 The 10,000-year history of the Imperium of Mankind is dogged with gaps, inconsistencies, and redactions. It is a grand tableau of decay, a testament to the pulverizing force of the separate wheels of time and war. We've forgotten more than we will ever know. So much of our past lies forever beyond reach, and though one's paltry efforts, the strivings of the Logos' historic avertia attempt to arrest such chronological putrefaction, our endeavors are likely doomed to the same failures as our predecessors. Yet labour we must, for within the secrets of the past lie truths, terrible but vital, for without information there can be no victory. Only through the excavation of that which has been, deemed best forgotten, may we yet survive the oncoming midnight. Yet the Imperium pushes back. Time pushes back. Both seek to swallow and bury, for the former wishes much disregarded, and the latter simply hungers eternally. There is not one organization within the Imperium that does not possess dark days, days they wish had never been, deeds they wish had never been committed. This record is of one such time, of an event intended to renew and rebuild, but one instead that would be forever damned, consigned to secret archives and redacted, mouldering chronicles. Know then that this is a record of one of those times consigned to disregarded years, whispered about only in tones of dread suspicion. The History of the Cursed Founding A founding is a momentous event in the history of the Adeptus Astartes. They represent many things, a statement of purpose, rejuvenation of principle, or a commitment to sanctity and security for the Imperium. As with many processes within this empire of ours, the actual means by which they are initially proposed and ratified are Byzantine and occluded in the extreme, and the initial drive to even do so is subject to a myriad of competing motivations. Political desires, strategic exigencies, or religious fervour, any, all, a combination, or even more arcane rationales. Each founding has its own origins, but the result is the same. The imperial government decrees that new chapters of the Adeptus Astartes shall be raised, setting in motion the colossal might of the Imperium's various adepta to accomplish such a task. To bring a force as mighty, as sanctified as a space marine chapter to full fighting strength, is a feat impossible for a single planetary government, or even a sector, even a segmentum. It requires the full mobilization of the Imperium's industry and bureaucracy to achieve, and as such can only be directed by the High Lords of Terra themselves. As is typical of such monolithic imperial initiatives, the process is expected to take decades, if not centuries. Even before a grand proclamation may be issued by the Senatorum Imperialis, it is likely that several generations of Administratum and Departamento Munitorum Lexo-Magei and Sensocrats have laboured to lay the initial logistical groundwork, consisting of everything from equipment requisition orders with the Forge worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus, exploratory assaying of available gene seed reserves, in treaties to existing chapters to provide potential senior officers, or astro-cartographical surveys of potential fortress monastery site planets. Every aspect of the Adeptus Astartes, from their gen-hanced biology to their powered armor to their weaponry to their starships, incurs staggering investments of resources, time, and manpower, and thus can never be undertaken without the full backing of the grand Imperial machine. Since the first of the Legionnaires Astartes were raised to operational status upon Terra during the Unification Wars, the 10,000 years of the Imperium has only seen 27 Foundings, whose historical existence can be confirmed. As with all things concerning imperial history, what details we have of these are often difficult to obtain, having been subject to not only the typical bureaucratic degradation and administrative entropy all imperial records suffer from, but the additional levels of secrecy necessitated by the sensitive bio-alchemy and hallowed liturgical dogma that the Adeptus Astartes prosecute to their initiation rites under. Most records have been redacted to such a degree that the existence of a founding is often only possible to discern by consulting the archives of individual chapters to confirm the numerical founding they belong to even took place, and even in such a case, the records are often less than complete. A chapter may have endured a calamity wherein their historical data was significantly harmed, or even more maddening besides, a quirk of the Administratum line keeping may mistakenly name a founding out of order, such as the way of things within the Imperium, and historians such as I must simply make do. The most recent founding, the Ultima founding, issued at the behest of the Lord Regent of the Imperium, Rebut Gulliman, must wait until a later record, singular as it is in so many ways. The subject of this special record concerns one of the most mysterious of the Foundings, around which a pal of unusual ill-repute suspicion and, perhaps even treachery, has gathered, including the already scant details behind layers of subterfuge and intrigue. Considered by most to be the 21st founding, it was to take place in late