A/N: And we return after an embarrassingly long hiatus!
Book Two: Corruption's End
Chapter 70: Request
"To err is human. To force that err is eldar. To be an err... that is eldar too." - Garnet Tou'Her, Warlock of Il-Kaithe
Yang and Pyrrha returned from their discussion laughing and smiling, no doubt reminiscing about their days at Beacon Academy. The sight warmed Maion's heart. A new weight hung from Yang's soul, but it did not concern the buxom beauty overmuch. It was one of the things that Maion admired about her Grandmother's old friend - the ability to compartmentalize and deal with problems on an individual basis was not a talent to dismiss out of hand. It was certainly never something the Shadowed Scorpion excelled at. Her solution to problems would be to push them out of her mind, focus on her training to the exclusion of everything else and wishing it would simply disappear.
Maion watched them approach. Never did she imagine that she would see her honored Grandmother again, especially not within the halls of the Black Library. She looked so old - the fate of all humans. Yet to see her walk under her own power, laugh and smile with an old friend...
All things that seemed impossible the last time Maion had laid eyes on Pyrrha Tou'Her.
"They're back," Caelus said, stepping next to his Granddaughter. They stood beneath a titanic monolith that hung from the craftworld's ceiling. It was featureless and truthfully rather ominous, but her Grandfather assured her it was merely one of the living spaces for visitors aboard the Black Library.
"She looks good," Maion said.
"She always has," Caelus insisted. "But yes, the time we've spent here has innervated her greatly. Yang is... certainly something in person."
Maion punched her grandfather's shoulder. "You're disgusting, Grandfather."
Caelus grinned, rolling his 'damaged' shoulder. "But I'm not wrong, am I?"
"I have seen her fight," Maion said. "She could punt you back to Il-Kaithe in a heartbeat."
"Some legs on her, then," Caelus replied. Maion groaned, though she could not help but smile.
"We have returned," Pyrrha said, shuffling to peck her husband on the lips.
"Welcome back, beloved," Caelus said.
"Yang," Maion said.
"Hey Maion," Yang said. "You guys been waiting on us this whole time? Where's everyone else?"
"I told them how to return here," Caelus said. "It willl just be the Tou'Her and a revered guest for now."
"Perhaps that is for the best," Pyrrha said. "I've spoken to Yang."
At that, Yang shifted her weight, eyes searching the obelisk. It seemed as though they had a very important conversation.
"Good," Caelus said. "Why don't we have something of a family dinner?" He asked. Pyrrha elbowed him. "Yang too of course. Friends of Remnant," he clarified.
"Amat should be here too then," Yang said.
"He knows of Remnant." Garnet concurred.
"The assassin?" Pyrrha asked. "Did you tell him about it, Yang?"
"Kind of," Yang replied. "It's complicated."
"It always is," Caelus said. "Come now, there will be ample opportunity later. Your lover won't be far behind next time, I'm sure."
Yang laughed, but Maion noted that it was a noise of dismissal - Caelus had struck a chord, one of either annoyance or embarrassment. In any case, it had discomfited her.
Caelus gathered the group together on a lift positioned directly below the hanging monolith. Once Obsidian's last foot lighted upon it, the lift rocketed upwards. It ascended at a breakneck pace, but it did not slam them against the floor - in fact, it barely felt like they were moving.
This is truly a wondrous place, Maion thought. As they soared towards the monolith, no aperture opened to greet them.
"Uh... guys..." Yang said.
"Worry not, Yang," Pyrrha said, patting her friend on the arm. "Watch."
Even Obsidian could not help but flinch as the lift slammed them into the bottom of the monolith - only the party was not crushed. The monolith's surface simply melted around them, droplets running off them and scattering back to their original position.
The interior was surprisingly familiar - and also far larger on the inside than it was on the outside. Despite the blatant violation of conventional physics, it looked like most residential districts in Dolone - lines of spacious apartments studded with tree fixtures and fountains.
The only differences here were that the trees were made of burnt crystal, the fountains spewed precious metals, and the residences were perfectly mirrored on each wall and ceiling.
