Editing Setting:Brighthammer 40,000/2nd edition (section)

== History ==
''Main article: [[Timeline of Brighthammer 40,000]]''

In the distant past of Brighthammer, mankind stood on the brink of godhood, with technology powerful enough that man could rival even the lords of order, and could move the stars and thought they could change destiny itself. The ancients of the Dark Age of Technology were flawed, however, and the men and women of their number filled with Hubris. A faction of the ancients, the so-called “Golden Men”, transhumanists all, believed the days of humanity were over – and only those who could step to the next level were worthy of survival. They took the forms of robots, and waged a war to wipe out all of mankind, declaring an "End to Flesh".

One of the great tragedies to define mankind, the “Iron Men”, people who fought against the transhuman Golden Men, eventually proved victorious, but at a great price. Galactic civilization and unity was shattered. Mankind shone like gold no more.

With the breakdown of galactic civilization came the breakdown in technology, and the spread of knowledge. Some worlds – many of the most advanced before the war – were now the most savage, and were slowly forgotten by the galaxy at large. Mankind declined and entered it's next era, it's silver age, as the Eldar ascended to the Warp and the power of the Lords of Order grew immeasurably.

Eventually galactic society broke down entirely – and open warfare became almost common. Mankind's true Iron Age came, and many other races took advantage of this, dominating human worlds as masters of their civilizations. Few great empires remained, and those that did were often beholden to the Lords of Order, who are capricious in their execution of their power, and wrathful. What great works of technology remained were often relics, which few understood or could replicate.

Then the Emperor emerged, the guiding light of mankind, who created his knights – the Space Marines, and great fleets of ships, and with them freed mankind from alien dominion and his godlike powers as a psyker freed people from the tyranny of the Lords of Order. He freed humanity, leading them to a vision of their forgotten past. His sons, the Primarchs, led his armies, and his words changed the face of a million worlds.

The Initiates of Order – devotees of the four great Lords of Order and one of the few elements that had kept the almost totally broken humanity from complete self-destruction - were not pleased with the rise of the Emperor. Many were still devoted to one or all of the four gods, who were jealous of the power the Emperor would usurp, and uncaring of the strife their actions would cause.

The last large scale wars of mankind, The Great Crusades, were fought between the devotees of the Emperor of Mankind and the Initiates of the Lords of Order. Vast power was flung between the stars and worlds were shattered like broken glass.

In the end, the armies of the Emperor proved victorious – but any material battle would be irrelevant. The Lords of Order would be able to rebuild any army, given time. Like the Emperor, they were immortal, but they lived fully in the warp – the death of every mortal follower in the galaxy would have no effect on them, for they could simply whisper in the minds of anyone, anywhere, and create yet more followers. While he might be able to defeat all four individually even from his throne in the Materium, and even defeat all four together if they came to him in the physical universe, he could not defeat all four united on their home ground.

Though prepared to commit himself to a nigh-eternal war against the Lords of Order, the Emperor's favored son, Horus, found a compromise – a means by which endless war would be prevented. He and his brother Primarchs sacrificed themselves and their human forms, becoming Lords of Order in the warp. There, on the Emperor's behalf, they could directly fight the Lords of Order if need be, countering their influence. The second part of Horus's plan, however, was to allow the worship of the Lords of Order for any who chose to do so – thereby preventing any need for them to fight. Many still worship the Primarchs as the Emperor's Demigods.

The Lords of Order were defeated, but spared the inevitable blow to their pride that the admission of defeat would bring. They retained their worshippers, though diminished in number and constrained – and mankind found again the guiding light of the Emperor.

Now, for 10,000 years the Emperor has ruled over mankind, ensuring an endless reign of prosperity and peace. Now, the rifts in the deeply divided factions of mankind are beginning to heal – and light is again showing in the darkest corners of the Imperium. Mankind is rediscovering its lost technologies, and forgotten worlds are being explored yet again. The age of Iron is over. Mankind has entered it's Heroic Age, and it's heroes will shape the face of the future, for good or ill.