THE REVANCHIST


The training Ossus put his prospective Iron Warriors through was designed to expand their capabilities across the board with the Apothecary subjecting them to rigorous conditioning, building every set of their muscles, and during periods of rest subjecting them to comprehensive lessons about the history of the Iron Warriors, the Imperium of Man, and the various Legions which once built and protected it. Each exercise either physical or mental was repeated until they all passed a minimum threshold before it would become more enhanced, building them up as a group while also allowing those ahead of others to excel since while their fellow trainees were catching up the leaders of the pack were obligated to continue as well.

If one of them finished running a kilometer a minute before the others he would be expected to continue running that extra minute with all his strength, while those who repeatedly missed the targets set were given additional training after the day's brutal regimen had ended. Ossus monitoring every aspect of their health and progress was what allowed this to be done as he could prevent or mend injury on the times it did occur, all the while changing what parts of their bodies were to be trained should some section be exhausted.

Levente would often times be the victor of any physical competition and would always lead the group during their physical training, but there remained one area which the younger Tristan managed to keep up: endurance. While Levente could run a set distance much faster, could propel himself forward with great strength and rush past others, it was Tristan who could run as far as him. The younger boy was one of the slowest, but regardless of the exercise he was able to continue doing it as long as Levente. If Levente were to lift weights for ten repetitions then so would Tristan, though of course the amount lifted greatly differed. It was thanks to this that Ossus identified early on that Tristan possessed a stalwart body despite how slight he appeared, and would tailor the boy's instruction to further enhance this quality. Even if he was the worst of his group at the other physical tasks if Tristan could train more then them he could at least keep up overall.

In their lessons things were quite the opposite, with Tristan despite his age memorizing and figuring things out faster than his peers, though none of them were found wanting in such matters either. Even the brutish Levente possessed a keen mind, and during lessons would display a talent for rapidly finding solutions that while not ideal were acceptable nonetheless. Tristan would eventually arrive at a perfect answer to a question posed while Levente could get a less accurate one in far less time, something that would deepen their rivalry just as much as Tristan's powering through exercises to at least do as many as Levente. Each one sought to outdo the other, and so in spite of their enmity they would flourish within the same group.

Time not spent training or studying for Ossus' lessons was instead spent at the Dodekatheon for Tristan and Levente both, with Tristan using the time to bit by bit learn the craft of the master smiths around him while Levente instead focused on testing the equipment present to further his understanding of the arms at their disposal. The Iron Warriors present in the Dodekatheon paid them little mind, and despite spending months there Tristan would begrudgingly admit to Jarn on an occasion that he did not know the names of the Astartes present there. This was not to say that the Iron Warriors did not talk or discuss tactics or ideas, for there were many discussions which Tristan sat in on there, but he noted that their calculating natures and their focus on numbers and raw data meant that they did not often address one another by their names. Rather, the only thing that mattered was the effectiveness of an idea or construct.

On some occasions Tristan was able to accompany Jarn to the bridge of the Eisernen, where he would be left in awe at his first sight of the vast expanse of space. For a boy previously unaware about almost anything beyond his small village upon a backwards world it was a shock to witness the absolute void beyond the ship he found himself upon with only the dots of distant stars sprinkled throughout the darkness to show there was anything else at all beyond. It made him feel miniscule, smaller than even standing beside Jarn and the various Astartes aboard the vessel made him feel, for even though he was growing day by day Tristan was still but a speck compared to what he was now exposed to.

Seeing schematics of the ship he was on and reading of space travel had not prepared him to actually witness it, for while the bridge was covered in reinforced metal to prevent its inhabitants from experiencing a grisly demise in battle there were plenty of monitoring devices set to grant the ship visibility in every direction. A lack of real viewports was a holdover from Iron Warrior vessels from years past, for it had been their preference and that of their Primarch to choose security over seeing outer space with their own eyes. If sensors and cameras could relay the same information then why take the risk? Perturabo would come to change his opinion in time, but Jarn had never saw fit to alter the ships of his own fleet even though Ossus would on occasion speak to possible morale boosting effects of allowing the crew members to see something other than the cold metal of their vessel.

