A/N: Woot, more RWBYhammer 40k! On a side note, is anyone else pumped for Total War: Warhammer? I'm not a huge fan of the fantasy world, but it'll be cool to see how CA handles the franchise!
Alright, Chapter 17, let's go, go, go! :D
Book Two: Corruption's End
Chapter 17: Though the Warp is Clouded
"I shall forever walk in His light, His spear and shield in hand. I shall forever keep his peace, for it is eternal in the making." – Ranshan 'Yǒng' or prayer-chant.
"This sucks!" Yang cried, throwing her hands up in frustration. The Lady Inquisitor sighed. She knew Yang would make a difficult disciple, but even with her enthusiastic can-do attitude, the going was slow. In the empty observation deck, the Empyrean gazed upon their training. Her blonde friend and pupil sat in the center of a snow-white glyph, restricting her connection to the warp down to a mere trickle. It also warded off the interference from outside the Gellar field.
"I don't care. Again." She said, pouring herself another glass of wine. Her hallowed armor was absent today, in its place a simple second skin of combat leather, hardened at its edges by pads of black plas-steel. An aura-enhanced purity seal hid in the pocket of her duster, ready at a moment's notice to sever the connection completely. The Lady Inquisitor scowled. Her caution and preparedness still felt inadequate compared to the danger Yang posed. But that's why I'm here, I suppose. She thought. Anything I can do to prevent Amat from having to complete his mission is worth pursuing.
"Bite me, Ice Queen!" Yang growled in frustration, thick beads of sweat rolling down her pale skin and soaking into her tank top. The Lady Inquisitor ignored her complaints.
"You're done once you knock that helmet from its spot." She'd constructed an impromptu psyker sanctioning curriculum for Yang, the first step of which was basic telekinesis. Normally, acolytes wouldn't be trusted with such a task until at least their third year. But they didn't have the luxury of time required by the more orthodox methods, and her aura served as an acceptable buffer. "Remember, it's not like using your aura."
"I know that, Weiss!" Yang sat down in a huff. Her hands worked through her hair, rubbing the back of her head. "But if you… could… uh… explain it again, that would be super helpful." It had all been so fast the first time around… Weiss chuckled, smiling into her wine. After taking a sip, she leaned forward, meeting Yang's eyes with a hard glare.
"Perhaps it would be best to start with this: have you considered unlocking anyone's aura?" Yang nodded.
"Of couse. I haven't done it though. They'd freak." Weiss shook her head, now solemn and stern.
"Your footslogger friends' surprise would be the least of your concerns." She said, her eyes parsing the blooming miasmas of the warp.
"Why? What would happen if I did?" Yang knew the warp was dangerous. The violent impulses and whispering voices taught her that lesson all on their own. Not to mention the sheer destructive power Weiss had wrought upon the traitor regiment.
"Our aura is the light of our soul. With enough training and practice, our souls are shields. On Remnant, they protected us, kept us safe from harm. In the Imperium, souls are prey. Daemons feast upon them, corrupt them, devour them whole." Yang's mouth fell open. Every human, faunus and animal on Remnant had a soul. Even as a child, Yang could summon forth globs of ghost-flame, relishing the warming glow it gave her as the golden light filled her body. Her soul was as much a part of her as her arms and legs. The idea that it could be torn from her wrapped unfamiliar tendrils of fear around her spine.
"Seriously?" Weiss nodded, the blue in her eyes cold enough to freeze magma.
"Seriously. And I've… experimented with unlocking auras, Yang." Weiss shuddered. Weiss, the embittered Inquisitor shuddered. "The citizens of the Imperium spend their entire lives building mental walls against the whispers of the warp. But to wear one's soul on their sleeves as we do, it connects us with the warp on a wholly unique level. Our souls act as the channel for all others that reside in the warp." Not for the first time, Yang felt like a very small fish in an abyssal ocean, swimming with sharks she couldn't see.
"I thought the warp was just emotions given physical form." At least, that's what Vadiik told her.
"That's a simpler way of putting it, but it's no less true. In fact, the Immaterium is the amalgamation of all the souls that there ever were or will be." Weiss looked at her, an invisible burden crushing the older woman's frame. She looked so much smaller without her armor.
