Almire Leoric

> "*I do not punish you out of any pleasure or because you broke the tenants of the Lex Imperialis, for before my coming you had no way of knowing such a text even existed. No, I do so because the laws of your world dictate that the crime you committed was punishable by execution, and yet through your wealth and position, you avoided your fate, you paid to have others suffer in your stead, holding yourself above the law you yourself were sworn to uphold. I say this, no longer, no more shall you hide, for today you taste justice. In the name of the Imperium, of the newly compliant world of Karonar V, and by my right as a Primarch of the Imperium and son of the Emperor of Mankind, beloved by all, I sentence you to death, to be carried out immediately.*"
> ― Almire Leoric to Sylas Fyna, former High Judge of the newly compliant world of Karonar V
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**Almire Leoric**, one who would become known as the **Warmaster of the Imperium** and the **Archtraitor of Chaos**, and who bore the titles of the **Last Scion of House Delphaan**, **Seneschal of House Leoric** and the **Great Unifier**, was the sixteenth genetically altered son of the Imperium, one of twenty one such Primarchs created at the dawn of the Imperium to serve as generals of the Great Crusade. As with all Primarch's, Almire gave his genetic legacy to a legion of augmented super soldiers, the *Legiones Astartes* of the XVIth Legion, those who would become known as the Imperial Justicars, and later the Warmasters Justicars.

When the Primarch's were flung from Terra by the capricious tides of the warp, Almire landed far closer to Terra than any of his brothers, and for many years he stood as the sole Primarch within the Imperium, forming an unparalleled bond with the Emperor during this time as a result, proving himself to be every bit his father's son, something solidified after the Triumph of Ullanor, where Almire was elevated above his brothers, named as the Emperor’s Warmaster, commander of the Great Crusade in its entirety while the Emperor returned to Terra.

Almire was responsible for unleashing the hellish civil war that became known as the Almire Apostasy upon the galaxy, turning on his once loved father who he now saw as a corrupt tyrant, fit only to be deposed and replaced. While his ambitions may have started nobly, those he allied himself with, the Pantheon of Chaos Gods, slowly perverted these goals to serve their own desires, trillions perishing as Almire became the very thing he had tried to hard to tear down.

Almire would eventually fall as all tyrants must, struck down as the Second Siege of Terra by the Emperor of Mankind, his body and soul destroyed utterly. Almire’s actions had consequences that far outlived him however, the Warmaster mortally wounding the Emperor in turn forcing those who remained to inter him upon the Golden Throne, damaging the  Imperium of Man beyond repair and inaugurated the current Age of the Imperium, when Mankind is beset by countless horrific dangers to its existence and the Imperium itself has become a stagnant, repressive, and dehumanising galactic presence.

## History

### The Birth of the Imperium

While Almire's early life on Hasninë was well documented, the same cannot be said for his formative years within the Imperium itself. Contradiction and omission tarnishes all accounts of these times, whether by deliberate design or simply due to the fact none who recorded such histories had ever documented such a being as Almire. It is clear that the Emperor did find Almire, and it is clear that the Primarch was given command of the XVIth legion before any of his brothers were found.

Beyond these manifest facts, agreement between sources is decidedly lacking, some even disputing the fact that Almire was thrown from the Emperor at all, and that instead he travelled to Hasninë as a man, unifying the world for the Imperium in advance of the Emperor's armies.

Other accounts say that Almire was found by the Emperor when the Sol System and even the Unification War itself had not yet been decided, that the Primarch served alongside the Emperor of Mankind from the dawn of the Imperium itself, kept from his legion as he learnt the ways of his father, a fact which if true would explain how the XVIth legion, already known as the Imperial Justicars and moulded into the force Almire would one day command, could recover from their losses in the First Rangdan Xenocide so quickly, a feat of reproducing usually only found in legions who had found their genesire.

Whatever the truth, none who know it speak of it, but it is known that the first definitive record of Almire was upon the surface of Hasninë, the Emperor descending to a compliant world to greet his son, Almire kneeling instantly and pledging his service to the Imperium and its Emperor, taking up command of the Imperial Justicars as he served alongside his father, whether for the first time or simply the first public time, none can say.

