The Imperium Of Man.

Founded eleven millennia ago by the God-Emperor Of Mankind. Uniting humanity across over a million worlds in faith and zeal. Protecting humanity from the alien, the mutant, and the heretic. A shining bulwark against the darkness, the glorious empire that all of humanity, all of the galaxy, rightfully belong to. Ceaselessly protected and served by quadrillions of workers, trillions of soldiers, the ceaseless watch of the Inquisition, the holy heroics of the Emperor’s Angels Of Death.

What utter bullshit.

It’s what everyone is indoctrinated to believe. It’s what you were indoctrinated to believe. And you did! For a very long time.

But… Well.

Every one of the million-or-so worlds of the Imperium is a dystopian police State, but that doesn’t mean they’re all *equally *bad. Dystopia has degrees. And your unassuming homeworld of Kiboutan - a civilized world of merely 12 billion people at the edge of Segmentum Pacificus - happens to have this… this concept that most of the Imperium lacks.

The concept of rights. The concept that people have certain rights which authority, strength, power, cannot overrule.

Sounds crazy to most Imperials, but on Kiboutan, it was part of your education - and like most of the population, you did get an education. Most Kiboutani go to school as children and learn how to read! (Most Imperium citizens live in hive-cities and spend most of their childhood and their entire adult life toiling in factories.)

Now, did your education include indoctrination that told you to hate the alien, the mutant, and the heretic? Absolutely. Were you taught to worship the God-Emperor without question, to serve the Imperium Of Man with fanatical zeal, to view disloyalty to either as an utterly unforgivable crime? You bet.

But the other lessons… about rights, about simple logic, about thinking… they stuck with you. Like a time bomb.

And you feel like you’ve lived long enough for it to explode multiple times.

Enough times to realize that there is nothing holy, or noble, or glorious about the Imperium.

Enough to realize it’s a sickening morasse of corruption, infighting, institutionalized stupidity, cruelty, abuse… It truly boggles the mind how the Imperium can have (or rather, enforce) such a high opinion of itself, while having so little cause for it.

You are expected to hate all xenos and exterminate them without question and without mercy… and, admittedly, that is a reasonable reaction when dealing with the likes of Orks and Tyranids (to name but the two most numerous offenders)... but you have been at this long enough to know that the Imperial Pogroms frequently result in the xenocide of non-hostile species that, objectively, are not any worse than humanity.

You are expected to hate the heretic. And while the Ruinous Powers are, quite literally, the worst… the Imperium spends more energy oppressing its own population and crushing entirely-justified rebellions than it does fighting actual threats. The Ecclesiarchy is hopelessly corrupt, yet claims to speak for a god who, by its own doctrine, holds unquestionable moral authority.

With every passing year, you have come closer and closer to this terrible realization: The Imperium isn’t humanity’s bulwark against the darkness. The Imperium is a galaxy-wide machine designed to produce humans, and torture them into compliance first and usefulness second.

And…

…you think you might be the only person with a hope of saving the galaxy.

Not because you’re the only one who wants to. That would be ludicrous. Over a million worlds, with a nontrivial percentage of them hive worlds and forge worlds with populations that can exceed the trillion? No matter how good the indoctrination machine is, you’ve got to assume that with a population this massive, there are plenty out there who share your views.

No, what makes you unique is that you’re in position to actually do something about it. Somehow, against all odds, through a combination of skill and luck (and a couple instances of threats to your career getting gutted by Eldar, but you try not to let that paralyze you with paranoia)… you have actually become one of the most powerful people in the Imperium. One of the actual decision-makers at the very top. One of the twelve High Lords Of Terra who run the show.

[ ][Adeptus] You are the Master Of The Administratum. The galaxy’s most powerful bureaucrat, you are, in principle, in charge of record-keeping, administration, collecting the Tithe, military logistics, food distribution, and so much more.

On paper (no pun intended), this is the position that gives you the most power and levers of influence. Of course, that power is limited by the sheer inefficiency (and corruption) of a galaxy-spanning bureaucracy that keeps most of its records written on vellum and has very limited FTL communication.

