Chapter 2: the Lord of the Thunder and the Lord of Obsidian

Erda woke up after spending the night in the Sigilites old tower eyeing many of the trinkets the sigilite collected over the years ranging from ancient Terran artists paintings like DaVinci or random ancient religious texts. Hauling herself off the bed Erda saw the custodian standing at the door then grabbing the covers Erda covered herself, "CUSTODIAN! HAVE YOU NO MANNERS!" Erda shouts eyeing her clothes on the old wooden chair she discarded her robes and shawl on before going to bed then stares daggers at the custodian.

"I apologise my Empress," the custodian said with Erda full well knowing that the custodian was actively trying not to grit his teeth saying it "but the lockwardens have located 2 of your sons of the 2nd and 11th legion" the custodian explains with Erda going wide eyed. "The sons the Neoth wanted everyone to forget" Erda muttered and the custodian nodded "why is hard to explain it's better shown" he said leaving the room.

Erda got herself dressed and exited the room walking up to a custodian clad in black and gold armour, the custodian silently turned around and walked away with Erda following him. "Has the preparations i have requested been done?" Erda asked with the lockwarden nodding "it has Empress" he said blankly Erda fully knowing what the lockwardens go through when it comes to the things down in the depths of the imperial palace.

She had honestly expected the emperor to have killed them like he did the thunder warriors of old but she was surprised to hear of them being down in the dungeon, getting to the pair of cells they were in another pair of lockwardens stood by each cell each holding boxes containing the gene-seed originally taken from the primarchs when their legions were formed.

Steeling her resolve Erda gave the command and the door to the cell where the 2nd primarch Aurelius Tol was slid open, walking inside with a singular lockwarden accompanying her Erda split off into her 3 forms and scanned the cell for the primarch.

Her crone form let out a raspy gasp clutching at her throat when she saw the primarch her other forms and the custodian focused down on what was the primarch, his skin once smoother than the finest silks was akin to bark on a tree, his human form was twisted hunched over with many small branches coming off of his body with the two largest branches coming out of his back spreading across the ceiling looking for sunlight like massive green wings.

Erda walked towards him cautiously with the lockwarden as she looked the primarch in what was left of his eyes, eaten away by time itself the empty sockets contained balls of solidified tree sap that among the relatively still human face. Two things infested Erda's hearts seeing one of her sons like this she felt pity for the primarch glad that she was taking the pain away from the lord of the Thunder Dragoons, the other was unbound rage she had not recieved much information about their final war before they vanished but she recognized the bastardization of her genecraft as Rangda.

She looked down and her hearts sank as she saw the primarch was literally rooted to the spot unable to move with his laboured breathing being the only sound in the room, his face turned towards Erda and the Lockwarden his blank expression almost curious as to the intrusion. A strangled noise came from his mouth as if the very vocal cords in his throat had turned to twigs, Erda using all 3 of her voices spoke "it's ok my son," she said stepping closer her expressions growing softer as the primarch attempted but failed to push himself away his roots holding him down.

"Aurelius, please i can make it all stop" Erda pleaded setting one of each of her hands against the primarchs head, she noticed liquid sap begin to drip down his face as she pushed her presence against his very mind emitting an aura of pure calmness.

"That's it my son just lean into me" Erda said as Aurelius pushed his head closer to her bodies all 3 of her forms wrapping their arms around his head in a hug, her maiden form looked back at the lockwarden and nodded with the custodian unlocking the case.

Without looking away from her son Erda made the geneseeds float ripping them into red slurry, as the mother form shushed the primarchs grumbles the crone and maiden began chanting words of power as she made the geneseed float around her and the primarch. The lockwarden stepped back giving her room as the geneseed became a dome of blood.

Inside the mind-scape that Erda made between her and Aurelius the primarch had his arm stuck within a tree trying to pull himself from its trunk, his cries echoed through his mind putting every ounce of strength into it. He stopped when Erda in her mother form put her hand on his shoulder then stared at her with a look that portrayed the fear he was in, "do not fear my child i am here" Erda said soothingly with fear on the primarchs face being replaced by confusion.

"My son i do not know what they did to you and you do not know who i am, i will explain in a bit but i have but an offer for you" Erda said with Aurelius going back to trying to pull his arm from the trunk, "if it involves getting me out of here... As long as i don't betray my father" Aurelius said grunting as he failed to free himself again.

