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So, thunder warriors conquered terra, the marines conquered the galaxy, the guard then held onto it for 10k years. Hail the flashlight!

He was essentially a late stage cancer patient who was able to kill almost 30 Imperial Fist Legionnaires with what it sounds like his bare hands!

"He WILL replace you once you outlive your usefulness." *Adeptus Astartes looks at Primaris*

That was the longest death monologue I have ever heard.

„Most of you will not survive. But that is a sacrifice that I am willing to make!“ -The Emperor (probably) M31 Unification Wars

He who betrays others, no matter his reasons, should hold no grudge when he too is eventually betrayed.

There is a simple but immutable law of biology, that an organism's capabilities are always limited by the chemical energy available to it, no matter how well designed. The Primarchs alone are an exception to this, but they are not fully creatures of this world and are not limited by conventional physics. For all others, this law holds true. Consider then the Space Marine, the gene-forged warrior designed to conquer the stars. They had to be the ultimate full-spectrum warrior, able to endure chemical, biological and radiological threats, if their armour failed they had to be able to endure foreign atmospheres and even breathe liquid if they had to, so manifold and diverse are the theaters they could expect to fight in. If fighting on lightless worlds they had to be able see in pitch darkness, if captured they had to be able to break their bonds and escape with caustic venom, if fighting an enemy whose thoughts and motivations were utterly alien to man, they had to be able to extract and digest its race-memories and instincts to adapt their tactics. So many tools in their arsenal, so many biochemical pathways that have to be supplied with power, and though their metabolisms are tuned to the finest tolerances, each one remains a drain nonetheless. Now, consider the Thunder Warrior. They needed none of it, they were designed for ONE theater of war, Terra itself, mankind's own homeworld, the ideal conditions for the raising of a human being already met as well as any world could. All that power, all that fine-tuned biology could be directed to one purpose - crushing the foe, utterly and brutally, with the efficiency of a caloric equation.

One of the many reasons, imagined or misled or otherwise, Horus chose to defy the Emperor was out of a fear of being discarded after he and his brothers conquered the stars; set aside for human bureaucrats, with his glories ignored under the guise of mundane day-to-day operation after the wars were won. It's with great amusement that I consider just how dangerously close to being correct Horus would never even realize he was, here.

''Proudly we stood array for a parade, waiting our reward..." God, this reminds me of the ambush scene of Berserk.

"How could he"? This question of betrayal would be asked many times in the near future. Like father, like son. Perhaps it really was a forgone conclusion.

These boys were always a fascination of mine. Staggeringly loyal, supreme in all physical and mental traits, but I guess the flame that burns twice as bright, lasts half as long.

“How could he?” When men cry

You know what's crazy? Even after suffering through such traumatic betrayal, the Thunder Warrior still remained true and did not fall to the ruinous powers. Meanwhile, a mere *vision* of a potential betrayal by the Emperor was enough to shatter half the Primarchs. A vision that many could have predicted was a lie drove such powerful and godly figures to corruption, swayed by jealousy and visions of betrayal; yet the Thunder Warrior remained true despite believing he saw the Emperor himself slaughtering his loyal servants.

And so it ends. A corpse sat atop a throne of lies, won by the blood of those he betrayed. An imperium built from the scraps of titans grinding against the walls of entropy. That last 'how could he' really hit me. God tier voice acting.

Kinda funny the first guy thought he could hunt down a Primarch with 30 Astartes

I would absolutely kill for a “tales of old night” book series about human cultures before the arrival of the Emperor and the Primarchs!

The emperor likely saw the thunder warriors as a symbol of his failure to bring the other factions of man into the fold without conflict, so he probably hated them the whole time, barely tolerating their savage presence until the moment they weren't absolutely necessary

Emperor: Captain-General Cody, the time has come. Execute order 66.

The thunder warriors are the unsung heroes of the Imperium, for without them, there would be no imperium.

The Emperor: let's kill them because they are unstable. Also the Emperor:I made Angron.

Man, that was heartbreaking. Imagining this once mighty worrior succumbing more to his emotion injuries rather than his physical ones. Is body might have been badly damaged. But he died of a broken heart. I literally cried. Thank you for this experience.

The Thunder Warriors got the rawest deal in Terran history. Emps literally Order 66'd them. The Emperor protects...until you are no longer useful. I honestly hope Emps never officially recovers because I truly believe he would be the end of his own empire.

