The Transformers: The Covenant of Primus (Earth-1984)

Transformers: The Covenant of Primus is a hardcover book representing the Covenant of Primus as written by Alpha Trion.

Foreword
Alpha Trion admits he does not know the origin of Primus or how he was created. He states that the current volume of the Covenant will be an editing/arrangement intended for human audiences to help them learn about their Cybertronian neighbors. To forward this purpose he has "translated" terms, concepts and customs at times into forms easier for humans to relate to.

Chapter 1: The Thirteen Primes
Trion recalls the moment of his creation and that of Solus Prime and the other Primes following them. After their creation, they feel Primus fade away into hypersleep. He leaves them with a last vision of how he and Unicron became a divided duality from a single original being and fell into eternal conflict and battle too evenly matched to ever end. Primus sought to change that eternal stalemate by removing himself from the equation and substituting beings of much greater variety and unique varied potential to change the future: a group of Thirteen each with creative new approaches to the problem of Unicron. These Thirteen were formed to incorporate facets of both Primus and Unicron's natures, increasing the options for new direction far beyond the equally matched duality of the original combatants.

Alpha Trion then gives a brief several paragraph portrait of each Prime in the order of their creation: Prima, Vector Prime, Alpha Trion, Solus Prime (including a brief digression on the nature of Gender in Transformers), Micronus Prime, Alchemist Prime, Nexus Prime, Onyx Prime, Amalgamous Prime, Quintus Prime, Liege Maximo, Megatronus, and the Thirteenth Prime (referred to by the book simply as "Thirteen" for in-story reasons).

Chapter 2: The Expulsion of Unicron
The newborn Primes quickly settle down to learn their own abilities, to train and to strategize for the coming conflict with Unicron. They split into three natural teams: Warriors (Prima, Vector, Megatronus, Onyx and Amalgamous), Strategists (Trion, Quintus, Maximo, and Micronus), and "Free Agents" capable of direct battle or more subtle/varied attacks (Alchemist, Solus, Nexus, and Thirteen).

Personality conflicts simmered between some of the Thirteen (between the very Primus-like Prima and strongly Unicron-influenced Megatronus particularly) but their unified purpose bound them together. It was in this period that Megatronus requested the construction of the Requiem Blaster from Solus, and though she was hesitant to make such a thing she decided that she trusted him and would do as he asked.

Training continued and friendships formed. Eventually they settled on a plan to battle and distract Unicron as a cover to opening a path for Thirteen to be inserted in close proximity to Unicron's core. Once there his uniquely Primus-like spark would react with Unicron's and both would be knocked into involuntary shutdown. The Primes would then retrieve and (hopefully) revive him.

When the time of battle came it proved far more hellish and terrible than they had imagined in all their training. Unicron assaulted them with defenses far beyond their expectations and, worse, the mere aura of his presence crushed all their hopes and dreams nearly drowning their sparks in despair and darkness. Only the comforting words "All are One" sent by Thirteen to reassure each and rekindle their hope let them continue fighting, eventually succeeding in their goal. Unicron was vanquished, knocked into unconsciousness, hopefully forever. This was not without cost.There were many grave injuries. But worse each of them had been tainted with a touch of darkness by their closeness to Unicron.

Chapter 3: The Age of the Primes
Afer Unicron's defeat, the Primes would settle in a large fortress near the Well of All Sparks where they were originally given life, naming their new home the Palace of the Primes. Some time after their settlement, they saw the first activation of the well; with the use of Onyx's Triptych Mask to scan lifeforms from throughout the galaxy and incorporating them into their designs and adding the template of some of the Thirteen, many Cybertronians were born with different and unique shapes, large and small. Some had bipedal humanoid forms, some were more animalistic, and all had differentiating genders. Others had special abilities, such as the power to combine with another Cybertron or more and the ability to power-link with other Cybertronians to enhance their abilities.

Howver, the influence of Unicron silently filtered the Primes as they tried to ignore it and it would likely play a part in the tragedies that were to come. Though it was the fertile ground they gave it, Alpha Trion now realizes, that let it grow.

With the genesis of the Cybertronian race, the Primes each turned towards their own interests. Vector Sigma and the device that would much later become the Matrix of Leadership were among the projects of this era. Prima, Vector Prime, and Alpha Trion concerned themselves mostly with government and the planning of rules and order for a new community and civilization. The independently-natured Megatronus, Maximo, and Amalgamous focused on Energon stores, mining, and refining, but were resentful of what they saw as the first group's bossy, controlling interference. Micronus, Onyx, Solus and Nexus lacked interest in the politics of either group and concerned themselves largely with their own creative tasks. While Thirteen, Alchemist and Quintus traveled freely between cliques. The Liege Maximo was the true emissary, always traveling and communicating between all groups and individuals with his natural beguiling charm.

During this period the feelings between Mexus and Solus out of their shared affinity for creation deepened into true and mutual love. This surprised the more distant and insular Primes like Prima, but the later Primes (especially Thirteen, Onyx and Micronus) smiled on the idea and enjoyed seeing their friend Solus happy. Megatronus was jealous of her by nature, but she was in large the hub that connected all the Primes into friendship and family.

With the growing number of Cybertronians increasing, the Primes usually came together in the Palace to discuss how to lead them to avoid conflict or chaos. Some (such as Solus, Micronus, Onyx, and Nexus) decided to build different domains connected to the Palace, each filled with Cybertronians with shared traits of their repsective Primes, with the Primes added to lead them. This decision proved successful as it easily categorized which Cybertronian was which by their forms. These new domains were named, Parilis (home to different gendered Cybertronians) led by Solus, Circlus (home to Mini-Cons) led by Micronus, Eukaria (home to bestial Cybertronians) led by Onyx, Conexus (home to combiners) led by Nexus, and Primum (home to the rest of the Cybertronians), where Prima, Vector, Quintus, and Thirteen resided. Megatronus, Liege, and Amalgamous chose to stay in the Palace.

Discord among the Primes began to build more strongly when Maximo discovered and revealed a chart where Prima had plotted which Primes were the most like Unicron and functioned as "Agents of Chaos." This enraged Megatronus (who had always been secretly ashamed of and at inner war with his own nature).