46 Fulgrim
Several days after the arrival of the new batch of Psykers and Baldur acquired the Archangel of Pain, the Emperor and his 3rd brother arrived.
Baldur dismissed the rest of his men and only had himself, Selene, and the members of the Emperor's Children present.
As the Emperor's transport descended, Baldur and the others stood at attention while waiting for his arrival. And when the ramp was lowered and the various men in golden armor descended, the others stood their ground. It was when the Emperor and Fulgrim descended that the there was a change in posture.
Standing before the Emperor was hard enough for normal Astartes but to stand before their Primarch and the Emperor was too much for the men in purple and gold. They each knelt down and wept as they greeted the pair.
"We greet the Emperor! We greet our Primarch!" the men of the 3rd Legion greeted while on their knees
Baldur and Selene were also under force of the Emperor and felt some pressure themselves but neither kneeled. Since they were Psykers, they were able to resist better than the others but it was also due to their mutual dislike for the Emperor.
Instead, both greeted him with a small bow.
"Greetings to the Emperor," they said in unison with monotone voices
The Emperor's eyes washed over them, adding more pressure that almost made Selene's knees buckle. But before she could, Baldur stood in front of her to defend her from the Emperor's 'wrath'.
He saw this and knew that he could not force Baldur to kneel without making it a bigger deal than it was so the Emperor gave up and released the pressure, allowing Selene to breathe easier.
"Hello, Brother. My name is Fulgrim," the man greeted walking up to Baldur and shaking his hand.
Baldur turned to his younger brother and carefully examined him. The man was good-looking, even by Primarch standards. If Baldur included himself with the rest of his brothers, they were all 11/10. Fulgrim would be a 12. Fulgrim had a unique pair of purple eyes that went well with his white hair though he was on the skinny side. Very skinny in fact.
Baldur wasn't sure if he could properly lift a weapon.
"Baldur," he greeted coldly, his mood already having been affected by the Emperor's presence. "We can speak more later after you get a chance to interact with your Legion. I have other duties that I must attend to," Baldur came up with an excuse to leave, leaving the Emperor and Emperor's Children to do as they wished, hoping the former would take the hint that Baldur wanted him to leave.
"Baldur!" Fulgrim called out, hoping to get to know his brother and father more at the same time. He couldn't sense the tenseness between the pair.
Before Baldur could walk far, he stopped in his tracks. Fulgrim began to walk up to Fulgrim with a smile but before he reached him, Baldur suddenly turned around with his massive blade in his hands.
He swung his blade and sent out an arc of blue energy that traveled toward one of the Custodes, cutting them in two. Everyone was shocked as the lifeless body fell to the floor.
"I have killed every other spy sent. Tell 'that' person that if they want to find out my secrets, they better come themselves," Baldur said coldly before turning back around and continuing toward the Grey Knight fortress.
Fulgrim chuckled nervously as his brother left before turning to his father. But before Fulgrim could say anything, the Emperor spoke up.
"Learn what you can from Baldur and provide excellent results, my son. I must be off now," the Emperor told him before turning around and walking back to his ship. Fulgrim wanted to call out to him but he felt it would be inappropriate when his father seemed so upset.
'He must be upset because Baldur killed one of his Custodes in confusion. I'm sure that if I can get brother to apologize to him, everything will be better,' Fulgrim thought to himself, thinking that he had figured out why everyone was so upset.
With the worries out of his mind, he turned towards his sons who had still be kneeling.
"Stand, my sons. You have had it hard in the time that I have been away but since I have returned, our Legion shall rise to its true might!" Fulgrim told the Astartes of the 3rd Legion.
The men cheered as they heard their Primarch's words, overjoyed that the plight their Legion had been going through was going to be solved. They would no longer be the smallest legion but would be able to face the other Legions with pride once more.
---
Over the next few weeks, Baldur spent his time studying the Archangel of Pain and the other knowledge that he had gathered from the various planets he came across, organizing it with some of the Sorcerers that watched over the Horde.
Fulgrim also spent this time getting closer with his sons and getting as much Gene-Seed out of him so that he could rebuild his Legion using the men that the Emperor had dropped off for them.
After 2 months of having a break, Baldur decided to rejoin the Crusade, not to be outdone by Leman. But when it came time break off into the fleets, there was an issue.
"What do you mean I will not be in command of the 16th Fleet? Isn't that the fleet that you had entrusted to my Legion?" Fulgrim asked in surprise
"It was. Now it is the fleet that my 12th Grandmaster will command while Selene stays behind and watches over Feluc," Baldur told him while they were sitting in the meeting room, going over the plans for their campaign. All the Grandmasters of the Grey Knights, Dogan, the twins, and the Legion Masters of the other Legions as well as any high ranking Knights were also present.
He was having Selene stay behind as they had many Psykers in need of training and she was the most experienced alongside him and Dogan but the latter two had to take part in the campaign.
"You have no experience leading such a large force, Fulgrim. Until I believe that you are ready, you and your Legion will stay by my side and learn from watching me," Baldur told his younger brother, hoping the conversation would end there.
"But Thrallas does!" Fulgrim was not willing to give up the chance to lead his own fleet and prove himself. "I can consult him throughout the campaign."
"That would waste valuable time holding your hand," Baldur denied. "I'm also concerned that you will do as you please and not listen to what he says or do something foolish. It is better for you to stay under me."
"We are both Primarchs of equal standing, Brother!" Fulgrim shouted while slamming his hands on the table, cracking it. "I have made my world prosper and have been studying under Thrallas and the others for over a month."
"A month is nothing compared to years of experience. And do not think that I don't know about your world. You were a miner and then an executive. You have almost no experience in actual combat," Baldur was hoping that Fulgrim would be more understanding, not forcing him to say so much.
But each time the 3rd spoke up, Baldur had to give proper reasoning in order to not seem like a tyrant. He did not want to tarnish his brother's pride in front of others but Fulgrim gave him little choice with how much he was questioning his orders.
"You can either stay by my side or stay on Feluc," Baldur have him an ultimatum. "Speak one more time and it will be the latter. Otherwise, stay silent if you want to learn how to wage war."
Fulgrim ultimately remained silent for the rest of the meeting, letting Baldur finish the briefing and giving the others updates on how they would proceed with the campaign going forward.
