Hello, Austan here with a new story, most of you who look at this will have no idea who I am as I have only written RWBY Fanfiction before. This story will be a bit AU as to why you shall read in a few seconds. I recently fell in love with Warhammer and decided to do some writing. So as much as my meager understanding of Warhammer lore goes, if I make mistakes, please point them out to me. As for what my main character looks like, he looks like the cover image, but painted gray and gold. I don't own the image, simply using it. I hope you enjoy, praise to the Emperor. I don't own Warhammer.
A special Founding is what they called it, an experiment by the High Lords of Terra. Our Chapter was chosen; one of us was to leave its ranks. I had volunteered, always being the one ready to lay down everything for the Chapter, or perhaps it was my rare compassion for mortals that drove me to be the one to step forward. Our Chapter Master had just proclaimed the news to us Honor Guard, his closest advisors and friends.
The other Guard bowed their heads in silent thanks, that single motion filled with more respect than any mere words could convey. The High Lord's decree was that a single Astarte was to set out on his own, to be cut off from his Chapter in all but the greatest need, to see if he could build up a planet. They chose one of the Death-Worlds on the eastern fringes of Space. They were to be given a single Strike Cruiser, maned with the minimum amount of crew members.
I would be responsible with taming a Death-World, building a Fortress-Monastery, recruiting a number of people to help with the process. I would be given free rein to do what I must to complete my mission, giving me the power to go outside of what a normal Chapter could do. I no longer had the restrictions that held many Chapters in check. After the construction of the Fortress-Monastery I would be sent an Apothecary to help in the creation of new Space Marines. This task would take me decades to complete, but I have lived centuries, and plan on living many more.
I am to leave within the hour, with only the weapons and armor in my possession. I turn down the gift of a suite of Terminator armor, knowing it will be better used in the Chapter. My armor had been cleaned of its colors and markings, replaced with those of a Chapter Master, but it is an empty title, void of the prestige that would accompany it. I have no symbol to call my own, no mark of honor to wear proudly. I am a blank canvas, something no Marine wants to be.
Now I leave my home once again, but this time knowing I am to never return to it. Walking through the ancient halls I feel sorrow, knowing that I am to leave this place, to never drink in celebration with my brothers again, to honor the fallen in these halls.
I take in the sights that have greeted me at the end of every campaign. The statues of our greatest heroes, our greatest moments, our greatest failures. For the true meaning to the paintings on the ceiling of our great hall are known only to those in the Chapter, and now one outsider. I am followed by an ever increasing amount of brothers, the news of my departure spreading like wildfire around the Fortress. I step out of the large doors of our Monastery to the view of the other Honor Guard. They hold their power swords high in salute, saying farewell their own way. I through them, each having their heads bowed. One by one as I pass by them as they take their swords to their chests, before sheathing them. A storm was raging as I walked to the thunderhawk, the rain pelting us with all the fury of an angry god. Lighting light up the sky, bringing the smell of ozone. More flashes, illuminating off the armor of my brothers, the fires outside having gone out with the torrent of rain.
They stand like statues, unmoving, unrelenting. On the doors of the transport I pound my fist on my chestplate, and as one they echo the farewell, but they continue it, a steady beat like a drum, almost drowning out the sound of the rain. I take a moment to engrain the image in my mind, but then then the doors close, and sight disappears from view. The pilot says nothing as we enter make our way through the storm, lightning and thunder all around us, the flashes lighting up the bay where I sat, and the soundwaves shaking the transport. Finally we break free from the clouds, and gravity starts to lessen, I can see my ship from here distinguished from the rest by its lack of markings, looking so small among the mighty fleet of Chapter ships.
We land in the hanger of the ship, the transport setting down lightly on the metal floor, only a small lurch at the last second. I give a nod to the pilot in thanks then walk out, smirking at the look of shock on the young man's face. The Emperor's finest rarely give note to the mortals that walk among us, but I have compassion for my fellow man, if I can even call myself one anymore. I am greeted by a host of crew members, mostly the high ranking personnel of the ship; I walk towards the Captain who stands in front of his group of officers.
