The halls echoed with the sound of running servants and shouted orders. A cacophony of chaos and order clashing as thousands upon thousands of souls rushed to complete a task that they had been waiting for their entire lives. A task that their parents had been waiting for, and their grandparents before them. Three generations of preparation, toil and unwavering loyalty all brought forth on this one day.
Ancient hallways carved from the very rock of a mountain were filled with black and red clad servants rushing past one another. Men and women, young and old, there were no distinctions in those mustered today. Down corridors filled with tapestries older than their entire family, through grand chambers capable of holding thousands of their peers in its vast cavernous depths, and across platforms that emerged from the ancient fortress they called their home. The crimson son of their world glared down at their toil, but they did not falter.
Amelia stood apart from the confusion, her hazel eyes staring up beneath short cut blonde hair at the statue dominating the corridor. She could feel people rushing past behind her, their path catching at the long red and black robe she wore. A sword piercing a skull with red rubies for eyes dominated the center of the robe, and Amelia brought up a hand well worn from hard labor to trace its outline. A familiar feeling of warmth runs through her veins, and her hands clenches around the symbol on her chest as a familiar voice calls her name.
"Amelia, what are you doing? We do not have much time left before they arrive." Turning her head, Amelia caught sight of her childhood friend, Talia, navigating her way through the sea of robed figures. She carried dozens of scrolls in her hands, each one half the length of her arm and stacked precariously on top of one another. Her friend's similarly short cut black hair was streaked with sweat and dirt from the efforts leading up to this day. Stepping forward, Amelia took half the stack of scrolls from her friend's arms, gripping them carefully on her own to avoid damaging them.
"Do you know what would happen if the Grand Servus was to catch you here?" A small smile crossed Amelia's face at her friend's concern, shrugging her shoulders before turning to follow the shorter woman down the hallway. Their leather clad feet made dull echoing reverberations on the stone floor, drowned out by the scores of other servants going about their own tasks. "You worry too much, Talia. The Grand Servus has far more pressing matters to focus on today than one lowly servant."
A grunted exclamation of breath was the only response from her friend. Sighing, Amelia followed her through an arched entryway, carved into the wall of the mountain with two statues similar to the one before on either side. Armored figures with gauntlets resting on downturned swords. Amelia could feel the weight of their gaze settle on her shoulders as she passed through their gate, and she offered a silent prayer to the God-Emperor, and to the Fallen Son.
The two women ascended a staircase just beyond the archway, so small and secluded that one could almost miss it if they did not know where it was. Unlike the corridors and great chambers across the fortress, this stairway was wreathed in pure darkness. Only muscle memory spent through years using these stairs prevented either woman from tripping. The spiraling stairs led the two of them up for dozens of meters, eventually emptying them out into another corridor. The flickering flames of the torches lining the wall brought warmth back to their bodies, though they did not linger long enough to enjoy it. They eventually emerged into a massive hall, the jagged rock walls rising up so high that they vanished into shadows. Metal tables in six long rows dominated the center of the room, and red and black tabards decorated the center of each. Moving quickly, the two women began to place the scrolls at regular intervals along the tables, as dozens of other servants were doing.
When they were finally done, Amelia brushed the dust off the scrolls had left behind on her robe, glancing across the table as Talia finished her own work. Before either could speak, a blaring alarm echoed through the great hall. All around them, servants came to a sudden halt, looking to one another in terrified excitement. As one, everyone began to stream towards the side of the great hall. Giant screens, previously hidden within the walls, suddenly came to life with a flickering of black and white images. The voices of more servants rushing into the great hall, and others would be doing the same across the fortress in other such gathering places, rose with pitched excitement as the pic images finally solidified.
They showed a massive platform at the base of the mountain fortress, nearly two kilometers in size in every direction. Nine towers jutted from the perimeter of the platform, with fortified walls running between them. The platform was a miniature fortress in of itself, and the hundreds of robed figures standing on one side of it appeared as if an army was preparing for war. The black and white images slowly took on color, and the gathered servants could see the red and black robes of their peers on the platform, standing in silent rows and staring up at the sky. At the front of the assembled host, the Grand Servus, Weslia, stood in his pure black robes.
The voices in the great hall fell silent as shapes began to pierce through the clouds above the mountain. Blunt nosed craft colored a deep black with three red stripes down the center circled in a loose formation around the mountain, as if taking it in. There were dozens of the craft, and as they drew closer to the platform, Amelia could see the same symbol she wore on her chest blazoned to the side of each aircraft.
They all watched as the first of the aircraft touched down on the platform, their armored bulk bouncing slightly as the landing gear worked to support their weight. They all began to land in rapid succession, dominating the platform and making the hundreds of servants appear as little more than ants. The first ramp at the front of the lead aircraft began to lower, and jets of steam shot out in all directions. The steam almost obscured the first view of the beings that emerged from the aircraft.
Armored giants clad in ash black armor with dark red arms and helmets marched from the assembled aircraft. As one, the servants on the platform fell to their knees and bowed their heads to the armored forms that came in their dozens across the platform. Only Weslia remained on his ancient feet, bowing his head deeply to the lead giant, who wore a red cloak that obscured the left side of his armor. The giant brought his armored gauntlets up to his chest, crossing his fingers to form the Imperial Aquila, before bowing his head, shallowly, to the High Servus. As one, the servants in the great hall erupted into cheers and cries of adoration and joy, some breaking into tears at the sight of the armored giants moving through the ranks of bowed servants, ushering them to their feet. Standing beside one another, Amelia and Talia exchanged excited looks at one another.
It had finally happened. After one hundred years, the Ashen Templar had come home.
Hello all! So, this is my first attempt at writing a Warhammer based story, and it has taken me nearly a month to get just this short snippet out of my head and onto the electrical page before you. I am incredibly eager to continue this endeavor and explore the future of the Ashen Templar, my homebrew chapter of nearly three months, with you all.
Due to all the new restrictions, I will say here and now that I do not own Warhammmer 40k, all rights belong with Games Workshop. All views and ideas presented in this story are my own and do not reflect upon Games Workshop.