M35, nominally in the year 991, placing it just before the coming of the Age of Apostasy and Van Dyer's Reign of Blood, but also in the aftermath of the Novotera interregnum. With the Ur Council of Novotera defeated and the Imperium formally united after a period of religious and quite literal schism, it was clearly a desire amongst the High Lords, and many others besides, to reaffirm the security of the recently sundered empire, and provide a massive political and military win for the beleaguered government. A new founding was thus ordered, and it would appear, in the aftermath at least, that the enthusiasm for its success was to lead those involved down paths that took them from commitment to obsession. While loss of data can generally be attributed to the fires of Van Dyer's Age of Apostasy, it is also highly obvious that the record of it having been long since purged was done so in all official capacities. It appears to be considered a black mark in the history of the Adeptus Astartes, the dread time to be buried and left lie, lest the sins wrought during it damn those of the present by mere association. Its existence can largely be discerned only by its absence, but the curious gulf it leaves in history, and the redaction of its numerical designation seemingly wherever possible. During one's efforts to document this founding, I uncovered a curious little collection of documents submitted to the Archive from the Files of the Inquisition. Reporting to originate from the personal files of one Inquisitor Apollyon, it concerns a frighteningly clandestine series of events that took place on a dead world, named Incunabla, scant years prior, just indeed prior to the events of the Noctis Eterna and the opening of the Great Rift. I have included what I have found here in full to relate the clearest possible account. The author appears to have been an inquisitorial agent embedded within an Adeptus Mechanicus team sent to investigate the world at the behest of some mysterious personage. I should warn Acolytes that the quality of these accounts is far from perfect, but subsequent to their rendering I shall return to provide you with what I hope can be some clarity. The account begins thus. 998 M41, Day 23-27 Despite the frequent and curt reassurances of Brother Laquara that we have arrived at the correct location, our initial investigations in the anomalous readings which our divination auguries registered were less than promising. Incunabla is a desolate place indeed, and what Laquara expected to find so close to Holy Terra is quite beyond me. Surely anything of promise would have been revealed to the adepts of the machine God before now. However, he does seem to have considerable sway within the departmental immunatorium, and the funding, equipment and supplies that he has provided for our expedition have proven to be most useful. Therefore, I was inclined to indulge his fantasy that there might be something worth excavating on Incunabla, while secretly deciding to obtain more equipment from him. How wrong I was to be proved. Day 28-33 After much towing and froing, we were finally able to triangulate the anomalous readings and descended to the planet's surface. The location of the readings proved to be a jagged black mountain peak surrounded by a highly volatile magnetic field. Despite such a hazardous external environment, Brother Laquara demanded that we immediately don our pressure suits and venture outside. Almost as soon as the explorator team stepped beyond the protective hexes of the crawler, systems began to fail on all of our suits. I believe that the strong magnetic field and the lack of proper blessings angered the machine spirits and caused them to rail against such treatment. In response, Laquara activated a device the likes of which I have never seen before, and this seemed to calm the machine spirits in our suits. As I craned forwards to take a closer look at the device, he concealed it from my view, and admonishing us into continuing forward, he led us towards the mountain. We trudged forever upwards, the sky darkening in the temperature, dropping rapidly. I advised Laquara that we should return to the crawler to continue our investigation in the morrow, but he would have none of it. I continued to urge him to reconsider, and he shot me a look of such other ruthlessness that I swear I shall never forget it. As we near the top of the peak, we came upon a small ledge that apparently ended in the sheer basalt rock face. I say apparently, because as we halted, Laquara muttered a few words into the strange device he carried, and a section of the rock seemed to blur and shift, as though caught in some sort of optical illusion. I stood amazed, as revealed before us was a scarred adamantium door, clearly marked with the Imperial Aquila. The door resisted all our attempts at opening it, and Laquara at last decided that we should wait until the following day, when we would be able to bring up the powerful lascutters he had furnished us with. Day 34 to 36 The door proved to be more resilient than I originally thought, and it was several days before we were able to affect an entry. Once inside, we discovered a shattered elevator shaft, descending into the depths of the peak, and were forced to rig a cable harness, since it appeared that the elevator was no longer