"Emperor," Yang hissed. "I really shouldn't be surprised by this place so much. Chera's gotta be shitting her pants."
Pyrrha and Caelus laughed, the sound like a perfect duet. "I think that is the very reason why she was allowed admittance," Caelus suggested.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Maion asked. "Letting someone like that run amok in the Black Library?"
"She cannot do any real harm," Pyrrha said. "Nearly everything here has been restricted from her. There are also the Harlequins that stalk her - one toe out of line, and her life will come to an end."
Yang clearly didn't like the sound of that.
"The kasrkin are an interesting lot," Obsidian allowed. "Fiercely mon'keigh by nature, but these have been tempered by Weiss Schnee's peculiarities. Their souls are tumbling through a vacuum - they seek something to anchor them to the reality they used to know."
"Darron's an ass though," Garnet said, to the general amusement of the party.
"First one on the left," Caelus said, pointing them to one of the residences on the floor. A simplistic two-story building with long, polished windows. They filed inside, leaving their weapons and shoes by the door. The interior was a mess. With no one around to walk the Path of Service, Maion's Grandparents had amassed a vast collection of unfolded laundry, spare books, dirty dishes, and piles upon piles of note paper.
"Apologies for the state of the place," Caelus said. "It's all Pyrrha's. She refuses to clean up after herself."
Pyrrha scoffed, but smiled wide. "You're the one who keeps bringing notes back, even though we already have a study."
"How do you guys eat?" Yang asked. "The Harlequins don't exactly seem like the most trustworthy chefs."
"A wise observation Yang," Pyrrha said. "There is a device here that does our cooking for us, one that can make anything you wish. I wouldn't ask for Remnant dishes though - it starts laughing at you."
"Huh," was all Yang could say. "That's... odd, but strangely fitting."
"You're learning," Caelus said.
"She's a good learner," Garnet said. "I've taken her under my wing in psychic matters."
"And an incredible fighter," Maion added.
"Oh yeah, keep it coming," Yang preened, grinning wide. They laughed.
Dinner was a joyous affair. It had been many, many passes since Maion shared a meal with her Grandparents or Obsidian, and she relished every second. They shared stories and commiserated about family life back on Il-Kaithe, things Yang listened to with rapt attention. She contributed as well, reminding them of things about Remnant even Pyrrha had forgotten. It was several hours of delight Maion would treasure for many passes.
Throughout the meal, the other guests shuffled into the residential area. Each time, Caelus left the table to steer them towards their own personal residence. The elder Tou'Her siblings would stay with their parents.
Once Yang dismissed herself, however, the mood changed drastically. Caelus shut the front door gently, his face stony and serious.
"Grandmother?" Maion asked. "Grandfather?"
"We have found things here," Caelus said, watching Yang return to her own domicile. "Things you must be informed of. Things that concern the future of Il-Kaithe and our race as a whole."
"Maion thinks she has already found the answer," Garnet said carefully. Maion shot him a harsh look, but he only shrugged. Obsidian scoffed.
"And what's that?" Pyrrha asked, in a tone Maion knew she had not used in years.
"Us, obviously," Maion said. "The hybrids. We are the future of the eldar." Obsidian grunted his discontent once more, but Maion's words were not dismissed so casually.
"Perhaps," Pyrrha said.
"Perhaps," Caelus said.
"Perhaps?" Maion demanded, fist meeting the table. "We are the only growing eldar family to exist in… generations!" She exclaimed, exasperated. "We are not bound to soul stones, nor are we the prey of She-Who-Thirsts. It is everything the eldar have dreamed of! Our auras-"
"Have very little to do with any of that," Pyrrha interrupted. The table shared flitted glances. Garnet leaned forward, a serious crease splitting his jovial face in two.
"What do you mean, mother? Were we not all blessed with auras by the virtue of your blood?" He asked.
"No," Caelus said simply.
