WH40K: The Wisdom of Guilliman
Posted: 2004-09-16 07:23pm
Bwahaha! Once again, Kuja rips off an old fable to creat a bastardized 40K version! Enjoy, folks.
The Wisdom of Guilliman
-as retold by Tigiris, Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines
Ten thousand years ago, Roboute Guilliman, the wise and prudent Primarch of the Ultramarines, was approached with a difficult question. No trivial matter was this, though neither was it of great record. As such, only this tale remains to corroborate it. Yet despite its undeniable obscurity, the words of this account are truly worth remembering. Gather round, my brothers, and listen well.
The Horus Heresy had ended, and our precious Imperium was but one step from fragmenting. Only through tireless toil and cautious development did our mighty primarchs manage to hold it together. At the time of this story, the Golden Throne was still being built around the Holy Emperor, the Codex Astartes had yet to take its final shape, the Second Founding had not yet occurred, and the last remnants of the traitor warmaster's force were being swept away. It was a dark, lawless time for the Imperium, and there were doubtless many who did not believe it would survive such a trial.
Roboute Guilliman was not one of them. He stood firm amongst such turbulent times, carefully fighting back against those who had betrayed us and ensuring stability for those who remained loyal. The story which I tell to you now is one such decision he had to make, ensuring in some small way that the Imperium would be preserved.
It was a glorious day for Macragge, of the sort that makes one's blood boil if they remain within the confines of their home for too long. Guilliman was seated within the temple that would one day become his shrine, pouring over possible additions and revisions to his goal, the Codex Astartes. He had only just set down his quill when three figures entered the temple. One was a Terminator of the Ultramarines; strong, intelligent, and valiant. The other two were women of Macragge; noble, honest, and as firm of mind as any mortal man. Cradled gently in the arms of the mighty Terminator was a child of barely three or four years.
The Primarch was never one to waste time. "Is something wrong?" he asked the trio as they stopped before him and offered their devotion.
"Wise and mighty Guilliman," said the Terminator with great respect, and also some temerity. I have come before you with a question I cannot solve. You, who brought this world to your side and transformed it into a flourishing center of order, are perhaps my best hope of solving it."
"Speak, then," Guilliman said. "Tell me of your trouble."
The Terminator nodded to the child cradled in his arms. "This boy is not yet four years old. Each of these women by beside me lays claim to him. I do not know what to do."
Wise Guilliman frowned. "How can that be?" he asked. "Can a boy have more than one mother? The thought of it is alien to me!"
"Mighty Primarch," said the women to the left with a deep nod. "I am the not the boy's natural mother. I found him in a village destroyed by heretics. Believing the boy's family to be dead, I decided to take him with me to my home and raise him myself. That was two years ago."
The other woman then stepped forward and continued the tale. "Lord Guilliman, I am the boy's birth-mother. When my town was ravaged, he was separated from me and I thought him lost. For months upon months I searched for him until, by the good graces of the Emperor, I found him in the care of this woman." She paused and nodded to her rival, demonstrating that the bore no ill will for what had happened. "I love my son, Lord, and would give anything to have him back."
"I love him as my own as well, Primarch," the other woman said. "All my life I have hoped and prayed for a child. When I found him that day, I believed that the Emperor had answered my prayers."
As they both fell silent, the Terminator again spoke to Guilliman. "I suppose you can see my quandary, my lord," he said. "I cannot divine a solution to it. I hope that you can succeed where I have failed."
Roboute Guilliman seated himself in his chair, regarding the three visitors over his enfolded hands. First, he looked into the eyes of the child's true mother, seeing there her purity and her hope. Next he gazed upon the adoptive mother, and saw her piety and devotion to the child. When he looked to his loyal Terminator, whose name has sorrowfully been forgotten, he recognized a shadow of the same inquisitiveness and adherence to law that he himself bore, and also a frustration at being unable to solve this dilemma. And lastly, when he cast his gaze upon the child, he saw his innocence and perhaps recalled the days of his own youth.
Now, my brothers, what would you do in such a situation? Would you dither? Would you seek a quick solution? Would you, upon seeing that you could please neither, choose one above the other at the expense of the latter? Would you declare that such a problem was beneath your station and send them away? I see in your eyes that you find none of these acceptable. Aye, none of us could know just what we might do unless put to the test, as Guilliman was. And I tell you now, he found a way.
Mighty Guilliman stood and came around his desk with purpose in his eyes. "Set the child down on the floor and step away," he bade his visitors. They did so, watching and waiting with hearts full of hope. Guilliman walked to the wall of his chamber and retrieved a massive longsword, one that had been given to him by his father before his passing. He came back to his visitors and stood before them, sword gripped in both his hands. "I cannot find a solution to your dilemma," he said, "So here is what I propose. With this sword, I am going to cut this child in half. Then, each of you may take one half home with you."