Emps: "wow, the Thunder Warriors are so brutal, barbaric, so bloodthirsty and uncontrollable. This would ruin the image of the coming Imperium. Get rid of theM!" Also Emps: "Oh hey Angron, do you want a legion? Conrad Curze! Wow. Here is a whole legion for your sadism, so you can broadcast to entire worlds and systems your unspeakable horrors and crimes. Let the people know of what will happen to them if they are not obedient. This surely will not damage the image of the Imperium."

As a US war vet, I whole heartedly feel for the thunder warriors. We were used to fight until we were no needed. And now we find out the truth within the “Afghanistan papers”....we were and still are being tossed into a meat grinder for what...to save face??

Long have I waited for this ancient history lesson.

I cried throughout the entire audio drama as you took the perspective of the last Thunder Warrior, and the worst part was not the Warrior dying to other loyalists of the Imperium. Or the fact that he had given up running to fight a final battle when he had finally attained a sense of sanity if not a sense of normalcy, which is stretching the vocabulary when taking into account of his kind. It was the sheer betrayed outlook at what he was made to become by his liege lord that he would have followed to hell if he had been ordered to. A man sent to die by the guns of not against his foes, but by the ones who he could have called allies in the Imperium. And it stung more that it all took place at the beginning of his rule, and the future made all the more uncertain if he truly has our best interest in mind...

Thunder Warriors, they scare me man.

Remember. Before the "First" Legion, there was the Thunder Legion. And there have been few of their like since then.

Emperor: "Hmmm... Too much sauce."

Newfound respect for the Thunder Warriors. Phenomenal presentation, as always, Brother Baldermort. May the Emperor protect.

"Thunder Warriors aka Legiones Cataegis. 'The Cataegis were caught in a cycle of aggression. Death meant nothing to them. For a time, it seemed that orders meant nothing to them, either - they were elemental in their violence.... The Thunder Warriors demonstrated their greatest weakness. They were like the munitions we used back then[Unification Wars] - powerful, but unstable. Once loosed, they were hard to control....' 'You will recall my concerns about the Cataegis during the Maulland Sen campaign. Those concerns had not gone away during the following century of their many deployments. We had conquered much of the globe by then, with the Thunder Warriors bearing the brunt of the fighting, so do not think we were unmindful of their sacrifice. By then, it was widely believed that what could have been perfected, had been perfected. A Thunder Warrior was a truly fearsome proposition. They were armed and armoured nearly as well as the Legio Custodes. Their numbers had grown rapidly, following improvements in the gene-cultivating methods used here and at the other sites. But it was never enough.They remained unstable. From primarch to neophyte, they would break down suddenly, or lose their minds, or simply stop responding to orders. This was not simply a matter of dry practicality for us - it was a foul thing to witness. A warrior’s blood might suddenly rebel against the arteries that carried it, or the organs might start to devour themselves, or the muscle might explode with breakneck growth. For a proud and fearless creation, that was a poor way to die. Be aware, also, that they were quite conscious of this likely outcome. It did predictable things to their psychology. Knowing that they were limited by time and circumstance, their attitude to risk became even more cavalier. They were hard to govern from the start, but as the Imperium began to reach its secure zenith, they risked becoming an empire within an empire, and one with the old reckless dangers of the past writ large...' - Form the memories of Captain-General Constantin Valdor of the Legio Custodes. The Fourth Legion Cataegis was known as "Iron Lords" They were specialists in siegecraft, through both training and genecraft. And their "Primarch" The primarch was equivalent to the captain-general rank in broad terms, responsible for the discipline and conduct of the entire Legio. He was not physically different to any of his troops, but had distinguished himself in combat and leadership, and was appointed directly by the Emperor. This primarch of the Fourth was Ushotan. He was a superlative warrior, and a fine general. In most respects..." - Constantin Valdor

This is one of the saddest things ive heard they truly loved him and he stabbed them in the heart

"Nothing quite happens for the first time anymore. History rhymes" looking at you Primaris

Emperor: "Execute order 66" Astartes: "It will be done my lord"

I've always wondered why, true the astartes was an upgrade, just not make anymore as the SM were introduced. Frack, just give them a hard assault that they couldn't win. That would have been honorable.

"Remember when you sent the Astartes to cull the Thunder Warriors father?" - Horus "Yes my son, why do you ask? - Emperor "Well you won't do that to us one day will you?" **Emperor Working on the Primaris Project** "No son I would never dream of it."

