Chapter 17, A challenger.


Tanya Russ
20 years since arrival

Setting the other coast of the continent straight proved easy enough. The enemy armies hadn't learned a damn thing since the last time I'd been on that coast and I was quickly able to break the will of the their armies. Mobility was a key factor in the conflict as I quickly moved my forces into positions that allowed me to defeat armies in detail without letting them merge. Once you do that two times the rest start losing hope.

Thankfully that allowed me to end the conflict with the lords underneath the king of this side of the continent quickly, as I was able to negotiate them down once they saw the possibility of winning against my forces was zero.

Really what proved to be more of an issue werethe Sea People and the Ice Nomads. They had most of their fleet damaged or destroyed in our first battle but what was left attempted to raid my supply lines. Granted most of the ships I had put away for supply duty were too large to be captured in the traditional way of jumping from one boat to another but it did prove able to slow down supplies, which made things a little less smooth than I would have liked.

Not to mention it helped stir up sea monsters in the area as conflict always drew them in for an easy meal. Thankfully the attempts at Greek fire had worked out. It did have a tendency to freeze during the winter but at this time of year it was more than functional and improved chances in battles between humans and the sea monsters, making outcomes relatively equal. Also it had a wonderful effect on the morale of the sailors, wonderful in the sense that it ended battles a lot quicker. For the tribes of the Sea People, their ships were their lives: the possibility of losing a ship to fire was the greatest threat they could face, one of the things I had learned about them over the years from my interactions.

The fleet that was still functioning eventually either surrendered or fled south. How far south was a mystery but it was far enough that I wouldn't have to worry about them. They would either come back eventually and become invested in the trade network I've established or be conquered by the Sea People who already have. It was up to them and I didn't care what they choose.

As for the Sea People's mercenaries, they proved a bit of an issue as well on land as they didn't surrender when the other lords did. Instead, they retreated straight to the coastline and hunkered down, laying fortifications as they waited in hopes of boarding any ships their brothers managed to keep afloat. I spent a month besieging their makeshift fort.

I could have crushed them easily if I was willing to waste the manpower. I was not. What I did have and was more than willing to capitalize on, was possession of a larger stockpile of food than they did, a fact guaranteed by my ships positioned to blockade any resupply.

Eventually the starved contingent finally surrendered and I made them swear loyalty as I had done with their brothers who had surrendered at sea.

The Glacier Nomads proved a bit more troublesome than even the Sea People as they were more than familiar with what could best be considered guerilla tactics.

Any supply chain I established anywhere was raided. Thankfully my wolves were able to track down several of them but they did lose a few of the pack in the fighting. The Glacier Nomads were a hardy and tough bunch and they were no slouches in combat, so I could see now why they had been brought in to settle the conflict.

Thankfully, over time I was able to clear the coastline of their type by pushing them further inland towards the mountains. I was hoping they would surrender once they had no option to get back out to the glaciers but they instead retreated into the mountains, which turned out less than ideal for either of us. Supply chains into the mountains were a terrible thing due to the monsters that lived there. Thus, tracking and hunting them down was difficult to say the least.

On the other hand, the nomads seemed to know how to avoid most of the monsters in the mountains. I suspected they were a lot more familiar with the territory than I had been informed. Going into the mountains to fight these people was not something I wanted to do, but it was not like I could attempt Byzantine diplomacy and offer them gold to stop fighting me. Not that such diplomacy worked all that well for the Byzantines, as that simply incentivizes people to wait some time before attacking again for more money. So, with the consent of the king of this region, I built a fort not too dissimilar from the ones I had created on my coast and established a system by which forces could be dispatched to reinforce a permanent garrison.

The boy king agreed to basically all my terms and even offered to join his military with mine. I hadn't considered that, but I figured the boy was feeling unsure of himself and was looking for a way to improve his standing after the disastrous first year.

What better way to get a professional army trained than by connecting it to my preexisting professional army? So I agreed. I even taught them all the techniques I had been using on my coast to maintain control, figuring it would help him over the coming years. Once that was all settled I took 3/4 of my army back home to celebrate the victorious war.

I did take one detour though. Instead of the quick path which we had taken before, I directed the fleet to sail the longer path up towards an island called The Isle of the Iron Masters. I only heard about them through the Iron priests who said that their order had originally come from this island just off the coast of Asaheim, one of the very few islands that survived the constant shifting of Summer in the season of fire. The people there were, from what I had been told, isolationists to an extreme degree and didn't like outsiders. Which I was willing to respect. I didn't want to declare war, or anything of the sort, even if I was moving my fleet right next to the island. I simply wished to catch a glimpse of something promising in my passing, to see if there was any truth to the words one of the Iron priests had mentioned in passing as I toured the construction of the forge works; that the ships of the Isle were fueled by flame.