### Hasninë

Of all the conflictng accounts of Leoric's unification with the Imperium, those with the most credence revolve around the world of Hasninë. A Knight World that had once belonged to the empire of Mars, Hasninë was near to Terra in galactic terms, reachable by non-navigator led crafts conducting micro-warp jumps. Cut off from their old empire, a feudal system sprang into effect, each Knightly Household maintaining their power through the judicious use of Knight Suits, mighty exoskeleton warframes with the power to destroy entire tank columns, let alone the mortal peasantry of the land.

Almire soon came to join one of these noble houses, trained as a Knight Scion, passing every test put to him both in the cockpit and without. Soon, he stood as the greatest warrior of the House of Delphaan, and yet, for all his privilege and wealth, Almire could never pilot one of the mighty Knights, none able to fit his rapidly growing frame, and could not help but weep. Delphaan may have been his house, but he felt no connection with them, nor with any of the knightly households.

Each of the Houses held their own laws, written in their own ancient languages, descended from code cyphers of old night and readable only by those privy to that individual houses ways, something that the peasantry was purposely kept unaware of. These laws were mercilessly enforced upon the populace from the cockpit of Knight Titans, those slain by their overlords never knowing what infraction they committed, and finally, Almire could bear it no longer.

In a single night, Almire struck at the House of Delphaan, slaying their pilots and ruling elite, even as he safeguarded many of the knight suits themselves. As Delphaan fell, Almire threw wide the gates of the fortress keep, striding forth and addressing the masses in their own tongue, common speak as opposed to the secret voices of Delphaan he had been tutored in. He knew they had little reason to trust him, to them he was simply a noble, part of the institution who had lorded over them for generations. Only deeds could cement his commitment to his people, and a deed he showed them, standing before them and vowing to sacrifice everything in their name, before plunging his fingers into his own eye, ripping his right orb from its socket and holding it aloft for all to see.

Blood poured from the wound, but Almire stood undaunted, his message now backed with deed. The cry was immense, hundreds flocking to his banner to fight for the one who would fight for them. In short order, the new House of Leoric arose, the Primarich teaching his new people how to pilot the knights that he himself had been schooled in, but never rode upon, their frames too small for the likes of him.

House Leoric was not akin to the Knights of old Hasninë, no peerage or great family lines laying claim to his knights. All were equally worthy in his eyes, any who wished to step forward could, the Ritual of Becoming open to any who could pass through training. Soon, House Leoric scored its first victory, recovering the least damaged Knight Suits and pressing them into service, a seemingly never ending stream of pilots eager to fill them, standing in stark contrast with the other Houses, each of whom insisted on training but a few pilots at a time from their noble bloodlines.

With each battle, Almires forces grew, the Primarch leading from the front lines with his knights at his back, his supernatural skill allowing him to keep pace with his mighty charges. With every victory, House Leoric grew, and within a few short years of bloody conflict, Hasninë was unified under Almire. No matter where he trod, his followers were close behind, spreading through the populace to spread the words of Almire, teaching a common language and a common code.

When the Emperor arrived at Hasninë a scant few years after the Great Crusade had begun, he found a world united not by love for its ruler or of worship, but by a common understanding, an assured belief in their own place within the society Almire had forged. Justice was fair upon Hasninë, and as Almire was raised to the Imperium, he made a vow before the Emperor that as it was on Hasninë, so too would it be across the galaxy. He would crusade forevermore, until the last world new unity, peace, and justice, his XVIth Legion raising their voices to swear their own approval to their father.

## Personality

Almire is a being of action, fast paced and decisive when in battle, acting without hesitation or doubt. This has won him countless battles, and yet it is always tempered with a total tactical skill that few others can match, the Primarch and his legion never ones to give in to reckless charges with little to no chance of success. Nor is he a butcher like some of his brothers, surrender liberally offered and accepted without hesitation, no matter how hard fought a campaign may have been.

That is not to say Almire is soft however, the Primarch more than willing to enforce even the most brutal tenants of the Lex Imperialis, though only once the world has been properly schooled in the ways of Imperial Law. At his core, Almire is a being of justice, some may say obsessed with the concept, allowing it to guide him entirely. Upon securing victory upon a world, he makes a point to learn the worlds laws as they stood before Imperial intervention, the trait passing to his sons across the XVIth Legion. Those who are found to be in breach of these laws are punished, but any who are found to have acted in accordance with their own laws, even if such actions are heinous under Imperial Law, are treated as innocent, the Primarch casting no judgement upon those who broke laws they were not aware of. Of course, such individuals are still kept under surveillance by those Imperial Justicars who remain behind during the interim between independent and Imperial rule, Almire giving his legion orders that should such breaking of the Lex Imperialis continue after the Imperium has conquered the word, no such leniency is to be shown.

