Hey everyone! I’ve been trying to wrap my head around why the Primarchs were scattered. In *The First Heretic*, it seems like Argel Tal messing with some shield technology (the Gellar field, right?) let Chaos scatter them. But I wondered if that was just part of a vision and if their actions really caused it to happen, like some kind of butterfly effect or paradox. Later, in the Siege of Terra books, Erda claims she was behind the scattering. So, is her role a retcon of what we knew, or am I missing some connection?
3 Answers
There are a bunch of theories floating around about how the Primarchs ended up scattered in the lore. In *False Gods*, Horus sees a vision (or time travel?) where Chaos breaks into the lab and scatters them, and the Emperor seems to almost intervene before letting it happen. *The First Heretic* shows the daemon Ingethel leading some Word Bearers to sabotage things just before the scattering. Other books like *Scars* and *Valdor* add layers too, suggesting that the scattering was a chaotic mix of events while *Saturnine* even has Erda claiming she scattered them to keep them safe from the Emperor. It’s all pretty interconnected and messy, but that’s part of the charm!
Honestly, I think Erda’s role feels like an unnecessary retcon. The original idea seemed clear: Chaos wanted to get at the Emperor, and they successfully did it. Her sudden involvement just muddies the water, and it seems like the Chaos angle was always there, with maybe a hint that the Emperor had some foreknowledge or didn’t mind it. It’s hard to say she was directly responsible when the chaos influence was so strong!
Yeah, the backstory has changed a lot over time. Some folks believe Erda was tricked into helping Chaos, and while she claims she didn’t mean to help them, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Chaos seemed to celebrate her actions. It’s plausible that she really was manipulated and Chaos used her as a pawn against the Emperor’s plans. I agree, her addition seems more like a problem than a solution for the overall narrative. It’s a bit of a mess but adds to the mystique?
Totally! How about this for a twist: what if Erda fought to protect the Primarchs against the Emperor, which caused an accident that let Chaos in? That way, she’s not just a plot device, and there’s a real motive. But it seems like the writers just took a shortcut.
Right? It feels like Erda was added to bridge gaps, but it just opened more plot holes. Like, if she was supposed to be wise, how did she not see the disaster coming? I prefer to think she was manipulated rather than just being careless.