That was a very interesting piece of information, as the Sea People always spoke about wind being the major component of how their ships moved so I knew the majority of the fleets on this planet did so either by wind power or muscle power through oars. So why were the Iron priests' described ships of this island as running on flame?

Well, now I had my answer. As soon as my fleet got too close to the island for their comfort, what could be best described as a steam ironclad with cannons sailed out to meet us.

This was surprise and quite concerning. Though my ships were much larger than the one approaching us, I did not have any illusions that we would fare well against an ironclad if it decided to smash us up. Boarding action could work, but that would be costly and not worth the trouble.

So I ordered we adjust course and we sped up to get past the island as fast as possible. The ironclad basically shadowed us the entire time, keeping its guns pointed in our direction menacingly.

BBefore we lost sight of the island, I was able to glimpse smoke as it billowed out from what could definitely, not be a volcano. If I were to take a guess? There were functioning factories on that island!

Once the threat of being sunk by an ironclad faded away and we were on our way home I had to have a little chuckle at the realization that there was an island nation out there with ironclads while everyone else was reduced to the medieval era. I had to bet the people of that island lived in a potential technocracy in order to maintain that level of advancement, given that it was closer to the 18th century than the 7th.

Though that proved something: if a single island on this planet could raise itself to the tech level of the 18th century it was not impossible for the rest of the continents to at least do the same. If I was a true barbarian the quickest way to get that level would probably be to gather up the largest fleet this world had ever seen and lay siege to that island. They probably had a couple ironclads but with enough fleets it wouldn't matter. But I abhor war and I abhorred the idea of wasting human life on such a pitiful conflict when there were other options.

As far as I could see it I now controlled a large majority of the planet's trade through intermediaries, either direct vassals or my allies on the other coast. Everyone would listen to me. If I wanted to I could attempt what Napoleon never succeeded at and cut that island off completely from the trade network unless they are willing to open themselves up. I doubted the island produced much in the way of food, they would need to trade to feed their population so it would probably be the most successful tactic. But I would hold that card for now. Instead I opted for the policy of trying to draw them deeper into the trade network. There was always the possibility that the island was self-sufficient, and if that was true then cutting them off right away would only serve to create tensions.

Better to keep them trading. Once their island needed resources from us because they had grown thanks to that trade, then I'd suggest giving over some of their technology or be removed from the trade network.

Hopefully that last thing would not be necessary but it did give me time to think about the future.

I had been reacting heavily for the last few years. Besides the general idea of trying to improve things for the people I now shepherded, I hadn't really thought about what would happen if we reached the 18th-century level technology. Maybe even the 19th? Hell what if we even reached the 21st? Those seemed like such impossibilities since a normal human lifespan was maybe a hundred years if you got extremely lucky, and that was when the tech level was of the 21st century, but I had no idea how long my lifespan was. Sure there was a potential of a leap to the 18th or 19th-century tech level being dangled in front of me by that island but what if I was around long enough that I got to 21st-century level the long way.

I quickly became very uncomfortable with that thought process, as having a lifespan that long would turn me into basically a god-king. I did not like the idea, my potential retirement would be thrown out the window as everyone would come to depend on me.

I would need to develop a system that produces good leadership in both the officer core of the army and within the parliament I planned to create. Leaving either group dependent upon me for everything would lead to a terrible outcome for our society. In my mind, there could be no one person that would ever have total authority over the people. That, more than anything would be a sure path to failure for if anything were to happen to me, from those subordinates who never fully embraced the changes I'd brought could emerge a leader set on choosing the path of regression. It was a nightmare frequently conjured by my mind, that one would rise after my passing who stood to lead my people back into the past, undoing all the progress I strove to make and driving us back into the dark as a "return to our roots". It was one I hoped would never come to pass..


Tanya, 30 years since arrival
Tanya Russ

It was good to be the king and it was even better to be the king of a nation at peace. Might be best when it basically controlled the entire planet, though I tried not to think about how I'd grown a kingdom into an empire over the last 10 years.

Frankly, I should be more focused on enjoying the night. Tonight was my 30th birthday party, I think. I kept a good number of calendars over my many moves so I had been able to go back to those locations and check the numbers till I had an almost exact day of my arrival on this planet. Give or take a day of course.

