15. Ascend above the mists

Aeoror was levelled. The city looted of all valuables and flattened by a concentrated artillery barrage. Everything was taken from the city; valuable art, historical texts, scientific research and all the riches contained in the palace vaults. The people of Aeoror were expelled with only what they could carry or load on to carts and for an entire week the mountain top city was bombarded until all that remained was a glassed ruin. In the place of Aeoror, Solra had risen to become the most powerful city once again and the capital of Solaero.

Solra was a shining jewel, a city reborn and now alive with over 1 million people and thousands more flocking to it every year. The streets were paved with pure white marble tile and statues of the world's Emperor stood everywhere; monuments depicting him holding the head of Radiel or tearfully carrying Alrean to safety or just statues dedicated to one of the myriad of battles he fought in. The city was constantly active with people working, playing, debating, discussing and generally living all hours of the day. There was no longer any war or famine and the people were happy and content.

Just like its capital, the world of Solaero had also been improved. The complete cooperation between all the cities of the world allowed for the previously unreliable rope bridges that connected to mountains of their world to be upgraded to great bridges of stone brick, allowing for the unrestricted movement of people and resources around the world. Great power plants were set up on certain peaks and the surrounding cities and villages were given access to all the energy they could ever need. It was a golden age for the people of Solaero and it was all thanks to their Emperor, Aeoran.

The city of Solra was in a state of celebration, the entire population of the city had been given the day off of work, colourful decorations and lights lined the streets as musicians walked the streets and played ballads to their ruler. Vendors set up stalls in great markets that had the same square footage as a small town, they shouted at the jubilant passers-by to buy the treats, food or whatever else they sold.

The road leading to the palace was known as the road of the betrayed and was flanked on each side by statues of the 30 men who originally accompanied Aeoran to Aeoror, including the four village leaders standing sentinel outside the gates. The statues had flowers and candles placed around their bases and colourful ribbons and offerings were draped over the statue's limbs and shoulders, and people were placing ever more over them.

The royal palace had been refurbished using the riches of Aeoror, the defeated city's priceless art lined the halls and the riches from its vault paid for even more art dedicated to Aeoran to furnish the palace. Servants rushed through the palace halls as they carried great plates of food and even greater cauldrons of drink to and from the great banquet hall.

Aeoran sat in his armour at the head of the great hall, he sat at a great table that was raised on a stage with his closest friends and family seated beside him, spread out before the primarch was not only a mind boggling array of food and drink but also the thousands of men and women who had accompanied him from Aldra to Solra, everyone that had survived the journey had been found and invited to the palace for this special feast for it had been 5 years since they had gotten their vengeance on Aeoror.

Aeoran stood up and raised a golden goblet as the hall fell in to a hushed silence and waited for him to speak, "It has been 5 years since I took that bastard King's head!" he declared to a roar of approval, "It has been 5 years since I levelled that cursed city and in those 5 years this city and our world has prospered, I have done more in these 5 years than that entire dynasty did in 5000, it has been a great 5 years and an even better 5 are to come"

The hall was filled with a deafening roar of approval as everyone got back to eating and talking. Aeoran sat at the head table, content as he watched the people he had known since he was born, people he would consider family, laughing and joking with each other and he thought back to a time when he thought he would never be able to see a sight like this again.

"Your father really lucked out" Aeoran looked to his left where his mother sat, she was starting to grey and show other signs of aging but she stilled looked the same as ever in the primarch's eyes

"What do you mean?"

"He didn't go looking for you, he simply stumbled upon you" Elia looked off as she remembered her late husband, "A power beyond his control brought him to you and sometimes I wonder what would have happened if he never found you"

"He would still be alive" Aeoran's face dropped slightly as the unpleasant memory surfaced again

"He would've gotten himself killed eventually, one way or another" Elia made her son look at her, "But you gave him the chance to be a father while he still lived and I know he loved it more than anything"

Aeoran smiled at his mother, everything was perfect in his life, his family was safe and there was no one on Solaero who could challenge him but still he felt there was something more.

"They are my greatest creations" The first words he remembers hearing came to the forefront of his mind, "They will lead my men and unify all man"

He remembered the warm golden light and the 19 others, something deep in him was telling him to get back to that light but he had no idea where to start, he had scoured the entirety of Solaero but found no trace of a clue.

He's close, he's co….

Aeoran's eyes glazed over and he fell back in his chair. Alrean, who was seated to the primarch's right, stood and shook his friend to garner some response but got nothing, the hall grew silent as their king sat unresponsive for a full minute before life returned to his eyes and he returned to his senses.