He is a large for being a man, standing over six feet tall, broad of chest and muscular. Short cut hair and beard, with just a few touches of gray, with a few mechanical implants into his head. He is a stereotypical officer of the Imperial Navy and I am grateful that the High Lords gave me a competent ship Captain. He oozes the confidence of a man who has seen many battles and expects to see many more.
"Welcome aboard the Emperor's Light my Lord. We are honored to be in the service to an Astarte, how may we serve?" His voice is hard, a man who has seen much death in his years.
"Take me to the bridge Captain, our voyage will be long, and we will have much to do." He nods and starts to walk, myself falling in step next to him, only to remind myself to take shorter steps to accommodate his shorter legs. I can see the looks of awe that come from the crew we pass, few that they are. Few in the Imperium ever see an Astarte; much less serve one. The Captain continues to tell me about the ship, not knowing that I already know where everything is on almost every ship in the Imperium. Perks of having an perfect memory.
We pass the captain's quarters, but I suppose they are mine now, being the highest ranking personnel on the ship. I can see a hint of worry in the captain's eyes; he still has his things in the room.
"My apologies that the room isn't ready my lord, I had told a few of my men to do it, but it seems they didn't, they will be found and punished." I shake my still helmeted head.
"There is no need Captain, I did not plan on staying in them, such lavish rooms are wasted on one such as me, and I have much work to do on our voyage." My thundering voice stops any conversation around us, even as quiet as I said those words. A look of relief passed over his face for just a moment, until he nodded his thanks and we continued on our way.
I start to wonder if the Captain had chosen this mission of his own will, for it is unusual for the Imperium to send out a competent Captain on what could very well be a suicide mission. I thought about voicing my concerns, but held off for a better time. Any mistake he had made was not grievous enough to be a death sentence and could be redeemed by service to the Emperor. The doors to the deck open and all conversation stops. Several stand and salute, while others stare on in shock. The captain snaps his fingers and the spell is broken, the crew going back to their tasks.
"Where do you wish to depart to my lord?" I walk up to cogitators, going through the star maps until I find our destination. I blow up the image.
"Our destination is Tarth captain. A planet on the eastern fringes." I look of fear passes the younger crew, they know of the fringes, and all of the dangers that accompany flying in that space. The message is sent to the Navigator and we start to break away from the fleet. The Captain walks to this chair and sits down, content to let the men do their work. I give an appraising eye to how well they are trained, how the do their tasks without question.
"You have their trust captain." He smiles.
"I lead to victory over more than a few enemies, somewhere rather harrowing." He drums his fingers on his chair.
"It did take us a while to get used to this Strike Cruiser. We had only flown a Lunar Cruiser before. This ship is much faster, and has more armor. But it lacks the firepower I am used to." I chuckle, earning a raised eyebrow from the Captain.
"Astarte ships are meant for rapid deployment, not for void combat. While it is capable, it is not its focus. When a Space Marine enters a fight, we have two options, launch a boarding action at the ships in space, or get to the ground, where we are in our element." He nods, hand holding his chin, deep in thought. A single warning sound echoes around the ship, then the great maw of the warp opens, and we are sucked inside.
I stand there for a while as the Captain finishes giving orders to his crew. When he is finished he turns and looks at me, waiting for direction. I motion to the doors and the he starts to walk with me; I have a few questions I want to ask him now that we are away from his officers ears.
" Tell me, how long have you been the Captain of this ship?" His answer was unexpected.
"I have been the captain of the Emperor's Light for ten years my lord." I am surprised by how long the High Lords have planned this, but there plan for the Imperium is beyond me.
"Did you come on this undertaking willingly?" The captain hesitates for a moment before nodding.
"I was offered the honor of serving an Astarte my lord, there are few who would refuse such an offer." I nod and let his hesitant answer pass; trusting that whatever he did will come to light eventually.
"Do you know the details of my mission?" At this the captain shakes his head.
"I was not told the details of your mission, only which I was to serve you in all that you did." I notice the slip up, that he was told to come, not offered, but put that piece of information to the side for the moment.
"The task that has been laid before me is a great undertaking; for my task is to build a new Chapter of Adeptus Astartes." The captain faltered in his step before continuing our walk.