"Wow."
"Yes. Like I said, we are connected to this maelstrom by our auras, which give us unprecedented power. They shield us from the horrors of the warp at the same time they call them down around our heads." Yang looked at her hands. It certainly explained the strange crackling sensation that sat on the edges of her aura. To think that the same power she'd been born with was the gateway to realm of incomprehensible power and madness was insane to consider. "It's not an invincible barrier however, as your episodes during warp-travel have revealed. Normal guardsmen would have fallen to such whisperings in seconds, no matter how strong their faith. But you knew the inherent wrongness of it all."
"I did." Yang said, goosebumps rippling over her skin as she remembered the episodes that plagued her.
"That was your aura aiding you, allowing you to fight against the foul touch of the warp. It connects you to it, but does not do so recklessly." Weiss leaned back into the couch, pouring herself more wine. "Now, take someone like Jaune, who needed assistance to unlock his aura. On Remnant, he was fine. Here…." Weiss paused, her lips quivering as they searched for the right phrase. "Unlocking one's aura makes them a psyker in an instant, battering down the mental barriers they've constructed over the course of their entire lives. It is like trying to light a candle in a windstorm. Even if the flame catches, its life is measured in seconds." Weiss took a long drink.
"What happened when you tried unlocking someone's aura?" Yang asked. There was no response. "Weiss?"
"They were consumed. Mind, body, and soul." Weiss looked up at her, age-old guilt watering her eyes. "And I did it again. And again. Until I was sure it could not be done."
"Weiss…"
"Damn it Yang, don't give me that look. What happened to them… it still hurts. But we both know I had to try. Can you imagine what the Imperium could accomplish with a cadre of aura-users?" Yang nodded slowly. It hurt to picture Weiss' experiments. And that she'd been forced to repeat it. Over and over again. But she couldn't deny how useful auras could be here. And that frightened her more than the concept of losing her soul. "I've also considered trying on an Astartes."
"That… doesn't strike me as a good idea." Weiss shook her head.
"It is far too risky too attempt. There exists a possibility their minds are better suited to handle the mental burden, but there's no guarantees." Yang sighed, fingers massaging her temples.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. It's just a lot." She couldn't resent Weiss for trying to help people. It wasn't her fault it didn't work out. Still, she could stand to be a little less… ruthless about it all. She sighed. "I think I'm ready to try again." Weiss nodded, pointing at the helmet that still rested atop its ashtray.
"Very well. Begin. Use your aura as a gateway. Feel that crackling on the edge of your soul and tap into it." Yang breathed deep before trying once more. Her brow furrowed in concentration. Ghost-fire licked at her flaxen hair as she struggled. Though the seal on her shoulder pulsed and glowed, the helmet did not budge.
"I… can't."
"You can. Open your connection. The warp is perilous, and you must learn to swim its currents, harness its power. Reach out, beyond yourself."
Yang frowned, reaching out with her arm, reaching for the helmet. She felt her aura coursing through her body, the energy flowing from her heart to her fingertips. She felt the razor edge it bore, slicing, bladed channels that pulsed within her. With a strained cry, she harnessed it and pushed it beyond her, power lashing out from every pore.
And the Observation Deck disappeared, swallowed by a rush of swirling colors that filled every corner of the room and every fiber of her being. She was set adrift in a merciless ocean of raw energy, its waves crashing on her mind like sixty-foot waves, hammering, pounding, hating. The voices came back, screaming now, howling. But as she struggled to draw breath through the iron vices around her lungs, a beacon of clean golden light punched through the chaos, a bastion of order and peace. Yang reached out towards it, hoping the light would save her, rescue her from the noises. The Emperor. She realized. That's the Emperor. His power was distant, but His warmth was tangible and whole. Just looking at it dimmed the madness that assaulted her mind, pushing the voices into silent oblivion. Another tower of light approached her, this one white and sharp like a scalpel.
A hand met her shoulder, cold flesh against her own.
And she was back in the Observation deck.
