Editing Eternal Zealots (section)

==The Fall of the Zealots==

<span style="font-size:110%">'''The Lazarus Rebellion'''</span>

For over six decades the Lazarites remained quarantined from the rest of Imperial space by the Emperor’s edict. Living conditions in the Lazarus system rapidly deteriorated as the Lazarites ran short on habitable and farmable land to accommodate their growing population. The bitterness of the Lazarites at their enslavement was further compounded by the experiences of Lazarite mercenaries who had served with the Eternal Zealots. They told of dozens of star systems conquered in the name of the human Emperor, left empty for future human colonisation. Lazarus appeared to be a forgotten corner of the vast Imperium, left to rot and die. Even Aubrey had not returned to his homeworld in over a decade.

The hardened veterans who returned to Lazarus began to formulate a rebellion against the despised Imperium. In battle, they had witnessed Imperial tactics and formations, knowledge that was now used to plan countermeasures and attacks. Contracts were struck with their previous employer – the Isaacs Consortium, to supply weapons and war materiel. If the Rogue Traders suspected anything amiss, nothing was ever mentioned. The rebellion forces took the name Tezuel’s Chosen, named after the Lazarite’s god of life and freedom.

In the year 975.M30, Lazarus would declare its independence from the Imperium. A hidden fleet of Lazarite warships, armed with exotic weaponry took the Lazarus Quarantine Fleet by surprise, resulting in a resounding victory for the Lazarites in the Second Battle for Lazarus. On the fringes of humanity’s Great Crusade, the Lazarite auxiliaries so favoured by the Eternal Zealots abruptly abandoned them, leaving Aubrey’s Compliance Fleets dangerously under-strength. It was a testament to the respect Aubrey commanded amongst the Lazarites that his fleets were not sabotaged or fired upon, merely abandoned to fight losing battles on hundreds of worlds. Elsewhere, the Tezuel’s Chosen rapidly spread beyond the Lazarus sector, retaking planets and star systems in the name of Lazarus.

The Imperial response to the xenos threat within their borders was swift and absolute. Gaspard Lumey, Aubrey’s brother primarch who once tutored him in the art of war, was dispatched to crush the rebellion at all costs. By the edict of the War Council, the Lazarites were deemed to have broken the Edict of Tolerance, showing the untrustworthiness and perfidy of the xenos. Aubrey was reassigned to the 25th Expedition Fleet in an observational position, forced to watch as the Winged Victory made war against his homeworld. Elsewhere, Eternal Zealots fleets were ordered to stand down, as preparations were made to purge the xenos whom they had spared during their crusade.

In less than six months, the Lazarites were thoroughly defeated, the forces of Gaspard Lumey using information on Lazarite biology and tactics previously gleaned from Aubrey against them. Only Lazarus, the jewel of the Lazarite Empire remained, all other worlds had been completely cleansed of xenos taint. Despite Aubrey’s protests for clemency, the Fifth Legion descended onto Lazarus and burned it to ash. Following the destruction of Lazarus, Aubrey challenged Gaspard to an honour duel, brother versus brother against the backdrop of a dying world. To Aubrey, Lazarus would be avenged, even at the cost of his own life. Gaspard was having none of Aubrey's romanticised tomfoolery. He took ''Cintamani'', the blade whom Aubrey had offered to him, and broke it across his knee. To Gaspard, the idea of the Lazarite honour duel had died with the planet itself. The primarch of the Vth legion then left his brother to grieve over his homeworld amongst the shattered remnants of his blade.

<span style="font-size:110%">'''Pax'''</span>

''Today we cure the galaxy of the cancers that have brought it to apoplexy. The Eternal Zealots will cleanse the stars of its corruption and usher in a greater Imperium, for all.''

- Aubrey the Grey, following his visit to Pax 

Following the Burning of Lazarus, there was talk amongst the War Council of disbanding the expedition fleets of the Eternal Zealots. However, such an undertaking would be a terrible waste of Imperial resources, resources that were required at the height of the Great Crusade. Instead, the fleets of the Eternal Zealots would be separated and scattered amongst the forces of Aubrey’s brothers. Only Aubrey’s own 71st Expedition Fleet would be spared such punishment, but had additional constraints imposed upon it. Firstly, the fleet would be stripped of all external support, separated from any allies and rogue trader support. Secondly, any and all xenos encountered by the fleet was to treated as Xenos Horrificus, hostiles that were to be immediately exterminated. Thirdly, a single observer ship containing representatives from the Heralds of Hektor would be tasked with shadowing the fleet, ensuring that the Zealots continued to enforce the Emperor’s bidding and respected the restrictions set by the War Council.

