LeKan was now lost in the Gold Wing, desperately trying to make sense of his surroundings and regain his sense of direction. The date-slate he had been using to map now instead showed an error message that said he was outside the known Imperial Palace and refused to map anymore. The gigantic corridor he was now in was strewn heavily with rubble and shell craters and las-burns marred the walls. Here and there, swathes of the walls and floors were blackened, most likely from flamers or plasma weapons. LeKan assumed this was from the Horus Heresy, because during the second siege by Sebastian Thor to remove Vandire, no fighting was in this particular wing. LeKan stopped, in awe of a section of the wall that was undamaged by the fighting.
The mural depicted a tall figure, in baroque and elaborate heavy armor, standing with a banner in one hand and a sword in the other. The banner showed a twin-headed eagle. Shoulder to shoulder around him, stood what only could be Custodian Guardsmen, with their distinctive tall helmets and Guardian Spears at the ready. Broken at their feet, lay hazy, indistinct shapes, but LeKan could see bits of organic looking armor and strange weapons. Greeting the figure in armor, who LeKan assumed was the Emperor, were men, hundreds of men, likely pre-Imperial humans saved by the Emperor. LeKan took a step back, from something farther up the wall caught his attention. A message was carved above the mural. It read:
Ab imperator concilator salus cedere actuarius alaris
The Emperor brings salvation upon swift wings.
LeKan took several pic-steals of the whole mural, for the Librarians would also be interested in this, and was about to turn and move on, when a tiny carving near the bottom got his attention. It was a date and location. 746M28, the purging of Galavarax. The Twenty-Eighth millenia! Fully two-thousand years before He was interred in the Golden Throne, this was possible at the beginning of the Great Crusade!
Heavy footsteps from behind him woke LeKan from his trance. LeKan spun, his weapon at the ready, prepared to sell his life against Kimenchan to protect the Emperor. Nothing was in sight. Yet the footsteps continued, echoing all around LeKan. It seemed like a dozen men were marching past him, but no one was in sight. Gradually, the steps faded down the hall. LeKan shook his head and dismissed the ghostly steps and the mural from his mind. He had to find his way back to the Custodian barracks.
Turning back the way he had been going, LeKan continued down the corridor, stopping only to press on the wall in places, trying to find any of the labyrinth passageways that would lead him back to the barracks.
The signs of battle continued to intensify and some even looked as if they had just happened. One crater was smoking… LeKan dived to one side just as a dozens of bolts ripped through were he had just been standing. LeKan stood, again behind a pillar, and cautiously looked out. There was no one there. The Captain looked back, and once again, saw no one.
LeKan stood up again, shaking his armored head. Once again, his mind was playing tricks on him. He advanced further down the hall and stumbled upon a Custodian corpse, killed by a bolt weapon. His blood was still wet. LeKan crouched down and turned the Custodians head. It was one of the three with Kimenchan. LeKan stood again, wary once more. Not only was Kimenchan somewhere around, but someone or something was stalking them in Gold Wing.
So. I don't know where to go from here if anyone wants to help me with that. Or Master of the Warp could try to take over from here. Whatever.