The Primarch's Pilgrimage

Part One:

The Princess and the Wolf

As soon as the Pilgrimage Fleet, led by the Chalice of Fire, was a safe distance away from Terra, the tear in reality was formed and the fleet entered the Warp. Vulkan sat in his chambers, N'Bella sleeping upon his knee, and closed his eyes and listened. All void windows were shuttered to prevent the realities of the Warp from seeping in to spread madness, but Vulkan could swear he heard the voices of the Neverborn outside, clawing at the Gellar Field, trying to get in to slaughter and consume the souls of those inside.

The Warp... It was simultaneously the greatest threat to humanity and its only chance to connect with the Galaxy and its people. It was the home of Daemons and Gods set on toying with and devouring Mankind. Unless something could be done to replace the need for Warp Travel, humanity was doomed to continue walking in the playground of the Four Chaos Gods. And somewhere out there, his brothers, those that had betrayed humanity to side with Horus, were plotting their next move. Fulgrim, Mortarion, Angron, Perturabo, Lorgar, and Magnus, all he'd fought alongside and now he cursed with a vengeance.

Lorgar was arguably the most guilty out of all of them. It had been Lorgar who'd orchestrated Horus' fall to Chaos. It had been Lorgar who'd burned a path of vengeance through Ultramar and spread the corruption of the Warp with the Word Bearers. Lorgar who had turned Angron into a Daemon. Lorgar... He did not know which of them had a greater claim to Lorgar's head. Guilliman or Corvus. Corvus had spent millennia searching for him in the Warp, but Guilliman and Lorgar had hurt each other the most before and during the war.

"I suppose it will depend on who gets to him first," Vulkan said to himself. "Though I would personally bet on Roboute getting to him first."

He looked down at N'Bella and gently stroked her head. "What kind of universe am I leaving to you, my daughter? It seems that no matter what I do, I will be delaying the inevitable. Soon, you will inherit the sins of your elders. You will inherit our war and fight it for the rest of your life. That is something I would never wish on anyone. It is a Hell of our own making. I hear whispers in the palace that many wish we'd never returned. That things would have been better without us. But maybe things would have been better if we'd never existed. Maybe if the Emperor had decided to make the Space Marines without us, the damage would have been lessened. Maybe... We will never know."

N'Bella started to stir and sniffle in her sleep. Soon it became weak sobbing and Vulkan became worried. He stirred her with a touch of his massive finger. "N'Bella? Wake up. You are dreaming, my child. Wake up."

N'Bella opened her bright green eyes and rubbed at them before looking up at her father. "Papa... I had a bad dream. Monsters were chasing me and I was calling for Uncle Sang and he wouldn't come save me." Vulkan held out his hand and she crawled into his massive palm and hugged at one of his fingers. "I don't like dreams like that. I wanted to fly with Uncle Sang again."

Vulkan smiled at the mention of Sanguinius. He wasn't sure if he'd told her about Sanguinius, which troubled him because he could recall the faces of nearly everyone he'd ever met and yet... Had he mentioned Sanguinius to her? Sanguinius... The brother that should have lived. Sanguinius was one of the fairest of all of them. He could be brutal to his enemies, but he was also one of the most kind. He'd come from a world of radioactive wastes and yet he'd persevered to become one of the most loving and caring individuals he'd ever known. If it hadn't been for Horus, he would still be here. He would have ruled well in the Emperor's stead. He would have done... something right.

"Papa, are you crying?"

Vulkan touched at his face and was surprised to see a tear had formed on his face. He smiled at her. "I think I was, my child."

"I don't like seeing you sad."

He held her up to his face so she could give him a hug. "Neither do I, N'Bella. Shall we go find Aleya?"

N'Bella smiled and nodded rapidly. "I wanna meet her boyfriend Valerian! She tells me about him lots and lots!"

Vulkan raised an eyebrow. "I think you have misunderstood their relationship, N'Bella. They are comrades in arms that have fought together in the past. They cannot be lovers."

"Why noooooot?"

He was surprised to hear that reaction. "Because Valerian is a Custodian and they do not fall in love. They cannot. It is not how they were made."

"That's dumb!"

Vulkan considered those words and then began to laugh. "Perhaps, but a Custodian's duty is to protect the Emperor above all others. Besides, I doubt Aleya would have time for a relationship since she has you to take care of."

Vulkan placed N'Bella on his shoulder and exited the chamber. As he walked, he took a good look at the Chalice of Fire. It was unlike any ship in the fleet. It was a Forge Ship. A ship that served as the birthplace of many weapons. Here, Vulkan had made hundreds of weapons. Weapons that could end worlds with just a thought. He had entrusted the destruction of those weapons to the first Forgefather of the Salamanders, T'Kell. His son had begged him to spare at least some. "Choose seven to remain, and only seven. One for each of our realms of Nocturne."