So, since one of the ways to maintain control of the nobles was to throw lavish parties to celebrate various deeds, I intended to throw exactly that for my birthday. Granted we were really celebrating all the progress of the year, all the minor deeds that didn't deserve a full-on celebration by themselves. Fixing the tax code was not killing a dragon and thus was not worthy of a celebration but fixing a tax code and settling a minor border dispute and building fortified ports for the Sea People to continue the trade network? Those were all the minor deeds we were celebrating together, so why not celebrate them on my birthday? I had accomplished them and nobles didn't care that much when the mead was flowing.

Hell, as far as major deeds were concerned, this year was doing fairly well on that front too! Finally the Iron Isles were starting to come into my sphere of influence and had started sharing minor technologies. They weren't handing over their steamships, of course. But the fact that the forge works the Iron priests had been building had finally produced the first canon, which I had mounted on the one trade ship they allowed to enter their port, had done a good job of showing that their tech lead would slowly dissipate. They now knew that it was better to cash it in while they had the chance.

Looking out at the feast hall where the many noble ;ords, clan leaders, and various skilled warriors who swore loyalty to me were enjoying the feast I could already see a shift from the first time I had stepped into this castle. Where once stood dirty barbarians in skins of fur with only a few having finer bits of armor, There were now quite a number of finer armors and bits of finery to the clothing beyond leather and fur.

Not to mention the walls, which had been bare stone when I first took ownership of this Hall, were now quite improved. Make no mistake there were no fine artists out there that I was aware of who could put frescoes on the wall, at least not yet but over the years I had acquired quite a collection of items. Above the fireplace behind me was an Ice Wyrm skull belonging to the second creature of that type that I'd killed, along the left wall were many ceremonial weapons I had acquired either through victory or gifts and along the right were other skulls of creatures that plagued the planet of Fenris that I had slain over the years.

It was a bit tacky in my opinion but I understood their worth, they presented a level of prestige and prestige was a good tool for controlling the nobility. Not only did it make sure those who served me directly understood that they were dealing with someone who had done great deeds on their world, and would do more in the coming years. When they brought their kids to my hall for various meetings it also impressed upon them my abilities, making sure the next generation would be loyal as well.

Taking a good gulp of mead I sat back and relaxed in my large wooden chair, specially designed for my 8-ft frame. This was the life, this was probably even better than retirement. In my last life I had always thought about getting to there as my end goal, acquiring some middle to high position in a company as a step to secure that retirement. I had never factored in the idea of becoming a CEO. Oh sure I thought about it but I always discarded the idea, gaining the connections necessary for a CEO position made it a near impossibility. I wanted better than a one in a million chance so it was better to plan for the possible. This was that one in a million chance. I was at the top of the government, I ran things well enough from my position and made sure competent people were running things further down the line. As it was I had no reason to retire anytime soon.

I wasn't working myself to death either. I basically worked 8 hours a day, with the rest spent either enjoying raising wolves or training military commanders. We directed miniature armies to try and explain my thinking during several conflicts. My various attempts to push the level of technology further were also going well and bearing nice fruits. Even some of the work during the 8 hours I frankly enjoyed as I liked solving problems with numbers and most problems came down to numbers. Need more troops on this border because there's been more animal activity. Clean out an infestation of Ice Fiends. It's all about moving the troops into the right place and funding construction projects to make sure logistics systems would support the troops in that area.

Placing my now drained cup on the table, I idly wondered if there was anything on the southern pole of this planet when Ingegärd Bergvidottir, one of the maids in my service, brought a new cup to replace mine. "More mead, my king?", she asked with a charming voice.

Trying not to let my eyes wander too much I replied, "Yes, Ingegärd, that would be wonderful.". She switched out the cups and we shared a smile and I couldn't help but ask "Ingegärd, are you free later tonight?"

Her smile grew wider as she leaned in closer, whispering, "For the king, I'm free. All. Night. Long," with a charming giggle.

"Until tonight then," I replied with a knowing smile as she stepped away, heading towards the kitchen area. I shook my head, watching her leave. Not because it was a sad thing to see her walk away, the view was quite splendid. But simply because I had never thought I'd end up in a situation where I would have multiple relationships going on at once. In my life as a salaryman that was fairly taboo and looked down upon. Here, well… Besides some knowing looks of amusement I caught from lords who probably wished my tastes were more open, everyone was rather accepting of this behavior, if not outright supportive of it.

Made sense, really. When you thought about it I wasn't securing the Russ bloodline with my preferneces as they were their own with these relations, which meant if I ever died any one of them would still have an opportunity to take the crown. That and I was quite sure some of them put their sisters up for positions in my household to try and get favors nonetheless. Didn't work of course, I was too principled to engage in unscrupulous behavior like that. Not that I didn't find jobs for them, most simply ended up amongst the shield maidens tasked with guarding castle Russ..

