Horus Hearsay #3: Galaxy and My Heart in Flames

Horus Hearsay is dedicated to Keri’s journey through the Horus Heresy saga. The chronicling of the Horus Heresy began over ten years ago, with currently 55 books in total, not counting The Primarchs series or the various short stories. Horus Hearsay will only cover the main novels.

I’m still shocked at how fast everything is tumbling down the hill after False Gods. I know months have passed since Horus’ conversion on Davin, but to me it’s just been a week. It’s only been a few days since Erebus poisoned Horus’ mind. It’s only been a few days since Torgaddon quit the Lodge. Ignace Karkasy “committed suicide” just the other day, right? Since that is clearly the case, how can Horus’ betrayal have gone so far as to order Abaddon and Aximand to kill Loken?

Okay, yes, I know it’s been months. In that time, the Mournival disintegrated and Loken and Torgaddon have ceased being friends with any of the higher-ups. Horus, without ever talking to Loken about his feelings, just writes Loken off. My heart broke with nearly every page.

I told Jen that the way things were going, I completely expected Loken and Torgaddon to die on the battlefield. It’s how Horus silenced Varvarus. Why wouldn’t he do something similar again? It doesn’t matter that he was very close to them at one time. He’s not letting anything get in the way of his newfound ambition.

And I was right. I just never expected how he would do it in Galaxy in Flames.

Istvaan Burns

I haven’t read a single codex on the Warhammer 40,000 universe, so I don’t have any fine details of the Horus Heresy in my database. Anything I know is from what Jen has mentioned or I’ve learned it while researching something else. I’ve thought about reading the codices, but I also kind of like going into this story blind. I knew something bad happened on Istvaan that kicked off the revolution in earnest. I didn’t know that something bad was Horus sending down every Astartes across four Legions that he thought wouldn’t side with him. That included Loken and Torgaddon.

I didn’t think that something bad was dropping virus bombs on Istvaan III. I never expected firestorm bombs to burn away all the bodies and evidence. I also didn’t expect Lucius to fully turn on his best friend.

But none of that prepared me for the sock to the gut upon reading the surviving World Eaters’ reactions to their Primarch finishing the job. Their reaction was almost akin to a child’s reaction to an abusive parent. I could almost hear them ask, “Daddy, why?” The Emperor’s Children wondered why they weren’t perfect enough. The Death Guard were in shock. The Sons of Horus had no idea what they did wrong, except for Loken and Torgaddon.

It was unbelievably tragic.

When the Saint Goes Marching Out

Reading the Dark Imperium series along with the Horus Heresy has put me in a crisis of belief, as it were. I can’t determine the Emperor’s divinity, and as such, I can’t decide if Euphrati Keeler is a saint or not. I can’t deny what she did in the Archives, but was it divine, holy power or did her experience in the Whisperheads unlock her psyker abilities?

Either would explain how she was able to escape each trap Horus set for her entourage, how she knew to go to Iacton Qruze for help, and when she knew it was the right time to escape the remembrancer assembly.

But for her to be a saint…

I keep going through the omniscient/omnipresent/omnipotent argument with God. If God is all powerful, why doesn’t He stop bad things from happening? If God is all knowing, why doesn’t he prevent bad things from happening? You get the idea, and the same applies to the Emperor.

If the Emperor is a god, and He has indeed tapped Euphrati to be a saint and help them, then why hasn’t he attempted to stop Horus? Why make Euphrati a saint, using the exact document He punished Lorgar for writing? What purpose can He truly have for her? He doesn’t need her to survive, because other Astartes survived the ambush and could get the word out. It doesn’t line up for me, at least not yet.

It doesn’t help that I can’t stand her character. I don’t know why, but she irks me. Maybe things will become clearer in Flight of the Eisenstein, which is the Death Guard ship she fled to.