How it all started...
The Custodes were supposed to be the Emperor’s friends and advisors. Which got me thinking.
What if they had actually been that? There were many, many moments in canon where Big E could have done with a well-meaning slap upside the head.
“My Lord, why not just send the War Hounds down instead of teleporting Angron up?” “What about chastising Lorgar in private instead of publicly? Much better for unity and morale.” *waves graphs showing how much garrison duty, and how much efficiency, the Iron Warriors are doing*
Except that the Custodes in canon are all stoic assholes and complete yes-men.
So I changed that.
The original draft for the AU was for the Primarchs to be parented by various Custodes while the Emperor was his usual manipulative canon self. But that wouldn’t work. With more personable and proactive Custodes, he wouldn’t be his canon self. And it would be too many characters to write right out of the gate.
Enter Constantin Valdor. (At the time of writing, the Valdor novel hadn’t been released and so the AU ignores it.) All I had to do was make him a kind, introspective and forthright character and the rest just fell into place.
Oh, and the Emperor is a slightly feral actual Eldritch Abomination.
Which actually makes him a better parent.
Link to SpaceBattles here.
Link to Ao3 here.
List of Titles in the Series:
Complete:
One Mile West of the Dreaming Sun: 5+1 Constantin Valdor-centric snippets through the Unification Wars, and his relationship with the Emperor. Gradual canon divergence. Soft.
Rise Up to Meet It: Horus origin story. The Vth Legion discover Cthonia, and a certain feral little fluffball. Some drama, but ends with fluff and cuddles.
Your Tooth and Eye: Leman origin story. Horus tries to befriend the just-discovered Leman, who is an angry smol with identity issues. Meanwhile, there are monsters trying to kill them. Slice-of-Life-ish drama.
Five Cubits South of the Boiling Stars: A collection of snippets set between One Mile West and Rise Up. Focuses mainly on the various Custodes, adds worldbuilding, and also contains a mini-arc on the Scattering of the Primarchs. Overall wholesome, with a dash of eldritch horror here and there. (Continuous work, updates irregularly)
Great Celestial Hieroglyphs: Magnus origin story. A slightly different deal is struck with Tzeentch much earlier. The XVth Legion suffer the consequences and an unlikely alliance with the VIIIth Legion is struck. Contains a second plotline about the growing partnership of two Astartes. Drama/Horror. Lots of Body Horror and Eldritch Horror. Plenty of Feels. Eventual bittersweet ending.
Pit Born: A stand-alone snippet about a supporting Astartes character, and the recruitment practices of the VIIIth Legion. Briefly starts off dark, quickly turns into Fluff.
Passerine: Sanguinius origin story. After being revered on Baal, Sanguinius navigates life in the Imperial Palace amongst his own kind and is faced with the task of reforming his bloodthirsty Legion. Very Fluffy, with a few bits of gore here and there. In Progress: No Frozen Firmament: Rogal Dorn origin story. Adopted by the Imperial House of Dorn, young Rogal is soon made aware of politics. Slice of Life, very Fluffy. Includes Woolly Rhinos.
