Take a look closer into the story of the epic battle between Vulkan and Cruze and ending with one of the two losing his head. But which one does?
Via our good friends at Lexicanum
Vulkan was present alongside Ferrus Manus and Corax at the Isstvan V Dropsite Massacre. During the battle the majority of the Salamanders Legion was killed by nuclear missiles fired from the Iron Warriors. Due to his Perpetual regeneration abilities, Vulkan survived the explosion but found himself surrounded by hundreds of warriors from the Iron Warriors and Night Lords. Fighting to what he thought was his death, Vulkan was stabbed, shot and bludgeoned in unconsciousness. Seeing a chance to torment his brother, Konrad Curze took Vulkan prisoner. The Primarch of the Night Lords spent the next several months trying to both break Vulkan’s spirit and trying to kill him. Curze personally cut Vulkan’s head off, ripped out his throat with a fork, stabbed him through the chest and tore him limb from limb.
Separately he had Vulkan eviscerated, shot with hundreds of bolters at close range, left in the venting shaft of a starship’s engine and even thrown in empty space completely naked. Each time Vulkan died his body would regenerate completely, leaving Curze furious. Eventually, frusterated and bored with his inability to kill Vulkan, Curze decided to get Vulkan to admit he was no less a monster than himself. Curze had several Davinite Priests ensnare Vulkan’s mind and run him through trial after trial, ensuring he failed each time and innocents died. When Vulkan would not break, Curze decided to end things in a duel. He made Vulkan navigate a maze designed by Perturabo, at the center of which lay Dawnbringer, Vulkan’s personal hammer, as well as the corpses of several of his comrades. When Vulkan retrieved his hammer he managed to overpower Curze and activated a teleporter built into the head of the hammer. Vulkan was transported across the Galaxy into the upper atmosphere of Macragge and burnt up during reentry, confident he would wake up in the care of the Ultramarines
His charred body was later recovered by the Ultramarines, who at first were unable to identify the corpse as anything more than a grotesque statue – all living matter having burned up on reentry. Over a series of days Vulkan’s body began to regenerate, eventually returning to life and shocking the Ultramarines Apothecaries he had been entrusted to. Realizing who it was, the apothecaries summoned their Primarch, Roboute Guilliman, who was at first furious that no one could give him any answers as to how or why Vulkan had suddenly fallen from the skies. To Guilliman’s horror he found that Vulkan was broken mentally; violent and incoherent, attacking anything and everything he could.
Unknown to everyone, a bond of sorts had formed between Curze and Vulkan, the later being able to sense when the Night Haunter was nearby. Curze was indeed on Macragge, having been trapped aboard the Invincible Reason but eventually breaking out of the Dark Angels flagship and stealing a drop pod to the surface. Vulkan broke free of his bonds and pillaged Guilliman’s private armory before setting off to hunt Curze. The two fought across an entire city, Vulkan finally realizing his regenerative abilities and using them to his advantage; by focusing his will, he could regenerate much quicker. At one point Curze shot Vulkan’s head off, causing the primarch to fall from a cliff. Vulkan was back alive before he hit the ground.
Later, Vulkan’s corpse was reclaimed by the Primarchs Guilliman, Lion El’Jonson and Sanguinius. Vulkan was placed in a stasis-capsule, hand-crafted by Guilliman himself, with the words Unbound Flame carved into the side. The few remaining Salamanders who had made it to Macragge were allowed to stand guard over their fallen Primarch until such time as he could be returned to Nocturne. During their vigil, the Salamanders thought they heard a heartbeat coming from the casket, but dismissed it.
Convinced he could be resurrected, an expedition back to Nocturne led by Artellus Numeon eventually was able to bring Vulkan’s body back to Nocturne and with Numeon as the final sacrifice, Vulkan was restored from the Unbound Flame at Mount Deathfire.
