"And who are you... that enters my realm... the dear god said..." the tune was melodic, just, fair and sorrowful at the same time... waves of purple and pink intertwined by all the colors known to mankind. "that you come so slow... only a being of different ears... that has a smaller soul..." Severath felt his hearth pound with joy and ecstasy as he desired more, he desired the song to continue as he passed through the gates. "That is all the truth I see... and yet you burn, you burn very deep... to satiate your desire..." the voice continued and the realm shifted twisting and turning into pure gold as gems flew everywhere. Gold and gems covered every single inch of the landscape... yet Severath didnt desire them, for "he... was... a soldier bold... This one, who... desires nothing gold..." the voice continued and the human felt a invisible hand pull at his hearth dragging him closer "through another gate" the melodic voice continued as a gate did indeed materialize. "Of blissful banquet..." it whispered... it was odd... the words... they rhymed in its voice despite "they have no form..." it read his thoughts. Food... food and drink beyond counting... and he heard the voice again "his body fills the norm... go on.. take a bite... its nothing like a fight..." the perfection of the voice was mesmerizing... yet Severath wasnt about to eat, for it was something else he desired. "No riches or substance... this one is strong indeed..." the song continued.
"w-w-what are you?" Severaht felt his soul shiver, same as his lips. Whats worse he didnt even care or feel the emperor's touch... he wanted to find out the source of this... perfection.
"Perhaps... some joy... in the arms is what you need?" the song continued and another gate engulfed him. Women... women of all kinds... and men. It was heretical to but the Eldar... they were naked!... all of them were naked! Xenos and human alike they approached him and he shriveled. Their touch was cold... almost claw metal like. "Only in faith a different coin... was forget of this ones soul..." the voice said and the crowd despaired as he was pulled once more. "Perhaps some adoration... will drive away doubt so foul..." the song continued eating away at him and he saw the archon standing there.
"Severath!" he said, slyly as always. "Praise you our hero! Commoragh is ours!" he declared, other Dark Eldar familiar to him, they rushed him, praising him in both Eldar and gothic alike, picking him up in the grand hall and swinging him wildly. He didnt want any of this.
"N-no... stop..." he uttered. He tried thrashing about in the grasps of the xeno's. Thankfully the commotion ended and he saw that he literary levitated through the next gate where up on was flipped upside down until he landed on some dirt, his face inches away from a pond of some sorts. Still instead of seeingin his reflection he saw...
"Sergeant!?" he gasped in confusion. The man smiled... which was odd as he rarely did, reaching out his hand through the pond and placing it on his shoulder.
"It is over son!" he declared, his voice light and friendly and his demeanor light, in sharp contrast to his usual self.
"What is?" Severath asked, his eyes wide. Sergej laughed...
"the war son!" his smile became wider as more familiar faces appeared, most if not all of them guardsmen. "The emperor is pleased! The xenos are dead, you are indeed a heroooo!" he dragged the last words as Severath shook his head. NONE of this was real! HE WANTED OUT! A fire burned in him and he tried to shake himself even more and he managed to break free of the ponds gaze in panic... but then the song began anew.
"A weak but worthy man he is... and now the desired rest is his..." the song continued and he flew through yet another gate. Despite all of his training Severath was crying. What was happening? What was this beauty!? He wanted to go home yet at the same time he wanted to stay and witness the voice... yes he was close now so close... still one should rest a bit... Severath felt all of his limbs go numb as the forced that pulled him loosened its grasp. He felt to his knees gasping at the white sand underneath. Yes a small rest should do nice. Just then he threw up and began crying harder... Feeling his face swell he saw, to his horror that the sand was made of various broken bone pieces. He jumped upwards and began running in a random direction. To his horror the song continued.
"Come forth worthy champion, come be my scion... for you are fierce and posses a hearth of a lion!" it said dragging him rapidly through another gate. This time he landed in a circle of some sorts. If his senses werent experiencing an overload and if he wasnt so messed up he would have noticed the perfection and the beauty that surrounded him. He shivered, feeling that he didnt have any single ounce of strength left in his body.
"I do apologize, usually I let my guests wonder around my palace for as long as they like... but I needed you to reach me as soon as possible Severath " The voice shifted, no longer singing but losing none of its perfection. Barely dragging his head upwards, he felt his body was broken as he blinked and struggled to open his eyes, his vision murky at first.
"Holy Emperor!" Severath gasped, now a broken man. Before him stood him on terra... His golden armor just as the icons depicted it, his long brown black hair perfect as Severath always imagined it. The emperor stepped forwards, approaching his fallen warrior. Before Severath's eyes the Emperor shifted, turning into a form of young girl... or boy, Severath couldnt say. This confused him but he was not about to judge his one true god.
"I am so sorry my child... the vile xeno poisoned you in your sleep..." The emperor's voice continued to ring and Severath didnt dare to get up. "And I do apologize for your treatment here... those were but last obstacles to make sure only the worthy enter my realm." Severath continued to cry at the mercy of his god. "You have passed all of it... and now I come to you in the form of this child, to extend you a hand and guide you to my realm..." Through his tears Severath saw the child stretch his arm to him. "come Severath, let me guide you to its entrance!" oh the perfection... the perfection... the stimulation of the senses... Severath reached out.
