A FRACTURED EMPEROR! WHY AND HOW IS HIS MIND SPLINTERED?

[@haleonnovarider8182]

So I took this part of the book differently. Guilliman even states that it was undoubtedly the Emperor (Singular) however when he describes it, he focuses on the complete lack of subtilty that he has now. The the loss of the humanity that once made him so charismatic and unique to each mind he touched. He states that it was like conversing with a star, which is apt, because without the linear progression of human thought it would be the equivalent to being hit by a wave. Everything comes at once and there is no filter so every thought or feeling that is projected has no direction, save back from the point of origin, and that, I believe is the primary indicator, that the Emperor is very much singular and not sharded like Magnus was. But because he has been stripped almost entirely of his humanity there is not physical filter/membrane that he can moderate himself with anymore. I also think that if the assault on a primarch was so bad that it almost cost Guilliman his sanity, then there is no way for any other being save a Primarch or Warp God to directly communicate with him, this included the Custodes, because they take every utterance from him as an order, and could you imagine the conflict if they were to directly absorb that kind of maelstrom?

[@maxstr]

I think the Primarchs are the only beings that could remotely stand a chance to "channel" the Emporer. That's what Guilliman did after all, and he seemed to be fine afterwards. Look what happened to the human girl from the previous book. She was comatose most of the time, and ended up being destroyed by just a hint of the Emp's power. So not only did the Emperor channel a huge amount of power through Guilliman, but Guilliman seems to be no worse than before. (I admit, I do wonder why Big E didn't *fully* heal Guilliman- the neck scar and damaged soul.)

[@henryviiifake8244]

@@maxstr _"I do wonder why the Emperor didn't _*_[insert feat that should be trivial for the most powerful psyker in the galaxy by a country mile]"_* is really the whole story of the Imperium

[@seymourfields3613]

Didn't the Emperor also speak with the.. Mother of the sisters of battle? And why are you so set that his mind is just now fractured? He is the combination of all the shamans. His appearance, even to his sons, was ever changing. Sometimes a young warrior, and then an old man. Then again a king.

[@sirloin869]

Or constantine valdor(played by keanu reeves),actually...

[@CoolCraftCool]

Yeh an inquisitor also broke into the Throne Room and Big E had a the same multiple aspects thing going on and didnt bother to haul himself together for the conversation saying yeh you have some of my attention but dont warrant all of it! On Dominica she is said to have been taken by the custodies but what happens isnt actually explained maybe they just take her to the brain washing room?

[@deadhexmaster]

I don't think he ever fractured. He was always like this. Just the big filter is now gone, so it's visible. He became of sacrifice of many Shamans. He is also through his lifetime perceived differently when people look at him. No one can remember his face. He was always many.

[@Devilsnightforlife]

I think this too. He used his physical body as a conduit to manifest himself as one, but ever since his body got broken that ceased being possible. He was always a council of many powerful shaman souls who in unison convened to reach a single, unified verdict that would be carried out by his single body.

[@N1njaSnake]

I believe that Big E is in constant, unimaginable pain and exerting a gargantuan effort. As he was gradually learning to act more and more directly, he experimented with splitting off and even temporarily cutting loose slivers of his being. To anchor them somehow, he was doing that in different points on the timeline. So they've got dominant POVs of 'Emperors from a different time's. He could probably integrate them back but it would be even more effort and concentration just to be less free to act across the Galaxy.

[@jamricsloe]

10,000 years of being strapped to his Akashic Reader. 10,000 years of being connected to a choir of psyckers who are constantly dying and being replaced. I'd say he's had a rough time of it.

[@unintentionallydramatic]

The Akashic Reader was something else, and arguably the last true invention of the Mechanicum. The Golden Throne's real purpose was never fully clear. You can use it to direct psychic energy but the Emperor found rather than built it.

[@richardkelliott]

@@unintentionallydramatic I would say he found part of it. It was originally a soul engine which had an unknowable original purpose. But the emperor made many changes to it to use it to create at the very least the imperial webway and probably the astronomicon. The mechanicum/mechanicus have altered it yet again to try and sustain big E and to try and repair the damage done by magnus/ 10k years of use. I expect it could do lots more but I doubt we will ever hear much of it.

[@unintentionallydramatic]

@@richardkelliott Yeah that sounds about right. My original point stands, however. The AR was something completely different.

[@trajanfidelis1532]

My guess is that the "shards" of the Emperor is actually the souls of the Shamans scattered throughout the warp each with a part of Big E's personality/memories.

[@tyradina]

Yeah, that's what I thought too. I was curious if GW Retconed (is that how you spell that?) that part of the Big E's lore.

