6. The mist King

The 2nd legion of the Legiones Astartes were one of the oldest and most decorated of the legions, known as the Second born, they had a particularly friendly rivalry with the 1st legion whose warriors would refer to themselves as the 2nd's older brothers but still the legions pushed each other to greater feats of heroism and devotion to the Imperium. The two legions had fought together during the unification wars and many early compliances of the great crusade so they had a special relationship compared to any of the other legions and were in an unofficial competition to find their primarch first.

The Second born specialised in counter insurgency/terrorism operations as well as reconnaissance and back line sabotage. They would normally be dropped behind enemy lines and disrupt communications as well as supplies while relaying any information back to the 1st who would be fighting on the front lines, the two legions together were an unstoppable pair and before the coming of the other legions were referred to as the wings that would lift the Imperium to the stars.

The 2nd didn't suffer from any gene flaw like later legions would but brothers of the 2nd would occasionally report to their captains of a voice forewarning them of danger but this was written off as a minor psychological flaw, not inherent in the geneseed and ignored due to the small number of cases.

Casis Thal was the legion master of the Second born, a grim man who rarely smiled and even more rarely made a joke, his face was scarred from many battles and his left arm was cybernetic but he was always a leader who led from the front and was fearsome in battle.

Currently the 2nd legion were battling on the planet Sarra, a desert planet with great oases that the people built their great fortress cities around. The astartes and their mortal allies dug in to great trench networks that surrounded the last resisting city on the planet, for months their artillery had pounded the walls nonstop and enemy raids against them were starting to take a toll on the regular men among them but Thal hadn't ordered an attack on the walls so they waited.

Tatin Erstwal, Captain of the 5th company, he was young and compared to his legion master he was a joker but he was a commander who had a deep brotherhood with his warriors though he was quick to censure any dissent and didn't tolerate any to disobey his orders. He hated having to sit in a trench all day but he trusted his legion master. The 5th were assembled in force along with the other companies of the legion, they had mostly spent the last month spread around the trenches to repel the enemies raids but now they had gathered and it seemed like an attack on the walls was imminent but even after they had gathered they were being held back.

The air was tense as Thal looked over the top of the trench and across the shell battered no man's land that separated them from the city walls, he stood poised as he pointed his periscope and focused on the large gates of the city.

"Come on" he muttered as he looked to the clock in the corner of his helmet's HUD, slowly ticking to the hour, "Come on"

As the clock ticked over the hour Thal saw the gates begin to open, he opened up his vox caster and amplified himself so all could hear, "OVER THE TOP MEN! FOR THE EMPEROR! FOR THE SECOND!"

Thal was the first over as he raced to the gates, Tatin could see battle brothers and mortal soldiers already battling the Sarrans inside the gate, Thal must have been coordinating an insurgency inside the city for months and they had finally opened the gates for them.

Artillery on the city walls rained down on the astartes but they fearlessly ran onwards, the speed afforded by their gene enhancement and power armour getting them across no man's land in little time and allowing the full might of the Second born to smash in to the gates and flood the city.

The Sarrans were quite technologically advanced with laser weapons that could pierce power armour in a few shots but their warriors were just mortal men and no match for the Emperor's angels of death. Tatin fired his bolter as the enemy took cover in doorways and fired down from windows, it didn't take long to secure a foothold at the gates and secure the wall around it. The legion spread out from the gate and took the city block by block and building by building, brutally clearing out any and all resistance, now that they were in it was only a matter of time but the Sarrans resisted with everything they had and they had alot.

The fighting raged on for months as the Sarrans forced the astartes to fight for every single room in the city until the defenders had been pushed back to the central palace, their centre of government, where they had entrenched themselves. It was a large building, made out of a strong sandstone the Sarrans knew how to make, a sprawling complex of open air plazas and squares and large open plan rooms all set around the large oasis that sustained the city.

Tatin knelt behind the rubble of some building as he fired at the dug in defenders with a squad of brothers at his side, the 5th had been tasked with advancing from the west along with the 6th company but they were staring to sustain heavy losses as the fanatical defenders did every thing they could to keep them back.