"NO!" a loud voice then boomed and the ground shook in its entirety. The child gasped and a loud crack was heard as the ceiling burst, making Severath feel as if bits of reality are falling apart. Just as suddenly he felt his entire body being grasped. Chaos insured as he was once more lifted off of the ground, but this time the touch was gentle and while not perfect and exciting it was much kinder. He noticed a flow of yellow energy around him as the child screamed at him.
"CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU! CURSE YOU!" it echoed, its voice no longer gentle but rough and demonic, not losing any of its perfection. Its features slowly twisted as it continued to shout out. "DAMN YOU! YOU FILTHY CORPSE! HE IS MINE AS IS THE FATE AND THE PRIZE HE OFFERS!" it shouted as its voice continued to deepen. Finally the creature had completely twisted as it rose, its features twisting with purple and dark colors. What emerged from that tiny child was unthinkable and incomprehensible. Looking at him the creature Pointed at him as he levitated ever higher, uttering a curse. "May you look upon beauty and always see me and may nothing be beautiful to you but me!" it said and Severath forced himself to turn his gaze away from it, looking backwards. On the other end of the hand stood a giant man. His armor golden but rusted. His face both the prime of human beauty and dotten with some decay as his eyes were sunk in. The man who saved him was tired... very tired or so it seemed.
"Nja nja njo!" He said causing Severath to blink.
"what?" he burst as the chaos around him.
"ANJANJA!" Someone shouted in Eldar and banged on his door as Severath jumped up. He gasped and his breathing was fast, as was his heartbeat. He was sweaty and he felt like he was choking himself.
"AHKANJAKAJ!" The banging on the door mixed with the Eldar shouts and had he been in a different position he would have found it amusing, but right now he got out of his bed and sprinted towards the bathroom.
"JUST A MINUTE!" he shouted in gothic as he rushed to the toilet to throw up. Luckily the only thing that came out of him was bloody stomach acid. The entire situation was made worse with the constant banging on the door by those ass holy aliens. Deciding he didnt have enough time Severath put a bit of toothpaste in his mouth and some water to gurgle out the bad stench and even worse taste before washing his face at least. The banging on the door got louder and louder and once he finally opened it he found that three dark eldar soldiers stood there, all fully armed and armored.
"Can I help you?" he asked, thankful that none of them pointed their guns at him. They looked at each other and one of them spat at him in the eye... Great... none of them spoke low gothic. As he was rubbing his eye to get the spit out he continued speaking. "Can you at least wait until-" he was cut off by recieven the booth of a rifle to the nose. The Dark Eldar giggled in their snobbish manner and he felt blood drip from his nose. In anger he uttered "so thats how you want it?" before slamming the door shut and locking it.
"ESKE MON'KEIGH!" he hear them protest and bang on his door angrily. Still no shots were fired and he was happy with that. Dragging and getting into his armor he glanced over his dream, but decided against getting into it now. For all he knew he could die in the next few hour and he would rather try to use all his effort to delay death, rather than ignore it. Once he was ready he left his room proper, only this time the Eldar grabbed him and pushed him forwards with the barrels of their splinter rifles. They were spewing their hate of him constantly yet he didnt care as he was lead towards, what he presumed was, the throne room. This time, just before it they turned into a slightly different chamber. In front of them stood a couple of guards at a elaborate gate like door. Great what now... Suddenly he heard a familiar melodic voice speak in Eldar and he turned around. His gaze was met by Eladril. Oh boy the bitch was here... things were about to get serious. Thankfully her face betrayed confusion as the snobbish guards explained something to her and she told them something that made them bow down mockingly and depart, leaving them alone.
"The guards say that my father send for you... but that he got an appointment in the meantime..." she said her face as innocent as ever and her childish, curious eyes darting over him. She approached him shyly at first... and then she slapped him... hard...
"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" he protested in confusion.
"For giving father's guards a hard time!" she declared with authority.
"What!? Dont you xenos ever sleep! Its like 6am in the morning!" and he knew he was right, he knew he didnt sleep his 8 hours and the clock in his room told him so.
"We do but why sleep when someone can kill you while you do so?" she asked calmly. What was adorable and annoying about this was that she was treating HIM as if HE was the idiot who didnt know how the galaxy worked. He exhaled, not wanting to fight her.
"So what now?" he asked, with no will what so ever.
"Well we can check on the fathers audition... providing they are not boring of course..." She said. Severath was taken aback. Well why not? Than again countless tortures may be developing behind these walls for all he knew but... bonding he must with the xeno if he was to leave this place pronto... Emperor he was awful at rhyming... unlike that creature... Surging he decided not to think about it and he noticed she was staring at him. Before she could ask him if he was doing some ape-ish ritual he spoke.
"Lets do so." he said politely and she nodded carefully. It was almost shameful how scantily she was dressed... her white dress almost transparent so he could see her bra and panties... she walked barefoot... the spoiled brat... Following her through the main entrance and then going up the side stairs he found himself besides her on one of the balconies and... he found himself surprised at the similarity this bore with the regular imperial courts. Sure the architecture was different and gory trophies were here and there but the table was in the middle, the "nobles" as Severath guessed all sat at it with other nobles, more junior in the ranking sat on side tables. A large, robbed Eldar with a crocked, scared nose which still bore the elegance of his race stood before the archon who lazily sat in his chair. The petitioner was flanked by a much younger Eldar who looked sideways and his eyes fell upon their direction. Surprisingly his mouth turned into a genuine grin. He waved at them and Severath blinked, turning to Eladril only to see her doing her best to ignore both their gazes like the selfish bitch princess she was.
