Warhammer 40K Theories: The Emperor Faked A Chaos Attack On Terra

Let’s talk about Khorne’s attack on Holy Terra, and why it might not be what it seems.

In the closing days of the 41st Millennium, the 13th Black Crusade broke the galaxy. With the destruction of the Cadian Gate, and the ancient Necron pylon’s guarding it, the forces of Chaos were able to spill out in the material realm and rip open the Great Rift. No world was safe from the swelling tide of Chaos, a fact made clear when the legions of the Blood God, set foot on Holy Terra herself. This strike, at the very heart of Imperial power, seemed to show how far the Imperium had fallen. But what if this attack was not what it seemed. What if it was part of the Emperor’s grand plan? Let’s take a look.

The Official Story of the Sack of Terra

There is an official story about what happened during the attack on Terra. This battle is also known as the Sack of the Lion’s Gate. Shortly after news of the Fall of Cadia reached Holy Terra the light of the Astronomicon went out. This allowed warp storms and incursions to happen within the Sol System. As a result, madness swept the population of Terra.  There was an outpouring of demonic worship and sacrifice, as well as a massive uprising.

In the midst of this, the Primarch Guilliman arrived on Luna and fought a battle there against his traitor brother Magnus. Victorious there, he returned to Terra and met with his father, the Emperor. Shortly thereafter, 88 Legions of Khorne, sent heedless apparently of the other gods’ plans, materialized near the Imperial Palace. Despite the danger, Guilliman was able to rally the defenders. These included massive numbers of Custodian Guards, Sisters of Silence, and Grey Knights, and defeated the attack. Terra had been breached but still stood. This is at least what we’ve been told. But now take a closer look at a few parts that don’t make much sense.

Why Did The Astronomicon Go Out

To this day, we don’t know why the Astronomicon actually stopped working. The period when it failed was known as the Days of Blinding. It lasted various periods on different worlds. On Terra, the Astronomicon failed for 33 days. During this period, no one, not even the highest Martian priests could figure out what happened. We know that the Golden Throne continued to function just fine. In addition, the Emperor spoke to Guilliman during this period. Nothing was apparently broken. Then, after 33 days, the Astronomican simply turned back on again.

So what happened? Well, there are theories. One likely one is that the backlash from the destruction of Cadia knocked it offline. Maybe it distracted the Emperor. Another is that He was fighting off attacks from the Chaos Gods and couldn’t maintain it. One that has some plausibility is that He had to power it down to save enough energy to speak to Guilliman. It is strange that the only time in 10,000 years the Emperor has directly spoken to someone was when the Astronomicon was down. Yet another is that He took it down as part of some plan of His. This one seems possible.

How Did Daemons Even Get On Terra

Terra is protected from demonic incursion by old wards, set or at least maintained by the Emperor. Prior to the Siege of Terra, it was impossible for daemons to even set foot on the Throneworld, lest they be destroyed. During the Siege, Chaos Sorcerers were able to use their dark magics and massive sacrifices to push back the wards and allowed Daemons onto Terra. After Horus’ defeat, it seems as if the wards were restored, as daemons once more could not, even feared to, come to Terra.

And yet here we have a massive demonic incursion on the Throneworld. Two things seem to have allowed it. The first the Astronomicon turning off. The second was mass sacrifices carried out by crazed cultists. While these seem plausible causes, I’m not sure they hold up. Firstly, we don’t seem to have good evidence that the Astronomicon is tied to the wards protecting Terra. Certainly, during the Siege it’s being on or off does not seem tied to the Daemons being able to set foot on the throne world. Secondly, during the Siege it took the best Sorcerers in the fallen Legions to work out how to merely weaken the Imperial wards, not some random cultists. While it’s possible the wards were brought down, it almost seems more likely that they were brought down on purpose.

What Really Happened (Maybe)

So here is my theory on what really happened. Both the Terran wards and the Astronomicon are controlled by the Emperor, and if He wanted to bring them down, He could. But why would He do this? Well possibly they needed to be down so that Guilliman could get to Luna, maybe they blocked the gates there. It’s also possible He had to focus all his power on being able to speak. But more than that, I think He wanted Khorne to launch an attack.

After all the timing is very strange. The Days of Blinding lasted for 33 days. Guilliman arrived on Luna sometime on or after day 20 – it’s not 100% clear. There were a couple of days after his arrival when he traveled to Terra and spoke to the Emperor. It was only after that that the wards were weak enough for Khorne to launch his attack. Shortly after the attack failed, the Terran wards, and Astronomican came back up. This is a very narrow window then, less than 11 days, and possibly only one or two, between Guilliman’s return and the Astronomicon coming back up. It’s a very narrow period for Khorne to attack.

The Why

And yes we know that Khorne wanted the glory of taking Terra, but it was an attack doomed to failure. The defenses were simply too strong, and it happened at a time when there were more Sisters of Silence on Terra than possibly at any prior period since the Siege.  It wasn’t just doomed to fail, it did relatively little damage in its failure. So who gained from the attack. Not Khrone…but Guilliman. Freshly returned, distrusted by many and trying to navigate the  Imperial bureaucracy, the Primarch might have faced major resistance. Then, purely coincidentally, comes a perfectly timed attack. Ane attack that allows him to rally not just Space Marines and Guard, but Custodians, Sisters of Silence and Grey Knights behind his leadership.

With a Chaos attack on Terra, there was no time for debate, everyone had to pull together behind the Primarch. And it wasn’t just the military, the attack shook the High Lords and seems to have made them quicker to accept the Regent’s powers. Indeed, while you could see the attack as a disaster, it in fact was a major win for Guilliman, handing him easy control of the Imperium, while doing little actual damage. It’s almost as if a master manipulator planned the whole thing, luring Khorne into it, in order to cement His son’s control.

Let us know if you think the Emperor was behind the attack, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.