operational. Brother Laquara was first to descend on the harness, and as he disappeared into the darkness of the shaft, I noticed markings on its walls. What I had first taken to be corrosion damage, I now realised, was in fact laser scoring, the impacts from small arms fire. Briefly, I wondered what events had transpired here, but these were quickly forgotten, as I imagined the secrets that we might discover within the abandoned peak. For a moment, I even dared hope for a fully functioning STC system. Day 37 At last, we were within the corridors of the base, and I confess, my sense of trepidation was increasing the deeper we ventured. The facility, buried within the mountain, was obviously the site of some tremendous battle. The walls were riddled with bullet impacts and laser burns, and the remains of a hastily constructed series of barricades that lay scattered throughout the empty and echoing halls. The place was deserted, and save for the odd scattered bone, and the victims of this battle had either been taken away by the victors for some unguessable purpose, or had long since decayed dust. Brother Laquara was like an excited child, as we explored the facility, and would allow us to touch nothing. It was not until we eventually discovered a laboratory within the heart of the underground complex that we were to learn the true purpose of this place. What I believe that purpose to be is almost too fantastic to relate, but having since perused the scant morsels of data contained within the base's main logic engine, words cannot begin to convey my excitement to you. Day 38 The laboratory we discovered contained a plethora of ancient machines, and my heart leapt to see so much techno-archena preserved in such an undamaged condition. But it was at the centre of the laboratory that demanded my immediate attention. Connected by vast bundles of pulsing tubes and cables to machines were six ceiling height incubation tanks. Three were empty, but the others contained amniotic fluid with an enormous human male floating within them. The physiology of these giants put me in mind of space marines, but these brutes were far larger than the members of the Adeptus Astartes whom I have laid eyes upon. Two of these tubes were obviously damaged, the fluid within them cloudy and stagnant, but the third still appeared to be functioning after Throne knows how many millennia. Truly the machine god has smiled upon us. We drained the first two tubes and, between the six of us, managed to lift the bodies from within. Genitor Quinsus had the bodies taken to the moratorium and began autopsies immediately while I initiated the revivification of the third body. The process would take almost eight hours and I hoped that we would have had a clearer idea of what exactly we were dealing with after the autopsies were complete. I shall append the autopsy reports of the first two beings to this log later this evening. Also attached are fragments of the facility commander's records which I have been able to recover. I am unsure as to their real value as the recorder of the log appears to be raving and of unsound mind. Nevertheless, I shall append them and allow you to make your own judgement. Day 39 The revivification process continues and within an hour we should be able to safely remove the living subject from the incubation tube. I feel sure that this discovery shall be ranked as one of the most significant in the last three thousand years and that we shall learn such wondrous things from this site. Brother Laquara has warned me not to transmit anything off-world or communicate any of our findings, but I felt that this matter outweighed any petty considerations of the Adeptus Terra regarding ownership of this site. Such a discovery merits the immediate attention of a full team of Adeptus Mechanicers, explorators, genitors, lex mechanics, and biologists. I therefore submit this report to you and await your most learned counsel, pending your scrutiny of the appended sources. Autopsy report filed by Genitor Quinces. Preliminary visual examination of the bodies proved to be inconclusive as to the cause of death. The skin of the body displayed a soft elastic quality and ruptured in several places, prior to transport to the moratorium. No external puncture wounds were evident, and thermal levidity appeared to indicate that the subject had died less than an hour previous to this examination. How this is possible is as yet undetermined. Initial DNA scans revealed many of the amino acid and enzyme chains still unformed. Combined with evidence of hot housing the genome, this leads me to believe that the subjects were artificially accelerated to this level of growth, and biologically speaking maybe less than one year old. Despite the lack of tensile strength in the skin, the bone structure beneath proved to be tougher. Performing a standard Y incision and peeling back the skin and considerable musculature on the subject alpha's chest, revealed an interlinked growth of highly ossified bone plates that completely armoured the chest cavity. It required a laser saw to break through this bone shield, and the strength of several servitors to break open the rib cage and expose the chest cavity. The interior of the subject's chest cavity contains a number of organs whose purpose is undetermined. Primary