665.952 M41. Segmentum Tempestus, Sub-Sector Grael, Grael Major, Hyflala zone. Two months after the fall of Grael Secundus the Armageddon Steel Legion who had arrived on the planet had turned the only approach capable of taking large numbers of vehicles traveling into a giant killing-zone. Millions of mines, kilometres of trenches, artillery positions, turrets, and countless other death traps had been established there. All other routes to the city had been prepared with as many weapons and anti-infantry traps that would shred a horde of Orks coming towards them. Lauf looked over the defences as the guardsmen continue to improve them with each passing minute. Calls for aid from the Imperial Navy had been sent to the nearest Naval Bastion, but it would still take time for them to arrive. Without the heavy warships and their firepower all the humans could do is keep preparing for the inevitable Ork assault. Scout ships incapable of more than simple reconnaissance had been investigating Secundus to see why the Orks had not yet arrived above Grael Major. The information they gathered indicated that while the Orks' crowd mentality gave them the ability to construct machinery out of scrap metal, they seemed to be having difficulty building enough ships to carry the large amount of looted weapons they took from Secundus' manufactorums and the boyz who wanted to use them. For the guard this was both a blessing a curse. It gave them more time to prepare, but they were filled with the knowledge that the Orks had a vast amount of equipment to throw at them when they did finally arrive.

Lauf watched as Kaz helped two of his men stack sandbags around a position. The Major had been at the front helping his men whenever he could. But he was also at the command centre planning out the defence with the local PDF forces. He had set them to man the most heavily fortified positions in the line. They would not be much help out fighting the Orks on the front section of the trenches, but they did free more of his men from having to man the guns at those positions. While the Major had been preparing his troops and their positions Lauf had noticed the Vindicare every so often when he had moved positions. While he had not seen the assassin given their skill at infiltration and evasion, he had been smelling the stealthsuit he wore. While the land was filled with various scents and the assassin's suit was designed to avoid detection it was not so easy to fool a Space Wolf's nose. He was impressed with the Vindicare. The positions he had been choosing had perfect sightlines to find the warboss' head through his scope. Lauf looked away from where the Vindicare is currently set up and turns towards the rear section of the guardsmen line. There he can see the three girls he has come to consider 'his pack' busy helping out however they can without their armour and equipment which had been left behind when they had escaped the Convent before they were sent away to do something else than what they were trained for.

Walking down the small hill he was standing on Lauf watched as Ashe talks with a few of Kaz's officers about tactics to be used when the Orks arrived. Meanwhile Astra is busy helping move ammunition over to some gun positions around the rear section. When she reaches one of the positions Ashe hands the ammunition off to two guardsmen who thank her for the efforts. Lauf kept walking down the hill towards the circle while he can see Cassidy talking away with a battle-hardened guardsman about the big autocannon they are behind. They were clearly in a heated debate about something with regards to the gun or some other heavy weapon it was hard to tell with the Chogorian. Walking to the bottom of the small hill he approached the large thick walls the Steel Legion established as the bastion in their lines as the two guardsmen at the gate snap to attention when they see him. The Steel Legion stopped dropping to their knee every time Lauf got near them two weeks ago to his eternal gratitude. It cut down on having to tell them to rise and get back to work during the construction. The guardsmen relax and go to open the gates into the bastion. He nods a thanks to them while he walked inside and calls out to his pack. While the first three he saw come towards him he can see the young medicae he had discovered inside the chimera treating a couple of wounded guardsmen who had been injured in the construction with broken bones or sprained joints. At first he had considered sending her back to the Convent, but if what the actions taken against the three by the Order was any indication this young girl would probably suffer a similar fate. And he was not going to hurt someone else like that if he can help it. Walking over to the medicae section Lauf watched the young blonde girl binding a guardswoman's leg after she put the compound fracture back in place. She finished the binding and carefully set the leg down on the bed while saying a few reassuring words to the woman about how her leg will heal properly as long as she let herself rest and not use it too much in the coming weeks. Lauf watched as she stood up and walked around the bed to leave nothing in between the two,