"Then my son be glad i am here to help you return to us" Erda said wrapping her arms around Aurelius and focused her powers through his mind granting her son for the briefest moment her own healing abilities, as soon as his hand in the mind-scape was free Erda laid there with him staring at his hand before the primarch stood.

"Now you said you'd explain" he said as Erda stood splitting off into her three forms getting Aurelius even more confused, "i will my son," Erda said then frowned at his expression "ah he didn't tell you about me did he? Your... Body seems to recognize me, i am Erda your biological mother."

"Ok you're my mother... WAIT! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHERS! MY BODY! WHERE ARE WE!" Aurelius said panic lacing his tone, "be calm we are inside your mind my child," Erda said putting a hand on his shoulder getting the primarch to relax "the imperium is not as it was but your father has given me the ability and the mission to rebuild it and to do so i need our sons to rise again, you shall be by my sides as the Princes of the imperium shall you be with us again?" Erda added trying it how Neoth would put it.

"What are the terms for if i accept?" Aurelius said and Erda mentally sighed to herself thinking of course her children were as stubborn as their father, "i shall list them but if you do refuse i shall just leave you here," Erda warned full well knowing she was not going to just leave him preferring to have him come willingly.

"1st you shall be my child once more and in turn i shall be the mother i swore to be to you, 2nd you shall be able to build your legion once more and rule them and worlds given to you as you see fit, 3rd and finally my child you shall never need to raise your fist in war but instead you shall serve to help build and guide the imperium by my side" Erda explains, Aurelius looks down considering it before offering his hand to Erda "I am guessing that i am seriously out of the loop dear mother but since you wish to offer the imperium a future where my bow needs not launch arrows for war then i accept" he said putting on the 'speaking voice' she fully knew Neoth trained the primarch's to use.

The lockwarden gripped his guardian spear levelling as he heard the beast scream from within the dome of liquid geneseed, the dome receded melting away up into the air being pulled towards the small figure Erda cradled in her arms. It was a child a boy no older than 2 maybe 3 at the custodians estimate as Erda stood the last of the crimson liquid being pulled into his immaculate skin, the boy was pale and fragile looking as Erda walked over to him handing him to the lockwarden with orders to take him to the still being refurbished sanctuary.

Erda dusted herselfs off before going to the next room finding the 11th primarch Vigil Tona the chamber was as bare as the previous and without even needing to look she saw the glowing veins that lined his body, Vigil Lord of the Obsidian Revenant's eater of gamma, alpha and beta the very primarch that challenged Mortarian himself to an endurance contest and tied sat naked, crazed and afraid in the corner of the cell.

His form was a bulky mass of tumours with tentacles that grew human teeth in place of suction cups with eyes dotting the other side of them, legs atrophied from disuse attempted to raise him what once was his head now located to the centre of his chest turned into a cruel maw screamed at the intrusion.

Erda clutched at her throat and head the presence of this primarch physically hurt to be around as if his ability to control his blank aura has gone completely out the window since his mutation, "custodian hold him still for me, I don't think I can hold him down and bridge our minds" Erda commanded and the custodian obeyed without a moment of hesitation. "WITHOUT THE SPEAR!" Erda screamed watching the custodian leap into the air discarding his guardian spear when commanded and grappled the primarch letting the case drop and land open the raw geneseed exposed to the air.

Erda moved forward piling on Vigil with the custodian smacking back the tentacles that formed his arms, she pushed herself into his mind finding herself staring at the mountain of muscle that is Vigil grappling with the beast his body had become.

Erda lashed out with strands of warp energy wrapping the beast in dark purple strands before pressing further ripping the beast to shreds, Vigil turned to look at Erda fists still raised poised to attack if she threatened him and to show him she meant no harm Erda held all 3 sets of her hands up at shoulder length palms facing the primarch. "It has been way too long Vigil" the Maiden form said.

"WHO ARE YOU!" Vigil shouted his mental form shifting for a moment from the tall well built olive skinned man who's eyes glowed a subtle blue as if the energy he consumed was trying to climb its way back out of his body, to a skinny paler ruined man who's blue eyes had died and dried out with his skin sloughing off in patches revealing mutated masses beneath.

"Vigil it's ok the Emperor your father sent me, can you tell me the last thing you remember?" Erda asked with Vigil scrunching up his face in disgust, "i-I DON'T KNOW!" he screamed his hands flying to his head as the mind-scape around them began to reshape. A war-zone now blared around the 4 of them with the crackling of laser fire and the roar of bolters, Erda's mother form moved forward her hands moving slowly to the primarchs wrists.