The Sarrans had resorted to hiding operatives amongst the civilian population to try and recruit for a partisan group or to carry out suicidal attacks on key Imperial targets but the Second born were experts in countering such tactics and the Sarran opposition was being whittled down quickly, forcing them to become even more desperate.

Tatin voxed brother-Sargent Kasin who was nearby with his devastator squad, "Light them up" he ordered as Kasin and his squad strafed the enemy trench line with heavy bolter fire, turning the Sarrans in to clouds of pink mist or forcing them back in to their trench, "Advance now!"

Tatin rushed forward along with the other squads of his company as their devastator squads supplied suppressive and mortar cover for them. Tatin sprayed fired down in to the trench as he reached it and jumped in, the 5th captain drew his chainsword and started hacking through the nearby Sarrans as he fired his bolter off at distant enemies. It only took a few bloody hours for them to gain the first trench line and start advancing on the second, by the end of the day the defenders had been forced back in to the building itself although at cost to the 5th and 6th.

The 5th and 6th were the first companies to achieve their objectives though artillery was being brought up, despite the other companies still fighting for their trenches, to bombard the building and hopefully force a surrender.

Tatin moved through the formally enemy held trench as the two sides took pot shots at each other and the constant firing of artillery boomed at regular intervals, they had bombarded the building for a full day but the Sarrans held strong and still fired back, Tatin had to admire their tenacity in the face of inevitable defeat.

"These bastards are hard" Kasin walked up to his captain, "You gotta wonder why"

"Intelligence says they think the oases are gifts from their god, that's probably why"

"If their god was real he would help them"

The two laughed and went about their duties as they waited for the other companies to consolidate their gains so they could push in to the building itself. It wasn't long before Tatin received the order over the vox to prepare for the final assault, the enemy had been forced in to the palace in its entirety and they could finally finish this compliance.

The village of Aldra, well closer to a town now, was flourishing thanks to longer and more successful expeditions in to the mist, it wasn't just Aeoran's skill in battle that allowed the people of his village survive in the mist but his great intellect and skill at crafts allowed him to build powerful weapons for the mist walkers, being the only person on the planet that could create weapons comparable to beast forged ones. Aeoran also convinced the leaders of the other villages on the peak to join with theirs in to a confederation. It was a great time for the people of their mountain peak, they didn't have to worry about starvation or food shortages and less of their men were dying in the mist, it was all thanks to Aeoran and people further afield were taking notice, of the village and him.

The beloved giant walked though his home as the people stopped to greet him, men helping to improve and repair the mud brick houses shouted hellos from the tops of rooves and ladies stopping him in the streets to chat but he was in a bit of a rush and had to cut most of the conversations short.

Aeoran made his way to the field he and the other village children played in when he was young, he was only 15 but he looked as grown as any man in the village, in the middle of the field a building stood alone, it looked like any other house in the village but it wasn't, it was the meeting place for the leaders of the four villages on their peak and they were meeting right now.

Most villages or towns on Solaero fended for themselves although the ones close to the few cities on the planet would normally fall under their rule, the various settlements would usually trade with each other and that was the extent of their contact mostly due to how difficult it was to move about, the bridges connecting peaks weren't always reliable and even the roads between villages on the same peak could be dangerous, Aeoran had changed that by putting the men of all the villages to work fixing and improving the roads between the villages and he even got them to start pooling their food and other resources so none of them needed to worry about shortages.

The council building, as the villagers called it, was a simple building, a single room with a round wood table and five simple wooden chairs around it. Only one chair was empty, the biggest one, the others were already occupied by the leaders of the villages. Aeoran took his seat, to his right was his father who was starting to grey with age and grow fat from not being able to exercise thanks to his crippled leg, to the primarch's left was the oldest man at the table pale and withered with only a few strands of thin grey hair, Orodiel, he was the leader of the closest village to Aldra. The other two men at the table were closer to his father's age and both clearly former mist walkers, one was completely missing his right arm with jagged scars down his face from the beast that also took his right eye, Korsiel, he led the village on the far side of the peak. The last man was older than his father and had probably stopped descending due to age, his hair was completely grey and starting to fall out, the leader of the last village was Aeorean.

