AN: Q: Ecthelion75(chapter 26): Will the Chaos god's or the c'tan be making an appearance?
R: Part of me doesn't want to ruin anything. But I should rip off the band-aid for people, fuck the chaos Gods, fuck the warp, neither exist in this crossover…..now that will have some implications that I have cool ideas for. But seriously the warp is an unstoppable corrupting force of nature, it butts its way into every Warhammer crossover, and it's annoying. It makes sense to use it, or have it show up, and sorry for ranting, but one of my early decisions in this story was, fuck the warp. If you want a better/more in-depth explanation for my choice, pm me.
BoskiJelen(chapter 26): Romance with Athena would be pretty awesome especially with angry Zeus/Olympians around
R: Just because the shipper goddess is trying to get Pallas, "I ain't got no time for that romance thing" Athena, famous for being a virgin goddess who has never cared for Aphrodite's work or bullshit, into a romance. Don't mean it'll happen or that it is even likely… sigh, but your shippers so that is irrelevant isn't it?
As the Machine God moved towards Dimitis he thought on what he had seen from the Olympians, although he didn't immediately gaze in on the gathering of gods from his weapon viewports. When he did however the meeting had already started. As he travelled to the palace he had his attention split. For a human it would have been almost impossible… impossible. And though he was garbed in a human form, he was all the same, not one. His mind was greater.
The deity's thoughts concentrated, 'I suppose I should expect the messenger god to arrive, or perhaps a mere letter.' His thoughts wondered, 'Perhaps I should create and plant some crops for incense, I could modify them for the climate.' Yet another thought, 'And again, I really should build myself a home, even if only for tending to guests.' A smile graced his face, 'well, I now have something to do today don't I.' He approached Dimitis when another town came to mind, 'We should also ensure Tritia is properly guided soon as well, tomorrow perhaps. We have barely begun there, after all.'
He moved to the altars where he saw a few people present with offerings, but he saw more people at his own altar and chapel. 'Well, when you explicitly state you don't need a sacrifice of any kind to pray it metaphorically opens the door more. Well, that and we have actually stood before them several times.
Walenty and Adga, the couple who had purchased the fabric for him were in front of the tree, it seemed that Praxis had decided to take a nap in its branches. He was noticed by the people there and was now a major point of attention by the looks of it. As he walked towards the tree to greet the couple he noticed that Praxis was gathering faith. 'Ah, much like the tree then. Very well.' He was noticed by the people, including Walenty and Adga. It is good to see you both again, in the short time since I've last seen you have my gifts been a blessing?"
"Yes my lord, it has been of great help," Walenty answered while Adga nodded beside her husband. Praxis woke up and glided down to the primordial deity's shoulder. And just like the Rust Root, a connection of collected faith was made between Praxis and Omnissiah.
More prayers and requests flooded his senses. A small part of his mind had been keeping track of the prayers he heard, this new batch held some new things, '…One of Gold Feathers.' And another, 'Omnissiah the duel-headed'.
'New epithets it seems.' He pushed his attention away from that, "Good, allow me to introduce Praxis. I created him this morning."
"What is he?" Adga asked almost automatically. She felt a slight flush of embarrassment at her soft outburst before it was squashed by a somewhat pleased answer from the trinity.
"A two-headed eagle with golden feathers, to my knowledge he is unique." The words were in an almost polite lecture tone, 'but that isn't what she was asking, is it.' He continued his tone, "But if you need a name for his kind" a pause, 'High Gothic, like his name.' He finished his thought, "Then I think Aquilla shall serve well. Praxis is an Aquilla."
The couple as well as those around them looked at the avian and his two too intelligent eyes. The foreign words of his name and were both elegant and yet rough.
"Ah, I just thought of something, Walenty, Adga. Would you mind stepping into my chapel for a private word?" The question was followed by the One of Invisible works stepping towards his building. They nodded, as they walked the short distance both the married couple and the people saw the slight up and down motion of walking, so different from the gliding they were used to seeing from the robed figure.
