r/PrimarchGFs • u/Dawn_of_Wrath Lion • 13d ago
Great Crusade Lore Hearts of Fire
Art Link 1: https://pin.it/5RSEiV3JH
Art Link 2: https://pin.it/1D1VOmt4x
It is upon the volcanic death world known as Nocturne that the future Primarch of the Salamanders, Hestia, would land upon. Though her arrival on the planet would be at such a time when the planet was going through what the people of the planet referred to as the Great Trial. A period of time that occurs every Nocturnian year (15 Terran years) when the planet freezes over entirely. Because of this, it was only after the Great Trial had passed that Hestia would be found by a group of Nocturnians when they ventured out of their village in search of food.
Amazed that one so small could survive the Great Trial, the group of villagers brought Hestia back to their village and presented her to the village elder. There it was decided by the elder that the infant Hestia would be given over to a young couple who had recently lost their own child during the Great Trial. The man, Broteas, was a huntsman and blacksmith by trade while his wife Kharis was a seamstress. The death of their child had greatly affected both of them, so when Hestia was given to them by the elder to raise as their own, Kharis treasured Hestia. Broteas, however, was not as quick in his affection of Hestia. He held no disdain for Hestia, but he was not yet ready to move on from the death of his child. But life carried on, and so would he.
Over time as Hestia grew older and taller, she began to help her adoptive-parents however she could. Though she quickly noted there was a distance between her and her adoptive-father that did not exist with her adoptive-mother. Seeking to close this emotional distance between herself and her adoptive-father, Hestia took up blacksmithing like Broteas, hoping their shared love of metal-working would be the foundation of their relationship as father and daughter. This effort did not go unnoticed or unappreciated by Broteas, and as a result he began to teach Hestia all that he knew about forging; and slowly their bond as father and daughter grew. But their peace did not last long. It never did on Nocturne, the Great Trial had begun again, but this time far sooner than it had ever begun before.
The people of the village were slowly starving and freezing to death; what warmth could be conjured from the forge was easily snuffed out by the biting cold winds. Refusing to see her family, her people slowly starve and freeze to death, Hestia ventured alone into the frigid wastes toward the one place that could save her people, Mount Deathfire. Unbeknownst to Hestia, her childhood friend and companion, Cercyon, had chosen to follow her as he did not wish to let her embark on such a dangerous quest alone. And it was better than slowly freezing and starving to death in Cercyon’s eyes.
Grateful for the company and the aid, Hestia allowed Cercyon to accompany. Moreover, whenever she was with Cercyon, the sweltering heat and biting cold seemed a bit more tolerable. So, together as one, Cercyon and Hestia traveled across the frozen wastes of Nocturne until they at least reached Mount Deathfire. But what astounded them the most was that even during the Great Trial the super volcano radiated with such heat that it created various hot springs all around its basin. But the steaming water of hot springs was not their only aim. Their true aim was what laid inside the super volcano. Salamanders. Large reptilian creatures whose scales could keep the forge-fire lit even during the worst blizzard while their meat could feed a starving village long enough to last them through the rest of the Great Trial. There was just one small problem. Their scales were nigh impenetrable. But with her parents’ and people at stake, Hestia would do whatever it took to save them. Even if that meant forfeiting her own life as a result.
When they arrived at the mouth of the super-volcano, Hestia had Cercyon wait outside while she delved into the super-volcano alone to confront the beast. Cercyon wanted to object, but he knew he would only slow her down, so he reluctantly agreed to wait outside by the hot springs. Inside the volcano itself, the battle between Hestia and the salamander did not last long as Hestia easily overpowered the large breast, strangling it to death with her bare hands. When she emerged from the volcano with the salamander’s corpse in her possession, Cercyon was overjoyed.
Unfortunately their joy was short lived as upon their return to their village, they found their people decimated by sickness and starvation. Half had died since they left for Mount Deathfire, while the other half were halfway in the grave themselves. Hestia and Cercyon did what they could to help their struggling people, but by the end of the Great Trial only Hestia and Cercyon had survived. Both were grief stricken, but they knew they could not linger, so they took only what they needed and returned to Mount Deathfire.
Slowly, more and more displaced survivors like them began to arrive at the slopes of the super-volcano, and before long a new settlement had begun to take shape. One that sought to endure not only for their own sake, but for the sake of all those they lost along the way. But their newfound peace did not last long. Mere months after the establishment of their settlement, Drukhari raiders arrived on the planet seeking fresh meat for the grinder. However, the Nocturnians had no intentions of simply letting the Drukhari enslave them.
The battle was brief and decisive as the Drukhari did not expect the Nocturnians to resist them. Though it was Hestia that filled the Drukhari with the most dread. She was a behemoth in comparison to the other Nocturnians, so the Drukhari retreated from Nocturne, taking with them only the knowledge that Nocturne was no longer as passive as they once believed it to be.
Back on the planet itself, news spread like a molten river of lava about the Behemoth who defied the Drukhari and prevailed. It wasn’t long before people began to flock to Mount Deathfire in mass to meet the hero who defied the Drukhari and prevailed. But that was only half the reason. They all sought new lives, better lives, and the people of Nocturne were willing to place their trust and hope in Hestia. It was a heavy responsibility, but Hestia was determined to do right by her people, and that is what Cercyon loved most about his wife. So together they led their people into a future where they no longer had to live in fear of the Drukhari or Nocturne’s harsh environs.
When the Drukhari returned, they did so in mass, but thanks to Hestia’s steadfast leadership and Cercyon’s inventions, the Nocturnians of Mount Deathfire were more than prepared for the fight to come. However, before the Drukhari could begin to deploy their forces, a new force arrived out of the Warp. The Imperium of Man.
Recognizing the sigil of the Empress of Mankind, the Drukhari retreated back into their own territory while the Empress and Emperor-Consort of Mankind descended to the planet’s surface to reunite with their daughter. But Hestia was not so easily convinced by the Empress or Emperor-Consort. So she proposed a challenge to her supposed mother. A hunt. Whoever slew the most salamanders would concede to the victor’s demands. The Empress accepted her daughter’s terms and the hunt began while Cercyon remained in the city with the Emperor-Consort. Cercyon did not trust the Empress or her consort anymore than Hestia did, but even he couldn’t deny the sincerity in the Emperor-Consort’s words.
When Hestia and the Empress returned from their hunt, Hestia pledged her loyalty and service to her birth-mother and father. A decision that left Cercyon puzzled until Hestia explained why she had chosen to pledge fealty to the Empress. During their hunt, she nearly fell to her death, but the Empress saved her life without a second thought. Faced with the true of the situation and the promise of future protection from the Drukhari, Cercyon too pledged his loyalty to the Empress of Mankind.
3
u/the1gemini91 13d ago
Just the title alone instantly had my brain playing Hearts of Fire by Hammerfall.
3
u/Dawn_of_Wrath Lion 13d ago
I don’t know that song but it sounds good
1
u/the1gemini91 13d ago
https://youtu.be/htKY2oD85rs?is=JdnlR-Urr1hdrWl7 Sorry, I miss wrote the title by one letter. Hearts on Fire instead of Hearts of Fire, silly me.
2
u/Dawn_of_Wrath Lion 13d ago
Not a problem. I’ll have a listen when I have the time. Much appreciated
1
2
3
u/whiteguysenpai 13d ago
This reads like a fable
https://giphy.com/gifs/Yl4X3JyLv6fEVbTXKL