"I awakened you your auras when you were young, true." Pyrrha said. "But it is my blood alone that has saved you," Pyrrha replied. "The fact that I hailed from Remnant only a minor blessing in comparison. In truth, any human would have achieved the same results. Even the lowest serf in the Imperium."
Silence greeted her words, and Maion's stomach churned.
"The eldar's plunging birth rates are not only the result of She-Who-Thirsts," Pyrrha explained, "but simple biology. The eldar have existed for millions of years, stagnant and unchanging. The way they were designed."
"Designed?" Garnet demanded. Obsidian only buried his frown into his hands. The eldar had always suspected that their natural abilities and long life span were not the result of simplistic evolution, but hearing confirmation from his mother clearly disturbed the Warlock.
"There are very few other explanations for their genetic 'perfection'," Pyrrha said. "Now, the great maw of She-Who-Thirsts must not be discounted when considering birth rates, but they were declining even before the Fall... at least, from what I can ascertain. In the end, millions of years of genetic stagnation have eroded the eldar's ability to produce viable offspring."
"And somehow," Caelus continued, "humans are born of the same blood, yet not." He nodded at his progeny. "They breed profusely, yet are prone to disease and mutation. We would see such things as a weakness, but in the end, it is that very weakness that has produced all of you, undone a eons-old mistake in a single moment."
Obsidian swallowed a mouthful of summervine. "In other words," he said, "salvation of the eldar race would require introducing humans - however temporarily - to Il-Kaithe as a whole. As breeding stock."
"A fate no eldar would ever accept," Pyrrha said sadly. "Most would rather perish and give birth to Ynnead than lay with humans. Even if it means extinction." Her voice dripped with contempt.
"I think it is possible," Maion protested. "We would simply need to obtain the right kind of mon'keigh-"
"You sound like Ozpin," Pyrrha said sadly. "You're not wrong, but you're suggesting something quite drastic. You have to realize that."
"I do," Maion said. "But I would like to hear what you have found here. Whether for good or ill."
"Boundless good," Caelus said. "You all know of Rhana Dandra, the Time of Ending?"
"I haven't studied it extensively," Maion said. "Though Garnet and Obsidian are likely more knowledgeable."
Garnet only nodded, his face grey and lacking its usual candor.
"It is the end of the eldar, the birth of Ynnead, the final battle," Maion recalled.
"It is simply one path the eldar might follow," Pyrrha said. "Rhona's death spurred me to find another answer," she said, her voice now fraught with grief. "And we have found something."
"What?" Obsidian said, sitting upright. "You cannot be serious."
"I am," Pyrrha said. "I have found pages of the Laughing God's ultimate work, his final joke, his perfect prank - the salvation of the eldar race."
Maion - scion of the Shadowed Sword - had never known such silence that stretched over the dining table.
"Truly?" Garnet whispered.
Caelus nodded. "Truly. However, it is only part of our work here. Your mother's very presence inspired another path - one that does not rely solely on Cegorach or his machinations. A way to move the entirety of Il-Kaithe to another universe. To escape chaos in its entirety. The perfect, everlasting victory."
The implications of his words filled the air, weighed it down with terrible presence and unimaginable promise. What Grandfather spoke of was unthinkable - it flew in the face of every eldar thought brought into existence since the Fall. It was ludicrous. It was laughable.
"It makes total sense," Maion said. "Do you think it was by chance you found those pages?" She asked her Grandmother. "That the salvation of the eldar - however few of them - would come at the hands of a human?"
"It has crossed my mind," Pyrrha said. "It is entirely within Cegorach's character to leave those pages for me to find. It is darkly funny, I must admit. It is also possible they are a false hope. But I must labor under the assumption they are not. I cannot help myself to do otherwise," she added sadly.
"Why tell us?" Obsidian demanded. "Why tell me?!" He roared. "Lossamdir has heard! He will not keep this a secret!"
Maion's Grandparents remained calm. "We know," Pyrrha said. "We are only telling you the basics, and that we are not done with our work. Hyliodora will continue in our stead, along with any of our kin that wish to go."