Though shield maidens was a bit of an odd term, considering they were all armed with the experimental hand cannons. They were so primitive I really could not call them muskets. My guard was also dressed in some of the best armor and furs that could be found in Russ for second-line troops. They watched over the castle 24/7 and swore to be on guard even when most of the people inside were… well, as drunk as they were at the moment. Now that I thought about it, I wondered whose idea it was to add boob armor to the plate mail. I really should find out what the Iron priests got up to when I wasn't looking… but then again as long as they produce good first-grade armor and weapons for the housecarls that maintained the peace, I really didn't care what they did with their second-rate jobs.

Reaching forward to grab my freshly filled cup of mead I froze as I sensed a disturbance in the surrounding mana. It was impossible to miss , a Golden presence had entered the castle and was now moving through its Halls in my general direction. Over the last 20 years I had trained my magical senses quite well, to the point that I could pick up when a Rune Priest entered within a few miles radius of the castle. And for all the time I've lived on this planet, I've never felt anything this strong.

That's a troublesome thought. Bringing the cup to my lips, I drank deeply and pretended not to watch the main hall door while wondering who was going to enter the room. As I did so I tuned out the revelry of the partygoers. The sounds of food being eaten, drinks spilling, and the occasional 'romantic' noises all faded away as I focused on the door. My liver seemed to clean out a bit more alcohol than normal, assuming the worst that a threat was coming.

As I watched the door opened and a tall figure, about 8 ft 5, stepped in. My guards paid absolutely no attention to him and most of the pretty girls did the same.

I watched him without watching him, a technique I picked up while hunting in the wilds since animals tended to get a feeling when you stared directly at them but didn't get one when you use the peripheries of your vision. I saw him slowly make his way around the table in my general direction, looking around the hall. In study, perhaps? At first look the robes and cloak the person wore were rather plain but at the edges of the clothing I saw runes woven into them. Which spoke a lot about their understanding of magic, I would assume. It also spoke of them not being from the continent. Oh there was finery on this planet, but to have runes woven into a cloak? That required a bit of wealth and a lot of time. I hadn't even gotten something like that but then again I still wore the black fur cloak I'd taken from the demon many years before.

The figure was halfway through the room before anyone seemed to notice them and as soon as they did they started to back away from the figure as if its mere presence was applying a pressure onto them, making them want to subconsciously draw away in fear.

The figure was halfway to where I sat at the head of the table when they stopped, finally looking at me closely. They were tilting their head, in confusion I would think, though their features were hidden by the shadows of the cloak. They paused, still looking at me, before taking a step back and turning to leave. Which was rather annoying, they just made a rather large spectacle of themselves to those who had seen them. So all of a sudden deciding to turn back was frankly not going to sit well with me.

"Well, now. What do we have here? A cloaked figure hiding their identity with not only a bit of stealth but also a bit of magic"? I called out after the figure, turning my head to look at them directly.

The figure stopped then turned back to face me, their features still hidden by their dark cloak. The room went silent as everyone became aware of their presence at my pointing it out. The person who had been sitting right next to him basically stopped and turned, with a yip that would have made many wolf pups laugh, before ducking underneath the table.

"So you can see me, King Russ." The figure said, leaning on a gnarled walking stick I hadn't noticed before. Had that been there since he entered?

"I felt your presence the moment you entered the castle, Mr…" I fished for his name and the figure simply nodded and said "You may call me wanderer for now, my king." The figure answered with a dramatic bow before starting his walk towards me again.

"I come from afar in search of something I have long lost."

"Long lost things are often hard to find," I stated with a shrug, before sipping my drink. "Is this long-lost thing the reason you have entered my domain cloaked with sorcery, rune priest wanderer?"

"In a matter of speaking, yes, but the reason I have come today is to issue a simple challenge to you, my king."

"A challenge?" I said, raising an eyebrow with a chuckle. "I've bested many challenges over the years," I said, indicating the walls around us. "So whatever challenge you wish to offer better be a good one."

The figure nodded, looking around the walls before saying "The challenge, and I do not really care for its nature, can be one of your choice. I simply wish to win the right to drink at your right hand for this feast."

Ah, the right hand. The most important position in feudal cultures, either this person wanted to become very important in the structures of my power or they wanted to be able to talk to me in private. I robably would have talked to them in private if they just came after the feast but I was always up for a little bit of entertainment nowadays, plus they were obviously powerful in some way. Perhaps they knew magic I didn't and then I'd need to spend a little bit more time than just a feast talking to them.

Nodding my head, I said, "I can agree to this, if you are willing to serve at my behest for a year should you fail."

"To be at your service would be no issue to my timetable." The wanderer said with a bow.