"GAH!" Yang gasped, clenching at her arm." Sweat ran down her face, coursing rivers of salted effort that dripped onto the cold metal floor. The glyph below her feet pulsed in time with the images on her shoulder, keeping the worst of the warp's touch at arm's length. Weiss had a hand on her. The gesture was familiar, reassuring. "Damn it! That… ow! What the fuck?" She breathed, hissing through clenched teeth. Her head was pounding, blood pumping like a hammer against the anvil of her brain.
"I see you were successful."
"You could say that," Yang breathed.
"Did you see Him?" Weiss asked, leaning forward.
"Of course." There's no one else she could be referring to. Yang had seen the Emperor. "It's… holy shit. What is he? How can… how can he be so bright in all that insanity?" Her answer was as immediate as it was chilling.
"He is the Emperor." Yang shuddered, the sweat that trickled down her arms now cold and frigid. The worship… it almost made sense now. Not that she'd be singing His hymns anytime soon. "You opened your mind to the warp." Weiss continued, wearing a small smile. "Congratulations, your lesson for today is over." Yang shot up, puzzled. The helmet remained untouched.
"I thought you said-"
"I lied." Weiss said with a shrug. Yang grinned, frustration vanishing under the weight of her relief. "It takes most acolytes years of prayer and preparation, staring at the same task, to reach what you've accomplished in just a few hours."
"So I'm just a natural then?"
"Well, the fastest I've seen was thirty seconds." Yang recoiled.
"Who managed to do that in thirty seconds?!"
"I did." She said with another grin. Yang rolled her eyes, wiping the sweat from her brow.
"You're as humble as ever, Ice Queen. So what's next?" Weiss shook her head. The ventilation creaked and whirred, bringing in a gust of stale air.
"You've learned to voluntarily open a connection to the warp. What you've experienced before this was one-way events, the warp probing at your aura. But now that you can access it at will, you can harness it to alter reality."
"I… wow. I can change reality?" It was hard to picture harnessing the storm that had almost drowned her. Let alone being able to tamper with the fabric of space and time.
"Within limits. Psychic power manifests itself differently in each of its wielders." Weiss stretched, couch-bound for far too long. "Anyways, that should be good for now. We'll start again tomorrow." Yang nodded, rubbing the back of her neck and grimacing.
"Same time?"
"Same time." Yang picked up her rucksack, slinging it over her shoulder. She stopped.
"Hey Weiss? Can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Since when did you start wearing leather?" Weiss scoffed, a grin spreading across her face.
"When I left the Schola. Good skirts are rare in the Imperium." Yang laughed. "Truly though, good work today, Yang. Now go on, enjoy the company of your friends. I have business to attend to, astropaths to conduct."
"I think I'm going to shower off first." Yang replied, feeling like she needed to wring out her tank top. Weiss laughed, and waved to her as she left the Observation Deck.
"Yang Xiao Long." The Lady Inquisitor muttered, staring into the depths of her wine. She hated lying to her friend. The experiments she had conducted yielded horrific results, that much was true. The lie began in the false remorse she'd professed. When it came to bringing aura to the Imperium of Man, the ends justified the means every single time. Without her experiments, her lack of knowledge regarding her own power and ability would be tantamount to negligence. Regret was for the weak-willed and the tremulous. "Amat, what are your thoughts on my Representative?" The Vindicare assassin removed himself from the rafters, falling from the ceiling with practiced silence. He knelt before his Lady, his exitus rifle hung across his back, the final precaution.
"She is unique." He began. "As is your relationship with her. You speak as if you two have been acquainted for many years." He looked up at her. "Though such a thing should be impossible. "
"Do you trust me, Amat?" The assassin nodded without hesitation.
"Of course, my Lady. The years I've spent in your service have left no doubt in my mind." He paused, taking a long breath before continuing. "Although... may I speak freely?" She waved her glass at him, encouraging him to go on. "I know she is not what she seems. You are hiding something about her." The Lady Inquisitor chuckled.
"I am an Inquisitor. That I keep secrets should not surprise you." He shook his head.