heart, lungs, kidneys and liver are present, and in regard to mass to muscle ratio, must have been many times more efficient than even the space marines of the present day are known to be. As well as these organs are a number of others of unknown origin. Their function can only be guessed at, and is beyond my expertise to probe their mysteries. I am familiar with most of the organs unique to the physiology of a space marine, yet the ones visible here are unknown to me. These organs have been sealed in stasis jars for transport to more advanced laboratoria on Mars. Perhaps the genitors there will have more success than I. After the chest cavity has been examined, I removed the cranial lid to expose the subject's brain. Inside was a most curious organism that only superficially resembled a human brain. Its mass and coloration were consistent with a male of such disproportionate size, but there the similarity ended. Dissection of the brain revealed a hitherto unknown configuration of matter, if indeed it was matter, and further organs of an unknown nature. Further examination was impossible due to the rapid necrotizing of the brain after its removal from the cranium. Within minutes it had disintegrated into a fetid puddle of grey ooze. The nature and purpose of this organ is therefore unknown. In summary, it is impossible to say with any certainty how the subjects died. No visible signs of trauma were evident, and no viral, bacteriological, or toxicological contamination was found. My own conclusion is that the subject's growth was boosted artificially, and they expired within the machinery of the incubation tube when it failed. I performed similar examinations on members of the Adeptus Astartes before, and I can say, with utter certainty, that these subjects are far superior to them in every way. Log entry number 23. Project Homo sapiens novus continues to meet with further success, and I believe that within the next few accelerated evolutionary durations we may achieve the goal of recreating the psychologically attuned minds to resist the curse. That we may follow in the footsteps of our glorious Emperor fills me with pride, and that my name may be spoken of in the same breath as a honour I can scarcely believe. Log entry number 29. More warships arrived in orbit today, and I was privileged enough to be allowed to watch as our newest chapter, the Flame Falcons, boarded the vessels en route to their designated homeworld of Lethe. To see such fighting men is to have mankind's manifest destiny amongst the stars affirmed, with such enhanced warriors as these fighting for the glory of the Emperor. Of our Imperium is assured. Log entry number 33. I discovered an unusual occurrence in storage labs today. As I was intoning the evening's litany of purity of the gene banks, I aspired a dark viscous liquid running from the stasis vessel. I opened the container and was horrified to discover the vessel overflowing with a stinking organic substance, growing larger as I watched. Incinerator units destroyed the gene stalk, but I am at a loss as to explain its sudden and rapid growth. The material was placed under the proper blessings and rituals. Stasis field failed or the genetic corrupted before we placed it in storage. Other than this, I can think of no explanation for these phenomena. Log entry number 41. Today I received word from the apothecaries of the Black Dragons of some irregularities in the zygote development of their firstborn members. It appears that their osomodular has matured more fully. It has caused the growth of bony protuberances and crests from the forearms and heads of the space beings. This is an unexpected side effect and possibly a hormonally stimulated growth. Purity procedures will be reviewed and any deficient zygotes destroyed. Log entry number 44. Reports are coming in daily now of spontaneous mutation in the gene seed of those we have created here. I dread to think of the consequences should the cause of these mutations be traced back to the experiments we performed here. Our sponsor in these matters, inquisitor Kresere, has assured me that we proceed with the Emperor's blessing. But as more and more reports of mutation reach us, I cannot help but feel a terrible mistake. I have requested that we halt the program until more thorough research is undertaken. But Kresere informed me in no uncertain terms that my life would be over, should I fail to continue the work. Log number 46. I have secretly begun implantation with six test subjects, in our hidden lab that not even Kresere knows of, to more closely monitor the gene development of our altered subjects. I will... Subjects. Beyond normal parameters in order to observe any aberrations that might not otherwise come to light whilst they are an inculabula. Perhaps then we will be able to discover the cause of such mutations and rectify the problem before we create more of these cursed. How many have already left in Kulabula I do not know. Only Kresere may communicate with the other facilities on the planet. And I fear that we may be too late. It's abominations. This damned world. Log entry number 47. I fear Kresere knows of the secret work I have been undertaking. During this morning's unarmed combat training, two of my test subjects. Kirk. Killed 30 of the others. Collapsing in a pile of mad thrashing