It was late in the night, all the fellowship, save Sicarius, was asleep. Sicarius was still motionless upon his rock, reciting litanies of fealty to the Emperor, Imperium, and Ultramarines, in that order.

He suddenly noticed that the Ringbearer, Frodo Baggins, and presumably the ring itself, were missing.

What would pass for mild concern in a mortal man, and as close as any Space Marine got to true panic, flared in Sicarius.

He stood up silently, if anyone had been around to see, they would have been impressed, with the bulkiness of his armor.

He quietly walked off toward the area that the Hobbit tracks led him to, still somewhat confounded that anyone could sneak away from under his watch.

Within a minute he found himself upon the edge of a small glade, in which the Eldar queen he had met earlier had just finished talking with the young abhuman, who was upon his back, looking up at the queen.

Sicarius stood and watched as the small Hobbit got up, bowed to the Eldar, and walked back toward the campsite.

Just as he was about to do the same he heard the Galadriel's voice saying, "Do not depart yet, stranger from afar."

He rotated his torso back towards the glade and walked slowly in, his helmet left back at the campsite.

Once he was in the middle of the glade, next to a small font of water, not really worthy of notice, he stopped.

"Look into the mirror…" said Galadriel

Sicarius could only imagine she meant the font, and did nothing, instead asking "What shall I see beyond my own reflection?"

"Things that were, things that are" she said, "and some things, that have not yet come to pass…"

Sicarius stood motionless, considering the offer, for he considered it an offer and not a command. Then without preamble he bent over and looked into the mirror.

He saw his friend, Marneus Calgar, regent of Ultramar, speaking with his Primarch, Roboute Guilliman, Lord Commander of the Imperium.

He smiled slightly, as he knew them both well. Then the scene morphed, he could see the proud fortress of Macragge, but something was wrong… it was burning.

He looked on as he saw hundreds of his battle-brothers dead upon the sanctified floors, and then the Arch-Traitor Abbadon…

His blood grew hot as anger flushed through him, Abbadon, on Macragge! He watched helplessly as Abbadon rammed the Talon of Horus into Calgar's abdomen, nearly splitting the Chapter Master in twain.

Then his vision melded into another, he saw the Emperor's Palace of Terra, he saw the spires crumble to ash under the assault of a thousand Bloodthirsters, he saw, in a grim repeat of history, the Daemon Primarch Fulgrim strike down Guilliman, though unlike in the past, no Space Marines appeared to take him to a stasis chamber.

Then, to the utmost horror and disgust, he saw a dozen capering Nurglings, but it was upon what they were capering that set his teeth on edge, he saw the corpse of the Golden Master of Mankind, dead and slumped on the floor, food for the Daemons, and he saw Abbadon in the seat of the Emperor…

"NO!" Sicarius shouted and threw himself upon the ground, away from the smoking mirror.

When he looked up he saw Galadriel had not moved, "Witch!" he spat, "What is this?!"

Then in a calm even voice she said, "What shall happen, if the quest fails…"

Suddenly, like the Astronomicon breaking through the Cicatrix Maledictum, he saw it the reason he was here! The repercussions of what his failure would represent! Sauron was not merely a Daemon prince but the fifth, lost, Daemon God!

How this knowledge came into his mind, he knew not, perhaps it was the Emperor, but it all made sense now…

He stood up and, with a sight nod, walked back to campsite.

Morning, Lothlorien… Sicarius had seemingly just fallen asleep after finishing reciting the oaths of fealty, when he was awoken by the short bearded abhuman whacking the side of his armor with the butt of his axe.

"Time to get up laddy!" he said

Sicarius thought momentarily about shooting or strangling the abhuman, but according to the Aeldari prophecy of last night, which he didn't completely trust, mind you, he needed these… companions.

So, merely throwing the Dwarf a sharp glare, Sicarius stood and brushed off his armor, before clipping on his royal-looking Ultramarian cape. Then he joined the fellowship as they headed to the river.

He listened to the warnings on the enemies they would soon face with an acute tactical mind. Then came the gifts, a process that somewhat confused Sicarius, as he saw no reason to give these items to the group and waste valuable time, but he waited till Lady Galadriel was in front of him, to his eternal surprise she and an attendant presented him with a large bundle.

"A cloak to conceal you in the Lands of Shadow you must now cross." said Galadriel, presenting an Ultramarine sized cloak of shimmering grey fabric. Sicarius took it from the attendant. "and a blessing, hold fast to hope for in your darkest hour, it will be there."

Sicarius nearly had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying "Hope is the first step on the road to disappointment.", he then tried on the cloak, finding it a perfect fit, light, and somehow he knew that it was even better than an Imperium Camo-Cloak with regards to concealment.

As the fellowship walked towards the boats, Celeborn called Aragorn and Sicarius aside, saying "Every league you travel south, the danger will increase, Mordor Orcs now hold the eastern shore of the Anduin, nor will you find safety on the western bank. Strange creatures bearing the mark of the white hand have been seen upon our borders, seldom do orcs journey out in the open, under the sun, yet these do so.

Sicarius, knew a thing or two about Orks, and this intrigued him. For he had never heard of behavior like this from the galactic greenskin menace. He would have to investigate further, and find out what this "White Hand" was.

Celeborn finished with "By river you have the chance of outrunning the enemy to the Falls of Rauros."

With that Sicarius and Aragorn nodded, one more reverently than the other, and walked towards the boats.

When Aragorn and Sicarius got to the river Aragorn snorted, Sicarius looked at him questioningly as Aragorn grinned.

"What is it?" asked Sicarius tersely

"They have roped together two boats to take your armor's weight…" said Aragorn, still smiling

Sicarius looked again and saw that indeed they had roped together two graceful looking boats so that he didn't sink to the riverbed… even though he knew that that would hardly be a problem. He scowled a little, though did nothing…violent.

The first days journey down the Anduin was relatively easy, Sicarius was at first bewildered at the paddle, for the boats had no engines or machine spirits, but caught on quickly. Though privately thought it a job for servitors, and not Space Marine Captains.

Soon they came into view of the Argonath, the massive statues of ancient kings. Aragorn and the others seemed awed, Sicarius simply said "I've seen bigger."

Another two days of nothing passed before they chose to make camp on the shores of the river. Sicarius, could not know what chaos this simple decision would lead to…