As he stepped into the chapel they saw the bottom of his footwear. As the pair followed him into the building, they realized the voice of the deity sounded different, more distinctly masculine. "Excellent now, I would like to ask you two something." The couple nodded for him to continue, slightly uncomfortable. "Would you be interested in joining my cult?" The couple appear slightly surprised before looking at each other.
"Ah, yes lord. We, we do not have much. And when a god descends, well. We don't know if there is a greater sign to follow." Walenty again speaking on the behalf of both of them, but increasing assertiveness in Adga would have to wait.
"Excellent." There was an unmistaken joy in his voice, "If you do not mind, could you speak to Jace, Alexandria, and Clio about joining. Do you know them?" the couple nodded, "I have things I must attend to, but if they are interested as well, I would like all of you to come back here at sunset. And know that you can choose to back out of it should the oath I present to you be too much." Both of them left with a small bow.
People were still praying, and with no other business to see to he got to work. A compacted path was made further into the trees and around 10 meters away from the chapel and Rust Root trees were cleared. Invisible hands ripped and worked the plants. The ground was levelled out and a foundation was dug. Compression and manipulation shaped soil into stone walls half a meter above and 2 meters below to hold the dirt from erosion. It also formed the base of the walls. Trees now stripped and dried began to form the house, it was around 12 meters square. There was a 4-meter square inside to act as a small open-air courtyard.
After a moment of consideration, more trees were removed and a second story was added. The entire house had several thin vertical open windows on each side. The upper-level windows were wider. The walls to the courtyard on the second floor had large open windows, and the ground floor had an entrance on each of the four sides of the yard.
The door was solid and though wood with his cog carved upon it. The door even had a bar set to keep it closed inside faced the direction of the chapel and other altars.
Looking at the much thinner trees, and thinking of the Nymph he encountered not long ago he pondered, 'Perhaps it is best to ensure I replant. If only to have material for later, plus, it could be an issue with the more nature-focused deities if I do not. I have nothing to fear from one like that Nymph, she wasn't strong. What was her name? Ash, unlikely to be her actual name.'
He began to pick up discarded seeds and plant them where trees were thin. He began to accelerate their growth until they weren't seeds but became saplings from sprouts. 'But, it would not be good to make enemies if it can be avoided, not this early.' The structure of the house was done, but the windows were bare. He thought back on his memories of grand cathedrals filled with stained glass windows. A smile was visible on his face as he gathered sand grains, the Lord of Mars heated the sand and formed sheets of glass.
It took a few attempts to get it just right but the house was now filled with light despite the lack of openings in the walls. This also allowed for the courtyard to not be so shrouded, despite the building. The courtyard was barren, but it could be his own garden. The ground was made ready, and seeds for the plants found in his incense, or something like them, were made. Soon, through attention and effort, there were fully matured crops.
He began to furnish the house's rooms. None of them were assigned roles but there were six rooms on each floor, excluding the courtyard and the entrance 'hall' just as you enter which contains the stairs up to the second floor. He retrieved his table with its accompanying cups, bowl and jug. After over an hour of work, that would have been impossible in such a short amount of time if he had not put all of his focus on it, he had a house. Whether or not he would use it for anything but guests, projects, and his current crop of incense. That would have to be seen.
It was now well into the afternoon. The Lord of All Machine Spirits had begun to make different combinations of incense while in the courtyard. All the while memories flashed before his eyes, all of them involved incense, whether it was a quiet prayer in a church or a desperate plea on the battlefield. Afterward, he thought about what was coming that evening, 'How should I initiate them. Give them robes obviously, but what else?'
He considered this, and nothing came in the form of a flashback, then it hit him. 'Sacred oils. My servants used those to appease the spirits.' a pause, 'Odd, but. Well, they fix whatever is broken anyway and the intention matters. But what would differentiate them from normal oils aside from my word, unless I do something to it…' he looked over at the Rust Fruit in the bowl on his table. 'A sacred fruit, but how to make an oil of it?'
