To the City of Woe

Intro

The Gates

Autarch Kayleth was angry.

The Eldar did not feel emotions as the mon-keigh did. When they felt happiness, the stars became radiant. When they felt sadness, the sun hid its face, and even the earth beneath their feet wept. When they felt anger, the air and earth scorched from their touch.

It was with this anger that the Autarch killed the Space Marines, Blood Ravens, dogs, maggots, ignorant murderers. It was with this anger that she tore a Predator tank apart from the inside out.

She was angry...at herself.

Eldar did not have the blessed ignorance of humanity when it came to their souls. They knew exactly what happened to the souls of departed Eldar. They were not protected by a God-Being, they were not absorbed into the Warp, they were not judged and rewarded by their gods. No, their souls were devoured by She Who Hungers; a monster of their own creation. It was only the soul stones they wore that prevented this hideous fate. At the moment of death, it was these stones alone that stood between them and complete and utter destruction.

It was because of Kayleth that an entire Craftworld's soul stones had been shattered, vaporized, and destroyed. It was her sins, her blindness, her pig-headedness that had caused such an unspeakable event.

Yet she was told that there was redemption...impossible as it sounded, she had to investigate. The way the message had been delivered played more than a little part in her curiosity.

It was this message that led her to where she now stood, before two great, forbidding gates, and standing before a white, translucent figure. He wore robes covered in veins, and a crown grew out of his head, its roots outlining his face. A staff of unknown make was held in his hand.

"You came," the ghost said in surprise.

"Why so shocked?" the Eldar stated simply. "Your message piqued my curiosity."

The being opened his mouth to speak, but decided against whatever he was going to say, instead saying, "I shall not comment on that matter. What you are about to see shall accomplish such."

Despite the power that flowed through her armor, shuriken rifle, fingertips, and mind, the Eldar felt uneasy in this place. A sense of pure, unadulterated power emenated from every particle of air, every stone, and especially from the gates. Though she hid the emotion, the unease grew each time she gazed upon the blood red doors.

"Tell me, creature," the Eldar demanded in her characteristically haughty voice. "What is this chance of redemption for my kind that you dangled before me like a carrot?"

For several moments, the ghost did not answer. He merely gave Kayleth a piercing stare. Though nothing intruded upon her mind, she felt as though the being was looking into her very soul. For her part, the Autarch did not flinch or fidget. She looked into the man's eyes with every ounce of intensity that she could muster.

"Gaze upon these gates," he said at last, gesturing behind them and moving out of the way. "For through them lies one path. Through these gates do many tortured souls walk the path of damnation. However, should you walk it, I pray you may find the way to redemption and salvation."

Giving the ghost a last withering glance, the Autarch obliged and stepped forward.

As she came closer, whispers began hovering through the air, just on the edge of hearing, the edge of sight, and the edge of her psychic senses. Their voices were indistinct, but seemed to speak syllables of High Gothic, and seemed to come from the door.

The red metal was cursed, that much was obvious, but not by the Ruinous Powers. Yet what other evil power was there but Chaos? What other force of corruption existed?

Turning from the doors, partially to face the ghost, partially (though she would never admit it) to look away from that unsettling power, Kayleth spoke.

"Creature," she demanded, her tone, if anything, even more condescending than before. "Why have you come to me? Are there no other Eldar but me that you could have chosen for this?"

"Speak not such things," the spirit commanded. "It was not I that chose you."

"Then who?" Kayleth continued, somewhat miffed by his tone.

"A spirit within the nether realm called out," the ghost said, pointing to the Gates with his staff. "I heeded that call, and prayed that I would be commanded, and lo, he spoke to me of one who still breathed, one for whom guidance was needed in this world of woe, this place where so many souls are damned forever to eternal torment beyond imagining."

"Very well," Kayleth said, satisfied, but also wondering at his cryptic answer, which only served to increase her morbid curiosity. Just what lay beyond those doors?

"Open them," she demanded, referring to the gates.

Wordlessly, the spirit strode to the doors, but paused before them to turn back towards the Autarch.

"Incidentally, you may know me as Vergil."

"I did not ask for your name," the Eldar sniffed indignantly.

"I know," the ghost said softly. His gaze became saddened; not on his own account, but for the Eldar. For a brief moment, she worried...

...but only for a brief moment.

Virgil did nothing but calmly lift his staff, and the gates began to open with a cacophonous clanging and turning of gears.

For a moment, Kayleth saw only inky darkness within the gates...then she saw fire. But before she could make out any more details, a torturous wind erupted. It didn't come from the gate, it was going into the gate. Not only that, but it was picking up in intensity.

Before long, the Autarch's feet were picked up off of the ground by the gusting winds as she was sucked into the flaming gates. For a desperate moment, she held to the edge of the gates, her expression wide with shock and fear. But the winds were too strong, and her grip too tenuous. The hands slipped from the door, and she fell into the abyss.

The doors slammed shut and disappeared, leaving only an empty cliff. Strangely, not even Virgil remained...


A/N: Hey ho, readers!

Not too much to say about this, except that it was inspired by, believe it or not, a My Little Pony/Dante's Inferno story. When I saw it, my first thought was, predictably, "WTF! This I just gotta see!"

Surprisingly, it's not too bad of a story. And, me being the connesuir of wierd stories that I am, I thought that, hey, if you can do it with MLP, why not 40k?

Don't worry, the actual chapters will be much longer than this.

As always, reads and reviews are welcome.