As all the blood spilt upon the lands, the hundreds dying in a singular instant, the behemoth that sat upon its Throne of skulls trilled in excitement.
"Good boy" was all it said, just barely patient enough to sit back again and let events unfold.
In the slight dawn, there was no mistaking the symbol that adorned the four arriving Valkyries. The large and imposing 'I' of the Inquisition was becoming clearer and clearer the closer the vessels approached.
"Praise the Emperor" Lynwood exhaled as he allowed his shoulders to relax, his bolter now clipped to his side.
The fighting was done. Surrounding them were the bodies of all those slain by the two Arbites… staining those corpses and the earthen ground between them…
Lynwood shook his head slightly, his mind unbelieving of what it had witnessed.
The cavalry had arrived. That was all he needed to focus on.
His mission had been successful.
A hand slipped onto his shoulder, pulling him from the majestic sight of the Inquisitorial arrival.
Caius's dirty and besmirched face looked back at him, the man nodding back over his shoulder.
Following his line of sight, Lynwood's gaze stopped on the boy.
Young Lucian sat on his knees in the dirt, his vacant gaze fixed upon the slumped figure. The man he had known.
Lynwood was not aware of the man's name until the boy had said it. This 'Ostus' had been tough, his soul and will forged in the hardest of iron.
Unarmored and wounded gravely, the supposed cult sacrifice had done his best to avail the boy of his sadness.
As evidenced by the way they spoke to one another, this Ostus had not only known the boy, but the mother of the child as well. The same woman who's murder had set off this whole chain of affairs.
Lynwood's small capacity for empathy came forward. A boy so young did not deserve the things that had been done to him, and those he cared for. But the removal of innocence was a necessary part of growing up within the Imperium.
No one said it had to be so brutal though.
While Lynwood continued to study the boy, he spoke to Caius, trying to sort through the simpler thoughts.
"The girl?"
Caius winced, "she is wounded still. Delirious. She will live" he glanced at the Valkyries which were just happening to touch down.
Tempestus Scions departed three of the ships. Their Black Carapace noticeable even from this distance.
From the last Valkyrie was the noticeable form of the Lord Inquisitor, Ahmazzi. Accompanying him was his ever present aide. Lynwood suspected the man was a Psyker of notable power, but refused to comment upon that publically.
Such things were not good for your health.
He refocused on what Caius was saying.
"She was tied down, not staked. Mild lacerations and slight blood loss are her worst concerns"
"Physically" Lynwood corrected his colleague, finally pulling himself away from the seemingly petrified boy.
He was akin to a statue.
Grief had sunken its terrible claws in, and refused to let go.
But it was not Lynwood's job to console the boy, merely save him.
"Physically she is fine, Caius. The more severe wounds will be upon her mind" he tapped the side of his head with emphasis.
The Scions were approaching, Ahmazzi at their lead. His false limp proudly displayed for the only survivors of the massacre upon the fields.
When the approaching force was within ear shot, Lynwood spoke.
"My Lord Inquisitor"
Lynwood brought both of his hands up, forming the sign of the Imperial Aquila before his breast.
Caius, not seeing what his fellow was doing, dropped to one knee before the Inquisitor.
The approaching group came to a halt before the Arbites.
And while Lynwood and Caius looked at each other like the other had grown a second head, no one noticed the humorous smile upon Denex Dondarin's face.
Caius brought himself back up onto his feet, a slight blush upon his face. No had told him how to treat an Inquisitor after all, and ass kissing usually got you places among the nobles.
Ahmazzi's face however, was carved from stone. He did not find this situation even remotely humorous. His expression was enough to snap both his aide and Caius out of their attitudes.
At attention they stood.
While Ahmazzi's Inquisitorial Scions began to inspect the metal scraps that were formerly Tauroxes, and others searched through the dead, checking for survivors, Ahmazzi simply said;
"The boy?"
Lynwood moved a bit, ignoring how the Helguns of the Scions flanking Ahmazzi twitched slightly. He pointed past himself, toward the slumped- toward the body of Ostus, and the boy which sat in front of him.
Lucian still had not moved.
"Alive my Lord"
Ahmazzi nodded once, making a gesture to one of the squads of Scions standing behind him.
Two of the helmeted storm troopers split away from their unit, carefully approaching the boy with their weapons raised.
The Inquisitor kept his focus upon the two Arbites though, ignoring his personal Guard's advance.
"How exactly did you manage to defeat such a force?"
Caius and Lynwood shared a look.
"We…" Caius began, but shook his head slowly, not able to find the words. Lynwood took charge. The assault had been his plan, so he would bear the responsibility for explaining their actions.
"My Lord" he started over, "we assaulted this position with a hastily prepared plan. Our first priority was the destruction of the Tauroxes captured by the enemy. After successfully charging the cultist crowd, Enforcer Helix dispensed krak grenades and explosive ordnance from the roof of our Taurox" Lynwood was gesturing to the locations as he spoke, as well as all the destroyed vehicles.
Ahmazzi nodded for him to continue.
"Our initial assault was a success. As was our first objective, but as you can see" Lynwood turned around, pointing to the wreckage of their vehicle.
"As we attempted to recover the boy… a... 'Sorcerer' of some kind destroyed our escape vehicle"
"Sorcerer?" Denex asked, suspicions in his voice.
"He shot bloody lightning from his hand" Caius growled at the aide, "I wouldn't know what else to call that"
"A Psyker" Ahmazzi corrected the interruption, balefully glaring at the younger Arbite, "you would call that a Psyker, Enforcer Helix"
Caius kept his mouth shut, nodding his thanks toward the Inquisitor. But the Old man had returned his gaze to Lynwood, his hands shifting behind his back.
"While our attack inflict a good number of casualties… we did not have the ordinance to deal with all the traitors" Lynwood turned back to the Inquisitor, back straight and at attention.
"Preparing to deny the archenemy their prize, I was about to grant the Emperor's mercy to the boy, my Lord"
Denex seemed to look upon such words with approval. Ahmazzi frowned further.
"Why? How did you know the enemy needed the boy alive?"
Lynwood tensed ever so slightly.
"Well my Lord… a hunch, really"
Ahmazzi cocked an eyebrow.
"A hunch?"
Lynwood nodded, "when our escape was denied my Lord, the enemy immediately surrounded Enforcer Helix and myself. We were in possession of the child, but not for long. We could not hope to stand against their numbers"
Lynwood wanted to pinch his eyes shut. Just thinking about what he had seen was enough to set his stomach off.
Denex picked up on this, and focused his mind to gaze into the Arbite's.
