Foreword

I admit that interviewing the First Captain of the War Hounds was one of the most daunting tasks in my whole carrier. Even if we forget the Legion's penchant for savagery and bloodlust (and you can rest assured that I remembered it very well), there's Captain Kharn's own fearsome reputation. I am sure you can imagine my trepidation when the Captain himself expressed his interest in letting me interview him.

During the conversations that lead to the creation of this very tome, I have learned that there is much more to Captain Khrn then meets the eye. While indisputably one of the most feral of the Marines holding his rank, he is also a man of formidable intelligence and I believe his observations will give the readers more insight into the workings of the Great Crusade, as well shed more light on the latest, traumatic conflict.

While editing my work, I have strived to minimize my input and in doing so let the reader enjoy the Captain's narrative with as little change as possible.

I've been told I should write something to the readers. While the whole book is going to be mostly me talking, Maxim insisted it's absolutely vital that the foreword isn't just by him.

In all honesty, I was not in favour of the whole rememberencer concept, when I first heard of it, but I didn't piss and moan about it like some. It has been already implemented, so why bother? Besides, I thought all those civilian sissies would avoid us like the plague. I was in for a surprise and quick: the Primarch was actually all for the idea.

As odd as it might sound there was a logic behind his enthusiasm for a project that had so little to do with his interests. It was related to how he perceived the Emperor, beloved by all. I remember him saying, as if it were today, "Having Fulgrim be Mortarion's nanny looked funny at the time and just look at them now."

So, I figured I might as well get over the whole thing before I get asked to participate. I can see Maxim doesn't mention exactly why I chose him. Out of the whole lot, he was the only one that clobbered a trooper when he annoyed him and then held of three others with a chair. I thought I'd nab him before anybody else gets the idea and I'll be left with a quivering sycophant.

It turned out that we got along pretty well, once he stopped flinching every time I frowned. And that's how I ended up co-authoring a book. I just hope nobody will have to read it at schola.

Enough of my ramblings and onto more of my rambling.

Beginnings

I'm not going to start with the real beginning. Everybody knows how everything started. What happened before the Emperor, beloved by all, discovered Angron is of little consequence.

The Captain pauses and shakes his head.

That's a bad way of putting it. As far as the War Hounds go, what happened with us before the Emperor discovered Angron, is not as important as what came afterwards. We got deployed and we fought. Then the other Legions started finding their Primarchs and we started to worry that ours might be too badly lost to find him.

Then one day, we get summoned to accompany the Emperor to some system and then are told to stay in orbit and await further instructions, once we get there. So, we do just that. It took about three days, before the Captains got summoned. You can imagine how puzzled we were—no orders to deploy, just the captains and the Chief Apothecary are supposed to get to the Bucephalos.

I don't think we made the best of impressions on Angron back then. We walked into the conference hall, huddled up and looking as confused as we were and there he was standing next to the Emperor.

I'll never forget the sight. His face looked like it was covered in blood, decorated with red tattoos and he glared at us with such fury. Compared to the Emperor, he looked wild and brutal, like a wild animal. But he was our Primarch and we knew we would do anything to win his approval.

Then Ghreer started sobbing.

We had to take a break at this point, as the Captain felt necessary to voice his disapproval for the ex-Legion Master's conduct. I have significantly expanded my vocabulary during that hour.

It's hard to explain. You can probably insert one of those sappy monologues that Emperor's Child produced when he had to describe meeting his Primarch. It was something like that only more manly. What I am trying to say is that all Legions got emotional when their Primarch was found. They're the… the… living embodiment of the Legion. Something like a father to us and a leader, all in one.

What I'm trying to say is, we all were pretty damn happy to see Angron and we're no good when it comes to a whole lot of things that are not related to war. Essentially, we acted like a bunch of morons, Ghreer taking the cake, candles and several stupid party hats to go with them.

The Emperor, in his eternal wisdom, did not interfere, as we made idiots out of ourselves. I spent several minutes staring at Angron like an utter moron—I'm really not sure if I remember accurately what the others were doing. However, at some point, my brain turned on again and I managed to kneel.