What manner of wars requires the creation of warriors such as these? Answer: Wars like you've never believed. - Raclaw to Brother Brunner (Damnation Crusade) The unification wars must've been so bloody, not even Astartes could stand on equal ground.

I know we are never going to get it, but I would *LOVE* for GW to release a Unification Wars game one day. An army of Thunder Warriors would be sick, and the Techno-Barbarian hordes would have some pretty epic armies too. Sadly, at best all we can hope for is possibly a book series detailing the dawn of the Imperium. That story was heart wrenching. Seriously, I almost teared up. _How could he?_

I once heard a great wordsmith say he was no Shakespeare but I often wonder who but someone of Shakespeare could craft such a story. Not just wonderful work Baldermort this is beautiful work. Truly heart wrenching and expertly told.

Imagine the horror and disgust he must have felt, to see the Corpse-God himself slaughter his brothers, flinging them into the air...

Clicked so fast the bell didn't even have time to notify me. But for an edited, more serious response; the Thunder Warriors are one of the real tragic stories of the Warhammer Universe, providing a glimpse of the future grim darkness of the 41st millennia even in the first few centuries of the 30st millennia. These brave warriors, forged by the Emperor to unify Terra beneath his own banner, only to then be cast aside after the final battle of the Unification War had been won as the tools they ultimately were; obsolete and replaced by the Space Marines. The words of this dying warrior in this video also provides a rather sombre warning to his replacers, and perhaps a rather distinct justification for the fears of some of the Primarchs that turned against the Emperor during the Horus Heresy. If the Thunder Warriors were so easily thrown aside after they were no longer needed due to Terra being unified under the Emperor's rule, who would be able to say that the Primarchs themselves and their sons wouldn't be cast aside after the galaxy was unified beneath the Emperor's rule? After all, Malcador and by proxy the Emperor himself made it clear that humanity would be ruled by humanity; that the Primarchs, being so beyond the standard human, would never be able to rule over humanity as they didn't understand humanity.

I can see why the emperor did what he did. It’s not uncommon for governments and revolutions to keep hold of vital keys to take power and purge them after. Because taking power compared to holding it are different. Cut out the less important people despite there work and loyalty. Then keep and add more relevant people for strength and stability.

".....and they all died." **Laughs in Endryd Haar**

The opening story is magnificent and moving, and also ominous. History could have repeated itself. Perhaps the knowledge of fate of the Thunder Warriors was one of the true causes of the Heresy . . . I must also applaud your narration. You make the Thunder Warrior into a fully rounded and deeply sympathetic character. Your voice, cadence, and tone you remind me of the late great Patrick Tull, who narrated the whole Aubrey-Maturin series

The Emperor can lie to you The Emperor can betray you You are REQUIRED to love him. but he does not love you. He cannot love you. The mind cannot mourn every follicle of hair that falls from its head.

These Thunder Warriors gave him everything literally and in the end the Emperor betrayed them. That has got to be the saddest story I ever heard. I always wondered what happened to them? I thought he just stop making more of them and they died out but the betraying them I never felt this sad for loyal warriors ever. I still have so much to learn in the 40k history.

There needs to be some chaos characters that are thunder warriors. Khorne would suit them beautifully. They would be a nice non-demon balance for Primarchs such as Guilliman.

That’s why the Big E is now a vegetable, it wasn’t Horus who got to him but his own karma...

"It was a *lie* !" Basically the Emperor in a nutshell

Trigger Warning - Before the Betrayal of the Thunder Warriors, the 'Ruinous Powers' don't appear to have bothered the Emperor, or tried to stunt his plans. After the Betrayal,... Well... The 'Ruinous Powers' went so far as to kidnap the Primarchs from beneath the Emperor's very nose. ... the souls of the Betrayed warriors, echoing in the Warp, screaming in despair for vengeance, anybody..? Something about every action generating an equal, opposite reaction... '...as Thou sow'est, Thus shalt Thou Reap..." ? Imma leave this here... For the record, Dark Angels FTW!

Yes sirree! I love the old earth, dark age side of things, the techno-barbaric earth and thousands of planet pre-imperium, from feral to elysiumatic. Pre-unification Terra has always intrigued me, any one know of some novels dealing with this theme?