[ ][Adeptus] You are the Ecclesiarch. Ironically enough for someone who has lost their faith, you are the highest authority on the Imperium’s religion, and command the Minostorum’s vast wealth and influence.

This position gives you massive influence over public opinion in the Imperium, as well as colossal wealth that isn’t as tied up in existing expenses as the taxes collected by the Administratum. However, your authority derives from a religion you have long stopped believing in, and you will need to justify every decision under that optic.

[ ][Adeptus] You are the Grand Provost Marshal of the Adeptus Arbites. You are in charge of administering the primary law-enforcement organisation of the Imperium.

You control the space cops. Alas, all space cops are bastards.

[ ][Adeptus] You are the Lord Commander Militant of the Imperial Guard. Your purview is the countless trillions of guardsmen the Imperium throws at its problems.

If you want to influence how the Imperial Guard is managed and deployed, this is the position for you. Downside is, any change to how the civilian affairs of the Imperium are run will have to be handled indirectly, via trading favors with the relevant High Lords.

[ ][Adeptus] You are the Lord High Admiral of the Imperial Navy. Yours to command are the massive fleets of the Imperium.

Similar to the Lord Commander Militant position, but centered on ships instead.

[ ][Adeptus] You are the Abbess Sanctorum of the Adepta Sororitas. Your own faith may have died, but you nonetheless have come to command not only the militant orders of the Sisters Of Battle, but also the Orders Hospitaller, Dialogus, Famulous, and more.

In this position, you command a small but elite military force independent of the Imperial Guard, and hold some influence via the non-militant orders. The downsides are that the Ecclesiarchy will have significant authority over your Adeptus, and that the overwhelming majority of the people working for you will be fanatics.

The path that led you to this lofty position was long and complicated, spanning centuries. One event that stands out to you was, well…

[ ][Event] You once got caught in the middle of a struggle between two Inquisitors with incompatible goals. Seeing as one of them was willing to exterminatus the planet you were standing on to spite the other, you elected to help the latter kill the former. The surviving Inquisitor, as a token of their gratitude, redacted all traces of your involvement from the whole business. What they never found out was that you actually got a lot of the dead Inquisitor’s possessions before killing them - extremely secret books, their rosette, things you are definitely not supposed to have.

[ ][Event] You once played a primary role in foiling a Drukhari raid on a world you were assigned to. What no-one else knows is that in the wake of the raid, you were able to hide a significant amount of the xeno artifacts, which on paper were destroyed. You still have this cache, a secret known only to you.

[ ][Event] You once met, and worked with, a Living Saint. Contrary to what one might expect… the experience did not, in fact, reignite your faith in the Emperor. However, you have become an important character in the legend surrounding this Living Saint, which makes it hazardous for people to question your religious fervor.

[ ][Event] You once were the main reason an abhuman race - present on many worlds of a certain sector - narrowly avoided getting declared a breed of mutants. There’s nearly a trillion of them today who all know they owe you their lives.

[ ][Event] You once were able to locate and recover an STC. The Adeptus Mechanicus compensated you quite well for your find. [Gain one additional advantage below.]

Now, obviously, the task ahead of you is… monumental. Many would call you insane for even considering it. Even for a High Lord, actually changing the Imperium and the galaxy should be utterly impossible.

But… you have a few advantages.

Pick 6 advantages:

[ ][Advantage] Your many promotions over the course of your career thus far weren’t exactly unearned. Sure, luck and politics both played central roles… but you weren’t just good at your job. You were downright fantastic.

[ ][Advantage] You have a talent - one you have cultivated over a lifetime - for seeing through falsehood. It doesn’t mean you can’t be fooled, of course, but you are exceptionally good at detecting bullshit.

[ ][Advantage] Anyone who attains the position of High Lord Of Terra is a capable politician who knows how to earn and trade favors… but in addition to that, you are also a charismatic, likable person who finds it easy and natural to make friends.

[ ][Advantage] You have a loyal, trustworthy subordinate who shares your ideals. -[ ] You have two loyal, trustworthy subordinates who share your ideals. –[ ] You have three loyal, trustworthy subordinates who share your ideals.

