Editing Roman Albrecht (section)

===The Great Crusade===
Roman's apprenticeship would be cut short by the arrival of a mighty giant from the stars.  The stranger proclaimed that he was the rightful Emperor not merely of Centauri, but of all the worlds on which men dwelled.  According to the traditions of the Cuoro Prido, Roman Albrecht defended his crown against the starfarer in an honour duel.  To the astonishment of Albrecht's followers, the two were well-matched and traded intricate parries and ripostes for several hours.  Roman quickly took the measure of his foe's skill and believed that there would be laxity there.  The primarch was swifter than his foe, but had a shorter reach - no reason to think that either man should be at a great advantage.  As the third hour wore on, however, Roman realised that his opponent had yet to show even the slightest sign of fatigue.  The primarch's own godly stamina would have permitted him to continue a fight even at this intensity for many days, but the stranger was clearly indefatigable.  So Roman Albrecht gambled.  Rather than allow the starfarer to wear him down, Albrecht abandoned defence and attacked recklessly.  He took a vicious cut to his chin that cleaved through flesh and bone alike, but the opening let Albrecht kick his opponent's legs out from under him and follow up by whipping the stranger's blade away.  With a fierce grin, the Primarch raised his weapon for the coup de grace.  But before he could deliver the deathblow, he looked into the starfarer's eyes and saw in them only warmth and paternal pride.

At once, Roman Albrecht realised that he was fighting his father.  Worse still, the Primarch realised that he had almost become a patricide.  While the Emperor of Mankind - for it was He - stood, Albrecht sagged, then threw himself at his father's feet and begged forgiveness.  The Emperor gave a kindly laugh and helped His son stand, explaining that there was no shame in fighting so well and seeing so clearly.  Roman was greatly comforted by these words and immediately gave orders to his followers that the duel was without need, for it was the rightful place of a son to serve his father.  At the Emperor's prompting, the Primarch also gave instructions for his chancellor to assume governance as regent until such time as his return.  After issuing those commands, Roman Albrecht began his long journey to the world of his creation, ancient Terra.

[[File:1445312110605.png|thumb|right|200px|Techno-feudal auxilia, typical of those deployed by the Steel Marshals]]

En-route to humanity's birthplace, the Emperor's great voidship rendezvoused with the [[Expedition Fleets (Hektor Heresy)|Expedition Fleet]] of [[Hektor Cincinnatus]].  Roman was greatly impressed by his elder brother and if the worthies of the [[Heralds of Hektor|First Legion]] questioned the new Primarch's appearance at first they were awed by the martial prowess he displayed when sparring with Hektor.  Few could doubt that Roman was a finer blade, even if the match was officially a draw.  It is likely that the Emperor had already made plans before even meeting Roman Albrecht, but the demonstration of such skills no doubt affirmed the wisdom of apprenticing the Primarch not to Malcador the Sigilite (the tutor of Hektor, [[Uriel Salazar]] and [[Shakya Vardhana]]) or Fabricator General [[Kalkas Tygian]] (who had shown [[Arelex Orannis]] the ways of the Solar System and [[Mars (Hektor Heresy)|Mars]]) but to the Lord Commander of the [[Imperial Army (Hektor Heresy)|Imperial Army]], [[Gufarnus Altmakar]].  Altmakar was a notorious disciplinarian and the living embodiment of the martial traditions of the [[Unification Wars (Hektor Heresy)|Unification Wars]].  He was sparing in his praise for Roman, but it must be said that few drew so little criticism from the old general.

Strengthened by his apprenticeship to Altmakar, Roman Albrecht finally achieved his destiny and took command of the [[Steel Marshals]]. Despite difficulties with the Terran-born commanders, especially Dietmar Hohn, the Primarch soon commanded the faith of his gene-sons. He did not greatly disturb the organisation of the Legion, instead concerning himself with their ethics. Roman strove to keep the Legion's cutting edge sharp while diminishing the effect of conquest on civilian populations, reasoning that Non-Compliant humans were only Imperial Citizens who didn't know it yet. Such moderation made for easy propaganda pieces and a posting to the fleets of the Steel Marshals was prized among the Remembrancers of the Great Crusade. Roman Albrecht also sought to teach his men the lesson of humility and a willingness to serve, though these lessons were never well taken by the old warriors of Terra.