After a bit of experimentation, he held a newly made stone flask that held a reddish oil, it almost glowed with his power under his careful gaze. Though to normal eyes, it would not do so. He put it away in a nearby room.
He then let his mind wander, he did remember how to make a Las pistol power pack when he saw Hephaestus at work. Many of the components would need to be figured out. But he had a feeling more memories would come. He at least knew where to start. 'We'll have no need of less advanced weapons-' a memory surfaced once more.
"A las gun is better than any old-" another voice interrupted, "See that's where your wrong, you've seen the bolt pistol the commissar carries, and I know you've seen what it can do. There is something to be said for physical ammunition-"
The memory ended, 'bolt, pistol….Whatever it is, I shall have to consider physical projectiles in future.' After he extended his senses to search for the metals needed to create the power pack. He quickly retrieved the material, and just when he sat down at his first table in the courtyard those metals. Something grabbed his attention. 'It would seem the messenger has come.'
He moved from his house and to the chapel. Some people pointed to the house, but the primordial deity's focus was on an approaching figure. The Omnissiah stopped in front of the Rust Root, Praxis flew down onto his shoulder and gave few low quiet vocalizations. He was answering a few questions about the house when the god in disguise approached. "Ah good, you're here, follow me."
If the Patron of Thieves was surprised that the Lord of All Knowledge expected him then the Olympian gave no indication of it. The people were a bit surprised but the deity did talk to people in private, and it wasn't as if they did not know that the One of Crimson Robes left the village. They seemed to have met in the eyes of the people there.
The bar was lifted with a telekinetic force and they entered the newly built house. He led them to the courtyard. The same table sat, fresh water in the pitcher, and the bowl of Rust Fruit still present. He sat down at the chair where he had placed his metals then spoke, "You can drop the disguise, Hermes, and please don't take the lack of a title as a disrespect."
There was a small flash of light and the form he had seen on Olympus was present, "Well, you certainly have me on the back foot. How did you know it was me?" a smirk present on the god's face as he spoke at a quick pace.
"I sensed you. It is good to meet you. I am sure you know who I am so I won't bore you by saying so. Now, I do believe you have come to tell me something, given that your two half-siblings left this morning. Or are you investigating me yourself because you do not believe them?" the god of travellers shook his head.
"Mostly the first, only partially the later. I believe them both, but I'd hope to see for myself." the trinity nodded as he ran his fingers through Praxis' feathers. Hermes continued, "I've come to inform you that you are invited to a celebration upon Olympus in three days. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that it is an honour on your part."
Despite saying those words, the god likely didn't think so. He did not seem to be the type to flaunt position, it was most likely something he was told to mention by his father before he left, possibly. In the end, the hood of his robe nodded with his head before he removed it to reveal his face.
"Well, I am certainly happy to be met with a welcome that is not hostile." a pause, "If you are wondering, I will come. I see no reason not to at this current time."
"Very good, though, speaking of welcoming," the Lord of Energy and Motion waited for him to continue, "Is it true you really said that guest gift stuff to Athena and Hephaestus?" a smile was threatening to split his face.
"Considering I have learned your father's laws of hospitality to be culturally, and spiritually important here. I did offer to excuse that breech yes, it was mostly for my own amusement at the tradition." Hermes let out a laugh at that.
"That's hilarious, well, I can see you are at the least as my brother and sister described you. I suppose I'll have to wait to see more of you at the party. I have other duties to attend to." he got up to walk away.
"So soon, well, in that case before you go please return what you grabbed." the tone didn't really shift. The god stopped and then smiled.
"Alright." the Olympian took out the metals he snatched and put it down, "You've got sharp eyes, I think we'll have a great time in this game." the three-part deity hummed.
"Perhaps. Though I don't know if I'd call stealing a game." Hermes chuckled at the reply before turning invisible and flying out of the courtyard. Though he didn't mask his heat, and certainly not his energy enough for the primordial to not see him. After he was gone the Omnissiah let out a small sigh, 'That might prove to be a disturbance later on. But in the meantime, I shall continue."