"That is indeed a large task my lord, but we of the Emperor's Light will stand by you in this endeavor." Our walk had brought us to the area of officers' quarters on the ship. Here I stopped at one of the doors.
"I will depend on you greatly in the coming year's Captain. Now, is one of these rooms unoccupied? I would like to spend my time during our travels here." He nodded and walked down to room at the end of the hallway.
"This is the only unoccupied room my lord, do you have any gear or items that you wish to be put here? I know that a chest was put in the thunderhawk that you came in on." I nod and enter the room. It is the definition of spartan. A single bed and desk is all that fill it, I place my winged helm on the desk and went to sit, only to realize that the chair would break under the weight of my Artificer power armor, something that I have gained through my countless conquests. Falling to the floor in a disgruntled heap would not do well for the image that the men have of me.
"Captain, have one of your men bring me pen and paper, I have a few idea's I would like to write down, and perhaps a sturdier chair as well." The he nods and starts to walk off only to be stopped once more. " What is your name?"
He turns and replies. "My name is Alexander Evans my lord." Then he departs. I smile a bit, a strong name for a strong captain. I remove my twin power swords from my waist and my bolt pistol my leg, starting to wonder what my brothers snuck into the chest that was on the thunderhawk, I can only hope that it is nothing to extravagant.
A crew member comes by with the item I requested, as well as a much sturdier looking chair. I nod my thanks and take the chair; the man had been struggling to carry it along with the papers. He stands shocked for a few moments before departing, going back to his duties.
I begin to write down all that I will need to complete in the next few years, writing always helping my thought building of a stable base of operations before I can begin the construction of a Fortress-Monastery. The possible recruitment and training of Imperial guardsmen to help with the task, as well as signing contracts with Planetary Governors to secure a steady flow of resources and manpower, I can already feel a headache coming on at the thought of having to deal with less than competent power hungry idiots.
My mind wanders as countless idea's come and go, spanning from simply killing them and putting somebody I like on the throne, to being forced to be at their beck and call for a set amount of years. None of the ideas are particular great; one can never tell what a Governor will demand for his planet's resources.
My musing is once again stopped as the door opens to reveal two crewmen careering in a large chest. I direct them to set it by the bed and they do so, and with a bow they depart. I open the chest to see a master crafted bolter, as well as master crafted chainsword and storm shield. I sigh and shake my head, a smile on my face from the farewell gifts of my brothers. I start to close it when I see something in the very bottom of the chest. It is wrapped in cloth, and very long. I pick it up and move away the fabric to reveal a power spear, one of the few that my old Chapter owned. Almost every Honor Guard had one, but I had left mine to be given the next one. I give the spear a few twirls, before setting it back down. Then it is back to the desk, making plans and starting lists of idea's that I have for my planet.
The weeks in the void pass quickly, I am kept busy and only leave the room to sometimes eat and talk with the captain. I have started to develop the start of trust for the man, gained through long conversations. We reach Tarth just as a new month starts, the large planet encircled by three moons as well as a few small asteroids. I pack my things and go to find Alexander, wondering what information he knows about the world.
I find the man on the command deck once more, giving orders as we approach the planet. He doesn't hear me coming; few ever do, so I simply stand behind him, getting looks of mirth from his crew. When Alexander does turn around, he does so almost right into me. He plays it off well, looking to his crew like he wasn't shocked at all, it was rather impressive.
"Lord, what are your orders for us now." I walk up to one of the windows overlooking the planet below. A few vast contents cover much of the world. Only about one fourth being water. Large mountain ranges also cross the world, acting as natural barrier for us to overcome. It reminds me of Terra in a way, only reversed. Not that there is any water on Terra anymore.
"What do you know of the planet Tarth Captain?" He frowns, trying to recall information.
"Well, it is a Death-World lord, but it is also rich in minerals. The reason it's a Death-World is because of the animals that live there, the higher than normal oxygen levels giving birth to some truly nightmarish beasts. Higher than normal gravity has made the natives on the planet hardy as well, so they to pose a threat. There is a colony there, they mine, but other than that they simply are." I nod, thinking over the information. It seems like the High Lords have been planning this for a while, and kept a colony on this world for that purpose.
