Editing Nobledark Imperium Drafts (section)

==== The Throne Before the Emperor ====

EDITOR'S NOTE: Need to add history of Golden Throne itself, where it came from and what Emperor did with it.

It is a little known fact, even among the historians of Old Earth, that before the events of the War of the Beast the Steward was privately planning to crown Sanguinius as Emperor at the end of the Great Crusade. All of the other primarchs had flaws that disqualified them from the position, and the Steward had not encountered any other humans who seemed up to the task. Lion, Ferrus Manus, and Mortarion all lacked the necessary charisma, and Ferrus was more loyal to the Mechanicum than anything else. Perturabo, Angron, and Curze were all psychologically unstable. Magnus was too approving of the use of the Warp for anyone’s comfort. Horus the Steward considered too ambitious and disagreed with ideologically. Alpharius and Omegon were too shifty and he suspected they were hiding something. Corax, Khan, and Russ were all good leaders and loyal to the Imperium, but they were “front-line” leaders for whom the day-to-day tasks that would be required of them as Emperor would have driven them mad. They also would have been torn between the duties to the Imperium and their loyalties towards their own people, and would have been seen as a niche pick. Lorgar would have turned the Imperium into a theocracy. Vulkan was beloved, but had similar problems to Lorgar and his coronation would likely have alienated the eldar. Guilliman was too much of a perfectionist. Dorn was too harsh and blunt to function in politics. Fulgrim would have turned the Imperium into a self-aggrandizing horror show praising his own ego.

Sanguinius was the right combination of humble, charismatic, beloved, a capable bureaucrat, and perhaps just as importantly he had a similar vision for humanity as the Steward. Sanguinius was not a perfect choice, for example he hated Conrad Kurze and Mortarion and had his own personal flaws, but finding someone else who fit that criterion and was still qualified for the job in the teeming masses of humanity was probably an impossible task. Sanguinius was also well-liked enough that his coronation would not have driven any more of a wedge between the various primarchs than already existed. Even Horus would have supported putting Sanguinius on the throne, because it supported his pro-transhuman political narrative. It's kind of hard to argue for the purity of human form when your Emperor of Mankind has gigantic angel wings.

When Sanguinius died at the Battle of Eternity Gate the Steward was too shaken over the loss to even try thinking of another substitute (especially given that none of the other primarchs fit the bill) and wouldn't really start looking again for several millenia. At the same time, the primarchs as a whole mutually agreed in private that none of them were worthy candidates for the Golden Throne. By that point, many of the primarchs had their own personal black marks and those that didn’t felt guilty over not being able to prevent Sanguinus’ death. It was one of the only thing they ever agreed upon. Lion’s confidence was shattered by the betrayal of his brother Luther. Corax was devastated by the events of Azoth and what his self-percieved hubris had wrought upon his own legion. Russ felt he had no right to rule after what had been done at his command to the people of Fenris. Even Horus, ever ambitious, thought twice, having been shaken by the fact that the Chaos Gods had tried to tempt him and how it was his gamble that had almost led to the death of the Imperium.

In the years between the Battle of Terra and the Age of Apostasy, there were many who aspired to be crowned Emperor. Imperial history is littered with pretenders from throughout the Imperium that nominated themselves in aspiration to the throne and failed in whatever task the Steward gave to prove themselves. These legends are particularly popular farther out from Old Earth where they took on a folkloric and mythological aspect, equal parts folk legend and morality tale, that demonstrates a peculiar truth of the Imperium. Despite the laws on faith and presence of traditional religions, the century spanning, generation transcending politics of the high Imperial court have an undeniable quality of momentousness and immortality that have made the resulting tales akin to civil scripture.

Then, of course, came Vandire. Despite all the muttered curses and epithets posthumously directed at Vandire after the Imperial Civil War, there were actually no signs of the monster he would become. Vandire was known for his humility and kindness, and was a brilliant administrator, one of the best the Adeptus Administratum had ever seen, What’s more this charisma and talent were real, not just skin deep masking some deep pre-existing psychological problems. He was also well-liked by the eldar, having treated them fairly when the Administratum dealt with the Craftworlds and Exodite worlds, which made him a favorable choice from their point of view. Ironically, Vandire probably could have become an Emperor so great that Oscar would pale in comparison (which is what Oscar wanted) but he wasted his potential obsessing over what others thought of him than doing his job and letting his actions speak for themselves. What drove Vandire to madness was the pressure of running an entire galaxy and living up to the Steward’s example, and the fact that he believed that people were only listening to him because the Steward told them to.

After the Age of Apostasy and the ensuing Imperial Civil War, there was really only one acceptable candidate for Emperor: Oscar. For humanity this was obvious, Oscar was a hero to almost every world in the Imperium and everyone knew he would rule well and not abuse his power. He had six thousand years of history backing him up on this point. Inquisitor Sebastian Thor articulated this to Oscar very clearly in addition to the succession crisis issue when they argued over who got the Throne. The Steward pointed out that Thor had organized a galaxy-wide rebellion with little more than words, but Thor retorted that he was a firebrand, not a leader. Oscar had stopped a civil war just by showing up. Oscar insisted that humanity be free to choose its own leader, and to his surprise they had turned around and chosen him.

For the eldar the Steward was also the only acceptable candidate, but for reasons that are less obvious. To the eldar, Vandire was definitive proof that baseline humanity could not be trusted with power (the fact that the eldar were just as divided by the civil war and certain Craftworlds sent Vandire eldar bodyguards being quietly swept under the rug). Additionally, the short lifespan of humans compared to eldar means you would have Emperors turning over all the time, which would be ridiculous for consistency (by eldar standards) in Imperial policy. Oscar was a known quantity, and even though the safety of humanity was his first and foremost concern, his actions showed that he would treat the eldar fairly. He was also biologically immortal, which quelled any such worries about a succession crisis. Additionally, he was married to Isha, so putting Oscar on the throne basically meant putting Oscar and Isha on the throne, meaning eldar interests would always be represented in Imperial politics.