Aeoran's place in this council was to mediate any disagreements between the villages and despite growing up in Aldra, and being the son of its leader, he was trusted to remain impartial, which he did as best he could and no one had complained about his judgments yet.

The leaders greeted Aeoran as he sat and he returned the greeting, "So why have we gathered?" Aeoran asked, the council normally met once a month to put forward new ideas and air grievances but Korsiel had called for them to meet

Korsiel pulled out a folded scrap of paper and handed it across the table to Aeoran, "A Kawl flew in to my village and delivered this, it's from Aeoror for Aeoran"

Aeoror was one of the cities on Solaero and the most powerful, it rose to prominence after the fall of Old Solra and ruled over a small kingdom which was impressive on Solaero. Aeoran unfolded the message, it congratulated him on his successes in the mist and with the villages on his peak and it invited him to Aeoror to talk to its King about some kind of alliance, signed by the King himself. Aeoran's gut didn't tell him anything, which wasn't strange but he felt it should be telling him something.

"Are you going to go?" Korsiel asked, clearly having read the message before

"Well I doubt the King will appreciate me turning him down" Aeoran knew their little coalition shouldn't get on the bad side of one of the cities, "How long would it take to travel to Aeoror?"

"if all the bridges are in working order, which I doubt, then half a month maybe" Aeorean answered after a second of thought, "you could request a balloon"

Travel on Solaero was hard and if the bridges had collapsed from ware or by some other means then it could be impossible so those that could afford it would travel with balloons but only rich towns or cities or wealthy merchants could afford to maintain a balloon, although the power of Aeoror meant they certainly had a fleet of them.

"How long if I travel through the mist?"

The men were surprised but if anyone could survive in the mist then it was Aeoran, "About a week although you will pass close to Old Solra" Aeorean told him, "Although I don't know who you're gonna get to go with you"

"I'll go" Aldean volunteered to the surprise of everyone, "Your mother will bite my ears off if I let you go off to some strange new place alone"

"You can't walk" Aeorean pointed out

"Aeoran is a strong lad, I can shoot from his back"

"If he's going to be carrying you then a withered old man won't be too much extra weight" Orodiel's willingness to go surprised everyone even more

"You're crazy old man, you will die" Korsiel looked at the two like they had gone mad

"When you get to my age you won't care either"

"I suppose I have one last descent in me" Aeorean wasn't one to be out done by an old man and a cripple, he turned to Korsiel, "Won't you join us venerable mist walker? Even though they only invited Aeoran I think we should all be there"

"Aye" Aeoran and the other two men sounded their agreement

Korsiel sighed, "Fine but if any of you get in to trouble don't expect me to help you"

The five men agreed to travel to Aeoror together and meet with its King as a united front, they would gather the veteran mist walkers of all four of the villages and head to Aeoror.

Aeoran sought out Alrean personally, wanting to have his good friend with him. He found the man play fighting with a small boy who was probably no older than 5 and he seemed to be losing.

"Maybe I should ask your son to come with me instead" Aeoran joked as he walked up to them

"AEORAN!" the boy practically screamed as he smiled at the giant

"Hey Alasiel" the primarch chuckled as he pat the boy, his giant hand eclipsing the child's head, "I need to talk to your father, go and find your mother"

Alasiel ran off and left the two men alone, "I've been invited to Aeoror" Aeoran became serious, "And I want you to accompany me"

"That's a long journey and we only came back from the mist a few months ago, I can't be gone that long again"

"We'll be going through the mist, it will take a week at most to get there and we can get a balloon back, 2 and a half weeks at most"

Alrean looked at him like he was talking another language, "You want to travel through the mist, you do know it's not a peaceful grazing field"

"I know, I'll protect you if you're scared"

Alrean knew from the moment Aeoran asked that he would be going no matter what but he could still display his displeasure at having to go, he let out a long groan before relenting, "My wife is gonna kill me for this, if I don't come back you'll have to explain it to her"

"If you don't come back neither am I, that woman terrifies me" the two laughed

"When do we leave?"

