The Emperor is entombed in the Golden Throne because of the injuries he sustained during his final battle with Horus at the end of the Horus Heresy. During the Siege of Terra, when Horus and his traitor forces assaulted the Imperial Palace on Earth, the Emperor realized that the only way to end the rebellion was to confront Horus directly. At this point, Horus had fully fallen to Chaos, and his power was enhanced by the Chaos Gods themselves. Horus had lowered the shields on his flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, in a challenge to the Emperor. The Emperor, along with a small force of his most trusted warriors, teleported aboard the ship to face Horus.
The final confrontation between the Emperor and Horus was brutal. Horus, empowered by the Chaos Gods, was stronger than the Emperor had ever anticipated. During their battle, Horus grievously wounded the Emperor. The Emperor held back at first, hoping he could save his beloved son and bring him back to the light. However, Horus was too far gone, and in the end, the Emperor realized there was no saving him.
At the critical moment, as Horus was about to strike down the Emperor for good, a loyal Space Marine, Rogal Dorn, intervened. This distraction gave the Emperor the opportunity to deliver a fatal psychic blow to Horus, utterly annihilating his soul and ensuring that he could never be resurrected by the Chaos Gods. However, by this point, the Emperor himself was mortally wounded and on the brink of death.
After the battle, the Emperor’s body was brought back to the Imperial Palace. His physical form was too damaged to survive on its own, but his mind and psychic power were still intact. To preserve his life and keep him as the guiding force of the Imperium, the Emperor was placed on the Golden Throne, an ancient, powerful piece of technology that acted as a life-support system for his broken body and a conduit for his psychic power.
The Golden Throne keeps the Emperor alive in a kind of half-dead, half-living state. While his body is decayed and dying, his mind remains active, allowing him to serve a few critical functions for the Imperium:
- The Astronomican: The Emperor’s immense psychic power is used to maintain the Astronomican, a psychic lighthouse that allows Imperial ships to navigate through the Warp. Without the Astronomican, faster-than-light travel would be impossible, and the Imperium would fall apart, as its vast territories would be cut off from one another.
- The Warp Barrier: The Emperor also acts as a psychic bulwark against the Warp. His presence helps to shield humanity from some of the worst effects of Chaos. Even though Chaos is still a significant threat, without the Emperor’s psychic defenses, it would be much worse.
- Guiding Humanity: In his half-dead state, the Emperor is still considered the ultimate authority of the Imperium. He is worshiped as a god by the citizens of the Imperium, and his will is carried out through the Adeptus Custodes (his personal guards), the High Lords of Terra, and the Ecclesiarchy (the Imperial Church). Although he cannot directly communicate, many believe that he still guides humanity in subtle ways, through visions, miracles, and the actions of his loyal followers.
The Golden Throne itself, however, is deteriorating, and its function is not perfect. It requires constant maintenance, and there are fears that it could fail entirely, which would result in the Emperor’s complete death. If this happens, it could have catastrophic consequences for the Imperium, such as the loss of the Astronomican and a major weakening of humanity’s psychic defenses against the Warp.
What if the Emperor Had Died During the Horus Heresy?
If the Emperor had been killed or incapacitated during the Horus Heresy, the consequences would have been catastrophic for humanity. The Imperium might have completely collapsed in the immediate aftermath of the Heresy. With the Emperor gone and no clear successor, the Imperium’s forces would likely have fragmented, with loyalist factions fighting among themselves, and the traitor legions gaining even more power. The Chaos Gods could have had free rein to extend their influence, possibly leading to humanity’s subjugation by Chaos or the destruction of the Imperium altogether.
Furthermore, the Emperor’s death would have led to the loss of the Astronomican, making Warp travel impossible. This would have cut off planets and systems from each other, leading to the isolation and eventual fall of many human worlds.