For the next hour the Lord of All Machines worked on the powerpack, it took over 40 minutes for him to figure out how everything worked, and another 20 to build it. And once he did, it felt. Well, good to start. But that was quickly set aside from the almost headache-inducing amount of memories that hit him. Most of them were his servants or others using the power packs, sometimes while speaking a cant specifically addressing the machine spirit to accept reloading.
A bit odd but if they cared enough about his spirits to do so, then he was pleased. Some though, some of the memories were much more, interesting. It wasn't the whole thing, but he saw one of his priests repairing a las gun. He would have to figure much of it out but considering he knew it shot lasers, which are not necessarily dangerous. Thus he would have to figure out a way to make them so, he had a lot of the pieces, but it would take time to assemble them, and figure out the rest.
He didn't get any more memories that afternoon, but experimentation led to some promising results. There wasn't even a prototype but already he had made a laser that could heavily burn the target on impact. The idea being a cluster of high-energy particles would destroy most things, and since it is light, do so incredibly fast. The power pack thankfully could be charged by sunlight. Not that he couldn't force a charge through manipulation of atoms but. That was a lot of effort. But as the sun went down more, it was time.
Disconnecting his experiment to power it down he smiled, just yesterday the most advanced non-organic things on Terra was high-carbon steel, which he made, and chariots. Which he knew existed since Helios had a 'sun chariot'. Now, he was beginning to create highly advanced weaponry.
He moved to where he put his new oil, grabbed it, and moved out of the house before locking floating the board from outside into place to keep the door closed. He moved to the chapel, there were no people here now, surprisingly. Though that would work just fine. He entered his chapel and retrieved 5 of his 7 robes from under the shrine. He placed the oil and robes onto the altar outside before he separated the robes out.
Five robes side by side, he was ready, the sun was just starting to go down when he noticed people approaching, six people. Extending his senses found the five people he was expecting and Korban.
They approached, Clio ran forward, "Omnissiah, is what Walenty and Adga said true? Can we join?" the idea seemed to greatly excite the girl.
The deity still had his hood down, his smile came at her question, "If you are willing to swear the oath completely then yes. I'd like for your family to be a part of the Cult Mechanicus."
Jace and Alexandria walked forward, "Are you two willing to join," a controlled whisper spoke to both of them, and was near impossible for anyone else to hear, "and are you willing to allow Clio to join?"
Alexandria looked a bit more worried than Jace but both nodded, "Good." he turned to his friend, "Korban, I had not expected you. May I ask what you are doing here?" the tone was of genuine curiosity. There was no hostility, and so Korban felt confident.
"Alexandria thought I would like to act as a witness. Is that alright?" what went unsaid was that he wished to make sure they were not forced, it was one of the first concerns the priest had when they met. The trinity could not find hold it against him, even one's friends can do things one does not want.
"Of course," he turned to the two couples, and preteen. "Let us begin, step forward, each of you should find a robe and place both of your hands upon it." they did as he asked, "Answer each point of the oath in the affirmative if you can, if not, step back and withdraw your hands. I will hold no grudge if you cannot take the oath." each had minor looks of anxiety but also determination.
"Do you each promise to lay down before me all other loyalties to both gods and mortal leaders?" they all spoke yes, "Do all of you promise to learn knowledge, to understand it, and bring it to comprehension under my banner?" they all affirmed, "Do you let your hands on this altar act as a sacrifice, that they will do my will?" a bit of apprehension before they all nodded and spoke yes, "Will you have your limbs carry you to the perfection of the Machine?" more affirmatives, Korban silently watched from the side.
"Do you promise yourselves to my service and the betterment of humanity until you are unable, or I release you from your service?" Once more they seemed to be a pause, this wasn't a timed service, it was not the short term that was taken by priests. Korban's place was very odd. But they all affirmed after a few moments, Omnissiah smiled. He took out the oil and floated it into 5 small orbs of liquid. He spoke, "Then receive the sign of your complete oath in the form of the Cog Mechanicum on your person." the orbs moved to the foreheads of the group and formed circles that became cog wheels through manipulation. They did not see this but felt it on their foreheads and saw the deity roasted his arm in a circular motion.