[@udp1073]

I totally agree, this is my idea since I heard his soul was shattered

[@Niall001]

Same!

[@fulgrimm4485]

My thoughts too

[@temmy9]

This is explicitly stated in the old realm of Chaos books. The various shards are warring within him as his soul and personality fragment.

[@capatialvinjohn2753]

Maybe that's why Valdor wants to know the Emperor's name..... To unify his fractured thoughts?

[@liamhumber1203]

I’ve always thought that, with all the thousands of souls sacrificed to him to keep him alive, would he have absorbed there minds. By now trillions of souls added to his collective soul(depending on your subbed emperor creation theory).

[@WorldsWorstJinx]

we are one, we are many, we are legion

[@greyknighthyuga4946]

Emperor Legion is a terrifyingly befitting name for a warp god

[@Paerigos]

The thousands soul a day dont keep HIM alive. They are (and always have been) fuel for the Astronomicon. Yes Emperor can control the astronomicon dim it or brigten it up (with more fuel needed to keep the warp beacon lit) Emperor on that throne also keeps the gateway to the Webway shut... that thing is also part of the golden throne.

[@RedWither04]

@@Paerigos are they even sacrificed or do they just burn out after a while

[@Paerigos]

​@@RedWither04 Well thats kind of difficult to guess. Astronomicon was lit even before Emperor was on the throne and it already consumed psykers before that. It can be considered a sacrifice for sure. the psykers are actually trained, prepared and indoctrinated to go to the chamber of astronomicon - that thousand die there per day is well... an average. Some who end there last weeks or months, some meere days. Without this thing - there is no Imperium within a few months, and virtually all hive worlds go to instant starvation after they eat up their "warp storm" stockpiles. thousand souls a day sacrificed a day just to have options to feed countless billions of people on hive cities trough shipping from agriworlds? I would call that a bargain... but sure it could be avoided if the webway project worked... or well... if Cawl manages to steal necron inertialess engine... (superiority of necron tech kind of managed to break trough Mechanicus dogmatism in regards to alien, though they still hate the Eldar warp fuckery in regards to technology)

[@lorenzosheffield8917]

Seems like after the heresy and the breaking of his body, the fractured his mental strength and the shamans souls split and are their own entity so to say. It's like having multiple personalities but in this case multiple souls instead of the unified soul he had before the Heresy

[@Elbuarto]

Every time I start thinking about possibilities of future lore I remember that it's ultimately limited by the tabletop. A miniature of the Emperor is quite unlikely, so ascension to godhood within the warp is possible. He'd basically be on the level of chaos god even so far as having his own "daemons", called saints to distinguish them, but functionally the same.

[@jimmysmith2249]

That would change the game is very fundamental was, reaching to the very core of it. I am on board.

[@TehOmnissiah]

Yeah well, 30k exists on tabletop and you don't have the emperor nuking armies. I find this reasoning for the emperor ascending instead of being reborn lacking.

[@David_analogue01]

I really like the theory that he is fractured because he is dying every second and then being reanimated through his power as a Perpetual. Given how hazy Vulcan is when he gets reanimated this must be a pretty disconcerting experience...

[@Paerigos]

Well if he got disconnected from the Throne and Astronomicon he would probably regenerate... probably being the issue. And likely how sane he would be... Even Vulcan had some issues when tortured by Kurze... but - the astronomicon likely looses a lot of power... Imperium would collaps then and there. It would be worse then the old night... Emperor does not want to start from scratch...

[@cryamistellimek9184]

@@Paerigos It would be even worse. A new rift would open on Terra. The only way we can regenerate him is to close to barely contained rift below the palace.

[@robindowse7893]

I'd guess it's a mix of all three to live on and watch over his imperium he spilt to do multiple things at a time while moving into godhood which to be honest he didn't want but the power boost he gains from it is undeniably great and useful

[@NueThunderKing]

And its not like he can control being turned into a god. Uncountable humans worship him everyday for ten thousands of years, and he can’t do shit to avoid it, so he is being pumped with belief day in day out every second.

[@CrimsonTemplar2]

The Emperor is a cipher. He has always been an unknowable being - he appears differently to everyone. We never get to see things from his POV. The fractured mind isn’t a big stretch - solitary confinement is hard on the psyche, nevermind confinement where the subject is under constant mental turmoil. Add to that the soul fragments of Magnus & Horus that are observed during the Heresy.