In all, Almire is a fiercely rigid individual in matters of his core tenants, unwilling to compromise on this sense of moral justice, which has made him much loved by many with the Imperium. Outside of this, he is a decisive warlord, willing to act with utter surety, this the reason behind his legions unmatched rate of compliance, no other force in the galaxy able to boast as many worlds brought to compliance as the Imperial Justicars.

## Battle Style

Almire has an extremely unique method of fighting, few, if any of his brothers fighting in his manner. He does not simply plant himself and defend his ground as Primarch’s such as Shaaa do, nor does he charge into combat to engage the enemy as quickly as possible as those more bellicose Primarch’s do.

Instead, as with his legion, Almire will invite the enemy to charge at him, tiring themselves out and robbing them of their momentum. Only once this initial charge has been absorbed and negated will the Primarch strike, lashing out with his spear as his shield is slung, delivering flurries of blows accompanied by rapid movement to dodge and weave around his opponents blows.

Movement is constant for Almire from this point on, his mantra, “To remain still is to die” holding as true in single combat as it does for his legions' battles. More than willing to take one step back if such will lead to taking two steps forward, there are few who could match Almire in combat, and those that do often cannot match his strategic mind, getting drawn back into prepared kill zones and struck down, the Primarch’s entire being a microcosm of the way his legion fights.

## Wargear

* **Reckoning** - Reckoning is Almire’s paragon spear, said to have been crafted by the hand of the Emperor of Mankind himself and presented to his First Found son upon his ascension to the rank of Warmaster, serving both as a potent weapon and as a symbol of Almires new power. Taller than Almire from haft to tip, Reckoning boasts a large sword-like blade that itself is the size of a mortal man, the weapon more akin to a glaive than a traditional spear. Designed to fit with Almire's versatile fighting style, Reckoning is perfectly balanced, able to be wielded as easily in one hand as it can in two, the crackling power field slicing through all known materials with ease, even personal power fields struggling to remain in place at the weapons crackling touch.
* **Last Rites** - Before Reckoning, Almire utilised a wide range of weapons, the most common being a large battle axe that, like Reckoning, could be used as easily in one hand as it could in two. The weapon was much loved by the Primarch, though finally met its end on the surface of Ullanor as Almire clashed with Overlord Urrlak Urruk.

* **The Shield of Leoric** - The aptly named Shield of Leoric is Almire's most prolific piece of wargear, presented to the Primarch by the Fabricator General of Mars himself shortly after Almire was found by the Emperor. A vast kite shaped piece of adamantine, many look upon the shield and liken it to that of Shaaa Hydrades, believing it to be an early pattern storm shield. However, such is not the case, the shield instead a marvel of Martian ingenuity, stealing the energy of incoming attacks, even the most powerful of shots drained of power and bouncing harmlessly from Almire’s warplate. With the shield in hand, even the most powerful attempts on the Primarch's life is reduced to naught but an annoyance.

* **The Gaze of Justice** - Utilising technology that is all but forgotten even from the greatest minds of the Mechanicum, the Gaze of Justice was crafted by the Mechanicum for the First Found Primarch shortly after his reunification with the Imperium, replacing the right eye the Primarch himself had plucked out. Able to see in every spectrum known to the Mechanicum, it is said nothing can or has escaped the Primarch’s sight. The Gaze of Justice is also a weapon in its own right, a powerful beam weapon utilising an unknown type of energy stored within, able to strike down tyrants and demagogues alike

* **Valdr’s Maile** - Never one to remain still for long, Almire rejected the use of the bulky Terminator Armour in use by the legions at the time as was first suggested to him by the Priesthood of Mars, instead bidding the Red Planet to create him a suit of far more mobile armour. This was soon realised, the red priesthood crafting a suit of Artificer armour without compare, the dense plates of ceramite and adamantium further augmented with chainmail crafted from the same aurmite used in the armour of the Legio Custodes, provided by the Emperor himself. So named as Valdr’s Maile, the armour was proof against attacks of both brute and esoteric origin, Almire able to stand undaunted before the worst the galaxy could offer, before breaking into an explosive charge in a fraction of a second, cementing his preferred tactics of counter-charging his enemy.