Turning to one of the maids I said "Bring out the good stuff," before turning back to the wanderer. I indicated a seat at my left-hand side that was open, the occupants having fled to hide somewhere. "Take a seat, wanderer, and I will tell you the challenge and the rules."

The wanderer nodded and took the seat, his face somehow still remaining hidden. Which at this point told me there was something unnatural going on, an illusion spell of some kind perhaps? Or maybe a spell to deepen the shadows of the cloak. When I got the chance I would have to ask him about that, it could be useful for multiple situations. "What shall be the first challenge, my king? An eating contest of sorts, perhaps? Or a drinking contest maybe?"

"First challenge? You're assuming I'd make others. We'll see. I may even come up with some more if you really want to play this out." The maid brought forward 6 cups and laid them between us.

"A simple question game mixed with alcohol as it were. You ask a question. If I get it right you drink, if I get it wrong I drink. I ask a question and vice versa. The one who drinks the most loses, not that I imagine it is quite that big of a loss when you're drinking some of the finest alcohol Fenris has to offer."

The voice of the wanderer seemed to lighten with mirth. "A splendid challenge indeed. Well, my king, since it is your game you may go first."

Smiling I looked the figure over and then said "You seem to have a good understanding of magic, so answer me this: Why are there two forms of magic?" This was a bit of a low blow since I didn't actually know the answer and it would be more if I agreed with what they proposed as the answer. Then again if they could convince me of their solution to a question I had been wondering about for a while now they deserved the win.

"What you refer to as magic is the psychic potential of humanity, stored in an alternative dimension known as the Warp. This dimension stores energy from all psychic beings that have ever existed and possibly ever will exist. That is the form that you probably don't feel as easily. I would assume it feels distant when you've reached for it?"

I nodded my head in agreement.

"It is uncontrolled and chaotic in nature. The other form though is Fenris itself."

"Fenris?" I asked, trying to clarify.

"This world used to belong to another people and has much of their understanding of controlling the Warp imbued into it. It would seem the potential of the people who lived on this planet is stored within it and made available for use to the those who are born here, instead of going directly to the Warp. If someone were to leave they would still be able to access this magic even if they were halfway across the galaxy, though the further you are the more you will have to draw on the other more uncontrolled form to allow the use of some of the more powerful abilities the Warp affords."

I nodded my head, thought about for a bit, and picked up the glass. I drank half of it before sliding it to him. "I don't know the answer but I buy a good portion of that, though some of it I don't. We'll call it a draw."

The figure nodded, took what was left of the glass and drank it down.

He looked at it for a moment then asked "This is very strong. If I didn't know better I'd say that anyone who didn't have quite an improved ability to drink would be passed out drunk on four glasses."

I drank half the glass in front of me before sliding it across to The wanderer. "Two and a half glasses is actually the upper limit most people can take before they pass out."

"Ah … a secret challenge within a challenge, I quite appreciate that," the wanderer said before drinking what was left of the class.

"You're not from Fenris, correct?" I asked matter of factly.

The wanderer picked up a cup and drank deeply, finishing it before placing it back on the table. "Correct. I traveled far to come here, far enough that I would be considered not of Fenris. I guess I let that slip when I mentioned being halfway across the galaxy. Though I would have guessed someone who had grown up on this world would never come across the idea of traveling off the planet. Let me guess you came across many relics from a bygone age that didn't add up? Perhaps technology that this world has never reached before as far as you were concerned and you instinctively assumed they were a possibility that this was not the birthplace of humanity."

I grabbed the glass and drink deeply finishing it before putting it down. "That's correct, though I had a few theories beyond just an instinct. But generally, yes. Frankly humanity is not at the top of the food chain on this planet unless we have tools, I don't think humanity could have developed on this planet which means we had to come from somewhere else. Going by my past experiences I would say probably Earth."

"Past experiences? You should have no past experiences to draw on but from this planet itself, unless… unless you remember a past life. But that's impossible, prolonged exposure to the Warp would erase all trace of memories from a soul, bleach it of its former existence. You're lying about past experiences in order to get the win."

I could see a flash of anger now even though the hood was obscuring the face, it was like his eyes were glowing with embers of rage. But I was not about to be cowed by some stranger with a mysterious past into backing down on the truth of the matter and I slid the glass across to him. "I do have past experiences. I remember a life before this one and I remember yet another life before that. The middle life is foggy, walled off for the most part, but I've managed to recover some of those memories over the years. However, I remember my first life quite well.

I was a human resources officer for a corporation in Japan. I had just fired a drug addict that refused to get help, even though we tried to give him every chance possible, because he was using corporate funds to feed his habits. I was going to ride the train home, and at the time I believed the human condition was that of logic. A quick push and a short flight quickly changed my mind on that."