[@Boringstuff4]

Horus fragments???? Where in the lore please???? Intruiged

[@garatex1156]

@@Boringstuff4 When Horus underwent his trials to become a champion of chaos, the chaos gods each took a shard of his soul to torment for all eternity. Add that to the fact that they forced him to endure thousands of years of struggle while to his legion he was only gone a short while, and Horus definitely made a horrendous mistake trying to reach the level of his father But hey, all that time he spent probably got him to 10% of the age of the Emperor! 🤣

[@edwardhernandez7559]

More like ciper is a member of assassin's creed lol

[@davidthomas2870]

Seeing a lot of people saying that big E could be coming apart back into the shaman souls that make him up, but keep in mind that we dont have any confirmation that this origin is entirely factual. I think it's a decent explanation, but as we have seen before stories from the distant past, especially to do with the emporer are often as much allegory as truth.

[@internetpleb4854]

To me what makes the most sense is that after a few 1000 years the emperor had difficulty coping with the immense pain and stress keeping the webway closed the astronomicon lit and keeping an eye of things so he began intentionality or unintentionally fracturing parts of is phyce and as the imperium began worshipping him as a god these fragments became ever empowered. The first fragment was the emperor himself his body on the throne serving as a anchor or a tether keeping him connected to both the physical and spiritual plans. The second fragment was responsible for keeping the astronomicon alight the thrird fragment empowered by the prayers of billions would be the avatar of the emperor divinity seeking out to guide individuals who have a important role to play they would become heros of the imperium or living saints like Celestine whom this fragment would interact with . The third fragment was the emperor logic this fragment would peer into the galaxy and the warp to spy on what’s going on be it on the games of the chaos gods or the machinations of the daemon primarchs all for the purpose of formulating a grand plan to finally defeat chaos. Another fragment would be responsible for protecting the souls of the emperor’s dead subjects against the chaos gods denying them the prize.

[@JeremyNunez]

could it also be that his mind is partially still in the warp, and that some of those negative voices could be some of the forces of chaos trying to influence the communications between the emperor and guilliman? cause i find it hard to believe any aspect of the emperor would be telling him to kill more loyalists. otherwise, extremely interesting video!

[@fbussier80]

It reminds me of the entity named "The Communion" from the book Betrayer.

[@richardkelliott]

Yes that was a psychic gestalt which is similar to the old lore origin of the emperor - the combined souls of the many many shamans. I think you are probably right that this was the intent of the writer - but we will no doubt see in the coming books.

[@tekkamanspade8709]

Most greater deities have aspects, and I think that we are seeing the real time formation of the Emperor's different divine faces. At this time, we are seeing roughly 3 different aspects. 1- The Crusader: cold, calculating, and warlike. Represents man's need to conquer and subdue Everyone and everything is and asset to be used in the pursuit of perfect Order. This aspect sees Guilliman as a number(XII) 2- The Carrion Lord: the ever dying master of mankind, working desperately to keep mankind together. Represent mankind's tenacity and survival instinct. Guilliman is seen as a survival tool: trusted, valued, but ultimately objectified 3- Benevolent father: the loving shepherd of man. He has learned from his callous mistakes, and sees the value in humans as individuals as well as a collective. Represents the bonds that connect all humans. Sees Guilliman as a son.

[@Daltem]

If this becomes the result, then the impressions this can cause within the imperium will have great potential

[@butterzzz13]

Could it be that the 3.65 Billion psykers that have been used for batteries over the last 10K years are overlapping? Could also be a reason to why he’s so much stronger.

[@jezlawrence720]

I mean, he's being fed thousands of pyskers a day, whilst channelling massive amounts of psychic power through a corpse and fighting half the warp through a gate in the basement, and casting his power into saints across the galaxy. ...he might just be a bit distracted. :p

[@Jayleon72]