"Who-..." he began but she cut him off, supporting her head lazily with her arm as she looked sideways, her elbow at the metalic fence as Severath looked at her red mane.
"Feh'lardi... just some Eldar I know..." she said casually.
"Just some Eldar?" he said, pressing the issue. She huffed and turned to face him, annoyance in her voice
"YES! Just SOME Eldar-I-know!" she huffed. Blinking at her he saw that the archon was speaking in Eldar and he sheepishly tried to continue his communication with his bride.
"Well why is he here?" he asked and Eladril shifted, once more annoyed.
"Oh his father wants to try his luck and marry him to me because I am disgraced... because of SOMEONE!" she said. Her naive and cliché social behavior was surprisingly... attractive.
"Emperor..." he uttered in anger. "Im sorry!" he said but she huffed once more. "What are his chances?" he asked and now the girl threw her hands up in the air.
"GODS YOUR SO STUPID! OF COURSE FATHER WOULD-" she began but stopped, blinking. "FATHER WOULD-" she continued, figuring out she lacked the words before swinging her head. "AH SCREW IT! YOUR JUST SO STUPID, THATS ALL!" she turned her head in embarrassment. Just then the commotion was heard as the archon became angry and both of them snapped their heads towards him.
"what is he saying!?" Severath whispered and the girl translated as her father spoke.
"so you think to approach me in my hour of shame and to reach your hand out to aid me, only to drag my skin off and eat it?" her words were calm and nowhere near as angry as her father's was and everyone in the room turned their gaze towards the archon as he spoke this.
"No no sire. I am only offering to save your daughter from the shame of marrying that mon'keigh! Sure he beat the Levati kid but my son could beat him and you wouldnt-" she spoke as the Eldar tried to explain himself, but then her father grinned and she froze... all of them did in fact.
"Oh no need to be so serious old friend. I was merely jesting..." she shivered as she spoke the words her father said smilingly. The ignorant Eldar smiled back in relief but Severath couldnt shake the feeling there is more to it than this. "Please, did you really think that I would refuse such a generous offer. In fact..." she shivered once more before continuing. "Let me extend my own hand of friendship." the archon snapped his fingers and two Dark Eldar approached the petitioner with a chest, kneeling before him as he opened it greedily. "Please wear the cape of Smrtnik with pride, to symbolize your new status!" he said and the Eldar practically ripped off his cape and threw it on a table. He couldnt be this naive, could he? The archon was up to something... Severath thought as he watched the Eldar put on the cloak and then it began... it began with a loud scream at which everyone snickered. Poor Feh-whats his face could only stare in horror and call out, shouting as the Eldar besides him turned green... at least his skin did as he screamed and his blood vessels turned blue. Whats worse he looked paralyzed and the cloak looked as if it was naturally wrapping itself around him. Severath felt weak in the knees the stomach AND the head as almost every Eldar in the room laughed.
"Father... father..." A surprised Eladril whispered. As the now rotting lifeless corpse fell on the floor after what must have been a minute of torture the archon snapped his fingers and the two guards seized the young Eldar, pining his arms and making him kneel besides the body of his father. He instantly looked towards Eldaril and he began crying as he uttered some words. The archon wasnt listening, he got up and spoke in low gothic.
"SO EVEN THE SLAVES HERE COULD UNDERSTAND! MAY THIS WOULD BE PRINCLING CHOSE THE GIFT OF SMRTNIK ROYALTY HIMSELF!" he said as another two Eldar approached the kneeling pinned man and opened a box containing jewelry and boy what jewelry it was... gems of all kinds, rings, crowns scepters chains necklaces... and Severath didnt doubt for an instant that all of them could kill in the most gruesome way. The boy looked at Eldaril, crying and obviously pleading.
"What is he saying?" he whispered to the shocked Eldar. Turns out not even she was immune to her father's cruelty.
"He is begging me to save him, to recall the times when we played together as children.." she said, lost and out of this world. "Funny how...WAIT WHAT ARE YOU-!?" she began and finished with a silent "doing" as Severath got onto the fence and jumped down professionally, using his training and experience to land properly on a table. This caused everyone to gasp and even the archon turned his gaze towards him. Severath ran between the two guards holding the jewels and the pinned down prisoner.
"YOU HAVE A CHOICE!" He said, looking at the now blushing Eladril. Archon was, surprisingly, too stunted to speak and so were most of the other Eldar in the room.
"WHAT ARE YOU-" the archon spoke getting out of his chair but Severath continued, looking at his bride, his arms wide in a weak attempt to stop this.
"YOU HAVE A CHOICE ELADRIL! YOU CAN LET THIS MAN DIE A MOST HORRID DEATH AND LET HIS SOUL BE DEVOURED BY THE CHAOS GOD YOUR RACE HATES AND FEARS! YOU HAVE A CHOICE OF BARING THAT ON YOUR CONCIOUS UNTIL THE END OF YOUR DAYS AND UNTIL YOU BURRY IT SO DEEP THAT YOU BECOME LIKE THE WRECHED SCUM OF THIS PLACE!" He shouted but by now the Eldar had recuperated and were shouting at him.
"SIEZE HIM!" the archon barked and the guards started piling up on him. Still he wasnt going down easy and luckily, he guessed correctly that the guards would not dare harm him. He continued shouting as he fought.