In retrospect, it was the dumbest thing I could have done, but at that point I knew next to nothing about our Primarch. It seemed natural. Next thing I know Angron is hovering over me, mid-strike and the only thing between me and a messy death is the Emperor's hand.

The next few moments, we spent learning that our Primarch really hates kneeling and he does not want to see us ever doing it in front of him. I never said it, but I was wondering how we'd manage that. If you ever meet a Primarch, you will notice that kneeling is almost a natural reflex. Thankfully, the Emperor managed to keep our Primarch from throwing us around the hall.

We managed to introduce ourselves in the end and it turned out I was the only one around with enough presence of mind left to string more than one sentence together. This being the case, I did my best to explain that we're really glad he has been finally found. The funny thing is, I don't really remember what I said. I remember that Angron was staring at me and I that he was wearing a kilt, and a lot of other inconsequential details, but not what I said. Odd, isn't it?

Luckily, the speech Captain Kharn gave need not remain lost to posterity. Primarch Angron himself decided to quote it for my benefit, once he found out that the Captain claimed to be unable to do so. (Incidentally, not kneeling had been amazingly difficult.)

"My Liege, we did not intend to insult you with our conduct. We are soldiers, not diplomats. We speak through actions, not words. To us, you are our long lost father. Be our leader; command us and we will follow."

I must have sounded at least half-way sensible since Angron seemed to calm down somewhat. Though, the Emperor, beloved by all, holding his shoulder helped much more.

"I already agreed to lead you," he said. "You were called, because this planet," he indicated the display, "needs to be conquered. Soon you will be deployed."

That was a surprising turn of events. As far as I can remember, all the other Primarchs upon being found had had already conquered the planet of their origin. I suppose, this is why the Emperor stepped in and started to explain Angron's background to us. I have to say we did not take it well.

As it turns out the War Hounds, if Captain Kharn is a good example to go by, still "do not take it well." The following citation is actually compiled from several attempts at explaining, which had been punctuated by frequent swearing and several thrown objects, among which had been a rather nice table.

"Unlike his more fortunate brothers, Angron's past has not been one I would have wished my son to have. A barbarous practice is the main entertainment on his home planet. Slaves are forced to participate in gladiatorial combat for the amusement of the nobles. Your Primarch has been one of them.

"Recently, he has led his fellow gladiators into rebellion, but, alas, their forces were too weak. Had we arrived scant days later, he would have been annihilated along with his forces. On his request, we have evacuated his army along with him. They will be joining the War Hound's fleet as soon a certain other matter is resolved."

It was only due to the Emperor's presence and his force of personality that we started yelling about going down right then and there, and chewing our chainaxes after he finished talking. No unaugmented human can imagine our fury. The Emperor raised his hands and we fell silent. It does not meant that we stopped being furious. Far from it. However, we simply could not disobey him.

The Captain stares at a point over my head, deep in thought, as he speaks.

Primarchs are already far beyond what a human being can perceive, but with time one can learn to treat them differently than just mindless worship. The Emperor is not like that. His presence is far too great to ever forget. If you are in his vicinity, he becomes the center of whatever is happening. There cannot be a being greater than him.

So, we had no choice, but listen as our Lord explained why he would not lead us into battle.

"I wouldn't be a good leader right now," he said and tapped his head. "All gladiators have an implant that boosts the adrenaline production once we're under stress."

To my embarrassment, the Chief Apothecary had to explain why this was a bad thing to me and the other Captains. Essentially, it would limit the victim's ability to analyze stressful situations properly, leaving them with only the option of fighting. While in combat it could be a benefit, it would put a damper on many other situations.

"Think of meeting a long lost family member," he told us. "Anybody would worry over making the right impression. That's stress. Add those Butcher's Nails and you have an explosive fit of fury, because you're going to meet somebody you don't know."

That certainly put the scale of the problem into perspective. And we aren't just speaking about Angron here, but also about a whole army of gladiators with the same issue. Our joy at having found our Primarch was rather diminished by those revelations.

Our moods were somewhat brightened by the fact that we would lay our vengeance upon those that brought those problems upon our Lord.