Isn't Gilliman's perception of a "fractured" potentialmankind's early psykers. This would also explain why mankind's psionik ability seems to not have appeared until after mankind was already in space and building the first of mankind's galactic civilisations, because the shaman's used up every one who had developed psyker ability's at that time to create the Emperor and it took a while for it to develop in man kind to noticeable levels. And again this would make sense along with the theory that the First Ones also created mankind in the same way as they did the Eldar. Lets face it with the psionik ability appearing so late in Mankind they are a pretty shitty weapon, but less so if the shamans were early psykers and (either by accident or design) they were aware of the threat of Chaos and (again by accident or design) they were able to create a super composite souled being who could not only guard mankind, but challenge the Gods of Chaos and be able to level up to become the Emperor of man, and even eventually level up into a God? That also means you can fold into the mix the theory that the Emperor is also in some way linked to the Last First One in a way that's not mutually exclusive to the Shaman theory. I see it going like this: Stage one Shamans commit ritual suicide and create the immortal Psyker who will become the Emperor. A being powerful enough to defeat the Dragon of Mars Stage two After years in hiding the man who became the Emperor and Malcador the Sigillite meet and some how they level up the man who became the Emperor to the Emperor of Man,. This is due to a further bonding of souls with the Last of the First Ones. Now bonded with the essence of the last of the incredibly powerfully psyker race who created the Eldar, the Krork and other beings to fight their war in heaven, the Emperor then starts to unify earth and start planning to unify the galaxy Stage three meets the gods of chaos in the Immaterium and now with the added power of the last First One in some way stitches up the Gods of Chaos, by either levelling up again some how in the Immaterium itself by stealing power, or knowledge or even both and they cant touch him because he is the super souled being that kick the arse of a C'tan shard bonded with a first one. Not a God, but not easy for a God to beat. Creates the Space marines starts to unify the galaxy, starts building the Human web way. Stage four all plans go tits up , but that's OK because while his only option is to sit on the throne to stop earth being consumed by the Immaterium due to the throne being a portal to the Human Web way, but still open to the Immaterium this also creating the Astronomican which is actually the Emperor projecting his super essence into the Warp where it can gestate and develop into a God. This was partly enabled by Malcador the Sigillite "giving" the emperor his power. In reality bonding his soul with the Emperor This could also mean "the Chosen," are not just powering the Astronomican, they are joining the super composite soul originally created by the shamans suicide by the same process as created the man who became the Emperor. 10000 Psykers taking the strain of projecting the Emperor's light and 1000 of them "die" every day. bonding with the gestating Emperor God embryo 1000 every day for over 10000 years (well over over three and a half BILLION psykers and counting 1000 more every day) We know that the death of billions can be used to help create warp storms, especially when they are Psykers. Plus Khorne itself is top chaos God because he is literally powered by death "“Blood for the Blood God!" after all. Maybe the Emperor is doing the same but on trickle charge. As its a bonding, rather than using the lives for fuel like Khorn does, that's why the Emperor seems "fractured". He now is a super being made up of BILLIONS of psykers, joined with the Last First One, gestating like Slaanesh did, only this way Mankind wont be crippled by his birth the way the birth of Slaanesh messed up the Eldar. Even gestating he is powerful enough to be able to project enough of his power through his believers enough to give ol' grandfather Nurgchops a powerful lesson in gardening. He might even be reborn into his existing body, as he is an Eternal after all which would allow him access to the Materium and allow him to be both present here as well as in the Immaterium at the same time. Even Khorne can't do that. It would certainly mean that in a fight between the new born God Emperor and all 4 Chaos God would make the final battle of the Heresy look like a minor disagreement about who voice Thomas the Tank engine best (its always going to be Ringo) with no clear winner until it goes down.

[@tomsimpkins1211]

Every part of the Emperors personality and mind has been dedicated to tasks in the warp that they are most attuned to. His compassion, bringing soldiers from the brink of defeat to being filled with the light of The Emperor. His rage, combating thousands of of daemons every moment. His tactical mind, guiding Gullimun and others through the warp to where they truly need to be.

[@positivelyacademical1519]

I anticipate some sort of reveal of (some part of) the Emperor's plan will be laid out in Bequin: Pandaemonium. I'd also guess that (even though DA has confirmed it will close the Inquisitor saga), the book will open the door for a new Valdor / Emperor's plan saga spanning the 500 years between Eisenhorn and the 'current' lore.

[@mileycyrax6025]

The emperor hasn't fractured: he always has been. I can't remember which book it came from but I believe there is a description of the emperor being created from the souls of many different shamans, united to create a singular almighty. That's what this sounds like to me, all of those old souls speaking now that they are not caged behind the vissage of the Emperor.

[@themachine7534]

Also says in the master of mankind that he is a weapon from the dark age left out of his box . So honestly who knows many open ended lines of questioning , intentionally so i should imagine .. like believe what you want to .

[@SingletonD]

I thought the Emperor did the fracturing himself; to send shards to places that needed guidance/fight chaos, since you know he is stuck on the Throne. After 10K years, he might be having trouble pulling himself together, or some of the shards might have been destroyed. Maybe the shards have also been separate from him for so long that they have evolved on their own into something else.