"WHAT JOY WILL YOU GET OUT OF THIS MAN'S DEAHT! WHAT JUISTACE!? WHAT SATISFACTION!?" He shouted angrily as he dodged a punch to the face by an armored grunting brute. Still by now it was too late and he was tackled to the ground. "IS IT COLD SO MUCH! IS YOUR HEART SO COLD THAT YOU HAVE NO COMPASION OR REGRET-!" he said before a barrel of a gun was placed in his mouth, silencing him.
"HOW DARE YOU LOWLY CREATURE DECIDE TO-!" the archon barked in anger. Still what came next surprised not only him, but everyone present in the room.
"Father!" Eladaril called out, her face full of determination with a slightly mix of fear embarrassment and confusion. Archon stopped, slowly turning to face his daughter with a evilest glare he could muster. "Let him go!" She begged still and the archon shook with anger. "Please... father... let him go!" she begged and the gossip began between the Eldar. With a wave of the hand he dismissed the guards holding Severath and the young Eldar.
"ARE YOU JUST GOING TO LET THEM GO?" barked one Eldar.
"The kid yes... he is at least one of us... and she who thirst should be denied at every turn..." the archon said and the court, while still booing with disapproval, was much more lenient. "As for the human... break his neck..." he said casually. The guards immediately walked towards the panicked Severath.
"FATHER!..." Eladril call out once more. To his surprise the archon took off his helmet and laughed.
"Alright... his nose then!" he transmuted his order.
"what!?-" Severath said as a flying knee kick from out of nowhere connected with his nose, causing his kneeling form to fall onto the floor.
"At least with a flat nose he will be one step closer to Eldar perfection!..." the archon remarked and the room laughed in a subtly snobbish way.
Severath drifted in and out of consciousness. He felt nothing, no pain and no sensation as he was dragged away. When he came to he found himself in a much smaller room. Like all the rooms in this accursed place it hummed in a dark purple red light and it possessed sharp arches which supported it. Luckily for him, the archon didnt know that this particular human had broken his nose quite a few times and as a result his nasal cavity was stronger. While his nose wasnt broken, it was bleeding and he shifted it, hearing a crack as pressure elevated itself. He heard voices and turning his gaze he saw a VERY angry archon speaking to Eladril. They were shouting but it was him who was the loudest and Eldaril, althou a bitch of her own caliber, soon gave way as her shouts became squeaks of protest. Suddenly he raised his hand, fast as a blink of an eye and the girl gasped. The veins on the older Eldar's head pulsed with anger but he looked sideways and as if he had seen something he lowered his limb, refusing to hit her. With some words in Eldar he send her to the corner of the room as he approached Severath, who was still on the floor.
"You have cost me a great deal of nerve young human... and you seem to posses it in great degree..." he said, his voice deep with anger as he grabbed him by his ear. Severath moaned in protest but he downright screamed as he was being pulled. For a while he was dragged across the floor and through a door before he got onto his feet and realized that he was in the main chamber once more. The archon pushed him downwards as he lead him by his ear, as if he was a naughty child. With a last push Severath made a roll and ended up on his knees with two guards pointing their spears at him. The archon casually walked towards his throne, his footsteps loud and domineering as all conversation ceased. Finally seating himself and exhaling Severath noticed that all eyes were fixated on the two of them.
"I shell speak in the lowly tongue of the mon'keigh so this worm here can understand us..." Vel'arath began slowly and calm, his face twisted with pride and arrogance. "What say you fellow Eldar, how shell we entertain ourselves with this interloper?" he asked and just as his speech ended the room boomed in Eldar voices and the archon waved his hand."Please please!" he began "I want this worm to understand what will happen to him, so do try and speak in his lowly language..." he added.
"SHOOT HIM!" someone said. "HE IS NOT EVEN WORTH TORTURING! HIS SOUL CAN ONLY MAKE US DRYER!" the voice continued with a mild agreement from the crowd behind Severath.
"CUT OUT HIS TONGUE AND HIS PENIS AND THEN STICH THEM ON IN EACH OTHERS PLACES!" A woman shouted rather joyously much to the giggling of other Eldar. Still Severath breathed deep and looked into the archon's eyes. If the old saying 'the eyes are the window to the soul' was true then there was a lot to be said about the archon. Still that seemed to work both ways as the archon stared back at Severath's neutral expression.
"DRAG HIS ENTRAILS THROUGH HIS ASSHOLE AND ATTACH THEM TO A VACCUME CLEANER!" The Eldar boomed at this and Severath didnt even want to know how that was possible. Having enough of this the archon waved his hand at the crowd and they shut up once more.
"If I were any other man I would offer this one the choice between your suggestions. But my friends " the archon twisted the word, filling it to the brim with poison. "This is why I am the archon and you are not..." he said and no one dared to question him. "If this worm can bite and eat the entrails of my enemies I would use him. If I knew with certainty that because of this mon'keigh I would become Vect himself tomorrow I would gladly suck his dick... ahh... pride will get you somewhere, but not everywhere and certainly not to power if you use it constantly..." he gave a lecture as his legs were crossed and the tip of his fingers touched themselves, his sharp clawed fingers stretching from them. The Eldar whispered, clearly displeased by the words of their leader but none of them wanted to disagree, or they didnt dare... althou Severath was certain it was a mixture of the two.