Training, studying, observing, shadowing Jarn, these would become the daily life of Tristan with almost nothing to break the constant cycle until one day he found himself with a visitor at Jarn's workstation in the Dodekatheon. Tristan had since learned what went where thanks to watching Arien's movements and so had taken to experimenting his growing knowledge using the tools present there when able even though Jarn was not always there to supervise him. He had permission and that was all that mattered, and given the nature of the Dodekatheon's residents no-one interrupted his work except for Arien occasionally bringing a tray of food. The food was not particularly great, but it was what his growing body needed to properly do so and to grow stronger for the trials yet ahead. It surely was nothing compared to the cooking of his mother, but it was beginning to become difficult to remember just how her meals tasted.

His visitor was an Iron Warrior in simple grey armor, its dull coloration being all that set it aside from the armor of his brethren. Tristan recognized him faintly, having noticed him on occasion speaking to Jarn and only being able to truly tell the Astartes apart from the others aboard the Eisernen thanks to this one's height. They were all tall to Tristan, with the shortest being above seven feet he was sure, but Jarn stood above them and this Astartes at least was not particularly small next to the Warsmith. If not for that sole detail Tristan would have no way of properly differentiating this one from the others he had met but not learned the names of.

The boy and the Astartes stared at one another for some time, each seemingly observing what they could about the other in silence. Tristan did not feel threatened by their sudden appearance and quiet observation, as it seemed to him that this was a trusted ally of Jarn if the Warsmith consulted with him. While Tristan had only seen this Astartes a handful of times thus far it still felt safe to entrust his safety to someone Jarn worked closely with, and if it wasn't there was not a whole lot Tristan could do to stop an Astartes from killing him outright. So he stared back, observed the Astartes with as much calm as he could, and found himself curiously staring into the lens of the man's helmet.

After a few moments of this the Astartes was approached by Arien, who seemed familiar with the newcomer and placed down a wrench he had been admiring to instead try and climb up their Power Armor. To Tristan's surprise the Astartes relented, appearing just as familiar with the strange animal and allowing it to rest halfway over his shoulder where Arien seemed to find himself contented.

"I am here to teach you," the Iron Warrior said at last once the Ixolotl was comfortable hoisted upon him.

Tristan nodded, uncertain as to whom he was speaking with but accepting it regardless. Jarn had already told him what his purpose was for the coming years and he would obey. If someone was offering to aid his learning then he was to accept it.

A question did arise within the boy's mind however, one which he would voice with respect to one offering him knowledge.

"What would you have me learn, my Lord?"

"Help me help you. What is it that you believe you should be taught?" the Astartes replied, his plain helm obscuring any insight Tristan might gain into the man's expression. The lens Tristan stared up into betrayed no emotion or answer to be used to formulate a response.

All Tristan had was what Jarn had told and taught him thus far, and so he spoke as he believed the Warsmith would wish of him. If this was a test then the best answer he could give was the one Jarn had given him.

"Everything. I am to observe and learn, understanding whatever I am capable of," Tristan replied. While it had not been too long since his arrival upon the Eisernen he had still managed to go through various texts in Jarn's room, granting him a greater albeit incomplete understanding of the setting he now found himself within so far away from home.

There was countless more to absorb and come to an understanding about as his eyes were opened day by day to the vast expanse Humanity's long-spanning history offered, to the technological insight provided by Jarn's notes, and of so much more. The more Tristan learned the more he realized he did not know, and so it was with humility that he was willing to continue expanding his horizons and gaining insight into things he never before could have imagined.

"You are to observe, understand, and to then improve upon," the Astartes corrected him, "Your potential would be wasted if you do not continue forward from what you learn."

With this said the Astartes placed Arien back down on the ground so that the man could take a seat at a table within Jarn's workstation, one which had atop it a board with miniature pieces different from those used to simulate battle elsewhere in the Dodekatheon. Given the visitor's general familiarity with Arien and the comfortable manner in which he sat down Tristan guessed that the game there was one he would play with Jarn, as the pieces seemed quite well used and not many Astartes paid Jarn personal visits while he was here.

