The End of All ThingsWill Morrison
Raja, on patting feet, walked along the immense corridor spanning the monastery quickly. Draped in the dapper robes of an apprentice librarian and hunched over in reverence to the holy place, he may easily have been mistaken for a seraph of the chapter. Passing battle-brothers paid him no mind, preferring to silently glance sidelong at him. Raja wasn't perturbed by the treatment he received, he was too busy praying for forgiveness on account of being late. He was to meet with the man who could allow or deny him access to the chapter he was so devoted to.
Raja knocked timidly at first, then bolder on the door that bore the symbol of a ring of keys. As the archway slid open, Raja was unsurprised at the spartan quarters. All the rooms he had been in during his stay at the monastery had been furnished in a similar way. A voice, mightier and more powerful then Raja had ever heard anywhere else, called to him from the darkness.
"Young one, your time has come. Sit on the pedestal in the center of the room, and open yourself to the Emperor."
Raja swiftly did as he was told; he did not want to appear arrogant. "Oh Keeper of the Keys, what must I do to achieve the status of a true member of the chapter?" Out of the gloom, the figure strode forward. The master librarian was nearly a meter taller then Raja, and his sharp, dark features and bronze skin contrasted Raja's fair, pale skin and simple complexion. He was wearing a robe not unlike Raja's, but it was black and gray as opposed to Raja's white and gold.
"I told you, open your self to the Emperor in all his wisdom and you shall be judged." Raja was terribly unsure of what the Keeper meant, but attempted to calm his mind and allow it to open. He felt the hand of the master librarian grip his head; suddenly, Raja's mind was flung into the warp. Unlike his earlier forays into the vast psychic plain, this time he could see everything crystal clear. The voice of the Keeper penetrated deep into Raja's mind. "Look ahead, follow the Emperor!" Something awoke in Raja, and his soul sped into the future. Thousands of years passed by him in seconds; he saw crusades flounder and fail; he saw armies as vast as solar systems clash; he saw the imperium expand and contract. Then, something tugged on Raja's consciousness; he knew where he had to stop.
Raja was in a state of complete surprise; he saw the same monastery he was in at this very moment, but far in the future. As he sat and contemplated the meaning of this in the warp-future, he felt a push. The Keeper was impatient, something important was happening. As Raja flew onward, he saw how battered and broken the monastery's 5-meter walls were. The damage was unbelievable. Suddenly a vision of millions upon millions of foul daemons of chaos appeared in his mind, pouring onto the walls of the fortress-monastery and rendering the defenders helpless. He saw a unity of humanity defending the walls; members of the imperial guard, stationed on the planet that had decided to add their bodies to the defense; three squads of Sisters from the adaptus militant, arm in arm with the men of the guard defending the holy place. Then came the original defenders of the place; the Space Marines. Nearly two companies of the superhuman warriors staunchly defended the monastery, and Raja's heart gave a turn as he realized how futile the defiance was. The warp storm that had apparently opened up around the planet was pouring out unspeakable things, and a great many of them too. As he watched the slaughter, Raja noticed, or rather sensed the presence of another psychic entity. At first he thought is was only the Keeper, protecting and guiding him through the future. But this mind was far too faint to be one so close to him, both in space and in time. The other consciousness reminded him quite a bit of the Keeper, and Raja realized that this must be someone, or something, in this future world, that was so powerful that years before it's time it might be sensed. But once again he felt the more powerful presence of the Keeper he had come to find confidence in shepherd him onward, and Raja went. As he followed the battle down the halls and corridors of the Monastery, he witnessed terrible acts of carnage and slaughter, but also a great many acts of heroism and honor that would never be remembered. Raja saw a regular guard trooper get in the way of a blast of energy meant for a Canoness. He saw a Space marine stand still and fire until his last clip ran out, allowing a few of his comrades to regroup. This would have, in the physical realm, brought tears to Raja's eyes. The beauty of the human nature was too much for the young librarian to comprehend. But one by one, he saw the last pockets of resistance wear away, until one could barely hear any noises of battle at all. Raja thought it was over; that this was the vision he was meant to see. The Keeper's presence, however had yet more to show him. Moving down a hallway after a particular