"Still!" He finally continued, breaking the gossip. "who am I to deny my subjects? Especially if our goals are overlapping..." he said and all eyes were pinned at him as his lips twisted into a most mesmerizing, if evil, smile Severath ever saw. "Send him to the ground..." he simply said and the room EXPLODED with cheers, althou only the smartest Eldar didnt seem to enjoy the notion, still Severath didnt notice that.
"Human!" with the wave of the hand Vel'arath silenced the crowd. "For the next five days you will walk the very grounds of Commoragh, a camera fitted to you to transcribe your actions to us directly... as punishment, you will be able to go there with your armor and even with some gadgets!... but no weapons!" He explained the room joyfully giggled. "Do try and make our program interesting though... its no fun having sex to boring survival program where the participant is safe!" he said and the crowd nodded. With a snap of the finger the archon ordered the two guards to grab Severath. Looking around in confusion the human saw his master get off of his throne and walk besides him as the guards dragged him up and made him follow the archon. The crowd was a landscape of emotions, each praising the archon, some praising Severath, others throwing flowers at him and some hissing and spiting at him, throwing insults in both gothic and Eldar and some even throwing pieces of food at him. Once they were finally out of the chamber the archon lead them to an odd section of the complex Severath had not seen before. Once they were in a... smelly room which didnt have any specialty about it the archon turned to face him.
"Leave us..." he said coldly and the guards bowed and left the room, thankfully closing the door behind them. Now the archon stared at him, his old (by Eldar standards) face and his yellow-orange eyes fixated upon him. "You are the single coldest... cruelest... evilest Mon'keigh I have ever known..." his voice was cold with hatred AND hot with anger, all the while seeped into the most toxic poison imaginable.
"Why? Because I ruined your orgasm at having people murdered for offering you a business transaction?" Severath made a withy comeback and for a millisecond he saw the archon slap him with his hand and he even felt the upcoming pain but the archon made no such move.
"I would slap you but I dont want to sully my hand..." he said, his voice the same. "But no... not because of that... I dont care about that boy... I dont care at all..." he said turning away and staring into the wall. "tell me, do you know why I had his father tortured and killed that way and why I wanted to kill him?" he asked and just as Severath opened his mouth to answer he continued. "dont answer..." the archon's voice boomed as he turned his head sideways to look at him as he silenced him, before looking back into the wall. "It was because to show all those bastards in there that if you are inferior to me and come to me ARROGANTLY with a proposition, then if your proposition isnt VERY good you will suffer for your arrogance... so in short I wanted to remind them of their place..." he explained turning around to face the human. "But that is not why I am angry human..." he said approaching Severath. "You condemned my daughter to death..." the Eldars face was twisted with anger, sadness and revulsion.
"How?" Severath asked simply.
"BY TEACHING HER EMPATHY!" The archon said sternly and it was clear he was prevent himself from shouting. The alien was short, for one of his stature... while most of his family and the nobles were around 2.3 meters tall and some even taller, the archon stood barely at 2.2 meters. It maybe that the nobles were inherently higher because of their superior genetics... Either way he still doubted that it was appropriate calling the archon short as he would be considered tall by human standards and Severath stood only at 1.8 meters, a fact that had given him trouble when he was inducted into the storm troopers. He realized the meaning of the archons words but he decided to plead ignorance.
"how so?" he asked naively and blatantly.
"Oh you stupid mon'keigh!" the archon exhaled in frustration, pointing to the door. "You saw what those people are like!" he referred to his subjects. "They would rather skin me alive and watch me choke on my own farts before they would so much as greet me! In fact the only thing that prevents them from making that thing a reality is the fact that they are all cowards who are afraid of me because of my 'evilness' " the archon explained, still fuming. "They will only answer to the biggest, meanest, evilest, strongest and the smartest of their kind and in the case you didnt notice Im the type of man to prefer cunning over strength to please those FUCKS!" the archon cursed. It was funny really... a leader of a xeno... faction as Severath didnt want to label it as a cult, fuming and being honest before him... The archon breathed deep, his face becoming normal again as he leaned against the wall. "Maybe I expected too much from a human..." he said calmly.
"I know you will probably not believe me but I want the best for your daughter..." Severath actually blush. Emperor damn it he was a fucking storm trooper not a baby sitter. "I think she could use a little empathy, after all you have it..." he said, althou he blatantly admitted to himself that he doubted his words more then he doubted that the ration bars his old chef made were made out of anything remotely organic. The archon exhaled and said something in Eldar, clearly mocking him.
"You are so stupid and naive..." he finally spoke in gothic.
"Do you think that your daughter could and should be happy by murdering her friends?" Severath questioned the archon, who huffed once more in annoyance.
"Listen human!" the archon barked. "I would LOVE to live in your world!" he said pointing to himself. "I would love to live in your happy little world where a demon isnt eating away at my soul, a world where I dont have to look behind my back every second in case a idiot decides to off me with poisonous darts or worse, a world where I can live out an eternity happy with my family as far away and removed from politics as possible, a world where my family is safe... " the archon said. For the first time Severath wondered, what was it about him that made people speak way more than he did. Perhaps the Eldar were naturally chatful, or maybe it was him being a human that they thought they could talk everything to him because he wouldnt comprehend it. "Or alternatively, id love to be the monster you make me out to be..." the archon continued. "A reality where I am a beast who kills everyone without a care in the world about his family... that way I would have been far more successful than I am today..." the archon panted with annoyance. Severath was only confused further. He will never understand these aliens it would seem. "In this world, its better for my daughter to be the bitch she is than to be a woman you want her to... You saw Orathain, I only fulfilled his wish to become a haemonucleai so he wouldnt be killed in battle... the boy is so soft that he even refuses most modifications of C'kreg... he would not last a minute out there... or in here without me..." With each passing moment the human felt more like shit. Vel'arath's words were true but he wanted to cut him off before he choked on his own anger.