"Aeoran, are you ok?" Alrean looked at him concerned

"You need to take care of our people" Aeoran stood and placed a hand on Alrean's shoulder, he seemed to be completely at peace as if he could see his path laid out clearly before him and all he had to do was walk it, "I'll return but you must stand in for me for a little while"

"What do you mean?" Alrean asked, confused by the sudden change in attitude

Aeoran didn't say anything, he simply took up his axe from its mount on the wall and walked out of the hall. Alrean quickly limped after him with a few others, demanding to know what he was doing and what had just happed but Aeoran simply walked on, sure of his actions.

Aeoran walked through the city, past some slightly surprised citizens, and all the way to the city gates, he walked out of the gates and to the edge of the area protected by the black stone ward. Alrean caught up to the primarch as he stood at the edge of the ward's limits, the mist hanging like a curtain before him.

"Aeoran, what are you doing?"

The mist was still dominated by the vicious beasts although thanks to Aeoran uniting the world, men rarely had to journey down in to it. Aeoran stood silently for a second before he looked back at Alrean.

"Trust me" were his final words before he walked in to the mist and disappeared completely

Alrean watched the spot where his friend had stood for at least an hour before someone took him back to the palace. He wasn't worried about Aeoran being killed but at that moment he felt like something had shifted in the primarch and the very fate of their world.

Tatin Erstwal, captain of the 5th company of the second legion, stood on the observation deck of the legion's flagship, a Gloriana class battleship by the name of the Second son. The entire second legion had been gathered by the order of the Emperor himself and were sent to this particular system to await his arrival and bring the inhabited world in compliance. The world in question hung before the captain as a pure white marble, thick clouds obscured the surface and where the cloud cover was broken by mountain peaks they were covered in a blanket of snow. Tatin stared at the world as if he was trying to pierce the clouds and see something on the surface.

He's close, he's coming to you

He heard the whisper again. He had seen reports of rare cases of brothers hearing a whisper that nudged them in the right direction, warning them to duck out of the way of a stray bullet or blade or warning them of a hidden enemy, but it had always been a rare occurrence. Tatin heard the whisper regularly, mostly during the heat of battle, and he was hearing it more as he followed what it told him. The captain believed it was some kind of warp sight combining with his subconscious to produce the whispers of the future, he was sure other battle brothers must also hear it and that it might be inherent to the legion's gene seed.

"Strange to see you so deep in thought" Tatin turned to see another captain enter the observation deck

Sailas Talla, captain of the 6th, he was a straight-laced man that wasn't one to hold his tongue. Like many astartes he wore his armour and had his head completely shaven, his right eye was a glowing red artificial one that sat set in his skull.

"I'm just thinking about why we were called here" Tatin went back to looking at the planet

"We all know why we were called here" Sailas came to a stop next to his fellow captain and they looked at the world together

"You really think he's down there"

"Yes, I can feel it"

Tatin wondered for a second if Sailas was also hearing the whisper as much as him and if it had told him the reason they had gathered as well, "I wonder what he's like?"

"Only two of his brothers have been found and from what I've seen I hope he's closer to the first found one but we'll find out soon"

"We will" Tatin smiled, "The legion master will be happy we beat the first"

"The only thing he'll ever be happy about"

The two stood in silence for a second before their vox went off and the voice of their legion master summoned them to the command deck.

The command deck of the Second son was a hub of activity, several levels filled with hundreds of officers and junior officers, all going about their business, even during peaceful activities there was a thousand duties to be completed and barely enough hands to do them all. Mias Nial was the fleet master of the 18th expeditionary fleet, he was quite a jovial man, especially compared to the usually serious astartes of the second legion.

He stood above the bridge listening to the white noise made from a hundred voices combining as he watched the people move around like ants. He currently stood in the ships strategium; the legion master, machanicum envoy and several astartes captains stood behind him as they waited for some late arrivals. Mias turned as he heard the doors open and two more captains entered and took their place around the hololith.

Casis stepped towards the circular hololith that took up the centre of the room and activated it, bathing everyone in a green light, as an image of the world appeared and he started the briefing.

"All the members of the legion know why we're hanging over this world without making contact" the legion master cut straight to the point, "Our primarch is on the surface, the Emperor will arrive in a few days and we will meet him at his side but scans of the planet have been taken and discreet probes have been sent, Malthus"

Casis looked over to a hunched figure in a red robe, metallic gold wire threaded through it creating what looked like a circuit across its entire surface, the figure's face was hidden under the robes hood but it wouldn't be what anyone expected. The figure, Malthus, moved to the hololith with the help of a cog tipped cane, the light coming off the holo reflecting off multiple thick wires that threaded their way out of the hood.

