I remember gunning down your gene-sires at Istvaan V. They died screaming for the Emperor to save them. They died in the mud and blood and shit of that worthless world. But I respected them because they were my Legion cousins. And you will never be half the warriors they were. The weakest amongst them was still superior to whatever passes for your best. My only regret from that battle is not completely eradicating XVIII Legion so you thin-blooded mud eaters wouldn't now be sullying the name of the Salamanders Space Marine Legion.
"when did a single cultist achieve anything worth of note? " In the table top I had a cultist champion kill a space marine sergeant and turn into a daemon prince once, just gonna go out on a limb here and say that that might be something worthy of note.
Remarkable. Of course, there are certain exceptional individuals who might achieve daemonhood even as cultists, but I assure you that 99% of cultists are still nothing more than meat shields and distractions for the greater agents of Chaos.
Doesn't matter if my nose falls off, since it'll just regenerate. Nurgle is the only one who actually cares in the whole horrible grim dark future, and instead of manipulating them like Tzeentch, or being apathetic like Khorne (since it matter not from where the blood flows), Father Nurgle actually treats his followers like a family.
Well, since this is 40k, whether or not a God exists is dependent on whether or not people think it exists, and how many people believe in it. And since the Emperor has a shit-load of followers, (which actually boosts his power), he's technically a God.
Magnus would have been nothing but a tool, taking the Emperors place trapped atop the Corpse Throne for millennium on end. The Edict of Nikaea was a travesty, a ruling of censorship and denial to those seeking to explore the Mysteries. The Emperor essentially said that only he was worthy to seek the highest levels others, and all others must accept the bliss of ignorance. And thus is why I say your interpretation that Magnus was sole to blame is incorrect. The Emporer was a tyrant, a terrible father who saw his sons as naught but tools, and his Imperial Truth is a murderous lie.
Still looking through responses, but here is my interpretation Khorne: On the most base level, one would turn to Khorne because they live there life from one battle to the next, it is the way of the universe, and guardsmen or Space Marine it is all there sole purpose, to fight for the Imperium until they fall in battle. So, perhaps they accept their fate, then go beyond that, and come to relish their purpose, to kill or be killed until fate deigns their time spent. However, there is reasons beyond slaughter. There is a stark heroism to commit to battle with joy in the heart. Martial Pride, Honor, these are the Higher offerings of Khorne. Nurgle: Namely, fear is the reason to accept Nurgle. The universe is a horrifying existence where annihilation can come from anywhere. If you are a loyal citizen, you can hope to work and die for the slavemasters of the Emperor, never to rise above your condition, but to persist in squalor till you are worked to the bone. And that is the happy ending. Voice the wrong opinions, die for heresy, live on a planet suspected of corruption and you may see it wiped of all life. You can see yourself invaded by merciless xenos; Orks that will butcher or enslave you, Dark Eldar that will do the same, but with sick perversions added in, and Tyranids that will do the work of Exterminautus as a horrendous tide of consumtion. Accept Nurgle to embrace the fear as your loving father, one who shelters you from death and pain, at the price of his rot. Those who accept this likely lack special skills that would make them useful to other powers, or turn to him in crisis, when his plagues ravage the land and the choice is to rot and die, or rot and live. Tzeentch: Knowledge is regulated, death is the price of curiosity. A scholar would turn to Tzeentch to learn the secrets of the universe, if only for the joy of knowledge. The ambitious seek to master his plots, to seek greater power, but they may be lost in the pursuit and in their arrogance are destroyed. Pykers may turn to Tzeentch just for survival, as they are considered an abomination, allowed to live only under constant scrutiny so long as they remain useful to their Imperial Masters, and may be sacrificed to the Golden Throne regardless. They are witches and filth, and no matter how well they serve, they will forever be the unclean mutant. So when they abandon the Imperium in favor of Tzeentch who offers great power, well often they lose sight of anything greater than themselves or their ambitions. But Knowledge and Power is neither inherently good or evil, it is all in how it is applied and what purpose it serves. Slaanesh: The Imperium is a Purityrancal Empire, so on its base level, Slaanesh worship is simply in pursuit of pleasures once denied. However, it is also the pursuit of perfection and beauty, skill and artistry. Decadence is not limited to this cult following, its evil marks the Imperuim itself, where the aristocracy inherits their position and can lord their power however they see fit. Being a Space Marine is to live as a warrior monk, celebrate and denying oneself joy and purpose beyond warfare, so when they break their bonds, often they go quite nuts with their newfound freedom. Why Chaos itself though. Because the Imperium accepts one way, there way. You are a servant, to live your purpose in eternal sacrifice of any idea of individualism, freedom of thought, and to live under the heel of unworthy masters till you dying breath. Chaos offers a brutal meritocracy, while though most will never truly raise their station, they at least die knowing it is a possibility, based on both skill and fate. Also, the great Imperial hypocrisy, and atheist tyranny that exults their fallen master as a god, though he believed that the stones of the last church must be used to crush the skull of the last priest. His faithless doctrine, converted into a faith that denies individual thought, is simply put, an abomination. Chaos, has evil men who use it as a tool for their betterment, but is not in itself evil, it is a recognition that their are many paths to take, there is no single answer, and a hope that they need not stagnate in slavery.
"Respect" your kind knows not of such things. However you are right about one detail, you shall regret that you could not finish the job. You and your kin shall pay a heavy price for that failure.
Khorne - Martial Honor and Skill at Arms Tzeentch - Knowledge and Intellect Nurgle - Life and Renewal Slaanesh - Love and Artistry