"I understand... I do not know how to proceed with that information... but I understand..." Severath said and the two rested as the archon gathered himself. Being over 4 millennia old the Eldar did seem to be tired, in one way or the other.
"Tell me..." Severath began. "Why do you keep me around? Why dont you kill me in the most vile manner possible... I know that you would never be so merciful with another human... and that you probably wouldnt tell me all of that... its just so out of character for one such as yourself... why?" Severath asked. Surely a regular archon would do all those vile things and none would be so open to him about this. To his surprise the archon laughed, snobbishly.
"That you are correct human!" he said, his face clear now. "There is a VERY good reason why Im so... liberal towards you, but I wont tell you that because it will make your dick raise so high that you will have a pair of testicles instead of a mouth!" the archon spoke, gathering himself. "Now come! we have more important things to do... tell me, do you know anything of our realm, human?" he asked as they walked through the corridors.
"No... but I am sure you will tell me." Severath said. If this archon was this soft, then it was a fucking mystery how he survived this long, then again he did murder that Eldar's father so violently so he probably did have a plan when he talked to him.
"That... you are correct." he said as they walked through a large door. The rooms in this part of the complex were unadorned... thankfully. "Commoragh has 3 suns lighting it... and we are so far away that none of them can reach us with their light, thats why our rooms are glowing slightly and why everything is so murky here... This is the largest and tallest building in this part of Commoragh and the oldest one at that. Like in your precious hive cities the higher you are the better your off... Once long ago in a different age the ground level was filled with busy streets and various merchants... not it is but a wasteland reserved for the most wretched being both human and Eldar alike... You are to survive for 5 days in this place... but dont think about going to the places controlled by the other kabals... because if you do nothing good will come of it for both of us..." the archon explained as they walked.
"How will I know the boundary?" Severath asked.
"You wont!" the archon replied instantly. For a person of intrigue he talked too much WAY too much and yet Severath was glad for it. "You will have a camera attached to you to follow your every move... and to make sure you dont lie about your abilities, as its better to see than to hear... Oh and remember when I said that you wont be carrying weapons?" the archon asked stopping and turning towards Severath.
"yes?" Severath asked meekly in confusion. The archon nodded and turned around, continuing his march as Severath struggled to keep up with the tall alien.
"Well I dont mind if you cheat... your gun is in the possession of the succubus which killed you, you can retrieve it once we are finished... but right now... I want to make sure that your luck in the arena wasnt a fluke... because luck alone wont save you boy, oh you will need it, but not JUST IT!" And it was then that Severath noticed the smell of sweat become more prevalent as they walked through another door. The last few corridors were empty, yet this room, which was shaped as an observatory was full of the xenos... xeno warriors that is. They all saluted when the archon entered and he waved them off. bellow and from the observatory was a room which was obviously used for training. Some of the participants wore armor while others were almost naked. Nearly every weapon was practiced here at the various rings that lay scattered through the area. Following the archon he descended to the main part of the enormous room. The Eldar saluted them as they passed and the archon shouted them off, approaching one particular ring. It was then that Severath noticed, to his horror, that some of the aliens were practicing on human slaves. Not WITH them, but ON them. This particular ring contained a fairly well armored Dark Eldar who stood rather tall and had oddly and sharply formed eyebrow bones... for the lack of a better term and Severath bet that he was a noble as well. The human was lying in the corner of the ring begging as the Eldar teased him in between punches and kicks.
"you there! Boy! Show this human what for!" the archon said, pushing Severath into the ring. The dark haired Eldar turned to face him as a crowd gathered around the ring.
"Well if it isnt the most revered mon'keigh who kicked the Levat prince in the posterior!" this particular Eldar spoke gothic rather pleasantly. He turned around to face the archon "It would be a most satisfactory feeling to prove my strenght against this slave grand uncle!" he said and bowed. Great... not only does this bastard have lots of children but he also has a shit ton of other relatives too. Smirking Severath approached the human in the corner, ignoring his opponent, who was surprised to see Severath to simply walk besides him.
"tell me... it is a battlefield and this creature is unarmed and you have beaten it... what do you do?" He asked the Eldar, who was now placed behind his back.
"Why finish it of course!" the Eldar responded. Thankfully he wasnt as retardedly snobbish as the rest of his kin.
"How so?" he asked as the human gasped and begged him in his own native language which Severath didnt recognize.
"What?" The Eldar blinked at him in disbelief.
"Show me, go on... unless you are a peace lover like your Craftworld kin..." Severath said non chalantly and a loud "ohhhhh" was heard by the crowd. The Eldar huffed and charged at the human, who now cried hysterically. And then Severath got him... As he was about to pass him Severath swung around, leg first as he tripped his armored opponent. As the Eldar fell forwards Severath grabbed him by the throat and swung him backwards making his back rest across his knee, leaving him quite able to snap the aliens neck. Still he didnt do so. "Priority target... A enemy who is fully combat capable is always a priority higher than a downed enemy..." he told the Eldar who, naturally held a surprised expression on his face. The crowd "booed" drastically, with only some, like the archon, snickering at the scene.