"I will be going to this colony soon captain. I must gain their allegiance if I am to succeed in my mission. Can you spare any men for this endeavor?" The captain frowned again and I can understand why, this ship wasn't maned with many men.
"I can spare some of the guardsmen lord, as well as a tech-priest, but other than that." I can see his frustration easily; no man likes to fail his commander.
"I will only need them for a while captain, then I will return them to you." He nods his thanks as I begin the walk to the hangers. A small number of guardsmen follow me, around thirty I count at a glance. A single Tech-priest also joins the march, staying away from the guardsmen out of revulsion or some other emotion, the feeling is mutual I assume.
We all load into the thunderhawk, the tech claiming a place by me, for what reason I cannot fathom. The pilot of our craft is the same that carried me from my Chapter homeworld and I relax a bit, trusting in his skills.
The colony is on the edge of one of the continents, not close enough to build directly into the sea, but perhaps when it is larger. We land in an open part of the compound, a few hundred faces coming out of the buildings to see what broke their daily chores. I left the thunderhawk, fifteen guardsmen on each side of me. The sun is at its eclipse in the sky, a red sun above us, the air is warm, but being close to the sea has brought a wind, or so my helmet sensors are telling me.
The leader of the colony, a stocky man with a large beard, walked towards us from a central building. I can see fear in his eyes, ether from me, or the ship over head. He wielded large hammer, which he had over his shoulder.
"We already paid the tithe you money grubbing bastards. You're not due for another ten months." Several guardsmen shot looks in my direction, most likely wondering if I was going to kill the man for such an insult. But I smile inside my helmet, already liking him.
"Worry not, I am not here to collect a tithe, I am here on a mission from the High Lords of Terra, to build up this world in the way I see fit, I will make it the envy of this sector of space, and the home of my Space Marine Chapter. As a Chapter homeworld you will not have to pay a tithe, instead your resources will be used to support this world, as well as us." The man looked stunned, but nodded his head.
"We would be honored noble Astarte, our colony had been struggling ever since its founding. Would you like to come inside? We can talk more there." I nod and follow the man into a large wood building, the colonists not having the resources or the manpower to gather enough metal to build anything but a few tools and weapons. We sit by a hearth, its warm glow lighting the room, the smell of smoked meat, wafting up from the coals, it seemed he had just finished lunch. He sits on a mat on the floor, and I follow him down, the ceiling being rather short anyways.
"I will not lie my lord, our colony is on the brink of being overrun, from the savages that roam outside these walls, to the beasts that haunt us, we have mines, but can no longer go to them, we don't have the guards required to protect the miners, and without the miners, we can't build." I nod and take of my helmet, hoping to help put the man at ease. He lets his eyes roam over my face for a moment, before schooling himself.
"Gather a list of the things you need governor, I will soon be going to the other planets in the area to get there help in my endeavor. The guardsman will help you defend and the Tech-priest will get any machines you have up and running. But be careful with him, they treat machines differently than you might be used to, and angry with you for your lack of care of them, if that is the case, try to appease him a bit, but don't let him take control of anything other than fixing the machines." He nods, not quite understanding, but taking my word for it. "You said there are large beasts in the area, what kind?"
The Governor walks to a table where he picks up several papers. "These are some drawing of the beasts that we have on this world, ones that we know about anyways, I'm sure there are many we have never seen." I wonder what beasts the High Lords might put on this planet, or if they were natural, and start to shuffle through the papers, my armored fingers taking care not to rip them. I see a variety of animals, some I recognize, some I don't. Grox is the easiest one to see, the spikes and horned head sketched rather well onto the paper. I also saw Althax, the fierce predator being one of the likely reasons that the colony was struggling. There were a few others, herbivores and smaller pack based predators, but at the very end, a large lizard like creature, one that was poorly drawn, but still managed to convey the power of the beast. I held it up for the governor to see, fear flashed in his eyes.
"That beast is called a Drake, and it is the master of the mountains. They are the undisputed kings of the food chain." He took out a pipe and some tobacco, using it to calm his nerves. I studied the drawing closer. It had four limbs, but no wings, unlike their dragon counterparts, a shorter, thicker neck and tail, but otherwise very similar.
