There’s a grim sadness to Dorn and Valdor it may be the first time that they aren’t being professional but rather more open and introspective into what this war has turned them into. They were made to build a future a united empire, but here they are facing against the dying of the light against the worst of humanity. Valdor is more grim as he states that while dorn’s task thought hard is temporary his task protecting the emporer will never truely end. Depressing

I love that even a Primarch could not realize that they’re speaking out loud.

Valdor's mind during the siege must have constantly drifted to Ushotan, primarch of the IV legion of Thunder Warriors. Ushotan pitied Valdor for lacking humanity, a Valdor agreed.
But, during the end of the Heresy, Constantin Valdor expressed regret, anger, frustration and formed bonds with several people. When the world needed him the most, he was as human as any other

How terrible that Valdor's hope did not come to pass, even he could not see the vastness of what would be lost.

Before Horus’ fall, members of his Mournival spoke with high-ranking Imperial Fists about the future. The Fists bluntly rebuffed the Luna Wolves and their hopes for the future, stating that their legions would always know war no matter what. Even then, Dorn suspected the truth: the Emperor promised them something he could not deliver.

I find it funny and tragic how similiar Perty and Dorn were in this matter. They both wanted to do something more than war. Dorn however got a true taste of how it is to do something else, to build , upgrade and achieve. Perturabo? He knew only war , attrition and failure..

Hearing Valdor speak of hope is so refreshing, he truly was/is the Emperor's greatest son.

This has to be one of the saddest scene in a Warhammer book.

Another fantastic scene with dorn in this book (or maybe the next) is when he is talking to sinndermen and realises what he is feeling is fear, and that he can feel fear even though he is a primarch. That a part of him is still very human

Such great literature

I love the grimdark of 40k when the Emperor was genuinely trying to make things good for humanity, making strides to remove oppression and fear but it all came crashing down when Chaos tempted his favored son leading it to ruin leaving a pale deformed mockery of what he hoped for mankind. That's the true grimdark to me that it was to have such a good and bright future yet it was stolen leaving nothing behind but a horrific long death of hope. In a universe dead set on stamping out all of mankind's humanity for a few to cling tightly to it it's tattered shred even in the face of hopeless dark I think is the core of what grimdark is as it's best. The Krieger who ushers a small child onto a transport then turns away to hold off the horrors hounding them, the Lamenter who has see hundreds of years of misfortune and mistrust in a deep depression as his brothers die around him who then jumps up with the same vigor he had on his first day to save a random person from the darkness they are fighting. These small glimmers of fleeting hope and light are what made 40k's grimdarkness so compelling to me. I honestly think the whole of the setting is at it's best in this moments even if it's a demi god son of the Emperor lamenting the loss of his father's hopes and dreams for his sons when the time for war was to be over. Nothing could be more human than that.

This scene got me. Ngl I forgot how I had cried about this. I had a moment like this in my life and idk how to phrase it but this scene covered it and I was taken to that memory and I don’t understand how

I know in the lore the custodes are always suspicious of legions/chapter/primarchs, but I always thought it would have been nice for the custodes to at least have a bit more respect for the Imperial Fists in the current times given their work during the siege of Terra.

The thing is, this is the conversation that proves just how human they are. Even if for just a moment, they relax and let their guards down, and reflect on what a life of war has done to them.

UPDATE: I got “we were born for more” with the emblem of the astra militarum tattooed on my shoulder

Perturabo: Mood

I find the idea that the Primarchs express, and Guilliman is especially guilty of this, that they were creating some grand vision that has been led astray fascinating. They're wrong, of course; it's easy enough for them to buy into the Emperor's vision, but it's a lot harder to make that case to someone like Angron. But they despise what the Imperium was turning into, despite it being the natural conclusion of the path they set it on.

This, is the imperial truth, and the imperial hope.

This is why i love Warhammer so much

I cant help but be reminded of Ultron.
I was supposed to be beautiful. I was supposed to be strong.
Instead they will look up into the sky in Terror.

The emperor protects.