"My lord. Come to watch me work again?" The young girl asked as Lauf gave her a small grin, "No Eliza. I came over to see how you were." The young girl had revealed that her name was Elizabeth, but goes by the nickname Eliza three weeks ago when Astra and Cassidy had confronted her about her tendency to stay by herself instead of being with them during meals or when they all went to sleep. Eliza had finally given in and told them all her name at the time. After that she is dragged along with the three girls when they went around the base wherever they go,

"Thank you my lord. I'm doing just fine actually. Staying busy helps." Eliza looked away from Lauf down the row of injuries, "And I will be busy for a while here with all these injuries. You'd think that they would learn to not put themselves in the wrong positions." She stood up to go over to treat another broken bone with help from another medicae. Lauf had been watching the four the past few weeks. Even though the guardsmen had put together some armour and weapons for the girls they were woefully ill-equipped than what they had previously been with the Sisters. And they were clearly unhappy about that. Each one of them was a warrior and they wanted to fight. Even young Eliza was clearly a fighter, but one who fought to save the lives of her patients. Walking away from the wounded he thought about how he might be able to help the four girls. He could not leave them without anything to fight with. It was because of him that they are here now. As he walked he finds himself wandering along the battlements of the bastion towards a mortar position. When he walked up to the weapon he saw a pair of guardsmen resting next to the mortar while shells are piled on either side of them. A lot of the guardsmen took the chance of quiet and no officers around to catch up on some sleep. Everyone knew that when the fighting started they would be pushed to their limits trying to hold back the Orks. With this understanding the officers had let most of those guardsmen sleep. Some still get woken by a boot to the side to help add to the defences around the Hive Capital.

Lauf let these two guardsmen sleep as he looked at the field of fire this mortar has. Currently they could drop its shells in front of the entire left section of the trench system the legionnaires had built. Along with this mortar Lauf can see over two dozen more artillery pieces all able to hit this part of the defences. Lauf's lips curve up and his fangs get exposed while he imagines the piles and piles of dead Orks laying in front of the trenches,

This Major does know how to make certain enemies of the Imperium will bleed when they try to take one of our planets. These Orks will keep coming in excitement to get a fight. All they will find is a hail of lead. Lauf thought when he spotted a small glint of light coming from the back of the trenches. At first he thought it's just sun-light reflecting off some piece of metal among the guardsmen's equipment and goes to look away. When he starts to turn the glint of light reappears and starts to flash in short and long flashes. He looked at it and his eyes widen, Is someone trying to contact me? He wonders as he walked down the wall towards the gate. Once he is on the ground he starts to walk past the injured guardsmen where he suddenly feels a hand touch his arm. He does not look down as her scent fills his nostrils while Eliza looked up at Lauf,

"Is something the matter my lord?" Eliza asked as she stood next to him, "There is some light glimmering behind the trenches. I think somebody there is trying to contact myself or somebody else here." Lauf explains as Eliza kept her hand on his arm,

"My lord. You sure this is a good idea? I mean. Simply wandering towards a flashing light….. I don't know….. seemed very much like sticking your head inside a trap and hope that someone doesn't press the trigger." Eliza admitted as Lauf grunted before he rubbed his beard with his free hand, "I feel something calling me there young pup. I cannot explain it…" He admitted to Eliza. He did not understand why, but looking at her sparked something within him that he had not felt for a long time. His hearts throb inside his chest and the talisman hanging from his neck seemed to pulse with them. The hand that had been stroking his beard rested on top of his chestplate right above the talisman. He can feel it even through the ceramite and adamantium armour as the pulses continue. Eliza noticed how Lauf's expression changed when his hand came to the middle of his chest. She wanted to ask him what was there but holds her tongue, certain he'll tell her in time just as she told him things when it seemed to be the right time,

"Well my lord. If you're going there. It would not do to go alone." Eliza smiled, "Give me a minute and I'll grab my bag. Never know. We might had to drag some more guardsmen who tried lifting something too heavy back here for me to tend to." Eliza patted Lauf's free hand twice before she runs away from him towards a table with several bags on it.

