Sea of Claws, close to Langeness Island

"Well, I might not be of your world and not a Christian myself, but even I can see that calling in your citizens for a count in the middle of the winter is less than clever."

Björn's eyes half-closed when he tried to make something of that.

"Why do you tell us...you mean this is not his birthday?"
"Very good. Most early Christians would not have known this date, would indeed not have celebrated Christmas as they thought celebrating birthdays pagan. At the same time they were quite accommodating to potential converts. Changed the rules on food, on circumcision and yes, on holidays.
From Rome to the very North practically all those the Church thought pagan were celebrating Winter Solistice. What better way for the Christians to get rid of another reminder of the old ways than by co-opting the feast. Be it the day of the birth of the unconquered sun in Rome or Yule in the north, they took them all, changed them and used them. And if they fit the people adapted the old rituals. Do you think the tree you decorated so nicely is christian? Long before the missionaries came over from Ireland the people celebrated the evergreen tree. It was a symbol of hope, a promise that the winter that tried his best to kill them would not last forever."

Jan Fredriksen was less than happy at the derail of the planned dinner.

"None of that is exactly new. What I do not get is why you think Christmas was something else than a celebration of love, family and a reaffirmation of faith for those so inclined?"
"Because you live in a safe world, an alliance where the majority lives in relative peace, a country that takes care of the old, the infirm and the sick. Nobody dies because there is a bad harvest and parents can decide of they want children before they are born. A good country, keep it by all means. And this Christmas fits such sedate circumstances.
But this has not always been so, these lands were once dangerous and deadly."

"Hardly as deadly as during the World Wars."
"Yes and no Herr Fredriksen. Yes, more people died during these wars, but the part of the whole people was much lower. Actually there were more people alive at the end of the Second World War than at its beginning. Before there were things like the Plague, like the Thirty Years War and the hunger periods. In some areas they killed more than half of the people. And that was just when everybody suffered. For families it was worse. There was no health insurance, no modern medicine and no Landwehr close by.
A simple cut could become infected and kill, a bad harvest starve half the family and the local lord could conscript somebody for his next war. Suffering and death were never far away and their Christmas reflected that, very much so.

Not so long ago and not so far away from here the farmer was not to enter the stable on the holy night. The animals were said to speak with each other and they would state who would die during the next year.
People whom knew how much bad things could happen to them had to find icons to represent them. And so there was not just Santa Claus who might bring the gifts, but also Knecht Ruprecht, Santa's helper who would punish the bad children. There were elaborate rituals to ward of evil and survive into another year.
When you go back a little more in time the Yule Night was supposed to be the night of the Wild Hunt who would kill all they found outside and maybe more. It was also the time when the Draugr were supposedly about."

A wide-eyed Björn managed to get a question in.

"What are the Draugr Herr Wednesday?"
"The Undead, the ones which want to kill all living things. The ones that you have to burn to get rid of."
"A good thing then that these times are past us then."
"Yes Herr Fredriksen, no mortal should welcome such hazards to himself or his family. And yet, on this world, you have to be careful that they do not gain their hold again on your people."
"Where did you learned all these things? You are no German, aren't you?"
"No, I am not. One might say a little bird told me about these things, or two of them."

Autobahn A7, close Betzigau

The reactor below Jaghatai Khan's chest was normally a quiet, well behaved thing of few noise and vibrations. Crafted with knowledge lost to the ages before the Empire of Man it rarely needed a recharge and provided raw power with with grace, allowing the Great Khan to approach his targets quickly and stealthily. Now there was a roar and a deep rumble shook the heavy bike. Rarely, if ever, had it been called to, provide so much power for any length of time. Usually it was restricted to sprints and accelerations. Driving at the bike's top speed for any length of time was rarely possible, there was always the need to slow down for something.

Not on this night. The road under the bike's broad tires was just that good. The inclines were low, the curves had a wide radius, allowing for quite some speed. There were no crossings, but on- and off ramps. The road's surface was a smooth blacktop as far as he could see. There were not too many vehicles about and for whatever reasons next to no trucks. Those vehicles that were on the road were often driving at a good clip. It seemed like the slower ones used the right lane and overtaking on the left side only.