"You don't understand Mom!" Obsidian said. "If anyone - anyone - hears of this, it could spell disaster for the entire endeavor! Just by speaking it aloud, you may have doomed my sister and anyone who accompanies her to some terrible death!"
"That will not happen," Caelus said. "Even if the Changer of Ways knows of our intentions, he will be powerless to stop us within the Webway."
"Have you forgotten about Ahriman?" Garnet asked, a calm exterior concealing the surging maelstrom of emotions that lay beneath. "It is because of his blasted band that we nearly died getting here."
"That is something else you should know," Pyrrha said.
"Your summons served two purposes," Caelus said. "First and foremost to bring you here, so that we may pass our work off and return home. The second..."
"Bait Ahriman," Pyrrha finished. "It was no mistake that you faced those frigates in the Webway. Even now, Ahriman is on his way here, to the Black Library."
The house exploded with noise as Maion, Garnet and Obsidian berated their elders with unparalleled ferocity. Maion could hardly think past the rage that coursed through her veins. How could her Grandparents - by all accounts wise and powerful beings - be so catastrophically foolish? Have they fallen to Tzeentch in their desperate pursuit of knowledge, and now aided one of his servants along on his maddened goal?
But Pyrrha and Caelus said nothing, waiting for their family to quiet themselves. Garnet was the first to settle down, followed by Maion, then Obsidian.
"Your serenity suggests that there was a catch to your statement," Garnet said, suddenly red-faced and embarrassed. "Sorry, Mom."
Pyrrha arched an eyebrow. Obsidian mumbled something into his empty plate.
"What was that?" Caelus asked.
"Sorry, Mom," Obsidian said, also red-faced.
Maion said nothing.
"You've inherited Jauna's pride," Caelus said to her. "So be it. But yes Garnet, you are correct."
"Ahriman will arrive here," Pyrrha said. "But he will find nothing - the Black Library will be long gone. He will only find a token force of Harlequins and a terrible trap."
"It was the Harlequins' idea," Caelus said. "They have lost countless souls battling that monster, and it is time a decisive blow was struck."
"The final blow," Pyrrha said. "It is said that the Black Library resides at the heart of the Webway. Normally, that is the case. But now, it hovers above Niurvenah, a great city of the old Eldar Empire. When Ahriman and his armada arrives..."
"This section of the Webway will collapse," Caelus said. "Ahriman, his warband and his ambitions will either be deleted from reality or trapped forever in this city."
They considered that. "And the Harlequins devised this plan?" Garnet asked. "Why even have the Library here in the first place if there is any chance Ahriman might reach it?"
"The best lies are ones laced with truth," Pyrrha replied. "It is risky, yes, but Ahriman is not so stupid as to bite a hook that holds no bait. He must commit, otherwise no blow shall be truly struck." She paused. "But yes, it was the Harlequin's idea. We were too happy to comply. They have been gracious hosts during our stay."
"You have stayed a long while," Obsidian noted, his eyes meeting his mother's.
"I am welcome here," she said simply. "I have conquered every inch of chaos within me. Permanently."
The finality of her words ended the discussion then and there. Maion did not want the details.
"And what of Josephus?" Garnet asked. "Please tell me that was no fabrication."
Pyrrha laughed, a warm and comforting sound. It sounded like childhood, like stories of Remnant and simpler times.
"No, no, it was no such thing," she said. "In our search for devices that could facilitate our plan, we uncovered knowledge of the Chariot. It is actually what set most of this into motion," she said. "It won't further our cause unfortunately, but it must be kept from Josephus at all costs." Caelus nodded.
"We'll give you the coordinates to the device shortly," he said. "We would not have you walk away empty-handed."
"Excellent." Obsidian said. "Lossamdir and myself were quite concerned that this expedition would be a fruitless endeavor."
"I hope that you have found it to be quite the opposite," Caelus said, his grin matching Garnet's smug smile.
After Garnet and Obsidian left to debate the night's revelations, Maion walked through her Grandparents' residence, turning over notation paper and scanning through odd books. They had made quite the home for themselves here in a century and a half.