"But the Enemy did not fire upon us my Lord. Even if they possessed the ability to do so. Therefore I suspected they could not risk harming the child. Pointing my bolter toward the boy drew an exclamation from the heretics. They begged me to 'wait'"
Ahmazzi scoffed, but did not deny it.
The old man found it amusing when traitors pleaded for the impossible.
"So how did you defeat the rest of these heretics?" Ahmazzi gestured around him, toward all the strewn bodies and carnage.
The earth around them was so deeply soaked in blood.
"They didn't"
The horrified whisper came from Denex, who had just accessed the memory in Lynwood's mind.
Before Ahmazzi could direct the interrogation any further, the aide turned toward the two Scions, reaching out his hand as if it would stop them.
One of the Scions was about to reach out and touch the boy.
"NO! DON'T TOUCH-!"
Lynwood saw it happen. He saw it as soon as the nearest Scion tried to grab the boy.
It felt like Deja Vu, but on a far smaller scale. The Scion was rendered into a red mist, his entire body simply exploding into a shower of blood. His weapons, armor, helmet and equipment being torn apart at the molecular level.
It all happened in an instant.
One second a man had stood there, the next, a haze of blood that gravity brought back down to the earth.
It was a horrifying thing to see.
As it was, when Lucian had done it to all of the remaining cultists. Like thousands of invisible claws which had struck from the air, Lucian had ripped them all into nothing.
And now, he had done that to a member of an Imperial force.
For a second, nothing happened.
And then every Tempestus Scion, from the ones combing through corpses or inspecting the wreckage, raised their weapons toward the boy.
Their intent was obvious. They had identified a threat and were prepared to neutralise it.
It was the startling cry of "WAIT!" from Denex that halted the barrage of Hell fire.
"If you fire!" he warned the armed soldiers, "we could all die!"
Ahmazzi's face had turned grim.
So this is what Denex had meant by the boy being dangerous. The child was proving to be a great amount of trouble.
However, he did not fail to recall the words as he had read them.
So clearly in his mind, the same as the day with which he had first gazed upon the ancient text.
'And His power will be that of the Hurricane, the winds of the warp shall obey His command' Ahmazzi repeated to himself mentally.
The Prophecy.
"Stand down and back away" Ahmazzi ordered the Scions. They were professional enough to lower their weapons, but still sane enough to keep them semi raised.
Their Helguns were the only thing that gave them some sense of security and safety at that moment.
"Denex" Ahmazzi got the Psyker's attention, "is the boy corrupted?"
Denex's face blanked. Ahmazzi wanted him to try and touch the boy's consciousness, and attempt to read him while he was in this shocked state?
While neither the Inquisitor or Denex had an eye for the Immaterium, as a Psyker, Denex could feel the forces of the warp, and the powers which circulated the child.
It was… on an entirely different level than anything the Gamma rated Psyker had ever experienced. Like some kind of vicious storm, they raged around the child so violently that their clashes would render them nearly invisible to the untrained.
Even straining himself, Denex could barely feel them.
"Denex" Ahmazzi growled, "I need an answer"
The Psyker, releasing he had only one choice, sighed and raised his hand out toward the dangerous youth.
Focusing his senses toward the boy, he could detect him, like one could see the sparks flickering off a live wire.
But to read him, as he did to many others, would be akin to touching your tongue to said wire, and hoping the electricity did not travel through you… burning your brain out.
Or in this case, exploding you into a shower of blood.
"Emperor, give me strength" Denex whispered, closing his eyes as he made contact with the boy.
…
…...
Opening one eye, the Psyker realised he hadn't been blown up at the atomic level.
He skimmed all he needed to within the boy's mind, resurfacing in a moment with his answer.
"No my Lord. He remains untouched by Chaos"
Ahmazzi breathed out a noise of relief, as did Caius.
Lynwood said nothing.
The boy was still motionless.
"My Lord"
It took Lynwood a second to realise he had spoken, and Ahmazzi was already staring at him expectantly.
"My Lord, I would like to attempt to retrieve the child"
Caius's eyes nearly popped out of his head, "are you mad! He just popped a guy for touching him? What are you going to do that-"
"Why" Ahmazzi demanded, his rough voice slicing through Caius' hysterics. The Inquisitor was just one idle comment away from executing the young and rambunctious Enforcer.
"I believe… I believe I can get through to him my Lord"
The Inquisitor considered his request, before somewhat reluctantly nodding.
At best the situation would be resolved.
At worst, the Arbite would die.
As Lynwood slowly strode toward the boy, Ahmazzi activated his Vox link to his ship. Quietly, he delivered his orders to the large vessel outside the atmosphere of Helios.
"This is Inquisitor Ahmazzi. I need you to lock onto my current position with all heavy artillery. If I do not contact The Heretic's Torment within the next standard Helios hour, you are ordered to lay waste to everything within a one hundred kilometers of my position. The Emperor protects"
A great distance above all of them, the Dictator Class cruiser, Inquisitor Ahmazzi's personal vessel, The Heretic's Torment, began to reposition itself.
The forward lances, and the hundreds of orbital based weaponry which lined the nearly three kilometer length of the vessel began to adjust.
They now pointed downward, ready to deliver the full might and destructive capabilities of their payloads.
But only Ahmazzi knew this.
Well, Ahmazzi and Denex, who had been standing close enough to his Inquisitor to hear the near silent order.
Caius hadn't heard the man, instead focusing on his partner and friend, who had just reached the side of the boy.
Lynwood didn't make contact with Lucian, having quite clearly witnessed what happened to the last man who did.
Everyone watched in total silence as the Arbite brushed himself off, and sat down next to the boy.
Lynwood leant back a bit, his legs before him as his arms supported his relaxed position.
Caius felt himself suck in a breath.
Ahmazzi barey even moved.
Denex twitched, carefully watching and waiting for any changes in the warp.
The Scions all fidgeted and adjusted themselves, unable to do anything in this current situation.
What all of them had in common, was their complete inability to do anything about the metaphorical landmine they had stepped on.
All except for Lynwood.
The Arbite didn't say anything at all for a bit, just staring at the same thing the boy was focused upon. The motionless form of Ostus.
The man's head was still bowed, his chin tucking into the glorious beard. His broad shoulders were slouched and depressed.
Pale skin, covered in marks and wounds… the man was at peace.
"Why do you sit here, boy?"
The lightly scraped and dirty boy did not answer.
"Lucian" Lynwood spoke softer, the timber and cadence of his aged voice merely smoothing his words out "I have told you once already. You need not fear me boy"
That managed to break the boy out of his focus.
The soulless look drifted towards him.
"I do not"
Good. The boy recognised him.
And while his form did not quiver or shake this time, Lynwood paid close attention to young Lucian's gaze.
His eyes seemed to look out miles beyond Lynwood.