How much it would please me if GW would reveal a whole planet/solar system at the edge of the galaxy, isolated from the imperium. Functional, prosperous perhaps in some areas, but undoubtedly human ruled and protected by the Proto-Gods of the Astartes, the Thunder Warriors! The Thunder Warriors of the unification wars, the ones that survived, the ones that adapted, survived, and corrected their genetic flaws. The ones that faced their demons and conquered them! Please GW, make thunder warriors a faction in 40k! I want minis and have a wallet ready!

The saddest thing about betrayals is it doesn't come from you're enemies the Thunder warriors serve the Emperor and Terra only to be stabbed in back by the very thing they serve and loyal to.

2+ years later this is still an incredible video

When you say "How could he" you manage to capture so much emotion, it had me so immersed

"I am going" Like a true hardened warrior taking that last long walk.

I already knew the Emperor wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed when he concealed the Webway project from his sons.

Damn, my man i was just reading up on the thunder warriors yesterday. And now you are doing a video of them. this truly is a blessed day for the imperium.

The Emperor and Malcador’s “original sin” as it were. The first act of the Imperium was one of betrayal. I can see the Emperor taking his place in the slaughter. He would not ask his custodes to do that which he would not do himself. He, he would have tears in his eyes. They were too dangerous, too unstable to leave alive in this new world they helped to create, they had to be put down and if that must be, he would do it himself. These men who gave themselves to him, to the dream of unity, he created them, he would end them, they deserved nothing less. Rest easy my noble sons, on your sacrifice will humanity build its empire.

I think the way the Primaris were put into canon was wrong, should have been just a new armor. But inserted as they are you'd think there would be a Thunder Warrior type moment for the Astartes…. I guess the Imperium is so besieged that they couldn't waste anyone.

It depresses me that at some point I will have watched all of these videos. Then I will have to wait for new ones, just like everyone else.

The Emperor was not perfect, this again was one of his not so proud moments. He should have let them fight and die for him in the Crusade. Not making anymore of them would have made them a tool he could have used and they would have died for him in the battlefield to the man, an end they would have chosen. Having their own forces kill them was dishonorable. No loyal warrior deserves this.

The emperor himself caused the heresy, are we to believe the primearchs did not know of the thunder warriors fate? The emperor should have put them in stasis and preserve them as good as possible to use them as shock assault troops until they died out. Horus Doubt in his father was caused by malcadore and the emperors actions. The thunder warriors fate was a message towards all forces of the imperium. You are tools to be used and discarded when their service is no longer acquired. The emperor loved his sons, but he also used them. I have no doubt in my mind that horus rebellion would have been inevitable. Either due to chaos, or the emperors betrayal of him and his brothers.

Your narration is simply fantastic. As a fan of VO artists you are truly a force that brings these tales of war to life with great substance and character. I tip my hat to you sir.

The emperor created the thunder warriors to fight one of the worst wars of all time and he needed to do it in the shortest time possible - to save the species. The emperor knew mankind was finally killing itself. He made a devils bargain, create the thunder warriors monsters and win the war but what do you do with the monster after it. One of the reasons Warhammer is so great.

I think the characterization of The Emperor is that he does not care about people in an individual level, only about humanity as a species. To the emperor, humanity as a whole is his "child", whom he wants to protect, but each individual person is nothing but a single cell in mankind's body: ephemeral, replaceable and microscopic in both size and importance. (By that analogy, Daemons, Xenos and Heretics would be analogous to various biological and psychological pathologies threatening that's metaphorical child's life) A parent would be willing to cut off their child's whole limb if it meant that the venom of a snake's bite wouldn't reach the child's vital organs, killing them as a result, but dooming the cut off limb to rot away, every cell that makes-up that part of the body fated to die so the others can live on. That's the reason the Emperor is willing to cause untold destruction and commit massive genocide even against his own people, to him, it's all the necessary actions to guarantee the survival of humanity. tldr; The Emperor cares about humanity, not people

God this is unbelievably sad. Imagine a movie of the thunder warriors. All their suffering and triumph,just for them to be killed by the emperor at the end. Id cry my eyes out at the theatre😂

That hit me in the feels.

aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd....... off to chaos i go

“As far as I know they were put down like dogs” .... some heretic priest

I think that the Emperor, for how much of a manipulative and cold individual, did not exterminate the Thunder Warriors with a light heart. I think it's easy to judge the Emperor from a point of much less responsibility, but God and Tzeench only know the weight of the sins the Emperor had to carry to establish a kingdom as big as a galaxy.

