Extremus Fors Chapter 31

Strange sounds rang in Hypras' ears, muffled and echoing as if underwater. Smears of colour floated in his eyes and a dizzying swirl disturbed his equilibrium. Somewhere in his consciousness hung an awareness of motion, a sense of being pulled along by rough hands but he could not muster any concern over the matter. His emotions had been sheared away, his animus crushed, he was blank inside and out left a hollow husk without any ability to protest.

When the fog lifted it did so suddenly and with sharp pain in his left cheek. Hypras' mind crashed back to wakefulness as the Null-iron was extracted from his face, ripped free by Ceramite digits, leaving a bloody mess of his face. Thoughts and memories streamed back with painful speed, images of battle, conflict and death. Galhuan was dead, that fact hung large in his memory and the killer yet walked free, that was unforgivable. Bitter anger boiled in his hearts and Hypras' will reasserted itself with fresh determination.

He was sitting on a pile of frosted rocks, surrounded by his comrades. At his side Mordad hissed, his fingers dancing upon the Null-iron like a man juggling a red-hot pan from the oven. He awkwardly thrust his hands away and tossed the dart upon the ground, where Agriff dragged piles of dirt and snow over it with a boot, burying the anti-psyker round where none would ever find it. Even knowing it was there was irritating, its presence oozing nothingness but distance bought a reprieve and they turned their backs on the round and ignored it.

"Spiteful thing," Agtiff muttered.

"I thought we erased the idea of Null-iron," Mordad hissed, shaking his hand as if to throw off the taint.

Pelleus bent down and peered into Hypras' eyes calling, "Brother-Librarian, can you hear me?"

"I..." Hypras managed to say, then turned his head and spat out a ceramic tooth. He probed at the gums with his tongue and found them bloody and raw where the dart had lodged in his flesh. His cheek was a mass of scar tissue, Larraman cells forming a hard crust over his face. Quickly he stretched his jaw, pulling at the skin before it hardened and sealed his mouth shut. In moments it had scabbed and he worked his mouth, waiting for feeling to come back.

"What happened?" he asked.

"The Storm Heralds hit you with Null-iron," Mordad explained, "We barely got out of there. We allowed them to live."

"There was no letting about it," Agriff growled, "We were outnumbered, our powers suppressed. Breaking out was all we could manage. We left Galhuan's body."

Hypras' psychic senses were returning and he felt the Aegis stir. Their combined mindscape was red and hot, their grief and anger filling the union with sorrow. Never had he felt the pure flow of energy so tainted with violent emotion, it shocked even him. Grey Knights fought congealed emotions manifesting as walking nightmares, to do so required purity of thought and spirit. Honed and rarefied will shorn of love, anger or despair. For Mercadier squad to be so obviously grieving spoke to the wound to their spirit, a failing he must address.

Hypras pushed himself to his feet and declared, "Galhuan's body may lie cold, but we will not forget his name and he will be avenged."

"We cannot even inter his body in the Dead Fields," Pelleus snarled.

"Do not let wild rage cloud your thoughts," Hypras chided, "Hone your anger, temper your rage, make it a steel blade of vengeance. Our revenge will come, but it will be considered and cold. A stern wroth, not a hasty rush of anger."

Agriff gripped his hammer hard as he spat, "Screw patience, I want to break their skulls open."

"I will peel Novak's face off," Pelleus snarled, "Make him weep as I tear out his eyes."

"I say we head back immediately and burn them to ashes," Mordad growled.

The Aegis broiled with uncontrolled hatred, and Hypras sensed dark powers stirring in response. Such wild anger was dangerous for any psyker, but tenfold as perilous for a communal mindscape. In dimensions unseen Daemons sniffed at the edges of their thoughts and in this unbalanced state the Grey Knights risked opening doors that should never be opened. The Aegis should repulse Daemonkind utterly, but filled with untempered anger it was attracting them. That was unacceptable, the sons of Titan were inured to the corruptions of the warp, not one had ever fallen to the temptations of Sin Incarnate. Hypras would not tolerate even the suggestion that a Grey Knight could be rendered vulnerable to the Primordial Annihilator.

"We will have revenge, but not like mad butchers," Hypras uttered, "Calm your humours, before your anger breaks the Aegis wide open!"

"We must kill them all," Agriff snarled, his anger red and dark.

"And if that Null yet draw breath?!" Hypras countered, "How will we fight if we race headlong into a Null-aura?!"

"Take his head from his shoulders first," Mordad spat, "Then we destroy the rest of them."

"I am the hammer!" Hypras barked sternly.

"What?"Pelleus gasped.

"I am the sword in His hand!" Hypras continued with a glare.