Jaghatai did a lot of overtaking, his bike having been built for what he was made for, precision and speed. A unaugmented human might have problems handling a bike with no fairing at such speed, the Khan had never been that weak. The wind roared past his armor, the handlebar vibrated with wind and what little imperfections the road had. His vision was reduced to a tunnel, his mind blanc of any thought but how to coax the most speed from this ride.

The next curve had a smaller radius than most, hardly surprising as it was built into a hillside. His knees were very close to the road on one side, his life depending on two small pieces of tire that clung to the road. His head was less than a meter from the white marks that divided the lanes that passed by so fast that they seemed a solid line. When the curve's apex came it compressed the suspension a bit more before the curve opened up. Turning the throttle on the right handle all the way Jaghatai accelerated for all what the bike was worth and climbed the hill as if to launch to the stars. He could not remember when he felt that alive.

The Fang, Fenris

"Nothing Logan, are you sure?"
"Nothing, ingelting, de nada, zlich, zero Primarch. There is no conflict, no war and no crises within the Wolf Sphere and currently there are no calls for our assistance. It is our policy not to interfere with the clans so that the strong weed out the weak, but even there is nothing out of the ordinary."
"How about Nagelfar?"
"Will be ready for the great hunt Leman, but not before that."
"So, nothing to do?"
"Indeed?"
"So, shall we pack some gifts on a sled, have the wolves draw it and give presents to the thralls?"

…..

"Leman to Logan, please come in?"
"Primarch, did your time in the warp…..."
"No, it did not Logan, it just gave me the chance to pull your leg."
"Ha Ha, I think. So what does this situation call for?"
"Mead?"
"Mead!"

Autobahn A7, close to Fulda

The road had so far not failed him. There had been some challenging ramps and mountains. Driving at speed mortals would call sane they would be easy enough, at the clip Jaghatai was going it took all his skills to make it. Twice now cars had seen him too late and had swerved into his lane far too close. In one case he had barely managed to fit himself between the car and the steel divider between the lanes. In the other he had used the right land and squeezed his bikes between vehicles. The the latter case he had been tempted to use the Melta on the idiot.

Now something even more remarkable called for his attention. A car had started accelerating when he overtook it and changed into the left lane. Nothing unusual, but for the fact that it matched his speed. A car from what had to be a mid-to-low tech world racing a Primarch himself? Good, somebody here had a spine. Jaghatai's laughter never left the confines of his helmet, he hunkered down even lower and opened the throttle the little bit more it still had to give. He pulled ahead for a few seconds before the car behind him closed again. And this time a blue strobing light emitted from the car's windshield.

Sea of Claws, close to Langeness Island

The goose was simply perfect, with crispy skin, soft flesh and a filling of apples and bread. It was also a really filling food which slowed the conversation to a crawl.
Still, Jan Fredriksen was not very happy with his guest, this was not the Christmas spirit that he had hoped for.

"A very good thing that this is the past then, we do better now."
"Oh yes, you do. No two ways about it, things are better these days. Some might remark there is a lack of warrior spirit or that the morals were better than in the old days. I would not presume to judge."
Svea looked the old man in the remaining eye.
"Funny things, these old time morals. Whom you sleep with and how is a very big deal, but killing somebody about something as flimsy as honor is quite ok, right?"
There was a bit of shocked silence around the table which was shattered by a deep rumbling laugh.

