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{{SalamandersPortal}}

'''Vulkan''' was one of the twenty [[Primarch]]s created by the [[Emperor of Mankind]] to lead his [[Great Crusade]] and reunite the scattered peoples of humanity. His [[Space Marine Legion]] was re-named the [[Salamanders]] in his honour. As with all the Primarchs, Vulkan inherited an aspect of his father. However for him this was the unique ability of being a [[perpetual]], making him essentially immortal. Vulkan was able to regenerate fully from any injury, including a death that would vaporize him completely. This ability was unknown to him until the [[Horus Heresy]], and during the [[Great Crusade]] he gained a reputation for his empathy towards average [[human]]s as well as his craftsmanship abilities.{{Fn|4}}

===Great Crusade===

It is believed that at first Vulkan did not become unified with his own Legion for some years after his rediscovery, instead staying alongside the Emperor under his tutelage and fighting by his side. When Vulkan was eventually reunited with his Legion, it was at the head of a fleet of 3,000 new recruits which saved his forces from a massive [[Ork]] horde.{{Fn|5}}

===Horus Heresy===

Vulkan was present alongside [[Ferrus Manus]] and [[Corax]] at the [[Isstvan V]] Dropsite Massacre. During the battle the majority of the Salamanders Legion was killed by nuclear missiles fired from the [[Iron Warriors]]. Due to his [[Perpetual]] regeneration abilities, Vulkan survived the explosion but found himself surrounded by hundreds of warriors from the Iron Warriors and [[Night Lords]]. Fighting to what he thought was his death, Vulkan was stabbed, shot and bludgeoned in unconsciousness. Seeing a chance to torment his brother, [[Konrad Curze]] took Vulkan prisoner. The Primarch of the Night Lords spent the next several months trying to both break Vulkan's spirit and trying to kill him. Curze personally cut Vulkan's head off, ripped out his throat with a fork, stabbed him through the chest and tore him limb from limb. Separately he had Vulkan eviscerated, shot with hundreds of bolters at close range, left in the venting shaft of a starship's engine and even thrown in empty space completely naked. Each time Vulkan died his body would regenerate completely, leaving Curze furious. Eventually, frusterated and bored with his inability to kill Vulkan, Curze decided to get Vulkan to admit he was no less a monster than himself. Curze had several [[Davinite]] Priests ensnare Vulkan's mind and run him through trial after trial, ensuring he failed each time and innocents died. When Vulkan would not break, Curze decided to end things in a duel. He made Vulkan navigate a maze designed by [[Perturabo]], at the center of which lay [[Dawnbringer]], Vulkan's personal hammer, as well as the corpses of several of his comrades. When Vulkan retrieved his hammer he managed to overpower Curze and activated a teleporter built into the head of the hammer. Vulkan was transported across the Galaxy into the upper atmosphere of [[Macragge]] and burnt up during reentry, confident he would wake up in the care of the [[Ultramarines]]{{Fn|4}}

Unknown to everyone, a bond of sorts had formed between Curze and Vulkan, the later being able to sense when the Night Haunter was nearby. Curze was indeed on Macragge, having been trapped aboard the [[Invincible Reason]] but eventually breaking out of the [[Dark Angels]] flagship and stealing a [[drop pod]] to the surface. Vulkan broke free of his bonds and pillaged Guilliman's private armory before setting off to hunt Curze. The two fought across an entire city, Vulkan finally realizing his regenerative abilities and using them to his advantage; by focusing his will, he could regenerate much quicker. At one point Curze shot Vulkan's head off, causing the primarch to fall from a cliff. Vulkan was back alive before he hit the ground.{{Fn|6a}}

Their rolling duel was eventually stopped by the perpetual, [[John Grammaticus]], who had been charge by the [[Cabal]] to permanently kill Vulkan with the [[Fulgurite]], a petrified bolt of the Emperor's own psychic abilities. The Cabal had ordered Grammaticus to give the Fulgurite to Cruze, as only a Primarch could kill another Primarch. But before he could complete his mission, [[Eldrad Ulthran]] appeared to Grammaticus, convincing him that if he himself used the Fulgurite to kill Vulkan, he would give up his perpetrual nature forever, but in exchange completely restore Vulkan's mind. The presences and abilities of another Primarch in the Emperor's armies would tip the balance against [[Horus]]. Grammaticus stabbed Vulkan through the heart, killing both of them in a psychic explosion. Grammaticus regenerated, as he always did, but was aware this would be his last life. Vulkan never recovered. {{Fn|6b}}