Ynnead folded her arms across her chest and pouted to the best of her ability. Which was quite formidable.
"I am not going away. I am not."
After wandering the warp for what seemed like an eternity Ynnead had finally found this watch post. Standing in the void with the brilliant Milky Way galaxy stretching out before her she gazed out over the swirling mass of stars. If you looked using only your eyes you might think she was alone. But she wasn't. The emperor of mankind was about to discover just how stubborn the little death goddess could be.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Trespasser.
Ynnead wiggled her fingers. "Just touching the air, I mean space. It's a free galaxy."
Alien.
"I know you are, but what am I?"
Heretic.
The little Eldar spread her arms wide in exasperation.
"Now you're just talking out of your arse! How can I be a heretic? I am a goddamned..." Ynnead bit her tongue and ducked slightly as if cuffed on top of the head by an imaginary hand. "I mean, I am a god."
Daemon.
At those words, Ynnead froze, her impish smile slowly fading. The entire little body seemed to deflate like a balloon. Then she hung her head and swallowed hard.
"Yes, I know. That is why I am here."
Traitor.
"Yes, traitor. Traitor to life." Her voice was very small now.
Liar.
"Yes thank you very much, you made your damned point, ok?"
Malefactor.
"So you do know why I am here?"
Yes.
Ynnead waited, as if her next words didn't want to cross her chapped lips. "Can you make so I can never hurt anyone else again?"
Perhaps.
Ynnead took one last look at the galaxy and then, trembling she lifted her chin, exposing her slender throat.
"Make it quick, will you?"
Death.
"Yes." Ynnead was shivering from head to toe. She pinched her red and puffy eyes shut, tears streaming down her naked body. "Will...will it hurt?"
No.
The goddess took a deep breath and dried her tears. "I am ready."
No.
"What do you mean no?"
No.
"You're not going to destroy me?"
No.
"What? I killed your kin. I murdered them. I devoured their souls. They are gone now, utterly destroyed. All they were and would ever be. Their hopes and dreams, their past and future. Do you even know what that means?"
Yes.
"So just do it."
No.
"DO IT!" Ynnead lashed out with thrashing tentacles of grey mist in all directions, clawing at the void around her but finding nothing to latch on to.
"Do it, you impotent cripple or I will feed on you too. I will take you. Take all of you! Take everything and leave nothing!"
No.
Ynnead grinned a savage, eerie grin. The feathers on her shoulders raised like tiny hackles and her black scales gleamed menacingly. Even in the warp, the wind started to howl. Inside her eyes, two black stars darker than the void around her ignited in a flash of swirling smoke.
"Don't think I can do it do you? I am Ynnead of the stillborn hope and I am death incarnate! No living thing is beyond my grasp! Man, god or mice, I-"
Yes.
"I will consume you! And don't think I will stop there. I will kill every human! Even the women and...the...the children..." The little girl was now trembling so hard that she almost could not stand. Her voice was breaking at every single syllable. At the end, she could take it no more, retched violently and grasped her hands over her stomach.
Liar.
The wind dropped to whisper and the vicious hungry smoke evaporated into thin space. In the middle of it all the small Eldar child collapsed onto the ground, folding up into a fetal position, face hidden in her arms.
Coward.
"Why are you doing this to me?"
Duty.
"There is nothing I can do."
Atonement.
"What? No, I told-"
Penance.
"I can't undo what I did! Just end me."
Redemption.
"I CAN'T!"
Saviour.
"I'm not."
Hope.
"Stop. Please."
Destiny.
"I can't. I just can't."
Yes.
"I have already failed."
No.
The stars, previously so brilliant and bright, started to dim. In front of Ynnead the whole galaxy seemed somehow diminished. Then like a blanket of doom, darkness descended upon it. Finally, like water in a bathtub, all light started to drain into a gaping hole in one of the spiral arms. The Eye of Terror. The birthplace of She Who Thirsts and the epicentre of the old Eldar empire. The only legacy they would leave behind. The doom of Eldar would be the doom of all life. The screams of billions sang a song of despair in Ynnead's little mind. Humans, Eldar and Orks alike.
"NOOOOO!" Ynnead reached out her hands towards the dying galaxy. In some places, she could see the light was struggling, trying to resist the pull of doom. But it was outmatched, outclassed and outnumbered by the swarming darkness. And while it fought valiantly, in the end, all light was extinguished. Ynnead was left in the pitch dark of empty space. The voices fell silent.