"Good one jente. My people considered eydrofars among the worst sinners, those who broke their oaths and kinslayers, those who murdered family. And back when Christmas was not such a nice feast getting pregnant out of wedlock was a problem, not so seldom a lethal one. But, right you are, there was so much killing for such stupid reasons, no honor in that at all."
"And having a "warlike attitude" stops being a survival trait when industrial warfare becomes possible. On our old world we came very close to wiping us out on at least two occasions. A people who start a fight at the drop of a hat will not last long."
"I surrender before your knowledge of your old home Herr Fredriksen and am sure you are right. So, thank you for taking me in for the night and having me enjoy a peaceful time. A friend in need is a friend indeed."
"To friendship then"

The desert was Holstein Red Fruit Jelly with vanilla sauce, contrasting the sweet vanilla sauce against the slightly acidic fruit jam. Everybody was pretty fully and happy, the candle-lit tree added a cozy illumination and an amicable silence settled over the table.

"Herr Wednesday?"
"Yes Björn?"
"You seem to know an awful lot about old gods and whatnot."
"I have a bit of knowledge in that regards, yes."
"They teach us about the Warp in school now. They state that the gods, demons and whatnot come from our beliefs."
"So I have heard as well. Some of the Gods, especially the fell kind, seem not to come from belief but reflect man's baser nature."
"So what about our god? We believe in him, but there seems nobody there when you pray. The kids from the Empire are always pulling our legs about it."

"If your teachers are right and people keep believing something might form in the realm of the gods, maybe there is something there already. But these things will take time, actually a lot of it. And even if that happens, have you heard that you should be careful what you wish for?"
"No, why should I?"
"Because you might get it. And then you might find that you really do not want what you received. Have you read your bible? Yes, there is a loving and caring god in there. There is also the most frightening character I ever read about. So which one will form?"
"Uff."

The break was enough of a pause that Svea could jump in.
"What about all the people who believed on Earth? So many people believed for such a long time, doesn't that count for something?"
"Old Earth was farther away from the Empyrean in many ways. And what parts of the Empyrean it touched are far from here. So whatever impact those prayers and beliefs had, they will leave only a shadow of what might be here. It might be that a prayer or a coral soothes the heart better than it should. A figure of light might be seen an enemy in a place of great magic. The old religions will even be worse. I do not think that Professor Toth teaches wisdom at some university and others might be reduced to an old man without a ship. On the other hand he as well might on the evening that was originally meant to venerate him..."
"What..."

The deep rumbling laugh could be heard again and broke he tension.

"Sorry jente, could not resist. Thanks for shelter and dinner, I am in your debt Herr Fredriksen. I think I'll retire to your guest room if that is all right with you?"

Autobahn A7, close to Fulda

Jaghatai's helmet projected data on the inside of his helmet. He rarely needed that, having driven his bike for so long. Now he checked the speed. He was doing better than 250 kph, which was plenty fast given the curves the road had. And a simple, promethium-powered vehicle followed him closely, had actually closed the distance? Now that was something he had not seen for a long time. The flashing lights and some script that that appeared in the car's windscreen made it likely that this world's lawmen had taken notice. He wondered what local customs he might have violated. Driving too fast was probably not it from what he had seen. No matter, he was not going to discuss the finer points of the law with the locals.

Turning the throttle all the way up yielded a little more speed and forced him to bend down a little bit more. The rear tire bit even more into the tarmac and pushed the bike up an incline and through a curve at a frightening pace. If he could open up the distance he might lose the pursuit. When the curve ended he saw that the blue strobes had changed somehow. A quick look to his right revealed that the lawmen had managed to pull along side him. The car looked more Eldar than human, the flowing curves were nothing like the Empire built. It looked elegant and light. Only somebody with the Primarch's enhanced senses could see well enough into the car despite the darkness. He spotted two beings who seemed human enough at first glance. Humans who kept pace at a speed challenging even to him, who managed to drive well enough to overtake him. He saw his chance and saluted the occupants of the car.

He saw their widening eyes, could imagine their awe at having a look at a bike higher that their car and a rider whom they had to look up to. A giant of a kind their primitive world had probably never seen before.
They spotted the car on the right lane in time, barely. Jaghatai smiled when he saw them braking for their lives and those of others while he sped ahead on the left lane which was free at present.

When he crested the next hill the car did not come alongside again, but he saw a pair of lights in the mirror that did not go away. Hunkering down as deep as he could he coaxed a little more speed from his bike.