This was the look of a Guardsman that had survived an ork invasion. This was the look of a civilian, running from Xenos invaders.
This was not the gaze of a child.
"Then answer me. Why do you sit here?"
Lucian turned back to the dead man, his thumbs brushing against the blood splattered dirt.
"He told me to wake him… for work… he's asleep…" the boy whispered, his gaze unfocusing again.
"Lucian" Lynwood said calmly, "I need you to look at me"
The boy slowly turned back to his elder.
"You know the truth boy…" Lynwood uttered, and the boy's head snapped away, his fingers grasping into the earth.
The ground shook.
The Scions raised their weapons.
The Inquisitor and his Aide tensed.
Caius looked like he was going to faint.
Lynwood pressed on.
"Lucian. Ostus is among the company of your mother" a pressure touched the Arbites shoulder, "as are your neighbours, your friends, and the innocent of Helios!" the pressure grabbed a hold of Lynwood, freezing him in place.
"Arbite!" Ahmazzi called in warning.
His metal arm began to vibrate.
Lynwood continued to speak fervently and passionately, "you know this boy. You know where they are… stop being so foolish and tell me! Tell me, Lucian!"
Lucian's hands tore into the dirt.
Lynwood felt a shudder of pain wrack up his spine.
"Face the truth! Be free of your cowardice!"
That did it.
The building storm vanished. Gone back to Immaterium no sooner than it had appeared.
And the pain which perforated his body retreated. Lucian slumped forward ever so slightly, drained by whatever he had been doing subconsciously.
"Tell me" Lynwood carefully reached out, bringing his human hand all the way around the child, "it's alright, Lucian. Tell me where they are..."
He held the boy by his side. With great care, he rested his arm across dirty and scratched bare shoulders.
Lucian leaned into him.
Only then did Lynwood hear the sniffling.
Only then, did he hear the quiet and hushed admittance.
"They are with the Emperor now" Lucian said into the Arbites side, his dirty black hair casting long over his face.
"That is true" Lynwood admitted, speaking honestly and for the benefit of the child's innocent mind "but also... they are at peace now, Lucian. He, who resides upon His throne of Terra, is responsible for them now. Their souls rest with Him, and the Emperor will take great care of them, for they are precious and special"
A teary eyed face looked up at him.
Lynwood smiled down softly at the boy, causing his facial muscles to hurt somewhat. He hadn't smiled this much in a long time.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
"I am sorry they are gone, child. But…"
The sun, finally made its presence known, passing just high enough into the sky for its golden glow to bask all of them in its warm rays.
"...take heart in the knowledge that they loved you. And know that for as long as you live, they will never truly be gone"
Lynwood squeezed the boy softly.
He almost missed the quiet reply.
Almost.
"Thank you my Lord"
"There is no need, child. And remember" Lynwood stood, reaching a hand down to young Lucian, "I am no Lord. Merely a humble servant of the Emperor"
The boy took it with a weak smile, the Arbite hauling him to his feet a moment later.
With the situation handled for the moment, Ahmazzi admittedly thought to himself, 'not bad Arbite, not bad at all'
He informed the Cruiser to stand down.
Then he gave out orders, finally back in the swing of things and completely in control of the situation.
"Lucian Inalique. By order of our Emperor's Holy Inquisition of the Ordo Malleus, you are to come with me"
A squad of six Scions moved forward toward the boy, but stopped as the child gazed over them. Eventually Lucian looked up to Lynwood, who still stood beside him.
The taller and older man nodded down at the boy, "you'll be alright"
Nodding, the boy gingerly walked toward the old man, the group of Scions immediately surrounding him.
Ahmazzi looked down upon the boy.
Graciously, he informed him of what his fate was to be.
"You are a danger to those around you, boy. Your powers are both a gift and a curse. The Imperium however, does not squander its assets. We will find some use for you, one way or another"
He turned to the squad leader of the Scions.
"Take him to the nearest Medicae. We have fought too hard for him to expire now"
The Captain took the silence as dismissal, replying to the Inquisitor "it will be done My Lord"
Ahmazzi held up his hand, halting the man from leaving for a moment longer.
He was contemplating something.
"Keep him secure. I want a constant guard around him at all times. No more failures"
"Yes my Lord" the Captain turned to his soldiers.
The quiet clicks that emanated from the man's helmet revealed that he was indeed speaking with his squad over a private Vox channel.
Probably laying out some kind of formational plan.
He turned to face his Inquisitor once more.
"By your leave, my Lord"
Ahmazzi nodded at them and they departed with the boy toward the nearest idle Valkyrie. Young Lucian threw a look over his shoulder at Lynwood, who offered a firm nod in response.
The boy disappeared in a Valkyrie a minute later.
Caius made himself known in the silence that followed, this time conducting himself with the appropriate amount of respect.
He did so with the nearly motionless body of a girl in his arms.
"My Lord. We have a survivor here and she requires medical attention immediately" Caius bowed his head slightly as he spoke, "please. Ask your aide to check for any signs of corruption, please let us save at least one more"
Ahmazzi inspected the man, looking him up and down before approaching him. He briefly scanned the girl before calling for "Denex!"
The aide hurried forward, laying his fingers upon the girl's head.
Physical contact allowed him to see far more clearly.
"Her mind is turbulent, but unscathed" the aide looked toward his master, rolling his shoulders in his Inquisitorial garb.
The man was antsy.
Ahmazzi sighed once.
He'd missed all the action.
"We return to the city. Arbites, you will accompany me" Ahmazzi fixed Denex with a pointed glare, "you will remain here with a squad. See what you can divine from this-" he pointed at the nearly crumbled alter with the tip of his cane, "-heretical structure"
He did not wait for his subordinate to confirm his order.
Ahmazzi the Daemon hunter hobbled off, the two Arbites following closely behind him.
As their Valkyries blasted off into the sky Denex let out a groan of annoyance, before barking out orders to the Scions that remained.
Captain Olivina Ceris breathed out a long sigh of relief as the announcement was made, to not just her, but the nearly the entirety of the Tempests Advance.
"We have made a successful transition back into realspace"
Out of the Warp.
Thank the Emperor.
And like clockwork, her good mood was ruined by the Vox attached to her Captains seat.
"Captain, I hope you have good news for me?" Vownus Kaede's irritating voice pierced the small amount of joy she allowed herself.
Replying to him, and glaring at the many members of the bridge crew throwing glances at her, Olivina said, "Yes Inquisitor Kaede. We have just arrived at Helios"
A member of the bridge crew, Second Lieutenant Jaelix, quickly approached her to whisper in her ear before stepping back to his duties
"My Lord, there is a Cruiser in Helios's high orbit, Dictator class. It is identified as The Heretic's Torment, should we-"
"Don't bother hailing them my dear Captain" Vownus preempted her, that insurable tone in his voice once more, "I'll be contacting the Old Man myself on my way down to the surface"
"So be it My Lord" Olivina managed to reply politely.
