History TearJerker / HorusHeresy

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* When Guilliman finally catches up with Lorgar in Betrayer. The look of total, all consuming hatred on Roboute's face makes Lorgar realize that Guilliman never despised him the way Lorgar had always assumed he had. It's not quite a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment, but Lorgar feels ashamed that so many of his actions have been led by an entirely false opinion of his brother.

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* The short story ''After De'shea'', where Angron is so furious over being taken from his band of rebel gladiators he can't properly form a coherent sentence. You know that this guy goes traitor and becomes the leader of the most psychotic group of warriors in an army of psychopaths, but when he's struggling with his loss over his friends, you don't see the Daemon Prince who will burn seventy sectors or doom Armageddon...you see someone who just lost the only family he ever knew. It's really sad.

The Horus Heresy was the greatest tragedy of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. And the writers at Black Library want the readers to feel as much heart ache as the characters do.

* The Fall of Horus: The [[IncorruptiblePurePureness pure]] [[{{Wide-Eyed Idealist}} idealistic]] and utterly LawfulGood Horus [[FallenHero becoming]] the BigBad.

* The destruction of Monarchia and the humiliation of the Word Bearers Legion. Imagine Lorgar and his Legion, who loved the Emperor so much that he believed he was a god, even writing a book that argued that same point, and went from world to world proselytizing his religion, building grand cathedrals and inspiring masses of people. How did the Emperor respond to their efforts? By having the city of Monarchia (people included), one of the Word Bearer's crowning achievements, burned to ash by their rival Roboute Guilliman and his Ultramarines, and then forcing the entire legion to kneel in the ruins of the city, and then condeming the Word Bearers for their efforts, (efforts, by the way, had been allowed to occur for the better part of a century). and say that they all pretty much were failures, with the implication that they better straighten up or they would be purged from existence. Whatever your beliefs or philosophies, it's heartbreaking for a sincere debout son to be slapped down so hard. Seems that a lot of the Horus Heresy could have been avoided if the Emperor treated his Primarchs more like people instead of just soldiers.

* The destruction of Monarchia and the humiliation of the Word Bearers Legion. Imagine Lorgar and his Legion, who loved the Emperor so much that he believed he was a god, even writing a book that argued that same point, and went from world to world proselytizing his religion, building grand cathedrals and inspiring masses of people. How did the Emperor responded to his efforts? By having the city of Monarchia, including the people, one of the Word Bearer's crowning achievements, burned to ash by their rival Roboute Guilliman and his Ultramarines, and then forcing the entire legion to kneel in the ruins of the city, and then condemn him for his efforts, (efforts, by the way, had been allowed to occur for the better part of a century). and say that they all pretty much were failures, with the implication that they better straighten up or they would be purged from existence. Whatever your beliefs or philosophies, it's heartbreaking for a sincere debout son to be slapped down so hard. Seems that a lot of the Horus Heresy could have been avoided if the Emperor treated his Primarchs more like people instead of just soldiers.

** As of "The Primarchs" novella "The Lion", that nightmare scenario has been averted, but in the absolute worst way possible: [[spoiler: During his time in the Crusade, Nemiel became a Brother-Redemptor (predecessor the Dark Angels Interrogator-Chaplains in ''40k'') charged with upholding the Edict of Nikea banning Librarians. When Lion El'Jonson's flagship gets pulled into a warp-rift allowing Daemons to invade the ''Invincible Reason'', Jonson decides to revoke the Edict of Nikea after one former-Librarian breaks the Edict and uses his powers to effortlessly destroy one of the Daemons. Nemiel is oath-bound to prevent this, and looks set to fight his own Primarch, when Jonson suddenly lashes out and behead Nemiel with a single swipe. So when Lion El'Jonson finally returns to Caliban, there's little doubt that Zahariel will learn that his cousin was killed by Jonson, and it's doubtful that Zahariel will be feeling much loyalty to his Primarch...]]

* The confrontation between Sanguinius and Alotros in the beginning of ''Fear To Tread''. Alotros has succumbed to the Red Thirst, which unlike the Black Rage predates the Horus Heresy and has slowly begun to emerge among the Blood Angels Legion. Alotros is drinking the blood of fallen Nephilim, and Sanguinius tries to reason with him, hoping against hope that he can bring his gene-son from the depths of insanity. Alotros stares at his Primarch for moment, then attacks him, forcing Sanguinius to kill him in self-defense as it was giving Alotros [[MercyKill the Emperor's Peace]]. For years fans have speculated that Sanguinius's presence might be able to bring Blood Angels back from the depths of the Flaw. As of ''Fear To Tread'', that theory is {{Jossed}} with extreme prejudice.

The Horus Heresy was the greatest tragedy of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}. And the writers at Black Library want the readers to feel as much heart ache as the characters do.

** Also, Magos Uldort. She volunteered to remain at a command center that was about to be overrun by the enemy, fully aware that it was a death sentence. She nonetheless performed her duties diligently and directed all possible reinforcements to help Tawren and Venantus. Because of her, Tawren was able to retake control of the Calth defense grid, which in turn saved the remaining Ultramarines and their Primarch. The reader never sees her final moments, nor will they ever hear her voice. But the bittersweet triumph at Calth will ultimately be owed to her.

* The Fall of Horus: The [[IncruptiblePurePureness pure]] [[{{Wide-Eyed Idealist}} idealistic]] and utterly LawfulGood Horus [[FallenHero becoming]] the BigBad.