From what he'd been told, upon the discovery of the Chalice by the late Captain Ko'tan Kodai, T'Kell's body had not been found with the Salamander dead. That meant he either survived, which he did not see someone like T'Kell doing, or he had died before the ship had been stranded. All he knew was that T'Kell had done his duty as assigned to him. "You did well, Forgefather. You did your best."

As they entered the bridge, Shipmaster Phon'x, an Imperial Navy Veteran from Nocturne, saluted the Primarch. "Lord Vulkan, we are approaching the Fenrisian System and will be entering Real Space in a few minutes."

"Very good, Shipmaster. Inform the Fenrisian Ambassador we have arrived in his home system."

He did so and soon Speaks with Two Voices, or Sven as his birth name had been revealed to the Primarch, joined Vulkan on the bridge. As the Chalice of Fire entered Real Space, Sven looked upon the stars of his home system with what appeared to be sadness. "I have not been home in years, Regent Vulkan. I was not there when Magnus the Red attacked my home. I can only imagine my family was among those that were purged."

Vulkan looked down at the old man with pity. "Did you have any direct family? Wife, children?"

Sven shook his head. "My life was in service to the Allfather. My brother was the family man. Wife, children, as you say. I have not spoken to him in years."

"He may still be alive, Ambassador."

"Forgive me, Lord Vulkan, but hope is hard to have these days. Even hope that the Allfather still watches over us this close to the Great Rift."

"Perhaps not, but I am here. And Fenris will be whole again." He turned his head to N'Bella and gave her a smile. "And now it's time for you to put your winter clothes on."

The dropships touched down in front of a massive crowd of the last of the Fenrisian Tribes and the Space Wolves. Nearly half of the assembled Wolves were Primaris with the rest of them being Firstborn Space Marines. Vulkan had been heartbroken when he'd learned about the Battle of the Fang and the damage that had been done to the Gene-Seed by Magnus. Until recently with the Primaris Project, no Successor Chapters had been made. Now the Space Wolves could expand their ranks further.

Vulkan and N'Bella were the first to exit the dropship Drakenflight, a beautifully gilded ship with a drake's maw painted on the front, followed by the Brothers of the Blue Flame with Fan'drall at their head. Tanau Aleya and Shield-Captain Valerian followed behind them in full regalia, Valerian helmed while Aleya wore the Somnus Blade across her back.

Vulkan wore a great cloak of Drakeskin over his ceremonial armor with Azureflame on his hip. N'Bella, on the other hand, was dressed in a green drakeskin winter coat with mittens and boots. She held her father's finger as she walked carefully through the snow. She was amazed at the very concept of snow. Frozen water particles that fell from the sky and clumped together was an alien concept to her. In her short life, she had spent it on Terra and had never seen anything like it on the Throneworld. She loved it.

The Space Wolves parted and knelt to allow their Primarch to walk through. Leman Russ, flanked by two gigantic wolves, wearing a massive cloak of wolf fur and gilded grey armor, his long white hair tied in a long braid over his shoulders. Behind him marched Logan Grimnar, the Great Wolf of the Chapter, Arjac Rockfist, his personal Champion, Njal Stormcaller, the greatest of their Rune Priests, and Ulrik the Slayer, the Wolf High Priest of the Space Wolves. Behind them marched the Wolf Lords, lead by their youngest Wolf Lord Ragnar Blackmane. All but Russ knelt before Vulkan and Vulkan's retinue did the same for Russ.

The two Primarchs faced each other with smiles on their faces, Vulkan with a small smile and Russ with a massive grin. Before long, the two brothers embraced and parted, shaking hands in the old way, hands clasping wrists. Russ let his free hand rest on Vulkan's pauldron as he smiled at his brother. "Vulkan, Regent of Terra and Primarch of the Salamanders, I welcome you to Fenris."

A cheer went up from the assembled crowd of settlers and natives as the visitors were formally welcomed. N'Bella, hiding behind her father's leg, looked up at her Uncle Russ and smile. "UNCLE LEMAN!" She ran out from behind Vulkan, her arms outstretched for a hug.

Russ smiled and knelt to one knee as he held out his arms to pick up his niece. The two wolves by his side, one white and the other gray, growled at this intruder approaching their master, but Russ gave a small growl in return that silenced them before they could scare N'Bella away. The girl ran into her Uncle's massive arms and he raised her up to his face where she gave him a big hug. "I missed you, Uncle Leman!"