Vownus however, was not quite done with her yet.
"Captain. I need the Astropath to do something for me. It is important"
Olivina couldn't help the quirked eyebrow as she glanced down at the vox speaker. Vownus sounded… worried. An odd noise from him. She'd been in his service long enough to know that the extremely lucky and hard to kill Inquisitor was only bothered by a few things… and people.
"Yes My Lord?" she employed.
"Please see if our Choir can locate The Indomitable"
Olivina felt a cold chill run down her spine.
Right. His entire reason for taking the shortcut through the warp. He had wished to arrive on the planet before the competition.
And not just any old competitor could worry someone as powerful as Vownus.
Rykehuss.
"At once my Lord" following those words, the Vox channel closed. From Vownus' end, of course.
The man was headed planetside as soon as possible and needed to prepare for whatever possibilities awaited him. This left the Captain to hope that the Witch hunter she worked for didn't make too much of a fuss.
But Olivina had to also worry about that power armored freak showing up sometime soon.
Rykehuss…
She hoped they'd be able to make it out of system before that monster arrived.
Titos Erthaq knew he was in a lot of fucking trouble. The thirteen year old had no clue what to say or do about his current predicament.
Just thinking about it was enough to make him wonder if he really was the dumbest human being in the Imperium.
He was at least certain enough in claiming to be the most idiotic man alive on Helios. For as long as that life would continue for.
His left leg shook nervously, the heel of his foot tapping incessantly against the cold metal ground.
Titos considered himself an idiot because he had accidentally infiltrated a coven of the Archenemy, and then killed a leader of said coven during a PDF raid.
He.
A thirteen year old boy, with no training or skill in the practices of stealth and reconnaissance, managed to sneak into the den of traitors to observe and then terminate one of the heretics leaders.
Titos hadn't admittedly known about the cult at the beginning.
He had, however, expressed his concerns to his Father. Concerns regarding the very numerous and suddenly obvious disappearances in their community.
People had stopped coming to work.
Lucian wasn't at home, neither was his… mother.
The Tithe was soon, and Helios couldn't afford this. It was also admittedly creepy, slowly noticing that less and less people were arriving to work each day.
When the Foreman had gone missing, Titos finally decided to bring it up with his dad over yet another quiet dinner.
The meal which marked the end of a day was always a solemn affair.
His Father, Cobar Erthaq, had been in a spiraling downfall of torment since his wife, Titos' mother, had left them.
The blood of Cadia did not 'settle down'.
She had left when Titos was old enough to know what was happening, but young enough to still hope she was coming back.
He had accepted the truth by ten.
His mother was gone.
Many a night he would wonder to himself why she had bothered. Why did she even try to form a family, only to leave it for the duty which she so craved, to protect a world that she only shared by blood.
Thoughts of his mother aside, Titos had asked his only parent, who was mildly picking at the broth before him, "Father"
The man looked to his son, an eyebrow raised.
At the time, Titos had assumed his glossy eyed expression was due to another tiring day upon the field. He would learn the truth quite quickly.
"Where is everyone? Why hasn't someone called the Arbitrators? Or the PDF? People are missing an-"
"Son" Titos, sitting in the small Cabin with his Father, had straightened his back at the powerfully delivered word.
"Would you like to know where everyone is?"
Something had shifted in Titos' belly. Some internal warning, a feeling of creeping fear and malcontent.
The look in his Father's eyes was not comforting… nor was it relieving.
Titos had swallowed once before speaking, feeling a droplet of sweat build across his head.
"I want to know. What's happening?"
The Father considered his boy for a few more moments, his head cocking in different angles.
Eventually he found whatever it was he was looking for, nodded once, stood from the table and said;
"Then I will show you the truth" he gestured to the coats on the wall beside the door of their humble abode, "follow me"
And Titos did, a quake entering his body, ever so slightly.
The Father and Son duo had walked side by side as they departed their meager estate. No words were exchanged between the two of them, even if Titos was worriedly casting looks upon his Sire and the darkened paths of the outer communities.
It felt like… he was being watched, yet he did not know from where… or by what.
Eventually, by the silent directions of his Father, they found themselves in a way station. A structure designed to ferry the harvested goods of the fields and transport them to the outer city of Helios' capital.
Titos did not question his Father's ability to walk right past the guards of said facility, but the very personal greetings shared between the three of them… was odd.
Why would they be present around such a facility at night?
Inside the dark and desolate space, the cavernous room where hundreds of tons of harvested grain and wheat was brought… There were hundreds of people.
Among all the machinery and scales, each grand and large enough to successfully process what the farming communities could produce, stood a vast sea of people.
Titos was not concerned by the weapons some of them obviously carried… or the malignant smells and whispers that passed throughout the room.
He was concerned with how every single one of them was cloaked, just like him.
They were all shrouded in some sense or another.
"My Son" Cobar muttered down to his child, "if you wish to know the truth, go with them" the man gestured to where the largest of the crowd was congregated.
It was a small dock, normally used as the loading zone for all raw resources.
Instead, it appeared to be a waystation, with the large vehicles that transported the amassed raw food now pulling people.
These large freighters were taking as many cloaked people as they could, sealing themselves shut once they reached capacity, and then driving off into the night.
A new freighter would replace the departed one, and the whole process would repeat itself.
Titos could not understand what was going on, and tried to speak back to his father.
But the man was gone. He had disappeared into the crowd in the few moments Titos had looked away.
That same fear, the feeling which had never left him, coiled once more in his belly.
His curiosity got the better of him.
And so Titos had approached the dock.
He had stepped aboard the vehicle, packed with cloaked individuals.
They had ridden in relative silence, whispers and coughs being the only prevalent noises in the back of the darkened cabin.
And then, after an unknown time, with his heart pounding within his breast, the door opened, spilling light upon all of them.
Titos had been one of the last to enter the vehicle, and he was one of the first to exit.
He had but a moment to study where he was, the wave of people behind him surging forward into the expansive basement.
It was…. A commercial zone, an underground level. Under construction by the looks of it. The bazaar-like space had vacant stalls and lightless corridors. Candles and torchbearers revealed more hooded people in the darkness. They were mostly congregated around a hastily constructed platform, raising its single occupant above all within the space.
A cloaked being… taller than any regular man or woman. In the bare light of this space, Titos could see the icy breath which blossomed out from the hooded figure.
"My brothers and sisters, I bid thee welcome!"