[@dalaminaubis7822]

The way I see it is that he had to partition parts of himself over the centuries to manage everything. The part holding back Chaos had to be cold and emotionless, another huge part holding the Astronomicon in focus, constantly calculating. While absorbing all of those psyker souls he has to shield himself from their pain, their fear and despair, so that it doesn't overwhelm him. Reaching out across the galaxy, finding those few righteous individuals who have the potential to be imbued with his power and become saints. Shifting the tides of battles, guiding countless thousands of ships through the immaterium... As that old bit of lore said: "How else could I manage it?" And on top of all of that he has to be ready to fight the gods themselves, if ever they make the actual move, every moment of every day, for the last several million days.

[@alpha434]

The end of the 40k storyline is that the emperor is just a 9 year old kid having a fever dream and the entire universe exists in his mind.

[@rexaxis3450]

Maybe he's what sigmar was, a collection of powerful mystic coalescing themselves into one greater being, it'd explain the changing faces he has in certain descriptions

[@wchamp170]

Ahhhhh Bobby G seems to have forgotten about Dorn

[@imperialcommisar5279]

Emperor deamon you day? Yeah, sure - just face that wall please. *CA-CHUNK* ... **BLAM**

[@Arucaurd]

He's a being composed of many, and that many is growing by the day, between the daily sacrifices and the prayers entering the warp, each mind/soul/thought coming together in one mass of power that is completely unorganized, with one man at the center desperately grabbing around in the blinding light of power trying to direct it for his own goals, but the ability to control it precisely declines over time as the power in the well expands faster than his mastery and eventually spills out of his control, unleashing waves and spasms of power that distort and rend the materium itself.

[@Lord_Vesh]

I like the idea of the emperor becoming more and more mechanical in his thought processes as his body is slowly integrated into the golden throne. That coupled with his empowerment through worship is tearing his psyche apart and reforming it in strange ways.

[@Monkeyshaman]

A case can be made that the alpha legion made an attempt to build an emperor in effigy to have the emperor speak directly to guillimans future ecclesiarchy representative.

[@jacobdarling1524]

I like to think that his mental fragmentation is a result of his deeper nature. If he really is the culmination of hundreds or thousands of shaman psykers then his fragmented mind makes a lot of sense. Now that he’s less grounded in a single body he might be less able to hold all those shaman souls together. So they might naturally wander into the warp and become more independent from the collective over time.

[@MrKago1]

I've always seen it as dispersed, not fractured. like a group stretched as far as possible from some great pressure, but still tethered together at the source. its a matter of big E finding the strength of pulling all the strands together.

[@udp1073]

imho what happened is that, once the emperor got injured, the many souls of the shamans that made him divided.. probably he is putting stuff together once at a time, before coming back..

[@Fenrisaiyan]

8th comment. For the Wolf King. Also where does this Russ is looking for a cure in the warp theory come from?

[@Boringstuff4]

The tree of life? Maybe something more?

[@pentacosttb2565]

I took the viewing of the conversation in God Blight to also be actually happening at that time too. It was the memory of an event that had happened, but was also happening then too. Everything jabbering with the Emperor is now slightly outside time and reality, so everything Guilliman remembers it, or as Mortarian/Nurgle viewed those memories, then those times are also part of that same event.

[@iamcaesar6741]

Logar needs to comeback and bring sense to what is going on

[@1337_YbuR]

When the final siege of terra books drop i hope we can narrow down a little bit the theories. Is he fractured ? Did he foresee the betrayal of his sons and the consequences ? Or was it a ticking time bomb because of the pact he broke with the chaos gods back in his 1st trip to Molech. And what was the long term plan that got completely wasted by the Heresy. And what did he intend for Alpharius originally, did he make him the « secret police » legion primarch because they needed that role to be fulfilled by the only son he could raise from the start or was he created with a different goal in mind and same goes for every primarch did they all turned out to be shaped into what he intended to ?

[@jjsheets330]

I think wit h the Emperor sitting on the Golden Throne that it’s bringing some aspect of the thousands of shamans who sacrificed themselves to create him. That’s why Guilliman heard so many different versions of the “Emperor” talking. Just my two cents

[@noiseinmyblood]

The Emperor has Dissociative Personality Disorder (Multiple Personality Disorder), a condition the mind creates when it is unable or unwilling to deal with unpleasant or traumatic memories/experiences. However, each of his personas believes he is the real Emperor, the Core personality. But because of how incalculably powerful he is, each of those personalities could in fact be the Core personality, with there being no way to prove or disprove that personality is the Core, compared to the others. Even the Emperor can't make the distinction. Because of this, they all function as if they are the Core. Roboute remembers multiple versions of the conversation because that is precisely what happened, he had as many conversations as there are Personas. His being a Primarch and having a hyper evolved brain is the only thing that prevented his obliteration, at the cost of recollection.

