Terran Standard day after Terran Standard day rolled by, and even longer, as Basil studied in the Black Library. The studies and tests seemed to never end, with only a few brief respites, as Mistress Ilronanna was a relentless taskmaster. During one such break, Basil had the opportunity to walk halls of the craftworld with the Witch who had brought him to it.

Siân walked gracefully along-side Basil as they marched between the narrow black walls of the corridor. A slight smile was visible on his boyish face, evidence of youthful contentment. "Thank you again for another pleasant walk," she said with a smile. "You still have not had that first dance yet, have you?"

"No," Basil answered and the slight smile on his face momentarily vanished. "I have been so busy studying. Mistress Ilronanna has taught me so much. I thought that I would merely be allowed to study about Chaos. I never dreamed I would receive instruction in how to channel the Warp and harden my Will." He paused a moment, lost in thought, and then continued. "Ansgar was a knowledgeable and demanding Master to learn under but his instruction barely prepared me for the Mistress' lessons."

"Ansgar?" Siân asked.

"A space marine," Basil answered. "The Librarian for the Void Spectres that Inquisitor Matthias had me learn from."

"Oh," she responded with what appeared to be surprise. Her emerald eyes broke from his for a moment, glancing beyond his shoulder before returning to his golden eyes. "I should be leaving," she said and immediately turned about without waiting for a word from Basil.

He watched her walk away down the corridor.

"Finished yet, lad?" rang out Mistress Ilronanna's voice in Low Gothic. "She is not for you. You have important work to tend. Follow me."

Basil quickly turned round and followed in the footsteps of Mistress Ilronanna. I came here to learn of Chaos. Here, in the greatest such library in the Universe but I can only think of her while time goes on outside. Thoughts churned in his head as he continued down the corridor. How long has it been? Years? Is Lerriksen even alive still? What has become of the Reach? Basil steadied his thoughts. We destroyed the Tech-Priests on the Exodite world as well as their voidship. I would have sensed it in the Warp if something as monumental as them discovering the Condenser had happened.

"You have looked through the Ritus de Exilium, correct?" Mistress Ilronanna asked over her shoulder in the Aeldari tongue but did not wait for a response from Basil. "It was composed long ago by a Far Seer named Druthact who hails from Rubha Àird Driseig, the craftworld of Siân's origin. He is one of a handful of individuals known to exhibit even the barest comprehension of the Words of Creation. And he gave it as a gift of friendship to a human civilization which called themselves the Interex."

"I knew it was given as a gift from Rubha Àird Driseig to the Interex but I did not know Druthact penned it," Basil answered.

"I bring this to your attention because your next lesson will be on the Primordial Annihilator," Ilronanna said as she came to a stop, having stepped out of the narrow corridor and into a wider room. A room with shelves containing countless tomes and a single desk.

"The Primordial Annihilator?" Basil asked.

"An ancient name for what you may refer to as Chaos Undivided or the Ruinous Powers," Ilronanna said. "See, the four heads of Chaos have always been present, if not in such 'well-defined' forms as they have now, but they have always been different facets of one force, the Primordial Annihilator. Such is its nature that the Primordial Annihilator compulsively seeks the destruction of Reality itself. The Annihilator is entirely of the Warp and, as it is intrinsically a force of Destruction, it cannot use, or even learn, the Words of Creation."

Basil simply nodded in affirmation and continued listening to Ilronanna.

"It is said that one can learn the Words of Creation by following Saim-Hann," she said. "And that following it will lead one to Scholomance." Her eyes began to look over the books in front of her as she spoke.

"I've heard of Saim-Hann," Basil interjected with boyish enthusiasm. "We have records of a craftworld bearing that name but I have not heard of Scholomance."

"I do not speak of a craftworld when I mention Saim-Hann," she said. "I speak of the term's literal meaning, referring, by the nomenclature of our oldest recorded works, to the 'Quest for Enlightenment'."

"I'm sorry," Basil added sheepishly. "I understood the word's meaning but mistakenly assumed you were referring to the craftworld."

"That is understandable, young one," Ilronanna answered. "The craftworld was named in honour of the Quest." The Far Seer continued casting her gaze over the books, looking for something.

Basil nodded at her words. "And what is Scholomance supposed to be? A metaphor for the secrets of life?"

"It is said to be many different things by different sources," Ilronanna said. "In one, it is a great artefact forged by Vaul himself for Dromlach, the Cosmic Serpent. Vaul became the great artisan of our pantheon because Dromlach taught him the Words of Creation and he repaid that debt to the Serpent by fashioning an immense celestial body to serve as its nest. A great black rock full of burrows and chambers where the Serpent could rest and sleep or simply peer across the galaxy from its windows. Its portals are said to connect it to the Webway and innumerable worlds. Other legends say that it has always been the nest of the Cosmic Serpent and that Scholomance is where Vaul trained as Dromlach's Apprentice."

"I have not heard of this Cosmic Serpent," Basil added. "I thought I knew all the gods of your pantheon but I should not be surprised I was mistaken in that."

"It is not a member of our pantheon," Ilronanna corrected. "The Serpent is said to predate our pantheon and to be the only creature in the Universe to exist simultaneously in both the Warp and Reality. In many tales, it is allied with Cegorach, allowing the Laughing God to ride it into battle or aiding him with his pranks, as did its children." Basil saw her eyes rest on a book for an instant before passing on. "Some of our oldest traditions, dating back to long before we reached the heavens, involve the Serpent. But one thing has always been constant," she added. "Dromlach was filled with knowledge that it would share with Apprentices, and thus, the serpent has always been a symbol of knowledge."

Memories flooded into Basil's mind and the worry showed upon his face. "The serpent was one of the earliest symbols of Chaos that was encountered by Imperial forces during our 'Great Crusade'. It represented the knowledge that could be gained, for a price, by dealing with Chaos. I do not like this coincidence."

"After She Who Thirsts was born, Dromlach slithered away into obscurity and the agents of Chaos stole his likeness as a symbol in order to capitalize on his legend," Ilronanna answered. "But we keep the ancient truth of Dromlach alive with our tales so that the Primordial Annihilator does not destroy that too." Her eyes locked onto a book. "Here it is," Ilronanna said as she removed the book from the shelf. "This is the only book we have from which to study the Words of Creation, and it contains only the barest fragments, but more than the Ritus de Exilium."

Her hand reached the huge tome toward Basil. It was jet black but laced with countless six-sided runes which likened to starlight. "Thank you," Basil said as he took the book in both hands.

"Do not thank me," Ilronanna snapped back. "Learn what you can from it." Without another word, she walked past Basil and back down the corridor.

Basil stared at the tome for a moment but his eyes were drawn back to the shelves, back to the book Ilronanna's eyes had locked upon for an instant. He placed the black book she had handed him on the desk and walked over to the shelves and took in his hands the tome she had glanced at. The binding was black and the cover was purple with gilded Aeldari runes, but the book's title held his attention.

The Dance