For such a young pup. She is quite old in spirit. And wiser than some humans many decades older than she currently is. Almost reminds me of Stormcaller and the Slayer. Lauf thought to himself while he saw Eliza running back to him. She now has a large satchel slung over one shoulder filled with medical supplies. Smiling as she reaches Lauf's location Eliza does not say anything as she simply follows in stride with Lauf as he walked out of the base towards the still glinting light. He moves through the trenches towards the spot where the light was coming from, passing by many positions in the trenches without saying a word to the guardsmen aside from simple mentions of apology as he moved them gently aside to keep moving along through the maze of trenches that would make any attacker suffer heavy casualties further after surviving the hail of gunfire that would pocket the ground in front of the defences.

After over two hours of passing through the trenches Lauf climbed out of the exit at the back and looked around for a source of the light. As he looked around he spotted a small mirror lying on the ground over by an abandoned warehouse. Lauf walked over and looked down at the mirror,

"My lord Redclaw. Is this what was shining that light?" Eliza asked as she leans down to pick the mirror up. As her hand clasps on the tiny piece of metal Lauf spotted a small glint extending out one side, "ELIZA! MOVE!" He shot an arm out and around her waist, pulling her away just as a wire connected to the mirror activated a trap that fires darts coated with poison into the mirror's location. Lauf moves Eliza behind him as he pulls his axe and sword off his hips. Standing at the ready he sniffs the air for any Ork scents or other threats. He picks up one smell that stood out over all the other scents and growls,

"Come out of your hiding place witch!" He snaps as a dark laugh begins to come from the warehouse, "You still are such a predictable little dog." Ramses says as he walked outside the door and set the tip of his staff down on the ground,

"And I see you brought along a little puppy to play with. I will enjoy having her along. She's quite the lovely little creature." Ramses comments as he looked at Eliza who stares him down with a bit of fear clearly showing as her hands grip the strap of her satchel so tightly that her knuckles are turning white. Ramses laughs while he looked from Eliza to Lauf, "I thank you for this gift lapdog." Lauf growls,

"Your poison WILL NOT TOUCH HER!" He shouts as he charges at Ramses with his axe raised. Ramses spins his staff and warp energy flies out past him into Eliza sending her flying into the ground. Lauf's axe hits Ramses' staff before looking back at Eliza to see if she's alive. He can see she's still alive, but looked stunned and barely conscious. The momentary distraction gave Ramses a chance to punch him in the stomach. He grunted as the fist hits him but he pulls down with the lip of his axe. Ramses cannot hold the staff against Lauf while he swings his head forward, striking Ramses in the forehead. The Sorcerer's helmet cracks from the blow as he steps a few steps back while some blood falls from the crack as he swings his staff to force Lauf away. The swing gets blocked by Lauf's frost sword and he casually flicks the staff down to the ground. As the staff goes down Lauf kicks Ramses in the chest,

"You try to corrupt loyal citizens of the Imperium. You think you will take a young girl for a plaything like some Dark Eldar psychopathic sadist. And you think I will just stand by and let you do so?" Every time he said a sentence Lauf punched or kicked Ramses, knocking him to the ground and preventing him from getting up or fight back, "Now at long last. My packmates will rest in peace." He puts his axe on one hip while gripping his sword in both hands. Bringing the point over Ramses' two hearts Lauf grits his teeth,

"For my brothers." He says while bringing the sword high when a sound comes from behind him. Spinning around he just manages to stop the claws of a possessed Space Marine as they lunge at his head. Lauf holds the claws an inch from his neck as the mutated monster howls with a bone-chilling voice that sounds as alien as could be possible to come from a former human being. While Lauf holds the monster's hands back Ramses stood up and laughs,

"Did you really think that I would not had a plan to deal with you lapdog? You really are dumber than I keep giving you credit for. Well now it's over. And time for my newest pet to join me." Ramses comments as he aims his staff to pierce through the armour in Lauf's back,

