Following the end of "Old Night" (the Age of Strife), the Emperor of Mankind finally revealed Himself to the people of Terra. In secret, He had been planning for this moment in history for millennia, ever since the Age of Strife had fractured what remained of the ancient human federation which had once stretched across a part of the galaxy. The Emperor moved to create the military organisations He would need to begin the reunification of Mankind, and He used the raw materials at hand after millennia of savage conflict between the techno-barbarian nation-states of Old Earth. When the Emperor unified Terra the Lords of Mars scrutinised the unfolding events with envious eyes, and some among them recognised a kindred spirit, for the Emperor was to them a man of science who valued the machine a