A/N
Thanks again for your patience with me, dear readers. Time moves very quickly these days, and I never mean to drag on with the updates. Hopefully, I get over the writer's block and go steady again, but we'll see.
I can't help but notice the complaints about the span of each chapter I post, and honestly it's a bother. I've set the span for 3,000 - 5,000 words because that's how far my capacity to write goes for each chapter. Any more and my mind goes blank. Sorry, but that's just the way it is. Take it or leave it.
And also, I see you're back in the comments Crom'Torak. Nice to see your patience is quite long, cuz' you'll need to be. Book One is almost done, but the journey for our favorite Primarch is still long and hard. Won't reveal too much, but let's just say your role's going to be quite big in the second one. That's a promise I intend to keep.
For you, Johnny, I'm sorry but I won't turn my story into a harem. That bit's only for anime stories, and I feel ( pretty much like most in this particular fic category ) that it will be distasteful for a warhammer universe. With that being said, I do hope you don't feel bad and keep enjoying my stories. As for your other suggestions, we'll see...
Anyways, here's another chapter for all you who've been waiting ever so patiently.
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Celestine's words flowed on their own accord, but her eyes watched all who were present with great scrutiny. All that were called had answered, as she was led to believe. She had arrived the day that the conclaves gathered all the promising neophytes handpicked from distant worlds to serve the Ecclesiarchy as new Sisters of Battle. Clearly, there would be no better opportunity to witness to these younglings than this, to bring the Emperor's Correction upon the wayward Order.
All that were called had answered. Or had they?
"There are few of you." The Saint declared after a moment of silence, "Where are the Cardinals and Deacons? Have I not summoned them as well?"
Another moment of silence, broken only by the faint chime of incense bowls swinging about in their chains. "Holy Saint..." A missionary dared to speak, "...they have locked themselves within the Puritorium. Per the Arch-Cardinal's orders, he insisted on overseeing the education of the neophytes and newcomers- to instruct them in the ways of better serving the God-Emperor."
"Did they really think this task is above the one set by the Emperor himself, the one I am bringing forth from his own lips?" Celestine was livid, to say the least. "Where is this Puritorium? Take me there, that I may re-educate these fools! Come!"
The missionary nodded once and motioned for his peers to gather around that they may march upon the chambers of the Arch-Cardinal together. "Right this way, Holy Saint."
The gentle flap of Celestine's wings, accompanied by the faint hum of hushed hymns sung in the rectories produced a quiet atmosphere that easily masked the sinister nature of the Ecclesiarchy's inner workings- a nature that the Saint had long been ignorant of but would soon find out. The Puritorium lay beyond the wide halls of Penitencia, where the Arch-Cardinal and his coterie of servants busied themselves with the unknown.
Celestine frowned as she felt a dark presence within the chamber, something almost palpable and just as nonexistent, slipping like vapor unnoticed by human eyes. With a wave of her hand she motioned for the doors to be opened. As the servitors moved to obey, Celestine found herself reaching for her sword, a move she could not determine why it would be necessary. She got her answer way too soon.
Her eyes fell upon the forms writhing, moving, dancing within the Puritorium and she recoiled in abject horror and unparalleled disgust.
The room was ablaze with purple light, casting its dizzying colors upon the old and wrinkled bodies of the Arch-Cardinal and his entourage of Deacons and Priests. The Arch-Cardinal himself sat upon a golden throne, a blasphemous representation of the one sitting on Holy Terra, with a naked child of no more than ten years seated upon his lap. With one hand he wrapped the chain of the leash attached to the spiked collar on her neck, and with the other he forced her head down that she may gobble his genitals while he leaned back in total bliss. All around him the Deacons committed these horrible and unspeakable acts upon the neophytes, regardless of their age or gender.
Girls were herded into circles stacked with satin pillows, whipped and spanked with floggers of leather and paddles of spiked wood. Some were even locked up on marble pillories and used turn in turn by the younger males while the Priests sipped their wine and touched themselves. The neophytes, innocent as lambs being led to slaughter, stood naked and ready for their masters to use as they pleased. The others who awaited their turn were forced to stand in the wings of the wide chamber, grasping plates filled with fruit and goblets of the finest wine. It did not take long, however, before the lust-addled Deacons moved close to them, groping and fondling their young breasts with wild abandon.
Celestine could not watch for a moment longer and with a voice akin to thunder, she bellowed as she drew her sword. "IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR, CEASE!"
The Arch-Cardinal coughed violently as his wine poured into his lungs. He flung the child on his lap off of him and scrambled to dress himself. The others, mortified that they were discovered, rushed for their weapons- which provided ample excuse for the twin Geminae Superior to unleash a torrent of bolter rounds that cut down the lechers where they stood!
"No!" The young women cried as the Deacons and Priests were destroyed in the ensuing fire, surprising even their saviors at the unexpected reaction. "Don't kill them!"
The girl who sat at the Arch-Cardinal's lap came between the Saint and her master just as the Ardent Blade's tip touched the base of his throat. Spit and male essence dripped from the corner of her lip as she pleaded for the Saint to spare his life, "He prepares me for serving the Emperor! He prepares us all! It is written in the Lectitio Divinatus!"