"I'm not dying here!" Lauf side-steps around the possessed and frees one hand to grab his axe off his hip. Pulling the weapon off its spot he swings the blade until it digs into the Chaos Marine's neck. Even with the strength and regenerative powers of a daemon within his body, the frost-axe's energy field splits and cuts through the flesh and bone. With a small twinge of effort Lauf cuts the former man's head off and uses the force to turn and block Ramses' attack. He glares at the eye sockets of the Sorcerer's helmet, "You keep trying to kill me Sorcerer. Yet all your pets fail each and every time." Lauf says as he brings the edges of his sword and axe closer and closer to Ramses' neck,

"And every time you come close you fail to kill me dog. You're no son of the Wolf. You're a weak pup with no real skills." Ramses' words echoed through Lauf's mind as something inside him clicked. Ramses did not get a chance to laugh at his insult as a punch harder than anything before strikes the side of his face so hard that the bottom of his helmet is shattered open, leaving his mouth exposed as he falls back to the ground. Ramses spits some blood out of his mouth and he looked at the Space Wolf. What he saw surprises him. Lauf stood in front of him but his weapons are lying on the ground while his beard and hair had changed to appear more feral and unkempt than it had been a moment before. Ramses also saw claws coming out the end of Lauf's hands. He does not get a chance to examine why this is happening when Lauf leaps onto him and starts to rake his claws across Ramses stomach, tearing the armour open around each hitch and segment. Each strike lacks the small amount of control and focus that defined the Space Wolf way of fighting. Now it was feral, uncontrolled attacks focusing on simply killing his enemy. Lauf raises one hand and swings down but misses when Ramses manages to kick him away. He stood up looking at Lauf and laughs,

"I knew you and your chapter are nothing more than mad dogs! And now you're showing the truth within!" He laughs while he raises his hand, channeling warp energy. He only glances up to see how much energy he had gathered but it was enough for Lauf to tackle him again and drive his extended fangs into his shoulder. He did not had any control or restraint as he tries to crack the bone in Ramses' arm. All he wanted is to kill his enemy. Ramses shouts in pain as he tries to make Lauf let go while avoiding his claws that keep trying to tear out his throat or his intestines. Nothing he does with striking with his limbs or the quick warp spells he manages to casts are able to force the enraged and half rabid Space Wolf off him. Lauf kept attacking while he howls with savage rage at Ramses. Every second that Ramses is alive only fuels his anger at the traitor and makes each strike or to be more accurate, each attempt to remove each and every organ from within his body to outside it becomes a heavier and harsher blow.

As Ramses tries to force his staff underneath Lauf's stomach to push him back he suddenly feels Lauf's claws reach under his chin at the point where his helmet and neck armour meet. His eyes widen as the claws begin to dig into the armour,

"Get off me you mad dog!" He shouts while trying to push Lauf off before he manages to pull his helmet off and reveal his face after over 10,000 years to the galaxy. At that moment he can feel the claws start to pull the helmet away from the connecting point in the neck armour. With a shout he speaks in an ancient tongue causing burst of warp energy exploding in between him and Lauf sending him fly away across the open area. Ramses manages to stand up with help of his staff, his armour now in tatters but still intact somewhat from the razor-sharp claws as Lauf shakes his head to get rid of the remaining bits of energy from that strange spell still in his body. Ramses looked at the Space Wolf in shock and confusion,

"That spell should had turned you to dust. It was pure raw energy from the Immaterium, yet you still stand." Rames kept looking at Lauf as he stood back up and charges at him again. He thought the story that the Space Wolves were supposedly more resistant than most Space Marines to the effects of Chaos was nothing more than simple propaganda made by the Wolves to hide the effects of their pathetic primarch's genes to the rest of the Imperium. But here was one of these Space Wolves unaffected by his spells more malevolent effects. It should had turned him into a mindless chaos spawn. Instead he was turning into one of the human-wolf hybrids the Space Wolves did not speak about, a Wulfen. Lauf brings his claws back and lunges forward at Ramses. He quickly waves his hand in the air disappearing in a cloud of black fog. Lauf's strike hits nothing but air as he stood in the dissipating cloud. He sniffs the air for a few seconds before spinning around and punching into seemingly empty air. His fist cracks loudly as it connects with Ramses' face making his invisibility warp spell fail while his other hand grabs him by the throat and lifts him off the ground,

"Kill me like this lapdog. And you will prove how feral and pathetic you and your pack are." Ramses manages to say. His words seem to have reached Lauf's ears and he hesitates. His fist remains wrapped around Ramses' throat but it does loosen slightly. In that moment Ramses releases a spell from his mind that knocks Lauf back to the ground as he stood there, "Again you are a pathetic waste of….." Suddenly bolter rounds strike Ramses' shoulders followed by one striking above his knee-armour, shattering the bone underneath. Even as his super-human physiology starts to repair the damage of the wound almost as soon as it was done Ramses still shouted out in pain, turning to see who had dared to harm him.