"I missed you too, N'Bella. And I have a gift for you. A welcome for your first trip offworld."

He gestured to two serfs who stepped forward with a snow white wolf pup on a lead. The pup was about the same size as N'Bella who looked at it with awe. "This is Skadi and she is yours." He placed on the ground and prodded her towards Skadi. Vulkan looked upon the scene with unease.

"Brother, I'm not certain this is a good idea. A pet is a huge responsibility and she is a child."

"And she is your child, Vulkan," Russ said as N'Bella approached the pup. "I think she's ready."

"But it's a wolf," Vulkan insisted.

"And Fenrisian wolves are loyal to a fault."

N'Bella took off her glove and extended her hand out carefully. The pup sniffed it for a moment and licked it. She nuzzled N'Bella's hand and licked it again. N'Bella smiled and laughed as the pup began to lick her hand more enthusiastically. N'Bella moved in closer to give Skadi a hug and Vulkan felt a feeling of ease as the pup accepted it. He looked to Russ' wolves, raising an eyebrow.

"These ones are new," Vulkan noted.

Russ laughed and petted the wolves who moved in closer to him as he did. "Obviously. Freki and Geri were strong warriors, but they could not live forever. They are Gotrek and Felik. I found them in the snow as pups and have raised them as my new wolf brothers." He motioned to Vulkan. "Come, brother. Let us feast while the mortals meet their new kin!"

The Fang. Vulkan had never been there before. It was a massive Fortress built into what was possibly the tallest mountain that Vulkan had ever seen, large enough to pierce Fenris' atmosphere. He remembered when Russ told him of the Fang's construction and how it would take years for it to be completed. It was like the Imperial Palace in that even during the Great Crusade it had taken years to complete. Now it was a massive fortress that could withstand almost anything. Vulkan was impressed.

"You like the Aett, Vulkan," Russ asked, having noticed Vulkan admiring the architecture.

"It is... impressive. I am surprised by this, Leman."

"Oh, so a Chapter of Barbarians couldn't do as well a job as your Salamanders?"

"That is not what I am saying," Vulkan protested.

"Really, brother. Are you sure you're not jealous because you were unable to turn Mount Deathfire into a Fortress Monastery?"

"I am not jealous!"

Russ glared at Vulkan before breaking out into a smile. "I am only joking, Brother. But that was worth it for the look on your face."

In the Hall of the Great Wolf, sagas of the great battles of the Primarchs, including Vulkan's journey to Terra and Russ' ill-fated battle against Horus Lupercal, were sung in tribute to them. Fan'drall and the Brothers of the Blue Flame ate with Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company, trading stories of their greatest battles. Vulkan and Russ spoken with the Wolf Lords and the Great Wolf himself about what would be done to ensure that the settlers were accepted into the tribes they were assigned to.

Aleya stood behind N'Bella's chair, her hand on her blade as she scanned the room. She then saw something that surprised her. Something she did not expect to ever see. Valerian in a drinking contest with Arjac Rockfist. And from what she could tell, the Custodian was winning. Every mug of Mjod he finished, he calmly put down on the table next to a row of thirteen empty mugs. Rockfist had clearly drunken more, having reached fifteen, but his speed was being outdone by Valerian's calm and steady drinking. She silently cheered him on as he drank. She had never been the biggest fan of Space Marines and the Space Wolves were infamous among the Astartes Chapters for their brutality in battle and rudeness.

Eventually, as Valerian finished his fifteenth mug of Mjod, Arjac Rockfist finished his 20th. He smiled at Valerian who stared blankly at him in reply. Rockfist was about to say something, but it seemed to come out as a slur of words before he tumbled backwards. The Space Wolves that had been watching them looked at them for a moment before cheering and clapping Valerian on the back in congratulations. Valerian ignored their praise and surprisingly continued drinking the rest of the mjod as if the contest had not finished. "Good work, Custodes," Aleya thought to herself.

She looked down at N'Bella and was surprised to see that she looked bored. She tapped the princess on the shoulder and signed to her. "What is the matter?"

N'Bella, not wanting to attract attention, signed back with enthusiasm. "I'm bored! I wanna explore! I wanna see a Kraken! I wanna see Uncle Leman fight a Troll! I wanna ride Skadi!" The wolf pup was curled up at her feet. Aleya wasn't sure about domesticating a creature like a Fenrisian wolf. It seemed wrong turning something that would become a giant of a beast into a pet.

"You must have patience, Princess," she signed back. "Tonight is your father and uncle's time to catch up after being apart for a long time. But perhaps they will let you do something... safer later." She went back to looking over the Hall.

