The new cinematic trailer for Warhammer: The Horus Heresy dropped last week, and we’ve been abuzz ever since… The battle scenes are incredible, but no less captivating are the elements that take place far from the front lines*, as Constantin Valdor converses with Jenetia Krole and Malcador the Sigillite within the safety of the Imperial Palace.
We’re going to look at each of those characters in turn over the next few weeks, starting with the unsung hero of the piece: the Imperial Palace.
The palace has been hinted at in illustrations and text over nearly four decades in the real world, as authors and artists have wrestled with the overwhelming majesty of a colossal structure from which the Imperium is governed. We see it in an entirely new way in this cinematic – pulling together resources old and new to bring it to life.
So what is the Imperial Palace, and how did it come to be?
Intended as the seat of the Emperor’s power, work began in the closing stages of the Unification Wars – high in what is known in our modern-day world as the Himalayan Mountains. That location might seem strange to us today… but the Unification Wars take place some 28,000 years in the future, and that planet is a very different place.
The dungeons beneath the Imperial Palace encompass a gate into the Webway – the transdimensional space between realities that the Aeldari use to travel the galaxy. The foundations of the palace are the ancient fortress of an enigmatic group known as the Sigillites,** keepers of forbidden knowledge from humanity’s lost golden age.
With Terra largely subjugated, the Emperor commissioned his fastness, a sprawling edifice vast enough to house (and fend off) the largest armies. Its outer wall soared above the towers and fortresses of Old Earth, in places more than half a mile high with a span of 100 feet. Every wall was bolstered by defensive towers, each bristling with guns to cover every conceivable angle of advance, and the whole thing was served by gargantuan spaceports (notably the Lions Gate and the Eternity Wall).
Avenues and processionals allowed easy travel within, with thoroughfares so broad that armies could march along them unimpeded. Beneath the surface lay dungeons and crypts, housing mysteries far from prying eyes: such as the laboratories wherein the Emperor created the Legiones Astartes. Ultimately, there was also the Sanctum Imperialis, the residence of the Emperor himself, wherein sits the Golden Throne.
The Imperial Palace at the time of the Unification, the Great Crusade and even the Heresy was never austere. It was a symbol of Imperial power, and as such it was gilded with shining walls of quartz and marble, glass and gold. For every macro cannon or weapon emplacement, there was a gleaming statue, depicting an Imperial hero or some symbol of unity. Let’s take a look at two distinct images of the palace from the video, and what they tell us:
In the opening scene, Valdor and Krole are examining a gigantic painting – a masterwork crafted by the Emperor himself. The work is so huge it barely fits in the frame. It teaches us a few points about the palace: first, that the rooms within it are vast enough to encompass such a work. Secondly, despite its function as the organisational heart of the Imperium, it was also a place of beauty.
We can infer the painting as perhaps a way for the Emperor to record his great plan. If you look carefully through the video you’ll see all manner of clues as to his intentions.
In our second image, you can see the Palace from one of its tallest towers. From where Malcador stands, you could spy the distant top of the Hollow Mountain, which houses the Astronomican. That ship flying in the rearground is a void-capable cargo ship, fully 300m long. Despite its grandeur, the structure is built with mortals in mind. That balcony rail that barely reaches Valdor’s knees!
In the aftermath of the Horus Heresy, the palace was rebuilt. Horus, Perturabo and the traitor legions had torn down walls, toppled towers and choked the streets with rubble and corpses. As the agonising work continued, the palace grew in size, as years turned to centuries and millennia, and generations of artisans lived and died raising the ramparts once more.
However, the Emperor at its heart was no longer a vital, heroic figure… but a corpse god whose palace became increasingly morbid. In the 41st Millennium, the Imperial Palace remains the great seat of Imperial power, but is thronged with countless millions of pilgrims, flocking to the throne world of the Imperium to bask in his radiance.
There’s much more to come from the Age of Darkness and the upcoming Saturnine boxed set. Make sure you subscribe to our newsletter for every piece of lore as it’s published.
* For the time-being, at least…
** More on them in due course!