[@im2randomghgh]

In 40k, Gods always seems to get sharded rather than destroyed when killed. The Emperor just seems to be another example of this!

[@mycommentpwnz]

The splintering of his mind was almost certainly his choice/intention. When he initially sat on the golden throne, it took most of his power to hold the demons at bay. However, as his power continues to grow and percolate through the warp, via the worship and sacrifice of humanity, he is now able to use different aspects of himself for a variety of tasks.

[@iesplund593]

If we look at the chaos gods, they have greater and lesser demons who all are a part of their patron, so in a way, they are also fractured as big E. We see the gods as strong, singular emotions, rage, lust, gluttony and scheme and big e as unknown but what if its reversed from a demons pov? that they see their gods as everchanging, fractured and in a way, weak and the emperor as one bright light which burns them like nothing else

[@maurogiusti695]

Originally the being known as the Emperor came to light after the fusion of many shamans, perhaps, the strain he has been under millennias fight, might have cause the splitting of his person..

[@Alhazzred01]

Think of it as a similar process to how the eldar gods or ctan were shattered. I think the emperors mind was shattered in the same way. His physical form being kept alive binding them from reforming something else like the shards of ctan or avatars of khaine. The failing machines and sacrifices of psykers just holding him together by a thread.

[@justiron2999]

I feel like this scenario can only help against Tzeentch and even if he can make changes he can't see everything that the emperor does nor plan for it.

[@michelletheia9853]

What if… The Emperor was never a single being. He was created as a gestalt being, and it’s easy to see that he has always been. He has always shown many different aspects to different people and/or in different situations. When the shamans committed suicide their souls were all reborn in E. We’ve always assumed those souls were combined and became one blazing soul, but what if that weren’t the case. What if instead the emperor was all of them in one, well coordinated harmony. As the heresy wore on, as he spent thousands of years on the throne, that harmony broke down, and the few he has talked to were able to see past the guise of unity he used to wear.

[@kaighn8086]

Old lore had the emperor created when a load of mages commuted suicide all at once, perhaps it’s just a nod back to that.

[@Arkantos117]

I think it would be interesting if the they resurrected the Emperor but only with a part of his fractured soul. This would reduce his power level and maybe create a situation where the resurrected Emperor wants to destroy his godlike self that he left behind.

[@williamjoyce5057]

I honestly think that his soul is fractured in something along the lines of magus. If this is possible then i think it is possible that his different "parts" are different aspects of himself and i think the mooooossst significant part is that if he can do this that one of these many parts is inside of giluman he has physic powers know and he speaks like him and there are various personality treats that have changed after he vists the throne. I think we as a whole are missing that he may already be free.

[@comradealex85]

It would be nice to see official artwork of the throne room

[@BookieHeretic]

The voices are the souls of the original primarchs before the emperor removed them and placed demonic shards in their place....

[@Palemagpie]

I kinda like the idea that the original personality of the emperor is long dead. And the personality he has now is just an amalgamation of the belief people have of him. Like the reason he seems detached and entirely uncaring is because a billion billion people have kept going. "Don't worry, the emperor has a plan, and he's the emperor so of course his plan is beyond your comprehension" People believe all that. And enough belief equals reality.

[@mattstakeontheancients7594]

Maybe the original psyker souls that were combined to make big e split apart a bit. Basically the emperor was an amalgamation of multiple souls the damage to him caused them to split apart not to the original pieces but multiples and overtime they developed sentience. So multiple souls living in Big E’s body.

[@Ghastly_Grinner]

I would assume that he has split his mind so he would have someone to talk to and keep himself from going insane

[@chagear]

What if, after being put on the Golden Throne the Big E had died, then body was resuscitated by the throne; that being the case, his departed soul, or "will" is in the warp doing Big E's intentions, but being the fractured souls of the shamans that combined to form him in the first place?

[@raisttlyn]

Ya, just existing that long would be my preference.

[@henryviiifake8244]

Wasn't the Emperor created by some Shamans merging in the first place? In that sense, "his" mind has always been "fractured" as it was always several minds.

[@isaquemaldrylnesouzar-laen5642]

Guilliman needs Imperial Teraphy 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@lloydgush]

He was shattered by horus and the throne.

[@5thwatchcaptain6]

What if the different voices are the different sects of his followers each making their own voice but overall same deity. That explains how each one has a Saint aswell. Thought?

