Broken, Blinded and Bound

Among the many plans set in place by Horus, before even the first bombs fell on the ruined worlds of?Isstvan, were those intended to see the most potent threats to his supremacy removed from contention. For though the Warmaster would acknowledge no public rival, in private he held several of his brothers as objects of no little discomfort, warriors that he would prefer not to meet on the field of?battle. For these paragons amongst the Primarchs would not bow to the skill at arms or the might of Horus' armies, but the subtle skills that had earned him his title of?Warmaster would see them neutered and rendered powerless before they could even raise their hands against him.

哪怕早在第一批炸彈落在被毀滅的伊斯特萬世界上之前，荷魯斯便制定了眾多的計劃，意圖見證帝國中對于他至高無上的地位最為重要的威脅被從競爭當(dāng)中移除。盡管戰(zhàn)帥不會承認(rèn)自己有任何公開的競爭對手，但他在私底下仍然將某些兄弟視為令自己不爽的對手，這些原體是荷魯斯不想在戰(zhàn)場上遇到的戰(zhàn)士們。因為這些原體之間的典范們不會對著荷魯斯的軍團(tuán)武力或個人武藝卑躬屈膝，但牧狼王那為自己贏得了戰(zhàn)帥頭銜的狡黠技藝也將見證一件事：哪怕在他們起手反抗荷魯斯之前，這些典范原體們就會陷入絕望且無能為力的境地。

There were three among the Primarchs that stood as the most dire threats to the Warmaster and his nascent schemes. Lion El'jonson was a warrior without equal whose loyalty to the Imperium could not be subverted, Sanguinius held the awe and trust of?all his brothers which Horus had long envied, and Guilliman possessed an army and strategic genius that could doom any rebellion if left unchecked. Horus laid plans to remove each of?these from his path, the preparations in place long years before he would reveal his desire to rule and standing as the signposts to the Horus Heresy visible only to us now through the clarity of hindsight.

在眾位原體當(dāng)中，有三人對于戰(zhàn)帥和他萌芽中的陰謀是最為嚴(yán)重的威脅。萊昂 艾爾莊森對于帝國忠義無雙，他是一位無法被策反的戰(zhàn)士；圣吉列斯在所有兄弟中都享有著的名望和信任，這份人望讓荷魯斯都長期嫉妒；而倘若讓基里曼放手一搏，他擁有的軍隊和戰(zhàn)略才能可以終結(jié)任何叛亂。荷魯斯制定計劃將這三人從自己道路上移除，而在他顯露出統(tǒng)治帝國的野心之前，他經(jīng)過了多年的準(zhǔn)備，而我們只有到了現(xiàn)在才能從事后者的角度清晰地看出：這一切都為荷魯斯叛亂樹立了路標(biāo)。

Once confirmed in his position as Warmaster, the ultimate authority barring only the Emperor Himself over the armies of?the Great Crusade, Horus was granted the most effective of tools for dealing with these formidable threats. By official writ and warrant of the Warmaster, the Lion and the great majority of his forces were sent out beyond the borders of the Imperium, there to wage war in the darkness where little news of the Imperium could reach. Ever isolated from his peers. Lion El'jonson made little complaint at such a task, accepting the grim duty as if it was his due and granted Horus the time he would need to set in motion his plans. Sanguinius and his Blood Angels would likewise see orders from their new Warmaster send them to the far corners of?the Imperium, not simply led astray but trapped by secrets the Warmaster had long kept in readiness. Here he sought to dispose of?the troublesome Angel and suborn his Legion to the service of his rebellion in a space where none could come to their aid. The system of Signus had been crafted into a killing ground in which the Blood Angels would fight and die alone or pledge their very souls to the Warmaster.

一經(jīng)確認(rèn)自己榮升戰(zhàn)帥，大遠(yuǎn)征軍隊中對于自己的最終權(quán)力限制只剩下帝皇本人，荷魯斯便獲得了解決這些可怕威脅的最有效的武器。在戰(zhàn)帥的軍令和授權(quán)下，萊昂和絕大部分第一軍團(tuán)部隊被派往帝國邊境之外的區(qū)域，他們要在帝國訊息幾乎傳遞不到的地方發(fā)起戰(zhàn)爭。萊昂 艾爾莊森與同胞兄弟們交際甚少，他幾乎沒有抱怨這項任務(wù)，而是接受了這項艱難的職責(zé)，仿佛這是他應(yīng)有的責(zé)任，這給了荷魯斯用于準(zhǔn)備計劃的時間。圣吉列斯和他的圣血天使們也同樣從新上任的戰(zhàn)帥處獲得了前往帝國某個遙遠(yuǎn)角落的命令，他們不只是誤入歧途，而是被戰(zhàn)帥長期準(zhǔn)備就緒的秘密所困。荷魯斯試圖讓這位棘手的天使在那個無人能前去營救協(xié)助的星系屈服于自己，收買第九軍團(tuán)為自己的叛亂服務(wù)。西格納斯星系已經(jīng)被打造成了一片殺戮場，圣血天使們要么在那里孤獨奮戰(zhàn)并埋骨沙場，要么就把自己的所有靈魂賤賣給戰(zhàn)帥。

Guilliman and the serried ranks of his Ultramarines were more troublesome, for they were such a force that they could not be dispatched to chase after some petty threat on the edges of space. Instead, the Warmaster's orders would bring them to a battlefield of Horus' choosing, the industrial stronghold of Calth at the borders of Ultramar itself. There, lured by the promise of glory and put at ease by the seal of?the Warmaster, the Ultramarines would fall to treachery and deceit, their?numbers decimated by those they had thought to be allies. Last of those to be led astray by the Warmaster and his subtle strategies was the Khan and his White Scars, though unlike the others Horus would seek not to kill his old friend but rather to keep him isolated at Chondax by his order until he could be convinced of?the justice of Horus'?cause. It would only be the interference of the Alpha Legion that would set these plans awry and spoil the carefully set snare that the Khan had been lured into.

基里曼和密集的極限戰(zhàn)士部隊則更為棘手，這股力量是如此龐大，以至于荷魯斯不能派遣他們?nèi)ソ鉀Q邊緣地區(qū)某些次要威脅。相反，戰(zhàn)帥的命令會吧他們帶往荷魯斯選定的戰(zhàn)場——位于奧特拉瑪星區(qū)邊境地帶的工業(yè)要塞考斯世界。極限戰(zhàn)士們被戰(zhàn)帥“獲取榮譽(yù)”的承諾誘騙至此，并對這份來自戰(zhàn)帥的命令掉以輕心，他們將會慘遭背叛，那些被他們視為盟友的人將會屠殺摧毀第十三軍團(tuán)?？珊购桶装誊妶F(tuán)是最后一批將會被戰(zhàn)帥和他的奸詐戰(zhàn)略引入歧途的部隊，但不同于其他人，荷魯斯并未試圖殺死自己的老友，而是利用自己的命令將他們孤立在Chondax星系，直到他們被說服，承認(rèn)荷魯斯行徑的正義性。只不過阿爾法軍團(tuán)的干預(yù)將會導(dǎo)致這些計劃橫生枝節(jié)，破壞了荷魯斯為了引誘可汗進(jìn)入而精心設(shè)置的羅網(wǎng)。