"Do they over come down from the mountains?" The Governor nodded.
"Sometimes they do, but it is always a bad day when that happens, we have never managed to kill one, only drive back." I drum my fingers on the table in front of us, an idea forming in my head. My chapter still needs a name and if this beast is the greatest on my home planet. I stand and start to walk out; putting my helmet back on, the Governor quickly follows me.
"What are you planning to do my lord?" I smile from under my helmet.
"I am going to tame a Drake of course." He stumbles for a second before regaining his step.
"But, that's suicide. Those beasts are too strong to be tamed." I shake my head.
"I am an Adeptus Astarte Governor, I do the impossible." With that I walk out of the gates of the compound, into the fast forests of my world. Many of the colonists gather to watch me leave, to them, they see their savior leaving. But I will return with a Drake, to prove to them that even the largest beasts can be tamed. How wrong I was.
I draw both of my power swords as I walk through the dense forest, listing for the slightest sound. I could see the mountains in the distance, there towering peaks dotted with snow. Even if a Marine can march for days and still be combat ready, it is best to rest at least every other day. Exhaustion is your worst enemy when scaling the walls of an Ork made castle.
I am undisturbed through most of the day; only the gentle breeze and the rustle of leaves above my head are my company. The air smells, fresh, for a lack of a better word.I have been on hundreds of worlds, from the disgusting Penal Worlds for the wrongdoers of the Imperium, from the most beautiful of pleasure worlds. But none of those worlds matched the peace of this world, its serene quiet. This was a world untouched by the Imperium, its landscape not yet raped by the great wheels of the Imperial war machine.
I am undisturbed the rest of the day, only at the end do I come across a Grox. I spotted it in a small clearing, eating the carcass of a deer like animal, its green fur ripped apart, blood soaking the ground around it. The Grox was gorging itself on the hind leg, ripping into the meat with relish. I step into the clearing, having never faced a Grox before, and wanting to know of any prowess it has. It growls when it sees me, pawing at the ground. I ready my swords, holding them at my sides. The air swirls around us, before stilling for just a moment, and we charge. The Grox howls it war cry, much like a roar, but not deep enough, more shrill. When we reach the center of our charge near I move to the right, bringing both swords in a side strike. The result is, unexpected. I had expected more from one of the predators on this planet. The Grox is cut nearly in half, guts and blood splatter and my wrist and shoulder armor. I stand from my cut, moving over to a patch of longer grass and kneel, wiping the blood off my swords. I leave the corpse behind for something to eat, giving back to the world that was to be my home.
Evening comes, the sun over head a painter, the sky its canvas. Colors that I had never seen before fill the sky, blue gives way to a deep orange, the clouds overhead illuminated by the setting sun, there swirls and patterns filling part of this canvas. Farther the sun sets, into the trees, it's light passing through the branched like holy light, so pure that I could almost reach out and touch it. The sky over head gets a ting of red, chasing away the orange color from before, setting the sky alight with blood. So rich it the color that it seems to seep from the clouds, turning them an unholy red. Finally the sun sets, and the colors recede, giving way to the night.
A darkness is falling over the land, a chill in air that wasn't there while the giver of life was in the sky. Soon the inky blackness of night is upon us, and I feel myself shiver, the woods, so calm and peaceful, now having moving shadows, the tree's from before, there so quiet, now creek in the wind. I move through the darkness, my eyes giving me rather good sight in the darkness. Then the moons come out, rising above the horizon like angels in the night. All three of them come from different ways, each reflecting the light of the sun that I could no longer see. The dangerous night was alight once again, there soft glow lighting my way. I pause in my way to look at each of them, and to my surprise they are mostly unblemished, the surface of their bodies unblemished by the asteroids of time. One is close enough that I can see its surface in great detail, mountains and great swaths of unmarked land are all that is on it, it's a barren rock, but perhaps not forever.
But I have stood here long enough, and soon find myself searching for a place to rest for the night. Soon after I find myself a cave, it is partially covered with small tree's, but there are moves easily. I go all the way to the back, ensuring that something else isn't living here already. With that out of the way I sit down against the side of the rock and take a deep breath, before closing my eyes, willing myself to sleep.