The young lad had never heard such words before. The voice was musically masculine, a touch alluring but so sweet it nearly hurt his ears.
'No human… No human speaks like that,' Titos thought to himself, his mind racing as he studied everything around him, 'who… who are these people?'
Among the outermost reaches of the space, he could see cloaked figures armed with Lasrifles. They encircled this large gathering, standing barely within the candle and torchlight to be fully revealed.
Titos knew why they stood there.
No one leaves.
"And for those of you that have come here, let me be the first to tell you why" the disgusting voice continued.
Titos forced himself to observe the speaker, who's arms gestured out to the many hidden faces that watched it.
He did take note of the two guards at the base of the platform, one carrying a staff while the other held a Lasrifle.
Their faces were hidden by a cowl, but their body armor distinguished them among the others.
"You are here, because you have been lied to"
Whispering broke out, only to be silenced once more by the speaker's voice.
It was…. Enchanting the crowd, drawing people so subtly closer to the platform. Titos felt the figure behind him push him forward.
"This lie, you ask, what is it?" the being relaxed itself, "the Emperor is dead!"
Silence buffeted the room.
And the boy, who had found his way here by sheer accident?
Titos felt his fingers dig into his palms. His fear now mingled with a more powerful feeling. Anger. White hot rage.
As he watched the speaker in the dead silence of the room, Titos could think of only one word.
'Heresy'
He had failed to notice the man with the staff at the base of the speaker's platform, turning his head toward him ever so slightly.
"The thing that rests on the Golden throne, is the Carrion-Lord! A monster, to which a thousand innocent souls are sacrificed everyday! The Corpse-Emperor of Mankind!"
'Blasphemy' Titos growled to himself.
He did not speak aloud.
The company with which he found himself… Titos knew what would happen if he exclaimed his thoughts to the contrary.
Besides, he had heard the first mutterings of shock, followed by agreement.
"Should we profain ourselves, to a sickened parasite that leeches off of our species?!"
The deluded people of the room, some of them, hollered out in disagreement.
"Should we, hard workers, nobility and scholars, be so entrapped by this abomination's servants?!"
The call of response from the crowd was louder now, and Titos' anger merely drew itself up in defiance. Unlike those around him, he would not be swayed too easily.
He still failed to notice the staff wiedler, who was speaking quietly to a figure it had summoned.
This figure nodded at the staff wielder before it began to slink into the crowd.
"Then let me tell you of those that do care!"
"Who!?" Someone shouted, desperation in his voice, "tell us!"
"Yes, tell us!" another shouted.
Many more calls followed, each directed toward this heretic preacher.
And this preacher answered the flock before them, "the true gods! The only beings in the Universe who will listen to you!"
"Who?!" The shouts were desperate now, the crowd so riled up and stirred it just needed to know the answer.
"THE LORDS OF CHAOS!" the Preacher shouted.
And as Titos recoiled, people cheered.
Their adoration and movement allowed him to spot the being walking toward him through the crowd, coming from the stage.
This being, cloaked like them all, carried a Laspistol.
Titos scrambled back, hoping to find a gap in-
The first set of explosions caused absolute pandemonium. Bolts of red Lasfire buffeted the crowd.
Titos had stumbled as the first grenades had detonated.
A warm liquid covered his face.
People were screaming and running around aimlessly.
Lasfire rained down from every corner, from every passageway.
One such bolt struck the man approaching Titos, causing him to tumble forward. The man was swallowed under the footfalls and steps of the panicked traitors.
Titos?
He spotted the Laspistol the dead heretic had dropped.
The boy swooped down to retrieve it, his hand finding the hilt in a natural motion. With fury staining his purple eyes he stood, again, the jostling of the cowards around him knocking him only slightly.
Lasfire continued to rain into, and out of, the space. Explosions and fire spread as far as they could, littering the area with bodies and pieces.
Members of the Archenemy's cult had returned fire against the Emperor's servants. But they were losing.
Titos was not paying attention to any of this. He found a fairly large box not far to his right. Thinking about it now, it probably contained construction material for the worksite.
Clambering atop it, the half Cadian looked for the speaker of this coven.
The platform was easy to spot, as well as the fact it was abandoned. Frantically searching in the chaos, Titos saw it.
The speaker, being taken by it's guards toward one of the hundreds of hollowed out shops in the soon-to-be bazaar.
No.
No traitor escapes the Emperor's judgement.
And so Titos raised his pilfered Laspistol, taking aim through all the explosions, Lasfire, screams and shouts.
The guard with the staff turned around to face him from the nearly 50 meters in which they were separated by.
Titos did not have eyes for him.
His target was almost out of view.
So he fired.
The scarlet bolt soared through the air-
And sliced right through the neck of the speaker, severing the traitor's head from its body.
An incredible shot.
Titos leapt down from his box, dropped his pistol and tore the cloak from his body. There he waited, his eyes shut, for the Emperor's mercy to be done upon him.
He knew what could very well happen to him. The crowd was being slaughtered, and he expected to be killed alongside them.
But he had not been expecting the Inquisition.
Titos had not expected to be bound and gagged, thrown into the back of a transport with the others of the cabal.
He did not expect to be taken out into the night, far away from the city and forced to kneel.
Then the Inquisitor had appeared, stepped forth from the conjoined light of the APC's. Hundreds of helmeted guards surrounded them. Special forces, each bearing the skull marked crimson 'I' of the man they served.
Titos would forever remember the words that followed;
"I am Ahmazzi. Lord Inquisitor of our Holy Emperor's Ordo Malleus" the old man seemed ancient, but he stood tall and proud as his warriors finished digging the mass grave before Titos.
"You stand accused of consorting with the Archenemy, with the Forces of Chaos that so dearly wish for the destruction of not only our great Imperium, but He who sits upon the Golden Throne of Terra"
The man oozed authority, and with so many threatening warriors surrounding him, it was easy to be so afraid of him. His aide however, had his eyes fixed upon Titos, a strange look on his features.
Lord Ahmazzi continued to speak.
"You will die here tonight... here upon this world will be your last moments. I suspect that your heathen Gods will gladly welcome your souls into their realms, before all of you are consumed by the Daemons you consort with"
The aide departed the side of his Lord, moving toward the soldiers that pressed Lasrifles to the back of the traitor's heads.
Titos felt the cold barrel touch the top of his skull. The soldier behind him was so much taller than the boy that his weapon was angled in such a way it would send the Las bolt through Titos's chin.
Death would be instantaneous.
Titos could only hope the man would not miss.
And then the first man was interrogated. He confessed and was shot.
The second, a woman, burned.
The third did as well.
The fourth died peacefully.
As did the fifth.
Fire enveloped the sixth, seventh and eighth.