"The planet has been designated eighteen nine but from communications intercepted from the surface the natives call it Solaero" Malthus' voice was not human, very flat and robotic and it would occasionally be interrupted by static, "The probes have found that the planet is covered in a thick fog and over 99.9% of the world's population makes their home on the many mountains that dominate the planet mainly due to what seem like dangerous creatures that roam the fog"

"Not 100%?" Tatin looked at the tech priest curiously

"We have located a single city on the surface, it is located in a strange break in the fog and the creatures seem to avoid it as well"

Many of the astartes looked at each other as they heard that, they seemed to instinctively know that if they were going to find their primarch anywhere it would be there, "Continue Magos, what else do we know of this planet?"

"The inhabitants speak a dialect of Gothic, it was not difficult to translate, from what has been gleamed from intra-planetary communications there seems to be a feudal system based around an emperor they name as Aeoran"

At the mere mention of the name every astartes in the room stiffened, something on an instinctual level told them that that was the name of their father, just hearing his name filled those of the second with the urge to make planetfall that second but they had to restrain themselves and wait for the Emperor.

"Do we know how long until the Emperor arrives?" Casis asked, the impatience under his tone was clear

"The Emperor will arrive in a week's time" Malthus informed the strategium

Aeoran walked the mists for weeks, he did not eat or sleep nor did he stop for anything, any beast that got in his way was simply batted aside by his axe, he walked with surety and knew exactly where he needed to go.

The primarch stopped at the base of one of the great mountains of Solaero but this one was unlike the others, this was Olisor, the tallest mountain on the planet. Over 40,000 feet tall, it was the most revered mountain on the world for it is believed that the Gods live on the peak. Aeoran looked up at the looming obstacle, it would not be easy even for his enhanced physiology but he had to get to the peak. Legend actually had it that the primarch's namesake was the only person to ever reach the top of the mountain, the legendary king had climbed the mountain right before he vanished in to the mists in order to commune with the Gods, pretty close to what Aeoran was doing now.

The cliffs of Olisor were wind blasted near completely smooth and there were many great chasms that dropped down far below the surface of the planet but none of those bothered the primarch, he scaled the cliffs with ease, finding the smallest imperfections to hold on to and he leapt the chasms without problem. It took Aeoran a week of scale the mountain, even with his enhanced speed the wind and snow were difficult to battle but soon he found himself far above the cloud layer in a world only occupied by the blazing sun of his world.

Aeoran looked off in to the horizon and across the endless sea of clouds, the peak of Olisor was a flat plane barely 100 square feet and Gods were noticeably absent, there was nothing up there except endless sky and snow.

He's here

Anathema

Aeoran wasn't sure how long he had been waiting on the peak but as the sun was rising he felt that the moment had arrived. Aeoran drew himself up as he awaited what was to come, he stood tall in his ornate armour as mist rolled off him and the light of the sun caught his crown. He felt the air become agitated and crackle with energy, like the static before a storm, there was a bright flash of light and the loud screech of air being instantly displaced. Where was previously nothing now stood several golden warriors with high cone shaped helmets and great scarlet red plumes, wielding ornate halberds. In the middle of this circle of warriors was a god incarnate, he was taller than those who guarded him and radiated a golden aura that made it difficult to directly observe him but from what Aeoran could see he had naturally golden tanned skin and strong noble features, he was obviously Aeoran's father.

Aeoran's mind was cast back to the liquid world and the warm golden light as well as the strong voice that said the first words he ever heard. The figure parted his guards and made his way to Aeoran, the two stood before each other in a silent moment of understanding. The figure smiled and placed a hand on Aeorans shoulder.

"My greatest creation" his voice was as strong and commanding as the primarch remembered, "I will give you an army of your own blood and with them…"

"I will unite all man" Aeoran recited the very words he remembered hearing

The figure smirked, "I suspected one of you were listening all those years ago" he placed a hand on Aeoran's back and led him down the mountain, "Now I think we should get you back home"

News of their Emperor's disappearance had spread quickly and Alrean was inundated with demands from local Lords for some kind of action, he worked quickly and declared a state of emergency, he forced local rulers to enforce a curfew and declare martial law to crush any dissenters as well as sending out the most experienced mist walkers to find Aeoran.

Alrean was having a rare quiet moment with his family in one of the palaces gardens, he sat with his wife as he watched his young son practice with a spear. Alasiel had grown up to be quite skilled at arms, he was only 10 and he was a better warrior than his father at that age, Alrean already knew the boy would end up wanting to explore the mists when he grew up. Alrean looked over at his wife as they watched their son stab at a practise dummy, he was able to finally relax for a moment before a guard ran up to him.

"My lord there is a situation"

"What is it now?" Alrean expected protesters demanding answers

"The Emperor has returned"

Alrean shot up quicker than he has since his injuries and he raced through the palace like he had never been stabbed to near death.