[@briharrisWarhmmer40kfan]

I think his body will be broken in the duel against Horus but the fracture of his mind will be as a result of some sort of attack by Oll Pious and John Grammaticus,maybe they stab him with another fulgurite or use that enuncia (words of incredible power from the first language). It's being set up that way in the siege of Terra books anywayz

[@SeanHenderson]

The emperor is a non walking macguffin. His job to keep the wolves (pun not intended) at terra's door away! The choices for him is simple. To help mankind in whatever small way he can. To write an author out of any warp based corners that he can. And the second is DIE!this corporeal days are numbered! His fractured mind can't be reborn to life as usual. His life beforehand was unknowable to all except malcador, Valfor and the primarchs. He he get perpetuates. He'll literally be insane.

[@TherealSBlair]

His soul was shattered in who knows how many pieces (shards?}. What piece or pieces sit on the throne? Maybe what is there is sound, just incomplete. Missing some aspects perhaps?

[@livingghost7975]

I would say this has strong Christian lints the concept of the trinity but since the same has been done to sanguinious I’m thinking it’s just a way for them to bring back a character who is dead-carrion king, the martyred great angel ect without them being brought back in a way that would invalidate the storyline, the sacrifice of the character. It’s a way to get more wiggle room.

[@phillipgouthier5525]

Did anyone else groan when Draco was brought up?

[@empireempire3545]

I think we should return to the original version of the lore, a snippet of which you've mentioned, it was much more interesting, this is here is just plain everything and nothing blah blah so mysterious

[@nickolasslomer9961]

I believe the Emperor’s mind has always been splintered, going back to the day of his creation when 100’s of Shaman like entities committed mass suicide. Those entities minds had to be strong enough to persist after death, and may have been strong enough to persist further. When the Emperor was not on the golden thrown he was able to calm the voices; however while enduring what he must now he has lost that control. I believe he is now gathering his collective thoughts together after saving Guliman from death at the hands of his brother, and we will see more signs of his thoughts becoming more clear as now he may see a path forward.

[@Shakkarz]

I remember in the story it origins goes there where the many that became as ONE maybe there is a link the voices in that story.

[@eBabel23]

Maybe he was fractured ever since forming out of all those shaman souls?

[@raisttlyn]

100k in comming! Also.......Valdor could be the key.

[@jamricsloe]

The Golden Throne requires a Choir. I'm surprised you didn't know that. They are the fractures.

[@armourofcontempt]

I called this a while ago, PRAISE ME. Only Magnus can piece the shards of his psyche back together. Bowden covered a shard of his psyche in the Talon of Horus.

[@williamh.macoy7169]

The emperor created himself by joining together hundreds or thousands of psychic shaman. Atleast that's The leading theory as it was Cannon at some point. So I think they are becoming unblinded after the 50,000 years or so it's been. So I think that's why he was hearing so many voice's and opinions and ideas until the emperor pulled himself together... But just my opinion

[@perisdim]

Does Guilliman know that the Lion is alive? If so, will he attempt to reach him

[@themachine7534]

I want to know about primarch's home planets as we only ever see a few of them on thier planet before the coming of the emperor , for e.g i know next to nothing about medusa , inwit , baal , chemos , etc etc tbh although i have read about gulliman macragg but never before he was found . I feel gw should do a series on this .. what the primarchs books should have been . Or an interesting idea for lore ey wolf lord rho 😉😏

[@joshuanewman5087]

Me personally I think it has to do with his creation unknown amount of shamans died all at once to create him this oversoul is like a puzzle if the pieces are damaged the puzzle won’t be able to make the whole picture and withe the imperium throwing more random pieces it make it fit leaves it a whole mess when the emperor does ascend the oversoul that he was will completely shatter but that is how deamons are made the chaos gods do it intentionally the emperors one of necessity.

[@ianharrison5758]

My theory is that part of the reason why his mind is fractured to such a massive degree is actually BECAUSE he is worshipped as a god. Humans can influence the warp with their beliefs, evident by the Guevessas creation of an enormity in the warp that represents the greater good of the Tau. As with all religions, there will be many interpretations of what their gods intentions and rules are. The subtle difference in beliefs between all humans, in my opinion, could be influencing part of the emperors nature. It wouldn’t be the sole reason, because the other god like entities(I don’t consider the chaos gods to be true gods. Like all other fake religions, they are the spawn of sentient life, not the creators of it. The only difference is that the chaos gods formed from the collective consciousness of sentient beings, not out of someone’s imagination, like the religions of today, they are massively powerful, twisted warp entities. They are not worthy of the title divine) are a lot more single minded, and less fractured, at least from what I can gather. The fact that the emperor has a mortal soul probably also plays a part in it. His soul is massively powerful yes, to the point that I regularly argue that the emperor is equal to a chaos god, if not greater than most, but his soul is still human. Maybe a mortal soul can’t take the strain of existence in the warp in the emperors state? Maybe the constant power he receives from the worship of him actually caused the shattering to begin with? Like imagine the emperors soul as a massive bubble, and the worship of humanity as water. With probably close to a nonillion(1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) total beings worshiping him, that bubble would have burst long ago. The constant worship of humanity might actually be still shattering the emperors psyche even now. That would also serve as another reason why he adamantly resisted being worshipped, despite knowing how much it would power him up.(idk if it’s stated in lore that he’s aware of it, but there’s no way the emperor didn’t know) he wouldn’t have wanted to be worshipped because he knows a mortal soul can’t take the strain of godhood for very long.