Nine and ten died quietly, without screaming or fear, as the flames consumed them.
And then the Inquisitor stood before Titos.
He glanced to a space above and behind the kneeling boy, nodded once, and proceeded onward down the line.
Death did not come for Titos. There was no sudden darkness to take his world. He was not tossed into the trench of charred bodies and dead traitors.
With the interrogation conducted, he was taken back to the Arbite fortress, and chained to a chair and table, awaiting whatever fate the Emperor would give him.
And this was how Titos Erthaq currently found himself wondering if he was the dumbest man on Helios.
The only light of the room was a lamp, swaying ever so slightly above the table. It cast a cone of vision for Titos, but failed to reveal the shadows of the corners of the room.
Titos knew he could be alone in this room… or there was someone else in here. Either way, he had no way of telling.
Titos was content to wait, content to just sweat in nervous impatience. This was probably what the Inquisitor intended after all.
And it was working, there was no shame in admitting that.
Besides, what exactly could-
"You are an incredibly reckless boy"
The voice of the aged Inquisitor proceeded the man, stepping from the shadows of the chamber to stand across the black table that Lucian was chained to.
"My Lord" Lucian bowed his head forward, the least he could do.
"How stupid are you, to so blindly follow even one such as your Father, to a place like that?"
How Ahmazzi knew about… that, Titos was unaware. But he didn't deny it.
"My Lord! People were disappearing daily! Nothing was being done, I saw my opportunity and-"
"And you took it!" Ahmazzi snapped, sitting down across from Titos and resting his cane on the table they now shared.
"You are lucky my aide could read your insignificant mind. You are lucky that chaos failed to warp your senses! You are lucky I am a man that values an inqusitive mind, even if it comes from the most stupid of places" Ahmazzi relaxed himself, leaning away from the table.
"You are also lucky I consider you to be of some use to me" Titos said nothing to this, his eyes transfixed on the Inquisitor.
From somewhere upon his person, a scroll of paper was drawn, official looking documents that bore the seal of the Imperium, and that of Helios itself.
"You, Titos Erthaq, have made more than one attempt to join up with the Imperial Guard, and it was your father, Cobar Erthaq who prevented your joins, arguing your importance to the farming community" Inquisitor Ahmazzi scanned the papers again and again, rereading information he must have processed a fair number of times already.
"Five"
Ahmazzi glanced over the top of the paper at Titos, who had uttered the number.
"Five times my Lord. The first was when I was young, too young to be considered eligible for a word like Helios"
Ahmazzi nodded, gesturing to the papers "I can read, boy"
Titos flushed and glanced down.
"You are of Cadian stock. Like your mother, you were not destined to plow fields and produce food. Your true calling is with a weapon in hand and your enemy before you" Ahmazzi placed the papers down.
"And I believe you should adhere to this calling" Ahmazzi produced another piece of paper, placing it before Titos upon the table, "but not with the guard"
The old man pushed the paper toward him.
It was… it was a death certificate.
Titos's death certificate.
"If what Denex has told me is true, you're quite the shot for one so young" Ahmazzi leaned forward with a grim scowl, studying the bewildered Titos.
"I believe I might have some use for you boy"
Titos blinked stupidly, "what… what can I do for you my Lord"
Ahmazzi waved away this reply, taking the paper back from the boy.
"First" the Daemonhunter declared "we shall see how good of a shot you really are"
Vownus Kaede walked into the Imperial PDF base with a grin on his face, shooting the occasional wink left and right at some stunning looking female Guardsman.
Most blinked in surprise, at the pointy hat and darkly dressed man sauntered right into the camp. His Inquisitorial Rosette had been confirmed by the Cogitators at the gate to the crowded base, allowing him to saunter through with his companions unimpeded.
Vownus was flanked by his favourite group of Troopers from his Necromundan 501st Infantry Regiment.
Hailing from the 3rd Platoon from 1st Company, Vownus picked this particular squad of five for most of his initial planetside operations.
For a number of reasons Vownus always picked Kilo Squad.
First and foremost, Trooper Millock Brander. While still recovering, the man was so fervently loyal to the Inquisitor's cause, he'd forsake his own life if it meant keeping Vownus alive.
The slightly shorter and lightly bearded with a few war wounds littering his bare arms had surprisingly soft blue eyes. Vownus was mildly envious of the attention the mans interesting face conjured. Especially the female attention.
The trooper had a shotgun slung over his shoulder, whistling a quiet tune to himself.
He had a flak vest on as well, forgoing the sleeves as he "only needed to protect the important bits my Lord".
He did indeed wear a crotch plate and leg armor as well.
Vownus did agree with the man internally. While preferable not to lose them, arms were indeed replaceable in this day and age.
Secondly was the heavily scarred behemoth only a few steps behind Kaede.
Towering above them all, but not quite that of an Adeptus Astartes, corded with muscle and tattoos was Specialist Trooper Kin Kado. The slight eyed man was a former hive gang leader, who after an admittedly close brush with death, decided to do some good by the Emperor. The man needed no glory or praise. He did his job.
Vownus liked men like that. Simple, easy to order, and far less likely to produce a headache for him.
Thirdly, Corporal Junix Gollip, simply referred to by all who knew him as Jun, was a sharp individual. Vownus enjoyed the man's observant eye. He was one of the few people who had ever assisted him in some mild interrogations.
Vownus could, to an extent, read people's minds. And still Jun, the thin and sharp featured man he was, proved to be a great assistance to Kaede's efforts.
It spoke volumes about the man and his keen intellect. Vownus had always assumed the man was of Noble birth, especially considering his aristocratic face, but Jun denied this. Kado had known him in their youth and confirmed the boy was a hive dweller, like himself.
Naturally smart it seemed.
Fourth was Trooper Jacinta Fuelip. Fuelip the Tulip was a short woman, armed with a bright smile and vicious martial training. Her once long and beautiful auburn hair had been shaved to a short point, something Vownus had been sad to see in an old photo of the woman. She had the lightest complexion of the entire group, considering she'd been on the path to become a Sister of Battle, raised in a convent for most of her life.
She'd been shifted to the guard at the last moment it seemed. Kaede did note that as diminished as she seemed, her cradled Lasgun added to her compact ferocity.
...Vownus liked fierce women. He liked them alot.
And the last reason he always picked Kilo Squad was because of their Sergeant. The fiercest woman of them all.
Haylay Halliday. Somewhat of a vetern of the 501st and credited with some very impressive skills. She'd shifted around many companies most of her life. Her powerful physique and surprisingly curvy body have jumped between many Regiments.
Vownus had looked at her record.
Engagements with Orks, Tau and Eldar. Heavy losses, but she always managed to pull through. Sometimes she even managed to get her squad out alive as well.
