Roboute Guilliman

Imperium Nihilius    Background Information      Roboute Guilliman

"They shall be my sons, and in them will live the hopes of a unified humanity. Theirs will be the strength to prevail, not only when victory lies within easy reach, but even when it seems unattainable, when doom settles like a shroud all about. In those times of darkness, my noble sons will shine the brightest of all."
-Attributed to the Emperor of Mankind

Background

Also known as the Avenging Son, Roboute Gulliman is the Primarch of the Ultramarines. An accomplished warlord and diplomat who ruled his own empire before rediscovery by the God-Emperor of Mankind ,  Guilliman was unique among his brother Primarchs  in that he saw himself as not only a warrior but also a builder of civilizations.[12] In addition to his leadership of the largest Space Marine Legion during the Great Crusade, Guilliman became renowned for his efforts to preserve the Imperium in the aftermath of the devastating Horus Heresy, becoming Lord Commander of the Imperium. Among his most noteworthy achievements is the authoring of the Codex Astartes and the creation of the modern Imperial military structure.

Shortly after the 13th Black Crusade, Roboute Guilliman was restored from his wounds, and now once again leads the Imperium of Man  as its Lord Commander and Imperial Regent, the living voice of the Emperor.

Youth

Like his brothers, Roboute was taken as an infant by the powers of Chaos, and removed to a far-flung world in an effort to prevent the coming Age of the Imperium. The infant Guilliman's capsule fell to earth on Macragge, where it was discovered by a group of noblemen hunting in the forest. Inside the capsule they found a child, surrounded by a glowing aura. He was taken back to Konor, one of the two Consuls who governed Macragge, who adopted the infant as his son and named him Roboute. Roboute's arrival on Macragge was a portentous time, and many reported strange sights. The name Konor gave the child, Roboute, means "Great One". Guilliman would also be raised by Konor's Seneschal, Tarasha Euten, a strong-willed and capable woman.
Roboute was a prodigy, growing fast in both body and intellect. By age ten, he had mastered every subject the wisest men of Macragge could teach him, and his insights into matters of history, philosophy, and science often stunned his elders. However, his greatest talents were as a military leader. These talents led his father to give him command of an expeditionary force to Illyrium, a mountainous region in the far north of Macragge, whose wild inhabitants had terrorized the civilized regions for years and successfully resisted every previous military campaign. Not only did Roboute fight a brilliant campaign but he also earned the respect of the wildmen who never again threatened the more civilised parts of Macragge.

The Great Crusade

The Emperor came to Macragge, reunited with his long lost son and Guilliman was placed in command of the Ultramarines legion. No Legion conquered as many worlds, or conquered worlds as fast, or left conquered worlds in such good state during the Great Crusade, as the Ultramarines. Whenever Guilliman liberated a world, he would not move on until he had set up a self-sufficient defense system, and left advisors behind to create industry, set up trade routes with the rest of the Imperium, and form a government whose first concern would always be the well-being of the people.

The Horus Heresy

Guilliman's realm of Ultramar was ravaged by the Great Betrayal. The Ultramarines themselves were ambushed while they mustered above the world of Calth by their great rivals, the Word Bearers, destroying large amounts of legion assets. Simultaneously, other Word Bearer forces allied with the World Eaters launched a crusade to destroy the rest of the Ultramar.
Eventually rallying with his brothers Sanguinius of the Blood Angels and Lion El'Johnson of the Dark Angels, he would begin fighting his way to Terra to relieve the siege of the Imperial Palace. Only the Blood Angels would make it in time to fight at the siege itself and by the time the Ultramarines arrived, the Emperor had ascended to his Golden Throne to watch over humanity.

Post Heresy

The Ultramarines were by the far the most intact legion after the Heresy and would lead the Great Scouring across the galaxy to purge the heretics. The Space Marines would be redivided into Chapters and follow the Codex Astartes by order of Guilliman who had been established as the Lord Commander of the Imperium in the Emperor's name. Guilliman would face many of his traitor brethren and eventually fall in battle to the Daemon-Primarch Fulgrim. Facing a deadly poison and a mortal wound to the throat that not even his super-human physiology could prevent, Guilliman would be placed in stasis where he would remain for the next 10 millennia.    By the Emperor's mercy, Guilliman would be revived by the holy Saint Celestine and the life sustaining technology of Arch-Magos Belisarius Cawl. He would make his way to Terra, and speak with his father, the God-Emperor of Mankind in the throne room. When he emerged, Guilliman would lead the Imperium of Man in the Indomitus Crusade across the stars, reclaiming and defending all the worlds under threat from the Cicatrix Maledictum.