Astra, Ashe and Cassidy had run through the trench as fast as they could. Without their power armour they had moved quicker than normal. When they heard that Lauf and Eliza had gone off to examine something they had seen behind the guardsmen's lines Ashe had felt something was wrong and gathered the other two to come after them. The scene they came on when coming out of the trench was shocking. Eliza was lying on the ground barely moving and a Space Marine wearing the attire of a traitor Space Marine Sorcerer they had never seen. But the most shocking thing they saw was a strange looking creature that seemed to resemble Lauf lying on the ground at the feet of the Sorcerer. Whoever this was they weren't certain if he/it was friendly or a threat. But was certain was that the Sorcerer was a traitor to the Emperor and needed to die. Without waiting for the three to say anything all three former Sisters opened up with the bolters the guardsmen had managed to scrounge up for them on the Sorcerer. Their shells hit the traitor and drew his attention to them,

"HOW DARE YOU INSECTS STRIKE ME!" He shouts as he raises a hand and aims an orb of warp energy at them. All three see a flash of light and for a moment they thought their lives would end right there at the hands of this traitor. Instead they can see the orb exploding above them in the sky. Looking down to see why the attack missed their eyes widen as they see the creature resembling Lauf clutching the Sorcerer's elbow while the traitor saw terrified while he tries to escape the creature's grasp. Lauf's eyes lock on Ramses as his grip starts to tighten, "Let. Go. LAPDOG!" He shouts. Lauf responds with a simple growl before he tightens his grip further and pulls. Armour bends and cracks, skin tears and splits, muscles shreds and snaps away, bone breaks and shears apart as Lauf pulls harder with a rising howl of fury. With a loud and gut-wrenching split Lauf tears Ramses' arm off and throws it aside. There is a moment of silence while the blood flows from the stump before Ramses begins to scream in shock while he clutches the wound as it seals up, "YOU! YOU! YOU!" He shouts right before suddenly disappearing into a sudden Warp portal. The way he fell into the portal meant he had not chosen to go into it as he continues to shout until the portal vanishes from sight. It just leaves the Sisters alone with Lauf still in this strange Wulfen form though the three Sisters still did not know it was Lauf.

Astra watched in horror as the creature walked towards Eliza still lying on the ground barely conscious, "Don't you dare touch her creature!" Ashe shouts as she runs towards the creature to put herself between Eliza and him. Just as Lauf reaches out towards Eliza Ashe manages to get close enough to grab onto his arm. As soon as she touches the armour Ashe's green eyes suddenly change to the same colour as the armour on the arm.

She looked around as she can see light blue energy coming out around Lauf's body, especially from around the middle of his chest-plate. She does not listen to the sounds coming into her ears from around them while she reaches up towards the brightest point of the energy on his body. When she puts her hand directly over the energy she saw several ghostly figures surrounding her and this creature. One of the figures looked down at her and smile. The one closest to her lifts his hand up to put it on top of hers over the chest-plate. Ashe does not know who this person is and she would not know the relationship the ghost of Bjarke would had with Lauf,

"Young pup. We cannot help him with the way we are now. But you all can. And we will help you." He says with a kind voice while the glow below Ashe's hand gets so bright that she cannot see anything. The glow stays for a few minutes as Astra and Cassidy can only watch as the two seem frozen in time. But as the glow begins to disappear in Ashe's eyes the other two can see the creature begin to change. His hair recedes slightly from its wild appearance to look better kept and cared for while the claws disappear from his fingers. Their eyes go wide as they realize it is Lauf and all go towards him while Ashe finally removes her hand,