"Hmm, multiple reincarnations? An unintended factor I was unaware of… still… yes, that could explain…" The wanderer looked me over as if something was falling in place for him. He reached over to the glass, took it, and drank it all down. Then, after a moment, he said "Well, it seems I've asked my three questions and you've asked two. May I ask a favor then?"

"You may," I said, wondering what he was going to ask.

"I'm quite familiar with the history of old Terra, intimately familiar. Ask a question from the time period of your last life, preferably a hard one."

I nodded my head, understanding why he wanted that particular question if he was that familiar. Frankly, at this point, I pretty much came to the conclusion that the man before me was most likely the creator of this body. Most likely he was trying to figure out what had gone wrong in my creation that I remembered things, no doubt he also wanted an idea of what year I was from. Well I had a suitable question, one I stumbled across a few years back that would do well to figure out how this reincarnation worked.

I reclined in my seat and said matter of factly, "Who was the Devil of the Rhine?".

The wanderer chuckled and said "Such an old question, one I've not heard in 27,000 years. The Devil of the Rhine, or the 11th goddess as the newspapers termed her many years later, was a propaganda movement to imply that the empire of Germania had some sort of super psyker. She was supposed to be running around and putting out fires, making sure that they were winning the war. Frankly their system was quite efficient but there's no evidence this soldier ever existed. No doubt it's simply a mix of German propaganda and everyone else wanting to have someone to blame for their failures. Better to blame some mythical mage than to admit the Imperial system was more efficient and effective than their own."

I couldn't help myself, I laughed at that. 27,000 years and they still hadn't figured out who the 11th goddess was? Grabbing the glass I drank half of it before placing it on the table and pushing it across to The wanderer.

Then, in what I considered perfect German though I hadn't spoken it in probably 27,030 years, I said "I did a good job burning those records I see. I'm afraid though the propaganda was not so much propaganda as the truth. Though I don't remember my name so we'll call that a tie. Well that would be three and a half for you and two and a half for me, I believe I've won this little…"

Before I could finish that sentence the wanderer reached over to his left shoulder and ripped the cloak from his body. And I was stunned as the figure that had been about my size doubled, his head just barely avoiding touching the large ceiling of the hall. I was given the first actual view of the person though and I was quite shocked at what I saw. Before me stood a man in heavy platemail armor, finely crafted in a baroque style with what I must assume was burnished gold. Everywhere I look there were gold eagles and red jewelry.

Throughout the hall the gathered lords screamed in fear and moved away from the gigantic man now standing at the head of the table. Not all, I noted with some pride. My shield maidens quickly reformed, bringing their large spears to point at the giant that the wanderer had turned into.

Even part of me wanted to run but I stood my ground. Well, in a matter of speaking. I was still seated after all. I looked up at him and waited to see what he would do, noting that the look of anger and frustration across his face was mixed with confusion and something else I couldn't make out through the other emotions.


The Emperor

Hours before

I looked down at the ice ball below with some trepidation. For 30 years I had found my way across the galaxy, looking for my 20 lost sons robbed from me by the creatures of the Warp.

Thankfully the crusade I had been planning for a long time to reunite humanity was nearly ready so I was able to launch it with the new goal to find my sons. Being patient would have probably resulted in fewer casualties but I didn't have patience enough. The longer my sons were out there, the more likely they were to be corrupted by the powers of the Warp. And what better weapon to turn against me would the powers of the Warp ever receive.

Thankfully, again, I already recovered one of them, Horus Lupercal. It would be better to say he had nearly recovered himself as he had unified the world he'd fallen on and was in the process of trying to put together an expeditionary fleet to Terra. At the time I had wondered if perhaps one of the training programs I had installed in the gestation chambers had induced an intense urge to return to Terra in my sons. But I'd soon come to realize he had been taking a lot after me when it came to my dreams of reuniting humanity.

However I could not depend on my sons to find themselves, I would need to do it myself. So far though, until a few years ago, I had only found Horus. As my crusade expanded across the Stars I had heard rumors of various beings coming to power, trade and rumors always moved faster than armies which was useful when you needed to find people who had been scattered across the stars.

One such rumor came from Fenris, that a giant had taken the planet and brought an age of peace and prosperity to the main continent and the nomadic tribes that lived on it.

Light years away and it could be nothing, the rumors of giants were common. Often when they meant giant they just meant that a person was a bit bigger than normal, storytellers adding an extra foot from there to make them sound even more amazing than they really were. But I had no other leads so I had redirected the fleet to Fenris.

