The room was dimly-lit and expansive, as though it stretched luxuriantly in the darkness. Silhouettes of people shuffling to and fro could be seen, though most lay or sat upon cushions and chairs. The violent, the gluttonous, the inquisitive, the complacent – Chaos called to the hearts of all. A particularly overweight man was appreciatively sipping at a goblet of amasec, swilling the exquisite fluid around the inside of his mouth to better take in the taste. He held out a fat arm for his beleaguered servant to cut, letting the blood dribble slowly into a cup which was being passed around the room. Engraved with eldritch symbols, this cup gradually filled with the blood of every person in the room until finally it was carefully placed in the middle of a dais situated in the centre of the room. All at once, marks etched painstakingly upon the dais in preparation began to glow a reddish pink with Warp energy. The cup rose slowly and smoothly so not one drop of blood was spilled, for even that would disrupt the already tenuous connection to the realm of daemons and ruin the ritual.
Summoning creatures from the Warp, after all, was a tricky business.
The pink energy sparked into flame until the podium was ablaze with fire as high as a standing man, obscuring the cup. A sulphurous scent displaced the heady incense that filled the air, and suddenly a guttural voice boomed from the platform, echoing around the room accompanied by a thousand whispered promises of death.
"You choose to bring forth one of our number into the Materium. Chaos praises thy temerity! Now let one of you step up and partake from the cup to truly begin this blessed rite."
"I will do it!" yelled a tall, lean man. Once a proud lord, his sin had started to twist his features. Already he looked a little more pallid, a little more bestial. His confidence was not challenged by any in the room, for though they knew dabbling in the Warp could bring great power, it could just as easily bring suffering and death to those too ignorant to be wary.
"Excellent!" uttered the deathly voice forcefully. "Step into the circle. If you are a true believer in the Dark Powers, the flames shall not harm you."
The lord strode forward arrogantly, scarcely breaking stride as he entered the circle and was never seen again by mortal man. However, they did hear his screams of agony and the sharp snapping of limbs before the cries ended. Before long, a grey powder drifted back through the ring of fire, settling in a pile on the floor.
"His faith was not sure enough," explained the voice scornfully. "Come now! Surely there is another who wishes to participate and gain the favour of the Chaos Gods? Or shall your cowardice fail you at the vital step?"
"I shall," answered a young woman. Striking in appearance and flawless in countenance, she sought ever greater youth and beauty. Rumour had it that she bathed in the blood of her slaves to appease the Prince of Pleasure. Her pledge also went unchallenged, and without waiting for the voice's instruction she stepped through the flame. The audience tensed, waiting for the screams. None came. The voice chuckled, a thoroughly unpleasant sound. "Congratulations. Your belief is pure and you are worthy. As you leave this mortal plane your soul will be commended to Lord Slaanesh! Now, continue the ritual."
At this, a wizened ancient man hobbled forward, carrying a massive human hide-bound tome, as broad as he was at the shoulders. He struggled on until he was close enough to the circle, and the book levitated and opened, seemingly of its own accord. The patrons around the room gasped, for even the most mundane display of sorcery was intriguing to them. The old man began a slow, moaning chant recited from the book. The monotone recitation dripped with forbidden power, so that the temperature of the room seemed to drop considerably. The fat man gave an involuntary shudder, forgetting about his amasec.
An unearthly phrase caused the flames to suddenly die down, revealing the unclothed, flayed form of the woman standing with her arms outstretched. Those who could glimpse the red mass that was once a face realised, with a quirk of horror, that her expression was one of rapture, as though there was no greater pleasure in life.
The old man's tone changed. His voice grew deeper and harsher as he enunciated the last few syllables. As the final word echoed into nothingness, it left a tense pause of a few seconds before the air began to shimmer upon the dais. The shimmering became more intense and violent, as though some beast was trying to break the wards. The cultists' view of the flayed woman was distorted by the shimmering, and as the space on the platform became darker, the shrieking, insane laughter of the woman filled the room and gradually faded as a portal to the Warp appeared. To some it seemed deepest black. To others it seemed filled with strange, unknowable brightness. The woman toppled backwards into the portal with a final fit of hysteria and was lost to sight. With a blinding flash, the dais cracked and exploded under the strain of the power, but it was no longer needed for the ritual. All was now done.
The audience was transfixed. Instead of a lesser daemon or minor entity of Chaos, as they had expected, a lone Astartes stood nude, head down, hands clenching and relaxing. The scars that marred and crossed his superhumanly muscular form, as well as his hideous, bestial features, marked him out as a Chaos Space Marine, a traitor of the Imperium as surely as everybody else in the room. Why, then, had he answered the summons, rather than a Daemonette to titillate and please them, or a Bloodletter to inspire them to violence?
The Traitor Astartes looked up. He frowned at the audience, seeing them as weaklings to be crushed beneath his boot, or impressionable cowards driven before him to war. He opened his mouth. All the room froze.
His voice was a deep, smooth drawl. Sardonic arrogance coloured its tone, showing his complete confidence.
"I have returned."
A/N: Thanks for reading the first chapter of my first submission, I hope you enjoyed it! Corrections/suggestions/constructive criticisms are always welcome.