable Events

    The Noctis Aeterna and the formation of Imperium Nihilus: Due to the creation of the Rift, the light of the Astronomican was blocked and Astropathic communication rendered impossible. The result, across the Imperium, was a state of total chaos as worlds were cut off. Massive Warp Storms erupted, making Warp Travel extremely hazardous. Riding this wave of Chaotic energy, vast Daemonic legions emerged into the Materium and began to move onto the Galaxy alongside Chaos Space Marines and their Cultist allies.

    Indomitus Crusade: The Primarch Roboute Guilliman takes control of the Imperium De Facto, launches the Indomitus Crusade to reclaim worlds stranded from the Great Rift.

    Third War of Armageddon: The Third War for Armageddon was fought in the latter years of M41, fifty-seven years to the day after the Second War for Armageddon. Ghazghkull Thraka was again the leader of the invasion and he was faced by his old nemesis Commissar Yarrick, whom Ghazghkull had let go following his capture at the Battle of Golgotha to make the ensuing invasion more entertaining.

    The Invasion of the Stygius Sector: was a major battle fought by the Imperium, sometime after the Thirteenth Black Crusade

    The War of Beasts on Vigilus: The War of Beasts, later sometimes known as the War of Nightmares upon the arrival of Chaos forces, is the term for the ongoing conflict on the Imperial World of Vigilus.

    The Charadon Campaign:The Charadon Campaign (also known as The War of Rust and Slime) began after the Noctis Aeterna, when Typhus the Traveller, Champion of Chaos God Nurgle seized his chance to invade the Forge World of Metalica and plunged the Charadon Sector into war.

    The Nachmund Rift War: The Nachmund Rift War is an ongoing conflict being waged by the Imperium in the Nachmund Sub-Sector. Closely connected to the War of Beasts and War of Nightmares on Vigilus, while the Fortress World itself continues to remain largely in Imperial hands the greater Nachmund Gauntlet finds itself besieged by the Forces of Chaos.

    The Octarius War: The Octarius War is a major conflict being waged between the Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan and the powerful Ork Empire of Octarius as well as tangential players such as the Imperium and Forces of Chaos.

    The Plague Wars: The Plague Wars were a series of battles that occurred within the Realm of Ultramar between the forces of the Chaos God Nurgle and the Imperium at the end of the first phase of the Indomitus Crusade.

    The Devastation of Baal: The Devastation of Baal (also known as the Battle of Baal) was part of the Third Tyrannic War, all the Blood Angels Chapters joined to fight the Tyranyd Fleet

    The Arks of Omen Campaign: The Arks of Omen Campaign was a major galaxy-wide offensive recently launched by Abaddon the Despoiler and his armies. Its purpose was to complete a mysterious artifact known as The Key to The Lock and activate The Weapon, which has the power to destroy the Imperium.

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