Zbruch

A far cry from the frozen and barren home of the original VIIIth Legion, **Zbruch** was a fertile world notable for its unusual red seas, and blue fauna. A planet occupied by a society that had been thrown back into the feudal age, its people managed to retain some simbalance of technology in the form of steam power, steel works, and some black powder. There were limited examples of archeotech still in use, but such wonders were understandably rare, and jealously guarded.

Zbruch was ruled over by a patchwork of kingdoms, each vying for power, but for all the power struggles that occurred amongst the nobility, there was a power which stood uncontested above them all. The Temple of the Walking Gods. For the planet Zbruch was not only populated by the far flung colonists of humanity’s Golden Age, but also by giant, hulking humanoids known as the Obri.

The Obri were massive bipedal beings with skin that ranged in hue from blue to red. They stood between twenty five, to thirty feet tall on average, with even the shortest easily dwarfing the tallest of the God-Emperor’s divine sons. Cruel, and voracious, the Obri were served by the corrupt priesthood of the Temple of the Walking Gods, and lorded over the Zbruchian people, demanding tribute, and sacrifice, less they visit their terrible wrath upon them. They either lived within the Forbidden Lands, a region in which no Zbruchian dare enter, or within far flung fortresses from which they could monitor the innocent humans they oppressed. It would be in the shadow of one such fortress, long since abandoned and left to ruin by its masters, that the incubation pod of the Primarch Koschei would land, far from any of the cities ruled over by the Obri’s puppet kings, and the priests that manipulated them. Deep in the woodlands of the province of Kolanska.

## **History**

### **The Dreamer**

Adopted by a freeholder whose name has been lost to time, and was known only to the Primarch himself, Koschei spent the first two years of his life turning his strength and intellect to agriculture, forestry, and the various needs of his village. It seemed as though this son of the Emperor was bound to live a life of peace, rather than the lives of conflict his other siblings endured. What this might have looked like, we’ll never know, for the arrival of a being as wondrous as a Primarch is nearly impossible to keep secret, and word of his existence had finally reached the ears of the Obri.

Of the events that followed, which would lead to the liberation of the people of Zbruch and the extermination of the Obri, there is a wealth of available accounts. However, of those accounts, few could be charitably described as factual, as it seems in their zeal to record the deeds of the young Primarch, the chroniclers neglected to verify the exploits they recorded.

What is known to be true is that an Obri known as Zberateľ, the Chooser of the Blessed, captured the young Primarch after razing his village to the ground and killing all of its inhabitants. Soon after, Koschei would lead a revolt of the Chosen, those selected to be sacrificed to the Walking Gods; and personally killed Zberateľ. This, the first victory won by the young Primarch, would be short lived, as Koschei's army of rebels would be decimated less than a week later by the army of the local Lord. Forced to flee, it is said that Koschei hid for a time in the ruined Obri fortress which overlooked the ruins of his village, the fortress which would later be converted into the Godslayers' base of operations on Zbruch, The Pevnosť.

Koschei would spend the next twenty years traveling the lands of Zbruch, leading uprisings against the Obri, and their puppet kings. Each time Koschei would slay the Obri himself, utilizing a strange, massive sword known as Bože Zabiják, which was said to glow with a black aura when wielded by Koschei in battle.

As the chronicle of Koschei's victories increased with each slain Obri, the Temple of the Walking Gods grew more and more desperate, but it would be the death of Večná krása, the Red Queen of the Obri, that would push them to put their most extreme plan into action.

Finally, as Koschei stood before the walls of the city of Sibronsk, he was greeted by a conclave of priests from the Temple, led by the High Priest Iosif Kharjalov, chosen of the Horned King of the Obri, Lámačkostí. There he was told that if he did not disband his army of rebels, and submit to the will of the Walking Gods, then the lives of all the children of Sibronsk would be forfeit. He was given a night to decide.

That night, after hearing the pleas of his Rada, Koschei gave his most trusted generals their orders. The army was to appear to disband, staying in the area and waiting for Koschei's signal. Meanwhile, Koschei would surrender, and allow himself to be taken to the Horned King. He would either succeed in killing the last of the Obri, or he would die in the process.

The next morning Koschei Kharkovic was led into the city in chains.

The accounts of what followed this are vague and contradictory. Some indicate that Koschei was led through an empty city, the silence so oppressive that even the Primarch bowed his head, while others allude to a great celebration breaking out in the streets, as the families of those taken thronged to praise, and thank, the great hero who had so willingly sacrificed himself for the well-being of their children. Whatever the truth of the matter, ultimately it is irrelevant. Koschei soon found himself brought before the Horned King, where after a great battle, he slew him and the High Priest, as well as the other priests of the Temple. Victorious at last, he threw open the gates of Sibronsk and welcomed his army in.

Hailed a hero of the people, it was the intent of not only his Rada, but the people of Zbruch as well, to name Koschei their new king. To their surprise he flatly refused when the notion was brought forward. He had liberated his people so that they could be free, not so he could rule. Instead, he said that the people should govern themselves, or at the very most, establish Radas of their own to govern them.

### **The Coming of the Imperium**

The people, who for so long had been under the yoke of absolute authority, were slow to accept the young Primarch's new order, but with encouragement from both Koschei himself, and his trusted Rada, they soon embraced their newfound freedom with enthusiasm. Zbruch soon entered a golden era of peace, and prosperity. However, this freedom from authority was not to last, as less than ten years later the Emperor's fleet arrived in orbit over Zbruch, intent on bringing not only his wayward son into his Imperium of Mankind, but his planet as well.

Alas, Koschei’s laudable principles would bring the reunion with his father to near disaster. Koschei regarded this golden king with deep distrust, despite the kinship he felt with both him and Alexandros, who had accompanied the Emperor. When they drew close, the sheer magnitude of the Emperor’s psychic presence overwhelmed Koschei, and he leapt to attack what he saw as a tyrant seeking nothing more than to once again oppress the people be had fought so hard to free. Mercifully, Alexandros succeeded in holding Koschei back, and the Emperor managed to placate his son. Over the following weeks, he explained to Koschei the true scale of his intended destiny, and arranged for the now willing Primarch to assume control of his Legion. His people, still unsure of their freedom, embraced the rule of the Imperium without hesitation.