N'Bella was not happy with that response. This was Fenris. It was one of the most dangerous places in the Galaxy! The safe things were no fun! When she was smaller, Uncle Leman had told her stories about how he had been raised by wolves, how he beat Grandpa in a drinking contest, and how he'd fought the biggest Kraken of all of them! None of them were safe and she wanted to do stuff like that! It wasn't fair if she had to do safe things! And this wasn't fun either. She liked the food, but it was just grownups talking. They weren't even fighting! N'Bella resolved that no matter what, she would have an adventure worth a saga!

It was later that night when she was put to bed in her quarters in the Fang that she decided tonight would be the night. After saying good night to Uncle Leman and Papa, she waited until she was certain no one was outside her door. She checked to see if Aleya had left on patrol and was glad that her bodyguard was nowhere to be found. Not even Fan'drall and his Brothers were there. Perhaps they were on patrol as well or they trusted in the safety of the Fang. Either way, this was her chance. But she had to be sneaky.

Putting on her winter clothing, N'Bella crept through the halls of the Fang, trying to find the exit to the outside. She was certain it was here somewhere. As she moved, she ducked into dark corners and empty rooms to avoid any patrols. She had learned from Uncle Corvus how to be extra sneaky. She closed her eyes whenever a patrol walked by her. Uncle Corvus said that the best way to blend into the dark was to become the dark and closing her eyes seemed to help with that.

Just as she was certain she was lost, she heard something behind her. She whirled around to find that there was no one behind her. She cocked her head in puzzlement and turned around to see a Space Wolf standing over her with a large grin on his face. The Space Wolf had long blazing red hair along with a pointed goatee and a lightning claw on his left hand. He cocked his head as he smiled down at her. She hadn't seen him before in the Great Hall. Maybe he'd skipped the feast because he found it boring too.

"What are you doing out of bed, Little Princess," the Space Wolf asked.

N'Bella had been taught to only lie when absolutely necessary and didn't think lying to a Space Wolf was a smart move. Uncle Leman taught her that his sons could smell lies. "I'm going on an adventure!" She stood up straight with her hands on her hips and her chest puffed out. Another thing Uncle Leman had taught her: Never show weakness to a foe.

The Space Wolf chuckled. "An adventure you say? And you think you're going to find an adventure here? In these halls?"

"Uncle Leman taught me adventure is always out there! You just gotta find it!"

The Space Wolf nodded. "Lord Russ is a smart one, Princess. But sometimes you will need help finding adventure. Perhaps I could be of assistance?" He gave a bow to her as he did, his clawed hand extended back as he did.

N'Bella thought about this. As long as he didn't tell Papa, she guessed there was no harm. "Okay! I'm Princess N'Bella of the Imperium!" She curtsied to him as she'd been taught by her Nan.

"And I am Lukas, Little Princess. Lukas the Trickster they call me!"

N'Bella had never heard of Lukas before. But adventuring with someone called "The Trickster" sounded exciting. "Okay! So... where can I find adventure?"

"Well, Little Princess, to find adventure, you must sometimes go to lengths none had ever thought of before!" He picked up N'Bella and put her on his back. He put his pelt over her and took off running. "Hold on, Little Princess! It is a good thing you wore your winter clothing, not that it ever stops being winter around here, because we are going for a climb! Hold on tight!"

N'Bella then saw the window rushing up to meet them and Lukas leaped out the window, catching his hand on the sill and swinging them around and grabbed hold of the mountain. N'Bella clung to Lukas as tight as she could as she realized what was happening. She shut her eyes tight in fear as she felt Lukas begin to climb. She held her breath as well because she'd heard that air became thinner the higher you went. Lukas stopped climbing for a moment and she felt something press against her face. She opened her eyes to see that the Trickster was halted in place and was handing her a breathing mask. "You will need this, Little Princess. Do not worry. I won't let you fall. Your father would have my head smashed with a hammer." Carefully, N'Bella took the mask and Lukas held her to him as she put the mask over her face.

"And you can keep your eyes open. We are nearly to our destination."

N'Bella nodded and continued to hold tight to Lukas' neck as they climbed. Finally, they reached a point where a great rock jutted out. Lukas put N'Bella down, still keeping the mask on her. "Now... look upon the land of Asaheim, the home of the Vlka Fenryka."

N'Bella was amazed by the sight of the land. It was so beautiful. The land looked like it was covered in a blanket of snow, peppered with trees. In the distance, she could see villages with great fires in their centers. The moonlight reflected off the snow, giving it an unearthly glow. It was so much more beautiful than Terra ever could be.