"Oh how far have you been misled, little one." Celestine answered sternly, executing the foul one with one thrust of her blade.
A chuckle in the dark sent a chill down her spine, and her blade rose to the source in a threatening manner. "Sex and violence, they are my favorites."
The swirl of purplish lights grew ever stronger, and Celestine felt herself torn from reality as a power that rivaled even that of the Emperor dragged her and her twin Geminae into the Warp! She arrived in the middle of a grand throneroom of marble and dark obsidian, surrounded by walls of living flesh, writhing and kissing, embracing in eternal delight. The Saint whirled around as the overwhelming psychic pressure threatened to crush her out of existence, desperate to find a way out of this hellhole. She knew who it was that dragged her here, and fear gripped her burning heart like a vise.
"Holy Emperor...guide my blade."
The chuckle grew into a gentle laugh, that went hand in hand with a raging cackle that sounded like thunder. Then, the Dark God Slaanesh revealed herself to the Saint, in all her glorious splendor and power. She, and also he, sat side by side upon two thrones, a dual aspect of the same Dark God. On one hand, the most beautiful nymph of unparalleled allure and mystery sat with a large goblet of blood held in between her slender fingers. Slaanesh's legs were crossed, revealing skin as smooth and finely sculpted beyond any mortal comparison. She sat clad in shimmering mists that barely covered her perfect body.
Her alter ego rose from his throne, flexing bared muscles of rigid and powerful form. Celestine would observe and compare him to something comprehensible, but all she kept thinking at that moment was the haunting similarity between Slaanesh and Horus!
"Your beloved Emperor has no power here..." Slaanesh taunted, "That man had served me well with his indulgence of his true desires, and I did not appreciate you killing him. Do you know who you've just slighted, Saint of the Imperium?"
"A god who will soon be dead." Celestine fixed her blade firmly, lips growing taut with determination.
Slaanesh's quick temper got the better of him, "I've enjoyed hearing your screams of agony when Abaddon broke your wings, and I shall enjoy it more when I tear them out fiber by fiber!"
Slaanesh calmed down just as quickly, and with a voice as sweet as syrup, she spoke to the Saint. "But I'm getting ahead of myself..."
Celestine roared and with a flap of her wings, she flew upon the Dark God's throne and raised her weapon against the twin aspects. Slaanesh had only to wave her hand and the Saint found herself trapped in a stasis field, unable to move and unable to act. The Dark God clucked her tongue disapprovingly, "You dare to strike against your host while I merely brought you here for a gift? Shameful manners, no wonder your beloved Imperium is doomed to crumble. Little Horus had better manners, now that boy's got a future."
She noted the Saint's look of murderous intent at the mention of her friend's name. "Ah, but you no longer see him as just a friend, do you?" Slaanesh giggled, reading every thought and hidden desire lurking in the fringes of the Saint's psyche. Her fingers caressed the Saint's scarred cheek, "Trouble yourself no longer, my uptight winged friend...I shall grant you the best gift any god can give a hardworking servant- peace."
The Saint gasped, her mind overwhelmed by an unknown sensation as the power of Slaanesh flowed through her veins and seeped into the cracks of her consciousness. "Peace...eternal peace..." The Dark God's words echoed in the recesses of her mind.
All faded into blackness.
Celestine's eyes opened.
She lay upon a softly cushioned bed, covered in smooth silk and furry pillows. Her hand clenched into a fist as she gathered the blankets in confusion, and she raised her head up to look around.
The doors to her side were open, revealing a balcony that overlooked a waterfall that cascaded over a large mountain and poured into a crystalline lake below. The air was sweet and cool, brought upon by early spring. The sounds of laughing waters, twittering birds gentle rustle of leaves upon the trees produced a serene melody that calmed her frantic heart.
It was so beautiful.
Celestine smiled, then froze as something heavy around her waist fell slack. She flipped the blanket to reveal a muscular male arm draped over her stomach, her eyes widened as she realized to her surprise that the arm belonged to none other than Horus himself! Celestine uttered a strangled gasp as she slipped away from the Primarch's grasp and ended up waking him, prompting his hand to grasp gently around her wrist as she moved away.
"Good morning." He greeted her, eyeing her with concern as Celestine gazed about with frightened eyes. "What's wrong, my love?"
Celestine blinked, unsure of how to answer. She could not remember why, but something was off about this place, something unnatural.
Hearing the gentle rumbling of Horus' voice did little to bring back any semblance of order to those chaotic thoughts, and soon she forgot what she was thinking. "Celestine. Come back to bed, let me make love to you again."
Celestine's jaw slackened, and her heart fluttered. "A-Again?" Did they do it once before?
Horus was already atop of her, and Celestine squeaked as his lips kissed her neck just below her jawline. "S-Stop!" She pushed at him, but found her arms weigh like blocks of ceramite, and Horus kept his assault on her vulnerable body. The most frightening thing about it all was that Celestine found herself enjoying the Primarch's attentions, and her protests weakened as much as her will. "Please...stop."