"Vigil," she said her voice cutting through the war-zone making it all still "you're on Terra Vigil, we are inside your mind" she adds quickly gently guiding Vigils hands away from his head. "Then you have seen what they did me" Vigil said grimly with Erda nodding "what was fathers reaction?"

"He... He did not want to see you disgraced" Erda said not sure if she was lying or just guessing at Neoths true intention, "so... Me and Aurelius were locked in the imperial dungeon..." Vigil said tears actually forming in the primarchs eyes. Erda's forms moved forward her mother form still holding his hands rubbed her thumbs against the backs of his giant hands, "and you are needed again.. My child" Erda said getting a weird look from Vigil.

"But my mother died a long time ago in the radioactive dunes of Menserk" Vigil sai with Erda nodding, "your adoptive mother my son but i am your biological mother, if you simply allow me the chance to be the mother i wanted to be again i can assure you that you get to stand with your brothers once again under my protection. You need not fear the alien" Erda said and Vigil leaned down and hugged her.

The force of the transformation sent the custodian flying the geneseed was absorbed just like the 2nd and Erda stood holding the 2 year old boy, "well he's asleep at least" Erda said sighing in relief as Vigils blank aura was pulled back into his body.

The lockwarden stood looking at Erda as she cooed at the dozing toddler in her arms walking up to her before telling her that the dungeons isn't exactly the place to be caring for a child due to the amount of cursed artefacts, AI and literal Daemons trapped in cells.

Erda thanked the custodian before moving through the dungeon back up and into the Sanctuary she and the Emperor made to originally raise the primarchs, the once empty chamber filled with the 20 villa houses they once planned to let the primarchs sat empty for over 10,000 years even empty of the spirits of the dead.

But now construction Servitors and tech priests shuffled through the chamber installing new lighting, adding a playground, park and generally making the chamber more child friendly according to Erda's design. The lead priest on the project was E-I W3/Q7E or as Erda called him Ewe since his slender and curvy form on an unaugmented human would of made him easily mistakable for a woman and a habit for wearing fluffy coats reminded her of old Terran sheep.

"Omnisiah be praised," Ewe said excitedly scuttling over to Erda on 4 thick mechadendrites before stopping and looked down at at Vigil "aaw very precious empress Erda" he added lowering his voice making Erda smile. "Thank you the rituals have left me quite exhausted" Erda said with Ewe hovering a mechadentrite over Vigil Erda realized he was taking bioscans, "really you couldn't wait for me to be asleep to do this?" Erda asked slightly annoyed with Ewe retracting the scanner back into the box on his back.

"I apologise Empress but this is the second of yours and the Omnisiahs genecraft, also I must collect this data as we have made contact with Arch Magos Bellisarius Cawl as you have requested," Ewe said getting a raised eyebrow from Erda "he will be with us soon but he has sent his 'baby shower gift' ahead of him apologising for sending it 10,000 years late" he adds.

"Baby shower gift?" Erda inquired having not heard that sort of phrase in an extremely long time, Ewe nodded his head before gesturing towards a team of 20 golden Servitors each bearing a number on their shoulders from 1 to 20 each of them head to two toe in auramite alloy sculpted to look like caring guardians. "Half of them are female?" Erda said more as a fact than a question with all the odd numbered ones being female and the even numbered ones being male, "yes as you may reCawl the arch magos likes his gifts to be unique" Ewe said getting Erda to facepalm from the joke.

"What do they even do? And don't you make another pun Ewe" Erda said a static chuckle coming from Ewes speaker "the minute you stop calling me Ewe I am not a sheep," Ewe said before gesturing back to the golden Servitors "each of them Cawl crafted personally to act as your children's caretakers when you are else where or need extra assistance, the arch magos has assured me they are of his finest work and will protect them with more zeal than the custodes would the emperor" he states before shooing a tech adept away from the golden servitors.

"I can tell," Erda said before feeling her knees begin to shake as she was forced into her crone form saying with a rasp "sorry but can you activate them I need to rest doing two of these in a row really takes it out of me" with Ewe complying activating the 2nd and 11th marked ones, their servos were silent and their voices chimed with angelic and melodic tones as the one that called herself Eleven gently took Vigil into her arms.

"Care for my sons" Erda ordered with the Servitors giving a bow before striding off, Erda thankful for Cawls gift went into the Villa of the 2nd then found a comfortable spot on the sofa to lay down and drift off to sleep.