"Sister? What? What happened?" Lauf demands as he looked around, trying to find Ramses, "Big brother? Are you alright? What happened? Do you remember anything?" Astra asked as she comes over to the two. She set her hand on top of his forearm while looking up into his eyes, clearly worried about him. He frowns while trying to think, letting his mind drift back to figure out the answers to her questions,

"The last thing that I…. that I remember was that Sorcerer insulting and calling me weak. After that…." He looked and noticed the signs of battle, including the arm lying on the ground, "It's all a blank. Who… who removed the arm from the traitor?" He asked but the looked from the girls tells him all he needs to know. What exactly happened to him just now? He was still a Space Marine, had he secretly fallen to the Curse of the Wulfen? That should not be possible, when someone fell to the Curse, there was no going back. Yet here he stood, the same way and fully aware of who and what he is. He looked down at his hands while the Sisters gathered around him. He has to take a few deep breaths to get his mind in order,

"Where's the pup? Is she alright?" He suddenly remembered Eliza and frantically looked around before his eyes settled on her still form. Pushing the others aside he runs over to her. Dropping down to one knee he feels a weight lift off his shoulders when he feels her chest rise and fall steadily, Thank the Allfather she is still alive and whatever poison he tried to use on her has not taken effect. He thought while gently picking her up. Once he had her safely in his arms he turns back to the other three with a steely gaze,

"Come. We need to get her checked on by proper medicae personnel." He gave the statement not as a suggestion, but as a pack-leader to his subordinates. The girls all smile at him, glad to see the confidence back after that moment of hesitation. Even though he was a Space Marine and practically a demi-god compared to them, it was a bit refreshing to be reminded that Lauf was still as human as each of them and thus subject to the same things other humans feared and worried about. It was something that showed Lauf was not a perfect being like the Emperor. It made the moments when he showed his strength all the more impressive in their eyes as they follow him towards the medicae section in the guardsmen's defences.

Finding their way through the trenches several guardsmen stop what they were doing and watched the sight passing by them. The Space Wolf and three walking Sisters they knew well, but only a few who had been injured in the construction process recognized the young girl being carried in Lauf's arms. No one said a word to them as the guardsmen gave them silent respect. They looked like they had come from a hard battle and none of the Legionnaires would insult them by asking about it right now. Instead they moved aside to let them keep walking through the tight twists in the trenches as Lauf holds Eliza close to his chest while he leads the group towards the medicae facility. Word reached the bastion and the medicae within before the small group arrived so two medicae personnel were waiting for them with a stretcher. Seeing Lauf they give a small bow to him,

"My lord. We can take the young Sister inside and start treating her." One of the two said as they approached Lauf. For a moment his grip tightened on Eliza's shoulder in a protective gesture but he quickly relented and hands her to the two medics. When they had her safely they carry Eliza onto the stretcher and set her down so she is comfortable and safe before they picked the stretcher up. Making sure they both had a firm grip they moved inside the bastion while Lauf saw Major Kaz come out of the open doors with a small guard, "Major." Lauf says, his voice hiding the exhaustion he was starting to feel. Even with his enhanced physiology he still needed to sleep. Kaz nods respectfully to Lauf and to the three sisters,

"My lord. Lady Sisters. I take it you will tell me what exactly caused a young Sister Hospitaller to be unconscious and all of you look as if you just fought a fierce battle?" Kaz comments as Astra and Ashe look at each other while Lauf coughs, "Major. We encountered a mutant creature that had come up from the Underhive. It attacked us and knocked the young Hospitaller out. We managed to kill it. And before you ask I doubt there will be more of those creatures coming out to attack your soldiers." Lauf's comment reassured Kaz and he simply nods,

"Very good my lord. I am glad to see that I can always trust your skills to look out for my men." With a slight bow Kaz turns around and walked back into the bastion with his guards while Astra puts a hand on Lauf's arm, "Why didn't you tell him about the traitor big brother?" Lauf kept looking at the door of the bastion not meeting Astra's eyes, "There are things in this galaxy Astra that the regular soldiers of the Imperium do not need to be aware of. It's not because I don't trust the Major. He is more than competent and clearly loyal to the Emperor. It's because I don't trust what others might do with the information or to the Major and his men if it was discovered that they were aware of the Sorcerer's presence on this planet." Lauf knew that the Inquisition was well known in the Imperium. But only in its role as a secret police force that would spirit citizens away or burn worlds for reasons only they knew. At least that was what they made the average citizens believe. He was aware of its true mission to protect the Imperium from the machinations of Chaos both due to his chapter's tales about encounters with the Inquisition and with his own run-in with Inquisitors.