"This isn't real" she yammered in panic. "I can still feel them. They're still out there. They're not gone! They're not!"
No.
"Is...is this what happens if I fail?"
Yes.
For a long long time, they sat there together in the darkness, emperor and goddess. Finally, the goddess spoke again. Her voice sounded older, like it was coming from somewhere deep inside of her.
"What must I do?"
Eldar.
Ynnead paused and took a deep breath. Then tentatively, she stretched forth her little palm towards the place where the galaxy had once been. "I must go to them. They are my responsibility now. Just as the humans are yours." At her words, a single dim star reappeared in the pitch dark sky. She caressed the image of the twinkling light with her fingers, smiling gently.
Yes.
The goddess of the Eldar laughed like the child she was, her girlish voice ringing out into the void like the first bell on a cold spring morning. She laughed and laughed, spinning around until she was too dizzy to stand. And one by one, the stars emerged again until the whole scintillating spiral once again sparkled upon her in all its glory. Her laughter rolled out over the galaxy, causing evil all around it to shudder and hiss in dismay. And every good-hearted being in need could feel that long-lost spark of hope flare and take root deep within them. For another banner of light had once again been raised in defiance of the darkness. Finally, Ynnead collapsed in a fit of giggles. For a time there was silence between the two deities once again as they gazed over the galaxy.
"Can you ever forgive me?"
No.
"Will it all make any difference? Do we have any chance at all?"
Unlikely.
Ynnead nodded, jumped to her feet, slapped her hands together in determination like that didn't matter. "But we have to try," she stated matter a factly.
Yes.
Her gloomy nature all a sudden gone Ynnead reverted to the same defiant and slightly whiny voice she had used when they had first met.
"But where do I go? I can't just show up on their doorstep!" The little girl made a mocking face. "Hi, my name is Ynnead, I'll be your new death goddess! Charming to meet you all, now bow down and worship me! And by the way, a foot rub would be-"
Black Library.
Ynnead frowned. "What is that?"
Find.
At first, the little girl opened her mouth to object but then closed it again, as if she just remembered something. She closed her eyes but behind her eyelids, her big brown eyes were still moving.
"I see it! But the gates are closed." Ynnead drew a sharp breath. "They are guarded. By something terrible."
Yes.
"There is a price to pay for entering. All must offer tribute. Even I."
Yes.
Ynnead swallowed and nodded, accepting her fate. She opened her eyes again and took a deep breath.
"Thank you. I guess this is goodbye." The clumsy girl managed an elegant curtsy, an ancient token of respect, not seen in the galaxy for tens of thousands of years. Then she turned her back on the nothingness and started to fade away.
Wait.
"Yes?"
Humans.
Ynnead nodded.
Live.
At first, Ynnead scoffed back at him. "Make up your bloody mind. You have your people and I have mine, that was your entire point, was it not?" But then she stopped as if remembering something. "All life is sacred. I will try my best."
UNACCEPTABLE. This time the emperor of mankind sounded different somehow. His words fell on her like hammer blows. Unyielding. Unforgiving.
"I understand that my sins are neither forgiven nor forgotten. I have a debt that can never be repaid. But even so, you can not ask me to put your kin over my own. If so you might as well strike me down right here, right now." She was met with silence. Ynnead shrugged.
"Good. Guess worst case you can always kill me later."
YES.
Ynnead smirked, raising one of her eyebrows.
"Quite the charmer, aren't you?" She curtsied again. And with one last crooked smile, she was gone.
The galaxy still hung in the void and for a moment there was stillness. Then another voice spoke, belonging to neither emperor nor goddess. One that could render asunder the sanity of any who heard it. Fortunately, the only listener could not really be labelled sane.
Quite the spectacle. She is impressed. But she isn't fooled. She knows the Anathema and you are not him. She knows your scent. She knows your name. Cegorach.
The image of the galaxy exploded into a million tiny pieces of light which slowly collected together again, like falling snow. When the image reestablished, it took the form of a giant bone-white theatre mask. A manic snicker, quite unlike Ynnead's own clear laughter, rolled from its mouth slit.
"A performer is nothing without his audience. So glad you could join us, little sister. This concerns you too. Very much indeed. Slaaaaaaaneeeeeeesh."