The woman was no Krieger, but she seemed to lack the word 'retreat' in her mind.
For one so young, Vownus was hard pressed to believe the record. But having witnessed her in action, he kept his skepticism to himself.
Vownus liked her too.
But fantasising about the Sergeant would have to wait.
Tipping his hat toward a nearby PDF Captain, the Inquisitor approached the man. The camp was scurrying with Guard activity. Munitions were being loaded, Commissars were shouting orders, and Troopers hurriedly moved in formation.
The PDF was preparing for something.
"Seems like I've come at a bad time" Vownus pushed his Witch hunters hat back as he approached the taken aback captain.
"No" the man hurriedly spoke, releasing he had been staring at Vownus' displayed Inquisitorial seal for a few moments too long, "never my Lord Inquisitor. I am merely surprised another agent of Our Holy Emperor has come to Helios"
The man was within his right to be taken aback.
Inquisitors operated alone, and for all that filled their ranks, they rarely interacted with Guardsmen or the numerous forces of the Astra Millitarum.
Having two arrive on an Agri-world like Helios was unprecedented. Even more so that they operated in plain sight.
Vownus laughed slightly, easing the man out of his worry, "I am here for Inquisitor Ahmazzi's prisoner. A child"
Vownus didn't comment on how the man winced slightly.
He couldn't hold it. Diving into the unprotected mind of the Captain, Vownus took all the information he needed.
"He should be under guard at your Medicae somewhere Captain" Vownus glanced around, "think you could be a peach and tell me where it is?"
The Captain was taken aback, "a peach, my Lord?"
Vownus sighed, "the location, Captain"
He already knew where it was, but out of respect to the mere mortal of a guardsman, he had to continue this painful conversation.
Something righted itself in the PDF Captain, and he gestured to the right.
"Past the main barracks my Lord, you'll find the Medicae closely attached to the command building. Your… target should be there, under armed guard, my Lord"
Vownus nodded at the man, giving him another smile as he marched away, "my thanks Captain"
Kaede swept away, his soldiers following him closely.
They passed through the thick of the PDF camp activity. Many recognised Vownus' hat, the item that distinguished him as a witch hunter.
A member of the Ordo Hereticus.
Naturally, they steered clear of him and his allies. Some were subtle about it, most were not.
As the looming building of the Medicae approached them, Vownus let his mind stretch out, searching for-
"By the Throne..." Vownus whispered, physically coming to a stop as he looked up at the building.
He could feel it now. The rolling flare that buffeted the building. Not exactly the most assuring thing, but it was exactly as Ahmazzi had described. A Psyker of unimaginable power, completely untrained yet untouched by the warp.
This was what the prophecy spoke of.
And it was found on Helios…
Of all the worlds.
"My Lord?" asked Sergeant Halliday, approaching Vownus with her eyes following to where the Inquisitor was so seriously focused upon, "is something wrong?"
The other Troopers tensed as Vownus opened his mouth.
"Sergeant" the Inquisitor settled on, "you are correct. Something is indeed, very wrong" he turned to look at her, his expression serious.
"I've yet to spend some quality time with you my dear, and fear this might be affecting your morale somewhat" he flashed a brilliant smile.
The woman twitched, her features locking up.
He was a moment away from being struck by the-
"A jest" he chortled, "merely detecting our quarry" he nodded toward the building before the gathered squad.
"I'll just pop in there real quick by myself, deal with it, and then we'll be off"
Halliday's face twisted into confusion from her brief spout of anger, but it was Kado who spoke, his deep timbre reaching Vownus's ears before the hunter had set off.
"My Lord? Are we not to accompany you?"
Vownus turned to the squad behind him shaking his head, "no. I don't think you should. This one is exceptionally powerful"
They all knew what was being discussed. Their target was an unsanctioned Psyker, one that the other Inquisitor, Ahmazzi of the Ordo Malleus, had uncovered.
Their job was to deal with this Psyker, in any way necessary. If that meant killing it, then they would do their duty.
"How powerful, My Lord?" Jun's head was cocked slightly, the man considering the building at large.
Vownus wished the lad was a Psyker, like himself. His intelligence would suit him with the powers that came with a connection to the Immatierum.
Kaede didn't answer his question though.
"I'll be a few minutes. Maybe" he took a few steps again, before stopping and speaking over his shoulder.
"Oh, if I fail to return, you are to return to the Tempest's Advance and destroy this location from Orbit. Is this clear?"
A few stuttered affirmations returned to him. Vownus nodded and marched into the building without any more hesitations.
He had a job to do.
And hopefully a boy to recruit.
….
"Um, Sergeant"
"Yes Corporal?"
"How do we know if he's failed in his task… he has only told us he might take a few minutes?"
…
Halliday grinded her teeth, prompting those nearest to Kilo Squad's Sergeant to take a healthy step or two away from her.
Lucian lay facing skyward. The ceiling of the PDF's Medicae facility was nothing special to look at, but he wasn't exactly focused on the view.
His mind was clawing through the very sudden upheaval of his life.
With all that had happened in the past days, with all the death, destruction and… creepy heretic magic, Lucian really didn't know what he was going to do.
Where would he go?
So far, no where.
In this closed section of the Medicae building, no less than twelve of Inquisitor Ahmazzi's scary helmeted troopers were stationed.
They covered angles and positions all over the long and large room. Their firing lines meant that taking such a place would be nigh impossible.
It also meant that any of them would have an easy shot at Lucian, should the boy attempt to leave.
The boy had pieced this together when he released how perfectly he could spot all of them.
But being allowed to rest in a relatively comfy bed, relax his surprisingly sore limbs and back, hadn't been a terrible experience.
It seemed the Inquisitor also only trusted the Arbites to bring him his meals.
The older one, who didn't seem so scary anymore, Lynwood, would bring Lucian his food. Bread and broth, a simple meal for an uneasy and underfed child.
Lucian was a growing boy after all, and he needed the nutrition.
Lynwood however, wasn't allowed to stay by the boy's side, and would immediately leave the room after depositing the meal.
Lucian knew that the man did not care for him, but still felt most comfortable in his presence. The honesty with which the Arbite dealt to him was… kind. Nice.
He did not like the hostility of Ahmazzi and the men who served him.
So between these meal times, Lucian would just lay in his bed.
Occasionally a medic would come in, and blood samples would be taken from him, or scans of some kind. But these were brief and sparse, hardly a constant or recurring occurrence.
Lucian actually missed the fields.
He missed his scythe, even though it did not technically belong to him. Working under the sun? He had hoped that his guards would allow him to step outside, but they never spoke to him.
The time he approached the door, weapons had been drawn.