"Thanks..." the Eldar said, his teeth clenched with anger and not moving as he spoke through them. "Ill be sure to remember that..." he said before grabbing Severath's arm with his own and wiggling his throat in the direction of Severath's thumb, making the human release his grip upon the alien as the Eldar swung around, sweeping his leg and taking Severath's own. Still the human was ready and he merely rolled into a combat ready position. Then, to his horror a metalic sound piercing the air signalized someone tossing his enemy a dagger, which the xeno grabbed easily and with unholy precision. Now facing him properly the crowd cheered on as his opponent stabbed at the air, tauntingly.
"Life's not fair eh..." Severath uttered as the enemy lunged at him and he sidestepped just in time for the Eldar to leave a single short cut onto Severaths carapace chest plate. All attempts to grab the alien were futile as the alien decided not to press his advantage and instead roll forwards before turning around to face Severath.
"huh.." the alien huffed as he made a few short but efficient slices which forced Severath to give ground and retreat. Then the human decided to risk it, extending his arms he successfully grabbed the aliens weapon hand and swing it around himself violently. This send the alien flying into the pillar outside the ring. However this was no human opponent and the Eldar landed feet first on the pillar and he pushed himself off, flying back into Severath.
"UGHN!" Severath moaned as the Eldar's free hand and body connected with him and the two were send rolling onto the floor. At first it seemed that the xeno would end up on top of him but Severath pushed himself and he Successfully landed on top of the alien, his hand gripping and pining the alien's weapon hand. Before he could do anything else, let alone declare victory, however the alien brought his free hand and slapped Severath directly into the ear. Severath screeched as the entire room and the cheering crowd gave way to static noise. Rolling around and pinning Severath the Eldar brought down his weapon and Severath moved his head just in time for the weapon to land into the thick fabric of the ring. Luckily for him the alien miscalculated and now its weapon was lodged in the floor and he was unable to pull it free. Severath used this as he used his left hand to grab the upper parts of the aliens weapon arm and his right hand to hit the aliens neck sideways while pulling him off of his body. The alien rolled, its face now red from the shock and disrupted blood supply from the impact on his neck and the two, now both standing or better yet crouching, eyed each other and the weapon between them. The crowd was in an uproar.
"ENOUGH!" a deep yet stern voice was heard, but it was not the archon. The crowd immediately fell silent. It was the oldest bitch son of the archon. Derath'ila if he recalled Branka's words correctly. He looked old, not as old as his father, but older than the most. He was also armored and everyone was staring at him as he approached the ringside. The Eldar who fought against his bowed meekly at his overlord. Severath waited until his opponent to turn towards him and then he bowed. This caused the dark Eldar to snicker around him and his opponent was caught off guard. Sure he and the rest of the race were used to humans bowing before them like the slaves they are, hell it was even expected of them, but no one expected a bow of respect from a warrior to a fellow warrior. To meet a human as equal, even if it was on combat was incomprehensible to most dark Eldar. So the poor sod that was Severath's opponent stood there. Noticing this the human approached the buried dagger and he took it out, much to the amazement of the onlookers who were now convinced he would gut his opponent. Having the same impression, his opponent got into position and was only further surprised when Severath offered him the dagger.
"You fight well..." he said with a smile. It turned out that it wasnt that hard to praise a xeno... if there existed something worth praising and in this case it did.
"thanks... you two..." the Eldar replied, taking the dagger awkwardly.
"How old are you?" Severath asked, sensing that despite all of his skill the boy was still a rookie.
"16 of your years..." the xeno answered awkwardly. The human smiled at him.
"Good, keep it up and you will be a good raider one day." he said, much to the confusion of everyone around him. His opponent nodded in acknowledgement, thankful of the praise but confused none the less.
"Come mon'keigh, let me test your might!" The prince spoke and with a bow Severath followed him to another, larger ring. Getting into it the prince snapped his fingers and someone threw him a wooden stick, a LARGE wooden stick, reminiscent of a sword. Severath saw another person offer him his own stick and as he was about to grab it, the filthy xeno let it fall onto the floor, much to the amazement of its wretched friends. Sighing he picked up his stick and took up his position.
"Ready... and..." But the bastard cheated, spiting in Severath's eyes before hitting his hand with such force that the stick flew out of his grasp, before hitting him in the neck and kicking his legs from underneath him.
"your...dead..." he said and the crowd applauded with joy. "AGAIN!" the prince screamed and with anger Severath took the stick and he renewed his stance. His carapace armor was light but the prince's unholy armor seemed to be lighter while offering more protection.
"IYYAH!" Severath said as he swung his stick, the Eldar parried easily and the two swung their sticks against each other as Severath pressed his advantage. The prince dodged and grabbed his sword arm with his off hand, before swinging his wooden sword wide. Thankfully Severath ducked and swung his foot underneath the xeno who in turn let his arm go and jumped wide.
"Stop..." the archon said. "Fight this battle fairly..." he awkwardly said, throwing Severath a large, seemingly wooden, shield, much to the disappointment of nearly everyone and to the anger of his son.
