Golden Throne - Malcador's Sacrifice: Just before Horus' forces began their final assault on the Sol System and the Siege of Terra nine standard years after the Traitors had first turned upon the servants of the Emperor at Isstvan III, Malcador the Sigillite returned from his mission to recruit the first twelve members of what would later be named as the Imperial Inquisition.Only through the most artful of psychic subterfuge were Malcador and his new recruits able to pass unscathed through the gathering battlelines and come unharmed and unseen before the Emperor within the inner sanctum of the Imperial Palace. Malcador had finally received the call and was now prepared to perform his final duty for the man he had followed for the greater part of his life.Timing was crucial, for Horus knew that several more Loyalist Space Marine Legions were en route to beleaguered Terra, and he wanted to finish affairs before they arrived. He could only do this by confronting the Emperor in person. This would force the Warmaster to act rashly, against the counsel of his closest advisors. The Emperor had to be ready to take advantage of this mistake.The Emperor informed Malcador that the Sigillite had to take His place upon the Golden Throne while He moved to confront Horus. The Emperor's original choice for His replacement on the artefact had been the primarch Magnus the Red, but since Magnus and his Thousand Sons Legion had sided with Horus and the Chaos God Tzeentch, Malcador was now His chosen successor and the only remaining Human psyker with enough strength to carry out the duty of protecting the Throneworld from the Daemonic horde that lay beyond the portal into the Imperial Webway.In the days before the final confrontation between the Emperor and Horus aboard his flagship the Vengeful Spirit, the Emperor had ordered Malcador to summon "...men of character, skill and determination" who would be tested and trained to become the elite group of investigators intended to root out treachery across the Imperium in the centuries to come to prevent any event like the Heresy from occurring again. The Emperor also told Malcador to prepare himself for the dreadful sacrifice that he would be called upon to make.Ever loyal, the Sigillite was more than willing to sacrifice himself for his Emperor. But before he ascended to take his place upon the Golden Throne, the Sigillite had one last duty to perform. He was accompanied by a group of twelve hooded attendants. In stern silence the Emperor surveyed the robed figures that Malcador had brought before Him, and He saw that His faithful servant had done well.Of the twelve, four were mortal lords and administrators of the Imperium possessed of an inquisitive nature and unyielding strength of mind. The other eight were Space Marines whose abilities were as peerless as their dedication to the Emperor. Some hailed from Legions that had abandoned the Emperor's light in favour of Horus' dark promises, but these battle-brothers had never lost their loyalty and had fought the Heresy from within as the Sigillite's Knights-Errant.Fulsome in his approval of the selection, Malcador the Sigillite then ascended to the Golden Throne, replacing the Emperor who now stood before the edifice with His loyal primarchs Rogal Dorn and Sanguinius. Malcador could not speak, such was the concentration he had to bring to bear in order to control the tempestous forces at his call.The task of keeping the Daemons out of the Imperial Palace had been daunting even for the Emperor, the most powerful Human psyker ever to live, with millennia of experience to call upon. Though he was a powerful psyker in his own right, Malcador was still a mere Human, his mental powers nothing compared to that of the Emperor, and this task proved overwhelming, consuming him body and soul in a matter of only solar hours.