Lucian had just sighed and returned to his bed.
He wasn't… he wasn't free here.
He hated it.
And now with a frown, Lucian was staring at the ceiling.
Something had to happen eventually. He couldn't just keep waiting like this, with no one speaking to him.
And as if the Universe was listening to him, something did happen.
The double doors to the long room opened. It was the sound of the black steel of the doors swinging wide that caused Lucian to sit up in exasperation.
Lunch had already passed, and it wasn't too late for dinner.
Meaning that it was another test.
However, no one in the garbs of a medic entered.
In fact, quite the opposite. The now open doors revealed another Scion, one with a stripe of red on his shoulders, unlike the ones in the room.
The leader.
This one entered the room swiftly, gestured to his fellows, and walked back out just as quickly. Lucian was surprised to note each of the guards stow their weapons in some manner, before dutifully marching out.
Leaving the doors open behind them.
What was going on?
Then the figure in the hallway appeared, standing in the open door.
Lucian wasn't sure what to make of him.
Most of his attire was black. He had a long tattered cape behind him, a sword by his belt and a pistol on his left. The pistol had a cable leading around to the back of him, but Lucian could not see where.
His black clothing was decorated with small white pieces of parchment with black scribbles. All of them were stamped to his dark outfit with red seals.
A few Imperial sigils and one well worn crucifix hung off the man's chest. Lucian could also spot a chalice hanging by his belt.
Adorning the top man's strong yet friendly face was some kind of black ink on his chin. The boy could not read it.
Lastly, young Lucian was drawn to the man's hat.
A pointy, wide brimed, thing. It looked comical to the boy, but he thought it suited the man.
Like his hair, the hat was also black, but far more worn than the smooth locks that rested on the man's shoulders.
He made to speak, but Lucian beat him to it, unable to keep the comment down.
"I like your hat" the boy admitted honestly, followed by a hurried and embarrassed, "my Lord"
While meager and unimpressed, the almost bronze colored child had an honest but still developing face. His black hair suited his young features, features that Vownus could see turning into an incredibly handsome man.
If the boy made it that far.
"Why thank you" Vownus smiled at the child, "would you like to try it on?" he asked as he stepped into the room, closing the doors behind him with but one mental command.
The black doors slamming shut startled the child slightly, who confusedly said, "My Lord?"
Vownus tutted, stepping closer to the boy as he removed his Witch-hunters hat.
"Here boy" he spun it around, facing it toward the child "let's see how it fits you"
The child froze up as the Inquisitor dropped his hat upon him. The article, being designed for a much larger head than the boy, immediately swallowed up the child's head. This drew a muffled noise of panic, and a very honest laugh from Vownus.
As the Witchhunter pulled a chair next to the bed, the boy still trying to wrestle the attacking accessory from off of his head.
It was a surprisingly heavy hat.
Vownus, taking pity on the child, pinched the brim of it and yanked it up, letting its own weight rest upon the boy's forehead.
The embarrassed and red face of the child looked like it was about to snap at him, but Kaede permitted this by speaking first with a friendly expression.
"Hold still" Vownus grinned, taking a second to admire the comically large hat for a such a young lad.
Bringing his thumbs to touch the tips of his other hand's index fingers, he formed a box. A box that he gazed through to look at the perplexed child.
"I think it looks good on you!" the Inquisitor decided, taking it from the boy's head with a swift movement. A twirl and a spin later, and the hat sat back upon its owner's head.
"Well I think it smells, Mister" the boy said, crossing his arms at the annoying man.
"To be fair, it is old" Vownus admitted, running a finger along the worn out brim. The hat had belonged to someone else before it was passed down to Vownus.
'...it's yours now kiddo...' Vownus mentally shook the memory away.
He was doing his job right now.
"And I'm just Mister now? That's not how someone is supposed to treat a member of the Inquisition!" Vownus exclaimed with mock seriousness, so much that the child's eyes merely narrowed at him.
The boy's arms remained crossed.
"Prove it" he demanded.
Trusting issues? Hmm. Vownus supposed he'd let it slide. On one hand, the boy had been subjected to a very problematic week. And on the other hand, Vownus liked messing with people.
Youths were particularly susceptible, but also receptive of his quirky attitude.
Patting himself down, Kaede pretended to search for his Inquisitorial Rosette with an over dramatic, "one moment"
He sighed dramatically after a pretend fruitless search.
"Seems I've dropped my Identification somewhere"
For a moment, the boy's eyes widened, unbelieving that someone could be so careless. But then he narrowed them again, seemingly remembering that he didn't believe the man had any authority to begin with.
'Subborn' Vownus thought to himself .
"Well" the Witch hunter gestured to the door behind him, "if I'm not an Inquisitor, which I am, how'd I manage to get all those guards to leave?"
"You bribed them," the boy snapped back quickly.
'Touchy'
Vownus rolled his eyes dramatically at the child, "oh come on. You think I've got enough money to get Imperial Storm Troopers to stand down? Puh-lease" he scratched his chin with one hand, "you've got to try better than that to convince me, kiddo"
The child's mouth opened and shut a few times.
"Convince you?! You!" he snapped, gesturing a small finger at Vownus with a surprising amount of viciousness… for a kid.
"You're trying to convince me! How do I know you're not some..! Some…! AGH!" the kid huffed, frustrated. He had failed to find any accusing words for the still smirking man.
"I suppose you'll have to take me at my word" Vownus shrugged, and the boy seemed to deflate slightly, "oh and this of course"
The Witch hunter reached into his coat, retrieving his Inquisitorial Rosette and placing it on the child's bed.
The child sputtered.
With a flourishing stand, he swept his hat from his head, executing a mocking half bow at the boy.
"Lucian Inalique, I am an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus of our Holy Emperor's Inquisition. I am tasked with the discovery, and inevitable judgement of any and all Psyker's found among the citizens of the Imperium"
His smirk intensified as he dipped forward a bit more in his bow.
"Vownus Kade. At your service kiddo"
And the boy, confused and bewildered, took but a moment before asking one question at the odd man before him.
"What's a Psyker?"
AN: WE DID IT GANG! Prologue COMPLETE! Now the ACTUAL story beings! We've established our important characters, some various plotlines, and all the juciy stuff in and between the narrative. Once again, thanks to all of you for reviewing and rating, it really pushes me to write so much for this story. I hope you guys are okay with the large chapters, because I find I get more done each chapter and overall improve the quality of my writing!
On a secondary note, the next chpater may take substantially longer to get down, as it has been difficult to pump out 10k words a day. Mostly though, I just need the time to decided where I'll be taking this story, as this is mostly a pet project. Thanks guys, your the best
The Emperor protects,
-Freedom