"Iyagh!" Severath said, allowing himself wider sword swings. This time, it was the xeno who was backing away. Severath didnt know if he was simply wanting to wear him down or did the xeno want to get behind Severath's defenses without risking it. After about half a minute of wild swings the xeno finally made his move by throwing what must have been a punching back at Severath. The human readied his shield and the bag, which was CONSIDERABLY heavy, bounced off, leaving only his arm shaken. Was this bastard trying to crack his shield? The xeno lured him to the crowd and the fuck proceeded to grab a spectator and push him into Severath. The armor wasnt that heavy and Severath wasnt that tired but the anger and impotent rage boiled in him as he raced towards his opponent who got back into the ring as Severath pushed some sort of training machine past the pillar from which the xeno ran. Now pushing him to the far side of the ring, facing a wall Severath saw an opportunity and he pushed another training device, blocking both flanking pats of escape as he rushed the xeno. The prince expected this and counter attacked, his wooden sword raised high. Severath easily blocked it and pinned him to the wall, his wooden sword pinned to the xeno bastards neck.
"A tie..." the archon said. What was he on abou- oh... Severath looked down to see Derath'ila's off hand holding a metal dagger, aimed directly at his heart. Severath backed off, returning to his position.
"Father this is pointless! I could beat this mon'keigh any day!" The prince spoke.
"As could I!" the archon replied. "And I do not doubt your ability or experience Derath'ila but I doubt your wisdom of underestimating your opponent! You could have easily beaten him, even with his advantage, yet you opted for a path that could have gotten you kill!" The archon scolded, his voice calm but stern. The prince fumed but said nothing. "human!" the archon continued. "A word!" hearing that Severath obeyed. Approaching the archon the human leaned in.
"Compliment him on his breath then sidestep him and bring him low." the archon whispered and Severath looked at him awkwardly. Nodding in an even more awkward manner he bowed and returned to his opponent.
"once more!" the archon ordered and the two sticks struck each other, Severath putting the weight of his shield in his favor. The two were face to face, their eyes locked.
"Umm... your breath smells nice!" Severath declared. Derath'ila relented slightly, confusion washing over his face.
"what?!" the prince asked. Severath lightened his face.
"Yes... strawberry mint if Im not mistaken." the former storm trooper remarked and the prince's eyes widened. His grip loosened ever so slightly.
"Why thanks, I didnt expect a mon'keigh to-" But it was too late, pushing his shield hand he grabbed Derath'ila sword arm and sidestepped. The prince didnt have the time to finish his sentence as he was pulled to the floor, a shield pinning him and a wooden sword next to his neck. No dagger would save him this time.
"See what I mean..." the archon said and everyone laughed as Severath got up. Derath'ila fumed but he still bowed with courtesy before departing.
Sometime later Severath found that his sweaty, hot body enjoyed the cold breeze that echoed through the corridor as the archon himself guided him back to his chambers.
"Thanks for teaching my son a lesson..." the archon said. Despite himself Severath found that he enjoyed Vel'arath's company.
"He was right you know..." the human responded, earning a subtle yet questioning 'hmm' from his master. "he could beat me easily... especially in a battleground..." Severath admitted.
"Well he is over a 100 times older than you..." the archon remarked. "Rest now and gather your things, for tomorrow morning you depart for your trial..." he told him as they reached Severaths room.
"Archon... may I bring my friends to live in these rooms?" the human asked. The archon didnt react a bit when he answered.
"Have them you may... as you may chose their residents. You can chose WHOEVER you want to live in these quarters BUT your human friends..." the archon's face was neutral, as if he didnt give a fuck. Severath gritted his teeth in annoyance.
"why is that?" he asked plainly.
"Isnt it obvious?" the Eldar remarked. "Getting a Eldar woman here to rape you I can understand... as I can understand getting a vat grown clone human woman here to serve you..." THE BASTARD KNEW ABOUT BRANKA DAMN IT! Still Severath didnt want to react or to give him joy. Still while Herizar probably told him, he couldn't blame the mutant, he was after all a much more loyal servant then he was... and with good reason. "but getting your comrades here will only let you plot your escape together... and before you ask, no I am not interested how secure my domain is, I am not taking any chances..." the archon explained.
"Why are you taking chances with me then?" Severath asked. "how do you know I wont stab you right now?" his argued his point, countering his master who shrugged.
"My wife will answer that, should you live to meet her." Well that was awkward. "Oh and one last thing!" the archon said handing Severath a rather large and hefty pouch. Once he opened it he saw it was full of gems and gold coins. Dafuq was this all about? "For your effort today... because of you 2 of my children are... richer people..." And with that the archon smirked. "What? did you think that slaves are our currency? Yes they are if you are rich as I am, but those lowly vat grown Eldar living on the grounds can hardly afford a slave, so they torture any human they meet... and this will allow you to do business with them... should you find someone sane down there..." well that explains a lot... even if only to make the situation more awkward the archon nodded and turned his back to him as he departed. "Dont forget to "cheat" human... thats the only way to survive in this place." THAT BLOODY BASTARD! Why couldnt he be your usual xeno overlord? For a person who was running this show for over 4 millennia he lacked, at least in Severaths mind, every single quality a xeno leader needed to have. Than again he was a good actor, so he maybe faking being evil to keep his position... or he may be faking being good to Severath...
"Thank you!... thank you for everything!" Severath called out to him but he wasnt sure if he could hear a subtle 'no problem'... The worst thing about this... this asshole paid better than the imperium... Severath sighted as he closed the door... there was a long day ahead of him.