And now that I was here, standing above the planet. I could sense my son, the same trace of our connection was there as I had used a bit of my own soul's psychic ability to fuse the strong souls I'd taken from the warp to the body. A process that had been needed since the prototype, my true first son, had not undergone such a process and as a result had been unstable.

"Father, I must insist you should let me go down with you." Came the voice of Horus from behind me. Turning I saw him in his armor with a wolf pelt strewn across his shoulders.

Smiling I folded my hands behind my back and turned to look at the ice ball once again. "Son, I have nothing to fear of the creatures of this planet. Your brother, whoever they are, will have been raised by the natives of this world. They have not known technology and more likely than not they will not know how to handle the idea that I am their father."

"Uh-huh… Father, if you just wanted to be the first to meet them you could just say that." Horus stated, folding his arms in front of him.

"Fine, yes. I want to be the first member of their family they meet. I want to see them first to create the connection that was taken from me by the scattering. " I said out loud while internally I continued and added 'And then judge if they have been corrupted by Chaos and will need to be put down like a sick dog.' It was an unfortunate truth but the idea that some of his sons would be corrupted by the forces of the Ruinous Powers was not an impossibility. And if they were too far gone to save he may have to put them down to spare their brothers the horrors of seeing what they could have become of themselves.

"All right, father, but as soon as you're sure that this barbarian king is one of my brothers and you've had your father son time please let me know. I would like to meet my new sibling." He said with his hive ganger accent coming to the fore. A sure sign that he was quite interested in meeting his potential brother.

Smiling I turned to face him and said "There's no one else to call but you, my son. As soon as I am sure and have had a moment with him I shall call you down to the planet." With that I stepped past him, walking towards the hallway that would lead to the transport ship that would take me down to the planet. I only stopped to grab an old rune cloak that would give me some ability to sneak around once I hit the planet.

The shuttle would take me down to outside the so-called capital of Fenris' civilization, a Castle Russ. There I would have to march about a mile to get to the castle but it was still much quicker than having to rely on the normal tradeways of this planet.

There was exactly one connection to the outside world on this entire planet, the Isle of the Iron Masters. All trade, in and off world, went through them and though they were nowhere near advanced as the rest of the Galaxy they at least had safe ports for the traders of the region to land on. If I attempted to go by their routes it would have probably taken me about 3 weeks to get to Castle Russ. I could be a patient man but I wasn't that patient, so I might accidentally start a few legends about a golden giant coming down to the surface of the planet to find their son. Hopefully the planet could advance enough to see that for what it was and not turn it into a religious thing.

The landing went off without a hitch and I soon was marching through the snow towards the castle. And I was enjoying the pleasant walk. I had not been to Fenris in a long time, the old Scandinavian cultural preserve had been built just around the start of the age of strife. Or at least officially created. there had been many attempts to turn this planet into something of use for a long time before that. It had been everything from a prison to a theme park. I actually quite enjoyed the theme park before that had been torn down to build the preserve.

I didn't have a chance to visit it during the full operation of the preserve, though one thing I knew about that time was that they had founded underground cities that were supposed to keep the planet in pristine condition. Considering humanity now seemed to be dispersed across the surface of the world I would have to assume something went wrong with those.

Oh perhaps I would have time to explore this planet, find out what secrets had been hidden by the Old Night? That would be a good father-son activity actually, perhaps I would have my son show me around this world and we would delve deep into its secrets together.

Imagining that future I soon found myself in front of the castle, which brought a burst of laughter to my lips. Those who lived on this world probably did not know but this was definitely one of the castles that had been made for the theme park, I could even see a few bolt holes in the bricks near the base of the structure where a roller coaster track had once been. It had been built up over many years and I doubt it looked exactly like this all those years ago.

Filled with mirth I stepped out of the cold and into the castle, ignoring the guards that did not see me. At least at first I ignored them, after all they were just average humans and thus not the person I was looking for. But after you come across a fourth female guard without having seen a male guard you start to notice that.

A bit of worry came up at the back of my mind. Was my son a lecher or were they corrupted by the Ruinous Power of pleasure? Looking at the walls and the armors closely though I didn't believe they were corrupted, at least not too greatly. The castle still looked like a castle and not a flesh den. It also wasn't a mansion full of harlots, although I did wonder why they went with an all-female guard staff. A little closer inspection did reveal that they were not all samples of beauty, some of them had some rather nasty scars. Perhaps it was a second-line troop sort of situation. They let women into their armies to guard important locations like this, those that didn't require males who could be of more use fighting on the frontier.

Intriguing thought but I would know soon enough I figured. I walked up the stairs to a central hall area. I could feel my son in this castle they were just beyond the door in the central hall. I could not wait to meet them, to see what kind of man they had become.