"Of course not, my Lady." She could hear the smile in his words, hidden away by his spy mask. "I just need to know if the parameters of my mission change." She scanned his mind for his truest thoughts on the matter. He spoke his mind, and his puzzlement was tangible. "And I apologize for my forwardness."
"Worry not." She found her gaze drawn once more onto the Immaterium. "How goes your illustration of Saint Sabbat on Herodor?" The assassin prayed in his own unique way. While others memorized hymns and prayers, Amat preferred the creation of art, lionizing Imperial saints and heroes in reverential detail.
"Her face is… clouded." The Lady Inquisitor smiled.
Two weeks after her first psychic training session, Yang and the rest of the Woadian 111th made planetfall on Ranshu. Five weeks ago, many of the world's factions fell to the Dark Gods, uniting against the largest state, which remained loyal to the Imperium. I hope this Josephus person's hiding here, she thought as the lander roared. According to Weiss, he was behind the chaotic nightmares that had previously plagued her. Much to her relief, the glyphs on her arm kept the dark dreams at bay, as well as ridding her of the flashing bloodlust.
The red light flickered on, the sign that their descent would soon end. Shaking and rattling in their boots, Yang grinned. Once more unto the breach.
As usual, blue war paint stained them all, provided by Ros and Mael. They were landing as the vanguard, one of the first platoons to reach the surface. According to the briefing they'd received, Ranshu was a feudal world. Vadiik had told her about such worlds, their citizenry wallowing in technological ignorance and petty power struggles. However, Weiss mentioned she'd made contact with the planet a few days ago, which meant at the very least they could communicate with the Imperium.
When the doors slid open, she found a savannah before her, wide open fields suffused with green-blue grass and trees size of skyscrapers. They were sparse, but each one was an ecosystem unto itself, surrounded by shrubbery and teeming with life. The ribcage of some leviathan beast rested in the fields, each alabaster spear of bone thrusting several stories into the air. Storm clouds gathered in the distance, shrouding the sun from sight. Yang gave a low whistle as they stepped off.
"Here I was thinking every other planet in the Imperium was just gravel and sand." She said.
"They lacked Woadia's rustic charm." Caolin suggested, marveling at the landscape. Yang nodded.
The lander took off, revealing their destination. The sprawling city of Shao-la towered before them, built into and atop a squat, coal-stoned mountain, studded with deposits of yellow quartz. It was guarded on three sides by colossal walls of black stone, and crowning the mountain's peak stood a castle, sized on the typically overbearing scale of the Imperium.
"Dust." Yang whispered. She'd thought she couldn't be astounded any more, but the Imperium kept finding ways to surprise her. In front of the walls, the local garrison marched in step, waving colorful banners. Horses stormed by in their hundreds, their riders puissant and garishly decorated men. During the briefing, Captain Lyrasson said they were here to defend the Lady Inquisitor while she conducted her investigation. Why they needed the whole regiment was beyond her.
"Are those… spears?" Caolin asked, pulling out his spotter's opticals. Yang squinted. Sure enough, each soldier was armed with nothing more than a shield, some ratty chainmail, and a thick-bladed spear. They looked like something out of one of Blake's fantasy novels.
Jorvis led Gamma platoon onward, directing them towards the city. The columns of soldiers hailed them as they approached, an uproarious cry that shook their stomachs with its sheer volume. Despite their enthusiastic greeting, the soldiers looked weary and haggard. Dried bloodstains adorned their armor, and a few suffered the telltale brand of lasgun wounds. Ros squirmed under their glares, holding her lasgun tight.
"How long have they been fighting?" She hissed.
"No idea. They are a bit… hungry looking." Caolin added. "Emperor though, can you imagine? Having to fight without a lasgun?" He shook his head. "And for that matter, where are the damnable heretics?"
"We must have scared them off." Yang said, beaming. It certainly seemed to be the case. The ground they trod upon was well-packed and muddy, scattered with trash-heaps and footprints. Besides the scenery, the remains of a broken and gutted siege encampment surrounded them. Abandoned tents and boot-churned mud stretched for a few miles around the city. He laughed.
"Yes, we few agri-worlders have come to destroy whole legions of sword-swinging cultists." Ros shrugged.