The people of Solra were struck silent in awe as they watched the procession going through their city. Their Emperor had walked out of the mists and in to the city, at his side was a great warrior clad in ornate golden armour and behind them both where perfectly marching ranks of lesser golden warriors, although they were still greater than any man on Solaero. The small parade made it all the way to the palace and marched in to the courtyard just as Alrean was running out of the palace.

The regent stopped dead as he saw a shining figure enter the courtyard with Aeoran at his side, Alrean had always thought that Aeoran was magnificent and the epitome of human perfection but this figure exceeded even the primarch, he couldn't tear his eyes away from its golden radiance.

"Alrean" the regent was brough back to reality as Aeoran moved forward to greet him, "I knew you could keep everything in order"

Alrean still couldn't look away from the figure as he spoke to his Emperor, "W-wh-who is that?"

"My father, the Emperor of all mankind, he has come to bring me home"

Alrean finally looked at his friend, "Solaero is your home, your kingdom"

"I know but there are a million worlds out there like ours, ignorant to what I have learned" Aeoran looked Alrean in the eyes and stared deep in to his soul, "I was created to bring light to those world as I did to Solaero, I have to go and I need you to rule this world for me from now on so all I did doesn't go to waste"

"I can't take your place, I can't be the Emperor"

"I'm not an Emperor, there is only one Emperor and I'm not him, only my father deserves that title, you'll be a planetary governor and help bring Solaero in to the wider Imperium"

"What happened? Where were you? Why are you saying this?" Alrean had so many questions

"All your questions will be answered in time but just know that this is the only way forward for our world, the Imperium will be good for us" Alrean relented to Aeoran's wish, his faith and trust in his friend was unshakable, "Now we must prepare a celebration for the coming of my father and our reunion with our distant cousins and of course the arrival of my sons"

Casis sat in one of the flight seats of a Stormbird as it flew through the lower atmosphere of Solaero, he looked across at the several captains that shared the transport with him, all looked nervous as they waited with baited breath to meet their gene father. The 2nd had fought with the 16th several times since the discovery of their primarch, Casis remembered seeing the primarch Horus in battle. Asartes were angles of war but a primarch was a literal god of the battlefield, the Emperor's fury incarnate, where they marched victory followed, places that would break a legion were simple obstacles for one of the Emperor's sons.

He looked out of the window as the bird broke through the cloud cover and a landscape of mist rolled out beneath him and in the centre of that landscape was a hole in the mist and in that hole was a city, shining bright like a polished diamond. Casis' enhanced vision could see people lighting great bonfires and dancing in the streets as they celebrated.

"They're celebrating the coming of the Emperor" Tatin said as he looked out of the window nearest him, "If only all worlds were like this"

"If they were all like this then we wouldn't be needed" Sailas also watched the city grow closer

Every warrior in the Stormbird felt it, they felt as if they were approaching something, an overwhelming anticipation that seemed to go down to their very genes and infuse their cells with a feeling of power, it was the feeling of approaching their primarch.

The Stormbird touched down and all the warriors inside unbuckled as they readied to step out and meet the one who was destined to lead them. Their duel hearts beat hard as the ramp lowered and the cold air of Solaero rushed in, they all had to stop themselves from running through the ramp to the father they knew was so close by. The ramp stopped with a soft thud and the warriors of the 2nd were greeted by the sight of the Emperor surrounded by his Custodes, Casis marched out as the captains of the 2nd followed close behind.

"Casis Thal" the Emperor spoke his name as the legion master approached and made the symbol of the aquila over his hearts with his head bowed

"My Emperor"

"I believe there is someone you've waited a long time to meet" Casis looked up as the Emperor stepped aside and allowed the 2nd to see their primarch

Casis was in awe as he laid eyes on the man before him, no not a man, in the eyes of the astartes of the 2nd he was like a god come to earth, he was their legion distilled and given form, a goal for all of his brothers to strive for but one they would never be able to reach. He had few words to describe the feeling that was going through his hearts, it was something akin to the feeling a new father would feel when they see their newborn, the feeling of having something you would give everything to, something you would defend with your life and kill without question for.

The primarch approached Casis and stood tall over him, "You can stand now" it was only then that Casis realised that he had fallen to his knees and was bowing before his gene father

"Yes my lord" the legion master stood and still his primarch stood over him, "My name is Casis Thal, I have led the legion in your absence"

"I thank you for your service" his voice was like music to the warriors of the 2nd, "I am known as Aeoran"

"Aeoran! Aeoran! Aeoran!" The captains of the 2nd started to chant their primarch's name as they celebrate this momentous occasion

Next time: A change on the field of battle