# Feat of Iron - Spoiler Question



## Alhom (Aug 17, 2012)

Hi there,
I finished the anthology and I'll ask you one question about the short story of Nick Kyme.

We see the Cabal trying to speak and to alert Ferrus Manus about his future etc...
They failed. Ok, but the seer says :


> "There is hope,’ he muttered. ‘In the empire of the Battle-King, he who would install an heir. Even if the Gorgon falls and fails to heed our warning, there is another who will listen, one who was lost."


Without those 4 last words, I could think that this "another" was Alpharius/Omegon (CF Legion by Dan Abnett) but this word, this meaning that there is an other dude who was lost who can hear the Cabal.

But help me! Who is lost? Seriously, is a Primarque of the II or XI Legion?
Well this story blew up my mind :suicide:


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## DjdaForce (Nov 20, 2012)

Guillaume was named the Battle King in the Novella, so it must be someone who is in Ultramar with him (in the Imperium Secundus). 






*Spoiler!*






My guess is Sanguinus, Fear to Tread tells us that he was "lost" for several years because of the Signus incident. Also, for all we know from Betrayer und Fear to Tread, he is trapped in Ultramar now. Lorgars Spell makes sure noone will get out of the 500 worlds, but somehow Sanguinus has to make it to Terra before Horus arrives there.
The cabal might be able to help him make it, and that might also explain why the UM won't join the Blood Angels: Guillaume would never ever trust some bunch of aliens to savely deliver them to the throneworld!


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## Alhom (Aug 17, 2012)

Nice one dude!
So, the _lost _is Sanguinius... Sounds good and logic.
Thus, for you, Sanguinius will be helped by the Cabal when he is trapping with Roboute on Ultramar?
I haven't read Angel Exterminatus and Betrayer yet. So thanks for your comment.


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

Alpharius was considered lost for a long time, he was the last to be found... so I still think it refers to Alpharius/Omegon


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

Don't think they meant Alpharius. The term 'battle-king' undoubtedly refers to Guilliman.

It would be interesting if they in fact did attempt to contact him. Know No Fear depicts him as a very reasonable Primarch and he wasn't as rigid in his thinking as we were led to believe.


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## DeathJester921 (Feb 15, 2009)

Malus Darkblade said:


> Don't think they meant Alpharius. The term 'battle-king' undoubtedly refers to Guilliman.
> 
> It would be interesting if they in fact did attempt to contact him. Know No Fear depicts him as a very reasonable Primarch and he wasn't as rigid in his thinking as we were led to believe.


Rigid thinking, hard headedness goes to Dorn from what I took away from his depiction in the first short story in Shadows of Treachery. Shocker, eh?


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

Prior to Know No Fear and based on the 40k descendants of the Ultramarines, I'm sure many of us believed the codex was meant to be followed to the letter and that Guilliman intended this.

Dorn to me is defiant, unyielding but in matters of willpower and is an optimist in humanity's future and the Emperor's vision. 

Guilliman is a realist and had no qualms with abandoning the Imperium in favor of his version of it.


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## Lupe (Jan 3, 2011)

They meant Perturabo, almost certainly... Angel Exterminatus makes some fairly obvious connections...


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

So Pet. was referred to as the battle-king and the Eldar Farseers could not predict his reaction to the uprising on Olympus and his alliance with Horus?


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## Alhom (Aug 17, 2012)

Lupe said:


> They meant Perturabo, almost certainly... Angel Exterminatus makes some fairly obvious connections...


Yeah thx dude, I'm reading AE!
May be there will be some explications because this question drive me crazy!

So, may be the _last _is :
- Sanguinius?
- Alpharius?
- Perturabo?


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## DjdaForce (Nov 20, 2012)

Regarding my theory with Sanguinus, lets start with the facts:


The Blood Angels are stuck at Ultramar (Source: Fear to Tread)
Noone can leave the 500 worlds because of Lorgars Spell (Source: Betrayer)
When Horus attacks Terra, the BA will be there defending but the UM won't (Source: 40k Fluff)
Most important: Should Guillaumes die (e.g. at Calth), the remaining Ultramarines would be defending the palace too (Source: Aurelian)
Theory:

To get to Terra, the BA have to bypass Lorgars Spell, and eventually they will do it, we all know that. Also Guillaume survived the battle for Calth (because Lorgar wasn't there) which, according to the things we learnt from Aurelian, will be the reason why the UM won't join their brethern on their voyage to the throneworld. 

In my oppinion, the logical conclusion is that the BA will get help from an unorthodox source, one which Guillaume deeply mistrusts. He will hold his legion back and everything will go the way we know it will...

In my opinion there are just 3 possible factions powerful and misterious enough to fulfill that role:


The cabal, they are obviously powerful enough to bypass the spell.
Non-cabal eldar, guiding the Blood Angels through the Webway.
Loyalist Alpha Legion, they propably know enough tricks too.
What do you think?


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## Alhom (Aug 17, 2012)

Makes sens yes. I haven't read AE and Betrayer yet, so I can't confirm but yes, it's sounds good.

The Cabal seems to be "this" help. May be we'll get some answers with Unremembered Empire.


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## Marcoos (Sep 26, 2010)

I think there's a chance they are refering to Vulkan.

Let's look at the supporting information;

- Vulkan was thought to be 'lost' after Istvaan V (source: Age of Darkness)
- it has been confirmed that he not only survives Istvaan V, but turns up in Ultramar (source: Nick Kyme's blog)
- Nick Kyme wrote Feat of Iron and is doing both Scorched Earth and Vulkan Lives

Theory: we don't know much about what Vulkan gets up to durin he remainder of the Heresy. He was close to his brother, Ferrus, so it's possible he could be believed (by the Cabal) to old similar ideals. He would be forced to act on a smaller scale than many of his brothers due to the massacre of his legion at Istvaan V, so he'd be a suitable candidate for trying to manipulate events (rather than hits them with the legehammer of tens of thousands of Astartes). The Salamanders are noted for their care for the mortals of the Empire; if Vulkan came to the same realisation as Alpharius then his concern for the human race could convince him to work with the Cabal.

What do you think? Merit or madness?


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## DjdaForce (Nov 20, 2012)

After reading all the Announcements, I agree with your theory. Lets hope Nick Kymes quality of writing has improved since that 40k Salamanders stuff....


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## Brother Lucian (Apr 22, 2011)

Humm, I suddenly had a hunch to whom who might have helped the Blood Angels to get to Terra. And whom is of a sufficient mystical bent to circumwent Lorgar's spell, and whom would have drawn the immediate suspicion of Guiliman. The corvidae sect of Thousand Sons fleet survivors whom was sent away from Prospero prior to the siege, and whom we briefly saw in that short story where they came to visit the ruin of their homeworld and loosing their captain to the World Eaters plundering Prospero.

I could see them turning up at Ultramar, being viewed strongly with suspicion as almost traitors, but Sanguinius, being a people person decides to support them. Get him and his legion to Imperial Terra and they will get a reprieve from the Excommunicate Traitoris order. Then its not really a far jump to imagine that after this, they decide to honor their savior by incorporating 'blood' into their heraldy when they prove their allegiance.


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