He continued speaking once seated, "The Primarch Perturabo took what he could and improved it by every objective metric was measured, be it technology or governance. The Warsmith has taken the lessons imparted by him and expanded them, allowing for innovation to once again flourish in an era of decay. With the Warsmith's obligations diverting his attention fully from our future, you must do so in his stead."

What he was saying made sense to Tristan, though he was still curious what it was the Astartes was hoping to teach him. Seeing Astartes as Knights left Tristan with a general reverence of them which saw him bowing his head to the Astartes in acceptance of their words, even if he did not yet fully grasp their intent.

The Astartes tapped the board, prompting Tristan to look up once again, "Come, sit opposite me. I presume you have already familiarized yourself with the rules of this game?"

Tristan had in fact out of curiosity built from seeing the odd game pieces in this space he spent so much time in, but they had never been put his knowledge of the game into practice. Instructions were included with the box the pieces came in, and despite their seemingly ancient nature they were perfectly legible as if they had never been taken out of their box. Despite this he had not yet mustered the courage to ask the Warsmith to play it with him when the man was busy resting or working on one of his mechanical devices, nor did Tristan wish to distract other Iron Warriors from their own projects, and so that had left Tristan with only one other member of the Dodekatheon to play with.

Perhaps as one might expect, Arien had proven a less than ideal opponent.

Tristan would not repeat that mistake again given the fascination the Ixolotl possessed with the shining game pieces that took time to coax away from the animal.

"I have. Regicede," Tristan confirmed as he sat down, his game knowledge being entirely from what he read and thus not knowing how to properly pronounce the name since he had never heard it said.

"Regicide. Simple to learn, but difficult to master," the Astartes explained without derision. They were now within a meter of each other, but even though the armored Astartes towered over Tristan in size it did not cause him terror. Jarn was similarly large, but was far broader and so this Space Marine was actually less intimidating physically compared to the Warsmith whose company was almost all Tristan kept outside of his training with Ossus.

This did not evaporate all traces of fear in the boy though, as he still did not know much about this visitor or even the man's name. It appeared to be a recurring theme with the Iron Warriors he had encountered except Jarn and Ossus, as right now Tristan's status was so low that properly greeting him was a waste of time when they could be working out stratagems or improving upon a machine under their care.

The two played in silence.

Within a few turns the Astartes won a crushing victory, though he did not disparage Tristan over his loss upon the game's conclusion.

"You have a grasp for the pieces. Now you must learn that each has their role, and how to best utilize them. Let us try again."

Tristan nodded, accepting that he would lose to someone with much more experience than himself but still irked by losing at all. Before doing so however he questioned just who he was playing against, to which the Astartes answered thoughtfully.

"There are those whose place it is to stand out in the open, and there are those whose place it is to remain in the shadow cast by others. While the Iron Warriors do not specialize in subterfuge and information gathering every Legion has a place for it, lest they be caught blind by those who wish them ill. Someone must be the sword and shield in the darkness of our cruel world, and so I do what I must to preserve what we have built and what we have yet to create. I am Asier Terminus, and I will help the Warsmith reclaim the future and utopia denied to Humanity," Asier stated with confidence as he helped Tristan replace the pieces upon the board.

So he was a special agent of the Warsmith, that much Tristan could ascertain from the man's words. While Jarn handled the actual leadership and warfare Asier dealt with things beneath the surface, and in doing so allowed Jarn to continue forward.

"You will never command the level of charm and charisma a boy such as Levente does. One day though you may be able to command respect all the same from others," Asier continued, shifting the conversation to now be about Tristan's own role in the grand scheme of things, "Or you may not. To win this game you must rely upon your mind rather than brute force, as the resources available to both players are equal and a mirror of one another at the beginning. You must hide your intentions from your opponent – draw them into traps, make sacrifices to advance your plans, cause them to overextend themselves, or leave themselves vulnerable in some manner. Where brute force cannot serve you a keen mind and guile is what will bring you victory."

With the board ready once more Asier spoke a command that Tristan had expected, and which he would hear many times more that day.

"Again."

It was evident by watching him play that Tristan was not the most imaginative of individuals, something shared by many actual Iron Warriors as a general trait, for while he grasped the rules of the game he struggled at first to grasp how to convey that knowledge into actual methods to obtain victory in it. He knew the conditions for victory, but actually reaching them in a way which would not be countered by his opponent was difficult.