Beautiful telling of the Thunder Warriors. I had to rewind and listen to it twice. Bravo

This level of writing is what we are missing in cinema today

"I have bestsd over a score of the things created to replace me. I can die at peace with honor." RIP noble Thunder Warrior. More.nobility than the corpse god deserved.

A sad story. I love how complicated the character of the Emperor is.

Betreyal... It runs in the family it seems. Great video as always, keep up the good work my man :D

We're hitting levels of heresy that shouldn't be possible.

Nice blade runner reference

I never thought a i'd cry for a priest chucking monster but I did, that "how could he..." was so well delivered

Im into WH40k 20 years now! I didnt know that this was the fate of the Thunder Warriors. I thought they were inferior to Astartes and were gradually replaced by them. DAMN !

This intro genuinely got me in tears..amazing but hearbreaking retelling..

Thank you for all your work!!!!!! For the Angel brother!!!!

Was Horus right to fear being replaced? Was Guilliman’s ideal that the Space Marines would become Lords of the Imperium too bright? Would love to see some models of the Thunder Warriors

My favorite video so far. the desperation, the sound of betrayal in your voice, the gravity of the situation. Just amazing

Came here as new comer to the channel, great narration my friend. However that first bit made me sad LOL! Great job!

I have not often been so moved. The betrayal of the thunder warriors is truely despicable there was so many options to deal with the tw but the emperor chose to stab his loyal soldiers in the back.

I’ve just realized how similar the betrayal of the Thunder Warriors on Mt. Ararat was to the later Istvan 3 dropsite massacre. The 30k era has to be one of my favorites in this universe. I hope one day this series will get the visual adaption it deserves.

The drama was truly, amazingly amazing, I almost let a tear drop for that thunder warrior ! You gave me an idea... Let's add a thunder warrior into that chaos band !

“I want, what they want, and every other guy who came over here and spilled his guts and gave everything he had, wants! For our Emperor to love us as much as we love him! That's what I want!” -Rambo quote. That quote is a great summery of what most likely went through those minds that got cut down by their brothers in arms and their beloved emperor. If those theories be believed and not but fabrications of the warp spawn.

Im about to go to bed...what a surprise * gets comfortable * thank you!

This more so than anything else I’ve encountered really illustrates how sad the fate of the thunder warriors is. It doesn’t get a lot of attention, but they were betrayed by the King they loved and it never made sense to them. I find it bestirring. Thank you for such incredible content!

The way you narrated the Thunder Warrior's dying words, I cannot describe how moved I was by the emotion you injected into that last "How could he?". I truly felt that.

First it was the words the emperor used to seal away the angel and now it's that thunder warriors death monologue, my feels have been utterly smacked

It is such a damming statement about the early Imperium, that the top law keeper of the first Highlords sought to take Constantin Valdor into custody for the crime of exterminating the Thunder Warriors. And Valdor simply states, that he and by proxy the Emperor is above any Law!

One would think that with treatment like this, the Horus Heresy should never had been a surprise to anyone, especially if they knew the 'caliber' of the Emperor. So for all the loyalist primarchs to be shocked by Horus's rebellion kinda tells me that they in reality didnt know their father at all or what he was capable of. Now i am by no means justifying Horus but really you can only behave that way for so long before someone says 'enough'. Great upload.

I have absolutely loved this bit of old old lore. You always do incredible work mate. Seeing as we are going back this far when is the video on the Land Train? LAND TRAIN LAND TRAIN LAND TRAIN!

It's a little known fact but the real reason why the emperor called these warriors Thunder warriors wasn't to emulate mythical warriors of old norse but it was because they fart a lot. That is also why they burn themselves out so fast because the gases they emit on a daily basis killed people around them and drove them insane. And eventually the Empreor had to get rid of them because they were too stinky to make way for the classic space marines we all no and love to this day.

The 40k universe truely is grimdark. As it is know throughout history it’s that history is written by the victor. Though when you hear tales of what really happened and from the side who lost it makes you see things differently. I do wonder if all the thunder warriors truly are dead or there might be one still out there in the universe simply surviving or maybe if there still is one thunder warrior left alive is he just waiting? Maybe he’s waiting for the one chance he’ll have of getting his revenge on the emperor or maybe instead he would simply ask the emperor why he did such a thing, we may never know

Can't believe it's been 3 years since this audio drop. Been about that long since I have dived deep into the lore of Warhammer 40K. Thank you o'Bald one who speaks. Thank U