[ ][Advantage] Your personal retinue includes an exceptionally powerful and versatile sanctioned psyker from the Adeptus Astra Telepathica.

[ ][Advantage] Your personal retinue includes a Magos whom you know is secretly quite the heretek. Not the "binds daemons into machines" sort of heretek, the "questions Mechanicus dogma and tries to innovate in the privacy of their workshop" sort of heretek.

[ ][Advantage] Your personal retinue includes a member of the Assassinorum who happens to be extremely good at their job, even by Assassinorum standards.

[ ][Advantage] You have developed a solid working relationship with a Rogue Trader who has a long history of peacefully negotiating with xenos and can, if asked, provide you with various bits of xenotech - even of Eldar origin.

[ ][Advantage] A particular incident over the course of your career has earned you the respect of a fleet-based Astartes Chapter. They consider themselves greatly indebted to you.

[ ][Advantage] There’s an Inquisitor who has become aware of your downright heretical view of the Imperium… and, as far as you can tell, seems to agree with you. To the very least, they haven’t arrested, killed, or blackmailed you in the years since. -[ ] Ordo Hereticus -[ ] Ordo Xeno -[ ] Ordo Malleus

[ ][Advantage] At some point in your career, you were secretly recruited by the Synopticon - one of the intelligence agencies of the Imperium - to act as one of their informants within your Adeptus. In the decades since, you have come to cultivate significant connections within the Synopticon, giving you access to significant intel.

[ ][Advantage] Getting one’s subordinates to tell one the truth and do as one commands is always a challenge given the omnipresent corruption. In your case, at least, it’s made a little easier by the fact that your accomplishments prior to your elevation to High Lord have made you a living legend within your respective Adeptus.

[ ][Advantage] Through a series of events and actions not so corrupt as to tarnish your image among High Lords, you have come to possess a vast personal fortune. While it is but a speck of dust compared to the actual budget of your Adeptus, it forms a discretionary fund fully under your control, meaning you can throw around trillion-throne bribes without needing to embezzle from your Adeptus nor crippling your personal bottom line.

[ ][Advantage] At some point in your career, you were granted ownership of a Civilized World within Segmentum Solar. Being a planetary governor is of course small potatoes next to being a High Lord Of Terra… but it gives you a homebase outside of your Adeptus where you can do your own thing.

Pick 1 disadvantage or don’t. If you pick one, you get an extra advantage:

[ ][Disadvantage] No disadvantage. You have enough of those by virtue of the task ahead.

[ ][Disadvantage] At some point in your career you prevented (or at least delayed, given the Imperium’s nature) the xenocide of a harmless minor xeno species. While you were able to cover your ass at the time with pragmatic justifications, there was an Ordo Xeno Inquisitor involved, and you’re fairly sure they didn’t buy your excuses.

[ ][Disadvantage] At some point in your career, someone you knew became a target of the Officio Assassinorum through no fault of their own, and you helped them fake their death. All these years later, their continued survival has become known to the Officio, and you’re pretty sure they know you’re to blame.

[ ][Disadvantage] You have, many decades ago, used a Chaos-tainted artifact to get yourself out of a tight spot (and, incidentally, save billions of lives). You made sure to destroy it afterward… but you think the Ordo Malleus suspects you.

[ ][Disadvantage] Despite your best attempts, you have not been perfectly able to conceal your lost faith in the God-Emperor. While there are no outright accusations of unbelief, you have a bit of a reputation for lack of religious fervor.

[ ][Disadvantage] Your meteoric rise to the position of High Lord is owed in no small part to an ally of convenience within the Senatorum Imperialis, and they will be expecting you to repay the favor. -[ ] You owe this favor to the Master Of The Administratum. -[ ] You owe this favor to the Ecclesiarch. -[ ] You owe this favor to the Fabricator-General Of Mars. -[ ] You owe this favor to the Paternoval Envoy of the Navis Nobilite. -[ ] You owe this favor to the Master Of The Adeptus Astra Telepathica. -[ ] You owe this favor to the Lord Commander Of Segmentum Solar. -[ ] You owe this favor to the Speaker For The Chartist Captains.