limbs as their bodies went. Uncontrolled mutation. The things that were left on the floor had only the last vestiges of humanity to their form. And the thought of whole chapters of space marines with such defective gene seeds in their bodies filled me with horror and shame. Kresere had the bodies incinerated before we could perform an examination of the corpses and informed me that he was relieving me as head of the facility. Emperor have mercy on my soul. Created monsters here. While I can do nothing about those we have already let loose. Destroy most of the knowledge stored here. Kresere has locked me out of the most vital systems but I will do what I can. When he discovers what I have done. Kill me. I welcome it. Log entry number 49. We were soon to learn that the third of the test subjects I had created condemned us all to death. At first it seemed as though his genetic structure had stabilized but we believe that he might yet be able to save the project. But this was to prove our undoing. It was some months after his removal from the incubation tank and after his combat training was complete that astropath in orbit on the eternity. Unsanctioned psychic signal originating from our facility. Inquisitor Kresere immediately placed our astropath onto a pain rack and questioned her fully. It transpired that the girl had not been the source of the signal and now our base required another astropath for communications. As we pondered the mystery the vox lines from the eternity suddenly came alive. Garbled messages. Confused screams. It was impossible to make out exactly the curry. Yet it was clear that another vessel was attacking the eternity. Planet wide broadcast cut across all our communications. In the view screen displayed a man. Of the most loaths I have ever seen. From his build I knew he must be a... His arm was adorned with symbols and runes that made my eyes sting to look upon them. Over his shoulder hunched a grotesque device with obscene mechanical limbs like a spider reaching forward. Each one ending in what appeared to be a bizarre weapon or torture device. Dropbox ascended to the surface of the planet and I knew I must attempt to destroy the remaining three subjects in the incubation tombs. Almost as soon as I formed the thought the door to the command center burst open and the third of my test subjects smashed his way inside. The figure... View screen smiled as though welcoming a long lost son. And I realized at once where the unknown sank. Kresere was the first to die. And I'm ashamed to say I fled leaving everyone screaming as they died. And the invaders broke inside our base. Log entry number. No reference. For a day and a night I have... Hidden here. Screams of my people as the invaders hunted them down and... Violated their bodies as left me shaking with a terror I cannot quill. It is clear to me now that... Project Homo Sapiens Novus... Doomed from the start. I have sealed off the hidden laboratory but pray that the abominations within never see the light of day. What we did here... Technology that I fear will return to haunt the Imperium in years to come. I'm not long for this life. The pistol sits beside me as I record this. And I can only hope that those who find this log will not hate us for what we tried to do here. In his conclusion to this report... Inquisitor Apollyon notes that since the data packet was transmitted off world, there had been no further transmissions or contact with his agent. Fearing the worst, the Inquisitor ordered the dispatching of the Grey Knights under suspicion of arch enemy activity. But upon their arrival, the chapter was unable to discern the location or even fate of the Adeptus Mechanicus team. All records and biological matter appeared to have been forcibly removed. The only trace of any life within the system's volume being a small residual warp trail of unknowable direction. The identity of Brother Laquara was never ascertained. It was the identity of the mysterious figure described within the log of the base commanders, although there are significant theories upon this that will be expounded upon later. Given the evidence provided within this data set, it is clear that the 21st founding was from the outset an attempt by a cabal of interested parties within the Imperium and Adeptus Mechanicus to iterate upon the gene seed of the Astartes to be raised from it, to excise what had been perceived as inefficiencies or defects within its genetic makeup, and perhaps render improvements to the coding. Leading this effort appears to have been a faction of the Thorian wing of the Inquisition, as the base commander makes notes of the project being spearheaded by one Inquisitor Cressere, an avowed and in some cases infamous member of that particular etiology. The Thorians hold the belief that the God Emperor of Mankind exists in a wholly tangible spirit, and in a manner that would allow for his taking of a new vessel to incarnate within the Materium itself. They are known to be driven to involve themselves in matters pertaining to genetic manipulation, especially if said practices are based upon the Emperor's own work, as well as any arcana that involves the relationship between corporeality and incorporeality, the interactions between consciousness, physicality and presence within the warp, and the inner mysteries