The others blinked at the ancient credo of their order but Mordad murmured, "I... I am the gauntlet about His fist. The... point of His spear."

Pelleus hesitantly recited, "I am the bane of His foes."

"The woe of the treacherous," Agriff breathed as the litany brought quenching discipline to his fire.

"I am the End," Hypras declared, completing the creed of Titan.

Pelleus bowed his head, "Forgive us Brother-Librarian, we almost forgot ourselves."

"Do not sully Galhuan's pure memory," Hypras urged, "Cherish his spirit, remember the best of him. Recite his virtues to keep his spirit alive in your minds."

"I remember his pure heart and faultless blade," Agriff intoned as anger bled from his aura.

"His unwavering dedication to duty," Mordad affirmed with a steady voice.

"How he sought to be the best he could be," Pelleus recited without bitterness, "How he yearned to be noble in thought, word and deed. His loss leaves us diminished in more than just power."

"Keep your anger in check, but do not let it go," Hypras lectured, "Hold it close to your hearts, ready to be unleashed at the right time. I share your grief, and promise you I shall not forgive nor forget Galhuan's murder, but we are not feeble-minded Astartes, banging our chests with empty bravado. We are Grey Knights, our actions are considered and our will unbreakable."

The Aegis cooled, returning to its impenetrable purity and Daemons fled back into the depths of the Warp. Hypras breathed easier, knowing once more the Grey Knights had proved their superiority. Lesser breeds may froth and rage but the sons of Titan were better than they. Harder, more unyielding and unforgiving, as the Storm Heralds would discover.

Hypras looked about to take in the surroundings and found they were in a ruined settlement. A low camp of rude huts, crowding around a looming Forgefane. Warm air arose from thermal vents, but there was no signs of life. The place was empty and deserted, left to fall into ruin and recently too, judging from discarded tools and clothes left in homes. There was a faint sense of taint to the air, the spoor of the First Enemy clinging to the walls. In other circumstances Hypras would have ordered this place burned to the ground, lest corruption linger.

"Where are we?" Hypras asked.

"Unknown," Pelleus explained, "We dragged you several kilometres before we stumbled over this place. It was abandoned, so we thought it a good site to stop."

"The inhabitants departed, recently. I sense the Primal Hatred has touched this place... The Daemonsword rested here, not too long ago."

"We are not still chasing that blade!" Agriff exclaimed.

"The mission has not changed," Hypras affirmed, "We still must locate and capture the fiend contained within."

"And let the Storm Heralds get away?!" Mordad hissed.

"You take me for so little," Hypras growled, "We shall find those curs, but we must also complete our objective. We cannot return to Brother-Captain Manguire in failure. To do so would offend Galhuan's spirit. We have two tasks to complete before we leave this moon, both must be accomplished."

"Then..." Agriff started only to fall silent as a wave of putrid energy wafted over the Aegis. Hypras smelt it like a rotting corpse upon the wind, rancid and curdled. The overpowering stench of perfume clawing up his nose, bodily fluids spilled without care and soured wine on the breath. The lingering funk of the Prince of Excess, a portion of the Pleasure God's power venting into the world. He knew this stench from long experience, the spoor of a Daemon unleashing its powers.

"The fiend is loosed!" Mordad cried.

"We are too late," Pelleus exclaimed, "The Heretics have broken the Daemon free from confinement!"

"No," Hypras corrected, "The blade remains intact, the fabric of this world would scream were the Daemon to break free. The blade must have been bound by spells of and obscuration, but they have been shredded as the Daemon within flexes its muscles."

"Someone is using the Daemonsword," Mordad spat, "That's almost as bad."

"More accurate to say the sword is using them," Pelleus corrected, "The fool has no idea what a bitter poison he has swallowed."

"But it works to our advantage," Hpyras affirmed, "The sword is no longer hidden, its power blazes bright for all to see. We can track it anywhere now, there is nowhere on this barren moon it can hide."

"And what of the Storm Heralds?" Agriff accused.

"Worry not," Hypras reassured, "If we can see this, then that stripling Arvael can too. There is only one direction the Storm Heralds will be headed: towards the same location we are."

Pelleus sounded pleased, "If we time this right we shall find both our targets together, ripe for the taking."

"Daemonsword and murderers together, this is His will," Mordad affirmed.

"Justice and vindication in one neat package," Agriff snorted, "All we have to do is seize it."

Hypras concurred, "The end of our mission is in sight. Steel your hearts brothers, we shall be opposed, we shall face Heretics and Traitors and Daemons, but they will fall before our righteous power. Once more the Grey Knights shall triumph over all who stand against us and none shall survive our coming!"