"In a week"

The week passed quickly and the mist walkers were assembled around Aldra's gate with their families, Aeoran had his father and Orodiel strapped to his back and the two were wielding carbines built by him, the primarch knelt down as he said goodbye to his mother.

"I don't like what you're doing but I trust you so come back safe" Elia stood on her toes to give her son a kiss on the forehead, "And don't let your father talk you in to anything stupid"

"I can take care of myself woman" his father shouted over his shoulder

"I'll believe that when I see it" his mother shook her head before turning back to Aeoran, she pulled out a stone she had carved, "I know it's not an actual descent but take this"

"Thanks"

"Don't I get one?" His father asked ruining the touching moment

"I was going to but since you're so nosey no"

"Should have married your sister" Aldean muttered under his breath

"You better hope those beasts get you"

"Love you too" his father chuckled as he said goodbye to his mother

Aeoran walked over to where Alrean was saying goodbye to his family, he was pinching little Alasiel's cheeks while a short unassuming woman looked on with a smile. Aslia had known Alrean all his life and when Aeoran had been brought to the village the three of them had become friends. She had always been the voice of reason in their group and stopped the boys from killing themselves more times than they knew, she was a domineering girl and age hadn't softened her.

"You better bring him back" Aslia turned to Aeoran as she saw him approach, "Or don't it will prove he should always listen to me"

"I'll keep him safe" Aeoran bent down and hugged his long time friend, "I'll be back soon"

Aeoran stood at the head of the group with Korsiel and Aeorean either side of him, he took a deep breath before he drew Mist cutter and stepped forward in to the mist.

They fought ferociously for days and everyone who survived the journey through the mist would remember it for the rest of their lives, with the skill and strength of Aeoran the beasts stood little chance and by the time the reached the base of Aeoror they had the heads of 20 beast to present to its King.

They climbed the path up the mountain and arrived at the gates, much to the surprise of the guards, they had sent a Kawl saying they would make the journey to Aeoror but the officals had assumed it would take them at least a month to reach them, they weren't ready and quickly scrambled to give them a proper welcome

The peak of the mountain that Aeoror sat on had been cut off in an age long past and allowed the city to be bigger that any on the planet. The city itself was completely different to Aldra; its buildings were much bigger and made of stone instead of mud brick, the roads were paved instead of being a beaten trail and even the people looked healthier and better fed than those from his village. Word spread quick about the giant and his party who arrived through the mist, people came out in droves to catch a glimpse of Aeoran and the others as they were escorted through the city by armed guards carrying spears and shields bearing the severed head of Fen, the heraldry of Aeoror.

At the centre of the city, through winding streets and boulevards, stood the castle of the King of Aeoror, surrounded by a 20 foot walls and standing tall and proud over the city, it was said to have been build before the mist fell on their world and the King's family had ruled from it since the time of the legendary Aeoran.

They arrived at the gates and waiting for them was a thin man with a bald head, his face looked ageless so it was hard to guess how old he was. He bowed to Aeoran and greeted them.

"I am Casiel advisor to the King of Aeoror, we were expecting you at a much later date so his majesty is busy preparing a feast to welcome you all" the man smiled wide but it didn't seem the slightest bit genuine, "The feast will be ready soon I will show you and your companions to your rooms and guards will come and get you when everything is ready"

Aeoran was starting to get a bad feeling about everything but they were here and they couldn't just leave. Casiel took them to the rooms they would be staying in, they were luxurious and bigger than any house in Aldra; the centre of the room was taken up by a large bed with an actual mattress and not a pile of dried grass, there was a bath with actually running water and a hundred other things they could never have in their little village, it really showed the difference between Aeoror and Aldra.