As Guilliman raised the sword to carry out his plan, both of the women paled visibly, and the child's natural mother leapt forward. "Wait!" she cried out. "I will relinquish my claim! Please, do not harm him!"
And wise and mighty Guilliman lowered his sword. "You would willingly separate yourself forever from a child of your own?" he asked.
She trembled, but with great resolution nodded and spoke. "I would rather never see him again than watch him come to any harm."
Noble Guilliman nodded sagely and lowered his sword, setting it aside. Once done, he slowly bent and picked up the young boy, who looked at him in wonder. Then, to the surprise of all, he turned to the woman who had stopped him and presented the child to her. "You are a brave and strong woman," he said as he did so. "I saw in your eyes that you wanted your son back with all your heart, yet you were not willing to have him back at his own expense. You were willing to place his uncertain happiness above your own certain sorrow, and to do so takes a will as strong as any Primarch's. The child is yours, good woman of Macragge. May you raise him well." With that, both mother and child went out from the temple to begin life anew.
The other woman in the chamber was saddened by the outcome of Guilliman's test, but being a woman of strong mind and will, she understood the Primarch's decision. Roboute Guilliman turned to her with softly spoken words of encouragement. "Do not despair," he told her. "And do not believe I think the lesser of you for failing. Return to your life, and perhaps you will find that the Emperor has other blessings in store for you." And so she, too, departed.
Finally, Guilliman turned to his loyal Terminator, who stood in awed silence. "Lord," he finally mustered. "Thank you for what you have done this day. I was ashamed that I could not uncover a solution to this impasse, but perhaps I was meant to come before you, so that you could do what I could not."
The mighty Guilliman smiled then. "Courage and honor, my friend," said he. "No mortal man can have the answer to every situation presented to him. I am glad that you did not consider yourself either too important or too lowly to come before me. It shows that you have placed your trust in me, and for that, I am truly heartened."
So it is with the Imperium and the Ultramarines, my brothers. If we do not trust each other, if we do not confide in one another, if we cannot rely on the one who stands beside us, then we have no hope. And if we are unwilling to risk and even spend our lives to ensure that others may yet have a chance to live their own lives to the fullest, if we are not willing to place ourselves between danger and the endangered, then we have already failed. Always remember the wisdom of Guilliman, and keep it in your hearts. Courage and honor.
The Wisdom of Guilliman
-as retold by Tigiris, Chief Librarian of the Ultramarines
Ten thousand years ago, Roboute Guilliman, the wise and prudent Primarch of the Ultramarines, was approached with a difficult question. No trivial matter was this, though neither was it of great record. As such, only this tale remains to corroborate it. Yet despite its undeniable obscurity, the words of this account are truly worth remembering. Gather round, my brothers, and listen well.
The Horus Heresy had ended, and our precious Imperium was but one step from fragmenting. Only through tireless toil and cautious development did our mighty primarchs manage to hold it together. At the time of this story, the Golden Throne was still being built around the Holy Emperor, the Codex Astartes had yet to take its final shape, the Second Founding had not yet occurred, and the last remnants of the traitor warmaster's force were being swept away. It was a dark, lawless time for the Imperium, and there were doubtless many who did not believe it would survive such a trial.
Roboute Guilliman was not one of them. He stood firm amongst such turbulent times, carefully fighting back against those who had betrayed us and ensuring stability for those who remained loyal. The story which I tell to you now is one such decision he had to make, ensuring in some small way that the Imperium would be preserved.
It was a glorious day for Macragge, of the sort that makes one's blood boil if they remain within the confines of their home for too long. Guilliman was seated within the temple that would one day become his shrine, pouring over possible additions and revisions to his goal, the Codex Astartes. He had only just set down his quill when three figures entered the temple. One was a Terminator of the Ultramarines; strong, intelligent, and valiant. The other two were women of Macragge; noble, honest, and as firm of mind as any mortal man. Cradled gently in the arms of the mighty Terminator was a child of barely three or four years.
The Primarch was never one to waste time. "Is something wrong?" he asked the trio as they stopped before him and offered their devotion.
"Wise and mighty Guilliman," said the Terminator with great respect, and also some temerity. I have come before you with a question I cannot solve. You, who brought this world to your side and transformed it into a flourishing center of order, are perhaps my best hope of solving it."
"Speak, then," Guilliman said. "Tell me of your trouble."
The Terminator nodded to the child cradled in his arms. "This boy is not yet four years old. Each of these women by beside me lays claim to him. I do not know what to do."
Wise Guilliman frowned. "How can that be?" he asked. "Can a boy have more than one mother? The thought of it is alien to me!"