What he was able to do was try what he had done so the game prior, but improve upon it. As one might expect Asier swiftly defeated him once again, but it took more effort to do so.

"Again."

So they played, with Tristan learning not just from his own actions but those of his opponent. He might not be able to come up with the ideas of how to play better on his own, but he could learn what did and didn't work through his own successes and failures as well as those he witnessed from his opponent who always seemed to be well ahead of him. The more they played the more Tristan realized that Asier was an expert, as it appeared not a single thing Tristan could do would surprise him and victory appeared impossible even if Tristan was gradually learning how to make it more difficult.

After repeating this for a fair amount of time Asier decided to change the pace of things, speaking again and breaking the relative silence of their games.

"This time your objective is to lose while losing as few pieces as possible. Not every battle is one you fight to win, and understanding that is important for achieving victory even in the fangs of defeat."

By shifting the condition for victory Tristan was forced to completely rethink his strategies, and while he managed to mount a fair defensive effort he was once more swiftly defeated by Asier who bled him of every piece he had before winning as if to prove a point.

"Again."

Rethinking things once again, Tristan compared his matches with Asier to what his new terms of victory were...and so came to a solution that would see his first 'victory' that day as soon as they began.

"I forfeit."

The rules allowed for a player to do so, and in doing so Tristan managed to lose with losing only a single piece instead of his entire board. It had not been a way of Asier testing his raw skill at the game, but rather a test to see if Tristan could apply his knowledge to achieve a desired end.

Seemingly content and pleased, Asier nodded as he tapped the board once more.

"Again."

Tristan would play many, many more matches of Regicide with Asier in the coming years on the rare occasion the Astartes would make an appearance. While Tristan's interest in the game itself would wane in time compared to the more complex competitions of the simulated battles the Dodekatheon ran he would still play all the same, as it provided him a way to expand his own mindset and grow how he dealt with problems where his straightforward nature would otherwise leave him blind. In time they would be supplemented by puzzles that Tristan would find left for him to work through, be they a manner in which to win Regicide scenarios in a certain number of moves or actual puzzle devices such as an ancient cube with colored sides that one had to twist and turn until the colors all matched one another on each side.

For that puzzle Tristan's first 'successful' outcome was when he disassembled the cube and manually pieced it back together so that the sides were as he wished, something which seemed to amuse Jarn when he witnessed it. After that he would begin deciphering formulas of how to twist and turn it to achieve the same outcome in a more cerebral manner, as while his preferred method was the most straightforward as he did the first time around he understood that not every puzzle in life could be solved like that. His mindset was mundane but practical, and so whenever he found a solution it was often effective if perhaps lacking in greater nuance.

On one occasion Levente would inquire why Tristan was fiddling with some useless cube, to which Tristan would explain that it was a test from Asier. In response Levente would feign as if he knew what Tristan was speaking about, but it was evident to the younger boy that the elder trainee had no idea who Asier even was.

Tristan considered briefly explaining what he knew of the Iron Warriors' sword and shield in the dark, but soon came to rule against doing such a thing since if Asier had not introduced himself to Levente then Tristan figured that was how things ought to be. After all, Tristan figured that the only reason Asier had bothered to occasionally throw pieces of wisdom his way was because Tristan had actually noticed Asier, so if Levente wanted Asier's help he ought to recognize that the Astartes exists.

Levente would use the moment to mock Tristan over apparently believing Arien had given him a puzzle, believing Tristan to have misspoke, and so Tristan let his rival believe what he wanted to. He knew that Levente was receiving additional training from various veteran Iron Warriors so this ought to even the score in his mind, as while Levente was being taught how to best brutalize a foe Tristan was learning how to outwit them before a battle would even begin.

It would take time, a lot at that, but that was something the young boy had more than anything else.


A/N: Briefly introduced in the first story segment, here is a better look at Jarn's right hand man Asier. As one might expect of his role he will not be appearing as a constant figure like Jarn or even Ossus, but he's important to their day to day operations all the same so figured he could use a bit of spotlight.

Hope you enjoyed and that you will lend me your thoughts in the comments below!