large pack of daemons, Raja noticed the subtle psychic power that he had detected before, but far greater this time. This made Raja afraid; after all, how could one who had not eve been born yet be so extremely powerful? Raja even thought that it might be the psychic taint of a unbelievably powerful daemon. That scared him even more. But as his mind turned the last bend, he saw what he had been sensing this whole time, an it astounded him. There, holding at bay nearly a hundred daemons, was the Keeper of the Keys! Raja was momentarily stunned; this man had much the same hair, the same skin, and the same tattoo of a key over his right eye. Upon further examination, he realized that this was not the Keeper, or at least not the one he knew. This one was far more powerful then even the man guiding him through this future-place. He was bathed in shining golden-white energies, slashing with warp-swords that were flickering around both his hands. Any man made weapon, even the arcane force sword that was lying crippled on the ground, could only stand so much. But the weapons the future-Keeper wielded were of the power of the Emperor himself, and could only tire when the wielder did. The left arm of the future-Keeper's armored carapace had been completely torn off, revealing the rock-hard muscle surrounded by the protection of the Emperor underneath. To Raja's surprise, the pack of daemons suddenly retreated, and formed a semi-circle around the warrior. Showing no signs off fatigue, the future-Keeper simply stood erect and gazed at the malformed faces and wicked parodies of humanity around him. Then, the mass of warp-spawn parted, they revealed the hulking form of a Bloodthirster, a greater daemon of Khorn. Gazing at the creature of man's nightmares, the Keeper shone with an even brighter light, causing all the daemons besides the Bloodthirster flinch and pull back slightly. A voice that sounded like a thousand guttural dogs yelling assaulted Raja's ears.
"Follower of the weakling god, prepare yourself for a death at the hand of my ax!"
The future-Keeper, filled with righteous fury, returned," ON ALL THAT IS PURE AND GOOD, I SHALL STRIKE YOU DOWN!" The two titans clashed, energy of darkness combating the energy of light. The Bloodthirster was having apparent trouble remaining in the physical world, and was flickering in and out as he swung his mighty ax towards the Emperor's chosen warrior. Raja grimaced; the Bloodthirster, even in this weakened sate, was more then a match for any man. The future-Keeper seemed to know this also, and as he drew back from the fight, his eyes seemed to meet Raja's. There was sadness in those eyes, but also duty. Then, as though he has seen nothing, the future-Keeper switched his attention back to his adversary. In a loud voice, he addressed his demonic assailant.
" SPAWN OF DARKNESS, PREPARE YOURSELF TO MEET YOUR MASTER ONCE AGAIN!" With this statement, the future-Keeper threw himself at the Bloodthirster with full force. The daemon, not ready for this move did not know how to respond. As the mighty hero hit the fell champion, a bright flash of light stabbed outward. Raja felt as though he was falling, and as everything went white, he felt the sadness of the Keeper of the Keys that he knew, and he shared it.
Raja awoke, blurry-eyed, in the medical center. He looked down at his body, and saw that he was far bigger and stronger now. He sat the healing scars of new organs that had been implanted into him, and he knew that he had been accepted. The apothecary came over to his bedside and said, "I shall call for the Keeper now, brother-initiate Raja. Here is the control for the reflective plate if you wish to examine your transformation." Before he could look at himself, the Keeper appeared.
" So brother Raja; do you understand what you have now witnessed?" Raja shook his head dumbly; he was taking in too much too fast. The Keeper articulated for him. "What you seen is what we, the Keepers of the Keys, call the End of All Things. It is, we believe, the day before the Emperor returns."
Raja asked, "Do all aspiring librarians of the chapter receive this vision of the End of All Things?" The Keeper shook his head.
"Only the Keeper of the Keys sees this vision. Others see small visions, nothing of this magnitude. Now do you understand, do you realize what your purpose is?" Raja nodded with vigor now; he was a Keeper of the Keys. "It will be you job, Raja, to train the next Keeper; then him the next; and so on until the End of All Things."
"Master," Raja enquired," Has anyone seen past the final flash?" Gravely, the Keeper replied.
"No, never. It is a mystery. But we know what we must do; we must wait until that glorious day, when the emperor returns." With that, the Keeper turned and went out.
As he left, Raja looked at himself in the mirror. He was amazed at the transformation that had come across him; he was truly a man now. But what most astounded Raja was the tattoo over his right eye. It was that of a key.