Warhammer 40k FanFiction: White Mechanicum, Baruel Cult of God-Machine

[Part 02] History of White Mechanicum

The White Mechanicum is a cult of the God-Machine, whose roots go back to the planet Baruel, isolated by the Warp Storms, during the Age of Strife. Its inhabitants possessed advanced technologies that could not be found anywhere else. However, the isolation led to the development of unorthodox beliefs and controversial religious practices, such as witchcraft and magic, which were performed in secret. Such practices earned the cult numerous enemies, and were also the reason for its decline.

When the Emperor of Humanity discovered the planet during the Great Crusade, Baruel was already doomed. The White Mechanicum then recognized the Emperor as the long-awaited Omnimessiah, to whom they swore an oath of allegiance and devotion, but it was too late. The Emperor appreciated the value of the technologies that could prove crucial to his crusade, but the planet was only incorporated into the Empire as a hospital planet for wounded soldiers. This decision was opposed by many sects of the Mechanicum, who demanded the destruction of the planet and its cult.

The White Mechanicum faced its greatest challenge during the Heresy of Horus. Horus Lupercal tried to convince Baruelians to join his rebellion against the Empire and overthrow the false Emperor. However, the loyalty of the planet's inhabitants to the Emperor was unwavering and they refused to be tempted by the fallen War Master. The High Tech-Captains and sorcerers threatened him that if he entered any of the hospitals with his troops, he and his soldiers would face a fate far worse than death, from which none of the chaos gods would save them.

Whether or not the War Master actually shrugged off the threat is unknown. But after he refused, the entire hospital world was crushed and turned into a dead planet. According to unconfirmed information, the destruction of Baruel triggered the Warp Storm, which engulfed three cruisers and damaged the Horus flagship, which barely escaped. Some believe that the spirits of the Baruel sorcerers and priests, seeking revenge for the destruction of the hospital world, caused the great catastrophe.

After the destruction of the planet, those who survived became the target of bloody hunts and persecution in the Empire. Those who escaped found asylum on Gryphonne IV and Baraspine. There they assimilated with the inhabitants of the planets, sharing their knowledge and working to rebuild their sect and their lost technologies.

Without the ability to regenerate their biological shells, the Tech-Captains began to undergo bionization processes, turning their bodies into mechanical monstrosities that had almost completely lost their original humanity. Only Archmotel Sigmus survived fully conscious, which was kept alive artificially by his apprentice Technoculus Kaldrok. Only the destruction of Gryphonne IV led to Archmotel's longed-for death, after which Technokulus and his other disciples returned to Baruel to rebuild the White Mechanicum.

Their unorthodox views and goals drew the ire of other sects