The Librarian 6

04/17/2021

For more than a Hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. His is the Master of Mankind by the Will of the Gods and Master of a Million Worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is the rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium, for whom a thousand souls die every day, for whom blood is drunk and flesh is eaten.

Human blood and Human flesh-The stuff of which the Imperium is made.

To be alive in such times is to be one amongst untold trillions and trillions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable; this is a tale of those times.

Sariel stood in formation along with a few thousand other candidates and full Adeptus Astartes. The Dark Angels occupied the center of the parade grounds but were by no means the only ones in attendance. Also on the parade field were formations of serfs and others who served the Dark Angels legion. There were also representation units from all the planetary defense units and Imperial Army units on planet.

All of them were dressed in what was considered formal wear for their units. Sariel noted you could tell which units were more combat orientated and which were more ceremonial units by their dress. The Human Planetary Government's Security troops were dressed in brightly colored and medal bedecked uniforms and carrying small shields that had the heraldry of the former Knightly Orders emblazoned on them. In contrast the members of the Dark Angels were only wearing simple hooded robes in either black for the recruits and regular members of the legion and white for the veteran members. Each had a golden rope like sash tied around their middle with their hoods up hiding their faces

Behind the military units in rows of bleachers set up for the occasion, were the planetary upper classes who had managed to buy, bribe, coerce or otherwise acquire a space here. Sariel had only gotten a limited glimpse of the Humans there. They were wearing a confusing mix of fashion styles. Each was dressed to best represent the group or faction they belonged to. Some were even more somber in style and material then the Dark Angels robes. Others were wearing clothing that forced the eye to look upon them. Sariel did not understand this obsession with outward appearance. His abilities and training were geared toward allowing him to see what was inside a being and not what they tried to present outside.

There was extremely limited open space but even in all this there was another group present who managed to remain hidden from the crowds. Despite the masses of people here, Sariel could still feel the psychic presence of The Watchers in the Dark. Most times he could not sense their presence until they revealed themselves to him. Now there were so many present and they seemed to be excited or worried or agitated about something. He still did not know what their true purpose was. Maybe there was a clue to be found in Luthor's return Caliban and the speech they were about to hear.

Sariel remained as motionless as all the other Adeptus Astartes around him. He had progressed enough to have control over his vision to allow him to move his eyes slightly and refocus upon the podium set on the same upper-level platform from which he had first been briefed on what seemed long ago. Right now there was only an honor guard made of members of personnel who had returned with Luthor. Other Dark Angels who had been Knights of Caliban before undergoing the process to turn them into Adeptus Astartes.

They were not as tall or broad as the other full Adeptus Astartes present. They had been too old for their bodies to accept the complete effects of the transhuman transformation. Still no one doubted their commitment to the Emperor and the building of the Imperium. They had been part of the original contingent to leave Caliban and had fought many decades against hundreds of enemies and xenos.

He changed his line of thinking to wondering why Luthor and so many of the former Knights of Caliban were back home on Caliban. Maybe they had discovered a new enemy that required special training to engage. Maybe the Emperor's forces had completed the conquest of the galaxy and they were here to begin the process of retraining them from conquering force into occupying forces. Sariel did not mind if that was true. He only wished to serve the Emperor in whatever way was needed.

Just then the Honor Guard raised their weapons into the high salute and clicked their heels together. Luthor and several of the high-ranking members of Caliban garrison walked unto the platform. Sariel ignored all the Dark Angels he knew already and concentrated his attention on Luthor. In this he was just like everyone else on the parade field. Few were left that remembered the time when Luthor had last been on Caliban. Everyone was attempting to determine what this entire event was about from Luthor's appearance and posture.

Sariel found a strong desire to know why they were here but knew it was fruitless to try and that it would be just has fruitless to use his psycker abilities, even if he was in range. Patience and steadfastness were the Dark Angels primary virtues. He allowed himself to take a breath and wondered for a moment if he had been holding his breathing. He then turned his concentration fully on Luthor.

There was something extra special about the second in command and most trusted member of the Dark Angels Legion. Like the other Knights of Caliban who had been transformed he was not physically as large has full Adeptus Astartes. He had a regal bearing and command presence the made his presence larger than any of the others on the platform. To all who watched him walk to the edge of the platform they saw an imposing man with a stern expression wearing simple unadorned robes in the ebony black of the Dark Angels Legion.

All noise stopped and the silence of the entire area along the designed superior acoustics allowed even the unaugmented ears of the mortals to hear the soft tread of Luthor's approach. When he came to a halt the silence was complete. Luthor did not have anyone introduce him nor did anyone in attendance give welcoming cheers or applause. This was not in the nature of the Dark Angels Legion or the people of Caliban. Some called them dour, they preferred to be practical and not waste time or energy on ego building.

Luthor did not waste anyone's time either. He spent only a few seconds looking over the gathered masses and then launched into his remarks. He said, "I would like to first convey to all of you present how proud I am to come back and see all that you have accomplished while I and the rest of the Legion has been away."

He paused here and still there were no comment from the parade field. Some of the civilians whispered among themselves in general agreement and approval. Sariel felt Luthor's pause was deliberately made for the civilians to get them on his side with his compliment. This was not the usual way of the people of Caliban and led him to wonder why Luthor thought everyone here was not already on his side. Then again he had never been in position of leadership and had to deal with the politics of leadership. Sariel intensified his listening to see if he could learn something from this experience.