A scream of rage echoed from the blackness and a horned shape rushed out from the void at unbelievable speed. Faster than any mortal eye could see a clawed hand reached for the mask. But it simply exploded again into a million pieces of light that evaporated into the night. The cackling mad laughter intensified, now coming from all around the newcomer.
"Too slow. Always too slow."
The chaos god stamped her hoof down so hard reality shook from the impact.
What was it? The little mouse! Tell her!
"She is to you what you are to us." The voice in the void was no longer laughing, instead, a bitter hatred was slowly seeping into the words as it spoke.
It is broken. It is daft. It came here to die. She will oblige it.
"Oh, is that so? If you are so confident then why did you stay hidden in the shadows, might I wonder? Why did you not strike her down with all your might and glory? So what if she's a little broken? It runs in the family, does it not? I'm insane. You're insane. Why should she have to bear the burden of sanity all alone?" The voice was shifting direction with each word, creeping closer and closer all the time. The last few words were right next to the chaos god. "Huh?" "Huh?" "HUH?"
With a roar of fury, the chaos god swiped out into the darkness with her hands. At first it seemed that her hands found nothing but darkness. But then she caught something without form with the very tip of her claw. It wriggled and screamed, changing shape all the time in a desperate attempt to escape her grasp. But the doom of the Eldar did not let go, instead, she ever so slowly drew the whirling cloud of light closer to her horned head.
Finally, she will have you. She has waited a long time for this.
Slaanesh smiled, her slavering jaws opening wide, ready to feed. The laughing god, true to his name, laughed at her. Even while staring at his doom.
"Sister sister! You disappoint me. You really think I pulled off this prank all alone?"
"He could never forgive. If faced with our sibling that rigid old fart would have to extinguish her for her so-called sins. Something about pride and honour, I didn't really pay attention. But that would send us all down the drain, including many of his precious little humans. Once I got that fact through his thick primitive skull we came to an...arrangement."
"He could not be persuaded to give her the forgiveness or purpose she so sorely needed. But he could be coaxed to look the other way while I played my little tricks."
The swirling mist of light stabilized into a mask once again, still firmly trapped in the chaos gods grasp. It grinned wide, showing two rows of perfect white painted teeth. Slaanesh had almost closed her jaws around the laughing god. Thus his next last word almost came from her lips.
"For a little while, that is."
Piercing unyielding light flooded the scene from all directions, tearing the darkness apart like a razor-edged sledgehammer. The black space was suddenly white hot as if they were standing inside a star. Slaanesh screeched like a caged animal, desperately trying to shield her eyes from the light. But the more she struggled the more her skin crackled and smoked under the vengeful gaze of the protector of mankind. For this was his domain. And here, in his kingdom, his rightful wrath would not be denied. Still, it was only with great reluctance that the chaos god started to fade back into the void. In one last act of desperation, she scanned the fiery space. But the laughing god was long gone.
This is not over! You won't be able to hide from her forever! Your little puppet is no match for her! And she has allies, together we will-
"Oh, I have made sure your 'allies' know full well what would happen if our dear little sister were to expire prematurely. And wouldn't you know, turns out they were somewhat less than keen to help you when they heard about that. But fortunately, just like our dear monkey godhead here, they all seemed more than content with my alternative solution. Your demise, that is."
Slaanesh screamed in agony and a new, to her previously unknown emotion. The laughing god cackled madly in unbridled glee and malice.
"That, dear sister, is fear. How does it feel to be all alone in the dark? I would know. I have hidden here for ten thousand years. But the time for hiding is coming to an end. Oh yes! Like everything else. The end, at long last, is upon us. So run sister, run! For it is coming for you."
Author's note: 20 chapters. Yuhuu! Never thought I'd write this much. The first two chapters are things I wrote ages ago and just dusted off and published last year. Then I just kind of kept going, encouraged by the initial feedback. Now I guess I'm stuck with it. I realize this story has always been kind of a mood piece for me and as many of you have remarked upon, consistency really suffers because of it. If I have a bad day, Ynnead turns into a suicidal emo girl. Have a good day and Ynnead is a lively little brat. Sometimes both. Oh well. In any case: 20 chapters! Now I'm gonna have a beer to celebrate.
Thank you to everyone who stuck by the story all this time, flaws and all.