They didn't have to wait long for the King to summon them for the feast. They all wore their leather mist walker armour, although they washed off the beast blood, and carried their primarch forged carbines as a small show of power, Aeoran stood behind the guards leading them to the feast hall with Mist cutter at his hip. The feast hall was large with great tables that were filled with food of every kind; fruits, meats, wines, pies, cheeses and even the flesh of some beasts. Presiding over the entire thing from a throne elevated above the tables was an obese balding man wearing fine robes dyed red and silver, he was the King of Aeoror. The room was already filled with nobility and government officials but they sat around the edge of the hall and the central table, right in front of the King, was reserved for Aeoran and his party. Aeoran made his way to the seat directly to the King's right and bowed to him.

"I thank you for the invitation your majesty"

The king looked Aeoran over, assessing him and his worth, even elevated as he was the two were face to face, "I had heard you were a large man but I didn't expect a giant" his voice sounded muffled and laboured, considering his size it probably was a labour to speak, "I am Radiel the 7th of Aeoror and I welcome you to my city Aeoran"

"It is a pleasure to meet you King Radiel" Aeoran and his group took their seats

His father sat directly opposite Aeoran with Orodiel next to him and Aeorean next to the primarch. Aeoran looked around at everyone else in the room and saw some of them were also armed like his group so at least they hadn't broken some etiquette. Radiel stood, with the help of some aides, and raised a golden goblet, everyone else followed and so did Aeoran and his men.

"We welcome the noble Aeoran and his companions who braved the dangers of the mist to get here with all haste, a bold move, something his name sake would do, now dedicate your first sip to the gods and eat and enjoy yourselves to your heart's content"

Everyone sounded their agreement and drank down their wine at the same time as the feast began, his father and everyone else ate like starved animals but Aeoran was more interested in talking to the King, he didn't need to eat much anyway.

"Has word of me really reach this far?" he asked as he sipped the wine

"Word of your exploits and power have reached further than you know" Radiel answered him between mouthfuls of food, "There are few around these parts that don't know your name, but I wanted to hear about the coalition of villages you manage to set up, it's rare for villages to ally"

"It wasn't easy convincing the three stubborn Capris' but after explaining that each village would have more food, weapons and other resources if we pooled and divided them then they eventually got on board" Aeoran explained how the four villages covered each other's weakest points and grew stronger

"Interesting, you didn't use any military force to make them join you?"

"No just my words and charm"

Aeoror was governed completely opposite to Aldra and its allies, Aeoror took the wealth and resources from the villages and towns under it's grip and rarely gave anything back and if any refused or tried to rebel then the might of Aeoror's military crushed them, Aeoran's ideas of mutual benefits and his charm would make him dangerous to the future of Aeoror but that was why the King had invited him to the feast.

Something's wrong

Aeoran heard the whisper for the first time since getting the King's message, he was dropping a slice of meat in to his mouth as he was overcome with a feeling of unease. Time seemed to slow as Aeoran looked around the room and started to notice things were off; the guards had repositioned themselves around the room and were concentrated around the King and Aeoran, the armed guests weren't eating at all and just seemed to be fingering their weapons in anticipation and most suspicious of all, the King had stopped eat for the first time during the feast.

Radiel looked the primarch in the eyes as a satisfied smile spread across his face and he raised his goblet high.

It's a trap

"IT'S A TRAP!" Aeoran jumped up as gunmen appeared from balconies overlooking the hall

Orodiel was the first to die, a bullet through the throat before he could even get up, everyone drew their weapons and started firing at the guards and armed men but most were quickly shot or stabbed to death. Aeoran watched his father kill two guards near him and point his carbine at the King only to take a bullet to the shoulder and be run through with spears. Aeoran fought with fury as he cut down any man who came near him, bullets and blades cutting in to his flesh as he tried to reach the traitorous King, a spear ripped through his back and right through his heart as he fell to his knees, covered in a thousand wounds.

"Why?" he looked at Radiel with pure hatred

"You're dangerous" was the simple answer he got as the King looked down on him, "The mist seers foresaw you ruling over our world, I can't allow that"

Guards surrounded the kneeling primarch and thrust their spears at him as everything went black.

Next time: The old city of mist