With a little trepidation that I quickly crushed I opened the door and stepped into the room. Before me was a great feast as local lords and ladies enjoyed what I had to assume was a celebration in honor of the king. The room was not finely decorated by my standards though I did appreciate the skulls of the creatures and weapons on the walls. A perfect impression for a barbarian king to give off, one of conquest and victories over monsters. My eyes moved across the walls to the end of the table which was quite far away and there I saw a giant among men, though on the shorter side for my brood, enjoying a drink. Their long flowing gold hair was almost as flowing as my own dark brown and they looked quite happy.

At that moment I knew they were my son and I began to make my way towards them, trying to figure out how to introduce myself. But as I got closer my vision cleared a bit and I was left a little bit dumbstruck. About halfway down the table I stopped and looked again as I realized that was not a man, the figure was too slim and there was definitely a chest on them. Had I made some mistake? Was I picking up the wrong signal? I had created 20 sons and before me was definitely a woman, so this must not be one of my sons. I had most likely been too eager when I felt whoever this person's psychic presence was, being stronger than the rest, and assumed they were my son. He must be somewhere else on this planet. Sighing in annoyance I turned to leave to begin anew my search for where my son was when a voice called up after me.


The Emperor

Now

Staring down at the woman I cracked my knuckles in anger inside the armored gloves. I had been robbed, robbed of a chance to raise 20 sons. And I thought for sure that at least finding them as soon as possible would guarantee that I would have some emotional connection with them, something to keep them loyal to me as we reunited humanity.

But it seemed, either through my own hubris or the Ruinous Power of change, at least one of my sons had been denied to me entirely. I was thoroughly angry, thoroughly wanting to strangle the Ruinous Powers, and annoyed with myself as I had reached into the Warp with an assumption. And the woman in front of me proved that that assumption was wrong.

Even all these years later the Warp still maintained its mysteries to me and that… That annoyed me.

After a deep breath though I came back to myself, the Russ King sat there without a care in the world. I respected that quite a bit, considering how unleashed I'd let my anger get. Taking another breath and letting it out I shaved a few feet off my height until I was something a little bit more reasonable for the castle we were in.

Though I had lost the opportunity to raise a son, possibly to raise an individual, I may have gained another opportunity. If this individual's story that they had memories of their previous lives was true… then they had quite a large bit of military experience at their back, one that would be needed in the coming crusade. And to be fair, according to them, they had fragments of memories. Perhaps my chance at shaping this relationship was not lost entirely yet. Malcador had suggested that I include a few daughters amongst my sons over the years, it would give me an opportunity to test his hypothesis that they would fight less.

"King of the Russ, I am the emperor and your father. My child, I have come from Terra to bring you into the fold. I have launched a grand crusade to reunite all of humanity, will you join me on this venture?"

"No." the king of Russ said matter of factly, before turning to her guards and giving them the order clear the room.

Immediately the female guards begin pushing the guests out of the room as I stood there, dumbfounded by the fact that I had been denied so easily.

My sons, correction my primarchs, should roll out the red carpet for me. I figured that when I offered such an opportunity to leave whatever world they were stuck on they would jump on it, especially in the case of one who was stuck on such a primitive world.

As soon as the room was cleared the king of Russ turned her head to look at me.

"No, I will not leave Fenris for some Grand Crusade to establish whatever faith you believe in."

My eyes widened as I realized my mistake and I had to let out a hearty laugh at that. "My apologies, child. I forgot that crusade meant 'war of the cross' in the time you came from. Such religious meanings have been lost in the last 27,000 years. In fact, I serve no God. I wish only to see humanity take its proper place among the stars."

The king of Russ nodded and seemed to think for a moment before saying, "Well, at least we have a starting point. My answer is still no but I'm now willing to negotiate."

"Negotiate?" I asked, a bit taken aback.

"Yes, negotiate. What are the terms of the contract for this 'crusade' as you put it? What good does this crusade do for Fenris and myself?"

Sighing I shrunk down till I could sit at the table without issue. "I can have a contract lawyer down from my ship within an hour and we can begin negotiations. Does that meet with your approval?"

The king of Russ reached out and grabbed the cup of alcohol she had been drinking from when I had arrived. She tilted it in my direction. "Very much so. To the opening of negotiations." She then drank down the last of that cup.


Writers note: and thus we move on from King Russ of Fenris to the future! To the unknown! So… people may not like the characterization of Big E here, to those people I say: Current characterization of Big E is grimderp, it takes a tragedy story and turns it to a deserved outcome story. Besides that let me know what all you folks think, next chapter should be fun as Big E and Tanya have a talk.


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Edited by: Pierre
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