[@timberknuckle8281]

Think of Dr Manhatten. Splits into multiples of himself to accomplish many tasks at once. I have the Draco book still, and believe it as canon. Just think of the possibility of ordo Hydra, yikes!

[@BluntsNBolters]

Maybe the theroy of multiple phykers made up the emperor and it's all different souls that made up the emperor idk

[@treasurecave431]

I wonder which warp entity is more powerful, the emperor, the hive mind(tyranid), or the chaos gods

[@adampovey6926]

I don't think the Emperor's mind is fractured. I think he is on the verge of godhood but still tied to his body due to the need to keep the portal behind the throne closed. This last tie to his body was necessary while his power accumulation from prayer increased. Now he's at the point of godhood where he can openly act again in the materium and call out a chaos god. But due to to needing to maintain the block on the portal he's not fully ascended to uber godhood thus he's not fully in control of his possible near omnipotence/ prescience while maintaining a form that the 'human' mind can comprehend and sometimes his near omnipotence/ prescience leaks over to the mind of the person he's talking to due to the psychic aura he projects which is why he also appears to look different to anyone who sees him as they see their own interpretation of god . In an attempt to comprehend this the human mind perceives this as fractures or splinters until the Emperor regains control of his powers.

[@faultydiscord8832]

I don’t think he fractured I think it was like guilamen looking directly into the emporer brain into his thoughts, 10’000 years of thoughts all rushing to be heard at once to guiliman it was perceived differently that it was by valoris so perhaps all the information sent to guiliman was more than he could remember it was too much for even a primarch brain to handle.

[@johnnys8393]

I have a theory: That all of the different voices Guilliman heard speaking to him in his conversation with the emperor are actually the voices of the souls of each individual shaman from ancient times of the human race that sacrificed their own lives to merge together and create the emperor. That's just a theory. I don't care. I hate the emperor and the imperium. The Eldar will rise again. Hopefully.

[@poehernandez7052]

I think if 1000 psyc daily souls intake doesn’t have anything to do with his many voice’s then it’s a missed opportunity!

[@isaquemaldrylnesouzar-laen5642]

Now the question is.... if Guilliman cisited the Emperor and have that kind of reunit... I ask,what about the Custodes???? They sould have something to say i guess.

[@CaptRex1283]

One voice for each son

[@justinhammer3196]

It means the Tau will spread the Greater Good across the galaxies. You're welcome.

[@rosswebb6345]

Didn't he speak to the very first battle sister?

[@matthewgibbs6886]

He explained it to jaq draco

[@ragingmoderate6791]

All I want to know being the Sigi simp that I am is. When are we going to get a goddamn Saint Sigismund? Seriously fuck all the primarchs coming back I was a resurrected Sigismund approaching Abbadon and watching Abbadon taking a full on chaos shit in his pants.

[@johndevine6687]

God, Emperor of Krieg.

[@BrettHutton2]

I have a theory I think that the emperor has always been like this considering he is made up of the entire shaman tribe joining together an His current situation they are not bound as one My example is everyone always sees the emperor differently Maybe they're seeing the different aspects of him fighting for control

[@Boringstuff4]

Shards of the Emporer?

[@thegrumpymanlikestopaint]

So if he's absorbed all these souls doesn't that make him just as bad as the chaos god slaanesh

[@Matihood1]

Oh no. Don't even mention Draco. If the TTS review of that book is any accurate, you wouldn't want it to be canon xD

[@yourapeeinguy8263]

the whole shaman thing i just dont dig, i like the idea that hes just some freakishly powerful human psyker just out of luck or perhaps an early representation of eventual human evolution. Rather than some thing about 1000 shamans committing mass suicide to coalesce into one being. Oh and i also think/like the concept that he is now a god due to all the combined worship of the trillions of humans. Since thought/emotions have an affect in the warp he is a god now because trillions upon trillions of humans will it so.

[@raisttlyn]

Noooooooo not Draco