of Sikana. Naturally, such a broad spectrum of interests and obsessions makes it difficult to kneel down the proclivities of any one Thorian, but nominally they tend to operate as a diffuse but largely coherent cabal, with information leads and esoterica shared between their members. Despite indulging in studies at border to many minds upon the heretical, the Thorian faction is avowedly Puritan, motivated by unshakable faith in the tenets of the Imperial Creed and the God Emperor both. That they were potentially involved with this Homo sapiens novus project fits with their modus, as the genetic ascension of baseline human to astartes is a process writ by the Emperor's own hand, and by piecing apart its mysteries, or even enhancing them, the biocraft of humanity is brought one step further to achieving the level of geno-genius that the Master of Mankind possessed. It is highly unlikely, despite the loftier ambitions ascribed to some members of this project within this record, to have been seen as more than a stepping stone along the path by any Thorians involved, but such a move is progress, nevertheless. The identity of the arch-enemy assailant responsible for the initial attack upon the research outpost will likely never be wholly confirmed, but given the information at hand, one is reasonably confident that both the description and indeed motivation fits with one specifically damnable individual. The former chief apothecary of the Third Legion Emperor's Children, Fabius, often known as Fabius Bile, is widely known in inquisitorial circles to be hideously fascinated with the genetic and evolutionary advancement of the human genome. The description in the commander's log of an Astartes-esque individual sporting a back-mounted, multi-limbed contraption fully aligns with the grainy picked captures one has perused that purport to be Fabius. Quite what the former apothecary could have leaned from the Mechanicus' meddling with the Astartes' gene seed will likely never be known, nor will the results of any further study he made into the matter. We can perhaps breathe a small sigh of relief that such an event at least occurred millennia ago and that the wretched heretic has clearly not been able to develop anything of worth from what he discovered on Incanabla. Yet one suspects that it served to advance his hideous aims in other ways. The spider is nothing if not resourceful. Of the chapters created by the Cursed Founding, a pal of misfortune, mystery and suspicion has long since fallen upon any associated with it. Considered at best to be laboring under ill fate, or tainted beyond recourse at worst, the Astartes' forces whose origins during the 21st Founding have been confirmed have varied but uniformly curious histories. The blood gorgons, for example, displayed mutations and an aversion to authority that was so pronounced that they were declared traitor and excommunicate not six decades following their inception. A prideful streak also existed within the gene seed of the Firehawks, referenced in the base commander's logs, before the chapter was en masse lost during transit through the warp. The cursed history of the Lamentors is a record in and of itself, but let it be known that in all my studies I have never encountered a chapter whose luck has been cast upon such terrible dice as theirs. The flame falcons were similar to the gorgons in that, a century after their creation, the disturbing mutations evinced by the chapter required extermination in totality at the hands of none other than the Grey Knights. Even the chapters that remained loyal have done so only with censure and distrust dogging their existence. The Black Dragons, for example, displayed severe mutations to their Osmodula, the Astartes' organ that regulates the density of growth of bone, causing them to develop blade-like growths from their forearms and heads. Such clear evidence of adeptus mechanicus genotampering is inexplicable, but the dragons have persisted as loyal members of the Imperium, and the will of the throne, with many in the Inquisition and indeed other Astartes chapters, considering the genetic deviants so pronounced, should not be allowed to continue. While the fate of the dragons remains undecided millennia later, they have been subject to multiple rounds of censure for disguising the degree to which their mutations are pronounced, and are frequently excluded from war zones commanded by the more zealous chapters, Ordos and Adepta. Ultimately, the history of the Cursed Founding abides true to its cognomen. Even the fate of the Astartes it bequeathed upon the galaxy aside, it is a black mark in the history of the Imperium, a statement of colossal arrogance that all involved were to pay dearly for. We know not of its ultimate fate, or the fate of the recent expedition, that such a terrible aspect of the Imperium may yet return to haunt us in some way, to this very day is disturbing, to say the least. We may yet feel the wrath of the horrors, it had long since threatened to birth. While I pray such a day may never come, I must now retire. Until the next record. Ave Imperator. Gloria in Excelsis Terra. You can contact me, or follow me on Twitter, at Oculus Imperia. Otherwise, please like, subscribe, comment, let me know your feedback, and as ever, thank you very much for watching.