"I need to go speak with the Major's Astropaths. You should all go over to the medicae and be beside the pup's bed. I'm certain she would be happy to see some friendly faces when she woke up." Lauf smiled reassuringly at the three before he walked inside the Bastion, followed closely by them before they split off to go to the medicae while he went to the astropathic choir. He had a message to send. And he hoped that the energies of the warp would not stop it from reaching its destination, I must be mad thinking to make this request. But by the Allfather I had to make it. Lauf thought to himself while opening the door to the astropaths' quarters.

Far from Sub-Sector Grael, standing a close vigil to the eternal warp storm known as the Eye of Terror lies Fenris, most dangerous Death World in the Imperium and home to the Space Wolves. Inside their fortress known as the Aett to the Space Wolves, but better known as the Fang to the rest of the Imperium the Sons of Russ rest and ready themselves for the next time their lords call on them to defend the Imperium from the myriad threats it faces in the galaxy. Deep within the giant fortress the massive forges burn, overseen by the Iron priests of the chapter who forge the weapons of war their brothers will carry. One such Iron Priest, Garjek Blackhand wipes a small amount of sweat from his brow before making a final inspection of the bolter he had forged. While he does not smile Garjek is pleased with the work and he hands it off to a thrall-servitor that waited for the weapon. The cyborg turns and rolls away to put the weapon up in one of the Great Company's armouries. It rolls past one of the human thralls who approached Garjek and drops to one knee when he stood before the Iron Priest,

"What is it thrall?" Garjek demands not really concerned about the appearance of the thrall in his forge, "My lord Blackhand there has been a request made for your services." "By who?" Garjek was not some show-boy to be called up to dance to anyone's tune, "By lord Redclaw. My lord." The thrall's response stoms Garjek for a second, "So the whelp lives huh?" He asked, glad to hear that Lauf was still alive, "Very well. What is it he wants?" The thrall whispers the request in Garjek's ear, "I see." With a wave of his hand he dismisses the thrall who bows before retreating from the forge. Garjek turns back to his forge and immediately orders thrall-servitors to bring him the materials he needs while he begins to heat the forge until it blazes white-hot.

While Garjek worked on his forge, Lauf stood beside the bed where Eliza slept. The medics had worked quickly on her. She was healthy physically speaking, but she had not woken for two days. It was worrying as she continued to toss in her sleep, seeming to be bothered by whatever she was dreaming about. Lauf was not the only one worried about the young girl. Ashe, Astra and Cassidy had also stayed around the bed to make sure Eliza was alright. Over the past two days the four had been working on a shift of two watching her while the other two either went to get food or sleep. Right now it was Lauf and Ashe's turns to watch the bed while Astra and Cassidy were off sleeping. Again Eliza was tossing in her bed, sweat dripping down her forehead. Ashe carefully wipes the sweat away while Lauf gently poured water from a bowl into her mouth, making sure she swallowed instead of inhaling it. As he moves the bowl away Eliza suddenly starts to cough a little. Lauf immediately puts his hand on her back, turning her over so she might not accidentally throw up and choke on it. Ashe looked at Eliza's face while she kept coughing making sure that she can open her mouth if need be. After a few more violent coughs Eliza stops and breathes a few more times before her eyes begin to open. Ashe smiled happily at the young girl which Eliza returns while she tries to sit up in the bed. She almost falls back onto the bed but Lauf's hand quickly supports her body and she twists as best she can to smile at him,