"Why?" Horus whispered against the skin of her belly, "Am I going too fast?" His pace slowed to a torturous crawl, "There, is that better?"
Celestine uttered another wordless gasp, and she grabbed onto her lover's hair. Horus was going lower and lower, to the apex of her thighs that was the most guarded part of her body. Sacred and untouched, Celestine had never dreamed of anyone getting within a meter's length of that place- though secretly she'd thought of one in only but a single sinful moment.
Her thoughts came to a screeching halt, however, as her sensitive region's security was breached. Horus' mouth moved, kissing her where a woman should never be kissed- much less a Saint! "H-Horus!" Her fingers drew close to grasp at his hair, and Celestine arched her back at the sweet agonizing feeling shooting up her spine. It was wrong, all damnably wrong.
But hell, it felt so right, so good! She wanted this, she wanted it badly and now she was getting it! "Ohhh...what are you doing to me?" Celestine's arms fell lax, and they flopped on either side of her head as Horus moved atop of her. The Saint met the Primarch's lips with her own, this time compliant and eager for whatever came next. The excitement in her had been stoked from a mere spark to a steady flame.
"I'm doing what I've always wanted to do." Horus whispered, his loins suddenly meeting the smaller woman beneath him in one heated joining. "What I've wanted since I've seen you in that armor, held aloft in heaven's arms. Now, I join you in heaven. You are my whole world, Celestine." His words poured coals into the flame, stirring her into an inferno. Damn the consequences of an unknown sin, Celestine wanted him even more than before.
Horus' thrusts were gentle, hurting and pleasing the Saint as well as driving her to crave a stronger pace. Her arms wrapped around Horus' neck, and her legs coiled about his waist, daring him to go faster. "More..." Celestine moaned as the massive appendage splitting her apart rubbed at her inner walls, "More..."
Horus obliged her request, and fucked her harder.
"Celestine..."
Tears welled up in the pits of Celestine's eyes as the still, small voice in her head called for her to see reason. Sanity dawned upon her for a second, then was snuffed out by the waves of pleasure crashing down upon her mind.
"Daughter...come with me...fight the power that keeps you prisoner...break free from this illusion..."
"No..." Celestine embraced Horus harder, "I don't want to go." She wanted to stay. She felt peaceful here, in the arms of the one her heart yearned for. But then, she thought amidst the suffocating happiness of the truth. This was not Horus Lupercal, not really. Why would she find comfort in an illusion? It was a sin, a weakness that allowed her to fall in this test.
But she would not remain fallen for long.
"Father, God-Emperor!" Celestine's illusion faded, "Save me!"
The Emperor tore through the darkness and snatched up the Saint by the arm, rescuing her from the Warp in a nick of time! Had she stayed for a few moments longer, the Saint would have been lost to the dreams of forbidden desires. Slaanesh roared in fury at this slight and swore to take vengeance, but was ignored altogether. The Emperor, with his angel in hand, opened a rift in realspace and thrust Celestine back into halls of Sephariele- where she had stood all this time.
"My lady? What's wrong?" Her geminae inquired, having watched her mistress grow stiff and unresponsive since slaying the foul Arch-Cardinal in the Puritorium.
Celestine's cheeks burned as a blush formed on her face, stemming from great embarrassment and shame. "Clean up this mess and burn the bodies. I must retire to a prayer room, there is much I must reveal unto the Emperor." She turned away, eager to get out of the forsaken chamber. She left the neophytes into her geminae's care and entered the solace of a private chamber where she can commune with her god undisturbed.
She had many sins to confess this day, and many a vow to be remade.
"Have we found it, my lord?" Otho asked, a triumphant grin forming at his lips behind his helm as he stared at the glowing tables of glass and dark steel. "The key to creating the new legions?"
"It is as you say." Horus replied, running his hand over the object of their expedition. After weeks of traversing the treacherous paths of the Librarius Omnis, they had finally laid claim to the STC's that the Emperor had instructed him to retrieve. The strain it had placed on him had been borne with little complications, and Horus was grateful it was that simple. Now, all he had to do was return to Terran space to prepare the gene-forges for his new sons to be introduced into this dark universe.
"The return of the Luna Wolves! I never thought I'd live to see the day!" Galio breathed.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Horus cautioned, stepping back for the automata to begin packing up the artifacts to be loaded into the convoy. "We shall return to the surface first, then on to Terra we shall go."
"With all due haste, Primarch." Galio bowed, "Come along lads, we've got work to do."
The trek back was not a swift one, but the span of time was halved in this case, for Horus had done well to ensure that their paths have been mapped for future expeditions to follow. He cared little for this gesture, but he had to leave at least one gift to the Adeptus Mechanicus for allowing him passage in the first place. He would not let it be said that he had returned to his selfish ways, and so he went out of his way to ensure that the ties between Terra and Mars remained ever stronger.
Captain Maranda saluted the Primarch as he returned to the bridge of the Divine Fury. "Shall I make preparations for the journey to Holy Terra, my lord?"
"Send them the good news." Horus replied as he sat upon the Throne Mechanicum, "I would have them expect our arrival."
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