Caelus washed dishes in a sink that spat out something too sparkly to be water, but had identical viscosity. He had resigned himself to tidyng the house. It would be a few more cycles - relatively speaking, as the passage of time was nearly impossible to track on the Black Library - before vital repairs to the Void-Whisper would be completed, and the war-party could depart.
"Maion?" He asked, suddenly enough to shock his Granddaughter. She snapped the book she had been examining shut.
"Grandfather?" She asked.
"Go find your Grandmother," he said. "I think she found something for you."
Maion frowned. If that was true, how did he know? And why did he wait until now to tell her?
"I shall do so," she said instead.
Pyrrha Tou'Her did not take long to find. She sat on the ceiling, watching a fountain spill a brilliant silvery metal into exquisite patterns. Maion walked up the walls, a hint of nausea pulling at her the instant she transferred her weight and the direction of gravity shifted.
"Grandmother?" She called. Pyrrha looked up. She almost seemed as old as she was when she left Il-Kaithe. "Grandfather sent me to find you."
Pyrrha smiled, patting the stone bench beside her where a marble chessboard lay. The pieces were simple, yet polished to a mirror shine, white and black in their purest form.
"As I should hope," Grandmother said. "There are things we must discuss."
"Things like Josephus?" Maion asked. Grandfather's deflection after dinner warranted concern - did they even discover anything about the Chariot? Why delay transferring the coordinates?
"In part," Pyrrha admitted. "Now sit. Play a game with your Grandmother."
Maion sighed, setting herself on the opposite side of the board. "I was never very good at this game," she said.
"Your mother taught you though?" Pyrrha asked.
"Mirodir did," Maion answered. "He always had more talent for these kinds of games." He always had more patience too. Briefly, she recalled her brother teaching her the rules, his eyes lighting up as he paraded the knight figure around the board. "I'll take black," she told her Grandmother.
"Very well," Pyrrha said, moving a pawn forward. Maion returned in kind, readying her bishop for deployment.
"I have no hope of besting you," Maion said. Grandmother's penchant for one of Remnant's more popular games was well-known, and only Grandfather or Sylvis could offer her a true challenge.
"Is victory the only thing that matters?" Pyrrha asked, moving another pawn.
"Yes," Maion replied, moving her bishop. "Victory is survival. Defeat means extinction."
"Survival and victory are two different things," Pyrrha replied, unleashing her queen upon the board. "This is something that I learned very long ago."
Maion's brow furrowed, and she considered her Grandmother's words. "You mean escaping." The Striking Scorpion considered the board. Pyrrha bringing her queen out early had thrown her plans to the warp.
"Possibly," Pyrrha said. "But mere survival is not truly living. That is why I have invested my family's fate in an… elsewhere."
"It is… quite something to suggest," Maion admitted. Her knight leapt over her pawns, ready to give battle. "But I find myself wondering if it's truly the best option available. Or if it's even possible to achieve."
Pyrrha nodded, lancing towards Maion's chaotic battle-line with her bishop. "These are good thoughts. Doubt is always prudent, but you mustn't let it cripple you. However, escaping this universe brings its own set of challenges. For instance, if there are no humans in this 'elsewhere' the problem of plummeting eldar birth rates must be solved another way."
"And if they cannot?" Maion asked.
"Someone will find a way," Pyrrha replied. "I have faith in your species, and my family. But that is not the only question that must be answered. There would be personal trials as well." She forced a grim smile. "You would be severed from Kaela Mensha Khaine, and the Aspect Shrines would be crippled. They will wither and die, even if their teachings and armories do not."
Maion swallowed. The thought of that fate awaiting the Shadowed Sword was unbearable. She stared at the board instead, paralyzed. Hesitantly, she moved an end pawn. Perhaps a rook would be the beginnings of a stalwart defense. To be severed from Khaine… she shuddered.
"I would like to say I understand your concerns," Pyrrha said, studying the board. "But I cannot. I am not an eldar. Which is part of the other reason I have summoned you here."