[ ][Disadvantage] You don’t know if it’s some long-term masterplan or mere coincidence, but your rise through the ranks definitely owes a lot to a couple instances where the actions of the Asuryani just happened to eliminate threats to your career and leave you to gain glory by picking up the pieces. Problem is, some of those actions weren’t as subtle as the Eldar usually try to be, and… there are some suspicions.

[ ][Disadvantage] You have in the past worked with cold traders - smugglers of xeno artifacts - in order to solve some pressing problems. It worked, but it’s earned you a reputation for tech-heresy with some corners of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Now, truth is… there is another factor that makes you think reforming the Imperium might, against all evidence to the contrary, actually be possible:

The Imperium is in turmoil like it hasn’t been for millennia.

Cadia has fallen. A significant fraction of Imperial worlds now lies beyond the Cicatrix Maledictum. Many believe these are the end days. The Senatorum Imperialis is feeling pressure like never before, and you might, just might, be able to leverage the crisis into large-scale change - because no-one’s coming to save you. The Emperor is silent as ever. None of the ancient Primarchs are around. It’s just you… and your determination to get shit done.

Because, as far as you’re concerned, the horror that is the Imperium in its present state - a regime of unspeakable cruelty - cannot be allowed to keep existing. You’re going to change it or break it, come what may and hell to pay, or your name isn’t-

[ ][given name] Adarnases (M) [ ][given name] Araxa (M) [ ][given name] Artaxes (M) [ ][given name] Darius (M) [ ][given name] Daric (M) [ ][given name] Haxamanis (M) [ ][given name] Magadates (M) [ ][given name] Megasidres (M) [ ][given name] Mithridates (M) [ ][given name] Mithrapata (M) [ ][given name] Pharnabazos (M) [ ][given name] Sarames (M) [ ][given name] Uvaxstra (M) [ ][given name] Amestris (F) [ ][given name] Barsine (F) [ ][given name] Caddandane (F) [ ][given name] Darya (F) [ ][given name] Faruzan (F) [ ][given name] Irdabama (F) [ ][given name] Jamaspi (F) [ ][given name] Parmys (F) [ ][given name] Phratagone (F) [ ][given name] Stateira (F) [ ][given name] Teispid (F)

[ ][surname] Achaemenid [ ][surname] Euphrates [ ][surname] Parth [ ][surname] Sasan

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Author’s Notes:

So. I have no idea how far this quest will go, and no idea how often I’ll update it. I am committing to absolutely nothing.

But, like many others, I was heartbroken when Swordo’s A Song Of Peace came to an early end, and it left me with a hankering for a quest about reforming the Imperium Of Man (or, failing that, planting the seeds of revolution, or breaking the Imperium into smaller, more manageable parts that can be reformed, I’m not picky!).

Now, let’s get one thing out of the way: This is gonna be *nothing *like A Song Of Peace. Swordo and I have radically different approaches to storytelling and worldbuilding. Swordo created a rich tapestry of original lore regarding the senseis and the cosmic powers of the WH40K universe. Me, I’m more inclined to write stories about clever heroes using their ingenuity to punch way above their weight class, and figure out the math behind how the setting can even *begin *to make sense. So, don’t expect this story to revolve around larger-than-life godlike immortals older than the Horus Heresy.

And don’t expect Robute Guilliman. For one reason or another, Ynnead hasn’t restored the Ultramarine Primarch. There’s no Lord Commander of the Imperium - there is only the Senatorum Imperialis with its High Lords, one of whom is you.

And yes, Kiboutan is from In the Grim Darkness of the 41st Millennium, Nobody Beats G.I. Joe!, but the events of that quest are very much not in continuity here.

Lastly, just in case there is any lingering doubt about where I (and this quest) stand: The Imperium is bad. The Imperium is monstrously bad. The Imperium is not justified in its badness - not by the settings, not by necessity, not by the results it gets. There will be no justifying of the Imperium’s policies of mass-murder, slavery, abuse, genocide, etc.