Luthor started again and said, "I would also like to congratulate those who have been training the replacements sent to the front lines. The reconquest of the galaxy for the Emperor has taken its toll. If not for their efforts the war would have ground to a halt long ago."

He paused here once again for a few seconds longer. The mummering of the civilians continued as before. Sariel flicked his eyes around the platform but if any of the training command took pride in these words, a couple of them showed a twitch of pride in face.

Once again Luthor started to speak and said, "Wars however are something that changes constantly. The strategies and tactics that have given us the many victories are not as effective as they once were. This is why our mighty Primarch Lion El Jonson has sent me and my compatriots back. Not because those here have done anything wrong, but to teach them the new ways of fighting and ways of thinking that need to be learned to finish the Emperor's great dream of claiming the entire galaxy from Humanity."

This pause was different this time from the previous ones. The civilians did not try to hide their reactions, and many spoke out loud. Their confusion came from change. For the centuries of warfare that had been going on, the Emperor's tactics had taken them to victory. To hear that Luthor was here to change the Emperor's plan on orders from Lion El Jonson was almost heresy. But how could it be heresy if it came from the Primarch?

Luthor cut the conversations off when he said, "Some of you may take these new ideas has a kind of disobedience. That any change from how we have done things in the past is wrong. Allow me to insure all of you that we have made changes in the past to arrive at where we are now. It was the changes in strategy and tactics brought to us here on Caliban by our Primarch Lion El Jonson which took us from a land overrun by mega-fauna to a world of peace. It was the new technology brought to us by the Emperor that allowed us to make massive contributions to the Imperium in both manpower and material. I know all of you will learn to embrace these new changes so we can bring real change and final victory for the Emperor, our Primarch Lion El Jonson and the others we serve."

With this Luthor did not wait for any response from the gathered crowds. He immediately turned and strode back to the entranceway. A round of polite applause followed him from the civilians. The military units began to be moved off the parade field and back to transports waiting to take them away or for the Dark Angels back into the main citadel.

Sariel arrived back at his assigned barracks room about an hour later. As usual the few beds in the room were folded into the wall slots. The more he and his fellows needed less and less sleep as they became less and less Human and more and more Adeptus Astartes. The room mostly contained open space for meditation and wardrobes that held the personally assigned items for each of the Dark Angels Librarian candidates assigned to the room.

As usual a strange sense of calm overtook Sariel as he entered the room. For better or worse this was the closest thing he had to a home. He knew on an intellectual level that the Dark Angels Legion as a whole was his home. He knew that serving the Emperor and his Primarch would be his life. Wherever they sent him and whatever they asked him to do would be his life and home. Still deep inside him in the part that was still Human this sparsely furnished room was the home that allowed him to center himself and feel a connection to the Dark Angels that he could not anywhere else.

Moving over to his assigned wardrobe he began to change out of the robe and then wondered what he should change in to. They had hot been given any instructions, so he decided to look at what the other Librarian trainees were doing. There was Conver and about another dozen all junior to them in the room at the moment. All of them looked to be at a loss as to what they should be doing next. Some of them were looking at him.

Sariel did not think and just opened his mouth and said, "We all know our duties. Put on standard training garb and we shall begin meditation exercises and equipment maintenance until we receive orders in the new ways."

Conver said, "I do not know about you lot, but I am looking forward to some new training and not the same old dull routine."

A voice came from the doorway and said, "As you see Librarian Lanval our candidates know their duty and are ready and eager for your new guidance."

Every eye in the room turned to sound of Librarian Thuel's voice and found him standing next another full Adeptus Astartes in Librarian garb. The pair share many features and looked similar. Still the new Librarian gave off a sense of foreboding. He was more like a predator ready to strike than the calm teacher Librarian Thuel projected.

Librarian Thuel turned to the new Librarian also and waited. Librarian Lanval took his que and said, "There is not a problem with the quality of the recruits, never has been. It is just that we have learned new things from new enemies and new allies out in the wider galaxy. I am sure when these new training techniques are absorbed by the recruits they will also see the wisdom in these ways also."

Librarian Thuel said, "Yes I am also looking forward to learning and teaching these new techniques."

The new Librarian turned the assembled recruits and said, "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Librarian Lanval. I have been on campaign with Luthor and our Primarch for many years. We have had great success under their leadership. Now you know as Luthor has stated we were sent back to ensure future success."

Here he paused and looked each recruit in the eye. Sariel felt a flicker in his mind when Lanval looked into his. His psychic defenses came up and cut off any further reach into his mind. Lanval did not react and just moved on to the next candidate which was Conver. He spent a full ten seconds on him before moving on.

When he finished the room, he said, "Now as you have already surmised it will take some time to set up the new training in both lessons and exercises. It will take even more time for those of us who use special gifts for the Emperor and our Primarch. Please carry on with your previous ways. They are still useful until you learn the new ways."

Librarian Lanval then turned and whispered something to Librarian Thuriel before taking his leave. Thuriel then said, "Scout Sariel continue to guide the other recruits. Scout Conver you are to come with me. Librarian Lanval needs someone to assist and run errands during the preparations. He has asked for you specifically."

Conver grabbed his regular robes and put them on while exiting the room. He and Librarian Thuriel left together. Conver continued to get myself ready while going over what needed to be done with the other candidates. All the while an uneasy feeling planted tiny seeds in the back of his psyche. He did not know what the future held. That was not one of his gifts. He just thought he would need to have greater trust in the Emperor and the Primarch that things were going as they should.