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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
→Overview
Currently, all that is stated about this issue is:
*The [[Emperor of Mankind|Emperor]] created 20 ([[Alpharius Omegon|21]]) Primarchs, who were snatched from [[Terra]] by a [[Chaos]] vortex and scattered around the [[galaxy]].{{Fn|1}}*The 20 ([[Alpharius Omegon|21]]) incubation capsules drifted through the [[warp]] for decades or even centuries, until finally coming to rest on [[human]]-inhabited worlds throughout the galaxy,{{Fn|4}} "where they were variously adopted by human parents."{{Fn|7}}
**The only exception to this is the Primarch [[Konrad Curze]], who survived utterly alone (and whose background, in any case, was only described in later material).
*In the listings of the 20 Legions in Imperial records, Legions II and XI are stated as having "all records expunged from the library". Earlier background (''Codex Imperialis'' and second edition's Ultramarines Codex) less ambivalently states that the records for these two Legions were ''deleted following the Heresy''. Considering that the Traitor Legions are simply listed as ''excommunicate traitoris'' but still included in these same lists would mean , this suggests that the records were deleted deliberately and for a reason only known by those who perpetrated the action.
*The Emperor met each Primarch in turn, and each Primarch had risen to a position of authority within the cultures in which they had found themselves.{{Fn|1}}
*20 Legions took part in the [[Great Crusade]], each led by their own Primarch.{{Fn|8}}
*Alpharius was known to be the last Primarch to be found, a fact which even earned him the nickname "The Last". This suggests that all the other Primarchs had been found already.
*20 statues of the Primarchs were erected in the [[Imperial Palace]] on Terra. By the time of the Horus Heresy, plinths '''II''' and '''XI''' "[...] had been vacant for a long time. No-one ever spoke of those two absent brothers [and] their separate tragedies."{{Fn|9}}**This suggests that the two unknown Primarchs had been found previously and that something tragic had happened. The two Primarchs were "absent" but not referred to as "dead".
**Prior to sending [[Sigismund]] and his Imperial Fists to Mars during the Heresy, Dorn mused to [[Malcador (Character)|Malcador]] on the loyalist support of two Legions, possibly the two unknown Legions, during the Heresy. Malcador quelled the Primarch's thoughts, stating that "They are lost to us forever."{{Fn|15}}
*Horus convinced "no less than 9" Space Marine Legions to side with him at the onset of the Heresy,{{Fn|2}} a number also referred to as "fully half" of the Legions.{{Fn|6}} When he assaulted Terra, this number was given as 9.{{Fn|10}}
**This also implies, but does not categorically state, that the 9 known Traitor Legions are all of the Legions that followed him into rebellion and that 18 Legions were the total number of Legions active at the time. A passage detailing Horus' s plans for the various Legions at the outset of the Heresy mentions by name all 18 known Legions{{Fn|11}}.
*"Of the original 20 Primarchs, only 9 survived the Horus Heresy. The remainder were either killed in the fighting (like Horus) or fled with their [Legions] into the [[Eye of Terror]]. The survivors helped [to rebuild] the Imperium."{{Fn|7}}
**It is currently accepted that 3 Primarchs died during the Heresy ([[Ferrus Manus]], [[Sanguinius]], and [[Horus]]) and 6 are known to have fled into the Eye of Terror ([[Fulgrim]], [[Perturabo]], [[Angron]], [[Mortarion]], [[Magnus]], and [[Lorgar]]). The fates of the other 11 are open to multiple interpretations. However, Roboute Guilliman was held in stasis (as his throat was cut) until his resurrection at the end of [[M41]] and it is commonly believed that Lion El Johnson's body has been hidden away in the belief that he shall return one day.{{Cite this}}