"Think about it, Caolin." She nodded to the woadian standard-bearer, who marched a few platoons ahead of them. "We represent the Inquisition now."
"Huh." He grinned, the scar on his lip spreading wide. "I kinda forgot about that." He clapped Ros on the back. "We are pretty scary."
"The black armor helps." Yang said. Mael chuckled. The soldiers had been eyeing his rocket launcher with reverential awe, and he enjoyed the attention, saluting the pikemen with a large smile. They copied his salute, eyes shining despite their weariness. "Though I can't imagine why these guys are so excited about the Inquisition stopping by." From what she'd gathered and Vadiik's lectures, the Inquisition wasn't a very popular organization.
"The Inquisition doesn't usually bring ten thousand-odd troops with it." Ros said. "At least, I don't think it does. Our Lady must have told them we were bringing reinforcements or something."A low horn sounded from the locals, echoed by others of its kind. Its cry was a low growl, animalistic in nature.
"Open the gates!"
"Open the gates!" The cry went around, accompanied by more horns. The great engraved doors before them swung open, splitting the colossal Imperial Skull it bore in two. They entered the city, marveling at the walls as they passed under them. They had to be more than ten yards thick. Inside, a honeycomb of dwellings choked the hard-packed dirt roads, swelling up the side of the mountain. Apartments coated the interior wall, sprawling complexes that bustled with activity. Laundry lines flapped in the rising wind, and curious residents gaped at the Woadians from small-framed windows.
The roads were wide, and surrounded by towering brick buildings, interlocked on their tallest levels by rope bridges, laden with observers. The roads themselves were home to a seething mass of humanity, which cheered and chanted in the local dialect. Gamma platoon almost halted their march.
"Fucking hell." Jorvis breathed, taken off-guard. His metallic eye twitched and whirred, scanning the crowd.
"Sir?" Ros asked. The joyous tumult surprised even Yang. Based on the briefing, she knew a saboteur had burned their food stores. She'd expected a collection of emaciated and threadbare wretches, and while bones knifed through their clothing, their eyes bore radiant yellow irises, their lips wearing hopeful smiles. They'd survived the siege as well as they could.
"Our orders are still to rendezvous in the city square… for now, parade formation! Let's give them something to cheer about!" Jorvis bellowed, raising his chainsword above his head, a rare grin on his face.
"AYE!" Gamma Platoon replied. They closed their marching order, striding in step with their lasguns pressed tight against their shoulders. The 111th's disorganized entry became rigid and structured, their boots beating a steady crunch, crunch, crunch into the dirt streets. Other platoons followed suit, pressing together to follow Gamma Platoon's example. The crowd went wild when they reached it, splitting apart to allow them entry. Yang couldn't help but beam when the thankful prayers and jubilant noises washed over them. Even Ros wore a large grin, relieved from her usual dour mood by the crowd's infectious enthusiasm and gratitude.
Yang waved to them, and they waved back, many of the men in attendance following her with gaping mouths and wide-eyed stares. She giggled; blowing kisses and watching them topple over each other, desperate to intercept her favor.
"I think I like this place." She said. Ros rolled her eyes, but the dismissive gesture didn't hold for long. Caolin was doing his best to play the part of a gallant hero, puffing his chest out and brandishing his long-las. Prayer papers fluttered over them, caught by the wind and sent scattering across their path. Yang caught one, smiling at the childish scrawl that filled the linen-white paper. She tucked it into her flak armor.
Just before they reached the town square, a Valkyrie soared overhead, black as the smoke it bellowed and bearing a silver 'I'. Weiss was inside. Its passing sent the crowd into hysterics, hands by the thousands reaching after it. Several more fliers flanked it, each bearing enormous pallets under their berth.
The Valkyrie's hatch opened, revealing Weiss and some members of her retinue. Prop-wash buffeted the square as the Valkyrie hovered, sending the crowd into a shocked silence. Yang reminded herself that these people have probably never seen flying vehicles before.