"Is something amiss?" Maion asked.
"No," Pyrrha said. "Merely a secret privy to you and you alone."
Maion couldn't stop herself from blinking in surprise. "Truly? Only me? What is it?" Curiosity ate her, an unfamiliar sensation. Rarely did Maion seek out answers for herself.
"I have a request for you to fulfill," Pyrrha said, her crooked fingers grasping her queen and launching it forwards. "I would like you to tell Yang, the assassin, and the kasrkin girl the location of the Chariot."
Maion's head spun. "Why?" She demanded. "I understand why you hesitate to sabotage Yang, but really? The mon'keigh?" Today was truly a day of endless upheavals.
"Because humanity deserves an edge," Pyrrha said. "My loyalties lie entirely with the Tou'Her and Il-Kaithe, but I am still human. In my old age, I find myself growing... regretful of my previous attitudes. I have fought against countless mon'keigh, both the unwashed scores that follow the Dark Gods and the servile masses that worship the Emperor. But given my plans for Il-Kaithe... I cannot in good conscience simply abandon the Imperium. It is doomed, but the people that inhabit it are not. With the Chariot in their hands, billions more might be saved that would otherwise perish. And without humanity, the eldar shall perish as well. A fate I know you wish avoided."
"And what if the mon'keigh," Maion paused. "What if Yang fails to secure it?" She demanded. "Have you not considered that?"
"Of course I have," Pyrrha said. "And let me ask you this: with knowledge of the Chariot's location, who will emerge the victor... Josephus, or a united Mechanicus Warfleet?"
Maion swallowed. "I see your point, Grandmother."
"Even if they lose the battle to secure it, or discover it has been corrupted, they would destroy it the same as the eldar would," Pyrrha said. "In which case I have done all I can, and Il-Kaithe loses nothing. After all, it might disappear. Only its craftworld kin need worry at that point."
"But why ask this of me?" Maion asked. "Can you not tell Yang yourself? I am a warrior of Khaine, his darkened blade as it sails through the battlefield. Not..." She stammered, unsure of what to say. "I am certainly no diplomat!"
"No," Pyrrha agreed. "But you are my mirror, in more ways than you would believe. Within you is the same drive, the same passion that carried me through my lives. The same deadly skill and unparalleled talent. I'm asking this of you because I want you - an eldar - to make the decision. If I tell Yang where the Chariot is, the gesture means nothing - the simple act of one old friend helping another. Something done effortlessly. Thoughtlessly." She sighed, and considered the chessboard once more. Pyrrha struck down one of Maion's pawns. "Regardless if Il-Kaithe leaves the universe or not, you are tied to the eldar where I cannot be. You care for their fate in this universe. It is my belief that the eldar cannot exist without humanity, and the Chariot will guard both from total devastation." She smiled, turning to pierce Maion with clouded emerald eyes, the very ones she bore herself, yet burdened with impossible gravity. "Without a degree of cooperation, there is no hope." she finished.
Maion looked at the board, and realized she was two moves from losing, no matter which piece she moved.
"So, given what I have said," Pyrrha continued, "given what you have seen of Yang and her companions, do you think eldar and humans can share the Milky Way? Do you think humanity deserves a chance at winning the Chariot?"
A/N: So this is a little late in coming, but I hope you enjoyed it regardless. As for the chapter itself, Pyrrha's pretty hard to write... but this is something I've had planned for a while, so I'm curious to know what your thoughts are.
There is some stuff in here I made up simply for the sake of the story, and isn't otherwise mentioned in 40k lore, namely the 'eldar genetics' bit. I wanted a more challenging reason for declining eldar birth rates besides "Slaanesh, soul stones, and stereotypical elven breeding". Also, it served as a short discussion on why human-eldar hybrids are possible.
Also, thanks to everyone for their continued support. Out of curiosity, I noticed that RWBY is now the second most popular crossover category for Warhammer! Back when I posted this, there were only three 40k/RWBY stories! I hope I inspired other people to create. :)
Until next time!