"Don your robes as the first members of the Cult Mechanicus. Learn from my tutelage and you maybe find yourself ready to become one of my priests."
Korban looked slightly worried but smiled when it was over. The robes were rather large on Clio, but her parents thought she looked absolutely adorable. Walenty and Adga hugged each other before turning to the deity they had just sworn themselves to and their fellow cult members. Korban spoke words to each of them before departing, "Now, I don't expect you to find different jobs. Simply spread your word of my values and goals to those you encounter. And learn from me, I shall instruct you in new ways, give you great knowledge. And ensure you are all protected. Now, I think we should start the lessons. Follow me."
The group enters the chapel, they look to the left side and see 8 points in the carved box. "In time all of you shall learn to read and write, as well as many other things. But for now, listen and attempt to memorize what I say. These are the first 8 of the Universal Laws of the Cult Mechanicus, they are called the 'Mysteries of the Cult Mechanicus.' The first law is that life is directed motion, the second law is that the spirit is the spark of life. The-"
01100011 01101000 01100001 01101110 01100111 01100101
After he told them the mysteries, he proceeded to teach them the very basics of reading. He decided that rather than forcing them to learn the written form of a language they did not know. He would teach them Greek first. The association of words and sounds to letters was a slow process. It went fastest for Clio, and the same could be said about writing. For the two couples he gave a hand, he pushed a minor amount of his influence onto their brains. Not to change them, which would be like taking the reins of a chariot to steer, but to help them make their own connections, which was like pushing said chariot out of the mud. Regardless after an hour of practice, he sent them to their homes to rest.
After they left, he experienced something odd. After a few minutes, he identified it as, "tired". He hadn't eaten, nor slept. He didn't really consider removing those from his form. He could sustain himself with his power instead of eating sure, but removing the need for sleep whole was much more difficult. Doable, but difficult. In the end, it was easier to sleep for the first time than to fight the nature of the human body. Fuel and rest, though the former would come later and in lower quantities than any human needed to live.
And so he spends his remaining energy creating a somewhat comfortable bed from local materials on the second floor of the house. He laid down and almost immediately slept. But it was not a dreamless sleep, he found himself in a desert with great winds whipping at his hair. The red sand-, this was Mars. Not only that but he saw the great iron ring above him, ships going to and fro. He wandered his home, it felt not just familiar but right to be here. Like there was a connection.
Eventually, he found himself in a grand cathedral, beautiful notes and cants sung through the air and noosphere, though how he heard the noosphere without augmentation he did not know. He noted the two plaques almost identical to his memories. Each had the universal laws written on them, he could see the mysteries just fine. But the warnings were denied to him, no matter how much he stared they blurred.
He focused, and focused, he wanted to know, he needed to know. He was the Omnissiah, HE SHOULD KNOW ALREADY! And there he saw it, "11th: A Soul can be bestowed only by the Omnissiah" and just like that he woke up. It was morning by the looks of the faint light coming into the room from the windows.
He exited the house and moved to the chapel, mulling over his thoughts. He entered and began to inscribe the 3rd warning. 'I have thought of it before, but what does this mean for us, and for the underworld?' he stood silent. 'I shall have to investigate.'
AN: Let me know if I made any mistakes. If this seems like a massive jump, it isn't, I set up the power pack thing back in chap. 23. And I always intended to skip a few steps tech-wise. Besides, still gonna need infrastructure for production, a steady supply of materials and people to use what is made before it makes a true impact.
Also, some of you may wonder why they get robes when they aren't priests, Skitarii get robes. Also, Omnissiah doesn't remember everything, this is a semi-new tradition he has made. Let me know if you see any issues in the oaths, or if you wanna tell me that being visited by and talking to a god wouldn't make you at least somewhat willing to join their following. Yes, the oaths are rather permanent, and hardcore(kinda). But, they have interacted with him, and I like to think he has been not only nice but in many ways. Better than the Olympians, appealing.