Ollanius Pius

This article related to Warhammer 40,000 is a stub. You can help 1d4chan by expanding it

The most hardcore guardsman....ever

"Where I fall ten more shall take my place! And one-hundred each of them! So strike me down! I am the harbinger!"
--Saint Ollanius Pius, whilst fighting Warmaster Horus

The most hardcore Guardsman ever to walk the earth and also the legendary saint of the Imperial Guard. Ollanius Pius put himself directly in front of a walking god of battle who has just ripped apart the strongest Space Marine Primarch in the hopes of protecting the Emperor of Mankind. The fact that he did so without fainting, shitting himself in terror, or mewling like a wounded grox suggests that his testicles must have been forged from Mars-grade Adamantium (or more likely, Power Balls. His testicles were of such might they ignored armor saves in close combat). His death proved that Horus had given himself over to chaos completely (Not to mention the act of flaying an AVERAGE PERSON ALIVE WITH A MERE GLANCE proves that you're nothing but a fucking bitch-ass prick); and with this in mind, allowed the Emperor to lay down a righteous psychic asskicking strong enough to rend his former son from existence by destroying his very soul. Yeah it was that fucking manly. He is so manly that he makes Vance Motherfucking Stubbs, Commissar Yarrick, Kharn, Colonel "Iron Hand" Straken, Logan Grimnar and Sly Marbo piss themselves in terror.

Naturally, like so much other awesome shit, Games Workshop has retconned him out of existence, first replacing him with a Spehss mahreen Terminator (Which wasn't that bad because it was an Imperial Fists terminator captain rather than a smurf), and then an Adeptus Custodes (while still less manly than a humble guardsman standing up to the most powerful mortal chaos champion in existence, still better than a smurf), which is SIX KINDS OF LAME. FUCK YOUR CONTINUITY, GW, FUCK YOU WITH HORUS' TALON. Fantasy Flight Games brought him back though, which is great justice.

Other than the fact that he was man enough to stand-up to daddy's favorite with nothing more than a flashlight and toilet paper armor, not much else is known about him, except that he is a legendary saint of the Imperial Guard, and that still rings true even after GW replaced him with a Terminator and a Custodes. Which probably means that he did even more heroic and manly shit during the Siege of Terra and everything else leading up to the final battle on Horus' flagship.

The entire point of the character is to demonstrate that true courage and inner strength can be found even among the weakest (by comparison) of individuals. GW in their infinite understanding completely missed this point and proceeded to replace the brave and ordinary little soldier with a progressively bigger and stronger superhero with every retcon, thus in a way making Horus' fall to Chaos seem less and less despicable; the original story of a superhuman so remorselessly killing the regular human could be seen in a similar light as a grown man killing a child. It can almost be certain that the next retcon will trade up the Custode for one of the missing Primarchs (such as the glorious and magnificent Ollanius Partridge). Further updates will subsequently add the terminator, the custode, the second missing primarch and an imperial titan for good measure, all at the same time.

New Fluff

In Dan Abnett's Horus Heresy novel "Know No Fear" Ollanius Pius' lore has changed dramatically. In the book he is named "Ollanius Perrson" (or "Oll" to his friends) and is part of a small group of immortal humans spread throughout the galaxy called Perpetuals. John Grammaticus (who is alive and well) claimed that out of the entire Ultramarine empire (which at the time consisted of a staggering 500 planets) there are only three Perpetuals (the total about in the Imperium is unknown). Pius is confirmed to being at least 30,000 years old and is the same "breed" as Grammaticus and possibly the Emperor. In the days of ancient Terra he was one of the Argonauts who adventured with Jason on the Argo to get the Golden Fleece and later he learned how to fight with a bayonet whilst fighting for the French in the trenches at Verdun. (lol French). He is confirmed as being very religious but hates Chaos and looks to the Emperor as a peer rather than a god/divine. He was a veteran in the Imperial Army before retiring to become a farmer on Calth. In the events of Know No Fear Pius joins in the fight against Chaos.

We don't get it either but a vision given to Ollanius by Grammaticus indicates that he'll be restored to his original status as the person who sacrifices his life to save the Emperor from Horus, so at least he's back.

A small piece of writefaggatory that explains Ollanius

WARNING: The following entry is so manly that reading out loud may cause you to suddenly grow a beard. Girls, do not read this out loud.

A fa/tg/uy's explanation on Ollanius:

LOOK AT THIS FUCKING GUARDSMAN.

He's spent months fighting a grueling war in which his enemies are demigods allied with daemons, and now he's found himself in the closest thing to Hell he's ever known. He probably wasn't even supposed to get teleported up to the arch-traitor's battle barge in the first place, and just ended up in the wrong place at the worst possible time.

Somehow he's survived horrors beyond comprehension to make his way to the very bridge of Horus' flagship. He saw a veritable angel call upon Horus to answer for his crimes, and he saw that angel die as messily as any guardsman. His Emperor - who he fervently believes is a god incarnate, even if he's not supposed to - lies mortally wounded, and Horus, perhaps, has taken a moment to gloat before he strikes the killing blow.

His armor is slightly more effective than tissue paper, his weapon is slightly more powerful than a flashlight, and Horus' power claw is bigger than his entire body. He stands before a being infused by the dark gods' with incalculable power, that can and will obliterate his soul with no more effort than it would take him to swat a gnat. Nothing he can do could possibly make a difference.

He could run. He could turn his weapon on himself. He could give in to the insidious whispers that echo from the ship's corridors into his mind.

Ollanius Pius does the duty his Emperor requires of him. He dies standing and holds the fucking line.

A short poem about Ollanius Pius

The first time I hold my blood in my hands,
The first time I see a man with nothing.
Would be the first time I see my own lands,
Covered in heresy, death, and rotting.

My son stands over him corrupt and pale,
A guard Ollanius Pius stands free.
My fallen Horus lifts the deadly flail,
In one instant, the strength of man I see.

This mere man done what I was unable.
A tear flows from my eye and it is clear,
The tyrant's cold reign I must disable.
Briefly I know what it is to feel fear.

I leave the future to the strength of man,
For they alone do far more than I can.

Gallery

<gallery>

Image:The Last Stand 1.png|HE BOUGHT THE EMPEROR TIME... TIME TO SAVE US ALL.

<gallery>