Nothing bothers me in the night, so it is the sun that wakes me in the morning, its rays of light throwing back the shadows of the night. The sky is once again bathed in a red light, but this one is lighter, and only lasts for a moment, myself having woken late. I look around before I stand, surprised to see that I have a bird on my shoulder. It looks to be sleeping, its small wings neatly folded at its sides. It woke up eventually, taking its time to stretch and flex it wings. I held my finger up to the small bird, expecting it to fly away, but it hopped onto my finger, more than happy to get a free ride. Gold was the color if it, with a few black markings on its wings and running from head to tail feathers. Its beady black eyes pear into my helmet, before it flies back to my shoulder, where its content to sit. Never before have I seen such actions from a bird before, but I am content with the company, and move out of the cave, the sunlight once again cutting through the leaves, leaving golden rays of light.
The second day of walking passes without incident, well, I don't count the Grox that I encountered an incident, a few shots from a bolter was more than enough to put it down. I cut off a leg off to eat later in the day, the meat was known to be tender and juicy. Something that I could use for feasts for my Brothers, or sell to other worlds. At midday I stop to eat, my walk giving me ample time to think about the problems that I will have to fix at the colony. Proper walls would have to be erected, as well as housing and a trade center. Training a group of the colonists to act as guardsmen so that I could expand the mine. There was much that could be improved to help it grow into a proper city.
My planning lasted most of the day, helping to pass the time on my journey. I barely notice I have arrived at my destination until the bird on my shoulder chirps. I had forgotten that is was there. I stop and look up at the mountains, there high peaks even more impressive now that I am at their feet. I nudge the bird on my shoulder, prompting it to fly away, for this part of the journey is the most dangerous. I have to have all of my attention on the task at hand. It flies away, going and sitting on a branch in a nearby tree, and so begins my truck up the mountain.
The beginning was rather boring, nothing jumped of ledges to attack me, no rocks falling beyond my sight. But I kept my guard up, remembering the drawing from the colony. The terrain got steadily harder to progress as I went higher up the mountain, going from a slight incline to areas that were sheer cliffs. As I walked I started to look for areas that could be used as a Fortress-Monastery for my Chapter. I soon found a lonely mountain, set off from the others around it. It was also the tallest that I could see, and so I headed towards it. It was another day's walk to cross the distance to this mountain, its size betraying how far away it was. It was half way up this mountain that I encountered my first Drake. It was small, only four meters long. I spotted it when I climbed over a cliff face, handholds just large enough that I could find a place to put my boots. I dearly wished for jump pack many a time during that climb. I hauled myself over the edge to see it, sitting there, like it was waiting for me.
When I got up it roared it challenge, a thundering sound that shook the stones by it. I drew my bolt pistol and power sword, shooting at the beast as I charged. We meet in a flurry of flesh and metal, the Drakes claws cutting across chest as my own weapon cut into its neck. For a weapon that can cut through almost anything like paper, my power sword only makes a gash in its armor. I throw the Drake off me and I draw my other power sword. He is bleeding from the wound in its neck but it doesn't seem to notice, to caught up in the heat of battle. I can see a bloodlust in those eyes, and I know, only one of us is getting of this piece of rock. I look at my own armor where the Drakes claws slashed, it damaged the metal, but only the surface.
I charge back into the fray and engage the Drake, sword and claw meeting again. The beast's teeth find purchase in my arm, slightly puncturing the thin metal and throwing me across the flat rock surface that we are fighting on. I stab my sword in the ground, turning off the weapon, lest I fall of the cliff. The Drake waits, wanting an honorable fight is seems. We circle one another, waiting for that instinctual signal to go at it one last time. It comes and we both roar back into action, blade and claws meeting again. He bites down on my shoulder, a fatal error. I throw a punch into the snout to stun him before grabbing his lower jaw, forcing it open and stabbing up, through the top of the mouth and into the brain. With a thump he falls of my blade, the beast falling silent for the last time. I stand in silence over the corpse in respect. But my journey isn't over, and I must press on.