"Greetings, people of Shao-la!" She spread her arms wide, her voice booming forth from an augmented vox-caster. "For your loyalty and tenacity in the face of the arch-foe, I present a gift from the Emperor!" The crates detached, slamming to the earth with an earth-shattering crash and spilling forth their contents. Food-packets. Hundreds of thousands of them. The voices of the crowd crescendoed, shaking the troopers in their lock-stepped boots.
"My agents will distribute this boon accordingly! The Emperor Protects!" Weiss bellowed, shaking her fist in righteous furor.
"The Emperor protects!" Jorvis echoed, raising his chainsword in a salute.
"THE EMPEROR PROTECTS!" The Woadians cried, surging forward to complete their new task. They were swarmed by hungry citizens, their eager hands reaching out for sustenance. Yang's heart swelled as she handed out the beige amino-slurry packets. She was helping, in a way that wasn't mindless slaughter.
"Man, if this is how the Guard gets treated, I should've joined years ago!" Caolin cried over the tumult. Ros laughed, her cheeks flushed with haste.
"Shove it up your ass, Caolin!" She said. She accepted a hug from a weeping woman after handing her family a share of rations. Ros didn't wear smiles like these very often. Yes, Yang was sure this was all some part of Weiss' ploy. They were here to guard her, not save the civilians. But even if it was disingenuous, it still sent a trickle of warming flame into her heart.
A/N: Sorry for the continued exposition everyone! While not as popular as wondering when and where the next Interloper will show up (or if they'll show up at all!), I have been receiving a lot of theories about the relationship between auras and psychic powers, so I hope this clears things up!
Also, is it legit to have them practicing warp-craft in transit? I couldn't find any solid data on the fact, and since there isn't much other place to put the training, it has to be here. If it isn't, I'm sorry, but this is one of the few things that'll just have to be inaccurate. :(
And yeah, Weiss definitely has something up her sleeve regarding the citizens of Shao-la. You'll have to wait and find out what it is though. :)
Random thought, but everyone still liking the OCs? I know they're not as important to everyone as RWBY characters and whatnot, but if you've got some spare time, I'd love to hear what you guys think.
Oh, don't worry about Maion, we'll get back to her in good time!
Review Replies: In general: wow, what's with the eldar hate? You guys really don't like them. :(
Zedicus101: Maion, obviously! :D
reality deviant: It should be interesting...
Magisking: I don't remember Ruby having pointy ears... maybe I should go watch RWBY again! XD
DanAbnettFan1997: Oh wow! Thanks so much! I do indeed put a lot of time and thought into this, so I'm happy to see it's paying off in at least one case. :)
The Walrus of Eden: Well, Maion has aura! There'll be more on Remnant, but it won't be discussed until later!
OBSERVER01: Aw, what's wrong with the eldar?
snoogenz: You should post your ideas! I always love hearing what people have to say! TBH, the response I got for Maion was not the one I was expecting!
Thespurgin: Maion is eldar, not Tau. I'm sure that was just a typo! XD
Gafgar: Again, you guys really don't like Eldar... and their new OP codex isn't gonna help haha
Galm: A valid guess!
TheSpawn117: You and many others! I don't remember Blake being eldar either though... just particularly catty. :D
Dom380: I'd like to hear what you think! Everyone always has such fascinating ideas!
Yoshtar: Your bet's been noted! Unfortunately, I won't be going straight back to Maion, not just yet!
Mintskittle: Again, WHY DO PEOPLE HATE THE ELDAR SO MUCH? Well, you won't hate my version of the eldar, I can assure you of that. Although, valid points on Yang and Weiss. While Yang is pretty headstrong and a 'brute-force' puzzle-solver, she's not dumb. She recognizes that extremism is necessary, and it makes her angry. She is trying to change things though!
Trife: I can't say! That would be telling. :3
Nemris: I guess it all remains to be seen!
LegionofMisfits: :D Sorry for a second exposition dump, but this one was pretty necessary. Had a lot of people wondering how the whole aura/psyker thing worked.
Charmcaster the Mad: People really like this Blake theory... :D
Kiku.123: Glad you're enjoying yourself!
ChampionoftheHive: An eldar woman apparently!
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews guys! The story's just about to reach 300 and holy shit that's awesome! I love you guys so much! Keep 'em coming! :D