The 71st Expedition Fleet continued their duties to the Emperor without glory and celebration, followed by the ''Acheon'', a scout ship from the Heralds of Hektor. Now commanded by Aubrey's equerry, the honoured Captain Corvin Prozt, the fleet would be sent to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, washing away their shame with success. In the first year since the scattering of his legion, Aubrey’s forces reclaimed a hundred worlds for the Imperium and crushed over a dozen growing xenos races. It was a far cry from the thousands previously claimed in the name of the Eternal Zealots, but it was sufficient to meet the requirements of the War Council. 

The Burning of Lazarus had broken Aubrey, leaving him in a deep depression. He had been stripped of his homeworld, his sons and his purpose in the crusade. Aubrey no longer commanded the Eternal Zealots from the front, or played any significant part in the operations of the 71st Expedition Fleet. It was only at the ruins of the planet designated as Paskal III that Aubrey was stirred to action. The planet bore signs of once being inhabited by an advanced xenos civilisation, but had been reduced to ruins. However, the ruins held an important message for Aubrey and his Zealots. When viewed from orbital scans, sections of destroyed landmarks formed what was unmistakeably Lazarite script.  The message went unnoticed by the escorts in the ''Acheon'', but was sufficient to stir Aubrey back into action, for it spoke of the one thing that he desired so ardently – Home. 

With Aubrey back to his full strength, bringing his skill and tactical acumen to the battlefield, the Zealots flourished once more. The Eternal Zealots followed the trail of the mysterious lost civilisation, combing through dozens of sectors and hundreds of worlds. Transmissions back to the War Council by the ''Acheon'' described Aubrey as coming out of his fugue state, newly reinvigorated with the fire to prosecute the Emperor’s will. In reality, Aubrey and the Zealots were searching for their elusive xenos race, a search which took them to a small planet on the fringe of the galaxy, a planet named '''Pax'''.

Upon approaching Pax, Aubrey’s flagship the ''Emperor’s Guillotine'' was hailed on secure vox-codes usually only used the Astartes of the XVIth legion. Enclosed was a message for Aubrey to descend to the surface, alone. Against the advice of his commanders, Aubrey agreed. The Emperor’s Guillotine faked distress over the seemingly uninhabited Pax, and orders were sent out for the rest of the expedition fleet to continue to the next planet, including the ''Acheon''. Aubrey personally piloted a Stormhawk down to the surface, completely empty but for a teleport homer for his elite Laceria Terminators to come to his aid in any emergency. 

Aubrey landed on Pax at a natural formation of stone which had formed into spires reminiscent of Lazarite architecture. Surprisingly, he was met by a human emissary, a Rogue Trader who had gone missing over a decade ago. The man explained that he had found a higher calling, that he served greater powers than the Imperium now. Aubrey was taken to a concealed city, buried deep beneath the surface of Pax. It was there that he discovered a world of many xenos, as well as humans, living together in harmony and peace. That was also Aubrey’s first encounter with the xenos race known as the Hezeyar, the custodians and guardians of Pax.

Aubrey was given a unique opportunity to speak with the Hezeyar emissary known as the '''Prime'''. The Prime spoke of his race the Hezeyar, psychically gifted xenos that once ruled the stars now being claimed by humanity. The Prime explained to Aubrey how the Hezeyar owed their existence to power greater than mortals, that they drank of the primordial essence of the warp instead. The Hezeyar had been uplifted by the primordial powers and now sought to uplift other species to true equality in the eyes of the Primordial Truth.

Aubrey remained quiet through the exchange, not objecting to the blasphemous speech of the Hezeyar emissary. The Prime described the plans of the human Emperor, his father, as a tumour upon the galaxy. Humanity was spreading like a malignant growth, suffocating all that stood in their way. The Lazarites were an example of a species the Hezeyar had sought to uplift; before they were brutally crushed under the might of the Imperium. Aubrey remained impassive through the entire exchange, but he had privately reached a decision. His father’s Imperium was decayed and diseased, and he would be the surgeon to cure it.

Aubrey returned to the ''Emperor’s Guillotine'' with the Hezeyar emissary in tow. Despite some consternation amongst his Zealots, resistance to his violation of the War Council’s edict was minimal. However, Aubrey’s Legion Grand Mentor, Zachery Irisus, stood against Aubrey and his heresy. Grand Mentor Irisus had tolerated his primarch’s transgressions for many months, but could no longer ignore the corruption that Aubrey had invited into the midst of the Zealots. As by legion tradition, Aubrey and his Grand Mentor faced off in a duel to the death, a battle of honour. The fight was mercifully short, the primarch forcing his son down to his knees before decapitating him. With the last opposition to his plans silenced, and the first blood of the Heresy drawn, the lord of the XVIth legion spoke to his sons, heralding a new age that would shake the Imperium to its core.