"Thank you my lord." She says, her voice hoarse and dry. She coughs a few times after talking, bringing up her hand to cover her mouth while Ashe offers her a cup of water. She takes it gratefully and carefully drinks the contents, "We were worried about you Eliza…." As soon as Ashe said her name she spat out the mouthful of water on the bed and glares at Ashe,

"Don't call me that! That false name is a lie!" She says this with a growl in her voice that surprises the two watchers, "What are you talking about? You told me your name is Elizabeth and you prefer being called Eliza." Lauf comments as Eliza glares at them before taking a few moments to calm herself down and sips some more water,

"Sorry my lord. I think I should start from the beginning." She begins telling them about how she spent the last two days with what she thought was a really strange dream,

"In this dream I was on a stony beach with frigid cold water splashing around my ankles. I could see some large ships on the shore with people all around them. They looked like savages with simple weapons at the level of a feudal world population. While I watched a saw a young girl with blonde hair running around with other children around a large fire while women and men were sitting at the fire. One man who had the same blonde hair called to the little girl." When she mentions the man Lauf noticed tears well up in Eliza's eyes before she continues with the story, "He called her Ealasaid and motioned her over to him. This little girl ran over to the man while a group of Ecclesiarchy officials appeared walking toward the ships. I watched as a missionary among the officials came forward and declared that the tribe owed a tithe to the Ecclesiarchy. One old man commented that they did not owe anything to them and that if they tried to force the issue the gods would come down from the mountains and show them the meaning of that mistake. The preacher shouts, calling the group heretics and how the tithe was not much higher to repent for this sin." Eliza continues, "When the Sisters of Battle tried to move forward to take children the people all raised weapons and dared the power-armour wearing women to try and take their children. At that moment a man in black armour with a wolf skull helm on his head appeared as if from nowhere." Eliza's description makes Lauf's eyes widen. This… she was describing one of the Wolf Priests. Which meant the world this dream occurred on…..

"When the armoured figure appeared he began to attack the Ecclesiarchy members without any discussion. But I saw one of the Sisters grab the little girl Ealasaid and run into the transport the Ecclesiarchy had brought with them. The little girl had fought the Sister but she could not escape. After she was strapped into one spot in the transport the remaining survivors from the attack by the black armoured man ran inside and they closed the transport's door. As they set off the planet the little girl screamed that she wanted to go home. The preacher told her to be quiet. And called her Elizabeth. She said that was not her name, it was Ealasaid or the nickname her family gave her, Ella." She looked from Lauf to Ashe,

"When the young girl repeatedly refused to be called by this new name the preacher made a hand-signal. And a psyker came from deeper in the ship. He placed a hand on the girl's forehead before muttering something. I don't know exactly what it was. But when he removed his hand from her forehead she asked who she was. The preacher then said she was Elizabeth, an orphan they had rescued and were bringing to a Schola Progenium." Eliza's eyes were now almost completely filled with tears as she looked at the two,

"That little girl. The one who was stolen from her family. And had her identity stolen…." Ashe pulls her into her chest and tightly hugs her, "That was you." She mutters, "Yes. My real name. Is Ealasaid. Or Ella. Of the Ice Fiend clan. And my homeworld. Is Fenris." She says the last part proudly as Lauf feels the need to unclench his jaw which he did not realize he had tighten while listening to Ella tell her story. He did not know that there was a final piece to the dream that she kept quiet. She had stood before a pitch black sea and a voice told her that now she knew the truth, it was up to her to decide whether or not she would plunge into the sea for herself or for the Imperium. The dream had ended before she had given her answer. Now she knew her true identity. And who her real family was. The four who now crowded around her wanting to make certain she was alright. Three Sisters who loved her and a big brother who was both a caring guardian. And in his own way a kinsman to her.

While the four united in a new way two figures hidden by shadow were furious at someone, "He was supposed to stay transformed!? Yet this was the result?" "We did not anticipate some sort of protection from the enhancement taking effect. But nevertheless. We know it worked. Now all we need is to make this dog transform and stay that way. Once that experiment is successful we can cast it upon the rest of his pathetic chapter. As our master wishes. Then each and every child of the wolves will suffer for what they had done." The two figures place their hands on their chests and disappear.

TO BE CONTINUED…..