"Mighty Primarch," said the women to the left with a deep nod. "I am the not the boy's natural mother. I found him in a village destroyed by heretics. Believing the boy's family to be dead, I decided to take him with me to my home and raise him myself. That was two years ago."
The other woman then stepped forward and continued the tale. "Lord Guilliman, I am the boy's birth-mother. When my town was ravaged, he was separated from me and I thought him lost. For months upon months I searched for him until, by the good graces of the Emperor, I found him in the care of this woman." She paused and nodded to her rival, demonstrating that the bore no ill will for what had happened. "I love my son, Lord, and would give anything to have him back."
"I love him as my own as well, Primarch," the other woman said. "All my life I have hoped and prayed for a child. When I found him that day, I believed that the Emperor had answered my prayers."
As they both fell silent, the Terminator again spoke to Guilliman. "I suppose you can see my quandary, my lord," he said. "I cannot divine a solution to it. I hope that you can succeed where I have failed."
Roboute Guilliman seated himself in his chair, regarding the three visitors over his enfolded hands. First, he looked into the eyes of the child's true mother, seeing there her purity and her hope. Next he gazed upon the adoptive mother, and saw her piety and devotion to the child. When he looked to his loyal Terminator, whose name has sorrowfully been forgotten, he recognized a shadow of the same inquisitiveness and adherence to law that he himself bore, and also a frustration at being unable to solve this dilemma. And lastly, when he cast his gaze upon the child, he saw his innocence and perhaps recalled the days of his own youth.
Now, my brothers, what would you do in such a situation? Would you dither? Would you seek a quick solution? Would you, upon seeing that you could please neither, choose one above the other at the expense of the latter? Would you declare that such a problem was beneath your station and send them away? I see in your eyes that you find none of these acceptable. Aye, none of us could know just what we might do unless put to the test, as Guilliman was. And I tell you now, he found a way.
Mighty Guilliman stood and came around his desk with purpose in his eyes. "Set the child down on the floor and step away," he bade his visitors. They did so, watching and waiting with hearts full of hope. Guilliman walked to the wall of his chamber and retrieved a massive longsword, one that had been given to him by his father before his passing. He came back to his visitors and stood before them, sword gripped in both his hands. "I cannot find a solution to your dilemma," he said, "So here is what I propose. With this sword, I am going to cut this child in half. Then, each of you may take one half home with you."
As Guilliman raised the sword to carry out his plan, both of the women paled visibly, and the child's natural mother leapt forward. "Wait!" she cried out. "I will relinquish my claim! Please, do not harm him!"
And wise and mighty Guilliman lowered his sword. "You would willingly separate yourself forever from a child of your own?" he asked.
She trembled, but with great resolution nodded and spoke. "I would rather never see him again than watch him come to any harm."
Noble Guilliman nodded sagely and lowered his sword, setting it aside. Once done, he slowly bent and picked up the young boy, who looked at him in wonder. Then, to the surprise of all, he turned to the woman who had stopped him and presented the child to her. "You are a brave and strong woman," he said as he did so. "I saw in your eyes that you wanted your son back with all your heart, yet you were not willing to have him back at his own expense. You were willing to place his uncertain happiness above your own certain sorrow, and to do so takes a will as strong as any Primarch's. The child is yours, good woman of Macragge. May you raise him well." With that, both mother and child went out from the temple to begin life anew.
The other woman in the chamber was saddened by the outcome of Guilliman's test, but being a woman of strong mind and will, she understood the Primarch's decision. Roboute Guilliman turned to her with softly spoken words of encouragement. "Do not despair," he told her. "And do not believe I think the lesser of you for failing. Return to your life, and perhaps you will find that the Emperor has other blessings in store for you." And so she, too, departed.
Finally, Guilliman turned to his loyal Terminator, who stood in awed silence. "Lord," he finally mustered. "Thank you for what you have done this day. I was ashamed that I could not uncover a solution to this impasse, but perhaps I was meant to come before you, so that you could do what I could not."
The mighty Guilliman smiled then. "Courage and honor, my friend," said he. "No mortal man can have the answer to every situation presented to him. I am glad that you did not consider yourself either too important or too lowly to come before me. It shows that you have placed your trust in me, and for that, I am truly heartened."
So it is with the Imperium and the Ultramarines, my brothers. If we do not trust each other, if we do not confide in one another, if we cannot rely on the one who stands beside us, then we have no hope. And if we are unwilling to risk and even spend our lives to ensure that others may yet have a chance to live their own lives to the fullest, if we are not willing to place ourselves between danger and the endangered, then we have already failed. Always remember the wisdom of Guilliman, and keep it in your hearts. Courage and honor.
Though i'd probably have appreciated it more if I recognised the fable it was based off of, good nonetheless.