The air starts to get colder the higher I go, and once again I am thankful for my power armor, for simple cold could never get through. I come across an area of the massive mountain that is relatively flat, and looks to be a good place to set up the first walls and entrance to the Monastery. I look back and look over the area that I have crossed, mapping strategic points and areas where defensive towers could be erected. I can hear a scuttle here and there among the rocks, the sounds of claws scraping on stone becomes more and more commonplace. I come to the realization that I am being watched, and have nothing I can do about it. Soon the path narrows and a path become clear in the rocks.
I come out to see a massive cave, a few smaller ones are also present, but none of them are as grand as the main one. I can see them now; the Drakes that followed me since my fight with their brethren. There are tens of them, all different sizes. From two meters upwards of fifteen, they surround me, closing in. I know now that I was lead into a trap, and that it is over for me. The largest of them growl, shaking stones at their feet with the vibrations. I make my peace and ready my weapons, accepting in the fact that I will die fighting, resolved to take one of the large ones down. We charge at each other, only to stop cold as a roar that shakes the mountain comes from cave.
The sounds of massive footsteps sound form the hole, shaking smaller stones loose from the rocks, from out of the cave comes a monster of a Drake. Towering over the others at a massive twenty five meters, its large head almost scraping the top of the cave, it growls at the other Drakes and they all retreat away from their Matriarch. The large beast lies down in front of me almost lazily, seeing me as no threat. We stare at each other for what seemed like hours, me being the one that is being judged for once. Then, with a great claw it taps my helm, wanting me to remove it. I do so slowly, hooking the helm to my belt.
"You are different from the other humans on this planet, you do not fear me, but also do not seek your death, what are you?" It takes me a shocked moment to realize that it is the Drake in front of me that had spoken.
"You can speak?" I reply intelligently, not my best moment.
"Do you see anybody else here?" I shake my head before responding to its earlier question.
"I am a Space Marine mighty Drake, my kind do not know fear. I came to this mountain to see if the legends of the Drakes were true, and to scout out a location for my Chapter home." We fall back into silence, both thinking. After a while the large Drake speaks again.
"You wish to build a Fortress here, on my mountain?" I nod and she snorts, the voice I can tell now is feminine. "You ask much Space Marine, what could you give me in return for allowing you to live on my mountain?" We fall back into silence, I think of something I could offer the Queen of the Drakes.
"Your kind likes to fight correct?" The massive head nods. "I could give your children the chance to fight in great battles spreading the name of your species across the stars." It is a risky question. On one hand, I could acquire the assistance of a mighty species, or I could get bitten in half, it all laid in the Queen's claws.
"You speak well Space Marine; I think that is an acceptable trade." She moves back into the cave, only to come out with an egg, it is slightly larger than a melon. She sets it down next to me and lays back down.
"That egg is set to hatch in a few days, my kind grow quickly in their first few years, the one you fought being only 2 years old." I am reminded of the battle, wondering why the Queen isn't angry at me for killing one of her children. I gingerly pick up the egg, only for an idea to come to mind.
"Queen Drake, might I ask of you one more thing?" She huffs, but nods.
"My task on this world is to create more men like me, I ask that, if I send them here, you judge them, and if they are worthy give them an egg like you have me." The Matriarch is silent for a while until she slowly nods.
"That is acceptable chosen one, and if I find them wanting?" I shrug, the movement exaggerated with my armor.
"Then do with them as you will, they have no place in my Chapter." I don't know if it's possible, but her lips stretch into a grin, showing teeth as long as me. I turn to leave, egg in hand only to be stopped once more.
"What will the name of your warriors be, chosen one?" Now it is my turn to grin.
"The Iron Drakes."
Well that's, I know that I'm breaking a few rules here and there, but that's why its fanfiction, right? I'm using a 2 to1 ratio for Drake height, so if its 20 meters long, its 10 high. Also you want to know what they look like beyond my o so incredible description skills go to google and type in Drake Dragon, it's the green and yellow one, if you hover over it is should say , don't own the image, just thinks it's awesome. I hope you enjoyed your time here, and hope your day goes well. Any feedback would be appreciated. Austan out.