Lukas pointed to one of the towns and smiled. "Tonight, the settlers of Fenris feast with their kin. I look forward to seeing how they integrate in such a harsh land. Unless they get help, they will never survive here." He laughed at that, but N'Bella wasn't sure what he found so funny about it.

"Why is that funny?"

He turned to her. "Think about it, Little Princess. These people are used to air barely fit to breathe. Temperature so hot they could cook food in it, and walls and towers of metal that stretch up as far as the eye could see. And now they are on a world of snow and monsters. It is funny, isn't it? They must learn to grow strong here with their new kin or die."

"But won't the people help them?"

"Perhaps. Or perhaps they will let them try it on their own. Fenris is not for the weak, as some might say. A young pup I once mentored said that to me. Said it weakened mortals by hunting for them and giving them food. But I do not see it that way. These people are the future of Fenris and if Fenris is to survive, they will need to put aside that foolish pride and come together. That is how they will live. Or at least how they should."

N'Bella pondered his words for a while before asking another question. "Why do they call you 'The Trickster'?"

Lukas gave a lopsided grin. "Because I like to trick, Little Princess. It is how I make things fun in this boring old place while my brothers wait for battle to begin. Boredom is the true bane of any warrior and any warrior that does not fight goes insane from boredom. So I play tricks to make things interesting."

"Like what?"

Lukas thought about that. "Well... once I stuffed Rockfist's bunk full of grox dung! As he laid down to rest, the whole thing came apart in an avalanche of dung, spraying everywhere under his great weight. He swore that he would have my head for that and would not rest until I was dead!" He burst out laughing at the memory of that trick. "He chased me for four days straight in the snow before coming into contact with a troll. In his fury, he took it out on the troll, killing it with his hammer. By the time he was done, he had lost interest in killing me."

N'Bella was shocked at that. "That sounds mean."

"Oh, on the surface it does, Little Princess, but think about it for a minute. Rockfist had not seen battle in months. He was bored. So, I gave him a target to chase: Myself! He was able to find a Troll and thus he had a proper battle he could tell a saga of! The Saga of the Bed of Dung! Of course he does not sing of that one often. Probably because of the dung."

N'Bella thought about it and began to laugh to herself. "That does sound funny," she admitted. "What else have you done?"

Lukas spent the rest of the night until he took her back to her room telling her the sagas of his tricks. Then he moved on to telling her of the Great Drukhari Invasion of Fenris and his battle with Duke Sliscus. He then showed her the scar on his chest where one of his hearts had been replaced with a stasis bomb after the Duke had cut it out. "When I die, my killer will be trapped with me forever. And we will look at each other for eternity and I will keep smiling."

N'Bella liked that story the best. After Lukas took her back to her room, avoiding Aleya and Fan'drall's patrols as they went, he tucked her into bed and pet her on the head. Skadi crawled into bed with her and curled up at her feet. "Sleep well, Little Princess, and know that you rode on the back of a Wolf." He slipped out the door of her bedchamber with a smile. As he closed the door, N'Bella could hear angry voices. One of them... was Fan'drall.

"Oh, Brothers," Lukas said, feigning innocence. "How are you this fine night? I was out for a stroll and thought these were my quarters. I did not know the Princess was sleeping here so I- Why are you brandishing those weapons at me? Oh, Sister Aleya! How nice to meet you! I am Lukas. I am sure you have heard of me. And might I say, that is a very lovely sword you have there. Now... if you will excuse me..."

N'Bella heard the sound of eight pairs of ceramite clad feet running through the halls as the door opened to show Aleya checking in on her charge. N'Bella had her eyes partly closed and smiled at Aleya as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She then signed "Sleep well, N'Bella," and closed the door.

N'Bella smiled to herself as she drifted off to sleep. She'd had finally done one of the things she'd dreamed of doing. She'd ridden a wolf. A Wolf of Fenris.

Author's Note:

The Pilgrimage has begun and Fenris is the first stop! I was glad to do some nice fluff storytelling here with N'Bella as the main focus and it was fun writing from her perspective again and giving her a pet wolf. And of course... writing one of my favorite characters in Lukas the Trickster.

I love the book "Lukas the Trickster" and it stands as one of my favorites. The character of Lukas is one I always look forward to seeing more of and I am disappointed that now that Josh Reynolds is no longer writing for Black Library we may never see a follow-up fight with him and Duke Sliscus. Well, maybe someone else just as talented as Reynolds will take up the story.

I also enjoyed having more interactions with Aleya and N'Bella. I planned to have her ask Valerian if he and Aleya were going to get married, but I got the same disappointed result from her conversation with Vulkan so that would just have been retreading old ground.

But yeah, this was something I'd been looking forward to writing and I can't wait for the next part. Enjoy!